A year of ...

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly and how much babies change. I find it hard to believe that Joseph is already five weeks old. I'm certain the final five weeks of pregnancy didn't go that fast.

Each day I scan his face and notice new things. Every day he seems to change ever so slightly. It's lovely to watch him grow and bloom but bittersweet too. Not least because it's all so easily forgotten.

I thought it would be fun to take a photo of Joseph every week for a year to track how he grows and changes over the course of the 52 weeks.

Each week I'll be adding a new photo of Joseph to the album "A year of Joseph" on the Larger Family Life Facebook page and sharing it with you. If you haven't joined up yet then please do!

I'd love as many people to join in too with their own "A year of...". If you don't have a new baby don't worry, join in with your any age baby or toddler or child of any age.

Start a new album on your own FB titled "A year of *insert name*" and even if your privacy settings only allow your friends to see the rest of your albums or FB information, you can still choose to share your album over at Larger Family Life's FB page by copying and pasting the sharing link you're given by FB once you've created your album. (If you're stuck or I don't make sense (nothing new there!), let me know here or through FB or by email and I'll try and talk you through it).

At the end of the year I'll be sharing my final "A year of Joseph" montage here on the blog.

Would anyone like to join in? Please do and spread the word too!

Click on over to here to begin!

Monday Weigh-In (Free Skinny Me!) - Week 2

Skinny Me is not going to be happy in there.

Dad and Steph visited on Friday. We had a roast. And chocolate brownie cake made by Cait. And they brought a big tin of chocolates. Plus it was my birthday yesterday. I got chocolates. And finished off the brownie cake.

Despite being wonderfully good the rest of the week, the weekend undid my hard work and then some.

I gained 4 and a half pounds.

!!!!!!!!!

Not good.

Skinny Me must be sobbing and screaming at me in there.

Luckily for me there are innumerable layers of fat between us which means I can't hear her. There had to be a bright side somewhere, didn't there?

My report for this week is as follows:

Starting weight: 13st 1 (or 183lbs)

Week 2 results: Gained 4.5lbs (*shame*!)

Current weight: 12st 11.5 (179.5lbs)

Amount to lose before freeing Skinny Me: 56.5lbs

Not good.

Peace on earth and goodwill to all men... except in this house

Peace might be sought after on earth but not more so than it is right here, in my home. Goodwill too. Not with these children.

Best friends but also someone to bicker with.

Constantly.

Snipe, grumble, dig and moan. That's all they do to each other. Well, not all the time but almost all the time.

My children have an uncanny ability to overlook what is expected of them personally.

"Did you brush your teeth?"

Blank stare.

"Have you made your bed?"

"Ummm..."

"Did you put your dirty clothes in the wash?"

"I forgot."

Yet still, quite amazingly, they know exactly what their siblings should have done. Or shouldn't have done as the case may be.

And not only do they know it all, but they'll give themselves the ultimate responsibility of hounding the particular sibling in question over the matter in hand.

Child A: "Have you tidied your toys?"

Child B: "No"

Child A: "Well, you know you're meant to tidy your toys. Go and do it now."

Child B ignores Child A.

Child A: is now getting more annoyed: "Go and tidy your toys I said!"

Child B: "No!"

Child A: "Go and tidy your toys!!"

Child B: "GO AWAY AND DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

Child A: "MUUUUU-MMMMMMM!!! ______ won't tidy their toys!!!!"

Me: "Well, have you tidied yours?"

Child A: "No but ______ hasn't tidied theirs first!".

Their talents amaze me.

I will repeat the same things to them each day, over and over again. I have the same expectations for the same chores and tasks to be completed yet, day after day after day I will repeat the same lines time and time and time again. Despite the constant repetition these requirements never seem to soak into their brains yet still they are able to know exactly what half a dozen other people they are related to are meant to be doing especially if there's the chance they can get them into trouble for not doing it. That, of course, is worth bonus points.

For goodness sakes children, when will you realise that if you each kept a check on your own chores, tasks and behaviour and not worried about everyone else then there would be harmony and joy in this house! Not only that but think of all the brain space it would free up if you were suddenly less concerned about keeping tabs on what everyone else had or hadn't done and just concentrated on the one person whose deeds and actions do affect you... YOU!

Now I'm not going to name any names here and I'm not going to tell you who the biggest instigator of such behaviour is. Except that she is 11 years old and the only female currenly living in our house apart from me, and is now the oldest sibling since Ben and Stephanie moved out and seems to suffer a frequent identity crisis during which she confuses herself with being a parent.

GASP!

...and breathe!

Is it just my house and my kids?

Or is it a girl thing in particular?

Or do the rest of you live in glorious harmony that I can only envy?

"Why big families might be easier"

Matthew Archbold explains why big families might be easier.

I especially take comfort in his take on nature vs nurture. And I fully support his theory.

Monday Weigh-In (Free Skinny Me!) - Week 1

Week 1, as last year, has got off to an excellent start.  However, as last year, I'm under no illusions about it.  I know that much of it is water rather than fat hence the relatively large weight loss that the scales report.  But you know what?  I'll take it.  It's encouraging and goodness knows, I like to be encouraged.  Don't we all? 

Due to Joseph only being three weeks old and delivering him by caesarean, I'm as yet unable to exercise at all.  That's a good excuse as any eh?  It's true though.  Exercising is the last thing on my mind at the moment.  I'm just thankful to be back to walking normally.  Well, as normally as I have been in the last three weeks.  Maybe I'll dust the Wii Fit off in another few weeks.  Or perhaps I'll have thought of another excuse not to by then.  Who knows?

My report for this week is as follows:

Starting weight:    13st 1  (or 183lbs)

Week 1 results:    Lost 8lbs (*cheer*!)

Current weight:    12st 7 (175lbs)

Amount to lose before freeing Skinny Me: 52lbs

Is anyone out there joining in? 

(Shouldn't the question be simply, "Is anyone out there?!")

Skinny me - here I come... again!

After the birth of Oliver last year I was determined to lose the weight that had been increasing further with each pregnancy since 2003. With six babies in those seven years I've ended up with a whole lot of excess lumps, bumps and wobbly bits.

I joined up with Weightwatchers Online, which I found convenient and much more preferable to my reclusive nature than the real life meetings. In 36 weeks I managed to lose about 42lbs. That's if I remember correctly. Which I probably don't as if something isn't written on my calendar it tends to get forgotten pretty quickly. I didn't get to goal as I stopped watching my weight when I found out I was pregnant again.

Me, being me, made the most of being pregnant and not watching my weight and gorged on plenty of chocolate and ice cream. I told you the baby liked ice cream. He was our heaviest so far at 8lb 9oz when he was born, quite a difference from our normal 6 or 7 pound something babies. That 8lb 9oz didn't make much of a dent in the rest of the weight I'd gained though so it's time to get back on the weight loss saddle and start shrinking.

Like last time I'll be doing my weekly weigh-in on a Monday and I'll be reporting back here.

Hopefully I'll be reporting good news.

Every single week.

For all the two weeks it takes for me to lose the 60lbs I'm aiming to lose.

If only.

I'd be very grateful for encouragement or a kick when I need it. And if anyone there wants to join in with me (you don't necessarily have to be following WW) it'd be good to have the company. You can link up your blog reporting your progress (or plateaus, the evil things) with mine on a Monday. So that this second round of Monday Weigh-Ins don't get mixed up with the first lot from last year they'll be under the title Monday Weigh-In (Free Skinny Me).

Because I have no shame I'll once again share my starting weight here with you.

Starting weight: 13st 1lb
Goal weight: 8st 11lb
Overall weight loss goal: 60lbs

So there you go. Just reading that makes me feel like I've eaten Skinny Me, and she resides somewhere under the cellulite and flabby bits.

Skinny Me, I'm going to try and get you out of there, I promise!

The Large Family "normal"

I found this on my web travels recently and had to share it with you. As your family grows and changes you grow and change with it.

I watched this and realised that the every day life that you as a parent of a large family, or a growing up as a child within one, deem to be "normal" is actually very funny if you're on the outside looking in, or if someone like this guy is recounting it.

 

Busy

I haven't posted for quite a few days. I've been spending time getting back on my feet, enjoying Mike being on paternity leave and having plenty of cuddles and kisses with this little fellow...

I'll write something remotely interesting (perhaps) when I can tear myself away. 

I'm sure you'll understand.