Friday, July 27, 2012

Road Tripping

Apparently, my mom and I are gluttons for punishment, so last week, we decided to drive to Moline, IL with the girls to visit my great-aunt, among other people. It's a 16 hour drive, and we did entertain the notion of flying, but have you seen plane ticket prices recently? Ugh. The girls did really well on our trip to Pittsburgh, so we decided to see how far we could get them.
We started out Thursday afternoon, hoping they'd nap, and rolled merrily along until dinner time. We learned that Ela travels a lot like this:
And Lily travels a lot like this:
We stopped for dinner that night and then rolled on until we ran out of steam. The next day, we got up with the girls, and continued. We stopped in Effingham to visit one of Mom's cousins, which was a lot of fun. Then it was back in the car and we arrived in Moline in time to have a nice dinner with Aunt Margaret and my dad, who was in the city on business.
Saturday, we had a very fun day. We went swimming at the pool in the morning, then we went out for lunch at a lovely place owned by a friend of ours called Lagomarcino's. We got lucky and our friend was there, so we had a nice chat, too.
We had a little time, so we went down to the John Deere Pavilion to see the tractors, and instead we hit the jackpot. John Deere is celebrating it's 175th year, and they were having a "Farm Day", complete with animals...
...some of which wanted to eat the girls's skirts. But really, it was the very best petting zoo I've ever seen.
There were also games. Ela is still talking about milking a cow.
It was super fun.
After another lovely visit with some old friends, we headed back to my aunt's for another lovely dinner. The next day we went to see one more friend, had lunch with my aunt, and headed back onto the road. We drove until we hit Lawrenceville, where we stopped to visit Zack's Aunt, Uncle and cousins and have a quick dinner. Here are the girls with their second cousins. 
It was quick, but nice. We drove again until Lily ran out of steam, woke up a from a dead sleep and screamed until we stopped the car. So now we know exactly how far she can go before she's done. And it's really freakin far for a fourteen month old.
We had breakfast Monday morning with one more friend, and then it was back on the road for the day. We managed to make it to Winston in time to celebrate Zack's Dad's birthday with him and have another lovely dinner.

The girls liked the ice cream the best. After dinner it was a short drive home.   The whole trip went really fast, and we were busy non-stop.  It was actually a very good time.  I was really glad we could see so many people in such a short time.  And I'm also really glad the girls travel well.  I suspect it will come in very handy in the next several years. 

Thursday, July 12, 2012

I Work Out

Before I was chasing kiddos around, I used to go to the gym in Japan.  I liked it for several reasons: 1) it was free  2) the yoga instructor was awesome 3) They had American TV, which I could watch on the eliptical when I needed a USA fix.  When I got pregnant, I had to take it easier, so the gym slipped out of my routine, but I totally meant to go back to yoga and/or a gym when we got to DC.  I even did the research to find one.  My conclusion: it was way too expensive.  I mean, membership was one cost, childcare another, and then you paid for the classes separately too.  I could handle just walking.  And on walking alone, I managed to lose my Ela-weight and get back to what Wii Fit called "normal"... just in time to get pregnant again. :::sigh:::
When we moved to Cary, I went on a gym hunt again.  This time, I found a place that had affordable membership fees that included both childcare and classes.  Win!  So I joined.   And I have to say I love it!
I love that the gym will watch my kids when I'm ready to pull all my hair out.  I love the girls.  They're good girls, but we all need a break from each other.  The gym provides that without me having to pay them huge sums and without any preplanning.  When I find myself resisting the urge to scream, I can  just go to the gym. 
Also, I can take a shower there without an audience.  I know, this is crazy, but I honestly look forward to the occasional shower at the gym.  Why?  Well, Ela has started showering with me on occasion in the morning.  And even when she isn't there, Lily freaks if she can't see me.  So there is always at least one little girl observing my cleaning routine.  It's no big deal, but it is nice to occasionally wash myself without the girls.  If you're a parent, you probably get this, right?   Anyone? 
So the fact that the gym has childcare actually is providing me with extra motivation to go, which means I'm making some serious progress on the whole get fit thing.  I have never been that strong or even remotely athletic.  I took a barbell class on a whim, since it was included anyway, and now I'm hooked.  I'm starting to get a little muscle tone.  I don't ever plan to be a body builder, but it is kind of cool that I can do it.  I feel much more comfortable around weight machines now.
In fact, the only class I've tried that I didn't enjoy was Zumba.  I know, I know, everyone loves Zumba.  Not me. I am not a dancer.  I never have been. And I don't want to shake any of me in front of anyone.  So Zumba is not my thing.  I'm glad the rest of you love it though.  Keep going!  :-)
Mom and I have also made plans to run an 8k with my sister (okay, may be not with so much as at the same time as) in November, so I downloaded the Couch to 10 k app, and we've been doing the runs.  Now that it's a million degrees out, the treadmill at the gym is the only reason I can keep going.  And I can now say that I can "run" (slowly) for 20 minutes straight and not drop dead at the end.  Never before in my life has that been true. 
With the membership to the gym, I got a heart rate montior kind of as a "thanks for joining" gift.  So now I have multiple ways to measure my improved health: the scale, the montior's numbers during runs, and how I generally feel.  All show improvement.  I feel really good about that.
Another thing I like about the gym is the people watching.  I recognize a lot of the people there now, because it's not that big of a place.  I make up names and back stories for them.  It's kind of fun.  Don't tell them, okay? 
I look forward to the prospect of going jogging with Zack when he gets home, and even just the look on his face when he sees me again.   He is a big factor in my whole getting fit mindset.  Somehow, the fact that he's gone makes it easier to do.  He loves me no matter what my scale says, but I feel a lot less like a sissy when he's not here running three miles a day.  It gives me a long time to focus and work towards his level.  And knowing how excited he'll be when he gets back is a great motivation for me. 
So despite the incredible odds against it, I've become a gym person.  I miss it when I can't go.  I look forward to it when I plan to go.  And it's starting to show.