{partners in crime}: February 2016

Mileage Monday

Running stats for the week of February 22nd - February 28th... My motto from now on is "Never Miss a Monday." Whether it is running, walking, some at home workout, etc... my goal is to never miss doing some type of exercise on a Monday since it seems to set the tone for my entire week. I notice that when I workout on Monday I'm more likely to workout during the remainder of my week. However, when I miss my Monday workout its like my entire week is blown and I am unmotivated to do any type of physical activity for the rest of the week. So this week I started my new motto and I have felt good about how it has gone!

The only downside to my week was when I fell down my stairs on Tuesday. Thank God I was not carrying Roarke with me! How did I manage this you ask? Oh, you know... my own clumsiness. I basically slipped and tumbled down the stairs hitting my tailbone and left side of my back the entire way down. I was also lucky that I didn't squish Remi during the mishap as well since he was coming down right behind me... I did manage to scare him half to death though :) Dan said I shook the entire house! Boy, he sure knows how to stroke my ego huh? This was by far the hardest fall I have ever taken probably and boy was I sore afterward. But I didn't hurt myself too badly and went on a walk with Remi and run after. It was just a good lesson to be more careful and take things slower :)

During runs this week I noticed my knees starting to bother me once again. This seems to be something that I will have to deal with if I'm going to continue running. I am making sure to stretch really good after each run because I know that the pain is being caused by tight tendons instead of any actual injury, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. At the end of the week I broke out a new pair of running shoes that I had bought on sale before I got pregnant thinking maybe new shoes would make a difference... SURPRISE... it did. I ran on Sunday without any pain in my knees. Hoping that this makes all the difference.

Other things on my mind this week was the possibility of purchasing a jogging stroller for the spring and summer months. I know I'm going to want to start doing longer runs once the weather gets nicer. I also know that I want Roarke and Remi to have the opportunity to be outside as much as possible. So why not hit two birds with one stone and take Roarke on runs with me and hit up a playground in between. I will probably still need to walk Remi one on one since having him and Roarke in a stroller is a little overwhelming for me to do all by myself. Taking them both together is usually done with Roarke strapped to me in his baby carrier. Jogging strollers are expensive, but I think I found one that has good reviews and I can get for a little over $100 instead of $400!

Monday, February 22nd, 2016 - 1.5 mile run / Stretch / Ab Ripper X / Pushups

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2016 - 1.5 mile run / Stretch / 1.87 mile walk with Remi

Wednesday, February 24th, 2016 - REST DAY!

Thursday, February 25th, 2016 - Ab Ripper X / Pushups / Squats / Stretch

Friday, February 26th, 2016 - REST DAY!

Saturday, February 27th, 2016 - Ab Ripper X / Pushups / Squats / Stretch

Sunday, February 28th, 2016 - 1.87 mile run / 1.87 mile walk with Remi / Stretch

Totals for the week : Ran 4.87 miles / Walked 3.74 mile with Remi / Strength trained 3 times

Week #37

#52weeksofRoarke

Detectives

It is no secret that Dan and I have somewhat of an unconventional marriage. During the early years when we both were working lots of long hours it would be surprising if we got to see each other a few hours a week because of our wacky schedules. Once Roarke came along and I started staying home time together got better, but it was still much less than a normal married couple with Dan working nights, sleeping during the day, and his rotating days off. I knew that if the opportunity came to switch shifts then he would probably take it mostly to be more present during Roarke's life. Recently, a position opened up on Dan's department for a detective. These kind of opportunities don't present themselves often so Dan was excited to apply for this promotion in his career.

We are happy to announce that Dan got the job as a detective with his department which is super exciting news for our family. Not only does it take him off the road (out of dangerous situations), but it also puts him on day shift, he has all holidays off, and the weekends off!!! Don't get me wrong there will be MANY times that he is on call and will be called out unexpectedly on a case for 8-12 hours at a time, but we are looking forward to a more positive change in our family dynamic with him being on a more normal schedule. I told Dan that we won't know what to do when we start seeing each other more!! But the most important part of this change is that Roarke will get to have his Daddy around more and they can enjoy their relationship together. Congratulations Dan! You are our hero for more reasons than one!

Windy Weekend

Dan, Roarke, Remi, and myself went to P-town to visit my parents this past weekend. It is always nice to go there to expose Roarke to traveling, new places, new faces, new experiences. The weather was extremely nice for February, but boy oh boy was it windy out! Any time we have weather that is 50 degrees on more I try to make a point to get Roarke and Remi outside to enjoy it since I know fresh air does everyone good :)

Recently, Dan and I created the Roarke-mobile which is basically a shoebox with a rope tied to it. We pull Roarke around the house in it and he absolutely loves it and keeps him entertained! My Mom and Dad thought that Roarke would probably enjoy a wagon ride outside since he likes being pulled around so much. So my Dad broke out his 50 year old wagon... you think I'm joking... I'm not... and we all went outside! My parents have a long long long driveway so we would pull Roarke up and down the driveway. In all seriousness, Dan, my parents, and I probably enjoyed it more than Roarke.

We also took Roarke to church with us. We have brought him with us before, but he was super little then and pretty much slept through the service. Now that he is older it is MUCH more difficult to keep him happy and occupied. I knew that he probably would not be able to last throughout the entire service, but it is so good for him to get out and experience new situations and lots of new people. Once he started getting fussy, Dan took him out and they explored the church together.

First stop, some singing and piano playing :)

Second stop, making sure that all the animals made it safely onto Noah's Ark!

It was a fun weekend spent with each other. We are looking forward to many more since Dan is starting a new chapter in his career soon... more on that in an upcoming post!

Week #36

#52weeksofRoarke

Baby Food 101

When you first have a baby you don't really grasp how much the little booger eats. You start off with probably 8-10 feedings every 24 hours. Then they gradually start sleeping through the night so you drop down to 6-8 feedings a day... but you still are pumping during the nights because your body is continuing to produce all that milk. Then when the baby starts eating solids you drop down to 4-6 bottle/nursing feedings a day, 2 solid feedings a day, and you continue to pump. So... your life revolves around food food food and making sure that little one is full and happy!

So for the past few months we have been adventuring into the world of baby food. I always had plans that I would make all of Roarke's baby food. The main reason I wanted to take the task on is because it is so much more cost effective than buying it. I can make a huge batch of food for pennies compared to what I would spend at the store. Now that I have been making the food for a while I also like the fact that I know exactly what is going into Roarke's little body! I won't be able to have that kind of control for very long so I have enjoyed knowing that he is eating meals without all the added stuff they put in store bought food.

Making Roarke's food can be a little time consuming depending on what you are making. So far we have giving him every fruit and veggie you can think of almost and I have ventured into making pureed meats. Ewwwww! Roarke has been a little trooper when it comes to trying new things and he definitely is a fan of food in general! So things around our house don't last all that long.

So basically you take whatever you are making and throw it into a blender, mix it which breastmilk or water, and blend until it is in puree form. Then you spoon the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze for 24 hours.

After that time is up you pop the little cubes of food out into a ziplock bag and label with the name of the food and the date they were made since the food will only keep for 3 months.

Then when your little one is ready to eat you take the cubes out and heat them up in the microwave and serve them up. Just make sure that it isn't too hot. Roarke usually eats 4 cubes which is about 4 oz of food.

Just this week we started giving Roarke some Gerber Puffs and he LOVES them! I wanted to start with these since they practically dissolve right when they hit your mouth. I have a feeling that my baby food making days are almost over with and we might be moving on to little bits of finger foods. I personally enjoy watching Roarke pick up and eat the puffs because it keeps him busy and happy while I do other things.

Week #35

Roarke

I promise the picture was taken on time, but this post is late. I always force myself to take time each week to snap a pic, but sitting down to write up a post is a different story.

Gone are the days when I could lay Roarke down on a blanket and he would quietly stay put while I snapped his picture. He is now constantly on the move! Changing his clothes or diaper is like wrestling a small ninja! It's my daily workout. He has mastered army crawling and has begun to work on a regular crawl. He will get up on his hands and knees and rock back and forth, but doesn't move anywhere as of yet. Within the past couple of weeks his two bottom teeth have popped through which made for a few days with many tears. Now that we have teeth, Mom and Dad get to brush them morning and night time. Phew! Another thing to do. Roarke has started to reach for me or Dan when he wants to be picked up or passed from one of us to the other. He also says Dada ALL THE TIME! That is the first thing I hear in the morning and all throughout the day. I have to remind him that someone named Momma lives here too that loves him. Roarke and Remi's relationship continues to evolve. They both seem to be getting more comfortable around each other. Roarke loves watching Remington go up and down the stairs and will laugh hysterically when he sees him do this. Remington also enjoys nose butting Roarke (which he does to us when he wants attention)... Roarke loves it and will giggle loudly when he does it to him. I love seeing the two of them becoming more acquainted with each other.

Mileage Monday

Running stats for the week of February 1st - February 7th... Well I was a little more active this past week since the weather was a little warmer than normal for February a few days. I took a couple of walks with my boys and even did a 2 mile run. I also started to do some arms and abs every day to try to build my strength back up in those areas. Sadly, my ab muscles are in poor shape and doing ANY sort of ab exercise is TOUGH! Also, where I had my c-section I have some pain. I almost feel like I have a slight hernia in a way... not sure really how to explain it... but I'm hoping as time goes on and I become stronger in that area that I will feel better.

Monday, February 1st, 2016 - Pushups / Squats / Ab Ripper X

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016 - Pushups / Squats / Ab Ripper X

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 - Pushups / Squats / Ab Ripper X

Thursday, February 4th, 2016 - REST DAY!

Friday, February 5th, 2016 - Pushups / Squats / Ab Ripper X

Saturday, February 6th, 2016 - 1.87 mile run / Stretch / 1.5 mile walk with Roarke, Remi, and Dan

Sunday, February 7th, 2016 - 1.87 mile walk with Roarke & Remi / Stretch

Totals for the week : Ran 1.87 miles / Walked 3.37 miles