I'm now almost 8 months PP and ironically, have about 8 more pounds to lose.

Getting to the gym is a challenge. It's not impossible. But it's tough. The hubs works and stays out of town from Monday to Friday. My mom watches D for me as often as she can so I can get to the gym but when she's not available, I am housebound.

A friend of mine recommended that I check out the 200 Training Program. Anyone who knows me knows that i'm not usually a fan of at-home workouts or trendy training programs. But now that i'm housebound more often than not and getting to the gym isn't always possible, i'm willing to try anything ;)

Here's the gist of the program: for 6 weeks, 3 times each week you follow the 200 squats, and sit-ups regime. The program helps you to build your strength gradually and by the end of the 6th week you will be doing 200 consecutive squats and sit-ups. Really?

I'm 4 weeks in and keeping up with the program. I like that it doesn't require any other equipment or tools besides your own body weight. And it doesn't take long to get through each session.

This week I also added the 100 Push-Ups Program to my regime. I'm lucky if I can string together 20 push-ups on a good day so this one will definitely be a challenge for me.

Wish me luck!

So I recently came across this video and fell in love.

Do you ever wish you could have a redo on your friend list? You know what it's like, one co-worker adds you then the next co-worker adds you...
Or even worse...one person you went to high school with adds you then a friend of a friend from high school adds you. The next thing you know, there are an embarrassingly large number of people on your friend list who you actually can't stand. Non-friends if you will. Truth be told, when it comes to those old school contacts, you probably couldn't stand them back then either.

Stupidly, I have always granted full access to everyone right off the bat when they add me on Facebook. So now it feels 'rude' to pull back - to give them limited access to my profile. I have considered casually deleting some of these non-friends but of course, I have a great deal of Facebook-friend-overlap. So if I delete Susie but keep Jane (who work together and are BFFs), it's bound to come up in conversation at some point that I de-friended Susie, right?

Basically...i'm a coward. And because of this cowardice, my non-friend list will continue to grow on Facebook.

Sigh.

Who knew electronic relationships could be so complicated?

Thanks so much for visiting. Please do not ever return.
Lots of love,
J
xo

Wikipedia never lets me down:
Muffin Top:
"a generally pejorative slang term used to describe the phenomenon of overhanging flesh (fat) when it spills over the waistline of pants or skirts in a manner that resembles the top of a muffin spilling over its paper casing."


There is something so confronting and unnerving about the words "overhanging flesh (fat)". Nothing good can ever come of those three words strung together.

Sadly, after giving birth to my dashingly handsome son, I too fell victim to the dreaded MT. It's funny, I never noticed it while I was pregnant. It's like it was hiding (baking?) and waiting to make it's grand entrance when I was most vulnerable...post partum.

If you google 'muffin top' you'll find a million and one different ways to rid yourself of the muffin top. There are diets, exercises, creams, surgeries, clothes, all designed to eliminate those unsightly bulges of 'overhanging flesh'.

Despite the numerous links I was offered through my google searches, I believe that it was Wikipedia's fine definition that became my ultimate motivator to bid farewell to the dreaded muffin top.

I like to wear low-rise jeans. And I enjoy a curve hugging dress. But I like to enjoy these things sans muffin top.

Things are still not fully resolved, but i'm getting closer (and refusing to give up on) bidding farewell to dear MT.

Here are some tips i've come across:

1. Eat clean: Cut out the junk and reduce the amount of starchy and sugary carbs. Eat lots of protein.
2. Drink water: Keep yourself hydrated and drink about 8 glasses a day. 
3. Get moving: Include a cardio session with your workouts. 
4. Weight train: Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn all day long. You'll also strengthen your bones and feel stronger. 
5. Give up on spot training: Unfortunately, we don't get to decide which part of the body we can gain and lose weight from. 
6. Buy clothes that fit ;) Your goal may be to fit into those pre-pregger jeans, but in the meantime, you can buy yourself a pair of 'transition jeans' that will get you through until the MT vanishes. 

So D has mastered pulling himself up. He pulls himself up on his Leap Frog learning table, on the couch, the chairs, the coffee table. Yay for reaching another milestone, right?




Kinda.

I guess I should be more grateful and celebratory when we hit these milestones but when they start to interfere with D's (at best) mediocre sleeping habits, it makes for some very long days (and nights).

For the last month and change i've been sleep training. A fancy dancy word for trying to teach the boy how to put himself to sleep and STAY asleep. It was (hands down) one of the most difficult things i've had to do, but I did see some improvement. It was going fairly well for a few weeks... Our evenings usually looked something like this:

1) 5:00-6:30: Whining, crying, fussing, eye rubbing
2) 6:30-7:00: Bath time, bottle, snuggle, books, etc.
3) 7:00-12:00: D sleeps like a rock!
4) 12:00-12:15: Dream feed the little guy about 7 oz
5) 4:00: Wake to feed (sometimes....not consistently)
6) 5:00: Up for the day (ugh!)

Doesn't sound too bad, right?

Well that was how things were looking around here until we started with the standing. D wants to stand all day, every second of the day. He has abandoned crawling. Standing is MUCH more interesting.

Here's the problem: When nap time and bedtime roll around D would much rather stand in his crib with his hands on the top rail and spit his soother on the floor. After a few minutes of that he screams and cries himself into a sweat because he can't quite figure out how to get back down. I go in, re-insert soother and lay him back down. Repeat this for about half an hour until he submits to the exhaustion.


Note: It may appear that my son is wearing a Halloween costume of sorts...hehe....but really, he's just showing love and support for his Dada who is completing his Radiology residency at UofT :)





He'll sleep through the night one day, right?

We've all seen them....