Yoga sounded good, but to me it’s never a satisfying workout. I needed to get my heart rate up.

After googling some “mommy and me” fitness classes I found Baby Boot Camp. It used to be called Stroller Fit. Anyway, it’s a national group with franchises all over the place. This morning I attended the first session after getting signoff from my doctor yesterday. Luckily it was free because I wasn’t sure how good a work out it was.

They meet daily at Stonebriar mall before the stores open, and a bunch of mothers and their babies in their strollers meet up inside the mall. We start out with basic aerobic warm up exercises, then a power walk around the mall. Then running, and lunges. We run or power walk all across the mall stopping at different stations to work on abs, more squatting or lunges and more running. Since it was my first day back to exercising, I had to take it easy. I powered walked some of the laps and nearly passed out after doing plank walks.

I enrolled in the class and hope to attend every weekday until I return to work. Baby E did well and only screamed when the class was over. I guess she woke up and had no idea where she was. The class is an hour long and meets at 9am. I had to rush myself up there this morning. After a rough night (she fussed between 2-4am), I could barely get myself to wake up. The baby was still sound asleep but I needed to feed her before we leave. Because of last night’s schedule we were somewhat off on our feeding schedule. Hopefully we get back on track tonight.

It’s only 1 and I’m super sleepy!

I leave you with Leah’s new haircut. She looks like a different dog. Reesey got one too but I don’t have a picture.

As I’m starting my 3rd trimester, I know that I need to keep up some sort of routine so that labor and delivery is easy, especially if I plan to go drug free. I’ve been trying to squeeze in some yoga here and there, but I really need to combine cardio and yoga and weight training into my schedule (without overdoing it of course).

Anyhow, I know life will be completely different after the baby arrives, but I’m excited about getting back into shape. My plan after getting the all clear from the doctor is to start running again and doing some light workouts. I’m hoping that within a few months I can start going to a Crossfit gym. It actually looks fun and doable (and scary at the same time). Here’s a video explaining what Crossfit is all about.

We knew going into the year that we were going to start trying. So at the beginning of the year we decided to go for it. After a few weeks rolled around I was getting a bit discouraged. I knew it was my impatience getting to me, but I couldn’t help but think there was something wrong. February rolled around but I got sick with the flu so we had to try again in March. I think somehow we may have gotten the stars aligned then, but after taking several pregnancy tests and after seeing the negative results I was really starting to get discouraged.

We were supposed to run the Warrior Dash in mid-April and I had decided that after the Warrior Dash I would start on a new workout regime. Since I wasn’t pregnant yet, I figured I might as well stay fit. On the day of Warrior Dash, I had taken a pregnancy test, but yet again it was negative. In some ways it was ok, because if I was going to slip and slide in mud at least I’d be safe.

We were scheduled to go on vacation the following week. The day before our San Francisco trip, I knew something was up. It was only 4 days since the last test on Warrior Dash day, but I was already a few days late. I stopped by the CVS to buy a new set of pregnancy tests (I probably spent alot on pregnancy tests), and went straight to the bathroom as soon as I got home. Brian had the day off and thought it was strange that I didn’t say a word to him when I got home. He was halfway down the stairs to come check on me when I marched right out of the bathroom and stuck the positive test in his face with a big smile. Needless to say we were both very excited.

So we kicked off our first vacation of the year with great news. I guess I was pregnant while running the Warrior Dash. It was just too early to be detected with a test. So sometime between March and April, we had conceived.

I scheduled my first OB appointment as soon as we returned from our trip. The following weeks were quite strange. I immediately became exhausted all the time. On top of that work was starting to get super busy so I had no time to really relax. Every little ache or pain freaked me out even though it was nothing. Luckily I didn’t experience any morning sickness, although I felt extremely full and bloated after each meal. It just felt like I had eaten the worst meal of my life.

We finally saw the doctor at week 8 and she officially confirmed the pregnancy and gave me an EDD of 12/25!!

We wanted to wait until our first appointment to tell the family. Of course I couldn’t keep my mouth shut and begged Brian to let me tell my parents or at least someone. We finally decided to tell my parents. They were excited, but seemed more relieved than excited. I think they had given up hope that we were going to have kids :-p

Since that first OB visit, we’ve had our 11 week appointment along with our first sonogram. We were super nervous going in. It was the first glimpse of the baby and since the only confirmation was through a urine test, we still didn’t believe I was pregnant. But as soon as they called my name, we marched into the screening room and there it was!! Amazing! I couldn’t help but laugh when I heard the heartbeat. Then my laughter must have shaken up the baby because it started to flop and flail around. It was totally unreal. I wish we had captured it on video.

So far, all the baby screenings and blood tests have turned out normal. Whew.

So now I get to enjoy this growing belly. Well sorta. I’m in the in between stage where it really hasn’t popped out yet, but the bloat and flab is starting to annoy me. I feel like a blimp. Ugh! I can’t wait until this belly starts to show so I can just move on to maternity clothes.

Now that we’re at the end of the trimester, all our family knows, people at work know, so it’s public knowledge. FB friends will have to wait a bit longer though.

I’ll also start going back to the gym in the next few days just so I can stay fit during the next 6 months. I created an account on babyfit.com to track my nutrition and fitness. My goal is to feed this baby good whole foods and all the recommended vitamins and nutrients; although I’ve been failing at that the last few weeks. I’ve been craving bad for me fast food. I guess since I’m no longer dieting I’ve been trying to get these cravings out of the way. At least I’m loading up on yummy fruits and melons.

We’re also going to schedule our babymoon/anniversary trip/30th bday trip at the end of the summer. So excited!

Pictures to come…

Yesterday was a good day in terms of fitness.

I stopped by the grocery store to pick up fixins for pizza. Got home, changed, walked the dogs, and then went out for a 2 mile run. It was already dark by the time I started running, otherwise I would have extended the run to 3 miles.

I started on dinner, and then went upstairs and did 30 minutes of the Nike Training workout, called The Shedder. It’s basically a combination of lunges, sides lunges, and butt busting moves. Surprised I’m not sore today.

Despite the pizza I ate, my net calorie intake was 1000. Not too shabby.

Even though it is too cold to run outside today, here’s to another solid evening, hopefully.

Finally went to the gym yesterday and jumped on the treadmill. I only had the energy to do 1.5 miles before I started getting side stitches. I guess that’s what one week off does to you. I tried to go further but couldn’t because it was so painful. Instead I snuck into the turbokickboxing class and did that for about 30 minutes. It’s nice to change it up a bit. I’m surprise I still remember some of the moves and was able to keep up. I suppose my weakness really isn’t cardio, but rather with the total body workouts. Yesterday’s total net calories came out to be 971. I followed my eating plan pretty well during the day, stuffing my face with an organic frozen meal for lunch and fruits and veggie juice throughout the day. I even managed to have time to cook a nice dinner of steak with green beans and potatoes.

I hope I can keep it up today.

I need to get motivated!

My diet was fine Saturday morning, but I blew my calories at Chuys during dinner with chips and queso and even twinkies (because it was Elvis’ birthday, we got free cake and twinkies). I think my dinner came out to be over 1300 calories which is pretty much my days worth. Thank goodness I ran. My net calories for Saturday came out to be 1306 which is below my target of 1400; however, I’m not sure that’s any good because of all the fat I consumed. In hindsight my ordering choice was fine. I ordered a cup of soup and one taco. It was the chips and queso and twinkies that did me in.

I woke up the next day feeling fine and my legs were no longer sore. Thank goodness for the short recovery!

I had no plans to do anything or go anywhere yesterday. But somehow being locked in the house because of the snow made me all grumpy.

I didn’t have much to cook with at home so I made pasta for dinner. Also, since I didn’t have anything to do, I made homemade cheese crackers with wheat and organic cheese. It was only a small batch, but it definitely met my snack cravings. Total net calories for Sunday was 1623…over my target… Before bed, I did a set of 30-40 pushups only because I felt the need to do something physical to end the day.

Let’s hope the rest of the week is better.

I have to run an 8 miler sometime this weekend. Yikes!

By the way, here’s the recipe for the cheese crackers. I substituted the white flour with whole wheat flour and added in 1 tbs of red pepper flakes.

My daily net calories yesterday was 1482…only 82 above my daily goal. Not too bad I suppose.

I wanted to do the plyometrics workout in lieu of running yesterday, but just didn’t want to change and go through the mess of working out. So I sat in front of the tv all night after dinner. I did manage to do 10 minutes of yoga stretching at 10pm last night since my back was hurting. That only gave me the energy to vacuum instead of help me fall asleep. At least I got something done. The vacuum picked up LOTS of dog hair this time around. It’s probably why Reesey’s skin allergies has been acting up. I’m hoping to do a better job this weekend of thoroughly cleaning up the upstairs rooms so we’ll see how that helps.

I packed my gym bag today, so I’m hoping to get my run completed.

Not sure if I’m looking forward to the 7 miler this weekend. It’s supposed to rain and cool down again.

Yesterday’s net calories was 1182. I kept the physical activity light. I can’t remember if I was supposed to run or not, but my left knee was still recovering from the 4 mile run. I doesn’t hurt, but kept popping. Don’t want to overdo the training.

I did 20 minutes of light yoga and a modified version of the P90X Chest and Back workout…modified being I didn’t do all the reps AND I skipped the pull ups because I don’t have a device do to so. That’s ok, because it felt like I’ve done more push ups in the last 4 months than I ever have. P90X is most certainly challenging.

Looking forward to tonight and actually cooking. I need to get another run in either today or tomorrow.

I’m looking forward to cooking tonight and may be starting the first series of P90X.

My joints finally recovered from yesterday’s run after a good night’s sleep.

It’s not bad at all, but I do prefer to come home and zone out in front of the tv or cooking for my husband or reading.

I’m currently reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Life as a chef is quite dysfunctional. I’m glad I don’t aspire to be one.

I have been trying to stick to my diet, but I’ll have a failure every now and then. I certainly can’t make good choices when we go out. So I need to bring my lunch in more often and cook at home more.

My birthday is in 2 weeks. I thought about doing a dinner with some friends, but I don’t think I’m going to keep it low key. The stress of trying to plan anything (although shouldn’t Brian be doing that?) is unnecessary.

Anyway, we just paid off our trip and now I get to go shopping for it. The weather will be nice a cool. Hopefully it won’t be too cold. We need another carryon bag and Brian and I vehemently disagree on what to buy. He wants the five star quality and I could care less. Bah. Maybe we should stop at one of the outlet stores and see what they have to offer.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got.

I went to an everlast shadowboxing class after work. I noticed my shoulder isn’t hurting has bad anymore. I hurt it while tripping and falling against a wall several weeks ago and was in incredible pain. Now it just feels sore. I need to do some shoulder workouts this week to strengthen it.

Anyway after shadowboxing I did 15 minutes of abs and then decided to stay for the dance class for 30 minutes.

So basically I burnt 800 calories yesterday, and ate 1400 calories.

Even though my family is here, I don’t think I will be breaking my diet since they all eat relatively healthy. But we’ll see about that…

My next goal is to get better about taking my vitamins.

Yesterday was a failure. Not only was it weigh in day, which I did not lose but gained, but I also didn’t work out. My excuse was I had to go pick up my car from the dealershp, and by the time I was near the gym it was already 6:30. I was close, but Brian talked me out of it because he was hungry. So instead we had pizza because I was too lazy to cook. Of course I woke up this morning with a bad tummy ache. I tried to do some video at home, but it was already 9:30 and I wasn’t feeling it. It’s hard to be motivated when it’s hot.

So today, I am back on track and will make up for it. I’m thinking of doing two classes today, Shadowboxing and some dance class. I might skip the dance class and do some weights.

Brian and I have been trying to get healthier. I know we talk about it all the time, but this time we’re pretty serious. He and I bought lost 12 lbs each. I’m doing the biggest loser competition at work and so far I’ve managed to get 3rd place. My coworker friend and I have been working out like crazy over the past 4 weeks. I can definitely tell my endurance is getting better since my heart rate isn’t as high when I’m doing plain cardio. I need to start mixing in more weights so that I can increase my metobolism. We’re also trying to eat cleaner and have the appropriate serving. The only challenge with eating is finding the time to cook the proper food since I don’t get home from the gym until after 7 and sometimes 8. I think once our weekends slow down, I can probably try to plan it better. I have been consuming lots of fruit since it’s in abundance. I told Brian that if I reach my ideal goal, I should get a new car. :-)

Speaking of car, my check engine light is on again. Grrr. Hopefully whatever they find tomorrow isn’t a big deal.

Leah and Reesey are doing well. Reesey spent 2 weeks with her grandparents. We went and picked her up over the weekend after visiting with Brian’s new nephew. Baby A is tiny by the way. Congrats to the new parents.
Speaking of kids, we still haven’t made plans yet, but we keep going back and forth with baby names. It seems our first choice has gotten too popular. My mom keeps pressuring me to start but we both still feel so young. Everyone should check back in a couple years to see where we are with that thought.

Work is still the same. Nothing new for either of us. I’m still very grateful that we’re both in a good position both financially and with our jobs.

In other news, we finally booked our big trip to Europe. 11 days in Rome and Paris in Sept. This is our anniversary gift to each other I suppose even though it’s a few weeks after. I’m super excited, but I guess it hasn’t sunk in yet since it’s still far out. Of course this is the first of many trips.

My next goal is either Japan or China. But I think we may have to make a trip to Cambodia and Thailand since that’s where I’m from and all.

I’ll be sure to blog our excursion while we in Europe.

Other than that, that’s all I’ve got. I’ll try to post more, and hopefully I’ll have interesting things to talk about.

I leave you with pictures of us at a Central Market cooking class enjoying a souffle we help make. I totally recommend their courses. Very entertaining and the hands on aspect is well worth it.