The Prodigal Manatee returns.

Sunflower_

Sunflower_

Well-known member
Good afternoon, lovelies.

Will keep my intro brief as I have written several (hundred) threads in my 12 (eek!) years on this forum. I am Sunflower - I am 33 (double eek!) and I am the proud owner of two under three, two cats and a lovely American husband. Newest spawn is 11 months now and I am returning to work in 2 weeks. I put on 4 stone (triple eek?) whilst pregnant with baby A and I have gotten myself "down" to 209lbs. Starting weight in June this year was 225lbs so I have lost a fair amount since then. Would love to be in onederland by the time I go back to work which is ambitious but I'm kind of an all or nothing typa gal.

I know I am more accountable and better behaved when posting my food every day so that is my plan. Also logging steps.

Vices include, but are not limited to, gin, excessive amounts of popcorn, all things pasta and cheese and late evening snacking as a reward for surviving my children another day.

Probably won't have the time (or headspace) to be checking in on other diaries (apart from Cate and LaMa who are my WLF staples and have been knocking around these parts longer than me, which is saying something!) so apologies in advance.
 
:party: You're back! Lovely to hear from you :party:
Great job getting down 16 pounds already. All well with Yank and the babes?
 
Hi sweet! Yes, they are all wonderful. Largest Grub is 4 in May and we have little, red-headed A knocking about now too. It's been the most wonderful year. I had complications in my pregnancy so stopped working in August last year so have had a gorgeous, long time off work. Feeling all the dread about returning but craving a routine (outside of naps. toileting, feeding smalls) and to see my work pals again. We just got back from a trip to Montenegro and have some other exciting travel plans coming up so have lots to look forward to still. Hope you are well, my love!
 
My gingerness is slowly fading to graveyard blonde so it's a good thing your little one is taking over the torch :D
Montenegro sounds delightful! I would do nothing but lie on the couch in my spare time if I didn't have my work routine to keep me going but I guess that's not a thing with two tiny tots around to keep you busy. When are you going back?
 
2 weeks today, LaMa! I didn't picture you as a red head.. Such a lovely colour. Glad my little one is carrying on the mantle.

So, today. Very chilled at home today after the Zoo with the littles yesterday. A has conjunctivitis after we took her to the most disgusting public swimming pool I've ever seen.. Awful mistake to take her in. E has swimming lessons that we pay an extortionate amount for but it's at a pool in a family home (ohhh, to be that rich) so the public pool was comparatively pretty fucking grim. Today we stayed in PJs, watched TV, played with "slime" (E's latest obsession) and did a little woodland walk in the woods behind our home.

Tonight me and C have had curry and watched House of the Dragon which is awesome. Daemon Targaryen is just inexplicably hot. Love him.

Today I've had quorn chicken/mushroom/pepper curry with naan, toast and hummus, carrot sticks, pumpkin seeds and a large gin (medicinal).

Calories today: 1569.
 
Yay!!! Hi, Han. I was so happy to see you back again when I logged on this morning. I'm lost for words & that's no mean feat. Happy dance, happy dance :D 🥰
 
Poor kid to get conjunctivitis and what awful management to let the pool get that gross! Speedy healing.
Quorn curry sounds delicious though. I wish my grocery store carried quorn products.
 
Hiii beautiful Cate ♥

LaMa, did you change your name on here or am I going mad?

Long ol' day. A really unsettled but managed to do all the cleaning, bought a new bookcase at the antique shop near our home, took E for his jabs, got him cake at a cafe, did a forest walk with the babes and Yank, organised all the cupboards, bathed and fed the smalls and got them in bed by 1830.

Me and Yank had veggie burgers and popcorn for dinner and watched "The others" which I can't believe is over 20 years old.. Still spooky! A has been up over 6 times since I put her to bed. Wants to be on the boob all the time and rubbing her little gammy eyes. Poor girl. I have her 12 month review tomorrow so will get the health visitor to have a once over on her. 11pm here now and Yank snoring like a wildebeest and I'm wide awake.
Feel tired all day but once both kids down I feel the urge to "have an evening" and stay up too late..

Anyway, I digress. 1900 calories today, 11,000 steps, 207lbs.
 
Hi, lovely 🥰
I love the way you write. G snores like a wildebeest sometimes & it can drive you bonkers when you're dog-tired yourself. I hope A gets better soon. Poor little thing :grouphug:
 
Thanks, gals. Nice to be back ♥

The snoring in the Sunflower house continues this evening... Not killing him off yet as then I'll have no one to raise the grubs with. Sigh.

Nice quiet day again - pottered this morning after being up several times with A again. Then me and Yank walked through the forest to the village and took A to her 12 month review with the health visitor. All good apart from her giant, ham head. 98th percentile! Will be storing her massive brain, no doubt.

Then we cleaned, had lunch, collected E from preschool, Yank baked a loaf of bread (which was awful..) and we played on the Switch together after we got the kids to sleep. Peaceful, peaceful. Will miss these when I'm back to work on the 10th..

Calories were 1800 today. Hummus toast for lunch and spinach and sausage pasta for dinner with some of the horrid bread. 2 little G&Ts. 9000 steps (mostly hoovering..)
 
Sounds like a lovely day. I hope your sleep improves. I do remember how that felt. R didn't sleep through the night until he was 4 years old. I don't think anyone or anything can prepare you for parenthood. We stick to Laucke bread mix & the breadmaker now after many failed attempts at breadmaking. Sourdough was a disaster :svengo:
 
When I see young children with large heads I feel so bad for their mom.
Sounds like an excellent day though, despite the snoring and bad bread. My mom also uses a standard mix and a bread maker and it still comes out wrong occasionally.
 
Hey Rob! Hope you're doing well 🌸 nice to see you still here. Such a supportive little part of the Internet. I am just feeling manatee-esque. Although, I do love them. I saw them in the wild manyyyy years ago in the states and loved how they manage to be so serene and peaceful despite their giant bods. Shame boats get them so much, they are such gentle things.

Cate, I am strongly hoping we will get a breadmaker...this appears to be a left over hobby from lockdown that Yank refuses to let go of!

LaMa, the Red Dread came out of the sun hatch luckily, so my bits remain relatively unscathed. Thankful for small mercies, etc etc

Another uneventful day. Am thankful for them in the lead up to returning to work. A and me started the day at 330. Was not much fun..but then Yank woke at 5 and took over and I went back to bed for a while. E to preschool and Yank to the tip (I do love a tip run, shed is looking very empty!) and then I went and did the food shop at ALDI. Prices in the UK are insaaaaane at the moment.
Then we cleaned (again), I made a lentil bolognaise for the children. They are both vegetarian until they are old enough to understand where meat comes from. A bit hippy dippy perhaps but me and Yank were not afforded that opportunity and I'd rather that veggie was the norm and then they can decide to eat meat. They both love spinach, beans, all green veg.. Sure they aren't missing out on anything important.
Then we watched the new Frozen Planet David Attenborough episode which was beautiful and sad. Now I'm breastfeeding the baby who has another tooth coming and is very sad..

Perhaps living through these petty days will get us ready for the dangerous ones, as said my favourite author.

Calories 1900, steps 12,000.
 
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Sunflower_ said:
Cate, I am strongly hoping we will get a breadmaker...this appears to be a left over hobby from lockdown that Yank refuses to let go of!
Click to expand...
I hope so too. G is a great cook, but bread is not his forte & the breadmaker we have is wonderful.
Sunflower_ said:
LaMa, the Red Dread came out of the sun hatch luckily, so my bits remain relatively unscathed. Thankful for small mercies, etc etc
Click to expand...
This confused me at first until it clicked. You are so funny, Han. I love it. D, my first son had such a big head. I still squirm a bit remembering his birth! :eek:
Yay for an uneventful day in the land of tired parents & small children :)
 
I had to scroll back a bit as well! :rotflmao:
Hippy dippy or not: I think it's awesome that you're giving your kids choices instead of just expecting them to be copies of yourselves.
 
Oh my word, Hello!!! So happy I stumbled upon your diary! My little one is 5 weeks old today (also a baby A!) and I can TOTALLY relate to that "late night snacking" as a reward for surviving another day. So excited to check in on your progress.

On returning to work - I work in marketing and we've been entirely remote since April 2020. I crave the external routine and virtual interaction with co-workers, although I'm not sure how that will go with baby A's nap/feed/wake schedule. Can't believe that the first five weeks are done already.

And TOALLY agree with you on House of the Dragon. My hubs and I watch it on Sundays as well.

Here's to you meeting your goal before your return to work!
 
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