4 day streak

I had been eagerly anticipating the warmer temp today. The Weather Channel promised me 49 degrees and I had every intention of taking advantage of it. I left work a few minutes early, picked up the boy from daycare, and headed home. I ran out the door a few minutes later while Eric stayed home with Logan. I knew I was pressed for daylight. Sunset was 5:56pm and I got out the door by 5:20. I ran my usual lollipop route through the village. I was on my way back when I decided to double back and add a little extra distance. All in all I ended up with 3.6 miles in 38ish minutes. I tried to save the workout on my phone (I have been using the Map My Run app) but it didn't want to save and I lost the details.

I felt cold and exhausted for the first mile, then warmed up and got into it. Toward the end I was wishing I could run another mile or two, so I was happy to end on a good note.

I've run at least 2 miles 4 days in a row! I can't decide if I want to try to get another run in tomorrow or try for Wednesday. The weather isn't looking good for Wednesday, but tomorrow it will be tougher to leave work in time.

Freezing 5k

I finally got outside for a run today. I was aiming for 4 but ended up with 3.1 miles. I took off from my in laws house but was running into a headwind. It was only about 23 degrees out and I was doggin' it. I aimless out and turned around early before the big hill. But then the wind was at my back and I got hot. I ended up going past the house to make it a 5k.

Tomorrow it is supposed to be 49, and I am hoping to fit in 3 miles after work if I get out early enough.

I still hate the treadmill.

Yesterday I ran for 25 minutes on the treadmill at my in laws and this morning I ran for 20. I hate the treadmill. I tried netflix and my audio book and neither could get me through any more distance on the treadmill. And today I blew my diet by going out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse and then my in laws ordered pizza and wings for dinner. Whoops. Tomorrow I am going to try to run outside.

Overall, as of Friday anyway, I am down 17 pounds since 12/27. I'm at my pre-pregnancy weight and hoping to lose another 10-14 pounds. That's pretty much my ideal weight - I feel good, am pretty fit, fit into my clothes, and look neither under or over weight. So here's hoping I make it there sometime soon.

upswing

I'm finally starting to feel better. After I spent Monday and Tuesday at home and mostly in bed, I finally went to work Wednesday. For some reason, I'm not sleeping well, but overall I am feeling a little bit better each day. My dizzy spell are limited to when I get up to fast from laying down. My headache is a dull ache, rather than a painful constant throbbing. I'm coughing less, my ears hurt less, and my congestion *might* be going away too. I'm hopeful that by the weekend I'll be able to get in a run (or two) since my plans for last week fell through when I started feeling crappy. Usually I'm not one to let a little illness get in the way of working out, at least not for more than a day or two. But this is life.

Logan eating pasta at my parents' house last weekend

Logan is awesome. He totally rocks my world every day. Last night I was holding him, all cozy in his pajamas with his blanket, after his bottle. The goal was to rock him to sleep, but my little boy had other plans. He put his hand on my face to push me away, then laughed. Then he turned my face back to him, and laughed even more. I soaked in every smile, every giggle, every touch of his soft little hand. After some kisses, we put him down and off to sleep he went.

Logan on the swing last weekend.

We're struggling with the early morning wake ups. I'm convinced that it's behavioral, and that Logan has gotten used to a bottle in the early morning. We've tried cutting back on the bottles, and I've bribed Eric to follow through with the plan of no more than 2 ounces. Logan is eating less during the day, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't need the bottle at 4 or 5 am. Eric is less convinced, but we are both tired of waking up so early with him. Logan goes back to sleep easily (most of the time) while we are left tossing and turning. We both got up this morning when Logan woke at 4am. After a diaper change and 2 ounces, Logan went back in his crib and was quiet for a bit, but then began fussing again. Eric went in to get him, and a few minutes later I followed. He wasn't wet or hurt, his room temp was fine, and he wasn't sick or teething, so I put him down and we walked out. He cried for a couple of minutes then was quiet until 6:45. We are going to have to sleep train to get rid of the early morning wake up, but after a few days, I'm sure that he'll be sleeping through just fine. And blessedly, so will Eric and I.

Logan eating his bottle this morning while watching the weather.

*one of these days I will get the photos off my camera.

Sick

I'm sick... still or again, not sure which. I tried to go to urgent care in Albany, but they don't take my insurance and I was sure if I went they'd tell me it was just a cold. So I came home, slept for 18 hours and then went to urgent care out here. I have a severe double ear infection, and possibly "something else" though she didn't say what. Basically a fever that comes on a few days after you have been sick is not a good thing. She mentioned pneumonia, but the symptoms don't match up totally. The pain I was in earlier today had me in tears. I felt a lot better when the need kicked in. I'm taking pseudophedrine (the good stuff you have to get from the pharmacist) for my cold symptoms, lots of advil for the ear pain and headaches, antibiotics for the ear infection, and unisom to sleep.

I'm calling in sick to work tomorrow and will hopefully sleep all.day after I take Logan to daycare. I'm mad that I spent my day off in bed rather than with my boys. I'm mad I can't run. I'm mad that we are having the mildest winter in years and I can't enjoy it since I or Logan has been sick almost every day this winter.

adorable

IMG_2665, originally uploaded by mrstilly.

Not a whole lot going on today. Logan's playing hookie from daycare and spending the day with Eric. I'm plodding along at work, counting the minutes until I can leave. We're setting off for a trip to Albany this evening, after my dad stops by to fix my brakes (and save me $900 in the process).

I'm about to give up on getting fully healthy, since my head cold doesn't seem to be going anywhere any time soon, and I'm planning 2 runs for the weekend. 3 miles Sat and 4 miles Sun. Depending on who's around at my parents' house, Logan will go with me in the jogger with the weather shield. It should be in the high 30s though, so hopefully neither of us will get cold.

someone is going to turn 1 in a few weeks...

I am totally not ready for DS to be 1! Where did that year go!?

But I am realizing I only have a few weeks to throw a party together. I didn't understand the fuss over having a huge, fancy wedding so I certainly don't understand the over-the-top 1st and 2nd birthday parties. Logan won't remember the party, but it is certainly a very big occasion. We are going to keep it very low-key. I'm not crafty, so there won't be any awesome decorations. A few balloons and a hat for the birthday boy, that will certainly be ripped off the second it touches his head. Maybe a 1st birthday t-shirt to mark the occasion (which if washed well could be used in his 1 year pictures too!). I don't cook very well, so the menu will be simple and tasty. Burgers on the grill, some of my step mom's favorite (and very well loved) party foods, some beer and soda, and a cake.

We are hosting at our house and asking people to come to us. Usually we travel, especially to my family since they are a couple hours away, but I want to own Logan's birthday. We likely will be traveling for most major holidays for the majority of Logan's childhood, so I want his birthday to be something we celebrate at our home. 

The cake is where I'm focusing my attention. I'm thinking a monkey cake is in order, since he is my little monkey and it's kind of been the theme of his first year. I'm not sure how this will go, but I'm taking notes and making plans. A trial run will definitely be in order. I don't really care how it happens, but I want to start the tradition of making the birthday cake for all of Logan's birthdays (as well as any future siblings).

I am going to try and get his baby book updated to at least 9 months. I think I have pictures and monthly letters up to 4 months in it, which is when I ran out of double sided tape and page protectors. All I need is a few supplies and a few hours and I should be able to make a lot of progress. I'm also contemplating a slideshow to put on our TV if I can get it done and figure out the logistics.

V-day

I hate Valentine's Day. I love presents (seriously, who doesn't?) but prefer to spend time with Eric (and Logan) doing things, rather than focusing on material things.

So Eric and I usually keep it simple. Beef Jerky and Reese's pieces. (Guess who each were for?) I usually buy a card from the $.94 section at Walmart and write down some sentimental thoughts. Eric has made me a card for the last few special occasions, which I adore. Totally melts my heart.

Did I get lucky or what?

training

I have 12 weeks to get ready. The problem with a typical weekly schedule is that my life is not very predictable. I have no idea when Logan will have a bad night sleeping or when I'll have to work late. I'll run in just about any weather, but I won't run in the rain when it's really cold out. (Our NY winter has been weird, so 37' and raining is not unlikely). I have no idea how this is going to go. I am going to loosely follow this plan, but will likely exchange some of the weekday runs with rides on the stationary bike, especially in the early weeks when there won't be as much daylight.
This is a hodge podge plan that I put together from a few different training plans. Who knows how this will all go, but I do feel better having a plan.

quiet but hectic

It's been a while since I've posted. But we're all still alive and well. We are all battling some sort of illness. Logan has his 4th ear infection since early December. I know his signs so well now - cold symptoms, fever, ear infection. I was hoping and praying the pediatrician would tell me his ears were clear when we went in last Wednesday, but in my gut I knew it was another ear infection. He's been on antibiotics, since it's a particularly nasty infection in both ears, and he's feeling much better now. We have a referral to an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, so hopefully that will give us some more information and let us know what we are looking at. Eric has been battling fatigue and some minor cold symptoms, and I have a nasty cough with some other cold symptoms thrown in for good measure. Fun times!

I spent most of the weekend in pajamas, actually only changing to put on my running clothes! I napped with Logan and spent a lot of time keeping him away from the stairs at my in-laws (baby gate is going up this week, finally!) and cuddling him. His sleep was off this weekend, but we are back to our schedule this week and are still working on the sleep training as we try to get rid of his 4-5:30am wake up.

I haven't been working out or running at all. My weight loss is slow right now, but I'm still losing or holding steady and tracking my diet. I ran for a little bit Saturday, but felt awful and cut it short.  I think I need to focus on getting healthy right now. But that's really no excuse not to be doing the Shred DVD. I'm pretty sure I can handle 20 minutes and I know I need to get to work. Life has just been exhausting lately. I have another 11 pounds to lose to hit my main goal for weight loss and about 6 weeks to lose it in. But I'm more than half way there, so I just need to stay focused.

I need to step up my running and get serious about the half marathon training. I'm giving myself this week to really focus on getting healthy and getting as much sleep as I can, and then I need to really make sure I'm running 3 times a week. Right now it's really hard to do more than that, because I don't have the daylight hours during the week, but the days are getting longer and I should be able to fit in a run at least one day a week after work. I have 12 weeks until the half. I need to iron out a training plan this week and get to it.

update

• Eric and I had our first date without Logan last Saturday. This was by choice mostly. Neither Eric nor I really like to leave Logan when we don't have to, especially with all the hours we spend away from him while at work. So when we want to do something we just go as a family - out to eat, to the mall, for a walk or hike, etc... I have not really felt a need to get away from Logan. I know I would if I didn't work, and there are times when I go in the other room and have Eric take over for a bit, but the thought of leaving the house without him doesn't make me happy, so I don't tend to do it often. But at the same time, I started feeling like Eric and I really needed to get out on our own for a date of some sort. So we headed to lunch at Texas Roadhouse, our favorite restaurant. It was awesome and we really enjoyed it. I was so bummed when Logan was sleeping when I got home (although happy for him to be getting a nap in!) Next time we are going to the movies, since it's been over a year since we last saw anything on the big screen. 

• Sunday morning I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a truck. Aches, chills, exhaustion, dizziness... I couldn't even really carry Logan or care for him well. I went back to bed and literally slept the rest of the day through to the next morning, waking only to drive back to our house from my in-laws. I owe a big thanks to Eric and his family for caring for Logan and picking up the slack while I was sick. It felt flu-like, and Monday I only made it an hour at work before going home and sleeping the rest of the day. Tuesday and Wednesday I felt progressively better. 

• I ran 3.2 miles on Saturday. It was chilly, but a beautiful day. I think the temps hit 40, but it was a bit windy and felt colder than my run the previous weekend when it was at least 20 degrees colder. I haven't run or worked out since then, since I've been fighting some illness. 

• I did finally drop below the weight I had plateaued at though. Two days of not eating will do that I guess... I dropped 4 pounds in those two days, and have since put 2 back on now that I'm eating normally again. I'm still tracking and things are going okay. My pants are starting to fit better and the jeans I got after I dropped my initial post-pregnancy weight are pretty much lose on me now, even strait out of the dryer. I'm not going to weigh in again until Tuesday though, since I know tonight I'm going to blow over my calorie limit when we go out to dinner. And tomorrow won't be much better, but I am at least hoping to get a run in tomorrow morning and a Shred workout in during the evening. I also plan to run Sunday (4-5 miles, hopefully) and go another Shred workout. As I'm losing the weight, I realize I need to kick the dvd workouts up a notch, so that I can rebuild my core strength and work on toning my midsection. So far I'm down 12 pounds since 12/27.

• My parents are coming tonight for a short visit. Which is why we are going out to eat and I'm not going to agonize about calories. We are going to a newer italian grill/pizza place that supposedly makes amazing brick oven pizza. We are also going to be working on a few baby-proofing home projects, like attaching the bookshelf to the wall in the living room, hanging the TV on the wall, and redoing a few outlets so we can move some of our cords to a more conspicuous place out of Logan's reach. I am so excited to see my parents, even if it's just a short visit.

Dear Logan: Nine Months!

Just a little late... 

Dear Logan

December 29, 2011

Every month seems to bring so many new things! This last month has been really busy with lots of shopping, traveling, and your first Christmas! You’ve been sick again and you’ve weaned from nursing and now are on formula full time. And OMG you are mobile!

You can sit for a really long time and love to play with your toys while sitting up. You can reach out to grab things without falling over and have pretty good balance. You can’t quite figure out how to get from sitting to your belly, and you get frustrated when things are out of your reach. You are really working on the army crawl. You were rolling and scooting to get where you wanted to be, but now you can army crawl from one side of the room to the other with surprising speed. You haven’t gotten your belly off the floor to crawl yet, but you are starting to pull yourself up on things and now and then you get on your hands and knees and it looks like you’re trying to figure it all out. You still love to jump, but we have to shorten the doorway jumper so you can jump in it. I’m not sure why it’s so long, but when you are in it, it sinks to far for you to be able to jump anymore.

You have five teeth, with 2-3 more ready to come in. You have your top two side teeth, and three of your bottom teeth. Your other bottom side tooth is ready to come in, along with your middle top teeth. You have been doing pretty well with solids, but at the beginning of the month you got a double ear infection and weren’t too interested in solids for about 2 weeks. You ate pretty well at daycare, but at home in the evenings it was all we could do to get you to eat anything. You do LOVE cheerios and puffs! You eat handfuls at a time all by yourself! You’ve been playing with bigger chunks of real food, but aside from some mashed banana, you haven’t really eaten any of it. You have become a fan of gumming green beans and sugar snap peas, which I think make your gums feel better. You also like your teething biscuits and mum mums, which are little rice crackers. We still have to mix veggies with fruits for you to eat them. Hopefully you will outgrow this. Bananas are your favorite, hands down! You’ve also come to LOVE yogurt! We started you on baby yogurt, but you love mama’s Chobani greek yogurt too!

Your double ear infection gave daddy and I a lot of time to worry. You ran a high fever on and off for a few days and were just really snuggly and almost lethargic. You were eating okay, but I took you to urgent care on Saturday (12/4) after a high fever and a few hours of not eating, not peeing and just being really off from your usual self. They said it was teething pain. But we were back at the doctor’s on Tuesday and you were diagnosed with the double ear infection. You had a mild rash from the amoxicillin, so they switched you to azithromycin. It worked and you didn’t have a reaction to it, but it gave you the worst poop ever, which lasted all month!!! We switched you to disposables and brought out the super strength diaper cream.

We are officially done nursing! I’m pretty sad about this, but you have handled it like a champ. One day you fell asleep early before I nursed you, and I realized I hadn’t nursed your that morning or pumped all day. The next day was busy and I debated letting you wean or trying to drag it out a few more days. It didn’t seem to bother you either way, and I figured it would be easier on me if I just let it go. We still snuggle and I am quite selfish about doing your bedtime routine myself most nights. I also don’t pass you around too much for your bottles. I like to feed you myself most of the time, so that we still get that quiet snuggle time in.

You talk all the time. It’s awesome! You have a lot of sounds. You mimic us sometimes, and other times you just yammer on like you’re having a conversation with yourself. It’s adorable! No real words yet, except the occasional mama and dada. It’s hard to say if you are really using them purposefully or not, but either way, I’m marking mama as your first word and dada as your second. You get excited when I’m holding you and we go on a hunt through the house for dada, so I think you know what they mean.

This month also marked an important first – your first Christmas!! We went hunting for a Christmas Tree for Grandma Brenda and Grandpa Doug’s house with Daddy, Uncle Gary and Aunt Gayle. It was cold, but a fun trip. We didn’t have a Christmas Tree at home this year. It was pretty busy and we spent almost every weekend away from home. We spent December 23 at Grandpa Doug and Grandma Brenda’s house, then went to Albany on Christmas Eve for some festivities with Grandpa Dave and Grandma Vicki. You had so much fun opening presents and playing with the wrapping paper and boxes. You got some great toys that you love to play with and a few that you will grow into. Christmas was very magical this year with you in our lives.

Love, Mommy