happiness chemicals

I don't have much to say except I'm sick right now. I got caught up grading my CHEM 101L, but I'm still far behind on CHEM 422L. I have 3.5 weeks until my sister arrives, so I'm praying I feel better soon to get back on the ball and rock out the rest of the grades.

I saw this cute graphic on #chemtwitter, and it made me think of my run club.

• Serotonin
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2010/10/selective-serotonin-reuptake-inhibitors.html
• Dopamine
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-bargain-is-not-always-bargain.html
• Endorphin (endogenous morphine)
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2017/01/opioids.html
• Oxytocin
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-best-drugs.html

Fit4Mom encourages all these things: sun exposure, exercise, meditation, self-care, celebrating small-wins, eating well-balanced meals, giving compliements, volunteering and giving back and laughing out loud. No wonder it's so addictive. 

In an updated graphic from this blog post I can see that run club has brought my weight down a bit, but hopefully it will keep trending that way.

• Mashup Mom Meal Plans (Nov 2020 - Jul 2021) + Body Well
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2020/12/mashup-mom-to-rescue.html
• Commit to be Fit (HIIT) + MyFitnessPal (macros) + Eat to be Fit
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2019/04/fertility-part-8.html
• The Obesity Paradox
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-obesity-paradox.html
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2014/06/what-does-200-calories-look-like.html
• The opposite of happiness chemicals: Cortisol
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2014/03/cortisol.html
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2011/01/carbs-calcium-cortisol-oh-my.html
• Vitamin D
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2019/03/fertility-part-3.html
• Vitamin E
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2011/05/bathing-beauty.html

Coaching Run Club has got me thinking about diet and what meal plans have been effective for us in the past. Also, one of my students analyzed the vitamins I've been taking and it was weird to see it broken down into its constituents and made me re-think whether I need to be taking that or not.

• Women's Hormones
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2019/03/fertility-part-5.html
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2013/09/impatient-scientist.html
• Trouble sleeping?
• https://bitchonabike.blogspot.com/2018/01/insomnia-part-ii.html

It would be interesting to write about relaxin. I feel like there must be so few studies of lactating women who engage in extended breastfeeding and what effects there may be on hormone levels, and how that impacts weight gain or loss. It would be interesting to write about zyrtec and benadryl. One thing I noticed this past week is that going for a run the Sunday after taking benadryl on Saturday night as a sleep aid, I had an easier time breathing. It's possible that I have some seasonal allergies that are really aggrevated right now after all this rain, we're definitely having LOTS of spring flowers.

I don't even know what the point of this post was. 1) I feel sick. 2) I have no sick days. 3) I can't tell if my symptoms are from PMS or if I have a cold. 4) this cold medicine only works for 2 hours but my lab is 3 hours long. The theme of RunClub this week is nutrition so I've been rethinking my past successes and what made them successful. 

I just love this picture. Circa July 2011.

growing pains

 

This kid is such a string bean. I'm struggling to keep him in clothes that aren't ripped or stained. He has two pairs of regular shoes in size 12. We found a couple of pairs in size 13 at the consignment store called Children's Orchard and they are his emergency shoes that live in his backpack. He has one pair of Speedo shoes that are size 12/13 that he uses at his swim lessons and hopefully they will continue to fit. I was shopping for some kind of sandals for the summer. It would be great if he had a pair of shoes that he could more easily take on and off by himself.

I took my sewing machine in for repairs because the timing was off and I couldn't use it. I have a stack of pants with holes in the knees that I would like to repair but who has the time? The number of pants that are in his school wardrobe are rapidly dwindling but luckily it's spring and I'm starting to see that we need to transition to shorts soon anyway.

He's coming home with more "ouch" reports. One was a shovel that hit him in the eye. Just yesterday a kid bit him on the finger. I titled this post growing pains because he's either undergoing some serious brain development, muscle building or just getting taller again. He's so hungry all the time and sleeping deeper and longer than usual.

Every time he outgrows something that I really loved, I am sad. The pants he wore on Easter were Shaun White and a really nice color. At the start of the day, no holes. At the end of the day, huge rip in one knee. I can patch them up and keep them in the rotation or just accept that he probably will be too tall to wear them again next winter and the patches I might or might not sew on there more than likely will be worn by the next kiddo.

Easter went really well. Albert really enjoyed finding the hidden eggs, opening them to find the candy inside, then putting the candy back inside, then hiding the eggs again, and repeat, repeat, repeat. I had a separate set of eggs with $0.25 in each egg. I had 7 x 12 of them. Basically two rolls of quarters ($10 each) so that's 80 eggs with quarters in them. Then there were 2 with plastic tiny cupcakes inside and 2 with the quarter roll wrappings (trash). This was enough entertainment to get us through dinner without him bothering me at all. It was nice that my SIL recognized that this was the first holiday meal that Albert wasn't sitting on my lap or napping during, that he was entertained enough to leave me alone and let me eat. So that was definitely a genius idea.

I feel like I need to complete this inventory to make sure we have enough in the next size up. 4T isn't going to fit much longer! It was funny that I had a shirt for Pi day and a shirt for his birthday but I didn't have any specific outfit for Easter. Mother's day and father's day are covered. I sent him to school today in a football shirt, which I had planned on him wearing for Superbowl Sunday, but we didn't go to any football parties this year. And it only just now really fits him. It was too big during "football season" aka fall of 2023.

Clothing Item Type	3T	4T	5T
pants / jeans	12	12	5
pants / sweats	5	x	x
outerwear	19	12	2
long-sleeve T	19	8	8
shorts	9	10	5
t-shirts	37	34	18
tank tops	2	4	0
PJs	3	15