Favorite Things: House Party!

Do you know about House Party?  It is a company that pairs up willing hostesses (people like you and me) with companies that want people to try out their products.  Basically, you agree to host a small party and give feedback and the company sends you free product and goodies and coupons for your guests to take home.  It is a win-win situation.  You get free product and a fun party while the company gets good advertising and product feedback. 

Some one is excited about what is in this big box!

Touching the tape was fun too!

Open at last!

Last year I was invited to my first House Party for Benefit makeup by a friend.  I had never heard of this company before and thought it sounded fun so I signed up and waited for a party to open for application that I would like to apply for.  Finally I saw that Fisher-Price was looking for people to throw a house party so that families with kids could try out some of their new toys.  I jumped on the opportunity to apply and guess what????  I WAS CHOSEN!!!  It was an extremely popular House Party so when I got the email that I was selected I had 30 minutes to set up my party online and invite at least ten people by submitting their email addresses or they would give my spot to someone else.  Unfortunately I got the email on my phone while out running errands so in a panic I sped home and just finished setting up my party with one minute to spare.  Whew!

 A few weeks before the party my party pack arrive.  There were four toys valued around $200 total in my pack (which I get to keep when the party is over).  Then a package came full of goodies and coupons to give to my guests.

I had lots of fun snacks on hand!

 On the day of the party we had tons of kids and adults show up to enjoy the snacks and toys.  The Ballapalooza was the hit toy of the day.  I even love playing with it!

The Ballapalooza!

There are all kinds of House Parties: food products, movies, games, retail companies, etc.  Some of them have more enticing party packs than others.  You just have to check out what is available right now and apply!  Maybe you will have beginners luck like me and get the first party you apply for!

Playing with the Ballcano!

Triathlon 2012 and Weightloss Update!

 Official Results:  Finish Time- 1:52:48 
(Swim- 24:49  Bike- 45:43  Run- 35:20)  
Placed 17 out of 31 Athenas

I did it!  I finished my second sprint triathlon on Sept 16th in 1hour and 52 minutes!  I was hoping to beat my time from 2010 (1 hour and 51 minutes) but missed by one minute (ouch!).  I can't tell you how amazing it felt to set the goal of doing this triathlon, working really hard to train for it, and then complete it successfully. In my last post about fitness and weight loss I expressed my frustration with my body.  I had a breakthrough in August and September and was able to lose 17 pounds in about seven weeks.  I even lost four pounds on vacation in Hawaii!  I've been watching my carb intake at night, making sure I eat protein along with the carbs when I do eat them and I have been very faithful in my workout routine.  What made this triathlon different from last time was I was able to recruit two friends to do it with me and they did awesome!

My triathlon buddies: Janee and Johnny!

At the start this year I was much less nervous since I felt ready and had the experience of having finished a triathlon before.  This year I raced in the Athena/Clydesdale group again which is for women over 145 pounds and men over 200 pounds.  As we all waited on the beach in our orange caps for our wave to start several spectators asked me what group was the orange swim cap group.   To simplify my answer I just told them it was the group for the "bigger" competitors.  Ha ha!  The weather was VERY foggy that morning and the surf a bit stronger than my last triathlon.  It was difficult to see the shore let alone the course markers when we were swimming in the ocean so I wasted time pulling my head up to make sure I was staying on course.  I ended up swimming a pretty indirect route because of the current and my swim time was 24:49 for the half mile swim which was about four minutes slower than my last triathlon.  Quite a bummer since the swim is usually my strongest leg of the race.

Athenas ready to race!

In the second leg of the race I used my new road bike that I bought off of Woot a few months ago.  Last year I raced on my mountain bike and it was difficult to keep the pace that was needed in a timed race.  The road bike allowed me to put all those trained muscles from spin class to work and I finished the 11 miles in 45:43 which was four minutes faster than my previous triathlon.  I felt really good on the bike and one guy that I passed yelled out "Alright!  Lookin' strong!"  It is one my most favorite compliments I have received in a long time.

I told you it was foggy!  I am the biker in back.  The little boy was in a kids version of the triathlon.  I had to tell you that so you didn't think a little kid passed me!)

 The transition to the run was rough.  In fact all of my transitions were poor.  I wasted too much time changing legs and need to hustle in my next triathlon to improve my overall time.  The three mile run at first felt like I was trudging through mud.  My legs were heavy and awkward.  As the miles passed by I felt better and I was surprised to see that my running watch told me I was actually running 10:30 minute miles at first which slowed in the third mile.  My body felt worse than it was performing and I was very happy with my time of 35:20 even though it was a minute slower than my last triathlon.  It was my fastest post-pregnancy 3 mile run yet.  I give partial credit to a guy that I encountered on the back half of my run.  I was beginning to get really tired and sore and decided to walk a little.  He must have been running for awhile behind me and as he passed me he said, "Now you've been running so well!  You are doing great!  Finish strong!"  It was just what I needed to hear and I replied, "You are right!  I am right behind you!" and I was able to run the rest of the way in. 

I am in the back turning the corner on my run.

I can't tell you how amazing it feels to cross that finish line!  If you have never run in a race you really should try it just once for the experience even if you don't think that it is your "thing".  My favorite "athlete" is Matt Hoover who won The Biggest Loser many years ago.  A few years ago he completed the Kona Ironman - one of the most difficult races there is.  He said before the race, "Sometimes you need to see a chubby guy taking off to do something he is not supposed to."  I love his attitude which was so inspiring to me!  At the expo when I picked up my race packet the day before the triathlon I found that a little negative voice inside me was saying, "You don't look like the fit people that are here.  You don't belong..."  I started to get self conscious about the fact that even though I have lost some weight I still have so much more to lose.  I had to fight back at my negativity!  I had trained hard to be ready for this race!  I had lost weight- a lot of weight to be able to do this!  And when I finished that triathlon I swam, biked, and ran the exact same course as the most athletic and fit people there.  The metal I wore on my neck was the same as theirs.  I am glad I did the triathlon again and I can't wait to do it a third time and work hard to improve my time.  It is so worth it!

My favorite spectator!

At the time I am writing this I have four weeks before my next embryo transfer.  My goal is to lose eight more pounds before transfer day.  I am still doing bootcamp four days a week and I have decided to increase my running workouts to three days a week.  Running burns fat unlike any other exercise!  I am also experimenting with intermittent fasting right now.  The concept is to work for a weekly calorie deficit rather than a daily calorie deficit.  Last Thursday I fasted from 9 pm until 5 pm the next day.  I was able to lose two pounds and keep them off.  I also realized how mindlessly I reach for food and because I chose not to eat I drank a ton of iced green tea and water which is good for you.  I still need to take some updated weight loss photos and measurements but I can tell my body is responding to my hard work!  My clothes are getting loose and my body is finally feeling like me again.  My other goal besides losing eight more pounds is to change my thinking about pregnancy.  Right now in my head being pregnant means being an invalid and that needs to change if I don't want to gain another 80 pounds with my next pregnancy!  More on that later...

Lena, cheering on her Mama at the starting line!

Ten Months Old

This is the picture we used to entire Lena into the Gerber baby photo contest.

Lena turned ten months old (double digits!) on September 3rd!  We were in Hawaii on a family vacation during this milestone and learned that our Little Lena is a beach baby!  She really enjoys playing in the sand and only occasionally licks her sandy fingers.  Ewww!  One of the biggest events during Lena's 10th month was that she got her two front teeth!  It was our worst teething episode yet and poor Lena was pretty uncomfortable.  The worst of it happened during our second week in Hawaii.  Luckily I had brought along all of my teething remedies and tried to distract her with the koi ponds (which she LOVED) and the fun beach activities.  Lena continues to love people and boy oh boy do people love Lena.  She is our little social butterfly; waving to people everywhere, flashing her sweet smile, and allowing family and friends to hold her.  It will be interesting to see how God uses this part of her personality.  It is definitely one way that she and I are different!

Lena loves to be outside!

During her tenth month poor Lena suffered from a very bad mommy and daddy mistake.  One night as I was putting Lena to bed in her darkened room.  I rocked her to sleep as she took her bedtime bottle.  As she drank the last drop of formula I reached to set the bottle down only to find the full bottle of formula that I had just made!  I had accidentally just fed Lena and entire bottle of formula that Dan had partially fed her early that morning.  It was the same color and bottle shape as the bottle of my fresh formula and I had mixed them up in the dark.  I was so nervous that I had just poisoned my precious daughter!  She was fast asleep so I put her down while I Googled "what to do if I fed my baby old formula".  Ha ha!  I found out quickly that I was not the only mom to do this.  About four hours after she finished the bottle Lena woke up with a stomach ache.  She was moaning and wouldn't go back to sleep.  We ended up giving her some Colic Calm and a fresh bottle to flush her system and Dan slept with her the rest of the night to make sure she was okay.  Poor girl!

Some pretty loud yelling can come out of that little mouth!

 Lena has really been on the move!  In her tenth month she has learned to stand by herself and likes to clap and dance.  It won't be too much longer before she figures out how to walk!  She has also become more adventurous and skilled in her eating.  She can now drink out of a sippy cup and loves to eat puffs, crackers, yogurt melts, and other soft finger foods.  Mangoes and sweet potatoes are still her favorite foods.  Dan also taught her to hold her own bottle so she can feed herself which is an awesome time saver for me! 
Lena continues to grow but she is still generally on the small side.  She hit 17 pounds this month and I have finally put away most of the 6 month clothing (except the pants as she is smaller on the bottom).  She only wears 6-9 month clothing now but she is still in size two diapers and wears size two in shoes (although we never put them on her).  She still takes two good naps everyday.  I thought she was moving to one nap but she still really needs and enjoys two naps, especially the morning nap.

Exploring!  She probably saw one of our cats...

 Next to her new teeth the biggest change in Lena this month has been her temper!  She knows now how to make her will known.  I am trying my best to teach her at this very early age more appropriate ways to express her will.  I can see now why some people teach their kids sign language.  After all what parent wouldn't prefer a hand signal to a meltdown?  My least favorite is when she arches her back and cries when I am trying to change her diaper and she doesn't want me to.  Lena might be little but she is super strong! Mostly I have found that her temper comes when she is tired so I try my best to keep her on a good nap schedule.  Then everyone is more happy!

We love the Peanut!!!