Some Highlights (and Lowlights)

The kids I used to nanny for always share highlights and lowlights at dinner each night, and for some reason I had a running list of highlights and lowlights going through my head this morning. Here are a few of them:

Highlight: Going swimming yesterday with some friends. I don't think Eli had been in a pool since he was a baby and it was funny watching him get used to walking around in water. He got the hang of it after a while, but in the beginning he looked pretty tipsy and went under a few times. Charlie was asleep in his car seat for the first half, but then woke up and I brought him in the pool too. I was grateful for help from my friend who helped me with my kids the rest of the time!

Lowlight: Wearing a bathing suit on for the first time after having Charlie. It's one thing to put it on; it's another to wear it in a pool, where it clings to every un-toned, chubby part of your body. Not my favorite thing.

Highlight: Deciding I'd better get my butt outside this morning and exercise since it was a nice day. I threw the boys in the stroller, jogged for about four blocks, and walked fast the rest of the time :) I am not in shape, but it felt good to get out and we walked for more than an hour along the lake. I love living near Lake Michigan!

Lowlight: We stopped at the park on the way home - Eli was getting restless by the end of our walk and I knew he would be happy to run around on the playground and dig in the sand. However, Charlie soon became hungry and was really fussy, so we needed to leave and go home. Eli threw a HUGE fit, screaming, kicking, yelling, "NOOOOOOOOOO" as I put him in the stroller. The park was full of nannies talking on their cell phones and a group of moms who all seemed to know each other (they all had the same look - tall, skinny, 35+, with well groomed toddlers - I really looked like the mom who didn't belong) and I was embarrassed to draw attention like that.

Highlight: Eli cheered up when we came home, ate lunch, and happily played in the bathroom while I took a long shower (Charlie went down for a nap before that). I love listening to him play happily and I love when taking a shower is not stressful.

Lowlight: I've had hip/muscle pain on my right side for the last week now. I have a feeling it's related to carrying Charlie in his car seat, because it is SO heavy. I know that my core is still weak from being pregnant/having a baby, so it seems like my other muscles are compensating and something strange is going on. It strange--it hurts pretty much all the time, though it's much worse when I'm carrying the car seat or standing on my right foot when I'm getting dressed and not as bad if I'm just walking around without carrying anything/anyone. Has anyone else had this hip pain before??

I'll end on a highlight: It's a beautiful day! The sun is shining, it's in the 70s and just a little humid, so it feels perfect. I'm happy it's almost the weekend. AND - both boys are napping right now! I'm really thankful for some time for myself.

A New Blog Header, Exercise, and a Beautiful Day

I'm a pretty sentimental person, so I shed a few tears when I finally removed the Eli Love blog header! Silly me. Eli was just 4 months old when I started regularly posting to the blog and I really love the picture that was on the top of this page for so long.

BUT - I am excited for

The Adventures of Eli and Charlie

*I'm sure I will change the picture as Charlie gets a little older and/or if I can get a good picture of the boys together with both looking/smiling/etc. This will do for now.

It's been an interesting end to the week. My early morning college babysitter came the first day (Wednesday) and then was a no-show on Thursday!! I woke up at 7 a.m. (Charlie and Eli were still asleep) and waited for her and even tried her cell 30 minutes later, but she didn't answer. She emailed me later that morning to apologize (she overslept) and said this wasn't sure this would work out because she has too many commitments that keep her up late at night. Oh well! (she did say she could do Mondays/Wednesdays, but I don't totally trust her to wake up early on a Monday... we'll see about Wednesday)

So my extra sleep was short-lived. That's okay, because now it's the weekend and Ben is around to help.

But first - today we actually made it out the door at 8:45 a.m. This is a huge accomplishment. We went in to the sick call at the pediatrician's office to check out Charlie again (I've lost track of how many extra times we've been to the doctor since his birth, poor guy). I was concerned because all week Charlie has had his cough and at times would struggle while coughing, choking on his mucous. It scares me, especially at night.

Here's Eli, all ready to go:

I was happy that his pediatrician was there this morning and was the one to see Charlie, whose lungs sounded clear, thank goodness. Charlie weighed 11 pounds, 2 ounces today, so he's gaining weight just fine. As Dr. Andy put it, it's hard to be concerned when he's so chubby - his cold isn't keeping him from eating (you should see his arms and legs, it's hilarious on such a young baby). It is a little disconcerting that Charlie has this cough that he can't seem to beat (it's been five weeks now), but we're just going to keep watching him and hopefully he'll stop gagging on his congestion soon.

After the doctor's office, we went to a playgroup at the church, which was followed by a yoga/pilates class taught by my friend Jenna. She teaches at a nearby gym and was nice enough to teach a group of us - I am so sore tonight!! Yesterday I went to my gym for the first time in a LONG time and did the elliptical for 25 minutes - I thought I was going to die by the end (and went to bed at 8:30 last night because I was so tired from the exercise and not sleeping much the night before w/ Charlie).

This afternoon we went on a long walk and picked up a Homemade Pizza to cook for dinner. I love the sausage and carmelized onion pizza (my half of the pizza is cheeseless).

This picture below is funny to me because I picked up our mail right before our walk and Eli LOVED the Target ad that came today - there were some Elmo and Thomas the Train toys advertised that were so fun for him to look at. He insisted on bringing it in the stroller.

Charlie got a little restless toward the end...

When we were out near the shops walking around, I got all kinds of comments, mostly from elderly people. My favorite was an older man who held the door for me and asked if these were my kids (he said I looked like a teenager). We played at the park for a little bit before heading home. Eli loved going down the slide.

Have a happy weekend! I'm off to get some rest before Charlie wakes up...

Healthy Living Challenge

I have a friend here who has organized what is called a "Healthy Living Challenge" - basically a contest where everyone pays $20 and embarks on a 12-week challenge of eating, sleeping, and exercising well. Here are the rules in case you want to start something like this where you are:

Daily Habits - 8 points/day or 56 points per week maximum

1. Drink 64 oz. water
2. 30 min. exercise (doesn't have to be consecutive)
3. 7 hours sleep minimum (doesn't have to be consecutive)
4. 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit (in general, 1 C. = 1 serving)
5. No sweets: no candy, cakes, donuts, etc.
6. No unhealthy snacks and no soda
7. Healthy food choices at meals (at home and dining out)
8. No eating after dinner/8:30 p.m. (no eating after you're finished)

*Each week we'll have 3 free points to use for any missed points. The total # of points though will never exceed 56 points/week.

*There are 3 sick days during the 12 weeks - so all points on the day are free (like on Fast Sunday).

*Sunday you get a free exercise point

Each week we'll email our points to the challenge host and she will post the spreadsheet of results on Google Docs. At the end of the contest, the top 8 winners win money. (the actual prize winnings are dependent on how many people sign up)

So it's Day 2 of the challenge. Yesterday went pretty well, but I think I'm in no-sugar detox at the moment... it's rough not eating sweets!! My goal is to lose the rest of my Eli weight, to strengthen my abs and get my cardio ability back to where it used to be (pre-Eli). The biggest food challenge will be avoiding candy and getting 3 cups of vegetables in each day.