My father and I were working out this morning at our YMCA. It wasn’t too busy this morning, which was surprising since it was 7am and it’s usually so packed you can’t even get on a treadmill without being on a waitlist!
So as we were chugging along on our treadmills… yes, tweightloss has me inspired to get my butt to the gym every morning (that I can!)… SHE walked in.
Close your eyes and picture this.
A woman maybe about 35-40 years old, entered the fitness area. She had very long, brown hair which was being held back by a hair-band. So it will still “down.”
Picturing that? OK. Now picture this.
She had on a white blouse with a green apron over it. The apron (the establishment will remain nameless for now) had a local grocery store’s logo on it. And believe me, if you’re from around here, you couldn’t miss this colored apron and logo. You “know” where she works immediately by first sight. Around here the colored apron and the logo are as synonymous as are the golden arches for McDonald’s.
So hold the blouse and apron picture in your mind — and then add to the outfit - jeans, bracelets and necklaces.
AND! Oh… yes, she was wearing her NAME TAG!
I never ever thought she would head to any of the fitness equipment. She looked like she was heading to work. I’m thinking she was working out before I got there and possibly left something back in the fitness area and was just coming back in to get it.
NOPE.
She hopped on the elliptical machine. And proceeded to huff and puff for 45 minutes! 45 minutes. In full work uniform and all. Sweating and working out HARD the whole time.
You know when you’re looking for video cameras because you actually think someone HAS to be playing a joke on someone in here… and (please God) don’t make it be me! Well… this was one of those experiences.
And apparently after hearing a few people chatting, she does this OFTEN!
Yes, I’m a Twitter-holic. I am. And I am woman enough to admit it.
Here’s my top 10 reasons why I know I’m DEFINITELY addicted:
1. I don’t have any time to scour Facebook (OK, nearly as much) looking for people from my “past lives.”
2. I have my Twitter account set up on my laptop, at my mother’s home office computer and my phone. Yes, so I have the ability to check in AT.ALL.TIMES.
3. I have actually begun referring to my “Twitter friends” as their specific Twitter Names, even though I know their REAL names.
4. My husband got a Twitter account so he could “chat with me more” @formerlyfatmatt
5. My father (@BarryCouto) got a Twitter account because we’re (Jane @JanePorricelli and me) are always talking about the news/buzz on Twitter.
6. I started Tweightloss on Twitter. A social networking way to lose the weight through support and motivation from your Twitter-friends. Oh, and you win great prizes!
7. My 2 and 3 year olds ask if they can “Twitter, too”.
8. What did I do Friday night? Yup. Ask TWITTER.
9. I actually keep thinking that Anderson Cooper (@andersoncooper) will be-friend me. OK, or Oprah.
10. Naturally, I’m a talker. Always have been. I talk and talk and talk (and talk some more). It’s actually really fun for me to try and edit my voice down to 144 characters at a time.
As many of you know, my sister Jane is hosting a Hot Blogger Calendar contest. Voting is in FULL SWING. And the votes are pouring in… it’s so cool to see.
One of my favorite blogging mamas nominated me. *blush*
I’ve been watching the results come in day after day after day.
And well, I’m happy to report that the winning hot blogging lady has over 750 votes… and me?
Yesterday my parents, brothers and husband went to my Nana’s apartment to finish clearing everything out. It’s one of those “tasks” that nobody wanted to do because everyone knew how difficult it would be… but it needed to be done.
As my mother was clearing out my Nana’s bedroom closet, she noticed a gift bag. This gift bag.
My mother said her heart skipped a beat when she looked at the card hanging from it. It read, “Baby Henry.” Even as I’m sitting here now, I can’t help the tears streaming down my cheeks. A gift for my Baby Henry.
Within the bag…
Pants.
Onesies.
A sleepie.
Underneath the clothes for Henry was a beautiful card. AUDREY was clearly marked on the envelope… and the words I will miss the most where written inside, “Love, Nana.”
BUT!
It was the last item on the bottom of the bag which made me laugh and smile. Nana had 3 boys. All my life I would joke with her and ask her repeatedly if she ever wanted a girl. She would always smile and say, “No, way! My boys were the best thing that ever happened to me.” And I would smile at her… always thinking what an amazing mother she would have been to a daughter.
And so… as I had William, and then Alexander, and then Benjamin… and then Henry - Nana and I always joked that we had our special “boy bond.” She loved it. I loved it.
The day after Henry was born, Nana came to visit me at the hospital. We talked about baby Henry and about the boys and about how much I loved creating this big family. She smiled when I told her (the day after my C-section) that I would love to have at least one more baby… and I remember she told me to “wait a little bit, let my body rest and heal.” As she always was, ever the caring Nana.
And I remember saying to her, “maybe it’s time for some pink to enter my life…”
And on the bottom of the gift bag was this…
Maybe Nana knows something about my future that I have yet to discover…
This gift made my day. My life. I will always look back at these photos, these clothing items and Nana’s card to me and smile.
It truly was, a gift from heaven.
(Don’t miss it! I’m creating a Nursery for Henry with $200 or less. Watch me try and create a pure masterpiece! CLICK HERE.)
Not that he thinks Henry doesn’t deserve to have an amazing Nursery. It’s just that, having our 4th child now, we are trying to save a bit of money here and there. And the need to spend a ton of money on a Nursery for my 4th BOY in a row just isn’t something that is absolutely necessary right now.
With William and Alexander, we had just moved to Rhode Island from NYC, where we were ALL sharing a one-bedroom apartment. It was - putting it very lightly - a tight squeeze. But having 2 sons 12 months apart, there wasn’t much time to go looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. When it was time, we decided that moving to a New England town to raise our boys would be the best decision for our family.
We bought a house. And each of our 2 boys had his own room. Having never been able to create a Nursery for either boy to that point… I went CRAZY! I loved it. Baby boy blue everything! I devoured catalog after catalog looking for ideas and inspiration. And I was able to create adorable Nurseries… they were my dreams come true for my boys.
Soon after, I found that I was expecting another baby boy… and I was excited to create his special Nursery. I did it a little differently than William and Alexander’s, but it was truly a dream-come-true creation for me… especially since I had miscarried right before I got pregnant with Benjamin. I used to go into that empty room and pray and think about the baby-to-be who would be coming home to THAT very Nursery. That was my Benjamin, our first baby we brought home to our Rhode Island home. That room, to me, is a little extra special.
And so… here we are. My 4th little guy, Henry, is 11 weeks old. And he is still living in our master bedroom.
We have 4 bedrooms, so William and Alexander are doubling up… and Henry will take Alexander’s bedroom.
When I brought up the fact that we need to start working on Henry’s Nursery… my husband just smiled. Ahh… our 4th son. Another boy blue room. Another chance to create something…
BUT! This time around… we have a budget. With the economy the way it is today… we need to be smart.
And so…. here we go. Create a Nursery for $200 or less. GREAT.
What do I have already? Your 2 basic essentials. A crib and a changing table.
Cue the music here… THANK YOU, Simmons Kids. You absolutely, positively ROCK!
He will be sleeping and be changed in style. Pure style.
I will create Henry’s Nursery around these 2 masterpieces. And the already-painted-baby-blue-room.
SO!
This fashionista in me is up for the challenge. $200 or less.
Suggestions? Oh, please! I welcome ALL the help I can get!
This is what I’m working with now…
The Crib and Changing Table
My Nana’s precious bassinet that Henry has outgrown, and wooden shelves that need to be painted
Alexander’s clothes and toys, ready to be moved out
Alexander’s initials and photos, ready to be taken down
Alexander’s toys and robe and towels - need to be packed up and moved
So this is what we’re working with. We just started “dismantling” Alexander’s room. He’s now sleeping in William’s room, but he needs his things in there, too!
It really does. Being a mother of 4 boys 4 and under, I can tell you whole-heartedly that Stop & Shop really does work for me.
I live exactly 4.3 miles from my Stop & Shop. My husband and I laugh because when you see some of the commercials for Stop & Shop… you know, the ones profiling real customers explaining why Stop & Shop works for them, and their personal stories… my husband can’t understand why I haven’t contacted them (yet) with my personal story.
After all, not many women find going to the grocery store nearly every day fun. But me? I absolutely love it. I literally trekked to Stop & Shop nearly every day with my 3 boys - ages 3, 2 and 1 throughout my entire pregnancy with my littlest guy, Henry. You should have seen the faces of people as I got closer and closer to my 9th month. Not to mention… the employees began to know me, on a personal level.
“Hi, Audrey… Hi William, Alex and Ben. How’s Henry feeling in there today?”
Now that felt good. You know the “Cheers” song… “You want to go where everyone knows your name…” Well, sometimes you do. And for me, it isn’t my neighborhood bar. It’s my grocery store. And I love it!
So you can imagine how excited I was when I got an email from Stop & Shop and 360 Public Relations inviting my mother, sister and me to a special lunch, at Rialto in the Charles Hotel in Boston on August 5th, to hear about the latest news from Stop & Shop.
“Jumping at the chance” would be putting it lightly.
An amazing lunch created by Rialto Chef extraordinaire Jody Adams?
A chance to meet and chat with other women in the Boston/Providence area?
The opportunity to hear about some new features from my favorite grocery store, Stop & Shop?
Oh, yeah. I was there. I was there like a lightening bolt.
The ladies from Stop & Shop and 360 Public Relations are about the smartest, nicest and sweetest women you will meet. They were not only oh-so-professional, they were the type of women I could go out with and have a few good laughs. You know what I mean?
And what I loved about this luncheon was that it spoke to me specifically. As a busy mom. As a wife. As a woman. As the shopper/cook/baker/chef in my house… the wonderful ladies at Stop & Shop spoke about finding time for family meals, ways to save time and money at Stop & Shop, and the easy features of Peapod.com - their amazing shopping online network. And ways to keep kids eating healthy.
All topics that cross my mind all the time.
I absolutely love family meal time. Each night - even though it’s difficult with the boys’ ages right now - we sit down and eat together. There are nights William wants to watch TV, Alex isn’t hungry, Benjamin wants nothing to do with his highchair and Henry is sound asleep… but it doesn’t matter. Eating together as a family is something that I feel is one of the best gifts I can give to my children. Talk. Laugh. Joke. Celebrate. Eat. These things matter. And having 30 or so minutes each night to do this means so much to Matt and me.
Saving time and money at Stop & Shop? Oh, yeah. Sign me up for these tips. Any way I can learn a tip or two about this topic, I’m all over it. And the presenters brought up some great tips. Things that I think of doing… but never follow through doing… until now -
1. Actually going to the market with (gasp!) a list. Makes shopping easy, fast and organized.
2. Check the circular for what’s on sale.
3. Coupons! What’s that, I say? Yes, coupons!
4. Buy store brands. Nature’s Promise Natural and Organic foods are my favorite. They are priced right and are absolutely-positively delicious.
5. Use the hand-held, personal scanner to speed up my check-out. My son William loves using the scanner. He feels so important and oh-so cool! So not only will I save time with this one… which I just started doing since my Stop & Shop lunch, but my kids love it.
And then there’s Peapod. Oh, my Peapod. This is how I should start shopping now. Instead of bringing all the boys to Stop & Shop, I should just bring Stop & Shop to us. Easy. Let the boys play, read, nap or watch TV. And give me some time to peruse my shopping online. Oh… how convenient!
But!
One of my favorite features that Stop & Shop is unveiling soon… drum roll, please… Family-Friendly Lanes. Loving this. Moms equal busy. Especially when we’re with our kids. And there’s nothing like the absolute despair of being done with your shopping and then seeing lane after lane busy and filled with other busy people. Waiting with my boys does not work. Let me repeat. It. Does. Not. Work. So “Smiles for All” will save you. Listen to this… a line for families only. No sugary foods to tempt away the kids. No tabloids dangling in front of you. There will be treats… but healthy treats like low-fat milk, organic juices, drinkable yogurts, cut carrots and celery, string cheese and rice cakes. And there will be magazines… but only age-appropriate selections for children and parents. AND! One thing my boys will love is the free activity sheets and stickers being passed out at check-out. Literally… my boys will do anything for stickers. Anything. They’re happy. So I’m happy.
All in all, the Stop & Shop lunch was amazing. I was honored to be invited. And I was so happy I was able to attend. Not only that…
On a personal note, I had to leave the event a bit early on the 5th because my Nana was in the hospital and we wanted to be able to visit her as soon as visiting hours began that day.
When I told Caroline of 360 Public Relations… she immediately made sure that we had seats near the exit so we wouldn’t have to crawl over people to leave early. They were so gracious. And I just appreciated this so much. And when my beloved Nana passed away three days later… I got a beautiful email from Caroline expressing her condolences. Now that meant so much to me.
So Stop & Shop. I loved the event. I love your new look. I love shopping at your stores.
I never (ever) thought I would get excited about one thing in particular…
POOP.
Yes, poop.
But as most moms will attest, poop becomes an integral part of your life when you have kids… and your relationship with it.
How has poop changed my life? And become an exciting thing?
Let me start with William. He now has learned to wipe himself. Yes, no more frantic calls/screams to the bathroom that he’s “done Mommy… can you wipe me!?”
Alexander. Oh, my Alexander. He (oh-my-God, let me take a deep breath before I write this) has pooped on the potty every day for the last 5 days straight. Our little “adventure” last Wednesday… that’s a day of the past. My man Alexander has it down. THANKS to the Contoured Cushie Step-up from One Step Ahead, he is a man on a mission. One Step Ahead, I owe you BIG time. The Tinkle Targets you sent us worked like magic in our home.
Benjamin. Now… just how has Benjamin’s poop made me happy? Now when he poops he runs, gets a new diaper, pulls me over and he lays down. He may not be talking a mile a minute yet… but he sure does know how to communicate that he’s pooped and he wants changed. NOW!
And Henry. Well… today he pooped. And that alone makes me happy. He doesn’t go everyday… which obviously bothers his little tummy, so when he does go… it’s almost a holiday for me! I never thought I’d be so happy to actually smell and see poop in a diaper.
With William I had birth announcements out in 2 weeks. With Alexander and Benjamin, about 3 weeks.
I cannot believe Henry’s have taken this long to put together.
I DO have a good excuse. I had the “perfect” birth announcement in my head. And well, it sort of didn’t go as well as I had planned.
I went out and had 4 shirts embroidered -
William #1
Alexander #2
Benjamin #2
Henry #4
My vision? OH… my oh-so creative vision! Have William on the couch by himself with the caption, “There was 1.” Then William and Alexander on the couch with the caption, “Then there were 2.” Then William, Alexander and Benjamin all on the couch with the caption, “Then there were 3.” And then all of the boys on the couch with the caption, “Oh yes, and now there’s 4.”
I had a vision that they would all sit perfectly still and smile exactly when I told them to smile.
And then? Well… I realized I was dealing with 4 boys 4 and under. Here are some of my photos on trying to capture the “perfect” birth announcement:
Truth be told, these photos reflect perfectly this-is-our-life-right-now-with-our-4-boys and welcome-to-the-world-Henry for our birth announcement!
On to PLAN B.
What’s that? I have NO clue. Just hoping to get a good photo where you can actually see Henry among the boys! Or… maybe just one of him. After all, it is HIS birth announcement.
Mom Generations started Tweightloss on Twitter 4 weeks ago. It all began when I got the green light from my OB/GYN that I could start to chip away at my baby weight. Yes, working out was finally a GO!
With William and Alexander I gained about 28-30 pounds with their pregnancies.
With Benjamin I gained about 40 pounds.
With Henry I gained 48 pounds.
Towards the end of July, I knew it was time to get myself back on my treadmill because I was just feeling - well, BLAH… I needed to get myself moving - not only for my body, but for MYself.
My only problem? Finding 30 minutes to give myself the time to get MYself moving!
Tweightloss has become my accountability. I have my team depending on me. And that MONDAY weigh-in!
I knew I needed to find the time. I couldn’t use the - I-have-4-kids-and-there-is-no-way-I-can-find-the-time-to-workout anymore. Especially when I can find the time to hit my favorite stores, go to the pool, have dinner with friends and watch some of my favorite TV shows at night.
Oh, no. The “time” excuse was just not cutting it anymore.
So. Here I am (5:55am). This morning. My 5th morning in a row. Finding my 30 minutes.
Henry? Fed. And back to sleep.
William? Ran into our bed around 3am. Now soundly sleeping.
Ben and Alex? Both sound asleep in their rooms.
Matt? Sound asleep with William and Henry.
The house is quiet. The sun is just peeking up. The news is on. The coffee is just beginning to brew.
I’m a little sleepy… but I’m sitting here with my workout clothes and sneakers on. Ready to hit my treadmill.
Ahh… my 30 minutes.
My quiet and peaceful 30 minutes. Believe it or not, I can actually hear crickets. Now that’s pretty cool.
I’m going to run (no pun intended) before I hear my little men… Also, my bloggy friend and fellow Tweightloss buddy - Leighann - is doing something amazing for her 4 year old daughter, who was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Her family is participating in the Step Out Walk to Fight Diabetes. She is running a huge giveaway on her blog to raise awareness about diabetes and to raise some money. Check out her blog to read more and support her cause - HERE.
