Expect the Unexpected

I've posted a whopping 5 times up to this point in 2013.  The last time was in April! Debated numerous times about just letting this space just fade away, or even closing up shop. I'd get a post idea pop into my head, but then the little voice would whisper, "Why bother? You never find time to sit down, and no one is reading anymore anyways..."

All summer I've meant to sit down & place an update here.  All summer I've just failed to do it.

It wasn't that I didn't have anything to say, it's just that I was too busy living.  Taking care of two 3-year-olds, plus a 9-year-old is pretty time consuming and exhausting. I just didn't have it at the end of the day to sit down and put a sentence that made sense together.

But, it's been nagging at me.  What to do, what to do with this space?

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Pull up a chair, this is going to be a long one....

Last fall, I think I posted that I had signed up for a running class.  I'm proud to say that I completed that class, ran my first 5k on Thanksgiving Day 2012, and haven't stopped since.  I ran my second 5k in January in the cold & snow.  I completed a sprint triathlon in May of this year, my second ever, and just ran a 10k the last week of August.  That was the longest I've ever ran without walking.  EVER.

Over the last year, as I exercised more, I started to make some better choices when eating.  As I lost weight, grew stronger, and amazed at what my body could actually do, I realized that I was finding myself again. All the years of secondary IF, all the years of failed treatments, of pregnancy loss, of pain started to fade into a memory.  Every pound shed, all 35 of them, left me not just physically lighter, but emotionally lighter, as well.

In July, while on vacation in Myrtle Beach, I took a picture of me, a selfie.  Once home, I pulled up a picture from July of 2012 and realized how far I had come.  If you follow me on twitter, you'll recognize it.

 

 Please ignore the teddy bear & my face, we were showing how BIG a gift to the twins was!

I wasn't at my goal weight, but I was a lot closer than I've been in many, many years.  I've felt great this summer.  It was fun to pull out old clothes and have them actually fit. I've fell in love with Zumba, and added it to my running twice a week. No matter what I did, all summer, I have gained and lost the same 3 to 5 pounds.  All. Summer. Long.

Ok, I thought, it's a plateau, it won't last forever.

Where am I going with this?  I'm not really sure.  I just know that in a million, billion, trillion years I was not expecting the news I received last week.

About three weeks ago, I started noticing some abdominal cramping/pulling sensations when I would work out, get out of a chair or bent down to help the twins.  At first, I brushed it off as a pulled muscle.  After a week of random pain, I said to M. that I thought I might have an ovarian cyst. 

I was not happy!  I've been on the pill since weaning C at 18 months to keep cysts away, how the heck could I have one now?!?  So, M. suggested I better call the doctor.

After another week of just working through the pain, I agreed with him.  I knew that they'd ask if I was pregnant, so I picked up a test, just so I could confidently answer that, "No, I was not."  I took the test in the afternoon expecting the usual negative result.

It wasn't negative, it was positive.  What?!?

So, instead of getting an ultrasound to check on my "cyst", I found myself having an ultrasound to make sure the pregnancy wasn't in my tube.

It wasn't.  

They measured the baby at 16 weeks, 5 days.  I've been pregnant all summer, without having a clue. 

Mind blown.

I guess I know now why I haven't been able to lose those 5 pounds!

Spring Shed ~ Week 2 & 3

This is Week 3 for "Spring Shed", but I never managed to get to my computer last week to post Week 2.

Oops!  Guess I'll have to combine the two weeks into one post...

For Week 2, it was my birthday week & the start of Easter weekend.  Needless to say, I didn't do very well with my goals for Week 2.

Week 3 has been better.

Let's take a look:

1. Eat & Prepare Healthier Meals For My Family
Week 2, this was an epic fail!  Everyday of that week at least 2 members in my family were ill.  We had many nights where soup was dinner, or M. and I just made do with whatever was left in the fridge.  Once Friday rolled around, everyone was healthy, but it was my birthday.  M. brought home takeout, complete with a birthday cake.

Week 3, found me back on the wagon.  We only ate out once this week, as a celebration for Miss O. getting straight "A"'s on her report card.  I was pleased when I got home & entered my dinner into MyFitnessPal, that I had made smart decisions, and even stayed within my calorie goal that day.


2. Exercise Consistently At Least 3 Times a Week
I managed to get to the gym twice in Week 2.  It was tough with the illness in the house!

Week 3 found me achieving my goal, hitting the gym 3 times, taking 2 classes and fitting 2 runs in.  I have decided to throw my hat in the ring for the sprint triathlon in May, even though I only have about 5 weeks to train.  Wish me luck!


4. Lose 1 To 2 Pounds A Week
Week 3 brought a .4 of a pound loss.  Considering I didn't lose in Week 2, in fact I was up a pound, I'm happy with that loss.  Hoping to see the scale move more in the next few weeks!

I've been working on losing weight since September.  I'm officially down 21 pounds, and am losing slow & steady.  This is a lifestyle change for me.


5. Keep Up With Housework & Organization
Sad to say that in Week 2 & 3, I didn't get very far with this.  While I did keep up with laundry, dishes, the daily chores, I haven't had a chance to really try to organize any of our trouble spaces.

So, that's how Week 2 & 3 of Spring Shed went for me.

Want to join along? Head over to Bereaved and Blessed and join on in!

Another Candle on the Cake

I am officially another year older.

Yup, last Friday was my birthday. 

With a March birthday, every once in a while your special day falls on Easter or the days leading up to it.  This year, my birthday was on Good Friday.  The last time this occurred, I turned 16.  My sweet 16th was spent eating fruit, bread, and mashed beans, as was tradition in my home growing up on Good Friday. 

I struggle with celebrating my day when this happens.  As a Christan, Good Friday is a very somber day, when we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary.  It just feels wrong to be happy or celebrating on such a day.

So, my birthday was low key this year, and that's okay.

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On the Tuesday before my birthday, it was a MOPS meeting night. (MOPS is Mothers of PreschoolerS, a group I've been involved with for 8 years now)

I'm in charge of hospitality for our group, so I watch over the table as food comes in, get serving spoons out, cut up what needs to be cut up, and most importantly, I make the coffee for the moms!  

My sister showed up with a cake box & a look of concern on her face.  Before I could say anything to her she said, "I don't know what this cake is going to look like..."

Okay...

She opened the cake box & this is what we saw:

I just started laughing.  

She explained that the lady behind the cake counter had fought with her on what she wanted the cake to say.  The cake was to say, "Happy Birthday Week, Amy", as an inside joke. Instead, it appears to say, "Happy WEAK Birthday Amy".

(Since Miss O. was old enough to start enjoying her birthday, little sis has told her we celebrate a birthday all week long...)

I think the sentiment of a "WEAK" birthday was just perfect.

This wasn't necessarily an important birthday.  I didn't turn 35, or 40....just somewhere in between there, so it was kind of a "weak" birthday. 

It was perfect.

Spring Shed ~ Week 1

I don't know about you, but when I make goals, I find them hard to stick to without writing them down, or telling someone.  It's like I have to have accountability, or I'll just let them slide.

One of my favorite bloggers, Kathy, started a weekly series in January called, "Winter Shed".  I really enjoyed following along and cheering her on from afar when she was trying to reach her goals.  Sadly, I never had a chance to get my stuff together and join in...

I was happy to see that with the changing of the season, she's continuing the series, now titled, "Spring Shed"!

So, I'm going to throw my hat into the ring and work towards completing some goals I've been working on!

My goals for Spring Shed are:

1. Eat & Prepare Healthier Meals For My Family
2. Exercise Consistantly At Least 3 Times a Week
3. Lose 1 To 2 Pounds A Week
4. Keep Up With Housework & Organization

Pretty basic goals, but you have to start somewhere, right?!?  As the twins are getting older, I'm finally feeling like I can do more than just watch them all day.  Of course, they are now trying to give up naps, so I might be back to square one soon!

This week has gone pretty well.  I guess I'll break down what I did to work on each goal below.

Eat & Prepare Healthier Meals For My Family
I think, overall, this was a good week.  We didn't eat out at all, and I counted my calories with MyFitnessPal everyday.  I do need to get back to planning out our dinners for the month, though, I had a few days when I almost didn't get dinner on the table, becuase I forgot to pull something out of the freezer in the morning!

Exercise Consistantly At Least 3 Times a Week
Proud that I can say that I succeeded in this!  Even though Big Boy was sick at the beginning of the week, I pulled out some old exercise DVD's and made sure I got a workout in.  No gym time, doesn't have to mean skipping a workout!

As the weeks continue, I'm hoping to start training for a sprint distance triathalon out YMCA holds every May.

Lose 1 To 2 Pounds A Week
This week I lost .4 of a pound.  I'll take it!  After having First Communion & a birthday celebration last Sunday, plus not seeing a loss last week, I'm calling this a win!

I've been working on losing weight since September.  I'm officially down 21 pounds, and am losing slow & steady.  This is a lifestyle change for me.

Keep Up With Housework & Organization
This will be the area that I most need to grow in.  I feel like paperwork is overtaking my house! 

This week, I did manage to gather up all our tax information to give to the accountant.  M. & I also pulled up the carpet in our dining room to reveal the hardwood floor underneath.

I'd really like to get into a schedule of what to do when, so that my house would be ready for company with very little effort on my part.

That's how my Week 1 of Spring Shed went. 

Want to join along? Head over to Bereaved and Blessed and join on in!

Nine

It's so hard for me to believe, but my Miss O. turned 9 years old today.

9.

Wow.

I can remember the day M. and I welcomed her into the world so clearly, how could 9 years have passed?

She makes me smile everyday.

Her loves are school, reading, art, and ballet.

She wants to be a teacher, artist, fashion designer, and baker when she grows up.

I tell her she can be anything she wants to be.

(Except work in TV...I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Haha!)

She is becoming such a sweet little girl, who I am so very proud of.

I am so lucky to call her my daughter.

Happy 9th Birthday, Miss O!

Time Won't Let Me

It's been over a month since I last posted.

I was hopeful that I would find some time to sit down and write out my thoughts...

I was obviously wrong.

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This two and a half age exhausts me.

Physically and mentally.

Pretty Girl is very much an independent little girl. 

Which is wonderful, until I need to get us out the door in less than 5 minutes.  Then, watch out, the fight is on!  Only she can put on her shoes, coat, etc...and no help is needed, Mommy!

Big Boy is a climber.

I don't even want to admit how many times I've found him mid-climb and had to take a deep breath and just take him down from where he shouldn't have been.  The boy is SO silent, ninja-like, I suppose.

I remember this with Miss O., but there was only ONE of her. 

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Of course, now that I logged in and started a post, I can hear crying from the living room.

Nap time is over, so I'll leave you with some of my favorite pictures from Christmas Eve...

I am so very blessed, even when the days are hard!

Warp Speed

How is it the end of the year already???

How?

The days just fly by anymore, at least when I look at a calendar.  In the moment, not so much. 

What's that saying? The days are long, but the years are short? 

I totally understand that.

So, 2013 is just around the corner.  Crazy.

The last few months of 2012 just flew by me. 

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I'm happy to say that I'm still running. 

It still shocks me.

To think that in August, I couldn't run for more than 5 minutes at a time without being out of breath, and tomorrow I'll run my second 5k race.

In the cold & snow.  With at least a foot of snow on the ground.

Insane.

At the end of my running class, I was surprised to find myself 15 pounds lighter and 14 inches smaller.  I'll take it.  I do feel better, and I have gotten a chance to wear a couple of pre-twin jeans. I call it a win!

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Christmas was wonderful here.

My favorite moment was Christmas morning, when Miss O. joined us all upstairs, in our bed.  She whispered to M. and I, "Oh, there are 2 big things down under the tree....I think the babies are going to LOVE them!"  She could hardly contain her excitement for them.  It made my heart just jump for joy!

She is such a special little girl, and loves her brother & sister so much!

I hope your holiday celebrations were awesome, as well.

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This is most likely my final post for 2012.

I didn't get a chance to sit down and type much this year, but I often thought of blog posts in my head.  That's where they'll remain, I'm sure, but perhaps I can start carving out some more time to post.

I hope so.

I miss being part of the community that offered me so much love while I was struggling to add to my family.

So, here's to hoping in 2013 that I can get my "blog" back on!