How I Fell In Love With Fitness

I honestly can't pinpoint when I fell in love with fitness, but I've always been oddly strong with great muscle definition (I say that as humbly as possible).  

As a third grade little girl, I owned the record for the most pull-ups in the whole elementary school (including the 5th and 6th grade boys).  

One time, at a waterpark with my mom, when I couldn't have been older than 7, some guys approached her and asked if I "worked out."  Isn't that strange?  How many 7 year old girls do you know who work out?  

I started gymnastics when I was ten because a coach saw me at a summer camp and told me I should join the team.  

I became a pole vaulter in high school because the track coach saw me in the hallway, thought I looked "strong", and told me I should try pole vaulting.  Curiosity got the best of me, and I said, "Sure, why not?!"  

But even as a successful high school pole-vaulter, I really didn't work out very intentionally.  Sure, I would go to the YMCA, jump on an elliptical, and feel immense pride when I burned 400 calories (supposedly). 

So to narrow it down, it must have been at the University of Florida, where I truly fell in love with fitness, not just sports or pole vaulting, but intentional, purposeful, strength and conditioning.  

I had chosen to study Exercise and Sports Science with a specialty in "Fitness/Wellness", but to be honest, I chose that because yes, it certainly made the most sense for me, but most importantly, it didn't require calculus or chemistry or any of those math/science subjects that I despised.  So naturally, that's how I picked what I would "do" for the rest of my life.  

But in the weight room is where I fell in love with fitness.  I was introduced to power lifting and plyometrics and agility training and truly enjoyed all of it, though box jumps were my absolute favorite.  

I got a lot of fulfillment out of going in with a plan, setting goals, pushing my body to its limits and sometimes reaching or even exceeding those goals.  I think it's also easy to really enjoy something when you're good at it.  And I was really great at working out!  : )  

After college, I became a personal trainer and I loved working with my clients, but it wasn't long before I became bored with my own workouts.  I missed the accountability of working out with my strength and conditioning coach, I missed the social aspect of working out with my friends and teammates.  It just wasn't as much fun to create my own workouts.  

After marrying my husband and traveling the country, I worked out religiously because I really didn't have anything else to do.  In 2009, bored with my day to day life and hungry for a challenge, I decided to train for and compete in a figure competition.  I loved that I had someone creating workouts for me again (though 3 hours/day was a bit much), I loved that I had a personal goal and challenge again, but I did not love the rigid nutrition program.  

I've always taken the view that I workout hard, so I can eat whatever I want.  In the fitness competition world, that is not the approach.  You work out really hard and you eat ridiculously healthy.  Truthfully, it wasn't the amount of food that was the problem.  For the most part, I was getting enough calories, but I was so bored with the food.  

After 3 months of training, I won my first competition, and I was encouraged to keep going and compete in another competition two weeks later (which I was not mentally prepared for). I didn't place, and I decided fitness competitions weren't for me.  I respect those athletes immensely, but I enjoy food way more than winning fitness competitions.  

I was disappointed, though, because I just knew I wanted to do something with fitness and I thought these competitions were going to be my thing.  Traveling around the country so often for Matt's baseball career didn't make it easy to pursue a traditional career in fitness or strength/conditioning.  I continued to hope and pray that something would fall in to my lap.  

Finally in 2014, after having twins, I decided to give the Beachbody thing a whirl. I wasn't too invested in the coaching part, but I figured I might as well try it, because as much as I loved the gym, I wasn't going to make it back there any time soon (with 3 children age 2 and under).  

I started with P90X3 and I fell in love with fitness again.  I felt like I had a trainer right there with me, coaching me, challenging me, telling me what to do.  As a person who knows a lot about working out, this program introduced exercises to me I had never done before!  In thirty minutes at home, I was working way harder than my 60-90 minutes workouts at the gym where I would do my cardio, a few lunges and push-ups and call it a day.  

Tony Horton helped me explode out of the "workout box" I had put myself in and it felt amazing.  Not only was my body changing significantly, but I felt athletic again.  I felt strong again.  As a former athlete, that meant way more to me than just getting rid of my baby weight.

For over 18 months, I did one Beachbody program after another, and went in to my 3rd pregnancy with my 4th child in the best shape of my life.  I was able to keep up my workouts through most of my pregnancy, and in just a few weeks, I will begin my 3rd post-baby transformation. I hope you will join me : )

The Story of Tessa's Water Birth

When I first decided I would have my first daughter, Sienna, naturally (without an epidural or drugs of any kind), it came from a place of competitiveness.  I mostly just wanted to see if I could do it.  She was born via water birth in Westlake, OH, at a birthing center within St. John's Medical Center.  (Isn't that cool?  A birthing center INSIDE a hospital?!) Here is post about her birth story.

So I did it.  And in the days following her birth, I swore I would never do it again.  It hurt.  Bad. Really really bad. 

But less than two years later, in early 2013, I found out I was pregnant again, and started researching birthing centers in Tampa.  I was ready to take on the challenge of a natural childbirth again.  Why?  Honestly, I couldn't tell ya.  I am sure my competitiveness once again played a huge component though.  

Anyways, I found Labor of Love Birthing Center in Lutz, FL, went on a tour, and scheduled my first ultrasound at 10 weeks.  Thank goodness I didn't wait for that 20 week ultrasound because as it turns out...I was pregnant with TWINS.  I was quickly referred to Dr. Atef Zakhary, and gave birth to my sweet boys, Price and Maddox, on October 28th, 2013.  I was blessed to deliver vaginally, though Maddox was born breech.  (I still need to write about their birth story.)

When I found myself pregnant again in September 2015, I knew I wanted to return to Labor of Love.  I had a great experience at Tampa General with Dr. Zakhary, but I hated being induced, and after delivering my boys in an operating room full of stainless steel, bright lights, and what seems like a hundred people looking on, I was ready for a more natural, organic experience.

I really adore Labor of Love.  Every staff person I've met is kind and thoughtful.  Children are more than welcome.  Each midwife answers all of your questions thoroughly, and takes as much time as you may need at each appointment.  I felt valued and cared for.  

But I am not immune to the doubts and fears that come with an out of hospital birth.  Though I had delivered Sienna naturally, I had been in a hospital.  If I let my mind and thoughts "go there", I could have definitely freaked myself out.  But I knew the kind of experience I wanted, trusted the midwives, and more importantly, trusted God with my health and the health of my baby.  

Okay...now on to the story...

On my due date, May 28th (40 weeks is the longest I had ever been pregnant), I started getting consistent contractions.  I went for a walk, met my best friend, Jess, at the park, and they were still coming.  Around 12:30pm, I decided I should start timing them.  They came 4 minutes a part for the next 2 hours, but I remained pretty unconcerned and un-rushed.  But then I lost my mucus plug, which made me wonder if I should consider getting to the birthing center (with Sienna I progressed very rapidly).  Around 3 o'clock, I called Matt and told him to come home, arranged childcare for my "big" kids, and Matt, my mom, and I arrived at the birthing center around 4:15pm.  

The contractions were still very manageable...we were laughing, joking, etc.  At 4:45, they checked me and I was only 4cm dilated and 60% effaced.  I was slightly disappointed I wasn't further along, but assumed I would still go very fast based on my birth with Sienna (I went from 4cm to 10cm in 1 hour).  

Shortly after being checked, the contractions became more painful.  Whereas before I was "handling" the contractions while still hanging out in the living room (my birthing suite had a common area, small kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom), I soon started going in to the other room when I would have a contraction.  I didn't want to be around anyone.  To be honest, I didn't know I would be like that (not wanting to be around anyone), but I believe that I could focus better without my husband and mom watching me.  Plus, there really wasn't anything they could do to help me. 

I spent the next 4 hours doing a lot of pacing as the contractions became more and more intense.  Granted, I was definitely more prepared for this kind of pain than I was with Sienna, it still took me by surprise.  I still forgot just how painful labor is.  They were "bring you to your knees" kind of contractions, the kind of contractions that make you just want to cry.  

Surprisingly I was very stoic through all of this.  I didn't scream or cry out or sob.  I focused on taking deep breaths and tried to remember that these mind-blowingly painful contractions were bringing the baby closer to meeting me. 

At 8:30pm, Bea (my midwife), checked me, and I was only 6cm dilated, 80% effaced, and the baby's head was not directly on my cervix, but sitting on the right side of my pelvis.  Now I wanted to cry.  Only 2 cm in 4 hours and in that kind of pain?!  

So at 8:45pm, Jesus and I had a little talk (no joke).  I prayed (demanded) that this baby be born by 9:30pm because I could NOT do this much longer.  I was suffering and I was going to give up.  I was allowing doubt and fear to creep in.  I started to think that maybe I just wasn't going to be able to do it this time, maybe I'm not going to have the birth experience I wanted and hoped for.

But in all truthfulness, knowing there were so many people praying for us at that very moment, gave me a peace and strength and hope that I know I would not have had otherwise.  So thank you, friends. 

Around 9pm, I awkwardly climbed in to the tub (how else do you climb in to a tub 9 months pregnant and mostly naked?), and the contractions became more frequent immediately (now every 2-3 minutes).  As far as I know, my water hadn't broke yet, and I was feeling a bit desolate.  I had no idea how much longer this was going to last, and wasn't sure I wanted to know!  

But after 4-6 contractions, suddenly Tessa decided to make her appearance.  I was in the midst of breathing and groaning through another contraction, when all of a sudden, I knew, as only women who experience natural childbirth know, it was DEFINITELY time to push.  

Remember how stoic I had been?  That brave, deep breathing, silent girl went out the door in that moment.  I screamed, "Bea, the baby is coming!" and then screamed again (when I say scream, I mean high-pitched, frantic screaming).  I call it my "in the movies" childbirth moment.  I felt like I was ripping in half, to be quite frank.  

Bea quickly calmed me down and urged me to focus. I pushed once, they saw her chin, I pushed again, and this slimy, cantaloupe-sized baby squirmed right out in to the water directly in front of me (I gave birth on my knees with my back to everyone).  I scooped the baby up (which was SO COOL and unexpected that I got to bring her up out of the water), I turned towards Matt, and in the same instant, we saw that our mystery baby was a girl and I immediately thought of my oldest daughter.  I couldn't wait to tell Sienna she had a baby sister.

It was 9:15pm.  Jesus was listening. 

Wow.  To write it is to re-live it, and I can still experience the same feelings of immense relief that it was over, I did it, and I had a baby girl to show for it.  Childbirth is the never-ending miracle, isn't it?

I stayed in the tub while my placenta was delivered, and then moved to the bed, so they could assess the damage ;)  And by the grace of God, though I felt like I was ripping in half, I didn't tear at all. (Hallelujah!)

I am sure I will never truly know how fortunate I am to have had such wonderful  birth experiences with healthy babies, but I am doing my best to never take that for granted because I know not everyone's story ends happily.  I know not everyone gets the experience they hoped for. 

I remain and always will be grateful and humbled by the blessings of my children, Sienna Rose, Price Vincent, Maddox Pearce, and Tessa Hope.  

If you have a childbirth story you want to share with me, I would love to hear it! 
If you're interested, here are 10 Things They Didnt Tell Me About Having a Baby & My Body: 365 Days after Twins!

How I Became a Beachbody Coach

Have you ever felt like you lost yourself completely? Or that your personality completely changed?  Have you ever felt like your best years were behind you? Or settled for mediocrity?  

"Who am I?" "What's my purpose?" "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?"  These are phrases commonly associated with adolescence, the struggle of high school, or even the endless possibilities of college.  

But these were questions I was asking myself in my late 20's, happily married to a professional baseball player, new mom to the most beautiful daughter in the world, seemingly living my dream life.  What was wrong with me?  

At the time, I just assumed I had changed.  I assumed my personality had changed.  I delighted in my role as a wife and mother, but accepted that there was nothing outside of that for me.  Any dreams or passions I use to have were gone. 

Here's the thing, contrary to many people's experiences, high school and college were some of the best years of my life.  I was a straight-A student, All-American athlete at the University of Florida, involved in community service and church, and I was surrounded by my best friends all the time.  

I knew exactly who I was and where I was going.  I had a very clear sense of purpose and direction.  My confidence was at a high, some may say it was too high!  : )  I was competitive and passionate, I was disciplined and fun.  I felt like I was living up to all God intended me to be.  

And then I graduated college, worked as a personal trainer for a year, married my husband, and we did baseball life.  We traveled around the country, met incredible friends, and experienced unforgettable moments together.  

But I wasn't DOING anything, and slowly, without being aware, I started changing in to a person I didn't recognize.  I had become lazy and unmotivated.  I was complacent.  I was boring. 

This slow descent started in early 2009, and lasted until January 2014, two months after giving birth to my twin boys.  All the years before, I had been able to ignore the longing to do more, the desire to be more, but neck-deep in diapers, and bottles, and toys, and breast pumps, and sleepless nights, I was desperate for something that was all my own. 

 Fitness had always been important to me, but with 3 children, 2 years old and under, I knew I wouldn't make it to the gym anymore.  I had heard about Beachbody's fitness programs and the coaching opportunity in the past, but had never been interested.  Finally, I decided I should try an at-home program, and if I was going to do it, I might as well become a coach and see if others wanted to do it with me.

  

I had zero expectations and a ton of doubt, but almost immediately, I began to change.  I felt my "old" self start to emerge.  By investing 30 minutes in to myself through fitness, and sharing my journey with others, I became empowered.  I felt passionate and competitive.  By practicing self-discipline in this one area, I found discipline in other areas of my life, as well.  

In short, becoming a Beachbody coach has changed me from the inside-out.  My Beachbody transformation is so much more than physical, it's emotional and spiritual, as well.  I thought God was done using me outside of my family.  I thought I didn't have any influence anymore.  I thought my fun, confident, inspiring years were behind me.  

I was wrong.  So wrong.  I feel more like the wife, mother, and woman God created me to be than I ever have.  I know with certainty I am doing what He has called me to do.  And the best part?  I am having a blast doing it.  

If you are looking for a purpose, for companionship, for confidence, or for your calling to help people, please contact me. I can't wait to help you get started!

Plastic Potties and Peanut Butter M&Ms: How I Potty Trained My Twin Two-Year-Old Boys

*** This entire article is based on my opinion and experience ONLY.  I am not an expert of any kind, so if you have any concerns about my method, you should ask your pediatrician, counselor, or child’s teacher.  You are more than welcome to kindly disagree ***

If I was going to attempt potty training my 2-year-old twin boys (they will be 2 ½ on April 28^th) before my fourth baby arrived (May 24), it was now or never.  So I spent the bulk of last week hunkered down inside our house armed with plastic potties and Peanut Butter M&Ms.

It was not something I was looking forward to, but I told myself I would give it three, absolutely consistent, dedicated days, and if they weren’t making significant progress, we would put those potties away for the next six months at least. 

Last Tuesday morning, the diapers came off and the potties came out, along with the towels and sanitary spray.  To be honest, there was a part of me that hoped they would NOT get it.  Potty training and its maintenance is quite a commitment, and I wasn’t sure I was ready.  But they absolutely surprised me and rocked it.

By day three (Thursday) there was no denying that they were getting it.  They only had one accident each and in both instances, they were headed to the potty.  On day six, we went to church diaper-less and accident-free. 

As a mom, there is no greater miracle than potty-training your child.  Nothing will make you feel more like superwoman than successfully teaching your child how to use the toilet.  I am so terribly proud of my sweet boys and their willingness to learn and I have to admit I am a little proud of me too : )

As I look back over the last week, I realize that everything I did with the boys is almost exactly what I did with Sienna when she was potty trained at only 21 months old.  I am assuming I did a few things right, so I wanted to write down my experience in hopes that it will help others. 

In the next few paragraphs I am going to explain exactly what I did, and why I did it.  I will also list key take-a-ways and give you a current update on where we stand, including the things that still aren’t perfect!

My Method and Best Tips

The first three days are nearly identical.  I feed them a nutritious breakfast of oatmeal and then I let them eat all the salty snacks they want, so they will drink a lot, and therefore pee a lot.  I also give them apple juice (which they never get).  The goal is to give them multiple opportunities to “practice” going potty.  I want them to pee more than they normally would, so they can’t just hold it for hours. 

I close the doors to the bedrooms and try to confine them to our living room and play area.  I keep the plastic potties where we are, so they are visible and easily accessible. 

I do not ask them to sit on the potty at regular intervals.  I prefer to catch them in the act, grab them, place them on the potty, and let them finish (hopefully) in the potty.   If I can tell that they have to go potty, I will beg or bribe them to sit and then I might read to them, let them see my phone, and entertain them however I can until they go. 

I will encourage them to sit on their potties while they are watching TV or I am reading them a book.  Often this will lead to them eventually going in the potty. 

I celebrate every drop in the potty.  Even if they start on the floor and only get a few drops in the toilet, I celebrate big and give them a treat.  Oh, and my boys LOVED carrying the plastic potty insert to the real toilet, dumping it in, and flushing it.  This was a huge deal to them!

When they have accidents, I do not criticize or make them feel bad in any way.  I usually say something like, “Uh-oh!  Pee-pee goes in the potty silly boy!”  Any correction is very light-hearted, smiley, and friendly!

I diaper them for their afternoon nap and bedtime, but no other time. 

I prefer to keep them naked, but sometimes the boys wore undies if they wanted to.  I think there are advantages and disadvantages to children both being naked and wearing underwear.

When they are naked, you can more easily catch them in the act.  Also, I believe that sometimes undies can give children the impression that something is there to “catch” their pee or poop.  When they are naked, there is nowhere else for it to go. 

One advantage to undies is when a child has an “accident”, they can FEEL it, and may find it uncomfortable which is a good thing.  Some children enjoy picking out their own undies and don’t want to “mess” them up.  Having twins, I wasn’t always able to catch them in the act, so undies allowed me to see who made the mess. 

I remember with Sienna, at the end of day two I wanted to quit.  I felt she had regressed, it wasn’t working and I was ready to throw in the towel.  I felt very similarly with the boys, except now I knew, this was normal, and I needed to stick with it for day three.  Don’t give up after day two!

Unless they are REALLY not getting it, by day three, I do not purposely feed them salty snacks and drinks.  I go back to our normal eating/drinking routine. 

On day four, I move the plastic potties in to the bathroom, so the boys have to be conscious about giving themselves enough time to walk to the bathroom.

On day five, I put undies on them consistently and put the plastic potties away, encouraging them to use the real toilet either with or without the insert. 

I have heard that placing them on the toilet backwards is great because it minimizes the mess.  We did that a few times, but I also have taught them to sit far back on the toilet and lean forward, which also is very effective!

On day six, I took away the insert and we headed out of the house, in public, to church, for the first time.  I walked them in to their class and showed them the potty and reminded them to tell their teacher if they needed to go.  They did not use the potty, but they also did not have an accident.  After leaving their class, I took them to the potty, where I bribed them with a mint, and they both sat and went. 

Update

Today is day eleven and they are doing so well.  We’ve been to restaurants and the zoo with no accidents!  But when they are out in public, it has been more difficult to get them to try going.  I usually have to bribe them with a mint or candy or treat just to sit on the potty.  But it works and usually they do have to go.

What About #2?

Maddox is pooping in the potty consistently.  Price is not.  Price either goes in his diaper at nap or nighttime, or very unfortunately (and luckily rarely) goes in his undies.  That is NOT a fun clean-up : )  I haven’t done anything different with Maddox than Price, so I am just going to let this run its course and hope Price catches on!

Other Issues

On the other hand, Maddox will not go at school with his teachers.  I am wondering if it has less to do with school, and more to do with the fact that I am not there.  So I am going to be more intentional about having other people take him to the potty instead of me, so he will become more comfortable.

What About Naps and Nighttime? 

I don’t know when I will take away the diapers for naps and nighttime.  With Sienna, that was a slow process and I didn’t even consider it until she had consistently awakened dry.  To me, this is minor, did not cause confusion and never affected her daytime progress. 

How Do You Know If Your Child Is Ready?

Honestly, I don’t know how to tell if a child is ready or not.  I know there are readiness factors you should certainly take in to consideration (read more about that here), but when I trained my daughter at 21 months, she wasn’t “ready” at all according to the charts.

I also attempted potty training my sons six months ago, and it didn’t work.  So I tried again six months later, and they picked it up in three days.  In my opinion, if they aren’t significantly making progress after three days, they probably aren’t ready, and you should wait a few months and then try again. 

That being said, I don’t think it hurts to try early.  I feel like waiting too long gives children the opportunity to become headstrong and even develop unrealistic fears about it.  I like to at least try when they are still sweet, enjoy pleasing mom and dad, and don’t know any better!

Summary

-       **Keep the small plastic potties accessible and visible.

-       **Reward and celebrate every “hit”.

-       **Don’t leave the house for at least three days.

-       **Feed them salty snacks and lots of drinks, to give them many opportunities to practice.

-       **Naked or undies: it’s up to you!  You may need to experiment and see how your child responds best.

-       **Don’t give up after day two!

-       **After three days, you can start making small progressions like putting undies on, moving the plastic potties in to the bathroom, taking away the plastic potties, and even venturing out of the house.

-       **Always keep small mints or candies (that won’t melt) around so you can bribe and reward your child when appropriate.

      

      Thoughts?

I would love to hear from you and what has worked for you!  What did you do similarly to me?  What did you do differently? 

Any tips for me regarding Maddox's unwillingness to go at school and Price's unwillingness to go #2?

And like I said, I am no expert, but if you have any questions, I will absolutely do my best to answer them.  Feel free to comment below!

How I Learned to Dream Again

"Dreams are the power of God.  It's His thoughts when we lack thoughts, hope when we lack hope, and his reality overriding our seemingly impossible path." Havilah Cunnington

Even when I wasn't dreaming, God was dreaming for me.  Even when I was not making plans, God already had His plans laid out.  Even when I felt purposeless, God had a purpose.  Even when I felt invisible, God saw me.  Even when I felt worthless, He called me beautiful. 

As I sit here now, full of hope and ambition and life, I am amazed at what God has done.  There was this time when I thought God was pretty much done with me.  I had lived my highlight reel in high school and college.  I had done my part, and now it was time to sit back and watch everyone else's dreams unfold.

Though I couldn't have been more wrong, I was definitely lost.  I had someone become stuck.  I was the kind of girl who always knew what was coming next, I set goals, and never doubted who I was.  But year after stagnant year, I lost track of myself and God's vision for my life.  I became complacent, content with mediocrity, okay with sitting the bench.  

Finally, I began to wake up.  Something in me started stirring because honestly, I was bored.    I was living a nomadic baseball life with a sweet one and a half year old little girl.  She napped like clockwork, which is when I would spend way too much time watching television.  Boredom forced me to consider my options, but not yet take action.  

Eleven months later, I was not bored anymore.  With a two year old daughter and newborn twin sons, boredom was not an issue.  But I was still drowning.  I became desperate to do more, to be more.  I needed to feel more like ME and less like a zombie milk machine.  And so I did something I told myself I would never do.  I joined a network marketing company called Beachbody and my life has never been the same.  

This story isn't about Beachbody, it's about God's faithfulness.  It's about the way He didn't give up on me, even when I had given up.  He was patient when I was stubborn.  He waited on me until I was ready.  He oh so gently continued to move in me and speak to me and show me the way, even when I didn't want to see it.  He continued to dream for me and about me, just waiting for me to join Him.  Now, we dream together.  

Sweet friends, you have not already lived your highlight reel.  You have better things, the best things even, yet to come.  God is not done with you yet.  He has not demoted you to second string.  He is still dreaming for you and about you with big plans yet to fulfill.  He's always inviting you to join Him.  

Pray about God's dreams for your life.  Pay attention to the opportunities, people, and ideas that keep coming up and won't seem to go away despite your best efforts to make them.  Read a book that will encourage you and challenge you to pursue God's dreams for your life.  Surround yourself with doers and dreamers.  

Start dreaming with God again. 

Books I recommend: 

"Eat Pray Hustle" Havilah Cunnington

"Life Unstuck" Pat Layton

"Restless" Jennie Allen

"You Were Made For a God-Sized Dream" Holley Gerth