Weight Whine

Please bear with me a few moments. I feel a whine coming on.
Why is it that people think that because I am small, I must therefore be in great shape? I had someone comment recently that I've 'regained my figure well after having a baby' or something to that extent. Nope. I am still 9kgs overweight. My thighs touch. I have fat rolls round my tummy. I can't get my engagement ring back on, because my finger is too fat! I can't fit any of my pre-Munchkin clothes! Especially not my trousers. Or anything tight around my midrift. There are 4 containers of clothes that I don't want to get rid of, but can't fit this year. I had to buy more trousers. I'm just wearing my larger tops and trying to pretend I don't realise that they are too tight. And I'm still wearing my maternity clothes...at least the ones that are warm enough for winter.

It just irritates me so much that people assume I don't need to lose weight. I've been feeling like I couldn't share my over-weightness with anyone, because they just laugh it off or compare to someone who looks obviously overweight...either way I feel a bit belittled. As if I shouldn't feel blah about my body. Which I obviously do.

Let me explain. I am 160cm tall (5foot3inches). I inherited very fine bone structure. My optimal weight (which I have weighed for the past 8 years or so) is 45kg. I know, I know, that is skinny as...but seriously, I have a tiny body so while I can carry extra weight and no-one but myself and maybe my husband and mother would notice the difference, that doesn't mean it is healthy!!!

Considering I gained 20kg over pregnancy (that's a 45% increase in body mass, by the way - no wonder I felt and looked like a beached whale!), I'm not doing too bad. I only have 9 left to lose...11kg disappeared without any effort on my part in the week or so following Munchkin's birth. Fluid. Tons of it!

9kgs doesn't really sound like all that much. The issue here is that it is still 20% extra on my bodymass. Now, if someone of say 80kg suddenly put on an extra 16kg, you'd probably notice the difference. And you'd probably say that they could do with losing some weight and getting fit. Well, that's what I've put on, percentage wise. You just can't tell because I am somewhat smaller than average normally. So, I can probably get away with staying this size without anyone, other than my mum, caring. Boyo is very accepting. Mum and I are after health. You see, the issue is what 20% extra being carried around might do to my body in the long run. Surely it can't be healthy for me?!? I mean, all that extra weight requires feeding, and carrying, and pumping blood to. Which takes effort, which my body could probably use elsewhere in things like fighting disease and illness, and running efficiently to get me from point A to B each day. So while I feel like a blob, because I am a bit overweight, and am motivated to lose some because of that, my bigger issue is that I want to live a long and healthy life, and carryign 20% more weight that I used to is so not going to help with that. Maybe an extra 3-4kg over what I used to weigh might be alright...keep a bit of fat in reserves, as I never used to have any. But the rest needs to go.

So there you go. I have finished griping. So what am I doing to change things?
At present, I am just keeping myself moving while Munchkin is little and study is so demanding. Boyo and I go for a walk nearly every day, which I totally love. Not being able to go walking was one of the things in late pregnancy that totally sucked. I want to get back to a once-a-week swim (I swam twice a week in late pregnancy and quite enjoyed it), but will probably start that once the madness of assignments is over in late September. Instead, I'm starting to do a short pilates routine at home...much more convenient as it can be done in 10mins while Munchkin plays on the floor, rather than having to organise a time to get out of the house. Our diet is pretty shot - combination of tiredness and busyness with a new baby, and Boyo's odd evening work hours. So I'm hoping to slowly make improvements on that. Currently I'm working on increasing the leafy greens content of what I eat.

Anyway, just thought I'd put it out there that you can't judge a 'book by it's cover' or rather someone's size by what you see. ;op We all have our little, or not-so-little, issues to work through, regardless of what you might see on the surface.

Amy

I Love Savemart!

Munchkin has outgrown yet another lot of clothes, so there was an 'emergency' dash to the local second hand store, Savemart, on the weekend. My mum and I have a really good system. She walks along picking out possibilities, and I then look over them for size, etc. We even did this when I was pregnant...she'd find something and I'd try it on (yep, in the aisle, over my clothes - after all, we knew we needed a bit of growing space!)...we are a well oiled machine of efficiency!

I must just say that for kids clothes, I love Savemart! Actually, I love Savemart for clothes! It has certainly had plenty of custom from our family. I got most of my new winter wardrobe there last year when we moved back from Australia. It also supplied me with quite a number of 'preggy' clothes earlier this year. Most of Munchkin's lovely winter jerseys were from Savemart. And now he's once more decked out in second hand style!

$49

That's all it cost to get all of these:

So not only did we manage to set him up with about 7 full outfits, but also came home with some scratch mittens (to stop him drawing blood because he will insist on rubbing his face with his hands and I can never seem to get his nails short enough!), a cute little book, and some plastic rattles. I feel quite chuffed.

Next time we need new clothes, I am also going to look on Trademe (Ebay) as I hear you can sometimes get bags of baby clothes for $1. Plus there's another second hand store just up the road from us here, which I had forgotten about. I don't imagine it will be all that long before I have to look again. Most of Munchkin's clothes are already 6-9month ones and he's only 3 months old...and some of the new ones only 'just' fit. Grin. Or should it be Grimace? It is kind of disappointing. We were given so many nice clothes, both second hand and new for Munchkin, and he's only worn many of them a couple of times, and some of them not at all! Oh well, what can you do? Not his fault he's a bit of a giraffe.

Amy

Amy

Seedlings

I've had some seedlings growing away on the windowsill beside my desk over the past few weeks. On Monday, I transplanted them, some into my little garden and the rest into my parents'.

I love how lush and green they look! These were an Italian Mesculin mix, a Red Mesculin mix, and some spinach, all from Kings Seeds.

Hopefully they transplant okay. It is always a bit difficult here in Tauranga getting seedlings established okay, as we invariably seem to end up with a patch of really sunny weather right after I've planted them...either that or pouring rain!

Next on my list this week is to buy some more seed raising mix, and get our tomato seeds planted. We can plant tomatoes in the garden in late September here (most of NZ is Labour Weekend at the end of October but Tauranga is quite mild and balmy come spring). So Dad and I worked out that we probably need a good 4 weeks worth of growth before transplanting. Once the tomatoes are large enough to transplant into bigger pottles, I'll start some beans, cucumbers, and so on. I'm thinking of using toilet rolls and just popping them straight into the ground to transplant and letting them breakdown; a good recycling option for the 'trolls' and it saves my pottles for things that need a bit more tlc.

Have you planted anything lately? Amy

Christmas Child Toys

My son is still sound asleep - very long sleep happening here, much to my surprise - so I am making the most of the few spare minutes to do a few things I want to do...such as put labels on a couple of containers, prune the rose out the front, and write blog entries! I'd already brought in 2 loads of washing and done another 3 so figure some recreational time is okay. I finished an assignment yesterday, and did a bit of work on some this morning so I think they will also keep for another day.

Here are the toys I got recently for my Christmas Child boxes. Only a month or two to go before they are due for collection! I'd better start getting my shoeboxes soonish. These little gems come under the 'something to love' category and were found at a local Dollar Value store - they range in price from $1-5 each. Aren't they cute? They are just perfect for the shoeboxes as they are all nice and small, leaving enough space in the shoeboxes for other things.

Opps, I think the long sleep has finally ended! Very hungry baby about to be fed!

Amy

Spring is Coming

I do believe that spring is coming. I have been meaning to prune the roses around our place for awhile now, but as it is somewhat low on the list of priorities it has yet to eventuate.

I did just head outside and quickly clip back the one right beside the carpad, so we don't get attacked every time we get in or out of the drivers door. It was already starting to bud, a sure sign that spring must be on its way. I don't really feel like we've had much of a winter this year, it has been so mild but I'm still happy to have spring arrive.

In other exciting news, our front neighbours came over and pruned back the wayward banksia rose that was hanging over the carpad. They're tidying up to rent out the house (please, God, nice quiet new neighbours - the unit beside us will have new tenants soon too so two lots of new neighbours). They not only pruned it back with their long-handled loopers, but took the prunings away in their trailer, and the lady pulled out the weeds along the edge while her man did the pruning! I feel so blessed. I've been wanting to tackle that area for months and just haven't had time to allocate to it...and now, out of the blue, it is done!

What signs of spring (or autumn if you are in the Northern Hemisphere) have you seen this week?

Amy

Growing Up

I think my son might just be a tall boy...

Exhibit A: 3 month old son

Exhibit B: Pile of 3 month old clothes that no longer fit.

Exhibit C: 6-9 month old clothes that do (thankfully!) fit!

The fat nappies certainly don't help me get the singlets domed under his legs, but most of it is his own length!

Dry Goods Storage

I have found a great use for the multiple formula tins we are producing at the moment (Munchkin is on formula as I did not produce nearly enough milk for a growing baby!). I do so like finding a use for things, and this one has several benefits. Firstly, I feel like I'm getting a few extra 'miles' out of our expensive formula purchases. Secondly, I have found some larger containers to store my dry goods in. Bonus, they don't break!

My other storage containers are glass jars bought at the Sallies op shop for 20c each or something. But they are not big enough to fit a whole 1kg bag of sugar or flour, which is annoying. So now I am transferring things into the old formula tins. They are fabulous, if you just get past the green outsides. They are designed to keep things nice and fresh for a long time, which is just what I need! Plus they stack neatly on top of each other.

The only real issue is that I see one and think, "What is Munchkin's formula doing on my baking shelf?" So I've printed off some labels to try and help clarify things for me! I'm even going to put the vegetable garden seeds into a couple of them to keep them fresh. Not sure what I'll store after that (we will have quite a few more containers yet...months of bottles yet to come and Munchkin currently goes through one every 5.5 days)...but I'm sure I'll come up with something. If not, there's bound to be someone I can give them to for their pantry. Grin.

A great example of recycling, I must say!

Is there anything you've found a second use for in your home lately?

Amy