There Goes My Wardrobe

I mentioned in this post about how I have managed to lose all my baby weight... Yet I certainly don't look like I once did, and I have a lot of seemingly extra skin and squish.

I'm not one to sit around and not be happy with myself. Clearly, it's time to up my ante with my core work so I can find that six pack again! Let's goooooo!! But where to even start, ya know?

I decided a good place to start was my workout wardrobe. I have collected a full out wardrobe of yoga and running clothes. As a clear sign of a workout junkie, I own about 25 pairs of yoga pants... And only four pairs of jeans. I couldn't remember the last time I went through this collection and either outright threw things away (sometimes you just can't get that sweat smell out!) or donated any of it.

I put little Henry on the bed to be my assistant, and started to tear through things.

First to go: All flared (non-maternity) yoga pants. Ladies, flares just... Aren't cute. Because it's not 1997 anymore, you're not in high school anymore, and nobody should have that much fabric swishing around their ankles, mmmmkkk?

My first ever pair of lululemon pants! Just look at all that fabric, in all its flared glory...

Any of my other mama's get real frustrated that all maternity workout/yoga pants are flared?! What's that about? And forget tall sizes. That ain't happening... So you're left in flared high waters. Awesome.

Next: All pants that are so low, there's no way I wont get a muffin top while wearing them. I don't know WHY manufacturers/designers are still making these things so low, but they are, and they need to stop. And if you're a new mom like me, let's get real: You have NO BUSINESS in low-rise anything, ok? (And um, by "you" I mean me. I have no business in low rise nothin'!)

I wore these pants exactly twice. Both times, my butt crack made a public appearance in my yoga class.

These are a pair of the notorious see through lulu pants. I learned that the hard way. They became spin pants, and now have a permanent smell to them. Bye-bye!

And then my tops: Nothing to report here! I guess I only hoard pants and crops. Who knew?! Well, I do now.

I ended up getting rid of quite a bit of stuff. Now, this didn't leave me with a whole lot of options to wear! (For the record, by a "whole lot", I mean I don't have a full month of selection with never having to wear the same thing twice... Hey, I'm admitting to being a hoarder here!) Wouldn't you know, Athleta was having a great sale. So I picked up a new pair of crops and a new tank. I love how bright and obnoxious the pants are, and the flowy-ness of the top will be perfect for me right now, since my body is not back in its former state quite yet, and needs a little forgiveness.

I'm going to make a point of going through my clothing more frequently to select things to donate. I do this regularly with my normal clothes, so I don't know what my deal is with yoga/workout stuff... Maybe its because I spend a small fortune on yoga apparel whereas I only buy street clothes on sale or maybe I just like my yoga clothes better (I do!) but getting rid of this stuff is hard! 

But when you start to stink in class, it's time to let those five year old pants go. Just let them go! Aaaaand, cue that horrible, fingernails-on-chalkboard song from the movie Frozen, because I know y'all were thinking it.

Mommy Monday: The Nursery

I've posted "sneak peeks" about the nursery in this post and this one.

We ordered our furniture in February, and it didn't arrive until mid-June. Take note, dear readers and friends planning a pregnancy or who are already pregnant: it takes MONTHS for this stuff to come - order early! I think for baby #2, we'll get everything ordered in the first trimester. Seriously.

Back to interior design. So alas, Henry is nearly two months old already and we're just now getting around to completing his nursery. While we've had the furniture for a while now, we finished hanging pictures and his monogram on the wall this weekend. Good timing too, because we're starting to have him sleep in there at night... It's time to clear out the baby stuff from the master and re-claim that as an adult space, nawwhutimean?

Here it is, in all it's glory:

If you're a regular reader, you've seen this view before as the rocker was the first thing that was delivered from Babies R Us! The prints are from Etsy, trash can is from Target and the blanket and throw pillow is from Pottery Barn Kids.

Henry's monogram and shelf with a few toys that friends were sweet enough to gift us and my mother's day present from Kirk. I'm STILL in the market for jungle figurines to put on here, so if you know where to find them, please comment and let me know!

The teething necklace won't stay there :) The elephant lamp (Pottery Barn Kids) is perfect to keep on at night while he sleeps since it's just the right amount of light, and the beads shine it everywhere, so there isn't one overly bright beam going right in Henry's face, keeping him awake.

The crib Henry has yet to sleep a night in. We're getting closer! Rug, crib sheet and skirt all from Pottery Barn Kids; jungle mobile from Babies R Us.

I continued the green and blue theme into Henry's closet with these closet organizers from Babies R Us. This is half of his closet (it's divided) so each one fit perfectly in each half. Yes, that's a onesie with a tie on it. I'm WAITING for Henry to be big enough to wear it!

The changing table and book shelf. I made the (currently blank) frame hanging above while I was still pregnant, and we've ordered maternity shots to be placed in it. I actually had the order put together, but not placed, the day I went into labor... Thus why the frame is still empty! But they're coming soon.

I'm still in love with these book ends! The blue containers hold diapers, wipes and other baby essentials (thermometer, nail clippers, etc). And yeah, our baby monitor camera is positioned there. Not because we need close-ups of any diaper changes, but because we aim it at his bassinet that we put in the center of the room at night.

I went with a jungle theme for three reasons: a) it's friggin cute! b) it's fairly gender neutral so it will work for more than one baby and c) I can keep the green pieces I've selected for the room and take out the blue if a subsequent baby is a girl, and then have a green and pink nursery. It's also a calming color palette, which I've stated before that I think is important. I think usability (as in, can 're-use' various pieces) and likability (you have to want to spend some time in the room!) were my two most important factors in designing the space, and I'm really happy with how everything has turned out.

Park Bench Fitness

Now that I'm well past the six-week-postpartum mark and am free to fully get back into my fitness routine, I've found that I've had to get a bit creative. Our gym's daycare center won't take babies until they're 12 weeks old, so I have quite a while until I can really get back to business. But I'm REAL tired of feeling squishy and soft from having this baby!

(What I failed to realize about having a baby is that losing the weight is the easy part. Heck, that was gone in a month! But after the extra pounds are gone, you're left with little to no muscle tone and a whole lot of squishy skin. Despite the scale reading the same, you don't LOOK the same! And that's a tough pill to swallow for a self described fitness guru like myself.)

I've been walking since a few days after Henry was born, and have recently begun to run again. While cardio is great, if I want to get rid of my "squish" I need to start to do some strength training! But how can I do that if I can't get to a weight room at a gym?

Enter the park bench.

Ze park bench. Also, fitness assistant. (Image from oldmillimpressions.com)

I mentioned here about how I head to the lake to get a walk/run in with Henry in the mornings. I've also started to incorporate some strength moves on park benches as we pass by. The great part about this is that it can be done anywhere there happens to be park benches, and you can create various combinations to mix up your routine: ten minutes of walking, five minutes at a bench followed by five minutes of running, then ten minutes at a bench, etc. You can have a 25 minute workout or an hour++ workout.

It goes like this: Head to a park, walking/running trail, or just outside to a city sidewalk. If you have a little one, get him set up in his stroller. Get your tunes cranked on your iPod/iPhone/old school walkman. I always start with a walking warm up of five to ten minutes. After that, I stop at the first park bench. (If you have a little one with you, don't forget to put the break on the stroller! I forgot my first time, and Henry started a slow roll towards the lake... I'm a bad mom sometimes, whatcanIsay) Depending on how long Henry can tolerate not moving, I do two-to-three of the exercises listed below on said bench. Then I take off, either running or power walking, and go until either the next bench, or until the song on Pandora either stinks or is super-awesome and I want to power through some strength moves. Repeat as often as you can for the duration of your workout, mixing your strength moves in with cardio bursts.

Example moves to do on the bench:

• Lunges up (you can power-up with a hop at the top if you're feeling super kick-ass - just watch your balance so you don't fall!)

•  Reverse lunges off the front of the bench

•  Curtsy lunges 

•  Old fashioned squats (if you want to work your butt, make sure to get a least a 90 degree bend in your knees so you utilize that muscle. If you don't get at least that low, you never engage your glutes)

•  Push ups off the bench

•  Triceps push ups off the bench

•  Triceps dips

•  Planks

Afraid you'll look crazy doing this by yourself in public? Who cares! You're going to look way better than the people watching and judging you. To heck with those people. Anyone else who cares about their fitness will love to see what you're doing! In fact, after a set of curtsy lunges, I got a high-five from a fellow runner. Boom.

The weather is really heating up here in Dallas, so Henry and I have to go early if we're going to get a workout in and I need to prepare to get really sweaty (I bring water and a towel with, so it's actually super handy to have the stroller with cup holders and storage), but it's fun to spend some time outdoors and by the lake working on my tan as seen here (hey sports bra tan lines, heyyyyyy!).

It's also really fun to spend time with Henry in this capacity, too. He LOVES going fast in the stroller! And never fusses - as long as we're moving. But that's the glory of this workout. It's flexible. Got a fussy baby? Get moving with more cardio to keep her happy! Only have 20 minutes? That's cool. By yourself and want to work on toning your arms? Spend more time at the bench and less time on cardio!

Just don't spend all your time sitting on that bench... :) Happy park bench fitnessing!