Making Progress to Improve Myself

In December, I joined a moms' fitness class called Body Back.  It's a program designed by Fit4Mom designed to improve moms' fitness and strength.  I've definitely gotten stronger and am making improvements in fitness and my nutrition.  More than that, I've found an amazing group of women.  I was so nervous the day when I went to my first class, but they were so supportive and encouraging.  Now, in my third session, I'm happy to call them friends.

My second session, and first 8-week session, wrapped up at the beginning of March.  Over the course of 8 weeks, I:

• lost 6.2% of my total body weight
• lost 2.5% of my chest measurement
• lost 6.5% of my waist measurement
• lost 3.4% of my hip measurement
• lost 3.6% of my thigh measurement
• lost 5.4% of my arm measurement

Those are the exciting body changes - and believe me, I'm excited about them - but it also comes with an increase in fitness:

• 43.9% increase in plank time
• 42.9% increase in situps
• 30.0% increase in pushups
• 19.4% increase in side plank

It's pretty amazing!!!  Our instructor definitely pushes us often past the point where I think I should stop.   Some workouts are just as much mental as physical. With results like this, you can see why that's important.

Citrus Lane March 2014 for 2-year old (gender neutral)

We received our second Citrus Lane box this month!  It was a huge hit with E.  I'm happy that I went with gender neutral as this selection tends to be the colors and animal types she likes the most.  We'll see if this trend continues.

This month's box:

1. eco-kids eco-dough ($19.99/5, ~$8/2) - natural play dough made with plant, fruit, and vegetable extracts. It's supposed to stay soft much longer than PlayDoh and says that you can add a few drops of vegetable oil if it gets too dried out.

2. Petit Collage Safari Babies Beginner Puzzle ($14.00) - this set makes 4 different puzzles with a mommy and baby animal.  Each puzzle has between 3 and 6 pieces.  It's definitely more challenging than the wooden puzzles we've been doing so far, but E really enjoys it.

3. Me4Kidz Medi Buddy ($5.25) - cute portable first aid kid.  I've been meaning to pick one up for our diaper bag anyway, so it was a good addition.  I only wish that the animal wasn't printed on the plastic. It's just going to be a purple case as soon as we open it.

4. Clean Well Natural Hand Sanitizing Wipes ($10.99/2, ~$5.50/1) - I'm not typically a fan of anti-bacterial wipes or hand sanitizer because of the increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria, so I'm kind of indifferent to these.  They are supposed to be orange vanilla scented, but I find the scent rather strong at first and almost like pine.  I'm using them mostly because they are convenient to wipe up after dinner. 

Total value of this box is about $32.75.  I really like the two toys in this box and appreciate the utility of the medical kit, but would prefer something not anti-bacterial.  The dough and puzzle were a big hit!