JSL has been a finicky eater recently.  He’ll eat crackers, cheese sticks, pizza, and cream cheese sandwiches.  Sometimes, he can be coaxed into eating chicken nuggets or macaroni and cheese.  However, he’s not eating much else.  This is surely the beginning of the Terrible Twos and him asserting his culinary independence.  We’re worried about his protein intake, however.

We keep a kosher kitchen and kosher meat is very expensive, so we mainly eat vegetarian style meals.  Peanut Butter would be a good protein source, but that’s a no-no for at least 5 more months.  Enter Sunbutter.  While doing some research on Peanut Butter alternatives, I stumbled upon a review of Sunbutter mentioning how good it was for little kids.  I checked a local natural foods store, but it was insanely expensive.  Another store was pricey too, but I decided to take a chance on it.

Tonight was our trial run.  The veggie dogs that we were eating for dinner didn’t interest JSL.  He liked the bun, but refused to take even the tiniest taste of veggie dog.  I decided to make him half of a Sunbutter sandwich.  He was in heaven.  He gobbled it down and asked for more.  B, NHL, and I even took a taste.  It has a very PB-like flavor with a hint of sunflower seeds.  This is definitely going into the JSL meal rotation.

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Beginning Weight:  208 pounds

Monday December 8th – Week 2, Day 1
WiiFit Age: 37
Workout:

• Step Aerobics
• 3 min super hula hoop
• Island lap run
• Single Arm Stand
• Tree
• Lunge
• Warrior
• Rowing Squat
• Chair Yoga
• Lotus Focus

Total Workout Time: 31 minutes

Thoughts: I think I focused too much on my legs this workout.  By the end of the night, they felt like jelly.

Tuesday December 9th – Week 2, Day 2
WiiFit Age: 28
Workout:

• Cobra Yoga
• Plank
• Tricep Extension
• Palm Tree Yoga
• Rhythm Boxing (Easy)
• Advanced Step
• Advanced Hula Hoop (6 minutes)
• Sideways Leg Lift (twice)
• Sun Salutation Yoga
• Short Run

Total Workout Time: 30 minutes

Thoughts: Focused on some more upper body items to give my legs a bit of a rest.

Wednesday December 10th – Week 2, Day 3
WiiFit Age: 44
Workout:

• Dance Yoga
• Sideways leg lift
• Standing Knee
• Single Leg Extension
• Sun Salutation
• Lunge
• Warrior
• Plank
• Cobra
• Plank Challenge
• Single Leg Extension (20 reps)
• Advanced Step
• Hula Hoop

Total Workout Time: 30 minutes

Thoughts: Got two curve balls thrown at me today.  First, I was told to do my balance test with my eyes closed.  Secondly, when I began training, the male trainer substituted himself for my usual female trainer.  (A quick settings change fixed that.)  Guess that’s some built-in random events to keep you on your toes.  My wife also observed this workout so she would know how to set up and take down the WiiFit balance board.

Thursday December 11th – Week 2, Day 4

Ok, I confess that I skipped this workout.  There was an awful ice storm out and I got distracted with other matters.  By the time I decided to work out, it was late.  I decided that it was less important to exercise and more important to get sleep so I wouldn’t be exhausted while driving in the ice.  I plan on making up this workout on Sunday night.

During lunch today, I decided to take a walk with my camera.  I captured many shots of the icy world outside including frozen cherries and a broken tree limb.  Here are some more photos:

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Last night, while walking to my car, I noticed some ice formed on the sidewalk.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have my boots on, just my dress shoes.  Those don’t have any traction on ice, so I took it slow.  I made it to my car, chipped my car out of it’s ice coating, and drove home carefully.  Luckily, I had some crockpot chili (I’ll post the recipe another time) and some cornbread muffins made.  That made for a nice, warming dinner.

Unfortunately, however, our night was rough.  I skipped my daily WiiFit workout to help maximize my sleep time, but that didn’t help much.  JSL woke up early and wound up in our bed.  Then the power went out.  Twice.  Finally, morning came and I reluctantly moved out of bed to get ready for work.  B re-informed me that NHL’s school was cancelled.  (She had told me at 6am when it was announced, but I was half-asleep and didn’t really hear her even if I answered her.)  A quick peak outside confirmed that I’d be into work late.  Half of my office was in work late.  The other half didn’t come in at all.

I chipped my car out of the ice, realizing that it wasn’t *too* bad, but that the roads could be bad.  The drive in was mostly uneventful.  The roads weren’t too icy.  Simply driving slower and giving your car a bit more stopping distance was all that was required.  There were plenty of tree limbs down, though.  One large one near my house had crashed down on the homeowner’s car.  Another two near my work were blocking off a side street.  (A side street about two cars wide, mind you.)  Then, while waiting at a light, the tree across the street lost a branch.  As I watched it fall, I made a mental

I took some photos of the outside of our house and near my work.  I thought about attempting to get near some of the downed branches, but reconsidered, so no photos of those.

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It was 13 degrees out today.  Before the wind chill.  So what does B decide she wants to do for her birthday?  Go to Cold Stone and get ice cream!  (Ok, that wasn’t the only thing we did and the reason for that choice was a free ice cream coupon she had for her birthday.)

B got the cake batter ice cream with cookie dough mixed in.  NHL got the gingerbread ice cream with Oreos mixed in.  I, being a big dark chocolate fan, got the Dark Chocolate Peppermint ice cream with marshmellows mixed in.  JSL is also a fan of all things chocolate and wound up eating about half of my ice cream.  He actually got upset when I dared to move the spoon to my mouth instead of in his.  How dare I!

After ice cream we did some shopping.  Then, after a quick stop home to drop off our goods, we headed to B’s parents house.  There we dropped off the kids and went out to eat in a Japanese Steakhouse.  (Sushi… yum!  Especially Sweet Potato sushi made with warm sweet potato tempura.  *drools*)  After dinner, it was back to B’s parents for dessert:  Chocolate Chip Cookie cake.

Here are a few photos:

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Happy Birthday B!

I’ve been inspired.  Cake Wrecks, that bastion of baked badness, recently opened a Zazzle Store featuring some gags based on their hilarious cakes gone wrong photos.  When I saw that, a lightbulb went off over my head.  I had just taken a bunch of great photos from Charleston and I had a few others I’ve taken over the years.  I had thought once or twice of selling prints, but never really got serious about it.  Zazzle could change that, though.  I could upload a photo, add a witty caption, and instantly be able to sell posters, prints, shirts, etc.

I’m awful at coming up with witty slogans, but I figured I could run a contest.  I’ve never really run a contest or a Zazzle store, before though.  So before I dive in, I’d like to get as much advice as possible.  What suggestions would you have for someone who’s about to run his first contest and his first Zazzle Store?

It’s been awhile, so it’s time for another issue of "Things You Never Thought You’d Say Before You Were A Parent."

Our first TYNTYSBYWAP involves both JSL and NHL.  JSL has this bad habit of headbutting everything and everyone in sight.  Yesterday, he and NHL were playing.  NHL was laying down on the ground.  JSL approached him and headbutted him…. in the groin.  As NHL laughed, I exclaimed "JSL, do *not* headbutt your brother’s crotch!"

Then, just today, I was changing JSL into his PJs.  While laying on the changing table, JSL decided to play telephone.  It’s one of his favorite games.  He holds something – anything – up to his ear and pretends it is a telephone.  This time, however, I had to tell him:  "JSL, your foot is *NOT* a telephone!"

Has your little one made you say something you never thought you would say before you were a parent?

My second day of the WiiFit workout went well.  First of all, my WiiFit Age went down to 33 from 40.  (33 is my real age, so that was nice.)  I started my workout with the Half Moon yoga pose, Single Leg Twist, and Push up and Side Plank.  Then I moved into Downward Facing Dog, and Arm and Leg Lifts.  I continued on with Tricep Extensions, Palm Tree yoga pose, Torso Twist, and Triangle yoga pose.  I finished my workout with some Hula Hooping, Basic Step, 2 Ski Jumps, and a nice Long Run after a dog.

My workout seemed easier this time than the first time, but the next morning I noticed that my arms felt a bit sore.  I guess those muscles aren’t used to being worked out.  I’m going to give myself tonight off since it is Shabbat.  (I don’t operate electrical devices from sundown Friday night to an hour after sundown Saturday night.)  I’ll see if I decide to take the weekend off or continue on with the workout over the weekend.  (The latter is probably the best idea so I don’t lose my "exercise momentum" too much.)

Sunday morning’s my weigh in, but I doubt that two or three sessions will translate into any measurable weight loss.

A few years back, my wife and I decided that we had enough of our poor eating habits.  NHL was almost one year old and I feared that he would pick up our poor eating habits.  I had tried losing weight before, but never too seriously.  We heard about Weight Watchers from a friend and got some information about the program.  After that, we designed our own weight loss routine loosely based on Weight Watchers.  It worked too.  My initial weigh-in was 255 pounds.  After one year, I lowered that to 188.5 pounds.  That’s 66.5 pounds lost in a year.

I didn’t stop there, either.  The second year, I lost an additional 10 pounds to bring me to 178.5 pounds.  Around this time, people actually began telling me that I looked too skinny.  I had never been told that in my entire life!  I dropped down as low as 173 before my weight slowly began rising again.  I found that my "ideal weight" was around 185-190.

Unfortunately, I began slacking off on watching my food intake.  My weight went up and down as I alternately fell off the wagon and got back on.  I never did reach the commitment levels of our initial effort.  In addition, my diet change was not accompanied by an increase in exercise.

Months back, though, B bought me WiiFit for the Nintendo Wii.  I faithfully followed the excercises for a few weeks, enjoying exercize for the first time.  Then, as often happens, life intervened.  I slacked off and the Wii Balance Board got pushed off to the side.  I had even bought a new yoga mat to use with my WiiFit as our floor was too hard on my back/sides, but that didn’t give me an incentive.

Then, this Sunday, I got my incentive.  During my weekly weigh in (the one part of the diet plan that I followed through on religiously), the scale read 208.5.  I didn’t want to see 210+ on that scale any more and I noticed that my suits were getting tighter.  So this week I resolved to start working out for 30 minutes per day for 4 days per week.

Yesterday, I put the WiiFit disc in the Wii and powered up the Balance Board.  After some trouble with the WiiMote batteries being too low, and the onscreen guide chastising me for being away for 163 days, I took the balance test to find out my WiiFit age.  It was 40!  (I’m only 33.)  Then I began my 30 minute workout.  I started off with Deep Breathing yoga, Warrior Pose yoga, and Lunges.  Then I moved on to Hula Hooping and Basic Step Aerobics.  Rhythm Boxing kicked my rear next.  I couldn’t dodge for my life.  After some Torso Twists, Triangle, a short Run, and Jackknives, I unlocked a new exercise: Jackknife Challenge.  I swear the trainer let me win the Jackknife Challenge, but I was not detered.  I moved onto Spinal Twist and Bridge yoga poses.  Finally, I had my 30 minutes (35, actually).

Now I’m off to do some more working out.  Well, I’m actually off to put the garbage out and *then* I’m off to work out.

I never thought I’d be the type of dad who’d harness his kids.  I’ll admit it.  I always used to look at kids on a leash and think “Boy, does that look demeaning.  What kind of parent would do that to their kid.”  Now I know.  The kind of a parent whose kid insists on wandering off!

Last week, JSL gave us a scare.  We were in the mall picking up some photos.  My in-laws had taken NHL with them to another store and B and I were watching JSL.  When we were done, we started walking off.  I let JSL stretch his legs and walk with us.  He did well at first, but then I saw him duck between some clothes racks.  I quickly went after him, but he was gone!  B calmly noted that the coats were moving.  There he was in the middle of the coats “playing hide and seek.”

Later that same day, as we were leaving the mall, I was getting coats on everyone.  NHL and JSL were nearly all set.  I zipped up NHL’s coat and off shot JSL away from us.  I calmly called him back, but he didn’t listen.  Then I walked after him.  He went about twenty feet down the store, turned down an aisle, looped around, and was going to go down another aisle before I caught him.  Clearly, had I not chased after him, we would have lost him completely.

NHL had always insisted on holding our hands when he began walking.  This was likely a byproduct of his hypotonia causing balance issues.  Holding our hand helped provide stabilization.  Even if he took off on his own, he wasn’t too fast so we could easily grab him.

JSL, however, is a little power walker.  Seriously, he swings his arms like he’s power-walking now.  It’s amazing the speed he can get and how silently he can slip off.  So I’m doing when I never thought I’d do and shopping for backpack harnesses.

So far, I have two in mind.  The Eddie Bauer Harnes Buddy looks interesting and is kind of cute.  On the other hand, the SafeFit Boy Backpack with Harness seems a bit more functional, if not as cute.  Any suggestions for giving a little walker the freedom to walk without letting him get lost?