Monday, December 30, 2013

Holiday Madness

It has been so long since I blogged. Sad. And sorry. 

To start - I'll recap my workouts over the  holidays, which to be honest were tough to fit into all the madness. 

Thursday (12/19) - 
Worked out at the gym at work but I can't remember what I did. 

Saturday (12/21) - 
Broomball practice on the ice for an hour. I was INCREDIBLY sore for a few days. It was a really hard workout. I'm not used to sprinting right now that's for sure

Monday (12/23) - 
Went to the LA Fitness by my house for a quick 3 mile treadmill run since we had the day off of work. 

Friday (12/27) - 
4 miles on the treadmill at a 7:50/mile pace. WHOOT!

Today (12/30) - 
4 miles on the treadmill at a 7:38/mile pace. WHAT? HOLLLLAAAA!!

So yeah I think I did pretty well considering how busy we were. We had 7 celebrations in 4 days starting on Sunday and going through Wednesday. It was so busy and a little stressful, but I can't complain about having a lot of people in our lives that love us. Kellan was overwhelmed by all the travelling and all the people and all the presents, but honestly he did pretty awesome. I love that kiddo. He ended up starting to get pretty sick as the holiday gatherings continued and I figured he was teething and tired. He has 2 bottom teeth coming through and my god those things are sharp! 

Well Wednesday (Christmas Day) he ended up with a fever around 3pm. Poor peanut guy. I was a worried first time mom with a kid with a fever on a holiday! He got up to 102.5 which was scary for me, but I guess totally normal for a baby. Whew. We made it through after lots of snuggles from mom and dad and a little infant's tylenol to bring the heat down to a more manageable level. If I'm being honest he was still pretty crabby even last night so he's still fighting it. Awwww.... :(

Here are a few pictures from the past few days. 

First is a picture of Kellan on the night after he had his fever being adorable in the laundry hamper. We were letting him hang out in there while we folded laundry and seeing him smile made me feel better that he was starting to feel a little bit more like himself. 


We were dog sitting for our nephew dog, Pepper, over the weekend. Pete's brother's dog. The dog cousins had SO MUCH fun together. It's really cute to see them together. Except when they bark while you have a sick baby sleeping hahaha. Silly doggies! We loved having him come visit though and look forward to having him come stay with us again. We can't wait for his brother to come stay with us too. His human brother that is, who is due in March. I CAN'T WAIT!


Here's a picture of K being adorable in one of the new outfits he got from his Oma for Christmas. We got so many great things for him and I feel so lucky that he has so many family members that really love him. It's an amazing thing. Kind of like it takes a tribe to raise a child or something like that. He will get so much value from each of the people in his life that love him and I feel so great about that. 


And finally - yesterday we went to go see the final Vikings game of the year with some of our friends, Jay and Cheryl, who have a 3 year old. He was so amazing with Kellan and to be honest Kellan loves NOTHING more than other little boys. How cute is that?? So here is a picture of those two hanging out. I DIE - they are too cute. Honestly. It was super fun to see them and catch up. Our little boys will be out running around together and jumping off the boat together in just a few year's time :)


That's all I have for now. Sorry I was MIA over the holidays, but were people really even reading blogs over the holidays? Everyone was probably as busy as we were. 

Any funny holiday moments to share???

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Crazy life

Well life has been nuts lately. I swear each time I go to cross something off my To Do list I'm adding 3 new things to the bottom of it. It's never ending right now.
- Order Christmas Cards
- Make address labels
- Mail Christmas Cards
- Order Christmas Presents
- Wrap Christmas Presents
- Buy Wrapping Paper
- Make Holiday Gift Tags
- Send Baby Shower Invites
- Fit in workouts
- Groceries
- Make a holiday food checklist so I know what to bring to the 6 holiday celebrations I'm going to.

That's just the tip of the iceberg. I've also been putting together gifts for the people at my son's daycare - there are 11 teachers that work with him occasionally. ELEVEN~!

So in the middle of all that chaos and on top of the fact that work has been crazy I've been trying to fit in workouts. I normally manage about 6 projects at a time at work and right now I have ten. TEN~!

Workouts lately:
Last Week Wednesday: 4 mile treadmill run
Last Week Thursday: Lift Circuit
Last Week Friday: 3 mile HIIT run
This Week Monday: 4 mile run
Today: Circuit Lifting

YAY! At least I'm staying on track with that. And I need to because in one month from tomorrow Pete, Kellan and I will be here:

Yes that is an actual picture of the beach at the resort we will be staying. I seriously cannot wait!

But first I need to make it through this busy time at work and I need to make it through the chaos of the holidays. Another thing that's getting added to the docket is Broomball. I am the captain of a broomball team through my work. I am so excited to be able to play again this year. I had to sit out last year since I was pregnant. We have a practice this Saturday and then our first game is next week on Thursday. Should be a fun season. For those of you who don't know what broomball is it's a sport played outdoors, on the ice, wearing broomball shoes, kind of similar to hockey in that you try to get the ball into the net using a broomball stick. It's super fun, and a real intense workout. 


That's all I've got for now. I hope everyone has a great week. I'm heading tonight to get some new pads for broomball and I need to get groceries for all these events coming up. I have a lot of baking and cooking in my near future. :)



Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Work is insane

Well like the title says - work is really insane right now. I did get in a workout yesterday. When I got to the gym all 4 treadmills, 3 elliptical machines, 1 stair climber and 2 bikes were in use! Crazy. I waited and the first machine to open up was the elliptical machine so I went for it.

Monday's Workout:
Workout: Elliptical
Time: 32 minutes
Distance: 6.10 miles
Program: Random on Level 8 to get a little quad burn going :)

No workout today. I am too busy with work. I am writing this post while I pump. At work. Ah life as a mom! I really wanted to get to the gym to lift today, but I just have too many projects popping right now and so I worked through my lunch. It's ok. Sometimes work is just that busy.

Kellan has been sick lately. Poor little dude has a bad cough and hadn't been sleeping well at all. He was waking up coughing with lots of congestion throughout the weekend. We had to go down to help him out a few times a night for a few nights in a row. Being sick is the pits, but snuggles from mom or dad helps! Last night he woke only once and then SLEPT IN. It was wonderful even though we were a little later than usual getting to work. I'll take the sleep when I can get it.

So this week I've just been spending lots of quality time with my little dude. Even though he's been sick and a little whiny when he doesn't feel good he's still full of smiles. I love that about him.


We went to my mom's house over the weekend since Pete had plans on Sunday. He was really digging hanging with their dog Amalfi. Adorable.


What else is new? Nothing at the moment. Busy with work and life. I'm working on holiday cards and buying all the remaining Christmas gifts I need to get. I need to start wrapping. I need to actually mail the Christmas cards once they arrive. I need to send out some baby shower invites for my sister in law's baby shower. Life is crazy with the holidays coming, but I am enjoying all of it.  

Any suggestions on new workouts I should try out this week? Leave ideas in the comments. 


Friday, December 6, 2013

Friday - The Gym - What Motivates Me?

It's Friday!

I was supposed to have PTO today because K's daycare is closed for half of the day so I took the day off. BUT! BUT! But work is too busy so I ended up putting in some hours from home. It was sporadic since Kellan was home with me, but I was able to get everything done that I needed to get done. More like a half day of PTO. I was able to drop Kellan at daycare for an hour this morning while I went to spin class though. Holy cccrrraaappppppppppppp. I have not been to spin in close to a year. I was still going when I first got pregnant, but haven't been since I went on bed rest while I was pregnant. It's definitely something that's easier when you go often. WOW! It was tough.


I was able to keep up and finish the class and of course now I've been famished for the rest of the day. :)
The class was a good one. We did a twelve minute sprint in the middle. I mean, 12 minutes is a long time for anything. 12 minutes to wait for noodles to cook. 12 minutes waiting for the bus. Let me tell you, 12 minutes sprinting on a spin bike when you think people are watching how fast you are going (even though they totally probably are not) is a reallllyyyyy long time. We also did an 8 minute hill. Sheesh. 


Workout: Spin Class
Time: 55 minutes
Distance: 22km which is something like 13 miles? I am not sure I'm just doing that in my head. 

I spent the rest of the day with Kellan. We went grocery shopping and wrapped a present for my sister in law's baby shower tomorrow. We did laundry. We cleaned the house. 

So I was sitting on the spin bike today thinking about how this blog is supposed to be about my life, but also about working out and I thought I would write a post about what motivates me to get my butt to the gym. 

So here goes. What motivates me? First and foremost I want to be healthy for me and for my family. I want to live a long life. I want to set a good example for Kellan. I want to FEEL good every day. And I like to eat. Working out means I get to eat a lot. I also like to look fit. I like the feeling I get knowing that I am a runner. Sometimes when I am out for a run and it's just one of those really hard runs I think to myself: this sucks. I think life would be easier if I just sat at my desk all day. But the cool thing about being a runner is that it's hard. If it was easy everyone would be a runner. I like to put in the hard work - on those hard run days - on those days when I'm dragging my butt to the gym I rely on the satisfaction I get in my life from knowing I'm putting in the work to accomplish that goal of being a runner. A real runner - someone who runs every week. Or if you are me someone who runs at least 3 times a week. Ha ha. Just working those goals in here. 

So I have my 3 runs in this week (Mon, Tues, Thurs) and a spin class under my belt. My legs may be a bit wobbly, but bring on the weekend! Looking forward to spending time with my husband and our friends this weekend. Looking forward to family time. 

What motivates you to get to the gym on those tough days?


Thursday, December 5, 2013

Kellan Day

As I've mentioned before I have every other Wednesday off from work. I took a slight pay cut so that I can spend that day every other week with my son. It's been so worth it and I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to spend that time with him as he grows. And he is growing way too fast! Slow down kiddo, mama wants to savor every moment of your incredible development. The other day on the changing table he made probably 8 - 10 different sounds with his mouth and it reminds me that we aren't that far away from crawling... and talking... and walking. I need to enjoy every day.

Before I get into my day off - I did get in a workout on Tuesday. I got some really tough news from a good friend who was going through a tough time. I had her in my heart all day. The way I deal with stress or sadness is usually with a good run. I got on the treadmill and kept cranking the speed up until the tears at the corners of my eyes were at bay.

Tuesday's Workout
Workout: Treadmill Run
Distance: 4 Miles
Time: 31:18
Pace: Just under 7:50/mile

Ok so my day off. My husband and I were up somewhat early with a happy, active little guy in the morning. We were met with a new blanket of snow making the morning quite pretty even though the sun wasn't even close to rising yet. After my husband left for work I got Kellan down for a nap and put a lovely meal into the slow cooker. The plan was to have it bubble and cook all day filling the house with a warm, wonderful smell by the time the day was coming to a close.

With dinner successfully slow-cooking, I left to go meet up with two of my best friends. Our kids are sure to be great friends as they grow older and we love the opportunity to spend time together. When I arrived at my friend Elise's house she informed me that our other friend, Tara, had called with a flat tire. And not just a flat tire, but a flat tire in the middle of a snow storm with her twin 1 year olds in the van. I called Tara since I have plenty of experience changing tires and offered to come help. I inched my way back into the morning's traffic to her location. I think while changing her tire I looked a little something like this:


With the tire successfully changed - we headed to Elise's house for some much needed girl time. Oh and pizza. That was much needed too. Since I still can't have dairy I had to order half of it without cheese. And that was sad. So sad. But to be honest the pizza was really good. Even without cheese on it. Is that even technically pizza anymore?? :)

I had to leave around 2pm because my dog, Wyatt had a vet appt. I didn't really want to drive in the snow storm all the way to the vet, but I did. 


When we got home from the vet the house smelled amazing, just like I was hoping it would. It was warm and the Christmas tree was lit. I fed K and put him in his pack and play and shoveled the incredibly heavy snow. Blech. Then I put in some laundry. What a day!

All right, enough boring details. No workout today - unless you count shoveling and tire changing, both activities had me breathing heavy so it must have been good for something. 

I'll post this in the morning when more people are reading. Now I'm going to wait for my husband to come home from work so we can enjoy some chickpeas and chicken from the crock pot for dinner. 



Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Thanksgiving Recap

I got in my three runs last week on Mon, Tues and Wed because I pretty much knew there would be almost no movement Thursday - Sunday :) And I was right.

Quick Recap of last Wednesday's run, which I will tell you I DID NOT want to go do.
Wednesday's Workout: 
Workout: Treadmill Run
Distance: 3.5 miles
Time: I ran the first 3 miles with a 7:47/mile pace!! WHOO HOO. I finished with an additional .5 miles at an 8:00/mile pace.

Thanksgiving this year was awesome. I loved having four days off of work. Four days with my husband and my kiddo. Four days visiting families that we really love. Four days of delicious food and good memories.

Thursday we celebrated with my husband's mom's family. We had a traditional dinner - turkey and the fixings and yum yum. His mom even made everything dairy free for me which was incredibly gracious of her and certainly not expected. The meal was so tasty - I ate more than I thought I would and we ended up not eating dinner that night because we were stuffed. That's when you know things were really good. The time spent over there was really great. Kellan focused on getting in lots of snuggles, especially with Grandma :)


Friday we ventured out to my husband's dad's family celebration. His step sister made us 4 different kinds of soup - some made with turkey left overs - and WOW everything was so delicious. I can't believe how much work she put into making these great soups for us. I felt very spoiled. Kellan focused on hanging with his aunts and uncles and tried to be adorable all day. He got to see his Papa Steve and GJ. Life as a cutie is tough work. 

Saturday we celebrated with my mom's family - and had another traditional Thanksgiving meal. My mom makes things differently than traditional-traditional though, so there was turkey and potatoes and stuffing but it was different than Thursday. The stuffing was prociutto, fennel stuffing. The gravy was porcini mushroom gravy. To die. It was all so amazing. Again - we are so lucky for all these amazing meals and the time we got to spend with our families. Kellan soaked up some quality time with his Papa Keith and his Gma. 


(He doesn't usually wear knee high socks with no pants ha ha - but we figured a little bit of no pants time is always fun.)

Sunday Kellan decided he had snuggled with enough other people and it was time for some Sunday morning snuggle time with his mama so he took a 30 minute nap on my shoulder. I die! 


I'm one lucky mama. :)

Sunday I went to Vikings game with my stepdad. What an incredible game to be at - especially this year. The Vikings finally won a game in this country. :) It was so much fun to spend the time with him and I feel so lucky that we have kept this tradition for so many years of going to the game together. Plus we had amazing seats!!


So I leave the Thanksgiving weekend with the thought that I really wish there was a holiday every month where we had the ability to spend time with our families - away from work and away from the hectic normal lives we all lead. 

Coming back from four days of eating I hit the gym for a run. I assumed my legs would be nice and rested, but instead I struggled through 4 miles. 

Monday's Workout
Workout: Treadmill Run
Distance: 4 miles - literally hit the STOP button at 4 miles and didn't even walk my cool down that's how over it I was by the time I reached the finish line. 
Time: 33:18
Pace: 8:20/mile


What was your favorite memory from Thanksgiving this year?