It has occurred to me that there are plenty of people out there in the world who avoid caffeine, alcohol, and refined sugar voluntarily and it's not exactly the worst fate that could befall a person, but come on, it IS KIND OF. Plus there's a difference between being happy and smug about what a disciplined, well-oiled machine you are and being an achy, waddling mess whose only current desire in life (entire gallon of ice cream) is being thwarted by the threat of birthing a 12 lb DisasterBaby. Also, when I spend too much time thinking about how few things I have to genuinely complain about, it completely takes the wind out of my sails. No fun!
For example, I consulted
my big green Mark Bittman and managed to have a significantly less meat-heavy week.
 |
| Chickpea and spinach soup. |
 |
| Salad with pear, walnuts, gorgonzola, and tofu croutons. |
 |
| Spicy autumn vegetable burgers with squash in parchment. |
Those veggie burgers weren't bad, but when I heated one up for lunch the next day I couldn't help but think there was an element missing.
 |
| There it is. |
And this, my one meat dish of the week, which also happens to be part of my Sometimes Delicious Things Look Like Gross Mush series.
 |
| Slow cooker chicken, spinach, broccoli and pasta. Hey, remember when I attempted this very simple dish last year? |
Anyway, my diet has now progressed from "I'm Not Sure This Food is Actually Food" to "Okay This Tastes Fine But Ow My Arteries" to "This Is All Reasonably Well Balanced And Edible." So what am I supposed to complain about for the next six weeks? This is a serious negativity crisis OH WAIT I HAVE SOMETHING.
My toddler has become even more ridiculous than normal about sleeping. I think she's trying to prove that she will dominate the new baby in every category, including sleep interruption and unaccountable wailing.
 |
| This happened at 5:30 pm, after I had spent a full three hours attempting to get her to nap in any of the various beds in our house. |
So, serious question, 2-year-olds can survive on broccoli, yogurt, sullen glares, and four hours of sleep a night, right?
 |
| Asking for a friend. |
I got Luna to start taking much needed naps again by pushing her in the stroller. It's helped her nighttime sleep also. Also, we don't end up in a nap power struggle because I'm more physically removed from her when she's in the stroller. She falls asleep in 20-30 minutes and I can transfer her to the bed. She only sleeps 30-45 min, but it's better than the 0 min naps.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had my glucose test this morning, and I'm pretty terrified that I have GD (your fault). I've never been on a diet in my life. Your blog is scary.
Yeah...she also won't get anywhere near a stroller.
ReplyDeleteI think about 96% of pregnant ladies avoid this highly annoying condition, so you're probably good.
My sister started doing "movie naps" at that age. Mandatory darkened room, blankie, fav movie on low and must stay there for at least 1hr. Generally they were out in 10-15 mins.
ReplyDeleteYeah... it's not exactly holistic parenting by any degree.
As far as food & sleep, I lucked out - Ala has always eaten almost anything and *rarely* every argued about sleeping... Much less fought it.
Same here. Our Anna does not love the stroller. Sometimes the little red wagon works or else I just don't even try to make her take a nap. Usually just quiet time. Whatever.
ReplyDeleteYou are new to me and making me a laugh out loud at work. A lot.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I pretty much exist solely on refined sugars. I feel GRRREAT!