Potty-learned.

I'm almost afraid to say it for fear of jinxing myself.  But at the same time I wanna shout it to the rooftops.

Brennan is DONE with diapers!

He's been taking naps and sleeping through the night in underwear and staying dry til he wakes up. We've been out and about around town and he hasn't had any accidents.  I'm a bit afraid to take him out by myself with the twins because of the pure logistical nightmare of trying to get him to the bathroom with the other 2 in tow, but it's a mountain I'll have to climb eventually.

Looking back, I have to say that the whole process was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.  But I think it's because I just kind of let it happen naturally, followed his cues, and just challenged him a bit here and there.  I have several friends who had success with a "boot camp" or more structured approach, but I knew that kind of thing wouldn't mesh with our life.  I didn't think Brennan would learn well that way and I definitely knew it wouldn't be good for my anxiety.  I can see it working for one of the twins someday (read: Kiernan), but I knew it wasn't the right route for Brennan.  And I think that's one of the most important keys to successful potty-training - like any other step in parenting, you have to know what will work best for your child.  And if what you thought would work isn't working, you have to be open to trying something different.

Week one, done {Twin Weight Tuesday}.

I'm done with my first week of 5K training.  It wasn't pretty, but it's done.  I threw in an extra day because I just had an awful run on Thursday and wanted a re-do.

Last night I started week 2, which consists of a 5 minute brisk walk followed by intervals of 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of brisk walking for 20 minutes.  I always keep walking til I hit a total of 30 minutes at the end because I've found that I really need a cool down walk.

I've also learned that I run faster outside than I do on the treadmill.  I kind of figured that, but never had any proof.  But the route I take outside is 2 miles long (carefully calculated my running Nazi coach) and the same amount of running turns up to be 1.8ish miles on the treadmill.  I've tried increasing my speed, but I just end up feeling like I'm going to fly off the back of the treadmill the whole time.  Not fun.

Last night Brian came into the workout room to see how I was doing.  I was on my 2nd of 6 intervals and I was struggling already.  On the 3rd interval I thought about stopping.  My knees and shins were killing me and I was just tired.  But I kept going and the 4th one was actually a little easier.  And on the 5th one I actually ran for 2 minutes instead of 90 seconds because I lost track of time.  After the 6th one I actually contemplated throwing in another few intervals because my legs were feeling good.  But last time I did that, I screwed up further runs because I was too sore.  So I walked for a good 4 minutes to cool down and went into the family room to stretch.

Brian asked me if it's starting to feel good yet, and the answer was NO.  And the soreness the next day isn't even a good sore yet.  It's just a "I feel fat and old and out of shape" sore.  But I am enjoying the feelings of accomplishment.  And that's what I'm focusing on every time it's time to get out there and run.

Favorite Post Friday {5.26.12}.

These are from the last few weeks because, well, I haven't been "together" enough to get a Fave Friday post up lately.  Resurrecting Twin Weight Tuesday and Fave Post Friday in the same week?  Go me!


Tena's Therapy - Being a Mom to a Boy -- This made me laugh.  I showed it to Brian and told him that while I don't think I'll ever go as far as giving my boys condoms, I'll definitely be that Mom that's totally no nonsense about sex.  I don't care if you're embarrassed by talking about it.  Because I want you to understand the ramifications of such an adult decision.  And if you're not mature enough to talk about it, then you're not mature enough to do it.  At least until you're old enough to be on your own, out of my house, and off my payroll.

Chill Mama Chill - Sex, Love, and Bonding - Getting out of your head -- Yes.  Just, yes.

Baby Rabies - Sleep: Not Just For the Selfish -- Ohhhh how I love this post.  Jill has a knack for saying what every Mom thinks at one time or another.  And she hit the nail on the head for this one!

** No one asked me to feature their blog.  I'm just passing along my favorites with hopes that you might find something you like too.  And if you find a blog you like, I hope that you'll do like I did and follow their blog, whether by RSS, Friend Connect, or email.  And do the same for mine if you like!

Picture takers.

Fair warning people ... this posts contains a lot of pictures and a crap ton of cute.

When we left Michigan, we also left behind Patience, our favorite photographer and my sister's dear friend.  My sister Teresa bought us a session with P when Brennan was just a few weeks old and since then only she has captured our family in photographs.  And she has taken some absolutely beautiful ones over the years.  

Committed {Twin Weight Tuesday ... on Wednesday}.

Hey, remember Operation Lose the Twin Weight?  And Twin Weight Tuesdays?  I do ... sort of.

OK, so I never really forgot, I just chose not to focus on it for awhile.  After playing with my calories, trying different workouts, getting frustrated, then anxious, then eating to cope with the anxiety, then getting depressed because I ate too much, then not working out because I was depressed ...

Yeah, I just kinda spiraled.  So I decided to take some time off and just live.  But this week I got back on the wagon and went for a run.  And you know what?  It felt good.

Everybody hurts, sometimes.

Ah, postpartum depression.

Those are some big, ugly words, aren't they?  It's something I thought I knew plenty about until the last six months or so.  For years I spoke to patients about it, but mostly on a superficial level.  When I was pregnant with Brennan, I knew I was at higher risk for PPD because I had struggled with depression in college.  But I had him, experienced some normal baby blues, and continued with life.  I thought I was in the clear.

Fast forward a few years.  We move to a different state, 1000 miles away from our family and friends.  I (temporarily) give up my career and put my Masters degree on hold to become a stay-at-home mom and ease the adjustment for our whole family.  A few days after we moved, I found out I was pregnant.  A few short weeks later?  Twins.  My whole entire world was, in the words of a young Fresh Prince, flipped-turned upside down.

In retrospect, the depression probably started during pregnancy.  I endlessly stressed over my inability to keep the house "clean enough" and my difficulty balancing 3 kids before they were even born.  I missed my family, our traditions and routines, being able to call someone at the last minute to babysit or just to hang out.  I struggled to keep up with Brennan and keep the house running smoothly and resented that I was in this position "alone".

Brennan.

It dawned on me today that Brennan is officially closer to being 3 than he is to being 2.  This is insanity.

It's not just the numbers that get me, but more so the little boy that he's turning in to.  After a few months of dabbling in potty training, it all of the sudden clicked and he's now in underpants except for night time.  On Saturday we took the front off of his crib and since then he's been staying in his "big boy bed" all night by himself.  He likes to keep track of his brothers, and loves to help out around the house.