#100inJuneChallege Update #2 (On Priorities)

I am more than 55 miles in to the #100inJuneChallenge.  This fact is both exciting and revealing because, hey, 55 miles!  In less than two weeks!  I am a machine!  But also?  55 miles.  In less than two weeks.  Do I have time for anything else?

I'm dealing with that last thought.  Time is a precious commodity, and I don't want to spend mine on inferior products so I keep weighing the worth of activities to determine what stays and what goes.  Thankfully, I have an open and luxurious summer.  Realistically, I'll be losing a significant amount of time when school reconvenes in August.  So I gotta make all this free time count.

Ok, and Favorite has set a goal for me.  If I walk 200 miles over the course of the summer, I can buy a pretty teacher planner for next year:

This is the inside "lesson planner" part.  You can see more at www.erincondren.com.
(Oh, and they aren't giving me a thing for my comments here, but it would be awesome if they would.
So, Erin, if you're reading, I would LOVE to try your product in exchange for a review.  Get back to me.)

I have no idea if the planner will be super functional for my classroom or not, but since pretty things do tend to keep my focus when I'm working, I'm willing to give it a shot.  That, and I'm starting to get used to all the walking.  And, well, I just really want to be a runner.  All this walking is just a precursor to my running ability, you know?

These new commitments come at a price, though.  Like I said, time is precious, and so far as I can tell, I'm not getting any more of it.  So I'm really starting to weigh the things I value.

Like this guy, for example.

 

He likes smiling.  Smiling is his favorite.

And this guy.



 

Yes, he is showcasing his pregnancy belly.  Don't judge.

Clearly, exercise is a way to stay healthy so I can enjoy time with both of them.  Favorite is also usually willing to join me when I walk/run and it's good together time for us away from Little Britches (and only about an hour at a time--we're still a little weird about leaving him).

 

So what else is there?

 

 

Bible study.

I'm one of those people who gleans more from learning through conversation with others.  I need to share what I got out of the lessons and then hear a different perspective.  The when and where are a little sketchy right now.  And by sketchy?  I mean  I have no idea if there will be a when and where.  But I know, like exercise, this is something I really need.  It's a different type of health, but health all the same.

And then there's quality time with my people.  You know, besides the ones pictured above.

(Plus all of those important day-to-day tasks--laundry, random cleaning, showering, etc.)

So, time.  Yeah.  I'm learning how to use it.  And I won't always have so much of it to dedicate to walking.  These miles have to have the greatest impact possible now.

How many miles have you logged?  And priorities? 

What are yours and how do you determine what makes the list?

#100inJuneChallenge Update #1

At the time I'm writing (Thursday afternoon--hey, I gotta get it in when Little Britches is sleeping), I have 74 miles left to go in the #100inJuneChallenge.  I feel awesome about the progress I'm making, so here's what's working so far:

1.  An 8:30 am appointment with my Mom Monday through Friday--Y'all.  I am not a fan of the track.  I get bored easily and then start trying to talk my companions into quitting for the day.  So Mom and I have a route (about 2.6 miles) we walk through town.  There's no quitting half way through because no matter what?  We have to drag our sorry butts make it back to the car.  Laugh if you must, but enjoy our ingenious approach at workout accountability.

2.  RunKeeper--I love this app on my phone because it tracks my route, tracks my calories and lets me set goals.  Then, it keeps me updated regarding how close I am to meeting that goal.  Plus, Mom and I feel like we're slacking if our average pace per mile goes up.  Motivation, people.  Motivation.

3.  MyFitnessPal--Part of my commitment to the #100inJuneChallenge is to get myself back on the healthy train.  I use this app to track my calories and exercise.  It's easy to use and a good reminder of how much that donut is going to cost.  Six more miles of running?  No thank you.  I'll eat a handful of blueberries instead.

4.  Pepperplate.com--I've never been great at meal planning, but PepperPlate makes it so easy.  I can use the app on my phone or log into the website, import recipes (I use SkinnyTaste a LOT!), plan meals for the next two weeks and then import those ingredients into a shopping list I can print and take to the grocery store (or check off on my phone).  It also helps me calorie plan for evenings out, etc.

Now for the realistic portion of this update:

I weigh every day--not because I want to torture myself, but because it keeps me on track.  Downside?  Three days into this venture I had gained (gained, not lost) two pounds.  I'm counting calories, and exercising far more than I have in the last few months and I showed a gain?

I stared at my scale and tried not to cry.  And I promise I didn't look in the mirror and think about how beautiful I was.  Truthfully, I'm having a hard time looking in the mirror these days.  I know everything I need to do.  I know I can make progress.  But I also remember how slow and painstaking that progress is.

A year ago I was trying to internalize the same things I'm attempting to remember now:  I need to renew my mind to stay the course when there are no immediate rewards.

It's hard.  Walking when my entire body is sore because I went from walking 0 miles a day to walking 6 miles a day is hard.  Averaging under 1500 calories a day due to careful calorie consideration and lots of exercise is hard.  Hearing old women at the Dairy Queen comment that I am now "as big as" another girl she knows who has gained a lot of weight is hard.  (Her actual comment:  "Well you're as big as such and such."  Ouch.)

But right now?  I'm over my walking goal for the week with two days left to go.  So I'm going to count this a win.  And that 100 miles?  I'm going to own it. 

How are you doing?

Two Months--Ryan Christopher

In the three seconds since my kid has been born, he's managed to turn two months old.  I'm not entirely sure how it happened so fast, but I know it appears that bear is shrinking.  Proof?

(I just now figured out it would be a good idea to put him in a white onesie for his month pictures.  Oh, and the bear is wearing a diaper because Favorite had to "practice" before Ryan got here.)

At his two month appointment, Ryan weighed 12 lbs 0.13 oz and was 22 1/2 inches long.  We like to joke and call him Jabba the Baby, but he's truthfully only in the 54th percentile for weight (and the 32nd percentile for height--poor baby is going to be like his parents).  On the other hand, his head was 39 1/2 centimeters--the 70th percentile.  (That information is just for you, Uncle BigBro.)

He's been sleeping through the night since he was about five weeks old.  That information was enough for several of my friends at work to call me a dirty whore out of jealousy :)  Typically, he goes down around 8:30 pm and sleeps until 6 am.  There is an occasional morning he wakes up at 4 am, takes a bottle and goes back down until 7 am, but those mornings are rare so I try not to complain.

Big Yawn

Naps, though?  Naps are a different story.  He sleeps just fine in the car, but he will argue endlessly with me when I put him down for a nap at home.  I'm working through the BabyWise sleep methods to teach him to nap.  Thankfully, it's been pretty successful.

And speaking of BabyWise, that book and the Moms On Call app for the iPhone have been awesome.  I highly recommend both for new Mommies.  Initially, Favorite and I were having a difficult time determining how much he should eat at each feeding because, from time to time, he would cry after finishing a feeing.  Based on the recommendation from Moms on Call, he takes about five ounces at each feeding now.  (That amount is a rough estimate due to nursing.  I have to supplement his feedings with formula, too.  Thankfully, he transitions from breast to bottle with no issues whatsoever.)  It's also been helpful to determine how many hours we should wait between each feeding.  Right now, he goes 3-3.5 hours.

He is not really a fan of his binky.  We do offer it and occasionally he will suck on it to soothe himself.  For example, he gets one when I lay him down at night.  He'll suck on it until he's calm, but he spits it out before he goes to sleep.  And if he's mad?  Good luck trying to keep it in his mouth.

Lately, he's really been talking to us.  He coos and smiles and mimics the faces we make.  He loves attention--especially from Num-NumTheWonderChild.  He smiles at her every time he sees her.  But he's also a fan of his Daddy and his Grandparents.

That Daddy is just hilarious.

Favorite and I took Ryan swimming for the first time on our 10 year anniversary trip.

Ten seconds after this picture?  He filled that swim diaper to capacity.

He loved it so I'm pretty sure he's going to be a water-baby.  (On a side note, can you see how much that child looks like his Daddy?)

Since we were visiting the zoo, we thought the trip wouldn't be complete without this picture:

The Ryno and a real rhino

Ryan is wearing size 1 diapers which means he is one snap out on the waist of the cloth diapers.  We are cloth diapering almost exclusively now; however, we don't travel with them.  Disposables are too convenient for a trip out of town. 

We started with the BumGenius Elementals.  (I'm only going to use AIOs because I have no desire to spend time stuffing diapers.)  Several bloggers commented that these diapers were excellent, and my experience with them has been really great so far.  My one complaint is that they take FOREVER to dry.  Because of that, we gave the BumGenius Freetime a shot.  I actually prefer them because they dry so much faster, but I know a few people are probably more partial to organic cotton over microfiber.  Oh, and any person interested in cloth diapering should invest in a diaper sprayer.

(And for those interested:  we currently have 18 diapers in the rotation--6 Elementals and 12 Freetimes.  You can definitely get by with 12, but 18 guarantees I'm not doing laundry every day and I have at least 4 clean and dry diapers on hand at any given time.)

Favorite is even a fan of the cloth diapers.  Overall, they should save us around $1500 for Ryan and even more if he has siblings.  Not too shabby, eh?



 

Look at those bright eyes.  If things keep progressing at this rate, I'll be posting pictures of his Senior Prom next week.  How did he get so big so fast?