Re-Entry To Exercise

OK, here's the situation...I absolutely love being pregnant. (Well, with the exception of being pregnant during the summer months.) I love to eat, therefore, pregnancy suits me well. With Kaytin, I was sick sick sick for the first four months of pregnancy, so I had to find things that I could eat and not throw up. I was still teaching at KHS back then and one thing I could eat was school lunch. Oh, and I did more than just eat school lunch, I MOPPED it.

Everyday I'd head on in to the cafeteria and inhale whatever was being served that day. And our cafeteria manager would always leave special little treats out for the teachers...leftovers from breakfast, cinnamon rolls, cornbread, etc...which I would pile high on my plate, as well. Another thing I could keep down was McDonald's cheeseburger happy meals. On my way home from school, I'd go through the drive thru at least twice a week to enjoy a happy meal. (I'm convinced that this is why Kaytin is now a cheeseburger fan) So even though I threw up my dinner on a nightly basis, I still managed to gain close to 50 lbs. during my pregnancy. I was HUGE when I gave birth. It took me a good two years to get back down to a weight that I was satisfied with and wouldn't you know it...as soon as I started fitting in clothes that I actually liked, I found out I was pregnant with Caleb.

I thought I was smart and would try to be better about my weight gain with my second pregnancy. I craved different things, healthy things like fruits and salads and such. Of course, I'd occasionally indulge in ice cream and cookies, but nowhere near as much as with Kaytin. Gain the weight slowly, I told myself, gain "good" weight. And I did! I had a very steady weight gain with Caleb. Nothing out of the ordinary until the last 8 weeks. I have no idea what the heck happened. As soon as I started in on my every two week appointments, I continued to gain as if I was weighing in once a month! What was happening?! I freaked out a bit and tried to eat even better to no avail. I was weighed on the day I gave birth and the grand total was 40 lbs. Ugh.

Now let me explain...I was quite active while pregnant with both of my children. With Kaytin I walked almost everyday until my shoes no longer fit due to the lovely swelling I endured. With Caleb I didn't walk as much, but had an active 3 year old to keep up with. Still, my body apparently loves to be pregnant and gain gain gain!

Breastfeeding is quite the workout in itself and did you know that you burn like 500 calories just making milk? Awesome. Apparently those 500 calories are not enough to make a 31 year old woman lose all of her pregnancy weight. Darn. So here I am, 10 weeks later, recovered enough to start being active again, trying to lose those last 15 lbs. I have figured out that the weight no longer just "drops off" (is it something about turing 30?) and I actually have to work at losing it. So today I went to my first exercise class post baby. Oh. My. Goodness. I thought I was going to pass out. It was a fun class...kickboxing/cardio/weights...and free! Halfway through the class I thought to myself, I hope Wes can call in sick tomorrow because I don't know if I'll be able to lift Caleb! hahaha!! I'm typing this now since I probably won't be able to lift my arms enough to reach the keyboard in the next couple of days. :)

But all in all, I felt great after that workout. It felt nice to actually be out and active again. It must be that adrenaline high or something. ;) Wes keeps trying to get me to try out this P90X workout, as well. He's got the DVD's or something. We'll see. Let me recover first. Really, though, wish me luck in trying to get this extra weight off by Christmas!

Caught On Camera

So do you remember how we had been trying to capture Caleb's smile on camer for quite some time now? Well, it may have taken me a good hour, but look what we finally have captured for posterity's sake!!

Pretty funny...its more of a "smirk" instead of a smile, but I'm pleased to have finally caught it! He's quite an amusing child with all of his antics, but we are enjoying him nonetheless.

And just because, here's a fun pic of my two monkeys. Kaytin wanted to get in on the action when she saw all the paparazzi flashing for Caleb.

Where Did The Trades Go?

Holy crazy heat, batman. Oh my goodness. So for the past couple of days the trade winds here in lovely Hawaii have all but disappeared and it is hot hot hot and muggy muggy muggy. I was complaining to Wes yesterday that I was sweating like I was still pregnant. I do feel for all of the soon to be mamas out there that I know. I thought July was hot...apparently September is no better. I feel like I'm melting. And the poor kiddos...just sweat sweat sweating like there is no tomorrow.

So what else is going on in our neck of the woods? A big hallelujah shout out that it looks as if the Mastitis drama has passed. I am hoping and praying with all my might that I won't have to deal with it again! And check this out...I recently bought one of these:

Its called a Sleepy Wrap. I know! I am such a freaking hippy! A friend of mine had one and let me borrow hers to try it out with Caleb and I love it! Its pretty hilarious the looks you get while wearing it out in public. I assume its just Kauai but people get all weirded out when they see you with something like this. Its almost as good as the looks I get while breastfeeding in public. Don't even get me started on that one. Its not like I'm out there flashing people my boob. Besides that, why are they even looking? Are they trying to catch a peek? WTH. I try to be discreet. I'm not sitting out in the middle of the mall all half naked. I should stop now. Just know this...Hawaii had to PASS A LAW saying it was legal for women to nurse in public. WHAT?! Are you kidding me? I've heard horror stories from other ladies who've had people ask them if they could NOT do that. Seriously? One person was even asked if they could go and do that in the bathroom instead. Her reply: I don't ask you to go eat your dinner on the toilet, so why should my baby have to? You go, sister. Lucky no one has actually said anything to me...just the looks. On my behalf, I give the best stink eye back.

New Pictures!!

And now for your viewing pleasure....

I walked back into the bedroom the other day after doing some dishes and found what appears below...

I asked little miss Kaytin, what are you doing? To which she replied, I'm in my house, Mommy. Notice she has surrounded herself in a semi-circle of toys. Apparently this is all you need to make a "house."

Look who's trying to hold his head up high! This buggah is growing up way too fast in my opinion. I still think he resembles Kaytin in many ways, but as you can see he has quite his own look. I'm loving this kid and as you can see below...

his sister is loving on him as well. ;) Oh lovely day. We're still chasing that ever elusive smile of Caleb's. This was an after effect of one of his smiles, but it looks more like he wants to eat. Oh well. Sooner or later we'll catch it on camera.

OMG...

The Mastitis saga continues. Just when the affected boob starts feeling better and I'm thinking that all is well in the land of the Taba's, the other boob starts killing me last night. Aches, pains, and fever once again. What the heck? I've been laid up in bed again all day feeling like I have the flu. Gross. Everyone that I've talked to who had this problem in the past are quite sympathetic as will I be when I ever talk to anyone else who gets it. It is definitely not fun. Apparently you are more succeptible to getting it again, too, for as long as I'm breastfeeding and with any subsequent pregnancies. Great. What a lovely thing to look forward to. I'm hoping and praying that once this resolves itself that its gone for good. I am so exhausted which is not a good thing with two kids competing for my attention.

I Have A Confession To Make...

You know how everyone has one of those secret vices that they hope no one else knows about? Like eating chocolate at 11pm after the rest of the house is asleep or eating ice cream for breakfast? Reading trashy novels or listening to music you don't want your kids to hear on your ipod? Yeah, you know you have one. So here's mine...I absolutely LOVE the show One Tree Hill.

I know, right? Isn't that the show that all the high school kids watch? Yeah, it is, but I am soooo addicted to it. Anyone else out there watch it? You should. Its like a 90210 of the 2000s and just fun stuff. Doesn't hurt that Chad Michael Murray is super hot either. Speaking of 90210, did you know that they're coming out with a new one? Weird. Anyway, please tell me that I'm not the only one who watches this stuff. You can catch the new season on The CW on Monday nights. I'm not lying, its good. Wes likes to make fun of me and pretend like he doesn't watch, too, but I know that he's secretly watching while pretending to be on the computer. hahaha...