Poking Fun At It All

My 30 Day Challenge

I have decided to set myself a 30 Day Challenge. That is the Jillian Michael Ripped in 30 and jogging "The Holy Moly" aka a 4k loop from my house through an estate called Holywell - hence the name. 

I am going to take my measurements and at the end of the 30 days, take them again and see the difference. 

My 30 day challenge will begin on Tuesday, 29 July and will end on Thursday, 28 August. 

15 Weeks, 4lb down, a Teething Miracle and a Happy Birthday

That's a busy title isn't it? Well sure aren't I a busy woman!

My Holly Dolly is 15 weeks old today! Time is just zooming by on us! It'll be time for the Christmas countdown before we know it (aka 24 September, day after my happy birthday). My little Dolly is fantastic! We had her developmental check yesterday and sure she was amazeballs! Performed like a little dancing monkey for me! They tell me she's going to be tall... She may have a look of me, and my patience, and my temper, and my ability to sleep through an apocalypse, but she most certainly didn't get her height from me. Standing at an average 5 ft 4, I'm not exactly being put at the back of any group photos, or at least if I am, it's not because of my height! So I've decided that she's going to be a model. Not a thick one, one like Tyra Banks or Gisele what's her face. One that is clever and business savy. The type of model her mama could retire on! This is her fate. I'll be like Kris Jenner with my glass of wine and bossy head, living it up in a fancy pants house, dressed like lamb - despite being mutton! It'll be a wonderful life!

Now that I have my daughters future planned out, on to weight loss! I've lost 4lb! Delighted with myself. Some of the loss is down to a switch to a gluten free (for the most part anyway) diet. Also down to walking and I think not stressing about my jelly belly!!! Either way, I'm loosing and not gaining and not getting myself depressed in the mean time! And I have heart that in time, my world renowned model daughter will be able to pay for me to have liposuction and tummy tucks whenever there is a need. There's light at the end of the tunnel!

My little Dolly has been teething for a while now! Very advance for her age (even though she has no control over when her teeth come, I've decided to announce she's advanced). Anyway, I can't seem to keep the poor divil in dribblers! I must be going through about 20 a day! My washing is just bibs! I can't keep up with the demand. She hasn't been giving me any jip with them, apart from the endless washing of bibs, until last Saturday. Last Saturday the teeth started hurting her. Last Saturday, she cried for 12 hours, or so I am told. Because last Saturday I had fecked off to mayo with Himself  for a wedding. She was with her Nana and Grandad and it was no fun at all for them!

So I got on the World Wide Web and googled the bejaysus outta teething. And I got in touch with a couple of other mamas for advice. I was put onto a miracle! Amber necklaces / braclets. The amber apparently has anti inflammatory healing properties. So you pop this necklace on and leave it in contact with her skin until, well, forever. Or at least until her teeth all come up. They are design specially for babies and are safe to use. I personally won't leave her sleeping with it round her neck, I tie it to her ankle for naps and during the night - safety first! She's only got it on under a week and already I see a huge improvement! I'm down to ten bibs a day and the washing machine is getting a well deserved rest!

I got mine from a website Teething SOS. 

Finally, today is a happy birthday day to my wonderful husband! It's the 12th anniversary of his 21st birthday today. He is in work, but we have big birthday plans of staying in tonight and having cake! Then the zoo tomorrow, Holly's choice, and then a night away on Sunday. Our plans on Sunday are not our original plans. We had planned to spend Sunday celebrating with Friends in Low Places, while The Thunder Rolls, reminiscing about That Summer, and getting down at The Dance, and after all that spend a little bit of time Calling Baton Rouge. But the aul fecker cancelled on 400,000 of us so we had to alter our plans. The aul fecker... Now we will be staying in a fancy hotel and most likely sleeping our heads off from about 7pm!!!

Have a wonderful weekend peeps! I know I will

Finally Found Out What Is Wrong With Me

Happiness Reigns Supreme

It does, it really does. Why, you may ask? Well! Last night, for the first time in her entire existence (and that actually includes while in the womb!) my little Holly Dolly slept from 12.15 to 7am! Waking once and being silenced by that beautiful, amazing gift from God, the soother (aka susu/dodie). I am like a new woman! 7 hours! 7 hours straight sleep and I was on duty! I only ever get 7 hours straight if Himself is on night and morning duty! The world is a brighter, lighter and less sleep deprived place! 

I've been asked for a while now if she's sleeping through the night - Inquisitve Person "Is she sleeping through the night?" "Eh, no, not yet"says I. "Oh right. Well mine slept through the night from (insert ridiculous age here)" replies Inquisitve Person, rather smugly. "Really" says I "well sure she's giving us 3-4 hours straight so can't complain". Then comes a look, followed by "well, have you tried (insert unrquested advice here)"

So now I can finally say, yes, yes she is sleeping though the night! She's amaaaazing! 

I do realise that, as punishment for my own smug delightedness, she will not sleep all night again until she's 21!

Poking Fun at it All

Poking Fun at it All

Poking Fun at it All

Thought for Today

This is a picture of Bethany Frankel, think she may be a Real Housewife of Orange County, or something similar. She is wearing her 4 year olds pj's... I am torn!

One half of me sees this and thinks my Jaysus, how desperate must you be missus to post something like this? Desperate for attention and crying out for a good carb laden stew to give you a bit of meat on those bones! A woman in her 40's / 50's surely shouldn't fit into this. And if this poor divil is only in her 30's, then she needs that stew to shave a few years off her face as much as to put a few pounds on her bones.  

That is the part of me that wants to pass on a sensible, healthy, respectful body image to my daughter. I want her to eat well, exercise, see these things as part of normal life and not have to force herself to do it. 

Then there's the other half of me. The half that this kind of publicity feeds on. The part that's saying, feck your stew! That woman can fit comfortably into a four year olds pjs! Feck her haggard face! Who cares! She FITS INTO A FOUR YEAR OLDS PJs.. The only way I have a snowballs chance in hell of getting into anything belonging to a four year old is if the four year old owns a car that I can sit

In!!!! 

So to sum up, it's inappropriate that this

Woman is wearing her 4 year olds pjs. But at the same time it induces envy and makes me wish I didn't like a good stew...

Weight Loss Tip...

13 Weeks, Grabbing Stuff and a Happy Mama

My little Holly Dolly is 13 weeks and 1 day old! My how time flies eh? She's in great form and its just brilliant being at home with her. She spent a couple of days last weekend in Donegal with her Nana and Grandad and her Aunty Orla and Uncle Joe. Got feckin ruined! Sure she was only chuffed with all those different faces to be chatting to her and dumping oodles of attention on her! She's less than impressed that she's stuck at home with me now...

But enough about her, and more about me and why I am so happy!

A week after we came home from hospital, I made the mistake of thinking that I had returned to my pre-pregnancy shape. I made that mistake because I could see my toes and I was awash with hormones that caused my body dismorphia to resurface.  My body dismprohia is something I have touched on previously, but for those who don't know, Dr Google diagnosed me with body dismorphia. Unlike those who look in the mirror and see an overweight person, thus fueling their need to strive to be thinner, I look in the mirror and think that I am super skinny, try on skinny clothes and realise that I am, in fact, not a size 10, and therefore fuel my depression.  I forget that I do this and repeat the cycle every couple of weeks.

Anyway, as I said, I made the mistake of thinking that I was all skinny minnie and I took out my pre-pregnancy jeans to put on.  My pre-pregnancy jeans proceeded to have an almighty row with my post pregnancy thighs and hips. It turned into a wrestling match, my thighs and hips ganged up on the jeans, and lets just say, the jeans came out worse for wear... as did my self esteem...

So every week since that first week I try on the jeans, my hips and thighs get argey bargey, my jeans and my ego loose the fight. Every week, that is, until this week. Oh yeah! I was going to a first birthday party. Yes, I am aware that my party lifestyle is out of control! Anyway, was getting ready and, quiet frankly, I am sick of wearing the same two pairs of jeans over and over. So I decided it was time to have my weekly thigh / hip / jean battle. But this week the first pair I tried on went over the thighs and hips with minimum struggle, and they actually buttoned. Looking in the mirror, that age old advice of "just because it zips, doesn't mean it fits" came to mind. But I proceeded to try on another pair. Again, not for public viewing. But the third pair I tried on slid easily over my thighs and hips and zipped with no effort and actually fit me.

Joy of joys my friends. I am finally wearing a pair of jeans that have functioning buttons and zips. It's only taken 13 weeks, but I am delighted with myself. Slowly but surely my old wardrobe is being opened to me!

I wonder what fashion related battle I will win next week!

Exercise Tip

Poking Fun at it All

Career Change

Poking Fun at it All

Poking Fun at it All