What I learned this Easter Weekend

March 31, 2013 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 2 Comments

There is never a dull moment in our house these days.

1. Never wear good clothing when nursing a baby. NEVER. You will always get some form of spit up on your shirt and pants/skirt. Trust me.

2. Always go to your parents (family or friends) house for Easter dinner. Why? Because the ham you wanted so badly can and will turn out poorly and their’s is always perfect. (Such a disappointment).

3. When a toddler (almost 3 years old) and baby (almost 4 months old) frantically cry at the same time – RUN away from both.

4. The day after completing an intense workout, don’t stand while holding a 13 + pound baby for long period’s of time. It makes you want to crumble to the floor because your arms are like jello and your legs are still shaking from all the jumps and squats. Picture me lying on the floor like a star – yup that’s all I wanted to do today.

5. Teaching a toddler to blow bubbles that she got for Easter is like trying to floss their teeth – just don’t do it.

6. Chana Masala is so delicious – however your nursing baby might not agree with you hours later.

7. I don’t like hot cross buns.

8. Spring weather is upon us in Nova Scotia – whoop whoop!

9. My toddler lied to me today and had no problems with it! When asked if her sister Hilary got chocolate eggs from the Easter bunny – Lilly looked at me and said nope! They were all for me!

10. I love being a Mom.

And a bonus #11 from my personal Facebook page yesterday (not my Piper’s Run facebook page that get’s no comments 😦 boo )… a conversation mainly with my mother went a little something like this:

Anna’s post: Just got my ass kicked by the Live Lean Meltdown workout Brad Gouthro Fitness while both girls slept! #outofshape #sworetoomuch #kickassworkout

Mom comment: As your mother, I am so proud….

Anna’s reply: What about Mom ? That I am out of shape, I swore like a trooper or that I had a kick ass workout while the girls slept?

Mom’s comment: One out of the three….

Thanks Mom 🙂 My guess would be that I swore too much!

How was your Easter weekend ?

A little random post…Happy Easter.

March 30, 2013 / Anna @ Piper's Run / Leave a comment

Sorry I have been MIA for the last week or so. We took a family trip to PEI, got to visit with some family and see friends. We took the girls swimming, Hilary for the first time and she loved it. No photo’s – I didn’t bring my camera – figured we had enough to lug with us. Next time.

Okay, so a few random thoughts….

1. When ever I hear “Fire Burning” by Sean Kingston I want to Zumba! It’s been almost 2 years since I’ve attended one of Suzi’s Zumba classes. But every time this song comes on the radio I ~~may~~ want to Zumba a little in my house. Funny eh!

2. I just did my first Live Lean Meltdown “Main Event” workout by Brad Gouthro Fitness. Let’s just say I swore way too much, I am completely out of shape and it was a kick ass workout.

3. We aren’t spending Easter with my family this year. Big Bummer. Since we were on the road for 5 days and again next weekend we decided to lay low this weekend and stay at home. So, we are having our own Easter here and I will cook my first ham … that I guess I will eat and maybe Lilly. Trying to figure out what vegan main dish to make for Sai. Humm….

Love this!

4. I love look at babies faces when they sleep – oh so sweet.

5. I miss running. It’s been a little too long since I’ve been out. BUT, that’s all about to change starting on Monday. My husband and I are making a plan as we both want to get more active and in shape. He wants to ride (cycle) and I want to run so we need to come up with a plan since we have two little ones that need our time and energy too.

6. Carrying around a 13 lbs 5 oz plus baby is a great workout in its self! (And she’s almost 4 months – yikes!)

7. Last but not least. Hilary has been a sleep in her Ergo on me for a little while and just decided to FILL her diaper. Frig! This is going to be a good one I’m sure.

Happy Easter Weekend everyone.

What do you do for Easter?

Did you work out today? What did you do?

Does a random song on the radio make you want to move?

I Felt Like “Super Mom”

March 22, 2013March 21, 2013 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 2 Comments

Yes, I felt like “Super Mom” yesterday. It lasted 45 minutes, let me tell you all about it.

Last Sunday, my husband and I took Lilly (2.5 years old) skiing for the first time – it was hands down the BEST DAY EVER! Today, Lilly was scheduled to be home as her day care sitter needed the day off. The plan was for me to take Lilly (and Hilary in tow) skiing again. My husband was supposed to work at 1 – 9:30 pm, which would have him at the hill all day and night and unable to get a few things done around the house. So, off we went…our day went something like this.

8 ish – Breakfast: this is not an easy or quick thing with a toddler and 3 month old.

8:48 am (only because I looked) we pulled out of the driveway and arrive at the ski hill at 9:30.

9:30 am I unpack the car, carried our bags, carried Hilary in her car seat and had Lilly “holding” onto one of the bags. We then proceed to purchase Lilly’s rentals, pass etc. Grammy and Grandad showed up! Phew! I got all the gear together; boots on, helmets, gloves and we’re all out the door (Lilly, Dad a.k.a Grandad, and me).

At this point, I’ve lost track of time. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect temperature to be outside and very few people on the hill at this point.

After being on the bunny hill and completing two runs, Lilly decides it’s snack time. In we go, munch on a few snacks and I nurse Hilary who is just starting to get fussy with Grammy. Breastfeeding in public isn’t my thing but it’s the second time I’ve done it at the hill in less then a week – thank goodness for my “hooter hider” cover.

Mommy and Lilly skiing on the Bunny Hill at Ski Martock.

11:00 am We go back outside for 2 more runs – just me and Lilly. We met up with Grandad again and she managed to ski a little bit on her own – no hands from Mom, no poles from Mom, nothing! She skied a little and stopped at Grandad and did it over and over again, fell once but got back up and went again!

“Mommy, I skied all by myself” Lilly said with a big grin on her face. It was a great moment.

Three generations skiing ~ March 21st 2013

11: 45 am We went inside for lunch and hot chocolate which she had requested on the car drive to the hill – smart girl.

As we walk in and up the stairs I hear a baby crying. Not just crying but frantically crying and I slowly realise, that’s MY baby! I find my mom cuddling her in a quite spot away from others. I picked her up and once she figured out it was me she calmed down and eventually fell asleep. Ahhhhhhhhh……..we can relax and eat lunch now.

While Hilary took her famous cat nap, Lilly watched all the senior’s that were there for their year-end party and sipped hot chocolate and ate her lunch. We packed up our bags, returned our gear and back up to the car with some help from Grammy and Grandad.

As we drove off I thought about my morning and then reality hit: we needed gas or we weren’t getting home. The first gas station didn’t have pump n’ go, so off we went to the second one in view. I hate pumping gas when I have both kids in the car; I could never leave them in the car while I paid for the gas inside and taking both out was just a hassle – thank goodness for pump n’ go’s or whatever they are called.

Once we got back on the road I started to think about our morning again and felt quite proud of myself. I felt like “Super Mom”.

I felt like “Super Mom”.

Now, I couldn’t have done this little adventure without my husband’s help in the morning or my parent’s at the ski hill. But I did manage both kids at the same time. Yes, I had a few moments of frustration but still manged to pull a fun morning off with both girls in tow. Successful. Mommy. Moment = Super Mom.

[Question directed at my parents – how did you do this for us… year after year?]

1:20 pm I managed to drive the 45 minutes home and kept Lilly awake the whole time, even when she said she was tired. We got home and got to spend a little time with Sai as his shift got pushed back to 4 pm. Lilly went down for a nap, I nursed Hilary and then we played until Sai had to leave at 3 pm.

That 45 minute drive home was a “Super Mom” moment I just had to share.

What’s your “Super Mom” moment?

Ever feel like you can’t accomplish anything?

Ever feel like you can do anything?

Parenting:Best.Day.Ever!

March 19, 2013 / Anna @ Piper's Run / 3 Comments

Well, besides the day I gave birth to both of my daughters, I have now had the BEST. DAY. EVER as a parent! We took our oldest who is just over 2.5 years old downhill skiing.

A little back ground info: I grew up downhill skiing and started at the same age as Lilly. We would go skiing on weekends, holidays, march break and even cut school to go skiing with my Dad’s school. We brought our lunches, got a hot chocolate at the hill, learned how to ski, fall down and get back up again. I made many friends through skiing, kept up with the boys on the moguls and even got my Level 1 Ski Instructors course. I loved skiing and still do but I now have such a great appreciation for what my parents did for us growing up. They introduced us to life long activities but also encouraged us when we go into competitive sports too. Thank you Mom and Dad.

On Sunday (St. Paddy’s Day) we had planned on taking Lilly skiing even if it meant she only got on the ski’s and did 1 or 2 runs. Well, I guess we set our expectations too low as she did 7-8 runs with me and her Dad. A successful introduction to what skiing is, what the hill looks like and how much fun it can be.

All geared up and ready to go!

I was like a kid in a candy store. I think I was more excited than Lilly….or my parents who came to hang out with Hilary and video Lilly skiing for us. It was such a great morning; no tantrums or meltdowns, we ate a healthy snack outside in the sun, Hilary loved being outside and watching everything going on and we made it home without Lilly falling asleep!

One Happy Mama!

As a parent, I had the BEST.DAY.EVER because we were able to ~~teach~~ introduce our daughter to an activity that I love and look forward to doing as a family. I never thought I would feel so excited to introduce my children to these experiences and then be able to do this over and over again as a family. I feel very lucky that my husband and I value healthy living and being active and our girls will grow up knowing this and living it. Again, BEST. DAY. EVER!