Design Envy

What does it say about me, mother who is still wearing gym shorts and t-shirts half the time and jeans/jean shorts and t-shirts the other half, no make-up, sometimes brushed, sometimes unbrushed hair, and flip flops ever since Kaia was born but I am unfazed?  Instead, I'm preoccupied with coveting the designs, frills, flare, glitz, and glam of the blog world.

I want people to take a second look at my page.  I want to "view blog" and see pink, purple, turquoise, a cute cartoon Kaia & I (me in running shoes, Kaia poking out in jogging stroller maybe), books (we are a chronicles after all), a cute take away button, the list goes on.

I wish I knew how to do it on my own.  I wish I had the time and patience to learn.  I wish that I could order a design and see immediate results.  I guess that's what makes it so enviable though, so special.  And so here I am impatiently waiting.  Hopefully, in the next several weeks I can stop envying the other beautiful designs out there and have one of my own!

A note on my fitness progress, so far, fail.  Kaia's eating, sleeping, and fussing patterns have been making it difficult.  Then, to top it off, after yesterday's three mile baby jogger jog I realized I have a terrible case of runners knee that's made walk/bouncing Kaia around next to unbearable.  Don't worry, I'll keep going though!  I might just have to ease into it a little more slowly.

Shout out to all of my followers, thank you so much for your visits.  You all inspire me daily to keep writing and dreaming.  A couple of you lovely ladies have said you've tried to leave comments without success.  I'll do my best to figure out what the problem is.  It's always so nice to hear your thoughts, good and bad. 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Hi Baby Mamma Chronicle Followers, Kaia here.  Mom said since it's my three month birthday today I could do the post.  I thought I'd share a list of my favorite things with you all.

1.  Being held by someone standing up
2.  Bouncing
3.  Walking or jogging
4.  Silly sounds
5.  Making Mommy and Daddy look silly trying to make me happy
6.  The sounds animals make
7.  Music
8.  Did I mention bouncing?
9.  Lights and pictures projected on the ceiling
10.Sitting up by myself on the couch or in my swing
11.Milk
12.Talking on the phone - especially to Grandma
13.My Bjorn
14.Dancing
15.Staying up late
16.Mommy and Daddy

I will also list a few things I detest:

1.  Sitting on anyone's lap unless eating or sleeping
2.  Sleeping
3.  Tummy Time
4.  Half of the things Mommy and Daddy bought for me like my play crib, real crib, and bassinet

You'll also be excited to know that I am now 12lbs and am too big for most of my 0-3 months clothes now and am getting ready for size 2 diapers.  I started laughing for the first time on September 22nd while I helped Daddy play wii tennis.  On the same day Mommy started me on the Your Baby Can Read program. Right now I'm not that into it but I'll let you know if my mind changes.  I went swimming for the first time on September 24th and was such a big girl in the pool.  I'm growing so fast Mommy can hardly believe it.  I'm sure that I'll be back before you know it giving you another update.

Kaia

Outjogging

While out jogging yesterday I had a brilliant idea.  Why not outsource jogging and call it outjogging?  I mean, it could work right?  Outsourcing is the practice of using subcontractors or other businesses, rather than paid employees, for standard services.  So, outjogging would be using another person, or persons, to jog for you.  This is an appealing concept.  Not to mention the name is perfectly designed to avoid guilt.  That way, when your fellow buddy - annoying boss, co-worker, family member, or "buddy" - asks you what you did today, this weekend, etc. you can say, without hesitation, "Well, I went outjogging!  What did you do?" 

Of course I do realize there is probably a larger market for those wanting to use the service than provide the service.  So, in order to move forward with my own fitness goals I offer myself as the sacrifice. 

Let me know how many miles you would like to outjog this week and I will let you know if I can fit you in :)  

The Weigh In

Ok, so I figure I better go ahead and Biggest Loser/Shape stat myself.  I'm not proud of these numbers nor am I trying to discourage anyone who may be at a different place than me.  I am simply attempting to hold myself accountable for where I am at and where I want to be.  I will not bore readers with daily stats but I will likely post progress, or lack thereof, at least once a week until goal achievement.  I've read that those who begin a fitness program with a partner tend to see better results because someone else is relying on her.  By reading, you are now my fitness partners and I am accountable to you.

Weight: 117lbs
Body Fat %: 20.4

While this may sound acceptable to some readers, and it is, according to health professionals, I am uncomfortable at this point based on where I came from.  I am completely happy with my weight.  I am not trying to lose weight.  I am trying to lower my body fat, tone my body, and increase my performance.  Mainly, I do not want to look down at my stomach and see it folded over my pants/underpants.  I would also love to not feel so exhausted and lackadaisical.

I ran this evening - or should I say jogged.  I believe it was approximately 3 miles at approximately 10 minute miles.  My running goals: steadily increase my mileage and work towards marathon distance and increase my short(er) distance mileage pace to 7 minute miles (or slightly less).

I also did push-ups and sit-ups (I'm sure some of you are seeing a pattern here - no matter what my personal goals are, unfortunately, I still have to pass a PT test as well).  I did 15 push-ups (I probably could have squeezed out another five with decent form but was not up to the challenge).  I quit on the sit-ups after 40.  Considering I use to do over 80 in two minutes this is a significant decrease in performance.  My push-up goal: 46 in two minutes.  My sit-up goal: 80 in two minutes.

More general fitness goals also include: making it to the gym or working out at home at least 5x a week for at least 30 minutes.  Try a spin class.  Swim laps at least 1x per week.  Begin weight lifting (in some form) at least 2x per week.  Take Kaia for more walks.  Drink more water and choose healthier snacks.

Theta Mom

Exciting!  I just joined my first sorority!  I know, most women join in college and do things like go to fun parties and sometimes do lovely things like community service projects.  But nope, this is not your average college girl sorority ladies.  Yes, I know most of you are still probably thinking Elle Woods and Legally Blonde - it is hard to picture it otherwise - but Theta Mom is a blogger sorority for Mommies and it's all about networking and support.

An excerpt from Theta Mom's missionis.  “I began this website as an opportunity to share my experiences as a mother. One of my hopes in developing this blog is to begin the line of communication and form a sense of community among Theta Moms everywhere. Another hope is that you, a fellow Theta Mom, are inspired by this mission and engage in the challenge of revolutionizing the way we think about our role as mothers. I created this website to use as a platform to begin the dialogue…”

So, if you are a fellow Mommy blogger and you have not yet joined, hop on over and check it out!

Movie Recommendation - Do Not Plan to Watch

Ok, I'm going to keep this one short as this is not a movie review blog.  But, as this is a Mommy blog, I feel it's still ok to mention, the Backup Plan oober sucks.  I thought maybe it would be at least a little cute, nope, it is just awful.  The acting is awful, most of the lines are either awful or just plain cheesy, and trust me, it does not get better if you just give it a chance.  Khara and Kaia give it two thumbs down.

Solidarity Sisters

Have you ever taken a moment to feel bad for cows?  No, vegetarian haters, I do not mean because you poachers eat them.  I mean have you ever thought of the poor dairy cows?  Ok, well I hadn't either, that is until that fateful day a couple of weeks after Kaia was born and in entered my good old friend medela.  To those not in the know, medela is a brand of breast pump.  That's right ladies, every morning I now look forward to being milked by a machine like a poor dairy cow.

So, feeling some solidarity, I felt like doing a little research.  Dairy cows must first breed and produce calves.  Ok, makes sense I suppose.  A dairy cow can live between 15-25 years - that'd be a whole lot of milking and a lifetime of sore nipples people - but, instead, they are usually killed around 5 years and have a short life of sore nipples and general unhappiness.  Apparently, depending on the cow, she can produce between 15,000 - 25,000 lbs of milk per lactation.  To put that in to perspective, on average, milking myself once a day, I produce 3 oz.  If I did this every day for a year, I would produce roughly 68 and a half lbs of milk (granted we all must keep in mind that I have no idea where I fall on the spectrum of above, at, or below average when it comes to human mommy milking). 

To ensure that the cow cannot "dry up" and experience some relief, 40 to 60 days after labor she is bred again.  That means mama cow is forced to stay barefoot and pregnant or die people!  This can happen anywhere between three and upwards of ten times before she is slaughtered.  This is starting to sound like a horrific idea that could be twisted into a brilliant book.  But I digress, I think the cows need a women's movement.

And I, for one, will never look at a bowl of cereal the same.   

One Hot Mamma

Chronologically, I guess the first important step towards the creation of this blog was my own mother.  She was adamant about activity, namely our activity (the kids).  And so the love of fitness began!  But, the most important step towards this blog is brand new, less than three months brand new, and oh so beautiful, Kaia.

I kept up my fitness so well throughout my pregnancy, even running, up to a few days before labor.  Then, bam! beautiful baby, no sleep, and joyful insanity ensued.  Mamma's fitness train was derailed.  Unless of course you count baby carrying as weight lifting and walk-bouncing baby cardio.  Oh, I did delude myself that it was . . . until I was forced to run two miles two weekends ago.  My legs have never felt so heavy!  And the air!  I could have sworn you could cut it with a knife.

I miss the ease with which I used to run.  I miss the bliss that is running out in a warm rain or the delight of passing all the out of breath boys by.  So now, with gym membership and baby jogger in hand, my journey back begins.  Goal: one hot mamma!