Self-Entertainment

As Jordyn gets older, she's getting better at finding ways to entertain herself. She'll find something fun to do in every room of the house. While I'm getting ready in the mornings, she'll climb into the bathtub to play or go into the closet to try on shoes. She has her very own cupboard in the kitchen to play in, and of course she loves to go upstairs to play with her babies in the playroom. The other day, she invented a very fun game. We like to call it squirt Jordyn in the face. Now, let me explain this game.

We keep a water bottle on the counter to squirt the cat with if he tries to climb on to the counter. Jordyn thought that it looked like fun to be squirted with the water so she climbed onto the counter and started to squirt herself. By the time I decided she was done, she was drenched in water, but still smiling. She likes this game so much that she does it whenever she can reach the water bottle.

5K

The alarm went off at 6:45 this morning signaling the start of the day. An hour later, Erik's mom was at the house to take Jordyn off our hands and we were off to the races. Downtown, we were welcomed by cloudy skies and a cold wind (gusts up to 18mph). After trying to keep warm for almost an hour, it was race time. Erik and I found our places amongst the other 10500 other runners, and got ready to run. The horns were blown and we were on our way (a little slowly at first). Half an hour later (32:06 was our exact time), Erik and I crossed the finish line together. It was a great feeling to be able to run the entire race, and a lot quicker than I thought I could! After the race, we grabbed some waters and snacks and then headed to pick up Jordyn. We got home, and Erik showered and headed back to work. Needless to say we didn't get any pictures, oh well, maybe next time. Erik and I had such a good time that we are planning on running another race 5K this spring, and then a 10K this fall (I refuse to run during the hot summer months).

Get Fit Week 3: A Bump in the Road

This past week started off a bit rough in our house. Jordyn was fighting a sinus infection, and Erik was suffering from sinus headaches. My fun started in the early morning hours (2:30 am to be exact) on Tuesday when I woke up with horrendous pain in my left ear. I spent the next several hours trying everything I could think of to alleviate the pain. Nothing seemed to help. When Erik got home, he called the missionaries over and they gave me a blessing, that helped. I was also able to get into the Dr. who confirmed my fears, I had a serious ear infection. I was sent home with an antibiotic. That night, things got more interesting. I woke up (around 1:00 am this time) to a gurgling noise in my ear. I noticed a wet spot on my pillow and fluid draining out of my ear (never a good sign). Again, when Erik got home he called the Dr. this time I was sent to an ENT who told me that most likely I'd had a pinpoint rupture of the eardrum which had most likely already healed itself (it was late in the afternoon by the time I had my appointment). I was told not to go swimming or to get water in my ear for the next two weeks (just to be on the safe side). Needless to say, our exercise regime has suffered a bit this week. Tuesday there was no exercise at all, and then Wed. & Thurs. it was light. When I ran on Friday (after a week of no running) I was only able to run 2.7 miles. I'm glad that this is only a 3.1 mile race and I still have a few days to work on running. Also this week, both Erik & I have gained 1/2 a lbs (but muscle weighs more than fat, right?). Hopefully this week will be better (though I'm not so sure it will as I still have pressure/pain in my ear, and I have a dentist appointment on Thursday to fix an infected tooth. Oh so much fun!) Oh, and to top off all of this fun and excitement, Jordyn is teething again (bottom canines).

Get Fit Week 2

So another week has come and gone and today was the dreaded "scale day". Erik tried to talk me out of getting on the scale because I had a bit of a rough weekend. I did it anyway because I needed to know where I stood. I'd lost another 1.5 lbs (YEAH!). Also exciting news, last Friday I ran 3.2 miles. I have to admit that I had to make a pit stop at about 1.5 miles (when nature calls...) but I got right back to the running and pushed through to the finish. My goal this week is to run the 3 miles without the stop. I'd say all in all things are going pretty good. Now on to week three...

Lost Child

Tonight, as I do every night, I went in to Jordyn's room to check on her, but tonight was different. As I walked into her room, I could see that Jordyn wasn't in her bed. After a quick look around, I could see that she wasn't lying else where on the floor. I was a bit stunned as to where she could have gone. She can't open doors yet, so I knew she wasn't in the closet, and she hadn't escaped her room (I also would have heard her if she'd escaped). Then, to my utter disbelief, I saw a pair of tiny feet sticking out from beneath her bed. I guess we can truly say that Jordyn has monster's under her bed!

*no children (or monsters) were awakened by the taking of these pictures. The extraction process however, was the cause of a bit of crying.

Horses

One of Jordyn's latest obsessions is horses. She has a rocking horse that she loves to ride, a "My Little Pony" that she plays with, and we have been fortunate enough to find several different places where she can go pet the horses (and occasionally give them treats). We have some good friends that live near Erik's parents who have a horse and have said that we can go visit the horse and feed him treats whenever we like, that is where we've been going for the past several months to say "hi horse" as Jordyn would say. Recently, we discovered a treasure trove of horses. Just down the road from our favorite park is the training facility for the Sheriff's department, and also located down there is the Sheriff's Animal Facilities. It is where they keep all the animals that they've "rescued" from wondering the streets or from other means. They keep the animals for about 20 days before sending them to auction. Last time we were there, they had 6 or 7 horses, a Shetland pony, 3 goats, a pig, a guinea hen, and a dog and her puppies. Jordyn was in Heaven. The last place (and the only one I have remembered to take my camera to) is the stables where Houston keeps their mounted patrol horses. We were downtown the other day so we decided to treat Jordyn to an afternoon with the horses. She LOVED it.

Prayers

I have to admit, I'm copying the following idea from a friends blog, but I thought it was such a great way to preserve the cute, yet very silly things that are said during prayer time. We've been trying to teach Jordyn how to pray by having her repeat what we say. We get through most of the simple prayers without difficulty, but we usually have "issues" at the beginning . . .

Mommy: Dear
Jordyn: Dear
Mommy: Heavenly
Jordyn: bursts of giggles, because for some reason "heavenly" is the silliest word she's ever had to say

and the end (this all depends on her mood) . . . . . . . .

Mommy: in
Jordyn: in
Mommy: the
Jordyn: the
Mommy: name
Jordyn: name
Mommy: of
Jordyn: of
Mommy: Jesus
Jordyn: Jesus
Mommy: Christ
Jordyn: Christ
Mommy: Amen
Jordyn: Prayer or Airplane, or she'll skip the end all together to give hugs and kisses so she can hop into bed sooner.

also, we have to keep our eyes open while praying with her because she'll usually do the sign for Thank You and Please, but wont always say the words.

Get Fit Update

Today I ran 2 miles on the treadmill (well, okay, I jogged, 2 miles, but 2 miles is 2 miles right?). Also I braved the scale again today (made sure to use the same scale at the gym that I did my weigh in on) and discovered that I'd lost 2 lbs this week! I'm glad the scale shows it because I'm definitely not feeling it and was getting a bit discouraged (I know it's only been a week, but when it comes to weight lose, I get discouraged easily, so YEAH for 2 lbs!).

There was a little girl who had a little curl

Right in the middle of her forehead;

When she was good, she was very, very good,

And when she was bad she was horrid.

5K

Well, after advice from a good friend, and a bit of discussion, Erik and I signed up for the Houston Rodeo Run. We're doing the 5k, so it's a shorter race, which is good because the race is Feb. 28th (3 weeks away). The training starts tomorrow (don't worry, we're not procrastinating, we've already worked out today). Wish us luck!

Random Facts & Interesting Tidbits

As Jordyn turns 17 months today, I thought that I would jot down some fun facts about her life right now. Now may you all be forward, not all of these are things are pleasant, but I feel that I have to reveal the true nature of Jordyn so here goes...

~ She is still obsessed with babies. She has to sleep with a boy and girl baby each night, and all babies need a blanket.

~ She loves dressing up, and will often pull clothes out of the pile I'm folding and try to put them on. Shoes are her favorite thing to try on, especially my high heels.

~ She is fascinated by airplanes. She is always pointing them out. She can tell when an airplane is overhead just by the sound, and she can pick out an airplane at night. Can you say future pilot?

~ She thinks it's funny when she makes her own bubbles in the tub.

~ She has to look in the mirror and give herself kisses each night after her bath.

~ She says hi to everything. In fact just a few days ago, the first thing she said when she woke up was, "hi house"

~ She's very interested in the cat's litter box, and we frequently have to tell her not to play in it.

~ She loves playing with her blocks and telling you what shapes they are.

~ If you ask her which ONE, she'll always answer TWO

~ She likes me to rock her just so she can hear me sing (I'm not a good singer, it's just that the only time I sing to her is when we're rocking. I guess I need to sing more often).

~ She has an attitude and has no problem telling me no. (needless to say, there have been a few toys taken away).

~ She loves trying on hats, but wont wear one when you want her to.

~ She wont sit still and let me read to her, but she loves to sit and "read" to herself and will pull a chair up to the bookcase and sit and "read" for long stretches of time.

~ She loves to say prayers. Randomly throughout the day she will fold her arms and say "prayer" and then go on and mumble a few things and then look at you for help. (Usually all we understand of her prayers is the word prayer and occasionally she'll say baby; go figure).

Get Fit, Get Fine in 2009

Our Gym (QLS-Kingwood) is hosting a "Get Fit, Get Fine in 2009" fitness challenge. Erik & I joined. The challenge runs from Feb. 1 - April 25 (12 weeks) and is set up on a point system (10 points for going to the gym, 10 points for attending a class, etc.). Everyone in the challenge who gets over 1500 points gets a prize (3 free months free membership, a free polar watch, 150 QLS dollars, restaurant gift certificates, etc.). The person with the most points gets 500 QLS dollars (money you can spend at the gym on personal trainers, membership fees, food at the snack bar, or services at the spa), and the person with the most physical changes in their before and after photos also gets 500 QLS dollars. Yes, Erik and I had "before" pictures taken, and no they are are not going to posted on the Internet for all the world to see. What I am going to post is the unnerving measurements they took before the challenge began, and hopefully, throughout the next three months, I'll be able to post about improvements made. Erik has us on a grueling workout schedule. It goes as follows...

Day 1: easy cardio; legs

Day 2: intense cardio (we're doing a spinning class); arms

Day 3: long easy cardio; abs and calves

Day 4: intense cardio (spinning again); chest and shoulders

Day 5: long easy cardio; back and traps

Day 6: intense cardio (swimming: 250 pts for swimming 10 laps); abs and calves

Day 7: rest

Along with this we are cutting calories and really starting to watch what we eat. We've always tried to eat healthy, but now it's time to get serious. We're eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and lean proteins. I've cut out junk completely, Erik on the other hand still has his dark chocolate kisses once in a while (he claims their healthy for him).

Okay, now on to the disgusting part, the revealing of the numbers. Since I'm nice, and like to let others go first, I'll post Erik's and then mine. Erik weighed in at 180 with a body fat percentage of 13%. Needless to say, he's only doing this competition to help motivate me, that and he really wants that free polar watch. His goal is to lose about 3% body fat. He'd like to be below 10%. Now, my turn. I weighed in at 186 with a body fat percentage of 26%. I'd like to lose a few pounds, but most important, I'd like to get my fat percentage below 20%. Since I have a high risk for diabetes I really need to get out of the "unhealthy" zone and losing that 6% would do it for me, that and I need to get in shape so that I can keep up with my little monster. The older Jordyn gets, the busier she gets and the less energy I have to chase her.

Stay tuned on more updates on how the Zugner clan is doing on our weight loss challenge!