Tuesday, March 20, 2012

What I've been up to lately.

I haven't been very good at updating my blog lately. I guess I just haven't taken the time to sit at the computer and do it. I have been keeping busy in other areas, though. And I am really enjoying the routine my life is in right now. Each weekday morning, I drive Madi down to Preschool. She is making some good progress there. She wears her glasses without fighting it almost every day now, and it is really making a difference in her classroom participation. Her teachers are thrilled with that, as are we! Any progress with Madi is cause to jump for joy. We are in the process of deciding where she should be placed for Kindergarten next year. I know, I don't even want to think about it and just wish she could remain in Preschool with her teachers for another 2-3 years. But, it looks like we will be placing her in a Small Group Classroom setting. It is the most similar to what she is in now, and she will still receive all of her therapy services. The possible downside is that this type of Kindergarten begins focusing on academic stuff (like ABC's and numbers) and Madi could really use more help in the Life Skills area, but we were told that there are actually more options for that type of classroom setting once she gets into 1st Grade. We debated whether to send her to a Kindergarten at a school that is only for special-needs kids, where she would get that heavy focus on Life Skills, but it is a lot farther away for me to have to drive her, and she wouldn't be around her typical peers as much- and I really feel like she benefits greatly from the examples and role models of other kids. Soooo... we have decided to go with the small group setting and hope for the best. Who knows, maybe it will give her the push she needs to really move forward.

Typcially, after I drop Madi off at class, I head over to the gym for either an hour, or an hour and a half. I started doing this last fall, and I absolutely love it. I am able to make it over there and drop Tysen off at the Child Care, and head right in for the 9:30am classes. It really helps a TON that Tysen LOVES going to the Child Care. He actually begs me all the time to "go to the gym." I love it. Here is what my weekly schedule looks like:

Monday: pump (weights) for 45 minutes, then Step for 30 minutes. (I'm actually getting better at keeping up in Step, and don't make quite such a fool of myself. It's a very fast and advanced class).
Tuesday: Kickboxing for 45 minutes, toning for 15 minutes. L-O-V-E this class, because we get to hit an actual bag! And, I have a partner who I always share a bag with who is amazing!
Wednesday: Sports Conditioning for 60 minutes. It's basically a HI-Lo interval class. The teacher is really tough and this class kicks my butt every week. I still love it, though.
Thursday: Kickboxing again.
Friday: Same as Monday, just reversed... so, we start with 45 minutes of Step, then finish with 30 minutes of weights.

The coolest thing? My Friday teacher actually told me that I look skinnier & like I have lost weight. Yaay! What a great thing to hear from a teacher. Whether I have actually lost weight is debatable... I stepped onto the scale after class yesterday just to check, and I was quite disappointed. My clothes do fit better and I have lost a lot of my belly rolls. I can see muscle toning happening in areas that I haven't had toned muscles for years. So I like to tell myself that I am just replacing fat with muscle. Oh... and it would be helpful if I could make myself cut back on the brownies and chocolate chip cookies. Yeah, that's still an issue for me. Gotta get serious about that if I plan on spending any time at the pool this summer!









I've been doing some sewing while the kids sleep, as well. What can I say- it's therapeutic for me. These blocks are all 12.5" square and are part of a block-of-the-month Quilt-Along that I have been doing. I have 3 more to do, then I will add sashing around each block and put them all together. I love doing block-of-the-month projects because you only have to do one of each block, so it doesn't get boring! I've done a few baby quilts along the way as well, and started a couple of other projects. I'll add another update in a few days when I get around to taking some pictures :)

3 comments:

Karissa said...

Awesome quilt stuff!! And I am totally jealous about your gym time. Maybe I should ask for a renewed membership for my birthday this year...now that B is old enough to go and enjoy the kids place. Your schedule sounds awesome. I'm guessing even if your weight hasn't dropped you have definitely put on some serious muscle toning! No way could you do that many strength classes and now build muscle. So, keep telling yourself you're losing fat and building muscle because it's true! Muscle weighs more than fat AND the more muscle you have, the more fat it burns, and the higher your metabolism gets! So, you're doing great! We sure miss you guys!

And what exactly is my alter-ego? Bubs? :-)

Angie said...

I'm glad things are going so well for you. I love hearing how well Madi is progressing! I'm glad you're able to go to the gym so much, I'm sure it really helps to balance your life. You really sacrifice a lot with all the driving you do, so I'm glad you can do that for yourself!

Cathy said...

Kim, I'm so impressed with your stick-to-it-ive-ness. What a great example you are to everyone and to your own children especially. I love your quilt blocks, too. I'm busy quilting too and have found a lot of satisfaction doing that, as well. Way-to-go Madi. I think you've made a good decision about her school. We look forward to seeing you again after tax season.