Fun at the Mall of America

With Mel out of town all weekend visiting a friend in Iowa, I was alone today with the kids. Maximus never seems to be happy when he's home with me, so he, Emma, and I all went to the Mall of America today. Emma always seems to want to go to the mall, mainly because she likes going to Nickelodeon Universe. When we got there around 10:15 this morning, she wanted to go on the carousel. Normally when I go there with Emma and Max, I put Emma on the carousel and then Max and I wait for her ride to be done. This morning however, I decided that Max might want to ride the carousel. So I strapped him on a horse next to Emma's. While waiting for the ride to begin, Maximus appeared to be pretty happy on the horse, but when it began moving up and down and going around, he got a worried look on his face which quickly turned to a scared look. Fortunately he didn't cry, but I thought we shouldn't go on the carousel again right away.

After our carousel ride we went into one of the Nickelodeon Universe stores where Emma looked at almost every item they had. She found a SpongeBob SquarePants dog tag with her name on it that she wanted, but we didn't get one. I was disappointed that they didn't have one with Max's name on it. After Emma had investigated every square inch of that store, the three of us set out in search for the Fossil store so I could get the battery in my watch replaced. As it is located on the second floor, we took the elevator up one level and began walking around the mall. We didn't make it to Fossil right away though. As we approached Macy's, Emma told me that she needed to go to the potty. We entered Macy's to find one. We ended up going to the third floor to find a restroom, after which Emma said she wanted lunch. So we ended up eating lunch before making it to the Fossil store.

After lunch we resumed out quest for the Fossil store. I however took us in the wrong direction. Before getting to Fossil, we stopped at the Disney Store where Emma looked around quite a bit, although we did not buy anything. Eventually we left the Disney Store and located Fossil where I had the battery in my watch replaced. Even though I knew the battery was dead, I had still been looking at it and kept wondering why time didn't seem to have passed. Now I will once again know the time.

By this time, Emma wanted to go on a few more rides. Before we got to any of the rides though, we saw that SpongeBob SquarePants and Squidward Tentacles were making an appearance, so we got in line so Emma and Max could see them. I was worried that Max might be scared of the large costumed characters, but he did fine. He even tried to grab SpongeBob's nose.

After getting their photo taken with SpongeBob and Squidward, we made our way to the Rugrats bumper cars. The last time Emma rode in the bumper cars, she ended up getting stuck in a corner. This time she did much better. She ended up riding the ride three consecutive times. She would have gone again if I would have let her, but I thought that three times was enough. I was amused the first time she rode the bumper cars today listening to all the parents along the side of the ride shouting to their kids to turn the wheel one way or the other and to press the peddle. I was among those parents doing this.

Before leaving, Emma wanted to ride on the carousel one more time. She wanted me to ride with her. I wasn't too sure about that since that would require Maximus to ride on the carousel again, and he really did not like his first experience on the ride. I relented though, and the three of us all rode on the carousel once more. This time though, I put Max on a horse that did not go up and down. He did much better this second time on a horse which was more limited in its motion.

Finally we were about ready to leave the mall. On our way out we walked by the LEGO store. Unfortunately Emma wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and the ran right into the corner of one of the support columns outside the side of the LEGO store. She was in a lot of pain and cried as we walked through the mall toward the exit. As we were close to the exit, we walked by Häagen-Dazs, where two employees were giving out small sample spoons of ice cream. The tiny spoon of ice cream had the effect of making Emma feel much better. Just to be sure though, they gave her another sample. She was doing much better for a moment until she ran into Max's stroller. She was once again whining as we made out way to the car. Finally leaving the mall a little after 2:00.

Both Emma and Maximus ended up falling asleep on our way home from the Mall of America. Maximus even stayed asleep when we got home, so I was able to put him down for a nap where he continued to sleep until I woke him at about 4:45 for dinner. Both kids had such a busy day that they each went to sleep fairly easily tonight. I am actually surprised that I am still awake considering all the work I did wrangling the kids today. I even walked over 14,000 steps today. More than 10,000 of those were at the Mall of America. I think I will go to sleep once I finish writing this.

Buying Tangled

Yesterday I picked up a copy of Tangled at our local Target store. It is going to be a present for Emma for Easter. There were several options available to choose from. There was the DVD-only, the two-disc combo pack with the Blu-ray and the DVD, and finally there was the four-disc combo pack which included the Blu-ray 3D and the digital copy as well as the 2D Blu-ray and the DVD. While we do not have a Blu-ray player, I decided to go with the four-disc combo. We did buy an HDTV earlier this year, so it's probably just a matter of time before we get a Blu-ray player. We will not be buying a 3D TV in the foreseeable future, but the digital copy will be nice. It would be nice if Disney sold a combo pack that had all three formats of the movie with the exception of the 3D disc, but I guess that would just complicate things. Besides, with the five-dollar coupon I got online, the four-disc combo pack cost the same as the two-disc pack.

The Losing Continues

I lost an additional 1.2 pounds this week, bringing my total weight loss since February 23 up to 7.0 pounds. I was worried that I wouldn't have any loss this week as we ate out twice during the week. I did count most of my Weight Watchers points though, although I did estimate the points for one of the dinners, and I used up every single point I had for the week.

I'm a Loser, Again

Yesterday was my weekly weigh-in day for Weight Watchers, and after two consecutive weeks of gaining weight, 0.4 pound each week, I have resumed losing weight. My weight was down 3.4 pounds from the previous week for a net loss of 5.8 pounds since I reset my tracking history four weeks ago, on February 23. Since I have not lost 5.8 pounds, I reached my first 5 pounds milestone. A couple of things that helped me get back to losing weight was more accurately tracking what I ate and actually getting exercise. I rode my bike on the trainer four times during the week. I intend to move up to riding at least five days each week. Not only will that help me with my weight loss, but it should also help me to prepare for RAGBRAI.

Four!

This past Sunday was Emma's fourth birthday. Time really goes by quickly. I can not believe she's already four years old! She seemed to have a pretty good birthday. We went to Don Pablo's for dinner Saturday night with Aunt Rebecca. Because we were there to celebrate her birthday, Emma got to wear the birthday sombrero, and we got a free order of sopaipillas.


We asked Emma Saturday what she wanted to do for her birthday. The only thing she indicated the wanted to do was to go to Sunday School, so since Maximus was sick, he has thrown up in the car on the way home from the restaurant Saturday night, I took Emma to church while Mel stayed home with Max.


After we got back home from church and ate lunch, Emma opened the presents we got her -- two Zhu Zhu Pets and the Zhu Zhu Burgers Overpass. She had a good time with her new toys, but later in the afternoon she didn't seem to be feeling well and she fell asleep on the couch. Emma ended up going to bed early because she wasn't feeling well, and by the afternoon, she also was not behaving very well. She still thought she had a good birthday though.

The Joy of Car Ownership

Two weeks ago I sent the final payment for our Saturn VUE to the finance company. A week later we got a check in the mail for the fifteen-cent overpayment we apparently made. It is nice to not owe any more money on the SUV. Now instead of making car payments, we get to spend the money on keeping the vehicle running.

Yesterday I took the Saturn in for an oil change and to get a tire repaired. I ended up taking home a vehicle which not only had new oil and filter as well as a patched tire, but also a new timing belt, a new battery, and new transmission fluid. Fortunately I only need to take it in for an oil change about ounce every five or six months, so barring anything unexpected happening to the Saturn, it will be at least that long before we have to spend any additional money on its maintenance.

Becoming More Active

This morning I weighed myself again for my weekly Weight Watchers weigh-in, and once again my weight was up. It was down less than a pound from my weight at the beginning of December when Weight Watchers started its new Points Plus program. There are two things that have been holding me back in being successful at losing weight -- not carefully tracking my points and not getting exercise. That will change beginning today. Today I rode my bike for twenty minuted on my new bike trainer. Twenty minutes doesn't seem like a very long ride, but I figured it was a good start considering that I haven't been on a bike since the final day of RAGBRAI in 2009. Also, I did my bike riding during my lunch break from work, so I didn't really have the time to ride much longer than that.

I also will be more careful about tracking my points. I know I have said this before, but I think I can do it. I even recorded the two Carbury Creme Eggs, 4 Points Plus points each, that I had this evening. One of the hardest parts of tracking points is keeping up with them when I am away from a computer. It would be easier to do that if I had a smart phone, but that will have to wait.

Happy Geeky Valentine's Day

Max's First Birthday Cake

Yesterday was Maximus's first birthday, and the first time he got to eat birthday cake. He didn't seem to sure about it at first, but he did end up eating some of it. A lot of it ended up in his lap however.

Happy Birthday Maximus

Today is Maximus Xavier's first birthday. As I recall, he arrived a little earlier than we expected. I had just finished cooking dinner, potato soup, on January 22 last year when I woke Mel up from a nap. About that time, her water broke, so we got my aunt and uncle to come get Emma, and Mel and I left for the hospital. The next morning, Maximus was born. He has grown so much in the past year. He weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces when he was born. He now weighs over 23 pounds. And his height has increased from 20.5 inches to over 31 inches.

We have had some challenges during the year, including dealing with his torticollis and plagiocephaly, but he successfully finished physical therapy and his head was reshaped using a cranial orthosis. One thing we are still working on is getting him to sleep through the night. With the exception of a night or two, until this week Maximus has gotten up at least once every night for a bottle. The past several nights though we have not fed Max when he was up. We have been able to get him to return to sleep without one. Friday night, he went back to sleep very quickly after getting his pacifier. I think we may very soon be done waking up with him each night. It will be very nice to regularly be able to get a full night's sleep once again.

He has also begun walking recently. I am looking forward to seeing what he will begin to do next.

Photo Friday: A Summer Photo for a Cold Day

With the temperature around -14°F this morning, I thought a photo from RAGBRAI a couple of summers ago would be nice. This is me eating a walking taco in Brighton, Iowa. It's just 26 weeks until RAGBRAI XXXIX!

1 Down, 25.9 To Go

My weight was down 1.0 pound this week leaving 25.9 pounds to lose until I reach my goal of weighing less than 200 pounds. To help in reaching my goal this morning, I declined buying a roller grill when I stopped at SuperAmerica. I really like the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Tornadoes that they have. They are tasty, but they are 5  Weight Watchers Points Plus points each. I would rather save that for a healthier snack later in the day.

The New HDTV

On Wednesday last week, we picked up our new high-definition television from Best Buy. After setting it up, it was nice to have a TV where the entire screen worked as intended. This morning a Comcast installer came and connected our HD cable service. I am amazed by the difference! The colors are so much more vivid than with our previous TV. When the screen is white it is so bright. And when it is black, it really looks colorless. I have found that reading the fine print in ads is much easier as the words are much more crisp than before. One drawback I have noticed so far is that these are some things that I really did not need to see in high definition. For example, the commercial with the guy carrying around the giant flask of uric acid is a bit more disgusting now than it was in standard definition. Overall though, I am sure we will enjoy watching TV in high definition. Now we just need to get a Blu-Ray player.

Progress with Walking

In the nine days since Maximus began walking, he has made a great deal of progress! The first couple of days, he just walked four or five steps before having to grab onto something. Now he can walk the entire length of our living room. I have also noticed that while he still does crawl some, if he has any real distance to go, he is much more likely to walk than to crawl. There is no stopping him now!

Emma's Legos

One thing Emma enjoys playing with is Legos. Last week, she left the Lego creations shown here on my desk before she left for preschool. She really loves putting the tree on people's heads. But yesterday she did something with her Duplo Legos that really impressed me. Without any prompting or assistance, she built one of the things shown on the label of the box the Legos came in. I was very impressed that she was able to make the connection between the picture and the actual construction of the item.

Photo Friday: T-ball

This Friday's photo is a photo of me from when I played T-ball. I do not recall how old I was when this photo was taken, but I assume it was sometime in the late 1970s.

Back to Losing Weight

I have been using the Weight Watchers PointsPlus program for the past six weeks now, since the beginning of December. I lost weight on the program for the first two weeks using PointsPlus, but then gained weight the next three weeks. This gain was probably due in large part to not carefully watching what I ate over the holidays. This week I have gotten back on track, losing 1.6 pounds, bringing my weight to 226.8 pounds, 0.8 pounds less than my starting weight on December 1. It may take me a little longer to reach my goal of weighing less than 200 pounds than I hoped, but if I really stick to this, I should be able to do it.

Winter Gala

Last night we went to the Winter Gala at Emma's preschool. I think they did a much better job of organizing it this year than they did last year. Last year, each class performed in its own part of the building, but this year they all performed on the same "stage." Emma's class sang four songs, "The Seven Days of the Week," "If It's Winter and You Know It," "The Three Little Snowmen," and "The Bear Hunt." Last year Emma didn't sing much, but this year she did better at singing along.

A Sick Day

We kept Emma home from daycare yesterday. She had gotten sick during the night and we decided that even though she was feeling better in the morning, we would be better off keeping her home. I was able to finish the tasks I needed to complete yesterday, and was able to call in for a regularly scheduled Monday morning meeting, but after that I wasn't able to get any work done. Being not quite four years old, Emma is not yet able to keep herself entertained for hours on end. That was all right though. We had a good day day.

New TV

We finally did it! After putting up with a television set that has been going bad since even before we moved to Minnesota in July 2008 we have finally purchased a new television. We will be replacing our normal old television with a new high-definition television.

For the past few years, we have been putting up with a television in which the very top of the image is distorted. The only time this does not cause problems is when something is presented in widescreen. In those instances, the distortion is in the black portion of the image. However, when watching sports it can be very difficult to read what the score is or to see how much time is remaining. It also makes it difficult to play some video games. We have been saving up for a while, both cash and Best Buy gift cards. We didn't quite have enough, but the TV we wanted was on sale at Best Buy this week for about $150 off the regular price, so we couldn't pass it up. Unfortunately none of our area Best Buy stores had it in stock, so we ordered it online. It should arrive at the store to pick up by Wednesday.

Now we have to decided what to do about our satellite account. If I read the information correctly, it looks like we will have to pay DirecTV an extra $10 each month to get an HDTV signal. I suppose we could also look into what Comcast has to offer. All I know for sure is that we no longer have to make sure whichever package we get has the Discovery Health Channel as it was taken over by the Oprah Winfrey Network. It looks like a lot of the programming from DHC has moved to FitTV, so maybe we need to see about getting that channel now instead.