Hello, women!

So, I've had an okay couple of days. I was really getting frustrated with the fact that I could not figure out how to get exercise into my day. And then, my lower back got torqued. Not even really sure how it happened, I woke up with it. I think it's a nursing injury. It feels like a strain and I know it's all because I have absolutey no abdomninal strength. Not that I'm happy about all this, but it's been a big motivator to get some strength building into my day. Can't say that I've been stellar at it but I've incorporated more tummy exercises and kegals, at least.

As far as cardio, well, I had coffee yesterday, which I never do, and I was about to sell my children come 2 PM. It just makes me too cranky. So I borrowed my neighbor's double stroller and threw them both in and walked around the neighborhood, zig-zagging up and down the streets to take advantage of the small incline that runs through our neighborhood. They both fell asleep, but Clara was really cold and cranky when she woke up. I have to figure out how to keep her warm and happy because I'm not likely to stick with this if she's always whining. I'm also really sore in one hip, which keeps happening, but I think the answer to that is to keep moving.

I'm still on the fence about joining a gym, or should I say, switching, because I actually do belong to one, I just never go. I thought the community center was going to be a good option, but they don't have childcare in the afternoon. The mornings my 3 yo is home I want to spend with her, the mornings she's at preschool I need to work. So I'm still not sure how to fit this in. I think I'm going to still just make due with trying to workout at home. It just takes less time, which is the thing that's in shortest supply.

As you can see, I'm still a little cranky about all this. I'm a little cranky in general. Dh and I are okay, but working through some old things with a counselor, who is less than talented (he actually said last night that my way of approaching things is "hormonal"). So my head is full of all that. Working at home is just not working for me anymore and I just want to be done with my projects so I can just be done, for at least the summer.

Sorry for the gigantic vent. I'm just not used to feeling so out of control and settling all the time. I know it's just a season in my life, I've seen lots of friends go through the same thing, I just have to keep reminding myself that it won't always be like this. And I will miss these days when they're gone.

I hope you're all feeling strong and centered. I can't tell you how happy I am that we're all back together. It's a really beautiful thing. Thank you all for being here!

Hooray for me - I lost a whole pound this week! I can not tell you how happy I am to be in the 180s again... I spent ALL of 2006 in the 190s!

I made it to the gym 3x this week and you can tell by the way I can't lift my hands over my head that I worked hard at BODY Pump tuesday night. OMG! I have not been able to do a single upper body exercise since.... Yes, I am really that sore. I ran a whole 3 miles yesterday and now my foot is sore too. (again). I think I have plantar faciitis. I didn't do anything strenuous in December and it felt great - now it hurts again; mostly just the arch. I really felt good when I was running and so it bums me out... I am going to ICE ICE ICE and see if I can work through it.

Shorty - you need a new Therapist. I would have clocked anyone that attributed any of my feelings to "being hormonal" . That said, I had pretty bad post partum depression with both of my kids. The first one just made me quit the job of my dreams, sell my house and move closer to home; with the second I realized that I needed medication. I am glad I took it and got through it. It's so hard to be a mom and a wife. Hang in there, it does get better!!! Taking out the double stroller is a great thing. Do they have any mommy & me stroller classes where you are? Just a thought. As for keeping warm, I used to put a neck warmer (aromatherapy thingy filled with beans) in the microwave and then put it in the carrier when I went out for a walk. Everyone stayed warm and cozy while mom got a little fresh air. Keep it up!

Steph - How goes WW? I am good about 5 of 7 days. I try try try to write things down, some days just get ahead of me.

Well I am off to call the cable company and find out what's up with my e-mail. It's been down all day and I can't be with out it another minute! Wish me luck; I hate these guys!!

Juno - What's new ??? How are you surviving your Alaskan winter?????????I don't know how you do it?!@

Absmom

We finally had some cold here and the ground is covered in white Last week when I read Abs note about spring I was pretty sure we were skipping winter here but it arrived over the weekend. I don't mind for now. It is very cold and I still went on my morning walk so I must be getting used to it!

We didn't have to weigh in for WW last week but two of us did anyhow on the scale here because I already made last weekend my free for all and started behaving. I was down 1.5 pounds from the week before and hopefully will be down a pound or two more this week. Came on pretty quick for me so I am hoping some falls off fast!

Only working a 1/2 day today so have to get some stuff done. Made TB both times last week, got in all my a.m. walks and two more evening workouts, made much smarter choices including hanging out with friends and making smarter choices. Little things I am hoping will all add up. I do think the turning 40 is really weighing on my mind as the year to get it together or else! Don't know what the or else is but just know somehow it will hurt my psyche

Hope everyone is having a good week and finds some time to check in!

I posted somehow and it didn't make it all the way on the board so now mine will have to be brief.

I was thinking last week with Abs e-mail about spring coming soon that she was right and I can't wait Now it is zero out and we have snow everywhere....changed pretty quickly. We've had the mild winter but not this week. Today was -4 and my friend and I still went and did our hour walk at 5:30 a.m. ! We think we're pretty tough now

WW first weigh in is today but I have weighed myself the past two weeks and am down 3 pounds - phew. I know it is harder to get off then how easily it went on but am trying very hard to be good and do everything normally but with a bit more moderation and control. I have been really good at exercise (having the work TaeBo helps!) and then trying to do even more at home. My goal now is to walk 5 times per week in the a.m. still and also to do 4 more exercise sessions per week. Last week I did 5

Food can be a challenge as the e-mail just said Krispy Kremes (4 boxes) were delivered here this a.m. from a supplier. Unfortunately my co-worker and I are not good at talking each other out of things. We went together, ate one, pretended to justify it and then went back to our office. But w/ Burger King gone - have to have some type of breakfast treat! Haven't had a sinful breakfast thing since Christmas break.

Hope everyone is still in strong form for the NY. Hope on and say hi!

I have posted on here two times this week but it never shows up. I am thinking that somehow it is getting blocked from work but can't be sure! If this shows up then I will write more later otherwise will not write until I am home!

Well something was up because now when I posted that one, I see that my posts did make it on but even when I pulled it up earlier I could not see Shorty's or Abs posts!!! Techno issues!

Okay I realized (am now in edit mode) that I did not go to page two and that is why I didn't see my posts. Oops - not a techno error but a user error.

Shorty - I don't know if I have any good advice to give you but I will say that when I did home daycare I used to tell my moms that it was okay to leave their kids on their days off so they could have some me time and to not feel guilty about it. I think when the mom gets worn down - everything starts to fall apart. Even though we think we are being good by putting our thoughts on how we must spend a certain amount of time with our kids - it is okay to take a break if you can. I'm so not defending your counselors choice of words but I do believe that the whole man/woman thing of how a marriage works, what needs to be done at the house, how much they should participate is goofy. I'm on year 14 and still don't understand how a perfectly sensible husband gives me what I consider stupid responses to things regarding the kids/house/pets whatever. I still don't get why when I have hit the stomping around the house mode that he has to get a pacifying look on his face and say "what can I help with?" - Well you should not have to answer that question if you paid attention! I have put my husband in charge of just finding out homework after school as for the first time in 10 years he is there and I was not happy at 8 when I found homework in the almost 9 year olds bag. Okay now I am done venting

Absmom - yeah!!! You have reached a happy point! I think with all of us back into supporting it should go well. I feel that we all just have such great history that we can pull each other through this! My husband bought just these heel things in the Dr. Scholl's area and they really helped his foot (he has plantars fasc. or so he says). Said in two days of wearing them made a big difference. I am doing okay with the points - really made me see how much more I eat than I should!

Okay off to work now.

x

x

Thanks to everyone for the support. I'm doing much better now. I started doing Flylady a few weeks ago to get my house back in shape. I'm amazed at how well it works! Really, all it is is setting a timer for 5, 10 or 15 minutes then and doing what you hate to do. Then you find that it really doesn't take that long. And then you're okay doing it every day! (Still, I don't shine my sink. I think that's a bit much. And dh does the kitchen around here.) My downfall was laundry. Now that's under control I feel like I have a lot more time for everything else.

Yesterday I got up early and went walking with three women. One I'd met through friends a few times. She posted to a local moms list that she wanted a walking partner and two other women replied. Funny thing is that they're all about 7 months pregnant! I was pushing baby Iris in her stroller so I had a little extra resistance. It was lots of fun. I had an amazing appetite later that day and did well with a fresh veggie/stirfy at a cafe with a friend.

Tomorrow I'm going to go look at a double jogger that someone is selling on Craigslist. If it works I'm going to start walking to preschool one day a week, probably in the afternoon. It's 3.4 miles round trip. If I can do that, and walk on a weekend day and get another walk in earlier in the week, that would be great progress for me.

I also bought some hand weights at Ross. I'm looking through my Shape magazines (with which I have a love/hate relationship) for some routines. I'm putting together a book of things I can do. I'm even thinking of joining their online guide because they suggest routines and I could use some inspiration.

As soon as I finish this post I'm going to finish cleaning up my kitchen (I'm sorting books, magazines, etc. into some new shelves) and plan out my meals for the week. Then I need to pay business bills. Then to bed! Iris is teething something awful so I expect her to be up soon.

Juno: Hearing how your habits have rubbed off onto your girls is a big inspiration to me. And just how you've always kept at it! And I am going to incorporate that 20 minute rule into my life. I think that will work well with the weights.

SAB: I hear you about the food temptations. We went to dh's company dinner the other night and it was horrible. So horrible we left early and went to the hotel restaraunt (one of the best in town) and ate lots of yummy food. If we'd stuck to the seafood we would have been fine, but then they brought around the dessert tray...Why do they do that? Oh, there was a trio of creme brule, pot de creme and a berry cobbler. ALL OF MY FAVORITES. We split 'em and loved them. Ah, well.

Abs: I had pain in one of my ankles when I was running a lot. I was able to run through it, but always worried about it. I hope you feel better. Congrats on dropping the pounds!!

Speaking of Flylady, has anyone checked out their Body Clutter book? I'm thinking of buying it. It's cheap, has great reviews on Amazon, and if her way of getting healthy is like cleaning house I may be able to do it!

Hope all is well with all of you. Talk soon!

x

Enjoy the time with your dh, Juno! I forget, does he travel for work?

I bought the jogger! I figured out that with both girls in it, including the weight of the stroller itself, I'm pushing 80 lbs! Yikes! I'm not sure how one runs with any real speed in this situation but we'll see. I never went for speed but rather time/distance anyway. It's all progress, so I'm not complaining.

Except I am. Because now I have a horrendous cold. Bleh. So no walking or running for me for a few days. I'm going to do some weights this afternoon when I'm done with work.

Does anyone have a reliable scale? I think mine is crappy and I can never trust it. If yes, would you mind telling me the model?

Hope everyone is doing well!

On the fly too as it is almost time to head out for TB with the office. It has turned out to be a great experience and all of us are having fun. So far this month (I started behaving food wise before WW weigh-in began) but I have lost 6 pounds this month so far. Makes a huge difference and I do feel that for the first time I am somewhat in control.

Yeah for the 80 lb stroller! Since I have gained at least 15 since quitting daycare - trust me that child care was calorie burning!

I need some new workout tops and maybe some new shoes with a bit more spring in them. Promised myself non-food rewards when I reach goals so am looking forward to those.

I swear by the cleaning just a bit at a time. We rarely every do huge cleaning events - just quick 10 minutes per day seems to get out house in line. If we are having company then we do a very heated fast but thorough cleaning and I only do that when someone is coming. My house is neat & clean but I do have two kids at home and all those pets and I've given up on it looking fantastic every day. Our house is clean but looks lived in!

Sounds like everyone is in a positive mode still as January starts to close. Let's keep it going!

I had a cold. It was bad, felt rotten. Then instead of getting better I got a fever and a bad case of strep. I have not been able to get to the gym and I have not been able to sleep b/c I am coughing all night. I don't think I've been this out of commission in a LONG TIME. The doctor gave me cough syrup with codine, but not only does it not work - it makes me feel spaced for most of the next day (I have since dumped it). My poor doggy hasn't had a walk in two days!! DH is working 16 hour days so I can't really have him pick up the slack and my poor kids....Physically I feel better right now and hopefully, if I get a good eight hours sleep I'll be able to get my life and house back on track and to the gym. I feel like a giant SLUG.

Food wise - not much has tasted good, but that doesn't mean I haven't tried to find something that might be good. My diet has suffered!

Shorty - I have a Tanita scale and it is the same scale as my Doctor's office. It's pretty accurate. I think I got it at Linnen's and Things for $65 or so a few years back. The body fat percentage is a little inconsistent, but I think it's still a good model. Good luck with 80lbs of kids! Just make sure you have good sidewalks or a wide shoulder... They don't manueuver very well.

Juno - I hope my kids want to work out with me when they get older!! I am sure that you are the coolest MOM!

Steph - Congrats on 6 lbs!@ I am working on 3 for the month and I dont' think I lost this week since I couldnt' exercise....

My goal for this week is to get back at it - gym x 4 and write down my points for at least 5 of 7 days. I'll let you know how it goes!

Happy Thursday!
Absmom

hello, women!

I have to check my settings. I'm not getting notified when people post here. Anyway, I'm going okay here. Still trying to get regular exercise into my routine, but I'm doing okay with food.

Well, maybe not. I started tracking it, first at Fitday and then at *********** (some people from another board I'm on created a group there) and it seems that I have A LOT of fat in my diet!

The food I eat is all relatively healthy. They just happen to have a lot of fat, I guess. So I switched to egg whites for breakfast, and now I have to find a protein-rich snack with less fat than cashews (I eat about a cup throughout the day). I'm actually still in experimental mode with this. Since I'm breastfeeding, and I've been losing the weight just fine, I'm not convinced I need to lower my intake all that much. One day I did and I was totally famished by the end of the day and ate a bunch of cheese and oatmeal, which isn't like me. So I think I'm going to add more fruits and veggies to my snack, fewer nuts, and see where that leaves me. It's just so hard to get all the protein I need without the nuts.

Took the stroller out yesterday. The girls loved it! My baby--she's going to be a spitfire, and I thought my first was! Iris didn't care for the walking part, she wanted me to run! When I stopped running (I only ran a half block with them) she kicked her legs and banged her head against the seat back.

Our stroller walk took us to the park and while dh watched the girls I ran around the park without stopping, about 3 blocks. It felt good! Nothing fell out! I think I'm truley ready for this again.

I've got a whole list of exercises I can do at home that I got from ***********. I've got a resistance band and hand weights (got to retreive my balance ball from a friend). I've got good childcare this week so I think I'll be able to get some movement in.


absmom: I'm so sorry you've been sick! That's the pits. Try VitaBiotics from Eclectic Institute. They're fabulous for helping you fight off infection.

Steph: Congrats on losing 6 lbs! That's fabulous! Nice and steady.

Juno: Hope work is evening out. Catch us up when you can!

Lame. I guess 3FC doesn't like you to list competitor sites? All those asterisks are masking the name of a website that starts with "S" followed by "park" and "people." Not really that important, but there it is.