March 17, 2014

good enough

It's 6:22am.  Elsie is standing next to me attempting to press every button on my keyboard, ignoring my pleas for her to just look at a book or two.  She's been up since 4:40am.  It's one of those days where whatever happens is just going to have to be good enough.

Lately it has been the same story with my runs.  Forget adding any other kinds of workouts, I haven't been able to muster the will power after dealing with children who don't sleep past 6:00am and a husband on an OB rotation.  There is no getting up early to run unless I want to get up at 5am, and sorry, right now, I just don't.  Especially because even then there is still a good chance my run will get cut short by one of the girls.

Let's not even get started on my eating habits...

I'm still running four times a week, training for a half marathon on April 26th.  In the fall I was incredibly excited for this half.  I imagined my kids would be sleeping well enough, I'd be back at the gym getting stronger, the half is relatively flat.  I was going to kick butt.  2014 was supposed to be all about me (as much as a mother can be all about herself, of course).  Yeah, that isn't going to happen.  But I'm still going to run.

Daily I have to remind myself that not every run will be a good run.  I can't always be faster than the day before.  Sure I could try harder, work harder, make working out more of a priority.  But priorities change.  And right now, I'm just trying to spread myself between all the different aspects of my life.  One day the kids be in school and I won't know what to do with myself right?, I'll have loads of time to run and workout.  It just isn't the case right now.  Once Chris is done with his current rotation, and it is light in the mornings again, and somehow I manage to wean Elsie, running will be easier.  And eventually I'll get the courage to leave her in the gym childcare.  Eventually.

I have learned, that if I really want to get my run in, I just have to make up my mind and do it.  I used to feel like I had to get up and finish my run in the morning or do it on the treadmill after the girls were in bed.  The morning is still my preference.  But I've been sneaking in evening or late afternoon runs if I can pull it off.  And I'm trying to gain confidence running with the stroller.  But man, pushing 55+ pounds is no joke.  My arms get so tired!

With all that rambling, here's to another week of runs, and a 9 mile long run this weekend!

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

 

Please share your health and fitness related posts below!
 

March 12, 2014

thirteen months

written March 11th

Please excuse the mostly crappy photos.  Someone was NOT cooperating at all.

Thirteen months?  What?

You see, I have yet to document Elsie's first birthday party, so how on Earth can she be thirteen months plus a few days already?  That is insane.  As is the amount that she has changed over the last month.  It is all a big pile of craziness.

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I intended to weigh E, and maybe I still will ok I did this morning, 20.8 pounds?, but for now as far as size stuff goes she is wearing a size 3 diaper, size 4 shoes, 6-12 month onesies and 12-18 month clothes.  I've also been squeezing her in to Carter's 12 month blanket sleepers, because we don't have any in the 18 month size and it has been super cold.  Hopefully with the weather warming up a bit we can get away with just cotton jammies and the poor girl will be able to straighten her legs at night.

Sleep isn't a complete disaster this last month, but pretty dang close.  Bed time is a piece of cake, and she is usually out of the night by 7:30pm.  It's the whole waking up at 5:45am thing that has me annoyed.  I should be thankful that she sleeps for ten straight hours, but, um, no.  That clock better at least have a six on it.  Occasionally she'll still take two naps, but that is usually because I make her take the morning one because she got up so dang early.  Otherwise she is fine to skip it, however that usually means she falls asleep in the car and has issues with her afternoon nap.  I'm no longer nursing her to sleep for her afternoon nap (still nursing before that nap though) which I'm thrilled about.  Sometimes she lays down and goes right to sleep, and sometimes she still puts up a huge fight.

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showing off her muscles

I think a lot of our sleeping issues are related to constipation and teething.  She always needs to poop or manages to poop when she should be sleeping.  Her sixth tooth just popped through last week, and the amount of drool and constant fingers in her mouth makes me think there are more on the way.  Ry had popped some more teeth at this point, so I just need to look.  And I need to get a better blender so we can do more smoothies with spinach and flax to keep everything moving.  Yes, I am still nursing her three times a day.  I want to drop another session, but I haven't decided for sure which one and she hates whole milk with a firey passion.  Which makes me lazy on offering it to her.  She doesn't like it cold or warm, so I think I'll just keep giving it to her cold until she drinks it?  Sometimes I'm so lazy...  She is a lover of fruit, and still enjoys most meats.  Veggies are very hit and miss.  Last week she spit a chocolate chip back at me (say what?!?!) and crackers aren't really her thing.  Go figure.  If I had to pick one thing as her favorite, I'd say avocados.  I can work with that.

In about a weeks time Elsie went from not really wanting to walk more than a few steps between people, to trying to walk all over the place.  Seriously, just two weeks ago she was refusing to stand unassisted, and now she surprises me by coming walking around the corner when I'm in the kitchen.  And now that she is slightly more confident in walking she tries to take off at a run.  Sweet girl, you're nowhere close to running.  Good try.  She gets kind of ticked off when she falls and throws a mini fit.  It's pathetic.

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oh the horror of having your picture taken, it is just to much to handle.  drama queen.

Her developing personality is just the cutest.  I'm slightly terrified, because I think I have another one that is going to give me a run for my money, but her adorableness slays me daily.  Elsie is so damn ornery, and giggles the whole time she is more or less misbehaving.  The other day in the bath she was gently kicking Ryann's leg while giggling, just trying to get a rise out of Ry.  Now she'll pinch me over and over again while saying 'ow? ow?' until I say ow or tell her to stop, which prompts the biggest grin of course.  She says 'uh oh' all the time, and it is even better when the 'uh oh' comes before she spikes her cup to the ground.  She also says 'uh oh' if she finds a piece of trash on the ground, and loves carrying it to the trash can.

Ow is one of her new words this month.  She also tries to say shoes, please (while rubbing both hands across her chest, which is apparently her sign language for please), night night, rock and naturally a few other words I can't think of right now.  While we were at my parents this past weekend she plain as day said 'Papa? Papa?' when we were looking for him in the morning.  It was adorable.  And she finally, FINALLY says mama.  Not too often, and still not always directed at me, but sometimes it is, so I'll take it.  Seriously girl, as the one who takes care of you 95% of the time, I could use a little more love.  Oh well.  Her current favorite animal 'noise' to make is for a gorilla, where she pats her chest and says 'uh uh uh'.  She says that a bunny hops and rocks back and forth when I show her a penguin for a waddle.  E knows where her head, ears, shoulders, belly, hands, fingers, feet and toes are.  Oh and her tongue.  But despite being the first one we ever talked about she never knows where her nose is!

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E has taken an interest in fitting objects inside other objects and cups.  It is entertaining to watch her look for things that she can piece together.  The other day it was a doll bottle through a stacking ring.  She enjoys flipping through books, and likes for me to read to her.  However the books she'll actually let me read are few and far between.  She'll drag one over to me and hurl herself in my lap, I'll start to read, she slams it closed while forcefully shaking her head no.  Repeat repeat repeat until she actually finds one she wants to hear.  Lift the flap books still win every time.  We've also progressed past trying to eat crayons and chalk, a milestone I foresee being very helpful with an older sister who always wants to color and craft.  Baths are still very much a favorite pastime, but you need a poncho, because splashing is a favorite too.  And it is so hard to tell her cute smiling face to stop.

Diaper changes and getting dressed have become a huge struggle lately.  However I can guarantee her to stay still for just under three minutes if I let her watch Let it Go on youtube.  I truly don't know how parents functioned before technology, not only does it allow for a much smoother outfit change, that Frozen single has calmed many crying fits.  When Elsie really gets talking I'm sure she is just going to start singing that song.

Elsie still isn't much in to strangers.  At all.  If anyone tries to touch her prepare for the waterworks.  But from the safety of the cart she treats every Target trip like a parade, throwing out her pageant wave and saying hi to every one we pass.  After we pass them, naturally.  She always wants attention, but again, it has to be from a safe space, such as my lap.  If people are talking to her when she isn't touching me she cries.  But when she is sitting with me at gymnastics, she'll stare other moms down until they acknowledge her, and then do the whole shy cute hide thing over and over again, wanting them to play with her.

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Elsie Jo really, your daddy and I are just having so much fun watching your personality grow.  We love you to pieces!

March 4, 2014

this and that

::  I've got the photos from Elsie's birthday party that I've been wanting to share, and I really really REALLY need to get Ryann's invites finished and mailed out and I've been wanting to write a 'move it monday' post.  But instead I've spent the last few days trying to delete old photos off my computer because I have zero space left.  ZERO.  On my external drive and my computer.  I've still got room on my laptop but I need at least one of my devices to function.  My phone has been acting iffy so I wanted to back it up, but apparently it has never been backed up on to my computer, and I need 50GB, yes you read that right, 50GB of storage to get it backed up.  I take far too many pictures.  So yeah, that is what I've been doing.  How about a couple of photos because who knows how long before I actually get a post done...

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::  Despite needing to do a million other things on my to-do list I absolutely had to get this recorded, because one of the sweetest moments of my entire lifetime occurred yesterday (that might be a tad over exaggerating, but seriously).  Naturally it is already a little fuzzy, but I think this is how it went... Last night when Chris got home from work he came inside to grab Ryann and run to the grocery store before dinner.  He had picked Elsie to give her a hug and I was coming over to take her so they could leave.  As he often does while he is holding Elsie, he leaned in to give me a hug and squeezed her for a little group hug action.  Usually she squirms and pushes away, but last night she threw one arm around Chris and one arm around me, and leaned right in for the hug.  And if that wasn't enough she popped her headed up and leaned towards me, puckered up for a kiss.  Once she was done with me she leaned over to Chris for a smooch as well.  And then back in with the arms around both of us for another hug.  It is one of those moments I wish that I was a reality TV star, so someone would have recorded it.  I could barely handle the cuteness of it.

::  I wonder how many of my dollars have been contributed to the Target dollar section.  They always manage to have so many things that are just so irresistible at $1 each.  Case in point, tiara headbands and magic wands.  E isn't all that impressed, but Ryann is happy as a clam.

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::  Lastly I could use a little advice.  For nearly two weeks now, Ryann has been waking up needing to go to the bathroom between 5:30 and 5:45am.  Not that she usually sleeps much past 6:15am, but that extra 30-45 minutes is killing me.  This morning she woke up at 5:30am because she had wet the bed.  Previously she had been able to go all night, and sometimes wouldn't go to the bathroom for over an hour after getting up.  I don't feel like her liquid intake has really increased all that much.  It isn't like we give her a huge glass of anything right before bed.  Thoughts?  Our house could seriously use some more sleep.