Living the Littles

The past several months have been interesting times, to say the least. I am not complaining, because honestly, I really have nothing “real” I could possibly complain about! However, for those of you who have been following my posts and remember the one about “simplifying,” I’d love to know if that really is possible! It does seem that just when you make one decision to simplify a particular thing, something else just pops up to take its place. If you’re not careful, these little pop-ups can wreak havoc on your resolve to simplify!

Thankfully, my resolve is intact! I will not give in to chaos! Just have to take things one day at a time and smash those little pop-ups like they are the moles in a whack-a-mole game! So the past several months have gone something like this:

1. Move Littles to new school, much closer to home to cut down on the endless driving. Check!

2. Purge closets and basement of clutter and excess. Check!

3. Sit down with husband and make a 5-year plan for where we want to be financially, etc. Check!

Progress, right? Simplification? Yes!

So what is the latest “mole” to pop-up? Hormones! Yes, I do believe that’s it. At 44 years old, I have felt pretty good, despite the mommy-tired feeling that I think exists always with young children, and have, up until now, been able to just watch my calories for a few days to a week to get any stubborn pounds off that creep on from time to time. But about 5 months ago, I went in for a procedure to have my tubes tied, and that’s when things started to get a bit hairy. The Doctor said, “you still have your ovaries, so this really should affect your hormones,” and I was relieved to hear that!

Oh, boy, was she wrong! Despite my normal calorie counting, which had always worked in the past, 12-15 pounds creeped on, or should I say just drove up in a moving semi and set up “house” in my belly area! Feeling like a bloated, beached whale, I became desperate to find out what in the world was going on! That’s when a friend suggested I may be “peri-menopausal.” Huh? But that doesn’t happen until you’re like…50 or something….right?

Wrong. I started reading online. Dr. Google, as my husband likes to call it, shed some light on what exactly peri-menopause is, when it starts and what the symptoms are. I have read more stuff about peri-menopause, estrogen dominance, progesterone cream, synthetic hormone replacement, “PTLS (post-tubal ligation syndrome) – yes, there is one – and on and on, than I ever cared to. But the truth is, I…am…there. Damn that little perimenopause whack-a-mole!

So ladies…if you are my age and experiencing the same thing, read up! I am now using some natural progesterone cream to balance out my hormone levels AND on a 30-day whole system cleanse to help take care of my new fatty residents, and it’s working! Down 5 pounds in a week – at least it’s finally going in the right direction! So maybe this little mole is sufficiently whacked. What will be next, I wonder?

Are you experiencing the same thing? Let’s commiserate!

**Disclaimer – Google is really not a doctor (duh!) and neither am I, so I recommend you also discuss your symptoms with your physician. 

So you all know I have 3 Littles – a BOY and twin girls. And somewhere along the way, I suppose I will admit to pre-conceived ideas about how each of them would behave. For example, my BOY would be sweet, but rough and tumble, liking to get dirty and would absolutely inherit his Daddy’s love of baseball and other sports, and my girls would be Princess-loving, dainty little girly-girls that wore nothing but pink ruffles. Yes, I am one of those girly girls myself!

I could not have been more wrong! And don’t get me wrong – I absolutely LOVE how each of them is turning out. Each in their own way, they are witty, precocious, independent and dependent, adventurous and clingy, headstrong, creative and so lovable! Amazingly, only one of my girls, Taylor, is that girly girl – and boy is she ever! She changes her clothes at least 6 times a day, all pink and sparkly, and 3 of those changes are usually into a Princess dress. She is physically athletic and fearless, though – probably the most athletic of the three of them, and has already experienced a broken wrist from her shenanigans. Lauren on the other hand, could not care less about what she is wearing, as long as it’s comfortable, and loves to chase her brother around doing whatever it is he’s doing. She is headstrong, very literal in her communications, and always one step ahead of us in her planning! She is fiercly independent and a Daddy’s girl, but is also the clutziest kid I know! We always joke that she can fall down while standing still.

So why am I telling you all this? Well, it’s because of my BOY! Colton is the sweetest, soft-hearted little boy I have ever known, and very much a Momma’s boy (which I love, of course). But my assumption that he would grow into the stereotypical “boy” has been completely disproven. As you also know, he just turned 7 – and I have enjoyed watching him grow into the handsome little guy that he is. But he has never been that rough-and-tumble, dirt-loving, bring in the bugs kind of kid (at some level I am SO grateful for that)! He is gentle and passive, quiet and shy, introverted and focused – and completely wimpy! And I say that in the most loving way – really!

BUT – what got me posting today is the experience of cutting his fingernails and toenails. Talk about a wimpy kid! If I even broach the subject with him, he literally runs and hides, whimpering in his room or wherever he thinks he can get away and avoid the whole ordeal. Meanwhile, my husband and I are thinking they are so long he could climb telephone poles with them! So then comes the wrestling match – the body block while I put a vice-grip hold on his hand (not really, but I do have to hold really tight), and attempting to cut his nails while he pulls, tugs, yanks and otherwise tries to wrestle free – all the while screaming bloody murder, “somebody saaaaaaaaaave meeeeee!” in the loudest wail I may have ever heard.

My girls – not a problem – cut them, paint them, it’s all good. My boy, not so much. The whole experience is traumatic – not only for him, but for me! It takes me hours and two glasses of Cabernet to stop that jittery, shaken feeling that follows such an experience. Next time, I think I’m going to give him the clippers and empower him to take care of it himself. Does anyone else have this experience? I’d love to hear from you!

I have a confession to make. Here it goes. Out loud and written down. I…do…not…like…to…exercise! Whew! There it is! It’s out! The horror! Especially in this world in which we tend to be hyper-focused on fitness and looking good, and of course, fitting into our incredibly fashionable new summer capris and tops that show just a little bit more when the weather is nice! But it’s true – when given the choice between lounging with a nice glass of Cabernet OR a sweaty trip to the gym, I’ll choose the Cab any day of the week/year/decade! Having said that, I do still need to fit into those capris, so any little bit of motivation helps. So the order has gone in for the hot pink (yes!) Fitbit Flex Band – the one that syncs with the iPhone AND the My Fitness Pal app AND also monitors sleep patterns. Sounds really cool, huh? Of course, the hot pink is on backorder, so I have a couple of weeks to lounge with my Cabernet before committing to 10,000 steps per day or whatever other torturous activity will be required to beat the day before – Salut! Motivating? Or another gimmick designed to remind me that I’m not doing enough? Join the conversation!