A Week of Better Sleep

Hubs bought a new bed frame last week and it's been a week of better sleep for us. It was especially wonderful for me to be able to get up while Yamee's sleeping, to pee or cuddle up with Yakee in his bed, without the bed creaking and rocking which wakes Yamee up.

Now, our mattress lies firm and flat, just like Yakee's.

Sometimes, the sleep gets so good though that I don't wake up to Yamee's whimpering. Hehe.

Sick Mommy

The month-long allergic rhinitis and uhm, chocolate binge has resulted in sinusitis that needs antibiotic treatment. If I wasn't having bad headahes already, I wouldn't mind going drug-free but the family's quality of life is being affected really bad by me being sick. So, to the doctor I went yesterday.

Meanwhile, I am struggling keeping up with Yamee's changing routines. Now, he's back to crying in the wee hours and insisting on chatting!

Cute Craft Gifts

I was just browsing the net when I landed on Laurel Burch prints over at Krafty Kats Curiosity Shop. It is an amazing gallery of totes (from small ones to travel ones), earrings (a lot of dangling ones), cloisonne pins, cosmetic bags and t-shirts. I found the designs cute and just perfect to give as gifts to people who like cute stuff (little girls), or unique ones, or cats.

You see, a lot of the prints are cats. A lot of the earrings are also of cats so cat-lovers in your life are sure to be delighted by these. I especially liked the Keshire Cat drop earrings in mauve and silver. Oh and they also had a lot of Christmas stuff, from tree hangings to Christmas bears and table decor. Check out the standing fairies!

They even have Hello Kitty (well duh, she is a cat!). How cool is that?

Anyway, I can see the standing fairies beside a little girl's bedside lamp. And wouldn't a Christmas tree filled with different kinds of cute cats look real nice? And I think, these trinkets can really make for fab gifts to moms. Especially if they are cat persons.

I used to be one, hehe. But now, it's all I can do raising two boys.

Poor Son

I was marvelling at how my son discovered the collapsible tool that hubby used before for all his installations at work.

Yakee would open it a little and see a castle in it, then he'd make it into the stool that it is. He even insisted on sitting on it. Unfortunately, it wobbled a little when he was shaking his head, refusing a bite of the cake I wa eating, and he fell forward. The stool hit his back and the straw hurt his mouth (he was drinking a strawberry milk in a tetra pack) and he cried.

Awww.

Makes one imagine what trouble he'd get into with log furniture with all those uneven parts and holes, even branches.

A New Diet I Heard

I finally figured out why a cousin-in-law of mine has stopped asking "are diet pills effective?" It's because she's figured out a new diet that works for her.

Grapes and watermelon diet! Haha. At first glance, I was like, isn't that all sugar and water? And this cousin-in-law has hypertension problems. But she says she only eats about 1/4 kg of grapes per week and the rest is watermelons. She does get to eat normal fare on weekends, when she goes home to her family in the province. Her weight loss has been dramatic and at least, she hasn't been beset by her hypertension problems.

Now, I can eat watermelon easy but I know I can't take on this kind of diet since I am breastfeeding. Plus, am not sure it offers enough nutrients (then again, she does eat normally on weekends). At least the bananas and boiled eggs offer nutrients, I think, on a daily basis.

But breastfeeding gets me super hungry. Just this morning, I was literally shaking from hunger by the time I got to gulp down milk because Yamee was feeding all night and I pumped milk first before I had breaskfast.

But come February, diet I must, one way or another.

Good Mom In-Progress

When breastfeeding and not breastfeeding becomes a topic in one of my ygroups, one of the examples used to make the point that breastfeeding doesn't automatically make for good moms is that some breastfeeding moms scream at their other kids while breastfeeding.

I'm guilty as charged. I sometimes think Yamee is such an easy baby because he's already scared of my screaming. Haha.

I don't scream everyday and don't lose it with Yakee everyday but I have enough bad days in a week. And the presence or absence of my Mom can easily affect my son's moods, as well as the presence or absence of his father, and I am not always quick on the uptake. Disciplining is such a struggle for me and I actually hate to find myself screaming or using a really cold, threatening voice. I am still working on my calm, firm voice.

Yakee's disciplining needs are changing every week. Just when I've learned how to handle one issue, another one arises and I am struggling again. I also hate the times when I find myself wanting control instead of real discipline.

I just texted hubs I am thinking of letting our son starve for a day since he's lately become real unmanageable during feeding times. It is the natural, logical consequence of not eating properly and making it hard for people feeding him anyway.

I think I'm a good enough Mom, despite my temper, lack of consistency with my discipline and lack of flexibility and resourcefulness when it counts. But I really hope there'd be more days when I can say I am a good Mom. Then again, maybe it's really when they're grown that I can say whether I did good or not.

Heaven knows I love my kids. But I think I have also been parenting out of fear... fear that they won't grow up good, which may make me hard on them when I don't have to be. And parents parenting out of fear is not good.

Feb Is Near

I am depressed over something, and the past few days of not being able to sleep at night isn't helping. But as a result, I have made Snickers and Maltesers my friend.

I have told myself I'd start exercising in February, to prepare me for the milkshake marathon and also help me lose weight while also breastfeeding. I just might have to also research up diet plans that work that won't affect my milk supply to make up for the chocolate binges of this month. But I have actually lost more than 30 lbs. already since I gave birth so all the breastfeeding just really needs some boost and I'd lose more weight for sure.

And I really have to keep all the weight off!