I had a weekend filled with kids. Saturday we didn’t get to the Y because they don’t have childcare and my brother had to help my Dad with something, thus no sitter. No biggie, we managed to get a few crafts done that were a long time coming!

But yesterday I grabbed a few of my nephews (okay, I had them dropped off) and had them hanging out here. My husband suggested we buy the kids a new video game because he is missing them so much and figures thats a good contribution he can make. So we buy Mario & Sonic at the Olympics.

I have always thought the Wii was a good workout tool – you do have to get up and move around and
that makes kids (and adults) tired. My kids rarely want to read how to play a game, they just want to jump in and get started. But this game takes a bit of reading – which each new game you play has the specific instruction when you start, if you select to read them.

So the kids are playing and getting frustrated here and there so I grabbed the controls and did one of the track events – wow hello biceps! Or triceps? Upper arms anyway. And I only did two races. It did feel good and I am going to jump on and play again soon.

After the Wii we all went outside and play basketball – oh what I learned there!

• Blocking an 8 year old will be fun for you and annoying for him
• If a basketball goal is set at about 6 feet, I can make it from way back there
• Seriously, I hit some awesome shots! It felt great.
• Teaching little kids (4 and 6 years old – my two) to play basketball can be fun
• If you hear someone say “your Mom is base” and you start running, everyone will join in the chase even if they declined to play before.

We had a great day. A little video game fun, a little outdoor fun, a little cooking fun. It’s just like I imagined living here would be – and I am going to make sure it happens again. Kids prove that working out and/or getting exercise is fun!

We are heading to the Y today and I will check in for the Spring OSW later.

I am feeling great! The past few days I have had awesome workouts.

On Tuesday I thought wow I can really do this. On Wednesday I pushed myself and ran a minute more then on Tuesday. On Thursday I did skip the Y because I cooked a family dinner for my brothers birthday party. And yesterday, Friday, I had my best workout so far.

I accidentally pulled the emergency stop on the treadmill and it stopped on me after ten minutes. That lost everything – the distance I walked/ran and the calories I burned. I started the machine back up and did another 20 or so minutes, but I just don’t remember. I pushed myself and did an extra thirty seconds (compared to Wednesday) of running. Afterward I did the weight machines and stretched.

My Dad was at the Y at the same time and the kids love playing basketball with him. So I grabbed the kids from the childcare and we all went to play basketball. Of course the kiddos are pretty short people so they couldn’t make a shot but they sure tried. We played for about twenty minutes and left.

I think adding playing basketball was a great idea because last night was the first time I was not exhausted and also sore. I felt great! I am excited that after just one week of working out every day I am really making progress.

I did my Y orientation today – the orientation is when they go over all the machines, teaching you how to use them, figuring out what works for you. We also went over heart rates and what I should shoot for in working out. We did a workout with all the machines, one rep per machine, after I did a very short warm up on the treadmill.

So far my plan is to go on Monday-Wednesday-Friday to do the treadmill warm up (cardio) and then all the machines – working upper and lower body. On Tuesday and Thursday I will do the treadmill warm up and then swim – or not swim, depending on … whatever, my mood, time, etc. On the weekends I am going to be sure to be active with my kids – I’d like us to go for walks or even just play, like playing soccer in the yard.

My goal is to lose 15 pounds in two months. I also plan on running a 20 minute mile and a half – sure that sounds easy for some people, but I haven’t worked out since last spring, seriously worked out I mean. The mile and a half is something being done before Chris graduates in May – its a family run the morning of graduation. Sure it is a military run, but I’ve heard it is a slow pace (thus my wanting to do it in 20 minutes). I know I can do a 20 minute mile already, that’s not hard, but just add “run” to that and I shudder. I really don’t like running.

I had another great workout today at the Y. I did a mile and a half walk/run – I tried the cardio and the fat burn settings but ended up finishing on manual. Afterward I got ready to leave but ran into my Dad at the child care and we all played basketball for about a half hour. The kids were frustrated they couldn’t make a shot but of course they are short and the hoop is far up there. Dad has a hoop at the house and it is much lower so we will probably play basketball this weekend.

I’m meeting with a personal trainer – or at least he works for the Y, I just assume he’s a trainer – tomorrow afternoon. He is going to do an assessment and an orientation with me that shouldn’t take longer then a couple of hours. I had no idea what the assessment was – I figured I’d have to jump on a scale and … well, that’s all I could think of! But I talked to a friend and she said they will most likely figure body fat and weigh me and a few more things. I am definitely not looking forward to that!

The workouts make me tired, normal I’m sure, and I am going to start doing South Beach in the next couple of days. I plan on making weekly menus and the only bad part of that is taking into account feeding my kids. I’m sure they will  eat whatever I make though.

We went back to the Y again yesterday! I walked and ran just over a mile and then swam for about twenty minutes. I felt so tired after that! I’m trying to push myself on the treadmill – I grabbed a magazine but after a few minutes couldn’t read it. Then I read an article that said if you can read while you are working out, you aren’t pushing yourself. And I need to push myself.

On Monday I mostly walked a mile and also did the elliptical for a bit and I was tired afterward. I felt like I had a good workout. Yesterday I felt like I had a better workout. I’ve never followed a specific thing while working out, just working on machines here or there and walking or swimming. I am meeting with a trainer on Friday to go over the machines and do an assessment. I’m not exactly sure what we are going to do but I’d like for the trainer to give me a routine to follow.

We are going back today and I plan on doing the same thing as yesterday. Once I get a routine down I’ll switch the workout up. But for now, I just need to get moving.

Last week the kids and I decided we would start walking every day. We went out on Monday before lunch but it was so hot we didn’t last longer then a few minutes. We talked to our neighbors who said they would love to go with us – and that was the end of it. Twice last week I couldn’t go to sleep before 3AM, which meant I slept in, which was too late for a walk. I figured okay today is a new week, a new start to walking every day.  Waking up early didn’t help, we all woke up early today but that just gave us time to clean up and have a good start to our day and week.

It is starting to cool off here so we can walk later then 9AM, maybe we’ll actually start doing so soon.

I’ve been trying to watch what I eat, I’ve lost a few pounds and need to get back to planning what we are going to eat. We’ve been grocery shopping at Costco, which means we have the equivalent of a small store in our pantry. This weekend we didn’t do that great, we had pizza (a huge one from Costco so we had leftovers for a couple of meals), wings and hot dogs. Not the greatest diet, not by a long shot! I don’t mind cooking but sometimes it feels like we are eating very heavy foods. Maybe we’ll have a salad tonight.

Though I’ve had my energy back for a couple of weeks now, we’ve only been walking around our neighborhood. Chris has been mowing lawns for a workout then we go for a walk and he very much enjoys that. Well finally today we went to the Y and I admit, I felt great! I do love going, it’s just getting up out of the house and doing it. I need to get my swim suit, another change of clothes, make sure I don’t forget my deodorant, fix the kids up, fix their hair, make sure they are good to go. That’s a job in itself!

I am going to make it a goal to work out at the Y at least three times a week, and on days I don’t to at least go for a walk. We pay to be members of the Y so we need to use it. We may go to the pool tomorrow or Sunday so that’s one day, and then next week I know we’ll go a couple of times. Chris is very interested in getting into better shape because he is interested in different jobs within the military that require he be in better shape.

Of course another incentive is the kids love the child care part. They are constantly talking about the kids they meet in there and once we even saw one of the kids out in town – I love that, the connection to the community, even in that small way.

I haven’t had to take my vitamin B for morning sickness for just about a week! You have no idea how happy I am that the phase passed by. And I’m glad it wasn’t that bad, I’ve heard stories about being sick all day long, not being able to eat at all, etc. Mine was just when I woke up and since it was the first time I’ve experienced this, I’m just happy to be done.

I’m feeling great all around. I have energy again and have only been sleeping at night. I have been going to bed later then usual, but I chalk that up to Chris’ horrible work schedule. He is on leave for a few days so hopefully I can get back to normal again. I really enjoy having a couple of hours to myself in the morning, I’ve never claimed to be a morning person so the quiet helps me wake up and also clean a few things before the kids wake up.

We haven’t been to the Y in over a week and are actually debating quitting our membership. I’m not sure what is stopping us from going, but we seem to have lost our excitement over the place. I hope this is a short phase, one that ends once we just go already, as gymnastics through the Y is much cheaper then through the private gym they were attending. Today Alice said she missed gymnastics, but I’m not sure if she just said that because I asked as she never mentions the classes.

I’m glad to be feeling like my old self again – albeit an old self that can’t button her jeans anymore.

The Y keeps me from working out! Yes I blame them. We went the other day and the pool was closed. Chris decided to alternate between running (while I walk) and doing the machines (which I’m not interested in, but I’ve used a couple of times or I just visit him). We went again today and the pool was closed *plus* all of the treadmills were all being used. That was the first time that happened though so hopefully it was a one time deal. We ended up on the machines and did a few exercises. I can’t wait until I can take advantage of six sessions with a personal trainer, they let us both put our sessions on hold until we were ready for them.

We are trying to get to the Y every day but that hasn’t worked out so well – I got really sick around noon a couple of days in a row (right when we were getting ready to leave) but (knock on wood) that hasn’t happened for a day or two.

I finally looked up exercising while pregnant and after reading a few articles, it started coming back to me. Important points to remember:

• Don’t overheat
• Drink plenty of water
• Remember your center of balance will be off so be careful as to which exercises you do
• Walking and yoga are highly recommended as they are relatively easy and you can still get your heartrate up to fitness level

I didn’t exercise regularly before getting pregnant, no had I with my other kids, so these reminders are good. We went to the Y again today and I stuck with walking for 20 minutes (3mph, which is one mile) and then the pool afterward. We are taking tomorrow as a resting day since we have gone three days in a row.