Friday, March 20, 2009

Bathing Suit Season

So, spring is once more upon us. Today, in fact. Happy First Day of Spring. We've enjoyed a week of beautiful weather, and we've taken advantage of it to the fullest. We have spent a lot of time in the park this week. We've been meeting Mama N and Baby Girl and sometimes walking and sometimes just playing on the playground. Mama N and I have some very definite goals that we've discussed at great length. As any Weight Watchers disciple will tell you, you have to have a goal. And that goal doesn't have to be a number. Mine certainly isn't. All I want is to be able to feel ok in a bathing suit. I don't have to look good in it. And there's no way on God's green earth I would be caught dead in a two-piece (I have my over-nine-pounds baby and evil genes to thank for that). But I want to feel ok in my (VERY modest) one-piece bathing suit. Seriously, something has happened to me in my adulthood. I used to wear as little as the law would let me get away with, and now...well, not so much. At least I know when it's time to call it quits with the semi-nudism. Many women never learn that lesson. I mean, think about it...how many times have you seen someone dressed in something appalling and wondered, "Doesn't that woman have any real friends to tell her that those pants make her behind look eight axe-handles across?" And last summer, I did perhaps mutter that just because you physically fit into a bikini doesn't mean that you should wear one. And now, it's just more practical. It's hard enough to keep your body parts covered when your baby is determined to pull at necklines, lift your skirt over his head, and lift the hem of your shirt up high enough to reveal that you are, in fact, wearing a bra with cupcakes on it. Just imagine how much fun he would have embarassing Mommy if she were wearing a skimpy bathing suit!
Anyway.
We've made our goals (hers is a number, mine is a mindset, but we're on the same track). We know how to get there (walking, not eating entire tubs of Ben & Jerry's, etc.). And most importantly, we're in it together.
I've lost 55 pounds doing Weight Watchers in the past 14 months. I cannot say enough about how great the program is. Eating right is no longer a huge issue; it's become pretty much second nature. But getting in exercise has been tough, especially over the winter. While I don't mind getting out in the cold and/or rain myself, I do feel bad taking Sam out in it. So I'm glad it's warming up.
Sam likes it, too. We had a great time at the park yesterday. He loves meeting other kids, and exploring the playground equipment. When we walk, I sometimes have to bribe him to sit in his stroller with a cracker or a drink of water, but once he's strapped in, he calms right down. While he doesn't usually go to sleep, he does like to be pushed down the path. We try to narrate the trip for our children, making us sound like really lame tour guides. ("To the left, you will notice the dog. Dog? Do you see the dog? What does the dog say? Arf, arf? That's right! Now, coming up ahead will be a bicycle. Do you see the bicycle? Can you say bicycle? No? Moving on. On your right, there is another dog. Dog? Do you see the dog?") Baby Girl has a Houdini-like ability to get out of her stroller, and when she does, Sam looks at her as if to say, "Lady, you're crazy. Don't you see how awesome it is to sit back in the shade and not do jack?" He's pretty chill, my Sam. He takes after his mommy. Thus the need to drag my butt off the playground and around the trail.
I 'm such a Beta Mom. An Alpha Mom would never prepare sloppy joes and tater tots for her family for dinner, as I did last night. To be fair, it was a special request from Husband, and watching Sam eat tater tots was hilarious. Also, we had to be at the theater at 6:30, and by the time we got home from the park, I had an hour to make dinner, eat, shower, dress (they're so picky about wearing clothes to rehearsal) and get Sam ready to go. Truthfully, it's a miracle we eat anything but Easy Mac. At least the tater tots weren't fried, right? Right? I'm just trying to get through one day at a time.
Mama N and I went to Sam's Club today with the babies, then to lunch, and, swear to God, we were going to go get some worthwhile outdoor exercise, but instead we collapsed on the floor at her house while our children climbed all over us. Midway through a diaper change, Sam just got up and left, crawling all over their living room without anything on his bottom. He's going to regret that in about twelve years. Because there is now photographic evidence of his nudism. So when Baby Girl is head cheerleader, and he's trying to ask her to the prom, he's going to have to live that down. Poor Sam.
We're headed to the theater to do some work on the set stuff tonight. Hopefully, Sam will sleep through it. It's another weird evening for the boy. Bless it.

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