Lather--Rinse--Repeat

Or, how I finally solved my laundry problem.

While 62 miles a month may not be a lot to some people, to a Mama of 4 with other responsibilities as well (goddesslibrarian.blogspot.com) it was a lot to me. I didn't run after the half marathon in October and when I started up again in December I had a really hard time fitting it into my schedule. I am a creature of routine and habit. I had been running M-W-S for so long that I just couldn't break out of it, but M-W we have preschool and then speech and then when I finally get LightRunner down for a nap, it's time to get the kids off the bus. It just wasn't working. So I used January to get running and exercising back into my schedule and establish a working routine. I switched my running days to T-Th-F-S (yes, 3 days in a row) and added cross training on those days as well. I'm following the "hard days hard" philosophy and making my T-Th really hard, Wed just cross training, Friday easy, Saturday long and Sunday-Monday completely off. No run, no exercise. Two full days in a row and it works out lovely. Sunday I am with my family and doing odd things around the house. Monday is my grocery shopping day. It's working out really well. Sometimes there are wrenches--like class parties on Thursdays--but I just adjust nap times and make it work. I have a monthly calendar on the fridge with every single day designated for something and I like checking off my run or cross training or stretching.

The other thing I have on the fridge now is a weekly calendar. I have given myself completely to lists and schedules and organization. On Sunday I go through the week and make out my daily to do list with such thrilling activities as dishes and cleaning toilets and laundry and other crap I have to do. Like I said, I am a creature of habit and the way I have done things for decades is to wait for things to pile up and then take care of them. This is particularly true of laundry. When the hamper is full or we've run out of underwear is my signal to do laundry. It worked out fine until I had all these kids. There are 6 of us and we generate a lot of dirty clothing. The kids' clothes were a real problem because they are so much smaller, more clothes could fit in the damn basket. Now I'm fine with putting clothes in the washing machine and dryer. It starts to break down when I need to take it out of the dryer and there's a complete fail when it comes to folding and putting away. So I would wind up doing all of the kids' laundry on the same day and have a bunch of clothes to fold. But the kids' clothes go upstairs and I am basically downstairs the entire day. I would wind up frantically trying to fold clothes at bed time, irritating the man who thinks bed time is learning time. It wasn't working. So, much like changing my running routine, I have overhauled how I do everything. Instead of waiting for things to pile up, I am now scheduling them ahead of time and breaking them into sizable chunks. I clean toilets and do our clothes on Mondays. On Tuesdays I do the girls' clothes, on Wednesdays the boys, Thursday is whatever, Friday I do the girls' clothes AGAIN and the same with the boys on Saturdays (and my running clothes which I always forgot to do before!). Breaking the kids clothes up into 4 days a week has made it so much more manageable. It's not like it's just a few things--there's still a load of clothes but I'm not doing two double loads. I can easily fold the clothes on the couch during nap time, put it back in the basket and get it put away when I get upstairs.

This has seriously revolutionized how much crap I have to do. I don't have baskets of laundry in the living room hanging over my head. It took me a few minutes to clean the toilets instead of having to do a major cleaning. Then I still have time in my day for running and exercising and stretching and showering and reading and writing book reviews and playing games with kids. Sure, it might start to feel like I am doing the same things over and over and over again--Lather-Rinse-Repeat--but I am in more control over it. Instead of feeling like Sisyphus rolling his bolder up the hill and not making progress, I feel like I am taming the laundry/housework beast. (Of course having a mobile 18 month old creates all sorts of messes that can't be scheduled in, but I can always bribe older siblings to help with that.)

January was all about establishing the routine and I did pretty good. February is going to be about taking it a bit further-- getting my long run longer, my speed work faster, my legs straighter, lifting higher weights, reading more books, writing more reviews. But don't worry, I'm not planning on dusting at all.

Treadmill days

This winter sucks. It's cold. Snowy. Icy. I don't mind snow so much now that I don't have to go to work during blizzards, but it makes running outside a wee bit difficult. I can't use the jogging stroller because it's just too cold for LightRunner. So I've been stuck on the treadmill. The treadmill doesn't bother me that much because I am always either doing intervals so I am constantly changing the speed, or doing an easy run in which I still change the speeds but slower (so I'll pick a range of speeds and do kind of a slow pyramid run to pass the time). Tuesday I attempted my first tempo run.

Ugh.

My goal was to warm up for 10 minutes, do 20 minutes of tempo, and then cool down. After the first 5 minutes of the tempo I was dying. Not my legs, but my mind. I convinced myself I had to go to the bathroom, so I stopped and went to the bathroom. I finished up the next 5 minutes. It felt like 3 days. I stopped and walked for a minute or two and started up again. I didn't get the rush I usually get when I do intervals. The worst part is that I was watching videos on my iPad and I still couldn't keep my mind from failing. Staying at one pace just kills me. I did a strength routine after and redeemed myself a little.

Wednesday was not a running day. I had a cardio core routine to do to fill both my cardio and core requirements. It also sucked. It was too "dancey" and choreographed. That's the main reason the only cardio I've ever been consistent with is running. Running is just one foot in front of the other.

If Tuesday is my moderately hard day, Thursday is my hard hard day. But I woke up completely unmotivated. We had the phone company coming to switch our provider. Chewie wanted to play memory. I was cold and tired and so not in the mood to do anything. But when I got LightRunner down for a nap, I forced myself to get on the treadmill (after playing a game of memory). I had been doing 45 second intervals at a 7:30 pace (8.0 with a 1% incline) but I wanted to push it to 60 seconds. I had done the 45 seconds (up from 30) for two weeks so I thought it was time. It wasn't until I logged it that I realized the two 45 second workouts were not consecutive weeks, so I probably should have given myself another week of them. I did the first 60 seconds and it was tough. I decided to alternate 60 and 45 seconds so I wound up doing 5 of each (followed by either 60 seconds or 75 seconds of walking). Usually when I'm done I cool down for only 5 minutes but I made myself do the whole 10 minutes. It was tough but I felt so much better than I did after that tempo run. When I logged it I saw that I cut 40 seconds off my average pace from the last interval run I did. I followed it up with a hard 40 minute superset sculpt routine. It's usually challenging, but after the intervals it was really hard. But that's the point--hard days hard.

When I was done I was wicked tired but energized at the same time. There's something so much more fulfilling about a successful workout when you didn't even want to do it in the first place! I also realized that I'm building up my interval runs… so I can build up my tempo runs too. I don't have to start out perfect. I can start out breaking it up every 5 minutes and then every 7 and eventually get to where I need to be. I'm not following a plan, I'm not in training for a particular race. I can take my time and have a better chance of not giving up.

Today is an easy day. Easy recovery run and a simple core routine. I'm not sure how easy it will be to fit it in because I also have my kidney stone checkup ultrasound today. Hopefully I'll be able to do it all. I'm less confident about tomorrow's long run. It's warmer than it's been, but it may rain or snow. If I can't deal with a tempo on the treadmill, I'm sure I don't have a long run in me. It'll take me twice as long and I just don't have time for that. I'm hoping for a break with the crappy weather tomorrow instead.

Cross training and Jessica Smith's Summer Shape Up Challenge

The only exercise I have ever stuck with is running. It's remarkable really. But I'm at the point now where I want to improve my running and simply running more just doesn't cut it. I've tried over the past couple of years to add other things, weight-lifting, yoga, etc, but nothing ever lasted more than a week. Until I found Jessica Smith on the exercise On Demand. Specifically the 10 minute workouts. I started doing those and then I bought the book/DVD combo (Thin In 10, you can find it over there in my right sidebar) and then I subscribed to her YouTube channel (you can find that over in the right sidebar too). I would pick whichever routine I could squeeze in. I've had some good weeks with a lot and some bad weeks with a little.

My willy nilly days of picking the shortest workouts whenever I feel like it are over. I'm following along with Jessica's Summer Shape Up Challenge. It's a 5 week program with exercises 6 days a week. She posts the entire week's plan on Sunday--but just a week at a time. I'm used to thinking in months and not weeks so that's a bit of a challenge to me. But it's good. All of the workouts are free through YouTube and we comment on each video so she knows we're keeping up. It's a great motivator. I'm sure she's not going to hunt me down if I don't do a day, but it keeps me accountable and I find myself rearranging things so I can do it. I'm so excited that I'm sticking with something other than running that I am planning on donating to her website. I'm getting quality workouts in the comfort of my own home that I would normally have to go to a class to do. I just started Week 2 today and so far the only pain is that the rest day doesn't always sync up to my running rest day. Week 2's rest day is Saturday--the day I will be racing the Freihofer's. But once the Freihofer's is over I can try to plan my weekly runs around the Shape Up Challenge. I'm not sure what I will do if I wind up having to get these kidney stones blasted. But I'm not thinking about that yet. 

I'm hoping that all of this will make me a stronger runner and that by the time I do the half next fall it'll be a piece of cake (yeah, I'm kidding.). I guess I'll see on Saturday how well I do (provided I don't have any more complications). I know that I've lost 3-4 pounds in the last couple of weeks and my clothes fit differently. (I don't really track my weight, I've never cared that much about it, but I still weigh LightRunner every week and that involves me weighing myself first and then holding him). But really, the only numbers I'm concerned with are the ones on the clock at the finish line.

February Wrappin' Up & Catchin' Up

I am not sorry to see February go. Although it's the shortest month, it was quite full... full of coughing and snot and fevers and vomiting and general blech. Buh-bye February! Here's to a healthy March!

Lightrunner was the last to catch the February break virus. His fever broke a few days ago and his coughing is not nearly as bad as it was. He seems to be back to his routine instead of nursing and sleeping nonstop. When I took him for his sick visit on Monday he gained a whole pound since his last checkup. I didn't get to see our pediatrician, but I haven't heard from her so I'm assuming that was enough. As long as he's going up, it doesn't quite matter how much. He's eaten green beans (the first time was with green beans I had frozen from my garden!) and today he had peaches. I bought an avodaco, again to fatten up one of my kids, but he got sick and wasn't eating anything. I didn't want it to go bad so I mashed it up and froze it in ice cube trays. Hopefully it'll be okay when we try it! 

I'm trying to catch up now with all the crap I couldn't do the last couple of weeks. Lots of laundry, cleaning, blog reviews and assorted "to do's". I kind of always feel like I'm catching up though... so maybe this is just how it is. I will never get ahead. Like Sisyphus I keep rolling that rock of laundry up the damn hill and it keeps rolling back down on me. 

February sucked as far as exercise goes. If I wasn't helping a sick kid, I was helping a sick me. We literally started the month sick and ended it sick. But I did manage to run more miles than I have since I got back to it, which is not bad when you remember it's the shortest month!

Stats:
Mileage: 34.3
Runs: 11
Cross Training Days: 8
Cross Training Sessions: 14

I discovered that my first goal race is a month earlier than I had planned. Which obviously has pushed training earlier too. So I've "officially" started although this week has been less than stellar. But today is a new day, new month, and time to get down to brass tacks. 

Beachbody

You may have noticed that I've been talking a lot about my running and exercising and fitness lately. You're not the only one.... the good people over at Beachbody--they're the ones behind the popular P90X series--also noticed and wanted me to pass some information on to you*.

P90X Certification

If you've enjoyed the P90X workout series and are interested in teaching, they are now offering a certification program. It's a 2 day workshop resulting in official certification enabling you to take your skills to the local gym and teach a class. The price is $498. That seems a bit steep to me, but I have never done a certification program and am no where near being capable of doing one, and I'm kinda cheap. If that sounds like your thing, check out the link here.

If teaching is NOT your thing and you're looking to step up your exercise game instead, Beachbody has two programs you may be interested in:

Brazil Butt Lift Master Series

Three different kits, Base, Plus, and Elite, promise to help you train like a supermodel and "shape, lift and firm your booty." Leandro Carvalho's routine works the three major muscles of the buttocks, the gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus. The basic kit includes the workouts, stability ball and online support. The Plus and Elite kits also include more supplies like yoga mats and weights. The video looks like this would be a fun workout. Check it out here.

Insanity: The Asylum Volume 2

This dude is hardcore. And so is the Insanity workout. Seven new pro athlete routines exercising your abs, back, legs, and more promise to help you get your body leaner, stronger and faster so you crush the competition. This is not the workout for this busy time-strapped beginner exercise mom. But if you don't have kids needing to be nursed and wiped every few hours, this looks like it would be a killer workout that would help get you to your running A goal. Check out the full program here.

*Please note, Beachbody has not compensated me at all for passing along the information. I have not tried these workouts and am not reviewing or endorsing them. Just passing it on to you!

Wrinkles

Not the facial kind but the get in the way of all your lofty plans kind. I've got some wrinkles.

I've been doing good decent ok with the new exercise regimen. The only exercise I've ever stuck with has been running, so doing anything other than running for more than a few times is pretty spectacular for me. I'm ready to profess my love for Jessica Smith and her quick workouts. The only thing I don't really like is the cardio routine on the DVD and that's more because I am so completely uncoordinated. It's okay for one session but now that I've added more, I just can't do two in a row. But luckily she adds routines to her youtube all the time and I've been able to find quick workouts for a little variety. I had to shift my running days so that I could have a true rest day with no obligations, instead of a rest day from exercise and a rest day from running and not having them be on the same day! The house is not as damaged as I thought it would be and aside from last week when I was fighting a cold and had a million things to do that kept me from home, I've been following my schedule pretty well.

And then yesterday happened.

I took Lightrunner to his 6 month checkup. And as I had feared and expected, he hasn't gained much weight in the last couple of months (he weighs 13 pounds, 9 ounces). He's grown longer so it's not a "failure to thrive" situation and he's clearly happy and healthy. He's just following in his siblings' skinny footsteps. We started cereal on Monday and I thought I would be chastised for waiting so long, but instead my pediatrician (who I love) was adamant about making sure that breastfeeding is his number one source of calories. She's afraid that his interest may wane now that cereal has been included in his diet. Luckily I spent so many wee morning hours pumping up a freezer supply so that I can mix his cereal with frozen pumped milk so he'll get some extra that way. But she also wants me to add an extra feeding and since neither one of us wants to disturb his 11-hour nights, that means I need to squeeze a 5th nursing in to our day. Just a few short months ago I did feed him 5 times a day, every 3 hours, and there was no problem. But as of late we've only been doing 4 times a day, every 4 hours, and he's been giving me glorious 2 hour naps (if we're home). Going back to every 3 hours is going to interfere with naps. Interfering with naps is going to interfere with EVERYTHING.

Wrinkles.

The good thing is that my ped is pro-breastfeeding and is not telling me to add formula or push him into pureed foods. The good thing is that he did gain SOME weight, he did grow, and he's bigger than SkyWalker was at 6 months. Anyone who sees him can see how well he is doing--he's not starving, he's got some good chub on his legs, and he is almost always smiling and happy. I just need to make sure he stays that way. I'm sure I'll come up with a good routine for us that will keep him fed and well rested and me exercised and stress-free.

And then he'll get his first tooth.

Making it official

The past couple of years I have been reinventing myself or finding myself. Transitioning from being completely focused on work to being a working mom to "just" a mom. I've learned to rely on myself for happiness and to make things the way I want them to be instead of just waiting around for the good things to happen. I've lowered my expectations so that I'm not always needing things to be perfect and all my ducks in a row before I feel happy. But at the same time I've increased my plans for a fulfilling life. I've tried to not automatically say No, even when my gut is telling me I should. Starting the mom's group was HUGE for me. And it's worked out pretty well. I never would have done something like that a few years ago. But I went through with it and I'm glad I did. Sending that first e-mail to one of the moms and asking her to go steady be a friend not an acquaintance was BEYOND HUGE. But it worked out really *really* well. 

When my friends all started running and preparing for a 5k I really wanted to do it but I just couldn't. Except that, well, I could. So for the last couple of weeks I've been running three times a week following the directions of my happy runner friend and I've been doing more running than walking. I've upped my speed and shaved some minutes off my final time. I'll be running the 5k with them. Unless of course I forget to register.

My gut is telling me there is no way I can do this. 

• I am afraid of being last. (as long as there is at least one person walking the whole way, I won't be last)
• I am afraid all my friends will be faster and will leave me behind.
• I am afraid I will get lost (there will be thousands of women, I'm sure I can find my way)
• I am afraid I will have a panic attack because there will be THOUSANDS of women. 

But I'm doing it. Much like that movie (Yes Man), I need to just say yes instead of always saying no. 

I have yet to run outside with the group because of scheduling conflicts. And I don't really want to run outside by myself because I'm afraid I'll run too fast and burn out or too slow. So I bought the Nike+ for my iPod to encourage me to run outside. I really don't *want* to which is why I really *need* to. 

After I ran today I jumped in the shower. The Princess witnessed it since she refused to take a nap. As I was getting in the shower she said "When I get bigger & bigger I'm going to run and take a shower!". Which is much better than "When I get bigger I'm going to sit on the couch and facebook all day." don't you think?

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Running... and no one is chasing me

I set out on Monday to make this week my bitch (really, it was my facebook status) and I think I did okay. It's amazing how perception and perspective and some other per word really affects our day to day lives. My children didn't act any differently this week than they have in the past. We had some good napping days and some bad ones. Had some fun & some tantrums. But because I got up when I wanted to all week long (for the most part) and because I changed my reactions, everything was okay. I changed. Not them. I set small goals for myself and I completed them. And because I wasn't stressed out about trying to do more I wasn't snapping at anyone and they weren't picking up on my stress and reacting to it. Sure, my house is a mess, but who cares? I think that I need to focus on things that I can actually DO and get DONE. The Princess and I made a magazine holder out of an old cereal box today. It was a nice little project and now it's DONE. (Sure, I'll make more, but that one is done.) There is no point in me cleaning the back glass door when I have 3 kids and 2 dogs. It will never be done. I will always have to do it again and again and again (insert cleaning toilets, scrubbing cabinets, etc.). I would rather do the things that I can finish and then leave other stuff for when we're having company. I said on twitter once that when I started to feel like I wasn't has-it-together-girl that I was going to just change my definition of together. I think that's really been the key this week. I'm not going to get EVERYTHING done. I'll get the important stuff done and anything else is just extra. 

One of the things I did do this week was get on the treadmill. I've been using it but not as regularly as I should have. This week because of my change in the napping department & my more relaxed attitude I was actually able to use it 3 days. On Monday I walked for 20 minutes and ran for 5. On Wednesday I walked for 20 minutes and ran for 10 (walk, run, walk, run. Not consecutive.). Today, Friday, I walked for 20 minutes and ran for 15! For those that are scoffing, remember that A) I have 3 kids so getting 35 minutes on a treadmill is amazing and B) I failed gym class in high school. And I am now RUNNING. On a treadmill. 

A bunch of my mom friends are all training to run one of the local 5ks in June. They're being led by one of friends who is an amazing runner. I can't do it. Partly because I know I'm not going to get the time on the weekends to really train with them, partly because I can't run the race anyway (it's June 5, and I will either be at the Belmont with my father or at home with a visiting Shinesalot ), and partly because I am doing so well with everything that if I failed at this and embarrassed myself it would really set me back. But here's the thing. This friend, this capital R Runner, makes me WANT to run. She loves it so much and is just so inspiring that I find myself really wanting to do it. Go back to that last paragraph. I FAILED GYM CLASS. And this friend has me wanting to run! So, even though I am not really a part of the group, I am using them as inspiration and I am thinking of them as I spur myself on through each minute and I like to think I'm running with them in spirit.

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Week 2

I didn't think it was going to happen, but the planets aligned just long enough for me to finish week 2 of Couch to 5k and take a shower. The shower was interrupted by multiple children, but let's focus on the positive. 

Day 1:

total time: 29:38

calories: 190.8

miles: 1.88

laps: 7

1 mile: 15:43 mins

highest speed: 5

Day 2:

total time: 29:39

calories: 189.4

miles: 1.87

laps: 7

1 mile: 15:52 mins

highest speed: 5

Day 3:

total time: 29:41

calories: 196

miles: 1.92*

laps: 7

1 mile: 15:22 mins*

highest speed: 5

* lookee there. That's improvement. Now if I can only find something to fill this belly. Between nursing and actually getting off my ass I'm hungry! 

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let me sum up

I *would* have finished the second week of Couch to 5k but my ankles are starting to hurt and I think I need new sneakers. It turned out good that I did not since I forgot to eat lunch and probably would have passed out.

I think I'm going to call it an early night. Here's my quick updates:

1) SkyWalker and Vader rode the bus together for bus safety day yesterday. The Princess and I watched them get on the bus. One of us cried and one of us comforted the other. I'm not telling who did what. SkyWalker was fine and seems to be okay with the fact that Vader will not be on the bus next week. He and his friend sat together on the bus coming back home. That is good. 

2) The Princess speaks and speaks and speaks. And yet still she whines. You'd think being able to communicate would cut down on the whining, but alas, it does not. I do think her molars are coming in though. She's doing okay with the potty training, but I need to find a way to get her to pee on a regular basis without it turning into a fight. She is a stubborn one. 

3) Chewie is doing really well. She really doesn't cry all that much anymore. No more screaming. She smiles a lot and seems so much happier. I moved her to the girls' room at bedtime now. I started on Monday and she has slept longer each night. Last night I gave her a bottle at 11 and she slept until 5:30. I've been giving her bottles to try to get her used to them. But she only takes 2 ounces, whether it's at 10 or 11. Tonight I'm going to skip it and see how she does. The girls do just fine in the same room and both SkyWalker and the Princess seem to be excited to have Chewie up there with them. I'm glad that I had the girls nap together from the first week. I think that helped a lot. I stopped swaddling Chewie since it didn't seem to be the miracle cure it was for the Princess. I just have her in a sleep sack and she's doing great. I kind of miss her at night, but she was in my room longer than the other two so it was really time. She turned 3 months yesterday. 

4) This is not as quick as I thought it would be. 

5) I ran two of the three couch to 5k days this week and I've already improved. I don't see myself ever running a race. I don't like to run in front of people. But I am enjoying the experience. It gives me the energy boost I need in the middle of the day and I am So proud of myself for sticking with it. I might have some scheduling problems once SkyWalker starts school--since the time I normally do it is nap time for the girls and that will be when he gets off the bus. And after being in school all day I don't think I can tell him to just wait for me to run... The Princess is better at entertaining herself so maybe I can actually attempt to do it while she is awake. Or try to get them down for early naps. I'll have to play around with our routines.

6) I need to hook my brain up to the internets so I can blog directly from it. I blog a lot in the shower. And then forget it when I see the screen...

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I finished week 1! In week 1!

This is mostly just for me and my record keeping because I am a dork who likes keeping records (should have worked in archives I guess):

I just finished Week 1 of the Couch to 5K IN week 1. How momentous. Anyway, stats for my own purposes:

Day 2:

total time: 29:05

calories: 160.7

miles: 1.65

laps: 6

1 mile: 17 mins

highest speed: 4.5 (don't laugh Felice!)

Day 3:

total time: 28:41 (I must have hit the start on the treadmill too soon last time)

calories: 175.3

miles: 1.78

laps: 7

1 mile: 16:08

highest speed: 5

I didn't write anything down for day 1. Oh well. 

Because I am a DORK and surrounded by positive reinforcement for children, I'm totally making myself a sticker chart. 

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A fine Monday

I should be folding towels or doing something productive. But I'm not. It's Monday. As far as Mondays go, this one was actually okay. Chewie went to bed at 8 last night and I didn't feed her until 4:30. It was miraculous. And for most of today she was right on cue--feeding every 3 hours, napping when she should, and smiling instead of screaming. We all went outside and she took her first wagon ride. SkyWalker was not nearly as crazy as he has been. He's definitely still testing me, but he actually listened a lot better today. There was no big drama. Both girls took naps at the same time, just long enough for me to use the treadmill. So all in all, not a bad Monday. 

I did the first run of the first Week of the Couch to 5k program. It's meant to slowly work you into being able to run a 5k so you don't do too much too fast and then burn out and give up. I have no intentions of actually running a 5k anywhere, but I like the structure the program has instead of me just walking on the treadmill for an indeterminate length of time. I downloaded the free podcasts for my iPod (which plugs into the treadmill) so it's easier for me to know when to walk and when to run. I managed to do a mile and a half in less than half an hour. I'm sure it will take me longer than the 9 weeks to complete it since I may not be able to do it as often as I'm supposed to. But that's okay. My goal isn't actually running a 5k. It's getting off the damn couch. 

I'm pretty sure if I go to bed now Vader will get home from shopping and the dogs will go nuts and wake me/Chewie up. And while he will put away all the fridge & freezer stuff, I will get up tomorrow morning to find all the pantry stuff still has to be put away. I'd rather just do it tonight. 

But. Yawn.

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Monday Monday

It is 8 pm and all of my children are sleeping. This would not have been shocking 7 weeks ago, but today it is. Perhaps it was because Chewie got all of her screaming out between the hours of 5-7 that she was able to fall asleep nicely tonight. The other two were upstairs in their beds at 7. Yeah. 7. It's Monday.

Mondays are always so hard for us. Vader goes back to work. He goes food shopping after work. The jedi and I are left alone all day long and by the end of the day we are not very nice. Today was better than most--we had a playdate this morning with a mom & toddler we had never met and both of my children were nice and sociable and well, normal, and that started the day out well. I managed to use the treadmill during nap/quiet time and did a whole mile. It took me a whole 17 minutes to do that mile, but hey, that's more than I've done before. And I ran some of it again. Just to see if I could. Not a lot and not fast because I'm really *not* a runner. I am lucky I can put my feet in front of one another just to walk. Anyway, I got a total of 20 minutes on the treadmill and that was good. After that it all kind of went downhill. Chewie started screaming, woke up the Princess, SkyWalker left quiet time after less than an hour. They all bugged me. Chewie needed another nap as I was making dinner but cried off and on through most of it. SkyWalker mashed up his hot dog and vegetables instead of eating them and the Princess quickly followed suit. When I was feeding Chewie right after dinner the other two were messing around in my bedroom and ran out with Chewie's pacifier--the Princess has been stealing them for weeks now--but what really annoyed me was that they went under the bed with it and probably got it all dirty so I now have to sanitize it. Again. And once again SkyWalker just went NUTS and refused to listen. At all. I put Chewie down when she was done and dragged SkyWalker up the stairs (yes literally) and threw him on his bed (once again more for his attitude and behavior towards me than for anything else) and told him he was going to bed. He laughed and then realized I was serious and started crying. Chewie was screaming by that point so I got her and the Princess, gave them a bath together while SkyWalker asked "Am I going to get a bath?" I completely ignored him. Completely. He didn't listen to me, I didn't listen to him. The Princess answered him "No, you're not" (yes that is a direct quote). It seemed to finally sink in and he started to speak in a more calm and respectful manner and we all read books together before bed at 7. 

I think he is getting bored to a certain extent--while Chewie is doing a basic routine, it's not quite as predictable as it will eventually be. Sometimes she wakes up early and that throws things off. Particularly if she wakes up because of sibling noise and then gets overtired. I've been giving her the first nap in her swing in the kitchen but I think I need to move her to the crib so she starts the day out with an uninterrupted nap. If she gets overtired from the get-go, we're in for a crappy day. Anyway, so because I am often tied to Chewie's needs, I can't just drop everything and do whatever SkyWalker wants me to do. And even though we had a playdate and spent time outside this morning I guess it just wasn't enough. I'm actually thinking of scheduling some after-nap playdates since that seems to be the worst time for us. 

We have a busy week ahead of us and I'm hoping to tire them all out into behaving! The Princess is so ready to be potty trained but we're going to LI soon and she has her next ultrasound the first week in August so I think I should wait before I take the diapers away. But she is so ready. Potty training with pull-ups is just not the same. SkyWalker continues to stay dry--we continue to have dinner before 6--and have Daddy help him pee at 10. It would be so nice to just have one baby in diapers. Although the Princess will be in them at night for a while. Actually, who knows with her? She's always surprising me.

I should really go to bed now but I'm kind of waiting for Vader to get home. I have a hankering for an ice cream sandwich. I have to replenish the calories I burned running/walking on the treadmill.

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Blathering

Vader and I are just fine, thank you.

The Princess has transitioned to one nap. This is good, and yet bad. If she sleeps in the car it's got to be early in the morning. If it's too close to her actual nap time it seems to mess things up and then she's not falling asleep until 3:30ish. Which is when she should be waking up. I repeat once again, it is so hard juggling the needs of two children. Let alone my own. 

SkyWalker starts preschool next month. I'm not quite sure how so much time has passed. For the first month I have some playdates lined up for the Princess and I so we don't cry too much. And her storytime will coincide with a preschool day so that's good. I'm debating joining the Y and leaving her in the daycare while I exercise. It would be good for her to be away from me and it would be good for me to exercise. But can I be away from her? I don't know. If I can do it then I can also have SkyWalker and the Princess take swimming lessons and SkyWalker might be able to do soccer again (if he wanted to). If I'm also using the Y I think I can justify the expense to myself. I need to exercise.  I always think the goal of exercise is too lose weight and I don't need to do that so I think I don't need to exercise. But really I need to be healthy and fit. I think I need to change my thinking and have my goal be to kick someone's ass. I'm sure I can come up with a list of people I'd like to ass-kick.

I saw an old friend's new baby today. So small and innocent. The Princess looked like such a big girl compared to him. Time flies. I've been surrounded by baby news. One of the mommy blogs I read is someone I know in real life. Well, I met her once last April, but I've been reading her blog for a while so I feel like I know her! She just had her second baby. Her posts while waiting to deliver reminded me of my own... when you go early the first time and then not the second it feels like FOREVER. I think I was just reaching my breaking point when I finally went into labor. And that was at 38 weeks. I really hope I don't go longer next time around. And finally, another one of my friends is expecting her third baby. She's very newly pregnant so I'm not going into details. If I can coordinate things right #3 will go to kindergarten with her #3. No, I'm not pregnant. We need to get the Princess' kidney straightened out first. 

I have to leave for work in 45 minutes. My hair is still wet and uncombed (but, hey, I showered). I have to change out of my shorts. I have to eat "dinner." And yet, I blog. This working thing sucks.

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Progress

I've gotten up by 6 every day this week. I've managed to pump, eat, and shower before the 7 am wake up call. I've momentarily thought about exercising as well, but then laughed it off. I would love a treadmill. I think that's the only thing I could really do that early in the morning. There was a time when I used to get up at 5 and go to the gym. A long time ago...

SkyWalker is back to normal. Vader spent all day Sunday with us and then on Monday he played with SkyWalker ALL DAY while I cleaned the house. I think it's no coincidence that he's pooping like crazy again and telling me how happy he is. I understand that Vader needed to be with his parents, but he also has a tendency to stay late at work or go to work on the weekends. And doing BOTH pretty much left us all alone and SkyWalker must have felt it too. All day Monday he kept saying "You going to work? You staying home?!" to his Daddy.

My dishwasher is coming tomorrow. Yay! It was over $800. Boo!

The Princess took a lovely 2 hour nap this morning. She did wake up part way through and talked to herself but she never cried and went back to sleep. And then she took another nap in the afternoon for an hour and 40 minutes! So did SkyWalker! Unfortunately I was too busy getting ready for work to really enjoy it. But it was nice anyway.

The Princess is so close to crawling. She tries SO hard. She did make a couple of forward movements today instead of just going backwards, so I think she'll be there soon. SkyWalker did everything later, but quicker. He was 9 months when he sat up without support, but he went from that to crawling in  just a couple of weeks. The Princess has been earlier, sitting at  6 months, but slower. Of course when you have a big brother who runs to hand you toys... although he has told me not to pick her up when she's on her tummy because she "needs to figure out how to push herself up". Yes, that is what he said.

Which brings me to the latest edition of cute things he's saying: "figure out", "do me a favor," "what you thinking about?". The Princess has been saying: "Mom-mom" "ga-nu-na" and "wha??"

She's also been exploring my face a lot. She loves to stare at me with her face just inches from mine and "caress" my cheeks and stick her fingers in my mouth or up my nose. It is equally hilarious, sweet, and annoying.

I need me some snack foods in this office! Hear that people? Snack foods. Get on top of that will ya?

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