Fitness Thoughts and Park Fun

It's a lovely thing when there's no place we HAVE to be on a weekday morning.  Mornings (when the boys sleep til at least 7) are my favorite time of day with the boys and I love when we all don't have to be rushed out the door to be somewhere.  Yesterday was one of those days.  I had some quiet time to myself before the boys woke up and I was able to catch up on some e-mails and do a little reading.  Check out this quote I found in Oxygen magazine...

...so fitting for me right now.  Love when that happens!

I also read a post from Clare yesterday at Peak313 that was spot on with combining fitness and faith...love her blog!!  Check it out!  The following picture is what caught my attention to read the article, since things like that are so atypical of her...

Crazy coming from a fitness blog, right??  Once I read her post, it all tied together.  She's an inspiration!!

I also had time to make some fresh salsa...

Would you believe I've never done that before??  I'm bummed that I totally forgot to eat it yesterday too.  Guess what I'll be having with my egg whites this morning?!  YUM!

When the boys joined me in my wakeful state, we embraced the opportunity to just hang out a bit together in the morning before making a quick outing to the gym for a little lower-body burner.  I learned a couple of tricks to "up the ante" so to speak with a couple of exercises that kept things very interesting and challenging.

After the gym, we headed home to chat with Mickey before playing outside on such a gorgeous day.

We keep working on our basketball skills.  I tried to raise the hoop to challenge the boys a little bit more but they weren't interested in the increased difficulty of having to throw the ball up into the basket...slam dunking is more their style.  They got their way and the goal is at fingertip-level again.  

After naptime, we headed out to join a great group of friends for a birthday party at the park.  

Thanks, Michelle, for the photo!

You know me...I seized the opportunity for a run and we loaded up the stroller for our journey to the park.  I love that the park is within running/walking distance.  The boys loved the cake at the party...

Whipped icing seems to be the determining factor in whether or no the boys will eat cake.  Vanilla seems to be a winner too--they take after their dad.  I NEVER choose boring old vanilla, haha!  They devoured those cupcakes!  

The boys entertained me with songs and rhymes for the entire run home.  I have the best running buddies in the world! 

After two hard leg workouts and 3 runs so far this week, today is a rest day for the legs...time to hit up the upper body again.  I'll might do the elliptical for a bit today just to stretch out my legs a bit and get some reading done.  Reading on the elliptical seems to be the only way I can read more than 5 pages without falling alseep...haha.

We've got a couple of errands on the agenda for today...one being to go buy shampoo since I realized yesterday that when I thought I was on the ball, stocking up ahead of time with my replacement shampoo and conditioner, I grabbed two conditioners rather than one of each...so much for being "on the ball."  Back to the store I go...

It's a produce day today...can't wait for our fresh goodies and a big green juice!  I missed my green goodness yesterday since we depleted our stash.  My coffee is gone and I hear the boys stirring...perfect timing.  I'm off to go snuggle my sillies.

Sunchokes and Sunshine

I went to bed SUPER early last night, like 8:00 early...needless to say I was up before the sun as a result.  I enjoyed 2 cups of coffee along with this month's issue of oxygen magazine in complete silence before the boys got up.  It was DIVINE!

While I was reading my magazine, I finally had roasted those sunchokes I got last Thursday.  I diced them up, tossed them with olive oil, salt, and pepper and stuck them in the oven for 45 minutes at 400.    They were super yummy!!   What a unique flavor.  If you get the chance to try them, I highly recommend you seize the opportunity.  I enjoyed them alongside some scrambled egg whites.  What a yummy way to start the day!  So far no gastrointestinal distress either...TMI!  Guess that vegan experiment was good for something...

We're still in recovery mode over here in Plankerville but we were able to make it out for a play date at the park.  It was good to get some fresh air, especially after all the rain that we've been having around here.  I'm tempted to complain about how hot it has been here, but I know I should be counting my blessing since it's COLD in most other parts of the country.  I wouldn't mind needing a sweater or having an excuse to wear my knock-off Ugg boots.  Good thing they were on clearance since I'm certainly not getting my money's worth living in this part of the country.

The boys had a blast at the park.  They got to try out a friend's tricycle...

The pedal concept is still a bit tricky for them.  We had a lot of forward backward action going on that was pretty cute though.  I'm glad I decided to hold out on trikes for Christmas, but at least I know what to get them for their birthdays in March!!  How cute are they?

Of course they had to wear their boots this morning.  They seriously might need a support group--Boot Lovers Anonymous anyone?

They played hard and had no trouble falling asleep on the ride home...

I was able to run (SLOWLY!) to the park and back but I'm feeling pretty drained from our outing as well.  Guess I'm still recovering too.  Darn sinuses!

Our family has some serious downtime on the docket again for the rest of today...hopefully including a viewing of last night's episode of Parenthood (love that show!) and a quick little pedi for myself.

We're still trying to find our way back to health.  Wish us luck!

Getting Some Things Off My Chest

I love Oxygen magazine.  It is like my Bible for weight lifting.  Needless to say, I was intrigued by the cover article on last month's issue...

See that one there on the right side...Melissa Hall--How I Got My Body Back After Twins.  It inspired this lovely letter that I sent them yesterday:

First of all, let me just say I LOVE your magazine and have been a loyal reader for over 5 years.  I read every issue from cover to cover as soon as they arrive in the mail.  I have been using your training and nutrition advice and have seen huge changes in my physique and energy.  I feel well-educated in the areas of fitness and weight training and am even a a certified personal trainer.  I have run dozens of races, including 3 half marathons, and usually place in my age group, even winning my age group at times.  I just won my age group in a local 5k while pushing my 18 month old twins in a jogging stroller.  That stroller weighs over 100 pounds with them in it so to be able to pass dozens of people while pushing it is such a rush.  I guess what I want you to know if that I am very fit and knowledgable when it comes to fitness.  

As a mother of twins myself, I was intrigued to see your article on Melissa Hall and quite curious to read your article on how she got her body back as I have been struggling with getting my stomach back to it's pre-pregnancy appearance for 18 months now.  I was extremely disappointed after reading the article and doing a little research on Melissa Hall myself.  Don't get me wrong.  It is admirable when ANY woman gets her figure back after giving birth.  I know all to well have difficult that is.  However, you failed to mention that she gave birth to extremely premature babies which is a very different situation to bounce back from than a mother like me who carried her twins to 37 weeks and gave birth to 14 and 1/2 pounds of extremely healthy babies.  My sons weighed 6 lb 15 ounces and 7 pounds 5 ounces.  I was nursing them 20 minutes after they were born.

I would love to see an article on how to get your body back after going full term with twins and dealing with a diastasis recti where the abdominal muscles split to make room for the growing babies. How about an article on how to get rid of the excess skin that many mothers have from growing healthy babies?  Or safe abdominal exercises for women with a diastasis recti? Crunches and any jack-knifing motions are off limits.  I feel like your article gives an inaccurate portrayal of the post-natal body of a twin mother.  I'd love if you would address women like me and not make me feel so discouraged when I read your magazine, which I used to love.  

Thank you for your attention to my concerns.
Rachel Planker

I feel so much better now that I gave them a piece of my mind.  One thing I am working on is complaining to people who can actually make a difference, rather than just complaining to my husband and friends who are so nice to listen to me vent but can't really do much to help me solve my problem.  I hope my letter at least helps raise their awareness to my concerns.

Thank goodness for ladies like Stuft Mama to give all of us mamas, twin mommies especially, a dose of reality.  Her post couldn't have come at a better time as I've been feeling pretty unhappy with my loose skin and new mommy shape.  She is even way more fit than me and still struggles with a diastasis recti from carrying her twins to term.  Cleary it's not a body fat issue for her either.

Source

This is a quote straight from her blog...

It’s not the best idea to ask someone if they have a baby bump while they’re in the middle of teaching a fitness class. Yep, this happened to me tonight. I was the person being asked. I was even wearing my Spanx because my tummy was sticking out more than the usual diastasis issue. Um, I had to tell the nice lady while I had my mic on and was in front of everyone that no, it was a post-twin belly bump, not a pregnancy one.

I feel your pain!  My husband even bought me a shirt that says "I gave birth to twins.  What's your Super Power?" because it continues to be such an issue for me.  It's nice to know there are others in the same boat as me.  Thank you Stuft Mama!!!  Her post today touched on her diastasis as well in case you're interested.

Check out what my silly boys did while I penned that letter--peek-a-boo in the big box their diapers were delivered in.  Hope it's our last diaper delivery...

Enough about that.  It's Saturday!  It's a REST DAY for real this time!  I earned it after that long run yesterday.  And I must say I am glad I squeezed it in and enjoyed a couple yummy margaritas last night along with some delicious fajitas.  Thanks friends!

This morning kicked off with a yummy pancake breakfast before we went to the ...

...ZOO!  Let me just say, my boys love their animals and we had a FANTASTIC time!

We hit up Chicago Uno before heading home for some yummy pizza and calamari.  I loved their healthy crust option, with flax, oat bran and whole wheat.  We chose the eggplant and feta pizza with sundried tomatoes.  YUMMY!  I liked the banana peppers that they tossed with the calamari as well.  What a nice touch!

The boys had fun using big boy forks.

The rest of our day is dedicated to relaxation and trying to keep cool since the fan in our A/C unit decided to bite the dust last night and they tell us they can't get the part they need to fix it until Monday.  Good thing we have a pool!  Happy Saturday!