April 30: Exercising as a mom of three + Running Music

Last time I blogged daily in August of 2013, I covered the topic of Exercising as a Mom of Two. And then a reader left this comment:

"I would love a post about exercise and reclaiming your body after kids, how you have lost the baby weight and your goals for future fitness, how you prioritize being healthy, etc. you are so inspiring!"

Not sure about the inspiring part but I will touch on this topic again and will list a few workout songs I'm into these days, too.

Regarding 'reclaiming' my body after three kids? The third time around has been a little harder, honestly. Either that or I've been more focused on it and weighed myself much more frequently, especially knowing that I didn't have prolonged nursing on my side anymore. I hate to be a head case about the scale but it's I toed the line a bit there.

I gained forty-three pounds with Truman and lost it all by nine months, and I don't remember weighing myself too often to see how quickly it left me. (One week PP post here, two weeks PP post here, and eleven months PP post here.) I gained thirty-four pounds with Cecelia and same thing: definitely gone by nine months but I can't say that I was weighing myself regularly (two week PP post here). With both Truman and Cecelia I was nursing like crazy that entire time (to a year with Truman, sixteen months with CC). Plus, we trained and ran half marathons before those children turned a year old.

I gained less weight when pregnant with Porter (31 pounds), I lost the first 20 pounds really quickly (one week PP post here), and then hung onto the final 10 for what seemed like forever. Porter stopped breastfeeding at six months and that is when I really ramped up my workouts to be consistently three days per week, and I no longer had to worry about killing my milk supply with a few hard workouts. So I figured the rest of the weight would just fall off with increased workouts, but it's been a slower....at least in my head it has been.

The last time I weighed myself I was two pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight and I'm nearly ten months postpartum. Two pounds is practically nothing, since I can easily justify that being extra water or a big meal or heavier clothes I'm wearing when I step on the scale;) We have been training for a half marathon for the past four weeks, which is slightly later in the postpartum time frame than what we've done in the past. Even though I was working out consistently from about six months until now, I think my body needs this extra mileage to really melt away the final ten pounds. And I never really thought breastfeeding burned that many calories for me past the first few months, but maybe they are right and it really does! Go figure.

So yes, I basically have my body back according to the scale just a month later than I did the previous two times. My pre-pregnancy clothes started fitting around three months postpartum but of course things are shifted and a little wonky past the milestone of: Pre-Preg Jeans Fit, Holla! I'm blessed with super-great genes because I didn't get any stretch marks from my pregnancies (thanks, mom!!) but the skin of my stomach has always taken a solid six months to bounce back. Nothing too horrible, really, but if we are talking about terrifying body changes post-babies? My boobs. Oh, my poor little girls, you guys. Lest you want to hate me for being back to my pre-pregnancy weight already, let me just tell you about my tats.

I was an A/B cup before kids but they were a nice, perky set of smallish boobs that fit my frame just fine. Pregnancy always brought on a fantastic rack in the C/D range, and postpartum would initially bump my girls up to DDs. INSANITY for this flat chested mama and I did not enjoy those prime-breastfeeding tatas. I'd take my pregnancy boobs any day, though. Because now? I cannot even. I haven't been fitted for any bras since Porter stopped nursing because I cannot bring myself to know whether or not size 'negative double A' exists. Practically concave over here and I'm grateful for pregnancy and breastfeeding, but really wish my chest wasn't comparable to a twelve year old boy sometimes.

I like to dream about a boob job, and even my OB said, 'I wouldn't think bad of you if you got one.' AWESOME to hear that from a medical professional, right? OMG. But besides the cost and the pain and recovery and all of that, I would be so nervous that fake boobs wouldn't be ME, you know? I'm athletic and wouldn't know what to do with big boobs that I've never truly had, and I would be afraid they'd look totally foreign and....fake;) I don't know. For now I am comfortable enough to rock my pancakes and don't mind showing a little rib bones where cleavage is supposed to be on V-neck shirts, but whatever. I don't think I would ever actually go through with a major surgery just to make my chest bigger, but I'm sure I'll talk about it plenty in the meantime!

Now for the actual exercise part of this post: I should note that I generally enjoy exercising, specifically running, and I liken this to being a high school athlete. #HasBeen, for sure, but I've always been physically active and looking for fitness goals. But this has certainly changed now that I'm a mom. Mainly because 'me time' gets less and less with each subsequent child and the logistics of making time to exercise is no small feat. I'm sure many of you can commiserate here.

One thing we did after Porter that we hadn't done prior to his arrival was to buy a gym membership including the kids for childcare. During my maternity leave and through part of the fall, that is how I exercised: by hauling my crew to the gym on my days off, exercising on the treadmill, showering alone (!!) and then carting everyone home. This was fine for awhile, but then it got a little hairy with Porter's nap schedule, Truman started school, and then Cecelia didn't want to be at the gym without him. I did not like forcing CC to be in the playroom on our days home together and it really broke my heart to see her cry a few times when I left. So onto plan B.

I started going to the gym at 5:30am a few days per week, while the children slept and Nate slept. This was a little more challenging when Porter wasn't STTN, but as soon as he stopped nursing I knew that even if he *did* wake while I was gone, Nate would be more than capable of making him a bottle. That transition away from nursing was rather freeing for things like this---the ability to be away and not worry about breastfeeding really helped me to stick with a morning workout routine. Our bigger kids might wake up early for the day but they always stay in their room until their Tot Clock turns yellow, which is 6:55am.

So when I went the gym on cold, dark, dreary, winter mornings I started viewing this as my 'me time' and like a little luxury built into my day when I can do something nice for myself. Staying in shape, pushing myself to become more fit, sweating, focusing on myself for a bit----all of these things are really important to me. And I really really enjoy the post-workout sense of accomplishment, too. Sets the day off right! But the way I make exercise a priority is that I see a direct correlation to how frequently I exercise and my mood. If I skip exercise for a stretch of time, I start to get really crabby and annoyed at myself. I know that I'm a better mom and more capable of handling the ups and downs of any given day after a good run.

I think the worst part is physically getting out of the bed and into the car, to drive to the gym. Once up, it's usually a fantastic work out and a great way to start the day. I like to chant things like, 'I will be tired if I get up now, or if I get up in one more hour, so might as well get up and go to the gym,' to help me get out of bed. And it's really true---I don't find that sleeping an extra hour, skipping the gym, makes me feel any more rested. If anything, I feel more energized after exercising and more tired if I skip it. Of course, solid sleep prior to the alarm makes this 100x better.

Now that it's getting nicer out and the sun rises by 6:00am, I prefer to run outside in the mornings, skipping the drive to and from the gym and skipping the treadmill. I don't despise the treadmill really, especially since our gym has TVs on each treadmill and I can get my Bravo/HGTV fix there. We don't have cable so it's rather thrilling to watch a few missed shows while running---but then again, the 5:30am slot is rather hit or miss for good shows on any station. But running outside will always be my favorite. Who can top views like this with early morning sunshine and fresh air??



And clouds like this! Scenery.


So yes, I prefer to run as my mode of exercise. We are training for a half-marathon in June, so I usually run 3 or 4 miles on Tuesday and Thursday early mornings with a long run on Saturday mornings. We are up to 6 miles for our long runs right now. The weekend run is when Nate and I train together, so my in-laws will watch the kids for us. How many times do I have to mention their sainthood?

(post-run sweats from this morning)


I will sometimes run outside with the double stroller, pushing Cecelia and Porter while Truman is at school. I might attempt to have Truman ride his bike next to the double BOB monstrosity at some point this summer when I have all three at home with me. But really, I like running alone MUCH better than pushing 75# of kids and stroller in front of me (duh). I have mentioned to Nate that I would love to get a treadmill in our basement, too, and maybe I would do that instead of a gym membership this fall. We usually put our membership on hold through the summer anyway, and NOT having to drive to and from the gym (that is five minutes away) would be great once it's dark in the mornings again.



The other form of exercise I really like are the classes at our gym---there's a bootcamp class, an interval class, and a treadmill class that I did for awhile in the early mornings. But then I somehow hurt my back and probably wasn't ready for such intense exercise after Porter. I needed to work on my core a lot more and now I'm just back to running--my tried and true favorite. I could get really into yoga or maybe a spin class and should probably start lifting weights again, but I'm not willing to wake up at 4:30am to get a BIG work out in on those mornings. But maybe someday!

As for my goals for future fitness that the original commenter asked about, I am a big fan of half-marathons for setting a goal and following a program to achieve it. Halves are a great distance for us and I enjoy the whole process of training as much as race day. I have run one full marathon and know that there's no way I could ever dedicate the time to that training again, at least not until all of the kids are out of the house! But I would like to focus on my posture in the next few years, using my personal PT husband to help me strengthen my upper back and my super weak butt muscles so that I can perhaps prevent an injury going forward. I would be really devastated if I got hurt and couldn't run and my mental sanity would take a beating as well, so I have been asking Nate to give me a tailored routine for strengthening my weak areas. He hesitates to advise me with anything because I can be defensive (not me!) but now I'm actually ASKING him to help me out, so I'm all ears, Nate!

With this outside running (sans treadmill or beloved cable TV on said treadmill), I had to make a new playlist for music because I despised the older stuff I had on my iPod shuffle. Now I just use my phone and we have Spotify, so I created a playlist of 'running stuff' that I can share with you now. I like dance/techno stuff and rap music for running apparently---does that make me hip or super old? I can't decide.

-Animals-Maroon 5 (Cecelia and Truman love this one, is mildly inappropriate at times if you listen to the lyrics, but they love to howl when Adam Levigne howls)

-I Can't Stop Drinking About You-Bebe Rexha (I just like this one for the beat. Found it randomly on Spotify)

-Truffle Butter-Nicki Minaj (SO TERRIBLY INAPPRORIATE for any children within an ear shot, especially the non-radio version. But I can't help it, it pumps me up for some reason. We shall not discuss specific lyrics here. XXX rated, yikes)

-We Found Love-Rihanna (Have always loved this one so much, is kind of techno and okay for kids if we happen to have a dance party)

-Where Have you Been-Rihanna (Love you, Rihanna! I like to pretend I am an excellent dancer while running to this song. It's quite the sight)

-Heroes (we could be)-Alesso (good one, kids like it, too)

-Shut up and Dance-Walk the Moon (another kid appropriate one, but I don't love the phrase 'shut up' so I act like they are saying 'shush up'. Ha, I'm sure Truman and CC don't buy it)

-Roll The Bass-Major Lazer (I actually hate this one but Truman loves 'the fast part'. Gives me a freaking headache, way too much techno for my tastes).

-Get Low-Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz (classic college bar song. Really prefer the edited version, the unedited one is shocking!)

-Ruff Ryders Anthem-DMX (Sticking with the college theme, I feel very hard when rapping with DMX)

-Yeah!-Usher (oh, college, I loved you)

-Turn Down for What-DJ Snake (Obsessed, and it always reminds me of this YouTube video of the boat crash. And then I can't stop laughing. OMG, their sunglasses flying--hope nobody got seriously hurt, but I cried laughing at this the first time I saw it. I hear this took place at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri which makes it that much more funny.)

I think that is it for this topic. Did I miss anything?

(Thus ends my daily blogging this month! I only skipped one Saturday, can't believe I have posted this frequently but I like it. I like it a lot. Writing every day feels cathartic and kind of special. I wasn't able to keep up with e-mailing friends and probably didn't get to chat with Nate as much in the evenings, but it didn't feel like too much of a sacrifice to focus on the old blog daily this month. I even have a few more ideas drafted up, hope I can keep the momentum going and continue to post semi-frequently here going forward.)

Life Lately, Vol. 3

Things going on lately:

(You posted again, mom? WOW! Let me check my Feedly for an update.)


I've been going to the gym at 5:00 am to get some much needed mommy time/endorphin time that starts the day off right for me. It's just not working to haul all three kids to the gym with me on my days off---it's just such a hassle on our days home together. And since I'm usually up during the night anyway (more on this in bit), waking up at 4:45 am doesn't feel too horrible right now. I just make sure I'm home by 6:30 when the big kids wake up and Nate can handle any Porter shenanigans before that if necessary. I mean, P-man loves his bottles so much anyway (again, more on this in a bit) I'm not all that 'needed' in case of an emergency wake up. But getting out the door, running on the treadmill, listening to a podcast, doing something nice for myself to set my attitude the rest of the day? It's always worth the early morning for me. It's not even about losing the rest of this baby weight (ten-ish pounds), it's strictly about the mental boost exercising provides me. So yeah, running at 5am on the hamster wheel again and seriously loving it. Probably because of the podcast time, too ;)

Also yes, sort of growing out my hair. Only because of sheer laziness because I cannot deal with getting my hair cut ever 4-6 weeks to keep it short. And I did sort of miss a pony tail. Of course, now that I hit the 4 month post partum mark, my hair loss is in full effect (i.e. you don't want to see my shower drain) so I might have to chop it soon anyway. But for now I plan to grow it MAYBE as long as my shoulders. Crazy, I know.


See, it's a pretty long (for me) right now


New running shoes and trying out some compression socks also makes the treadmill extra fun.


A HUGE milestone that must be mentioned here? Porter slept through the night on Thursday, November 20th at 4 months and 9 days of age. Yes, very specific I know, but it's a big deal! There is a God and he waved his magic wand, giving me the gift of sleep---even if it was only for one night. And it was glorious. Porter went down at 8:00pm that night, which is a little later than his norm. I went to bed at 9:30pm, Nate gave Porter a 4oz bottle at 11:00pm without Porter asking for it or waking up. And then the sweet baby slept until 6:45am without making a single peep. Almost eleven hours of sleep for him (not including the dream feed) and a solid 8.5 hours for me. Glorious, glorious, glorious. I'm pretty sure both Truman and Cecelia had already STTN for one random night at this point, too. And the next night he was back to waking up once around 3:00am which also doesn't suck.  (The next few nights declined rapidly with two wake ups but whatever). It's really amazing how life feels 10000x better with unbroken sleep. Literally felt like rainbows were beaming out of my eyes after that first STTN stint. Also, the slow accumulation of sleep deprivation can really do a number on mental health, huh?

I can't even.


Go, Pack.


And broken sleep also makes me dumber and more forgetful. For example, I put Henry outside for a pee the other evening then completely forgot about him out there, giving Porter a bath, nursing him to sleep, and finishing up bedtime for Truman and Cecelia. It must have been over an hour later that Nate asked if Henry was outside and my eyes bugged out of my head because OMG, I'M A HORRIBLE DOG OWNER! Henry was fine but obviously irritated at me, running around the house all wild and anxious for me to feed him his dinner. Our poor inside dog is not meant to be outside as he is ill-equipped to deal with the wild animals surrounding our house (i.e. raccoons, foxes, etc). Cockapoos just aren't the most fierce dog out there, you know. I refuse to believe that is just how my brain functions with three children, and will blame the broken sleep instead.

The other biggie with a baby, besides sleep? Eating. And not much has changed since my four month post on Porter, but I just want to say that I can't believe I have a baby who doesn't want to nurse. And I still can't believe I'm mixing formula bottles regularly after never using it for the other kids. Neither of these issue is the end of the world and most days I'm fine with it because whatever works! I have the happiest baby who is happy and growing, so I truly cannot complain. But some days I do feel sad and a little surprised by Porter's preference for the bottle and the need to supplement. Every baby is different, yes---but my third child is really messing with my head on this.



P will nurse to bed and once(ish) in the middle of the night, but those sessions are definitely more for me than him. I'm not pumping quite as much milk as I used to pump which makes sense since I'm not pumping as frequently, dropping the before bed session most nights. It's just freaking exhausting, as I'm sure a lot of you know/can imagine. I'll pump three times at work and maybe once on my days at home but anything beyond that feels like too much. I used to get 12-15 ounces in a work day and now it's more like 7-9 oz. And Porter easily drinks 30 ounces per day because he is a milk hound. We just had his four month appointment and he now weighs 15 pounds and 11 ounces, so back up to the 50th percentile from that 19th percentile mark we hit at his two month appointment. This makes me very happy, obviously, but I also don't feel like I can really 'take credit' for his growth since he's not existing solely on my milk. LIKE THE OTHER BABIES DID SO EASILY.



Six month outfit is a wee bit snug these days


Anyway, a few more grumps to get out about this and then I'll move on. Juggling the pumping, bottles, nursing, cleaning pump/bottle parts is a lot and I cannot wait for a time when I'm done pumping. Giving him breast milk until six months is important to me and I truly hope I can make it happen, but let it be known that I am NOT supermom and this still feels very heavy and hard at times! I wouldn't consider myself an exclusive pumper because half of his bottles are formula bottles, so he's definitely not exclusively getting breast milk like my other babies did. Wah-wah-wah, I know. Really wish Porter would just nurse and we could eliminate all of the extra steps of pumping and bottles---silly babies. There is an easier way to get your beloved milk, Porter! Sigh.

Mr. Independent holding his own bottle and saying, 'Fill 'er up again, woman!'






That said, I am seriously a fool for this child. Like, it's a little frightening and 'out of control' how much I love him. Obsessed would be an appropriate word. My heart literally aches when he smiles or laughs at me and I regularly feel the need to nibble on his sweet skin, sniffing his head a little too intensely. I'm over the top with love for this one, I think. And it's not that I loved Truman or Cecelia less as newborns, or that I love Porter more than them right now. It's just different with number three since he is very likely my last baby. I can soak him in a little bit more, use my perspective on time and motherhood more freely, and cherish his innocence and 'easiness' before he turns into a two or four year old someday;) So many trade offs come along with a growing child and I'm ridiculously excited to see Porter grow up into his own. But oh, the baby days with my last baby are almost too much to bear sometimes. That whole 'your heart grows to make room for more children' is SO true, and right now it feels stretched to capacity.







I should probably formulate an actual post about the topic of having more kids versus being totally done and allllllll of the feelings that come along with that decision, but I don't think I have the energy for it today. But I'll just say that I yearn to feel closure on these baby years, and I want a sense of contentment that lasts and isn't interrupted by baby fever once things settle a little more. I want to direct my attention towards gratitude for how much we have, for our three enormous blessings, and not focus on the desire for more. Right now I'm totally content and more than happy with these three (awesome) kids. But JULIA OF THE FUTURE: don't get any wild ideas about a fourth. You are up to your eyeballs in needs right now. And up to your eyeballs in healthy, beautiful, happy children. Don't push it, sister. Look forward to the days of bigger, more independent, FUN kids with a smile and no regrets. Easier said than done, I know, but I feel like I have to talk to my future self while to remember this sense of contentment. Also I know that Nate is 100% done with three and obviously that is a very important factor for our family. I guess he gets a say in these decisions, too. ;) End of the 'tip of the iceberg' on this topic…for now.



What else?

Truman is getting so freaking big lately. Going to school every day certainly makes him seem older, he is physically growing into a long and lanky 'big boy', and he's just maturing with every passing day. For instance, he is too cool to get in many pictures anymore and when he does, it's funny faces only. He's never loved to color or draw until now, when going to school has obviously lit a fire for learning in my boy. He'll request to draw, work in this Leap Frog activity book I bought him, make pictures for people, do math worksheets from school….all of this because he legitimately loves school and loves to learn. This is a huge relief for me because we weren't sure which parent Truman would take after as a school kid. I loved school, was a huge nerd even when I was very young, and looked forward to going back by the end of the summer. Nate despised school as a little kid, was semi-depressed when summer was over, and was incredibly (shockingly!) shy until high school. I'd say both Nate and I were 'smart' and did well in school, but I was most concerned with Truman enjoying it at this point since he is only four years old. I don't worry about him being a perfect student, but he is quite the rule following people pleaser so that may be something he strives to achieve, too. But both Nate and I are really glad that Truman loves school and the excitement hasn't worn off.







He is getting to know a lot of new friends in his class, and has recently had a few play dates with these 'new' buddies. It's funny because up until now, Truman's friends have been the kids of MY friends and so they were somewhat forced upon each other with play dates in the name of mommy dates. On Monday, he spent a few hours after school with a little boy we just met this year--and I do like his mom a lot, too, thankfully! This is all so new, and it definitely feels like 'letting go' of my big boy a little more each time he does something like this without me. Truman also informed me that he and another new friend decided to play at our house….on Sunday. Apparently they've discussed this many times and Sunday was supposed to be the day, but I told Truman that I need to email his mom first. We ended up having this little guy over for a play date here today, again without the parents. The boys got along so well and it is completely entertaining to see Truman in a social setting with a new friend. I get the sense that we will be getting to know a lot of new parents in these school years and it's wild to think that some of our closest friends might not even be in our lives yet.





I can't mention the boys without also talking about Cecelia, but she is turning 2.5 this weekend and I'm going to do my best to hammer out a post all about my girl. I sort of can't believe she is JUST NOW turning two-and-a-half. Seems like she should be three most days;) She is seriously amazing and yet our most challenging kid, so I'm jotting down notes on my phone to properly capture the essence of CC in that post. Not sure I could ever do her justice in one measly little post, though! Those eyes say it all.





Wearing her baby brother's hat.


Gee, I wonder if she has grown much in the past year? Both of them, really---exactly one year later.


I'll end with pictures from the first snow of the season, which was November 16th. We didn't get a ton of snow, just a few inches, but the kids were in heaven playing outside in the white stuff. Cecelia wanted to build a snowman but settled for sledding and snow angels. Truman helped Nate shovel and happily sledded for a long time, and then they all came in for hot cocoa and a fire in the fireplace. Yes. Love it. Porter and I were outside to take a few pictures but then he needed a nap. It's nice to have a baby as an excuse to avoid cold weather activities;)



















Wait, I lied. One more thing. St. Louis is still like 'home' to me in a lot of ways, as I was born there and then lived there for eight years during and after college. I worked at a nursing home a few minutes away from Ferguson and when I was a little girl, we went to church in Ferguson. My heart aches for the entire city. I'm not going to elaborate more than that----it's just so sad and so emotional, and I pray that St. Louis pulls through this and shows the world that it is a great enough to overcome this turmoil. I can't stop watching the news and reading Facebook statues. Some of the comments on both sides are completely jarring, and it's just so surreal and....sad. That's all I can say. Praying for peace for St. Louis tonight.

Now I'm really done. Off to start baking cookies for Thanksgiving, as apparently I've been nominated to make royal icing cookies since I did it last year. It's been awhile and I'm not feeling inspired, but here goes nothing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aug 20: Exercising as a Mom of Two

I had a request from a reader to write about how I find time to exercise as a mom of two. I'll be the first to admit that if I worked full time, five days per week, it would be nearly impossible to find the energy and motivation to workout during the week.

Right now Nate and I are training for another half marathon, so we are running three days per week total, including the long run on Saturdays. I say 'we' but Nate has been really struggling with making the time to run on weekdays because of that pesky full time job of his. But me? I'm somehow managing to run on my days at home with the kids. I've always been a jock/athlete/has been at heart and exercise is seriously a way for me to stay sane. I crave it if I've gone a few days without a good sweat, which is just something that probably stems from being a high school athlete back in the day. I need that exercise time for my mental health just as much as my physical health. And when I don't force myself to work out I really start to feel sluggish and negative and tired. Even just a quick walk outside with the kids is a boost to my sanity, but running is my preferred mode of exercise. By far.

Also, it should be noted, that when training for a half or a full marathon, most programs want you to run at LEAST four days per week, if not five. Or at least they want you working out five days per week and only 'resting' two days max. We just do not have the time for that type of intense program but before kids we abided by that type of plan for our races and did great. The weird thing is that our race times have not gotten any worse by running only three days per week compared to our previous 4-5 days. In fact, we have finished our last two halves (post kids) in basically the same time that we did pre kids---right around 2 hours for the 13.1 miles. I'd like to think that as we age we become more efficient runners or something. I don't know, but running just three times a week is plenty for us and it seems to be sufficient to prepare us for an actual race.

I prefer to get my run out of the way by heading out first thing in the morning. Now since my children both wake up at 5-6 am, that means I have to really bust my tail pretty early if I want to run alone. I have gone for my run while Nate is at home with them on a Tuesday or Thursday morning, but it's a little difficult for him to get himself completely ready for his work day plus tending to our two children for breakfast/morning time activities. So I try to be a good wife and get back home before he really has to do a lot of his getting ready in the morning. I figure that's only fair since I can leisurely get myself and the kids ready after that on a 'stay at home day.'

Anyway, I run on Tuesdays and Thursdays and if I don't make it out the door bright and early, I know my other option is to run with both children in the double BOB. Which automatically means I will be jogging at a full 2 minutes per mile SLOWER than if I was a free bird running solo. It's fine because it's still running (although it's close to a fast walk, let me tell you) but I definitely can't go further than about 4 miles with the kiddos. They just get bored and I get too freaking tired. When I do run with them, I try to plan our route to include a pit stop at a playground and/or Starbucks. So those runs are usually broken up with a stop but again, at least it's something and the kids can get out of the house with me, too!

I used to do a few workout videos during a magical dual nap, but I rarely do the videos anymore now that we are training for a race. But that is another option to consider---assuming you have the kids down at the same time for at least 30 minutes. Although that is SACRED time and to spend a majority of the 'me time' on exercise is a little hard for me. I could also sneak in a workout video before my kids wake up in the morning, or even after they go down at night but I'm not a night time exerciser. It just amps me up too much and then I can't sleep well, not to mention that I have zero motivation to exercise after 7 pm. Ever.

Then we almost always run once on the weekend. The way Nate and I manage to carve out that time together, without the double BOB, is that I have the best in-laws ever and they come over here to watch our kids. This is only during half-marathon training, but either one of them or both of my in-laws will come over on Saturday mornings to hang with the kiddos while Nate and I do our long runs. We COULD just take turns with Nate running, then I could go later. But we much rather do it together especially for these longer 6+ mile runs. My in-laws say they don't mind their standing Saturday am babysitting date and we are only gone for a few hours max. We are really lucky, I know.

Us on our 6 mile run this past Saturday.


Also, I have a new pink Garmin that is awesome and 100x better than my old relic. I'm addicted to running with GPS, mostly because I like to glance down at my pace while we are moving. Also to help track mileage, of course, but it's my favorite running accessory for sure. Sometimes it's nice to do a short run without a watch of any kind but I always have to bring this baby along for a long run.


Sometimes I will also try to do more strengthening like a #plankaday or a Tabata or some random core strengthening moves that Nate makes me try to show me how weak I really am ;) I'd love to have a more well-rounded exercise routine aside from 'just' running but for me, running is my favorite. It's simple, it's an excellent stress reliever for me, and I'm not bad at it (like I am a lot of strength stuff). Plus, I tend to do really well with a solid goal like a race date on the calendar.

If you look at my labels for all blog posts you will see I have a whopping 56 posts on running listed. Woah! A lot of these are really old, and I got caught up reading about my full marathon experience back in 2008 the other night. It did NOT make me ever want to do a full marathon again, man! So.Much.Time.Spent.Training. But there were some other fun/funny posts I found, too.

As far as what music I have on my ipod for running? Well, I only take my iPod when I run alone--if I have the kids or for the long runs with Nate, I don't use it at all. I actually need to get a few new 'pump me up songs' on my running list, so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them. But my current faves are:

-'Beauty and a Beat' by Justin Bieber (I secretly love him for running music)
-'Right Now' by Rhianna (back to my techno roots here)
-'Let's Go Surfing' by the Drums (heard this on a Mac commercial, I think? Love it. Very summery)

Mostly I just like to talk during a run and lucky for me, Nate does, too. ;) Of course, there are runs that neither of us can waste the energy to converse much. But we are both talkers and I find that going on long runs together really helps us to reconnect and forces us to have adult conversations with each other. We even find things to discuss aside from our kids which is a total shocker, but kind of nice!

That's it for my exercise post. Any questions?

Can't believe monthly blogging is going so well so far! I still have a few other topics drafted so I hope I can finish out the month without a problem. I DO write on this blog every day, but I might not start and complete an entire post all in one sitting. I will work ahead and do a few blog posts at a time, scheduling out for the week as I get them done. I don't think I would like it quite as much if I had to sit down and compose something from scratch each day---this works better for me and is less pressure, somehow. ;)

These are my confessions

(cue Usher, please).

Confession | I have been keeping a secret from you all. Cecelia's hair? It may appear completely normal as it graces this precious head. But the truth is that she has some wicked awesome bangs. Like ridiculously long, scraggly, and hilarious bangs. As in, I have to style my itty bitty baby's hair in a comb over...like an 80 year old man. I will show you now and then pretend like I didn't flash you my baby's weak spot/imperfection.









She basically has a hair loss pattern that is the exact opposite of her fathers: tons of hair on top and everything else is fading away. Combine her and her dad together and you'd have one nice head of hair, and one complete cue ball. I think I might coin this particular hair-do as one of the following, and I'm taking votes in the comments section of this post so that the public opinion may be heard:
1. Bitchin' Bangs
2. Female Flat 'Hawk
3. Opposite of Male Pattern Baldness
4. Anti-Mullet

Confession | I haven't taken the time to actually edit images in a LONG time. But when Nate was present for a dual bath on Friday night, I could feasibly handle my nice camera while daddy prevented any drowning incidents. And then I edited a few pictures which somehow made me all emotional and profound and feeling like, 'Man--having my two little babes in a bath together is pretty much the sweetest thing in the world. And I will absolutely look back on moments like these on the future and miss it so much.' I love when I have those time-stopping realizations. These are hard days but they are amazing. And when life finally slows down again and my kids are all grown up I will yearn for a time when they both fit inside a bathtub together. When they both needed us so much. When we were doing the hard work of shaping little lives and teaching them how much we adore being their parents. I'll miss it someday. No matter how challenging it can be to raise two small kids, it's worth it times a million.

Anyway, the pictures. I got a few of them in the bathtub that make my heart hurt and my head spin into the future. :)











Confession | Sometimes I want to be like, 'Offspring. I have decorated two very nice, very comfy rooms for you buggers. You need to sleep in your respective rooms. Do you know how much work it was to paint your crib pink, Cecelia?'


'And you, Truman. Remember when we promoted you to this awesome big boy bed that your Dad used to have as a kid? That is where you belong.'


You two do not belong in mommy and daddy's ever-shrinking queen bed. It's getting crowded in there and dad claims that he is dangling off the edge of the bed 90% of the time. But really? When you do wake up at 5 am, Truman, and ask to come into bed with us (where your sister has already been since about midnight)---it's worth the cramped quarters to see things like this. When Truman remains asleep and a delightfully happy Cecelia smiles away at the camera. And yes, that IS his hand on his sister. Could you die?







Confession | I got the kids early from daycare on Friday and therefore didn't get to partake in my much-anticipated Starbucks free drink I had been salivating over all day long. So I decided to get really wild. And after nursing Cecelia I convinced Truman to walk to Starbucks with me. It was 39 degrees outside and RIGHT before dinner, but I just had to have it. And so I bundled little miss up in her big brothers huge 12 month bunting and off we went. It was cold during our walk but refreshing. The fancy Skinny Carmel Latte that I got? Heavenly. And Truman's first ever scone? Total success. We managed to eat dinner shortly after and I was proud of us for doing something so spontaneous!









Confession | I got my hair did. I wanted to go even shorter but a last-minute conversation with my husband left me feeling a little nervous about chopping it off completely. Nate and I have been together for more than 10 years and apparently he just now had the courage to tell me that he likes me with long hair. The only problem with that? I'm still going through the dreadful post-partum hair loss stage. I could practically make a wig with all of the lost hair on our bathroom floor. It's disgusting and now is not the time to grow my hair out like a supermodel. And so? Before and After.



And Nate says he likes it:)

Confession | I think my baby is so cute that it makes my eyes bug out of my head, my heart aches, and I can barely stand it sometimes. Seriously. This girl is too much!



(snoozing on the couch looking an awful lot like her big brother)


Confession | I'm kind of obsessed with going to the gym at 5 am. Which is a big deal since I was the one who didn't want to waste money on a gym membership. And now I love it. I went 5 times this first week of our membership and I swear to you it's changing my attitude about life. Sleep deprivation is no match for the endorphins of exercise. Even at 5 in the morning. If nothing else it's a fabulous way to carve out some 'me' time in the day and it provides me with a ton of energy, too. The feeling of accomplishment lasts a long time after I'm done working out and I'm happy Nate convinced me to fork over the money. This might be the third time in the history of our marriage that I admitted he was right. Enjoy it, Nate.

(posting a sweaty face picture of myself without makeup, at 5 am is a VERY questionable decision)


And while we are on the topic of the gym, I totally busted the zipper off of my 'Giant Breastfeeding Sports Bra' the other day. I was devastated of course, since this baby had lasted me all the way through the year of nursing Truman and 5 months with Cecelia. How was I to go on with running as a breastfeeding mom? I considered getting the same Under Armour bra as the first go around but when I tried the new ones on in the store they just didn't seem to fit the same. And then I found this bad boy. And fell in love. It has all of my requirements: no underwire (clogged ducts are too painful!), molded cups (for modesty in a cold gym), non-pull over style (because I really don't feel like dislocating my shoulders every time I need to nurse after a work out). It's amazing. Even better than my first love of a big-tat sports bra. And I really think someone needs to market a nursing sports bra to us ladies of the world who like to mix breastfeeding with exercise. It needs to be hard core supportive, obviously, and I was really disappointed with the options out there.

And you guys? I'm definitely still a freaking D cup right now because I tried to get away with a C in this bra and about cut off circulation to the girls in the process. I mean, a D cup? Really? I've always been an 'A on a good day' type of girl. Nursing is amazing for hundreds of reasons, but the porn star boobs are near the top of my list right now.

These are my confessions. Carry on.