A Little of This...

...and a little of that!  Not unlike some people's cooking, this post is about to be a bunch of random things tossed together to make something amazing.  At least I hope it's amazing.  Heck, I think it's amazing, so you should too.  Fair enough?  Awe heck...just pretend.

Speaking of cooking, I've added a lot of recipes lately.  And that's cool.  I do love food.  Mmmm, food.  Sorry, I got a little sidetracked there and my fingers wanted to wander over to Pinterest and start exploring for new menu items.

Anyway, I've been doing a whole lot more than cooking (and eating!) since I last posted a non-food related post.  So I thought I'd feature a little "stream of consciousness" post of stuff from all over the place here and share what's been going on.  I like to think you are interested.  (See earlier comment: Just pretend!)

The biggest news is that I gave birth to our second daughter; a sweet little girl named Alyssa Jane.  I say that I "gave birth," but I wonder if that's still an accurate description when you have a C-Section?  I don't know...but I do know that she arrived, all 7 pounds, 13 ounces of her, on Mark's Grandma's birthday*.  In a beautiful twist of fate, our Abby arrived on my Grandma's birthday (5 years and 2 days earlier).  Kind of a neat thing to share, I think.

Alyssa is doing very well and is a great addition to our family.  It's still sort of surreal to hear myself refer to girls, plural.  Or to have to distinguish between the two by saying, "Our older daughter..." And I can't get enough of Abby saying, "Come on, Family of Four" whenever we're on our way somewhere. 

Abby is also adjusting to being a Big Sister.  She is totally infatuated with Alyssa, and seems mostly unphased by her crying jags. She emphatically refuses to change dirty diapers (can I do that, too?) but is always quick to get whatever we might need and to offer solutions to help Alyssa stop crying.  She'll read to her, stroke her head or sing silly songs to help calm her down.
 

When we were in the hospital, one of the pediatricians from our practice rounded on us and gave us great advice.  He told us to let Abby get right in Alyssa's face because babies aren't able to see too far away.  "Get right into her world," he told us.  "Because she's certainly in yours!"  I love that.  And we've been thrilled to watch Abby and Alyssa bond already.

Gee, that's pretty big news.  In fact, it'll get its own blog post here very soon.  Don't know that anything else I share will be able to compete, ya know?  But that's okay. This isn't a competition.  It's me dumping thoughts into a post.  I told you it'd be all over the place...I warned you!



A while back, I wrote a post about loss.  And, this spring, we experienced more loss.  My cousin's father passed away after battling cancer.  My cousin, who is somewhat of a big brother to me, and I have a unique bond.  Our Moms are cousins, so I guess, technically, we're second cousins or something...I don't know...ask Ancestry.com.  There are 4 kids between them; two boys, two girls.  Norman is the oldest and I'm the youngest...I think we're 8 years apart...yet somehow he and I are the ones that clicked. 

This loss was painful for me, because I felt such pain for Norman.  My heart ached as I watched him, in his military dress blues, greet person after person at the funeral home.  His poise and composure betrayed his broken heart and his pained smiles never quite reached his eyes.  He would laugh as someone shared a memory of his Dad, but the laugh was sincere yet stifled. 

He delivered a beautifully touching and personal eulogy, shifting the focus from his family and their grief to the family and friends that his Dad so appreciated.  And after the service and the reception, he offered "one final toast to the man, one first toast to the memory" as we sipped his Dad's homemade wine.  It was during that impromptu celebration at his parents' house that I had one of the best afternoons.

Before you criticize me for categorizing that sorrowful afternoon as one of the best, let me explain.  The sadness eased slightly as several close friends and family members came together to share stories of their own and showcase the proverbial sentiment that "life goes on."  We talked, we laughed, we ate, we colored on the driveway with chalk and my daughter and my Godson even played in the vintage car that my cousin's Dad had been restoring.  
 
Something about that afternoon, the love that was so abundant, made me swell with gratitude.  Maybe it was the realization that there can be joy found in sad moments.  Maybe it was the innocence of the kids who were there, laughing and playing in the sprinkler (clearly we didn't plan on this, so you can see we had to improvise for Abby).  But I think it was my cousin's insane, fully-clothed (in that uniform!) run down the slip 'n slide that punctuated the day for me.  I hugged my cousin a little tighter when we said our goodbyes, and prayed a little harder when I got home that night.


Still with me?  Good.  I'm switching gears again.  You're keeping up just fine, I bet!  I don't think I've shared any details of our trip to Florida, have I?  Mark, Abby, Sprout and I took this amazing trip in early May.  Being almost 7 months pregnant at the beach was a hoot, let me tell you.  But it was fantastic family time and a very special trip.  We loved the condo so much, we planned a return trip before we even left!
 
The highlight was, without question, the surprise day at Disney.  When we booked this Florida adventure, Mark looked at a map and casually mentioned that Disney wasn't all that far from where we were staying.  Huh.  So the idea was hatched (and I personally find it adorable that it was Daddy's idea!) and with the help of an incredibly generous and magical friend, we planned a day trip to see Mickey.  We kept it a surprise from Abby, however, only revealing our destination as we pulled up to the gates...she was a giggly little mess in the backseat, not sure exactly what to say or do!  Fine by me---I'll take excited giggles any day of the week.

Of course we had to go see Ariel again!  Mark and Abby rode tons of rides while Mama Bear tried to find shade, icy cold drinks and a place to rest her sore, tired feet.  I dare say it was more fun to have Abby excitedly describe each ride than to actually ride them myself.  

The summer brought a flurry of activities; PreK "graduation." tball (complete with the occasional trip to DQ afterwards), trips to Idlewild, our niece's high school graduation in North Carolina, the Summer Reading Program at our local library and serious games of mini golf.  There was getting Sprout's room ready, cookouts with S'Mores, an Altoona Curve game and, let's not forget, TURNING FIVE!  We swam in our pool, took swimming lessons, played with neighbors and had special dates with Nunny.  With all the anticipation surrounding Sprout's arrival, it was great to keep ourselves busy and have lots of fun as a family.


 Most recently, Abby started Kindergarten.  Yeah.  That happened.  Sometimes I forget that Abby is just five years old.  In so many ways, she's a very grown up little girl.  So when the day came for her to start Kindergarten, I hadn't quite processed all of the changes she was enduring.  While they were all, in my eyes, good changes, they were, nevertheless, changes.  And to her, I bet they're huge.  

Let's see...first of all, she abruptly stopped being at my Mom's 5 days a week thanks to me being on maternity leave.  Abby spent the first 4 weeks of Alyssa's life at home with me--and Mark, who works from home 3 days a week--and this cute, new little critter who, cute or not,  sure does take up a lot of time.  Then there was the idea that school is now all day.  Plus it's a new school with new teachers, new kids and new routines.  

Reflecting on it now, I can clearly see how much that is to absorb when you're five.  Even when you're five going on 35.  Maybe I gave Abby too much credit, or maybe I underestimated how many adjustments we'd all be making.  I like to think of us as a resilient bunch; and we are.  But resilience, by its very definition means the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.  So we have to endure the difficulty in order to show our resilience.  I'm down with that.

Which leads me to my Beachbody business.  It's been tough sledding the past couple of months; mainly because I haven't done the work necessary to see the results I'd like.  Fact.  Hard, humbling, embarrassing fact.  However, in admitting to that, I can and will understand what needs to change.  Starting with me.  Resilience, see?

I slipped into one of the worst Coaching personas ever (in my opinion).  I allowed myself to feel less important or less impactful because I wasn't in tip top shape.  I was pregnant, for heaven's sake, and gained a nominal amount of weight, however I let that take over and control how I viewed opportunities.  Silly.  Rookie.  I know better.  I've said a zillion times, and I firmly believe, that some of the best Coaches are those who are, themselves, a work in progress.  Yet there I was, shying away from talking about workouts, eating well and encouraging others. 

So here I am, in this all over the place post, recommitting to do, be and feel better.  To get back to the work in progress that I am, to see myself for what I am in the moment and be proud of myself.  Am I back to my pre-baby weight yet?  Nope.  But I have lost about 30 pounds in six weeks....six weeks, folks---I have to remember that!...and have a great plan (and partners!) in place to shed the remaining 10ish that I would like to ditch.

Several people have complimented me on dropping weight quickly; and I appreciate that.  But moreover, I appreciate that I can tell you unequivocally that I credit my workouts and Shakeology for a big part of that.  Seriously.  Talk about being a product of the product, right?  And I'm not paid to say that and would never misrepresent the qualities of the products.  I know that had I not, for 9 months, stuck with some sort of program, stuck with my Shakeology and stayed involved in Challenge Groups, I would not have had the results post-baby that I'm having.

But you know what the best part is?  It's not about racing anyone or anything to get there.  It's about first and foremost thanking my body for doing what it did.  I grew a human being.  And I know, I know---I'm not the first or only woman to do this.  But that doesn't matter.  What matters is that I respect and honor that privilege and embrace how it has changed me...mentally, physically and emotionally.

I have goals, sure.  I'd like to hit a certain weight by my wedding anniversary.  That seems like a great time frame to me; realistic, significant and achievable.  I'm planning on running a 5k later this month (shoulda put running in quotes there! haha!) as part of my plan to get back to the place I worked so hard to be before I got pregnant.  And that, too, isn't a competition with anyone but myself.  If I am (and I am!!) my own biggest critic, I'd like to challenge myself to also be my own biggest cheerleader.  Heck, I feel like challenging YOU to do that, too.  Cheer for yourself, silly...not me.  Unless of course you want to...

I am excited to recommit to myself and my business, and would like to invite you to reach out if you have any questions about how you can join me on this re-commitment.  Choose a program, invest in Shakeology, make a change....I don't want to be the one to say it, but the holidays are coming (come on, you know Mother Retail is going to be playing Jingle Bells next week!!) and you should be the one who turns heads at the parties for the RIGHT reasons and looks at New Year's Resolutions as maintenance, not a starting point!  Don't you agree?  

How awesome would it be to look and feel your best in time for the holidays rather than waiting until you've packed on even MORE cookie-weight to get started.  The first Challenge Group I joined wrapped up just before Thanksgiving a couple years ago, and let me tell YOU...I was amazed at how incredible I felt and it made passing up seconds, extra pie and a midnight meal of leftovers a snap!

It's easy to get caught up in summer's lack of routine and abundance of BBQs and spontaneous beers on the porch with neighbors (okay, that sounds bad...would wine sound better?).  And it's even easier to get caught up in the hectic schedule of back to school and everyone else's TO DOs.  Break the cycle and make YOURSELF a priority.  I know I'm making an effort.  And I know I don't always get it right--so I don't expect you to either.  But thankfully,I have a husband who gets me, gets what I need and helpfully nudges me to the "gym" so I can crush a workout and feel like a new person when I'm done.  

Join me, please.  Well, not in person, because that would be a little strange considering I've gotten used to working out alone and take certain shall we say, liberties, with my attire.  Anyway, you know what I'm saying here...join my next Challenge Group.  Invite a friend along.  Be accountable.  Own a goal.  Let's do this TOGETHER!

Well, I think I've sufficiently taken you on a roller coaster ride of craziness with this post.  Thanks for reading, thanks for checking in.  I'm going to get better about posting...for real.  I mean, I owe you the blog about the best friend I've never met (after 7+ years of talking damn near daily!) and I even promised a blog dedicated to Alyssa's story.  So there's at least TWO posts you can count on from me.  Hold me accountable will ya? 
Leave me a message, email me...let me know what other posts you'd like to see and I'll do my best.  Gosh this felt good to write....I think I might just be on a roll again! 


 

*Sadly, she passed away this past winter, but it's still her birthday, right?