Best Workout Partner, EVER!

The kids are supposed to be cleaning their rooms this morning.  In reality, Austin is playing with his toys, Abby is dressing up, and Juliet is running between their rooms wreaking havoc.  I decided to take advantage of the quiet (Ha!) to squeeze in today's 30 day ab challenge exercise*

I was in the hallway between rooms when Abby waltzes out and asked what I was doing.  I told her "30 day Ab Challenge" and she excitedly said, "I want to do it too!" The following occurred:

40 sit ups.
Abby: Oh, that is SO easy!
           She proceeds to attempt a few, using her arms to fling herself up.  I corrected her form.
           Uhm.  I'm just going to do 10.

20 crunches.
Abby: Oh, that is SO easy!
           She attempts a few.  
           I'm just going to do 10.

20 reverse crunches (or leg-ups? I don't know what to call them, officially)
Abby: HAHAHAHAHA!!!! No.

30 second plank.
Abby: Oh, that is SO easy!
           We start.
           Uhm.  Tell me when we hit 20.
           I finish the 30 seconds.
           You know what you really need to do? Do that with Baby on your back.

Me: All done!
Abby: Wait.  That's it? Don't we need to do more? That was easy!

She's a real motivator. Eye roll.
         


* I hurt my foot back in May and promptly put on 10lbs.   I still can't exercise fully on it.  To add to the frustration, my metabolism has realized I am 35 and decided to shut down completely.  I've been trying a few different things to try and kick it back into gear and this is one of them.  Albeit, these have been half-assed attempts because it was summer and the kids were home.  School is back in session, so no more excuses!

We have 3 KIDS.

Remember that great post about new years resolutions?  Yeah... Since then I have written not a single word and the 21 day fix only lasted a few days.* Anyway.  We'll just move past that and keep plugging along...

This morning as Dan was leaving for work, he looked back at the kids sitting at the table and said "We have three kids.  We don't have a baby anymore- she's just another kid."  And (sob, sob) he's right.  She's only 19 months old, but as a third child she is so eager to keep up with the big kids that she is just flying through stages.  

A few weeks back she was sick and fussy during a meal, so in an effort to get her to eat, I let her sit in a big chair next to Austin instead of her highchair.  Ever since, she has refused to sit back in her high chair and will only eat at the table like everyone else.  Thankfully, I can strap her into a booster seat for meals, but to color or have a snack she only wants to "Sit. Chair!"  She looks like a real little kid in that chair.  

I haven't written much about Juliet (because I haven't written, period), but that kid is one smart cookie.  She is also VERY verbal.**  I remember Abby talking a lot, but Abby was one to sit back and observe before jumping in.  Juliet just wants to be a part of everything and will insert herself into whatever is happening.  If the kids are laughing, she laughs.  If the kids are screaming, she screams.  She is always right there, following along. 

A few weeks ago Abby told us that whenever things got too loud at school, her teacher would put a hand in the air and a finger over her lips to indicate it was time for quiet.  Everyone then had to copy the motion until all were quiet.  Dan and I thought it sounded like a plan, so we said "let's do that at home too!" It really has just become a game.  Usually, it's played at the table because my kids take forever to eat breakfast and lunch.  Mealtime = Crazy time.  Singing, yelling, games...basically anything but eating.  Abby or Austin would start it and we'd all follow along and then we'd laugh at the loser and move on.  Juliet also picked up on it pretty quickly and when someone else would do it, so would she. 

Fast forward to today.  Abby and Austin were yelling at each other (no idea what about) and I said "Guys! That's enough! Quiet!" Then I look over at Juliet, who has decided Mom wants quiet, I know what to do.  She's got a finger over her mouth and a hand in the air.  She waited until everyone followed along and yelled "Meeee!" with a huge smile on her face.  Tonight a dinner, she took it a step further by starting the game, watching Abby and Austin.  Abby raised her hand and Austin followed shortly after, but was still last.  Juliet pointed to him and yelled "Bud!" Not only does she get the game, she plays it correctly and now calls out the loser.

She's a smart one. 

I thought Abby was going to be my trouble maker, but she's all talk.  Juliet seems to have a mischievous glint in her eye.  It's the little one we're going to have to watch out for!

*In all fairness, I don't think the fix is the right plan for me.  As a vegetarian, it is just simply not enough calories to sustain me.  Especially with all the running I've been doing.  When I finally threw in the towel, Dan asked me to not ever do it again because I became a "shell of a person" on it.  Apparently my brain stopped functioning and I was a bit angry.  I'm following my fitness pal now and doing MUCH better.  I feel stronger, happier, and I don't have a major headache after a big workout. 

** And she has crazy fine motor skills.  Not only does she hold a pencil perfectly, the kid can draw circles.  On purpose. This morning she was trying to draw a star, and it kinda looked like one.  I'm used to two kids you had to force to color...this is foreign territory for me.  

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had holidays that were more laughter than tears, more fun than chaos and more relaxing then stressful! We have three kids and made a whirlwind trip from Greensboro to Richmond to Northern Virginia and back in the span of 4 days, so we had a little of all of those things.  Overall, it was nice but exhausting!

Now that we're home and recovered from the holiday madness, I'm back! I'm not usually one to make resolutions, but Abby had learned about them this year and was asking so we all made them this year.   (Well, sort of.)  Austin said he would try to be a better listener.  Abby said she wanted to eat healthier.  Dan said he made them, but I never heard what they were.  As for me, here you go:

1) Start the year off with another round of the 21 day fix.
     I'd done a round with quite a bit of success this past summer, and actually enjoyed it.  Unfortunately, it's pretty difficult to maintain as a vegetarian that doesn't really cook, so I fell off.  I put back on a few of the pounds I've lost and need to lose them again.  Today is day 2, and so far, so good!

2) Get myself and Abby ready for our race in February.
    Abby and I have done 4 5k races together.  In February, we will attempt our first 10k together (it will be my third, but one I was pregnant for and just ended up walking the whole thing) in Disney World.  Abby is in pretty decent shape, but not nearly enough to get through a 10k.  She had a big growth spurt this summer and hasn't really gotten her fitness level back yet.  She's done soccer, running club, basketball and swimming but she still needs to train to get safety get through this one.  Not to mention, I have not run much at all recently and getting myself through this race should be interesting! 6 weeks to go...I'll keep you posted!

3) Write every day.
    I won't be here every day, but I would like to write something every day.  I started this blog back up because I enjoy writing and to keep a record of our life with little ones.  I can't even count the number of times I've started a blog post in my head and then never actually written anything because life got in the way or it seemed like too much trouble to pull out the macbook instead of being on my phone.  Hopefully, if I get in the habit of doing it every day, I'll just end up blogging more too.  Not to mention, I have three little kids and my brain is fried.  Maybe using it for more than nursery rhymes and refereeing fights will help me feel a bit more together? We're on day 3 of the new year and this is the first time I've actually pulled out the computer, so we shall see how this one turns out.

That's all I could come up with that I could realistically keep up with.  I could pull out some pie in the sky goals, but I know I won't likely accomplish them so I'm not going to waste my time!

Be back soon! (Hopefully?)