Friday, September 23, 2016

7QT on a Sunny September Day

Joining Kelly on this gorgeous Friday...

1)


Eamon is turning ten on Monday!  My third baby to hit double digits, crazy!  When our kids turn 10 they get a special birthday - either a party with friends (we always do family parties otherwise) or a bigger-than-usual gift.  JP and Andrew both chose the gift route and got kindles and accessories.  Eamon is choosing the party with friends.  He wants to go to an indoor trampoline park and when I asked him for a list of friends to invite, he said "My siblings, my cousin Tommy, and Brad (a 7th grader he looks up to)."  That was it!  He is so sweet, he basically just wants his family there and I didn't think Brad would want to go to a 4th grader's bday party, but he's such a great kid and he said yes.  Eamon is thrilled.  It's all going down this Saturday.

2)


Allllllll week I have been trying to get both Declan and Brendan down for a nap at the same time, with no luck.  Today I finally did it and of course I'm too excited to sleep.  Urgh!  Hence, blogging.  Then cake making for the almost ten year old.

3)

Our fish tank is gross.  The water gets green so fast, and we have real plants in there that were supposed to help with keeping it clean, and a sucky fish who supposedly eats the algae to keep it clean, but we are as kermit as it gets in there.  It's not easy being green.  Poor Phil, who was adamantly opposed to the fish tank in the first place (it was a spontaneous purchase by the kids in a moment of weakness for me) has cleaned it out so many times since we got it.  It'll look good for a few days then start going green again.  What do we need to do to have a crystal clear tank??

4)

Someone on my IG feed recommended getting these jeans from Target, and said they run big so size down.  I took her advice and ordered two sizes smaller than I would normally to try and fit this postpartum body.  They came and were still a little loose in the waist.  They are a size six...What!?!?  If you're someone who wants to feel good based on the size jeans they wear, then these are your new bffs.  (You know we all do it).

You keep thinking you're a size 6, Mom :)

5)

So you know how I like to pretend that I'm pretty healthy?  I mostly eat pretty well and I love to exercise (especially in my new sneakers!). I get as much sleep as my schedule allows and I take my vitamins and drink all the water.  But somehow, my body is turning on me.  First I had the gestational diabetes, and when I went last week for a followup checkup, they discovered that although my blood sugar levels were fine, I have super high LDL numbers.  I told the Nurse Practitioner that my Dad has high cholesterol, and she said "Well, as of today, so do you."  I guess the LDL should be below 100 and mine was 198.  Eeeeekkkk!  It's never been above 100 before, so I think something else is going on...thyroid perhaps?  I'm seeing the OB for my 6 week checkup in a week and I'll ask him to run some more tests.  In the meantime it's all oatmeal and egg whites in this joint.  Is 37 the new 73?

6)

Have you guys been watching the new TV shows?  We enjoyed Kevin James' new one (just big fans of his comedy from The King of Queens days) and loved Designated Survivor with Jack Bauer Kiefer Sutherland, and finally really loved This Is Us.  That first episode was so good (after the initial opening shot.  Don't say I didn't warn you!)

7)

In case you ever wondered what life with six boys is like, it's a little bit of this:

Sweet kisses for "Mamma Mary"


and a whole lot of this:

Real booger included

And on that note (pun intended), have a wonderful booger-free weekend everybody!

14 comments:

  1. I heard once (not sure if it's true, but it came from the people who ran our annual health clinic at the office) that nursing can affect your cholesterol numbers. That would be a simple explanation for you if it were true. But I haven't heard that anywhere else, so maybe it's not true?

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  2. Happy Birthday to Eamon!!

    Glad you are working with your OB regarding cholesterol; pregnancy and breastfeeding create artificial highs ~ building baby's brains requires cholesterol and fat and since you are the supplier your body holds on to a little extra.

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  3. Green water means algae. How much sun does your tank get? If you move it to where it doesn't get direct sunlight it should help immensely. Limit the light so it can't photosynthesize. Changing like 25% of the water weekly is normal however. Hope you can get that cholesterol down and Eamon's birthday party is awesome!

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  4. Regarding cholesterol, my midwife said never to test for that during pregnancy and nursing. The body seems to do things differently in the baby-making/feeding periods, so don't let the numbers freak you out. Maybe your doctor is just conservative. I had my test done a few times while nursing/pregnant (those well checks done by the insurance company) and they were always 100+ points over my usual LDL. It always went done again (in those few periods when I wasn't nursing/pregnant :) ).
    What a sweet baby - great smiles!

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  5. We are excited to watch the Kevin James show...hoping it's a lot like King of Queens. I think I'm going to be watching This Is Us alone though. Dan has already said it didn't look like something he would enjoy! Stinker!But I can't be too hard on him. He watches a lot of shows with me on Food Network and HGTV.

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  6. For the fish tank, you can pull a water sample and take it your local pet store. They can test your water sample and give you some guidance on what might be happening and how to fix it.

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  7. I recall my mom having a similar experience with high cholesterol levels shortly after having one of my siblings (I have five of them!) and she was nursing as well. So perhaps it is something to do with postpartum/breastfeeding hormones, or maybe it is something that is common in mamas of many children? Hers returned to normal quickly and she's had no residual issues! Hope that is the same case for you!

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  8. Don't you dare say 37 is the new 73!!! LOL.

    1979 represent!

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  9. For your fish tank, get a snail. Or two. I have a very small desktop tank and after getting a snail in April, I've only had to clean it twice since! Love that little guy... Other people swear by Algae eaters, but I don't know...

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  10. I loved This Is Us also! Hooray for size 6 jeans, that would make anyone happy! I hope you figure out what is going on with your body soon.

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  11. As others have said, pregnancy and breastfeeding affects your cholesterol and makes it higher. I wouldn't worry about it that much, so soon after giving birth. Maybe the dr. just wasn't familiar with the effects of pregnancy on cholesterol?? I would talk to your OB before worrying about it or giving up whole eggs. ;)

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  12. Aren't Saucony Guides the best? Good running shoes make me happy.

    I clean my tank and everything it it with hydrogen peroxide (from the dollar store) to kill algae. I think it works at least in the short term.

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  13. I actually was an animal caretaker at an aquarium prior to staying home... so yeah, I know aquariums. We have one and I've never had an algae probably and I don't even have an algae eater in there! (they always die on me...) where is your tank located? Is it by a window like was mentioned? Although mine is by a North facing window and I have no issues. How big is the tank and how many fish? It may be over stocked depending on that which makes more waste. Granted, I've never used real plants, and assuming you have real plants in there what type of light are you using? That could be part of the problem, if you have a light on there for the plants it's going to also make algae grow. You could just try switching out to fake plants and not supplement with lights, I never leave lights on my tank. Feel free to ask me questions!

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  14. I had my cholesterol check as part of one of those "bring down your insurance rate by jumping through these hoops" things at work. I was 16 weeks pregnant and had a good chuckle when they measured my abdomen as some sort of indicator of heart health. Then she read off my cholesterol and I nearly fell out of the chair. I've always been kind of borderline and this time it was sky high. They and my midwives said not to worry, we'd re-check after pregnancy. Hopefully yours comes down as your hormones settle and you don't have to maintain too drastic of a diet change!

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