Mother's Day Tea

 Madeline's preschool had a Mother's Day Tea to honor us Moms.  It was a really cute little performance (they sang "spring" songs) and reception. 

 

I was literally THE ONLY Mom dressed in workout clothes.  I only post this silly self picture because as I was showering, doing my hair, applying make-up, and choosing "nice" workout clothes, I laughed.  Surely no other Mom is doing this for the Mother's Day tea...only me.  I suppose most Moms would just take a day off from the gym.  :)

See the bag on the floor?  That is my spare "nice" tank in case I get too sweaty, my makeup for touch ups, and my deodorant for the last minute touches before the actual event.

 

Madeline was so excited to be in the line to the stage.  Even with my post workout self, she was delighted to see me.  :)  I suppose that is all she knows...

 

She sang her little heart out with a huge smile on her face the whole time!  She really does well in front of an audience.

 

Madeline and her BFF, Aubrey

 

My sweet girl and I had a wonderful morning together.

Woo Hoo!

Guess who has been released from the orthopedic doc? Guess who can wear these orthopedic doc approved shoes to the GYM!?? Guess who has been given medical permission to run? ME! ME!!!

And guess where this stinky 'ol boot can go? Somewhere besides my foot that is for sure! I saw Dr. B for the last time today, I hope. He said, "Your x-ray looks awesome!" Music to my ears. So in true Anne fashion, I had my big bag of running/gym shoes from junky to brand new, and I dumped them on the exam table asking which pair(s) would be suitable for my new bones. He so kindly checked them all out for me, telling me why each was not going to work yet, and chose the New Balance mules for their stiff bottoms. BUT, I was given the freedom to do whatever I wanted at the gym while being smart about it! Hallelujah! He even said I was allowed to go for a brisk walk AND run a 12 minute mile if I wanted. All I wanted to be able to do was ride the elliptical. Woo hoo!! I'm back with a cautious vengeance. I'm focusing on the elliptical and my weight routine, and just maybe, perhaps trying to wear my high heels again! :) Just kidding! When I asked him about heels, he rolled his eyes, told me to be happy with my New Balance sneaks, and not worry about heels until much later this year!

Ahhh, one happy Gold's Gym Mama!

Still Ugly and Still Broken

Yep, I'm still in the boot 90% of the time, BUT I'm on the mend, I think! Dr. B was not super pleased with my most recent X-rays. The 3rd metatarsal is healing well. The 4th metatarsal that is broken closer to the toe joint is not healing as well. I'm sure having a 3 year old and and a 14 month old is not conducive to to a broken foot. But it looks better...
I'm able to work out more to my liking --- stationary bike hill programs and non-weight-bearing-weights-on-my-foot-type of weights. It's definitely not great, but it's not awful. I'm dealing with it and trying to take it day by day as I KNOW I need to let my foot heal, so I can be my normal crazy workout girl again.

I am still allowed to wear a shoe, but with the girls, my workouts, our day-to-day activities, and errands, I have gone back to wearing the boot most of the time. It's safer, easier, and stabilizes the bones better.

Bummer, two months of healing and at least one more to go. Hopefully, by April I'll be pain free, mostly mended, and able to toss the stinky boot out the back door! :)

Four Weeks

This is my broken foot at four weeks! I know, GROSS! It needs some serious TLC, but no pedicures in my near future. My toes are still black and blue and really wanky looking. Yucky!! I don't have pretty feet anyway, and a broken foot definitely hasn't helped my foot aesthetically.

I went back to my orthopedic doc this week, and he had an X-ray done. As it turns out, I broke two metatarsals --- the middle one and the fourth one. No wonder I saw stars! Apparently, the swelling and such was so terrible that it wasn't clear on the first x-ray. A little bone lesson took place at this appointment: Bone has several stages of healing. I am in the stage of healing where the hard cartilage part (think: kids' bones) is repairing. By 6 weeks, the bones will start pulling calcium into the process to starting forming new bone. Basically, no "real" healing is visible on the x-ray until 6-8 weeks. Awesome.

The good news is that I've been good about wearing my boot and not walking barefoot, so everything looks as it should. The other piece of good news is that I've been given the thumbs up for the stationary bike at the gym. I patiently listened to the Doctor and all his doctor talk, but my first real question was, "OK, Doc, so what can I do cardio wise at the gym?! It's been FOUR weeks?!" Yes, he rolled his eyes, and yes, my husband was there reminding him to choose his words wisely with gym talk. I think Eric's exact words were something along the lines of, "Be careful what you say to her. She tends to take what you say to the utmost extreme." So, yes, cycle class here I come!!

I was also given clearance to wear a shoe, BUT it has to have a stiff sole & not much binding over the broken area. To quote my doctor, "Barefoot is the WORST.SHOE.EVER!" Ladies, this criteria is not conducive to a cute, stylish shoe AT.ALL. So, heels, wedges, boots, flats, a flip flop, and even my running shoes are a BIG NO-NO, but my Chacos (pictured) are a winner. Too bad it's winter time, but I wear these sandals around the house. The boot is hard on my ankle and my lower back because it has my alignment all out of whack (my left foot is higher than my right, and it keeps my ankle super still and stiff). I am really nervous about being out in public and dealing with the girls, so I wear my boot to the gym and while we are out and about. Around the house, I am able to walk on it barefooted on a very limited basis (like in the shower), and most of the time, I wear my Chacos. The more bending in the broken area = longer healing time was the gist of the shoe conversation. Cleaning day requires my boot. :)

I go back in a month, and hopefully, that will be it with this broken foot issue. While it's certainly not ideal, it's much better a month into it. My anxiousness has been relieved as far as taking care of my girls and going about my day-to-day routines. Now, I'm just anxious to get back into the gym like I want. Then all will be right with the world in Anne's world.

Treacherous

These steps:

Plus These Shoes:
Equals = A Broken Foot
ONE WEEK before my Disney, 2012 Marathon!

Big Sigh and Gigantic Sad Face for this Mama! Stupid me decided to dash up our stairs in my heels and landed myself a broken fourth metatarsal bone.

Very ouchy! Now I see why cartoons always show stars when the characters fall down. I literally saw stars when I fell, and I immediately knew something serious was wrong with my foot. When the doctor was pressing on the swollen, bruised area, I almost fainted & barfed. For a girl who has never broken a bone in her life, this has been quite an experience.

For a Mommy of two little ones, this is quite inconvenient.

For the stay-at-home Mom who cleans, launders our clothes, & does all the errands, this is stressful.

For the work-out fanatic Anne, this is frustrating that I'll be out of the gym for at least 6 weeks, maybe longer.

For the Anne who can usually handle whatever life throws at her, this causes a great deal of anxiety.

But, the silver lining in all of this is that I don't need foot surgery, and I wasn't carrying one of my children.

Definitely NOT the way I wanted to end my holiday season and begin 2012!

Only 66 Days Until...

my Disney marathon in January 2012!

These brand, spankin' new Mizunos have officially been broken in as my training is in full force!

I'm loving my runs during the week, and I'm especially loving my long runs outside in this gorgeous fall weather on Saturday mornings. It's taking my old bones some getting used to the longer distances, but so far with lots of water, stretching, and cross training, everything seems to be going well. I'm on the uphill climb in my training, but I'm looking forward to the challenge, the "me time", and of course, the actual marathon itself. Disney doesn't ever disappoint, so I feel sure that they know how to do a marathon just right!

I Finally Did It

I registered for the 2012 Disney Marathon, and I AM EXCITED! I've been talking about the Disney marathon since I ran my last marathon in Atlanta with my awesome runner-sister-in-law, Angela. Then neck surgery & babies came, so my running goals were put on the back burner. BUT, I am officially registered now, and there's no turning back. Eric and I will make a fun weekend of it, and although my "official" training won't start until the fall, I am excited to get my running legs back!

Photo borrowed from:

http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/wdw-marathon/index?page=walt-disney-world-marathon

16 Week Appointment

Today was my 4 month check-up, and all seems to be going well with the little peanut. My weight was back to where it started since I lost 5 pounds from the initial-yes-you-are-indeed-pregnant appointment to my 12 week appointment. Did I mention how horrible my nausea was? Anyways, the doctors were glad to see that I was back on track with my weight. Even though I haven't really gained significant weight yet, it still freaks me out to see that scale tip 5 lbs. in four and a half weeks. Yikes! My blood pressure was fine as was the baby's heartbeat (143, I think).

I go back at the end of July for my 5 month check-up and ultrasound. I'm so looking forward to seeing if we have a little boy or girl. I have my "gut" feeling regarding the gender of this baby, so I'll share if I was right or not in that pregnancy update.

Now that my nausea seems to have subsided for the most part, I'm feeling good. It's definitely a different kind of being pregnant the second time around since I have an almost two year old running around, and the hubby is traveling a good bit. I'm not sure the grocery store I use will be able to keep enough produce on hand for me ~ I buy lemons and limes by the the ginormous bagful to "spice up" my water. Nothing other than ice cold water with a lemon or lime squeeze tastes good to me although I have yet to give up my morning java. I'm so addicted to caffeine, but I have limited my cup size and the number of cups I drink. :) I crave juicy, cold fruits; fresh, crisp salads; and ice cold protein shakes. I know, I'm weird. I'm not sure if it's the pregnancy or the heat or both, but meat, sugary foods, and hot meals are just not yummy.

My working out has not been affected of course. Those of you that know me well know that it would take an awful lot to affect my gym time. I'm still running a few days per week, and most days I do this crazy stair master machine that I call "the stairs to nowhere". (It's like escalator stairs with different programs to vary the intensity.) I do cardio about an hour each day & lift weights for about an hour. It feels good to get the old bones moving even on those days that I just want to sit on the sofa with a big bowl of ice cold, juicy grapes and watch morning TV.

I'm starting to show although I'm not needing maternity clothes right now. However, I made my big tankini purchase last week after our beach trip. I felt like an official mom buying a practical suit from Lands End, but I feel much more comfortable at the pool. Not to mention, the suits are super cute and much more sturdy than my cheap suits from Target! And, they were 50% off! Now that I have a little bump, Eric will probably want to get out his measuring tape to record how big my belly gets. He thought that was so fun when I was pregnant with Madeline. I loved it, let me tell you. ;)

All in all, things are going well in this pregnancy, and I can't complain. I'm healthy, the peanut seems to be doing well, and I'm looking forward to meeting our newest babe in December.

Transitions


The Stewart household is adjusting to a new home, a new area, and Eric's new job. Yes, Eric received a wonderful, challenging promotion back in October, 2009! Eric loves it and seems to really enjoy the new challenges this job presents to him. However, it does require him to travel a lot. We were prepared for this, so we are making the best of it.

Unfortunately, Madeline doesn't quite get it, so she's a little more clingy these days. It may be a case of separation anxiety made worse by the fact that her Daddy is gone all week on some weeks, only a portion of the week on other weeks, and yet on the occasional week, he won't travel overnight at all. I'm sure it's confusing to her. It breaks my heart when I drop her at the gym nursery, a place she previously strolled into as if she ruled the roost, and she clings to me for dear life. I've never seen this child get so upset when I leave her, and I know she calms down shortly after I leave, but it still makes me sad for her. I'm sure it doesn't help that I have been going to both Golds, our old one and the one closer to us.

Speaking of the gym and adjustments to our new area, I'm struggling with the Golds closest to our house (I refer to this one as our 'new Golds'). First and foremost, the ladies that work in the nursery are awesome! They are completely different than the ladies who work at our old Golds, but I can't say enough wonderful things about them. Each Golds has a nursery that I am completely comfortable with Madeline residing there for 2 hours each day, and for that, I am grateful. However, our 'new Golds' just isn't all that great for me. While the cardio equipment is abundant, I don't care for many of the styles of ellipticals and stair climbers they offer. Big boo hiss for me since I do about an hour of cardio each day. The weight room is okay as far as variety, and that has given me the opportunity to change up my weight work-out a little bit. My biggest beef with the weight area is that it's not well kept, and I blame the manager for that. It irks me that a piece of trash was in the same spot for an entire week or weight machines are sweaty-dirty looking ...picky, I know, but EWW. At my 'old Golds', that never would be the case. It just seems silly to drive 20 minutes to my old Gold's when I have access to the one about 8 minutes from our house, but I'm just not sold on my 'new Golds' for more than the just a couple of reasons I've mentioned here. I'll spare you of the laundry list of things I dislike about it. I've yet to abandon my old Golds. I just can't do it right now.

My other big adjustment has been GROCERY shopping. Yikes!! I loathed that rental house we lived in for 6 months, but I became spoiled living about 5 minutes from a lovely, brand new Publix. Now, the closest Publix is about 20 minutes away, and it's ALWAYS packed regardless of what time I go. I just can't shop there. Our closest grocery is a run-down, older Food Lion, and to be honest, it's not terrible for a quick milk, eggs, and paper towel run. However, it's not great for my big shopping. I was just getting my grocery game down to a science, and I was saving good money when we lived in the rental house. (However, I've heard through the grapevine that a brand spankin' new Publix is going in not far from us, and glory be the day that joint opens up! Happy Mama Stewart!) So for now, guess what I do? I make a big morning of it, and I go to the 'old Gold's' and then hit the beloved Publix near our rental house. Yes, I know, silly, but it's a good day when I workout in my familiar gym, and then push my grocery cart around my familiar grocery store.

So, we are in transition. Do we love our new house (pictured at the top) in our new part of town? Absolutely. Is it taking some getting used to living this area? Absolutely. At the end of the day, we know we made the right choices for our family, and it will all be okay with a little time to adjust to Eric's job demands and our new area.

Ready to Get Back into Shape





Well, as I posted last week how well things were going with the new little one [and, Nancy, I still am waiting for that other shoe to drop!! :-)], I wondered how our schedule would be now that I can officially go back to the gym. I say officially because I think technically I was supposed to wait to get clearance from the doctor after my 6 week check-up, but I've never been one to get permission when it comes to my work-outs! So on Wednesday, October 1st, I had my 6 week post delivery check-up, and I received a clean bill of health, and most importantly, Madeline is officially old enough to stay in the Gold's Gym kids care. Now I am ready to get back into pre-baby shape and head to the gym each morning with my little one in tow. I was a little nervous for this for two reasons--


1. After all, leaving my precious cargo with those very nice ladies in the gym kids care is a little unnerving for me. However, they are the sweetest ladies, and they love on Madeline. They cuddle with her, and each time I go in there to pick her up, they tell me how sweet she is and how much they want to take her home with them. YAY! And, when I walk into the room, the same girl always announces, "Yes, my favorite baby is here!" What more could I ask for?


2. How is this going to affect the feeding/sleeping/breastfeeding schedule I worked so hard to establish? How can I get my 2 full hours at the gym and not have to worry about a hungry, screaming, cranky infant in the kids care? Babywise made no mention of this sort of scheduling procedure!! :) And, gasp, what if she's so upset that one of the ladies has to come find me in the gym, and I have to end my work-out early? (I know, super selfish!) So far, I've been able to give Madeline a 9 AM bottle (that way I KNOW she is getting a full meal), pump, and get to the gym by 10 AM! Perfect......so far......


Selfishly, I am a much happier mommy and wife when I get to go to the gym everyday, so this has been weighing heavily on my mind since Madeline was brought home. It's just my thing that lets me relax and recharge.


The last 2 weeks have been successful--I'm getting my full 2 hour work-out, and Madeline is happy as a clam in the kids care. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this little change to the "schedule" will continue as they have been. Can things really go this smoothly so quickly and permanently? A girl can hope, right? Maybe just maybe, I can sign up for a spring marathon and begin my training in January 2009 after all, but that's another post for another day.