Five on Friday - {Week 3}

{ONE:}
Being a mother to boys is everything I could have ever wanted and nothing I have ever imagined. It is so fun & even challenging.  Especially on days like Monday when I have to call Poison Control because my son ingested an entire bottle of Teething Tablets! And the week prior because he got into his butt paste, smearing it all over the place including his face and in his mouth.

Also, I say BOYS because I include my husband in this equation. Matt is nothing shy of a boy in a man's body.

Anyways, last Saturday morning, Matt and Zeplin were rough housing. It started during lunch when Matt was tickling Zeplin and he poked Matt in the eye. It was war from that point on.

The saying, “It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt,” rings 100% true in this next situation. 

Matt was sitting on the couch while Zeplin jumped, up and down, next to him. As Z jumped forward, Matt caught him by the hips, flipping him upside down, over Matt's head with his feet in the air. I heard a loud thud followed by the inevitable scream. Matt jumped up and pulled Zeplin into his chest. His face wrinkled in sorrow as Zeplin screamed in his shoulder.
These two play rough all the time and it usually ends in Zeplin screaming so I didn't rush to the rescue right away. I knew an applesauce and chocolate (almond) milk would cure this sadness ... as I turned away to get the ‘cure-all’, Matt yelled my name.
I looked over my shoulder to see blood, everywhere!

 I hurried over to them with paper towels and wet wipes. My biggest concern was that it was his front teeth. After cleaning up the blood, it was easier to tell that it was definitely coming from his nose.
That thing was a bleeder! We went through so many paper towels and wet wipes. Just as the bleeding was stopping, Zeplin blew his nose and more blood started to come out. By now he was calm enough for us to clean him up (and for me to get a picture to commemorate this right of passage into boyhood.)

Zeplin was such a tough little boy though. Matt was probably more upset about it than Z was. He cuddled Z the rest of the early afternoon until it was time to put him down for a nap. After it was done, I couldn't help was laugh at this situation ... I know it's a foreshadowing of the blood and broken bones to come in the future.


{TWO:}
My mom played hooky from church on Sunday and spent the entire day with Zeplin and I.
I was so happy to have her there, especially because Matt was gone all day with a business associate finishing up some work they needed to do.

Zeplin was in heaven having his grandma over. They played and fought and cuddled. Zeplin even tried to stuff my mom in our hall closet and shut the door. We laughed so hard at his attempt.

I know Zeplin loves when his grandparents and uncles come over because it gives him a break from the monotony of being with his momma all day.

I miss living a mile away from my momma. But it's probably a good thing we're 30 minutes away otherwise she'd get sick of me coming to her house all time. I love just being around her.


{THREE:}

I pulled the tendon in my right elbow last week at kickboxing and have been nursing it back to health. It hurt so bad during the weekend that I completely caboshed all the weight lifting assignments.
I was also so exhausted from the previous week FitBit competition that I didn't even run Saturday or Sunday either.

The only relief I felt from the sharp pain that stretched through my elbow, up my bicep and into my forearm was Bio Freeze and Essential Oils. I used Wintergreen, Aromatouch, Peppermint to help with the pain because I was running low on my Deep Blue blend. I save Deep Blue for when I really need pain relief.
After the weekend, I learned to use LemonGrass oil to heal the injury and as soon as I started using it (topically and internally), the pain was gone by Tuesday morning.
I still made sure to alternate ice and heat all week. It felt especially amazing having the essential oils cooling the area and putting a heat pad on top.

The piyo workouts at kickboxing have been getting easier and easier. I'm up to 8 full pushups without failure. I'm getting faster and my endurance is getting better. My goal is to complete an entire burnout without stopping before the trainer calls time. It's hard when you're punching and twisting as hard/fast as you can for 1 minute. When they say burnout, they mean burnout!

I've also been noticing my strength increase during my weightlifting challenge. The heaviest dumbbell I have is a 10lb. I think I need to look into getting heavier weights next month!

Because of all my activity, I've been really sore after all my workouts. It burns so good and hurts so bad. I've been taking Epsom Salt baths almost every night with Lavender, LemonGrass and Roman Chamomile .....
Everything I've been doing is paying off....  I'm already at my goal weight for the month of January. Only 15 days left to see how much further I can go!!!



{FOUR:}
On the flip side of all my workouts, I can't go forward saying that I'm 100% motivated 100% of the time. I'm human and there are days when I am so tired, grumpy, or depressed that I don't want to do jack, let alone get up off the couch. Other days I find myself getting bummed out that I'm still hanging onto weight that I should have lost years ago, especially when I have friends who lost their baby weight quickly.

I was reminded that IT'S OKAY and I've been through a lot. I've had 4 surgeries in 2 years, 3+ ER visits, gotten sick  - passed out - ended up in the ER again and the miscarriages...so, it's okay! What is not okay is remaining sedentary BECAUSE of my past. Some women had a jump start to their post natal weight loss while some of us are starting much later.

My best friend, Kaycee, has a 7 year old and 4 year old and she's just starting too. We are just beginning and it's not fair to us to compare our journey to others who have been working at theirs for longer.
Worrying about our journey just makes it longer and harder.

To keep me motivated, I started waking up with Matt and doing my weight lifting (Chalene Extreme) and it's helped me keep focused, maintain healthy food choices, and be a kinder mother to Zeplin.

It's going to be an ever challenging journey to maintain this lifestyle change but it's worth it.


{FIVE:}
I made my own granola bars this week! They are delicious.
My first batch was only Peanut Butter, Honey and Oats. Zeplin & I almost ate the whole pan. But because I'm allergic to nuts anyways, I had to stop myself because my breathing got heavy.

My 2nd batch was even better. This time I added raisins, fresh ground Almond Butter, crushed salted peanuts, chia seeds, flax seeds and a couple scoops of protein powder! I keep them in the fridge wrapped in tin foil for an easy grab! I didn't follow a recipe. I just measured and added different amounts until the bar set up and wasn't so gooey.

I calculated that each bar is less than 150 calories and would be about 50cents each. Matt and I both love Cliff Bars but unless you can get them for a buck a piece, then they're just too expensive. Cliff Bars are also loaded with sugar - about 22grams. My bars are 15grams of sugar. If I decrease the honey, then it's even less.

Zeplin started calling them Momma's Good Bars. He can't say granola and it sounds like Good so.... the name sticks... Momma's Good Bars.


This week has been (mentally) rough with Matt working the past 6 days. Between his daytime job and his business, he's working anywhere between 70-80 hours a week. With my kickboxing classes 3x a week, I feel like I never see him and it makes me miss him immensely. I just want to cuddle up to him every single night and watch a movie in his arms.

I look forward to this weekend. He has no tickets to work and I'm going to keep my workouts to a minimum. I plan to play volleyball tomorrow morning with some women but afterwards, it's just us three for 3 whole days!!!
Matt has talked about going snowshoeing up at Bogus Basin, maybe even the Owyhees.
I look forward to spending time with my boys!!