healthier me reanbean: healthy eating Move It 2011 Challenge weight loss working out
by reanbean
3 comments
Move It Challege- 3 Months In
This week, I am the featured challenger over at Move It 2011. Head on over and check out my interview!
I’m really enjoying being a part of this challenge. I was kind of lost in no-motivation-land when I read the post announcing that the 500 miles challenge would begin again in 2011 and a new time challenge would be added. As I’ve mentioned, I participated privately in the challenge last year and found the 500 miles goal in and of itself to be pretty motivating. However, I must say, that I’m even more motivated than I thought I’d be to be doing it all publicly this year. I can’t say for sure what the difference is. I don’t know the other challengers, so it’s all pretty anonymous. But I work hard every week, trying to accumulate as many minutes as I can. It’s not about me taking first place or anything, but I’m really trying to keep myself in the top half.
So how has it been going? January was tough. There was a lot of snow, and somedays it was harder to get to the gym than others. I knew that I wanted to workout more and get back to better eating habits, but it seemed like a lot to do at one time. So, in January I mostly focused on the workouts. I wanted not to just get in my time at the gym, but to really push myself to get my heart rate up and burn some more of those baby pounds away (can I still call it baby weight if my kids are over 3?). By the end of January, I was feeling great about my workouts and the effort I was putting in, but without adjusting my eating habits, I lost zero pounds.
In February, I decided to put the healthier eating habits back in place. I use the word healthier because there are certain things that I just don’t want to give up (like pancake breakfasts on Sunday). But there were other things that I knew I had to let go of and was willing to give up (like unhealthy snacks and snacking before bedtime). I worked hard to eat smaller meals and include a snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon, but it was hard. I’d often forget to snack in the morning and then be so hungry by lunchtime that I’d slip up and just eat whatever was handy. Not only did I not lose weight in February, but I actually gained more weight. Sure, some of it could be muscle from the strength training, but it was very discouraging to watch the numbers on the scale go up.
In March, at the recommendation of a trusted trainer at my gym, I started keeping a food journal. This actually turned out to be extremely helpful. The plan was that I would keep the journal for a few weeks and then check in with the trainer. I wanted to be honest in my journal and really didn’t want to admit to eating chicken nuggets and fries for lunch, so I worked even harder at making healthy food choices. I continued to enjoy pancake breakfasts on Sunday and pizza every now and then, but I made sure to supplement those meals with other healthy foods so I didn’t need to eat as many pancakes or pizza slices to feel full. I lost all of the weight I gained in February and four of the six pounds from my initial goal.
My progress in March has once again proven that I can do this- eat healthily, workout regularly, and lose weight. It’s not as easy as it was when I was in my 20s, but with the right frame of mind, it can be done.
A Weekend Away
Last Friday, at precisely 3:41pm, I punched out from my motherly and wifely duties and headed out for a bachelorette weekend in the Berkshires with some of my best girlfriends from college. It had been over a year (over 4 years, in some cases) since I’d seen most of them, and I knew I was in for some serious fun.
Unfortunately, the drive to the Berkshires was no easy task. It being early evening on a Friday, there was a TON of traffic and the 2 hour, 40 minute drive ended up taking just over 3 and a half hours. Luckily, I had two friends to share the ride with me, and it was very nice to have the time to catch up a bit.
When we arrived at our destination, we had a late dinner with the hostess (well, late for me- our family is used to the early 5:15 dinner) while we waited for two more to join us and then spent the rest of the night talking and talking and talking. My hopes of turning in early (I’d been up since Buba’s cries at 4:19 that morning) were defeated by my desire to not miss any of the fun. It was just after midnight when we first even thought about going to bed.
I was all set to have a great night’s sleep, with no real reason to wake before 10am. But at 5am, I was awake, and I couldn’t get back to sleep. So, I read for about an hour and then slept until I heard others stirring around 7am. We had a leisurely, light breakfast as we waited for the last two friends to arrive. Then we headed to a day spa for some much needed spa treatments.
looking out across the lake
The spa was amazing! We spent the better part of the day there- first getting our treatments (I got a pedicure!), then enjoying a delicious buffet lunch before lounging out by the pool. I even snuck in a workout at the spa gym. It was so nice to enjoy a relaxing day with friends.
We had a nice dinner out that night, followed my more talking late into the night (well, midnight it pretty late for me these days). Then we woke early the next morning to have a pancake breakfast at a maple sugaring lodge. T is a big fan of real maple syrup, so I picked up a small jug for him and a maple donut for the kids. Back at the house, we lounged about and talked some more until just after lunchtime when it was time to start heading back home.
I arrived home about an hour after Tiny and Buba had woken from their nap. They were happy to see me, but no more so than they usually are when I come home from an afternoon tutoring job. Everyone was in one piece (though Tiny’s hair clearly had not been brushed since Friday morning), so the weekend felt like a success for everyone!
I definitely missed T, Buba, and Tiny more than I’d expected I would, but it was truly wonderful to have all that time to spend with good friends without any kid related interruptions. I’m already looking forward to seeing everyone again at the wedding in another six weeks!
Off Duty
I spent this past weekend in the Berkshires catching up with friends from college (details saved for Friday’s post). It was the first time I’d ever spent a few days away from Tiny and Buba, but they seemed to have no issues staying home with T. I arrived home late yesterday afternoon, in time to join them all for dinner. Then I gave Buba and Tiny a bath and continued right on with my usual roles in the nighttime routine. But this morning, Buba was quite disappointed that it was I, not T, who was getting him up and ready for the day. And there were really no signs that I’d been missed at all until this brief conversation…
Tiny: Mommy, are you have fun with your friends?
Me: Yes, I did. Thank you for asking. It was very nice of you to ask that.
Tiny: Why you did not come home?
Me: I did come home. When my visit was all done, I came home.
Tiny: Why you did not come home when you with your friends?
Me: Well, we were on a trip together. And when our trip was over, then I came home.
Tiny: And you were missing them?
Me: Am I missing my friends?
Tiny: No. You were missing your babies?
Me: (my heart all warm and melted) Yes, I was missing them very much.
And then Buba chimed in with: And I did go for a walk with my daddy!
All Well and Good
We are not Irish. Not even a teeny, tiny bit. But in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we started our day off with a breakfast of green scrambled eggs and green silver dollar pancakes. Buba gobbled down all of his eggs (the kid LOVES eggs) and had at least three pancakes. Tiny passed on the green eggs (eggs aren’t really her thing) but ate a couple of pancakes without too much fuss.
Then we were off to storytime, followed closely by the kids’ three year well visit. We’ve had pretty good luck with cooperation at the doctor’s office for the last few visits, and this one was no different. The kids were happily entertained (for 45 minutes!) by the preschool games on T’s iPad while we waited for the doctor to arrive (apparently there was a baby ahead of us who was not feeling particularly cooperative and required extra time and attention). Both Buba and Tiny cooperated with the nurse who took their measurements (Tiny is now 35.25 inches and weighs 25 pounds, and Buba came in at 34.75 inches and 26.8 pounds), and they made no fuss at all when the doctor had to look in their ears, eyes, and mouth. We didn’t need any vaccines today, so that was nice, but the kids did have to each get a finger pricked to provide blood samples for lead testing. I was quite surprise when neither kid seemed anxious about getting this little pinch, and neither Tiny nor Buba shed a single tear. Total success!
The best news of the day was that after 3 years of always being below the 1st percentile on the growth chart for weight, Tiny has finally made her debut on the chart! She’s currently sitting proud at the 3rd percentile. She beamed when T and I clapped at this news, and then clapped her little hands right along with us. Unfortunately, the attention has now been turned on Buba, who didn’t grow as much as expected in the last six months. We’ll have to go back in July for a height and weight check to see if this was just an off day, but if not, some further testing may be done just to rule out that there is anything out of the ordinary going on. We’ve been down this road before, so I’m not too concerned, but it never feels good to hear that something doesn’t seem quite right. In the meantime, we’ll go back to trying to add some extra calories into each day and hope that does the trick.
All in all, I was very pleased with how our well visit went. We are so blessed to have happy, healthy children, and I hope I never, ever forget that.
Power Dance and New Clothes
Some weeks it’s harder than others to remember to make time for myself. I forget that little things can make a world of difference when thinking of ways to recharge or give myself a little TLC. This week was pretty busy, really not so different from the last two, but I found two things to make this week just a little more enjoyable for me.
On Tuesday, as a spur of the moment decision, I decided that I would take the kids to the childcare room at the gym (their first time going- more on that later) and finally check out the power dance class that I’d been wanting to join for over a year. It’s an hour-long class where you learn dance combinations that then get put together for one long performance. The instructor breaks down each combination, and you practice them over and over, but it’s still incredibly fast paced, requires coordination and dance skills, as well as a hefty dose of self-confidence. I’m pretty sure I looked like the biggest fool ever- I couldn’t remember the sequences and was really bad with the transitions- but I had a ton of fun. The instructor said she sticks with the same dance for 4-5 weeks, so next week should be a little easier for me. At this point, I’m planning to go back. It would be nice to make this a regular thing. And it was really nice to have my workout taken care of before lunchtime, so I didn’t have to rush to get to the gym after putting the kids to bed.
On Thursday, we headed to Kohl’s to do a little shopping. I had received a 20% off coupon in the mail and decided to take my coupon and the kids to look around for a bit. While I didn’t really need anything, I ended up picking up a few spring/summer shirts and a new pair of capris. I’m sure last year’s clothes will be fine, but it’s nice to have something new to add to my fairly small post-babies wardrobe. Now I just need spring to hurry up and get here, and I’ll be all set!
Presents for Me!
For Tiny and Buba’s first birthday, we had a simple, smallish family party at home. Grammie and Grandpa came, along with Uncle S, cousin M, and great aunt C and uncle J. We had lunch, the kids opened presents, we sang Happy Birthday and served cake, and that was it.
For their second birthday, we went out to dinner with Grammie and Grandpa (along with uncle and cousins). The restaurant took care of dessert with a candle, and I didn’t even bake a cake to go along with our celebration at home on the actual day (I believe we had a chocolate cake from Omaha Steaks, though). I did invite a few of their friends over for a mid-week birthday playdate, but there were no decorations, no party hats, no presents, and no cake. We did sing Happy Birthday before all the friends went home, but otherwise, there was nothing else to indicate that it was a birthday celebration.
But this year, it was completely different. Buba and Tiny went to two on-location birthday parties within the last five months, and Tiny especially, had it all figured out. After attending the party for our twin friends G&E, Tiny informed me, “When it’s my birthday, all my friends gonna come and bring presents for ME!” At the time, I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she wouldn’t be having that kind of a birthday party. I figured she’d forget all about it in a few days. But she didn’t. She kept asking when it was going to be her birthday and continued to talk about having a party with her friends. I tried to tell her that some people have parties with friends while others just celebrate with family, and we would just be having a family gathering. That didn’t sit well with Tiny, and she continued to lobby for a party with friends.
And so, about a month before the big third birthday, I began the planning. We would have the party at our house. It would basically be a glorified playdate, but I would allow presents, we would sing Happy Birthday and have cake, and I would give out favors. We invited eight friends, and six were able to attend. I let Tiny and Buba choose the cake and frosting. Buba had to have the chocolate snowman cake (the chocolate cake with the Pilsbury Doughboy on the box), and Tiny agreed that the can of chocolate frosting with sprinkles would be best. After picking up a few small toys for the grab bags,we were pretty much set.
The morning of the party was very busy. Although I had tried to clean and prepare as much as I could throughout the week, there was still much to be done. I had to give up my sleep-in Saturday time to get up and get things moving. When Grammie and Grandpa arrived at 9am, just 30 minutes before the party was scheduled to begin, we were still in the middle of breakfast and the kids were not yet dressed. Fortunately, Grammie finished up breakfast with the kids while T and I finished the last minute cleaning and organizing. Grammie and I got Buba and Tiny dressed just minutes before the first guest arrived. Then Grammie frosted the cakes and cupcakes and washed and cut up strawberries, while I greeted our friends.
Sadly, most of the party was a blur for me. I was busy in the kitchen helping the kids with a craft activity (each kid made a crown), and T was doing his best to keep our kids from climbing the walls (they were so excited and so wound up). After about 50 minutes of playtime, I gathered all the kids and parents in our living room for a brief circle time of game-like songs. I gave each friend an empty party favor bag, and as we moved through each song, the kids received small toys to put in their bags- a small rubbery spider (The Itsy Bitsy Spider), a pair of plastic sunglasses (Oh Mr. Sun), a small, rubber ducky (All the Little Ducks- an EI song), and a small, plastic slinky (The Wheels on the Bus). Tiny and Buba helped pass the toys around to their friends and helped to lead the singing. It was all very simple, but I think the kids had fun.
Next, we headed into the kitchen for cake and strawberries. We sang Happy Birthday to Tiny first, and then to Buba. The looks on their faces as they listened to the singing and watched the glowing cake approaching them was priceless. We waited until after our friends left to begin opening presents, and Buba and Tiny slowly worked their way through them all throughout the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, we took very few photos during the party (just too much going on), and of the ones we did take, only a few actually turned out (so disappointing to have a camera that doesn’t work the way you want it to when you need it to). Still, I consider their first party with friend a success, and I’m actually glad I let Tiny talk me into it.
Tiny helping her friend make his crown.
Tiny and Buba's crowns
the birthday cakes
Hope for Spring
Today was Buba and Tiny’s last day of their drop-off playgroup. It’s a group for 2 year olds, and now that they’re 3, it’s time for us to move on and make space for some newcomers. We have just two more music classes left before the session ends, and we won’t be signing up for the next session (not because we didn’t love it, though). Last week, the music teacher mentioned that there were only two more classes left, and Tiny picked up on that. Tonight, at bedtime, we had the following converstaion…
Tiny: What we gonna have after night night?
Me: You mean tomorrow?
Tiny: Yep.
Me: We have music class tomorrow.
Tiny: Oh! And there just two more left?
Me: That’s right.
Tiny: What we gonna do after that?
Me: Well, we’ll hope for spring, I guess- warm weather and sunshine so we can play outside.
Tiny: I’m so esited (excited)! I can’t wait to see grass and sticks and I want to push my stroller in a walk. Can I put my baby in a stroller and walk?
Me: Yes, when the snow is all gone and we have some warm weather, you can do that.
Tiny: Oh! I’m so exited!
I’m definitely with her. I’m so excited for spring to come. We’ve had a few sneak peeks here and there, and our 7+ feet of snow has melted considerably. We still can’t see the front yard, but I’m hoping a few more days above 40 degrees will do the trick.
celebrations Tiny & Buba: 3rd birthday gymnastics music class
by reanbean
5 comments
Happy 3rd Birthday!
Dear Tiny and Buba,
It was just three short years ago that you were born in the next town over at the same hospital where Daddy was born. You were both born at 8:22am (just seconds apart), and you both were 18.5 inches long and weighed 5 pounds, 15.6 ounces. The nurses were so surprised by your exact measurements that they measured and weighed you several times to be sure they were correct. Daddy and I were so excited to meet you. We took tons and tons of pictures and showed them to everyone we knew. We were just so happy and so proud to be your mommy and daddy.
Three years later, we are still amazed by all the growing and learning you do every day. Although you will always be our little babies, we could hardly get away with calling you babies now. You look like big kids and act like big kids. You love to run and play and jump and giggle, and you work hard to do as much as you can on your own- including getting yourselves dressed and going to the bathroom. I love to watch the two of you involved in pretend play (taking your babies to the library or doctor, or driving your ride on toys up to one of the safety gates to order some munchkins (donut holes) for a special snack), and it warms my heart to see you sitting down with your piles of books taking turns reading to each other. You truly have a special bond that I hope will stay with you your entire lives.
After two years of sticking pretty close to home, this past year we took the plunge and joined a playgroup, started gymnastics, and took a music class. Although it took several weeks for you to get used to going to playgroup without me, you have loved playing with your teachers and meeting lots and lots of new friends. Each time we went, there were always fun toys to play with and a craft activity to do. You loved circle time and often sang the songs and played the games with each other and your dolls at home. Sadly, now that you’re three, our time at playgroup is over. But I know you’ll have just as much fun, and even more, when you start preschool in the fall.
You have also really loved going to gymnastics and music classes. At gymnastics, you love to walk on the beam and jump on the trampoline. You are growing stronger and more confident in your abilities each time we go, and it’s so much fun to watch you having so much fun! We’ve had a lot of fun going to music class too. You love to listen to the CD with all the songs we sing in class, and almost every song is someone’s favorite. Although you almost never sing in class, you love to sing the songs at home while you play.
Tiny, it has been amazing to watch you grow from a tiny little baby into the big girl you are today. You are fun loving and free spirited, but also a stickler for rules (like your mommy). If someone isn’t following a rule, you’d be the one to point it out. And should you get caught breaking a rule, more often than not, you don’t have to be told twice to go to time out. You love to color and paint with watercolor and are able to focus on your creative projects for a good length of time. There are currently a dozen or so books in our home library that you’ve memorized, and you love to read them to Monkey or Mouse Cookie or anyone else who will listen.
At gymnastics, we’ve been told that you’re a natural. You have great balance, tons of energy, and are willing to try anything. You love to walk across the beam and do jumps and forward rolls on the high beam with help from your coaches. On trampoline, you love to do straddle jumps and seat drops where you then bounce right back up to your feet.
Like your mommy, you are a talker. You love to tell anyone who will listen what has been going on in your life, and whenever the phone rings, you assume that someone is calling for you. I am constantly amazed by the details that you remember, as well as your patience when your listener cannot understand what you are trying to say. You do not become frustrated if asked to repeat yourself and will often rephrase what you are saying or try to describe the item or event to get your point across.
Buba, you are such a sweet and determined little boy, and I am so proud of the big boy you’ve become. You love to play with your trains and trucks, but are also just as happy to do dress up and play with your baby dolls. Your love for books has only grown since you first fell in love with them way back when you were a baby. It is not at all uncommon to see you sitting in front of the bookshelf with stacks of books all around you while you read and read and read. And, of course, you love to bring Mommy and Daddy books to read to you. Sometimes we have to limit how many, because you could sit and listen to books forever.
You tend to be on the quiet and shy side at music class, but at home you often request your favorite songs and sing along while you play. You have the sweetest little voice, and your rhythm is quite good. You also love to go to gymnastics, where you can run and climb and jump. You absolutely love to run up to the vault, do donkey kicks on the spring board before climbing up on the vault and then doing a big jump (which you call a bee-bop) down to the mats below. Then, with a big smile on your face, you stand up tall with your arms straight up and shout, “ta-da!” You never, ever get tired of this. You also love to jump on the big trampoline and swim through the foam pit.
Although you’re not a big talker (phone conversations tend to go “Hello-Good-Talk to you later-Love you-Bye Bye.”), your language skills have improved tremendously over the last year. Your vocabulary is extensive, and several people have recently commented on how much easier it now is to understand what you are saying. Over the last six months or so, you’ve become very interested in letters and numbers. You now know every capital letter by sight and can identify numbers 0 through 10 pretty consistently. You love to point out letters and numbers on signs and on packages when we are out shopping.
Of course, this is not to say that we don’t have our battles from time to time. But overall, we had an amazingly wonderful year with two two-year-olds. I’m already looking forward to all the fun things we’ll do together this next year.
Happy 3rd Birthday! I love you and love you and love you and love you!
Mommy
Catching Up
Things have been busy around here the last couple of weeks, and as a result, I’ve been out of the blogosphere a lot more than I’ve been in it. When I opened my Google reader this morning, I had over 70 unread posts in my reader. I’m close to double digits behind on some of my favorite blogs, but I hope to catch up soon.
I hope to do some catching up on my own blog too. Too many posts have been recently left in draft form, or worse, haven’t even made it from my brain to the screen. I’ve still got several big projects in the works, but hopefully I can find a way to carve out a bit of blogging time each week to keep from getting this backlogged again.
And before I forget, I want to say a huge thanks to Andrea of The Mays Twins for nominating me for the Stylish Blogger Award. This thank you is long overdue, and I really want Andrea to know how much I appreciate the recognition and shout out. Andrea and I just recently connected a few months ago when I came across her blog through Dolli-Mama‘s 52 Weeks of Me Challenge link up. I was so excited to meet another mother of boy/girl twins who were born just a few weeks before Tiny and Buba. I love reading her blog to find out what they’ve all been up to, and I’ve also really enjoyed “chatting” with Andrea through emails. Thanks again for the award. I feel truly honored!