Would you like to know how a typical morning/early afternoon goes for me? Let me walk you through it. My mind and my world can be a very weird place sometimes. 😉

5:33 am – Alarm goes off and I hit snooze.
5:43 am – Snooze goes off. I stretch and roll out of bed. Make my way downstairs. Boy, would a cup of coffee be nice right now! But, heck, I don’t feel like making it and don’t even know if we have coffee. I kind of give up on it when all I can have is decaf.

5:50 am – Settle in to read my Bible and pray.
6:15 am – Catch up on emails, let my mind start turning for the 30 Days post of the morning.
6:50 am – Crank out 30 Days post. Thank goodness I decided to do things my style. Sooo much easier to write now!
7:15 am – Schedule post. Read a couple blogs before M wakes up at 7:30. She isn’t always this cute.

7:30 am – Madness ensues. Get both M and I up and dressed. Battle the Ms. Independent child who shouts “self! self!” for everything from putting on her clothes to turning off her sound machine.
8:00 am – Make breakfast. Sweet, heavenly breakfast.

**pumpkin pancakes made with 1/2 c blended oats, 1/2c pumpkin, 1/2 scoop cinnamon protein powder, 1 egg – then topped with maple almond butter and syrup**

8:20 am – Bring breakfast into the bathroom so M can potty. Consume breakfast while sitting on the bathroom floor, knowing full well the child will neither poop nor pee.
8:35 am – I was right. Leave the bathroom and go in playroom. Practice singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and the ABCs. Read piles of books. When Ms. Independent is over playing with Mommy, do a bit more sporadic blog reading on the netbook sitting next to her.
10:00 am – Oh dang!!! It’s 10 already? Grab yoga mat, transfer  things from purse to gym bag, fill water bottle and milk sippy. Fight to get shoes on my precious daughter. Try to keep calm when temper tantrum ensues.
10:30 am – Ahhh….yoga!!
10:50 am – My golly this class is tough today. Wait…did she just say MORE sun salutations?
11:00 am – MORE warriors and crescent lunges???!!!!

11:15 am – Hip openers, how I love you.
11:25 am – Savasana…you rock!!! Can I stay here forever. Ha. Keep dreaming.
11:45 am – Arrive home. Shower with Ms. Independent to avoid massive catastrophe in that 15 minute span. Feel endeared when she says “Mommy, look! I copy Mommy!” and mimics me shaving my legs.
12:00 pm – Get out. Dry off. Get dressed in comfy clothes. Head downstairs to make lunch. Hmm..the panini press and griddler is still out. I think I’ll make paninis! Don’t even have to clean the plates. Just switch them out and call it good. 😀

12:20 pm – Devour lunch. Swiss cheese, toasted pine nut hummus, tomatoes, and pickles on whole wheat. With an apple on the side. Typical lunch. Delicious lunch. Although, I did mutter a few grumblings about the alternate-universe-farmer’s-market that has caused a serious lack of produce in this house.
12:40 pm – Put M down for nap. Type this. And…here we are! 😀

The remainder of my day will include biting my tongue while trying to help my Dad set up a political blog he wants to start. Then, heading out to my friend’s rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Look for a post tonight on how I manage not to overindulge when out at social events. Happy Friday! Love to each of you.

• What are some typical parts of your day?
• Anything exciting going on this weekend? My weekend = wedding, wedding, and more wedding. Oh…and a Chuck E Cheese birthday party. Should be interesting.

Happy Thursday evening! Can you taste Friday yet? I’m glad you all found humor in my dark side of pregnancy post from earlier today. As much as I joke, I do love being pregnant. Even when things don’t go as smoothly as planned. In fact, my 6 month check-up this afternoon kind of let me down.

Most of you know that I have no desire to know my weight gain during this pregnancy. I don’t mind the number on the scale, but simply do not care to know it. Too many people emphasize it as the “be all end all” to determine the health of a pregnancy. I do not agree with this thinking. I believe that each body will gain exactly what it needs to in order to support a baby if you eat a mostly nutritious diet, eat when hungry, and stay moderately active. That is how I approach my pregnancies and I never doubted it.

Today’s appointment affected my will though. Despite numerous times asking not to know my weight, the midwife blurted it out. The nurse didn’t say anything because of my request, but since I forgot to specifically tell the midwife she “brought up her concern for the jump in gain this past month”. Apparently, I have gained 9 pounds over the past 4 weeks. My initial thought was OUCH! I felt guilty and kind of mumbled “okay, I’ll pay closer attention and be careful” in shame to my midwife.

Later, after reflecting on this, I got a bit angry. For one, everything else checked out perfectly fine health wise. Two, my total gain (which of course she told me) is only 13 pounds at 6 months along. The average woman should gain 25-35 pounds during pregnancy. Only about 7-10 pounds of that gain is in the form of fat. The rest is fluids, blood, baby, placenta, enlarged breasts/uterus, etc. Lastly, I know my body!

I know with M I gained 1/3 of my total weight gain in month 5, which is the month I just got through. My weight gain slowed down and I trust it to do the same this time around. I know I have not put on an excessive amount of fat this month because I feel the gain in my breasts and belly. I popped big time this past month. Everyone who sees me has noticed it.

I also know that I do not sit around and gorge myself. I admit to eating more…because I have truly been hungry. Even though I don’t show all my meals on this blog, joke about eating loads of candy corn, and share my out to eat ventures, on the whole I know I eat well. I have some sort of oats mix for breakfast, leftovers or a sandwich with fruit for lunch, a bowl of cereal for a snack, and mostly healthy dinners that include lots of veggies and whole grains. Yes, I have a small sweet treat every day and an extra more indulgent meal or two on the weekend, but its not enough to load an extra 5+ lbs of unhealthy weight on me. Check out the pics below – on the left me at 6 months with M…on the right me at 6 months with B.

I still work out 4-5 days most weeks, guzzle water, and pay close attention to my body as well. I take care of myself! And to be told I’m not doing that and need to watch it bothers me. I will certainly pay close attention to my choices after that visit, but I refuse to not eat when hungry or deny myself anything deemed unhealthy for fear of it making me fat during pregnancy. If for some reason, the extra weight gain continues I will take a closer look. But I know my body. And I know it appreciates how I treat it. I’ve learned the hard way that the most important thing is to trust yourself. I’ve been through a lot learning just how to do that. No one will make me question that. No one.

• Have you ever had to trust your body over what a doctor says?
• What things really irk you? Obviously, I get frustrated when people don’t honor my requests or question my habits.