Running through Nap Time SOS

You know the song in the movie "French Kiss," that Meg Ryan sings while she's getting up her nerve to get on an airplane; "I hate Paris in the springtime, I hate Paris in the Fall, I hate Paris..." etc. Well, I sing/chant my own version of that sing while I'm out jogging. Sometimes it's out loud and all of the bikers, runners, and dog walkers sharing the trail with me look at me funny, but mostly I sing it in my head. It goes like this (with moderate variations on the theme): I hate running in the springtime, I hate running in the fall, I hate running when it's rainy or it's sunny....etc" I don't know why I sing it because I don't hate it as much as I could or as much as I used to. I don't particularly like to push myself to do it, but I can usually run for about 1/3-1/2 of my walk so...I'm not trying to over do it. The gagging, painful, "I can't Breathe!!" scenario isn't my style. I'm much more for the jog until it gets almost to that point, slow down and walk...and maybe I'll start jogging again before I get home. Maybe.

My daughter is having a sleeping issue. She's teething a lot, so she likes to just be distracted from it from sun up to sun down. So, nap time and bed time are not her favorites. I was going to get her to try sleeping in her crib, but the teeth thing means she's getting me up 2-5 times a night again and I hate crawling out of bed to pick her up and do what's necessary and then spend the next 45 minutes to an hour trying to get her back to sleep in her crib. Usually her persistent crying wins out. After speaking with one of my friends about it, her daughter is 3 months older than mine, she shared some valuable information with me: 9-12 months is not usually a great time to try to get them to sleep someplace new. They are aware of where mommy and daddy are, they are usually teething, and would prefer to be someplace they KNOW is safe. So...temporary hold on the crib sleeping idea. Getting her to sleep is still an issue. Crying, even while being held, is a main theme. Yesterday I got her to sleep in my arms while she was sitting in my lap leaning back against me, it was great! She slept for almost 3 hours! All that is totally awesome...except that I couldn't get up. I was lying on my back with her on top of me, with only one book within reach. No cell phone. No husband and home. No one I could get in touch with. It was so ridiculously laughable. Nap-time SOS

Jogging

Anyone who has met me would think, "Yeah, she is NOT a runner." and they would be right. I am not a runner. I'm a sissy girl when it comes to running, I do the whole chicken arm girly prancing run; it's bad. So I don't run. I've tried throughout the years to start running or jogging because I know that it can keep you in shape and I've always been looking at ways to stay in shape. I am not one of those naturally thin and lean people who can eat whatever they want, never exercise, and not gain a pound. Nope. Not one of them...

After I had my daughter I had a lot, A LOT, of weight to get off. Since I had a C-section I was allowed to walk for the first few weeks, and that was pretty much it. Luckily, I've discovered that walking has done wonders for me! I never knew I could get skinny legs, but lo and behold my legs are actually leaner than they were before I even got pregnant. The problem, of course, is to get the rest of my body back into a semblance of shape. I have a walking partner who actually likes to run/jog and she started making me do intervals of jogging with her on our walks. We haven't had a chance to walk in a while between illnesses, traveling, and the weather being a bit too cold to take our daughters for walks. So, this morning it was fairly nice out, not too chilly, and I actually went jogging with my daughter without having to have someone make me do it. And I jog-walked for a whole mile. So, the joggers and runners who read this will probably roll their eyes and go, "Oh, gee, a mile..." but for me a mile of jogging and walking is huge. Especially, since I was pushing a 20 lbs baby in a stroller. Now the real question is: can (or will) I do it again? We shall see...but since I have 10 lbs to go and a little weight I wanted off pre-pregnancy to go...I think there's a good chance of jogging becoming a permanent fixture in my days. Even if I do run like a sissy girl.