1st Day of a 10 Week enduraLAB Fitness Challenge

Today, begins the 10 week enduraLAB challenge. It seems like they are really pushing the Zone Diet, even more so than the Paleo Diet. I've spent the last two days trying to understand how the Zone blocks work and I'm completely lost. All I know is the protein I consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner should be 4 ounces with a ton of veggies. I have a lot of questions to ask the enduraLAB folks, when I see them on Wednesday about the meal part of this challenge. I'm hoping they can help me understand how the numbers all work. I was hoping I could just eat Strict Paleo and call it a day, but the way I have to log my information online, contradicts that....so, we shall see how this goes.....

This was my breakfast. 3 eggs, a bit of ground beef, 3 cups of broccoli and half an apple.

Part of the challenge is consuming 64 ounces of water a day. This will not be a problem. I've never tracked my water consumption before, but thought I'd give it a go. It's 8:30 pm and I've consumed  roughly 180 ounces. That's over a gallon of water or if you look at it in liters that's 5 liter bottles. Something you might not know about me, I sleep with water on my nightstand and I wake up in the middle of the night and take sips of it. I'm a total H2O addict! (help)

Besides the food and eating healthy, I think it will be a challenge to get 8.5 hours of sleep. Last night, I got  6.5 hours and I was trying! Trey will do great with the sleeping points. He gets 9 hours of sleep on the regular. As for the diet, I'm worried since he is not a fan of vegetables. And for the exercise part, he's a regular at the gym, so he'll do fine there.

Okay, I'll keep you all updated on our progress. I'm sure there will be small victories, mini-break downs, and cheat meals along the way. Stay tune.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oh, here is my DailyMile Training from last week.

Cycling: 18 Miles 

Walking: 9.25 Miles

Rowing: 2.5 Miles (I still want my own machine) 

Elliptical: 2 Hours 

QUESTION: Have any of you guys ever done the ZONE diet? 
I could really use a hand here. Thanks! 

Park, Surprise Parade, Happy Hour, & Movie

Here are some of the highlights from this weekend.
My little sister, Tasha was in town. We went shopping and got matching sandals and sunglasses (different colors tho), cause we're cool like that.

We took the kids to the park.

This is Bella, my niece.
 
I played too.

Cheyenne got carried away swinging.

Things got real crazy at the park. This girl knows how to have fun. Take notes, people.

We went to the Stockyards and by total accident, made it to the St. Patricks Day Parade. Afterwards, we stopped by the petting zoo.

Oh, Friday night we took Tasha and Bella to one of our favorite restaurants, Chuy's. Did you know that Happy Hour is Monday thru Friday from 4 - 7 pm? They have a nacho bar during their happy hour and get this, it's FREE. Say, WHAT????? If you knew about this, we are not friends anymore because you did not share this information with me. For reals, though! We made it right in time before happy hour ended. SCORE.

Trey drove the scooter to Chuy's and met us there since our car can only seat four people. I know, more ammunition for Trey and his case to convince me we need a new vehicle. LALALA, I'm not listening, ELEMENT for life!

Last night, Trey stayed at home with the kids, while Tasha and I went to the Movie Tavern to watch Project X. It was nice getting out with just her, thanks TREY! So, that was our weekend with my sister and niece.

Sleepover & How We Teach Colors

We are enjoying Bella's company. Every night since Bella has been here, Cheyenne has requested for Bella to sleep in her room. We've tried it, but the first night they just talked, so we separated them. The second night, we tried again, but they wouldn't go to sleep. Bella ripped her diaper off and peed on the sheet and Cheyenne was in a chatty mood.

Cheyenne gave her several of her own babies to keep her company.

How We Teach Colors
Cheyenne is having a hard time distinguishing colors, so in order to help her, Trey has come up with a tasty method == The M&M Method. She can only eat the M&M's if she correctly names the color.

The method is working, she seems to be getting better at naming colors.

My Week in Photos

I think I'm going to do a post like this once a week, called my week in photos or my Instagram photos or something random like that. I take pictures when I'm out, and sometimes there is no rhyme or reason to my madness. I find the most random things interesting and photo worthy -- even if they are as random as can be. So, here are my phone pictures and one T2i pic that I captured during the week. ENJOY! If you like this random style of blogging let me know with a comment or a like at the bottom of this post! Thanks.

And now for the most random blog post. This is not in any particular order.

Some girls like shoes or purses, well I'm OBSESSED with jackets! I found this one, today while I was shopping at the mall. Yes, I understand it's currently in the upper 70's, but I'm praying for a cold front!

I couldn't resist, I had to zip it. I look totally normal, right?

Guess, who I rescued from Abilene? Tasha was losing her mind staying at home during spring break, so she's hanging out with us this weekend. We love this shirt! It's at Wal-Mart for $12 bucks. WISH LIST! We should get matching ones -- all of us!

It's been about 2 or 3 weeks, since I had a protein shake. They make a great dessert or recovery drink.

Here is a purse coolie for my water bottle. I'm serious about my water, y'all. I didn't buy it, but it's a cool idea. The bags are meant for wine bottles, but whatever.

Today, I had the day off and since Tasha was here, she stayed at home and watched Cheyenne while Trey and I went to the gym. I rode 4 miles on the bike, while Trey pumped some iron. I'm so impressed with him, this week he bench pressed 225 lbs.

Last week, Trey and I weighed Cheyenne when we went to the gym. She weighs 40 lbs.

Do you guys ever sleep with a sleeping mask on? This week I did because I was exhausted and Trey wanted to watch TV. When I woke up, I was all confused.

I snuck into Cheyenne's room and took this photo of her, while she was sleeping. All the mom's out there can relate. How many times have you done this? Numerous times, am I right? They grow so fast, I want to savor every moment.

Okay, that's all I have. Everyone have a fantastic weekend. We'll be hanging out with Tasha and Bella.

EnduraFIT Challenge

So, I get a phone call from my doctors office and I'm thinking -- Oh, no. Did I fail my glucose test? Do I have gestational diabetes? Apparently, my glucose results came back fine, but my iron is low. To remedy that I'll be taking iron vitamins.

As you know, I'm banned from running --- WAHHHHH!!!
It's not so bad. I guess. If anything it's allowing me to explore other areas of cardio like rowing. I usually go to run group at enduraLAB once a week. I still wanted to see my friends and workout -- so I went to the LAB, but I didn't participate in the running exercise. I stayed inside and rowed for 30 minutes. All it took was one session for me to fall in love with their rowing machine. Now, I want one for my home gym! Seriously. I've been pricing them out.

Every now and then Trey gets off of work early enough and he meets me at the LAB before or after run group. Yesterday, I got lucky and he met me there! Did you know the Lab sells Natural Running Store shoes? Yeah, they have a big stock of minimalist shoes. Go get you some. Trey did. <---- spoiled!

Trey bought these Inov8's. These shoes seem to be popular in the running and crossfit community. By the way, I have yet to try crossfit, however it's on my bucket list. I'm thinking I will wait until after Dakota arrives to explore that. 

When I got home I was starving, luckily I had leftovers so I threw together some lettuce wraps and a side of veggies. Looks good, huh?

CHALLENGE TIME
Starting Monday, I'll be participating in a 10 week Fitness Challenge with enduraLAB. AND I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but I think Trey is in too!!!!!!! Y'all, it just got interesting! I'll talk it about more, in another post. In the meantime here is a video they put together that describes what the challenge entails and for further details and for the point breakdown check out the their blog post. I was telling them, I'll be the only athlete to gain the most weight during the challenge. Haha, it's true! #pregnancy

$1.30 Home Date Night, Losing A Toddler & A Parenting Secret

Red Box It!  $1.30 Home Date Night
Do you guys ever rent DVD's from Red Box? You know the DVD kiosk that you see outside of grocery stores and pharmacies? Lately, Trey and I have been taking advantage of the $1.30 rentals. It's a great in home date night. In the last few weeks, we've watched In Time, Jack and Jill, and The Debt. We have Netflix (streaming only). Now that football season is over, we might upgrade to receive DVDs again.

The Main Event: Losing a Toddler
Over the weekend, while Brandon and Maghen were still in town we went to the Main Event. Can you say Spring Break Crowd? Whoa, there were crowds and crowds of people, you can't tell by the picture, but trust me they were a lot of people. Somehow when we were dodging humans we lost Cheyenne for about 10 seconds. When we spotted her wondering in the crowd she was already in panic mode. She had tears rolling down her face and she was looking everywhere for us. When I found her, I didn't even say anything. I just ran to her and gave her the biggest hug. I could feel her little heart beating a million times per minute. It was a scary moment for all of us.

As a child did you ever get separated from your parent(s) when you were out? I did, several times in the grocery store. I think I may have had separation anxiety because I would also have reoccurring nightmares about losing my mom and never being reunited with her. How terrible. I know! But then I'd wake up and be fine.

Cheyenne enjoyed all the games at Main Event! I bet we could've let her sit there without paying a dime and she wouldn't have known the difference. DJ was really getting into it too.

Catching some bumble bees. I tried to help her so she could have a high score, but she didn't want my help, she wanted to do it all by herself. Miss independent, okay then!

I had a chance to use my lazy susan warming tray. I made a buffet style breakfast, Sunday morning for everyone. Anytime you and your family want to come over for brunch -- I'm ready!

A Parenting Secret That Works for Us
I'll leave you with a picture of Cheyenne at the Container Store. She has a habit of wanting every item she sees === in every store we shop at. That bag, the one she's holding in that picture -- yeah she wanted it.

The best way Trey and I have been able to deal with this issue is we have created a wish list for her. Anytime she sees something she can't live without, we tell her to put it back on the shelf and we'll put it on her list. This list is actually stored in our iPhone Notes. Occasionally, we'll snap a photo of it, so she knows we're serious. Don't ask me why, but it works like a charm. No fuss. I wonder how long we can get away with this.....Who knows maybe years :)

All This Sun Makes Me Want to Play Outside, Longer

It really feels like spring around here. It should, considering it's Spring Break and all. Yesterday, Cheyenne and I went from the doctors office to the gym. I figured I'd walk out the news she gave me. When we got to the gym I was informed childcare hours are not available at that time. Say what?! I guess, I never paid attention to childcare hours because I never go that late in the day. Look at Chey's face, that's what my reaction was when they said no childcare....GRRR!

Actually, it worked in our favor. Instead of wasting an hour on the treadmill, Cheyenne and I walked to the lake. The weather was perfect and the lake scenery was peaceful. I was pleased to see that my beloved lake is finally at a decent level. Thank you, Jesus for rain.

This was the lake level back in October. This was from our Ft. Worth Staycation -- which by the way was so much fun. Somehow I convinced Trey to join me for a bike ride. How did that happen? Here is the old blog post. Today, I can no longer see these rocks, they are now covered by water.

During nap time (Cheyenne's not mine), I found a home for all these miscellaneous papers. Please tell me, I'm not the only one with multiple junk drawers and piles of papers. This is normal, right?

How is everyone adjusting to the time change? After Cheyenne and I completed our chores we went outside and got carried away playing. It got late on us and I didn't have dinner on the table until after 8 pm. Oops! All this sunshine is deceiving my internal clock. Plus, it didn't help, that I made a time consuming dinner.

It was a Good Run, While it Lasted & Dakota's 3D Sonogram Pictures

I'm about 27 weeks along in this pregnancy journey. Today, I had my glucose test and I had to drink this terrible juice. It was gross. It tasted like a super sweetened sprite. I like sweet stuff, but this was just straight up sugar-water.

Today, this appointment was imporatant. I finally, got a chance to talk to the doctor face to face about the pain I've been experiencing. I told her everything and made sure she got a clear picture of what I've been dealing with for the past 2 weeks. She explained to me, like the nurse I talked to in her office -- (a week ago?), that everything I'm experiencing is quite common -- especially with a second pregnancy. She said, in the most severe case she could prescribe me Tylenol with codeine, but at this point that's not an option. So, I'll continue to take over-the counter Tylenol and get through this.

I told her that up until 2 weeks ago, I could run 30 miles a week, but since the pain started - it's been impossible. She looked at me and said NO MORE RUNNING during the pregnancy. I asked if running could harm Dakota and she said that the running would not put stress on the baby, but it could cause permeant damage to my body, if I continue to run, during the pregnancy.

You would think I'd be upset at the news. Yes, I'm disappointed, but a huge part of me is relieved. I have piece of mind that Dakota is thriving in the womb, despite all the pain I'm feeling. I heard her heartbeat, saw the 4 chambers of her heart, and saw her move. I just want to be comfortable and feel normal again. In the meantime, I can still walk for exercise and do light cardio. So, I guess, I'll do that on the days I feel good.

So, yeah -- at the moment I'm taking the do not run anymore news fine. I wonder how I'll feel about it in 3 weeks?

Below are some sonogram pictures of Dakota.
Profile Picture -- 3D sonogram

Another Profile 2D and 3D of Dakota.
Trey and I think she looks like Cheyenne.

This was Cheyenne's 3D Sonogram

Dakota currently weighs 2 lbs and 14 ounces. She is in the 75 percentile for her weight. BIG GIRL! The doctor said Dakota could possibly weigh 8 - 9 pounds at birth. I'm not going to freak out about that number although the thought of giving birth to a 9 pound baby frightens me. I'll take that information with a grain of salt. I was told Cheyenne would weigh over 8 pounds and she weighed under 7 lbs.


We got conformation that we are still having a girl.
That looks like a healthy spine.

Family Time & Big Boy Toys

Brandon, Maghen and DJ are spending the weekend with us. They got into town yesterday evening and we took them to the Fairmont District to eat at Mamma Mia's. I highly recommend the dinner salad and a side of meatballs, it was really affordable and delicious.

Today, we spent a good chunk of our time on the road. Brandon and Maghen recently bought a new vehicle, a Chevy Traverse. Their SUV seats 7 people, so we all piled into one vehicle and drove around the Frisco/Plano area. Cheyenne sat in the back snacking on an almond butter/jelly sandwich and carrot sticks.

Look at Mr. Handsome in his blazer. This was at IKEA. Goodness, I could spend an entire day in that store!  I got a few kitchen items, but nothing big. Trey got really tired, while we were there. BOO, for 2 hour IKEA trips, doesn't he know I need a minimum of 5 hours?

When we returned to Cowtown, we stopped by Toys R' US and the boys got themselves a toy. At the moment, they are trying to put make this look like ---- 
This...

Good luck with that! Oh, don't forget about Daylight Savings Time. Spring Forward.