Two milestones

Milestone #1:
Yesterday, I took the girls ice skating and our precious got on her skates and took a turn for the first time. she did really well, especially with her big sis helping her along.

sisterly love

Milestone #2: 

Our little man turned over his first time. i've noticed that he keeps repositioning himself to sleep on his side, but yesterday, when we went into get him in the morning, we saw that he was sleeping on his tummy.  so cute with his little tooshy in the air, but it's not helping his eczema ;(

ever so slowly

i started running 4 miles this week. it's not a huge deal, but i need to mark it to encourage myself that i progressing. the few runs are taking it's toll on my back and i can feel the muscles flaring up, but i'll probably keep plowing ahead anyways.

i finally started jotting down my workout notes. note to self. it's best not to look at where you were a year ago especially when that year was spent, pregnant and on the couch.  when i made the mistake of looking and comparing, it brought such discouragement. i kept thinking that i have a long way to go before i am back to where i was this time last year.  but then i looked at my little man and the discouragement was replaced with sheer mama joy! i love my little guy. his smiles melt my heart.

and now we have a talker

Our precious is the observant one.

she wants to take in her surroundings and know before she talks. Before last Sunday she did not utter ONE word in during Sunday School or nursery time.  Last Sunday, the SS teacher came up to me and said that our precious talked NONSTOP.
our precious even went so far as to tell her what song she wanted to sing - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  SS teacher, trying to reel it back in and talk about God, asked, "Who made the stars?" our precious answered, "I did!"

Since then, she's been Ms. Social Butterfly.  She talks to the guests who come to our house.  She waves to anyone in the streets.   What a difference overnight.  She had so much going on in that little brain of hers.  She just had to let it out eventually.

But then again, she is my observant one.

Trying to remember...

A realization that my oldest can go into my closet and wear my clothes makes me stop to reflect on their growth.

Our jewel (9 years old)...
She's my straight shooter. She's not afraid to talk to anyone - young or old.  She's firm in her convictions. If she thinks she's right, she'll go to the death for it.  She completed her first swim season this year and just started her spring season.  She's improved like nobody's business!  However, her favorite part of swim was being coached by Coach Kathleen and meeting friends.  During meets, you'll see her chatting with friends on the side.  She values friendship over competition.  She's very good at public speaking and presenting her various pieces.  She loves swimming, reading, and riding her bike.  She loves being outdoors.  As a small add on, her favorite baby book was: The Wheels on the Bus.

Our precious (2 1/2 years old)...
She's my witty, reserved, observant one.  In new environments, she'll watch quietly and take it all in.  You may not know it, but she's got a LOT going on in her mind and when she's comfortable, her witty humor will coming shining through. You'll know it by the twinkle in her eye.  She is persistent often wanting to complete the task herself.  It may take her 15 minutes to get the buttons off her jacket off, but she won't let you help her.  "I do it, I do it!" She's not afraid to use her charm to get you though, so be warned.  Her cuteness is dangerous! She loves puzzles and dress up.  She loves playing with her big sister and singing "Let it go" from the Disney movie, Frozen.  She's not afraid to go after what she wants.  She loves the water!  The past 6 months, she had significantly increased her verbal skills. She may be following in her sister's swimming fins.  she loves coffee.  she'll steal it if you're not watching :> Her favorite books are: Goodnight moon and We're Going on a Bear Hunt.

Our little man (4 months)...
He's my guy.  Unfortunately, the last month, he's been battling eczema and we keep trying various things to get rid of it... from conventional medicine to homeopathic treatments to controlling mama's diet.  So far, we're still in the trial and error phase and nothing seems to be working :( however, he is one amazing smiler. he loves to laugh and smile.... and that makes us laugh and smile alongside him. he loves to kick and grab at toys in front of him.   he coos and watches with intent.

Random thoughts Saturday

1. Today we turn the clocks forward. why? it's annoying. i don't like doing it... probably because we almost always forget and it messes up Sunday.

2. my little man will be 100 days on March 12th. wow!  i'm letting that sink in...

3. today i was talking to our jewel. the conversation went something like this:
me: you know, you and C have a lot more in common than you think. (C is this boy in her homeschooling class that she doesn't like because he teases her).
our jewel: what do you mean?
me: well, you know how your BFF moved away last year and then R moved away and then A moved away and now J is moving the end of the month?
our jewel: yeah......???
me: well, you know how you talked about not having any friends?
our jewel: so?
me: well, C feels the same way. he moved here all the way from africa and  he's having to start all over.. except that he knows he's moving to africa again soon so he's going to have to make friends again!  how do you think he feels?
our jewel: sad
me: so maybe he's teasing you because he's upset about not having any friends?
our jewel: oh.. so that means that the one you hate, you end up marrying, right?

4. i've never had this before. i had the flu (or so i think) a few weeks ago. but yet, i'm still not recovered.  during the day, i'm shivering and feel soo cold. at night, i'm drenched in sweat! and oh sooo tired. odd!

Counting the victories

It was three months Sunday since my C section.
I've been cautiously getting back into Crossfit.  I had issues working out with our precious so I knew I had to take it easy.  Today was Crossfit visit #5... abs. yup. Had I really thought about it, I probably wouldn't have gone.
Today's WOD (workout of the day): 4 RFT (rounds for time):
25 abmat situps,
250m row
10 V situps
5 sumo deadlifts

The V situps are what killed me. I couldn't even do one. I knew after that first attempt that I was in trouble.   I basically fumbled my way through 40 of those... which really shouldn't have been counted.  But I was pretty proud of myself that I did finish the workout, even with pretty horrid looking situps.  I was dead last. It took me 18:09 minutes... something that really should have taken under 10 minutes. but I was so proud of myself that I didn't give up.

Unfortunately, today's workout wasn't an anomaly.  I'm seeing that this time around is a different exercise journey.  The first two post-baby-returns were easy peasy come backs. This one's a toughie.  Could it be I'm older? I'm tired? It's my third (and second C Section)? I'm in a gym where I'm by far the oldest one there? YES, yes, yes, and yes! It's hard to come to terms with age.  The brain still thinks it can. Sadly, the body takes a little more work.  I'm finding it psychologically hard to get myself motivated to go.  It's gotten me thinking... is this what it's like for those who haven't worked out before? Perhaps those who've tried and stopped, stopped because it wasn't getting easier, fast enough.

In times past, when I started, it was as if my body remembered.  It was tough, but I could tell my body wanted to work.  This time around, my body just stares back and says, "what?!" yeah, you know what i mean, right?

So, I record today's difficult WOD as a virtual high-five to myself for going, for finishing, and for not letting myself feel intimated by others' scores.

Yeah! me :)