I’m home with two sick girlies today. Nothing major, just enough of a cough/cold to keep them both out of nursery at church. Is it spring yet?

So I think you all know that I’ve started working with my trainer Tamme again. She whipped my butt into shape after Charlie and a new butt is what I wanted for my birthday, so, Happy Birthday to me from my darling husband! Yesterday, I did a full hour with her and let me just say, please call NBC because she could give Jillian Michaels a run for her money on “The Biggest Loser”. She has me doing things I NEVER thought I could do: backbends, handstands, and full-on jumps UP onto varying levels of exercise mats, like stacked up HIGH.

We started out our hour on this section of flooring specifically created to simulate ice, as in ice skating. That’s what I did, every 8 minutes or so, for 5 minutes each time. Ice skated. I put these little booties on my shoes and pushed off the sides and ice skated. It was insane. Then she had me doing “walking planks” which basically consist of slowly rolling down your spine (as if you were going to touch your toes), walking outwards into a push-up position, and then doing push-ups. Like, 25 of them. And let’s not forget the bicep curls and tricep dips…

She told me it takes two months to really see results when you’re toning up. I assume the fact that I feel like someone ran over me with a semi truck today is a good sign. On the off days that I’m not training or taking a group class at the gym I’m doing Jillian Michaels “30 Day Shred” DVD, which is not only the best-selling exercise DVD of all time but also some pretty serious business. Don’t take my word for it, buy it. It’s KILLER.

Oh, you know I’ll be back. Tomorrow, in fact. I’m really committed this time. We are eating better around here and I’m trying to make healthy choices for my body and my spirit. All of these things point me back to wellness and feeling like me again, and hopefully, being in the best shape of my LIFE.

And, I mean, workout clothes are so much cuter these days.

Yesterday marked my very first solo trip to Target with both girls. I’ve said before that getting out with both of them feels like a lot of work right now, especially with the coats/boots/mittens/hats thing…and for whatever reason, trekking to a friend’s house or mom’s group seems more doable to me…maybe because there is an endpoint with a friendly mom waiting on the other side? At any rate, I loaded them both up in the car, armed with leftover Valentine’s day suckers and a strong resolve, and headed the 5 minutes to the nearest Target. Yes, fellow readers, 5 minutes. Hey, baby steps, right? I have to say that it went very well. At first Charlie protested getting into the cart, but once I bribed her she happily sat and gave me running commentary. I even braved the Easter aisles so I could check out goodies for Easter baskets (which you know I LOVE putting together!). I managed to snag a couple things without her seeing, but it was hard to hide the eggs big enough to hold various Thomas trains (heads-up to all you mothers-of-Thomas-lovers), so I told her to tell the Easter bunny she wanted a Thomas egg (as if she knows what I’m talking about in the first place). She helped me find the things I needed and even got to pick out a new bath toy (note: she chose the submarine and not the girly flower toy), but then wanted to open it for the next half hour. I told her we had to wait till we got home to open it, but she could put it on the conveyor belt to check out — that was the most fun thing ever! She watched it travel to the check-out lady and proudly told her it was for “Charlie’s bash (bath)!” All in all, a successful trip. Mommy treated herself to a Starbucks on the way home and Baby Ella continued to snooze, as she did our entire time inside Target. Well done, Baby Ella. Speaking of Baby E, I’m really trying to remember to do tummy time with her. For some reason I feel like her head is a little wobblier than Charlie’s was at this stage. I keep sitting her in the Bumbo seat but she’s just not there yet…and it looks so uncomfortable I pull her out of it almost immediately. On her tummy, she holds her head up high sometimes and not so high other times. I guess practice makes perfect, right? Here’s a pic of her making a go of it. The sweet track suit was a gift from Ms. Marla, and just perfect for my little cupcake.

I’m actually really amazed she stood still long enough for me to take this picture!
Yesterday was definitely a test of my patience. I loaded both girls up in the car to attend a Valentine’s Day brunch given by the mom’s ministry at our church. Childcare was provided, thank the Lord, because I really needed a break from Charlie. I love my sweet girl, and she is funny, but man…yesterday I exercised my lungs more than I thought possible.Yelling. When did I become this person? How do I find myself standing in the living room screaming at my toddler? Sometimes I feel like the only way she’ll listen to me is if I raise my voice and GET. VERY. FIRM. like THIS. She just wasn’t LISTENING yesterday and I had to tell her things two or three times. Just willfulness, plain and simple. That, coupled with Baby Ella’s bad case of gas…well, let’s just say I was a pretty frazzled mommy.So, how grateful was I to have $5 childcare for my toddler, all the coffee I could drink, great conversation, and a kind and lovely mom of school-age children to hold my baby for me after I had been pacing with her for 20 minutes of unadulterated fussiness?? Pretty grateful. What a blessing our mom’s ministry is!! I was reminded how precious these relationships are and how invaluable they are to me. I would surely go CRAZY if it weren’t for the sweet moms in my life. Amen? Amen.

This week marked Ella’s 14th week of life. I can’t believe we’ve made it this far. Yesterday, she was super alert in the morning and I thought “maybe she can stretch herself today” and she did. So much in fact that I moved her into a 4 hour schedule (4 feeds per day, 4 hours between) which typically happens somewhere around 4 months of age. She did amazing. We aren’t quite at the place where her daytime naps are “organized” (meaning she doesn’t nap the full time, the goal being 1 1/2 to 2 hours) but she stretched just fine between feeds and ultimately took in more each time.

I was a little hesitant last night as I fed her at 7 pm and put her down…but we heard no peep from her until 7 am this morning, and even then, she cooed for a bit before crying out for food. We’ll see if she repeats herself today. As her naps do become more organized, it will be important to actually “nap” her in the mornings…meaning if we are playing at someone’s house she’ll have to sleep somewhere other than her carseat. Why am I such a control freak about all this, you might ask? You have only to look at Charlie and see that at 2 1/2 years old, she’s still clocking in 3 hour naps, most of the time. When she was a baby, people would say, “oh, she’s such a good baby” or “you’re so lucky”…and Vann and I would look at each other and laugh because sleep training is HARD. It takes a lot of patience. I never thought we’d get here. No one can prepare you for the sheer exhaustion you feel when you first bring a newborn home. The idea of “sleeping through the night” is so far-reaching, you dream about it, realizing it’s only a fantasy for now. We’ve really been enjoying Charlie lately. She is increasingly more verbal and expressive and makes me laugh all the time. She loves taking bashes (baths) and still carries her kenga (penguin) wherever she goes. In the morning when we go in to get her she literally scoops up her blankets and about 5 or 6 stuffed animals and won’t leave her room without them. At night, she must have everything in its place, and needs order to fall asleep. Last night, she had a major meltdown because there was a lone sticker on her pj’s, left over from Valentine’s Day. She is exacting and precise, just like her Daddy. She loves the movie “Cars” and anything having to do with it. At night when we are saying prayers she always mentions the names of her buddies: “And Emi…and Georgia…and Oren (Lauren)…and Ya-Ya (Olivia)…and Linsey (Lindsay)…and Ook (Luke)…”And as for me…I’m doing ok. No doubt the trips to the gym have motivated me for more, and I’m getting more comfortable at the packing up/loading the car/getting both girls to the garage thing. I still feel like there are days where I am increasingly overwhelmed by the demands of keeping up with the house, cleaning, and even thinking about meals. I feel like some days it’s all I can do to just get the girls fed and bathed. But vacation is coming soon, and in about two weeks Ella and I will travel to Dallas so I can drop her off with Mimi and Poppy. Then it’s off to Arizona and I don’t think I’ll ever appreciate time away more. Charlie will go to Tennessee and the pressure will be off. Ringing in 32 (we’ll be celebrating my birthday with a massage at Bliss Spa!!) will hopefully feel like a breath of fresh air…a recharge…a “new” normal.