Progress and Plans

As a new mom, I think I've been craving routine of some sort - for me. Cillian is finally in a good routine now (which is bound to change at any time, I'm sure, now that I have gotten the pattern down,) but I still haven't had much of one. Something Caleb and I have decided to do, which I think will really help my need for consistency, is having breakfast together in the mornings before he goes to work. The routine is that we get up at 7 and he takes a shower and gets ready for work while I go downstairs and make eggs and toast and sausage for us.

And my, it's a wonderful thing...

So this week, we have succeeded in having this routine start out our days twice out of the four days so far. Monday, Caleb took the day off and took me out to Cracker Barrel, and yesterday morning both of us decided sleep was much more important than eating. So this morning we struggled a bit to get out of bed, but I really wanted to fight this and get into a good habit of it. I know how much better my mood and general attitude towards the day is when I start off the mornings right, and especially with Caleb.

I want to make this a good habit. After all, we go to bed together and have a good evening routine - why shouldn't we have a good morning one together as well? It makes me so happy to do things with Caleb. I think it's really important for a marriage to be a wife first and a mother second. They go hand in hand, don't get me wrong, but Caleb is my baby too and he came first.

Along with breakfasts, we have started eating healthier, which is something that has needed to happen since we got married. We haven't been eating entirely unhealthy things, but we as not as healthy of eaters as we could be. For me, eating healthy means starting the day early enough to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, and not just breakfast and dinner as a result of starting my day at 1 PM. So, the getting up with Caleb change works beautifully. I'm still a bit tired, but as we gradually get to bed earlier, that will change and get better too.

So, on the menu this week starting Tuesday, (Monday doesn't count because we a) had Taco Bell, which is not healthy and b) grocery shopped that day) we have had Chicken Caesar salads as a dinner, Wednesday we had Penne pasta and alfredo with green beans, tonight we're having stuffed chicken and corn or green beans (I haven't decided yet), and tomorrow we're having tilapia with a vegetable. We are also trying to stick to serving portions given on whatever food we eat. And it's all going pretty well so far.

Another change along with beginning to eat right is that we're going to start a normal exercise routine. We decided to start this coming Monday rather than in the middle of the week so that it begins right. We're starting a running program that my sisters-in-law have done, one of whom ran her first half-marathon an impressive 8 months later. The program is designed in such a way that you will be able to run 2 miles straight after completing the 8-week training. You do something every day, six days out of the week (hence why we want to begin on a Monday). The first day is ten repetitions of a walk 2 minutes/run 1 minute pattern for a half hour, the next day is just walking 30 minutes, and it alternates for the first four days, then the fifth and sixth days are running/walking days and Sunday, you rest. Then the next week, the pattern is slightly different, and it gradually gets more challenging week by week. I'm very excited about it. I really, really want to stick with it. It says the first two miles you run are the most difficult you'll ever run, and after that, it's pretty easy to work up to however many miles you want to run. I think 3-4 sounds good.

So, with eating more healthily and exercising, I'm hoping to a) lose my baby weight, b) tone up (especially my core), feel stronger and have more energy and c) look better in my clothes and go down a few sizes.

I'm going to be vulnerably frank here - I gained nearly sixty pounds from pregnancy. My wedding weight was somewhere around 125-130, and my weight up to delivering Cillian was about 190-something. I would love love love to get back down to my wedding weight, but my realistic goal for now is 140. I think I would be very healthy to be down at that weight, especially if I'm noticeably more toned. My numbers currently dance around 168-170. So I'm going to keep updates on the blog as to how everything is going - how the running and exercising is and how the eating, meal planning and cooking goes. I'll also post a weekly weigh in. (That'll help me!)

I'm very happy about all of this. Finally changing my attitude (though it be gradual) about food is very refreshing. It's amazing how appealing a salad every day sounds. My new diet consists of breakfast with Caleb, which is two eggs overeasy with one piece of toast (buttered), and two sausage links; between breakfast and lunch, I'll have some fruit (an apple or banana) and maybe some peanuts or cheese; then lunch is a big spinach salad with a little bit of chopped nuts, a sprinkle of parmesan, and the correct serving size of raspberry vinaigrette with some soup. It's very yummy. Just having more salad and drinking plenty of water makes me feel better. I like it when I'm in control of my stomach. It feels right, and it feels so good. No wonder fasting is spiritual! It is certainly one of the passions I have the most trouble controlling, but now I think I'm off to a good start.

Also, we're trying not to eat after 8 PM, which is a great habit to introduce for anyone. And I'm going to try and start drinking more water too. I was so good at this when I was pregnant, but I've kind of lost my urgency for it, which shouldn't make any sense as I should be drinking more water than ever now that I'm breastfeeding. Ideally, you should be drinking half your weight in ounces, but I need to be drinking more. So, I'm going to try filling my 32-oz. water bottle up three times a day, trying to have a full bottle between breakfast and lunch, lunch and dinner, and then in the evening and throughout the night when I'm up breastfeeding.

So now, I'm drinking my morning tea and enjoying this gorgeous morning. I'm so happy it's fall.

Cheers.



Here's the Quote of the Day:

"Think nothing and do nothing without a purpose directed to God. For to journey without direction is wasted effort."

~ St. Mark the Ascetic

Ordinary

Today is simply an ordinary day - it's a Wednesday. Cillian and I woke up at 11 AM this morning and started the day off to a bit of a late start. He was very happy this morning, which I always love. It puts me in such a good mood when he's awake, smiling up at me from the side of our bed. So we had our normal routine: feed, change, I change (or shower and then change), and then we say our morning prayers and go downstairs for breakfast. On the occasion that Cillian goes straight back to sleep after his morning feeding, I turn the monitor on and try to get as much done as I can (usually laundry) before he wakes up again.

The rest of the day normally consists of play, feed, change, sleep, repeat. Sometimes while he's awake and happy, I'll let him kick around in his pack n play while I plink some piano for him.

I've composed a waltz for him that I've been perfecting for a year now. I decided to entitle it Cillian's Waltz since, when I was pregnant with him, he would kick particularly playfully when I performed it for him and now, he likes to "sing" along.

Sometimes, I read, sometimes I write, mostly something on the computer, which is not how I'd like it to be. I need to restrain myself from so much media... I really use the computer too much, I think. I need to rediscover my love for reading and practicing hand-writing (letters and journalism alike) and drawing and knitting. Productive things I could be doing with my hands other than getting better at....typing, I suppose.

I think the most eventful thing about this post will probably be the Quote of the Day, which I'll leave you with.

"Everyone is made in God's image; but to be in His likeness is granted only to those who through great love have brought their own freedom into subjection to God. For only when we do not belong to ourselves do we become like Him who through love has reconciled us to Himself. No one achieves this unless he persuades his soul not to be distracted by the false glitter of this life."

~ St. Diadochos of Photiki