The challenge is on!

So recently I blogged about starting to get a bit fitter and shed some baby-weight.  Well, one of my favourite bloggers, Ruth, at A Model Recommends had uploaded a post on exercise and fitness tips.  In it she talked about getting a pedometer as it helped her to keep track of how active she was each day.  I think this is a great idea, as just being more active and walking more, is such a good way of getting more fit.  It doesn't always have to be about doing a massive work-out and is certainly less daunting and easier to fit in.  If nothing else, I find that if I have been active enough in a day I am less inclined to go and scoff rubbish or crave a filthy take away in the evening (not that we have these much really).

So I have bought one!  The advice is to aim for 10,000 steps a day (sounds A LOT to me!).  On Friday I did just under 18,000 steps!! On Fridays we have Philippa's 'swimming' class, it's about 3.5 miles from home and I drove to the first couple of classes, but whilst Husband and Rufus were away at the end of January I decided to walk there and back.  I really enjoy it and I congratulate  myself on my efforts with a coffee and cake after the class with the other girls. Only problem is that I keep enjoying the coffee and cake bit too much and end up walking home in the dark! 

Yesterday I only did 2,000 steps and today 3,000....not so great!  It makes you think of how you can fit in more steps and excuses to get walking...I could get competitive about this!!

Ruth's other recommendation was a home fitness DVD called '30 Day Shred Workout' by one of The Biggest Loser USA's trainers Jillian Michaels.  On the opposite end of the spectrum from the pedometer this is a 20 minute intense workout.  There are 3 phases, each getting more challenging, with the idea that you spend about 10 days on each.  Each daily workout session works on a 3-2-1 program, that being: 3 minutes cardio, 2 minutes strength and 1 minute abs...repeated 3 times with different combinations of exercises on each cycle.

Well, I've done two days so far....and it's hard work, you're not allowed a breather so it's pretty relentless.  But you're never doing one move or action for longer than a minute so it doesn't get boring and Jillian's surprisingly un-annoying! Also, I love that I can do the workout, have a shower, get dressed and hair/makeup done all in under an hour.  Pippa seems to be rather amused by the whole thing from her rather unfortunate angle on her playmat.  I just have to remember one key thing when doing these workouts..........

Keep.  The.  Curtains.  Closed!!  

I don't think I could leave the house again if anyone ever spied me in my red, blobby state of wheezy disgustingness at that hour in the morning. 

I shall keep you updated on my progress......I can hardly walk today and going downstairs is rather emotional so it's definitely doing something!

Anyone want to join me in my challenge? 

So tragic...

I shall keep this short but sweet.  In fact I am afraid it'll be short and pretty damn tragic.

This evening I read about a fellow blogging mummy's horrendous, awful experience of losing her baby to cot death a couple of nights ago.  I simply cannot imagine her family's agony.  I think once you have had your own child those imaginings or thoughts become firmly locked behind a sealed door in your mind.  To access them would be to invite in the most evil of nightmares.  To begin to try and comprehend the impact such a tragedy would have just doesn't bear thinking about.  I actually can't make myself start to comprehend it,  I get so far and wham, the door comes down.  A kind of self-preservation I guess.  I have dealt with my fair share of loss in my life,  but to think of losing Pippa just doesn't compute.  I write this in tears, a state I've been in since reading poor Jennie's post about an hour or so ago.

As much as it pains me to think of such an awful thing happening, tonight I must.  I shall think of that poor darling baby and her family.  My prayers go out to you and I shall be thinking of you.

Suffice to say Pippa will be getting an extra big hug tonight at her dream feed. Now and every night.  

Here's Jennies blog post.  Please, do bear in mind that you will sob.....a lot....so pick your moment to read it.  If you have a baby or a child you will find it pretty bloody difficult to read, so if you're alone or feeling delicate, maybe just don't.

Right, I'm off to cuddle my darling.  Tonight the baby monitor will be turned up to full volume so I can hear every snuffle.  Oh Lord, life is cruel.

For some reason on my computer Jennie's site gets flagged up as suspicious....it's fine, just press ignore on the warnings.

Calling all stylists....

Tonight I have been doing some blog-surfing (I may have just made this word up) and I have stumbled upon an awesome website through the lovely Erin's blog at Living In Yellow.

It's called Stitch Fix and it is a kind of online personal stylist.  Being the  incredibly un-stylish person that I am I have never considered that such a concept exists.  It would be my absolute dream come true to have a personal stylist (and hairdresser......it's not fair that I can't look like Katherine Middleton every morning!), I don't even know if this sort of thing exists in the UK?  Let me know if it does....

......if not then all you stylists out there should jump on this ol' bandwagon. 

An effort to get back on the wagon

Recently (I lie, pretty much since Pippa was about 4 weeks old, actually) my approach to a healthy diet has been shocking.  Breastfeeding seems to give me the worst sweet tooth and constant cravings for sugary and crappy foods.  Maybe my sugar craze only feels so significant now because I went off a lot of sweet things during pregnancy and so the contrast is more marked.  I can't say, but admittedly, whatever the cause, it's definitely being buoyed along by being able to drag out the breastfeeding excuse / justification at every possibly opportunity!

Well enough is enough!  I am still about 1 stone heavier than I was when I got pregnant and I know for a fact that that poundage could be long gone if I'd put more of an effort into being sensible over the past few weeks.  I still find it utterly repulsive to think that I reached the blubbery heights of 14 stone 10 the day I went into labour with Pippa.  Sheesh! Worst of all, I know that at least 1.5 stones of that was from my guzzling during the 1st trimester, when you don't have any reason to put any weight on. But at the time I did not care.  Not one bit. For the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, whilst I was eating (anything unhealthy, I wasn't fussy) or sleeping were the only times I didn't feel as if I was going to be violently sick.  Anyone who's been in that situation will know what levels you'll go to to just get rid of that feeling, even if it only lasts for the 10 minutes it takes to eat that toasted sandwich. Oh to have been one of those girls who couldn't bring themselves to eat because of morning sickness.....I envy you! I was ill if I didn't eat for an hour. Ugh!

Christ!! There's a whale in the garden!!!

For me, healthy eating, making the effort to exercise and refraining from the delights of crappy food is a full-time job.  It does not come naturally and nor do I find it remotely easy (hence the fact that I am a fatty!).  And so in order to really make an effort with a healthier lifestyle I need to have nothing which might distract me, unnecessarily put temptation in my way or demand too much of me.  Well.......being a first-time mother, having a new screaming bundle wholly dependent on you, feeling drained and needing a sugar rush  and having to attend numerous coffee (and cake) catch-ups kinda scuppers my plan!

I feel as if it's only really been since Christmas that I have truly relaxed and become at ease with motherhood.  Of course I have loved every second of it since day one and have never really felt stressed or worried, but I did feel like I was being stretched a bit too thin if I tried to give my concentration to something else as well as Pippa (for example, before Christmas when I was trying to get lots of artwork done). So...it is only really now that I feel I can take motherhood in my stride enough to be able to dedicate some more of my time back to me! 

Whilst Husband was away recently he had taken the car with him and so if I needed to get anywhere I had to walk (we are a one-car family). So over the past couple of weeks I must have done the 4mile return walk into town about 6 or 7 times....walking into town seems like my immediate go-to if I am bored or with no specific purpose for the day!  Husband had also taken Rufus with him and so I had no added guilt of being out and about without him.  I really enjoyed it and liked being able to get a little out of breath marching along with the pram, without having to really class it as a workout (and therefore avoidable at any cost!).  

Anyway these walks have got me back into the right frame of mind and my eating is back on track. Most mornings I'm having either a smoothie similar to the ones we were having whilst I was pregnant and for the first couple of weeks once Pippa arrived or porridge. Lunch is usually something similar to these caprese wraps / pittas or soup. 

I really would love to get back into running, as I got so hooked on it before I got pregnant, but I think right now it is taking all my determination just to do what I'm doing and throwing in a concerted effort to go and exercise for exercise's sake will be one step too far (especially if I have to give something(s) up for Lent)!

So for now I'm going to keep up with having a more consciencious attitutide towards my diet and just keep as active as I can. It may take a while to get back to where I'd like to be, but I've had my fair share of quick weight loss plans in the past and I can say from experience that they are not for me!  There's no real rush either, I figure it took 9 months to get to that "state" so I shall allow 9 months to get it off.  However I would like to be back at my pre pregnancy weight (or below, ideally) before the next pregnancy, so I can't take too long about it. Lord, that's rather alarming to think of the next pregnancy when I feel like I am only just starting to feel non-pregnant now!

An insight into the army life

So this morning Husband flew off to Scotland for the week, leaving Rufus, Pippa and me all on our lonesome.  Booo! 

But have no fear, in the grand scheme of things 'tis but a mere drop in the ocean: I have endured far longer separations in the past and survived.  Also, as I write, I have wonderful friends and neighbours who are currently enduring either the horrendousness of having their husbands away in that nasty sandy place for 6 months to a year, or the almost-as-horrendous lead-up to deployment.  

When you're in such a situation, all your emotions are heightened and your tolerance levels with the mundane and every day diminish somewhat. I know that all spouses or partners of military folk will agree with me on this one.......there is nothing more annoying than having someone moan about how their darling one is away for a night, or god forbid, a whole week.  Get.  Over.  It!  

Going through months and months without your husband or wife is one of the most challenging things you'll ever have to do and I can only now imagine how awful that must be with a child or children thrown into the mix too. 

All pictures c/o Brittany Sturgeon's
'Life of a Military Wife' on Pinterest

However the heartache of an imminent departure is probably often underestimated for those who haven't experienced it.  In some ways the apprehension and build-up of dread in the weeks before they head off is just as bad as whilst they're actually away.  I am sure I wouldn't be the only one to admit that I have breathed a rather large sigh of relief in the past when Husband has finally gone - no longer can I moronically cling onto some vague hope that he won't actually have to go in the end and no longer will I fool myself into thinking I can guilt-trip or bribe him into staying.  I just have to man up, get on with life and start finding my new routine and coping mechanisms (after the obligatory hysterical wailing to yourself in the car on the way home from the hideous army airport, that is). Those first couple of weeks are crap.  No other words will do it and my heart goes out to all of you who have been there too or are going through that soon.  This one is for you.

Anyway, the reason why this was relevant was because up until about 2 weeks ago we thought that Husband was due to go off to the aforementioned sandy place too, leaving in May.  But, praise the Lord, he won't be going now.  However, we do now know that we shall be moving house at the end of May.  I knew that I was signing up to a nomadic and transient lifestyle when we married, and in many ways I find the prospect of living in lots of different places exciting.  But I can't help dreading this move, we have made such incredible friends and I do really love the area.  But, hey ho, it is what it is....I shall just have to get excited about getting to know the new area and neighbours and of course, my favourite bit, finding new homes for all our belongings! 

Although, there is one girl out there (you know who you are!) who is three days overdue with her first baby and has just found out that her and her husband are being re-posted to a new house in 6 weeks.....wahh!  Now, that's a lot of excitement in a few short weeks! 

Until May there's lots of army fun to be had....our Military Wives Choir, drinks parties, dinner parties, street parties, mess dinners, coffee mornings and new babies arriving on the street.  It all balances out in the end. 

Pippa's new love...

....is a doorway bouncer!

She seems to really like it: at the moment there's lots of pirouetting around her toes and also lifting up her knees so that she drops down a little, then standing up again. She hasn't yet worked out how to actually bounce but squeals with delight nonetheless!

Rufus thinks it is the most marvellous of inventions....now, Pippa is exactly at the ideal licking height. He is so sweet, as soon as I put her in it he lies next to her and appears not to mind getting kicked in the face every other second. Every now and then he'll stand up, wash her face and hands and then sigh and lie back down!

Admittedly, the pack of baby wipes are nearer at hand than they were pre-bouncer, but even still I am not overly paranoid about cleaning her after every 'wash' from Rufus. I figure that she'll have the best immune system out there after all her Rufus baths!

Crisis averted!

This afternoon I did a rather stupid thing......I locked myself out.  With Pippa inside.  Bum.

I had meant to just pull the door to behind me,  but then......click! And I had that sinking feeling.  I could see Pippa through the window, sitting in her cushion, sucking her fingers and looking pretty happy, but obviously was slightly panicked nonetheless.  Well, so ensued a mad rush around the garden searching for an open ground-floor window.  Nope.  I found the spare key but, naturally, I had stupidly left the key in the lock on the inside so it wouldn't turn.  

Enter friendly neighbour with a ladder!  Apparently it was an ancient wooden ladder, previously belonging to his father, which had recently been flood damaged together with the rest of the contents of their garage (oh the delights of Army accommodation!) and so its reliability and safety were at best questionable.  Anyway, it served us very well as my neighbour successfully broke in through an ajar upstairs window! (Needless to say, for any would-be burglars, if we go out ALL our windows are securely locked and our spare key is now in the safe hands of our neighbour).

Well,  Pippy was obviously very distraught about the whole affair as, when I got back in,  this is how I found her.....

Stupid Mummy.  Lesson learnt!

Off for a walk!

Pippa enjoyed a little stroll in her pushchair this morning.....I swapped the pram unit over for the chair unit.  She still fits in the pram and seems happy to stay lying down for a bit yet, but she also seemed to enjoy getting to look around. 

Rufus is off having fun and games shooting with Husband so we were able to pound (slight overstatement) the pavements without battling with Rufus' waining ability to walk at heel.  I need to sort it out as it drives me bonkers....he seems determined to get mown down by the pram wheels. Either that or nearly wipe us all out by darting into a hedge or driveway after an irresistible smell.  Blooming dog!

I know, it's not the most interesting post but I really just wanted an excuse to put this picture up!

A happy moment...now feeling fat, but happy!

JUST what is required on a drizzly day!  

Contrary to the above, my fellow lovely Army-wife neighbours and I have decided to start up a  'fat club' !  Lent is fast approaching and so it is as good a time as any to try and start shifting the rest of this baby weight.  In addition to generally trying to be a bit healthier and more active, I'd also like to give something up for Lent.  I am yet to decide what I shall give up......crisps, chocolate, cake, or what about all forms of sugary and fatty food?....no, you're right, that's just one step too far!  We're going to meet up once a week and do the whole weigh-in together....like our very own episodes of "Biggest Loser".  Yup, we shall shame ourselves into dropping the pounds, but I think we may skip the hideous two-part lycra outfits.

We're yet to work out a reward/penalty scheme for our venture, our one sticking point we discovered last night was that most of the rewards we could think of unsurprisingly involved food......hmmmmm. 

I am determined I SHALL find some massive, previously untapped, well of self control and will power. I'm sure I have some somewhere?

Let the games begin!  It's gonna get competitive!  

Regardless, I shall enjoy this moment for now and slowly mentally process my impending fat-fighting mission.

The boob room!

It is most definitely a sign of the times and my stage of life when I can say that my favourite place in town is The Boob Room.

Whilst I'm sure it has a more politically correct proper name, there's no sign so I have named it thus. It's a room just off the baby changing area in a department store. You can shut yourself away with the nursing chairs and feed your baby in peace and quiet without the worry of battling with nursing scarves and disapproving glances from old men.

I'm currently sitting in Pret nursing a tub of pea and ham soup. I am very determinedly staring at my phone and avoiding the eagle-eyed glares from the queues of Saturday lunchtime customers, who're seemingly trying to will me to leave my table with their eyes. When you have a pram to contend with, a space in a coffee shop that is big enough to park the baby-mobile without completely blocking the whole thoroughfare is like gold dust. It is mine, I shall not relinquish it until I am good and ready!!

Right, another couple of hours to kill with some wandering and perusing then we'll begin the 2.5m walk home. At least the sun is shining this time!

All fingers and thumbs...

I posted a while ago about how Pippa sucks her fingers (exactly the same ones I used to, as a baby, apparently!) here,  well now she has truly mastered the art.  

Her fingers are straight in within a second of her starting to feel upset or grizzly.  And now if her fingers on her right hand are inaccessible then the thumb on her left hand goes in.  It never varies from that pattern....right hand, fingers.....left hand, thumb.  So sweet!

Doggy Day Care!

Just a quick photo....couldn't resist! 

A life saver...a must buy baby item!

My Snooze Shade.....

Pippa is getting more and more alert and so is finding it harder to sleep in the day when we are out and about.  Enter the SnoozeShade....it's brilliant! Within 10 seconds you can fix it onto the pram and voila...daytime.....nighttime!  It works like a dream, most of the time anyway.  I love it so much that I've bought a car seat version too, it certainly means we can stay portable....as much as I love how good she is at napping in her pram I am keen for her to be able to sleep elsewhere too.  This definitely helps in that mission.  Buy one!! (if you have a baby,  otherwise it would be a bit odd)

Baby social diary

Pippa's social diary is filling up!

We have started going to Baby Sensory classes, where there's lots of singing, crazy arm waving actions (commonly known as baby signing, but my attempts are definitely confused at best), baby massage and play.

There are rattles, bells, feathers, scarves, mirrors, glowing balls, finger puppets and cuddly toys......so much to do and see (and try to eat in Pippa's case!).  Oh dear, that sounded a bit like an excerpt from 50 Shades of Grey.......wrong, so wrong.

Anyway!.....at one of her classes during this cold weather I spied a couple of the mothers using star wraps for their babies. They looked so cosy and so much easier to get the baby in and out of than a snow-suit (Pippa violently objects to her arms being yanked in), so when I got home I decided I would be frightfully creative and try to make one.

Ta dahhhh....! The prototype needs a bit of adjusting and is a bit big as I made it to fit up to 6 months.  But it's quite sweet all the same.

Today we had Pippa's second swimming lesson.  It is so fun!  The first one was last Friday and involved a 40 minute journey through deep snow (a journey which is normally only 10 minutes). But I was so determined to get there that I dragged my neighbour and her baby out for moral support and off we set!  As a result of the white-out conditions there were only 5 of us in the class so it was nice and quiet.  Pippa seemed to love it, despite the pool being a good 10 degrees colder than her normal bath water, she also got 'dunked'!  I had to say one, two, three and then do an exaggerated big breath in, then dunk her.  She was brilliant and hardly spluttered at all.  Apparently we work towards them being able to swim for a meter or two underwater, ready for a photo opp...daunting but exciting!

This week there were more like 20 of us.  With all of our 20-ish car seats, nappy bags and snow-suits combined with another 20 sets already in the changing room from the previous class, who were yet to get out of the pool, it was a wee bit MANIC!

Public swimming pools put the fear into me, mainly due to the prospect of a swimming costume and the unavoidably awkward hippo impression whilst climbing up and down the ladder into the pool.  Also, why is it that I feel I am in a mad rush when getting changed before and afterwards....it's like I'm racing someone and everyone.  Your towel is damp from the hasty covering up over your cozzy as you got out of the pool and therefore is not doing a very effective job at drying you; you whack your elbows and knees whilst trying to get changed and dried in the loo cubicle (seriously, just be brave and do it in the changing room like everyone else); yanking on skinny jeans or tights over damp skin, unsuccessfully; bra strap rolled up and stuck over your shoulder blades for the same reason, which you just can't reach to straighten out and wet socks despite your best efforts to hop around one-legged avoiding wet patches on the floor.

WELL......regardless of all the above I still love her swimming classes, it's one of the highlights of my week! (Photos to come)

One thing I do know is that Pippa is soooooo sleepy afterwards.....out for the count!

Military wives' choir

One of my lovely neighbours has set up a military wives' choir for our area.  We have had two meetings so far and I think it's going to be amazing fun! 

It's really nice to get a chance to meet some of the other wives and girlfriends from other patches in the town,  I think there's going to be a really good selection of songs suggested......everything from Oklahoma to Emeli Sande it seems..! 

The only negative point so far is that the hall where we have our gatherings is abso-blooming-lutely freeeeezing!  We shall have to work on that one.  I did try fiddling with the thermostat last time but I am slightly concerned I may have inadvertently turned the hall into a furnace for the cleaners the next morning.  Whoops.   

Our choir master is a really lovely old lady (if you ever read this choir lady, I am sorry about the "old" bit!),  but if I am honest I am a little frightened of her! She somewhat resembles Mrs Doubtfire but with a hint of The Trunchable thrown in.  She certainly knows her mind and is pretty wilful with it.  My suggestion to include a glass or two of wine at our meetings (just to help get the vocal chords warmed up,  you know!) was shot down in flames in nanoseconds,  and despite my persistent efforts to rephrase my rationale behind the proposal she stood firm.  It seems this singing malarky is a serious business.  No frivolity allowed.  Pahhh I'll soften her up!! 

Well, we have all been tasked with learning 'On My Own' from Les Miserables for next week.  A perfect excuse to go and see the film I reckon.......

.........and who can go to the cinema without pick 'n mix or popcorn.....bonus!

So sad to say goodbye to the snow....

So, we have been loving the snow! I can appreciate it must have been pretty inconvenient for a lot of people, but for those of us with nowhere to be (in any rush at least) it is pretty fun.  In fact I am a bit like an overexcited child about snow....waking up and rushing to the curtains to see if it has snowed in the night still proves to be soooo exciting! 

Rufus loves it too......

We had lots of snowball fights during Pippa's lunchtime naps.  He's pretty good at catching them but obviously got a cold mouth as he kept gnashing his teeth after he spat each one out! One downside of the snow....the big patch of grass at the end of our road where we let Rufus run about and do his morning 'business' (as do all the other resident doggies) certainly took on a new, colourful hue......don't eat the yellow (or brown) snow!!!

We decided to use our snowy walks as the first outings for Pippa to go forward-facing in the Baby Bjorn.  Hardly news-worthy stuff, I know, but it still made for some really sweet pictures.  It was odd not being able to see her face but I kept taking photos and using the camera on my phone to see if she was still awake and not frostbitten! 

And the snow also meant I could dress Pippa up in a sheepskin gilet I wore when I was little. Admittedly I think it is meant for a 2 year old but she looked sooooo adorable I couldn't resist.  Together with her oh-so-smart cashmere hat she looked quite the fashionista!

More posts on the way.....

Four months old today!

Happy four month birthday Philippa!! Our darling girl is growing up so very quickly and naughty, naughty mummy has been utterly useless at blogging recently. I'm going to get down to some re-capping of our latest exploits!!

A few hours of baby clothes ironing to keep me busy....!!