My Kid Walks!

Addy took her first steps on January 9, and every day would take a few steps, fall over and crawl where she wanted to get. Gradually she walked more and more, to the point she doesn't crawl around the house at all.

I'm excited. She still crawls when we're at other places, but even that tendency is starting to fade away. My little girl is really becoming a toddler, which is exciting and terrifying. She's been a climber since before she could even crawl, and she's now getting downright daring.

She's also starting to show preference between items. She prefers one book over another, one shirt over another, etc. Most recently she's starting bringing me jackets (if they aren't put away properly) and freaking out until I help her put them on. She wore a denim jacket all day (including nap time) one day last week. She brings me a pair of her shoes and says "Shoes! Shoes! Shoes!" until I help her put them on her feet. She's preferring her white tennis shoes this week, and will even walk with them on, which is a first. Usually shoes on her feet would inspire her to crawl. Last week, she wanted to only wear her pink cowboy boots.

Sad Puppy is still her absolute favorite toy above all others. She'll throw anything down, including forbidden items, if presented with Sad Puppy.

So, I guess today I'm realizing more and more how fast they grow up. When you aren't a parent, you don't fully get it when people say that. Damn you, general knowledge for being correct!

Earlier this afternoon, Addy was standing in front of her rocking chair and watching Sesame Street, and I realized she's starting to look like a kid more than a baby, too.

I blame the tennis shoes.

Balsamic & Onion Pot Roast with Roasted Red Potatoes

I found a recipe for Balsamic & Onion Pot Roast indirectly on Pinterest. It was linked on a blog I found via Pinterest, and it is quite possibly the best pot roast I've ever had. I tweaked the recipe a very tiny bit, and my husband ate most of a 3lb roast in one sitting. (yeah, it's that good).

Here's the Link: Kalyn's Kitchen: Balsamic and Onion Pot Roast

What I changed was minor and can be ignored, but I kinda forgot to decant part of the fat from the broth at the end, but I had trimmed the roast very well, so there wasn't really any to decant.

Also, I used a 5qt cooker and 8 hours was a touch too much. Next time I'm pulling it at 7 hours.

I paired her pot roast with roasted red potatoes, and here's what I did with those. I cooked these for just the two of us with plans for leftovers, so adjust as necessary:

6 medium red potatoes, diced in medium to large chunks
3 tablespoons of butter
1/4-1/2 c fresh chopped parsley
salt to taste (optional)

In an 8x10 glass baking dish, put 2tbs of butter in the bottom of the pan.

Put the pan in the cool oven, and turn it on to 350 degrees to pre-heat. After 3-5 minutes, just as the butter melts, pull the pan out.

Put in the potatoes, and stir them to coat in the melted butter. Add the parsley and a little bit of salt (if desired) and stir/toss them some more.

Make sure all the potatoes are very well coated. Put back in the oven for about 45 minutes, checking it fairly frequently after 40 minutes. I've made these 100 times and they cook for a different amount of time every time.

Test them by poking one with a fork. The potatoes should be sturdy enough to be poked with a fork, but starting to get soft. If it's tough to poke the fork in, wait another few minutes and check it again.

Depending on your personal preference, here is where the 3rd bit of butter comes in. Sometimes I leave them in to where they're starting to get just a touch dry. If this is the case, add that last bit of butter and mix well. That extra butter will help soften them back up and make them extra tasty.

TIP: leave the skins on the potatoes, they're tastier and prettier that way.

Columbus MetroPark Love

I absolutely love the Columbus MetroParks system. I've loved it as long as I can remember. I still love it even though I nearly stepped on a black rat snake down in Three Creeks that one time. Yup, I nearly stepped on a snake and I still love my park system.

To me, exercising isn't the boring crap in a gym. Seriously, push ups and weight lifting and running suck. They're boring. To me, exercising is being active outdoors. One of my favorite things to do in the world is to hike in the woods. Be it an easy paved trail through the parks, or a more rustic trail, I love it. Every week, weather depending, I've been heading out to a MetroPark and hiking around with the kid strapped to me in her carrier. It's the FatAss Momma version of backpacking. Sometimes it's a short 30 minute trek, sometimes longer, but I always have fun and Addy has started looking around and being interested in the things around us as I walk. My goal is to hike at least 1 trail in every single MetroPark. So far, I've done all of the trails except for 2 in Blendon Woods, and yesterday I went up to Highbanks and hiked part of two trails. It was muddy and getting dark, so I only got a 2.2 mile loop done.

I love it. Absolutely love it. I'm looking forward to Addy being a more reliable walker so I can let her toddle along the paved trails a bit. I want to share a love of nature with her.

These parks are how I'm starting to shed my sedentary lifestyle, slowly but surely. I try to get out and do a minimum of 45 minutes hiking at least once a week. This week I've gotten out twice, for a 30 minute and then a 45 minute hike. Today I'm not going out because it's way too cold to drag myself and the kid out there. We'll see how the weather is tomorrow.

There are some absolutely beautiful spaces here in Central Ohio. If you're nearby, I urge you to check out at least one of the MetroParks. It's worth it, I promise.

Fatass Update

I've been doing very well with sticking to a maximum number of calories each day, and as a result, I've made smarter snacking choices. It's funny, I still indulge in junk food every once in a while, but now that I'm a month in, I no longer feel deprived. Heck, I even indulged in some McDonald's the other day. (Those large fries were totally worth the 500 relatively empty calories).

So, I'm down 10.3 lbs overall as of this past Friday. You can't really see it yet, but I've noticed that my clothes are starting to fit just a little bit better, which is motivation enough for me right now.

I was asked why I'm doing this, and I could tell you the noble reasons of just wanting to be healthy and wanting to set a good example for my daughter, and those are true. I can say that I want to prove that I can control myself, and that is also true, but I'll give you the true, original reason I decided to start making better choices:

I want my existing clothes to fit again. I'm cheap & lazy and don't want to have to go buy a bunch of new clothes. I have some awesome tshirts and comfortable jeans that just don't fit my fluffy self. I worked hard building my crazy tshirt collection, damnit!

I did purge out some pieces that are just inappropriate for me or that will NEVER fit again no matter how much weight I lose (post pregnancy/breastfeeding boobs, anyone?). I also got rid of those pants that I couldn't figure out why I still had them. I still probably own too many clothes, but I'm not purging anything else until I know for sure what kind of weight I maintain.

I've found that sticking with this for the just over a month that I have that little changes have been the biggest help. Bored? Take a short walk. I dance around to music while doing dishes. I dance around a lot, actually, now that Addy can somewhat walk and spends more time on her feet.

I honestly am looking forward to her walking more because I think chasing her around will do wonders for building up a more active lifestyle.

The Mommy Wars Are Stupid

In many parenting situations, I'm a live and let live kinda mom. I try not to be the parental equivalent of a Bible thumper, but there are a few things that just bother me to the point I want to smack parents around.

Improper Car Seats
The recommendation is no longer that your kid stay rear facing until 12 months of age or 20 pounds. The recommendation is now 2 years of age, period. The reason is simple: INTERNAL DECAPITATION. There are bones not fully developed until age 2, and in the crazy physics of a car crash, a rear facing seat, properly installed, absorbs the impact instead of your child's neck. The AAP recommendation is everywhere, and the new car seats that my husband and I bought had the recommendation on the display tags, on stickers by the straps, and in the booklet teaching you how to install the damn things. The paperwork from our pediatrician says it, the pediatrician told us to wait until 2 years old to turn her around, and a quick google search will pull up the AAP recommendation and a whole bunch of articles about the change. So, when my Facebook feed is filled with people flipping their children that are less than a year old, I get pissy. (Here's the statement from the AAP, complete with a link to the technical specifics: http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/state-advocacy/Documents/Child_Passenger_Safety_SLR.pdf )

I also get pissy over the chest buckle being on the belly instead of the chest, and people putting their puffy coated children in the car seat. With something so critical to your child's safety, wouldn't you want to know how to use it properly?

Vaccinations
I chose to vaccinate my child. I did the research, I weighed the pros and cons, and I made an informed decision for my child. Personally, I don't understand why people choose not to vaccinate, but it is a choice that is made, so whatever. What gets me pissed off is when the anti-vaxers tell me I've given my child cancer, or Autism, or have caused her to be mentally retarded or otherwise abused her by choosing to vaccinate. I get really, really, really pissed off when the Sanctimommy berating me for vaccinating my daughter has a daughter with pierced ears. Apparently my medical needles are unacceptable but your "looking pretty" needles/piercing guns are fine? Bite me, bitch. (For the record, I don't care if you get your kid's ears pierced young. We've just decided to wait to see if she wants it done and I want to her care for them herself.)

Breastfeeding Vs. Formula
As long as I'm feeding my child appropriately and not putting Mt. Dew in her bottles, it's none of your business how she is nourished. You want to nurse in public? GO FOR IT! Wanna whip out a bottle of formula instead? GO FOR IT! Feed your child, let me feed mine, and let's move on. Instead of worrying about whether my boobs function properly (I worry about that enough for myself, thanks) why don't you worry about the lady over there who just dumped Mt. Dew in her toddler's bottle. I think  she deserves your rage a hell of a lot more than me.

While we all are told, countless times, that breast is best, it isn't the only option, and for some, it isn't best. Happy mommy who formula feeds is a hell of a lot better than the stressed out wreck. Make your choice, and be happy with it. What's important isn't that you breastfed for that first year (and if you did, I salute you because that shit is HARD.) What's important is that your child was nourished, happy, and healthy. And you didn't go crazy resenting him.


I just realized that I could go on and on and on over these Mommy Wars. They're FUCKING STUPID. Unless the debate in question is an actually dangerous debate (see: CAR SEATS AND THEIR PROPER USE) the rest is all opinion. Find the parenting style that works for you, and roll with it. Oh, and while you're memorizing Dr. Sears, find some time to respect those of us who decide to give it our own try. My kid seems pretty damn happy considering I've been winging the small stuff for the past 14.5 months.

How I Met Nater-Bater

Have I ever told you how I met Nate? No? Well, then, I suppose I should.

First, a bit of background information. Back in early 2008, I was working at a music store in a mall and still dating my college sweetheart, Leo. I should say up front that Leo was and is a great guy, but he and I had run our course, and ultimately, we were bad for each other. We influenced each other in very negative ways. While we were still officially a couple, the relationship had all but died at least six months before I met Nate.

One Friday night in February, I was working the closing shift as I usually did when two guys came in looking for a specific CD. We were extremely busy, so my part-timer was helping everyone else while I dealt with a very difficult customer. The two guys said they'd come back in a bit. I'll admit it, I checked out the tall, skinny, dark haired guy. I liked what I saw.

A little bit later, they came back. It turned out that the slightly shorter and much stockier of the two was looking for a specific Dropkick Murphys CD. While Rob was in the proper section looking for it, I walked over to the Staff Picks shelf and grabbed the CD from my music picks and handed it to him. Comments were exchanged about the quality of the picks on the Staff Picks shelves. So, as you see, the "in" of the dating world wasn't initially with Nate, it was with Rob. Luckily for me Rob wasn't remotely interested in me. That would've been just weird.

Nate, being the smart ass he is, was, and always will be, pointed to my DVD picks and complained that I was missing one of the best movies ever. Without missing a beat I told him that "Boondock Saints isn't on there because I sold the last copy yesterday."

His jaw dropped.

That was the movie he was thinking about.

We kept chatting to the point that I closed the store 10 minutes late. Fortunately Gina, my part-timer, was awesome and took care of her half of the closing procedures without me having to tell her what to do. Great employee, right there. Anyhow, as I was closing the gate, Nate asked me to join them for a late dinner once I was done closing the store. I declined as I hadn't been home for a few days at that point, but I told him to come back and see me as I practically lived at that damned store.

I assumed I'd never see him again. I was wrong. I saw him again a mere 24 hours later. That Saturday night I was having a party at my apartment. He showed up at the store to see if I wanted to get together, so I invited him to the party.

He was the last guest to arrive, and I told everyone beforehand that for that night, I didn't have a boyfriend. Honestly, I'm *really* glad that Jill, Leo's sister, had already moved out at this point. Anyhow, I ended up being a lousy host and ignored most of my friends for Nate. After everyone else called it a night, he was still there. We stayed up until the wee hours, and then slept (yes, just slept) in my bed until he had to leave for work at 7am. I'd given him my phone number, and he said he'd call.

Once again, I assumed I'd never see him again. 

I was wrong again.

He called me that Tuesday, and came over to my house that Wednesday. Since then, we've spent a total  of 6 nights apart. He pretty much just moved in with me at my apartment. We got married just shy of a year and a half later. Next month will be 5 years that we've been together. That thought baffles both of us considering that now we're married and have a kid and we haven't killed each other yet.

I guess Dr. Seuss was right:

“We are all a little weird and life’s a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

Goal Update

Just a quick update about my quasi-diet: I'm currently on day 2 of a No Soda challenge. I bought some of those Crystal Light energy packets, so I get my caffeine in 10 calories and no sugar instead of 140 calories and a ton of sugar. I'm down 2 pounds since the first of January, so I feel like the little changes are helping.

I'm making it a point to try to get out of the house walking with the kid strapped to me at least once a week. Last week I hiked through the woods (on easy/moderate snowy trails) with her in the baby carrier. I seriously love the Columbus MetroPark system.

That's all I've got for now, but unlike past attempts at healthy, I'm nearly 2 weeks in and still feeling like this is something I can manage. If I keep improving my diet and losing weight at the rate I'm going, I'll have the 70 pounds gone by the end of the year. Fingers crossed for that one.