My Mom Bod

Guys. Having two babies does a number to your body. It's all worth it, don't get me wrong. It's amazing just to think about what your body can do. I mean growing and feeding another human?! That is mind-blowingly amazing. It's also mind-blowingly hard on your body. And more often than not, new moms don't make any time for themselves and as a result, the state of their body and spirit, inside and out, suffers. Mine certainly has.

I know it's a little late for resolutions, but here's mine: get healthy in 2015. And there's more...help others get healthy in 2015. How? Beachbody that's how! A month ago I had never heard of Beachbody. If I thought about it, I probably could tell you that I was familiar with some of the fitness programs associated with Beachbody (P90X, Insanity) but I had no idea those programs were associated with a larger company. Then a friend of mine started posting on Facebook about how she was a "coach" and was looking to help motivate others to improve their health and fitness. I was intrigued because she promised short 25-30 minute workouts and went on and on about the benefits of drinking the super drink Shakeology once a day to improve energy, help lose extra weight and provide your body with beneficial nutrition. So I signed on. That was two weeks ago. Since then I started a new workout routine (PiYO) that takes only 20-30 minutes a day and I've been drinking Shakeology. You guys, I've lost 6 pounds in two weeks and I feel great! And can I just tell you, Shakeology literally tastes like one giant treat. It comes in several flavors (that I haven't tried yet) but the chocolate vegan with almond milk and a banana is to die for.

Lots of room for improvement!

I've been so impressed that I have decided to become a coach myself! If I can help others get out of their rut, change their fitness routine and change their lives right along side me, then why not? After years and years of slogging through long runs and lonely workouts by myself, I'm learning that group fitness is where it's at. Let's motivate each other, help each other through tough days and cheer for each other when the results start piling up. I'm so excited about this that I started another blog called The Mom Bod. I'll be writing about my progress there and hopefully connecting with others who might want to take the journey with me. I hope you check it out. And if you're interested in learning more about the Beachbody business or any of their fitness programs or challenges, or if you just want to check out Shakeology for yourself, click on that link or please let me know! You can start by checking out my Beachbody website or email me directly. I'm so excited to see where this takes me. Hope you come along, too!

A Bunch of Map (Geeks), San Diego & Two Trips to the Hospital

The day after we got home from our vacation in Maine, I hopped on a flight to the other coast for the 2014 Esri International GIS User Conference in San Diego. This conference is essentially Mecca for mapping geeks like me. With over 15,000 attendees, the conference is huge and far, far bigger than any conference I've ever been to. It's held at the San Diego Convention Center right on the coast. Below is the view from the balcony of my hotel room. Um, yeah!

As excited as I was to attend the conference, it was hard to be away from my family for the week. It was the first time I'd left Cece for more than a night since she was born. And what's more, as soon as I landed I got a phone call that James was in the hospital. Whaaat?!? He had severe stomach/abdominal pain and went to the ER. At first they thought it might be appendicitis and might need surgery which means I would be getting right back on the plane. After several tests, he was diagnosed with diverticulitis, which definitely makes sense because he has had similar pain in the past. After a night in the hospital and a heavy dose of antibiotics, James recovered without needing further treatment. Fingers crossed he doesn't have another bout of it in the future or else they may need to have surgery.

Once I got word that James was recovering, I could relax and enjoy the conference. Almost all of the photos below are from Esri's Flickr account so they aren't mine. You can tell which ones are mine, they were taken on my crappy iPhone. =)

 

The conference opened with the plenary session. It felt like we were at a rock concert. With 15,000 people in one huge room, screens, lights, music and yes, lots and lots of maps. Will.i.am even showed up via Skype to show off his new map watch.

The conference was chock full of information. There was a ton to see, do and learn. So much to absorb. And lots of parties, food and drinking (non-alcoholic drinks for me and baby of course). There was even a 5K race that was part of the conference. Even though I had not run in 8 months and not once this pregnancy, I decided to jog it with my colleague Emily. I finished in 32 minutes and managed to jog the whole course, which was victory enough for me. 

 

The last day of the conference featured a huge party in Balboa Park. All of the museums were open for us to wander through and there was catered food spread out at stations around the park. It was amazing and overwhelming at the same time. I stayed for a few hours and then said goodbye to my colleagues and headed to the airport for a late night red-eye back to the east coast. No problem, right?

 

Wrong. 

 

Approximately 30 minutes into the 5 hour flight, I was struck with the worst pain I've ever been in in my entire life (and that includes birthing Cece without drugs!). I didn't know it at the time (and neither did the two doctors on board) but it turned out I had an 8mm (that's big) kidney stone in my left kidney. I spent the entire flight on the floor in the back of the plane, most of it throwing up into a plastic bag. It was bad. They almost diverted us to Chicago. Thank goodness that didn't happen. When the plane landed at our scheduled stop in Philadelphia, an ambulance was waiting for me. After a very painful ride to the University of Pennsylvania hospital, I was admitted and remained there for five very rough days until I finally (mercifully!) passed the stone on my own. My parents drove down to PA to pick me up and drive me home (you couldn't pay me to get on another plane!) and it took another week to fully recover. Fingers crossed I don't get another one of those suckers. It was by far the worst pain anyone can experience without actually dying. The worst. I'm betting birthing kid number two will be a breeze after that! Let's just hope the next time either James or I are in the hospital is in November when our son joins our family. We do NOT need any more hospital visits before then!

Throwback Thursday

I couldn't find a little James picture from an Easter past, but here's one of me. Check out that dress! I was so proud of that tape player and my Raffi songs.

Throwback Thursday

Look at my hair! Bath time, circa 1983.

A (Snow) Day in the Life of a SAHM

Cece and I woke up to a white out this morning. We were snowed in while everyone else was out of town. My family is on vacation in Florida and James was on his way to Ohio for an overnight. This is today's day-in-the life - a snowed in stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) version. For a working mom version of a day in the life, check out this post from last spring.

5 AM - James says goodbye and heads out for the airport. Not snowing yet.

5:30 AM - Cece wakes up an hour earlier than usual. Feels so early I think she might go back to bed. No dice. I go get her and bring her to bed with me hoping we'll both fall asleep nursing. No dice. We nurse and are up for the day by 6. The first snowflakes are falling from the sky.

7 AM - We bundle up and head next door to take care of my brother's dog, Jax. We're watching him while his family and my parents visit Disney World. No snow there.

7:30 AM - Breakfast. Omelets and yogurt.

8:30 AM - Cece goes down for a nap. It's early but the girl did rise and shine at 5 AM afterall. I finally have a chance to enjoy a cup of coffee while returning a few emails.

9:10 AM - She's up. We read books, and more books. And then the same books again. Play with her toys, make a fort out of chairs and sheets. So fun.

11 AM - I decide to make cookies. Why not? Nothing better to do and Cece's happy playing on her own. While cleaning up I notice a moth fly out of the box of baking soda. Humm. Look closer. Yup. Moths in the box. Ewww. Grosses me out so all of the newly baked cookies go in the trash. Sad.

11:30 AM - Baking soda incident makes me anxious so I clean out the fridge. Turns out it needed it, bad. Unfortunately, it means now I have a sink full of dishes to contend with. I decide to deal with those later.

12:30 PM - Lunch. Spinach pancakes and homemade mac and cheese. I manage to load the dishwasher while Cece's in her chair.

1 PM - Cece's second nap. As soon as she's down I run out to shovel the driveway. Does anyone still shovel driveways? I suppose I should have had James show me how to use the snowblower before he left. Shoveling is the pits.

1:30 PM - Cece wakes up 30 seconds after I come in from shoveling. So much for a mommy break. We play some more. We are both showing signs of boredom.

2 PM - We read the same books again. And again.

3:30 PM - Cece's melting down. I'm starting to lose it too so I decide we need to get out of the house. We both get dressed (finally!). Our road isn't plowed but I think I can make it out. Here goes!

4 PM - We head to the town north of us, about 15 minutes away. There's a small indoor shopping area that's deserted. Perfect place for Cece to run around. We go up and down the ramps. Up and down the stairs. Strangers find her delightful. She loves the attention.

4:30 PM - We stop for Cece's first ever froyo. Seems like the perfect remedy for a snow day.

5 PM - We head over to the local toy store. Again, it's deserted, we are the only customers. Cece is in heaven. We leave with a new pony. And thank goodness for me, a brand new book.

6:15 PM - We are home. Cece fell asleep in the car. I sneak next door to take care of Jax then make it back in time to touch up the driveway again before Cece wakes up.

6:45 PM - Dinner. Veggie burgers and more mac and cheese. Don't judge.

7:15 PM - Bath time followed by naked nursing by the fire. Cece's favorite.

7:45 PM - We read our new book.  And several of our old ones. Yes, the same ones we read 100 times already today.

8 PM - Cece's down. Well kind of. She's doing a little light reading on her own before bed. Girl loves her books.

8:15 PM - I call James to check in and hear about his day.

9 PM - There are clothes to fold and cleaning yet to be done, but I decide to leave them for tomorrow. I'm actually a stay-at-home mom all week while Cece's caretakers enjoy their Disney break. I consider going downstairs to work on painting Cece's new room (coming soon!) but decide that sitting on the couch, watching the Olympics and blogging sounds much better. With a glass of wine.

10:30 PM - Night! Being a stay at home mom has kicked my butt and I'm on again tomorrow. Power to you, ladies! xo

Other People's Kids.

It's no secret that I take a lot of photos of Cecelia. Pretty soon the poor kid is going to start hiding when the camera comes out, just like James does. But recently, I've had the opportunity to photograph other people's kids, too. I have to confess lately I've had a love hate relationship with photography. I love taking the pictures. I hate the editing process. It can take hours that add up to days for me to sort through and edit the photos I take during a single session. If I were a better photographer I would get it right "straight out of the camera" and not have to do much to touch up a photo. But I'm not. Fake it until you make it, right? Or at least until you have the time to really learn what you're doing. Which at this rate will be never. Oh well. Below are a few of my favorites from a few baby sessions and a "coming soon" session last fall. Kids are cool. See more photos of cool kids and other stuff on my photography web page.

   

 

 

All photos copyright Cary Chadwick, 2013.