What a difference a night makes

I'm back!

I have successfully slept 3- yes, THREE- nights in a row where I got 4-6 hours at a stretch (between diaper changes/nursing). I averaged 8 hours of sleep total on those nights like a NORMAL PERSON. I feel great.

I have even been able to work out. Friday morning I did core training with my fabulous triathlon trainer Amanda McCracken. Today I practiced tai chi for 2 hours. And we took the kids sledding at the park down the street, which involved carrying the 20 pound squirmy brick- uh, I mean baby- the whole time. (I love the Beco baby carrier, by the way.  If you are a mom and need your hands free while keeping a baby happy, this sling is the way to go. Great back support.)

Friday night, I watched a TED video that really inspired me to pay more attention to how much sugar I ingest with 'normal' food. (Did you know that they add sugar to milk marketed at kids these days?)  My husband then challenged me to try to go without any added sugars this whole week. I thought he meant things like my daily hot chocolate, the sugar in my decaf coffee, the Girl Scout cookies (hellooooo thin mints!). What he meant was anything that had sugar added. Have you looked at your labels lately? Holy diabetes, Batman! They add sugar to everything these days! Bread, dried cherries (I mean, come on!), yogurt, peanut butter- lots of things I thought I was eating that were neutral/healthy.

So this week is a 'from scratch' week. I have found a great magazine with quick, healthy recipes (under 40 minutes prep time)- It's Cooking Light. Most of my dinners are coming from that for this week, with a touch of awareness from reading The Zone right now (book review coming soon). I'll report back on this experiment this coming weekend.

So far, I don't know what to do with myself. I have the munchies for nothing in particular. It's really odd. I'm trying to drink Roiboos tea and prune juice when I want a sweet drink. And I bought clementines and grapes for my sweet tooth. I allow Half-and-Half in the coffee for a sweeter flavor, but no sugar. We'll see if I last all week. I've been craving meat more. Odd.

I'm still imposing an early bedtime on myself (9pm) until I'm completely rested, so I'm off to bed since the kids are asleep.