It’s Fun to Stay at the YMCA

For three summers now, I’ve enrolled my children in the YMCA’s Splash program, which offers free swim lessons sponsored in part by The Katelyn Foundation.  Not only is the price right for these swim lessons, but this wonderful refresher course helps start my girls’ summer off on the right foot flipper.  After a long break from swimming, my girls need to be acclimated to the water once again by relearning proper swimming techniques and water safety awareness.

After their swim lessons, I reward the girls with extra swim time at the YMCA’s zero entry pool and sprayground, complete with bubblers and a water slide.  It’s fun in the sun for every age!

 

All this week, I’ve sported my bikini, but the long wall of reflective windows has me second guessing my chosen pool attire.  At least swim lessons at the YMCA were the right choice.

 

 

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“Vlog: Summer is here and it’s time to hit the water…will you be jumping in with the kids? How do you feel about prancing around in your swimsuit?”

Juneathon 2010, End of Days

The last few days of the Juneathon have been the toughest for me. My youngest has been sick and her illness combined with my sciatica seemed to suck any and all energy out of me. Her ailments included her high fevers and a nasty cough, therefore, a visit to the pool with the girls was out of the question and I was unable to swim for sciatica relief.

 

Day 25 – After my accidental two mile hike on the beach, I barely had the strength to move on Friday. After a few laps in the pool, I was toast.

 

Day 26 – Thankfully, I felt much better on Saturday and I spent most of the morning treading water and swimming in the Gulf. I loved every minute of it.

 

Day 27 – On Sunday, we had to pack up and head back home, I could only fit in some squats.

 

Day 28 – My youngest was sick and the only exercise I got was carrying loads of laundry up and down our stairs.

 

Day 29 – Emmalynn still had high fevers off and on. I did some yoga for sanity reasons.

 

Day 30 – On the last day of the Juneathon, we went to a pool party today. I had hoped to finally get my swim on again, but the outer bands of Hurricane Alex foiled any pool plans. I suffered through a set of 50 squats instead.

 

I had hoped to have done a better job for this year’s Juneathon, but at least I tried. Unfortunately, my feeble attempts won’t score me any Vibrams. Should I play the pregnancy card? Do you think I will I gain any sympathy for my sore sciatica?

 

Probably not.

Juneathon, Days 18-24

For the past couple of weeks, I have found it easier to blog about a week’s worth Juneathon activities in one post.  This may be breaking the Juneathon rules, but at this point I think my preggo piggy toes couldn’t fit into a pair of Vibram Five Finger Classics anyhow.  *sigh* Oh well. On with the Juneathon journaling!

 

Day 18 – Friday was the girls’ last swim class at the YMCA and I was really looking forward to another morning of swimming, but a nasty storm rolled in which forced everyone leave the premise of the pool.  So, I had to plan another way to fit fitness in that day and since I can always squeeze in some squats, I did a set of 50.  Later that night, the girls and I walked to a neighborhood party which was about a half mile from our house.

 

Day 19 – Outside of swimming, most physical activity is pretty challenging these days.  I attempted another set of 50 squats with lots of rest in between each set of 10.

 

Day 20 – Since Sunday was Father’s Day, most of my activities that day were tending to Dad.  HA!  Yeah right.  It sounded good though, didn’t it? In the evening, the girls rode their bikes while we walked behind them for about a mile.

 

Day 21 – I was in a ridiculous amount of pain on Monday due to my sciatica.  One concerned friend asked if I was in labor, but it wasn’t any sort of labor pain, just plain ol’ pain in the form of constant back pain.  I couldn’t even move.  It hurt to stand.  It hurt to sit.  Therefore, the only exercise I attempted on Monday was opening the freezer and reaching for an ice pack.

 

Day 22 – I felt 100% better on Tuesday and made up for lost time.  Besides all the housework and climbing up and down the stairs, I also threw in a set of push-ups.

 

Day 23 – Wednesday we arrived at the beach and I walked about a mile along the pier at John’s Pass in Madeira Beach.  That evening, the girls and I swam in the hotel pool.

 

Day 24 – This morning I walked two miles on the beach, but not on purpose.  It’s quite a tale, which I will share tomorrow for Photo Story Friday.

Juneathon, Days 10-17

All right, so I’m a little behind with blogging about my Juneathon days.  Have you noticed that the girls have been home a week and I haven’t blogged about my Juneathon activities for about a week?  Coincidence?  Hardly.

 

Day 10 – I did 30 minutes of prenatal yoga.

Day 11 – I took the kids to Busch Gardens.  Walking the amusement park was enough work-out for me that day.

Day 12 – I did 60 squats and 40push-ups while watching the World Cup.  GO USA and go me!  WOOHOO!

Day 13 – Another set of 60 squats and 40 push-ups.  Man, were my arms and legs killing me!

Day 14, 15, 16, and 17 – Monday began the girls’ swimming lessons at the YMCA.  After their classes, we “raced” in the pool.  For our races, the girls practiced their strokes while I swam like a frog.  Tomorrow is their final swim class and my last day to frog it for free at the YMCA.

 

Today was also my 36 week OB visit.  No signs of glucose in my urine, so I celebrated with a piece of chocolate cake.  No joke.  :-D Allana said she hoped the doctor told me to limit my sugar intake again because she enjoyed reaping the sweet rewards with me.  Let them eat cake!

 

When I told the midwife I had been really good over the past two weeks, she praised me for it as she glanced over a small notation in my file and I felt a bit like Elaine from Seinfeld.  “So, you’ve stayed away from the Cap’n Crunch?”  That was written in my file? What other notations have been made in there? “Yes, I’ve started eating Kashi again.”  And when I said it, I wondered if she wrote that down.

 

 

In other baby news, Baby Run DMT #3 has not turned, but my doctors predict that he will be a big baby and they’ve scheduled an ultrasound for my next visit to measure the baby’s size and bio.

30 Things I Vow to Do This Summer

Well before the start of summer vacation, I have been experiencing a ton of mama guilt.  With a new baby arriving right smack in the middle of summer, I worry that I won’t be able to truly enjoy summer vacation with my girls.  The size of my bump and my waddle restricts my activity level, but once the baby arrives, he’ll be constantly tethered to my boobs which will also limit my level of activity.

Therefore, I’ve vow to make the most of our summer before school starts up again and I’ve got a list to help make it all happen.

  1. Soak up every ounce of our beautiful white Gulf beaches before the oil arrives.

     

  2.  

     

  3. Set up a chore system for the girls.  I’m not sure how to go about this just yet, but I know it needs to be done before the baby arrives.
  4. Read a classic.  For myself, I’ve dog-eared A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and I’ll read The Phantom Tollbooth and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH to the girls.
  5. Set aside time to read each day.
  6. Prepare small home school lessons each day so my children’s brains don’t turn to mush.
  7. Limit our TV watching.
  8. Plan a Friday night bedtime movie so I can cuddle with my girls in bed.
  9. Get good use out of our Busch Gardens passes.
  10.  

  11.  

    Splash around at any and all of our spray grounds.

  12.  

     

  13. Plan a trip to the Loggerhead Marine Life Center.
  14. Participate in a beach cleanup.  We’ve been watching and waiting for the oil to arrive.  When it does, we are ready to do our part to help protect our beaches.
  15. Enjoy plenty of play dates with our friends.
  16. See at least one free summer movie each week.
  17. Visit Nanny’s Educational Zoo.

     

  18.  

  19. Spend plenty of time swimming, because selfishly it does wonders for my sciatica.

     

  20.  

  21. Brooker Creek Preserve or Weedon Island to play in the hands-on center and enjoy story time.
  22. Catch a Rays or Threshers baseball game for family fun day and fireworks.

     

  23.  

  24. Build a rain gauge.
  25. Participate in the various summer reading programs through our local library, Barnes & Nobles and Borders.
  26. Tours, tours and more tours because we love them and they are a great way to avoid the heat while catching a behind-the-scenes look at some of our favorite places to eat and play.
  27. Visit an art museum or two.
  28. Visit Museum of Science and Industry and/or Great Explorations
  29. Make a Father’s Day gift for Daddy.
  30. Do lots of crafts and attempt some art projects.
  31. Garden with the girls.
  32. Release ladybugs in our garden.

     

  33.  

  34. Try our hand at some science experiments.
  35. Take advantage of the Sea World Cares program to visit Sea World and only pay $5 per child.

     

  36.  

  37. Go canoeing with Dad’s help, of course.

     

  38.  

  39. Cherish every moment with my girls and tell them I love them every day.

 

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Mama's Losin' It

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Juneathon, Day 9

I’m not sure, but I think Run DMT Baby #3 may have changed positions and slid into a head down position because swimming was very challenging today.  Usually, swimming brings me a much welcomed relief, but I didn’t get that wonderful feeling of weightlessness today.  Instead, the baby felt very low and I struggled trying to swim a few laps.  But I did it!  Phew!

 

After swimming, I did some bicep and tricep curls.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I been doing a lot of weight training lately.  See, my family and I have a maternity portrait sitting with my good friend and fabulous photographer, Kelly, this weekend and I thought it would be nice to have some sort of arm muscle in the photos rather than flabby, fat chicken wings flapping in the wind.  But who am I kidding?  In the photos, all you’re going to notice is the massive bump and not the “muscle” I worked so hard tried so desperately to sculpt.  Can’t blame a mama for trying, right?

Juneathon, Day 4

Hey, Mrs. Grump Gills. When a big ol’ baby bump gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming…just keep swimming…just keep swimming…swimming…swimming…What do we do? We swim…swim. I love to swim.

 

 

No earworm advice could be better for my sciatica pain. For Day 4 of the Juneathon, I just kept swimming.

 

Emmalynn and I were invited to a pool party today to celebrate a friend’s birthday and I took full advantage of the pool.  Since I had to navigate through super soakers, children cannonballing on top of me and my daughter pulling down my bottoms to help her win our race, it was quite work-out and not as an uplifting experience I had hoped it to be.  Despite all the obstacles, I managed to swim quite a few laps and my back thanked with little pain for the rest of the day.

Babes and Bums and My Badunkadunk, Part 2

Tomorrow I face the Babes and Bums triathlon and I am unbelievably nervous as I have no idea what to expect.  Although I have trained hard for it, this is still my first triathlon. 

During my training, I have conquered each component of the triathlon and I feel confident about each individual sport but I have yet to tackle the entire race in one go.  For this race, time is not my focus.  I am simply driven to completing the race and going the distance.  For me, the experience is the challenge. 

At dinner tonight, I will eat wheat pasta, but I will refrain from consuming any alcohol beverages.  No margaritas for me, although wine does pair nicely with pasta.  ;-) Tonight will also bring an early bedtime for so I can try to get a good night’s sleep.  Usually I find it difficult to sleep the night before a race because my mind is filled with worry about the race the next day.  I hope I can sleep well tonight because I was wide wake at 3:00 a.m. this morning.

In this triathlon, swimming is the last leg.  Please pray that I do not drown from exhaustion in the pool.