XXL's XL's, 38's & 36's

I have two bags of clothes (think target, jcrew & ross) that Tim is giving away... most stuff is casual dress... jeans, shorts, cotton collared shirts... maybe a suit of two...

If your interested let me know (thescheidlers(at)mac(dot)com) ASAP. Otherwise. WEDNESDAY. Goodwill gets our donation...

3-2-1...

In considering what's ahead for Tim and I ...

I've been doing some reading...

and trying to remember what life what like when Caiah came to us...

My sweet sis in law always laughs at me (well, acutally... I think all my family members do) ... because while there was sleep depervation... Micaiah when awake.. was pretty much happy where ever he was... as long as we fed and made sure he napped every now and then... (he didn't even cry when his diapers were dirty) AND we coped well with all the changes... emotional and physcial of having a lil one dependent on you... because... I was on zoloft... which makes my lovely little brain SOOO strikingly clear ... you'd think I was a scholar... :) ... and Tim is sane and had (and has) a WONDERFUL sense of humor... as long as you kept (keep) HIM well fed...

So... in considering what's ahead... and what worked last time...

Here are a few things... I'm hoping for...

Meals. made by someone else. :) (dream dinners have been made, a few meals are planned from others)

Basic household items stocked (toilet paper, detergent... shampoo, done)

a house stocked with diapers and wipes (done)

baby clothes washed and easily accessible (mostly done)

friends & family we can call on... if my head is exploding

very short (1-3 items, for a day including showering :) ) to do lists for the next 3 months (that's probably the hardest for me)

Zoloft.

Someone to water our plants ... so they don't die while were distracted...

Lots of grace.

.........

Am I forgetting anything?

Any suggestions?

This weeks walks...

Monday.

Tuesday.

rest

Wednesday.

Thursday.

Friday.

gardening... :) ... and a little house work...

right around 3 miles seems to be a good mileage for me right now... it seems to be opening up the hips and pelvis without TOO much pain as a result...

AND my mind feels fairly sane... although... my patience for repeating myself to Caiah five million times is dwindling... pray I keep my cool....

so far...

we're making progress...

Caiah is swimming... actually... he's spending more time under the water than above... (I think I might of mentioned this before) which means... I'm sitting by the pool...(getting fried by the sun... EVEN with my hat & spf 30) just in case... he gets too deep or too far out... while his teacher is working with his playmate... He is a BRAVE little boy... big boy... as he says... today he started potty training... with success... we'll try again tomorrow...

I have OFFICIALLY commenced the sewing of Max's quilt... 4 rows sew... 13 pieces per row... I have 9 more to go... fortunately... it only took me about an hour to sew 4 rows...

My new desk (so you can't really see the desk ... but doesn't that PROVE that it works well) works WONDERFULLY!!! I am SOOO happy with it... even if it is IKEA...

We also got our medical grp number for our new insurance today... which means I can figure out who will be max & caiah's (got a note TODAY that said... Pick a new dr in 10 days... or else) new pediatrician. awesome. it's one of the less enjoyable parts about being a parent... being responsible for someone elses medical decisions... Tomorrow, I'll register at the hospital... and get that out of the way...

Our final inspection for the house... is SCHEDULED for tomorrow!!!

My goal was to get it done before I have Max.... as far as I can tell we have completed everything (minus adding gutters, which I'm hoping/guessing they might of forgotten about) and we should be ALL clear!!! My amazing husband put up the handrail to the basement... which is much easier said than done... but now it is done... AND using some creative problem solving skills involving garden wire and wood... :) along with concrete patch grout stuff... patched a part of the foundation...

To celebrate dear Ada's birthday we did TWO photo shoots in one day... one to document details... and other for some with both kiddos and big picture... it worked pretty well I thought...ALTHOUGH... I was struggling to make Ada's baby belly look 6 months along... as always you can check out our work here...

I made a trip to Paper Source... probably one of my favorite places to spend a few bucks.... and have bought... postcards for Caiah's 3rd birthday invites (Saturday, Sept 19th) & announcement materials for Maxwell...

I've also made some art for Caiah's room... with wall decals... it needs a little more paint and tlc to not look like stickers on a canvas... so I hope to add some flair this week and have it hung... soon... :) I've bought paper for Maxwell's room for art... I think I'm going to make some 12x12 shadow boxes...

on the pregnancy front...

bending over to tie my shoes is almost impossible this week... with a little gymnastics... I can do it... although Caiah keeps asking if I need help... :)

I think at this point... even IF I have the baby on the 22... or beyond... my list might last me till the end of August...

It's a delicate balance that weighs on me right now... productivity verses cherishing every last moment I have with Caiah as JUST HIS mom... and Being a wife... with one kiddo...

Caiah's been asking about certain relatives being JUST HIS... and if they are "MINE" ... as he puts it... "Gramma, is mine?" Zoozie, is mine?" "Daddy is MY daddy." I really wonder if it has to do with the baby coming... or if it's just a normal 2 yr old conversation.

It's been a FULL week... I'm looking forward to a day of just being home... although... I can promise you Caiah will be asking if he can play with friends by 8:30am... OR asking me to run with him... Gotta LOVE my boy.

2 weeks: Are you kidding me?!?!

this is a looong to do list for me this week...

but with a little scheduling and some help from family...

I know I'll cross off a few items at the very least...

I always look for the easy items to check off...like call so and so... write such and such check...

the manual labor items take coordination of energy... that is, estimating exactly how much energy it will take to complete the task... and knowing whether I've got it or not... :)

today we folded ALOT of laundry and watch two movies... turned out caiah had a mild fever so it worked out very nicely... for me... and him... :)

also. please note that IKEA shopping bags work WONDERFULLY as laundry baskets...

This past week has been full...

We've had swim lessons, playdates... and photo shoots... not to mention the nesting I've been doing...

Two highlights from LAST week... are...

Caiah actually swimming across the spa tub...

Here he is diving for rings on the third step...

discovering that dinosaurs can swim...

and that HE can use two hands on his kick board and do it all by himself!

so I don't really have any photos of him actually swimming... but boy is he confident in the water!

The SECOND HIGHLIGHT was our photo shoots with Amber Katrina!!!

I met her husband through bootcamp and we decided to swap photo shoots!

On Saturday I shot her family at the phs farmers market...

and on Monday she shot us here at home and at a local park... We had soo much fun with Amber... and she got some REALLY great shots of our family...

this weeks walks...

it's been soo long since I've just gone outside and walked the hood... that I just pulled up yahoo maps, instead of mapmyrun to figure out what my mileage was this week :) ... now that's funny to me... mapmyrun was a daily view before bootcamp... :)

wednesday's walking date got rescheduled... so I slept in... later I swam a tad...

thursday's walking date didn't wake up... so I walked her neighborhood which was a real nice change of pace... I walked 45 minutes ... later I swam a bit

friday's walking date came to my hood... we walked about an hour+

today... I sat poolside and enjoyed Caiah & Tim's sillyness... no swim or walking for me...

tomorrow... I've declared it an official "movies ALL DAY" day... for Caiah.. cause I've got a LOT of laundry to fold... and maybe a quilt to sew... maybe we'll take a family walk at some point...

:)

Not sure what next week holds just yet...

it's been requested by a smarter scheidler that I not post my actual routes... in case bad guys want to steal me... or my baby... no more routes... just mileage... and general locations...

Exercising while Pregnant.

The HARDEST thing by FAR about exercising while pregnant has NOT been getting up at 5:30am... BUT has been finding (or creating, in my case) clothes to accommodate.... my ever growing and changing body!!!

If I had things to do over. I'd ditch the yoga pants/shorts/capri's and just get two (million) pairs of these crazy stretchy mini shorts from target... they BY FAR have grown with me... and have been SUPER comfy... I know... pregnant lady in booty shorts?!... seriously... you'll forget they are THAT short... after a while... cause you can't see them around your belly... :) (the photo really doesn't do the lack of length justice) ... ALSO... sports bras are... not easy to shop for when you prego... I normally wear these enell's... swear by them... however when pregnant they cut into the tummy as it gets bigger so I found these, target brand bras... and LOVE them... funny the reviews are really accurate too... fyi ... now ... onto shirts to accommodate... I have felt super overheated when I wore normal t-shirts... sooo... I've cut them... or worn stretchy tanks... but seriously... if I didn't care about people gaulking at the belly... I would have gone bra and shorts... I just NEED air... less things touching my skin!!! :)

The EASIEST thing... is when folks say "You look great" ... replying... in ALL HONESTY "I FEEL GREAT" You probably wish I'd stop saying that... but really... I FEEL GREAT ... of course their are days when I'm tired... or a tad cranky... or just can't get anything to fit/look how I want... life isn't perfect... but seriously it is so good to be 3 weeks away and to KNOW I am STRONGER than when I got pregnant... I have officially gained 25 lbs so far... I expect to gain a few more in the next weeks... HOWEVER that is about 30% of what I gained last time...

Mentally, as a woman that has suffered from chronic depression... I am well... and that feels amazing...

I haven't talked a ton about what I've been doing for exercise to avoid any flack...

but here it is...

WEEKS 1-21: I did solely bootcamp, normally 3 times a week. Running, jumping, squatting, pushing hummers up hills, pull ups, push ups, sit ups... lifting my own fat ass around... :)

WEEKS 22-37: I've been at the academy... following & modifying where needed crossfitmom.com, 2-4x a week depending on the workouts, my body and schedule. rowing instead of running, I've lifted weights. shoulder presses, push presses, good mornings, thrusters, wall balls, kettle bells... most weights ranged between 12-40lbs depending on the movement...ALSO... my favorite... learning how to do kipping pull ups... which I've done... both modified with a band and without... up until week 34 or so... when safety (AKA. Eric LeClair) moved me to the dip bars, in the event that I accidently fell... and in all honesty... I was planning on THAT day being my last day doing pull ups... because I could sense my body wasn't quite as steady with the movement...

Tuesday... was my last day at the academy... for, what I anticipate, will be a few months...

Bittersweet. I am eternally grateful for my husband, friends and coaches that have cheered me on... directed... and overall encouraged me as I exercised, crossfit style minus the intensity, for the past months... In the beginning, there were a few comments from family & fellow xfitters that were nervous... but with time... I think they've realized... Not only was I constantly in tune with my body's limits and form BUT had Coaches paying attention and checking in...

My last morning someone was talking about how nervous they were around me... as if could give birth at ANY MOMENT... :) ...

I smiled smugly and tried to assure my friend of two things...

A. Labor normally takes time, if even an hour...

AND

B. There were at least 3 fire fighters ahead of him in line IF I had a 15 minute labor.

WEEKS 37-40?: I'll start walking & swimming with friends in the mornings... evenings... whenever time will allow...

I'm hoping for a few hikes with Caiah and friends... but we'll see what my lil body will allow...

I share all this to say...

I am, by no means, a super athlete...

Yes, I played water polo in high school and college... but people... I was the goalie... and whole position... doing very little actual cardio swimming...

Yes, I like being active...

But I am far from competitive in any active event...

However, I am healthier AND happier, when I exercise... and even while pregnant... I have grown worlds stronger... and You can too... promise... listen to your body... and keep moving pregnant ladies... you will be grateful you did...