Frustrated!

I've completed almost 6 full weeks of P90X, but as of this morning, have GAINED just shy of 4 lbs! Are you KIDDING me?!?!

I mean, I didn't sign up for sacrificing over an hour of my evenings to hard-core, intense work outs to gain weight! No no no...you see, I did this so that I could lose weight people!!!

I know what you are going to say - "But you are gaining muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat!"

Yeah, I know. But it still "sucks" to see the number on the scale creeping up! Its incredibly frustrating! And I can't help but wonder, when is the gaining going to translate into losssssing????

Soon? Please!!!!

What Memories Are Made Of

This weekend was filled to the brim full of family, friends and fun! Indeed, one of those weekends where memories are made!



On Friday evening, I hosted a BBQ at my crib for a bunch of ladies from my mommy-board! There are about 100 women on my board, and we all try to meet up "in real life" whenever possible! Friday, we had a lady from Texas, a lady from Iowa and a lady from Massachusetts, and their families!!!

This is a picture of my best friend Melissa, her son Elijah, and Bennett and I.


Saturday night, Ace's sister bought us tickets to the Jason Mraz concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion for Ace's birthday. It started out the perfect night for an outdoor concert - and the the heavens opened up and we got DRENCHED!!!!










He we are trying in vain to stay dry under our picnic blanket! That lasted all of 10 minutes...












And here we are post-downpour, using our ponchos as make-shift green houses to stay warm! It never felt so good to get home and peel off the wet clothes!

But it was so worth it - Jason Mraz was awesome and sooooo talented!!!!









Sunday, we went with Ace's family to Medieval Times to celebrate Ace's 31st birthday (yep, old dude!) and my sister-in-law's birthday as well.









Both boys really loved it! Bennett was clapping and cheering the whole time! Carter was pretend sword fighting in the aisle!










And a bonus picture of Bennett giggling with his uncle!!!!!!!!!!!!

P90X - End of Phase I

Ok folks, be nice!!! Here are my before pics compared with my end of Phase I pics.













































































I can definitely see some trimming in the mummy tummy! I can't wait to see what progress comes with Phase I!!!!!























































Thanks!

Cherish EVERY Day

I know I semi-promised you all photos and stats for the end of Phase I for P90X, but um...my monthly visitor decided to show up and I'm bloated as a whale. I'm looking better this a.m., so maybe I will take those pictures tonight.

Last week, my mom said something rather profound (which is an unusual happening for her... just kidding ;) . We were sharing the usual "Thank God its Friday" banter, when she said, "you know, we spend all week wishing 5 days of our lives away just waiting for the weekend to arrive."

Wow. She's right! First thing Monday morning, I'm already praying to fast foward to Friday afternoon! All week, I grit my teeth and grumble "man, I wish it were Friday already!" What a waste! I'm wishing away 5/7 (71.4%) of my life!!!!

Sure, the weekends are wonderful, but weekdays are a matter of fact and here to stay. So, I've determined to instead of just trying to get through the weekdays in an effort to hurry up the weekend (which is futile since time cannot be sped up), I'm going to make an effort to enjoy EACH day for what it holds!

I love Monday for the freshness and newness of the new week. Its a re-set button, another chance to do things right.

I love Tuesday because I'm settled back into the week's routine.

I love Wednesday because its the halfway point. Even if I'm having a really bad week, I can console myself with the reminder that I'm half way through!

I love Thursday because you can really feel the week's momentum going and because the next day is Friday (sorry, I can't help it!).

What's there not to love about Friday? Its got a more relaxed vibe, a sense of "finishing up" and anticipation of the rest days to come!!!

Add yours - what is there to enjoy about the weekdays??

I've been cheating...

... on my blog. Yep, instead of getting on here at night and pouring out my 2 cents ( or 25 on a really profound day), I've been spending my evenings ...

Doing P90X!!!

Its a total body workout program that includes 12 different workouts. You work out 6 days a week for approximately an hour. The program is set up in three phases - totaling 90 days. Some of the work outs are strength training, some are stretching and flexibility, and others are intense cardio.

I'd heard about this program casually from several people, but it was actually Ace who researched it and peaked my interest in it! He has a friend who did the program and went from beer gut to ripped in 90 days! Sounds enticing, right???


So, we went online and looked at the message board forums and again and again, when the person actually stuck to it, they had amazing results at the end of 90 days! For example...

This lady had three babies and, like me, was struggling to burn off the excess skin and baby fat. Can we say AMAZING?!?!?










This girl was a marathon runner, but she never could get the definition she wanted. She tried P90X before her wedding, and can we all just have a moment of silence now to drool over her abs??









These are just two examples of many! But they were inspiring enough to me to make the commitment for 90 days to make my health a priority! I've been very fortunate to have several workout buddies (Ace, my sister-in-law, and my brother- in-law's girlfriend) on this endeavor with me. They definitely help when your motivation is lagging and you are tempted to take just one night off!

Fast forward and I'm now in the middle of week 4!!!! I'm seriously amazed that I've stuck with it this long because these workouts are INTENSE. But I'm seeing results and every day I feel like I'm getting stronger. Its almost addicting! Plus, my energy has been through the ROOF!

So, I may post my before pictures and my end of Phase I pictures on here on Monday (or I may not, depending, lol!). I haven't really lost much weight thus far (2 measly lbs), but I can definitely see major changes going on with my body! I figure I'm adding muscle right now and the weight loss will eventually follow. One way I know for sure that this is working - I can actually fit back into my size 4 dress pants!!!!! I was seriously beginning to fear that would never happen again! YIPPEE!!!!

So, stay tuned on my progress!!! I'll try to be a little more faithful to you in the future :)

In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms

This week, during my commute, I listened to Dr. Laura Schlessinger's audiobook - In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms. You may ask what a working mom like myself is doing reading/listening to this book in particular? Well, I often fantasize about taking a few years out of the rat race and staying home myself. I also was the beneficiary of having an amazing stay-at-home mom while growing up. And, frankly, I was curious about the controversy surrounding the book. Dr. Laura is known for stirring up a few pots in her time. Knowing her stance on working moms (i.e. we're the scum of the earth), I went in cautiously.



I was encouraged in the prolouge when she said that this book was to be in praise of stay at home moms rather than a jab at working moms. But that warm fuzzy feeling of optimism lasted about one minute - long enough for her to snidely and facetiously throw a few upper cuts into the working mom jaw.



This book left me feeling very ... bipolar. In one instance, I'd be nodding my head in agreement with what she was saying. In the next, I'd be ready to punch her in the face! After all, I do believe to a degree in traditional gender roles (and try to respect them as much as I can in my own marriage despite my working status), and I do believe that there is no replacement whatsoever for the love and attention of mommy. There is no doubt that loose ends go untied when you have a two-career family, and there is tremendous value is having someone to "make the home." Plus, I think she has many great points and suggestions (although I've never tried it myself beyond a few months of maternity leave here and there) for being a happy and fulfilled stay-at-home mom.



Dr. Laura, however, goes much much further. She cannot suffice to say that care of infants and young children by their mother is best. Nope - she goes on to say that care by others is harmful, daycare is "warehousing" and abandoment of children, and that a mother who does not gladly take on the task of raising her children fulltime simply does not love her children enough to make the sacrifice. Wow. Ouch!



Another thing that disturbed my post-graduate-educated mind is the fact that she bases all of this on anecdotal evidence - her own experiences, her radio-program callers, letters she's received and experiences she's heard about. She makes a point to state that research has no role in the debate (well, for her, there is no debate), and that people can twist the data to make it say whatever they want. But I beg the question - what do snippets of people's life experiences prove? I'm sure that you can find many stories about working moms who manage to balance the best of both worlds (I'm still working on that...). Plus, I know first hand that you can have an amazingly strong bond with your children and raise them to be secure and self-confident thriving individuals even if they spend some time in the care of someone other than myself! (Don't you dare mention the benefits of this care arrangment to Dr. Laura - she'll hear none of it).



Of course, she justifies her own radio career by stating that she was able to work her career around her family rather than vice-versa by working only at night. Well, that's fine and dandy for her, but the Courts aren't open after 4:30 p.m., and I doubt opposing counsel would appreciate a phone call from me at 9:00 p.m. when my children are tucked away in bed. While I do burn the midnight oil more frequently than not, it is a fact of my profession (and I dare say most) that work be done during normal business hours.



I think the danger in Dr. Laura's proposition (that all mothers should stay out of the work force until their children are grown, if ever), is in throwing the advancement of women back about 100 years. There is no doubt that the world benefits tremendously from having a little more estrogen infused into this testosterone-dominated world. Women bring tremendous value to their professions and our world! Its a nice idea to say that you can jump in full force when your children are grown, but in reality, it doesn't often work that way. She is right - my lawyering (in isolation) is not more important to the world than my mothering. But the fallacy in this is thinking that I am not mothering! I fight and claw to make sure I get have plenty of quality time with my children (not saying its easy or I'm 100% successful), and I see two amazing individuals blossoming who know beyond a shadow of a doubt that their mommy is there when they need them. To throw out some anecdotal evidence of my own - I have a friend who worked for about 3 years after her daughter was born at a high-powered job in Washington, D.C. When her husband took a position overbroad and her son was born, she decided to stay at home with the kids. She does not feel like she's "mothering" any more now than she did before!



Yes, for some women, and for some families, having mom at home full time may be the absolute right thing. But its an insult to women to think that we are too selfish or stupid to make that determination for ourselves. And it leaves those of us who cannot do so for financial reasons feeling like crap.



So, yes, I want to praise stay-at-home moms (and perhaps dabble in the arena myself one day!) because they add tremendous value to families and communities. But for pete's sake (or Mary's or Katherine's, etc.), can we do that without striking a knock-out blow to women who work?????



Anyway, in the end I guess I got what I expected all along from the book.

A weekend of Firsts!

Miss me?? Yeah, I've been trudging through the swamp of the working world trying not to sink to the bottom. Not fun!

We did, however, have a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!! I had off work on Friday, which I LOVE because its like a "free" day with my kiddos! We had so much fun. This 4th was Bennett's "first" because he was still in the NICU last year. What a holiday it was too - we went into D.C. to watch the fireworks on the National Mall! It was our first time going and we've both lived in the area practically forever.

It was also both of the boys' first ride on the infamous Metro! Carter thought it was awesome. Bennett was antsy.
We had to get there early to stake out a good spot (and as you can see, we had a fabulous spot!), so we had to find activities to fill the three hours while we waited for the display to start. Carter went on adventures around the Monument.

Then the boys wrestled their Uncle Arian.
Bennett won.
Then he loved on his Ninang (godmother) aka Tita Ann Ann.
Then the fireworks finally started!!!
I was nervous that they would scare B-boy, but he sat back, chilled and enjoyed the show with the rest of us!
The fireworks were o.k. - nothing to write home (or blog) about. I expected something spectacular, being as we were in the nation's capital on the nation's birthday and all.
Then we fought the masses to get back on the Metro and get home. It really wasn't all that bad. And the boys were troopers! I doubt we'll be taking on that adventure again anytime in the near future though.

So yesterday was kind of a big deal for me. It was (July 6th) the one year anniversary of Bennett's homecoming from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit!!! He spent nine long and difficult weeks in the NICU. Safe to say, his homecoming was one of the greatest days of my life! It was kind of iffy if he'd be coming home or not, because he still wasn't a great eater, was still on oxygen, and was prone to having bradycardias (heart rate decelerations) with eating. But home he came!!!! A few days shy of his due date (July 11, 2008). And he's come SO far since then!!

July 6, 2008

July 6, 2009

I'm guesstimating he's about 18 lbs and 28 inches now (we'll find out for sure at his pulmonology appointment Thursday). If so, he now weighs approximately SIX times more than his birth weight (3 lbs 2 oz) and nearly TWICE his birth length (14.5''). He is twice his homecoming weight and ten inches longer than his homecoming length! Indeed, I'd say he's come far!

In the Present

Its so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of life and forget to really live. I find myself rushing through the mornings and evenings with the kids, just trying to get them dressed and fed. All too often, I'm physically there, but I'm not really THERE with them. My mind is occupied with a million other things. Of course, the busier I am with work and miscellaneous stuff, the more distracted I am.

This morning, I took Carter to the dermatologist. As we were in the waiting room, he and I played a little game where he hid his toy, and I found it. I found myself really being present in the moment - making eye contact, really focusing on him, and blocking out other thoughts from my mind. Wow, what a wonderful time just 15 minutes in the waiting room turned out to be!!! I could tell Carter really was enjoying my undivided attention too. Plus, he was so well behaved! (Isn't most acting out at this age a call for attention??).

So, here's the challenge - when you are with your kids, make eye contact with them, get on their level, block out the world, and just really focus on them! My mid-year resolution is to make a point of being present in the moment when I am with my kids!