He's 5 months old now...people aren't kidding when they tell you it goes by fast! He's in this smiley, giggly phase and it is so much fun watching his personality develop :)
There has been so much more going on lately that makes it difficult to write about in detail, so here's the, er, 'quick' rundown...
My mom had an accident while riding my dad's motorcycle and she needed to have surgery on her right leg. My husband and I were already planning on going out to Oregon to visit my family (it had been over a year since we were out there!) and since right around the time this happened he was going to be in Virginia for his 2 weeks annual training for the Army Reserves, I decided to take the baby up a month early so I could be there for my mom's surgery and help out around the house and take her to appointments and stuff during her recovery. It was a long time to be apart from my husband and I felt so bad that he was missing out on our baby boy growing up and doing new things, but we both felt it would be good for us to go. He came out a month later, spent a few days with us, and we just arrived home in Texas a few days ago.
While we were in Oregon, we left the baby with my parents (and aunt) for a night so my husband and I could have a night away. We were only 20 minutes away so if anything happened we were close. This was the first time we've been away overnight since he's been born! And even though I left him with family, I was still a little sad to leave him :( Talk about separation anxiety! It was really nice to be away with just my husband though. We do date nights weekly, granted the baby is usually with us or upstairs sleeping for an in-home date night, but we make a point to set aside some time for just the two of us. I think it's very important to stay focused on your marriage, especially when you have kids. Because let's face it, you won't raise those children well if your marriage is in shambles. Our marriage comes first. Period. It takes work because you don't want to neglect your child or your spouse, so it takes some time to figure out what works for your family. My husband and I have a 'system' for this. We usually plan one or two dates a month where we enlist the help of friends and go out without baby. Since we don't have family that lives close, we have to spread out our one on one dates to just once or twice a month (we don't want to take advantage of our friends and we don't have the money to pay for an actual babysitter right now, so for us, this works). The rest of the month, we usually do dinner or an outing where we'll go walking at the park or something and baby will tag along. He's at the age where we can still drag him around places and it's almost like he's not really there. Other weeks we do date nights at home, which usually consists of pizza and a movie after the baby goes to sleep, but I think we'll try and mix it up and play a game or even cook a meal together. It's the quality time that matters. I'm sure this will change in the near future when it gets harder to go out and it still be focused on my husband and I's relationship. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
Another recent en devour is my weight loss. I started at the end of March and have lost almost 15lbs so far...slow going and part of that (one month to be exact) was spent in Oregon away from my routine, full of family get togethers, and food...lots of food. I only gained 1 or 2 pounds the whole time I was there, but I also lost some of the muscle I gained prior to making the trip. The month before I left I did Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I had ok results. I was committed and did the workout every single morning and have been using myfitnesspal.com to help keep track of my food intake and calories. I'm doing ok. Now that I'm back home, Monday will mark the restart of my workout routine. I'm still deciding what specific workouts (DVD's) it will consist of, but I know I want to work out 5 days a week with Monday, Wednesday, and Friday doing a more intense & longer cardio w/ strength workout and Tuesday and Thursday with a less intense & shorter workout. I'm going to use next week as my tester week. I have several different DVD's I want to try out. I'll choose from those to set my routine and may purchase another Bob Harper DVD to try out as well. I like to have a variety to keep my workouts interesting, plus the muscle confusion should help burn more fat. I've got some weight to shed along with some insecurities to burn away. I'm determined to make that happen!
Ok, so I realize this blog has been all over the place as far as topics go. It feels really good to write out my thoughts and to share them with family and friends. This will not be a blog focused on only one thing. I like to write about everything. But to give you an idea of what to expect in the near future, I will be blogging about my weight loss journey, family/baby moments, DIY projects or crafts I'm doing, and probably some nutrition/meal ideas I've come across during my lifestyle (and body) transformation. I'm on Pinterest often and like to try new things I find on there...I like to have fun with that stuff :)
Until next time...
