- Write for 21 days straight. Topic doesn't matter
- Workout at least 3 days a week
- Record a food journal
- Keep up on my baby journal for Isaac
- Start thinking about my VA business & website
- Finish my bible plan (John) and start another
- Stick to our family budge (I did "okay" last month.)
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Fresh start
Happy July 1! Wow it's been a couple months since my last post. Life has kinda been a tad crazy or should I say I've been a tad unorganized. I'm starting the month fresh and ready to go with lots of energy and enthusiasm - or at least I'm trying to feel that way. Here are a few goals I'm setting for myself this month:
Monday, April 21, 2014
P90x3 - Day 1
Today I kicked off strength training by starting the P90x3 training program. I'm planning to do the regular program and see where it gets me. I had a wonderful 8 mile run last Saturday, but I'm definitely feeling the effects of a weak core. I'd also like to speed up losing the last 10lbs of baby weigh. I fluctuate between 7-10 pesky pounds each week, and I'm ready to see the number on the scale drop or at least fit more comfortably in my jeans. (I'm tired of muffin top! blargh!) Yes, I should quit complaining, but I know what I feel like running without this extra weigh - much better! I also think it's important to set goals and take care of yourself. As long as I have this body, I might as well take care of it!
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Running Therapy
Today I enjoyed a quiet, sunny 4 miler through my neighborhood. As I ran, I observed all the activity going on around me and just escaped all the thoughts running through my head. It's nice to get away for a while from one's thoughts and just enjoy the sound of your shoes on the pavement. My breathing becomes consistent and I fall into a rhythm (unless there's a hill, which there was but I conquered it. Take that hill!)
Running has turned into a sort of therapy for me. After losing my brother this past September, I haven't really learned how to cope with missing him. I was 24 weeks pregnant when he died, so I put all my energy into preparing to give birth and be a mother. Now that I've had my son, all those emotions have come flooding back. There are moments when Isaac does something funny and the first person I think to tell is my brother. I think, man, Ryan would totally get why I thought that was funny! My throat catches and I begin to cry thinking that I can't ever tell him the silly things my son, his nephew, did this afternoon. It's such a raw feeling. It's not like Ryan's in another country; he's in a place I won't reach until I die. It's surreal. Most of the time I don't even have the words to describe how I'm feeling. Most of the time the only thing that makes me feel better is to cry. I don't know where I'm going with this post, but it just boils down to missing my brother. I miss everything about him. Every. Single. Thing.
It's hard for me to talk about Ryan with just anyone. In most cases, I know my friends and family don't really know what to say to me, so it's hard because I don't really get to talk about Ryan. It's painful to talk about him just as much as it is to NOT talk about him. My goal is to just get through each day. I'm here for a reason and I do believe my life is mapped out by God. He loves me and I know my struggle is part of a bigger plan. Honestly, sometimes that's is a hard pill to swallow, but I'm keeping faith in God.
"There are moments in life when you miss someone so much, you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real."
Running has turned into a sort of therapy for me. After losing my brother this past September, I haven't really learned how to cope with missing him. I was 24 weeks pregnant when he died, so I put all my energy into preparing to give birth and be a mother. Now that I've had my son, all those emotions have come flooding back. There are moments when Isaac does something funny and the first person I think to tell is my brother. I think, man, Ryan would totally get why I thought that was funny! My throat catches and I begin to cry thinking that I can't ever tell him the silly things my son, his nephew, did this afternoon. It's such a raw feeling. It's not like Ryan's in another country; he's in a place I won't reach until I die. It's surreal. Most of the time I don't even have the words to describe how I'm feeling. Most of the time the only thing that makes me feel better is to cry. I don't know where I'm going with this post, but it just boils down to missing my brother. I miss everything about him. Every. Single. Thing.
It's hard for me to talk about Ryan with just anyone. In most cases, I know my friends and family don't really know what to say to me, so it's hard because I don't really get to talk about Ryan. It's painful to talk about him just as much as it is to NOT talk about him. My goal is to just get through each day. I'm here for a reason and I do believe my life is mapped out by God. He loves me and I know my struggle is part of a bigger plan. Honestly, sometimes that's is a hard pill to swallow, but I'm keeping faith in God.
"There are moments in life when you miss someone so much, you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real."
Ryan would get a kick out of this photo!
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Day 1 #1800MinuteChallenge
Today I kicked off the 1800 Minute Challenge with a 3 mile jog around the block and a decent stretching session. Penny accompanied me on the run, but she's not the greatest running partner because she tends to pull me all over the place. More mileage I guess?
The 1800 Minute Challenge involves logging 1800 minutes of exercise between today, April 1 and May 31. The goal is to get ready for summer weather and feel better about your body. Since having Isaac in January, I have been able to shed all by 10 pesky pounds. I'm ready to get rid of that extra flab. As my loving husband says, " It takes 9 months to make it, it will take 9 months for it to go away." Bah - I'm ready now! At least he loves me, extra baby fat and all!
It does, however, feel amazing to get out and run again. I was having some knee issues, but today everything felt pretty good. I'm definitely sore. I pulled a weird muscle in my back, I think from lugging around Isaac's car seat? I have oodles of massage gift card money to spend, so I need to sign up and get one. I also can't wait for my Young Living Essential Oils kit to arrive in the mail so I can start oiling up and remove some of the pain that way. I can't wait to try them out!
The 1800 Minute Challenge involves logging 1800 minutes of exercise between today, April 1 and May 31. The goal is to get ready for summer weather and feel better about your body. Since having Isaac in January, I have been able to shed all by 10 pesky pounds. I'm ready to get rid of that extra flab. As my loving husband says, " It takes 9 months to make it, it will take 9 months for it to go away." Bah - I'm ready now! At least he loves me, extra baby fat and all!
It does, however, feel amazing to get out and run again. I was having some knee issues, but today everything felt pretty good. I'm definitely sore. I pulled a weird muscle in my back, I think from lugging around Isaac's car seat? I have oodles of massage gift card money to spend, so I need to sign up and get one. I also can't wait for my Young Living Essential Oils kit to arrive in the mail so I can start oiling up and remove some of the pain that way. I can't wait to try them out!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Sunday Funday
Another week and weekend has flown by - I can't believe it's almost 10:00 PM on a Sunday evening. Last week just whizzed by with so many exciting developments.
I am officially heading back to work after my maternity leave. But with a very good caveat - I get to work from home part-time. I am required 4 hours of in-office time, but other than that I have a flexible schedule. That is wonderful news because now I can stay at home full-time with Isaac and make some money. It's a trial period for both my employer and myself, so we will see what happens. I have to say it never hurts to ask.
Friday night I went out for my first girls' night. We enjoyed sushi and wine and there was lots and lots of laughter. It felt good to be off mom duty for the evening. However, I was definitely ready to head home at 10:00 PM to see my little sleepy guy. It felt good to get dressed up and put real make-up on for the evening. Next challenge will be date night with the hubs. We'll see if that happens next weekend or not.
Saturday was a day full of challenges. Our hot water heater decided to go kaput, so Nick spent the entire afternoon and evening installing a new one. Isaac and I lazed away most of the day. I worked on putting together my home office, but there is still work to be done. I was sad that Nick and I didn't get to spend any time together. Looking forward to next week already.
Sunday was filled with lots of activity. I decided to put Isaac in the nursery at church which was a HUGE step for me. Apparently, he did really well and the nursery workers loved him. I was nervous the entire service but managed to sit through it without having to take him out. It was relaxing and I was able to really dial into the message this morning. When we got home, I read some of our bible study book and then Isaac and I headed out to Young Living Essential Oils training. I purchased a kit and I'm excited to get started using the oils when then come in. I truly hope they will be beneficial to our family.
Finally, I rounded out the weekend with bible study. We've been making our way through "By This Name," and it's been a wonderful journey discovering my faith in Jesus. I'm learning each and everyday to let God work and put my faith and trust in Him. I found a wonderful quote the other day that fits perfectly with my life.
I am officially heading back to work after my maternity leave. But with a very good caveat - I get to work from home part-time. I am required 4 hours of in-office time, but other than that I have a flexible schedule. That is wonderful news because now I can stay at home full-time with Isaac and make some money. It's a trial period for both my employer and myself, so we will see what happens. I have to say it never hurts to ask.
Friday night I went out for my first girls' night. We enjoyed sushi and wine and there was lots and lots of laughter. It felt good to be off mom duty for the evening. However, I was definitely ready to head home at 10:00 PM to see my little sleepy guy. It felt good to get dressed up and put real make-up on for the evening. Next challenge will be date night with the hubs. We'll see if that happens next weekend or not.
Saturday was a day full of challenges. Our hot water heater decided to go kaput, so Nick spent the entire afternoon and evening installing a new one. Isaac and I lazed away most of the day. I worked on putting together my home office, but there is still work to be done. I was sad that Nick and I didn't get to spend any time together. Looking forward to next week already.
Sunday was filled with lots of activity. I decided to put Isaac in the nursery at church which was a HUGE step for me. Apparently, he did really well and the nursery workers loved him. I was nervous the entire service but managed to sit through it without having to take him out. It was relaxing and I was able to really dial into the message this morning. When we got home, I read some of our bible study book and then Isaac and I headed out to Young Living Essential Oils training. I purchased a kit and I'm excited to get started using the oils when then come in. I truly hope they will be beneficial to our family.
Finally, I rounded out the weekend with bible study. We've been making our way through "By This Name," and it's been a wonderful journey discovering my faith in Jesus. I'm learning each and everyday to let God work and put my faith and trust in Him. I found a wonderful quote the other day that fits perfectly with my life.
I'm looking forward to a wonderful week ahead of me!
Monday, March 10, 2014
2 Months Already?
I can hardly believe that Isaac will be two months tomorrow. These past 8 weeks have been absolutely life changing and I haven't made much effort to record any of it. I do, however, have photos and video! I'm going to make more of an effort to write down my experiences of motherhood. It is truly God's greatest gift and I feel blessed every single day that He chose to make me a mother.
Isaac is growing leaps and bounds. I swear he grows overnight. He's become so active and attentive. I think he even tried to laugh the other day. His smiles get me every time - I just love him so much. I also feel like I've come to know his moods a bit better. I can recognize his cries easier now too. The little guy is growing like a weed.
Eventually I want to write out his birth story and play catch up from the past 8 weeks. Stay tuned!
Isaac is growing leaps and bounds. I swear he grows overnight. He's become so active and attentive. I think he even tried to laugh the other day. His smiles get me every time - I just love him so much. I also feel like I've come to know his moods a bit better. I can recognize his cries easier now too. The little guy is growing like a weed.
Eventually I want to write out his birth story and play catch up from the past 8 weeks. Stay tuned!
Monday, January 27, 2014
Isaac's First Week
On Saturday, January 11, 2014 the greatest gift I've ever received was born, our son, Isaac, came into the world that afternoon and he is absolutely perfect. I can't even express the amount of love I have for this little guy. My husband was an amazing support person during my very difficult labor process, and I am so very thankful to him. We are both smitten with this little bundle of joy. Here's a brief summary of our first week with our little mister.
The day he was born, my parents and Nick's visited us in the hospital. I spent most of the day recovering meaning that Nick was on diaper duty. I couldn't stop staring at Isaac and it was hard to pass him around to all of his adoring grandparents.
Sunday, January 12 we continued to recover in the hospital. The day after birth, I was feeling the pain more than I like to admit. Isaac was having problems eating due to a bit of jaundice. The poor little guy had so many pokes and prods and tests on Sunday, I felt so bad for him. He also had many more visitors that day.
Monday, January 13 we were slated to head home! Yikes! We had Isaac circumsized and he handled it like a champ. Both Nick and I helped soothe him through the process and neither of us watched. Isaac also had to get tested for jaundice AGAIN, so I was once again feeling sorry for the little guy. Finally around 11:00 AM, the nurse started to get our paperwork together and we were able to head home. Talk about SCARY. Our friend, Tonya, met us at the house and helped with the transition of Penny seeing us. Our poor little dog probably thought we abandoned her because we left the house to abruptly the Friday before and were gone all weekend.
Once we got settled, Nick and I realized we were all on our own. No nurses, doctors, no help - just us. The reality set in. We're responsible for this tiny human being. Wow. We still couldn't get over how perfect he was and now we were in charge of raising him. Amazing.
We set up the living room because I couldn't get around very easily and for the rest of the week slept on the couch with Isaac right next to us. Nick helped with everything. He was so amazing. I struggled with feeding Isaac because he was still dealing with the jaundice. Tuesday night Nick has to leave for class. Some of our friends came over and poor little Isaac cried the entire time because I couldn't figure out his feeding. I felt so so bad. I was thankful for my friends' help, but I was stressed out. The next day, we took Isaac for this healthy baby check up and he had lost 9% of his birth weight. The pressure to figure out feeding was on. We were due to go back to the doctor to see if he gained back his weight.
The rest of the week was spent getting to know Isaac and learning how to care for him. We made progress on breastfeeding but there was still one obstacle to overcome aside from the jaundice. He was also born tongue-tied, so we scheduled an appointment for a minor procedure to get that taken care of the following week.
Over the weekend, Isaac had plenty of visitors - my aunt and cousin, my mom and her boyfriend, and my two best friends from gradeschool. Isaac has many admirers.
We were also blessed by our church to receive meals every other day for two weeks. Some of friends came over to help with the house work (although Nick did everything!) and keep us company.
The day he was born, my parents and Nick's visited us in the hospital. I spent most of the day recovering meaning that Nick was on diaper duty. I couldn't stop staring at Isaac and it was hard to pass him around to all of his adoring grandparents.
Sunday, January 12 we continued to recover in the hospital. The day after birth, I was feeling the pain more than I like to admit. Isaac was having problems eating due to a bit of jaundice. The poor little guy had so many pokes and prods and tests on Sunday, I felt so bad for him. He also had many more visitors that day.
Monday, January 13 we were slated to head home! Yikes! We had Isaac circumsized and he handled it like a champ. Both Nick and I helped soothe him through the process and neither of us watched. Isaac also had to get tested for jaundice AGAIN, so I was once again feeling sorry for the little guy. Finally around 11:00 AM, the nurse started to get our paperwork together and we were able to head home. Talk about SCARY. Our friend, Tonya, met us at the house and helped with the transition of Penny seeing us. Our poor little dog probably thought we abandoned her because we left the house to abruptly the Friday before and were gone all weekend.
Once we got settled, Nick and I realized we were all on our own. No nurses, doctors, no help - just us. The reality set in. We're responsible for this tiny human being. Wow. We still couldn't get over how perfect he was and now we were in charge of raising him. Amazing.
We set up the living room because I couldn't get around very easily and for the rest of the week slept on the couch with Isaac right next to us. Nick helped with everything. He was so amazing. I struggled with feeding Isaac because he was still dealing with the jaundice. Tuesday night Nick has to leave for class. Some of our friends came over and poor little Isaac cried the entire time because I couldn't figure out his feeding. I felt so so bad. I was thankful for my friends' help, but I was stressed out. The next day, we took Isaac for this healthy baby check up and he had lost 9% of his birth weight. The pressure to figure out feeding was on. We were due to go back to the doctor to see if he gained back his weight.
The rest of the week was spent getting to know Isaac and learning how to care for him. We made progress on breastfeeding but there was still one obstacle to overcome aside from the jaundice. He was also born tongue-tied, so we scheduled an appointment for a minor procedure to get that taken care of the following week.
Over the weekend, Isaac had plenty of visitors - my aunt and cousin, my mom and her boyfriend, and my two best friends from gradeschool. Isaac has many admirers.
We were also blessed by our church to receive meals every other day for two weeks. Some of friends came over to help with the house work (although Nick did everything!) and keep us company.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Waiting
Today is my due date. I cannot believe I’ve been cooking
this little guy for 40 weeks now. And it’s been 35 weeks since I found out I
was pregnant, not to mention enjoyed an adult beverage. Ha! I have to say the
wait is agonizing at this point. I feel like everything is ready, which has me second
guessing if EVERYTHING is really ready. I guess you can never be completely
prepared.
As a planner, I’m struggling with the unknown. I can’t just “let
go.” I’m horrible at this and have giant anxiety attacks about the unknown. I
turn into a grouchy opossum. (Weird, right? Well it’s what I picture myself
looking like.) I get frustrated by the simplest things because I’m not in
control. It’s something I’m not proud of and an area I really need to work on.
A friend said to me that I need to relax and let things fly by the seat of my
pants. Me? You want ME to act like
that? I have never been a wing it, let things go, kind of girl. But I guess
with motherhood approaching, I need to start abiding by this life approach.
I read a few articles today and it seems fairly typical that
most first time moms have late babies. So I guess I will just sit back,
continue reading “Mockingjay,” and soak up these last few days before
parenthood. I know this little guy is going to keep me on my toes for the next
18 years.
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