Do I have to?? In celebration of Imbolc

St. Brigid in Stained Glass

This image was found at catholic-forum.com which attributes it to St.Joseph Catholic Church in Macon, Georgia. The church was dedicated in 1903.

Imbolc (or Candalmas or Groundhog day) is a time when we start anew (again, I suppose if you have fallen off your New Year's resolution wagon, you can use this as an excuse to redeem yourself).  Because of this I have a new goal.

When I was home I finally weighed myself (something that hadn't been done since I was 20 weeks pregnant) and was pleasantly surprised, but none the less, I had to get out and get my weight back to what it was pre-pregnancy (at least).  I am not one for diets, so my "back to pre-baby weight" program is easy and was shaped with my hatred for this time of year in mind.  First off the goal is to loose 20 lbs by the Sprout's birthday, which should be easy-peasy.

When I was in the States I picked up a Greco Metrolite stroller that is pretty cool.  It isn't the smoothest ride on the English sidewalks (which are horrible), but the Sprout doesn't seem to mind, he falls asleep almost instantly (and he has come to light up and smile with the notion that we maybe going outside!).  With this stroller, there is no reason to not go for a walk.  It is light weight and easy to maneuver and it is super easy to get the Sprout into.

Now because of this, I should have no problem going out, but as we all know I live in England where the weather is complete crap in the winter.  So I have to have a few rules.

The rules (and this applies to the stroller and the baba sling):
If it is sunny, we have to go out.  No ifs, ands or buts.
If it is a cloudy or rainy week, we have to go out 4 of the 7 days.

Now I know this sounds lax and silly, but it can be impossible to get me out of the house.  This last weekend was sunny, so guess what?  Yesterday it was snowing, and we went out (oh God he loved that!!) We went out and we have been enjoying ourselves even though one of the days was so windy I am surprised we didn't float down the hill.

What makes it all that much more fun is that the Sprout actually smiles and gets a bit excited when I start to put him in his little outside outfit.  He has a couple.

This is the warmest one we have, but my favourite is the one his Gigi and Grandpa Frosty gave him.

I am also trying to go to a play group at least once a week.  The lady across the street has taken me to her Tuesday group twice now and I have been invited to their girls night out on Thursdays (which is cool because Richard has a poker night on Mondays).  There is also a group for a younger crowd (3-18 month olds) at the Owlet Centre, which is in our backyard.  So, I may try that out today.  AND...I got on the waiting list for a baby yoga class at the Centre too.


So lots of stuff to keep away my February blues and to help me get out of this house and keep the Sprout occupied (because let's face it, babies get bored too).