Exercise during THIS pregnancy...

I had mentioned before that my energy had not been as plentiful as it was while I was pregnant with both Jackson & Charley. I have had to really push to motivate myself to get my exercise in. When I say exercise, I mean lifting weights, and doing more than just getting my normal daily walks in. I love walking, and will walk the kids to downtown or to the park at least once per day. It's better than nothin', right!? Lately, workout DVDs have been my friend! I have enjoyed the shortened version of P90X, P90X3, which only takes 30 minutes to complete and is not as strenuous (for me), and Autumn Calabrese's 21 Day Fix workouts. Honestly... I don't think that these would have given me a great workout pre-workout with the heavy lifting and intense cardio I was doing, but for now, these are awesome!

This morning's workout was P90X3 Eccentric Lower.
It includes: squats, lunges, sumos, pistol squats, side kicks, front kicks, albanian squats, abductor lunge, cross reaches, TT plus, bridge kicks, hip flexor kicks, and calf dogs.

I used two 10 pound dumbbells. To be honest, I should and could have stepped it up with a little heavier weight, but I'll just pat myself on the back for getting through this one without taking any breaks!

I also get an extra abdominal workout when I have these two munchkins rolling around on the floor, trying to imitate what I'm doing.... ! I love it! I think they will definitely be into fitness when they grow up!

Changing my status to Mama of THREE!

I cannot believe how much has changed in ONE YEAR! When looking back at my blog, it really has been just about exactly one year since I logged in and wrote anything. I guess you can say I've been a busy lady, new wife, and mommy as of late. Jackson and Charley consume my every waking moment, and a LOT has gone down. 

Bryan and I found out that we were expecting baby number 3 shortly after our Wedding in August, while moving into our new home, and since then time has been flying by. (PS - we bought and moved into a new home about three weeks before our wedding!!) I started my fitness transformation last November (2013), and was going full force, super committed to a healthy lifestyle with a new way of eating and exercising. I will admit that the stress and hard work of planning a wedding on top of everything else that was happening in our lives made it more difficult for me to stick to my "plan," but I did a pretty damn good job up until my wedding. 

Once I found out I was pregnant with baby number 3, I have to admit it became very hard for me to keep up with the exercise and diet regimen I had been following. With my precious pregnancies, I had a lot more energy and seemed to be much more motivated, and this time has been a lot different. I have been struggling with not feeling so well most days, and my energy has been quite low. On good days I will do 20 minutes of exercise at home (dumbbells, workout videos), and walk Jackson to and from school, which is about 3 miles total. The hardest part of this all has been not being so HARD on myself... ! That has proven to be quite the challenge, as I am very aware that I am my own biggest critic! I am now approaching the half way mark of my pregnancy (20 weeks on Tuesday), and I am finally starting to feel more relaxed and less stressed about the changes in my body, and am allowing myself to just lounge and relax when my other kiddos nap. I am pretty sure my body and mind need this extra rest while we can get it! 

I am super excited to close 2014 with lots of happy and exciting news, and to head into 2015 with an open mind and heart full of joy for the happiness that expanding our family has brought to me. I intend to keep up with my blog, and will most definitely be logging my next "transformation" from pregnant mommy of 2 to tired mommy of THREE UNDER THREE! That's right! We are slightly crazy over here in the Merk household!! 

Hey guys!! SO - I've realized lately that the only things I really post about are my family… mainly my kids. Obviously my children are my world, and I love to talk about them and share about how they are doing. That being said, Charley is now a little over 6 months, and Jackson is coming up on 18 months! For the first time since they've been born, I have really been going out of my way to make some extra time for me and my goals.

Lately, that goal has been to challenge myself physically, and to invest more time and energy into getting fit and being healthy. For a long time I have wanted to get fit…. I'm not talking lose 10 pounds here… I'm talking gain muscle and be in tip top shape… get ripped! A lot of my friends/acquaintances have been training for bikini competitions, and lately that has totally caught my interest. I thought to myself: "Man, I wish I could do that." Then it came to me…. well why can't I? I love a challenge and to have a goal to work towards… so I enlisted the help of a coach. Today is day 6 of my new fitness journey, and I am very excited about what's to come! I am committed to a 12 week program that combines diet and exercise, and my coach will be switching up my meals and workouts every couple of weeks. 

I am not yet ready to post my "before" pictures…. but by the end of these 12 weeks I think I will be able to share them to show the progress I've made. So far I am feeling GREAT… super energized, determined, and lighter (even if only by 1.5 pounds… it's something right?) I currently am doing fasted cardio 5 mornings per week for 50 minutes, and weight training 3-4 days per week. My diet has also been cleaned up quite a bit, and I have began meal prepping for the first time in my life. Can I just say how amazing is it to have lunch and dinner ready to go, and not have to put any thought into it? I LOVE the convenience of them… especially when I am scrambling to make hubby and kids meals. 

Below is an example of one of my leg workouts, and also a photo of me in my new LuluLemon outfit that I treated myself to as a tribute/cheers to my new fitness journey!!! CHEERS! Let the next 12 weeks be kind and life-changing for me! 

Jacks & Char

I know I post a MILLION photos of them on Instagram and Facebook. What can I say.... I am a proud momma!!! I do hold back... believe it or not!! If I posted every single picture that I thought was cute of the both of them.... people would be un-friending me for sure! ANYWAYS - my point is.... Charley turned 5 months on October 18th - I am still in shock about this!! Every time I blink something new is happening and she is becoming less and less of an infant and more and more of a little human, like her brother. Jackson is 16 months, and is changing BY THE DAY. This kid never ceases to amaze me.

Last night we had a dinner party at my parents so the kids were up later than usual. We came home to put the kids to bed, and so Jackson and I were in his room, playing with his dirtbike, drinking a sippy cup. He was super playful, so I was dreading putting him in the crib and putting an end to playtime. I picked him up, laid him down in his crib and said "goodnight Jackson, I love you!" The kid looked up at me with his blanket pulled up to his chin and said "Nigh nigh, mommy." OH. MY. GOD. I died a little inside.... from sweetness. HE IS PERFECT! He is the sweetest little munchkin ever, but such a boy! He withholds his sweetness most of the time - and knows how much he's torturing me. I ask him for kisses, and he gets a huge smile on his face and starts shaking his head no! And speaking of no.... that's the favorite word lately, except it's said with the sweetest little chipmunk voice. I can't even handle it.

In a nutshell: I LOVE MY KIDS! And they are growing FAST! Love them to tiny little pieces. <3

Disneyland!!!!

It's been about 5 months since I've posted anything, which may have something to do with the fact that I have TWO babies UNDER TWO now.... yeah - I think that's it! Anyways, considering its 6:00am on a Sunday, I figured it would be safe to get a little blogging in!

This last weekend, Bryan and I took Jackson (16 months) on his first Disneyland trip! Bryan and I had not been to Disneyland in over 20 years, so it kind of seemed like the first time again for us too.... so fun! We were able to leave Charley at home with my mom and dad, and give Jackson our undivided attention. The little man was a TROOPER! I mean we are talking 13 hour days inside the park, and not a peep from this dude. I think he was in shock! Haha! He would close his eyes for about 10 minutes in the stroller here and there, but then would wake back up ready to go again in full force. We took him on about 15 rides, including Pirates of the Carribean, The Haunted Mansion done up Tim Burton style, Finding Nemo submarine, and It's A Small World - which he actually chose to take a nap during. SUCH an amazing trip.

We hit the grocery store first thing when we got there because I was nervous about all of the food options for Jackson.... and I have to say that was definitely a smart move. Disneyland is loaded with crap and sweets - just as one would expect it to be. While Jackson noshed on grapes and strawberries, I hit the Haagen Daaz booth HARD.... and I am NOT ashamed. It was well worth every delicious bite!

WALKING..... we did a TON of that! I was curious to see just how much walking we were doing, so I threw my Fitbit on to track our steps. On the first day it reported that we took 23,000 steps.... that's roughly 12 miles.... and that was one of our shortest days there!!!

Needless to say, we all had a blast. Bryan and I were able to utilize the Rider Swap program... in which one parent waited in the singles line for the ride while the other waited with Jackson, and then when the first parent finished on the ride, they brought out a red tag for the other parent which they give to you at the front, and that parent can then walk directly to the front of the line (sometimes up through the exit)! SO worth it ! We were able to go on some of the rollercoasters that we wanted to ride without Jackson, and only ended up waiting 10-15 minutes for the other one to finish.

All in all we had an amazing Disneyland trip! Bryan is eager to get back there ASAP.... and I am thinking maybe once Charley is Jackson's age, then we will brave the crowds and get back there - on a weekday preferably =)

Charley Rose Merk

Baby girl Charley Rose Merk 6 lbs 14 oz, 19.5 inches long. Born May 16th 2013 at 12:56am

Welp - it's official.... our precious baby girl Charley is HERE! We weren't supposed to meet her until June 1st, but she decided to bless us with her presence on May 16th at 12:56 am.

For those of you who know me and were keeping up with how my pregnancy was going, I was just about DONE at 37 weeks. I donno about you - but with my 2nd pregnancy, towards the end, things seemed WAY different. With Jackson I didn't have the aches and pains you read about.... but with Charley my lower back started aching, my knees hurt, and I just could not get comfortable. I literally was moaning and groaning the last 2 weeks. That being said - I was DESPERATE to encourage the little girl to come out early. I tried a number of things, including but not limited to:

• Prego Pizza (can be found at Skipolini's Pizza in Walnut Creek) - we ordered the same kind at Jake's in Willow Glenn with a few friends the Saturday before she came. 
• WALKING - we are talking 10 miles per day people. I have a little obsession with this device called Fitbit, and towards the end I was aiming for upwards of 20,000 steps a day. Crazy. I know. 
• Mineral Oil - will not go into details about that one. Gross. 
• Eggplant Parmesan
• Evening Primrose oil and Black Cohosh tablets from Whole foods. 
• Jumping Jacks - have a video to prove this one! haha
• VIDEO
• Sweeping of the membranes (performed 3 times by my doctor, spaced out 48 hours apart. The last one she did was Wednesday morning at 11:00am)
• Acupuncture - I went and visited Mr. Frank He  in Sunnyvale. I told him that I was almost 38 weeks pregnant and was looking for some "relief" and to be able to relax so the baby would come soon.... he told me he would start with just some general needles spread over my body in the places that were bothering me, and that if I really wanted to coax Charley out, to come back on Friday, and we could do the real deal to try and help get things moving. He finished me off with a nice foot massage - and I was on my way. (This was Wednesday May 15th). 
• Mani/pedi - my last stop on my way from the acupuncture place - when I started feeling contractions. 

So - the big question is: what came first - the chicken or the egg? Was it the acupuncture with foot massage that set me off into labor at 37 weeks 4 days, the membrane sweep Wednesday morning, or was little Charley girl just ready to meet us? I will never know - but I am sure that next time I am pregnant and desperate, I will not be hesitating to run down to Frank He's office for some acupuncture. Just sayin'!

Wedding Plannin'.....

Since it has been quite some time since I have been able to sit down and update the world on the Mendez-Merk world.... I guess I failed to mention our engagement, and the fact that we are getting married on August 30th of 2014 - not only is this Labor Day weekend, but it is also Bryan's 28th birthday... he not only gets the best birthday present ever (ME - lol!!) but he SHOULDN'T ever forget our wedding anniversary. Big bonus for him... haha! BIG NEWS! <3 That being said... we are trying to get a huge majority of our planning done before sweet little Charley blesses us with her presence....

Being that this is the first (and only) wedding I have had to plan... I really had no idea how much was actually involved and what went into creating a wedding. It's a LOT of work with TONS of details. As soon as I started looking through some of the materials and got a better idea of all the work that this would entail, I started to panic a little.... and was not quite sure how all of this would be possible for me with two babies to take care of.

SO.....

I decided that planning a wedding with two babies under two would be easiest with a little help, so I found superstar Lauren Geissler from Downey Street Events to help me get the job done. Best decision EVER. Lauren is probably one of the most organized people I have ever met. She has all sorts of cool spreadsheets and lists made for us already... did I mention I LOVE lists? Obsessed! Organization is one of my favorite hobbies. So much fun. When I saw the Work Flow spreadsheet for our wedding I just about died and went to heaven! 

Lauren came out and did a site visit at our barn last week, and got to see how beautiful it is in person! It was unreal watching her and the team measure out our aisle in front of the barn up the main walkway.... it really started to set in for me that we are actually getting married at our beautiful barn.... in a little over a year!!!!! So crazy, and so exciting. There are still TONS of details to be worked out, but we have nailed down the photographer we are going to be using: Encarnacion Photography - we are super excited about husband and wife team Joanne and Jonathan! We had one cake tasting with Studio Cake and one catering tasting, but have not settled on either of those yet. We have a big catering tasting coming up at the end of April, in which we are able to bring 8 of our friends and make it into a fun night out for everyone... which we are also really excited about! The other big vendor - which is for setting up a tent out at the barn - is also something we are working on, but are not decided on yet. There are of course many other details and decisions to be made... what with me being a BIG planner and all... and baby Charley coming in June... I was hoping to have most of the big decisions and vendors nailed down before her arrival. I will of course have lots to do after, but a head start never hurt anyone! 

I have been having lots of fun collecting things for the wedding that I see along the way in my everyday path - random antique shops in Los Gatos, bakeries in Los Altos, florist shops in Burlingame, etc. The wedding will definitely be unique and have lots of fun, personal touches to it... I can't wait to see it all come together on the big day. 

I have also been working on our wedding website, which has been something fun to chip away at when I'm relaxing in bed in the evenings.

Anyways... there are tons of details to report on, and I am sure I will have much more to share once we get closer and start really getting into the planning. But so far, it has been a lot of stress-free fun for me and Bryan and my family, and we just can't wait for our wedding day to hurry up and get here!