The Daily Nusz

Sometimes I end up neglecting my blog because I feel like I don’t have anything momentous to say.  Not that I’m saying that my written words are life-changing or inspiring or anything, but I at least need to be motivated to write something.  I’ve decided to stop having lofty goals of writing things that are particularly witty and interesting, and just write about my day to day musings. 

So, what’s going on around here?

DECLAN:

He’s 19 months old, just got his second big-boy haircut, and has recently learned to jump.  By jump, I mean that he musters up his momentum and throws his arms upward, resulting in him clearing the floor by nearly two full inches.  He will gladly jump on command.  He is good at going up and down the stairs, although he insists on walking down like a big boy (holding the railing), which worries me.  He is also proficient at getting a plastic stool and placing it in front of furniture so he can climb up onto it. 

While still not the most advanced in his verbal skills, he can say the following:  Daddy, Momma, Nah-nah (Savannah), night-night, more, ball, mine, hi, bye, yes, water (wah-wah), walk, cheese, yogurt, gum (num), teeth, shoes, bath, balloon, nippy, book, blanket (but it doesn’t really sound like that), snack (‘nack), baby, hat, doggy, “what’s that?”, please, thank you, I love you, Ella (our neighbor), Sara, Declan, hot dog, cookie (doesn’t really sound like that), and all done.  He can also make several animal noises, with his favorites being a monkey and a horse.  His speech is very unclear, and he often resorts to whining. 

He still has acid reflux.  A few weeks ago I tried tapering down his medication in order to see if he’s ready to discontinue its use.  Within 24 hours he was vomiting small amounts, which completely disgusted Savannah.   So back up to the full dose he went.

SAVANNAH:

Savannah is 3 years, 7 months.  She has a great vocabulary, and much of the time, I can reason with her.  She continues to mix up her pronouns, making statements like, “Her coming over?” instead of “She’s coming over?”.  She can write her name, although her “N’s” are backwards, and her “S’s” often have an extra curve.  When asked her name, sometimes she says her first and last name, other times, she says “Savannah Banana” since that is what we call her (ironically, my parents’ nickname for me as a child was Tara Banana–I have no idea why). 

In general, Savannah is pretty well-behaved.  She’s most likely to get in trouble for taking Declan’s toys or taking excessive amounts of time to do something (this last trait is exactly like Kevin, who is probably the slowest moving man on earth).  If a punishment is delivered, the most effective appears to be denying her TV time or withholding her evening snack.  The girl loves her snacks, particularly goldfish and fruit snacks.  She responds really well to positive reinforcement, so she remains well-fed and up-to-date with the latest Dora episodes.

Savannah is very social, and loves her friends.  She loves Kate, Ellie, and Gabi (from school) the most.  She plays nicely for the most part, and gets giddy with excitement when invited to a birthday party.  There is one for her friend Zoe at Chucky Cheese in a couple of weeks and the countdown has begun. 

KEVIN:

Kevin is in the midst of beginning his negotiations for becoming a partner at his ophthalmology practice.   This means that consultants have been hired, buy-in price is getting calculated, and financing is being arranged.  Kevin has also been eating healthy, exercising regularly, and being an all-around A-plus dad and husband. 

ME:

I finally received my bound copy of my dissertation in the mail (must take picture) and the certificate of my doctoral degree (must frame).  Now that I have them in my possession, I don’t feel like such a fraud when my coworkers refer to me as Dr. Nusz. 

I have also joined a Biggest Loser’s Contest, created by my friend Katie.  Basically, 20 people each put in $50 for a grand total of $1000.  Another person (me) joined, and that ‘extra’ fifty dollars will be used for a mini-prize, to be distributed to the person who has lost the highest percentage of their body weight by March 15 (half-way point).  The contest runs from January 1 until June 1.   Now, I’m NOT a competitive person.  I don’t care if I’m good at sports (I’m not), I don’t care if I win a board game, I don’t care if my pay is higher than other person’s, etc.  But for some reason, I am acting competitive about this contest.  Each week, I keep flipping between first and second place, and if the wind blows my way on March 15, I could be the proud recipient of my original entry fee.  I keep telling Kevin that if I win my entry fee back, I’ll be happy because at least I won’t have wasted any money.

So far, I’ve lost 14 pounds.  Nearly 7% of my body weight.  I’d love to lose 10 more.  In my quest, I’ve altered my eating habits and upped my exercise considerably.  I really want to lose it in a healthy way, so I’m following the South Beach Diet and exercising 3-5 days per week.   No cookies.  Limited amounts of bread.  No sugary cereals.  And sadly, no frosting.  I rarely cheat, I’m beginning to really enjoy the exercise, but I’m frustrated at the fact that despite eating 1400 calories per day and exercising approximately 4 days per week, the scale hasn’t budged in nearly a month. 

What else is going on with me?  Oh, there’s a mom’s group that meets once per month.  It’s a relatively small group (7-8 women) and we do things like game night, go out to dinner, bowling, etc. and it’s a blast.  Most of us are relatively  new to the area, and it makes us all feel more settled to have a group of girlfriends who we can spend time with on a regular basis. 

Okay, this post is really long, but you’ve got an update about what’s been going on around here.  

Peace out.