I'm into my pre-pregnancy jeans! That is supposed to be good news...

I'm happy to report that I finally squeezed myself into my pre-pregnancy (favorite Joe's jeans) jeans!  Yeah...too bad I have the most enormous MUFFIN TOP!!!  Buzzkill.  It's totally ok that I am still wearing my stretchy maternity clothes, right?  Minus the lack of fashion and the limited wardrobe...it does great for my self esteem (note sarcasm).

It's so hard not to compare yourself to other moms out there.  But when I was finding out that women were getting back to their pre-pregnancy weight 2 weeks after giving birth to their second child, I was only a tad envious.  Maybe they are a freak of nature.  Maybe they have good genes.  Maybe they were getting good exercise before and during their pregnancies.  Whatever the case.  I am miffed.  Want to know why?  Because it has been almost six whole months since I had a baby.  And guess what is perfectly snuggled around my mid-section?  Oh, let's not lie here, why not add to the list my fat arms and thighs?  Seriously, I don't remember carrying a baby in my arms and legs!  Except for a short two week stint at CrossFit 3 months post preggers (bad idea), I haven't found the energy to exercise on a regular basis.  I take a long walk once or twice a week.  Poppy usually gets irritated about half way through so I end up taking her out of her stroller and carrying her while pushing the stroller and walking Kona at the same time.  Not my idea of fun.  At least we get fresh air.  I know there are ways to get out of the house.  I could do a mommy and me class, have Glen watch kiddo, or find a place with daycare.  So what is my problem?  I have no excuse other than unmotivation (I don't think that's even a word) and timing a class with Poppy's random sleep schedule.  Save for a short modeling stint when I was a teenager, I reminisce of the days where I didn't think about my weight.  I played hard and that was my form of exercise.  In India I got super toned doing yoga regularly but you wouldn't be able to tell that now, thanks to my "bye bye" arm (you know, the under bit tricep area that wiggles long after you stopped waving good-bye).  Well there's only one way out of this and it is up to me.  We're already thinking about baby number 2 and I'm not ready for my belly to become a permanent source of squish.  I want to feel strong again.  I want to go snowboarding.  I want to go hiking.  I want to swim a mile again without getting exhausted after two laps.  I want to play with my kid(s).  I want them to see a healthy mommy.  Well, at least I'm talking about it.  Maybe I can turn my words into action.  And whoever said breastfeeding burns a lot of calories and helps you lose the weight is a big, fat liar.  I know I'm not the only one out there.  I know I need to be gentle with myself.  My body is purely functional right now, and that function is a source of nourishment to my gorgeous, gorgeous child.  And for right now, that is ok with me.  

This leads me into another discussion which I will probably talk about in another post.  Diet.  Argh.        

We put an offer in on a house!

It was with mixed feelings of course (*gulp* that is a chunk of change you have to plunk down for a deposit!) but I have to say that I do feel relieved that we are done searching.  Looking for a house is so time consuming.  I mean, this is the place you are going to call home for quite a while.  And there is so much variety out there.  Houses that desperately need remodeling, houses that are remodeled terribly.  How are you supposed to love someone else's house and really see yourself there?  In a perfect world we would build a house from scratch, with spaces and materials that suit us.  But unfortunately we had to pick and choose from the limited inventory that is out there.  At first it was fun and exciting but quickly got daunting as we realized we were being pushed out of our ideal neighborhoods due to high cost.  Initially we were searching in North Denver and Boulder and quickly we realized that we couldn't get much with what we could afford.  So I guess that's why folks move to the 'burbs.  You get a lot more bang for your buck.  And it's not that we wanted a big house, we just needed a little room to grow our little family.  Sure, we're bored living where we live now but perhaps that is because we are renting and it's never ever not once felt like home.  It's felt so temporary this last year.  The house we're looking at is in a more developed neighborhood, still the 'burbs but with such a different feeling than this one.  There are still plenty of walking trails and a park close by for the days we want to go out and play with Pops.  Although I will miss a few of our neighbors here, especially the family across the street that plays with Kona when she needs to play off some energy, I am looking forward to forging new relationships with neighbors in our new house.  We won't be that much closer to the city, the restaurants and shops, and the general energy and vibe that Denver or Boulder gives off...but I guess that's what we are willing to sacrifice for our dollar and Glen's commute time to work.  This sweet little house has a wonderful yard that I can imagine Poppy playing in.  There is no major work to be done or big ticket items that need to be replaced...it's all been done already.  There is a room and a full bathroom in the basement so we can have visitors from near and far (hint, hint any of you foreigners that want to come visit).  All we need to do is paint and move in.  We'll add a few little touches here and there but there will be time for that.  In the meantime, we will be anxiously going through the process.  We've agreed to let the sellers stay through Christmas so that they won't be living in a hotel or crashing at a friends house for the holidays.  So hopefully by January we will have a new place to call home.  This is a big step for us.  It means after 3 years of temporary living we will finally have a place to call home.  I'm so looking forward to it.

I'm so dumb! (surprise!)

Oh my geez.  I changed the title of my blog, so changed the url....not realizing that other people have the previous url saved. So when you clicked on The Delhi Diaries...there was nothing there.  Oops!  Sorry folks.  So now I'm wondering if I just leave this one alone and start a whole new blog altogether.  Because it makes no sense to still have it labeled as Delhi Diaries when clearly, I am not in Delhi.  Any suggestions people?  Anybody archive and jump ship on an old blog to start a new one?  Blah, I feel like I can't get a hold of this stupid thing.  Since I took so much time off I am playing catch up on my layout and how this thing works again...notice how I haven't posted any pictures lately?  Blargh!!!  And while you are at it can someone give me a lesson on customizing my photos to have writing on it and then making it the title of my page?  Athena?  Summer?  You savvy bloggers, you.  

You are so patient.  And that is why you are my friend.

House hunting

We've begun the agonizing process of house hunting.  We returned to the U.S. nearly a year ago (already?!).  Originally we were going to buy right away but lo and behold the forces were against us and we had to resort to renting (blergh).  Glen earned all the money and I had the excellent credit but those two things combined were not enough to convince a lender to give us some money.  So we spent this year establishing Glen's U.S. credit and I got a job (until bambino came, of course).  Apparently having bad credit is better than no credit so here we are 10 months down the line and through some financial savviness, Glen has achieved a good credit rating.  So all the paperwork is turned over to the powers that be and our search has begun.  We have narrowed down the location we are searching in based on Glen's commute to work in Longmont and our proximity to Boulder and Denver, not to mention local grocery stores, the pediatrician, etc.  We have lived in Erie for almost a year and we have decided it is Dullsville for us.  We love our neighbors, we love the paths to take family walks on, we love the safety of our neighborhood, we love that Chris and Jenessa are 5 minutes away.  But when it is time to do anything at night like pop over to a yummy restaurant or meet up with other friends it is a commute.  And who wants to commute to dinner with an infant?  And the bigger problem is our ginormous rent payment.  I seriously want to vomit every time I make that payment.  I feel like it is just throwing money away and I can't help but think of how much of that we could put into savings.  When we moved back we had to get into the first thing we could and regretfully that came at a high price, literally.  Our lease is up at the end of the year but we have some very special visitors coming in from England.  So we either move now, like right now or wait until January.  Luckily we can go month to month after December so we shall see.  It's scary buying another house.  I admit I am a little gun shy after the last experience.  It feels like such a burden to me sometimes when I think of being responsible for the upkeep of a property.  I have to find a way to view this positively and make it a home for us, our tiny little family.  Wish us luck!