Camp Gladiator!

Yesterday, I went to Austin with the Camp Gladiator group for an intense workout at the Camp Gladiator Arena.  I rode with Jessie (our trainer) and Lindsay, and we arrived around 8:00.  Our first workout was boxing, with real bags and boxing gloves.  I had never done this before, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was TOUGH!  Obviously we did lots of punches and kicks with our bag, but we also did lots of squats, planks, and push ups.  I was completely dripping with sweat.  It was hard, but it was an awesome workout.  Some of the girls with heartrate monitors said they burned up to almost 700 calories on one hour! 

 Here's an after picture of my hand - my badge of honor for completing that class!

After boxing, we did a hip-hop dance class.  I LOVED this one!  It was very fast paced choreographed moves to popular music, and it was so much fun!  I had built up another serious sweat by the time the 30 minute class was over! 

After our workout, we went to Mimi's Cafe for brunch.  I had oatmeal, toast, and delicious fresh-squeezed orange juice.  It was really nice to just sit back and talk after such an intense workout!  After brunch, we went to Lulu to shop for workout clothes.  Their stuff was way out of my price range, but I enjoyed watching the other girls shop! 

It was a great day, and even though I'm crazy sore today, I'm so glad I got to go!  Now I'm off for a run!



Western Day and other stuff

Mason's daycare had Western Day today.  They all dressed up in their best Western clothes, had hotdogs and trail mix, and showed off their best roping and riding skills!  We may live in Texas, but we're not very country, so Mason's best Western clothes weren't very Western, but we did the best we could. 

That little cowboy has been getting into all kinds of trouble at school lately!  He has a hard time napping these days, and got himself in trouble yesterday trying to keep the other kids awake.  He even had to go sit in the office for a while! 

He's had a pretty difficult time staying healthy lately too - a few weeks ago, he had Hand, Foot and Mouth, and last week he got a staph infection on his belly.  It worried us a lot for several days, but it finally seems to be healing.  Oh, and when we went to the doctor for the infection, the doctor said he also had Croup!  What a mess!  Hopefully he's finally on the mend and can stay healthy for a while.

As for me, we had STAAR testing at school this week.  And that's all I'll say about that.

I think my back is finally better, and I'm ready to get serious about exercising again.  Embarrassing as it is, being a "seasoned" runner (haha) I'm going back to Couch to 5K.  It took me FOREVER to build up my endurance, and 3 weeks to lose it.  All.  I tried to do the 30 Day Shred after work on Tuesday and could barely make it through, when just a month ago I was kicking its butt.  Tomorrow I'll go back to Week 4 of C25K and hopefully build up quickly from there.  That will have me graduating (again) in 4 weeks, just in time to start Bridge to 10K over the summer!

I think that's it for now...21 and 1/2 days left until summer!

Sitting on the bench

I was signed up for another race today, but ended up sitting on the sidelines because of a back injury I've been dealing with.  It's the same pain I had when I was pregnant - I think it's my sciatic nerve.  It's a very strong pinching feeling in my right cheek and lower back that hurts like crazy.  I have a doctor's appointment Tuesday to confirm. 

So today I watched my friend Lindsay PR with a 27:something minute time, (Randi's out with an injury too) and while I was SO proud of her, it made me a little sad that I feel like I'm regressing instead of moving forward.  I'm ready to get over this injury, get finished with this stressful school year, and have the summer to train for my 10K in September.  It just seems like every aspect of my weight loss/exercise is one step forward and two steps back. 

Hopefully my doctor will have a solution for me on Tuesday - I am ready to be back on the wagon!

Weight Loss Update

I've been doing Weight Watchers since February of 2011.  To date, I have lost 25 pounds, but most of that was in the first six months.  When school started back up in the fall, I had a hard time staying on track, and spent months gaining and losing the same few pounds.  I feel refocused and motivated now, and things are finally heading back in the right direction.  I have about 18 pounds left to get to my goal weight, which I have never seen before...except maybe in like 5th grade. 

I'm still going to my meetings every week to keep myself accountable, and now I have some friends who are going through the same thing to keep me accountable as well.  Lindsay and I started working out together in October - she invited me to Bootcamp, and I loved it.  From there, we started running together, with her friend Randi (who is now my friend too!), and we've run three 5Ks together, with another one coming up this weekend.  Having running buddies makes a huge difference, and makes me keep going even when I don't want to!  I've even cut about 8 minutes off of my first 5K time, and I have hopes of cutting off even more.  We're talking about signing up for a 10K in September, and maybe a half marathon in December.  I'm going to have to stay focused and train really hard to be able to complete these!

Our last 5K was on St. Patrick's Day, and I finished in 35:41 - a great improvement over previous times, but not where I want to be.  I struggled with the heat and humidity, as well as painful side cramps that I have a hard time getting rid of.  One of my goals for my very first race was to run the entire thing without stopping, and I still haven't met that goal.  Every race I've done, I've walked at least a little bit.  Our next race is this Saturday, and assuming I get over my current lower back injury, I'm hoping to finally meet that goal!

I'm so thankful for my running buddies.  I know that I would have given up on this weight loss journey months ago if it weren't for them, and I would be back where I started.

Me, Lindsay, and Randi

Here I go again...

Okay, I fail at blogging, but here I am again.  I just can't stand the thought of not having this blog to look back on as Mason grows up! 

Last weekend, he turned THREE.  Wow, where has the time gone?  I loved being able to come back and read about his first moments and years, and it made me really want to come back to blogging! 

We had a tractor theme for his birthday, complete with a real tractor, provided by Uncle James!  I made (almost) from scratch chocolate brownie cupcakes, and we had pizza and fruit, and then Mason got to open his presents!  He got so many trucks and tractors - and he loves them! 

 He is one cool dude.  =)

 The cupcakes have farm animals on them.  I thought they were so cute, I was practically giddy.

 Farmer Mason...

 He loves his firetruck from Lindsay and Jarrod!

We had a great time and have enjoyed playing with all of Mason's toys!  We are thankful for friends and family that came to celebrate with us!



Halloween

Last Monday was Halloween.  Terry and I prefer homemade costumes, so we decided to make Mason's, even though we really didn't have the time to devote to it.  We ended up with our handsome little "Mighty Mason". 

We took him to the Fall Festival at FBC.  He was a little overwhelmed at first, but as soon as he realized he got candy at each booth he was so excited.  He had his first taste of cotton candy, but wasn't a big fan.  (I don't blame him!)

 Even superheroes need grandpas to hold their hands!

 I normally won't let Mason in the bounce houses because I worry about the big kids, but they had one just for kids 3 and under!  He loved it!

 Super Mason to the rescue!

Gig 'Em Ags!

On November 3rd, Terry and I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary - we're getting so old!  For our anniversary we decided to go to an A&M football game and splurge on good seats - they were way better than good though, they were great!  We left Mason with my parents for the day and set off to Aggieland!  We didn't make it far though - here was our first stop:

My poor little car blew a tire, and we were hesitant to drive all the way to College Station on the donut, so my awesome little brother, Steven, drove out to bring my dad's truck, and he took my car back to their house.  When we got to the game, there was so much to look at it was hard to focus!  Our seats were AWESOME - in the front row, right next to the field, in the end zone.  

 

Unfortunately, the Aggies lost, but it was a nail-biter - they were tied at 31 at the end of the 4th quarter, so they went into overtime.  I've never been so excited about a game!

After the game, we headed back home, had a nice dinner, and picked up the little man.  He had a great day with Grammy and Grandpa, and he loved his new jersey!

 

There's our sweet future Aggie!  =)

I'm Back!

When Terry told me a few weeks ago that he was sure my blog was dead, I just had to get online and prove him wrong!  =)  I really don't want to let it go, but things have been so busy I rarely have time to post.  Here's a quick update on what's been going on:

We started school...

 Celebrated Penny's first birthday with the Scotts...

 Visited the Pumpkin Patch...

 Hung out at Whistle Stop...

 And Conner's Park...

 And finally, we went to the zoo...

I'm sure there's more, but those are the high-lights!

Summertime!

We're about 6 weeks into our Summer Break, with about a month left to go.  It's been a bit of an adjustment for both Mason and me - we're both used to the structure and routine of the regular school year.  I admit there have been some times that have been exceptionally difficult, like when we're stuck in our tiny house when it's 105 outside, but overall I am really enjoying my time with my little man.  I've made it my goal to find something to do every day, and I've done a pretty good job.  Here's a photo recap of some of the things we've done in the last couple of weeks.

We participated in "Cow Appreciation Day" at Chick-fil-A and got free meals just for dressing up!  I don't mind making a fool of myself for free food!

Mason wanted to see the cow SOOO bad, but of course, as soon as we got close he flipped out. 

 

After eating our free chicken, we got to play for a bit...

 

Mason's new favorite thing is Toy Story.  He has watched all three movies multiple times - it's the only time he'll EVER sit still!

 

We've been to the mall a couple of times to play inside when it's just too hot outside.  

And of course the splash pad is one of our favorites - cold water and free make it pretty awesome.

 

This weekend, we went to Whistle Stop.  We had to go early in the morning to avoid the heat, and we were the only ones there.  It was very nice!

 

I have enjoyed this free time with Mason so much.  It will be hard to go back to work knowing that we won't be together nearly as often.  But, I know that quality time is more important than the quantity of time, so we'll just make sure to enjoy the time we do have together! 

And here's one last picture of my little boy, just because he's so handsome! 

4th of July

Today, Mason and my dad and I went to the 4th of July parade in Belton.  I knew Mason would love it this year, and he did!  He got pretty antsy waiting for it to start, but once it did he had a blast.

One of his favorite floats, McDonald's, of course...

 Waiting and watching...

 Waving his flag

 So engaged he's actually sitting still!

 Big Tractor!

 He was telling this sweet old lady all about the horses that were going by...

 Mason and Grandpa

 You can't see him in this picture, but Terry played with the Belton Community Band on this float.

 Mater!