Anna vs. the alarm clock and CrossFit

Yesterday marked the end of my second week of CrossFit. Last week was a bit...bumpy, we'll say.

Monday was easy; I practically jumped out of bed at 5 AM. It was the first day, and I was excited. The workout was great. I was sore after, of course, but I felt great about myself. I accomplished a TON (more than I usually do in a whole day) before 9 that morning. I unloaded the dishwasher, started a load of laundry, and made dinner for Monday night all while entertaining William and feeding the twins.

Be very impressed.

BUT, Tuesday did not go so well. It actually did not go at all.

The short story is I overslept.

The long story is long and explains that it wasn't exactly my fault. ;) I have a terrible history with alarm clocks. We have a mutual hatred for one another. It never rings loud enough to wake me. And if it does, it makes me so mad that I must turn it off. This time I woke up and hit snooze - one of my favorite things to do in the morning.

(*It is important to note here that I have not used an alarm clock in the morning for 2 years. And I have NEVER used one at 5 in the morning.)

This was my first time using the alarm clock on my iPhone, and I didn't realize that there is a 9 minute snooze. Yikes! So, I thought I would get to close my eyes for 5 more minutes, but I got 9. Then I hit snooze again. Double yikes. I thought it would be 5:10 when I got up, but it was 5:19.

Too late. It was too late to go. I was mad. But there was nothing I could do.

There is no morning class on Wednesday, so Thursday was my next shot.

The exact same thing happened. I was livid that morning and in a bad mood all day long.

Thursday night, Cole and I devised a plan. He would set his alarm then kick me out of bed.

It worked, and we've been doing that ever since. (Yes, he does get extra brownie points for technically waking up at 5 AM so that I can work out.)

I really, really like CrossFit so far. It's a little difficult to explain to people what the workouts are like because they are different every day. Suffice it to say, they are difficult but doable. I've done lots of squats, situps, pushups (I try, anyway), and weightlifting. And I've done lots of other random things (rope climbs, rowing, etc.). One day I'll do a post about some actual workouts we've done so you can get an idea of what I do so early in the morning.

I think I would prefer not to go at 5 in the morning, but that's really the only time that works for my life right now. It makes me feel so much better about myself AND I get to talk to adults. About something other than babies. It's pure heaven...at 5 AM.

What a difference a year makes...

2010

2011

Oh, hello 2012

Somehow, I think I'm still stuck in 2010. (When I originally wrote the title for this post, I wrote 2010.)

Yet, here we are, 13 days into 2012.

Today Ellen and Cole are 18 months old. That is completely unbelievable to me. They are seriously growing up so fast. (Some days seems to draaaaaaaaag on and on, but that's another post.)

Looking forward to 2012, I've been thinking about my goals for this next year. Yes, I suppose "goals" are the same thing as resolutions, but my word sounds better. :) One of my goals this year is to focus on my fitness. Not weight loss necessarily, but fitness. I want to feel good about myself. I want to be in shape.

Last December I was just starting to get serious about getting in shape again after having the twins. And then I found out I was pregnant with William, so I quit working out and watching what I ate and started focusing on surviving. I told myself that when William was 6 months old, I would revisit getting in shape.

William turned 6 months on December 24. I'd been thinking for a long time about what kind of exercise routine would work best for me. I would love to be able to work out in the afternoons, but it's so hard (and expensive!) to get a babysitter every afternoon. Early mornings were going to be best, sadly. I am NOT a morning person. I tried to get up and do a DVD by myself a few times, but every single time something stopped me from getting a full workout in. After that, I knew I would need to leave the house.

I decided that CrossFit might be my best option. The location closest to me offers a morning class (5:30 AM! Yikes!). They have a trainer there telling you what to do, helping with all the moves, and offering encouragement. PLUS, there are other people there...other adults. I desperately need some interaction on a regular basis with adults.

I have now completed the first of two beginner classes, and I think I'll be able to start regular classes Monday morning. I can't wait!

I'll post more about our workouts and how getting up in the mornings goes later. And I promise to do a Christmas recap. I have some FUNNY pictures of the twins (especially Ellen) to share.

Funny kids

To follow-up my Debbie Downer post, here's a happy one.

Most days, the twins are really fun and funny. Even William gets in on the shenanigans every once in a while. I usually text Big Cole during the day to tell them what the kiddos are up to, but I realized recently that I haven't documented these things in any other way.

So, here we go:

• Lately, when I go to wake Ellen up, her feet are poking out through her crib. She likes to sleep sideways in her crib.
• Ellen LOVES to squeal. It's super high-pitched, and Cole and I are convinced it will make us deaf one day. One day William squealed just like her.
• William is looking more and more like Little Cole every day. We think his cry and laugh sound like Cole too.
• William and Ellen love to laugh at each other. Ellen especially likes to put her finger in William's mouth then look at me and laugh.
• Ellen has been walking around the playroom lately singing. It's so cute. And her face always looks so serious, like she's trying to come up with the words or something.
• Cole and Ellen really like putting their Halloween costumes on. For a while after Halloween, they were in the playroom and the twins would bring them to me and whine for me to put them on.
• Every now and then I leave the twins in the playroom while I jump in the shower really quick. It's completely baby-proofed, so there's nothing they can really get into. One day I came back after my shower and found the twins running around the playroom with my iPhone! I'm still not sure how they got it.
• Ellen is quite frightened by the sight of me with my hair wrapped in a towel. She won't talk and usually stands very still when I walk in the room with a towel on my head.
• Cole's giggle is just about the best sound ever. He gets so tickled!
• Cole and Ellen are both TERRIFIED of dogs. Seriously terrified. I dont' know where it came from, but it's definitely real. Sometimes this fear even applies to stuffed animals (and not just stuffed dogs). It's pretty ridiculous.
• The twins love to shake their heads back and forth (like they're saying no) while they eat. One of them starts. The other sees, laughs, and does it too.
• Sometimes Ellen pulls her right arm out of her pjs while she sleeps. And she hates socks on her feet if she doesn't have shoes on too.
• Cole beats his head on the floor and on the kiddie gate when he's upset. Ellen has started doing this too recently.
• Sometimes Cole steals something from Ellen (usually the remote or something equally exciting) and runs away laughing. He seems so proud of himself.
• Cole tries to put his paci in my mouth sometimes.
• Both Ellen and Cole like to feed me Cheerios. For some reason it's entertaining.
• Cole loves turning big toys in the playroom upside down - the activity table, the exersaucer, etc. He then laughs at himself and climbs on the toy. Such a boy.
• Ellen will sometimes try to climb on the toys too, but she's so cautious that she ends up whining for me to help her get off.

All three of my kids keep me laughing. It's really the only reason I keep them around. The last few weeks (ok, maybe 5 or 6 weeks) have been pretty terrible. I was tempted to run away. My happy crazies seem to be back now, though, and I am much, much more content.*

*(My attitude change is also due in LARGE part to my mom visiting us last week for almost 4 days. She washed everything in the house, vacuumed, and took care of all three kids while I played and slept. Yes, she's amazing.)

Thursday in pictures and videos

Ellen did this today too.

We went for a walk after lunch.

(Yes, the stroller is heavy. I think the stroller itself weighs approximately 35 pounds, then add three kids approximately 15-20 pounds each. I burned about 1,435,343,875 calories.)

Then we went outside after an afternoon nap. Ellen seemed fearless when we first got outside, but then she seemed to freeze in her spot and wouldn't move. It looks like she wants to move, but she never did.

Cole was playing in the "dip" in our front yard. He liked to run through it. Apparently it was funny.

Cole fell onto the patio not long after this (he has a nice bruise on his forehead to prove it), so we went in.

Then we were silly until Dad came home.

Ellen actually got the jersey on her head after I quit filming.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.