My Coffee is Cold

My coffee is cold.

It’s 8:45am and a lot has happened since I made myself a pot after breakfast. First there was the Sweet Pea to feed and change. Then oops, another diaper change. The Blobster to help to the potty; then the inevitable repeat trips to the potty to get out of finishing his breakfast. Then we had training on how to pull pants off and on by himself. (I think he is getting it! Hopefully that will mean fewer accidents). Then we had family devotion time. Next, we headed upstairs to reassess the baby’s wardrobe. It seems she no longer fits in the newborn size and is ready for the next set of clothes.

* We are so fortunate to have inherited girl clothes from several close friends. It is awesome to see the accumulated piles of pink in the closet. *

After we picked out a new onsie for the Sweet Pea, I headed back downstairs to get pants that would fit her. Then back upstairs to play “Peek” with the Blobster. (He likes to throw his blankets over the side of his crib and hide behind them while I crouch down and jump up saying “Peek!”.) Then we went back downstairs to get a snack – I guess he didn’t get enough to eat at breakfast – oops. Then when we got back upstairs, we had a lesson on sharing so that Sweet Pea could lay on one of Blobster’s blankets while I played with him. Then there was a succession of cheering as several more trips to the potty were made. (I think he just likes the cheering because most of the trips were unfruitful.) After more practicing pulling the pants off and on we changed the Blobster out of his pj’s and into his clothes. Next, I did some push-ups and sit-ups (with the Blobster trying to help).

Whew.

Now my coffee is cold and the Sweet Pea has fallen asleep. I think I will go take a shower. 

The Sweet Pea sleeping this morning in her new outfit.

Running

In my last post I promised an account of going running with Danny. So, last Monday we had really beautiful weather and it was the first day after the end of Day Light Savings, so it was light later than usual in the afternoon. Danny came home from work and asked if I’d like to go running with him. My first reaction was “YES!”, but then I quickly backtracked with a “What do we do with the kids?”. He just looked at me and said we’ll put them in the stroller.

Duh.

We were given a very nifty double stroller by our wonderful friends. We also still have our original running stroller, so we ended up putting the blobster in one and the sweet pea in the other so both of us had something to push. However, I got many weird looks while I pushed the sweet pea because she fits under the seat on top, so it looked like I was pushing an empty stroller. I even had one older lady tell me that I was missing something. Which is actually a valid concern when you are dealing with a chronically sleep-deprived mother of small children.

Anyway, Danny and I had a nice run. Well, a slow jog. With some walking. I was breathing hard, sweating, and panting, but I don't think Danny broke a sweat. BUT we got out and did it, which hasn’t happened in a very long time. I hope we will have many more such activities. And as I do it more I hope to increase my speed and distance. Next time we will put both kids in the double stroller and Danny can push them both. And run circles around me. 

See, I like to think of myself as a runner, but the actual truth is that I do very little running, especially since I became pregnant with the blobster over 2 years ago. But before I was pregnant I did 2 triathlons and enjoyed the training. I was definitely in the best shape of my life. But I still didn’t run very much. A 5K was about all I can handle, which doesn’t really put me in the category of a runner. But it is a start. 

Triathlon

I finished my first triathlon on Sunday! It was a great experience...I was nervous, excited, scared...but it was fun to be there with 2,000 other women doing the same thing. We cheered each other on and made general fools of ourselves, but in the end we achieved a goal; many of us for the first time. 

The water was so cold that, for safety sake, they cut down the swim by half. The bike was also a little shorter, and cut out some of the hills. Yet, I did well and I was a fast as I had hoped to be in all the events. 

I will definitely be doing this again.

Boot Camp

Tonight I'm going to Boot Camp class with Lauren at the Y. I'm looking forward to it...I know, I'm a little whacked in the head. We do painful things to our bodies while someone is telling us we can do more, or do it faster. But I always feel so good after I go (or I just misinterpret sore muscles as feeling good). Exercise is definitely a stress-reliever for me.

I'm also taking part in a training challenge for the month of May on Beginner Triathlete. I am very motivated by competition and I don't want to let my team down, so it is making me get to the gym more, which I'm loving.

Training

So after trying to find "the best" workout to get a great body in time for our sailing trip, I decided that really it comes down to the simple process of eating well, and exercise...any exercise. And since last year I was training for a triathlon and it kicked my butt into shape, I decided that I would go back to that plan. I find that I do best when I have everything laid out for me; how much/when I should bike, swim, run, and do weight training. It makes it easy to wake up in the morning and just do what my training plan is telling me. Although, I have to actually get up and go to the gym; that's the hard part. But I always feel so good when I workout in the morning that it is motivating to do it again tomorrow. The other hard part is doing the plan...the one I picked is pretty ambitious so I have a lot of work to do to keep up with it. I can do it though, it just requires effort (which is really the point of exercise, right?)