Day 83: Whew! I'm Exhausted!

Today has been quite a day. Looking back at it, I am wondering if it even happened. I woke up early this morning to get my workout in (cardio, like I'd planned) and was back upstairs and ready to start the day before 8:00. I hate, hate, HATE working out in the morning, but I am so glad I did seeing as how there would have been zero time anywhere else in the day to do it. After I worked out, I nursed Tenley and then got the two of us ready to leave the house by 9:30. We were pulling out of the driveway at 9:28 to head to La Porte to meet my mom to look for her dress for Brandon's wedding. It was a pretty successful trip and although she doesn't have a dress in her possession, she has her eye on one that can be ordered with just a simple phone call. We may look for other options while I'm home with her this week, but the one that she found in La Porte was really pretty. After we shopped, we went to BW3's to have lunch. Tenley was so incredibly good through this whole experience and had fun eating and reading with her Grandma during lunch.

After we ate lunch, we made the 45 minute drive home and went straight to Jeff and Julie's house for a visit and to see Katie and Stella. Stella is just so beautiful and Katie is such a loving and good mom. It was great to see both of them and great (as always!) to see Jeff, Julie, and the kids. We were there for quite awhile while I exchanged text messages with John about our evening plans. My plans were to go home, do laundry, and pack for the week but things didn't quite turn out that way. A bunch of John's basketball friends (for lack of a better way to describe them) were going out to dinner in Frankfort/Mokena and wanted us to come. I told him I would be happy to go as long as we could take Tenley so I headed home from Jeff and Julie's, fed and changed Tenley, and then we were back on the road once again. Dinner was really nice and we were able to catch up with these friends that I don't get to see very often. They all have great wives and I really wish we lived closer so I could get together with them more. They are just a really good group of people to be around. Words cannot describe how good Tenley was through all of the running we did today. She only fussed a few times at dinner and almost fell asleep in my lap before it was time to go home. Once we headed home, we stopped by The Creamery for a Rainbow Cone (yum!) and then finally hit the road. Now that I am back, I have done two loads of laundry (waiting on a third to be done), packed Tenley's food for the week, managed to pack some of her clothes that aren't being washed, and resigning myself to the fact that the rest will have to be done tomorrow. I really wanted to go to church in the morning but am afraid that I won't have time to get everything done that needs to be done before Ten and I leave around 2.

Now back to the workout. The Cardio was just fine this morning- I bit harder than usual since I did it right when I got up. Tomorrow is supposed to be a rest day, but I am going to try to get a workout in because I know I won't be able to do anything on Monday. Tenley and I will be traveling with my mom to Indy at 6:30 am for her annual doctor appointments and PET scan and then we will head straight to my aunt's in Ohio after that. I feel like if I take Monday as my rest day, maybe I can try to be conscious of my workouts from Tuesday-Saturday. Because Saturday is DAY 90. Can you believe it? Something tells me that this next week isn't going to go well with the traveling and Easter, so I may tack on a "bonus" week and really "end" on the 13th. I guess I will see how it goes. Until then,

7 days to go!!!

Day 82: A Wonderfully Fantastical Day

Today was seriously such a great day. I wish Spring Break lasted all year round because it has been so much fun hanging out with my friends and their kiddos this week. Becky and I had been talking about taking Ten and Finn to the zoo today for the past week but when we woke up the weather indicated that this would be a VERY bad idea. Becky text messaged me at around 7:15 to ask if we wanted to take the kids to see the Easter Bunny and then try out Bellaboo's in Lake Station instead. I was of course onboard and it turned out to be an awesome day.

First the Easter Bunny. We got to the mall around 10:15 or so and were the only people within miles of the Easter Bunny's lair. Or whatever. Becky said that it might be a good idea to stand outside the ropes and let the kids see the Easter Bunny first, so that's what we did. Tenley was so funny- she saw the bunny waving at her right away and was smiling and waving back which was seriously so cute. Finn was a little more tentative, so Becky told us to go ahead. I took Tenley right up to the bunny and she was smiling, laughing, and waving at him...until I tried to hand her over. Then she kind of freaked out and cried but settled down long enough to get some pictures of her with an extremely skeptical face. It was the next best thing to a smile and we will definitely remember this experience for years. :) Finn did a great job and he, Santa, and The Easter Bunny are all BFFs forever. After The Easter Bunny experience, we took the kids to Carson's to change their clothes and then it was off to Bellaboo's.

For those of you who don't know what Bellaboo's is (I didn't until last night), it is wonderful place to take your kids full of fun activities. They have little rooms that each have a different theme with different activities. We dropped by each room but spent a lot of time in the baby room which was fully padded and had a miniature ball pit, a little ballet barre in front of a mirror that Tenley spent a whole lot of time pulling herself up on, and a kind of padded house that had toys inside. We also liked the pretend area that had a grocery store, kitchen area, and dress-up clothes. The kids really liked the Reading Room, but mostly because it had a step that they liked to climb up and (almost) fall down. We ended the day in the Water Room which is hard to explain but a lot of fun. Someone left that area looking like she had peed her pants and it wasn't Becky, Finn (obviously) or Tenley. The only negative part of the experience was lunch because they were SO SLOW in taking orders and getting the food out. I didn't realize how hungry Tenley must have been because as soon as I put her in that highchair she wanted food RIGHT NOW. When the food finally came it was awesome, and Tenley and Finn very sweetly shared a grilled cheese sandwich. We left around 2:30 and had two very tired babies. Tenley ended up napping all the way home and for a bit once we got home. When she woke up, I nursed her and she fell asleep again until John got home. What a day!

Since we had a big day, we decided to take it easy tonight. John watched Tenley for an hour while I did my workout which I greatly appreciated. I decided to do Kenpo tonight for two reasons. One, because it was either that or Cardio and I didn't want to do Cardio two days in a row and two, I want to try to workout first thing tomorrow morning and Cardio is the shortest workout I can do. It felt pretty good and, as always, I'm just glad that it's done. We are meeting my mom in La Porte tomorrow morning at 10:30 to help her find a dress for my brother's wedding (hooray!) so I really hope to get my workout in early and not have to do it when I get home. We'll see how that goes tomorrow.

8 days and counting...

Day 81: At Least I Worked Out..

After the last few fun-filled days, I knew that I was in for an annoying one. And that annoying one just happened to be today. I knew that I had to run a bunch of errands before going to my mom and dad's this week and when I woke up this morning I thought I better suck it up and make it be today. Things got off to a rough start because Tenley woke up about an hour earlier than usual and didn't want to go back to sleep, so I should have known that it was going to be one of those days. Nevertheless, we got up, got showered, and headed over to Highland for a Kohl's and Target trip. Tenley was really crabby throughout the morning but thankfully slept in her stroller through most of Kohl's which was a blessing. After Target, we headed out to Crown Point to Tiny Toes Ribbons and Bows to pick up Tenley's birthday outfit. Which is RIDICULOUSLY, RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME. The biggest bright spot (besides Tenley) to my day. Once we returned home, we ate lunch and played until John came home. He then needed us to take him to pick up his car and Tenley thankfully fell asleep on the way home (she needed a nap in the WORST way) and slept until after my workout was done. The rest of the night should be uneventful (I hope).

Today's workout ended up being Cardio because I was afraid Tenley would wake up and I wanted to get something in. The workout was just fine and I'm happy it's done. I think I will try for Plyo tomorrow and Kenpo on Saturday. That's all I have for now- the baby's awake!

9 days to go!

Day 80: Another Fun (Fast) Day

Today was another beautiful, fun day. Becky and Finn picked us up around 11 and picked up lunch to take to Betty's house. We spent the afternoon eating and talking about Clark's upcoming entrance into the world and It was a great time. If only Beth had Spring Break and Rachel could have been there...but it's just not a perfect world. :( After we left Betty's, Ten and I played outside until John came home and then ate dinner. Once dinner was over, I was finally able to work out.

Today's workout was the last time for Biceps and Back. I tried to do as heavy of weights as possible and I am going to be feeling it tomorrow. I feel like it was a good workout and I am feeling very jelly-like. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day for either Plyo or Cardio. This has be be a short post because it's time for Tenley to go to bed, so until tomorrow...

10 days to go!

Day 79: An Unexpected Missed Workout

Yesterday was a fantastic day in so many ways, but unfortunately not on the workout front. Becky, Finn, Tenley, and I headed out to Orland Park around 9:00 for a little Easter dress shopping (for Tenley) which was a big success. We picked up Potbelly's for lunch (YUM) and ate it back at our house. John had called me during the morning to see if Tenley and I would accompany him to the Math Honor Society induction ceremony and then to dinner and at first I thought I would just send Tenley so I could work out, but later changed my mind and decided to go. I am so glad I did because we had a great time together as a family. The ceremony was nice and short and then we headed to Champps for dinner which was delicious. By the time we got home, it was almost 9 and I had a pounding headache (the only bad part of the day).

Today I am going with Becky and Finn over to Betty's to help organize the goods from Clark's shower. I am hoping that I will get a workout in later today or this evening. Yesterday was supposed to be Plyo and I hate missing that one, but I think I am going to stick to the schedule and do Biceps and Back today and then substitute either Cardio or Plyo for Yoga tomorrow. That is the plan. We will see how it goes. :)

Hopefully there will be a successful workout post later today.

11 days to go!

Day 78: Last Time for Chest, Shoulders, and Back

I can't believe I am in the last week of muscle work for this program. When I think about it, 90 days have gone by pretty fast! Today was a day full of less than no motivation, so I am happy I got a workout in at all! Tenley woke up around 7:30, nursed, and then conked back out until 8:30. That was just fine by me except for the fact that as soon as I poured myself a bowl of cereal and sat down to eat it, she popped up with a great big smile like, "Hello, world! I'm ready for action!" She was in a great mood all day and even allowed me to get some more stuff for her party accomplished. I think that we are pretty much all set to go for that party aside from the food which obviously can't be done until closer to time. The invites are all addressed and ready to go out as soon as I slap stamps on them, so hopefully they will be in the mail tomorrow. Once some party planning and playing was accomplished, we ate lunch and then I actually laid down with her for her nap. She slept from about 1-3 which was great. I knew John would be home after school and after him being gone all weekend, I had no qualms about asking him to watch her for an hour while I worked out. Once the workout was in, we had a nice dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, and corn and now the night lays before us. It will include a bath for Ten, a shower for me, a call to my mom, and bed.

Today's workout is one of my least favorite because it's tons of pushups and I'm happy to be done with that one until I start the program again. My arms are sore, but I can do all of the moves (except for the one arm pushups- WTF? I think I would have to be a freak of nature to get those right) and I am proud of how my arm and chest strength has improved over the past few months. I won't be winning any pushup contests any time soon, but at least I don't laugh at Tony every time he demonstrates a move. That is an improvement.

Tomorrow I am planning on heading out to the mall to find Tenley an Easter dress. I am going to try to go in the morning (maybe with Becky and Finn- hooray!) so that we are home in the afternoon to nap and get dinner. We will see how it goes. Becky is going to take Tenley's one year pictures at some point in the next month so it will be fun having her along to pick out a dress so we can use it in those pictures. Hopefully I can get my Plyo workout in tomorrow afternoon while Tenley naps, otherwise it will be another Daddy/Daughter bonding session while Mommy gets her butt kicked.

12 days and counting...

Day 77: A Break for Mommy

Today was a great day. I had been looking forward to today all week and now that it's over, I'm a tiny bit sad. Today Tenley and I got up, ate breakfast, showered, and then I took her over to Pete and Carrie's around 10:30 so I could head over to the theater and see The Hunger Games again with Betty, Mike, Becky, and Randy. That movie is seriously so good and did not disappoint me at all in the least. Not one little bit. It is so close to the book and I appreciate how much thought seemed to go into making sure of that. But, since this is not a movie review, I will not go into that any more. After the movie, we went to BW3 for lunch and then I ran some random errands that I needed to get done without Tenley. By the time I picked her up, it was 4:15 and John was home. We played with Ten for a little while, I fed her, and then MADE myself work out. Now that I am done, I'm happy I did. I did the Kenpo workout and it made me feel a bit better for missing two days in a row. So, since today was supposed to be a rest day, I technically only missed one workout this week. This is what I'm telling myself.

That's all I've got for now.

13 days to go!