All Out April

New Challenge!

I have picked up this workout dvd for post pregnancy chubbers like me. My friend said it is amazing. I am looking forward to trying it and hoping it is suited to my split abs complex. My goal for April is to do 20-30 minutes of this lovely workout 4 days of my ever-so-busy-feeding-a-baby week.

Also....

4 miles of running a week. Sounds super simple but to a mom with no motivation and little time to motivate myself while Lock is sleeping, it sounds like a feat. A challenge!

Good luck to you guys who told me you were planning out your challenges this month too! We can do this!

And remember.....

March Manic Challenge

Just a little something something my husband and I like to do. We challenge ourselves and each other to meet a certain goal we set for ourselves during one month. We used to make it into a bet--"I bet I could run 100 miles in the month of January!" That is totally a Caleb bet. I would never do such a thing. If he accomplished it, I would have to do something nice/extraordinary for him. We got rid of that part. Actually, we got rid of the whole thing...laziness.

Well, as I grew plump with baby Lock, my mind began to suffocate (not literally) with not being able to just pick up and go on a run, do crunches, lunges, push ups, etc. Ok, so maybe you can do most of those things when you're pregnant...but I was tired. They said (the infamous "theys" of the magazines) that if you exercise you get more energy. Yeah, tell that to the potato on the couch.

Anyway... I am not a crazy work-out-until-you-throw-up kinda person. Nor do I really even work out consistently. I'm the person who works-out-when-my-muscles-are-getting-squishy-and-summer-is-coming-so-I-have-to-look-sexy kinda person. Sometimes I like to feel the burn and tearing of my muscles as they grow ever so strong. Sometimes. I do like feeling in shape, which brings me to my point. As pregnancy neared its end, my determination to get back into shape was on my suffocated mind.

Then I had my baby. Look, there he is!

And it was back to the couch for healing and sleep.

But as the weeks passed and my weight began to drop off and I saw glimpses of what my stomach used to look like, my determination came back. So I proposed an idea to Caleb. "Wanna do March Manic Challenge with me??" Yes.

March Manic Challenge. 1000 push ups, 500 sit ups (wasn't sure if my abs would heal in time) and 15 miles to run. Caleb's challenge was similar but a whole bunch more than those numbers.

I started out strong, did a few the first couple days. I enjoyed the sun on my face with a couple runs (while Caleb watched Lock, what a guy!) and then yeah. Today is the 25th. Total completed: 70 push ups, 60 sit ups, and  8 miles. 830 push ups, 340 sit ups, and 7 miles to go. I can do this! (don't check my math please). What happened you ask? You know, baby wise happened. Sleep training both for him and me. Breastfeeding struggles. Ok, how hard is it to do a few push ups during Lock's naps? Not hard at all.... Doesn't holding Lock count as upper arm strength building?

No excuses really. Unless you count my good sister telling me my abs are indeed still split and I shouldn't be doing any sit ups. What? I have a challenge to meet! Nuts. Where did my determination go? Spring is in the air!

So we will try again.

All Out April Challenge! The month where anything April says goes. :) No. More like Caleb saying, "Go all out April! Drop and give me 20!" Also it means, "Sorry dear, you want mac and cheese? All out, sincerely April." A diet!  It should be fun.We haven't set the challenge goals yet but I will update you soon...maybe.

Good luck April! Thanks.

Between eats

Balancing time as a mom, especially a super new mom like me, can be challenging. Today, my Locklan stayed on schedule like a textbook pro. Taking advantage of that plus my husband being home to help, I finally had time to finish a project that has been pending for weeks for Lock's room. I had a baby boy about two and half months ago and am just now beginning to decorate his room. I had plans of a New England harbor/beach theme with buoys and sailboats so luckily I at least had his walls painted a pretty blue/gray color with a hint of purple (I didn't know if he was going to be a boy or a girl). So now, here we go. My first project as a mom!

It was a real simple project. I started with three canvases I liked and sketched out an idea of what I wanted to paint: apologies for the blurry photo and beautiful drop cloth behind.

Then I blobbed them with some simple acrylic craft paint from Hobby Lobby. Super cheap. Hobby Lobby often has 50% off deals on their canvases, paint, and painting tools. 

With a scraper (also easily found at Hobby Lobby) I moved the paint around to make an abstract replica of my sketch. 

Then I added a hint of color to make it more interesting.

Voila! Project complete. This was my first time using a scraper to paint with but I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Here are all three finished:

The Mundane

my baby is on a routine. eat, play, sleep. it is an extremely loose interpretation of Baby Wise (an over explained and over complicated way to make your baby sleep through the night). so far, he made it eight hours one night! yay for us! two things though:

a. it could have just been a growth spurt. he was super duper tired and ate like crazy all day that day

b. i forgot this reason. i'll come back to it.

with this routine comes predictability, which is wonderful! beautiful! easy! and predictable! my little boy's whines and cries are now easy to interpret into english. i could (roughly) know when i would have some free time to say, shower or even make myself a meal (besides the usual peanut butter stuffed pretzels i stuffed in my face real fast. they are delicious by the way). 

predictability also breeds the.. duh duh daaaa... mundane. 

oh yea, reason two: it has only happened once so far. so don't get your hopes up.

the mundane. eat, play (which sometimes can be interesting. other times it is like talking to a brick wall. no response. thanks kiddo), sleep. 

thought of another reason/statement: my kid is such a noisy sleeper. haven't moved him into his own room yet. i'm a softy.

the sleep part is still unpredictable. like right now. hold on one minute... ok. sometimes i have time for a nice long hot shower, maybe some dishes and laundry, other times i only have time to gulp a cup of coffee. as he ages, he becomes a lighter and pickier sleeper. the mundane part is the repetition. this routine repeats itself every three hours, and in my case, every two because my kid is a piggy and is growing like a little cute bean sprout. it isn't just he repetition of eat, play, sleep but also of the daily tasks of home managing. i swear i never did this much laundry when i was working. and dishes, it is easier just not eat, less things to do and clean. then it is tidying up the place--burp towel here, and there, and over here, bottles to be cleaned, cat to be fed and tickled, and pet and then tickled again and then fed again, dang cat. who has time to clean the bathrooms, vacuum the couch where my cat sleeps and the chair where my cat sleeps. so much for finishing my thank you cards ten years later or painting or crafts or what else did i ever enjoy doing. (my baby has such a cute snore. asleep at last).

i do feel like i have more time with this routine though. it is a jump up from the chaotic "oh crap, why are you crying, you hungry, poopy, tired, sad, mad, maybe hungry? why won't you sleep, here take a pacifier, sshhh" routine i was following.

but my original plan of this whole mundane vent: its the little things in between that make it so worth it. i would take this "mundane" life over fun-exciting-unpredictable-having a night life type of life. i mean, look at this face

i get to play with him all day (when he isn't sleeping). but even then, he is addicting

yes, more

with papa

and nana

see? even sleeping can be fun. in the mundane life, you need to look at the little things and find the exciting in them. you don't need a crazy story to make memories. sharing a cup of tea with my mama are some of my favorite memories. it's who you spend those minutes with and honestly, my little boy is the most interesting person out there. there is still so much to learn about him!