Family Challenge Day 2

Well day one of swimming was almost a bust.  My hubby works at the local university so Mini and I suited up to hit the pool.  Got over there, swiped my ID (dressed in my suit with mini in her water wings), and cross over to the big closed sign on the pool.  Um, what?!?  No mention of this on the website, nothing on the door, the girl at the desk didn't mention it as we water winged our way into the building.  But alas, there will be no swimming in the dark, empty pool.  not only is it closed, its closed for the next MONTH!  The tears start up as Mini is devastated by this news.  I walk back to Susie Oblivious at the desk and was like, "so, I guess no swimming."  She looks up from her magazine and responds, "oh, us that why she is wearing those.  yeah,. sorry.  Pool is closed.  There is a paper somewhere."  Then she shuffles through the stack of print outs on her counter until she finds something about the pool closure.  Great.  Tears still coming from Mini.

Think!  Ok, so I call the city rec to see if they have open swim now.  Hallelujah they do, so we get back in the car and drive to the city rec.  Once we arrive and walk in, Mini remembers our scout trip here.  The girls learned about healthy eating and fitness and got to do some exercises.  She seems happy to be here and asks why we don't come more.  Well, we don't have memberships anymore.  This answer seems SUPER lame though, especially now with our Family Challenge.  What to do?  Easy, renew!  So I renew the family membership and we are off to the pool.

The water actually feels glorious.  We have opted for the actual rec and not the outdoor pool too so we have the pool pretty much to ourselves.  Mini doesn't really know how to swim (yet) so this is a 2 fold victory.  We get some kick boards and set to it.  Before I now it, we have been floating and paddling around for an hour!  We still have to hit the grocery store though so I pull a very reluctant and unhappy girl out of the water with a promise to return the next day.

Now, I don't know of it was the swimming, the hike she took with dad and dog earlier...or just natural inclination but she loaded our cart with fresh fruit and veggies.  I LOVED it!

Today at work I get a text, "when will you be home?"  Someone wanted the family to swim together.  So i finish up my day and head home and this is what I am greeted with

In her suit ready to go back to the pool.  I have to say here in all honesty, the hubs was already in his suit too.  :)

I hurry upstairs to get my suit on to and we head off.  For day 2 since there were 2 grown ups in the pool, we were ab;e to take turns doing laps while the other played with Mini.  Another fine hour of swimming in for the day, and later this evening we are heading out on a family hike!  Look out world, here we come.

If it were up to Mini, we would be swimming everyday.  And while I do like love the full body, non-impact work outs we get in the pool...I need a little variety in my workouts.  We girls may try and squeeze in a short bike ride before the hike.  We are just on fire.  Hopefully we are going just as strong in 40 more days!

Family Challenge Day 1

My hubby is still in recovery mode from his back surgery.  We had hoped that by the end of the 90 day window from the surgeon he would be back to 100%, that is not quite the case.  When he was in the worst part of his pain, he had lots of numbness from where his disc was pressing on the nerve that ran down his leg into his foot.  He had pain, numbness and at times had to walk with a cane.  For someone with a VERY physical job, this was hard...add in our two very active children and it was near impossible.

So now we are cleared by the doc, he can go back to doing everything he did before the surgery...but he still has this numbness from time to time and residual pain.  It's so hard for me to watch him be in pain and suffer...so what to do?  Well, last night we were sitting in our family room after dinner and he looks at me and says, "Lets see how healthy we can be from now until vacation."  Now, we have had these little challenges before, but there is more at stake this time.  I know he is worried about begin able to walk around Disney for a few days with how he is currently feeling.  With that in mind, there was no need to pause, I knew this would be good.  "Ok, lets do it!"

So here we are on day one...we have 42 days until we leave and I think that maybe by doing SOMEthing everyday it will help build strength back up in his muscles that was lost during his pre-surgical time and hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) re-strengthening this will help with his pain. 

This little challenge is a two-fold one for me though.  I have decided to help get myself back in the habit of sitting here with YOU more to blog each day of the challenge as well.  What the what?!?!  Yep, I'm going to do my best to sit down at least for a few minutes everyday and keep you up-to-date on how we are doing as well as keep my self honest and accountable about how we are doing. 

How does that sound?  What I am most excited about with this one is our inclusion of the kiddos too!  It really is a full family challenge, and to me that makes it the best!  So, what do we have planned for day one?  Swimming. 

My big girl had a soccer showcase this past weekend on the other side of the state so we all packed up and headed down.  She stayed with her team in one hotel and Mom, dad and lil sis stayed elsewhere.  Sher is going to be a freshman and we were literally just down the way from her so if she needed anything we were right there...but we tried to give her the freedom of being with the coaches, team and team managers.  We know we have to loosen the strings some now that she is in high school.

Anywho...if you know me then you know that I generally don't swim.  It seems tat whenever we have access to a pool the water is always far colder than I would like, so I just don't do it.  Well...after 4 hours in the car and sitting through 3 hours of games in 90+ degree heat, I was game for he hotel pool.  It was magical.  The water felt perfect.  We got in and swam around for the better part of 45 minutes before getting dressed and going out to dinner (a nice anniversary steak dinner to top of the night for us and some delish looking ribs for Mini Me). 

The next morning Mini wanted to swim again...with how well behaved and patient she has been so far sitting and cheering on her big sis through the heat...how could we say no?!? My first thought too was, "well we were SO hot yesterday that is why the water felt so good, today I'm sire will be no dice."  Much to my surprise the water felt even BETTER the next morning.  So Mini Me hopped in while Dadoo hit the hot tub for a few...then we had a nice family swim, ending with Momma getting a few minutes in the hot tub.  This renewed my faith in swimming a bit.  Top that off with the hubs stating both the first night and next morning how good it felt on his leg to be in the pool and how that relief actually carried out into the day for him.  Swimming is going to be a BIG part of this challenge. 

So here we go, time to "dive in!"

Time keeps on marchhing

Wow...I can't believe I haven't taken the time to sit and write anything since February.  Shame on me,  right?!?!  It has been a crazy few months of ups and downs and emotions and...wow is all I can really say.

First and foremost, my hubby's  back.    We are (finally) successfully two weeks post-op  today.  The difference is amazing.  He was in pain for so  long, and it was heart breaking to watch.  The idea that no matter what  I did,  nothing could make him feel better.  This road was a long one, but amazingly brought us so much closer together.  I would never  wish what he went through on anyone, especially for the length of time that  he was suffering, but honestly...the new appreciation we both have for each other  is beyond  words.

I have always known that he was the driving force behind me, behind being better, stronger, more present in our relationship...but I didn't realize how much it affected me until the past few months.  In my exhaustion of running the kids everywhere...not an exaggeration, it reached the point where being in the car  too long,  or standing/sitting in certain places was unbearable for him so I became the primary chauffeur and errand  runner.   When physical  things needed done around the house, I was the one taking on the majority of the work.  When I would feel defeated or exhausted or at my wits end, I would get a text from him reminding me how much he loved me and how much he appreciated everything I was doing.

He pushed the kids to be more independent to allow time for me to take care of me too.  Squeeze in workouts,  help out with chores, anything and everything.  Now that he is on the mend, the  family mindset has been changed  for  the better.  My 5 year old asked me when we were going for a run the other day.  What?!?!  Amazing!  My thirteen year  old asked to go through and use my workout tapes.  What?!?!  Once we get the okay from the doc, the plan is to renew the whole family 's  membership plan for the rec center and get into a  habit of exercise everyday...for ALL OF US!  I love it!

I have had so many moments over the past few  months where I was so moved by something, or so worried that I thought, I should write about this...but  then when I would sit down to start...fear would take over  my heart.  My biggest  fear being what if something goes wrong.  As the supportive and loving spouse you focus on the positive.  You reassure your husband that things will be great, the light is at the end of the tunnel (not THAT light fear factor), we will take control of  our lives again!  But everywhere I turned there was bad.  Sat to watch Grey's  the week before and two healthy, strong police officer die end  of brain dead from throwing clots in surgery.  Not what I needed to hear right then, people asking a bout the surgery and the look  of fear when they found out how extensive it was going to be...great,  thanks peeps!

Our surgeon is amazing!  He was reassuring, calm and present, it made  me feel better just talking with him before hand.  The kiddos sat with me so patiently in the OR waiting room, along with my parents and my MIL.  Such good girls.  They have really been shining stars through  this  whole thing.


And today,  2 weeks post op, my honey is driving the girls to school.  He cleaned up the garage some yesterday, helped  do  yard work,   walked the Botanical Gardens.  We are  all working on building our endurance again, and we are  doing it as a team!  All  four of us actively  engaged.  We have had moments  like this, but  they have always been fleeting...I think we are finally all on the same page.  We are all focused on the right things.   My 5 year old even wants her own fitbit.  HA  I think we may invest in the kidfit...any thoughts or experiences out there with that.

Today, I am taking a deep breath and being thankful.  I  am thankful for my family,  my health and my blessings. How are you starting over  today?

Motivated Momma

My husband is the best!  Have I mentioned that?  Only 50 million zillion times, well it is worth saying at least 1 more time.  He is the absolute bestest hubby in the world.  He has been working his butt off bouncing back and forth between P90X and Insanity, 2 uber hard work out programs.  He gets up early, gets out girls dressed, fed and off to school, works all day, has had rehearsals at night, does chores around the house and still has energy to workout for and hour+ each night!  He has been both an inspiration and a source of jealousy for me. :) 

Going into this weekend and Easter I was worried.  I have been such a slug lately and haven't worked out, have been snacking like its my job, just off my game completely.  So Friday night we got the little one to sleep early, the big one was locked in her room with her iPod and TV, so he was ready to workout.  He asked if I was going to workout too?  I looked at him and he was so genuine.  I had a few excuses, but he just kept saying..."You know you'll feel better afterwards"  and "Just start out slow."  After a few minutes it hit me...he was right!  I knew I would feel good after, and so I went up got dressed in my workout gear and set to it. 

Now, if you have been with me from the start you know I have a love for the Crunch Gym videos, 2 in particular Crunch Fat Burning Pilates with Ellen Barrett and Belly, Butt and Thighs Bootcamp with Teri Ann Krefting.  I own these two and they have been my "go to" workouts for a while now.  I love that I can feel them right away, they giver me cardio and strength and they focus on toning muscles, not "building" them per se.  So this weekend, I did the Fat Burning Pilates twice and Boot camp once.  I felt GREAT!  I think his gentle encouragement was just what I needed, and am SO thankful!  Can't wait to workout again tonight!!!!!

And now, better late then never...Friend Making Monday.

If you’ve taken part in FMM then you know the rules. If you’re new, please take a moment to answer this week’s question on your own blog then add your link in the comments section at: http://www.alltheweigh.com so we can all see your FMM questions and answers. Please invite your blog readers to add their links here too so everyone has to opportunity to be seen. The idea is to connect with other awesome bloggers so take a moment to post your own FMM post and comment on a couple of other posts. Now it’s time for this week’s topic!

 

Childhood Flashbacks

1. Did you have a set bedtime as a child?  If so, what was it? I had to be in bed by 9:00 except on Monday nights when I was allowed to stay up and watch Kate and Allie with my mom (at leat while it was still on).

2. Were you taught to be a member of the "Clean Plate Club?" Did it have affect your eating habits as an adult?  Not so much clean plate club, my dad did sometimes tell stories about when he was in Vietnam and the starving children there, but we were basically allowed to have “leftovers” though its seems we rarely did.

3. Share one thing that you were not allowed to do as a child. I was not allowed to ride my bike to the Dairy Queen until I was older and even then it was not really something my parents wanted me doing.  In order to get there we had to ride down the busiest street in town.

4. What is the cheapest gas price you can remember?   The summer I got my license I only paid 88 cents/gallon.  Oh to go back to a simpler time.

5. What was your favorite thing on the playground?  Swings for sure.  I get to enjoy them all over again with my kids too.  There is something magical and soothing about the swings.

6. Share one thing that your parents always made you do that you didn't like doing.  Church was always the hard one by high school.  It was the weekend and it was SO early HA (10am).  It must have been foreshadowing as I never attend church now.  Not for lack of religion, but rather I find it hard to conform to one set of religious doctrines.  I am teaching my children about faith rather than religion.

7. Do you remember your first kiss?  If so, share the details!  I do, but I don’t kiss and tell. J

8. Did you prefer to play inside or outside?  Outside!  Bicycles, flashlight tag, swimming, running…anything to be outdoors.

9. What was your favorite TV show growing up?  Hmmmm hard one.  I too loved Saved by the Bell Kenlie (and that was one of the best episodes….Jessie Spano), I also watched Who’s the Boss, Growing Pains, 90210, but I would say Friends or ER became my absolute MUST SEES!

10. Share one awesome childhood memory.  I feel like I had a really blessed childhood and its hard to pick out one thing.  I am very close with my mom and she and I have traveled together a lot (we would take girl trips as my dad and brother went fishing with their buddies every year in Canada)…which is probably why a spring break youth group trip to Virginia stands out as an awesome memory because it was a trip I took with my dad.  Granted, a bunch of my friends were there too…but it was awesome getting to spend that time with my dad.  We even left the group on Easter and went out to dinner just the 2 of us at the Black Angus Steakhouse.  It was awesome!

Bonus: Share a picture of yourself as a child.   I don't have any on my PC. :(
Now it's your turn to answer this week's questions!  Don't forget to come back and link up in the comments!  Happy Monday, my friends!