Exercise has been regular part of my life for the last 10 years or so. If you know me, you know I’m a long time Billy Blanks fan.  He and I go back — way back.  In 2001-2002 I lost roughly 25 pounds thanks to him.   Actually thanks to, Tae-bo, eating next to nothing and going through a divorce seemed to be the winning combination for me. And while being 25 pounds lighter, with my particular body (@ 5′ 3″) looks good, was not sustainable. Around 2003-2004 I found an ideal weight around 130-135. There I hovered until I got pregnant.

I recall many conversations I’ve had with friends both while I was pregnant and then postpartum and the general consensus from people, is that… the baby weight will just melt off. These were people who had children and were speaking from experience — WiTH THEIR BODIES.  By the time I had Quinn, I had gain about 36 pounds, which is 1 pound over the average 25 – 35 lb weight gain.  Days after I had her, I was amazed at how quickly my body began shrinking. I couldn’t believe this HUGE belly I had, was so small.  I assumed all those people were right. This baby weight is going to melt away — especially with me breastfeeding.  I breathed a sigh of relief and continued along my new mommy path.

True, my body shrank. But not to pre-baby size. It appears that my body has taken a liking to these last 12 pounds.  Looking back in postpartum months 3 & 4 & 5, I thought the semi-strenuous walks would do the trick, but no.

So in the last month I’ve come to the realization that this body is not one of the blessed.  Which honestly is no surprise. The words, WEIGHT and MELTING have never gone hand-in-hand with me. I more or less must pry the pounds off of me.  In fact, I wonder if that whole, nursing helps you lose weight is some sort of myth that should be debunked by Mythbusters.

I realized I needed to step-it-up with the ol’ exercise and eating thing.  Exercise is much easier for me to tackle first, as I’ve become oh-so comfy with my nightly treat.  So upon the advice of a fellow mommy blogger, I checked out the video 30 Day Shred by Jillian Michaels.  And it’s official. After one workout with Jillian, I am willing to dump my 7+ year affair with Billy Blanks.  So sorry Billy, but my time has become precious. Juggling this parenting stuff, working from home, keeping up with piles of dishes and laundry and a floor that seems to need mopping every other day – squeezing in an hour workout while my daughter is sleeping is not possible, at least right now.  I know that our 7+ years together has seen some great times and I’m not saying it’s over.  I’d like to remain friends and you know, keep the door open… Maybe one day you and I would workout in the future.  (hehe)

Anyhow. The BEST thing about this video is that the workouts are 20 minutes. Which, I know, doesn’t seem like enough time to kick anyone’s ass into shape… But seriously folks, this is an amazing workout. The video has 3 workout levels, each are 20 minutes long, with the idea that you work your way up to level 3.

At some point in Level 2, Jillian says… “I want you to feel like you’re going to DIE…”  And um, I’ve thought I might.  This Jillian Micheals is one evil chick.  But it’s good — and again, the best part is that you only have to stare at her mug for 20 minutes.

So there’s my fitness rant and with that, I’m off to another session with Jillian since Quinn is sleeping.

Quinn and I just got back from a visit from Skagit Valley. We took the train up and had a wonderful time. It was great to see Quinn bond with her Grandpa and Grandma Lint.  Have I mentioned that this girl has no shortage of grandparents?  3 full sets of grandparent love and 3 times the spoilage…

While we were visiting, we stopped by my nearest and dearest friend Cassandra’s house.  She and I go back to the 6th-7th grade, but I officially wanted to be her friend in the 4th grade (she was so pretty, with perfectly white knee-high socks, going down the playground slide.)

She is forging the path of parenthood 8 weeks ahead of me. She has a baby girl (Addison) who is officially the cutest baby residing in Skagit Valley. Cassandra and I made a decision early on that Quinn and Addison would be friends — and Quinn and I got a chance to hang out with them last week.  And while this friendship has been prearranged, the two seemed to have a great time playing with each other.

At one point in the play-date they both noticed a piece of entertainment “GOLD”…  a plastic water bottle. Below is a series of photos showing the battle-of-the-bottle. While Addison had the clear advantage of mobility on her side (crawling), Quinn had the grip o’death in her little fingers.  Watch below to see this dramatic battle unfold…

Shake on it… They agreed to “FIGHT FAIR”.

Addison get’s the first grip on the bottle. Little does she know Quinn has here eyes set on the prize…

All of a sudden, Addison is left in confusion… What happened to my “waba?”

Quinn: “Back-off girly girl in your pink shirt… oh, wait… I’m in a pink shirt as well. Hehe…”

Addison attempts to Fake-out Quinn… “Hmmm, let me see… I think it’s broken…  Just hand it over for a second…”

Addison got it, but Quinn’s in with the left-arm-swipe. Gimme, gimme, gimme…

All of a sudden Addison tries the rational approach: “Quinn, I am 2 months older than you, therefore, I get the water bottle, thank you very much”…

Addison gives a sigh of relief as Quinn picks up the squeeky-cat…  BUT WAIT!

Ahhh, she may be 2 months younger, and have an attention span of a flea, but the power of the water bottle is impossible to resist!

The Underdog takes the lead…  Addison may not look angered, but don’t let that cuter-than-cute face fool you, she’s ROYALLY PISSED!

And just like that, It’s ripped from Quinn’s hands… faster than you can say “poopy-diaper”.

That’s when things turned UGLY. Quinn went for the jugular!  PLEAAAASSSSEEE SOMEONE STOP THE MADDNESS!!!!

Addison finally took the high road and gave the water bottle to Quinn.  She came to the realization that Quinn’s only a baby, and she just doesn’t quiet understand the concept of sharing yet. She further realized that it’s up to her to show Quinn how to play nice.  What a sweet, sweet girl.

It was moments later when the water bottle was out of sight, that they were onto the next thing…

It is seriously beyond entertainment to watch these two together. Watching Addison, who is just a bit older than Quinn is like peering into the not so distant future to see what the next few months have in store for us here… And officially, things are going to get MORE fun and MORE exhausting. And I can hardly wait.