I decided to pack up the kiddos and head to my mom’s house for a quick visit this week. We’re really excited to be here – we have lots of fun things on the agenda, like going hiking in the mountains. I hope we can find a BEAR for Henry!
Driving over here was quite the adventure. I don’t think I realized what I was getting myself into until I pulled out of the driveway and thought, “Oh man, two kiddos v. one adults on a four hour trip!” But we held up pretty well. I had a box of toys and snacks in the seat next to me, and I simply passed stuff back whenever anyone whined. We were very happy to arrive, of course!
This morning, the kids actually gave me a bit of a lie-in (but only to 6:45, let’s not do anything crazy, babies!), and then I made breakfast for everyone. The special ingredient…
ALMONDS!
I made a delicious three-egg omelet with toasted almond slices, carrots, onions, and spinach. With a side of fruit. YUM. This is a good example of the type of breakfast that I was eating on Vegetarian Whole 30, which has been over for a while now. But I continue to eat lots of Vegetarian Whole 30 breakfasts because man – they make you feel so good in the morning. And I know that I owe you a post about my experience on Vegetarian Whole 30 – it’s completely written, but I keep making tweaks and changes. I promise that it will eventually go up.
I need to remember that, when I’m feeling super stressed and cranky and overwhelmed by life, I am probably just… tired. Funny but true, isn’t it?
My outlook is feeling a bit brighter today. I thought about it a lot yesterday, and I realized two things. 1) I’m tired, and 2) I need to work more on being in the moment – thinking only about work when I’m working, only about the kids when I’m with the kids, and only about exercise when I’m training. I always attempt to multitask in my head, and I’m starting to realize that there are few benefits to that and a lot of drawbacks. Know what I mean?
Onwards!
So I’ve been having some scheduling problems this week, but I had one “appointment†on the books that I was not willing to skip! My mother-in-law Rosalind agreed to try PICKLEBALL with me today! Have you guys heard of pickleball? It’s actually the fastest-growing sport in America, but it tends to trend a bit older. I was the youngest person there by at least 25 years, but I heard that more and more younger adults (am I a young adult still?!) are coming to play because it’s so fun.
I’ve been wanting to try it because my mom is SUPER into pickleball. Every time I call her, she says, “Oh, I’m about to leave for pickleball!†or “Oh, I just got back from pickleball!†or “Let me tell you about our pickleball game today!†Basically – she’s obsessed. And I think it’s cool that my mom has found a new way to be active and healthy, so I wanted to try it myself and see what it’s all about so we can (hopefully!) play together when I see her next week.
I immediately wanted to enlist my MIL, too, because Rosalind used to play tennis all the time. I figured she’d be a natural.
Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. It’s played on a badminton-sized court with a modified tennis net. And it’s played with a paddle that’s larger than a ping-pong paddle but smaller than a tennis racket. The ball is a whiffle ball, which is not as intense as a tennis ball. The game is more about placement than power. Here are some of the basic rules.
We had two really nice men teach us the rules and play with us, and I had so much fun! I will definitely play again, especially to encourage my MIL to get into the sport. It was nice to have something to do with her, too.
One more thing – look what I’ve been doing with my bobby pins!
I found a use for old baby food jars – they are perfect bobby pin holders. I have a second jar in my gym bag.
Triathlon problems—> I feel like the universe is working against me this week, at least when it comes to fitting in my workouts. The biggest problem has been kiddo sleep and, actually, as I write this post at the ass crack of dawn, I keep interrupting myself to silently walk Henry back into his bedroom. Regardless of the time I’ve put him to bed, he’s been waking up paiiiiinfully early.
So early, in fact, that “before the kids wakeup†workouts have been impossible to coordinate, as has anything besides “run downstairs and slam coffee ASAP.†And so early that he falls apart by 4 PM, which is when the gym childcare re-opens for the evening. He was so exhausted yesterday afternoon that I couldn’t convince him to leave the house or even sit in the stroller for a jog!
I felt bad for him, but I felt worse for me. Hah. I actually tried, “Henry, I have to swim 1500 meters, bike 28 miles, and run a 10K in two weeks – work with me, pal!†No dice. Kiddos come first, but seriously – this is killing me. I do believe that I have a decent enough strength and endurance base to pull this race out of me come August 9 but… it might be ugly. Really ugly.
The weather has been working against me, too – a huge rainstorm that closed the pool RIGHT when I was about to leave to swim laps. Hmmph.
And, of course, painfully early wakeups mean that I’m pretty bleary-eyed and mostly surviving on an intake of dark-brewed coffee. I know what I need to do – ride out Henry’s weird sleep fluctuation by going to bed early myself and doing my workouts at the extreme crack ass of dawn, but… I just can’t pull myself together for it.
I did manage to do one really short run this week. It was 2.2 miles, but I did speedwork at the same time. This was a big scheduling feat, so I was pretty proud.
And although I haven’t had time to pound the pavement, I did make a big decision for my triathlon – I’m going to wear a wetsuit in the swim! I have only worn a wetsuit during one other race, and I usually shun the idea of a wetsuit, so this is a big deal for me.
I decided to wear one because I think I’ll appreciate the added buoyancy during the race – I’ve heard wetsuits can cut time by about 10% or so.
And last, but not least, I have scheduled a big workout for Saturday morning. I’m doing an open water swim followed by a bike, and I’m aiming for 1500 meters (race distance) and about 15 miles or so. Getting it on the calendar has been a bit of a challenge, but I know I need open water experience before this event, and… heck… I know I won’t have any trouble whatsoever waking up early to make the event. Henry will be pounding on my door at 5:15!
What part of your life makes it hard to get to the gym? Kids, work, school? What solutions do you have? For a few weeks there, writing my workouts down in my calendar was really helping me coordinate gym time with kids and work. I need to get my family back into a decent rhythm STAT!
I feel like the universe is working against me this week, at least when it comes to fitting in my workouts. The biggest problem has been kiddo sleep and, actually, as I write this post at the ass crack of dawn, I keep interrupting myself to silently walk Henry back into his bedroom. Regardless of the time I’ve put him to bed, he’s been waking up paiiiiinfully early.
So early, in fact, that “before the kids wakeup†workouts have been impossible to coordinate, as has anything besides “run downstairs and slam coffee ASAP.†And so early that he falls apart by 4 PM, which is when the gym childcare re-opens for the evening. He was so exhausted yesterday afternoon that I couldn’t convince him to leave the house or even sit in the stroller for a jog!
I felt bad for him, but I felt worse for me. Hah. I actually tried, “Henry, I have to swim 1500 meters, bike 28 miles, and run a 10K in two weeks – work with me, pal!†No dice. Kiddos come first, but seriously – this is killing me. I do believe that I have a decent enough strength and endurance base to pull this race out of me come August 9 but… it might be ugly. Really ugly.
The weather has been working against me, too – a huge rainstorm that closed the pool RIGHT when I was about to leave to swim laps. Hmmph.
And, of course, painfully early wakeups mean that I’m pretty bleary-eyed and mostly surviving on an intake of dark-brewed coffee. I know what I need to do – ride out Henry’s weird sleep fluctuation by going to bed early myself and doing my workouts at the extreme crack ass of dawn, but… I just can’t pull myself together for it.
I did manage to do one really short run this week. It was 2.2 miles, but I did speedwork at the same time. This was a big scheduling feat, so I was pretty proud.
And although I haven’t had time to pound the pavement, I did make a big decision for my triathlon – I’m going to wear a wetsuit in the swim! I have only worn a wetsuit during one other race, and I usually shun the idea of a wetsuit, so this is a big deal for me.
I decided to wear one because I think I’ll appreciate the added buoyancy during the race – I’ve heard wetsuits can cut time by about 10% or so.
And last, but not least, I have scheduled a big workout for Saturday morning. I’m doing an open water swim followed by a bike, and I’m aiming for 1500 meters (race distance) and about 15 miles or so. Getting it on the calendar has been a bit of a challenge, but I know I need open water experience before this event, and… heck… I know I won’t have any trouble whatsoever waking up early to make the event. Henry will be pounding on my door at 5:15!
What part of your life makes it hard to get to the gym? Kids, work, school? What solutions do you have? For a few weeks there, writing my workouts down in my calendar was really helping me coordinate gym time with kids and work. I need to get my family back into a decent rhythm STAT!
Fresh flowers. I have started buying myself flowers every week. I keep a mini-bouquet near my computer and another on my bedside table. Makes me so happy!
Humans of New York. Hands down, the best Facebook page (and Facebook comments section).
Mustard. Dude, I am obsessed with mustard lately. On eggs, on potatoes, on stir-fries… It’s so versatile!
Rompers. I really, really want a romper! I’ve tried on a few but feel silly in them… I guess I just need to find the right one, huh? These are cute!
Water bottle labels. So I have been testing these custom name labels from Minted for the past week or so. These DISHWASHER SAFE labels are so cute and come in so many adorable and fun design for kids (and me…). I always label the kids’ bottles with a Sharpie but that always fades and rubs off. These have held up pretty well so far! And you can do name or phone number or room number. Cute, huh?
This dinosaur book. Henry is super into this book that my MIL bought him. The artwork is amazing! Cool gift ideas for a boy or girl who loves dinosaurs.
Sam Smith. You guys – the Sam Smith obsession deepens. I love his music so, so, so much. I think In The Lonely Hour is always going to remind me of this summer – it’s the soundtrack of my days right now! I feel bad because my babysitter for Claire has to hear me play the same songs over and over again while I work downstairs… She’s probably about to kill me for it.
Bruiser the Cruiser. Claire is pretty close to those first steps. She keeps falling down and smacking her head. No matter how hard I try to stay on top of her – she is still pretty banged up. I remember Henry went through this phase, too, and pretty much walked around with a black eye or big bump on his forehead until he figured out his steps. Poor Claire!
Morning Walks. Speaking of walking, I have been *loving* our morning routine lately. Every morning, we go on a stroller walk before it gets too hot out. It helps wake me up and gets my blood flowing! And it’s such a nice, healthy habit to establish with kids.
Whiplash. We recently watched this movie, and although it was SO INTENSE, I loved it! It prompted a great discussion on how hard you have to push someone to become great – and where to draw the line. Also, the music was amazing.
Ferguson. He’s the best cat. Claire is so wildly into him; he jumped into my lap while I was nursing her the other morning and she yelled “CAA! CAA!†I think she was trying to say cat!
Breastfeeding. And speaking of nursing, I wanted to just quickly say that breastfeeding is going so well. I had a lot of struggles with breastfeeding Henry (and ended up pumping exclusively for a long time). I am so glad that I stuck it out with Claire. Those first few months were hard, but we are now breastfeeding champs. I’m no longer shy about breastfeeding in public (even without a cover!) and only pump when someone else is going to give her a bottle. I had given myself a “quit date†of 6 months (I felt like I needed an end date when I first started to keep myself from going crazy like I did last time), but we’re approaching 8 months and going strong. BOOM!
Rice Pop Clusters. Henry and I are SO addicted to this snack from the CVS Gold Emblem line (I’m an ambassador for this line of healthy, natural snacks). They are really addictive! And so fun to crunch on.
What are you into, thinking about, watching, listening to, and up to lately?
