Happy New Year! (last week)

I have been meaning to post earlier, but just haven't had the time. All my babies are asleep, though, so I figure I better do it quick before someone wakes up!

We had a fun New Year's Eve. Pete and I went over to our friend Kevin and Dorota's house where we played Super Mario Brothers on their Wii, and I got to play with their baby boy, Patryk. He is so tiny compared to Maya! I can't believe Maya was that tiny just six months ago. Maya had fun playing with his toys, too! Peanut was also glad to play with their two doggies.

I've made a bunch of resolutions, but who knows if I'll keep to them. I'm terribly undisciplined. I'll be gung-ho for a week or two, and then flake out once the novelty wears off. Some of my resolutions include paying down a chunk of our debt (danged student loans!); making doctor, optometrist, and dentist appointments I've been too lazy to make; finish landscaping the back yard; get Pete a more reliable car (or get me a mini-van to fit all the kiddies and let Pete have my car); eat better; do more outside activities like hiking the Bosque and visiting places of interest in NM; and last, but certainly not least, getting pregnant with and having baby #2 by November. A boy, of course!

I realize that most of my other resolutions are going to make that first one of paying down debt hard, but I've decided that if we get a tax return this year (and we should) it will all do towards debt. That totally makes me sad. Tax return time is when I get to splurge, but alas, not this year!

I hear babies crying.....be right back!

......

OK. It's later in the afternoon, and I've already completed one of my New Year's resolutions! I just bought a minivan. CHECK! It's a '99, but it only has 87,000 miles on it. The owners went to Europe for 5 years. They drained all the fluids and just stored it in their garage the whole time. The guy who owned it is a mechanic and has a shop in town. He kept crazy meticulous records. So, I now officially have a seven-passenger soccer mom-mobile. Yikes! I told myself I would never get a mini-van, but SUV's only seat five.



Let's see...where was I now. Let's talk about Maya's new tricks! While she still refuses to even try walking, Maya now will pull herself up on the couch. She puts her leg up and as long as I use my hand as a little shelf for her butt she can do the rest! Also, today the other baby I watch, Sophia, was crying because she fell down and bumped her little head. Maya came over to us and gave her a hug and kiss, and started patting her head. It was so cute! My ten-month-old feels empathy. Mama's so proud!

As for our resolution to eat better, we decided to follow the Alton Brown non-diet diet. No calorie counting involved. We are still going to stuff our faces, but instead of stuffing them with cookies we will be choosing healthy items from the four food groups. We totally stocked up on fruit, cheese, and a variety of dips like hummus, guacamole and salsa to snack on. Here's what the diet consists of:

Eat Daily:
Fruits
Whole grains
Leafy greens
Nuts (1 oz a day)
Carrots
Green tea

Eat at least 3 times a week:
Oily fish
Yogurt
Broccoli
Sweet potatoes
Avocado

Eat only once a week:
Red meat
Pasta
Dessert
Alcohol

Never eat:
Fast food
Soda
Processed meals
Canned soup (because of salt content among other things)
“Diet” anything

At first glance this diet seems difficult, but once I started writing out ideas for meals, you really can eat practically anything. So long as it's not garbage, that is! Clearly, Pete will not be eating fatty fish three times a week since he hates the stuff, so we'll be eating a lot of tuna melts. We are also going to eat out twice per week. Once for breakfast and once for dinner.

That's the update. Tune in next week for more exciting adventures in The Fabulous Life & Times of the Ristig Family!