Super Fresh

For the next week my toilet is going to be the freshest toilet around.

I purchased one of those Scrubbing Bubbles Toilet Cleaning Gel things because my mother-in-law sent me an awesome coupon meaning I could get them for a great deal.  I thought what the heck, I will give it a try.

So today on my lunch hour from work I decided to scrub the toilet so it is nice and clean when I apply the fancy gel stuff.  It is suppose to stick for a week and there are six uses per pack. Great deal right?

Well when I went to apply the gel I don't know where my head was but I ended up pushing out half of the gel (enough for 3 weekly applications) all that once.  It made a huge mess of the applicator and I couldn't recap it again.  There was gel all over my hands and it was all over the applicator. 

Rather than be late going back to work to try and clean off the applicator, I decided to just put the rest of the gel in the bowl too rather than throw away half the container due to the mess.

So for the next week we will have the most sparkling, fresh smelling, stain free toilet around. 

And for the next week, every time I enter the bathroom I am going to recall that I am in fact a moron.

Challange Update

Last night Chris and I were discussing our weight loss challenge and how we were both doing so far.  I am excited to report I lost a few pounds already, and so has Chris.  Even better than that, Chris' blood sugar readings have been pretty much perfect for the last couple days.  (He is diabetic for anyone who doesn't already know.)

We are both pretty excited about the potential of losing weight and getting healthier.  So on that note we have decided to extend our challenge through the last day of June.  This way we can lose weight the healthy way and hopefully make it a life style change that will last.  It has been fun the past couple days being competitive over something.  It is really helping to drive us to succeed. 

I would like to extend an invitation to anyone who would like to drop a few pounds and get healthier to the challenge along with us.  Send me an email at thedayslikethis@gmail.com to let me know you are in, and then each week send me your pounds lost and I will do a summary post weekly on Friday's until the challenge is over.  We can all help to motivate each other.

Who's with me?

Weigh In

Today is the first day of my weight loss challenge with my husband.  We had our first weigh in this morning.

It didn't go as well as we had hoped.

Our scale in on the fritz.  It is showing five pounds higher than it should, and it will not tare properly.  (We know it is wrong because there is NO WAY Ian is over 30 pounds!  He was only 26 lb. at a recent doctor visit.)

So we went over to the trusty Walmart to pick up a new scale.

The scale we picked out would have been sweet if it worked correctly.  It would save the last five weigh ins for up to four people.  How cool is that?

Well not cool enough because it was not working either.  It showed a different weight every time you stepped on the scale.  It was seriously possessed.  There is a lot at stake in this contest...inconsistency will just not do.

With all the scale trouble I am beginning to think our house is covering some giant rare mineral that alters reality.  Too bad the mineral in my imagination doesn't alter our bank account up as well.

So I took back the new scale.  A scale that does not tare, but does take a consistent reading is better than nothing.

In other news, the first day of the challenge went well.  Meals were healthier, snacks were fewer, and we even took a 40 minute walk after dinner.

I am so gonna win this!

I Lose, I Win!

Tonight I tried on the dress I am wearing in my sister-in-laws wedding in less that two weeks.  It zipped, but it was a little snug around my middle.

So I told my husband, Chris, that I am going to work hard up until we leave for his sister's wedding to lose a few pounds.

I should have kept my mouth shut.

My husband, in his infinite wisdom, decided it would be a blast to make it into a challenge.  Whichever one of us loses the most weight between weigh in Sunday morning and Wednesday, May 26 will be the winner.

To make things more interesting and to give us a little motivation Chris declared that if I win he will change Ian's diapers and clothes for two weeks straight.  If Chris wins...well it is really none of your business but I am sure you can imagine what a man might want for two weeks.

So you can see that I HAVE TO WIN!

Starting tomorrow morning, snacks are forbidden and vegetables are my friend.  Bye bye carbohydrates and hello no touching a dirty diaper for TWO WEEKS!

I can do this! (Now just imagine "Eye Of The Tiger" playing in the background here, because in my house at this very moment that is the exact song Chris is playing on his computer.)

A Million Little Pieces

There are days when simply dropping Ian off at day care makes my heart ache knowing that I am missing out on his day.  Missing out on Ian building me block towers, and using my gut as a trampoline before we sit down to draw pictures that we will hang on the refrigerator door.

I have found that I can handle the ache of what I am missing out on, because I know that my working will provide Ian with so many more opportunities than if I where to stay home with him.  A small consolation but an important one.

Then there are days like today, when Ian screams and clings to me when we arrive at day care.  Days when I try to calm him until his care giver eventually helps me pry him from my body so I can leave for work.  Days when his separation anxiety gets the better of him and he forgets that Mommy always comes back.

Days like today break my heart into a million pieces because it isn't just me aching for what we are missing out on.

I know that Ian will calm down shortly after I leave him and he will have a fun day playing with his day care friends.  Then come 5:00 PM, I will go and pick Ian up from day care and he will run to me for a hug with a big smile on his face.  All the million pieces of my heart will melt back together again under the strength of his tiny arms around my neck.

Later his kiss goodnight will give me the strength I will need to do it all over again tomorrow.

So goes the days of a working mom. 

He Loves Me

Last night my son didn't want to go to sleep.  He was so very tired but wanted nothing more than to snuggle.

When the usual bedtime routine failed and I couldn't take another moment of his crying out for me, I went into his room and snuggled up next to him on his bed.

He calmed down quickly and started to relax.  I could see his eyes growing heavy; it wouldn't be long until he would have to give in to the weight of sleepiness.

We were laying face to face.  I slowed my breathing and closed my eyes; faking that I was asleep and hoping it would help him over the edge into lullaby land.

I could feel him moving closer to me, his hot little breath on my face.

Then, he kissed me!  Right on the lips.

He settled back down next to me and drifted to sleep.

I have never felt so much love in my whole life.  That is a kiss I will remember until the day I die.

Ants 1, Melinda 0

For the past few days there have been ants in the house.  One here.  Another there.  Pretty much your typical spring where a few bugs get in the house.  No big deal.

That all ended this morning when it became a big deal.  A very big deal.

I opened the cupboard to get Ian some Cheerios for breakfast.  As I pored them into his cup (he eats them dry from a little Dixie cup) I spotted the first of them.  Ants in the cupboard. 

There were everywhere!  Inside the cupboard, on the cans in the cupboard, INSIDE some of the cereal boxes in the cupboard!

(Don't worry, I took the cup of Cheerios away from Ian at this point.)

I pulled every last item out of the cupboard this morning at 6:30am, squashing ants as I went.  I ended up with an entire trash bag full of food they had gotten into. 

At first I was taking the bags from the cereal boxes and recycling the box and tossing the bag and its ant infested contents.  Then I opened a brand new box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and there were so many ants crawling out of it onto my hands that I gave up and just tossed the rest of the packages. 

It was horrible, and not anything I wanted to do at 6:30am in the morning!  I still feel like there are ants crawling on my hands and arms.  Yuck!

The ants might have won this battle but I will win the war!  They are going down!

(On a little side note: if Ian was ever to learn a bad word, it was probably from me this morning.  I really told those ants where to go.  Oops!)

Early! We're talking early!

On Saturday, my little family and I went to Saginaw shopping and out for lunch.  It was a quick little unplanned trip just for fun.  As we were driving home it occured to me that there would be a package of some food pouches I ordered for Ian that will be left on our porch.  As with anytime I know something will get left on our porch I was worried...would it actually be there when we got home or would Stealy McStealer take our stuff?

When we pulled into the driveway at home, it was clear there was something shoved in between our screen door and front door.  Thankfully!  As we walked up to the door we were very surprised to find not the one package I was expecting but FOUR packages crammed into the small space between the two doors. 

Three other items that were being shipped to us came early!  Yeah, that's right!  They arrived early! 

I am still in shock over this because when you ship something or are expecting a shipment you never think to yourself, "Hey, they might deliver this early."  Usually it is more like, "What do I do when my husband's diabetes testing supplies don't arrive in time?" 

I have new found faith in the postal service.