My sister running :)

Today I started running again.

A lot of people run. A lot of people start their love affair with running later on in life, in their college years or in their twenties. Some even start it in their 40s and 50s! And they fall head over heals in love with running. I am not that person.

Running and I have a familiar relationship. Running is like a sibling to me. Is anyone head over heals in love with their siblings? No. But I sure do love my sister in a way that I can't describe to someone unless they too are that close to a sibling. Running is like a sibling to me and not an old friend, because I ALWAYS go back to running. It's a sure thing with me, and it will love me no matter what. Friends come and go, some are life long buddies, but it's different than a sibling.

Running and I became sisters so to speak in 7th grade. It was not a willing relationship, much like what I am watching my boys Logan and Owen go through now with their new brother Eli. Sure they love him, but it's not something they would have chosen for their life. My relationship with running began like that. Apparently I have a "runner's body" and was not in any sports, so my 7th grade coach, "Coach Jay", told my parents to put me on the cross-country team. And so there we were, my sister Leah and me, two gangly girls with high tops who couldn't even run 1/4 of a mile. I continued running right through high school. I was actually really good at it. And so I always come back to it. It's something I know how to do, it's something I know well, and it's always there for me.

I will probably run on and off for short spurts my whole life. Much like Leah and I talk on the phone... it's more about quality than quantity. I will probably never do a marathon (but we should really never say never)... but I will enjoy my 5Ks just like I enjoy my 10 minute rambles with Leah.

Now I am off to walk with my mom-in-law. 174lbs and counting... moving on purpose :)

Relationship and Muscle Building

So I have started walking twice a week with my mom in law, today we put in another 2 miles. To date we have walked 8 miles... that's AWESOME to accomplish before my six week appointment eh?

So for Lent, Brandon and I have undertaken the P90X craze! We finished our second work out tonight. We are both out of shape... but it feels good to move and get INTO shape. We'll be one hot family for Easter :)

The point of Lent is to refocus on your relationship with God, and I believe that in spending that extra time with my hubby, I am doing just that. It's fun to work out together, something we've never done!

In even crazier news, Brandon has given me full control over his food intake and I have promised not to mention the job search for these 40 days. This may be the Lent of building our relationship... I like that!

A week from today I return to work. Wow.

Life just keeps on keepin' on... and I will keep moving.

The point... discovering spanx

So last night I went to the wedding of one of my very good friends. It was both her and her husband's 2nd marriages and it was intimate and short and sweet and to the point. It was a lesson in how we should all think about how we do things in life. Let's get to the point! Invite only the people you truly love and care about, and focus on the marriage that is to come rather than the wedding that lasts for an evening. It was lovely. Plus I enjoyed half of an amazing martini... I wanted to enjoy the entire "Mango Crush" as it was aptly named, but I thought Eli might not enjoy it as much.

So, this blog's focus is moving on purpose, and I am using my friend Theresa's wedding as an analogy of what life is all about in general. So let me get to the point!

I've now been blessed with two pregnancies that ended in two amazing little boys. Each one took a toll on my body, yes, but the point was having two healthy boys and I got that!

Now the point is to revisit my body and get it back to shape. Again, let's realize the goals, I simply want to be toned and feel good about myself. In life I feel that women in particular spend way to much time comparing their body to someone else's. I feel that we do that with many things including weddings... so I am going to have a second marriage weight loss journey. A bare bones, to the point story.

In light of my new found perspective, I feel that all women should buy spanx. I know this seems random and off topic, but I had run out to Nordstrom Rack before the wedding looking for something that would make me feel gorgeous instead of a frumpy post pregnant lady. I was frantically searching the racks (as it was after 2pm and the wedding was at 5) when my friend Jess walked in the door. She was like an angel. You see Jess knows how to shop, I do not. She quickly picked 10 dresses off the racks for me and then led me over to the spanx section. She said I need both. I tried on the dresses, found one I loved, and then bought some spanx. I got home, put everything on, and realized that nursing with a dress was going to be near impossible. Plus the dress was a little tighter than I felt comfortable wearing for the evening. Alas I had to settle for clothes I already owned. To be honest, I own very little in the size department I am in right now... but I found a skirt and top I wore to a wedding shortly after Owen was born, and it worked perfectly... and the spanx, they just tucked me in in all the right places.

So, now that I have three walks with my mom in law under my belt, totalling about 6 miles, I will celebrate that move on purpose and keep on keepin' on! I will also celebrate the ability of spanx! And that they allow me to feel toned and gorgeous instantly and remind me of where I am headed. Because after all, life is short, and we need to get to the point!

Moving AGAIN!

Well I am the mother of another baby boy! Eli Joseph was born on February 1st, 2011 just before the blizzard of the decade rolled into Grand Rapids. He was a beautiful 8 lbs 4 oz! As the little man has begun to gain weight like a champ (at two weeks he was 10 lbs!), his mom has decided to blog again. To chronicle round two of my pregnancy weight loss journey!

Today Eli is just over 3 weeks old. So we'll say he's probably coming up on 11 lbs now. I was 178 lbs at his 2 week appointment, so we'll say I am 177 today :)

Unlike my Owen pregnancy, I did not tip the 200 mark... my last weigh in was 199 lbs! Brandon made some comment about whether or not mommy would hit 200 and the nurse looked at him like he was such an awful husband. Little did she realize the transparency that is my life and in particular my weight gain during pregnancy. Because really, when else can you flaunt the pounds as they pack on?

Since I chase a toddler around my house daily during my maternity leave, I am much more active than I was post-Owen. It took me almost 2 months to reach 177 lbs! None the less, that still means I have some major poundage to drop. Like my first journey, my sole purpose here is to become tone and fit. In the end I don't even care what I weigh, I care what I feel like. And if I feel sexy, then more power to me and more power to all my mommy friends who have given birth to our beautiful children and somehow end up feeling sexy (if even for a moment) again!

Today I began to move on purpose again! My mother-in-law and I walked 2.1 miles out in the COLD but sunny day! And so I begin......

Nottalotta Movin'

I'm realizing more and more that GOAL SETTING is the biggest motivator for me. But I can't really sign up for another run... or can I?

I can run a 5k in the fall! There are some pregger ladies that do that up until the day before they pop!

Now on to find a 5K that I want to do... I bet Race For the Cure is coming soon... yup, just looked it up, September 25, 2010. Not too far away and I need a motivator.

Just now I ate too many Cherry Twizzler Bites... probably not the most nutritious thing for baby "Fermi" and my tummy is feeling it now too. This pregnancy has so many more cravings and food aversions than the Owen pregnancy did... sheesh! I saw the Twizzler Bites and I just HAD TO HAVE THEM... what a weird feeling.

Oh and on top of that my legs are so sore. Like I've been running every day... which I wish was the case, but is not the case. So maybe if I actually do run, the sore legs will not be sore? That would be weird.

Weird. Good. And on my way to a goal.

Another way to move

So I haven't blogged in a while, and exercise has definitely taken a back seat in my life for a couple of reasons:

#1 It was the end of the school year, teachers are running around like chickens with their heads cut off and I was supposed to run on purpose on top of that?!

#2 A week after school ended I started working at Fermilab in Batavia, IL which for all physics people is the COOLEST opportunity ever... I started running again around my grandparents' neighborhood because I am living with them, but not to the extent I had been because

#3 I am pregnant again.

Yes, this very happy news was probably conceived DAYS after my ultimate goal of the River Bank Run and my accomplishment of actually losing ALL my Owen-pregnancy baby weight. I call it Owen-pregnancy, because this time around I am shooting for a Cassidy-pregnancy.

Cassidy is my cousin Erin's first born, she's adorable and chunky in all the right baby places and I love her smile! Erin, however, was a I-stuck-a-basketball-in-my-t-shirt pregnant woman. I was so jealous that when you looked at her from behind she did not look like some whale-morphed-into-a-human mixed with a penguin-waddling-down-the-hallway. She looked like Erin, until she turned sideways and you wondered whether she was being funny by actually sticking a basketball underneath her t-shirt, or if in fact she was WITH CHILD.

So that's my goal! A Cassidy-pregnancy is in my future.

I'm 12 weeks along, running at least once or twice a week (I try), but come August I'm going into overdrive... well maybe just drive, considering I'm kind of in neutral on a hill :) I just recently quit my job as a high school teacher and accepted a job as a professor. Less $$$ (yuck), BUT less time (YAY!) which means more time with my boys and my future girl (it's a girl right? we can hope!)

Why not still move?

So I've been debating writing a new blog. I was thinking this one has run its course. I accomplished my main goal - back to my "normal" size. Ran two races in the process, one 5k and one 10k and thought, I'm done.

THEN I realized I've totally taken time "off" thinking that was all good... well my body missed exercise. And I think that was both emotionally and physically.

Since May 8 I have gone out twice to run (once a mile, once 2 miles) and biked two times (once to school and once just a good bike ride)

Two of the bike rides and one of the runs all happened in the last three days because I was noticing this actual need to exercise.

So I am happy that I've achieved my goals that I set out to achieve last summer. But now I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle... and hey that's a HEAFTY (I can't help but think of the commercial when I write that... "heafty, heafty, heafty") goal when you think about it. Reaching goals is AWESOME... maintenance is the tough part.

wish me luck!