I am imbalanced. I've known it since I started working with the trainer a year ago, and it hasn't gotten better. I have been working on it, but it's still plaguing me. Initially, I asked the trainer if I should be concerned because my right arm was weaker than my left and he told me several times not to worry about it, that it would correct itself over time.
It made sense; if I focused on the exercises we were doing, everything would get stronger. After a while, I didn't pay attention to it. Then, this summer I did one movement in a friend's car to push back her seat and, bam, I thought I tore my rotator cuff. It turns out I didn't, or if I did I'm asymptomatic now, but it put me in a position where I was favoring that same right arm for a while.
I had troubles from the start because all the spine problems gave me issues on my right side. Couple that with being left-handed and triple that with having that injured elbow on the right side and I had a perfect recipe for favoring the right arm.
The shoulder is better today--as in it doesn't hurt at all. The elbow is healing, meaning it hurts dramatically less. I'm still not sure if something is torn, but for now it's not that much of an impedance. That leaves the historical favoring I've had from my spine issues that I need to work hard to overcome.
It's pretty spectacular how you can look like you're doing a particular exercise such as pullups or pushups or squat thrust evenly, when in reality one arm is doing a significantly larger portion of the work. I didn't realize this was so until I spent time focusing on it; and I started doing that, because I couldn't open a jar one day...
I'm left handed, but I still do some things right hand dominant, including opening jars. With the elbow pain came gripping pain--opening a jar or even lifting a cup of coffee was painful; so I favored the right hand and arm degraded in muscle strength. When I couldn't open the jar I thought, "this is odd, I've never had trouble opening a jar of tomato sauce before. I wonder what the trouble is?" It was particularly strange because I had been exercising the past year and that was something I hadn't done before. And I'd never had trouble opening jars ever.
So now I'm focusing on balance in my workouts and I'm realizing how much I have to do to catch up my lazy right arm. I suppose it's nice to have a goal to work towards, though.
The Big Boy Update: We got a text message from one of my son's teachers today. He apparently told her, "my daddy unties knots all Saturday. I tie them and his job is to untie." I texted her back saying, "you taught him how to tie knots. THANKS." To which she laughed.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter was banging on something with a plastic hammer from their tool belt set. I asked her what she had and she said, "a bam".
Fitness Update: I don't like it when he has the door to the basketball court open. It usually means rounds of terribly uncomfortable or extra difficult exercises that day. My least favorite is when he has us get in the pushup position with our feet on a little cloth. Then, you get drag yourself down the court and push yourself back, using your hands only. The term "gasp-worthy" comes to mind. This morning, the door to the basketball court was open...
Friday, January 31, 2014
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Because They Make You Laugh
Children make you laugh all the time. They can also make you cry...or scream. Here are some things my children have done recently have have made us all laugh.
The Big Boy Update:
Me, "did you like the show about animals we watched last night," I asked? "It was great. It was my favorite one," my son replied. It was also our first nature show about animals we'd ever watched. David Attenborough didn't appeal to my three-year-old as much as I hoped he would.
"Mom, I need a wipe!" This is new, but greatly appreciated. My son will now let us know when he's done on the potty so that we can come help him. This is a great improvement over sitting on the floor and having to ask the question, "are you done yet?" again and again until he decides he's finished. It's also better than him pulling up his pants (or leaving them off altogether) when he gets done.
"I'm a Cookie Monster," my son declared this afternoon at snack as he crumbled up his cracker, crammed parts of it in his mouth and made a gobbling sound while cracker fell all over him and the ground. His food was removed until he cleaned it up and he had a lecture about not being Cookie Monster in the house.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles:
"Make a half," my daughter told me. I looked at her, not knowing what she meant as she pointed to the white hand cloth in my hand. We give these cloths to the children all the time, folded in half or quarters, as a napkin at their table when they eat. Realizing what she meant, I folded it in half. She smiled and said, "make another half," so I folded the cloth in half again. We repeated this until I couldn't fold the cloth in half any more and then started over from the top.
She was eating candy and I told her that if her brother saw her he would want some too. She looked at the candy and said, "people want candy." I suppose she's right, candy is pretty delicious.
Today at lunch I took her to the potty. We were waiting as she didn't seem to be in a hurry to get off the potty and get back to her table. I heard a noise and said, "did you put poop in the potty?" She replied, "that's not poop, that's gas!"
Fitness Update: Empty gym. Not many people showed up this morning due to the still partially icy roads, but those of us that did had fun.
The Big Boy Update:
Me, "did you like the show about animals we watched last night," I asked? "It was great. It was my favorite one," my son replied. It was also our first nature show about animals we'd ever watched. David Attenborough didn't appeal to my three-year-old as much as I hoped he would.
"Mom, I need a wipe!" This is new, but greatly appreciated. My son will now let us know when he's done on the potty so that we can come help him. This is a great improvement over sitting on the floor and having to ask the question, "are you done yet?" again and again until he decides he's finished. It's also better than him pulling up his pants (or leaving them off altogether) when he gets done.
"I'm a Cookie Monster," my son declared this afternoon at snack as he crumbled up his cracker, crammed parts of it in his mouth and made a gobbling sound while cracker fell all over him and the ground. His food was removed until he cleaned it up and he had a lecture about not being Cookie Monster in the house.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles:
"Make a half," my daughter told me. I looked at her, not knowing what she meant as she pointed to the white hand cloth in my hand. We give these cloths to the children all the time, folded in half or quarters, as a napkin at their table when they eat. Realizing what she meant, I folded it in half. She smiled and said, "make another half," so I folded the cloth in half again. We repeated this until I couldn't fold the cloth in half any more and then started over from the top.
She was eating candy and I told her that if her brother saw her he would want some too. She looked at the candy and said, "people want candy." I suppose she's right, candy is pretty delicious.
Today at lunch I took her to the potty. We were waiting as she didn't seem to be in a hurry to get off the potty and get back to her table. I heard a noise and said, "did you put poop in the potty?" She replied, "that's not poop, that's gas!"
Fitness Update: Empty gym. Not many people showed up this morning due to the still partially icy roads, but those of us that did had fun.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Ernie Newbie Money Mo
Sometimes, autocorrect isn't helpful. That was suppose to be, "eenie meenie miney mo" but when I looked up after typing it on my phone, I saw something entirely different.
That's not what today's post is about though. Today's post is about how we got flurried in and everything cancelled due to an inch of snow. It was a highly-anticipated inch. There were predictions of four inches. Public schools cancelled before a single flake fell. Later, around six pm, flurries finally started.
Today we played in the snow. My son loved it and played for a long time, jumping around and laughing and having no problem whatsoever with the cold. His sister, on the other hand, didn't enjoy it quite as much and wanted to come in after half an hour.
But back to the, "eenie meenie miney mo" title. Both my children can do the entire chant. They learned it from daddy at bath time. Some days they do the chant to determine who gets out of the bath first. They love doing the chant; they hate getting out of the bath.
The Big Boy Update: We were using the nasal aspirator on my daughter and she was very unhappy; okay, she was screaming. My son associates discomfort with lotion because he's had such bad skin for so long. He came over and told us, "let's put some lotion on her so she feels better."
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: We're not sure if her face gets red because her skin is dry or because she's got congestion she's rubbing on her face while she's at school. Some days her face is red, some days it's not. We're trying to see if it correlates to runny nose days.
That's not what today's post is about though. Today's post is about how we got flurried in and everything cancelled due to an inch of snow. It was a highly-anticipated inch. There were predictions of four inches. Public schools cancelled before a single flake fell. Later, around six pm, flurries finally started.
Today we played in the snow. My son loved it and played for a long time, jumping around and laughing and having no problem whatsoever with the cold. His sister, on the other hand, didn't enjoy it quite as much and wanted to come in after half an hour.
But back to the, "eenie meenie miney mo" title. Both my children can do the entire chant. They learned it from daddy at bath time. Some days they do the chant to determine who gets out of the bath first. They love doing the chant; they hate getting out of the bath.
The Big Boy Update: We were using the nasal aspirator on my daughter and she was very unhappy; okay, she was screaming. My son associates discomfort with lotion because he's had such bad skin for so long. He came over and told us, "let's put some lotion on her so she feels better."
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: We're not sure if her face gets red because her skin is dry or because she's got congestion she's rubbing on her face while she's at school. Some days her face is red, some days it's not. We're trying to see if it correlates to runny nose days.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sound The Cutest Alarm You Can Find
It's been one of those days around the house; we've had the threat of a snow storm all day but it wasn't until after six o'clock that a single flake fell. The anticipation of snow seems to be infectious though. Uncle Jonathan came over and we've been joking about the theoretically impending snowpacalypse and the probability that we'll get a few flurries. In the meanwhile, it's been a funny day with the children.
After school my son and daughter had been given iPads because our builder was here and we were in and out of the house and unfinished areas and we needed to know they were occupied and not in trouble. I found out later that my son took the iPad to the little potty and had no interest in getting off any time soon. My daughter decided that was a good idea too so she got the very unstable potty seat and put it on top of the main toilet and began to try and climb up. She had brought the iPad into the bathroom but we whisked it away while she wasn't watching.
Later, I hear Uncle Jonathan say to my son that's he's going to pretend to be him. The next thing I see is Uncle Jonathan's legs standing up out of the sofa--he was standing on his head on the back of the sofa just like my son does. My son thought it was hilarious and there was a whole round of head stands and laughter.
Later, I couldn't find my son and went downstairs. He was curled up on the couch with Uncle Jonathan in the crook of his knees. Shortly after that he fell asleep on him and was out cold for several hours.
In the meantime, my daughter was having a very happy afternoon playing with Mimi and Gramps. She (for some unknown reason) kept singing the Ring Around the Rosies song and spinning around on the hardwood with her socks. She fell into the cabinets countless times but didn't seem to mind.
After dinner, my son and daughter got excited about the snow (which had finally decided to vaguely fall down). My son got his shoes and jacket and they went out on the deck and porch to investigate. My daughter wanted to go out, got her warmest pink jacket and put on her pink rain boots. She was missing her pants though and every time she wanted to go out, she decided it was too cold to cross the threshold.
My son was outside trying to find, "the animals" in the snow. He told us to be quiet and that if we saw the animals (we were inside doing a puzzle) that he would yell. Shortly later, we heard him yelling on the porch. He came inside and told us, "I was looking for the animals, but they are asleep."
After that, suddenly a lot of energy was found by both children. My son decided some foam letters my daughter and I were sewing with laces were, in fact, lassos. He grabbed them and said to his sister, "I am a cowboy. And you are a cowboy!" My daughter replied, "I am Superman."
Then, my son turned to Uncle Jonathan and said, "You're a cracker" and walked away.
The Big Boy Update: See above for a busy day of cute.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: See above for cute day of busy.
After school my son and daughter had been given iPads because our builder was here and we were in and out of the house and unfinished areas and we needed to know they were occupied and not in trouble. I found out later that my son took the iPad to the little potty and had no interest in getting off any time soon. My daughter decided that was a good idea too so she got the very unstable potty seat and put it on top of the main toilet and began to try and climb up. She had brought the iPad into the bathroom but we whisked it away while she wasn't watching.
Later, I hear Uncle Jonathan say to my son that's he's going to pretend to be him. The next thing I see is Uncle Jonathan's legs standing up out of the sofa--he was standing on his head on the back of the sofa just like my son does. My son thought it was hilarious and there was a whole round of head stands and laughter.
Later, I couldn't find my son and went downstairs. He was curled up on the couch with Uncle Jonathan in the crook of his knees. Shortly after that he fell asleep on him and was out cold for several hours.
In the meantime, my daughter was having a very happy afternoon playing with Mimi and Gramps. She (for some unknown reason) kept singing the Ring Around the Rosies song and spinning around on the hardwood with her socks. She fell into the cabinets countless times but didn't seem to mind.
After dinner, my son and daughter got excited about the snow (which had finally decided to vaguely fall down). My son got his shoes and jacket and they went out on the deck and porch to investigate. My daughter wanted to go out, got her warmest pink jacket and put on her pink rain boots. She was missing her pants though and every time she wanted to go out, she decided it was too cold to cross the threshold.
My son was outside trying to find, "the animals" in the snow. He told us to be quiet and that if we saw the animals (we were inside doing a puzzle) that he would yell. Shortly later, we heard him yelling on the porch. He came inside and told us, "I was looking for the animals, but they are asleep."
After that, suddenly a lot of energy was found by both children. My son decided some foam letters my daughter and I were sewing with laces were, in fact, lassos. He grabbed them and said to his sister, "I am a cowboy. And you are a cowboy!" My daughter replied, "I am Superman."
Then, my son turned to Uncle Jonathan and said, "You're a cracker" and walked away.
The Big Boy Update: See above for a busy day of cute.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: See above for cute day of busy.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Wacky Weather
It's been below freezing here lately. We had a snow party for the children at our school this weekend where a company comes and makes artificial snow all over the playground and for a donation to our Annual Fund, you can come and frolic in the weather.
For someone in a cooler climate, this might seem ridiculous, but as we're living in the south, it was a fantastically fun morning. The weather was cold, well below freezing, and the snow is still on the playground today. It was above freezing this morning but even so, some remains late this evening as I left the school from an evening meeting.
Next, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. It was crazy at the store. People were getting staples and preparing for terrible weather to come. Wait, what? What's going to happen, I thought? And yes, we may have actual, real, natural snow coming down tomorrow late afternoon and evening.
None of that sounds unremarkable given that it's January and it should be cold. But here's the anomaly, this afternoon I went running with my neighbor in shorts and a t-shirt--because it was sixty-two degrees.
It's a wacky weather winter here in the south, that's for sure.
The Big Boy Update: "It's a beautiful..." My son said this on the way to school this morning, but he didn't finish his sentence. What was so beautiful? Was it the yard maintenance truck in front of us laden with all sorts of exciting tools? Could it possibly be the sunrise? I asked him if it was the sunrise and he decided it was. I'm still not sure that's what he meant from the start though.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Snow Bunny obsession. We found her snow gear from last year's ski trip. I wasn't sure it was fit her still, but we had to put her in something. As it turns out, she still fits in one of the outfits; it's a one-piece pink jump suit with a hood. She is obsessed with this outfit. She wants to wear it all the time. It looks fairly hot to wear, but we've compromised and let her wear it only wearing underwear underneath. She is very happy when she's in her snow bunny gear. Who knows, maybe she'll need it for the impending foul weather to come tomorrow.
Fitness Update: Ten miles. Has it been a long time since I ran or is it just my memory? No, it's been a long time. I had a great run in over sixty-degree weather today. I'm not sure when that will happen again before spring.
For someone in a cooler climate, this might seem ridiculous, but as we're living in the south, it was a fantastically fun morning. The weather was cold, well below freezing, and the snow is still on the playground today. It was above freezing this morning but even so, some remains late this evening as I left the school from an evening meeting.
Next, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things. It was crazy at the store. People were getting staples and preparing for terrible weather to come. Wait, what? What's going to happen, I thought? And yes, we may have actual, real, natural snow coming down tomorrow late afternoon and evening.
None of that sounds unremarkable given that it's January and it should be cold. But here's the anomaly, this afternoon I went running with my neighbor in shorts and a t-shirt--because it was sixty-two degrees.
It's a wacky weather winter here in the south, that's for sure.
The Big Boy Update: "It's a beautiful..." My son said this on the way to school this morning, but he didn't finish his sentence. What was so beautiful? Was it the yard maintenance truck in front of us laden with all sorts of exciting tools? Could it possibly be the sunrise? I asked him if it was the sunrise and he decided it was. I'm still not sure that's what he meant from the start though.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Snow Bunny obsession. We found her snow gear from last year's ski trip. I wasn't sure it was fit her still, but we had to put her in something. As it turns out, she still fits in one of the outfits; it's a one-piece pink jump suit with a hood. She is obsessed with this outfit. She wants to wear it all the time. It looks fairly hot to wear, but we've compromised and let her wear it only wearing underwear underneath. She is very happy when she's in her snow bunny gear. Who knows, maybe she'll need it for the impending foul weather to come tomorrow.
Fitness Update: Ten miles. Has it been a long time since I ran or is it just my memory? No, it's been a long time. I had a great run in over sixty-degree weather today. I'm not sure when that will happen again before spring.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Crushing Sadness
I know there is poverty. I know cruelty exists. I believe injustice happens far more often than justice does; and I also know I can't solve the problems of seven billion people personally.
I don't watch the news and I don't read the paper because while I know all these terrible things are going on, I don't believe wallowing in them makes me a better person if I fall into hopeless despair and can't function and take care of my children. The phrase, "pick your battles" comes to mind.
But I do become overwhelmed with the sadness of our overall global situation at times. Recently, I heard thirty percent of the students in our county were on meal-assist plans for the public schools. Can it really be that almost one third of our local population may go hungry without assistance from the government? How terribly sad.
I remember being at the hospital with my first child. They were lavishing me with gifts of, "here, you can take the blanket and the pacifier and here are some packets of formula." I wanted to shout, to yell, "save them for the people who need them, I can afford formula," but I accepted some to be polite. Not too much though.
That thought, the thought of mothers terrified of not being able to feed their newly born infants, was the single thought that could have pushed me into post-partum depression. I was fine, my child was fine, and I could afford to feed him.
I know the world isn't a perfect place. I know I can't solve it all personally. But I hope I can make some difference in some lives just because I have the capability to.
The Big Boy Update: Neither my son or my daughter suffers from separation anxiety. Last night were were planning on leaving to go to a birthday party. One of their favorite sitters, Tristan, had come over. We told them we had to leave in five minutes and they needed to get their clothes on after their bath so we could go. My son said, "daddy, you go to work. Mommy, bye bye." And that was that.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter is both independent and in need of help. When working on the iPad she will commonly tell you, "I need help." We usually tell her if she can't figure it out she needs to pick another app. This morning my son thought she needed help. We hear her complaining from the other room to him, "I can do it!"
I don't watch the news and I don't read the paper because while I know all these terrible things are going on, I don't believe wallowing in them makes me a better person if I fall into hopeless despair and can't function and take care of my children. The phrase, "pick your battles" comes to mind.
But I do become overwhelmed with the sadness of our overall global situation at times. Recently, I heard thirty percent of the students in our county were on meal-assist plans for the public schools. Can it really be that almost one third of our local population may go hungry without assistance from the government? How terribly sad.
I remember being at the hospital with my first child. They were lavishing me with gifts of, "here, you can take the blanket and the pacifier and here are some packets of formula." I wanted to shout, to yell, "save them for the people who need them, I can afford formula," but I accepted some to be polite. Not too much though.
That thought, the thought of mothers terrified of not being able to feed their newly born infants, was the single thought that could have pushed me into post-partum depression. I was fine, my child was fine, and I could afford to feed him.
I know the world isn't a perfect place. I know I can't solve it all personally. But I hope I can make some difference in some lives just because I have the capability to.
The Big Boy Update: Neither my son or my daughter suffers from separation anxiety. Last night were were planning on leaving to go to a birthday party. One of their favorite sitters, Tristan, had come over. We told them we had to leave in five minutes and they needed to get their clothes on after their bath so we could go. My son said, "daddy, you go to work. Mommy, bye bye." And that was that.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter is both independent and in need of help. When working on the iPad she will commonly tell you, "I need help." We usually tell her if she can't figure it out she needs to pick another app. This morning my son thought she needed help. We hear her complaining from the other room to him, "I can do it!"
Saturday, January 25, 2014
The Cold Consideration
I have been cold for most of my life. Well, rather, when most people put on a jacket or sweater and are fine in chillier weather, I'm always cold, about to start shivering, and wondering when we can leave this wretched location and go somewhere more reasonably warm, like inside a sauna.
The only time I specifically remember not being cold at all was when I was pregnant. And no, I am not currently pregnant; didn't I mention that two children was two too many some days? At any rate, for some reason this year, I'm not as cold.
I don't know if it's the exercise or the running in the cold weather. It's definitely not that I've put on a layer of blubber that's insulating me. But for some reason, I'm just not as cold. It does seem that I go from a garage that's not that cold, to a car that's warmed from the garage, to a parking spot that's close to the building I'm going in on most trips. The amount of time I'm out in the elements isn't that long.
I did a mental double-take the other day when I realized I was debating if I needed a jacket or not because, "it's up to thirty-seven degrees," I thought. Today we had a school snow party event in which the school grounds are covered in man-made snow and the children romp around and slide down a slide as a school fundraiser. It was below thirty throughout the hour we were outside.
I was definitely aware of the cold during that hour. Maybe I'm just not outside as much these days?
The Big Boy Update: My son was playing in a big pile of snow this morning. He had gone to get a small scoop and was digging and moving snow around in the pile. This snow was rather dense and it was hard to scoop; when I came over my son said, "I'm not very good at this," smiled and then kept right on digging.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She didn't live up to her middle name, Winter, today. She was not interested in the snow and didn't want to slide down the slide. She mostly wanted to take off her mittens, touch the snow for thirty seconds, decide her hands were cold in the windy weather and them complain when we couldn't get her mittens back on because her hands were wet. Maybe next year.
The only time I specifically remember not being cold at all was when I was pregnant. And no, I am not currently pregnant; didn't I mention that two children was two too many some days? At any rate, for some reason this year, I'm not as cold.
I don't know if it's the exercise or the running in the cold weather. It's definitely not that I've put on a layer of blubber that's insulating me. But for some reason, I'm just not as cold. It does seem that I go from a garage that's not that cold, to a car that's warmed from the garage, to a parking spot that's close to the building I'm going in on most trips. The amount of time I'm out in the elements isn't that long.
I did a mental double-take the other day when I realized I was debating if I needed a jacket or not because, "it's up to thirty-seven degrees," I thought. Today we had a school snow party event in which the school grounds are covered in man-made snow and the children romp around and slide down a slide as a school fundraiser. It was below thirty throughout the hour we were outside.
I was definitely aware of the cold during that hour. Maybe I'm just not outside as much these days?
The Big Boy Update: My son was playing in a big pile of snow this morning. He had gone to get a small scoop and was digging and moving snow around in the pile. This snow was rather dense and it was hard to scoop; when I came over my son said, "I'm not very good at this," smiled and then kept right on digging.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: She didn't live up to her middle name, Winter, today. She was not interested in the snow and didn't want to slide down the slide. She mostly wanted to take off her mittens, touch the snow for thirty seconds, decide her hands were cold in the windy weather and them complain when we couldn't get her mittens back on because her hands were wet. Maybe next year.
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