Monday, November 14, 2011

Long Time No See, Blog

Things have been rough around here lately and my ability to cope with life has been somewhat compromised, although (spoiler!) the fact that I am now editing photos and sitting down to blog means that I have turned the corner and life is more manageable than it has been for the past few weeks. Rob went out of town for an allergy conference in Boston for four nights, and being on my own with three children proved, ahem, challenging. I did have some friends come over in the evenings to help me with baths and bedtime and then to hang out with me; this helped tremendously and I am very thankful for them. However, I haven't ever been a solo parent with a baby this young before, not to mention two older children as well, so even with some help it was a blow to my equanimity.

On top of the travel, Rob has started working out regularly. The plan is for him to do a Crossfit class three mornings a week before work, which I think is reasonable for him/me/us. I have to get up at 5am on the days he goes to work out if I want a shower that day (which, and here is some insight into me as a person, I ALWAYS ALWAYS DO) and he is then not around to help with breakfast/dressing/etc, which is unfortunate but, you know, life is what it is. So one week he had three intro class things in the evenings (so he was not at home for those three evenings), then the next week he went to work out three mornings in a row to get in his three classes before he left town, then right when he got back in town he again went three mornings in a row to get them in that week. All this resulted in me getting up at 5am for three mornings in a row, then parenting solo, then when he got back I got up at 5am for three mornings in a row again. And then I fell over, dead from the HORROR of it all. No, actually, then we had a weekend and Rob was home and I went to have a massage and took naps and I feel much better about things. I did realize how small the margin has been on my well-being and coping with life, however. Hopefully Rob's new (laudable, admirable) work-out routine will be easier to deal with now that we are back to more normal life.

Now we just have to figure how I can somehow start working out regularly. We left the gym where we were members because it isn't convenient to go to that part of town now that Grace isn't at preschool at the same facility, and Rob has been wanting to do Crossfit anyway. (We can't afford Crossfit AND a gym membership.) It gets dark too early for me to go running when Rob gets home. Running on mornings when Rob doesn't go to Crossfit is a possibility, but I am thinking I may get a regular babysitter a couple times a week to go running and then do a video (Yoga? Pilates? 30 Day Shred?) in the basement. I've tried doing videos on my own and it has not gone super well, what with the baby and his unpredictable naps and the toddler and her desire to climb on me in downward dog. Sigh... I'll forgive them, though, because they are so cute.

Little smile

Violet

Even without successfully exercising, the pregnancy weight is slowly, gradually coming off. (I really do want to exercise, though, because I want to be fit and trim and healthy, not just at some specific weight.) I am still wearing what I think of as my emergency postpartum jeans but they are getting big. They are two sizes bigger than what I was wearing before getting pregnant with Lewis, which is the SAME SIZE that I ended up in after my 1st and 2nd pregnancies. Actually, come to think of it, my final weight at week 39 or 40 was the same with all three pregnancies to within 5 lbs, even though I started from fairly different weights (Grace - lowest, Violet - highest, Lewis - in between). Biology is weird. I am a bit miffed that I have had to buy clothes in this depressingly large size THREE SEPARATE TIMES, because of course I didn't keep them. On the other hand, the clothes that I bought almost six years ago right after Grace was born would not be super stylish now. In some strange irony, the emergency postpartum jeans I have now in the largest size I have ever worn are "skinny jeans". HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Anyway, I like them and I wear them tucked into boots with loose tops. It took about two years for skinny jeans to look cute to me but I think I'm a believer now. Of course, I'd always rather wear a skirt since they are so much more comfortable, and just better in general.

9 comments:

Carlie said...

Hooray for skirts and losing weight and massages on the weekends!

Being alone with all three kids is daunting. Sounds like Rob is quite the helpful man so his loss is really felt deeply. Hooray for Rob and hooray for you, even though it doesn't feel like hooray when it is gone. Aaron is getting up early to go work-out five days a week. It's kind of insane but I'm proud of him and I'm starting to imagine how I might be able to squeeze out some exercise time too.

Unknown said...

I must say... you guys are troopers. I'll keep you in my thoughts, Julia. And for sure... you're lookin' good. At church yesterday you looked really healthy, and that, in my book... is a win.

Colleen said...

So glad life is back to a better normal now! Kris went to Utah for 4 days when Finn was 2 weeks (?) old and it was horrible!!! We survived, though! Lewis looks so different from the girls. I can't wait to see how he'll grow up. He's such a cute chunk!

Eva said...

I can't even imagine how a whole week with the three little ones must be. How did my grandmother et al. did it?. I don't get it. Glad to hear you have sort of recovered.

On the other hand, you are right, so many things seem a lot easier because they are so cute. That photo of Lewis smiling is fabulous (I love the shirt/onesie!).

Unknown said...

i started doing crossfit in sydney a few months ago. i'm completely hooked on it now and think that i'll really miss it when i'm gone for 6 weeks around christmas.

still like yoga though.

good luck and glad you got some massages and sleep!

Julia said...

I am very intrigued by the Crossfit thing and would like to try it too, but I can't handle the logistics of babysitters and evening intro classes and all that yet. Maybe in another handful of months...

Emily said...

Oh, Julia. I feel for you. The 5 am wakeups and no help at until the kids are in bed has been pretty much the story of my parenting career and it totally sucks! Rob is such an involved and loving father/husband, so I hope you can settle into a more reasonable and balanced routine soon.

I had a friend do P90X and she looks amazing. I have a hard time dedicating myself to exercise videos also, but do want to try the program out...a sense a failed new year's resolution out of this one.

Get some rest!

amydove said...

Wait, you are wearing jeans? I thought that you wouldn't go anywhere near jeans. However, I too have recently come around to skinny jeans, mostly because I bought some really cute knee-high suede boots and I needed pants to wear with them. In general I think I look ridiculous wearing skin tight pants now that I am no longer 18, but they really work with boots.

Julia said...

They are emergency jeans, Amy. One can't be too picky in emergencies.