Our Beautiful Lillian

My gorgeous 17 year old Sister Lillian was asked to do a photo shoot for Solutions Bridal in Winter Park, Florida this past weekend. She modeled headpieces and jewelry. The Salon will use some of these shots in their advertisements. Lillian also got her first part in an independent film being shot in Orlando! We are very proud of our aspiring star :) !!

Childcare: Are they really watching your kid?

Hey Mommas,

This is a warning and a rant all rolled into one... I cannot get my mind off of my experience at LA FITNESS today...

SO, after an hour long work out I go into the "Kids Klub" to pick Adalie up. Usually I see her being held by one of the girls laughing, smiling and generally having a good time.... I don't see her in anyones arms. I don't see her on the floor or playing with the table toys! One of the girls who works there recognizes me and says, "oh I'll get her" looks around for a minute and says "where is she" to another girl.

You don't know where my child is? I had already started to panic a bit when I did not see her as soon as I walked in but when that girl said "where is she" I went into full on panic mode! I jumped the baby gate, yes jumped it! And was frantically searching.... Where in the world could my 11 month old be, this room isn't that big! I immediately started thinking kidnapping, hey my kid is pretty cute and kidnappings do happen.

After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only 3 minutes or so the girl found her tucked in between a cubby compartment that holds kids shoes and the ball pit. Two "big boys" that were about seven or eight where playing around her.

I ripped Adalie out of that girls arms without a word to her... I was fuming and on the verge of tears. I immediately reported the incident to a manager who assured me that it would never happen again.

I just can't believe they wouldn't keep a better watch on a small child. How long had they not known where she was? Small children are not suppose to be in the same area as the big kids because of the risk of injury. She could have been stepped on, fallen on, fingers or toes broken. It was an accident waiting to happen!

I have decided to cancel my membership at LA FITNESS. I was already uneasy about the childcare from the beginning and after today I am DONE! I will not trade my Daughter's safety for the convenience of my workout.

MOTHER'S BEWARE!! ARE YOUR CHILDREN REALLY BEING WATCHED?

Meghan

Splish Splash

Fitness & Motherhood

Health and fitness is something that has always interested me and after a request from my Cousin's Michelle and Mallory to share my fitness secrets I am obliging them.... DISCLAIMER: I am not a health expert, just sharing my personal experiences. Oh and also there is no real "secret".

SO, first I must start by giving you the stats: I am 5'2 104lbs and have 19% body fat as of yesterday. I am more fit and have a lower body fat right now (10 months after baby) then I have since I was about 16. I mainly equate this to a HUGE lifestyle change after having Adalie.... here are some things that are very different then they were before I got pregnant. I believe these changes are what has made me healthier.

1. I get about 9 hours of sleep every night. I go to bed about 10 and get up about 7:30am every day. It has been proven that getting 8-10 hours of sleep and going to sleep and rising around the same time regulates your metabolism. Before Adalie I had no regular sleep schedule.

2. I am much more active being a Mom and Wife. I am constantly moving. Running after Adalie, housework etc. This burns a lot of calories I don't even realize I'm burning. Most days I don't sit for a prolonged period of time till dinner time. Before Adalie I had much more of a sedentary lifestyle. At work I sat in an office 6 hours a day.

3. I drink very little alcohol. I may have 2-3 glasses of wine a month some months I don't have any at all. This is a HUGE calorie saver. Before Adalie especially in college the social scene was centered around alcohol. I probably indulged in about 800- 1000 calories worth of alcohol 3 days a week for a 3-4 year period. THAT WILL PUT WEIGHT ON YOU!

4. I eat much less meat now.. It's not something I have intentionally tried to do my palette has just changed since pregnancy and I find veggies and grains much more appealing then a hunk of meat. Before Adalie we ate meat almost every night for dinner.

5. I practice portion control. I eat anything I want in small amounts instead of restricting certain food groups (example: carbs) I like to use a salad plate for my meals instead of a dinner plate it makes the amount of food you are eating appear larger. Before Adalie I would occasionally restrict whole food groups mostly carbs which would just make me want carbs MORE.

6. I eat a good sized breakfast. This gives me more energy during the day and for my workouts and starts up my metabolism first thing in the morning. Before Adalie I usually didn't eat anything till 11 or 12. I am still not a huge breakfast person but just make myself eat.

7. And of course there is EXERCISE. I do try to exercise 5-6 times a week. This includes at least 30 mins of cardio sometimes more a day, running mainly. And 3 days of strength training, weights, lunges, machines. Sometimes I will do a 20 minute Pilate's video at home for the stretching and core benefits. Before Adalie I was an erratic exerciser with no plan or regularity. I would get really into it for a few months and then not work out at all for a few months.


I do have to admit one more thing.... occasionally I do forget to eat and skip meals. Not often but it does happen when I have a really busy day out of the house with Adalie. So that's pretty much it. I feel like it's all pretty practical advice. Cut your calories and increase activity level and YOU WILL SEE RESULTS. I will post my half marathon training schedule when I restart my training next week.

Hope this helps,
Meghan

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