Kiss My Fat Ass- Tyra Banks

Ugh!!! I am so tired of being overweight!!! I have no excuses anymore! This is it for me! Good bye Big Mac!!! Good bye chips and coke!!! mmmmm coke!!! *SNAP OUT OF IT*
So in attempt to get rid of my huge ghetto ass I have decided to try to follow the body for life diet, of course with some tweeks because I am breastfeeding. So I will eat 6 times a day. Each time I eat I will chow down on a protein and a carb.
Here is my meal plan for tomorrow as an example:
Breaky will consist of 2 hard boiled eggs and a 1 piece of whole grain toast.
Snack one will be 3 small turkey pepperoni sticks and an orange
Lunch will be a whole grain wrap filled with lettuce, cucumbers, 2 1/2 small pieces of smoked turkey breast and a small portion of cheese, mustard, a TINY little bit of mayo. On the side I am gonna have some veggies including tomatoes, mushrooms and cucumbers
Snack two will be 3 light babybell cheeses and a banana
Snack three will be some almonds and some caramel rice cakes
Dinner (depending on if I am at home) will probably be trout, a salad, and a cup of wild rice
And of course I will be consuming with at least 8 glasses of water, some will have lemon wedges in them. Water and milk will be the only things that I will be drinking.
The plan is to eat roughly every 2-2.5 hours. I will not eat later than 7:30 pm. I will eat breakfast daily. (which is gonna be a huge challenge!!!) I know it totally seems like tons of food!!! At least I will not be hungry!!! Sundays will be a cheat day where, if I choose I can eat or drink whatever I please.
My mom, my sister and I have a weekly $5.00 wager going on. The biggest loser of the weigh in on Mondays will win the pot. So that's kind of the idea. Ideally I want to lose 81 pounds before this is all over. (The wager goes on for 12 weeks but I am going to work on it until I reach my goal)
I want to set an example for Olivia so that she can lead a healthy lifestyle. Jake has decided to be more active also.

Speaking of Olivia...
I have taken her swimming and she seems to love it. She is totally a water baby! She loves it. If she is cranky I just put her in the bath and she loves it! I have taken her to the zoo also twice. I love spending those moments with her. I am so worried about going back to work because I want to be able to continue doing these things with her.
She is rolling over like crazy now and is trying to scoot around. She giggles all the time too. It's adorable. She is eating baby food now too once a day.
She has tried a little pear juice also. She's not a huge fan of it. So far she has tried pears, carrots, peas, bananas, and apple sauce. Her favorite by far are carrots!!! She is an awesome eater! Pears was her first food and she really had no idea what was going on. It was super cute.
Anyways on that note, I better get going to bed. 8 am comes early!!!
Goodnight!!!
-x0x0 Momma Nicole

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” Elizabeth Stone

Well it has been a pretty long time since I posted last. To be quite honest I haven't had a whole heck of a lot of time between taking care of Olivia and trying to catch up with the household from when I was sick. Tons has happened since I last posted so I figured that it may be nice to bring this up to date.
Olivia is 4.5 months now. She is quickly growing and developing. She has learned to really giggle which melts my heart every time she does it and makes me laugh. She finds the littlest things so funny like shaking a paper in her face or blowing raspberries. Why is it that as we grow older do we become more complex and need more to satisfy our hunger? Why can we not just find amusement in simple things like bubbles and side walk chalk anymore? Having a little one has really brought me back. I love playing with her or singing to her (God help her!!!) and I really don't care who is around to watch me act like a fool. I could be in the middle of a store singing to her and it feels like it's just her and I.
Yesterday she started to growl. She was grumbling before and so Jake decided to start growling at her. She thinks it's funny and yesterday when the nurse was taking her weight she growled at her and has been doing it ever since. It's hilarious!
She has also rolled over and she has tried solid foods. Her first food was pears. She has discovered her feet and it's almost like everyday she's doing something new for the first time.
We went swimming for the first time yesterday. She had so much fun. I am really looking forward to the summer so I can take her to do things outside like go to the park and to the zoo.
She has had her first cold too which was so sad but she only had it for 2 days. I know this sounds crazy but it kind of made me feel like a great mommy. I took total care of her and then looked up if there was anything else that I could do for her so that she would feel better. I had already done everything I could have done. Way to go me!!! :)
Anyways I will be writing more later until then I'm signing off!!!
-xoxo Momma Nicole

God sends children to enlarge our hearts, and make us unselfish and full of kindly sympathies and affections. -- Mary Howitt

Olivia got her shots a week or so ago. I really honestly believe that I was more nervous than she was. I was so worried that she would resent me or something which I know is ridiculous but as a mother it has to be one of the things I fear the most.
I think the anticipation was worse for me than the shot itself. We went into the office. Late as usual. I had to get one of my shots too- which may I add hurt and bruised me. Anyways Jake was holding her while the nurse pulled out the needle. I had to turn my back at first and out of nowhere I felt as though I was going to pass out. I became dizzy, hot then cold and nauseous to boot. I had to get out of there. I ran out of the room to stand outside the door and wait for the cry that was inevitable.
And then it happened. I stood out there for a moment or two longer just to make sure all 3 needles were given and just as I was about to burst in the room because I couldn't take it any longer the nurse opened the door and invited me back in.
I saw my baby, legs exposed with a tiny bit of blood on them. Tears rolling down her cheeks. Jake was bouncing her on his lap, this is something that usually calms her. I reached for her grabbed her and quickly started to feed her. At that point I could have cared less who was in the room, I quite literally whipped out my boob and started to feed her to calm her down. (I made sure she was a little hungry before we went in so this was an option after the shot.) She slept well for the night and the next day also. No reaction really... just really tired and sore.
Just to end on a funnier note, Olivia and I play a game where she flies through the air like a jet plane or in this case a space ship... well it just so happens that during that game today she decided to barf... all over my face and hair... EWWWWW! I thought it was the funniest thing!!! I was really grossed out but it was funny none the less!!! God I love that little girl!!!
-xoxo Momma Nicole

Perfect parents are only in old TV reruns- Dee Ann Stewart

Olivia is constantly scratching her face. It drives me mental. I have had a phobia of cutting her nails since she was born, and up until today had only done it once. Cutting her nails this morning led to me feeling like such a terrible mother. I was cutting her pointer finger and I cut it. Like I swear to you I almost cut the tip off (or so it felt like after.) She cried and my first thought was that I was being over dramatic. I didn't realize just how bad it was until I saw her bleed. I just thought I may just have pinched a little bit of her skin. Nope. It was quite a bit. Needless to say I feel awful, I am completely traumatized and I can only hope it doesn't sting anymore.
To add insult to injury for my poor little girl, she is getting her shots on Wednesday too. I am sure she will think I hate her by the end of the week!!!
Needless to say this phobia I had has not got any better. I am way more terrified now than I was before and I think I will stick to filing her little claws for a little while!
-xoxo Momma Nicole

*note the pic taken above was not taken today- I am not that mean of a mommy to take it when shes in physical pain!!! :)

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland

Another great car ride with the little one. We came home today so that we could ring in the new year in the comfort of our home. Olivia has been kinda cranky so I half expected her to cry on the way home but she did quite well! We even stopped to eat and she just looked around and then fell asleep. I let her try a little granule of sugar the other day for the first time and then again today as a treat. She really liked it. (well obviously what kid doesn't love sugar.) She also had a tiny taste of water too. I don't really think she liked it all that much, she spit it back out. Better stick to the boob juice for a while.
Anyways...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

2010 was sure fantastic!!! Here is just a short look back at what went on this year:
In January Jake and I decided to elope in Las Vegas. The proposal happened in the beginning of February. We moved in together and then Jake and I celebrated my 23rd birthday in Vegas on February 22nd. We got married the following day. That night we found out we were pregnant. In March we had our first ultrasound. (seems like just yesterday) In September we celebrated Jake's 24th birthday on the 20th and I was thrown a wonderful baby shower that month also. On October 25th, we welcomed Olivia into our lives. Since then she has hit milestones. She smiles, giggles, holds her head up, coos and is starting to have a routine. I love her so much!!! In December we celebrated our first holiday season together. Olivia had her first Christmas, and all 3 of us celebrated our first Christmas as a family. Our first year married, with our baby and in our new home together. It was a wonderful Christmas.
This year has been the most amazing year of my life. 2011 is gonna have a hard time matching it that's for sure!
Last year on new years eve, we spent the night stranded on the side of the highway broken down and then we spent the night in a truck stop motel. I remember making a comment saying the worse the new years eve the better the new year. I was kidding, but it has proven to be true!
This new year we are spending the night together at home, eating Chinese food. Pretty low key but there is no where else that I would rather be! I love my family so much!
Happy new year! All the best in 2011!
-xoxo Momma Nicole

A daughter is a miracle that never ceases to be miraculous. Full of beauty and forever beautiful. Loving and caring and truly amazing. Deanna Beisser

So I am trying to make a habit of not letting Miss Olivia sleep in our bed with us which I'm sure has proven to be more difficult on me then her. When she sleeps in her own bed, even if it's 2 feet away from me, I just want to hold her and cuddle with her.
I attempted it the night before last and it went well for the first little while until she realized that I wasn't there. From then on out she cried... every hour on the hour. Even when I gave in and let her sleep with us.
Her crying went on until the morning and Jake's mom stepped in. I desperately needed a shower and there was nothing more I could do to get her to stop crying. It was nice to have a break.
Jake's mom gave her a bath. No big deal... right? Well let's just say that it was hard for me to give up that control. I was the only one who has ever really given her a bath (with the exception of the nurse at the hospital and Jake once, and for both of these baths I was present.)
Olivia did well in the bath, but after the bath screamed and screamed and screamed. I was just getting out of the shower so I was trying to get dressed quickly to "save my baby." Even when I finally held her (it felt like forever before I did) she was still upset. I was able to calm her down and I fed her.
It felt amazing though. She was crying for her mommy. It's an awesome feeling to have your baby cry for you and only you. The rest of the day went very well. We did some shopping. All in all it was a good day.

This morning we woke up around 8:30am. The most amazing thing happened. My little monkey started to giggle really for the first time. It was more than once too so I know it wasn't just her talking. The sound of her giggle is seriously enough to melt anyone's heart. She gets a huge grin when she does it too!
Mommyhood is sure shaping up to be fantastic. It has taught me the meaning of life. I can't explain this meaning as I have learned it's a feeling. When I look at her, I get flooded with this warm feeling of love. I love her more than anything and would travel to the end of the earth and beyond to make her happy.
Since day one I've said there are only three things in the world that I want for her:
1) To be happy. It doesn't matter to me what she is doing as long as she feels genuinely happy with her decisions.
2) To be healthy.
3) To love and be loved.
I think those three things alone are enough to make anyone live a fantastic life.
Again I'm sorry for how jumpy this is. It's hard to write well when you are jumping in and out of it while doing ten million other things!!!
Until next time! :)
xoxo- Momma Nicole

A new baby is like the beginning of all things, hope, a dream of possibilities. -Anonymous

So I have decided to write a blog. This way I can track things and remember dates etc. I find that since I was pregnant I've been just blank. It's terrible really. I had wanted to start this when she was first born but attempting to find the time to even shower has been a constant effort. Let's just say a lot was put on the back burner.
In advance, I would like to apologize for how much this post jumps around.
I guess that it is only appropriate that I start with her birth story. I've more or less just copied and pasted this from my mommyhood post on facebook. It was posted a few days after she was born:
http://apps.facebook.com/mommyhood/groups/topic/9784/olivia-jean-karen-schmaltz-102510

My husband Jake and I are very happy to announce the birth of our daughter Olivia Jean Karen Schmaltz. She was welcomed into the world on October 25th, 2010 at 7:26am weighing 8lbs 12.5oz. She was 20.5 inches long.
Here is our story.
I was due October 22nd. When that day came and went I started to get impatient. The 23rd I started to cramp up every so often but they weren't really super intense. Sunday morning around 3ish the cramping became stronger. As the morning progressed they became stronger and stronger but the consistency wasn't there (they were really strong I was even throwing up!!!) . I asked Jake to go for a walk with me and to go get a bite to eat with me. We ended up hitting up Walmart (don't ask I don't know- we had to pick up something lol) and went and ate some Mcdonald's breakfast... we will call that a craving . They just kept getting more intense so I decided that I was gonna head to L&D.
Well they checked me and I was only 1 cm dilated when I got in there and not softening at all. An hour later I was at 2 and softer. They offered me morphine, I turned it down because the cramps felt like the cramps were kinda sorta going away and they put me on an induction list as I was having blood pressure problems. They also told me that I could possibly be in this sort of labor for 3 days!!!
I went home, took gravol (for being nauseated) and tylenol for the pain. I tried to sleep but them BAM the contractions came again full force... as they progressed I couldn't tell where one ended and another started. The pain just lingered.
Jake brought me back to the hospital and they checked me again... still only at 2. They gave me morphine and the option for an induction then and there to which I replied, " I really just want this baby out of me." I don't think DH was super excited for my statement as I had made it clear before I didn't want to be induced.
I progressed really fast after they broke my water and gave me pitocin and within no time I was at 5 cm. When I finally got the epidural the anesthesiologist had to poke my back 3 times. Let's just say I don't really think it worked all that well as I was still able to walk around with it in. I'm glad I took the gas as well!
After my mom got there I was checked and was at 9cm. I freaked out looked at my mom and cried that I couldn't do it. lol Kinda late there dontcha think?
I pushed for an hour and a half, screamed like hell and threw up a couple of times.
I have to say though even though it did hurt BAD I would do it all over again. The overwhelming feeling of happiness and love that fills a room when a baby is born is worth it! I love my little girl with all my heart and Jake is an amazing daddy!!! I'm really looking forward to the years to come, but am enjoying every single moment with her!!! There were tons of tears shed that day. Some of pain, but tons of them were tears of happiness. I don't know how we ever lived with out her!

I read through that post, and I can tell how tired I must have been writing that! It was rough for the first few nights I must say. The first night she was here while still in the hospital I told her to wake me up if she needed anything. She did that night and pretty much has continued to do so. I don't mind all that much, as long as I can pull in a power nap during the day.
The moment she was born wasn't like any other moment I ever expected. She came out and they put her on my chest. It was all in slow motion for me really. Kinda like a scene from a movie when I think back on it. There could have been sirens going off in the room and I don't think that I would have heard them. It was our moment. I was crying cause I was just so happy. I wanted to hear her scream. She didn't really, I must say that she was rather calm. They were quick to wipe her face off and I kissed her on the forehead.
Jake held her for the first time and I must say I was so attracted to him at that point. I felt amazing. Trust me there is nothing better in the whole entire world then seeing the man that you love with all of your heart holding the baby that you love more than anything (and I mean anything!) or anyone for that matter.
I remember sitting in the hospital on my bed looking at her. Jake had to run a errand for work (or he had gone home for the night I don't quite remember) and my mom was also gone. I was trying to remember every detail of her face just as she was at that moment, so peaceful. I must say this was really one of the first times being left alone with her if not the first time. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was a mom. This was MY baby and I loved her more than anything in the whole entire world. At that moment it was decided that I would do anything to protect her and I would endlessly strive to make her happy. I was going to be the very best parent I could be, even if that meant putting myself dead last. Tears welled up in my eyes and started to roll down my cheeks. This was a huge bonding moment for me. Of course, as fate would have it the nurse came in to ruin it by taking my blood pressure... figures! :)
The night we went home we stopped off first at my mom's place where she got to meet her aunties and uncle on my side. Uncle Daniel then made a promise to play his upcoming hockey game for Olivia and ended up shutting the other team out 5-0!!!
Fast forward 6 days to Halloween. She was dressed up as a ladybug in an adorable costume! We started off the night at my grandpa's house where she got to meet her great grandparents on my side for the first time. (she had already met one set of Jake's.) We then went to Mandy's house to spend time with her newborn son. And then headed off to Jessica's where she met some of my friends.
The first time daddy watched her I came home to find Jake in the kitchen warming a bottle. I had given her a bath a little earlier and her empty tub was left on the counter. Miss Olivia was laying in the bath tub waiting patiently and daddy had a receiving blanket tied around his neck like a backward cape. He looked at me and the only thing he said was, "Oh, I didn't expect you to be home so soon." It was super cute! I still giggle over it!
She started to smile around one month old. Like really smile, not just when she was gassy. It melted my heart the instant I saw it. She is so beautiful.
Fast forward to her first Christmastime. There were no tears from this little girl when she saw Santa. I am so proud of her. We spent Christmas eve at my Grandpa's place and she met the rest of my mom's side of the family that she had yet to meet.
Christmas morning (today) I woke up more excited about Christmas than I had been in years. Not only is today Christmas but today she is 2 months old. I can not believe it. I ran across some of her hospital things (hat, tape measure etc.) today and started to tear up. I am so happy to have her in my life and she is growing so very fast. It feels like just yesterday that I got to hold her in my arms for the very first time.
We went over to my mom's place to do the Christmas morning thing. She got very spoiled. To make a long story short we then took her out of town for the very first time to Jake's parents place. I half expected the 3 hour drive to be hard, but she slept the entire way. She got very spoiled again and got to meet her cousin and other aunts and uncles.
In the last 2 months I have realized that I am a very lucky woman. Not only do I have a wonderful, loving husband; I now have a beautiful, amazing daughter who I can not imagine my life with out. Olivia I love you with everything in me. You have really made my life so much better. I look forward to seeing you smile daily!
Well that's it for now. I will be sure to update more as soon as other things happen.
xoxo -Momma Nicole