Making Changes: 2 outta 3 ain't bad.

It ain't ideal either though.

This past month I hit my goal of running four 5k's for the year. On July 4th I ran FreedomFest and ended up PR'ing which was another goal I've been trying to hit all year. My time was 29:21 which is 31 seconds faster than my previous PR. I worked hard for that too, people, because it got HOT fast! Summer running is not for the faint of heart. 

But if you'll remember I had also set a goal of losing 10 lbs for the month, which I knew would be challenging because I don't have *THAT* much to lose anymore...but alas, I think I lost 1 lb or something. Basically I'm at a standstill and until I figure out a diet and stick to it, I will probably stay there.

My next 5k is the Color Vibe in August. It's starts at 9 a.m. meaning it will be 200 degrees outside, but it's not a timed race and I am running with my Mom who will be doing her very first 5k! Should be fun!

Hopefully I can report back next month with some weight loss!!!!

If one of my blogs just isn't enough for you!!!

http://littlelovedrama.blogspot.com/



This one has become about updates. Kids and weight loss....well, you know if you've been reading it. I've had a few people ask me to do one about my parenting experiences. Actually, I MIGHT be getting Punk'd right now. Anyway...that link up there is the ticket...if you're interested. :)

7 months!!!

Eva Jasmine! You are 7 months old! (6/14/13)

*You weigh about 18 lbs. This is an estimate since you weighed 17.5 at your 6 month appointment. You can still wear some 6 month things but are mostly in 6-9 or 9 months. Size 3 diaper. You are really long!!! The only pair of shoes that you own are a size 3-6 months and they still fall off. Both you and your sister have tiny feet so far! 

*You eat about 5, 5 oz bottles a day. In the mid-morning you eat a fruit and cereal and in the evening you eat a veggie and half a fruit, usually. Just started meats yesterday so that isn't really part of the routine just yet. You actually seem to like veggies more than fruits. What?!?!?  Your night bottle also has cereal in it.

*You have reverted back to being a newborn as far as sleep goes. This past month you have been waking up at least once and often even twice during the night and you're hungry. I try to just give you the paci and rock you back to sleep but you INSIST on eating. So we're doing that for now. I am sure it's a growth spurt or a phase. You still aren't really on a nap schedule. You usually take about 3 naps a day and they aren't long, maybe 30 minutes or an hour tops. You have also started to fight sleep. Aren't you too young for this?!?!?!

*This was an exciting month for new things. Between months 6 & 7 you began crawling and sitting up on your own. And you are IN TO EVERYTHING!!! You have a busy Momma just trying to keep you in the designated crawling areas!!! :) Today we even had to move your crib down because this morning when I came to get you out of bed you had half your body poked up above the rail! Big girl!

*You still babble alllll of the time. You are going to be a big talker, no doubt about it. And just this past week you learned how to blow raspberries, not only in the air, but also on my arm or face or whatever is close to you. Lol. You love to squeal and high pitch scream! You are a noisy little girl!

*Still no teeth and no sign of any. You gnaw on everything and you drool all of the time, but I feel nothing! No hurry. Your sister was a late teether too. You two have so much in common and are also so VERY different!

*You LOVE to bounce. The jumperoo is your favorite, but if someone will just hold you into the standing position you will bounce forever. Thighs of steel!!!

*You have always wanted to be held, especially by Momma, but these past few weeks you have started to try to get down on the ground whenever people hold you. You've got places to go!!!

*You have the sweetest little grin and laugh. You are so happy all of the time and really only get fussy if you're tired or hungry. You think everything is so funny, especially your big sister. I hope you two will always make each other laugh. 

We Love You! SO thankful that you are ours. :)

Making Changes: 5k #5!

Well, I didn't actually weigh yesterday simply because I started the day at 5:30 a.m., was busy allllll day long and then ended it about 10 p.m. and never thought twice about it being the day I blog about weight loss...or lack thereof. What I can tell you is that today, I am not down a single pound since the 8th of last month. I have officially plateau'd, I think. Time to reconfigure or...you know, eat less.

Yesterday was my 5th 5k ever. 3rd for 2013. It was at Chaffee and I liked the course but it was hilly! I knew of one little hill at the beginning....yeah I didn't know about the FOREVER hill after Mile 2. Nevertheless I did a little walking and still finished with my 2nd fastest time ever. 30:14. Which is a little frustrating because had I not walked, I probably would have set a new PR and on a hilly course at that! I won 1st place in my age group and yes there actually were other people in my age group. :) The thing about races is that most usually people get faster the older they get. How crazy is that?!?! My group 21-29 was slower overall than the 30-39's. And it seems to be that way most of the time. I don't have it figured out but I need to speed up before that next big birthday!!!!

I was going to take off for July as far as races go, but now I think I have found one in Greenwood that I am going to do on the 4th. I haven't officially signed up, but I'm working on it.  And then in August is the Color Vibe and I am (and have been for awhile) registered for that one. 

I have plans to start back on the 30 Day Shred tomorrow, to continue my running and to start counting my calories again and I HOPE to drop 10# before the 8th of next month to make up for not getting anywhere this month. Maybe saying that on the worldwide web will kick me in gear!!!! Wish me luck!!!

Just some things...

Isabel has been 2 for over a month now. There are so many things that I didn't put in her 2 year post that I want to try to remember and I know that even still I won't remember everything as I am typing this. She is a feisty little thing that has everyone fooled! I constantly hear how sweet and good she is for other people and I am grateful for that. Honestly, she is really sweet & good for me about 80% of the time. Okay, 75%. haha
She is the typical toddler, or what I think the typical toddler is like--persistent, temperamental, stubborn, ornery and she is also loving and hilarious. That kid always keeps me laughing. I love her more than life.
Some things that she's been doing lately: I can say "I love you" and she says "Love you too!!!" It's always energetic and so sweet sounding. She loves to sing. She's been singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old MacDonald's Farm for quite some time and just recently has started singing Funky Town. LOL--I might be the one responsible for that. It is SO cute! When she says "talk about it, talk about it...." she for some reason develops an English accent so it's like "talk aboot it, talk aboot it".
She is potty training and so she sits on the potty and yells "BIG GIRL, GOOD JOB, SUCKER!" whether she has actually gone to the potty or not. Haha.
She loves to be outside and begs to swing 100x a day, regardless of rain, wind, sleet, etc. Must.swing.now.zomg!!!!!
She loves to give kisses. She and I have this thing where she kisses both of my cheeks and then my mouth and then I spin her around in a circle real fast at the end. She LOVES this. I love it too. :)
She is her Daddy's sidekick and likes to help him work on stuff. She loves for anyone to read to her. Right now she is hung on "Kitty Book" which is Katie and the Kittens.
I started taking her to a MDO program on Wednesday mornings so that she can get more kid interaction and she seems to really like going. The ladies there always brag on how cute and funny she is.
She surprises me all of the time with things that she says. Sentences that I've never heard her say before or like the other day in the car I was listening to KLove and I could hear her  "singing" in the back seat. But the one word that I could make out very clearly was "Jesus" and she was saying it at exactly the time it was being said on the radio. Heart melted. Mind blown.
She is so smart. My mom has always worked with kids and she is amazed at the things that Isabel knows as a 2 year old. Letters, counting to 10, some colors, some shapes. I can drive by a family member's house and she will start yelling their name....and then flipping out if we don't stop and "go inside!!!!"
She's adorable and wild and she keeps me on my toes. My cup runneth over.


This weekend my parents took her to the rodeo for the first time. We're not big cowboys at my house so while she does have a couple pairs of boots, she didn't have a hat. Crisis averted. Thanks Nanny & Pop!

Our family pictures came back, here are a few for those of you who don't see my page on facebook.

The funny ones are my favorites of course. I like to keep it real. And when I said I would show you a few, I clearly meant 19.

Other happenings: I *think* we're getting a pool. My husband just all of a sudden decided he wants one real bad so he has been working on that idea. We'll see how it goes. I'll tell you one thing, if we get a pool in our yard, I am returning my "mom swimsuit" and buying well....probably another mom suit, but this one won't have a skirt. YES! A skirt. Sad deal. I actually found some one pieces that I love that are skirt free, but I am rocking some pretty gorgeous stretch marks at the tops of my thighs that haven't had time to fade, so tankini and skirt it is...but the tags are still on until further notice. I'll keep you posted. Alllll of you. ;-)

My Eva is crawling. So I've got a wild toddler and a crawling baby. Both of my girls are high energy. Ask anyone. So if you see me in public and my eyes are crossed and I am all jittery and drooling it's because I am busy yo. Real, real busy just keeping electric cords out of one kid's mouth and making the other one get down off of the pool table 1 trillion times a day. Why do we have a pool table anyway?

Taking a kidless day trip to Mt. Magazine this weekend to watch my husband and some friends run the 15k straight up the mountain. I plan on eating good food and laying out in the sun while they're acting a fool.

I'm still running. My Mom started training for a 5k (did I tell you this already?) so I am doing training with her a few times a week and then fitting in my own runs a couple times a week. I have another 5k next weekend and I really want to PR. Fingers crossed!

I think you're all caught up.

Happy Summer!

6 months!

Eva is 6 months old today!

*She weighs 17.5 lbs (75%) and is 27.5 inches long (99%) and wears 6 months and 6-9 months in clothing. Size 2 diaper.

*Eyes are still bright blue and the very little hair that has grown back looks real light. Blonde maybe?

*Sleeps from about 9 p.m. until about 2 a.m., takes a bottle, and then goes back to sleep until about 8 a.m. Takes one long nap mid-morning and then a couple 30 min naps throughout the day.

*Is eating about five, 5 oz bottles throughout the day and eating one fruit and one veggie per day. Cereal in nighttime bottle and first bottle in the morning.

*She has started to talk! I hear "ba ba ba ba" and "ma ma ma ma" and lots of squealing, all day long! :)

*Gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. Can go forward just by rocking that direction, but is not yet putting one leg in front of the other. Boy am I about to be busy! (er) Has started putting everything in her mouth, including her big toe! Drools constantly but no teeth yet.

*Loves bathtime and splashes all of the water out of her little whale tub. Loves her sister who she thinks is hilarious. Loves Momma!!! Likes being outside. Also loves eating food. I think she is about to starting wanting it more than milk!

*Happy all of the time. We are always hearing from strangers about how happy our baby is, especially here within the last month or so.

Time is flying and I think I say so every single update, but I still mean it. I cannot believe it's been 6 months of having this little girl in our life when it literally feels like we came home from the hospital last week! She has just been such a joyful addition to our lives and I'm so glad that God picked me to be her Mom. She is such a special little girl!

Making Changes: My Running Story

First things first: This past month (4/8-5/8) I lost 8 lbs. This put me at a total of 24 lbs since January 8th. 24 down....16 to go!
I was pretty happy with this number ESPECIALLY since I didn't lose any last month. I still haven't measured to see how many inches I've lost. Maybe when I find that tape measure thing, I will be blown away! :)

A short version of my running story, because honestly the ONLY reason I am losing any weight is because of the running. My diet is still all over the place and I still have big plans to change it. lol

Let's see....on April 20th, I ran a 5k. It was my 3rd ever, but my 1st since having Eva. I did it in 31:47. If you're not a runner or don't run races anyway, what that time means is that I finished about right in the middle of everyone. It's not a bad time but it definitely can and will improve. More importantly I did NOT walk at all--and I never do in a 5k. That is always my ultimate goal. And then this past weekend (May 4th) I ran another 5k and my time was 31:30. Okay, that was an improvement, but what you need to know is that well before the race ever started I had allll of these people with gps watches telling me that the course was too long. Some friends of mine used their 5k app and showed me where the end should've been and it was WAY away from the finish line. I have no idea how this happened, but of course, when I hit that mark I looked at my time to see where I was: 29:00! Would have been a PR, but I'm not bitter or anything!!!!!!! (my fastest thus far is 29:52 from back in 2011)

Moving on....
Being a runner is a relative term I think. If you were to ask my friends and family who don't run if I am a "runner" I think they would say yes. If you were to ask my husband and some of my friends who are EXTREME runners, they might say yes, but they'd be rolling their eyes, I'm sure of it!
I didn't start running because I love it, I started because I had just had a baby (Isabel) and I needed to shed the weight. I did it because I am surrounded by runners and I wanted to relate. And you know what? The training is about as much fun as plucking my eyelashes out one by one. I have to force myself to get up in the mornings and go run. I'm always happier when I do and I always feel better about myself, but getting there is a chore. Standing at a start line waiting on a gun to go off so I can start running a 5k with hundreds of people all around me is nervewracking but exciting and halfway through the race I am always like "whyyyyy??????", but immediately after I finish I feel great and I am looking for another one to sign up for! And now because I have been making myself get up off of my butt and go run, I am sitting here today at 9 lbs under my pre baby weight (with Eva) and waiting on my husband and kids to wake up so that I can see them before I go shopping for a new pair of jeans because folks--there is nothing better than bagging up all of your fat jeans and taking them to the resale store!!!! And that's what I am going to do on this rainy Thursday (and yes I ran at 6 a.m. this morning.) :)

My goal for the year was to run four 5k's. I have 2 under my belt and I am registered for 2 more coming up in June and then August. Looks like for once I am actually going to stick to a fitness related goal! Ha! There are 2 more in the Fall that I plan to run, so here's to blowing my 5k goal out of the water!