Work Out Gear For My Mommy Body: Real Reviews of VSX and Gap Fit

I love my little munchkins!
I do, I do, I do!  They are so cute and cuddly,
I love them through and through,
Although, they wrecked my body.
Sad, but yet it’s true!

I know that I am not the only mama singing this song.

Gone are the days of my flat stomach and trim little waist.  Gaining over 60 pounds during pregnancy and having nurses come into your hospital room just to see how big your ankles can get gives you an idea of just how big I was.  Having a c-section didn’t help.  Was it worth it?  Yes, a thousand times over!  Would I give up my body again for my two little angels?  In a heartbeat!  But now I have come to the real work ‘bringing sexy back’!  My sexy in particular. 

Part of being Hot Mom On The Block for me is regaining my sexiness.  I don’t mean this in a solely physical way, but also in mindset too.  In an effort to be true to the budget, I utilize my gym membership.  Hubby and I encourage each other to go.  We want to look good for each other.  I try to go 3 times a week for my health and also because I want to get the most out of our membership.  I take classes– Zumba, Strength Training, Yoga and Spinning.  Individually these classes are worth $10 – $20.  My gym membership is $40 a month.  Going an average of 3 times a week would cost me approximately $180 a month without my membership.  Cha ching!  I am in a better mood when I go to the gym.  I think that it is fun!  I feel better when I go to the gym and, as a side note, I feel more confident in my clothes! (We are not a superficial couple.  We also worship God together, vege out by watching tv and we enjoy eating well!)

All of that to say that I have been struggling to find clothing that fits my post-pregnancy body (my boys are almost 17 months old) with my new mommy pouch, and less than perky parts.  I have lost all of my baby weight and then some (Yea, me!) but am now tasked with toning what is left.  I wanted some new duds to celebrate my weight loss. 

I ordered active wear from Victoria’s Secret’s VSX Secret Sport Line.  The quality was incredible, but just not working for me.  I am a 38 B- or A+.  Usually a 36B works for me.  Unfortunately, the 36B in The Standout did nothing for me.  I just wanted something padded for modesty during workouts.  It was too tight in the band and loose/wrinkly in the chest.  I just don’t think that I had enough to fill it up.  I also tried out the Standout Capri.  If you don’t have any muffin top at all, then this is the pant for you.  I have a slight muffin top from the babies and this really just pushed everything out that I wanted to hide.  If I stood still, the pant looked great, however if I did any Zumba moves it was so unflattering and had to be hiked up and back into place.

I ended up with work out gear from The Gap.  Nothing sexy, special or unique, but they fit great!  I highly recommend GapFit gFast capris!  The compression on these capris is invigorating.  My legs feel and look sexy in them.  They are comfy around the waist. I still have to hike them up in Zumba, although I think that this is something that I will always have to do because of my body type.  I also bought the High Impact Sports Bra/ 36B.  I am growing to really like it.  Initially I hooked it too tight and it just constricted my chest.  I think it smooshes me a little too much but after properly adjusting the band it is not bad and does not give the appearance of the uniboob.  I believe that it will ease up a bit after repeated use and that it will become a favorite in the future. 

I hope these reviews and musings help somebody!

Money Maven Tips from the Original Champagne Taste but Beer Budget Diva

I am saving tons of money by making only a few simple changes to my lifestyle.  Seriously, I am!  I have always had a tendency to overspend.  When I was in my 20s I would go shopping in Manhattan’s trendy little corners spending glorious weekends laughing and enjoying looking at my conquests (new shoes, new purse, etc…).  I would then go home and look at the bags with the pretty wrappings and fancy tissue paper, sigh and wonder whose budget did I think I had.  I would then have the walk of shame going back to each store and return my new gear.  Oh, the agony!!!

Once I got married, things changed because we both couldn’t live on the edge.  I am CFO and my hubby is CEO.  We try to save and pay cash for big purchases, but we have never been what you would call frugal.  We both enjoy the finer things in life and have always lived on the edge of our budget.  Usually just a smidge to the red side of it.

After having our twins things got real.  The fatigue, unexpected expenses, road trips to visit family and my hormones (I breastfed them until they were 7 months) caused our non-401K savings to dwindle by half.  After they turned a year old I resumed my CFO duties in earnest.  I have even been able to find a way to micro-manage our finances even with a husband who does not keep receipts.

• Figure out your recurring monthly bills – I looked at 2-3 months of credit card statements and bank statements to accomplish this.  We get paid bi-monthly so I went a step further to figure out when debits would be made in order to see if we were on track or over and where.
• Weekly Meal Planning-  Tedious, but super effective. If I go to a store once I may buy one or two impulse items.  So going grocery shopping once a week– and once a week only — is a significant savings and a time saver because I know what to prepare for dinner and when.
• Get inspired – Websites such as Money Saving Mom have really helped me to do some of items listed above.
• Luxuriate on a dime-  Figure out where you can save money and make it work.  For me, a mom of young twins, I need caffeine.  I was buying lattes 3-4 times a week.  Expensive!  Frivolous!  I found a way to make my own lattes at home thus saving time and money.  I found this awesome information on homemade lattes on Money Saving Mom’s website.  Click here for the link.
• Spend less-  Duh.  In the past I would search for ways to spend every single dime of my personal monthly budget or the boys’ budget, etc…  Inevitably, I would go over by $5, $10 or $20.  This adds up and causes shortfalls throughout the year.  Now my goal is to spend only 90% of the allotted budget and –guess what?– I spend an amount under or on budget.  Oh, and to keep me honest.  I write down what I spend on my personal budget and post it to the refrigerator immediately.  I also do this with what we have allotted for miscellaneous monthly spending.

These are baby steps for me, but they have yielded great rewards so far this year.  I thought that I would feel deprived, but I don’t.

So far so good.  I am looking forward to the end of the year of accrued savings and to not having to transfer money into our account for a buffer!

New York Themed Nursery

I am late posting this, but here is the nursery for my baby boys.  The photos were taken when they were 5 months old so some alterations have been made since this time.

I am very proud of the way that their nursery came out.  It is an homage to the NYC area where my husband and I met, fell in love and spent the first few years of our marriage.

Most of the room was furnished with products from Etsy, Target and Ebay.  All of the frames are from Ikea.

If anyone has specific questions about where to purchase certain items just list your question in the comments section and I will let you know.

I hope you enjoy looking at my babies’ nursery!  The boys are a year old now and quickly turning into little boys!  I am glad that I was able to capture the images on film.  These photos are definitely tagged to go into their memory book once I get around to it.

Good Plans for 2013 and Beyond

Like everybody else, I am planning to make 2013 better than 2012 was (2012 was pretty freakin’ awesome, but things can always be better!).  I don’t make formal New Year’s resolutions, but here are a few things that I would like to accomplish in 2013:

• Develop a closer relationship with God by praying more and reading His Word to get to know Him better and to know what he wants for me.
• Care for my family better.
• Take steps to create a lucrative writing career.
• Exercise my body and my mind.

I know that no matter whether I exceed or fall short of the plans that I envision that God is on my side.  I believe that God will bless my efforts and that He will be the cause of my future successes because God has a great plan for my life!  I look to Him for inspiration and encouragement.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

3 John 2 (KJV)
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

I wish for all my family, friends, fellow Christians and well… everybody to know that God has a good plan for you and wants you to prosper!

Looking forward to a great 2013!

Magical Date Night — Be Gone Fatigue, Responsibility & Chores, It’s Time To Party

Date night with hubby out of the house is almost like having Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother wave her wand providing a dress, coach and encouragement in my world.  We are transplants to Florida and don’t know enough people well enough to leave them with our rambunctious 1 year old twin boys.  Usually date night consists of a special meal with a glass of wine and a movie compliments of HBO’s On Demand.  Honestly though, most nights include wine anyway and I am a movie buff watching a few throughout the week, the difference is that on date night hubby leaves the movie on for the duration resisting his urge as a male to flip through all of the channels that our digital cable service offers and I might have two glasses of wine.

My mom was our Fairy Godmother last night encouraging us to go out.  Hubby had been invited to a co-worker’s party in downtown Orlando so off we went.  Ignoring the urge to simply stay on the couch once the boys were down for the night and enjoy the comfort of our home we rallied, got prettied up and hopped in the car.

I am a mom.  I had nothing to wear.  I know that men hear this all of the time and think that women are crazy, however I truly had nothing to wear.  I have recently started working out, but the exercise has not alerted certain parts of my body that they should stay flat or perk up.  Plus, it ends up that the weather was going to plummet into the 30s while we were out (we live in Florida!).   I needed something warm and sexy to flatter my new mom body.  I love a challenge.  I dug up a pink sweater that I bought while we were still in Jersey which I believe is flattering.  I have attached the picture so you be the judge.  Hubby looked great, as usual.  I married well on many levels and am still delighted by how good my man looks.

We got to the bar where the party was supposed to be and lo-and-behold nobody was there.  This was actually the best part of the night.  We got to explore different bars on our own terms.  I had two great drinks.

The first bar, The Fifth, is cool with fancy ceilings, fancy streets, uniformed bartenders, framed flat screens, great retro music and is topped off by being filled with hipsters ranging from the older end of young through middle age.

The next bar, NV, is tremendous.  If you blink you will miss it and that is why I love it.  It is a small, dark hole in the wall with wicked strong drinks (nothing girly- a patron asked for an Amaretto Sour and was told that they don’t carry sweet things like that), local art work on the walls, repeat patrons, cool female bartenders that can make a real drink.  The DJ is on point and even the restrooms are stylized.  It reminded hubby and I of some of our favorite haunts in NYC.  We reminisced about the past.  We looked forward to the future.  And, as parents, we spent a lot of time talking about our little ones while looking at their pictures on our iPhones.

With our two drinks drunk we headed back home making it back just before 1am stopping only to pick up the food of the gods (at least to me at that time), Mickey Ds hamburger happy meal for me and 6 piece nuggets for hubby.  The boys were great.  Our Fairy Godmother — er, Mom was up waiting for us (Thanks, Mom!).  Had a great time!  Glad that we did not tempt fate and have that third drink because the babies still woke up at their usual time wanting clean diapers, food, love and fun.  I am a little hazy from the previous night, but happy to create more great memories with hubby and ecstatic to kiss and hug my little angels.

My Blogging Strategy & Resources That Inspire Me

I have several unsuccessful blogs that I have started over the past few years.  I always start out with a gazillion ideas and a ton of things to say, then life happens and my zeal and zest for blogging begin to dissipate and wallah — a bunch of frustration and no more blogging. 

This year it is going to be different!  I have read about blogging.  I have done some research on successful blogs because, as they say, the definition of insanity is to perform the same action while expecting a different reaction.  I want to blog successfully this year which means that I have to do something different than what I have done in the past.

The main thing that I have found is that I need to plan out my topics and try to stick to a plan of posting that makes sense for my lifestyle.  As a stay at home mother of 1 year old twin boys I have a crazy life right now, however I believe that with a little perseverance this can be done.  I purchased a 5 x 5″ old school calendar at Walmart for $1.99 and have outlined my blog posts through the middle of January.  I am aiming to add a new post three times a week, however I must add a new post at least two times a week.  Once I have mastered this for a couple of months, then I will try to implement some additional techniques on my blog.  This seems simple and doable!

Resources:

Blog Talk’s BSN Guide To Blogging 10 Week Series

Writer’s Digest: 12  Dos & Don’ts of Writing A Blog

Money Saving Mom: Free Printable Blog Planner

Money Saving Mom: How To Make Money Blogging

If you have any additional tips or resources that have helped you, please share them!

Hopes for 2013

Nearing the homestretch of 2012 with all of its ups, downs and reality checks of being a new parent we have successfully celebrated the boys’ 1st birthday and Christmas.  Looking forward to 2013, I want to keep my thoughts focused on good things in order to help me achieve what I want to.  In a world where wear we are  inundated with negativity, nuts (God Bless the people of Sandy Hook), Real Housewives (which I happen to like watching– guilty pleasure), and knuckleheads featured on the news, where does one find these good things you ask.  The Bible.  I am looking to encourage myself, my husband and my children with the promises in God’s Word.  I have a plethora of things that I want to accomplish with my boys, personal growth, hubby of course and my writing!

If God says that I can do something, who am I to disagree?

Deuteronomy 16:15(KJV)

¹⁵ Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord shall choose: because the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.

This feast is called Pilgrim Feast.  Love this verse because it mentions how God blesses the works of our hands and of course we will rejoice. Awesomeness!

Definitely praying for God to help me get it all done and manage my time and give me ideas while recalling this verse!

Turning The Corner of Weight Loss

Ground hog day is over.  I have finally lost a pound!  I know, I know, big whoop, but when you do not lose one single pound in over three months after gaining over 60 pounds during pregnancy, trust me, this is great news!  I was not one of those women who lost a lot of weight after giving birth.  I only lost 15 pounds and this includes the 10 pounds combined birth weights of my little boys. The first 2 1/2 months the weight literally fell off of me.  All I had to do was breathe and woo hoo I lost a little more.

Then the weight loss stopped — came to a screeching halt, would be a more accurate description.  Since I was cleared to work out by my doctor I started doing some light exercises and stretching.  I have never dieted before, mainly because I never needed to.  I was always a healthy eater, plenty of veggies, fruits, water and a disdain for processed foods and beverages.  I enjoyed working out and have been involved in some sort of sport or dance since I was 6 years old.  This was new territory for me.

Four months after giving birth, I looked like I was 5 months pregnant (with a single baby, not with twins at least- still I looked pregnant).  I did not experience post partum depression but I absolutely hated my new body.  I would cry when I looked in the mirror, which I avoided like the plague.  The lack of change in my body was especially frustrating because I was working out 5 days a week with exercise programs on t.v. and online exercise plans.  I started a portion control eating plan.  Since I was breastfeeding (still am) I could not diet using appetite suppressants and such. I was diligent in all of my efforts for 2 months which is no small feat with two little ones.  Every week sometimes sever times a week I would step on the scale and it was the same.  Then I gave up for a week and ate what I wanted to in whatever quantities I felt like, and guess what – nothing happened.  My weight was stuck hard at 162 pounds.

After two weeks of eating recklessly I did manage to see a change on the scale, obviously, in the wrong direction.  I gained two pounds which I lost right away when I resumed my portion control diet.

Message boards on the Bump listed tons of women who claim that after they lost weight, they a) were either back in their pre-pregnancy clothes within 2 weeks, b) had nurses and doctors alike exclaim how they had never seen someone snap back to their pre-pregnancy body while STILL IN THE HOSPITAL AFTER DELIVERY (For real, I kid you not) or c) had definitely lost all but 5 pounds of the baby weight within 4 months after birthing their little ones.

Four months after I gave birth all I had was consolation from my mom and my hubby.  Mommy said, “It takes 9 months to have a baby and it will take 9 months to get back.”  Hubby said, “Listen to your mother,” and, “You look beautiful.”  See why I love them so much!  At this point the weight did not bother me so much as the shape of my body did.  I hate, hate, HATE having a belly!!!!

Five months after giving birth I became convinced that I had some rare condition that caused my uterus to swell unnaturally.  I can laugh now, but I was dead serious then.  Hubby even cosigned me getting a tummy tuck if I wanted one.  To make matters even worse, I had to select a travel wardrobe for a trip that we are taking later this summer.  Everything that I ordered or tried on looked terrible or was not available in the larger size that I need.

Two weeks ago I got my first iPhone.  I also got the My Fitness Pal App (My Fitness Pal is free and has a website also) and downloaded Jillian Michael’s 30 day Shred to my phone.  My goal is to lose 1/2 pound a week.  I can’t do anything too drastic because I am still breastfeeding.  I take the boys on a 45 -60 minute walk at a brisk pace 2 – 3 times a week and I do at least 2 of Jillian Michael’s work outs a week.  I have finally lost weight.  My scale registered at 160.8 and I am so pleased!  Even more than the weight loss is the fact that I am losing inches in my waist!!!

My boys will be 6 months old next weekend.  I can’t wait to see how much I weigh then!  I have to return a dress that I got in the mail because it is too big!!!  One pound is just a start but it means that I am on my way!  A little hunger, a lot of sweat and tons of patience are steps in the right direction toward being the Hot Mom On The Block.

I hope that this helps new moms struggling to lose weight.  You are not alone.  There is hope.  You just have to find what works for you — this includes getting a wardrobe that will fit you right now.  I will post pics of my new self once I get to my goal weight!

First Road Trip With Twins

Went to Tampa recently with the boys for their first road trip.  I am still exhausted and we did not even stay overnight.  It was a great trip though.   It is always good to reconnect with friends and to have a change in scenery.  Road trips are the palate cleansers for your life.

I realized a few things while we were out.

Hubby and I were delusional to think that we could have kept our old car, a Subaru Impreza Hatchback, for two more years.  We have a Toyota Venza now which I love!  There is so much room to stretch my legs out, even in the back seat. I can comfortably sit between the boys’ car seats and play with them during a long ride, but after adding–

• 2 pack n plays
• 1 double stroller
• 1 play mat
• 1 activity center
• 1 Medela hospital grade breast pump
• 1 cooler
• 1 diaper bag
• 1 miscellaneous bag
• 2 babies
• 2 adults
• 2 Winnie The Pooh Security Blankets
• 2 Sophie the Giraffes

I am almost positive that our next vehicle will be an 18 wheeler.

The boys did really well on the 2 1/2 hour trip until we inevitably took a wrong turn when we were oh so close to our destination — we were 7 minutes away.  At the moment when my husband needed me to put on my copilot’s hat they started screaming their little heads off.  My big boy loves to roll around and kept attempting to do so while strapped in his car seat.  Contorted with his left cheek flush against the seat, chest straining to follow and legs flailing, I shared his frustration.  My little one just screamed because his brother was screaming.  He rejected my logic when I explained to him that he did not have to cry just because his brother was crying.

20 minutes later we pulled into the driveway.  30 minutes later we were able to relax after hugging old friends, unloading all the gear, setting up all the gear and getting the boys settled.  As soon as they were settled, I had to pump.  Not much relaxing goes into visiting friends when you have two babies but we had a blast  It was a great test run for the big trip that we will take later this year.  It was a great test run for the overnight trip that we are going to take in a few weeks.

Two things that we have to keep in mind on our next trip.  The boys, apparently, will not sleep anywhere except at home.  We followed our usual routine to no avail.  They kept trying to fall asleep around their usual sleepy sleep time but they could not relax enough to do it.  They would nod off in hubby’s or my arms and their little eyelids would fly open as soon as we put them down.

The second thing is to survey the room where I breastfeed my baby boy.  I don’t always feed him from me because I also give him my milk in a bottle.  Sometimes though it calms him down to spend this special time with mommy.  Since we were away and he was a bit anxious, I decided to borrow a quiet dim room to feed him.  He is at that age also where he is so busy.  Honestly, he is the busiest person that I have ever known.  It takes a bit to get him to focus on eating.  He started to eat and then he stopped.  He puffed out his little lip and his eyes started to well up with tears.  No sound had left his mouth so I tried to distract him.  I stood him up on my lap to sing his favorite song (The Twist). He stuck his lip out even more and started looking all around the room for an exit.  Then the wailing started.  This is very unusual for him so I got up to walk him around while holding him in an effort to calm him down.  When I turned around, I saw the two deer heads on the wall.  My poor baby was absolutely terrified.  Once we left the room he calmed down immediately so, long story short, avoid deer heads when traveling with babies.

They fell asleep as soon as they were strapped into their car seats and did not wake up until they were home.  Once back inside of familiar surroundings they laughed and cooed and rolled around with joy.

Good times!

BTW- Enjoy the pics that I have posted.  They are from Odessa, Florida.  Feel free to use them if you like.  Just list me as a photo credit. 

Unfinished Stories

I am supposed to write everyday.  The experts both published and unpublished say that you need to write, write, write.  Then you should write some more.  I do not disagree with them, however I am so short on time that it usually takes me two to three days to write a blog post consisting of 500 – 750 words.  It sometimes takes me 10 minutes to complete a single thought.  I have a good excuse, I am trying to raise two human beings who at this point in their lives need help to fall asleep, eat, burp — but, I digress.

I have started three compelling short stories.  One story was started while I was still pregnant.  Two stories were started after the twins were born.  I desperately want to finish them.  One in particular is just so awesome.  I honestly can’t wait to see what happens next.  My characters are alive.  The story is exciting and flows nicely.

I am at that delicate part in the story where what happens next can be totally brilliant or a big womp womp.  I just need a chunk of time to actually outline the different scenarios.  Herein lies the issue, that four letter word — T I M E.  I am either chasing after time or begging for time to speed up.  Time and I are rarely on the same page, yet we have to coexist together.  I wish that I could reach into the future and bring closer the time when my twins will sleep through the night or at least wake up only once at night, preferably anytime after 4 a.m.  Other things I want to push-off until later like my hair turning gray.  The thing about time is that time does not pass the same way for everything in your life.

My stories are stilted, frozen in time, if you will.    What happens to those stories?  Seriously, what happens to those stories until I find time to finish them?  They are real to me, floating around in my head, paused indefinitely until I find the time to press play and complete each tale.   While my boys and I go for our daily walks on the trail near my house, I tell them what direction I want to go in and we try to work it out.  These brainstorming sessions are decidedly one-sided, especially since the boys are just 5 months old and cannot speak yet.  Once I was even able to outline one of these sessions down in my notebook.

However, my two little time stealers are the best creations that God has blessed me and my hubby with.  Even though my words that come to life on paper my be frozen for quite some time, I do get to spend time, priceless and precious time with my two little angels.  Seeing their toothless smiles literally take my breath away each and every time.  I melt in their presence.  Time stands still for me when I am with them.  Actually, I should not call them time stealers.  They are my best unfinished story.  I so enjoy calming their little cries, playing with them to gain the screams of unbridled joy and seeing the milestones that they have made already as babies.  I look forward to seeing their story develop from a word to a sentence to a paragraph to a chapter and so on.

Am I still a writer, even though my stories are at a stand still?  I believe that I am.  Currently, my time is just being diverted to develop two-time stealers  that are in their introduction phase.  Once they move onto the second or third chapter of their lives, I am sure that time will allow me to finally press play and finish the tales that I have currently suspended on a bookshelf in my mind.

Photo Credit: Alan Cleaver courtesy of Flickr