I'm Going On An Adventure!!

[Saffity]

Zero Hero Day 13 - Level 1
Zero Hero Day 14 - Level 3
Zero Hero Day 15 - Level 1

Feeling well enough right now (and energized) at least while on medication and with endorphins flowing that I'm considering doing a treadmill walk today at the gym. I'll see how tonight goes with bath and bedtimes. I feel better now being caught up on Zero Hero.

 

[Saffity]

Yesterday's stats

Steps: 6,582
Streak: 10 Days

This morning I checked into my walking app to keep my streak alive and Munchie asked me about it. I showed her the cards we could collect that were nearby and explained the way the walking app works. She wanted to look around for where more cards were, and got excited when I showed her one was near the hobby store Hubby helps out at. She realized that it would be a very long walk away and went "I know! We could drive to it!... oh, but then we couldn't collect it because we didn't walk." I love how her brain works and she got the concept right from the get go. Then I suggested that we could drive close to it, and then walk the rest of the way to grab it "OH! Good idea Mom!"

The weather is supposed to hold off tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping to take Munchie at least (maybe Biggie too) out for a walk before Hubby heads to work at 10:30. Collecting the cards gives us a mission, and Munchie would love being in control of collecting them.

That would also help out the two teens we have coming over to babysit. Mommy's getting a few hours to herself, and the kids are watching over Biggie's nap time, which will hopefully make things easier. A nice long walk before they get there to tucker Biggie out would probably be beneficial too.

I woke up with my voice nearly gone this morning, but luckily the laryngitis didn't stick and I was able to clear it up before getting to work. I'm not going to get to the gym tonight due to it being Hubby's night out. Now that Munchie knows about the cards in the walking game we may have a trip out after dinner if it's still nice.

 

[Saffity]

After dinner, Munchie, Biggie, and I did a quick walk to go collect the two cards closest to our house. Munchie was very excited to see our green dot reach the cards. She's learning how to follow a map and see where the roads are. Biggie was just happy to be outside and checking things out, everyone we passed got a big wave an "HIIIIII!!!!" He was also very excited about the maker markings in the sidewalks.

Hubby went out to his game night, and Biggie went to bed easier than usual. He goes down really well for most people, but will push his boundaries with me. This time though, whether it's because of the walk or just his day, he asked me to sit in a specific chair, climbed up for "Mummy cuddos" (Mommy cuddles) and went to sleep. Munchie enjoyed her time watching tv a bit on the guest bed, and then asked for quiet music as she was ready to go to sleep. When Hubby got home we moved her upstairs, and then things were good. Biggie woke up a couple times, most likely because he's got his version of my cold and was congested, but again, Mommy cuddles fix everything.

This morning, for the first time, Munchie heard Biggie getting up and went to his room, wished him a good morning, and brought him to Hubby who was still in bed. I met them as they were coming down the stairs and got breakfast going. It was SUPER cute.

Yesterday Ended up with:

Steps: 3,521
Streak: 11 Days

Today I've done

Zero Hero Day 16 - Level 1
Zero Hero Day 17 - Level 1

This weekend we spend tomorrow just me and the kiddos as Hubby is working, and then Munchie will be going for a Gramma sleepover before Hubby grabs them on Sunday to head out to see his great aunt an hour or so away. Biggie and I will be chilling on Sunday, maybe I'll load him up to go to the library or something, and maybe tomorrow I'll take the kids to a play place we just found out about and let them run around a bit.

 

[Saffity]

Weekend catch up time!!!

First off: Potty training is going....... well? Biggie has the idea, but needs to get better on the timing. He also has apparently figured out how to get out of all clothes beneath the waist, I had a couple of heart stopping moments turning around and getting a full moon. He's running to the bathroom crying "PEE PEE TIME!!!!" which is good, unfortunately it's WHILE he's in the process, so we've had a couple of puddles, and one time where he got himself soaked, but we're getting there.

Saturday we had a babysitter come over for 4 hours to allow her and the kids to have some time together when I was close in case I was needed, as we're going out to dinner on Wednesday and figured it would be better to have any issues figured out ahead of that. Biggie went for his nap 2 minutes before she showed up, which was perfect, so Munchie had a bit of time with her one on one. All told it was perfectly fine, and I got to visit with a friend in a cafe for the first time in a long while. When I got home, Biggie was apparently a bit confused as the babysitter (who is a teenager) has long dark blonde hair and glasses like me and he'd been calling her Mommy all afternoon. I told him her name and he cheekily side eyed me before pointing at her and going "MOMMY!" and pointing at me and saying "NAME", which totally was done on purpose.

My step counts are terrible for Saturday due to the weather, and just deciding to stay in rather than going to the gym. I'm still fighting my cold, but I did get some squats in playing some games with the kids and 'hand workouts' done with knitting at the cafe. So I can still keep my streak!

Sunday was a me and Biggie day as Munchie, Hubby, and MIL went off to Toronto. Biggie decided sleep was for the weak and refused his nap, so was an absolute bear in the afternoon. Complete meltdown. He had about a half hour nap just before dinner, and then had another complete meltdown. He's got his own cold, and we think those 2 year molars are bugging him again. I dipped to the gym after getting Munchie to bed, she's realized I leave after she goes to bed, and knows about the gym. She's started asking if she can come, and kids are allowed, I just need to figure out a quieter time during the day to take her. Maybe this coming Sunday when Biggie goes for his nap she and I can go. I've told her it's not like her school gym and she needs to listen to me and behave. I'm going to discuss with Hubby and then double check with the gym because I believe I have to sign paperwork for her. I'm planning to just have her on the treadmill beside me for a bit, and then do a bit of mat work with some medicine balls or something.

Friday

Steps: 1,785
Streak: 12 Days

Saturday

50 squats
2 hours knitting
Steps: 1,127
Streak: 13 Days

Sunday

30 minutes total Biggie carrying (during meltdowns)
Steps: 2,460
Streak: 14 Days

Today's plan is to catch up Zero Hero, and if it gets nice out this afternoon like they're saying, possibly getting a walk in across the street.

 

[Saffity]

Managed to get

Zero Hero Day 18-20 - Level 1

Which boosts my streak to 15 and allows me to turn on the 15 day badge again!

 

[Mamatigerj]

Hooray!

 

[Syrius]

Happy badge day!!

 

[NancyTree]

15 days!

 

[JCU]

Congrats!

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[Princess Fancy]

Congrats

 

[Anek]

Congrats!!

 

[Saffity]

Welp, 15 days up, and gone.

Biggie sabotaged me, he brought home a gastro bug that knocked me flat for 4 days and I still haven't fully recovered from. To say that was not a fun weekend would be an understatement. I'm currently surviving on a BRAT diet and Imodium.

I will slowly be adding exercize back into the routine but I'm being careful. I'm currently in a drastic calorie deficit due to my system still trying to figure out which way is up.

I might do Recovery just to do something while things get back on even keel.

Anyway, hope everyone has a good week.

 

[Maegaranthelas]

Oh gosh I hope you feel better soon

 

[Anek]

I hope you feel better soon!

 

[Saffity]

So while I'm starting at Day 0 here I do want to keep track of what my steps were so:

Mon March 31 Steps: 2,229
Tue Apr 1 Steps: 2,313
Wed Apr 2 Steps: 1,956
Thu Apr 3 Steps: 217
Fri Apr 4 Steps: 615
Sat Apr 5 Steps: 817
Sun Apr 6 Steps: 889
Mon Apr 7 Steps: 1,504

I'll update today's final step count tomorrow.

My steps are just what gets counted on my phone, which means if I leave it to charge, or don't have it on me when I dash for the kids or whatever, those aren't counted. I'm not too plussed about it though, I figure if the number goes up right now that's a good thing, and if I can try to get it to be closer to 4-5K daily I'll be happy.

Just finished Recovery Day 1, and I was able to have a nice big bowl of Plain Pho (just noodles, broth, and mild veggies). So far so good.

Going to try to see how adding some solid protein to dinner goes and make myself a modified Oyakodon Bowl tonight.

At least I can start my Streak again.

Streak: 1

 

[Saffity]

So, on my way back to health! All food stayed as all food should, and my muscles are starting to unclench in my back.

Yesterday ended up with 2,228 steps.

Today I've done Recovery Day 2 and I'm currently sitting at 1,444 steps

We will see if I feel up to heading to the gym for some recumbent bike today (and the massage bed), but I will be taking it easy.

Munchie is fighting off a cold that hit over the weekend. She slept from about 5:30 last night to 6:00 this morning, with just about a half hour break around 7:30 for some food.

No fever and symptoms are being managed with meds so she's not missed school yet.

Biggie is... well.. Biggie. He's 100% getting his 2 year molars... he made sure I felt it by biting down a bit while I was checking. Bottom right is coming in right now, and his left cheek went red last night so that side probably isn't far behind. Of course, other than difficulty with bedtime, you'd never know it. The kid is on the move so much he doesn't notice until he stops.

Right now we're just hoping and praying Hubby avoids everything the kids are bringing home. Also, regarding his mystery cough, he had another test and they're considering it a new reaction to his cat allergies. That instead of coming out his nose, he has post nasal drip that's causing it. We have no intention of rehoming the cats, one of them is 10, the other is 5, and when he first got diagnosed with the allergy we decided we would let them live out their lives and we just won't replace them. We're not sure if we should count the kids as replacement, since they joined the family after we made that decision.

 

[Saffity]

Hoy, getting caught up at work, life, etc after being down and out for 4 days takes a bunch out of you.

So yesterday I got

Day 3 of Recovery Done
Steps: 2,749
Streak: 3

I didn't end up at the gym last night because Hubby's game day shifted back to Wednesdays so I chilled with the kids. Tonight I will be heading out, I'll either do the bike or the treadmill, and then Day 4 which looks to be a nice easy yoga day, I'm so glad that Recovery exists. I pondered skipping back to Zero Hero, but that short workout yesterday took more energy than I expected, so I guess I'm still healing and should take the time to recoup.

I've been playing catch up with LibriVox (volunteer audiobooks), had a bunch of sections to proof listen, and also had to get the Community Podcast together, it was supposed to go out (by my arbitrary deadline) last Friday, so I definitely need to get it out for tomorrow. Have all the sections recorded and compiled and just have to stitch them together. We're gearing up for a big month in May, there is a finishing up challenge! So lots of work ahead for that.

I'm also slowly chipping away at getting all 20,000+ releases logged onto Goodreads. I think there's already about 2K on there, but since they were put up before certain requirements were stated, so I'm double checking every entry to make sure they're all correct. Since I'm currently the only GR Librarian at LibriVox, this is not something I've got a due date for, just something I'm going to take slowly but surely as I have time.

Since LV is a community thing and my volunteer time affects others, it's taken priority over my blog and book reviews, so that's falling behind. I've got a number of reviews ready to go, it's just a matter of hitting the publish button and cross-posting to social medias. There's no real benefit to me whether I post these or not, I've got the reviews out on NetGalley and Goodreads, it's more just a matter of giving those authors that little bit more of a SEO push. I will get them out as I can, but I'm not stressing over them right now.

We've hit another kid milestone! While Munchie doesn't have a chore list she does have stuff she needs to do before and after school, and before bed. So she now has a task list!!! She likes to check things off, even when she doesn't have something to check. She'll often stop dead in her tracks and go "Ok, so we have getting dressed on the list, CHECK!" and check her hand with her finger. I figure giving her something that she can read and check off herself (a laminated page that can use dry erase markers) will help give her independence and personal accountability.

 

[Saffity]

I did not actually get to the Gym, I got to the parking lot, was grabbing my pass to get in, and my brother called. Next week is my Dad's 70th birthday and he's going to be in town and staying in my guest room. We (Hubby and I) had small plans for a family dinner with the kids and were starting to discuss something a little bigger on Good Friday. Brother spoke with Dad the day before and was now realizing that something more than just a card was needed and was panicking.

So I had to chat with him for over half an hour to get him off the ledge and have him not completely change all the plans. We've now decided on the gifts we're going to give, but yeesh, last minute, once again.

Still got a small, gentle workout of random exercizes at home to get some of the frustration out.

20 Step Jacks
20 Arm Circles
12 Flights of Stairs (Technically this was just bedtime, but there was extra ups and downs due to delay tactics so I'm counting it)
Steps: 2,256
Streak: 4

TONIGHT I will be turning my phone off and going to the flipping gym!

Last night was rough for Hubby, he let me sleep while fielding the two kids. Biggie was up a bunch with wet diapers, Munchie unfortunately woke up periodically due to an ear ache starting. At 5 she crawled into bed with me for cuddles, at 5:30 she was still whimpering and I turned the TV on to distract her from her ear, at 5:45 Biggie woke up for another diaper change and was not interested in going back to bed.

I got Munchie to eat and get meds in by 6:30, then she went and laid down on the couch and crashed again. She's at Gramma's today and we'll see how the ear goes. We don't want to take her into the doctor as many ear infections heal on their own and Doctors don't give antibiotics for 'just in case' ear issues anymore.

I kept the kids quiet and playing/sleeping for as long as I could before I had to go to work so that Hubby could get a little bit more sleep because today is a work day for him, so he wouldn't have a chance to get a nap.

Tonight, bedtime is all on me as he works till 9, I'm probably going have Munchie in the guest room again with quiet TV to help her sleep. Both kids got baths last night so I might be able to skip that.

Tomorrow it's me and the kids during the day while Hubby works. Munchie is going for a Gramma sleepover because Sunday Hubby, Grammy, and Munchie will be heading out to Aunt's again for a visit before Easter. Obviously all of this is dependent on the ear ache thing. If it's just Biggie and me on Sunday we'll probably head out to get the cup(s) we're going to get engraved for Dad. At least give Biggie a chance to get out of the house since this weekend is actually supposed to be kind of nice.

 

[Saffity]

H'okay I've had a crazy migraine for most of the day but I'm better now and can write my recap of the weekend.

So Friday:

Steps: 1,675
Kiddo Dance Party
Streak: 5

I did not end up going to the gym because after bedtime and Hubby getting home near 10, I just wasn't up to it. I did make sure I got up and had a fantastic dance party with the Kiddos though so that gave some extra cardio. Munchie was feeling a bit better after a day at Gramma's, but still needed a cotton ball in her ear to help go to sleep. She crashed in the guest bed and was clearly quite tired even after a day of rest.

Saturday we slept in a bit, meaning we got up just before 7 instead of 6. Munchie has started to come down stairs to get me, but instead of 'waking me up' (I'm usually already awake but let her come get me), she's curling up in the chair and just... sitting there in the dark. Not sure what that's all about, but it was a bit creepy the first couple times she did it.

Hubby went to work, and Munchie, Biggie, and I chilled until it was time to eat lunch and then take Munchie to her classmate's birthday party. She had the Disneybound version of Princess Peach since it was a Mario themed party, little yellow construction paper crown and everything. It was being held at her school (you can rent the gym) so we walked over to enjoy the weather. I was hoping Biggie would drop for his nap on the walk back, but while he was calm and quiet, he never closed his eyes. Once we got home he did everything he could to not go to sleep, so after a half hour, I popped him in the car and picked up a tea for Hubby.

That trick worked, and he got about an hour nap in. We got home, stretched and danced a bit, and then it was time to go get Munchie. I got Biggie in his coat and shoes, told him to stay on his bench, and took the stroller outside for him. Somehow, I twisted my ankle on the last step and landed on my bad knee (luckily in a different way than before so it seems like a small scrape and bruise and not another injury). As I was checking the damage and trying not to curse more than a dozen times, I heard a very cute "Mommy Otay?" from the doorway. I got Biggie down into is stroller and walked to school to pick up Munchie, and walked back. She had a great time at the party, though apparently she and the birthday boy needed a time out and went to sit outside of the gym to have a quiet moment before being welcomed back to the party.

We walked back, and then I took it easy on my ankle. I managed to throw Munchie through a bath (while keeping Biggie distracted, because the child loves baths and loves to share baths with Munchie, but she requested a private bath for this one.) Got Munchie fed and then off to Gramma's for a sleepover and double check, Munchie has what may be a bug bite on her eyelid, as well as the ear ache, so having a quiet night at Gramma's seemed the best bet.

Biggie ate late and fought sleep but he was down before 9:30. Everyone always talks about how wonderfully easy he is to get to bed, unless it's me, then he is the child of never ending energy.

Due to the extra walking, I'm counting it as part of my streak.

Steps: 7,306
Streak: 6

Sunday my ankle and knee were tender, but manageable. This was a Biggie and me day so we started off taking things easy. He slept in a bit, and had a late breakfast, so we chilled for the morning. At about 11:30 we got dressed and meandered our way down to Tim Horton's. Biggie did a great job walking, until he'd gathered a collection of pinecones, leaves, and rocks that he wanted to organize on the stroller rather than walk. So into the stroller he went (one of the reasons I brought the stroller in the first place). Biggie definitely missed his family, every slightly tall, thin, dark haired man was "Daddy" and anywhere he looked he was calling for his sister. We had lunch at Tim's and then headed back past one of our favourite Little Libraries where we picked up a book all about Pizza.

Biggie fell asleep on the walk home, but unfortunately did not sleep through the transfer into the house so he only got about a half an hour.

After that it was colouring and quiet play so that I could give my ankle a rest again, plus I was starting to get a headache, likely from the pain of the fall. Munchie and Hubby came home and we got things sorted, they'd had dinner with Gramma so it was just Biggie and me fending for ourselves. Biggie was in a mood so we did bath time first for a reset, and then he did a great job eating. Bedtime was still a mess. Munchie gave a bunch of stall tactics, plus her ear and a cough was bugging her again. Biggie's teeth were bothering him (so he got some Advil) and he was just not willing to settle down. I eventually went down to the basement and folded laundry until Hubby was able to get Biggie to sleep.

Steps: 7,787
Streak:7

Today my headache had turned into a migraine and I was barely functional until about 3:30, luckily I'm feeling much better now, though I don't know if it was the second dose of Advil, eating/hydrating, or just the weather pressure changing that fixed it.

My Dad and Stepmom are in town, staying with us until Saturday, so things will be a bit off kilter. We're celebrating Dad's 70th on Thursday and Friday. It will be an eventful week, especially since Hubby is off on an adventure tomorrow thru Wednesday. I'm intending on hitting the gym tonight after everyone's off to bed, and then we'll see what happens tomorrow.

 

[Saffity]

All right, so last night ended up with:

Steps: 6,339
Recovery: Day 5 and 6
Streak: 8

Went to the gym after getting the kids to sleep. Bedtime took a bit longer than normal due to guests in the house, of course, the kids needed to stay up and entertain!

Hubby is off on his adventure and will be home tomorrow, Munchie is off to Gramma's for the night so that things are a little easier as having my Dad and his wife in the house is great, but also makes some things a bit more difficult (like bedtimes).

Tomorrow I have to get Dad's birthday present to the engraver's (who's luckily a friend so is willing to bump our project into the rotation). Then Thursday we'll be doing a small dinner, likely with cake, and Friday (as it's Good Friday and a day off) we will be having some more family come over and have a bit of a bigger do. I'm hoping the weather is lying right now so that we can have some decent weather and maybe even fire up the BBQ.

Today I've done:

Recovery: Day 7
Streak: 9

I plan to do Day 8 before bed to stretch out my back. We'll see how the weather goes, but I think today will be a low step count, and that's ok.

 

[Saffity]

I love having my Dad and Stepmom in town, but boy does it throw things for a loop.

At least I know Munchie had a good night's sleep at her Gramma's last night. Biggie fought bedtime until nearly 10.

With that, I didn't do Day 8 of Recovery until this morning, but I'd already got my streak star for yesterday so I wasn't too worried.

As I thought, it was low step count yesterday, but I also forgot to put my phone in my pocket when playing with Biggie, so we'll call it even.

Steps: 1,546

So going to do Day 9 and 10 today and then I should be back on track to finish out Recovery, at which point (so long as no further Daycare Plagues are thrust upon me), I will go back and finish out Zero Hero.

My ankle and knee are holding out, which can only be an attributed to the wonders of physiotherapy. My ankle is still tender sometimes, but my knee just has a mild scrape and bruise. Biggie still remembers me falling and will periodically come over and try to pull my pant leg up to check my "owie" and give it a kiss... super cute!

I forgot to mention, but Munchie's weigh in on Monday was 34 lbs!!! The last time she was at this point was August!!! So yay, we're getting back on track! We'd like her to be about 37, +/- 1 lb. Average for her age is around 40, but she's always been slender, so we'd just like to see her in the upper 30s. The back to back to back illnesses just took out all of her reserves. She's got more energy now and is looking less skeletal so that's amazing.

This weekend is busy, with Dad's birthday party on Friday, then Easter on Sunday, and Hubby's Dad's birthday on Sunday (he's ducking out of Easter for an hour or so to go visit). Luckily Friday is just BBQ with family, and Sunday I don't have to do anything but mind the kids. So I'm taking it as easy as I can while having Dad and Stepmom here, and trying not to sweat the small stuff.

 

[Saffity]

Last night my Dad and Stepmom visited my brother for the evening and Hubby had his game night, so bedtime was fun. Luckily moving the small TV into Munchie's room for the night gave her the special bedtime she gets when Hubby's not home (since she couldn't go lay down in the guest room), though she did chastise me because the rule as she understood it was that the TV was going to be moved when Hubby came home, but we just turned it off. I moved it in the morning and all was well.

Biggie is definitely in the "Terrible Two's" phase, but not in a bad way. The kid just SO wants to be understood and will throw himself on the floor in the most dramatic way possible when he's upset, and just collapse on us like the weight of the world is upon him as he sobs his sorrows on our shoulders. Last night it was surrounding dinner, he wanted to dip his fries in his drink, we wouldn't let him, but gave him some ketchup (that he normally enjoys) that he COULD dip in. He happily dipped, but then got upset because he didn't WANT ketchup on his french fry. Ultimately, I took him up for a bath, realized he needed his toe nails clipped as one was broken and probably getting caught in his sock (possibly the other reason for melt down), then after bath he ate his dinner mostly ok. Bedtime wasn't as much of a struggle, but I think he tired himself out earlier.

During the day I had done:

Recovery Day 9
Recovery Day 10
Steps: 2,292
Streak: 10

Today I'm going to get Recovery Day 11 done and probably not much more than that. I am going to be meeting up with a friend after the kids are in bed, so that will be nice.

Dad's going out to dinner for his birthday tonight and then we have the big do with extra family tomorrow. Saturday Hubby works, and Sunday is Easter at his Mom's.

I will attempt to go to the gym on Saturday and Sunday, mainly to allow my brain to have a break between and after family events.

The curse of big holidays and events on an introvert.

 

[Saffity]

Buckle up, this is going to be a big one.

Thursday

Recovery Day 11
Steps: 2,671
Streak: 11

Thursdays evening was mostly quiet. Dad and Stepmom went out to dinner, we tried to give the kids a calm night at home. Once everyone came home and the kids went down to bed, I ran out to have a visit with my friend. It would have been a better visit had there not been a major hockey game for our 'local'-ish team playing. Lots of screaming which made me overstimulated, but we survived.

Friday

Recovery Day 12
Steps: 3,973
Streak 12

Friday we woke up a bit early. I took care of the kids, Hubby got veggies and stuff cut up for the party, and then we waited. Aunt and Cousin, who were supposed to arrive around noon, did not get there till 1, so that pushed lunch back. Luckily we'd planned for Biggie to go take his nap at Gramma's and that worked out perfect. Lunch was had, visit was had, Biggie came home and played with my Cousin (their Aunty) and a good time was had. My Brother and Sister in Law came for dinner, we took the kids to the park since it was a gorgeous day, and we wound down and tried to get the kids to bed without too much fuss. Then Hubby went to bed early due to having to be up by 3 to drive Dad and Stepmom to the airport. Of course... Biggie couldn't sleep. We think his room got too hot, so I was up and down with him from about Midnight to 3, and then got him to bed before everyone was making noise downstairs.

Saturday

Recovery Day 13
Steps: 3,252
Streak 13

Saturday the kids woke up and searched for their Papa. Luckily they were mollified by the balloons. Hubby and I had Osteopathy appointments so we loaded the kids up, and half way there got a message that the doctor had a family emergency and had to reschedule. Got the kids back home and I told Munchie we would do something fun in the afternoon in place of going to the library in the morning. I turned the A/C on for just a bit to try and push the warm air out of the upstairs, but this is foreshadowing because it wasn't needed. After Biggie's nap, the kids were restless, so we went to an indoor playground to get some running around done. This was our first time at this one, and I wasn't super impressed. It's attached to an arcade and a bowling alley, so there was a LOT of distraction. Biggie was a bit nervous because a lot of it was too big for him, after about 25 minutes of running around, Munchie asked to go check out the rest of the area because none of the kids wanted to follow her and play how she wanted (we're still working on the cooperative socializing with her). The kids checked out all of the video games, but knew and understood that I was not getting them tokens that day. Then we decided to surprise Hubby at work with Timmies. The kids were good as gold this time, sitting at the table eating their cookies while Hubby finished up with a customer. Then Munchie wandered down the model aisle and found another snap together car that she asked to buy. Last one was a Lamborghini, this time she grabbed a Volkswagen Beetle. The store owner loves the kids and loves encouraging Munchie's passion for cars, so he ultimately let her have the kit for free. Then we went home and the kids played in the backyard for a bit. I made mini waffles and breakfast sausages. We have an interchangeable mini waffle maker and I just got new plates for a unicorn and a dinosaur, so we had to try one out. The sausages got too hot and the grease smoked a bit setting off the alarm. The good news is, Munchie was already at the door and ready to run outside to our meeting area on the front lawn before I could tell her there was no fire and it was ok. I ran upstairs, opened the windows (which by now it had cooled down immensely outside so the house dropped below 20C) and fanned the smoke detector. I reaffirmed that Munchie did the right thing, heading for the door, and answered her questions about various situations. Hubby came home, and we threw the kids through a bath to have them ready for Easter the next day, and then bedtime went pretty well all told.

Sunday

Recovery Day 14 (This was needed just to keep my cool today)
Steps: 1,758
Streak 14

I let Hubby sleep in as long as I could because I knew today would be dodgy. I chilled with the kids in the morning, giving them their breakfast and watching some Easter themed shows (Numberblocks egg hunt and such). The kids continued to play with the balloons from Dad's party, though a few have been sacrificed to Biggie's need to lay on them. When Hubby woke up we gave the kids their Easter gifts: a book each and some candy from us, a book, a colouring scroll, and a puzzle for each from Hubby's friend from the Big Brothers program, and a chocolate from my Dad. Then we went over to Gramma's, where the kids had an indoor Easter Egg hunt and a bit of playtime before Biggie went for a nap and Munchie and Hubby went for a visit to his Dad for his birthday (Our Dads are born 3 days apart). I chatted quietly with Mother in Law and things were pretty good. Dinner went well, Biggie was a bit too over stimulated to eat, plus it was like 4, so way too early for him, but Gramma got him some colouring and he sat happily at the table with us. After dinner there was a bit of a misunderstanding and some drama as we exited, but we got out of there without too much hassle. Got the kids home and into play clothes, fed Biggie dinner and Munchie a snack, then took them to a park to run off some steam. We got home, calmed down, into jammies and then bedtime. I fled to the gym but found the music too loud as I was SUPER overstimulated after the events of the weekend, so I went and sat in the car reading for about half an hour before heading home and chilling a bit with Hubby before bed.

Monday

I traveled to the forest and hope we get enough people to open the chest.
Recovery Day 15
Streak 15 - I can turn my badge on again!

So far so good, I've got a bunch of steps but I'll put the final on my check in tomorrow. Just happy to get a double badge day! Now to get back to Zero Hero and finish that out.

Recovery was a fantastic way to get me back to level after being ill. Thank you Neila and team for putting it together!

 

[Mamatigerj]

Happy Double Badge Day!!

. . . hope we get enough people to open the chest.

Me, too!

 

[Louve Rose]

Congratulations !

 

[JCU]

Congratulations!

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[Maegaranthelas]

Badges!

 

[Saffity]

@Maegaranthelas @Fremen @JCU @Louve Rose @Mamatigerj Thank you!!

All right, so, yesterday ended off with us having takeout for dinner, the kids still being hopped up on Easter sugar, and bedtime being bedtime. Things were quiet enough at 8:30 that I fled to the gym for some book time. Just finished listening to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, and if you like fluffy romances with a bit of magic in contemporary times, I recommend it. Super cute book.

I did:

Treadmill 10 min
A few stretching days from Recovery since my Osteo appt got cancelled and my back was sore
Steps: 4,635

And I'm feeling good! So after the hubbub of April with illness and recovery, I am back onto Zero Hero and just going to pick up where I left off, since it wasn't me getting distracted, but me being ill that interrupted it. Looks like my last day was Day 21, so on to Day 22 where I hop a train!

And since coincidences are not so random, I just noticed that I'm doing Day 22 on April 22 and will finish Zero Hero at the end of April and be ready to start my next step for May 1.

 

[Anek]

Congrats!!

 

[Saffity]

@Anek Thank you!

Yesterday:

Zero Hero: Day 21 Level 1
Garbage clean up around work for Earth Day
Helped Munchie walk to the Forest (she told me to let her do it after 200 steps)
Biggie cuddling/walking due to teething suckies
Steps: 3,298
Streak 16

Got back on track with Zero Hero, and it felt good to be back in the story. Also SUPER proud of Munchie for joining us in opening the chests. I put some of the info in my little Role Play post, but when I told her about the event, she wanted to see the map first, then decided to join me in the Forest. We started the first 50 steps (I was going to break it up by 50s so that she could have a wiggle break and not get bored), and during our first break we talked about how 50 was half of 100, and that we needed 5x100 to get to 500 so how many 50s did we need? She thought for a moment and then said "OH! It's the 50 times table!" and started rattling off 50, 100, 150, 200.... So then since we'd done 50 steps, we had 9 more repeats to go.

It's so cool seeing her figure out math, Hubby is incredibly good at mental math, and I'm not. I'm the one who can write an essay with her eyes closed, but anything that multiplies numbers bigger than double digits and I just go to my Hubbulator to give me the total.

Biggie is teething, and last night was the worst so far. He has 1 tooth almost done on the bottom right, and then top and bottom on the left just erupting. He's been a bit fussy about it but over all not too bad, until last night. We gave him Kid's Advil before bed, and then at about 2 he got a dose of Kid's Tylenol. It didn't seem to help him much though. He was up and crying every half hour. At 2:30 I gave up and told Hubby to get a good night's rest while I stayed up with Biggie on the couch. Poor thing would sleep for half an hour, wake up and need cuddles and walking, then cuddles and sitting, before finally being willing to sleep on his own on the couch again. He just couldn't get comfy, and my poor back is feeling it.

Hubby is taking advantage of a day with few interruptions to have a nap so that he can cover tonight if it's rough again. One more tooth to go and then we should be good because he'll be older when mouth things start happening.

I initially intended on doing the gym, but that went out the window with Biggie needing extra support. He gave me my extra workout, though my phone was on fumes so all those steps didn't get counted.

Today I have Zero Hero day 23 planned (Thankfully a relatively easy day), and then crashing early because I'm both exhausted and caffeinated. Luckily Hubby's game night is online tonight so he'll be home for me to go sleep.

 

[Antheia & Colossus]

Congrats on your badges!

 

[Saffity]

@Antheia & Colossus Thank you!

Yesterday I got through:

Zero Hero Day 23 level 3
Steps: 1,908
Streak 17

Not too much crazy happened last night. Hubby ended up having to go to the store for TTRPG after all, but it wasn't too bad. Tossed the kids through a bath together and got it done in under 15 minutes. Then into jammies. Munchie went downstairs for a bit of TV time and crashed pretty quickly. Biggie snuggled and wriggled till he finally wet his diaper and settled down after the change, which was nearly 10 pm. I crashed pretty much immediately after Hubby came home and slept through the night.

I have a mild head cold right now, so I'm not pushing things, but still going to finish out Zero Hero this month, so getting that day done.

We'll see how the kids are doing and how I'm feeling to see what I'm up for tonight. I think I'm going to do a bit of self care and have a nice long soak. I just started up a book, the prequel to Legends & Lattes. I'm only 5 chapters in but it totally feels like the start of a Hallmark Movie.

 

[Saffity]

Ok, so yesterday:

Zero Hero Day 24 Level 1
Steps: 2,168
Streak 18

Both kids have the same head cold I do. Neither were feeling great. They didn't ask Hubby for any snack after they got home. In the morning Hubby was pretty sure they were heading to ick-ville so he grabbed some chicken noodle soup and shepherd's pie for dinner for the kids. Munchie devoured her soup and had a couple bites of shepherd's pie, Biggie wanted none of it. Since we knew he wasn't feeling well we just wanted him to eat, so it was corn duckie snacks and mini muffins. He had one bite of soup and that was it.

Likely due to him not feeling well, we were in meltdown city. He'd be ok for 20 minutes and then one inconvenience would have him flopping on the floor. All we could do was support him and help him through. Luckily bedtime was pretty quick. Munchie went down with her usual routine. I then quickly cleaned up the last dishes, including Biggie's bottle, and then fled downstairs for a nice soak.

I've been getting distracted recently with these Chinese Vertical Dramas that are really campy and over dramatic but scritches just the right part of my brain when I don't want to really have to think. So I watched one while I was in the bath, they're about 90 minutes long for the whole show, like 60 episodes or so. Really really trash dramas, but just the right kind of trash. Apparently a company in NA or Europe is trying to copy the format, but the actors they get are terrible, at least in the C-dramas they try to do a decent job.

Anyway, today will be more Zero Hero. Tomorrow I may be taking the kids to a goat farm that's having their open house, we'll see how the day goes. Probably going to be a relatively chill weekend all told.

 

[JCU]

 

[Mamatigerj]

 

[Fremen]

 

[Saffity]

Well, we survived the weekend.

Thank you everyone for your healing vibes, they were much needed.

Zero Hero Day 25 Level 1
Steps 2,087
Streak 19

Friday was craziness, continued grouchies from the kids. Hubby was working, so I made some "Pancake Toast" as my kids call French Toast, and just tried to get them to eat anything. They did ok, but not great, more sign that they were still sickies. Munchie went down to the basement early and was ok for the most part. Just got grumpy when the remote wasn't listening to her (we have one of those fancy remotes that you can talk to and it will speech to text to search, well the basement tv wasn't understanding Munchie). Biggie was a snuggle bun and took a bit but eventually went down ok.

My plans for the weekend got changed as MIL decreed Saturday was a Gramma/Munchie day to sleepover and then they and Hubby would be heading to Toronto again.

This meant that I kept my mouth shut about goats so that Munchie didn't get upset about missing them, and I rescheduled a research call Munchie was signed up for. All told though, it was a good thing that plan was set, because Friday night, once Hubby came home and relocated her upstairs, she started to cough and didn't stop until nearly 3. We have a suspicion that Munchie has some form of allergies, we're hoping it's not the cats (Hubby is allergic but he can manage around them, but Munchie doesn't have that same level of ability). I'm leaning to it might be environmental because she didn't cough once downstairs, and the cats LIVE on that bed, and their litter is in the room beside so you would think there would be more allergens in the air down there. She has a follow up appointment for her weight at the end of May so Hubby will be bringing up the allergies.

Due to the lack of sleep Munchie had a sick day at Gramma's, though she rallied in the afternoon and hopped on her bike for a ride. This is an exciting development as last year she took a tumble on her first try and refused to get on the bike again all summer. Now she's doing great, and Gramma's looking for her own bike just to keep up.

Biggie and I went to see the goats. He napped the drive up, then was overwhelmed by the people at the Farm's open house, underwhelmed by the goats, but happy to see my friend and give her a hug. He ran right over to her for one which was great because he was being very stand offish with all the strange people. After a short visit there, Biggie and I went to my Mom's (which was just 15 minutes down the road from the farm), and he spent 2 hours colouring with Grandpa while I chatted with my Mom. She gave him a little bowl of snacks that he basically ignored, which told me all I needed to about the state of his health. Saturday he really just had a waffle and a bagel, could not get him to eat much more than that.

Then, once Hubby was putting him to sleep, I went to the gym and enjoyed a nice workout to my book.

20 Minute Treadmill
50 alternating leg press (low weight - physiotherapy exercize)
Zero Hero Day 26 - Level 1
Steps 5,803
Streak 20

Sunday Biggie woke up with a raging fever. All he wanted to do was cuddle and have water, no food. I got the fever medicine chart setup and gave him his first dose of Tylenol and we waited. Hubby took off to Toronto and I tried to figure out how to keep Biggie going. He ate half a muffin for a late breakfast, and then I managed to get him dressed and headed out for a walk outside. I brought the stroller, and he only really made it around the first corner before asking to climb in. He didn't want to go home, just wasn't up for walking. So we went around the block, and then played in the back yard a bit. He drew all over the patio with his chalk and things were going well until they weren't. He dropped a piece of chalk, which broke, and the world came tumbling down. We went inside, and though he was quite upset, he crashed for a nap within 5 minutes and was out for an hour.

Then it was a bit of cuddling, a bit of trying to get more food into him, and a bit more fussing. He decided he needed more muffin, so we went out for a drive. Got the muffin, was about to head home when a little voice piped up "go drive? Dat way Mummy?" So, I let him direct which way we went (within reason) and we had a nice Sunday drive. He just wanted to look out the windows for a while and then dropped for another quick 20 minute nap. He woke up just before we got home and was in a much better mood.

His fever continued, but was controlled by the meds. You could definitely tell when they were starting to wear off. Munchie ate McDonalds courtesy of Gramma, and once I finished cooking I realized that there was no way I was going to convince Biggie to eat what I'd made, so Hubby went out and got tried and true Timmie's chili and that boy packed it in. After two days of barely eating he ate nearly a whole bun and half a bagel all dipped in chili.

By 7:30 Biggie was crashing so Munchie got a bit more of a bedtime routine and both kids were out. There was some coughing, and Biggie woke up at 5, then crashed again, but they do seem to be on the mend.

Zero Hero Day 27 Level 3
Steps 2,954
Streak 21

Just a couple days left and I get my next program badge (finally... ). I'm looking at doing Spellbound next month, but actually roleplaying it a bit and keeping a journal as a character, just to give a bit more spice to it.

 

[Saffity]

Well, we are still in fever-ville but surviving.

Zero Hero Day 28 Level 1
Steps 2,421
Streak 22

Neither kid had dinner last night. Munchie crashed at 5:30 and slept till 6 am, Biggie was falling asleep around 6:30, then just rested on the couch till he dropped at 8.

I had my osteo appointment at 6 so I got home a bit late, cuddled with my sleepy kids, and then when they were off to bed went and did my civic duty and voted.

After that I tried to record a couple sections for LibriVox but when I tried to edit it later it had a weird tinny noise so I have to redo them.

Otherwise it was a quiet night waiting to see if the kids were going to wake up. This morning Munchie was up right at 6 with her appetite back. She was in a good mood and got all of her morning getting ready done without any hassle.

Biggie still had a 38C fever. This means that everything is wrong and the world hates him, at least that's what you could assume from his hollering. I had to leave for work midway through his breakfast, but at least we got some Advil in him.

Hoping his fever breaks soon.

Now I just have Day 29 of Zero Hero, and maybe a trip to the gym tonight. We have a big storm coming in this afternoon and I'm really feeling it in my barometer knee, so hopefully that holds off or passes soon too.

 

[Saffity]

Wow today started off rough.

Biggie's not doing great, though we think his fever is breaking. He didn't really want to eat last night, and this morning was meltdown city. All we can do right now is just support him and try to help him stay calm. His big issue right now is he's clearly a glass half empty kind of kid, because if he wants water and we don't have the cup filled right to the brim, we're clearly not giving him ANY water and he gets very put out. He doesn't care that the cup is big and there's plenty of water in there at half full, there clearly isn't enough water if it isn't full full.

Yesterday I did pretty good.

Zero Hero Day 29 Level 1
EOD - 30 arm circles + EC
WOD - Archer Level 1
Steps 2,140
Streak 23

Moving on up! So Today I will be finishing out Zero Hero and get my badge.

May plans are:

Spellbound + rpg journalling
Core Control 30 Day Challenge
Counting Victories 30 Day Challenge
Daily Gratitude 30 Day Challenge

I have my notebook setup to mark down my Victories and Gratitude, and my journal is ready for me to create my character and write about my adventures. I'll probably just put some excerpts here once in a while rather than typing out the whole thing.

Otherwise, just doing my best to keep the kids on even keel with them not feeling the greatest. See if I can get to the gym tonight and get some walking/biking done.

 

[Saffity]

Whoever thought it was a good idea to have a Federal Election two days before Income Tax needed to be submitted deserves to be strung up and pelted with rotten food. The craziness of this week has not been great on the kids' diet or schedule, but we persevere.

I did, in fact, get my Zero Hero badge!

Zero Hero Day 30 - Level 1
Steps 3,611
Streak 24

I had plans to go to gym, but submitting our Income Tax took longer than expected, and I had to toss Biggie through a bath because his outside time at Daycare is either spent buried in the sand box, or rolling around in a dirt pile, so he was filthy.

I had gone on a small walk on my lunch, which is why my steps are a bit higher, so it balanced out a bit.

I finished my book yesterday, going to be starting my new one this evening. I also got a few things done for editing and recording for LibriVox, so that was productive.

Then, just as I was drifting off around midnight, Biggie decided to spectacularly fall out of his bed with a thud that was felt throughout the house. He had a small bump on his head from the guard that is SUPPOSED to keep him in the bed, but otherwise he was fine, my heart was just racing.

It's grandparent's day for Munchie's School, and my mom and her husband are there. Hubby was volunteering to help with parking and got a message that Mom wanted him to give her a reason to leave the gym. Once she got out she expressed her concern that we may be right that Munchie is 'labelled' or somewhat singled out by the one teacher, because as the kids were coming into the gym, Munchie, like many of her classmates, stopped to say hi to her Grandparents. She was the only one the teacher (and this is quoted from mom who may have been slightly exaggerating) "Yanked" Munchie's arm to keep her moving to her place on stage, something that none of the other kids had happen. Considering that the school's motto this year is "Quick to talk, slow to act" this shouldn't have happened to ANY child, as the teacher should have been setting an example by saying something rather than just pulling.

Mom and her husband (and frankly many of my family) are not Christian, and had already been saying that we should move Munchie over to Public school, I had my concerns with this year due to all of the teacher changes and the way some of the consequences have been handled. I'm hoping that after hubby has a discussion with the principal, we can get some things figured out. She only has 2 months left, then she has a different teacher and new students in her class (She's currently in the JK/SK split class, and there's another SK class that she would merge with for Grade 1). I, personally, want to give the school a second chance with a more stable classroom, rather than put Munchie into a completely different setting with all new kids.

As a kid I had one class where the teacher singled me out, I was moved from French Immersion to Core in grade 3. While I knew some of those kids because we all attended the same school, even that was a bit of a culture shock. I just want to give Munchie her best chance, the principal gave her a different consequence the last time she was to be sent home from school, she wrote out lines he gave her, not like 10 times but he had separate sheets of paper, each with 2 lines he'd written (like "I love my friends", "I should not kick my friends") for her to copy under and that really seemed to have stuck with her, much more than her getting sent home from school.

We're hoping the principal will take our concerns to heart and we can see some improvement. We really think it's mostly the one teacher who has just decided that Munchie is the bad kid and anything that happens she's 100% at fault.

Anywhoo, back to the task at hand, I've got my journal entry for today's Spellbound done, now to get the actual spell to cast. I'm debating over whether to use the chance factor or not, having spells fizzle will give me more opportunity to workout, but.... also means I may end up in bigger danger.

For Counting Victories and Daily Gratitude I'm going to just be a day behind because I can't count my victory for May 1 right after I woke up! But that's all good, I have my pages ready to go in my notebook.

Positive outlook right now, planning to CRUSH May and have a good exercize month, of course, knocking on all the wood I didn't just jinx myself.

 

[JCU]

Congratulations!

 

[Antheia & Colossus]

Congrats on the Badge Day!

 

[Maegaranthelas]

Zero Hero Win!

And hugs for the stress around Munchie's school. That is so frustrating

 

[Mamatigerj]

Happy Badge Day!
I hope the principal will exercise wisdom and kindness.

 

[Princess Sarena Rose]

Congratulations on the badge!!!

 

[Louve Rose]

Congratulations !

 

[Fremen]

Congrats

 

[Anek]

Congrats!!