•Pottytraining has really gone smoothly. At first we had a few issues and a few accidents, but as of the past 5 days or so, Cooper hasn't had any accidents and he's even started taking himself to the bathroom, which is a bonus! We started out only using underwear and plastic pants over them, but then he got sick and had some "other issues" so I switched to pull ups. I was afraid that would be a big set back, but it hasn't effected him in the least. I plan to switch back to underwear only next week. We both hate the plastic pants, so I'm going to do without them and cross my fingers that he stays accident free. M&M's have been a lifesaver here. He loves them and would attempt to use the bathroom every 15 minutes if he thought he could get away with it and if it would result in candy.
•I have really enjoyed the basic meal planning that I've been doing. I've definitely made some swaps here and there, but I've also discovered a couple of things. 1. If I plan correctly from one week to the next, I can use leftovers to make something completely different. One week we had tacos one night and chicken another night. I used the leftover taco meat and chicken to make enchiladas the next week. No wasted leftovers and enchiladas are super quick and easy when the meat is already done! 2. The leftovers that can't be used to make a new dish are great to save for the weekend and eat on so I can avoid cooking over the weekend where possible. I'm not one of those people who thinks leftovers should be thrown out a day or two after the meal was eaten. If stored properly, I feel that they should last 4 or 5 days in the fridge without any problems. I've done this for years and none of us have ever gotten food poisoning. But I know some people would be horrified to allow leftovers to sit in their fridge for that long, so to each their own. If we haven't eaten them in 5 days or so and there's plenty there, then I will even freeze what's left for another week.
•I have stuck with watching what I eat and exercising. So far I've lost 6.5 pounds in the past 2 weeks. My new goal is to up my exercising from 3 days a week to 5 days a week and cut back even more with my eating. Thus far I have managed to get into a good breakfast routine. Every morning I have a bowl of oatmeal. Surprisingly it's been very filling and I don't find myself starving mid-morning like I would with cereal or something similar. I've also done really well with cutting out snacking (aside from a bite here or there. I know those bites add up, but this is a big improvement and I feel really good about this.) Suppers are good thanks to the meal planning. I try to make sure I put veggies on my plate first in order to keep my other portions small. Portion control is tough!! My biggest struggle with eating right now is lunch time. Particularly lunch time when I'm not at home. I know there are a good bit of healthy alternatives to choose from at most restaurants and fast food places, but this is so hard for me to choose something healthy, so I'm really working on this. On days that I don't work, I try to make sure we're not out running errands around lunchtime so we don't have to stop for a meal. Or make sure that our stops are at Subway, but I'm still working on this.
•One that I didn't mention in my last post is that I'm really wanting to get my house more organized and efficient. For the past 5 months, I've been working 20 hours a week at our church. My normal job only requires 10 hours, but I've added 10 extra hours to help with our Children's Ministry temporarily. Because of that, I haven't had 1 day a week with Cooper at MDO and me at home getting things done. And if you have ever had a 2 year old, you know basic cleaning is a challenge with them, let alone any sort of deep cleaning/organizing. So I've just let those things go for now. But in another week or so, I will be going back to just 10 hours a week again and I've already made a list of things I'm wanting to get done on Tuesdays and items I want to buy to get us more organized. I swore I would never join another social networking-type site, but after visiting pinterest on more than one occasion (try multiple times a day...) I'm afraid I'm going to have to break that vow and join up. I have found so many great organizational ideas and tips over there! I'm actually excited to get my house whipped back into shape and be better than ever. I'm currently contemplating converting our dining room into an office/playroom/library in order to fully organize us the way I would like for us to be. The challenge is getting Keith on board with me and getting him to like the idea of our dining table in our breakfast nook. Yes, the table is big and yes, our breakfast nook is small, but I moved the table in there temporarily and I think it looks good, but we wouldn't be able to use the leaves in it without moving living room furniture to do so. How often do we use the leaves? Maybe once every few years. So I'll continue to try and show him all the positives to this change and maybe someday? A girl can dream anyway.
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