Weighing on my mind. . . .

*sigh* 


Have you ever looked in the mirror or a photo of yourself and thought " Hey! That's not me! Where did I go?" 


Pregnancy seems to have that affect on me. :) 


It has been 5 weeks since Jace has been born and about 2 good weeks since I've started working out. No, I didn't get the 6 weeks clearance from my dr yet. Who knew that was so freaking important?! No exercise until 6 weeks, no sex until 6 weeks, and yesterday they ALMOST didn't give me my massage because I technically had not been "released" at 6 weeks yet. 


I feel fine - great, actually. My body told me so. Do I really need her to tell me when I feel up to doing "STUFF?" 


Anyway - back to my point. Weight. I've never weighed this much in my life. Depressing. 


Weighing on my mind lately isn't so much what I weigh (I've never been a friend to the scale theory) but how I'm looking in pictures or most importantly how my jeans are fitting (or not fitting these days). 


It seems as a woman I've been on a never ending journey to find my perfect fit body. Usually once I have it, I have another baby. ;) 


Looking back, I recall many times in high school or college thinking I wasn't "thin" enough. 


HA, I say to myself! Who knew I'd now KILL to have that body back. 


So, here I am. Another journey to get back into shape. This time I'm hoping to be in the best shape ever since we will be having NO MORE babies. 


I'm doing everything I can, but like many I want results now, not later. Inside I feel "thin" and fit, but then I see myself and, well, I have to take many steps to keep myself positive. 


I am reminded each time that I'm at this point how hard the work is to get back, how disciplined I have to be with food and my choices, and this time as a breast feeding mom I know that all my choices are directly affecting baby as well as me. 


So my fitness journey this time entails at least 30 minutes of interval workout (sometimes 30 minutes of jogging at night) and eating great foods. 


Here are a few great tips I've used in the past and some new ones I've heard lately: 


If you buy it at the store, you will eat it at home. 


Shop on the outer wall of the store - fruits, veggies, fresh meats, etc. 


If it has a barcode, leave it at the store! 


Does the item have more than 10 ingredients? If so, you probably don't want to eat it. 


Good stuff in, good results on the outside. 


Portion control! 


Change just one or two habits and then when you have that down add a few more. (ex: using extra virgin olive oil instead of frying everything)


Make it at home. All your favorite foods that are take-out you can make - just find healthier versions. 


Take a bag of snacks with you: grape tomatoes, grapes, bananas, yogurt (not the sugary ones like TRIX), berries, carrots, celery with peanut butter, almonds, and lots of water! 


What is your tip for getting healthy and fit? 

Life in the Fast Lane

What is life in the fast lane?


When I typed this into google, wikiAnswers told me this: 

It means living racy, you know pushing the limits; making your life shorter and having it go fast. 

This made me laugh out loud. Yep, being sleep deprived definitely pushes my limit. My life is shorter, mainly b/c things are happening so fast around me that I don't realize how much time is actually passing until I pass out in bed. 


(Started blog @ 7:00 pm)


My life feels like The Fast and The Furious lately. 

My hats go off to full time stay at home moms. Seriously. It's a never ending job that by far is one of the hardest.


Don't get me wrong. I love being at home with the kids and spending some great quality time with them, but there are days like today when I have to take a shower in 4 minutes, go out of the house with semi wet hair and honestly cannot remember going to bathroom except for once. Then there was grocery shopping, bills to be paid, and children to be picked up. 
There was barely time to catch my breath. 


Being a mom. There's life in the fast lane. Period. 


I guess since I'm now the mom of 3, I seem to remember more often than not that "This too shall pass." I remember that I need to breathe in the moment even if the moment is literally a millisecond and even if the moment is stressful. 


I did manage to get a walking workout in and dinner on the table and even spent quality time with Jason during one of our "porch dates." 


Even when life is fast, busy, and shooting past us at a epic speed - even then we should savor the moments. 


Jace will never again be one month old. 
Avery will never again turn 5. 
Madison will never again always be so interested in talking to me. 


I know so many of my blogs seem to have the same theme lately, but I think we all need that daily reminder to savor the smallest things in life. 


No matter how stressful, those moments are the sweetest. 


(Finished blog @ 10:00) 

Joy

In everything find joy. . . .


A day in the life of me in the last 24 hours: 


Wednesday 4/7: 


Wake at 7:00 - brush teeth, hair, throw on cap - help Maddie get ready for school
7:30 load Avery in car in pajamas (this takes 10 minutes at least) 
7:40 load Jace in his carseat
7:45 drop Maddie off
8:00 back home - Avery breakfast, Jace feeds
9:00 Jace down for nap - Avery playing
ME - REST!! :) 
Wait. I wanted to, but didn't. :( 


Here's what I did instead: 
vacuumed, dishes, laundry, bills, facebook, blogging, check email


11:00 - Jace feeds again - Avery lunch
12:00 - Jace was suppose to go down for a nap - no such luck. 
1:00 - Jace is still awake - in and out, but not settled
2:00 - I feed Jace again and try to take a nap. 
2:30 - nap possibilties are fading fast. :( He's not interested in sleep. 
3:00 - I get ready again to go pick up Maddie
3:15 - load Jace and Avery
3:30 - get Maddie from school - Jace still awake and still fussy
3:45 - Jace sleeps for a minute so we take advantage and go to SONIC :) 
4:00 - I'm wiped. Why didn't I take that NAP EARLIER?!?
4:30 - make dinner - hotdogs - so much for that REVOLUTION
5:00 - dinner early means bed early. Feed Jace - again.
6:00 - Jace is still not really settled - might as well take girls to the park
7:00 - the wind drives us back home - ugh. Bathtime! 
7:30- Girls are in bed watching movies, lights are off, and Jace is still not settling. :( 
8:00 I head to bed, too, but Feed Jace once more. 
8:30 I'm crying now. I need SLEEP. :( :( :( 
9:00 Jason is finally home. Girls sleeping. Jace sleeping. 
9:15 Toss up between Sleeping or Shower....Sleep wins


4/8: 


12:00 AM Jace slept! YAY! Eating again. . . 
3:00 AM Jace eats again. . . 
5:30 AM You guessed it. . . .Sleeping again though...YAY! 
7:00 AM  I got that shower, girls up ready to go
7:50 AM Take Maddie to school
8:00 AM WE ARE OUT OF GROCERIES! Avery needs a drink for lunch - fast! 
8:15 Donut Shop - fast breakfast and a drink - Food Revolution, what? 
8:20 Feed Jace, do makeup, help Avery with shoes
8:50 Walk to preschool




I'm finally home sitting down, but that nap is still calling my name. 




Why did I share with you my day? 


Because no matter how stressful it is right now, no matter how sleep deprived I am, how long I go without a shower or a nap - I still manage to find joy. . .  


Jace will never again be this little. I will never again get time off to hold him. :) And no matter what - he IS sleeping well at night! :) 


Avery will never again be in preschool. She will always remember that we took time out to walk her to and from school. 


Maddie will not always want to talk to me about school, friends, and go to Sonic with me. 


Jason and I will not always share funny little moments, short sweet moments or rock/paper/scissors for diaper changes together at 2 AM & 5 AM. 




In everything find the joy. 


I'm pretty sure this is one of God's expectations for us during out life. No matter WHAT is going on. 


What's your joy right now?  

Worth the Wait

Introducing Jace Patrick: 

After a long ten months, Jace has finally arrived to complete our family! 


Life has been very busy to say the least, especially while still trying to keep up with 2 girls and a newborn! I have a new respect for moms with 2+ kids - getting older kids to school and still keeping baby on track is one of my newest art forms. :) 


Everyone has adjusted well to our newest member and by far he's one of the easiest babies ever - it might have something to do with me being more relaxed, more confident, and more patient than I was the first or second time. It might also have to do with the amount of help I have this time around. The girls and Jason have been A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! 


We are getting about 4-6 hours of broken sleep per night. He's great with baths, diaper changes, eating, and napping! Some of the things helping us are our rice pack (heated), swaddling blanket, Baby Whisperer and Happiest Baby on the Block techniques. 


For the most part we've taken up our normal routine - 


We've been walking everywhere! Love our jogging stroller (thanks, mom!) and our Sleepy Wrap. We're back at the park or track almost daily - sometimes twice in a day. Jace usually sleeps, but I know he is loving the fresh air! 


I've also started tracking my workout progress with my new Nike+ iPod. It tracks my runs/walks, lets me set goals, charts progress on the nike website and even makes me more accountable by uploading my runs and details to Twitter and Facebook! 


The good news is I've lost almost all of the weight I gained while pregnant, but I still have about 30 more lbs to lose, so we're following Jamie Oliver's trend and doing our own Food Revolution here. Last week, my family ate cauliflower. Wait. 


MY FAMILY ATE CAULIFLOWER! 


There. We never eat it, none of us like it, but adding some extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper and throw in the oven and magically it all disappears. I also used the cauliflower to make a mashed potato substitute. YUM-O! Nothing left. :) 
***************************************
On a personal note, I love having my mobility back. I have never taken for granted the ability to move, walk, or run, so I do it enthusiastically! 


My recovery has been a lot faster this time around and I'm sure it has a lot to do with my mind being so determined to bounce back to my old self. 


Each moment of every day, my heart is abundantly filled with gratitude and love. I'm beyond blessed with an amazing and loving husband, two beautiful, helpful, joyous girls, and a healthy sweet baby boy. 


Looking back on my last 33 years, I realize that not everything worked out the way I'd planned; not everyone ended up being who I expected them to be; not everything comes easily, but always the things most worth being a part of my life have been worth waiting for; worth working for; worth the pain and struggle - worth the wait. 

March Madness

Remember way back when we found out Jace was coming? You know plans and all that? 


So, today is our last day before he arrives (and the 2nd day of spring I might add) and boy did we have a lot planned! 


This is what we woke up to just now: 

So much for PLANS! Looks like we will going to MINIMAL and NECESSARY places today - like to drop off the girls before the hospital in the morning. 

At least we will have a fun story to share with Jace about the day before he was born! 

Here are some more photos I took this morning: 

**thank you to Jason for my fun title this AM - by the way - WHAT HAPPENED TO KANSAS?!

Last Ditch on the Right. . . .

Have you seen this movie? The Last House on the Left? 

Yeah. I think the beginning goes something like this: 


Couple at home. Doorbell rings. Knocking begins. People outside ask for help. Couple lets people in and it's ALL downhill from there. 


Last night as I was trying to sleep - nothing new, an odd thing happened. I think I had just dozed back off after a bathroom break and was dreaming. In my dream, there was a doorbell. I woke up and immediately thought it could be Avery home albeit extra early, but it's happened before. 


I woke Jason up and told him the doorbell was ringing. He said "No, it's not." 


Ding Dong.


Right at that moment, he realized his crazy, delusional pregnant wife was right! :) 


We both got up and peeked out the window. There was no one in the driveway. The knocking continued and then yelling: 


"Hello? I know you're in there. I need help! My cell phone battery died!"

We both looked at each other and were both thinking: Whatever! WE SAW THE MOVIE!


(Jason's version of this is much funnier, but probably not appropriate content to post on my family blog.)


At that moment I was thankful for 3 things: 


1. Maddie was still asleep
2. Jason, even a tired Jason, could probably take anyone out
3. Jason has a handgun that he keeps out of sight, but if needed it was available. 


He told me to go to the bedroom and call 911. I did and explained the situation. From what I could see, the driver (and doorbell ringer) had completely missed the turn by our street and the front right wheel was stuck in our ditch. What we thought was a woman, didn't look like one standing in the street, either. Weird. 


After calling 911, the police showed up. We watched from the window, peeking through a crack. I even took a cell phone picture. After an hour of the police watching and looking at the car, they left and we both tried to sleep. It was a no go. :( 


You can't make much out from the picture and I was SO hoping that the car would still be there this morning. 

Even more, I'm now wishing I had that person's address, so I could show up this morning beating on their door and wake them up so they couldn't sleep. 


So, just in case anyone was wondering - yes, we get it - we are READY to function on only 3 hours of sleep. We would really rather not have any more crazy situations wake us at  3AM though unless it's a birthing baby or an already born baby wanting a diaper change or a feeding. 


Lesson? Don't open the door no matter WHAT THEY SAY! ;) 

AB List

AB = After Baby


My due date isn't for 2 more weeks and I'm hoping to avoid the whole induction process. Trust me, I'm doing everything possible, but I know Jace and my body aren't ready otherwise those little or big "nudges" would've worked. 


I have everything washed, organized, hung, packed and ready for Jace. I'm almost crawling out of my skin, though. I have no home projects, no big work projects. 

I've shopped til I dropped and walked more than I intended. Seen the movies I wanted to - did the whole family night/day out and date nights with Jason.

So, since all I've been doing is sitting here waiting, I decided to come up with a list of things I am ready to do. This lists represents things I love to do and have missed in the past 9 months. I plan to do them all as soon as possible "after baby." 


1. Walking for an hour/Running for an hour with my fast fun music blaring
2. Have a nice cold beer/margarita/shot of tequila
3. Being able to eat a whole meal w/out getting full after a few bites
4. Being able to wait for the bathroom instead of running around finding the first one I see
5. Having a fitness plan - I cannot wait to try the Nike/iPod fitness - getting ready for Nov marathon
6. Riding a roller coaster - six flags here we come. So what if it's the kiddie coaster with Avery. 
7. Wearing my famous black, red, and brown high heels! Oh, how I've missed thee!
8. Being able to hug people normally - not that "friend" or "church" from the side hug. :( 
9. The ability to shave and actually REACH comfortably.
10. Have sushi, sushi, sushi


Last and definitely something new. . . 


11. I WILL paintball or laser tag before the summer is over! :) 


I do know that no matter what - I will not be pregnant for anymore than 15 more days (40 weeks). YAY! 
(that doesn't mean you can't pray or send labor vibes for him to come sooner.....) 


Did I mention that we are READY? ;)