Last night was the first mountain bike ride with Team Sugar. One of our local bike shops has a women’s mountain bike race team. They put on weekly women’s group rides. They divide everyone up by skill level, and they put a few team members with each group. They have a ride every Tuesday night from June until August. I started doing it last year, when I first got my bike. It was a great way to see some new trails and to learn some new skills. I went to my first ride last night, and it was really great.

Last year when I started out I rode in the first group, level 1. As the season went on, I moved up to Level 1+. Near the end of the year I was tempted to try out Level 2 endurance, but I just didn’t think I was fit enough. Those girls ride fast and never seem to get tired Since it is the beginning of the year, I decided to go with Level 1+. This spring has been so wet and cold, that I haven’t done much biking at all. I have been riding the trainer, and I worked out off and on all winter. I wasn’t really sure how in shape I was, but this ride gave me a good idea.

We rode up a trail called Skid Row. Last year we rode up the street and down Skid Row most of the time. Once, near the end of last season we rode up Skid Row. The first part of the trail is all uphill–fairly steep with a lot of switchbacks. When I heard that was the trail we were going to ride I had flashbacks of stopping and gasping to catch my breath last year. I decided to go for it anyway, and I was glad that I did. The initial switchbacks were hard and tiring, but I wasn’t nearly as tired as I was last year. I was able to ride almost all of it without stopping–I just stopped where I had to, when the rest of the group stopped. And this group hardly ever stopped This was the fastest Level 1+ ride I have ever done. But it was good. It helped me to see that I might actually be ready to move up to Level 2 endurance!

It was a beautiful cool spring evening. It started out a little cold, but once we got riding I warmed right up. The choke cherry trees were blooming and the views were awesome. I was really proud of myself. At the beginning of every ride I get a little bit nervous. I get butterflies in my stomach and I worry that I won’t be able to do it. But, once I get going I surprise myself. I felt great at the end of the ride. I was happy at how I did on the ride. I felt like I didn’t lose much over the winter, and I think this is going to be a great summer of mountain biking for me!

I didn’t even take one photo this week! This is the first week in a long time that I don’t have any Weekly Winners.

It has been a crazy week. I have cleaned up more vomit this week than I ever have. I have washed 3 beds, 3 car seats, and tons of clothes. Scott is still sick but all 3 kids started to seem better today.

It wasn’t a perfect Mother’s Day, but we are going to celebrate next weekend instead

I am finally feeling better! It is so nice to feel like myself again. I am still not totally 100%, but I know that I am on the mend. And it looks like it was just in time. Emma threw up at school today, and then kept throwing up all afternoon. Scott is laying in bed saying he doesn’t feel well either. I feel so bad for them–I know exactly how they feel

I am sick again! I have some kind of a stomach virus. I feel like I have thrown up more in the last few months than I have in my whole life. I guess that is one of the great side effects of having kids–they bring home everything to me

My stomach just hasn’t felt right for a few days. It has been really grumbly and gassy and I have been getting strange cramps.Yesterday after I ate lunch, I started to feel nauseated. By the time we got home from the Grizzlies game, I knew that I was sick. I tried really hard not to throw up, but I finally gave in around 1:00am. After that I was up and down all night.

Today I am still feeling terrible. I did keep down a Pedialyte popsicle and some Ginger Ale. I still don’t feel like I can eat anything, but I feel pretty weak. Luckily Scott is home, so I can just stay in bed all day.

Emma has been struggling with bed wetting for quite some time. She has been day trained since she was 3. But, I honestly don’t think she had a single dry night until she first tried not wearing pull ups at about 4 years old. She tried to stop wearing pull ups for the first time almost 2 years ago. We put a waterproof pad on top of her sheets. She wanted to make a chart, because she loves charts, seriously! The first few nights she did pretty well. She was so proud of herself. Then I am not sure what happened, but after about a week of dry nights, she started wetting the bed again. She would just get up, change her pajamas, put a dry pad on her bed and go back to sleep. We kept trying for a few weeks, but after nightly wetting she and I decided to go back to pull ups.

We waited about 6 months and then tried again. But, the same thing happened–a few dry nights, then constant wetting. So, back to pull ups again. Sometimes I think it is counter productive to go back to pull ups, but I don’t know what else to do. She starts to get upset. She really wants to have a dry bed, and I don’t want her to be sad about it. I just tell her it is no big deal, and we can try again in the future. Wearing pull ups is no big deal. But the thing is, she wants to do it. I just don’t think she can. I think she is too heavy of a sleeper, and she just doesn’t wake up.

I read about a bed wetting alarm that seemed to have great success. I talked to Emma about it a while ago, and she really wanted me to order it. I decided to wait a bit, and try again, to see if she could do it on her own.

We tried one more time a few weeks ago, with the same results as before. By the end of our trip to NC she was wetting the bed every night. So, I went ahead and ordered the alarm.

Emma is trying it for the first time tonight. She seems excited about it. I don’t know if I am thrilled about it–it means that I have to get up with her whenever the alarm goes off Tonight might not be the best night to start, since I am exhausted from traveling home from North Carolina. But she was so excited that it came and she wanted to try it right away.

I am hoping that it works quickly, so I don’t have to get up too many nights. I am finally sleeping all night on a regular basis, I am not happy about having to get up again. No, seriously, I am totally willing to do whatever it takes to help her. I put a monitor in her room so that I can hear if the alarm goes off. They say that at first the alarm may not wake her up, and I will have to help her wake up and get her to walk to the bathroom. The good thing about the alarm is that with time it should wake her as soon as she pees a drop so that she can learn to wake on her own before she has to go.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this helps her. I will be happy not to have to do so much laundry, and I know that it will make Emma feel better about herself, too.

It is raining here again. Blech. It has been raining for the last week. I know that they are in a drought here, and they really need it. I am thankful to be here, and not at home where it is still SNOWING! Still, I am ready for a little more sunshine!

One good thing about the rain is that I have had tons of time to work out. They finished construction of the fitness center here at Forest Creek. It turned out so nice, just like everything else they do here. It is like a regular gym, just a little smaller. I have been wanting to start a cardio program for months, to start to get in shape for mountain biking. I still remember the burning lungs and legs from the beginning of last season. I am trying to avoid that as much as possible!

I have been riding the elliptical trainer about 4-5 times per week. Last week I met with a trainer and had my body fat percentage and BMI tested and had an evaluation. I was really happy with it. I can’t remember the last time I had my body fat tested, but it was surely before I had any kids. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was 18%. I guess all the running and exercising my dad made me do as a kid really did have an effect. He used to say that if we built a base of muscle then, it would benefit us our whole lives. I don’t know if he was right, or if I just have a genetic predisposition to it, but I have been pretty fit my whole life.

The trainer also gave me a strength training routine to start. It is a lot of flexibility and core strenghtening exercises. It uses very simple free weights, so I could really do it anywhere. I did part of it with him the other day, just to get a feel for the different exercises. It didn’t feel very hard, and I didn’t think I was really getting a lot out of it. Today I know that it was working. I am so sore and stiff I can hardly walk My butt and thighs are so sore.

It makes me feel good when I work out. Now I just need to commit to doing it when I get home too, not just on vacation!

I was just looking back over some of my old posts. I found the one that I wrote while I was still in Maui about wanting to keep working out when I got home. I haven’t been doing very well. I haven’t been doing at all. I still haven’t gotten myself on our exercise bike or elliptical trainer. I wanted to start lifting weights, but I haven’t gone near them either.

For the last few weeks, I have really been thinking about making some changes to my diet and exercise. Ever since I got pregnant with Nora, my diet has really been bad. I eat more than I should. But, what I am more worried about is how bad I eat. I NEVER used to eat fast food, but lately it is like a staple in my diet. I probably eat at Wendy’s more than I eat at home. How sad is that? I hardly ever eat vegetables, unless you count French fries.

It is finally starting to catch up with me. I haven’t really gained weight, but I can see that my body has changed. I think that since I stopped nursing my metabolism has slowed down, and gotten back to normal. My eating habits, however, have not slowed down. This week I finally made the decision to start making some changes. I don’t want to go on a diet, I just want to start making healthier choices. I have been doing so much better this week. I have been eating so many more fruits and veggies. I did have fast food last night before my photography class, but I got a BBQ broiled chicken sandwich on a wheat roll. I didn’t get the fries. I did get a diet coke. That is the next thing I want to cut out…but I’m taking it one step at a time

Now I just need to get back to exercising. Mountain biking season is coming up. That is motivation enough to start working out. I can still remember the burning in my legs and lungs last summer. I really don’t want to feel that again. I think that if I can start out the summer more fit this year, I can really improve my mountain biking this year. This summer I want to have more fun riding my bike, without feeling like I am dying every time I get out there.

I am happy to be on the right track again. Now I just need to stay motivated to keep it up!

I am happy to report that Nora is finally back to herself. Today was the best day she has had in weeks. Her appetite is back with a vengeance. She ate more for lunch today than Emma and Ian combined. Unfortunately the sickness left behind a new personality trait. She has turned into a squealer. All of a sudden she shrieks and yells every time she wants something. Her favorite words are “NO, NO, NO” and she yells them every time she isn’t getting her way. I kept hoping that it was just all part of her illnesses, but it looks like the sickness is gone, and the squealing is here to stay.

Ian, on the other hand, is still not doing very well. I took him to the clinic last Friday because he hadn’t been feeling well for a few days. He had a fever, a terrible cough, and was complaining that his ear hurt. It turns out he had an ear infection, bronchitis, and possibly strep throat. He has been on antibiotics for 5 days, but I haven’t seen too much of an improvement. Today I found out one of our friends was diagnosed with Influenza A, and I am wondering if that may be what Ian has too. Today he seemed a tiny bit better, but you can tell he is still sick when you look at his face. His eyes just don’t look good. I am hoping that the next day or so he gets back to himself. We all need to be healthy for Disneyland!

It has been a rough few weeks around here.

Nora is sick again, or maybe still sick. Her cough never went away, but she seemed mostly back to herself. Then the last two days, she just hasn’t been her normal, happy self. She took an early nap this morning, and when she got up I noticed that she was burning up. I checked her temperature and she was 103 degrees.

It turns out she has pneumonia. I saw Dr. Hayes at the clinic, and he talked about admitting her to the hospital. She was really pathetic at the clinic. She just wanted to lay in my arms. While we were in the waiting room, she threw up all over me. We decided not to admit her, but to treat her aggressively and see how she is tomorrow. They gave her a shot of Rocephin and started her on Zithromax. I was worried about her. Her heart rate and respiratory rates were both very high. Her oxygen saturation was borderline. I don’t think that any of my kids have ever been this sick.

Once I got her home, she was totally transformed. I think that the Motrin kicked in, and she was feeling a lot better. She was walking around babbling, and playing with Scott. I was happy to see her doing so much better. I felt very relieved!

I’ll take her back to the clinic tomorrow, and hopefully we will see a dramatic improvement.

I have been exercising almost every day in Maui. I feel so good! It really makes me feel better about myself. I feel stronger, and just healthier. Every year when we come here, I work out and feel so good. The other day I went to a spin class, and then a Angela’s body sculpt class after. I love her class. It is all weights and strength training. I wish there was a class like hers at home.

This year, I really want to continue it after I get home. In Maui, it is so easy. Real life doesn’t get in the way. I am not trying to get kids fed and out the door to school. Scott is always here to watch the kids in the morning when I go. But, I know that I can make the time to do it. We already have an eliptical trainer and an excercise bike at home. We also have weights. I just need to set up a schedule for myself, and plan it as part of my day.

Vicky and I talked about going to some classes together. When I get home I am going to look into it some more. I think that if I had something planned out with someone else, it would help me get into a routine.

So, my resolution for 2008, is to keep working out