We've Moved!

I've finally updated our url to reflect the new blog name!

You can now find us at:

http://mylittleapricot.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday - Look Ma, No Hands!

April Showers Bring May Flowers

I wanted to share my EtsyMom treasury with you guys! It includes some of my favorite "stormy" colors - Black, Grey, Sage, Navy & Violet. You can check out the actual treasury and all of the featured shops (as well as prices) here.

Free Museum Weekend

If you're a Bank of America cardholder (debit or credit), this weekend is free museum weekend. There are over 150 participating museums across the US. Find one in your area at museums.bankofamerica.com.

I think we'll be taking M to the Please Touch Museum in Philly and the Garden State Discovery Museum in Cherry Hill this weekend. She's never been to the Please Touch Museum, but she loved the Discovery Museum when we went in January.

Weekly Weigh In - Week 43

<a href="http://www.danilykewoah.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="My Little Apricot" src="http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h103/danilykewoah/weighin.gif" /></a>

How Do I Participate:

1. Write a Blog Post. Somewhere in it you MUST post the 'Weekly Weigh-In' Button and your weight loss or gain. You do not need to post your actual weight, though it may be helpful for you.

2. Link up using the McLinky below (Please link to your actual Weekly Weigh-In post, NOT your main blog page)

3. Visit other blogs on the linky and show your support.

Remember, you don't need to link up on Thursdays. The linky is open for the whole week!

Last Week:

184.9

This Week:
184.3

STARTING WEIGHT: 211.6

LAST WEEK'S WEIGHT:184.9

CURRENT WEIGHT: 184.3

TOTAL LOSS/GAIN FROM LAST WEEK: -.6lbs

TOTAL LOSS/GAIN TO DATE: -28.3lbs

GOAL BY APRIL 28: 178

LONG TERM GOAL:  145

STARTING MEASUREMENTS: 44 - 37.5 - 46.5 - 29 (chest, waist, hips, thigh)
LAST MEASUREMENTS: 40 - 32 - 40 - 25
CURRENT MEASUREMENTS: 39.5 - 32 - 39.5 - 25
MEASUREMENT LOSS TO DATE: 4.5 - 5.5 - 7 - 4

Well,  it doesn't look like I made my March goal (or even came anywhere close). So I guess I'll make that my April goal.

I have to be honest, I'm getting really... discouraged tired bored of diet and exercise. I'm officially on day 301 of the weigh in, but I had been dieting/exercising for another 2-3 months prior to that. That makes 1 full year of diet and exercise and the only thing that I have to show for it is a loss of 28lbs (that I know of. I don't know how much I weighed before that, but I speculate my all time high was around 230). My goal was 50lbs in 1 year. I barely made half of that and I still have another 40-50lbs to go. At the rate that I'm going now, that'll take me another 2 years. I'm tired of counting calories and writing down every single thing that I eat. I'm tired of working as hard as I can to find only minimal results or a gain. I miss eating at my favorite restaurants and having ice cream. I hate diet soda and miss my regular ones. I'm tired of being tired all the time because I spent every spare minute of my day trying to fit in some exercise.

I'm sure if I had more success over this last year,  I'm sure I'd feel differently, but right now, I'm starting to get really tired of diet and exercise.

Wordless Wednesday - Tea Party

She kept going to the sink and "filling" her cups with tea. Where can I get a tea dispensing sink?

Parenting & Mother's Day

The other day I was thinking about the things I learned from my mother about parenting. Honestly, I can't say that she ever came out and said "hey, you should try this" or "hey, maybe this would work for you", but I do think that I picked up a few things over the years.

If I had to choose the 1 major thing that I learned from her, it would be to independence. I learned at a very young age how to take care of myself and how not to rely on others to do those things for you. Being the oldest of many children, I started babysitting my siblings at a very young age. I started babysitting for money in middle school and got my first "real" job when I hit high school. On top of that, I had many extracurricular activities that I was a part of or helped run and still maintained good grades in my honors & AP classes. I paid for all of my own school trips and clothes and I liked not needing to rely on my mother for those things. I  liked being able to do them on my own.

I am trying to teach M responsibility and independence young, too. Maybe not to the same extent that I experienced it, but I would like her to know what she wants and how to do it properly. She already helps (and enjoys) vacuuming and cleaning the windows. It may only be for a minute or two before running off to play, but she does ask if she can help me. She also asks if she can feed the cats every night and if she drops any pieces, she quickly picks it up and puts in back in the bowl. Heck, she doesn't even like me to help her use the potty when we're potty training. She just runs right in there, sits down and goes.

Thinking about these things got me thinking about Mother's Day and the other mother's in my life. So I took a look at Tiny Prints' mother's day cards and I have to tell you, I'm really loving some of these. Here are a few of my favorites:

I love how bright and vibrant these cards are. They're absolutely perfect for spring! They even have mother's day cards for godmothers, stepmothers and grandmothers. I can't wait to pick some out.

Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Father’s Day Cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations or photo birth announcements. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars to commemorate the event.

Note: I am receiving a Tiny Prints gift card for posting about this promotion. This does not affect my opinion or story in any way.