2017 - Week 10

March 6.
No pictures because...

We found out almost a month ago that I was pregnant again. I immediately called the doctor upon finding out because I was so nervous from the previous miscarriage that I wanted to have my blood work checked and get an ultrasound scheduled as soon as possible. Within a week ( including 4 rounds of blood and an ultrasound) it was confirmed we were experiencing our second blighted ovum (empty sack) pregnancy. We were in shock. I was angry and upset and frustrated and confused. Most of all I was sad...I didn't want to go through the miscarriage process again...but it was inevitable. I medically induced my second miscarriage this past Friday. I bled for a few hours, then the rest of the weekend was as normal - my body not responding to the medication. I woke up this morning and jumped on the treadmill for 45 minutes thinking I could get things moving in my body before submitting to calling the doctor and asking for another round of the medication. Within an hour I was bleeding...like scary bleeding. Waiting until the doctors office opened so I could talk to a nurse made this the longest morning ever! I was rushing to the bathroom every 5-10 minutes - finally after talking to the nurse, they urged me to go to Labor & Delivery. (Chaz had left earlier that morning for Virginia Beach for a week for work!!) I called my MIL and SIL - and I'm so so so grateful for how they jumped in at a moments notice to help. My MIL took me to the hospital and my SIL watched my kiddos. Upon arrival at the hospital (and almost 3.5 hours after my scary heavy bleeding started) I was given a room in L&D and naturally passed almost all of what needed to be passed - and practically passed out in the process. The doctor came in, did an ultrasound and to my horror told me my body had removed everything except the empty sack. Could this torture be over already? I proceeded to have a D&C to complete the miscarriage. I rested at the hospital for a bit, but was released an hour or so after and walked out, even driving myself home. The rest of the day was a blur...my MIL got us fed, we went home and attempted to do "normal" afternoon activities, and then everyone was put to bed early because momma couldn't think about dragging out doing bedtime solo after this exhausting day.

This week made me realize how much Chaz and I are a team. I need him and he is a major piece to the puzzle that makes our family run smoothly. Not having him this week was SUPER hard (emotionally more than anything). I love him for his strength even miles away. But I was so grateful for my MIL, SIL and numerous friends who checked in on me, brought us food, offered to watch the kiddos, and sent us thoughts and prayers. God is STILL good and I DO believe He has a plan for our family and the number of children He thinks we should have. I am having a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that I now have the same number of children in heaven as I do physically with me - I will continue to pray for those precious angels daily. Grateful for Nora and Rad this week too - they saw momma cry, a lot. And because of their joy in the small things, I was able to make it through this week.

Still trying to process all the emotions that come with a second miscarriage - especially one that seemed to drag on forever. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

March 7.
A lazy day at home while mommy tries to rest. Tea parties, costumes, chalk, and lots of books.

March 8.
We needed to get out of the house so we went to church - both looking like such big kiddos today! After church we enjoyed the spring like weather for a trip to the park. Both kiddos were exhausted and practically falling asleep at the dinner table.

March 9.
Another spring like day meant the whole morning outside. Playing at the park and the Tot Lot. Sister requested Zoes for dinner and wanted to wear her party dress.

March 10.
Started the morning with snow, so obviously we had to sit in the window and watch it. I couldn't convince them to go anywhere so we hosted the cousins for a pizza lunch date. Afternoon craft was painting pasta to look like butterflies, a trip to Target to pick out a belated birthday gift from my dad, and CFA/ice cream for dinner.

March 11.
DADDY IS FINALLY HOME!!! Yay. A trip to Storyville in the morning, Costco for a balanced lunch of hotdogs and icecream, and movie marathon that afternoon.

March 12.
Lazy day with the team. A trip to the grocery with ALL of Baltimore as we prepare for potential blizzard-like snow. Helping with chores while eating dumdums. And making homemade paleo chocolate chip cookies.

2017 - Week 9

February 27.
Started the morning off with early baths and a trip to Storyville. These two sure do love playing together. Sister has taught him all about having a "lovey", cleaning, making pretend pancakes and washing pretend dishes. Wrapped up the afternoon with a tea party.

February 28.
Spring-like weather had us excited after music class...so a trip to the park for slides and playing in mulch was in order. We painted fingernails, played with our new purse and chapstick, then took a trip to Target for a few things - brother had to have a Moana doll. Ha! They pretended to be "sleeping" on the kitchen floor while I was cooking dinner.

March 1.
Our sweet princess turned 3 years old. She hosted a cupcake decorating playdate with a few of her closest buddies. We ate too much sugar, danced around in our party dress, played with birthday goodies and celebrated this precious little girl all day.

March 2.
Took the crew to Play Cafe for an early lunch and play time. So true to their personalities...focus Nora and silly Radford. Sister is just like her daddy and is always digging for the crispy orange sticks when we snack. Playing "train" with daddy when he gets home is one of the new favorites.

March 3.
We start most days with books...this boy wont sit through an entire book. He prefers to just pull them all off the shelf instead. Visited Fort Avenue Fitness for some early morning car riding and moon-bouncing. A little dance performance from Nora before Friday night movie night complete with underwear dancing to the Sing soundtrack. Her new favorite movie...on request DAILY!

March 4.
Lazy Saturday at home. Watching movies, lounging in pjs, trying on daddy's old wrestling singlets, and making a mess of colored yogurt. These two sure do make life fun - they find complete joy in the seemingly ordinary things.

March 5.
Family breakfast picnic complete with blue heart shaped pancakes on request. Then a trip to Port Discovery. Brother was brave enough to climb the high cargo net! Pizza date afterwards to wrap up a great weekend. Love my Team Tillman.

2017 - Week 8

February 20.
A trip to 5 Below is always an adventure with these two - laughing hysterically at whoopee cushions and eating giant hamburgers. Brother couldn't hang with all the errands and passed out, so sister and I opted for a picnic on the porch for lunch. Afternoon spent getting WAY dirty digging for rocks outside.

February 21.
While I was blow drying my hair the crew threw ALL my shoes down two flights of stairs - took 2 laundry basket trips to get them back upstairs. Breakfast was bacon, cookies and hugs. #motheroftheyear A trip to the tot lot - sister wanted to see-saw with Colin, while brother preferred pushing his cookie (from yesterday) around in the car. Silly boy.

February 22.
Brother thinks the 5 o'clock hour is a great time to wake up these days...so we snuggled watching the news and Daniel Tiger. He wore his cousin Mikey's old Superman shoes today. So cute. Sister wanted to do chalk on the porch during brother's nap after church. This weather...is it really February??

February 23.
Morning trip with the cousins to the inner harbor and the park. Beautiful weather for a walk...then everyone boycotted napping and we played at a different park all afternoon with daddy - digging in dirt and running through leaves. Mommy and Daddy had a date to AnnaBell Lee. Much needed alone time together.

February 24.
Morning workout with Aunt Hil, G and the cousins...followed by some swing time. Sister wanted to have a dance party (to Trolls sound track) and naked painting during Rad's nap. Rad was pumped for Friday Family Movie Night - we watched Moana. He loved all the music.

February 25.
We celebrated little Miss for her 3rd birthday...a few days early. Thanks to G, Pops, Aunt Hil and the cousins for making it such a special day. A Belle cake, lots of fun gifts, pizza, a crazy hail storm and fun with family.

February 26.
Lazy day at home. Nora played with her birthday presents - a Belle purse you decorate and kinetics sand. Brother loved the sand and the Belle cake decorations too! We watched some old movies - Beauty and the Beast, 101 Dalmatians and Cinderella. Not pictured: deep cleaning my bathroom and getting a pedicure. Great weekend!

2017 - Week 7

February 13.
Case of the Mondays. Making a hot mess of my kitchen (notice Radford inside the lazy susan where the tupperware normally lives), working hard - 2 phones and lots of "notes to God" as she says. Making a Valentine peacock craft during Rad's nap and then "war paint" during bath time. They keep me busy!

February 14.
Started the morning off with pink heart shaped pancakes, followed by music class and a CFA date with my loves. They were looking so cool with their shades. Everyone was a HOT mess after skipping naps and tears were how we ended the afternoon before an early bedtime. Hated having daddy out of town today again.

February 15.
Mommy has been suffering from a bad sinus infection, so we opted to skip church inlieu of a movie/tv show marathon in our pjs alllllllll day. We played in the basement, lounged and were silly together. Love these snuggle bunnies.

February 16.
Everyone was feeling better today and decided to start the morning out by rearranging the foyer bench and nicely lined up shoes. We visited with Mrs. Dawn and Sweden at The Swellness Center - doing hair, see-saw rides, guitar playing and playing Doc McStuffins. Hate a blast despite the random cold-snow flurry day.

February 17.
It's Friday! So why not eat cupcakes at 10am? :) Day of errands - got the car washed...thankful for kiddie books to entertain the kiddos while we waited and we took a trip to Party City to look for birthday party goodies for Nora - Rad obviously couldn't handle the excitement.

February 18.
When it's almost 70 degrees outside...what do we do? Spend the whole day outside!! We rode our toys, played in dirt, did slides and swings, goofed off at the playground, had a family lunch date out and soaked up some much needed Vitamin D. My heart was full after seeing how happy these kiddos were to be outside again.

February 19.
Daddy had to working in the morning, but we didn't want to waste the day inside. Another 70+ degree weather day so we hiked the hill to the Pagoda and wondered around Patterson Park playing with sticks and running down hills. The weekend wasn't complete without icecream!! That afternoon we made monkey crafts and homemade banana-blueberry bread. YUM!!

2017 - Week 6

February 6.
Rad's 15 month appointment. He weights 26# and is healthy as a horse. We weren't slowed down by those 3 shots - we took advantage of the weather for a trip to the Tot Lot to play outside! Chalk drawings, tea parties and reading books with sister while Rad napped. Then an impromptu trip to RiteAid for milk complete with hugging the giant Valentine's Day animals.

February 7.
Started the morning off with music class - Rad LOVES to dance and play the instruments. Played at the park with Alice and Dennis afterwards. Both kiddos thought naps were overrated...so we met up with Lauren and Grayson to feed ducks and play at the other Patterson Park playground. What a randomly amazing 70 degree weather February day!

February 8.
We packed lunch in our Mickey backpack so after church we could hit up the local park in Timonium for slides and a picnic. Sister scootered during Rads nap and couldn't wait until daddy got home so he could take up to hit t-balls in the park. Is it seriously winter still?

February 9.
Back to cold reality of Baltimore today with freezing temperatures. We left the house to escape to Target - wondering the isles and trying on sunglasses and whatnot. Sister destroyed ALL of her bookshelf and brother went to work on his car. I made crockpot chicken and dumplings - delicious.

February 10.
Disney on Ice with the cousins, G, Aunt Hilaire. My Nora Belle and Radford Mouse loved the show and all the characters!! What a fun day and great experience. They were SOOO exhausted after the show and going out to lunch - but they got lots of compliments on their beautiful dresses!!

February 11.
Daddy-daughter date for Nora and Chaz. She opted to wear her Belle dress again. They had breakfast, went to the mall for carousel rides, picked out an Ewok at BuildABear and even got some new Vans to match daddy. Meanwhile...I hung with the teething, has a sinus-cold beast of a brother. We played swords, and made a huge mess painting and playing with shaving cream before he gave into the pain and took a 3 hour nap.

February 12.
Sunday Funday. Church and mexican date with my crew, organizing a few areas around the house - which can always get interesting with an almost 3 year old and 15 month old in tow, and making homemade peanut butter Valentine cookies with Nora.

2017 - Week 5

January 30.
A trip to the mall with the cousins, Aunt Hilaire and G - rode the horses, played at the playarea, shopped and got new cups from the Disney store. Afternoon of painting and "pirate rides" around the kitchen. Kiddos got to see some snow flurries which was exciting for all.

January 31.
Early morning shenanigans - fruit kabobs and cymbals in the kitchen while wearing sister's nightgown. A trip to DSW with these two was quite the adventure. Needless to say, I didn't buy anything. Afternoon spent playing dressup and making marble art for Valentine's Day cards.

February 1.
Posing for pictures before church is a regular Wednesday activity. Then a little of everything...music with Elmo, my cymbals in the kitchen and Minion playdough in our fancy dress.

February 2.
A little early - but we did an Easter craft today while brother napped. Lazy day lounging and cleaning before a double date out with G and Pops. Yummy meal at Mama's on a Half Shell. First night EVER with a babysitter that wasn't family...Miss Sarah sent us these cute pictures of the kids - they had a blast and were exhausted!

February 3.
Silly Friday complete with wearing daddy's shoes, baths before lunch and making a HUGE mess of sister's room. Afternoon spend making oatmeal breakfast cookies and whitebean chicken chili. YUM!

February 4.
Didn't take many pictures, but we worked out, did some grocery shopping, went to lunch with daddy, and each kiddo took a 3+ hour nap. Afternoon/evening spent watching country music videos in the basement and playing with out guitar. Nora and I were twinning. :)

February 5.
Super bowl Sunday! Nora and I attended a gymnastics birthday party for Grayson (which she LOVED!!) before heading to G and Pops to hang with the cousins and eat some yummy superbowl goodies. Kiddos watched a movie, ran around outside for hours and made s'mores before headed home to watch the game.

Motivation Monday

Since buying the treadmill I've been quiet addicted to using it. I've worked out for the past 10 days in a row (minus Superbowl Sunday). I'm exhausted but loving this "runners high" I'm getting. Since training for the 1/2 marathon, I haven't been in the mood to just run for miles and miles on end, so these workouts have satisfied my desire to sweat like a pig, and incorporate other movements besides just running.

I don't share these to be like "hey! look what I did..." but more as a "hey, look what is possible at home without a gym and little equipment." I hope to inspire others that you don't need a ton of space or anything fancy to have 30-45 minutes to take care of yourself. I've found that if I take this time for myself, the rest of the day seems to fall into place and I'm in a way better mood.

Each workout was about 45 minutes long but rounds could be added or subtracted to make for longer or shorter workouts.

Saturday:
40 Minutes of:
1:15 sprint (8.0 speed)
:45 walk (4.0 speed)

**Modify by  changing speed or length of workout.**

Sunday:
2 Rounds:
2 min run (7.0 speed)
25 burpees
2 min run
25 press with 24# body bar
2 min run
25 SDHP with bar
2 min run
25 #20 dumbbell swing
2 min run
25 russian twist with #20 dumbbell
2 min run
25 front rack lunges (each leg) with bar

**Modify by only doing 1 round.**

Monday:
3 Rounds:
800m Run (.5 miles)
50 pushups
50 situps
50 air squats

**Modify by doing 2 rounds OR 25 reps instead.**

Tuesday:
4 Rounds:
4 min Run (6.5 speed)
1 min 20# dumbbell swings
1 min hip dips
1 min SDHP with bar
1 min press with bar
1 min burpees
1 min REST

**Modify by only doing 2-3 rounds.**

Wednesday:
6 Rounds:
.25 run
15 OHS with bar
.25 run
15 thrusters with bar

**Modify by doing less rounds or air squats instead of with bar.**

Thursday:
1 mile Run
20 renegade row w/ #10 dumbbell, 2 lunges (each leg) holding dumbbells at shoulders, 5 burpees
18 row, 4 lunges each leg, 5 burpees
16, 6, 5
14, 8, 5
12, 10, 5
10, 12, 5
8, 14, 5
6, 16, 5
4, 18, 5
2, 20, 5
.5 mil Run

**Modify by removing the running at beginning and end OR removing burpees each set.**

Friday:
3 Rounds:
8 min Run (6.0-7.4 increasing .2 each minute)
30 press with bar
30 burpees
60 sumo air squats

**Modify by running for 5 minutes instead and doing 30 squats instead.**

Saturday:
4 Rounds:
1 min walk (4.0 speed)
1 min jog (7.0)
1 min sprint (8.5)
1 min jog  (7.0)
1 min walk (4.0)
2 min jog (7.0)
1 min sprint (8.5)
2 min jog (7.0)

**Hardest workout so far.**
**Modify by doing 2-3 rounds and/or slowing down speed.**

Sunday:
REST

Monday:
10 min Run
15 Rounds:
5 burpees
10 press with bar
15 jumping squats
10 min Run

**Modify by doing 5-10 rounds instead OR removing the run at the end.**