Two Ah-ha Moments

I know, I know. You all were probably hoping for a Trick or Treating recap. I've decided to let Nick guest post here on Three Times the Giggles, seeing as he is the one that took the boys Trick or Treating, but when I asked him last night to write his post he said something about the spirit to write not moving or some such nonsense. Don't worry - I'll hold him down and force him to type tonight. For now I'll give you this little "treat" though!

Yep, those are our little sweets! Alright, I'll lay off of the puns now. Chase is the blue, Tyler the brown and Jackson the red. And yes, I made those! I'm quite proud of how my first major sewing project turned out! Big thanks to my friend Krista for coming up with the M&M idea for me!

Ok, on to my Ah-ha moments...

Ah-ha Moment #1: The boys have been frustrating us lately. The last two weeks especially. I know, I know... they're 2. Even my normally patient husband has been nearing the end of his patience - after only being with the boys for a couple of hours! Last night they were at it again and I sat there looking at them destroy the living room (when they were supposed to be putting their toys away) wondering what had happened in the last two weeks and it dawned on me...

The boys have really started becoming independent. We have them drinking out of cups without covers, climbing in and out of the car themselves, buckling the top buckle on their car seats, picking out their own clothes and just last week all three figured out how to pull down pants and underwear and climb up (and down) onto the big toilet. They've learned a lot!

With these new skills and independence Nick and I have foolishly thought that meant they would listen better. Ha! Foolish new parents! Along with the independence came attitude and testing in all their awesome glory. So last night instead of helping to pick up their toys (like they have been for the last 10 months or so), they were running around like crazy people, turning the TV off and on (which I told them 15 times not to do before finally unplugging it), dumping baskets of toys out (which they got a time out for each of the 5 times) and laughing when I asked them to do something. No wonder our patience is running in low supply! I think we need to go back to the state of mind we had before the boys started learning all these new tricks. Then we won't be so surprised when they don't do what we ask... and ask, and ask, and ask.

Ah-ha Moment #2: The other day I was reading one of the many free magazines I get (I now get Parents, Parenting, This Old House and Health magazines all for FREE thanks to my constant deal hunting!) and there was an interview with Jillian Michaels from the Biggest Loser. Two things she said really stuck out to me:  

"We sell ourselves short when it comes to capability and potential. We read on the treadmill. We walk... People have no concept of what the human body is really designed to do. They have no concept of their strength! And they function in a zone that is well below what their potential really is." And this... Best form of Cardio: Running. "This is the most effective form of cardio," Jillian says. "I hate it more than anything in the whole world, but it tightens up problem areas in the lower body, and it burns a ton of calories."

She's right. I do sell myself short. I watch her and Bob every week train 400+ pound people on the Biggest Loser and they are all working so much harder than I ever do. About a year ago I also traded in running for walking, yoga, pilates and this spring threw in the 30 Day Shred DVD. Those are all good, but I never do any of them consistently enough. And if I'm really honest with myself I've done LOTS of walking over my 7+ years of Weight Watchers and it's never helped me lose weight. I only lose weight when I exert myself more.

So this morning I loaded Week 1 Day 1 of the Couch to 5K program onto my iPod and took off! Couch to 5K is a nice easy way to ease yourself into running and by the end of the 9 week program you should be able to run 30 minutes straight (or a 5K!). Anyone want to join me? You can find the details of the C25K HERE and by searching Couch to 5K on iTunes you can find some free podcasts (there are also some listed on the above link). I hate the music on my podcast, but I figure it's only 9 weeks and it's nice to have the guy break in and tell me when to run, walk and when I've reached the halfway point. I'll keep you all up-to-date on my running and would love to see comments from those of you who will join me!