mom-mode post #116 - on the battle of the bulge

I haven't updated  my progress in a while...

the diet: Good news is, with the sister in town, I have eaten a whole lot healthier. Every morning she makes this green juice out of kale, ginger, flaxseed, and whatever fruits we have on hand. It takes a while to get used to the taste, but once you do, it really helps you feel like you got a healthy start to your day! She also helped me realize how big a portion I was still eating. I have significantly cut down my portions and I feel so much better.

the exercise: Jillian was back on, but then I got really sick and I haven't done any physical activity  as of late. My sister did introduce me to some Pilates moves (she is like the queen of Pilates) and I was hooked. We'll see if I can keep it up after she leaves.

the weight: These past two weeks, between completely overhauling my diet and getting sick (with a complete loss of appetite), I lost a total of 5 lbs. I know it is a little much, but I think my body was just shocked into losing all of this. I'm happy, even though I know it wasn't all lost because of my efforts, but because I was sick. Next week things should go back to normal.
Happy news is that I am only 2.5 lbs away from my original goal for December. Now I still have a total of 5 pounds I want to lose before I have to hit the beaches of my beloved Brazil this February. Talk about forced motivation.

So from October 4th until December 31st, I lost a total of 9.5 lbs.

mom-mode post #115- on our merry little Christmas

It was a merry little Christmas in the Smith household this year. We dearly missed the loved ones we couldn't be around this season, and celebrated the visit of my sister and brother-in-law.

We started new traditions with our precious little gift.

We spent time making sure we kept some of our old traditions as well.

We sang songs before bedtime, celebrating our dear Savior's birth.

We dined a typical Brazilian candle light dinner.
We also included some new dishes this year like French toast. You read it right. Apparently where my brother-in-law is from, that's what you eat on Christmas Eve.

We were woken up (early) by an anxious little boy (not) , and got an early start on Christmas morning. 

We opened presents for the first time ever.

But some of us seemed a tad more interested in just the wrappings.

And some of us seemed a bit more excited about opening gifts than others.

'What are you playing tia Paty?'

And some of us got wore out and in need of a nap.

We made memories as a family of three.

Afterwards, most of us indulged in a more American breakfast. Complete with gravy and biscuits and cinnamon rolls. The husband, the sister and brother-in-law, even the baby partook in it. For the record, I DID NOT touch the gravy and biscuits, excpet for while making it. I probably just had some leftover dessert for breakfast.:)

And we kissed (after I unwrapped my super stylish gifts from the husband! I can be so superficial some times. :))

We skyped with our families, and longed for the day we all can be in the same country, celebrating together.
We sang Christmas hymns in Turkish (the sister even joined in), which we forgot to take pictures of..I had a great time, given that I miss singing in  a choir every Christmas. We had delicious Turkish food for Christmas dinner.And we were reminded, even in a foreign language what blessing we have in our Immanuel.

It was one of the most memorable little Christmases yet.

mom-mode post #116 - on O's current favorite things

O has never been the kind of baby that you wondered what kind of personality he was going to have. From day one, he showed us loud and clear that he was no wallflower and that he came into our lives to add a few more sparkles with his firecracker-y personality.This month though, I have seen his little personality blossom even more, as he interacts with us even more and as he bonds with his aunt and uncle. It's been a fun ride:

- O has found a love for dancing. He loves dancing to Jingle Bells and the opening credits of Gilmore Girls.
- He has found my new keyboards and he is in love with it. So much so, he will stand under it and beg for us to get him up to play. His favorite music to make: the special effects key. To which he normally starts bouncing up and down as he gets into the beat. I have yet to catch it on film. But I hope to do it soon. I think we may have a musician in the making.
- Clapping. He's learned to clap and if he's happy, he will do it all the long for ya.
- Playing by himself. This started recently. He started waking up from his naps or in the mornings, and instead of crying for us to come get him, he would just sit there, playing in his crib. This has been one of the most interesting developments for me so far. To see him slowly growing more and more independent from us.
- So independent so that now that he can get himself anywhere he wants to get to, he doesn't feel like he needs to be in the same room as us (scary, I know). I have followed him many a time crawling to our bedroom to play.
- He goes to our bedroom because he has found our floor-length curtains. He lets out little squeaks of joy as he lets the materials drape over his cute little face.
- He has lost a lot of his interest on food. All he wants to is to explore the world. No stone left unturned.

And I love my little explorer, even if every room he goes by looks like a tornado aftermath.:)

awesome photography done by the brother-in-law. Look at those little teeth!

mom-mode post #116- on christmas decor

After last year's excuse for Christmas decor I put up. I decided to get the ball rolling a little early this year. We only brought nativity scene from the States, so I had to get creative. Here's a look at our simple yet meaningful decor this year:

A small wooden bird, a picture and some modge podge = baby's first ornament. I made this before I knew my mom-in-law was mailing me a really cute Baby's First Christmas ornament. So now we have two!

Our nativity scene we brought from the States. I think my mom-in-law gave it to us on our first Christmas together. I love it.

My humble little yarn wreath. It's a little crooked, but it was made with lots of love.

A new nativity we got this year made out of turkish pottery and my poor attempt at a Martha Stewart  magazine tree. It was my first attempt. I want keep working on them until I get it right!

Our tree and the most precious gift we got this year!

Our tree is still a little skinny, but it definitely has more color than last year's (I don't think we ever took a picture)
I made this pompom garland inspired on this rainbow colored garland I saw on Anthropologie's website.  There are still few more things I'd like to add to our tree, but there just was no time to do it. Maybe next year. :)

That's all folks!
Hope you are enjoying your days before Christmas comes!

mom-mode post #115 - on losing the weight and the flab #update#

Let's have an update on how I'm doing on my pursuit of life, liberty and thinness.;)

the diet: all things considered, not bad. We went to Istanbul for a few days and with it, all the yummy foods the big city has to offer. Also, my sister arrived in town with a suitcase filled with yummy Brazilian sweets that I just absolutely could not resist.

the exercise: Jillian Michaels is back on and I couldn't be happier. The weather has turned too nasty to go out for runs. So I'm just as content with my 30-day-challenge.

the weight: it's been two weeks and I haven't had any loss. I'm ok with it, as long as I'm not gaining any. I hope this week I'll have something to show before I indulge in some Christmas treats! Reality is, there's NO WAY I'm making my set goal. But I'm happy with the direction I'm going. I'm staying active and relatively healthy. Though I hope to meet my goal before O hits the one-year mark!!!

I never though I was going to be the mom that is still fighting the baby bulge after 9 and some months. But odd as it may sound, and although I still don't fit comfortably in my skinny jeans. I am  content with how I look and more importantly, I'm very happy with the kind of mommy I've become.

mom-mode post #114 - on captured happiness.

mom-mode post #113 - on the elephant in the room

Let's talk about the elephant in the room (pun intended, ha), shall we? It's been over two weeks since I've posted any updates about my diet and exercise regimen. Reality is, there has been no updates going on. I haven't had the time to exercise (except for walking all over town running errands and trying to make it to all of my appointments and classes) and there has been no diet. Breakfast has been a piece of cake joke.
It's like the old saying, 'when it rains, it pours'. This summarizes our lives as of late. One series of events after the other. No time to breathe or rest (well, except for our anniversary date night, but I wasn't about to count calories on our special dinner!).
Right now, it's not even ten am and my whole body aches. Still sore from teaching little pre-schoolers all day yesterday. And of course, still sore from taking a turn as 'human jungle-gym' to one rambunctious 9-month-old.
Luckily I haven't gained any weight. But I haven't lost any either in the past two and a half weeks.

Here's to hoping this week will be a little more peaceful. Praying it won't snow so I can go out on one more run before the weather turns bitter cold!

mom-mode post #112 - on our fifth anniversary

"If I could travel back in time, I would travel to the most beautiful tropical island on 12/03/2005 just so I could marry [the husband] all over again. Happy Anniversary", and so read my Facebook status this past Friday. And I would do it a thousand times over. No doubt about that. Five years ago we could only dream of being where we are today. A foreign country, the sweetest baby boy... We are blessed.

The husband started the celebrations off by gifting me with something I've been wanting ever since I left my piano, some five years ago:

I immediately printed off some music and started playing. I'm SO rusty!

Yes, this is what it looks like, a handmade card. 

Not to be outdone, I presented the husband with this:

He made me promise to only get him a card because my gift was a little pricier than usual. I simply obliged.

One more shot of my special gift! I'm so thrilled!

Later that day, the husband had already arranged for a babysitter and we went out on a very special date. We went to the only  best Italian restaurant in town, went for a romantic walk and ended up with some coffee. Just the perfect way to celebrate these five years with my handsome and most awesome husband!