The MS150 is getting closer! Please donate at the link to the right on my blog :)
The final day of boot camp is tomorrow: 6 weeks down! Still doing spin on same schedule. Getting lots of good cycle time before the MS150 comes. We have a long bike ride this Sunday so I'll get to see if all that spinning is paying off on the real bike, on the road. Wish us luck!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
You're Four today!
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Anna. Happy birthday to you!
Yesterday at work, going from one meeting to another, I would think of what I was doing this day and time as the day progressed 4 years ago. When we went to the hospital for an ultrasound on March 7 due to low amniotic fluid, we packed our bags because we suspected this ultrasound would drive the decision to induction 2 weeks earlier than your due date. We were right. Your original due date was March 19.
When you were a screaming baby I wished we could advance to when you're 3 or 4. Yesterday daddy and I toured your potential kindergarten. Here we are and I can't stop time! Yay for another great year. We love you!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Anna likes for me to roll the windows down at the stoplight on the way to school in the mornings so she can call out and wave to the crossing guards. They love this too. I started doing it with her when she was a car seatscreamer as a distraction (oh many a blog post about those screaming 2 yr old car seat days).
Now she also wants to do this with construction workers or anyone close enough to hear her. If they don't see her she gets bummed.
She's still enjoying gymnastics.
I got her birthday party invitations out to her friends today. I made them up and printed right from the computer for zero cost. Go me! Party is March 5 at 1:00. Woo hoo! As for us, it's been one birthday party per week.
Everyone's growing up!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Mardi Gras marathon
Paul ran the Galveston Mardi GRAS half marathon today! He finished 20 minutes faster than when he runs with me. I didn't run; I haven't really run since the Disney half. No time with the cycling and boot camp. Go Paul!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Exercise update:
Still Spinning, 3 days per week! It’s been 4 weeks as of tomorrow. I still love it!
Still in boot camp, 3 days per week! That’s will be 3 weeks as of tomorrow.
6 days per week total exercise.
Thank goodness I am still thinking it’s fun! But I do miss running a bit.
My metabolism was tested by Paul’s little breath machine thing and it says at REST all day my metabolic rate is 1800 calories per day. That means if I did nothing but lay in bed all day, I’d burn 1800 calories to keep my normal body functions going. That’s pretty high, actually. Most women should be around 1400-1500 if they’re not exercising. I assume my high metabolic rate is due to the exercise 6 days per week. I eat around 1600 calories per day (up from 1400 the past few weeks). Each boot camp session burns around another 400 calories beyond that 1800 calories, per my heart rate monitor. Each spin class burns another 500.
Do the math, and the scale should be going down, down, down. In typical Tara-exercise fashion, it’s not. It’s going up, up, up. All the research points to the involvement of muscle work, glycogen’s use as energy for those muscles, and the fact that glycogen is hydrophilic (it likes water). Long story short, the gains are probably water. In fact I am technically 4lbs heavier than when I started all this exercise. And no, it’s not muscle gain (that takes more time).
And no, my clothes aren’t fitting looser.
There’s nothing like an rise in the scale numbers to serve as a de-motivator if you’re looking to actually LOSE weight. Incidentally, EVERY SINGLE TIME I’ve ever taken boot camp in the last 10 years I’ve lived here, the scale has always gone up, up, up. Completely freaking me out every single time. So this is nothing really new. Every time I’ve ever lost weight, it’s been based on diet ONLY. No exercise involved.
Paul swears if I stick to this another few weeks, the scale will start dramatically moving downward. What I can say about this is that really I only started spinning because I need to train for the MS150. Not to lose weight. I started boot camp because I need muscles (for increased metabolism) and strength. Definitely not to lose weight.
And look, it’s a good thing I didn’t set myself up mentally to lose weight. But let’s face it, I SHOULD BE LOSING WEIGHT. The big number conflicts in my mind between the metabolism, the 2800 calories burned per week in exercise, the calorie deficit in my diet, and what’s happening with the scale is just so damn perplexing. Really, weight loss should be a nice side effect of all of this work. Don’t you think?
It’s just weird. Calories in and calories out. Why all of this complication? I’m picking this to death and picking Paul’s brain to death.
Anyway, I just imagine that by April 16-17 (the weekend of the MS150), I’m going to kick ass on those hills thanks to Spin class, and just QUITE POSSIBLY look decent in those bike shorts (frankly, not many people look decent in those biking shorts). So I’ll just keep going. Plus, frankly, it’s fun!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
MS150
We're counting down to the weekend of April 16-17 for the MS150, when we're riding our bikes from Houston to Austin to raise money for multiple sclerosis treatment. Please donate!
Paul and I each have to raise at least $450 for the ride. I've lost track of how many years we've ridden (we missed last year, too busy I think).
To donate to my page, click here.
To donate to Paul's page, click here.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which a person's own body attacks its myelin. Your neurons have myelin on them to make the signals pass faster, so your movements are purposeful and efficient. Without myelin, you'd take awhile to move a body part, if you could move it at all. So people with MS have difficulty with their movement, and it generally worsens over time. There's no cure yet but the money raised for these big events almost all goes towards the costs of cures and treatments. Very little goes to "overhead" associated with the events. So when you donate, you'll know it's for a good cause directly.
We ride because it gives us a personal challenge while donating to a good cause too. It's a win-win.
And this year because of that spin class, ain't no hill gonna take me down! HAHAHAHA!
Paul and I each have to raise at least $450 for the ride. I've lost track of how many years we've ridden (we missed last year, too busy I think).
To donate to my page, click here.
To donate to Paul's page, click here.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease in which a person's own body attacks its myelin. Your neurons have myelin on them to make the signals pass faster, so your movements are purposeful and efficient. Without myelin, you'd take awhile to move a body part, if you could move it at all. So people with MS have difficulty with their movement, and it generally worsens over time. There's no cure yet but the money raised for these big events almost all goes towards the costs of cures and treatments. Very little goes to "overhead" associated with the events. So when you donate, you'll know it's for a good cause directly.
We ride because it gives us a personal challenge while donating to a good cause too. It's a win-win.
And this year because of that spin class, ain't no hill gonna take me down! HAHAHAHA!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
One month till Four
Dear Anna,
Today I watched a cute little girl a the airport with her mommy and I realized she must be younger than you. It's getting harder for me to judge ages of kids as you get older because even though I know you're tall enough to ride the big kid rides I still see you as a little thing.
Maybe the little girl was an early Three. I guess smaller than you. These days I can't believe the size of your shirts when I hold them up to fold them. For real?
You have one more month to be Three. Three was the best year by far but I still loved Two and that was a long time ago. Seemingly. But not really. Now at Four you're truly getting to be a big kid. I am excited and torn and finally feeling what most moms feel when their babies turn One: oh no my baby is growing up! So I'm a few years late. When you were a screaming baby I would tell myself that the screaming baby wouldn't last forever and that some day you'd be Three and Four, and how much fun would that be? And here we are and I was right. And now it's blowing past. And when you're Ten and I see little girls in the airport I will miss your Three. And this is the kind of thing I hear makes moms sad. This must be why moms want to have another baby. Er, No, this does not make ME want to have another baby! It makes me see that soon I will miss and want the little Anna even as I enjoy the big kid Anna.
I realized early on that most of us have known most of our friends and adult family not from when they were babies and up, but almost in the same semi-adult-to-adult state our whole lives. No one ever says how much they miss the old mom, dad, whatever maybe because there's no such drastic change in knowing and loving a person as there is in starting out from birth. The little person you love changes with stages and you're loving a changed person over and over. So when your baby is Ten, you miss Three because she was such a different person at Three. Just different. Just as you become attached, there's a change. Who else do you know in life who has gone through so much change right before your eyes?
We love you baby girl. Enjoy your last month of Three. We will.
Today I watched a cute little girl a the airport with her mommy and I realized she must be younger than you. It's getting harder for me to judge ages of kids as you get older because even though I know you're tall enough to ride the big kid rides I still see you as a little thing.
Maybe the little girl was an early Three. I guess smaller than you. These days I can't believe the size of your shirts when I hold them up to fold them. For real?
You have one more month to be Three. Three was the best year by far but I still loved Two and that was a long time ago. Seemingly. But not really. Now at Four you're truly getting to be a big kid. I am excited and torn and finally feeling what most moms feel when their babies turn One: oh no my baby is growing up! So I'm a few years late. When you were a screaming baby I would tell myself that the screaming baby wouldn't last forever and that some day you'd be Three and Four, and how much fun would that be? And here we are and I was right. And now it's blowing past. And when you're Ten and I see little girls in the airport I will miss your Three. And this is the kind of thing I hear makes moms sad. This must be why moms want to have another baby. Er, No, this does not make ME want to have another baby! It makes me see that soon I will miss and want the little Anna even as I enjoy the big kid Anna.
I realized early on that most of us have known most of our friends and adult family not from when they were babies and up, but almost in the same semi-adult-to-adult state our whole lives. No one ever says how much they miss the old mom, dad, whatever maybe because there's no such drastic change in knowing and loving a person as there is in starting out from birth. The little person you love changes with stages and you're loving a changed person over and over. So when your baby is Ten, you miss Three because she was such a different person at Three. Just different. Just as you become attached, there's a change. Who else do you know in life who has gone through so much change right before your eyes?
We love you baby girl. Enjoy your last month of Three. We will.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Holy Toledo!
OK, actually it's Cleveland, where I will be this week for work. Now THIS is cold. Paul will also be there for one night. Hopefully all goes smoothly with Anna-bear!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Well this looks like this will be the third year in a row Houston is going to get snow. It’s expected to head our way right about…well…now, and continue through until tomorrow morning. Paul and I are at work today, and Anna’s at school. As of now there’s no closures for any of the 3 of us, but JSC is officially closed tomorrow morning until noon, since the roads are expected to be crappy. Anna’s school will be closed all day tomorrow. So Anna and I will be sleeping in and coming up with inside activities. Maybe playing in snow will be one (outdoor albeit)? If not, maybe ice skating in the cul-de-sac?
Spin class and boot camp have been going great. This is the end of week 2 for spin and it’s been the first week of boot camp. Of course, boot camp is canceled tomorrow morning since JSC is closed. Bummer. One thing I’ve noticed about the spin class is that my heart rate actually reaches my Max Heart Rate for my age, if only for just a brief minute or so when I’m pushing extremely hard (hill climbing, etc). Otherwise I’m in a really high heart rate zone for the remainder of the class; much higher than when I was running. And here’s the thing: I think I’m addicted. I look forward to going to the class, and afterwards I am in the best mood and my energy is pretty high the rest of the day. It’s conflicting to me how I could push so hard during exercise and still have so much energy and be happy. Paul thinks this might be that endorphin release thing I’ve heard about (AKA: exercise gives you energy and makes you feel great!). We’ve all heard that exercise is supposed to make you feel great and happy and stuff but that’s NEVER been the case for me. I’ve always felt tired with exercise J Could it be I need to work in this particular heart rate zone to feel those effects? Weird I think, but anyway, it’s great! I don’t dread getting up to go in the morning (yet) and even when I’m sore I push through it. Plus think of how great I’m going to do on the MS150 at this rate! They actually added more classes so now it doesn’t conflict with boot camp at all. So it means I’m either at spinning class or boot camp class 6 days a week. So far so good. Let’s keep it up, even though I have travel planned for next week.
Speaking of travel, I’m taking a trip to NASA Glenn Research Center next week for work. Incidentally, Paul is going with me, and strangely enough, for HIS work (the exercise machine). He’s bringing it up to NASA’s exercise engineering group for some mechanical troubleshooting and maybe some testing. So if both of us are traveling to Cleveland, who’s watching the child? HA, our amazing friends will juggle their schedules and keep her safe and sound. Between TJ and LW, I think Anna will have a blast while we’re gone (Paul’s only going to be gone one night, me 3 nights) and Anna will sleep away from home for 2 nights. At this age I feel like Anna is independent enough to be less of a burden than ever on TJ and LL so I feel really comfortable about the whole thing. Plus she loves going over to play there anyway so this will be fun for her and I know she’s safe too. It’s really great to have such great options and friends.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Kindgergarten 2012
Today I freaked out Paul when I told him that starting next fall we really need to decide whether to keep Anna in kindergarten at her current school or move her on into public school. Yes, we're just about there and it's time to really start comparing!
The end question really is: are we planning to put Anna into public or private school for the long haul? We're leaning towards public, and so now I guess it's really a matter of doing the research to make us feel good about that choice. Honestly, the public schools where I live are actually relatively good schools. I think the decision would be easier if we could say that these schools were REALLY BAD.
The things I really like about the private schools are the obvious: enriched curriculum, less institution, more individual, and from what I can tell, just more opportunities through field trips and hands on experiences. But the thing I really am turned off about private schools the most is growing up in a bubble almost. Sheltered, dare I say? Let's face it: the kids you go to private school with are not exactly going to be the people you work with on the outside.
The world's a huge place full of rich and poor and fat and skinny and short and tall and black and white (and all that in between). All kinds of religions and learning capabilities, not to mention personalities. These are real things and the real world and in my experience, the things you are exposed to in abundance in public schools. The real world isn't necessarily about the individual, right or wrong. The real world is a community of all types.
Sure we want Anna to have the best shot at an education. But honestly, it's up to each student and the parents to get the most out of it. Paul and I went to public schools with very limited opportunities, but once we realized our goals, we sought out the opportunities from everywhere. We're really successful people, not largely because of where we went to school, but because of our goals and our drive to achieve them (to be resourceful).
It's our job to support Anna, to help teach her, and to offer her the rich life experience that she could lack in a public education. Not only that, but we are as parents committed to the knock down drag out day to day involvement of her education, including supplementing where we think it's needed. A major goal we have for her in life is for her to use all resources. But it doesn't matter if you're in private or public school: if you don't have dreams and you don't make the most out of what you're given (from school and family) you'll have a hard time achieving any success.
...Written by a someone who has yet to really navigate the education system as a mother...
The end question really is: are we planning to put Anna into public or private school for the long haul? We're leaning towards public, and so now I guess it's really a matter of doing the research to make us feel good about that choice. Honestly, the public schools where I live are actually relatively good schools. I think the decision would be easier if we could say that these schools were REALLY BAD.
The things I really like about the private schools are the obvious: enriched curriculum, less institution, more individual, and from what I can tell, just more opportunities through field trips and hands on experiences. But the thing I really am turned off about private schools the most is growing up in a bubble almost. Sheltered, dare I say? Let's face it: the kids you go to private school with are not exactly going to be the people you work with on the outside.
The world's a huge place full of rich and poor and fat and skinny and short and tall and black and white (and all that in between). All kinds of religions and learning capabilities, not to mention personalities. These are real things and the real world and in my experience, the things you are exposed to in abundance in public schools. The real world isn't necessarily about the individual, right or wrong. The real world is a community of all types.
Sure we want Anna to have the best shot at an education. But honestly, it's up to each student and the parents to get the most out of it. Paul and I went to public schools with very limited opportunities, but once we realized our goals, we sought out the opportunities from everywhere. We're really successful people, not largely because of where we went to school, but because of our goals and our drive to achieve them (to be resourceful).
It's our job to support Anna, to help teach her, and to offer her the rich life experience that she could lack in a public education. Not only that, but we are as parents committed to the knock down drag out day to day involvement of her education, including supplementing where we think it's needed. A major goal we have for her in life is for her to use all resources. But it doesn't matter if you're in private or public school: if you don't have dreams and you don't make the most out of what you're given (from school and family) you'll have a hard time achieving any success.
...Written by a someone who has yet to really navigate the education system as a mother...
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Last week Paul was out of town for about a week, and Anna and I had a 3 day weekend of just us because of the MLK holiday. We kept busy between her playing with friends, the downtown Aquarium, and a salon visit and a trip to see the movie Tangled. We’d never been to the downtown Aquarium before, and the exhibits were really neat. They even have some white tigers with just a thick piece of glass that separates you from them. It was so cool! The tiger would get right up to your face! Plus it was feeling frisky and so we got to watch it climb a tree branch a few times. Although the aquarium exhibits were really great, of course Anna’s attention was drawn to the rides outside. And of all the rides, her attention was drawn to the highest, craziest ride of all: that tower bouncy thing that takes you up really high and drops and bounces you. We’d rode the kid version of that one before at Legoland (Over and over and over and over because it was one of her favorites). And here we found ourselves at the aquarium measuring her to see if she was yet the required 42” to ride that ride.
She wasn’t tall enough. But the operator put her into the seat and she fit into the huge overhead harness safely, so there we were, rising higher than the I-45 overpass next to us, me holding her hand, watching to see if she yet realized this wasn’t really a kid’s ride. She kicked her feet and smiled over at me. Then we dropped.
Her whole little body tensed up and shivered hard as she got a pretty good feeling of what it was really like to be weightless. Then we bounced and she looked back and yelled the usual, “AAAhhhh!!!! THIS IS SCARY FUN, MOMMY!!!” Between the bounces were the giggles and again the realization that I continue to underestimate her, despite my best efforts not to.
That being said, she still refused to touch the sting rays at the aquarium exhibit J
And because I know how my child likes to “do that one again!!!”, I bought the “all you can ride” bracelets so we rode it FIVE MORE TIMES. And yes, I did get a mix of looks from strangers. Afterall, she was little.
While Paul was out we also did a lot of playing around the house. At one point I was dragging her around on the carpet by my leg, and while I thought her huge wedgie might be the worst result of it, it turns out the rug burn on her right butt cheek that lasted the entire following week was in fact worse. J Rug burn on the butt cheek isn’t exactly fun for a 3.75 year old when bathtime rolls around. She had showers for the week!
What’s been going on at work? Keeping busy but the travel seems to be less hectic so that’s been helpful. I do have 2 quick trips planned in February, but again, QUICK trips. While Paul was out of town last week he was attending a workshop on how to improve private practice physical therapy clinics and BOY OH BOY he learned enough to turn the clinic completely upside down, shake it out, and start over. He’s feeling super excited about it and just in the last week has seen improvements in dealing with insurance companies and cash flow. Everyday I ask him how it went because I know it’ll always be something new and maybe exciting. He’s also in the middle of floor plan development and lease negotiations for a larger clinic, so the clinic will be moving across the street to a larger facility, probably around in June. We’ll ALL look forward to the improved space! Business is great for Valeo, but it’s getting crowded. Time to expand a little.
Oh, here’s a link to the news clip that featured Paul and his clinic here in Houston! PAUL’s A ROCK STAR! It actually played on a Monday night pre-game sports show.
I’ve just started teaching again for the spring semester. It’s the start of my third year and I’m just really realizing that all I need these days to prep for the lecture is a quick review of my notes. This stuff is starting to stick with me for real. I hope the students don’t mind that their first exam is the night of Feb 14. What? Not MY fault! The material just fell that way. I told them to bring chocolates to the exam and if they’d like, they can work by candlelight to create the Valentine mood.
To prep for the MS150 (April), I’ve started taking a Spinning class at NASA that coincidentally started last week. I say coincidentally because now I don’t have to motivate myself to get on my own bike and pedal while bored in my garage for the MS150 training. Instead I get to have my cardiovascualr butt handed to me M,W,F at 5:45am in a class full of others who are also working it, and I enjoy that oh so much more J My current plan is to hop off the bike and step over to the boot camp class also at NASA, also M,W,F and be home in the shower by 7:15am. I need boot camp because I need muscles. I still plan to run with my little run group on Tues and Thurs until I lose my sanity from too much exercise, which I suspect will be after the first 2 weeks of this. One thing I can say about Spinning class is that it pushes my heart rate WELL BEYOND what I do while running. My running is set at a pace and heart rate that is comfortable for me and I’ve never pushed myself harder (why, it’s so uncomfortable!). But in Spinning class, the instructor pushes us, and so I suspect that will help my running too and just cardio conditioning overall. Not to mention the MS150 training! Heck YEAH! This will be a good MS150 year!
In the meantime we’re making plans for Anna’s birthday party. She simply wants a repeat of last year: party at home with the Tumblebus and her friends. The exception this time is the cake: we’ve moved on from Yo Gabba Gabba cake to a princess cake. I asked her if she’d rather a cool space cake instead and she said, “um…well, maybe next time!” We’re scheduling the party for the afternoon of March 5. She turns FOUR on March 8.
Again I say that THREE has been so dang fun. People warned me that THREE was harder than the terrible TWO’s but not in this case. We did hit a “whiny” phase but it was short-lived and it faded when we started whining back to her (she hated that). She got the message. THREE has been so fun, and people tell me it gets even better. FOUR will probably just blow me away. As she’s getting taller, she’s getting more thoughtful. She’s recently started telling us about the dreams (and nightmares) she has at night. She totally emulates our habits so we’re trying to be cognizant of how we behave around her (Mommy, you told that man, “please” and “thank you!”). She’s aware of bad drivers, and knows her right from her left. I asked her which hand she uses to write with and she said “Left” and then “well…actutally I can use both hands!” She’s getting the hang of addition and subtraction through an iPOD app. She’s getting great at drawing her letters and a few weeks ago she came home with a family portrait that really actually represented the family, complete with eyebrows and stuff. Our baby can draw! She gets that from her dad. She feeds KC, fetches KC’s toys from under the couch, reminds me about stuff we need to do, and can totally fold towels. She can dress herself when she’s not being a booger about it. She’s still wakes up with a full wet overnight pull-up so I think dry nights are nowhere in sight yet, but we’re trying to not stress about it. At this age there’s enough going on around them.
I can’t remember how or when we’ve evolved into it, but we’ve gotten to the point where either Paul or I will lay down with Anna for bedtime after her book until she falls asleep. It’s not a requirement (I don’t think!), but it gives some down time to talk and cuddle and review the day and while most parents might see this as a bad habit (she should fall asleep alone), I don’t. Except for the fact that I too end up falling asleep and so I’m useless after 8:30pm when I wake up and feel like I just need to crawl into my own bed. Good news: I’m getting about 8-10 hours of sleep per night. Bad news is that there’s so much else I should be doing before going to bed. Let’s face it, there’s always something that needs to be done.
Today is parent-teacher conference day at Anna’s school. I remember the one from last year and it was really good feedback about Anna. This year, her current teacher is just so less communicative, I can’t believe I’ll get much valuable information from her but I guess we’ll see. Today when I dropped her off she went to the microscope that was at the table. She pulled out the little slides and started sorting through them! She called me over to show me what she could see through the eye lense. She showed me how to adjust the lense height. I watched her: her hair was down and long today, she was wearing a red dress, and she was engaged in that microscope. I was so proud at our little girl, and stayed to play with her for a little while because she just kept wanting to show me all the slides. I didn’t have my camera but her teacher snapped a picture that I hope should show up in the end-of-year books we get.
Life is good!
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