F.I.V.E.

How is it that my little baby boy is going to be five next week?  I always said that he’d be a baby until 5. From there, things change. I’m having a hard time with this realization and what it means. And no, I’m not having another baby. Up until now, the cuddles are endless. My boy can run around the house naked. I can continuously pinch his “tushy butt”. We shower together. I know it’s just a matter of time before these things are inappropriate.  When I hold him in my lap, he’s just a little too oversized. It’s a matter of time before I won’t be able to hold him in my lap anymore. I won’t be able to carry him. Not to mention how awkward it would look to be carrying a big boy around. At some point he will realize that it’s not cool to hold your mom’s hand in public. That kissing your mom on the lips is “gross”.  He will no longer run across his classroom and jump into my arms when he sees me come pick him up from school each day.  I'm sad but I know that there are so many great things to come. That we are going to continue to have so much fun together, but I secretly hope that my boy will always want to snuggle and that he won’t ever think kissing his mommy on the lips is gross.

Just a few hours old

ONE - Sock Monkey Birthday

TWO - Circus Party

THREE - All Aboard!

FOUR - Argh...Captain Jayden!




And FIVE....Wait for it.

Cycling High

I had the most amazing spin class tonight.  I have been spinning for about 8 years now and it still amazes me how every class is different. That’s probably why I haven’t given up on it like so many other forms of exercise that I become bored with after a while.  In spin I am constantly challenging myself.  I push myself past my comfort zone.   It’s a competition with myself and the clock. I want to strive for the max miles, the max calories burned, the highest watts.  I want every class to be better than the last.  If I know I went 15 miles last week, I want to go 15.1 this week.  I spin two to three times a week and it gives me sanity. It takes me away from the every day challenges of being a school administrator, motherhood, house cleaning and so much more.  It’s 50 minutes that is all about me and pushing myself to my limits. Pushing myself to be better and stronger. It’s a physical and emotional challenge all in one.  A few months ago they installed new computers onto the bikes.  I never really paid much attention to the previous machines.  The new ones give more information such as watts, miles, calories burned, etc. It shows your average watts and your max watts for your ride.  You can time your stages. Every number on the machine pushes me. The numbers don't lie. They tell you if you aren't working hard enough.  At my weekend studio, there is no machine. There are no eucalyptus scented towels, no one waiting outside of class to give you a 10 minute shoulder massage when you’re done. None of the frills of the fancy gym I’m at during the week.  However, I can take the experience and knowledge that I have learned about my body, and just how far I can push it, and still apply it.  When I think I can’t go anymore and want nothing more than to lighten up on the resistance, I challenge my mind and body. When I accomplish what I thought was impossible, it’s such a natural high.  Tonight I walked out of class so proud of how far I’ve come. I hit my highest mileage. My highest average watts. My most calories burned. I was drenched in sweat. I felt amazing! I may dread going to the gym every now and again, but I can’t say I ever regret it!

I know my class is for me and I shouldn't be worried about other people, but sometimes I really feel like this...

I am after all, the queen of resistance!

F You Cancer

I can honestly say that cancer scares the shit out of me. I admit, it didn't until recently. But it should have. Now that I'm watching my second in-law battle cancer within a year after losing the first, it's scary. It's scary to think that my husband is now considered high risk. I am also high risk. It's scary to think that one of us could have to face this same horrific battle one day. It's scary to think that Jayden could lose a parent at an early age. It seems pessimistic to think this way, but the truth is, well just that. The truth. All we can do is make every effort to live a healthy life style and to make sure we are taking every preventative measure and exploring every option for early detection. 

Bathroom Project

When we bought our house a few months ago, we knew that the master bath would be on the remodel list. However, it's pretty far down the list that it won't get a real make-over for at least a few years.  I woke up yesterday and decided that if we are going to live with it as is, that it would at least need a little face lift.  We started with this...

Fortunately we had already removed the 20 year old purple carpet and replaced it with dark hardwood. There was no way that I would even set one foot on that carpet so it was done the day before we moved in.  Today's project list included the following:

• remove mirrors and replace with in-wall medicine cabinets
• remove phone and patch wall (yes, there was a phone in the bathroom)
• hang blinds
• hang picture over toilet
• paint bathroom
• hang small towel rack 
• upgrade electrical/add 2 more outlets
• purchase a few accent items

A quick trip to Home Depot and we were ready to tackle this project!  Here's where it really pays to have a super handy husband!! The mirrors came off very easily.  We had these great medicine cabinets at our old house so I knew exactly what I wanted.  I have been getting tired of seeing all of our products on the counter tops. It's especially a pain when it comes time to clean.  Brian cut the holes for the new mirrors.  

We patched a few places behind where the middle mirror was as well as over the hole from the phone and the towel rack over the toilet. While the patch was drying, I taped off the rest of the bathroom to get ready for painting.  I had a full can of gray paint from the old house and I was just looking for a place to slap it on the walls.  The bathroom was perfect because it was the same gray as the accent tiles throughout the bathroom. 
Once painted, I headed out to TJ Maxx Home Goods. I love that place!  I picked up a basket, piece of art, candle and hand towel. By the time I got back, the paint had dried so I put on the finishing touches and pulled off the painter's tape while Brian replaced the old electrical switches with new ones and also added 2 new outlets.  We still need a cover (because we can't ever remember everything when we go to Home Depot!)  I am loving my "new" bathroom and think I'll be ok waiting to do a full remodel. Or, maybe we won't need to!

 

 

 

and a final side by side comparison...

Truth...

I came across this other other day and it couldn't be more true for me. I don't know when I went from being a phone person to a non phone person. Can I blame the advancements in technology?  What could we possibly have to talk about when I know everything that you have done all day thanks to the various forms of social media?  When I was younger I was on the phone all. the. time.  It was the number one thing my parents would take away when I got in trouble (which was a lot).  Little did they know that I had a back-up phone that I would pull out and plug in once they were asleep. My friends and I would chat for hours!  Now...not so much. Maybe it's because I talk to people all day that when I get home, I don't want to hear my own voice anymore. Maybe I feel that we won't have anything to talk about. I'm not good with uncomfortable silences.  Who knows. If you figure it out, text me!

Birthday & Sushi!

When I asked the hubby what he wanted to do for his birthday, he said he wanted to have some of the families over from Jayden's preschool for a homemade sushi night.  When did we get...dare I say it...old?  (Almost) gone are the nights of going out drinking and partying.  We much prefer an evening at home, in our comfy pants, where we can actually hear each other talk. Plus..we don't have to drive home if/when we do drink!  Leave it to the chef to want to cook on his birthday.  

It helps to work in the restaurant business because he was able to order high quality fish from one of his vendors.

Once he was all prepped, the sushi rolling began.  

He even gave lessons to our friend Jesse.  Everyone else was too busy drinking wine in the living room and telling stories about our kids bathroom habits.  Yup...the official talk of parents.

45 minutes later we had a table full of tuna rolls, salmon, lobster rolls, soba noodles, edamame, shu mai, lemongrass spring rolls, shishito peppers and more! 

Everything was DELISH!

Did I mention that this was a family friendly (kinda) event?  This was our first "kid table" in our new home!

They chose pasta over sushi. Silly kids!

Jayden and his 3 favorite gals!

 Despite being completely stuffed, we all seemed to find room for some birthday cake and Sprinkles cupcakes.  Brian got some extra birthday cuddles from the kiddos.

 

The night ended with a big game of Hide & Seek and some good old fashioned family fun.  Good call honey.  It was the perfect birthday celebration!

These kids know evil when they see it!

Here we go!

Today marks the day I started my 24 day journey on Advocare.  After a weekend full of eating and the consumption of way too many sweets, I was definitely ready.  My body needs a serious detoxing!   Here’s just a “taste” of what entered my mouth this weekend…

Happy Birthday Babe!

Can't go wrong with Sprinkles!

Daily Supplements

Yesterday I spent a good few hours just prepping. My dining room table was taken over by boxes, baggies, recipes, charts, guides, sample menus, you name it!

Prepping Involved:

-weighing myself, taking measurements and taking before pictures (And don’t think for a second I will post my “before” picture.  Maybe if my “after” picture kicks butt I will)

-sorting and bagging supplements, shakes, drinks, etc. by day.

-going through recipes and pulling some to try

-creating the first 5 day meal plan including all snacks

-aisle shopping at Trader Joes and buying only the items on my list

-writing grocery list based on recipes and meal plan

-prepping, washing, cutting, bagging foods

The day did not start out as planned due to a sleepless night and stomach issues.  There was no way in hell I was about to down a fiber drink at 7am!  I tossed and turned in bed until 11am so just had to improvise my first day.  I prepped everything for a work day, but ended up not going in. It may have worked out better in the long run.

Yummy Ahi Tuna Salad

11:00  Spark drink (this is what you drink instead of coffee. It’s not bad at all)

11:30 2 Omegaplex (Omega-3 Fatty Acid Dietary Supplement), Fiber drink (pretty nasty but only have to down it for a few days. I just pretend I’m drinking really pulpy orange juice)

12:00  Ahi tuna salad (this one was iffy due to my stomach issues, but I really wanted to stick to my plan. Fortunately it sat ok!)

3:00 Apple with 2 tablespoons peanut butter

6:00 2 Omegaplex, chicken breast, broccolini, brown rice

8:45  Clean “Cookies”

Lots of water and one cup of tea!

I even got in a run!  I thought I’d just take the dogs for our usual 2 mile loop but I felt so good and it was nice to get out of the house so after 2 miles I dropped the dogs off and ran another 2.  Not sure if I burned as many calories as I would have in my spin class, but I’m pretty proud of myself!

Clean Cookies

My clean “cookies” were pretty tasty!  I knew that I would be fighting my sweet tooth tonight (and probably for the first few days) so I whipped together the following:

3 bananas

2 cups quick oats

¼ cup applesauce

¼ cup almond milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

*Once my cleanse is over, I’d probably add just a few chocolate chips J

I also logged every bite into My Fitness Pal today. With the calories “earned” from the run, I am calling it a night with 634 calories remaining!   I’m going to do my best to document my progress over the next 24 days. I’m also going to avoid the scale until I’m supposed to on Day 11.

My little guy asked tonight why I wasn't drinking my green juice that I drink every day. This was hard to answer because I didn't want to say I was on a diet. I also have stressed how healthy our daily green juice is. So needless to say...I didn't have an answer for him. I did miss my juice today! I could probably still have it, but wanted to stick to the cleanse plan as closely as I can. I think it's just the jumpstart I need to get out of the funk I've been in lately. 

Today was a very successful day. I may even feel skinnier already! One down…23 to go!