2013 Year in Review

Well, first off, Alexandra is 14 months and while a little light on hair on top of her head, she is our firecracker!

 Matthew is 34 months or almost 3 yrs old....he is me made over...at times that is just adorable but at 3 am when he has to sleep with me or demands to watch his "show" it is quite annoying...then I like to refer to him as my little monster! (of course in a very affectionate way)

As for the year, I lost 10lbs! I am back to 155lbs which looking at my old training logs puts me back at 2010 1 Jan weight...so pre-2 babies....of course it is 2 lbs off of last year 1 Jan 2012 where I was 153...but I will take it...I am hopeful that in 2014 I can lose the last 5 vanity pounds and maybe stay in the 140s!

As I look at measurements, I lost 2 inches in my hips, 3 in my chest, 1.5 in the waist and half an inch in my neck...that all kinda makes sense as I was 2 months post birth last year and breast feeding....it is a few inches still from where I would like to be but I am hopeful as the fitness side of my life improves my inches, weight and goals will be achieved.

As for fitness, I was optimistic that I would get ~500 miles this year...can't remember if that was to be purely running miles or a combination of running/biking. So the year totals: running ~209 miles, mostly by myself and around this little horseshoe neighborhood that we live within....most runs were 2-3 miles in length.

For biking, mostly on the bike we bought upon moving to St Louis b/c we didn't join a gym, I did ~939 miles. That comes from 20-40 minute bike rides downstairs, typically at 125pbm-160bpm which for me is 60-80% max heart rate....and I guesstimated the distance so a typical 20-30 minute bike ride would be 8 miles and then the 30-45 minute ride would be around 10-12 miles...

This is where 2014 is going to hopefully change. I am hoping that upon buying a house and getting more settled here in St Louis I can get back to teaching spin classes and going to the gym where I can indulge in running on the treadmill during the crappy weather days and the community aspect of spin classes....Until then, the sole running adventures and bike rides in the basement will have to do.

So goals for 2014, would like to get running miles for the year up to 350 miles...that is an increase of 150 miles from last year and I would like to get that 1000 miles biking...Fitness is really my focus this year. Diet and weight-loss was the focus for 2013 so now that I am so close to those goals I am excited to switch my focus. 

For the other achievements: I got a job! I am back to teaching in the traditional face-to-face environment. I am still dabbling on-line for the easy money and for the fun of it, but I am so thankful for the job at St Louis CC. A second huge achievement is I finally attained the 200 hrs of training with Yogafit which allows me to register as an RYT (Registered Yoga Trainer) with YogaAlliance! I sent the paperwork off yesterday and I am just so thankful that my yoga journey which began back in May 2006 is finally complete! Now if only I can get back to teaching, I do miss teaching both yoga and cycling classes and the community that you make in a gym class....hopefully that will return as we find a house which is near a gym.

2014 should be a good year, we are planning to buy a house if we find the right house in the right location. I continue to teach and will take a Yoga PE class for fun so while I don't have a gym membership at least once a week I can enjoy yoga classes. Jay and I celebrate our 5 yr anniversary and plan to visit Vegas and Louisiana for vacations and visits with family! We also hope to see Matthew successfully transition out of diapers but potty training as I am learning is really not a high priority for my little monster!

Well Happy New Year and of course I will try to do a better job on the blog, with fitness being my goal, I am hoping to use this blog as an accountability system so I post my successes in meeting time goals, mileage points,and possibly race results...but not planning to do any races at this time...but that could change....

Update on the blog

It has been a while, but I finally figured out how to find and access my blog since the computer crash this past summer. Yep, it has been a while.
So the last post/entry was May, since May, I have a job now, Alexandra is now 1 yr and Matthew is over 2 and a half years old.
We survived Halloween which was fun, Matt dressed as a pumpkin and Alexandra wore Matt's old Monkey outfit from last year.

 Pictures of my one year old with her Granny. Granny came in unexpectedly once Matt was admitted to the hospital for a boil on his butt that was not healing and forced us to admit him to the hospital for a few days so he could get IV drugs to overcome the infection...Granny came to visit to help out and it was a much needed visit. It worked out that she then was here for our Hello Kitty inspired birthday party.

 Alexandra appeared to love the icing at least on the cake. This also started a craze for Matthew, he really liked the cake and we had to go through this phase of eating cake everyday for a few extra days, then it transitioned into brownies and cookies. This also meant that Mommy and Daddy helped out a bit with eating the sweets that made their way into the house so their went our diets.

 Halloween, it was a cold, windy and rainy night but Matt and Mommy did manage to enjoy some time outside. Matthew wasn't that interested in trick-or-treating. He was excited to just be outside with all the other kids and people that were walking the streets.

I ended up wearing the my old flight suit with some old "fun" Friday patches. My students did get a kick out of me in my old uniform. It was also fun to relive the glory of not worrying about what I would wear to work each day.

May--7 Months Old! 27 Months Old....wow, kids are growing up!

Well, we have made it to 7 Months and Alexandra is cutting her first tooth, her bottom tooth.She is also sitting up and somewhat mobile...moves in circles and pushing up to crawl but not quite yet moving with a purpose but is right around the corner.

 So here are pictures of eating, our new activity we are working on every day. So far she is getting the hang of it when squash or carrots are involved...also a bit fan of bananas but not so much on peas....

 Picture from Mother's day, not sure if we have ever mentioned this, but that bunny is "Hop"....it is Matthew's favorite stuffed animal...we bought a backup and didn't realize that "Bud" has smaller ears so he has been rejected...but we have him should something ever happen to Hop....Hop has made the trips to Vegas with Matt and is a necessity when it comes to bedtime snuggling.

 Here is Miss Alexandra sporting some cute clothes and playing in our Exercsaucer...she is figuring how to jump and play in the devise. She is into playing with that alligator puzzle thing. Matt wasn't as in to that toy on this device but she is all about it.

 Picture of Miss Alexandra on the couch at Granny's house this last trip to Vegas, She got to finally sport some of her cute summer clothes as it was 90+ degrees in Vegas....back in St Louis we have a slow spring and summer so haven't been able to sport our cute little skirts and other sleeveless gear.

 Matthew and Alexandra posing with Granny and Granddad on our final night of our Vegas trip, May 2013. The kids had so much fun and Matthew is a huge fan of his pallet...he is still asking to go to Granny's house and Uncle Johnny's house...guess we gotta get a plan to visit Vegas again really soon!

 Finally the 24th, so officially 7 months old today. Can't believe it is 7 months and she is cutting teeth, sitting up and all her other achievements. Wish she would sleep a bit better...she does better at Granny's house but once home seems to revert back to 11pm and 4am wake-up calls....oh well, here is to keeping fingers crossed she will get with the "Mommy sleeping through the night" program really soon!

Just another 7 month picture.
Happy Memorial Day....we are going to spend some time with Aunt Pat and Uncle Stan at the RV park...Jay has already asked if the lakeside RV park means there is a lake with fish and could he bring his fishing gear....Otherwise the objective for the long weekend is to do our chores and do some yard work, some of the bushes and trees need trimming. Also need to get the back porch cleaned up and use up the last big of gas so we can get a new tank for the gas grill.

Our next big adventure in a few weeks it off to NC for a wedding and for the first time a trip to the Beach for both kiddies! Can't wait!

May 1st, Happy Birthday Granny!

Well, it has been a while, we have had some adventures since the last post. First and foremost: Happy Birthday to Granny!

We just returned not quite 2 weeks ago from Las Vegas and will return for a family vacation in 2 weeks so we can't wait to see Granny and celebrate with her...goodness knows Matthew loves cake so I guess we will  have to get a cake for Granny and Matthew to share!

I am waiting to sign a letter of Intent for a job! I will start teaching at St Louis CC Meremac Campus in August....waiting on the letter of Intent which is held up by the salary, they are trying to figure out how much to pay me based on teaching experience so I had to provide all my credit hours I have taught both online and at Pitt to help them figure out where I fall on their pay-scale. It is crazy but after figuring it out, I am almost at 200 hrs of teaching credits. That is quite a bit of teaching...mostly 4 hr credit courses online with American Public University teaching their Anatomy and Physiology course....hopefully I get a call later today from the Dean to schedule my meeting. I also will stop by and see my office and get my text books as I am going to have to put together a General Bio class and my own A and P course...so planning to take time this summer to do that so come August I am ready to roll!

As for the kiddies. Alexandra is 6 months and just had her 6 month checkup. She is weighing in at 15lbs 5 oz and 27 1/4 inches long. So she is basically the length for 9 month clothe but too skinny for some of it...so I am using 6 month 2 piece sets and 9 month sleepers. She is finally sleeping better and with daycare 2 mornings a week and about to be 3 mornings, it is much better as we are getting on a schedule. She is sitting up ok, and rolls very well. She is even pushing up to crawling all-fours position but not quite moving yet. I just got goodies from Nannie Leone and Mrs. Loiranne (Ne-ne) so she is going to be very well dressed this summer...It just needs to warm up and stay warm so I can get her in some of these really cute dresses.

Matthew is doing ok. He is showing more interest in his diaper, especially when full of poop....so potty training is coming along...he sits on his potty and at times will pee in there, not ready to tell me when he needs to go nor when he needs to poop or when he has pooped...I just keep an eye on his hands, when he starts digging in his diaper, changes are he has pooped and wants to do poop art...ugh...cleaned his room a few times and still can't quite get rid of the poop smell.
He is into Super Why on PBS these days...which is great, b/c finally a break from the Cat in the Hat, but ugh. now another show to download and get tired of in oh about a week of watching it non-stop. At least it has a strong alphabet focus so he is asking for Daddy to spell on his white board and he likes to play what Letter is this game....it is funny b/c he is not quite getting the alphabet song but at times he randomly shouts out letters so his alphabet song is A J W...kinda cute.

He got a haircut...I realized in Vegas the kid needed a hair cut....it is such a pain b/c it has been up to know this 2-5 minutes of screaming and just a fight...but we did it and he did so well...so here is our new and improved hair cut. He is really now beginning to look more like a little kid and less like a toddler/baby...now if only Miss Alexandra would get some hair!

Looking more and more like his cousins now with shorter hair!

Can't leave Miss Alexandra out, here she is with her new Doll from Nannie Leone...sporting this Kangaroo outfit Matthew inherited from somewhere...I promise more girly clothes once it stays a bit warmer...I have stuff now, thanks again to Nannie Leone and Mrs. Loiranne so will get her dressed and pictures will be coming.

ok, super why is over and time to fight to get Matt to take his nap. Gotta go. Happy Birthday again Mom!