Jay Robb - Whey, Egg White and bar

I'm just posting so you know I'm still here. I might be here for another couple of weeks - or not. I don't feel like anything is going on. Every night before I go to bed, I make sure everything is in order and wonder if I'm going to be up in the middle of the night. Not yet!

So far, I've tried the whey vanilla protein powder - made the protein ice cream yesterday. Delicious and sweet.  I ate the protein bar in fudge brownie after lifting today and as part of lunch I had the egg white chocolate powder.  So far, I like all of these.


FUDGE BROWNIE JAY BAR
The fudge brownie bar was really tasty. I could do it for dessert for sure.

The ingredients:
Organic almond butter, organic agave syrup, whey protein crisps, (whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, tapioca starch, calcium carbonate), whey protein isolate, hydrolyzed whey protein isolate, xylitol, cocoa powder, gum arabic, almonds, natural flavors, and sea salt.

I had to look up xylitol - it is a sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in some fruits.  Also gum arabic is a stabilizer from what I've read. I like the almond butter, agave and whey protein as top 3 ingredients. It 
tasted like a chocolate bar that was healthy. I love bars.


The facts: Calories 220,Calories from fat: 90, Protein 14g, Total Fat 10g, Saturated Fat 1g, Sodium 150mg, Potassium 233mg, Total Carbohydrate 23g, Dietary Fiber 6g, Sugars 10g


 EGG WHITE PROTEIN - CHOCOLATE
The egg white protein powder in chocolate flavor:
I was a bit iffy with the egg white idea, but I mixed it with some milk, shook it up in the nice cup with circle whisker that came with it and took a drink. Chocolate milk? It was very easy to drink and tasty!

I really like how it has 24g protein and thought the taste was great. If I was counting calories, this would definitely count as a breakfast meal or would go with a small lunch, maybe a salad. When you add the milk and the protein powder, we're talking around 210 calories. I drank it before lunch and had a small lunch and lifted this morning. Hopefully all this protein will get my muscles building. I wasn't really paying attention to my protein intake so this is really helpful.

 The little shaker whisk is adorable by the way!


Ingredients: Egg albumin, xylitol, Cocoa Powder (natural process), Natural Flavor, Xanthan gum, lecithin, Stevia
Calories: 120, Protein: 24g  

So far, I've been thrilled with all 3 of the products that I tried.  Next I want to try mixing the powder with water and try some of the recipes that Beth sent along to try out with the powders.   I'll keep you updated. Also, on the Jay Robb site there is free shipping for all orders $25 and up. I am all about free shipping and hate paying for shipping and it's easy to spend $25!  It cracks me up when I see this guy's face, Jay Robb, on all of the products.

I'm pretty pumped about jump starting a get fit, lose baby weight and eat well plan as soon as this baby decides to arrive. I definitely thought it was going to be this week after how I felt on Monday, but now I feel like it could be months! 

 

Jay Robb protein trial #1, Pancakes

I've pretty much been a maniac kind of just waiting and preparing for my mini vacation (which is my mindset right now) when I go to the hopsital. My house is very close to immaculate. I've been cleaning every corner and finding things to clean that I haven't cleaned in ages. I feel like I wash the floor and vacuum every day. I can't have anything filthy - total nutjob.

Besides the cleaning: cooking. Not real cooking - just quick things that I can freeze and have ready for Nick when we're at the hospital and when we come home. Today I made 3 batches of vegan/gluten free pancakes. These things are awesome and thanks to Averie for coming up with this recipe. I feel like it is totally adaptable and I've been able to use various fruits. Today I didn't have bananas so I used sweet potato puree and apples for the first two batches and sweet potato puree & pears the 3rd batch. I made them mini and they are the perfect size for Nick! Here's the vitamix picture on batch 2 or 3 (why it looks like a total mess with the pear, sweet potato, flax, and almond milk.

here are the pancakes baking away:

and here are my finished pancakes - which I later bagged and put in the freezer:

Then, today I received 2 packages. One was the pedi-egg that Rebecca recommended and I was pumped to scrape dry skin off my feet (sorry, gross).  I couldn't wait for that to come.

Next I have been reading Heather Eats Almond Butter for a while now and she talks alot about Jay Robb protein. I asked them to send me some to try out and it came today!  I've been dying to re-try HEAB's protein ice cream.  I tried it last week and it was too icy. Well, first I popped into the vitamix the Jay Robb Vanilla Whey protein with almond milk, ice cubes, & xanthan gum - um, super tasty! 120 calories for the Jay Robb + 14g protein and here are the ingredients: Cold-processed cross-flow microfiltered whey protein isolate, natural flavor, xanthan gum, lecithin, stevia. It sounds great to me w/ the small list of ingredients. And the best thing is it tasted great too! And cooled me off on this hot as hell day.

I also tried a piece of the fudge brownie protein bar and all I tasted was cocoa. Chocolate. It was so good.  I'm going to do a post when I try all of these comparing them but wanted to tell you about the whey protein. Yum yum!  What kind of protein powder do you use?

birthday treats

I was iffy about going swimming this morning. The past 2 nights due to the heat Nick has been sleeping in our room in the pack and play and last night he woke up a few times and made some noise - then just went back to sleep, but of course it woke me up! So when the clock said 5, I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, got ready.. and then got back in bed.  I was in bed a few minutes when I decided I was too hungry to go back to sleep anyway, so I got up and grabbed some food and headed out the door.  Lucky for me, today was a guy's birthday that swims in my lane and someone brought dunkin donuts!  I love the chocolate munchkins so after my efforts and getting up, I was rewarded with some of these :) Yippee! Totally worth it to get up!  Today would be a fun day to have a baby: 7-7.

In the mail yesterday, I received a sample of the Clif Granola Bars  in Chocolate Chip Flavor - I must have signed up for a free sample somewhere and it was amazing! I really liked it. It was crunchy and reminded me of those Nature Valley bars that you can crush and put in your yogurt. Kashi makes or made ones similar, but with the chocolate chips and sweetness, it was really good. They come 2 bars in a pack and have 180 calories (per 2 bars), 8g fat, 4g protein.

The ingredients: Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Sunflower Oil, Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Rice Crisp (Rice Flour, Barley Malt Extract, Evaporated Cane Juice, Salt, Calcium Carbonate), Honey, Natural Flavors, Organic Barley Flakes, Organic Rye Flakes, Oat Bran, Oat Fiber, Sea Salt (Real Salt®), Inulin (Chicory Extract).

I have to see where they sell them. Besides that I should stock up on chocolate chip z bars and have been wanting to figure a way to make them - I would like these too - they are awesome!  It looks like you can get them on amazon - $3.99/10 bars + shipping. Look for them in your grocery/natural food store.




During this pregnancy, I've had a craving / interest in coffee. I've had sips of Bill's here and there, but I've never been a coffee drinker. I love the smell and do not like the taste. I have always been a tea drinker but lost interest during both pregnancies. Today I think I am going to have a cup of decaf coffee. My first cup of coffee ever. How weird is that? Do you drink coffee? tea? what is your beverage of choice?

Yesterday I was on a mission for healthy snacks for Nick. I picked up some of the "just blueberries from whole foods but they are not organic and expensive!  I also bought Happy Babies yogurt melts -another rip off.  He'll eat fruit and tempo bars for his snacks, and sometimes crackers and goldfish but the last 2 I see as crap snacks.  I've been making tempo bars (no bake granola bars) at least once every 2 weeks - they store well and I feel they are a healthy snack.  I'm trying to think what else is transportable for healthy snacks.  If you have kids, what do you give them or carry in your bag for when you are out and about?

 Perhaps the biggest rip off of all of my purchases yesterday was these Plum Organics Fruity Fingerfuls - seriously it is like a cup of cereal and dried strawberries (1 cup total of both!) in a bag and it was around $3.50. Never buying that again.

Post baby goals

I'm still here, just so you know!  A part of me thought I was going to wake up with contractions last night, but I was telling the baby that I wanted at the very least a few more days. I have to go food shopping, I have to make sure I've packed my bag properly, clean the kitchen floor, vacuum... so I'm glad that it didn't happen. :)  I'm also wondering if absolute moodiness is a sign of eminent labor. It's bad!! Impatience and moodiness.

I've mentioned some goals before, but after restarting my lifting routine just a few short weeks ago and loving it, I've had a better picture of what I want to do post baby. Unfortunately, much of it will be focusing on losing about 30 lbs. Even though I've been super lucky and haven't gained extra weight with this pregnancy, I was already carrying extra weight from carrying Nick, and even when I got pregnant with Nick, was 6 lbs above my ideal/happy weight.  So, this leaves 21 lbs of pregnancy (so far, could be more) + 6 lbs pre-both pregnancies + 3-5 lbs after Nick = 30ish lbs to lose!

I don't want to get burnt out from running and starting up a routine or training plan too early, so I'm not going to! I am going to run the Philly Distance Run (rock and roll Philly half) in September for fun. No hardcore training, I'll just do the mileage I'm supposed to do to get by. I'll have about 2 months to train.  In the meantime, as soon as I can start swimming post-baby, I am going to hop back in the pool. Swimming has felt great.  I'll also continue to lift 2-3 days a week.  I want to throw in yoga and pilates at least 2x/week and take classes to switch things up.  I still have the goal of the triathlon in the spring, but really should pick one to make it a real goal.  Until then, the remainder of 2010 I am going to focus on getting fit and toned.  Putting all of this together is probably unrealistic having 2 kids to tackle, but I plan on figuring out some kind of routine so that I have this time to myself to get back in shape and lose that weight!

After Nick, I took off a week then I ran a mile. I kept building up the mileage after that and packed on the miles for marathon training. This time around, I'm just going to take it easy. If I feel good and I'm dying to workout, I will!  Is there a good balance that you have found without just running (training for marathons I could never find the time to lift, and swimming took a back seat to running - it was just run run run)?

the signs of labor

What were your signs of eminent labor?

With Nick,I was running on the treadmill and my back started hurting. I made this post the next day at 3pm, and Nick was born the following morning before 7am. It went into my butt and I felt it into the night. I woke up around 3 am with pains and thought I od'ed on peanut butter - it was around the time of the peanut recall. The next day - contractions all through the day, but I just felt constipated, even though I could "go." Once they had a consistency to them, I kind of knew what was going on. Also, I was STARVING. I ate 2 pieces of pizza on my way home from work and a veggie burger and girl scout cookies when I got home. I was like a bottomless pit.

The last few days I've been a bottomless pit. I've been sooo hungry and can't satiate my appetite. Today I swam and my back started hurting. Now, this can be from walking to and from the beach 2x each day (it felt like work!) and picking up Nick. I guess I'll know if I start having contractions. I wonder how much quicker it will go with #2 than it did with #1. I like hearing everyone else's stories!

Um - it is so hot here. It reached 99 today, with 100 expected for tomorrow. The shore provided some relief over the weekend, but now we are back home and our air conditioner cannot even keep up. It's brutal!!

37 weeks at the beach

37 weeks:

Getting up to go to the bathroom 2-3 times a night, minimum
Very very emotional/moody, very little patience and I can cry at the drop of a hat
Ready and not ready - ready to not be pregnant, not ready to have a newborn
Lifting, yoga and swimming are keeping me going, I don't even miss running at all
I'm definitely more low key about the workouts, and as long as I'm staying active, I'm happy

A little uncomfortable at times  - twinges, some pain if I walk too fast or overexert myself
Definitely starting to feel like I just want to sit down and relax often
Totally into chocolate, ice cream, tomato sauce and pizza
Washing my hands 24/7 with Dove soap :)
My belly button isn't an outie, it's basically flattened out (I was freaking out about that)
I'm really looking forward to having a flat stomach!
The 2nd crib is set up and all we need is some wall decor and to move a few things out of the room
At my last appt, weight gain was 21 lbs - so in the end, about the same as with Nick!
The baby at last appointment was 5 lb 9 oz - 30th percentile (nick was 5 lb 12 oz, 45%)
I'm obsessed with having everything clean. I love to clean right now.
I would really love to scrub things w/ powder like laundry powder or any kind of cleaner. ha!

basketball belly

picking up nick is getting tough :)

Happy 4th!

vitamixing and baby update

I have been vitamixing it up for the past week, making smoothies, pureeing veggies, making nut butters... lots of fun stuff and I love the thing! I've found the food processor to actually do a better job at frozen bananas and berries but I feel like the vitamix should probably do the job - any tips? the nut butters and everything else - the whole process goes so quickly and the blender doesn't just get stuck (like my other blender was doing when I was cursing at it).  Yay for the vitamix!  I'll have to put up some pictures or a video soon.

Swimming - I'm getting slow - some sets I am so bored and by the time I finish whatever we are doing, I miss the interval and I have to turn around and go again so it ends up being a straight swim of the set.
I'm still managing around 3000 yds in just around an hour.  Lifting is going sooo well and I'm super motivated to go to the gym and lift! I feel like it took the spot of running as far as energizing me and giving me happy endorphins.  Also, I'm totally into yoga and motivated to go. I was going to go to a class this morning but decided to stay in the pool instead.

BABY ------


Today I had an appointment and was measuring a bit small, the baby is 30% percentile, coming in at 5 lb 9 oz.  Everything was fine - this is probably good news for me pushing him/her out :) Nick was 45% percentile around the same time and 5 lb 12 oz.. so I'm not concerned.  I was a fingertip dilated (a fingertip!) and not effaced. I feel like from things I read that things could change within a day - what do you think? With Nick I was 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated and had him 3 days later. I don't know how long I was dilated or effaced, since that was the first time they checked me, but the doctor had told me that I had another week or 2 to go with Nick and then bam - 3 days later, here comes Nick.  For the second baby, do things stay the same longer and then happen quicker? The doctor even said I could go to the shore this weekend??  2 weeks ago he said I couldn't travel past 36 weeks, and I'm not sure if I want to risk heading to the shore and getting stuck there. 

I'd love to hear stories of going into labor/effaced/dilated with #1 versus #2, how quickly it happened, etc! Please share mamas!

36 weeks;yoga;

Thank you for all of the anniversary wishes! We went for a family dinner just for pizza on Friday and nice dinner just Bill and I last night. On Friday I put on our wedding video and our baby picture montage made me cry - and watching everyone walk up the aisle. Haha!

36 weeks - going much stronger than the last few weeks! This week my sleeping returned! I have been sleeping so nicely and it has been great. It makes such a difference! I also added in weight training and yoga, and the elliptical machine. The weight training has been awesome. I have this book:

and this log:


I've had them for 4 years and used them on and off but I'm using them now in addition to some saved magazine lifting moves that I've had for years in a book. It helps motivate and keeps things fresh!

Yesterday I did a vinyasa yoga class. I don't know the difference between all the yogas - I was into power yoga when I was doing it regularly. I am very very tight, so I want to get yoga back into the routine 2x a week. I was doing a video of it but it's so not the same! The elliptical machine - ehh. I dread that thing. It is so boring! I'll do some biking here and there on the stationary bike, but other than that, for cardio, swimming is my best bet right now and feels great!

Here's my 36 week belly shot below- only a few weeks to go. My concerns at this point are getting back into a nice routine with 2 babies and finding time for myself. I go to the doctor on Wednesday and see if anything is going on! I'm good to wait 4 weeks now that I am sleeping and not sick!

I think compared to with Nick that I'm carrying higher! (see Nick in belly below)
I still have no idea boy or girl!

5 years ago...

This is where we are supposed to be today:

But because of these 2 small reasons - we're here:

I can't believe it has been 5 years - time flies!

vitamix & Bars

Guess what came in the mail today??  Vitamix! On Friday is our 5th wedding anniversary :

and I suppose 5 years of outstanding service earns a vitamix! Woo hoo! Just kidding about the years of service - what a great gift from Bill!  I am not a jewelry/girly girl - I am a foodie and athlete. Anything food related or athletic, I'll take it!! I actually opened it by accident. Whoops. So now, I don't know what my first trial recipe should be. Do I go for banana softserve? A smoothie? some almond butter? fudgie babies? This is going to be tough! What should I make w/ the vitamix?!!

This week has been going 10x better than the last couple of weeks. I've been able to have some great swims and feel good from lifting. Now the elliptical machine sucks, I have to tell you, but I feel in a good place even though I am not running. I thought I would lose my mind, but instead, it is a good and needed break and I think I'll come back ready to run.  Swimming has seemed to help my headcold, which lingers but is improving. I can't believe it is Wednesday and I have 4.5 weeks to go. Yesterday we worked on #2's room which is an office being turned into a nursery.  It's getting close!

Also, all I want lately is bars  - luna bars and z bars. I just ordered some from amazon so I'd have them on hand. I've been making tempo bars for snacks but I like the protein content in the luna bars and like z bars for dessert. I know they aren't your clean eat food but that's what I want right now!

WINNER! CSN

The winner of the $60 CSN giftcard is Denise #30

Denise said...

already a follower and i want a vitamix so badly! i'm in awe when i see them doing the demo w/ them at costco!

6/16/10 12:02 PM

Congrats!
I want a vitamix too!! 
Shoot me an email and we'll get in touch (tosha25italia at yahoo).

Do you lift?

 Since I have been unable to workout, I've been thinking alot about what I will do to get back in shape after the baby is born. I'll be excited to run, but I'm thinking I'll tone down running a bit and aim for shorter races until I'm feeling the itch of doing a marathon.  I plan to continue cross training and coming up with a good training plan for a spring triathlon and see if I like them.  Today I was able to swim- yippee! It felt so good to have the energy to move my body. I also lifted briefly and thought how it would be nice to have a trainer taking me through different exercises and working me hard. I've never found one that I would pay tons of money for, but I'd like to have a partner or a reasonable trainer.

Do you lift? How do you motivate? What kind of exercises do you do? How often?

Last day for the CSN giveaway...

7 months-35 weeks

35 weeks/7 months - Nick (left), Baby #2 (right) - I thought I was carrying way higher this time but maybe not?

Did you check out the CSN stores giveaway???

So - this week has been brutal! I am still fighting a head cold or sinus infection and have basically been on "bed rest" -  no swimming, no running, no walking - nothing! When Nick is sleeping, I have been laying down.  It's depressing!  I've been using the neti pot but I'm so stuffed up, nothing is coming out.  I can't wait to hop back in the pool! I am hoping for 2 more weeks, but preparing myself for 5 more weeks (ugh!)   I have not been on the computer much and hope to catch up on reading some blogs soon.

Nick had his first sleepover at my parents house this weekend and it went well. I have been feeling so awful, I didn't have time to worry about it and it was a pretty nice morning getting things done and being able to rest!  This weekend one of my best friends got married so it was busy - rehearsal dinner and wedding - I am beat.  The food was great and I have little appetite and ate alot of bread!  Nicole, the bride looked beautiful!  I was a reader in the wedding and was looking around at everyone's cute dresses and waist lines with envy!  My camera was sucking this weekend - here's a dark picture of Nicole, Julie and I. Check out their glamorous dresses : )

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Especially Bill - he's a great father!

It's back!

Almond butter, that is! Either I was having too much of it - I call this *marinated mushroom syndrome* (I used to eat marinated mushrooms out of the jar in college and got 2 huge containers of them as costco and now I can't look at them) - or pregnancy turned me off from almond butter! Well, after seeing Mae's crunchy almond butter w/ sunflowers and flaxseeds, I knew I was ready for some! Delicious! What has exited your life due to marinated mushroom syndrome??

On a poopy note, another thing that is back is my lack of sleep and sinus infection. What the H!!!
I am so miserable w/o sleeping.   I start to feel useless and have no energy to workout, so it is just terrible. I'm trying to take it day to day.   Yesterday I was dying to go swimming - it felt GREAT but the rest of my day was shot. Today I really tried to hop on the treadmill and lasted less than a mile walking and just over 10 minutes. It was sad!

I think I quit running. We'll see when I feel better, but for now it's not in the cards.  I think it will help motivate when I start up again since I'm not running till the end this time.

 I enjoyed the comments from my last post - I think I'm going epidural all the way. It was great last time except feeling something like fluid in my spine, but I could totally feel my legs the whole time and was able to get up shortly after - is that normal? 

Also - if you are on the market for a treadmill, and don't mind sifting through ads, here is a site with treadmill reviews you can check out.   It's nice they are all in one place, but the ads can be annoying to bypass.

CSN Giveaway

Here is a great giveaway for a $60 gift card to CSN stores. CSN is an online retail company that offers everything from lights to kid's stuff to everyday appliances and tons more.  They have just about everything and free shipping on most items.


 How to enter:
1) Leave a comment: What is on the top of your list of coveted items right now?
2) Link back from your blog and post the link in a comment
3) Follow my blog, and leave a comment that you are a follower.
This will end on Monday, June 21st.

Here are some of the things that I am coveting right now - CSN stores has all of these.

 From small to big!

WAFFLE MAKER!


VITA MIX!

CRIB FOR #2


PLAYSET FOR BACKYARD that I don't have

34 weeks - 3 weeks until INDUCE ME NOW

34 weeks and ready to have my body back!  No heartburn, trouble breathing or sleeping in 6 weeks or so!

This pregnancy has taken a toll on me - I think the last week has been rough. A few weeks ago, I wasn't sleeping, and then I got sick probably from lack of sleep and my immune system being down. I'm trying to save myself from that happening again. I had a great week of sleep and then back into the troubles falling asleep and breathing problems at night. I woke up yesterday with a sore throat.  I've been downing vitamin C & bananas today hoping I won't go back into another sinus infection: that was terrible!

Early this past week, my back started hurting. With Nick, my back hurt after my last run on a Wednesday, and I delivered him on Friday morning. I also asked the doctor and it sounds like I am having contractions here and there, but nothing to be concerned about.  The back pain +  weird pains, I thought I was for sure going into labor in the middle of the night one night last week.  I guess it is normal for your back to hurt, especially now that I am picking up my little 23 pounder - didn't do that the first go-around!

I don't feel huge, but I feel uncomfortable for sure.  My patience level is about zero and my desire to stand up for a long time is also zero. I think it helped with Nick that I had to keep on teaching, had to walk up three flights to my classroom. This time, I just feel so lazy and want to be done.  I am definitely much less comfortable than I was with Nick.


What is funny is that at 34 weeks with Nick, I ran 8 miles of the disney marathon with my sister.  This time around, I don't even think I could make it 2 miles.  Running has become very uncomfortable. When I am running, I feel like I have a belt on that is tightening around my waist.   Still, what do I do to take the place of running. What did the other running moms out there do when you stopped running? I wouldn't mind giving it up or continuing to scale back.  This week we headed to the shore midweek and I've run about 10 miles on the week, maybe I'll do about 15 by week's end.  Swimming continues to be awesome! The people that I swim with think it is funny that I can still keep up and/or still beat them.

w/ nick:

#2:

Cocoa: how much caffeine is in that???
I have had so much trouble falling asleep many nights.  One thing I decided to do was stop eating anything chocolate before bed to see if it helps. That led me to wonder how much caffeine is in cocoa powder since I have been making fudgie babies w/ cocoa and eating chocolate too.  I couldn't find too much on it but there's definitely a significant amount of caffeine in it  - maybe that was causing me to be up, exhausted, but unable to fall asleep.

Thoughts at 34 weeks:
* When do you go to the hospital this time around? Last time it was wait as long as possible - this time goes quicker right - so what are the guidelines? (haven't looked it up yet)

*Epidural - get it right away? or try to go natural round 2 and end up getting epidural anyway?
Can you feel a whole lot of pain when you are pushing and having contractions if you go natural?

Blueberry Fruity Muffins

I came across this muffin recipe that Heather posted and wanted to try it Tues morning for a playdate.

I renamed them blueberry fruity muffins:

• 1 C milk (I used coconut)
• 1 t Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 C Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 t Baking Soda
• 1/3 C + 1-2  t sugar
• 3/4 C chopped blueberries and raspberries
• 1/3 C Unsweetened Apple Sauce

No butter or oil, and no egg in the muffin! You couldn't tell - they were yummy! I added a crumb topping (2 T butter, 1/4 c brown sugar, 1/4 to 1/2 c ww flour) on the top just incase they weren't tasty - but they were, so I don't think they would need it. It was an added bonus.

I also made some of Mae's 'get regular' brownies and some pecan/chocolate fudgie babies - yum yum.

I think the half is a good idea, with a tri still as a goal for the spring! Thanks for all of the thoughts! 

Marathons, Races

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on the anxiety of the arrival on #2 - I found it helpful to read the comments :)

The idea of doing a marathon in the later fall this year has crossed my mind a few times. Should I do Philly? or another local one? Or stick with the half. Or not even sign up for anything and take it easy this fall/early winter season?  I know the races fill up soon, so if I am thinking about doing one, I should sign up now. I'm thinking the motivation won't be there for a full - that I need to switch it up and get into the triathlons, but how about a half? I'm already signed up for the Philly Distance Run/Rock and Roll Philly half in September which will be 2 months post due date, and the Philly 1/2 is in November - I'm considering it.   Ask me on a different day and I'm also considering the full marathon.  There's something about doing a handful of them that makes them seem almost easy to do, but then you have to think about the training, your goals, motivation, and the desire to avoid burnout!

I haven't found a triathlon yet to sign up for but did see tips to visit different sites for ideas and training plans. I think that will be my next goal and to decide on the Philly 1/2 in November by the end of June.

I have been getting up to go to master's swimming again ! I have been getting there about 15-20 minutes late and hop in for the workout, then go back and do the warmup at the end.   It has been wonderful! and swimming feels fantastic right now.  Running is pretty uncomfortable. Last week I ended with just over 22 miles, but I don't recall much of it feeling good. I'm just keeping up with it to try to keep my running fitness level in check and not pushing it.

Last, I'm on an amazing Grass powder + banana softserve and frozen berries kick. It's perfect for summer and I've been having it everyday. Nick is still enjoying it with me. Amazon has it for decent prices w/ free shipping and if you subscribe (you can cancel anytime) you save an additional 15%. I ordered one of each flavor (berry, kidz, and chocolate) to get me through the summer :) Has anyone tried the wheat grass? I kind of forget what I did with it when I tried it last summer - added it to some milk? and what to do with the powder besides adding it to banana softserve. Any ideas?

Parenting/33 weeks

Yesterday was my doctor's appointment, the baby's heart rate was 140, my weight gain was 19 lbs and everything was looking good. I think with Nick I gained 19 around 33.5 weeks and now I'm almost at 33 so it seems to have tapered off and everything seems pretty similar. The baby is doing somersaults lately in my belly - all over the place!  The doctor said history tends to repeat itself - as far as timing of the babies. He said since Nick was 38 weeks, usually the 2nd one would be around the same, but maybe a little bigger.  I think it could go any way - #2 could be late, early or on time.  I go back and forth between wanting the baby to come early (37/38 weeks) and not caring - more 1 on 1 chill time with Nick!  I think many of you have commented on this before but how did it work out for your babies? Early/Late/On time? Did they follow suit?

The last 2 days I've taken Nick to the pool to swim -  it has been so great and refreshing with this heat wave in early June, yikes!

I'm super super anxious about going into labor and leaving Nick for a couple of days. We've left him for the night once with Bill's parents at our house, but he hasn't stayed anywhere else except in our house when we've been gone.  I would like it the most if someone could stay here with him - I don't want his world flipped upside down and then we come home with a baby.  I'm trying to work that out to make it happen. My parents live close by and would probably take him to their house, but I might convince my mom to stay at our house with Nick. My other concern: his meals.  What I have to think about is that it is 2 days (hopefully tops) and not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Nick eats mostly organic, no/low sugar, fruits/veggies, grains, nuts, beans.  I can't imagine what they would give him - but I guess I shouldn't worry about it. I could maybe have meals prepared and frozen?? Is that nuts?  I'm kind of a nutty parent so far.  I like to have control and I like structure.  I get anxious/stressed when he doesn't sleep enough and am very scheduled.   I want to make sure he's eating right, I don't trust other people watching him for the most part and I don't want to miss a moment with him, especially now with 7 weeks left of 1 on 1 time.  I'm hoping having the 2nd baby will loosen me up a bit - I've been an uptight kind of person for a while.  I don't want to be a crazy parent. What kind of parent are you? What have you found makes for a happy medium?




Here's my little peanut butter lover:


Also -sports fans - check out this sports blog - sporting goods and equipment.

33 weeks -
Running back to being pretty uncomfortable - lower ab pressure
Have to go to the bathroom all the time
swimming feels awesome!
Not sleeping well - again. Can't get comfortable or stay asleep - tired often!
Going to bed early!
Able to get up and get in workouts in the early am again, woohoo!
Have to eat mini meals, can't eat too much in one sitting
Belly button still not out, hanging in there but real close to flattening out
Carrying pretty high up - breathing problems
Think I have a girl name but not a boy name - just a list

National Running Day!

Get out and run today !

For Philadelphia runners, check out some events that are going on locally - the 5 mile city tour sounds awesome to me! I am going to try to run a few miles on the treadmill - it is really hot here, with an expected high of 87.  What are you doing to celebrate running today?

A few nights ago I had a triathlon dream - I finished the swim and was on to the bike. My bike was a shopping cart! I was pushing it and running with it  - what sparks a dream like that?  It cracked me up.  I have been thinking of tris and trying to determine when I should set up a training plan for post-baby and still to pick out a good one to do. Unfortunately, I think about 6 months later would be good, but it will be the dead of winter. I think next spring would be a good time for the first tri, if I can get out there and bike - that will be my uncertainty. Are there good websites for training plans for tris?

I'm drawing a blank on cooking lately and haven't done much of it - I need some good recipes for vegetables or all out veggie meals.

Check out Chari's healthy living event over at Take time to smell the roses!






Happy Running Day!