My Absence

Excuse my absence in writing. I've been distracted by this angel. 

I really don't do a whole lot these days. I get up and go to work. I teach, grade, and interact with teens all day. Then I hustle home to get Reuben and am mommy for the evening. 

Typically, this means feeding Ellis soon after coming home, he then naps a bit. Then we hang out for a bit(sometimes we live on the edge and go watch my school's basketball team play). Mainly, I sit and stare while he plays. At 7:30, he naps then is up to play and eat for a bit. I then bathe Ellis and get him ready for bed. He is usually(which means some nights are more of a challenge than others)out by 10:30. I'll wait for Reuben to come home, we chat a little about the day and then I'm asleep. Ellis will get me up somewhere between three and five to eat, then I go back to sleep and wake up at 6:30 to do it all again. 

It's busy and tiring but 300% worth it. Happy. Healthy. Living the dream. Loving it. 

 

Cheers. 

Five Quick Things about Ellis

Ellis turned five months old yesterday.  To celebrate we fed him peas and some oatmeal.  You know when you turn five months, you must celebrate, right?

Here are five quick things about Ellis.  I do need to write him another letter but for sake of time, I am just listing today:

1.  He is a screaming eagle.  He was yelling so loud yesterday that I was certain the whole neighborhood could hear him.  So funny.

2.  He has recently started swinging his right arm when excited or angry.  Often this means he hits me in the face.  It also means that when he has toys in that hand, they go flying too.

3.  Ellis LOVES our dog, Reno.  Reno enters the room and Ellis will either smile or chuckle at him.  Often I will call Reno into the room when I am having a hard time calming Ellis and it does the trick.

4.  Ellis is growing like a weed. He is actually fitting into nine month clothes(and some 12 month) even though he is only 5 months old.  He's a big kid.  We are hoping for a basketball star.

5.  Ellis is a social bug.  He loves people.  He also gets very offended when we leave the room and will fake cough or cry to get us to look at him.  He also loves my friend, Sharri, and giggles at her when we are working out.  He also loves my friend, Kari, who he visits every Tuesday when I go to Weight Watchers.  He just looks for her as soon as he hears her voice.  Oh yeah, and he also loves all his relatives.  He was a huge hit in Wisconsin!

Hump Day.

This week is going fast. I am not sure why but I am not going to complain. 

Reuben sent me this pic of Ellis yesterday during work:

He wrote: "Just been cookin father and son style" with the pic. I melt. Really, I am one of the most blessed people. Not only do I have one cute kid, but I also have a wonderful husband. A husband who cooks, and loves his kid. Reuben truly is the right person for me and I am so lucky to have him on this journey. And I am so glad I bought him an iPod for Christmas so he can send me pics during the day!!!

Okay enough cute. 

It is snowing today and I hate it. What is my problem? I bet it is not enough vitamin D, huh mom?

Well, I really don't have much more. Oh, but I always write a letter to future Alice on New Years but for some reason so not have one from last year. What's the deal? Did I write it or did I space it? I working on this year's this week. I miss the fun of looking back and hearing my voice from a year ago. So fun. 

Until later. Cheers. 

Sometimes I feel like...

This...

That's how I felt about going back to work yesterday. So what are your New Years resolutions?

I resolved to not make any resolutions. Well, except one. And that is to read the Book of Mormon all the way through(again). This book kicks butt in a way spiritually uplifting way. You can join in if you want. If you don't have a copy, I will even send you a copy. Just email me: softballrita@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook. I am following the guide here.

Okay, so I also really really want to get back to pre-Ellis weight. I am back on the tracking what I eat and exercising bandwagon. Half of Provo is too. They seem to be at the rec center this week. I hope they are all still there come February. 

Well. I am off to eat lunch. That was my five minute blog post. Maybe that will be a resolution too. 

Cheers. 

Hot Yoga

One of my faithful readers asked what the benefits of Hot Yoga are, so I did a bit of research on the topic even though I had a pretty good idea about it.

I love yoga.  I have never sweated so much standing in one spot.  Yoga itself has tons of benefits ranging from relaxation to flexibility.  And these benefits will carry over to doing Yoga in a warmer environment.

Hot Yoga(or Bikram) is basically Yoga in a heated room(duh?).  The whole point is to get you sweating. Obviously, if you are sweating, you are getting rid of toxins.  This is really a benefit Hot Yoga and I agree with this totally.

Another claim for a benefit is that you are actually burning more calories, which I would say I'm skeptical about because you really aren't raising your heart rate and that is a true measure of burning more calories, in my opinion.  Sure you may lose weight from the beginning to the end of the yoga session but this will be completely water weight, which will come right back once you get hydrated(and if you plan on trying this yoga, be sure to drink lots of water during and after.)

Another claim for a benefit to Hot Yoga is that it increases your flexibility.  This to me makes perfect sense.  When your muscles are warm, they are more flexible.  This is why before working out you should always walk fast or run in order to warm up you muscles before you stretch them.

There probably are some more claims of health benefits, but these were the common ones I saw while doing some research.  If you would like to read some more about Hot Yoga, here are some links:


Huffington Post Article
Livestrong.com
Shape.com

Elizabeth, I hope this answered your question.
Cheers.