Monday, 24 October 2011
That didn't go as planned!
Well today's weigh in didn't go the way I had planned it but I also knew it wouldn't so I don't feel too terrible. This weekend was Adryanna's birthday parties and I have a slight addiction to icing. We always make our birthday cakes and the instructions for the icing always have you making too much. Every year I say that we need to dispose of the leftovers right away but for some reason I can never bring myself to do it. I just love it so much and I keep it in the fridge and "snack" on it. The other downfall for me is the snacks. I made sure that we had fruit and veggies for the kids party because they really don't need a bunch of junk when they are going to have cake right after. We did an adults party this year too for some of our close friends and family. This is where I over did it! Adryanna asked for stew of all things for her special dinner. I love stew and may have eaten more than I planned. All in all I ate way more than I should have this weekend and the result was an increase on the scale. Not a huge one and one I am confident I can get rid of this week.
Friday, 21 October 2011
Adryanna Laura Carolyn Boulianne
On October 21, 2006 I became a Mommy!!! It was the most amazing and exciting day. The night before I thought I was having some stomach trouble and just couldn't figure out why my body was being so annoying. I remember trying to watch something on tv and every commercial I was running to the bathroom but nothing would happen. It never occured to me that there was any pattern to what was happening even when I was standing leaning on the back of the couch swaying back and forth. I think it was about 10:00pm when I finally thought that perhaps I was in labour but then thought there was no way what I was feeling could possibly be the horrible pain people talk about. Adrian got home from work around 11:30pm and I told him that I thought I might be in labour. We went to bed to try to get some sleep and despite some discomfort I was able to sleep on and off until 5:29am when I tried to get up to go to the washroom and my water broke. Off to the hospital we went and at 1:24pm after a fairly uneventful labour Adryanna was born weighing a crazy 10lbs 11oz!!! The only complication was that she had partial shoulder distocia and her collarbone broke. She didn't seem bothered by it and when she was about a week old they told us that it was healed.
The past 5 years have been a constant source of amazement for me. She has learned so much and become such a dynamic little girls. She is so super smart that when she was a baby I honestly thought she was going to be a genius. I know all mothers thing this of their children but Adryanna just did everything so early. She sat unassisted at 5 months and crawled shortly after that. She was very strong right from the beginning (I figure it's from all of the Tums I lived on when I was pregnant). We have some pictures of her lifting her head off our shoulders when she was still in the hospital! She walked at the very early age of 8.5 months and ran at 8.5 months and 1 day ;) She started talking fairly early as well and by the time we went for her first appointment at McMaster when she was around 2.5 years old they decided to skip the speech part of the assessment because her vocabulary was so good. Last year she started school and continues to amaze me to this day with how much she learns and knows. Just today she was in her room writing a story on her whiteboard and had many of the words spelled correctly!
When Adryanna was just over 2 years old she had a cold and a horrible cough. I took her to her pediatrician and he said that although she didn't have pneumonia or anything he heard for the first time a heart murmur. This both scared me and intrigued me. Why couldn't he hear it before but now he could? Was she going to be ok? I knew that murmurs were pretty common and often nothing so I tried not to worry while we waited for what would be her first of many echos. The first one was horrible, she was scared and they couldn't get anything done because she was crying too much. They decided she would need to be sedated so we left and I was very upset with the way she had been treated so we went back to her pediatrician and asked for someone else to do it. Within a couple of weeks we had the sedated one done and the doctor that did it told us right away that he did see a defect and that we would go to McMaster for more testing. So every few months since then she has had echos done. What we found out is that her defect was so small that it couldn't be heard until her heart grew and the defect got bigger. We then found out that the initial diagnosis of a coronary artery fistula might not be right. In the summer of 2010 we were sent to Sick Kids for more extensive testing and finally got a diagnosis of a Tunnel from her Aorta to her Left Ventricle. What's happening is that when blood should be pumping out of her left ventricle and up her aorta there is a small trickle coming back into the ventricle. So far there are no complications but on her last echo in the summer they noticed a slight increase in the size of her left ventricle. The plan right now is to let her grow some more and repair the defect when she is between six and eight. It's a minor procedure and if all goes well she'll be back to normal in a couple of days.
So thank you Adryanna for being in my life and teaching me all about being a Mommy!
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| Just hours old! |
The past 5 years have been a constant source of amazement for me. She has learned so much and become such a dynamic little girls. She is so super smart that when she was a baby I honestly thought she was going to be a genius. I know all mothers thing this of their children but Adryanna just did everything so early. She sat unassisted at 5 months and crawled shortly after that. She was very strong right from the beginning (I figure it's from all of the Tums I lived on when I was pregnant). We have some pictures of her lifting her head off our shoulders when she was still in the hospital! She walked at the very early age of 8.5 months and ran at 8.5 months and 1 day ;) She started talking fairly early as well and by the time we went for her first appointment at McMaster when she was around 2.5 years old they decided to skip the speech part of the assessment because her vocabulary was so good. Last year she started school and continues to amaze me to this day with how much she learns and knows. Just today she was in her room writing a story on her whiteboard and had many of the words spelled correctly!
When Adryanna was just over 2 years old she had a cold and a horrible cough. I took her to her pediatrician and he said that although she didn't have pneumonia or anything he heard for the first time a heart murmur. This both scared me and intrigued me. Why couldn't he hear it before but now he could? Was she going to be ok? I knew that murmurs were pretty common and often nothing so I tried not to worry while we waited for what would be her first of many echos. The first one was horrible, she was scared and they couldn't get anything done because she was crying too much. They decided she would need to be sedated so we left and I was very upset with the way she had been treated so we went back to her pediatrician and asked for someone else to do it. Within a couple of weeks we had the sedated one done and the doctor that did it told us right away that he did see a defect and that we would go to McMaster for more testing. So every few months since then she has had echos done. What we found out is that her defect was so small that it couldn't be heard until her heart grew and the defect got bigger. We then found out that the initial diagnosis of a coronary artery fistula might not be right. In the summer of 2010 we were sent to Sick Kids for more extensive testing and finally got a diagnosis of a Tunnel from her Aorta to her Left Ventricle. What's happening is that when blood should be pumping out of her left ventricle and up her aorta there is a small trickle coming back into the ventricle. So far there are no complications but on her last echo in the summer they noticed a slight increase in the size of her left ventricle. The plan right now is to let her grow some more and repair the defect when she is between six and eight. It's a minor procedure and if all goes well she'll be back to normal in a couple of days.
So thank you Adryanna for being in my life and teaching me all about being a Mommy!
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Running Naked
A few weeks ago I was introduced to the idea of running naked and thought I could never ever do it. Tonight I did it! Now before anyone gets any ideas or starts screaming in horror at the thought, running naked is about running without a watch or music. It's just running for the love of running.
Tonight was my first run in a couple of weeks and it felt great! I got home from work with plenty of time to get ready, we got to the store in time for me to make my ritual bathroom visit and the weather was perfect. About two minutes into our warm up though I felt like something was totally off. I thought maybe it was because I was wearing my bright yellow reflective vest and I could feel the extra layer but then realized that I really couldn't feel it. I went on with my stretching and finally realized what was wrong when I heard a very distinct beeping sound from behind me. I realized very quickly that I had forgotten my Garmin watch!!! I haven't run without it once since I got it in February. I have logged every single running step for the past 8 months. I had a moment of very real panic. See normally we do timed runs and I am usually quite far behind the rest of the group, often to the point that I can't see the next person. Without my watch I would have no sense of time and no sense of when to turn around. I quickly decided that I would have to do a distance run and chose 5k since I know where the turn around point is on all of our routes. Next I got scared that Benny would go and change our route and throw a new one at me leaving me totally lost again. Luckily he sent us out on a route that I am fairly familiar with and off we went. We got to the second stretching point and then were sent off on distances instead of times so it fit my new plan perfectly.
Tonight's run was 5k in approximately 46 minutes which isn't totally a record for me but it's one of my faster times. I did the first 2k at what felt like a faster pace than usual and was able to make it up a hill that I have never made it all the way up without walking most of it. Overall a very successful run. I haven't run that route in quite some time so it was fun to run it and realize how much easier it seemed this time than it did last winter when I did it for the first time.
I enjoyed running naked tonight and will make a point to run without my watch on a regular basis and I never run with music. I can't actually. It makes me panic because I can't hear my breathing. On my next run I will bring my watch back out. I'm going to aim for maybe 8k on Saturday morning but will settle for 6k if I am feeling too tired.
Give naked running a try sometime! You might like it too!
Tonight was my first run in a couple of weeks and it felt great! I got home from work with plenty of time to get ready, we got to the store in time for me to make my ritual bathroom visit and the weather was perfect. About two minutes into our warm up though I felt like something was totally off. I thought maybe it was because I was wearing my bright yellow reflective vest and I could feel the extra layer but then realized that I really couldn't feel it. I went on with my stretching and finally realized what was wrong when I heard a very distinct beeping sound from behind me. I realized very quickly that I had forgotten my Garmin watch!!! I haven't run without it once since I got it in February. I have logged every single running step for the past 8 months. I had a moment of very real panic. See normally we do timed runs and I am usually quite far behind the rest of the group, often to the point that I can't see the next person. Without my watch I would have no sense of time and no sense of when to turn around. I quickly decided that I would have to do a distance run and chose 5k since I know where the turn around point is on all of our routes. Next I got scared that Benny would go and change our route and throw a new one at me leaving me totally lost again. Luckily he sent us out on a route that I am fairly familiar with and off we went. We got to the second stretching point and then were sent off on distances instead of times so it fit my new plan perfectly.
Tonight's run was 5k in approximately 46 minutes which isn't totally a record for me but it's one of my faster times. I did the first 2k at what felt like a faster pace than usual and was able to make it up a hill that I have never made it all the way up without walking most of it. Overall a very successful run. I haven't run that route in quite some time so it was fun to run it and realize how much easier it seemed this time than it did last winter when I did it for the first time.
I enjoyed running naked tonight and will make a point to run without my watch on a regular basis and I never run with music. I can't actually. It makes me panic because I can't hear my breathing. On my next run I will bring my watch back out. I'm going to aim for maybe 8k on Saturday morning but will settle for 6k if I am feeling too tired.
Give naked running a try sometime! You might like it too!
Monday, 17 October 2011
Confession
I have a confession to make. I am addicted to my Blackberry!!!
For those who didn't already know I am one of those very annoying people who has their Blackberry on them at all times. The only time I don't is when I am running with the Runners' Edge group. I am totally obsessed with it. I have all my email, facebook, my bank accounts and everything else I can directed to my phone. I am out of my office a lot also so check my voicmail anywhere from 3 to 10 times a day from my phone. So naturally I look at it alot!
Today was day one of having my weight front and center on my phone. Everytime I look at my phone I see that number looking back at me. I am very routine oriented as well. I always check my phone when I leave an appointment and I usually have 3 to 5 appointments a day. I check for email and call to check voicemail. Today that meant checking it right before I went into Tim Hortons twice. I kept thinking that I wanted a treat but when I saw that number I was extra careful with what I chose.
Something else that I discovered was that the website I use to track food and exercise now has a Blackberry App!! I was so excited about this because now I can add food as soon as I eat it rather than waiting and possibly forgetting. This made a very big difference to what I chose to eat and when. I think this plan could work out well!!
On the exercise front, I did my Wii Fit exercise for 30 minutes last night and again tonight. I also walked about 30 minutes today. Tomorrow is running and I am going to aim for 50 minutes or whatever the group is doing if it's more than that. If the group is less I know there are always people doing longer so I'll just stick with my 50 minutes and get back a bit later but still before someone.
I'll share my picture with all of you to help keep things honest!
For those who didn't already know I am one of those very annoying people who has their Blackberry on them at all times. The only time I don't is when I am running with the Runners' Edge group. I am totally obsessed with it. I have all my email, facebook, my bank accounts and everything else I can directed to my phone. I am out of my office a lot also so check my voicmail anywhere from 3 to 10 times a day from my phone. So naturally I look at it alot!
Today was day one of having my weight front and center on my phone. Everytime I look at my phone I see that number looking back at me. I am very routine oriented as well. I always check my phone when I leave an appointment and I usually have 3 to 5 appointments a day. I check for email and call to check voicemail. Today that meant checking it right before I went into Tim Hortons twice. I kept thinking that I wanted a treat but when I saw that number I was extra careful with what I chose.
Something else that I discovered was that the website I use to track food and exercise now has a Blackberry App!! I was so excited about this because now I can add food as soon as I eat it rather than waiting and possibly forgetting. This made a very big difference to what I chose to eat and when. I think this plan could work out well!!
On the exercise front, I did my Wii Fit exercise for 30 minutes last night and again tonight. I also walked about 30 minutes today. Tomorrow is running and I am going to aim for 50 minutes or whatever the group is doing if it's more than that. If the group is less I know there are always people doing longer so I'll just stick with my 50 minutes and get back a bit later but still before someone.
I'll share my picture with all of you to help keep things honest!
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| Let's watch that number drop!!! |
Sunday, 16 October 2011
Oh NO!!
Today I stepped on the scale after several weeks of avoiding it and was not at all surprised with what I saw. I was annoyed and dissappointed in myself but not surprised. I am up about 5lbs from the last time I stepped on and maybe more since the last time I blogged about it.
So what am I going to do about it??? Well I am going to get my butt in gear and stop this horrible cycle once and for all!!
Tonight is the first night of the rest of my life! Tomorrow morning I will get on the scale and with my phone take a picture of the number. I will put that as my background on my phone and each week when I weigh in I will change that picture no matter which direction the scale goes. Hopefully that will help me keep going.
Almost two years ago we bought the Wii Fit Plus and I used it regularly but not nearly enough. I'm going to bring it back out tonight and dust it off. I don't have the time or motivation to go to the gym but need something for the nights in between runs. There are some fun activities on there and there is a "free step" thing where I can set it up and then switch to the TV while I do it. I plan to do this 3 nights a week after the kids go to bed then I will run my 3 runs a week. If I keep it up this should really help things along!!!
So what am I going to do about it??? Well I am going to get my butt in gear and stop this horrible cycle once and for all!!
Tonight is the first night of the rest of my life! Tomorrow morning I will get on the scale and with my phone take a picture of the number. I will put that as my background on my phone and each week when I weigh in I will change that picture no matter which direction the scale goes. Hopefully that will help me keep going.
Almost two years ago we bought the Wii Fit Plus and I used it regularly but not nearly enough. I'm going to bring it back out tonight and dust it off. I don't have the time or motivation to go to the gym but need something for the nights in between runs. There are some fun activities on there and there is a "free step" thing where I can set it up and then switch to the TV while I do it. I plan to do this 3 nights a week after the kids go to bed then I will run my 3 runs a week. If I keep it up this should really help things along!!!
Friday, 14 October 2011
Home Sweet Home
Well we made it home from Florida safe and sound!! It was a long drive and one I'm not eager to do again soon. It actually went by quickly but I spent all day Wednesday in a fog. I drove about 14hrs of the return trip and slept maybe 5hrs in between. It's hard to sleep in a moving vehicle especially when you have an almost 5 year old asking if you're asleep yet everytime you are almost asleep. Oh well we're home and everyone is happy.
It rained for the two days after we went to Universal Studios but Monday we woke up to beautiful sunshine!! It was gorgeous! We packed everyone up and headed out to Clearwater Beach. Wonderful white sand and salt water! I loved it. The kids loved it too!
Now we're working on getting back into routine at home. I am super tired right now and trying to find all my motivation to head out with the group in the morning for a run. There is a wind warning for tomorrow which will make it all the more difficult but I know I need to get my butt back out there. The weather is soon going to turn cold and if I am not in the routine of getting out there I know that the winter will not be pretty. Last year I made it through a very cold winter and found comfort in my runs and really felt like they helped me get through that long winter. I'm hoping running will get me through this winter too!
Backing up a bit though! One thing that has me excited for running right now it the chance to get out there and see the beautiful colours our area is full of right now. The leaves are rapidly changing colour and everything is just so pretty! Hopefully now that we are done with our vacations I'll be able to get back at it regularly and will get to really enjoy the Fall scents and sights!!
It rained for the two days after we went to Universal Studios but Monday we woke up to beautiful sunshine!! It was gorgeous! We packed everyone up and headed out to Clearwater Beach. Wonderful white sand and salt water! I loved it. The kids loved it too!
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| Christina at Clearwater Beach |
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| Anna and Logan at Universal Studios |
Now we're working on getting back into routine at home. I am super tired right now and trying to find all my motivation to head out with the group in the morning for a run. There is a wind warning for tomorrow which will make it all the more difficult but I know I need to get my butt back out there. The weather is soon going to turn cold and if I am not in the routine of getting out there I know that the winter will not be pretty. Last year I made it through a very cold winter and found comfort in my runs and really felt like they helped me get through that long winter. I'm hoping running will get me through this winter too!
Backing up a bit though! One thing that has me excited for running right now it the chance to get out there and see the beautiful colours our area is full of right now. The leaves are rapidly changing colour and everything is just so pretty! Hopefully now that we are done with our vacations I'll be able to get back at it regularly and will get to really enjoy the Fall scents and sights!!
Saturday, 8 October 2011
Florida Bound!
Wow it sure has been a long time since I posted! We were busy preparing for our drive to Florida and the time just got away from me.
Wednesday we started our journey south at about 5pm. I was very nervous about the drive. Our van is old and rusty so I was afraid something would break and we would be stuck on the side of the highway. It held up great though! I drove the first 6.5 hours or so and we made it through New York State, Pennsylvania, and into West Virginia. A couple of hours into the drive we passed a sign that made us all laugh. It said something along the lines of Correctional Facility Area - Do Not Pick Up Hitch Hikers, a few seconds later we passes a massive jail!! It was a pretty uneventful drive after that. I didn't love driving through the mountains at night but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At about midnight we stopped for gas and to switch drivers. Adrian then drove the rest of the way through West Virginia and North Carolina and into South Carolina. We switched drivers again at that point and I drove through South Carolina and in to Georgia. We stopped in Savannah for gas and lunch then Adrian took over the driving again for the rest of the drive. Everyone behaved until the last couple of hours or so when Anna started with the "Are we there yet" questions. With many pee stops and a couple of food and gas stops it took us just over 24hrs to get here.
Yesterday we went to Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. At the Universal Studios side we went on a few rides and some simulator type rides. It was alot of fun. Then we went over to Islands of Adventure which is part of Universal Resort. It is where we got to go to Seuss Landing which is all Dr Seuss rides, shops and activities. Adryanna loved the rides and even Christina got to go on a few. We then headed over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! This is what we had been waiting for all day! It was amazing!!! I felt like I was in the movies. We went into some of the shops and rode a couple of rides. The best ride was a simulator ride inside Hogwarts!! You "fly a broom" all around the castle grounds. It was awesome. While we were in line for the ride we were walking through the castle it was just like I thought it would be. There were talking and moving pictures on the walls that looked so real. It was great.
Today is just going to be a quiet day, a bit of shopping then a big turkey dinner to celebrate our Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we're headed to Clearwater Beach for the day. It will be Meag and Christina's first time to the ocean. Anna went once when she was 8 months old but obviously doesn't remember so I guess it will be like her first time too! Well I guess it's not actually the ocean, it's the Gulf of Mexico but it's still salt water!! I'll post some pictures tomorrow with my beach blog.
Wednesday we started our journey south at about 5pm. I was very nervous about the drive. Our van is old and rusty so I was afraid something would break and we would be stuck on the side of the highway. It held up great though! I drove the first 6.5 hours or so and we made it through New York State, Pennsylvania, and into West Virginia. A couple of hours into the drive we passed a sign that made us all laugh. It said something along the lines of Correctional Facility Area - Do Not Pick Up Hitch Hikers, a few seconds later we passes a massive jail!! It was a pretty uneventful drive after that. I didn't love driving through the mountains at night but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At about midnight we stopped for gas and to switch drivers. Adrian then drove the rest of the way through West Virginia and North Carolina and into South Carolina. We switched drivers again at that point and I drove through South Carolina and in to Georgia. We stopped in Savannah for gas and lunch then Adrian took over the driving again for the rest of the drive. Everyone behaved until the last couple of hours or so when Anna started with the "Are we there yet" questions. With many pee stops and a couple of food and gas stops it took us just over 24hrs to get here.
Yesterday we went to Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. At the Universal Studios side we went on a few rides and some simulator type rides. It was alot of fun. Then we went over to Islands of Adventure which is part of Universal Resort. It is where we got to go to Seuss Landing which is all Dr Seuss rides, shops and activities. Adryanna loved the rides and even Christina got to go on a few. We then headed over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! This is what we had been waiting for all day! It was amazing!!! I felt like I was in the movies. We went into some of the shops and rode a couple of rides. The best ride was a simulator ride inside Hogwarts!! You "fly a broom" all around the castle grounds. It was awesome. While we were in line for the ride we were walking through the castle it was just like I thought it would be. There were talking and moving pictures on the walls that looked so real. It was great.
Today is just going to be a quiet day, a bit of shopping then a big turkey dinner to celebrate our Thanksgiving. Tomorrow we're headed to Clearwater Beach for the day. It will be Meag and Christina's first time to the ocean. Anna went once when she was 8 months old but obviously doesn't remember so I guess it will be like her first time too! Well I guess it's not actually the ocean, it's the Gulf of Mexico but it's still salt water!! I'll post some pictures tomorrow with my beach blog.
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