So, there are three things, okay..three exercises that I HATE. Just three, the rest I simply tolerate; there is no love going on there. Burpees, running, and wall balls. Today's workout involved TWO of them. That must be what hell is like, only there I'm sure the devil would have thrown in all three with a few others that I don't like as much. I'm starting to think my trainer is a sadist - he's pure evil. ;) We started out with ten body weight squats, ten push ups, ten body weight squats, and ten more push ups. We also threw in a set of ten weight assisted pull ups in there. Then we worked on my dead lift some more. I got up to 120 lbs this time! Then the exercise portion with: 21 sumo dead lift high pulls (pull the bar up to your collar bones), 21 wall balls, and 21 burpees. Then the same exercises, but in sets of 15 and then in sets of 9. Afterward, we finished up with a few planks. I was beat; totally exhausted and drenched in sweat. Thank God someone took and/or broke his stop watch a few days ago, otherwise I would have been hearing "x minutes and x seconds! Come on, you gotta hit this hard. Let's see some intensity!" Barf!
Two of our big televisions aren't working, but honestly I find it kind of nice. It's making me get more stuff done around the house and I feel like less of a lazy bum - even though I usually just have it on to make it feel like someone else is home with me. Which is why I guess they both gave out on us - endless hours of being on all of the time.
I'm catching up on laundry (didn't ever think that was going to happen). Yesterday, I think I did a total of 9 loads. And that's with two babies up my ass every waking second of the day. They are having some MAJOR separation anxiety problems. I leave the room to go put something away and it sounds like one (or both) of them got their arm ripped off and then smacked with it.
Brennan's also figured out how to break through our barrier to keep them out of the kitchen. This has totally left me scratching my head and thinking "what next?" *sigh* I guess we'll finally have to put some locks on the cabinets - which we didn't even have to do when Evan was little.
Despite getting so much done these past two days, the house looks totally destroyed again. It's mostly dirty dishes and clean laundry (Kevin's - he can put his own shit away!) The mess combined with no tv and 24-hour tears and screams makes me want to leave the house for the day, but I don't want to mess with their schedules. Plus, like stated above, I'm exhausted. I'm a prisoner to my own home today.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
What a day!
So as if my day wasn't wonderful enough (see last post)...it actually gets a little better, with a small wrench thrown in there. Bad news first: we are in the middle of a hair pulling crisis. Carter has a problem; he loves to pull Brennan's hair...and bounce while he's pulling it. Brennan cries every.single.time, poor little guy. So a lot of my day is spent pulling two babies apart and as soon as I separate them they are right there back together again and going at it.
I'm really at a loss with what to do. You can't discipline him at this age, they aren't even a year old yet. There's no way he knows that what he's doing is wrong. I redirect and redirect but no matter what the behavior still continues. I firmly tell him no and shake my head. So what does he do? He gets a huge smile on his face and shakes his head back at me. The thing is, that when you redirect him and pull his hands away, they literally go right back up to Brennan's head as soon as you let go of his hands. Over and over and over. I'm so tired of it all.
And now the good news: Evan has been doing pretty well at potty training on those rare occurrences that we try with him. He stayed home with me one day last week, so I decided to put him in some big boy underwear. He only had two accidents the whole day. One was a poop, which he has never done successfully on the potty, so no surprise there. And the second time was Dad's fault - he wasn't paying attention and I was in the kitchen fixing dinner.
Tonight after Evan got home from school I put him in some big boy underwear again. Even though he was protesting against them and practically begging for a diaper. So onward with the underwear we went and soon after he was telling us he needed to use the potty. I took him into the bathroom and sat him down. He peed on the potty, so we did a round of high-fives and hugs, washed up, and went into the kitchen to get his "special treat".
A few minutes later he had that look on his face, so Daddy rushed him into the bathroom again. After a little coaxing, he actually pooped on the potty for the first time. We are so proud of him, our little boy is growing up! :)
I'm really at a loss with what to do. You can't discipline him at this age, they aren't even a year old yet. There's no way he knows that what he's doing is wrong. I redirect and redirect but no matter what the behavior still continues. I firmly tell him no and shake my head. So what does he do? He gets a huge smile on his face and shakes his head back at me. The thing is, that when you redirect him and pull his hands away, they literally go right back up to Brennan's head as soon as you let go of his hands. Over and over and over. I'm so tired of it all.
And now the good news: Evan has been doing pretty well at potty training on those rare occurrences that we try with him. He stayed home with me one day last week, so I decided to put him in some big boy underwear. He only had two accidents the whole day. One was a poop, which he has never done successfully on the potty, so no surprise there. And the second time was Dad's fault - he wasn't paying attention and I was in the kitchen fixing dinner.
Tonight after Evan got home from school I put him in some big boy underwear again. Even though he was protesting against them and practically begging for a diaper. So onward with the underwear we went and soon after he was telling us he needed to use the potty. I took him into the bathroom and sat him down. He peed on the potty, so we did a round of high-fives and hugs, washed up, and went into the kitchen to get his "special treat".
A few minutes later he had that look on his face, so Daddy rushed him into the bathroom again. After a little coaxing, he actually pooped on the potty for the first time. We are so proud of him, our little boy is growing up! :)
Haus
As my husband would say, I'm "a Haus"...remember the big dude from the tv show Bananza? Yeah, probably not. Anyway, I've always been good at moving furniture around and the likes. Today at the gym we started with the typical reps of body weight squats, then reps of cleans with a 20 lb ball, etc. Then we headed over into the world of weights. We worked on my dead lift and got the motions pretty perfected. I slowly worked my way up to dead lifting 115 lbs! Holy crap! I'm a Haus! ;) He never tells me how much weight I've got on the bar, I always have to ask. And I usually do so AFTER finishing the set so that I don't psych myself out and get all worked up into a panic of "you can't do this!" From there we went into the workout portion and I did 10 inverted rows (chest HAD to touch the bar every time and my legs HAD to be straight or he wouldn't count it) and then 20 body weight squats, which also had to be perfect to count; in a series of 5 cycles. We finished off the session with 100 25 lb kettle bell swings and a good arm stretch since they were killing me by the end.
I also weighed myself this morning. I'm 7 lbs from goal! Just SEVEN pounds! This is huge, because just a week ago I was really struggling to stay on my game and eat right. I had even gained 1.5 lbs back. And now within a week of tweaking and getting back on the ball I've lost that 1.5 plus another 2.
This morning was wonderful - the babies slept in until 8 o'clock! This let me get my morning together before they woke up. I was able to shave, get into my workout clothes, and eat a good breakfast all while being uninterrupted! It was fan-freaking-tastic! Hooray for a good day!
I also weighed myself this morning. I'm 7 lbs from goal! Just SEVEN pounds! This is huge, because just a week ago I was really struggling to stay on my game and eat right. I had even gained 1.5 lbs back. And now within a week of tweaking and getting back on the ball I've lost that 1.5 plus another 2.
This morning was wonderful - the babies slept in until 8 o'clock! This let me get my morning together before they woke up. I was able to shave, get into my workout clothes, and eat a good breakfast all while being uninterrupted! It was fan-freaking-tastic! Hooray for a good day!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Zoo-rific
PawPaw Gammaw are using vacation days for the rest of this week. Yesterday they went with me and all three boys to the zoo. Somehow all 6 of us and the monstrous stroller squeezed into the van. We left the house about 10:30 and I figured we'd better stop to get Evan something to eat, since he didn't have much for breakfast. I got him a chicken nugget Happy Meal with apples and a milk and decided I'd get myself a cheeseburger Happy Meal. I ate a few fries, and they actually messed up and gave us two...but we used them to keep babies quiet and occupied during the drive. Evan ate his entire meal, and then almost my whole cheeseburger. It was all for the best, since I really shouldn't have even ordered it.
We got the brood unpacked and all the crap on board the stroller and headed into the zoo. First we stopped to see the bears and Evan wasn't super impressed. As we were walking to the penguin exhibit the train went by and he got really excited - he wanted to ride Thomas. He seemed to enjoy watching the penguins swim underwater through the glass and liked that one was showing off for him and trying to splash him with water. Carter liked them as well. Brennan...well, he was a really good boy the whole time, but wasn't into anything besides people watching.
After exiting the penguin exhibit the train went by again and that sealed the deal. Evan had to ride NOW! So we waited in line with our tickets and we just missed fitting on the first train to pull in. Then the second train came and didn't even let anyone on, but just then they brought out another train from the garage - and it was blue. Perfect! Evan really did think it was Thomas! You'd think that as excited as he was that he'd enjoy the ride, right? Not really, he kept his eyes closed or his hands over his eyes the majority of the time.
We made our way around to see the apes, and the snakes and lizards, and then the monkeys. Then we headed over to Big Cat Country. Mom and I were worried about my dad and his diabetes, so we decided to stop and get him and Evan some ice cream. Evan wanted a popsicle and it was H U G E! And of course he got angry when it started melting and we had to take it away.
After that we checked out all the antelope type animals and the giraffes and eventually made our way over to the Children's Zoo. He played around a little inside and was a little hesitant to pet the guinea pigs and bunnies, but he managed to do so for a few seconds. We headed back out to the water fountain play area and tried to get him to play in the water, but he refused. Carter definitely seemed into it though, so we took his clothes off and let him splash around in his diaper. He had a blast.
It was getting late and we were all tired, so we decided to call it a day. All three kiddos were snoozing in their car seats before we even left the parking lot it seemed. It was a great trip and the babies' first time at the zoo. I was so impressed with all of the kids and how well they handled being out in the hot sun for so long.
We got the brood unpacked and all the crap on board the stroller and headed into the zoo. First we stopped to see the bears and Evan wasn't super impressed. As we were walking to the penguin exhibit the train went by and he got really excited - he wanted to ride Thomas. He seemed to enjoy watching the penguins swim underwater through the glass and liked that one was showing off for him and trying to splash him with water. Carter liked them as well. Brennan...well, he was a really good boy the whole time, but wasn't into anything besides people watching.
After exiting the penguin exhibit the train went by again and that sealed the deal. Evan had to ride NOW! So we waited in line with our tickets and we just missed fitting on the first train to pull in. Then the second train came and didn't even let anyone on, but just then they brought out another train from the garage - and it was blue. Perfect! Evan really did think it was Thomas! You'd think that as excited as he was that he'd enjoy the ride, right? Not really, he kept his eyes closed or his hands over his eyes the majority of the time.
We made our way around to see the apes, and the snakes and lizards, and then the monkeys. Then we headed over to Big Cat Country. Mom and I were worried about my dad and his diabetes, so we decided to stop and get him and Evan some ice cream. Evan wanted a popsicle and it was H U G E! And of course he got angry when it started melting and we had to take it away.
After that we checked out all the antelope type animals and the giraffes and eventually made our way over to the Children's Zoo. He played around a little inside and was a little hesitant to pet the guinea pigs and bunnies, but he managed to do so for a few seconds. We headed back out to the water fountain play area and tried to get him to play in the water, but he refused. Carter definitely seemed into it though, so we took his clothes off and let him splash around in his diaper. He had a blast.
It was getting late and we were all tired, so we decided to call it a day. All three kiddos were snoozing in their car seats before we even left the parking lot it seemed. It was a great trip and the babies' first time at the zoo. I was so impressed with all of the kids and how well they handled being out in the hot sun for so long.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Back to the Stone Age
Looks like it's back to the Paleo diet for me. And honestly I'm kind of feeling good about it. Workouts feel a gazillion times harder when I'm eating any other way, even with Weight Watchers. I always feel like I'm going to pass out in the middle of my tabata exercise regimes.
So this week I decided to experiment and eat Paleo for breakfast and for my pre-workout snacks. It worked! Don't get me wrong, I still have a pretty hard time (and if I didn't that means it'd be time to make it harder anyway.) But, I make it through them without going hypoglycemic and without feeling like I'm going to drop to the ground.
Today we started off with 10 body weight squats, then 8 push ups, and then again...10 body weight squats, 8 push ups. From there we did a few dead lift squats with a 20 lb ball for practice and moved up to dead lifting with a bar and weights. I have no idea what weight I ended up with by the end, but it was a lot...maybe around 85-90 lbs would be my guess. From there we moved into the workout portion: a lap around the entire building plaza, and back inside to do 10 dead lifts with a bar and weights (around 65-70 lbs?), and then 15 sit ups - FIVE times and in under 20 minutes. I finished with about 45 seconds to spare, but was seriously wondering if I'd finish within the time constraint.
Later in the day I took all three boys for an afternoon walk. Pushing them around is no joke. Evan's 30 lbs, the babies are each over 20 lbs, and then the weight of the stroller which is nearly 40 lbs. Add to that the fact that Evan likes to "go fast" and frequently yells out for you to (and doesn't stop yelling until you at the very least start to jog), and this mama was extremely tired at the end of the day. I hope I can stick it out with the diet this week, it'll be challenging to say the least. I have to bring in a stupid food journal on Tuesday to my next session too. It sucks, but there's a reason for it, and that reason makes it work so I can't argue. Too bad, the Rib America fest was calling my name. Maybe next year ;)
So this week I decided to experiment and eat Paleo for breakfast and for my pre-workout snacks. It worked! Don't get me wrong, I still have a pretty hard time (and if I didn't that means it'd be time to make it harder anyway.) But, I make it through them without going hypoglycemic and without feeling like I'm going to drop to the ground.
Today we started off with 10 body weight squats, then 8 push ups, and then again...10 body weight squats, 8 push ups. From there we did a few dead lift squats with a 20 lb ball for practice and moved up to dead lifting with a bar and weights. I have no idea what weight I ended up with by the end, but it was a lot...maybe around 85-90 lbs would be my guess. From there we moved into the workout portion: a lap around the entire building plaza, and back inside to do 10 dead lifts with a bar and weights (around 65-70 lbs?), and then 15 sit ups - FIVE times and in under 20 minutes. I finished with about 45 seconds to spare, but was seriously wondering if I'd finish within the time constraint.
Later in the day I took all three boys for an afternoon walk. Pushing them around is no joke. Evan's 30 lbs, the babies are each over 20 lbs, and then the weight of the stroller which is nearly 40 lbs. Add to that the fact that Evan likes to "go fast" and frequently yells out for you to (and doesn't stop yelling until you at the very least start to jog), and this mama was extremely tired at the end of the day. I hope I can stick it out with the diet this week, it'll be challenging to say the least. I have to bring in a stupid food journal on Tuesday to my next session too. It sucks, but there's a reason for it, and that reason makes it work so I can't argue. Too bad, the Rib America fest was calling my name. Maybe next year ;)
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Them Boys Got Skillz
Brennan is a master at the "How big is Brennan? SOOO BIG!!" game and Carter has perfected the patty cakin' part of Patty Cake - and he l-0-v-e loves my family's version where we "toss 'em in the pan" while letting them fall backwards.
Evan put on an impromptu concert for us tonight. He sang the entire ABC's...twice. Then he sang a moving rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and ended with a rousing version of Itsy Bitsy Spider. Each song ended with him clapping for himself, so cute.
Yesterday night before it got dark Evan decided he wanted to go outside and play. I really didn't care that he wasn't wearing pants, just a shirt, diaper, and his sandals. However, a problem arose when he decided Daddy should be the one to go outside and play with him. Yeah, Daddy had already begun the winding down portion of his evening and he also was a member of the no pants club.
The following conversation took place:
Evan: Dad, I want to run outside!
Dad: I can't go with you, I don't have any pants on...
Evan (in a matter-of-fact tone): Well neither do I!
I looked at Kevin and immediately started to crack up. This kid is really starting to say some hilarious things. Just this morning he told me that he wanted a popsicle. I told him we'd have to eat our lunch first and then we might think about it. He then informed me that he wanted one of the cupcakes that were sitting on the counter. I again reminded him that we'd need to eat a good lunch before we have any sweets.
He comes back at me with this: "But Mommy, we eat the popsicle and cupcake now and then we can have a good lunch tomorrow!" He had that "sweet as pie, aren't I a genius for thinking of this great idea" look on his face. Clearly very impressed with his own brainstorming abilities. Where does he get this stuff?
Evan put on an impromptu concert for us tonight. He sang the entire ABC's...twice. Then he sang a moving rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and ended with a rousing version of Itsy Bitsy Spider. Each song ended with him clapping for himself, so cute.
Yesterday night before it got dark Evan decided he wanted to go outside and play. I really didn't care that he wasn't wearing pants, just a shirt, diaper, and his sandals. However, a problem arose when he decided Daddy should be the one to go outside and play with him. Yeah, Daddy had already begun the winding down portion of his evening and he also was a member of the no pants club.
The following conversation took place:
Evan: Dad, I want to run outside!
Dad: I can't go with you, I don't have any pants on...
Evan (in a matter-of-fact tone): Well neither do I!
I looked at Kevin and immediately started to crack up. This kid is really starting to say some hilarious things. Just this morning he told me that he wanted a popsicle. I told him we'd have to eat our lunch first and then we might think about it. He then informed me that he wanted one of the cupcakes that were sitting on the counter. I again reminded him that we'd need to eat a good lunch before we have any sweets.
He comes back at me with this: "But Mommy, we eat the popsicle and cupcake now and then we can have a good lunch tomorrow!" He had that "sweet as pie, aren't I a genius for thinking of this great idea" look on his face. Clearly very impressed with his own brainstorming abilities. Where does he get this stuff?
For Justice
Today Justice's family said their last goodbyes as they laid him to rest. The girls from the Moms of Multiples board decided to pay our tribute by wearing blue and blowing bubbles up to heaven. We blew our bubbles at the same time his service started and so did many others. It helped us all to feel a part of this day and to be there for our friend, Tiffany and her family.
Wearing our blue
Evan playing with JW
Bubbles floating to heaven
Wearing our blue
Evan playing with JW
Bubbles floating to heaven
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