Guinea Pig Parenting

This week has been so much better than last week on the Dario front.  We have started his "Good Behavior Chart" and it was a huge hit!  I noticed that because Dario was being punished so much he began to be so hard on himself.  He would say things like, "I guess I will just be a bad boy forever." and "I only know how to be bad".  It broke my heart!  He is such a good-hearted boy and to hear him say those things about himself made me so sad.  Honestly, it made me feel like I had scarred him mentally for punishing him.  I never said those things to him, but obviously made him feel that way. 

Anyway, we wanted to focus on all the good things he does on a daily basis.  I set up a reward system in which he could work towards his rewards by doing good things.  The categories were like, Helping Mom and Dad; Picking up Your Room; Good Listening; Good School Day; Good Bedtime, etc.  He had different rewards for each behavior.  He has already filled up the helping mom and dad category and a few others.  He really started to notice that he already does good things all of the time.  This started to make him realize that he was able to control his behavior in school.  He began to take responsibility for his actions, both good and not-so-good.  His teacher has been really great by sending home a note each day to let me know how his day went.  Every day was a "great" day!  He told me that he has learned how to ignore other kids when they talk to him during class.  Not sure if this will make him a social outcast or not, but at least he is staying quiet and listening.  Let's face it, he is probably going to be a nerd, dork, geek or whatever you want to call it. 

So we are going to continue with the positive reinforcement for now and see how it goes.  My little guinea pig of a child just might make it after all. 

Parenting is hard!

So the first week of my 17 day diet and I am still alive, which is nice.  Honestly, it has not been that bad.  I have noticed some cravings for ice cream, but for the most part I am adjusting pretty well.  Valentines day was Tuesday which was day 2 of my diet.  Not good!  My fella had chocolate dipped strawberries delivered and I would have felt awful if I didn't eat them.  I mean, how ungrateful right?!  They were delicious!  I was proud of myself though.  I ate the strawberries and than got right back on the wagon.  I know I said I wouldn't weigh myself until this first phase is over, but I am an instant gratification kind of a girl.  Which is why I have so much weight to lose in the first place.  So, I weighed myself yesterday and I am already down 5.5 lbs!  I have made some modifications to the diet because I am breastfeeding.  I have added a few more calories which come from low fat yogurt and 1-2 more servings of fruit.  I have really noticed how many calories I used mindlessly though.  Just in my morning coffee each day I would have had at least 100 added calories from Bailey's creamer.  Anyway, I am really happy with the results so far. 
Now onto the title of my post.  Parenting is hard!!!  This week was a real challenge with Dario.  He has been having a hard time at school keeping still and focused.  His teacher is such a sweet lady and has been really working with him, but he has told me for a week that he has had no problems when in fact he has had to be constantly reminded to stop distracting other students and to be quiet.  Lying is not tolerated in the Ferrentino house!  His dad and I have had to strip his room leaving only his desk, bed and dresser.  No toys, tv or ds.  I cried myself to sleep that night.  I hate being a responsible parent.  It would be so much easier if I just let him do what he wanted and didn't stick to punishments at all.  I truly know that we are doing the right thing, but I still hate it.  He is such a great kid and he has a sweet heart.  It's times like this that I wish I could drown my mommy-sorrows in a tub of my favorite ice cream.  But, I didn't.  Instead, I ate some pistachios and called it a night.  Oh, and I snuck into bed with him and cuddled him.  It made me feel better.

17-day diet

So I don't want to sound like a stereotypical new mom, but the girl wrecked my body!  And in all fairness, I can't blame her.  It was my own fault for eating gallons of ice cream and not exercising like I should have while I was pregnant.  As soon as I got that BFP, I told myself, "You are going to exercise all the time and eat right!"  Ha!  I was so tired and nauseous in the first trimester that I could barely get up off the couch, let alone make healthy food or snacks.  All I ate the first trimester was crackers, sprite and turkey.  Gross, huh?  It's all that didn't make me sick.  The second trimester I wasn't sick and not as tired so you would think that I would start making healthy meals and exercising more.  Ha Ha!  Instead, I indulged in my cravings and laziness.  It sure was fun though!  The third trimester I was again too tired to really do anything except lay around and make my husband wait on me hand and foot.  Again, super fun, but ultimately disastrous!  In the end I gained about 50 pounds!  I looked like this the night I got pregnant...I'm the one in black.  It was my 30th birthday party!

And this is me a week before I had Janie.  The cute-ass kid is my Dario!

And this is me after I had Janie.

I mean, I get it.  She is totally worth it.  But Day-Um!  I was smokin hot before I got pregnant!  She is almost 8 months old now and it's just about damn time to get my ass into shape.  So this is the point of my blog today.  I am starting what is called the 17 day diet.  It sounds super cheesy and like a quick fix, but it's not.  It's basically a healthy eating plan divided into 17 day phases.  The first phase allows

Unlimited lean protein

Unlimited nonstarchy vegetables

2 low-sugar fruits

2 probiotics (low-fat yogurt)

1-2 servings of friendly fats

Green tea

64 ounces of water

17 days starting today I should lose 10-15 pounds.  Most of which is going to be water.  I am still breastfeeding so I have to modify just a little.  Like, instead of green tea all the time, I will drink Mother's Milk Tea.  Also, I am slightly addicted to coffee.  I drink one cup in the morning and if I don't I get a tremendous headache.  So, I will be drinking black coffee in the morning.  I hope to post at least once a week to help keep me accountable and also to keep a journal of my journey.  I know what it is like to be on a weight loss journey.  I have lost 100 pounds in about a year and was in maintenance before I got pregnant.  I can do it again.  I just need a kick in the ass.  As far as exercise, I got a new xbox exercise game.  I have a kinect so it should be fun.  It's way too cold to exercise outside this week.  So I am starting at (drum roll) 215 lbs.  I seriously just puked a little in my mouth.  I am not going to weigh myself again until February 29th which is 17 days and the end of phase I.  Hopefully, I will be under 200.  That would be awesome!