Updates, Updates, Everywhere!

This post is going to be a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

First, the best Tessie mini update in the world.

Last night when I was getting her ready for bed, she grabbed my face and kissed me (well toddler kissed me, so basically smashed her mouth against my face, but still!) three times!

And now when I walk into a room she looks up and a lot of the time runs over.  Previously, I would have to walk over and pick her up and raise her up to face level before she would notice that I was even in the room with  her (and then she would get excited that I was there).

So both of those are huge!

Go Tessie!

Next I'd like to share something I'm sort of proud of.  I've lost thirty lbs.  I'm not to my goal yet, but I'm getting there and I'm pretty excited (and it's Fat Tuesday and I'm totally about to go downstairs and break open a box of paczkis).

I made a vlog where I talk about the ups and downs and about the stress eating that I really, really indulged in last spring when we were getting all kinds of tough news and having all kinds of tough appointments with Tess.



For anyone interested in trying Healthy Wage, this is my referral link (and my standard referral link disclaimer: yes if you click and decide that Healthy Wage is something that can help you lose weight and sign up, I receive a small commission, so if you do sign up through my link, thank you!).

Which brings me to this post which I share every single year.

This year, will be the very first Lent in ten years when I haven't been pregnant or nursing.

And it might sound silly but I'm kind of excited to be able to not have those exemptions that I've had for the past decade.

Now let's talk about this idea of fasting while pregnant and nursing.

Every year I see the question come up on the Catholic Internets and every year I see some people encouraging it.  I've been there.  I've tried it.  I've had a screaming baby who had no milk to drink who was very, very unhappy.  If you are pregnant are nursing there is an exemption from fasting.

There is a reason for those exemptions.  Please, please take advantage of them and fast in a non-dietary calorie restrictive way, so you can continue to nurture your little one.

You can fast from television, or the internet, or electronics altogether.  Think of something else that you set aside and fast from that instead of food.

I know it can be hard, especially if you struggle with scrupulosity, but nursing and fasting (and pregnancy and fasting) really just don't mix.

Getting down off my soap box and moving on.

The kids and I have been having fun in the snow and  have been having fun making (and watching vlogs) and learning about video editing.

Patch may walk around the house wearing a watch and talking into it and pretending to make his own "vlogs" and he may have made his brother cry at least twice by telling him "you can't be in this video Jamesy"... so we're working on that.

On a different note:

I'm not sure anyone in all of Michigan loves the snow like Tessie now that she has discovered it:



On this day, when the kids headed outside, she flung herself at the door and burst into tears because she thought that she was being left behind.  All winter she was content to play inside and never asked to go out, but now she knows what she's missing.



And here she was pretty content to let everyone else shovel while she sat and watched and enjoyed the snowflakes drifting down.



And here's the part that we're really, really excited about.

We are going to have new neighbors soon.

Alright, not quite neighbors.  But almost neighbors.

 

Nani and Bopa are moving to Michigan and we are ridiculously excited.

And that is the latest.

It's been busy and snowy here as we enjoy this last day of Ordinary Time and prepare for Lent!