End of Week 2

It feels like I say this over and over and over again, but...we've been busy!

We got home Sunday night from a 10-day whirlwind of visiting friends and family, house hunting, and attending the 40th National Down Syndrome Congress Convention.

I was grateful that when I weighed-in on Wednesday, in another state, after eating out for almost every meal, that I broke even. This week, I may not be so fortunate, as the weekend was filled with lots of "relax and enjoy it" moments when it came to food. Oh, well.

But I did fulfill my activity commitments, albeit in a different order than intended. I was even fortunate enough to meet a new friend and, together, we ran in a DC downpour, complete with a shocking moment of getting totally drenched by a car speeding through standing water on a bridge.

Fun, right?

At least it wasn't hot out.

Last week was challenging, no doubt. But I proved to myself that I could stop making excuses. I ran/walked all three times for Week 6 of C25K and I completed the last three days of Level 1 of the 30 Day Shred.

I did it outside in the heat and inside on a treadmill. Sometimes I had the luxury of a DVD player with TV and a yoga mat and others I used the laptop and put a raggedy hotel towel on the nasty Navy Lodge carpet *puke*. I even remembered to bring my weights.

My point is: It wasn't always comfortable.

But I did it.

This week: More of the same. On to Level 2 of 30 Day Shred and Week 7 of C25K. I won't post the days because it's Tuesday and I've already switched some things up. No worries. I'll get it in.

Joking Around

This was taken last night while we were waiting for our dinner to arrive.

New Food Alert: She ate seaweed salad and scallion pancakes! I have a feeling that Dez will be our picky child because this one? Eats just about everything.

I have a friend that should love that Playette is calling herself "Bubbles" here.

This joke started a couple of days ago, out of nowhere. Love it. Dora and Boots were new additions. Usually, it's just Bubbles followed by peals of laughter.

End of Week 1

I meant to update this yesterday, but things are pretty crazy with the preparations for our upcoming move.

Here was last week's plan:

Week of 7/9

• Monday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Tuesday: C25K, Week 5/Day 1
• Wednesday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Thursday: C25K, Week 5/Day 2
• Friday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Saturday: Rest
• Sunday: C25K, Week 5/Day 3

In other words, DONE!

Other that switching Saturday and Sunday, I completed it all as planned.

And now:

Week of 7/16

• Monday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1/Day 8 Completed tonight
• Tuesday: C25K, Week 6/Day 1
• Wednesday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1/Day 9
• Thursday: C25K, Week 6/Day 2
• Friday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1/Day 10
• Saturday: Rest
• Sunday: C25K, Week 6/Day 3

I weighed in last Wednesday for Weight Watchers since I knew I'd be busy over the weekend. I was down 1.4 lbs, which is amazing. I had been gaining instead of losing for the month prior. The weigh-in was after a full week of tracking everything in My Fitness Pal, so I'd like to say that helped a lot even though I know I have a long way to go in getting my eating under control. 

For example, I didn't have breakfast today (that's rare) and then for lunch I had a (fried) Chicken Tender Salad from Chick-fil-A, water, and one of those new cookies they have. If you've been wondering, let me tell you, they are good. And they are also 320 calories EACH.

I am such a work in progress.

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In other news...Dez is three months old today! If the past is any indication, he will celebrate by partying ALL. NIGHT. LONG.


 

And So It Begins...Again

I think I may post this every week, on the weekend, just to help hold myself accountable.

Also, who knows, maybe it will help someone else to see what I'm doing?

Or you can just skip these. That works, too.

Week of 7/9

• Monday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Tuesday: C25K, Week 5/Day 1
• Wednesday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Thursday: C25K, Week 5/Day 2
• Friday: 30 Day Shred, Level 1
• Saturday: Rest
• Sunday: C25K, Week 5/Day 3

I'm starting my weeks on Mondays for now since it corresponds well with my weekly weigh-ins (I'm back on Weight Watchers and have a few more post-pregnancy no-cost weeks since I'm a Lifetime member) and my weekend long runs (when I get to that point, natch).


In case you were wondering why I'm starting with Week 5 of Couch25K, it's simple. 


Because I have to.


In order to complete the 15K training plan for the Army 10-Miler that I'll be running in October, I need to start it the week of August 13. That gives me five available weeks to prepare to start. Pretty humbling considering that I was in the best shape of my life when I got pregnant, but necessary. I'm not trying to get hurt. Also, slowing down and following the process is a lesson I still need to learn. I'm forever jumping out too fast and getting frustrated. 


A few weeks ago, I did run a few times, and I got up to two miles, which is what I need to do for Week 1 of the 15K plan, but it was hard and slow. I also have to factor in this crazy weather and the fact that I'm pushing a stroller with a moose-eating baby in it (Holly, who told you?!). Taking my time getting to the longer outdoor sessions is probably ideal.


So, knowing that it's possible for me to start the training now, but forcing myself to run/walk for about a month sounds like a good plan.


Anyway.


So, when I started the 30 Day Shred this past week, I realized that I needed weights. I was pretty sure that I bought some last year, but it took me some time to remember where they were. For a while, one of them held the office door open, but no more. They had been promoted:

I know you're jealous of my snazzy bookends.

Once located, I used them twice. Turns out that 10 lbs is way too heavy for me now. So I went and bought some 5s and things seem to be going much better. As a matter of fact, if I plan to stick to this newly created schedule of mine, I need to get one more workout in today. Like, in the next two hours and twenty minutes. The baby just fell asleep, so I better hurry.** 

To clarify, my 30 Day Shred experience will take me 30 days, but not 30 days in a row. Ten days at each level, three days a week.

Ok, I think I've hit everything.

Whoops. Nope. One more thing.

Thank you so much to those that commented on my recent post and IRL about how I'm being too hard on myself and how our sense of realistic childbirth recovery is being totally skewed by what we see celebrities do. I completely agree with you. 

And also? Sleep. Yup. Not getting much. 

Free Membership to My Comments Section offer has been extended. So tell me about your plan. Do you even want to work out? Hate it? Love it? Entertain me and give me something to read during my nighttime feedings.

** I did it! -- 10:32pm

And Khrys! Thank you for the reminder! I'm on MyFitnessPal as well. It worked for me last year and I just started up again the other day. I will keep doing WW (really, I like the meetings) because I don't (usually) pay, but I actually prefer tracking under the MFP app.

We Went

Past the prison, through the swamp, over the familiar bridge, and into the small town that held so many childhood memories.

Things hadn't changed all that much.

There was the school...and the store just around the corner from the house we always slept in while visiting.

There was the clothesline. And I knew that right inside that door would be the kitchen, sandwiched between the bathroom and the family room with the stove in the middle.

The railroad tracks remained at the end of the street, just like I remembered.

And at the dead end was the cemetery. Not on a map, without a sign.

History surrounded us as I shared stories with my husband as he held our son in the blazing heat while bugs, large and small, made meals of our legs.

It felt so much hotter there than it had been at home.

For the sake of comfort, I had worn a free-flowing cotton dress. Once there, I realized that it was all black, perhaps fitting for the occasion, yet not on purpose.

He passed me flowers, saying "These are for Gail," and showed me the slot where they should go...because I hadn't a clue.

Like I knew before going, she wasn't there, but thoughts of her, my grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-grandfather, all people I knew and loved, all memorialized in that location, flooded my mind.

I wondered aloud about what it must have been like to be born there eleven decades ago. I lamented the fact that I didn't ask more questions when I had the opportunity.

We stayed for a bit longer.

He waited until I gave the cue that it was time to head back to the car, never rushing me, following my lead.

There was no plan, yet it felt that what needed to be done was accomplished.

The quiet understanding that led to a road trip to my past was appreciated in ways I could not fully express.

Instead of talking, we went to lunch, dining on southern staples and replenishing ourselves for the trip back and, honestly, the rest of the day.

Bodies and souls fed, we said goodbye.

Happy 4th!

I swear, I have that Yo Gabba Gabba song about not giving up running constantly through my head.

It just might be working.

I'd link to it, but I'm blogging from the car as we head to a cookout. It's either this or nothing and I need my therapy. Even if it's via my slow thumbs and not my quick fingertips.

I worked out this morning. It was muy dificil. So hard that I have to say so in another language. It's the 30 Day Shred, so if you want in, please join me. Free membership to my blog comments! Act fast!

I tried to get a pic of the kids in their holiday gear, but, well...they didn't exactly play well together so then I got them separately. Not quite as frame-worthy, but oh well.

My next trick? Actually see fireworks tonight. I've been saying this for YEARS.

Blogger app put the pics all out of order. You'll forgive me though, right?

One Helluvatransition

It's been 10 weeks since our family of three became four. So much has changed. I really do miss writing about everything on a regular basis.

I mean, I'm not upset with myself for slacking. I know why. You know why. But it doesn't make it any easier for me to accept when days, and then weeks, go by with nary a syllable written in this space. 


I posted a couple of pictures of Playette recently, on her 5th bithday. Crazy. She still seems so little to me. By little I mean young. But five? Five is a Big Kid. 


I never made it back to mention that if Playette is five, that means this blog is four. For anyone that wasn't already aware, this blog was my coming out, of sorts. It was when I became all, "I have a kid with Ds, hear me roar." Or something. Took me a year to do that. 


So if you've never read the first post, here it is. 


The second one was closely related, so here you go. 


I just now got back from the store with Playette. She needed snacks for school tomorrow when they will be having a pre-4th of July party. The kids are also encouraged to dress in red, white, and blue, so we hit up W-Mart in order to try and fulfill both items we lacked. What I realized before walking out the door was that this was the first time I could recall in the last ten weeks that Playette and I were going to spend any significant one-on-one time together. BD asked me when the last time we were alone together was and my response? "Last weekend in the hospital bed in the ER when you took Dez to get his chest x-ray." 


Awesome. 


Which reminds me. The ER. Not as terribly bad as it sounds, and it actually was, in the weirdest way, a nice reprieve. Our family was in one narrow room, away from the heat, outside of the house, and we made each other laugh while we waited. It actually felt nice. This was, though, after we pretty much knew that the reason why we came wasn't going to turn into the worst case scenario after all. 


Because I have a lot on my mind and I don't want to fall into the trap of never posting until my thoughts are perfectly crafted into individual, free-flowing posts, I offer you... BULLETS.

• Dez is sick. He's getting over it now, but it was scary for a little while. He's so wee and when you hear a bebe with a crackly, full-body cough that is inconsolable, you want to do something about it. I wasn't satisfied with the blow-off we received from the on-call Pediatrician on Friday, so when things appeared to be worse on Saturday, we went to the Navy hospital ER. For a non-military family, that would be like going to urgent care. It's our after-hours option and I was happy to get a second opinion from people who would take the issue seriously. Bottom line: he'll be ok. Upper Respiratory Infection and he's got the cutest inhaler I've ever seen. That probably sounds strange.

• I am frustrated with my post-baby body. I know that I'm crazy. Plenty of people have told me as much. My answer: "No one tells Beyoncé that." Yeah, they just give her props for looking awesome. For some reason, I thought I'd bounce back from pregnancy and childbirth and be running five miles a day by now. Ha. Hahahahahaha. I haven't lost any weight in over a month and I haven't done anything deliberately active in weeks. Unless eating cookies and ice cream counts. This is not boding well for the ten-miler I signed up to do in October.

• Playette is regressing. She is lashing out at friends, crying at the drop of a hat, being generally disagreeable, pushing boundaries, being defiant, and, worst of all to me, having accidents of the urine-soaked variety. She misses being the one and only. Even though she loves Dez to pieces. She must feel horrible and that makes me feel horrible. I don't know how to fix this. I wish she could tell me what's going on in her head. 

 

• Dez is blowing my mind with his lack of ability to stay a teensy baby. Think I'm kidding? Check out this bruiser:

How is this a two-month-old?

• I turned a year older yesterday. Sick baby trumped celebrating. We did go out for breakfast though. It makes me feel weird that I'm not a big birthday person when so many other people are. What is so messed up about me that I'm not into celebrating...anything?

• BD has been gone for work for about four of these last ten weeks. That has been difficult. He's home now and I'm thrilled. It's been hard, yo.

• We're moving soon. Like, very. Finding a house, or lack thereof, has me pulling my hair out. Basically, I've pinpointed the school I want for Playette, but getting a house to match is much more difficult than I ever imagined. At least it's not a cross-country or intercontinental move. (I'd rather not say where just yet.) And starting everything (new friends, doctors, therapists, sitters, etc.) all over again? Gah.

• We also have been car shopping. No one has offered us the Deal of the Century just yet. 

• I miss my mother. I need help and a hug, basically. Actually, lots of hugs. BD told me that he'd take me to her headstone soon since I told him that I've never been. Sharing that publicly makes me even more sad. In a normal family, that would never happen, right? Seventeen years? And I'm not really into symbolism much. I know she's not there. But something in me wants to reach out to what is there.

• I had a C-section. There, I said it. To everyone. It wasn't what I planned and I've kinda really glossed over it, but the unmedicated water birth I wanted and planned for turned into an abdominal surgery that humbled me with its recovery process. There's a story there, of course. And I will write it up. I have to. Before I forget all the details. But, yeah, I think I've been beating myself up a little for that, too. Which is wrong. And then I get mad at Me for being mean to Myself. What a screwed-up cycle. This is not judgment on anyone else's situation or choices, nor does it mean that I am anything less than extraordinarily grateful for the birth of my healthy boy. I just have issues with letting myself off the hook, even for things I can't control.

• I didn't intend for this to be all womp-womp-y. There was good stuff in the last ten weeks, for sure.

• For example, I went to the NDSS Spring Luncheon. That was something I've been meaning to talk about. It was so nice and I really enjoyed it. Yup, I loaded Dez up and we flew to NYC for about 36 hours door-to-door. We got to meet up with lots of friends and it took me about a week to recover. Totally worth it though. When I get copies of the couple of photos that were taken at the event, I will be sure and share them.