Boston

As many of you know, I did my grad studies in Boston and the city is very dear to my heart as are the friends I made there. I was relieved to learn that my friends all seem to be fine. I can't help feeling like I am in the wrong place right now and wishing that I was in Boston to help, hug, and soothe.

My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones and with those healing from injuries suffered in the explosion.

Boston, I love you! Stay strong!

The Lamest Ducky

I am the lamest ducky in the world when it comes to blogging...

Every since the Bebe arrived (and really, since I found out I was preggers) I've failed to keep this blog updated. My excuses are many;   There is so much (or so little) going on.  It takes too long (blargh, I'm a fast typer, that's a pitiful excuse!). I'm tired.  I can't get to the computer (actually, our office is a disaster of Everest proportions and it IS hard to get to the desktop and I HAVE rather killed my netbook, so that one might be valid), I have no ideas, I have too many ideas... etc, etc.

You get the point.

Well, I'm hoping that things are really getting better this time.  I'm trying to be a new, motivated plunker, mommy, exerciser, homemaker - ummm... we'll see about that one, did I mention our office?

So, What we've been up to in a Nutshell since I haven't posted since October or so 0_0

January's mini-show

• I started working out
• I auditioned for, and got cast in, a show
• Rehearsals started
• I stopped working out
• Baby 5 months
• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Baby 6 months
• Christmas
• Did a one off show!   :) 
• Baby 7 months
• I was in rehearsals
• Baby 8 months
• Husband was sent to Maryland for work
• Tech Week
• Baby got Croup
• I was in a show
• Baby 9 months
• 5 Colds (spread over all this time)
• I started working out, got sick, stopped again
• Baby 10 months
• work, life, stuff...

My little fam! <3 td="">

So now we're caught up! ;)  

Workout planning!

3 weeks ago, I decided to get off of my sad, fatigued butt and get moving.  I decided to start small - one large glass of water in the morning before anything else and Yoga - before the baby wakes if possible, during his first nap if not.  

See? today's workout!

That is going swimmingly! 

In the past week or two I've started adding occasional 'hard' workouts and we're trucking on that!

Last weekend I read a gluten thingy that listed some of the possible side effects of gluten intolerance (as in, when you eat it, this can happen).  I had over 6 of the health problems on the list.  Sharing may be TMI, so I won't ;), but the long and the short is that, Starting last weekend I started cutting back, Monday I dropped it all together and Yesterday and Today I'm feeling better.  I hope this lasts!  

Ok, Baby is waking, but I want to throw some photos and move on with our day! ;)

Did I mention that he's getting big?

Baby's First Christmas

Hi All.
Sorry for being such a blogger slacker!  I never knew how crazy busy I would be with a baby under my wing.  I'm finally feeling like I have my feet under me again, but am just figuring out how to manage time as a mommy, singer, and wife.  Not to mention blogger :)

I am LOVING being a mom. it's challenging, but there is always a baby giggle, laugh, or new achievement to make it all worth it.  Saturday is 7 months with our baby boy.  I can't believe its been 7 months already and yet, I can barely remember our lives without him!

So, Tuesday was his first Christmas and I was so busy helping with the food preparation that we didn't take many pictures.

He lucked out on toys from family and is LOVING the puzzle ball, Stacking cups, and a shape sorter! Santa gave him a very hungry caterpillar rattle and mommy and daddy got him a fun mini version of the wire/bead things - like they have at dentist offices!

Since the 6 month update never went out, this is what our little man is up to these days:

• army crawl.  Oh yes.  it's happening! 
• Laughing at mommy: 
• grabbing things
• Babbling.  we've got "NaNaNaNa", "DaDaDaDa" and now "BaBaBa down! We don't read him Traditional Baby Books at the moment - Daddy prefers to read from 'Basic Economics'  and Declan likes to interject like he understands what Daddy is saying!  
• Grabbing Toes and bringing them to his mouth
• Rolling and stopping mid-roll to hang out in a yoga-like twist.

He's Eating 'solids' now - Pureed fruits and veggies and oatmeal!  He loves his Pears, Peaches, Green Beans, Pumpkin and Apples!  I can't wait to introduce more as we go along!  

I hope everyone's holidays were lovely and filled with family and love.  

~Errant Soprano

New Leaf?

Without me doing much about it, my weight has been going down and I'm getting skinnier.  Whoo hoo!  The downside is that, except for baby lifting muscles, I have fairly minimal muscle tone.  So, with this in mind, I'm attempting to achieve a new goal - 2 workouts minimum a week (on top of what I was already doing) and I'm going to attempt to be more active on weekends... maybe some hiking with the baby?

So, with a nod to the old bodyrock - the one where Zuzana was still there - Here was today's workout.

16 rounds, 10 sec rest: 30 sec work.

Exercises:
1) up/down planks
2) low squats with calf raises
3) pike press-legs fly- jump up
4) side-lunge switching
5) push ups
6) v-ups
7) Mountain Climbers
8) surfers

Scores for both rounds:
1) 9, 7
2) 12, 10
3) 6, 6
4) 29, 28
5) 9, 10
6) 11, 12
7) 30, 27
8) 6, 6


and now i'm feeling it already!

I miss when I felt like a 'bad ass.'  It wasn't that long ago (though definitely pre-baby, pre-pregnancy) and I was awesome!  so tough and fit. Abs of steel, buns of steel, looked great in a bikini!  ;-)

here's to getting some semblance of that back

Cheers!
~Errant soprano

Four and a half month update. Baby and Mommy

ok.  So I completely failed at getting this out at 4 months, so it's a 4 month and 2 week update.

Baby:
D is doing so well!  He's growing and happy (most of the time), sleeping through the night, fighting naps, eating well, and generally being adorable (when he's not driving me crazy from overtired screaming!).

Milestones he's met:

• Rolling.  For a long time (3 weeks is a long time now!) he was rolling back to tummy, but only back to tummy.  Now he rolls tummy to back too... baby on the move. Time to babyproof!  
• Reaching for toys.  He does this more when someone is holding a toy out to him, but he'll pick things up off the floor now too. He just started reaching for things today.  Like purposefully reaching for my hair to pull... Seriously considering cutting it off except... he is so cute when I tickle him with my hair!
• 'talking' - he coos at us regularly now.  Tells us stories and spreads the love... it's the BEST.THING.EVER.  See? 
• 'singing' - I'm pretty sure this is what he's trying to do... with a singer for a mommy, how could he not?  :)  I don't have any videos of it, but he'll find a pitch and sort of hum it and then hum notes around it. He is now Humming when he eats - like mommy does!  It's one of my more annoying endearing habits!
• Supported sitting - if you help, he will sit! Such a big boy
• Supported Standing - he's been doing this for a while.  
• Supported 'dancing' - he has two moves that rock - the 'cowboy stomp' and the 'surfer'.  no vids yet, but definitely adorable
• Laughing - it still takes a lot to get a giggle out of him, but he does laugh and giggle as well as smile now and it's amazing.  
• Chewing/Teething - the dreaded teething has begun and we have days of screaming for no apparent reason.  mommy-no-like.
• Playing by himself.  Sort of.  he'll play by himself sometimes which is great because it lets me do things like update this blog!

His Size:

at Birth:                When we took him home:    4 months:

20" long               20" long                              26" long  

6lbs, 14oz           6lbs, 4oz                             15lbs

Postpartum Mind:

honestly, nothing crazy different here other than I'm way more emotional than I used to be.  I have a feeling this'll hang around though... Mrs. I-never-cry now bawls at movies and commercials and sentimental moments... no reason at all.  

Postpartum Body:

Body is nowhere near what it was, but getting closer to fitting in my pre-pregnancy clothes.

Pre-pregnancy  Measurements:           End of Pregnancy:                       4 months Post-partum:

Bust: 32.5"                                         Bust: 35"                                     Bust: 35.5"

Waist: 25"                                          Waist: 40"                                   Waist: 28.5"

Hips: 36.5"                                         Hips: 38"                                     Hips: 37"

                               

awful picture, I know.

I haven't been working out as much as I'd like, but hope to get there soon.  Life with a new baby and a kitchen in re-model is a life in upheaval.  

be back soon with more things relating to life and a fun 'announcement'

~Errant Soprano 

State of the Nation

OK.  Not really.  However, I have had some thoughts on my mind based on some recent experiences and felt a need to do a brain dump/rant/challenge.

I'm starting to realize now, as a mommy, that we have become, as a whole, an abrasive society.  Twice in the last week I've had people obviously cursing me out from the relative safety of their cars over a percieved indiscretion while driving.  One of them was a valid frustration, but still no reason to react as she obviously did (I was in the middle of a large driveway rather than off to the right as I should have been. she still had room to get in the driveway as long as she wasn't speeding - which she was).  The other was completely ridiculous and an overreaction (I was going the speed limit on a one way road where the cops are known to hang around and stopped at a stop sign before I went right.  abiding by the traffic laws is apparently a no-no to her).
source

Anyway

What it got me to thinking about was that we can be just awful when we feel secure and safe like other people can't see or touch us.  However, people are intuitive and if you can see what they're doing, you feel the emotional ramifications of their behavior.

So, why do we perpetuate this behavior?  What makes us feel like it's ok?  I'm not going to lie, I've been that person, yelling from inside the safety of my car at some transgression made by another driver.  My question is, why did I do it?  It didn't change their behavior.  They didn't miraculously start driving any better and more often than not they retaliated, perpetuating the behavior.

 source (I just google imaged 'frustrated')

Before I was a mother, I was really judgmental and since then I've learned that every family is different, just like every person is different and every child is different.  What works here doesn't work there, and you have no idea what a stranger is going through or dealing with that day, that month, that year.  LIFE CHANGING REALIZATION.

 source

So my challenge for myself for ... forever, but more realistically, the next month, is to focus on being a better person to strangers.  Particularly when driving.  So, say I'm running late for something.  It's not anyone's fault but mine, so I will focus on honestly recognizing what the repercussions will be if I'm late (usually they really aren't that bad) and take the consequences as they arise without taking out my frustrations with myself on others.

SO.

BREATHE         . source

here we go!

What do you think of the current trend to treat strangers badly when you are in the safety of your car?  Are you guilty as I am?  How does it make you feel when you're the one getting yelled at?  How does the retaliation make you feel?

~Errant Soprano

Working out again - The Embarassing Post-Partum Edition

Brutal honesty is about to happen here - just be warned... some might be TMI!

I've been working on working out again, but, in all honesty, I haven't been particularly consistent.  I have managed about 1 'official' workout a week and a couple walks here and there and yoga around the house when I can.

Most of my physical activity comes from work (where I often move chairs, boxes of music, and percussion) and this guy:
    who now weighs at least 15lbs and is at least 26 inches long and loves to be held so he can see everything that's going on.  I'm working on some serious guns!

I got an awesome workout at tough mudder pushing the stroller up hills and have been managing to squeeze in a HIIT workout once a week.  Today I'll go for a walk and try to do a HIIT or yoga workout if the wee one cooperates!

Here comes the honesty part:

working out is hard now - physically, it feels great, but things are different with my body. Things like - my boobs are bigger than they have ever been in my life - I was always pretty flat chested (34A in High School and College and 34B in Grad School and until I got pregnant) and now I'm rocking 36Ds.  May I say that I now understand you larger busted ladie's complaints? I always thought "why would you complain about being busty?"  Now I understand.  Those suckers BOUNCE.  and when they bounce, they hurt.  Makes working out so much harder, especially since my sports bras were perfect for before, when I was small.  Does anyone have any suggestions for really good, no-bounce, sports bras?

The second part, and this really is TMI so please feel free to tune out here...
The peeing, dear God, the peeing!
Even with doing a bunch of kegles, giving birth to a baby and having a catheter for a week has RUINED my bladder control while jump roping.  I don't even know that its happening until its over and too late!

I miss Jump roping

here's hoping that I can get that control back again!

In much less disgusting news, I did a couple slow sprints around and about (in order to get somewhere fast) and it felt good to hit my stride!  I don' think I'll be doing any long runs any time soon, but I hold out hope that someday I might again!

~Errant Soprano