Language Update: May 2013

Yesterday, we were riding in the car with Dimaya in the backseat happily singing "Los Niños Cuando Bailan." Her dad and I know the entire CD by heart along with her. I believe it's safe to assume that her sister will know it too!  This non-native language adventure in Spanish since Dimaya was born has been an interesting journey. For a while, I was beginning to wonder if we would be able to keep up with both English and Spanish. I've always done well understanding spoken and written Spanish, but I don't immerse myself in the culture as much as I did when I was an undergrad with my four good friends who were from different Spanish-speaking countries (Ecuador, El Salvador, Puerto Rico, and Mexico). Needless to say, I learned many variations in vocabulary from them! 

Dimaya's progress in Spanish is great! I'm very proud of the extent of her Spanish vocabulary (animals, colors, numbers, etc) and her understanding of spoken Spanish. It's crazy because she pretty much always understands what I'm saying to her no matter which language it is.

Phoebe is just over a year old now and is finally walking! She still only has two teeth, but we are hoping to see more sometime soon! Because I have been working since she was about 4 months old, I feel like her exposure to Spanish has been severely limited. I'm hoping to take time this summer to work with her since I won't begin teaching again until July.

New Developments:
Last week the girls got a visit from their beloved Titi Kate and we were having a great time. I began a conversation in Spanish with Dimaya and she answered everything in English. This has become the case for most days. Every now and then I can get her to speak Spanish or she will randomly ask for things or mention things in Spanish. The only consistency I get from her is when it comes to Phoebe! Dimaya will tell her "don't touch," "stop," "come here" very often. It's really cute actually, and she gets results.

Action Plan:
We've really been using mostly the OPOL method which doesn't work well for our family. I admit that any speaking of languages outside of English are usually my thing, but Steve is very supportive and tries to help me reinforce those languages. I have quite the husband! He's not into languages like his crazy wife, but he also isn't opposed to learning or participating in languages. I love him for this!  

I'm considering some other methods such as minority language at home (ml@h) or maybe even Spanish in the mornings or evenings instead. 

Trilingual?
I know...it sounds crazy! I've been working on French recently for myself. I haven't exposed the girls to the language much, but they understand a few basic phrases. Dimaya prefers to watch Little Pim in French often times, or prefers watching Le Petit Nicolas on YouTube to Pocoyo during her allotted tv time. French is important to me because I fell in love with the language in 3rd grade! I would love to share this beautiful language with my family! We'll see how the adventure goes.

Self-reflection: On Being a Role Model

Self-reflection seems to be one of the most important things a person can do to help themselves and others. When you are able to focus on just you for a moment, it seems like everything else falls quickly into place. Maybe it's because you are happier and can see things a little more clearly. Or...maybe it's because you never have time to focus on yourself.  I have tools in place that allow me to take a moment each day to do just that...FOCUS. Although, when I don't employ them, I tend to sound like a broken record to my husband and myself. 

I like to think that being a role model is easy and--to some extent--it is.The crazy thing it that I've had to define it in a way that fits me and my family situation. I'm writing this post because this topic has come up in conversations with friends, family, and neighbors recently. I love how many parents look to their own parents as role models, and even how some encourage their children to look to celebrities, scientists, and political figures like President Obama. 

My husband and I come from very different backgrounds, but share many of the same struggles and dreams. His parenting, discipline, and loving styles vary from my own in many ways. I see him as being a loose cannon sometimes and just hope to see the girls come back in one piece =) On the other hand, I see myself as more of an apron wearing drill sergeant with a cookie in hand. (I'm so glad that he doesn't see me that way)!  I believe firmly in "well-behaved" children in the know-your- manners-address-people-properly-pick-up-after-yourself kind of way. I never bark orders at my girls, but they do know when mama means business. At the end of the day, these are the things that help to keep us connected.

I have often times had to self-reflect on what it means to be a good role model. Most people loosely translate it as: looking good on paper, publicly, or in the community. Almost like a switch that you turn on and off when no one is looking. But as we know that it doesn't begin or end there. As a parent, the switch is always on because your children watch you all the time.  It's like surveillance! This made me self-reflect on the things I feel make great role models. This is what it means to me:

A good role model understands that there will be times that you aren't "good."  Every now and then we do questionable things, but that is all part of being a human being. The best part is that we can apologize and learn from our mistakes. Even if it means apologizing to our kids. We may not be children, but we still have tons to learn.

A good role model doesn't mind admitting when they don't know something. I can't tell you how many times I've admitted to not having all of the answers to things Dimaya will ask. Considering she's asked the same 10 questions a trillions times, you'd think I would know by now =)

A good role model stands up for something they believe in.  Everyone may not believe in the same things, but when you find what strikes a chord in your heart...believe in it with every bit of yourself. Try taking a stand on something.  I believe passionately in standing up against racism. I vowed to interrupt it when I see or hear it. I want to encourage my children to stand up and fight for something as well.

A good role model is a game changer!  There is nothing about me that is just like the next person. That goes for everyone! Being orthodox or traditional is fine, if you feel it works for you. But think about it...we look up to people who change the game!  Most of them have overcome adversity in their lives or have a unique story that inspires us. I prefer an unorthodox kind of thinking that fuels my very life and people don't like it...then don't. I don't know how may parents feel they should take all of the parenting advice from their own parents or other parents. Pick and choose! Your kid is unique and it's okay to change the game!

I just wanted to share a little with you, but please feel free to tell me your thoughts on this post. 

Parenting Issues

This is something I've been thinking about lately so I figured I would just blog about it. I've been working on being "present" in different circles of moms since Dimaya was younger. It's interesting that some people feel like all moms with kids around the same age will always hit it off. For some reason I don't feel like that pertains to me. I like to talk about my beautiful girls, but I like to talk about other things as well. I have lots of interests and I am more than just a wife and mother. Sometimes even I forget this! Even in "moms groups" I would like to talk about some of these other things. I want to get to know the person, not just the mom. I wonder if I would even hangout with some of the moms I've met without their children? 

I've also found that I am very much bothered by parents that allow their older children to do whatever on the playground because they don't feel like they have to watch them as carefully. News flash! Some of you may be raising bullies just in case you are unaware! I don't appreciate parents sitting by allowing their kids to run over or push down younger children like it's okay. If you say or do nothing, then that let's me know that it is okay to you. I know that if Dimaya did that I would have to let her know that we treat everyone with respect and at least address the issue. Or even remove her from the situation if it's a big issue where I know she was in the wrong. Don't just say things like "Boys will be boys," or "It didn't seem like an issue." I don't like to be rude to adults or children, but please believe I will call you out because you may need to know.  Just saying...

Be an always involved parent...know what your kids are up to!

On a positive note, I love parenting! My daughters have taught me so much about myself and patience is on the top of the curriculum. Despite what I saw in various situations growing up, the best thing about being human is that we can decide how we want our lives to be. I don't see my children as possessions, obligations, or the sort. They are small humans that deserve to be nurtured and respected just as adults. They just can't communicate their feelings sometimes, just like many of us fail to be understood by our partners regularly. 

Remember that when you're upset! My philosophy (with toddlers and preschoolers at least) is that if there's a big blowup, it's normally default on ME. Think about it.  Are they hungry? Tired? Overstimulated? On sugar? On caffeine? In Wal-Mart past their bedtime? The list goes on. I know that if I were any of these...I wouldn't be cooperative either.

My husband is the best because he is so patient and sees the big picture in most situations, whereas, I tend to forget and end up sweating the small stuff. Dimaya and Phoebe are so very lucky to have him as a father. Like I said we don't own our kids...we're simply lucky to have them be a part of our lives!  

Learning in Context

Last night (and many nights prior to), I have been reading Los Huevos Verdes con Jamon with Dimaya before bedtime. It seems to be her favorite book now! I love how she wants to read it to me. This consists of flipping through the pages and telling me in a mix of Spanish and English what is happening on each page. The most recognizable words and phrases are huevos y jamon, ¡dejame ya! (lol), Juan Ramon, muchos gracias, alli and alla, un tren, el coche, la cabra, el raton, el arbol, and un zorro. I'm excited that she loves reading in general, but I really love that she is trying to read and explain the Spanish books in Spanish. 


She is really moving along in the linguistic world and I often times find myself struggling to stay ahead of her. When my husband works with her on new concepts in English such as introducing new numbers, colors and shapes, I try to work with her on those same concepts in Spanish. I'm currently trying to incorporate visual, auditory, and physical learning styles into our language learning. 


For example, Dimaya wanted to build a tower of multi-colored blocks so we worked on colors. I would ask her in Spanish to give me a [color] block and she would give it to me. Then I would have her ask me for a [color] block by its Spanish name. Later we sang a color song we learned from a toddler CD. I've also written the Spanish color name in its color with the English name beside it on construction paper. We made up silly stories to go along with the words.


Crazily, this type of "learning in context" really helps me to build and remember the vocabulary. It's amazing how rapidly she is learning! I had to add about 10 new verbs and plenty new vocabulary today to keep up with our everyday conversations! I must say it is an awesome adventure!

French Please!

Dimaya has recently taken an interest in French!  I'm not exactly sure how it came about, but I'm thinking it has something to do with her browsing youtube cartoons that pop up when she is looking for cartoons in Spanish. She comes to me and says, "Maaammaa...Freeeeennncchhh please!" She can count to ten in french and knows some of the colors, but always leaves out trois and neuf.  I'm not sure why lol! When she was learning her numbers in Spanish she always left out tres and cinco, but that worked itself out just like I believe the French will. I really want her to learn any language(s) that she wants and I will help facilitate her learning as best I can. 


I will admit that my French skills are garbage compared to my Spanish. I believe it's just lack of use though. It's all the verb tenses that I have to remember...which isn't as tough to me as Spanish. The preterite and conditional tenses always throw me off in Spanish. I planned on slowly reviving my French during this Language Challenge 180, however I find that I am always speaking Spanish because I have my two lovely niñas with me all day everyday this summer. It means I would really have to make a huge effort since my youngest is only 2 months and she needs me quite a bit. I don't have any real French resources for her to gain fluency, but maybe on day we'll live somewhere much more diverse. 


I am fond of the shows I allow Dimaya to watch during her allotted youtube time. Her all time favorites in Spanish are Pocoyo and Doki Descubre. She likes Dora, but Dora doesn't do enough immersion for me.  She also enjoys watching Pocoyo in French. We found some of the older cartoons like Mickey Mouse in both languages as well.  I've been listening to the news in Spanish on a great website called News in Slow Spanish. At least I can turn it on and just listen. I think my next step trying out audiobooks in Spanish ;)

Welcome Phoebe Siobhan Hintz!

I am so proud to say that I am the mother of not one, but two absolutely gorgeous girls! After a 30 hour labor, my husband and I welcomed Phoebe. 8lbs 4oz and 20.75 inches long! She is perfection with her chunky thighs and I wouldn't have it any other way! She will be 2 months old tomorrow and she's smiling up a storm. Mainly at her sister and father. I think she's tired of seeing me since I'm with her 24/7 lol! Dimaya is such a great big sister! She is currently in her "Polly Parrot" stage so she's repeating everything we say...or the last sentence at least. She calls Phoebe "Phoebster, cutie pie, fat-fat, and honeybun." It's so adorable I can't stand it! The summer has been great so far and unfortunately it has to end in about 2 more months for me and back to teaching. 

P.S-I've already started Spanish with her ;-)

Public Reservations....

So after some serious thought, I realized that I feel like a deer caught in headlights when I someone speaks to me in Spanish. It's so crazy! Even though I understand what they are saying, it's like my mind is slow and isn't quite computing as quickly as I think it should. Then I get caught up in thinking about things like What if I'm not conjugating correctly? Should I use informal or formal? Is this the correct grammar or word to use? It's really rather insane to have all of those thoughts running through my mind in a split second! I know that my grasp of Spanish is at an intermediate/advanced level, but I always feel like I don't know ENOUGH Spanish just yet. Practice makes Improvement and I know I have to get over my nervousness, but it's like a brick wall sometimes. Especially in public places with my daughter! I know that this probably happens to a lot of people who speak other languages, and I just need some suggestions as to how to overcome this feeling? Will it get better over time? or Should I just throw myself into speaking Spanish randomly in public with Dimaya?

Dimaya finally speaks Spanish!

I know I haven't touched this blog for a while, but I've been busy with my new job and at the end of April I will have my second baby girl. We've had a lot going on in our household and making time to incorporate Spanish has been difficult...but possible. A few weeks ago, Steve and I decided to spend some time with each other and thought it would be nice for Dimaya to spend some time with her cousins (ages 6 and 4). When we picked up Dimaya that night, we headed home and realized that out of the blue--she was counting to ten in Spanish by herself! Just when I was thinking I should give up on teaching her Spanish earlier in that week. Keep in mind, she had never said any words by herself in Spanish before now. It was always copying the last thing I said lol!

Another crazy thing happened yesterday when she brought one of her favorite Spanish books into the living room and pretended to read it to me. It's just a book of words and numbers, but she loves it!!! I pointed to the picture of a glass of milk and asked her in Spanish what it was. She looked right at me and said, "leche," like don't you know this mom?? It was a great experience!

I've signed up for the Language Challenge 180 through Multilingual Living. If you're interested in bilingual or multilingual learning, please check this out! It's a great opportunity to get some support and be a part of something fun and educational at the same time!

Progression or Regression?

Dimaya has been growing like crazy! It seems that the only thing she wants to do these days is eat Cheerios! I was worried about putting her in the nursery school on campus where I teach, but I'm beginning to think it's the best thing we could have done for her socially. For those of you who know her, you know that she is a social butterfly! They teach her to sign at school and she currently knows the signs for EAT, SLEEP, WATER, and BRUSH (teeth). It's really cute actually! I like that she can communicate so that she doesn't feel overly frustrated when she needs something. Her progression in Sign Language is excellent!

The only drawback to sending her to nursery school, for me, is that she doesn't get any Spanish whatsoever. Last week was the first time I heard them even mention reading a book in Spanish. I feel like I need to be MUCH more consistent with Dimaya if she's really going to learn Spanish. Since I am a non-native speaker of Spanish, sometimes I feel as if I'm not the best person to be teaching her. I mean, when am I going to run out of vocabulary or get the grammar mixed up? I study and try to immerse myself in Spanish when I can by listening to interviews on Spanish radio programs or just catching the news in Spanish on TV. It feels so overwhelming at times though :( She understands when I tell/ask her to do things in Spanish, but still no words from her. We're working on counting (to 3 at least) and she says "Tays" for "tres" which I understand lol. She said "si" a few times, but I'm not totally convinced as to whether or not she understands what it means yet. Progression? Maybe...

Dimaya y su muñeca...

So Dimaya is now 14 months old and it seems like she's grown up overnight! She climbs on everything and is such a great walker. She got a few cute dolls for her 1st birthday and favors one in particular. This muñeca is like a little princess doll. We never had a name for this doll so we just started calling her Muñi for short. Dimaya loves to put Muñi in her shopping cart long with other stuff--libros, papeles, etc. It's fun to watch her roll that thing around. She has even learned to say a few words that we can all intelligibly understand!

Her English list consists of:
DAD, MOM, GIGI, HI, BYE, SEE YOU LATER, NO (her favorite at the moment), STOP, GONE, PLEASE, and THANK YOU.

Her Spanish list consists of:
SI, and sometimes MAS when she wants more food.

Her Spanish understanding of these spoken phrases is great:
NO TOQUES, CIERRA LA PUERTA, SALGA, ABRA LA BOCA, and more.

I'm trying very hard to keep her Spanish exposure since she doesn't get to hear it very often. It's just DORA THE EXPLORER and me against the rest of the monolinguals! Most of her books are written in both Spanish and English and we read quite a bit. We do vocabulary pretty regularly and I try to do more learning on my own time. Now that Dimaya is going to be starting her nursery school, I'm not sure if they do anything in Spanish there. I truly hope so, because if not, I may have to spend any extra time with her speaking Spanish only.

I admit my Spanish is a little rusty since I don't use it as much, but that's about to change. I'm thinking of possibly going back for a second Bachelors degree in Spanish which would be about 27 hours. I'm such a polyglot and would love to add another language in there some day, but hey...I gotta start somewhere. In our house, it's hard to keep up the OPOL (One Parent One Language) method. Steve speaks decent Spanish and sometimes like to read her Spanish books to her, even though that is technically supposed to be my job. Plus, I want him to be able to speak Spanish with us. The only bad thing is that he is definitely not as motivated to work on Spanish as a family language as I am lol. He's really more into Gaelic. Gaelic is cool, and maybe we could add that to our inventory someday, but Spanish is where the resources are for us right now. Heck, I would rather be learning French, but the resources are limited at the moment.

This adventure is fun, and even though it's hard to know exactly how much Dimaya is learning and/or understanding, it's rewarding! I'll keep posting the progress of Dimaya y su muñeca favorita.

There will be change...

It's been a while since I last blogged, but I'm back! My family and I are going through a transition right now which involves me going back to work and Dimaya going to nursery school. I am kind of excited about my job since I will be teaching Geography courses at the University, but I'm also kind of sad because we've never spent more than a few hours away from each other. I know that once she's over the initial shock, she'll do great. There are many positives in this equation. One being that she will just be around the corner on campus. At least I can get to her quickly if there is a problem. Steve will also be available and that makes me happy.

I still have so many things to do--lecture prep, generate a syllabus, trainings of all sorts--and it feels like going from spending the day with my daughter speaking Spanish and having a good time to filling out a ton of paperwork for HR and making decisions about who is fit (in my mind) to be caregiver for my child. I love teaching more than anything and if it didn't take up so much time...I would probably do it for free. It's something about being able to present--sometimes boring--material in your discipline in an interesting manner. I strive to be the best instructor that I can be, and this means looking at the things I hated and loved about the instructors I've had in the past. Right in between is a healthy balance ;)

Doing My Part!

Today has been such a beautiful day! Nice and warm with a cool breeze! Dimaya spent some time in Eureka Springs with one of her grandmothers and we had a great time outside watering the plants in our garden. She has a beach play set with a rake, shovel, etc. that she used on the garden. Such cute photos! I started thinking about how nice Fayetteville really is...despite all of the things that are missing. I love our garden in the backyard, even though it's small right now (we're eventually expanding). I like going out and picking fresh basil for my famous spaghetti sauce, and even the flavorful tomatoes that come out of our garden. I also started thinking about how the decisions that Steve and I make now actually influence the way Dimaya views the things.

Considering that I have degrees in Anthropology and Geography, I care a lot about the environment and the way we use it. Especially, since there are small things that each of us can do to help out. It's all about doing your part! So, I ran across this website EarthLab that allows you to check your carbon footprint and evaluate your current (and future) earth-friendly practices. It has great tips for reducing your carbon footprint and saving money at the same time!! I'm seriously encouraging everyone reading this post to consider taking this quick assessment. The results range from 150-900 with the lower the score, the better. So far Steve and I are at 336! There are still plenty of things we can do to get that score even lower. Below is a list of things that I pledge to do this year in order to decrease our carbon footprint and save some money:

• I am going to start composting.
• I will use "green" cosmetics and facial products.
• I will buy and refurbish second hand items.
• I will utilize the Community Garden at Walker Park more often.
• I will use natural lighting during the day instead of turning on the lights.
• I will replace light bulbs with energy saving ones.
• I will purchase my next vehicle responsibly and consider a hybrid or smart car.
• I will unplug my cell phone charger when not in use.
• I will get an extra recycling bin. (We never have enough room)
• I will continue to buy locally produced products.

I think this is a good start! I will let you know how things pan out! I'm very excited to start showing Dimaya ways to take care of our earth. It makes me happy to think that, for her, she won't have to change her habits...it'll be a lifestyle she'll know from the beginning!

Other links you may be interested in:

Fayetteville Gardens (Community gardens in the Fayetteville, AR)

Ozark Natural Foods (Become an owner for $25 a year and when a profit is made by ONF you get a refund based on your annual spending)!

The Daily Green (Great resource for anything green and sustainable)

Health/Fitness Update!

I know...I know...I'm playing catch up with my blog! It's a good thing while I have the help :) Besides, I have a lot things I want to cover! This post is going to be about my health/fitness journey. In a previous blog (right after Valentine's Day), I was writing about trying Zumba. Since then I have been a very loyal Zumba participant. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Zumba, it was created by dancer/choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez in Colombia in the 1990's. It combines a mix of latin dances, including salsa, cha-cha, cumbia, bachata, and many many more. It almost doesn't feel like exercise! It's kind of like going to the club in a way lol! In my Tuesday night class, which continues to grow each week, the women are friendly and we have a lovely instructor. I am also seeing the results of my exercise! Since I have been running (I live a block from a park), doing Yoga/Pilates at home, Zumba, and eating better (i.e, snacking more throughout the day and eating less at one time), I have broken into the weight bracket below the one in which I was experiencing a plateau. I have new running shoes with inserts for my crazy high arches and I'm really enjoying exercising with them.

I have decided that I will run a 5K this fall. I want to give myself time to prepare and Dimaya will be older (nursing less, which totally helps the breast scene). I have 2 weddings to attend this summer, one in Little Rock where I am a bridesmaid, and the other in Milwaukee. Right now my focus is to just lose weight. I'll start training after all of these events take place. Keep in mind that I'm still running, just not training! I also have decided that I want to become a licensed Zumba instructor by the end of the year! I really love this fitness style and feel that it is one of the best choices I've made for myself in a long time!

Since I've been visiting my parents in Texas, I knew I wouldn't make my Tuesday night class so I've been using YouTube to do a few of the routines posted by other Zumba instructors. Since my mother is starting her path to Yoga certification, we do Yoga together in the mornings. Dimaya does really well as she tries to imitate some of the poses herself :) All in all, I happy to report that I am still confident in my health mission and the goals are set and clear!

Silver Screen Madness

Sometimes when I'm feeling down in the dumps, it really helps to have my mother come up to visit me from Texas. It always cheers me up! That is one reason I'm glad she's only a 4 hour drive away. One of the best things about moms is that when you have a child, they are more than thrilled to entertain your child while you clean, eat, sleep, shower, or do things you normally have to do in a hurry. Or sometimes...even come with you to the movies and entertain too! I must say, I am a very lucky person to have a mom as awesome as mine! Dimaya, now a little over 9 1/2 months, loves to be out with her Gigi (my mom). She's always busy doing things and doesn't like to sleep because she's afraid she'll miss something. Before Dimaya was born, Steve and I would go to the movies with family and friends (or each other) on a regular basis. Now, one of us normally stays home with the baby while the other goes out. We thought about taking her with us to a matinee in the middle of the week when no one would be there, but decided against it each time. My mom suggested (last Saturday) that we all go to the movies and take Dimaya with us. She said that if Dimaya got loud or antsy, she would take her out of the movie and hang out with her. We all agreed! It took only a second to decide that we wanted to see Limitless. (Great movie by the way)! So...we got to the movies a little early and got our seats. Probably not the best idea since we had really loud previews and they didn't turn the lights out until forever. (Making a note about this for next time). Dimaya did really well in the beginning, but she wanted to talk and there weren't many people around...except for this one girl (whom I will speak of here in a minute). We tried to pick an area close to the exit and free of people. When the last of the previews were showing, Dimaya decided to start talking EXTRA loud. Keep in mind...the previews were also REALLY loud so Dimaya could barely be heard. Now...the woman who came and sat in front of Steve kept turning around mugging us like Dimaya was such a problem EVEN THOUGH she was facebooking on her bright phone through all of the previews. (Hello people out there! Yeah, you! If you're reading this, please know that Facebooking in the movie theater is just as annoying to the people behind you that have a big bright spot in their view of the screen!) Before the movie even started, my mom told me that she was going to see if she could take Dimaya to a movie for kids. We went out in the lobby where I decided to nurse her before sending her off with Gigi. Off we went to see Mars Needs Moms. Gigi led the way, choosing a seat in front, and sat down with Dimaya. I made sure everything was okay before I started walking back to my movie. Dimaya was so excited about the movie that she never saw me leave, and apparently didn't give it much thought later when she noticed I wasn't there. I watched Limitless in peace with my brother and husband, and when the movie let out we went outside looking for Gigi and Dimaya. Couldn't find them! I was for sure their movie was out too! I had a slight sense of panic when I searched and couldn't find them! I called Gigi's phone a million times and texted to find out their whereabouts. No answer! So finally I went back to the theater (whose marquee said Lincoln Lawyer, which threw me off in the first place). Inside I found a smiling Gigi, holding a peacefully sleeping Dimaya. All was well! Later, we got the report that Dimaya had watched the movie and laughed like the older children. She also watched a young girl sitting next to them for a great portion of the movie. When things work out like this...alll you can do is smile!

Post-Valentine's Day

So yesterday was interesting...for lack of a better word. It was Valentine's Day and it was a LONG day. Dimaya woke up screaming 3 times in the middle of the night, but she did put herself back to sleep which is awesome. No one tells you that even when babies do begin sleeping through the night, it doesn't mean that you will. Most nights I hardly sleep since I'm always anticipating the moment she'll wake up screaming! So, yes, there is some truth to when other parents tell you "You will never sleep again!" with their sunken and bloodshot eyes. Welcome to Zombieville...because that's exactly how you're going to feel. It's crazy how you just look at your child's face and you can't be angry about not getting any sleep.

I started off the morning with some a bowl of Captain Crunch in Horizon Organic Fat Free Milk since it took everything in me to crawl out of bed. I must say--if you haven't tried it yet--Horizon milk is the best I've ever tasted. I tend to be a little sensitive to milk, but for some reason, it's about the only brand that doesn't bother me as much. The gym trip turned out to be a family affair. Steve, Dimaya, and I mobbed into the gym with all of our gear (and toys). I had a pretty good workout, and was very surprised at myself for running 8 out 10 minutes non-stop on the treadmill! Currently I'm sticking to a routine I found online that seems simple, but effective. I'm feeling a little more confident and and less self-conscious about being in the gym. There were more women there this time so I didn't get the uncomfortable feeling this time. I completed everything on the circuit with a few interruptions from Dimaya. You see, she was in the Kids Club area with the glass windows. All I could see was her face--red and tear-streaked--plastered against the glass screaming for us to come and get her out.

As for Valentine's Day, Dimaya and I went to visit Steve and the interns at the office until their work day was finished. Then we had a family dinner at Shogun which was extremely busy. We ended up sitting around the grill with about a million other people and watched the show as the grillmaster cooked up our food. Dimaya was enthused by all of the action and stole the show as usual. The only thing she didn't like was when the fire blazed up really high and got close to her. It was funny us because she was so shocked she started crying and screaming for a moment. It was a great dinner...long...but fun! I hope everyone out there had a great Valentine's Day too!

Getting Motivated

(Okay, so I meant to post this yesterday also, but of course life happens. Figured I would just post it now).

The activities on Sunday were as follows:

• Short walk in the park with the family (including the dogs). It didn't turn out to be very long or "brisk" to be considered exercise, but we got out of the house. We've had PLENTY of snow in the last few weeks.
• Went to Barnes & Noble to get inspired and motivated for Monday...the big workout day! Read a few Pilates and Running magazines. I got really psyched about possible teacher training, certifications of all sorts, and Couch to 5K races.
• Found a fitness routine that I think suits me well!
• Got a new sports bra and some pants from Target. Let me tell you...I never knew breasts could be used as weapons (against yourself for that matter)! Obviously I needed some real support--went from a 34C to a 36DD--if I planned on running anywhere.
• Had a nice dinner with friends and extended family. I opted for spinach enchiladas to be a little healthier! They were delicious!

One thing that concerns me about working out at the gym is being there with all of the juiceheads. I know it's something that is totally my issue, since most of them could care less whether or not I'm there working out. I guess there is some kind of solace in that. I never remember feeling this way before I had a baby. Probably because the idea of anything jiggling was far from my mind. Now it's part of life! That's a clear sign of motivation if I never had one before! Don't get me wrong...I'm not huge or terribly out of shape, but I have goals that mainly include feeling great about myself and helping others to do the same. It amazes that I'm going to do this in such a public way. I am really pumped about starting my workout and getting back in shape! Let's see how it goes!

Gearing up!

Hello everyone!

Almost two years ago my life changed dramatically...for the better! I was a graduate student in geography conducting research on how to create resilient communities that were vulnerable to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico. Little did I know, I would meet, Steve, the man of my dreams and within 3 months, I would be engaged. Four months later...we were married. Talk about a change! Oh, wait...let's throw a another surprise in the mix! June 1, 2010 we welcomed a baby girl, Dimaya, into this world.

The last two years have been the best years of my entire life. I NEVER would have thought that I, the tedious-solitary-government-job-seeking-girl, would end up married with children so quickly. No one really tells you how to handle the massive amount of responsibility suddenly placed upon you...once you say "I do" and then when you give birth.

For some reason, I found myself lost in between the graduate student I was and the stay at home mom I had become. Almost like a world of limbo! My situation had changed, along with my body and my self-confidence. Let's just say two years ago my life looked like this:

• Go to class and work on hurricane research.
• Go to the gym and get a good workout. Gotta keep the body tight!
• Go to work at the pharmacy as a technician.
• Look for government jobs in good locations with nice salaries and benefits.
• Go out with my friends.
• Buy the latest (BCBG/Nine West) shoes and (Big Star/Lucky) jeans.
• Maybe cook, but most likely go out to eat sushi or Mexican with my single friends.
• Stay up watching re-runs of old shows and finally fall asleep at a crazy hour.
• Sleep in until about 10:30AM whenever possible.

Now it looks more like this:

• Wake up at 5:00am (after various wakings throughout the night) to a crying baby ready to eat.
• Feed myself with baby in lap trying not to spill milk from the cheerios on her head.
• Watch Rugrats and Dora until I can crawl back in bed.
• Buy Dimaya the latest Baby Gap/Old Navy clothes and shoes. I think I own 2 good pair of flats. Pumps? I gave up on those when my feet looked like squished sausages during pregnancy.
• Hang out with friends who have kids because they understand when you have to reschedule.
• Go on baby playdates, La Leche League meetings, Story time, Mom groups, etc.
• Exercise?? WTF...
• Take a nap with the baby at some point during the day. Changing diapers is exhausting!
• In the bed by 9pm or 10pm at the very latest. Yes...I am old ;-)

I am on a journey to regain my body, self-confidence, and do things that I always thought were impossible! I'm hoping that someone will find this blog helpful and maybe even inspiring. Follow through this learning experience as I find myself in the making!