Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Isabella

My precious Isabella. Happy birthday sweetheart. You are 1 year old today.

What can I say about the past year? You have changed my life completely in 365 days, and in all the right ways. I never knew that it was possible to love another person the way that I love you. I never knew that I could be so excited to get up in the morning. I never knew that your DADDY would be so excited to get up the morning either J I never knew that a child's laugh was seriously the best sound in the entire world. I never knew how much I would look forward to your smiles. I never knew how much you would light up each day more and more.

You continue to amaze me. Each and every day. In each and every way. I cannot believe how much you have grown in the past year. When I look back at your newborn photos, you don't even look like the same baby. And yet, it seems like just yesterday. Even listening to your heartbeat with the Doppler that your daddy and I rented seems like just yesterday. It was then that the simple sound of your heartbeat—thump-thump-thump was so soothing I could listen to it all day. Now, it’s the sound of your laugh that I can listen to over and over!

You have always been in a hurry to grow up. I hope you don't grow up too fast on me now. You were in a hurry to do everything. You got your first 2 teeth at 4 months. You sat up by yourself at 3.5 months. You rolled over both ways at 3 months and your started crawling at 6 months. You took your first steps at 10 months and you already have 4 molars at only a year old! You like to say dada, mama, baba, dog an hi. You wave, laugh, clap, an do the touchdown sign! You are such an amazing and smart girl. I am so proud of you. I hope you always know how proud we are of you. And I hope you always know that I don't care what you decide to do with your life (within reason haha) but I want you to be happy, healthy and passionate. I want you to be honest and confident. I want you to have fun. I want you to love. I want you to learn. I want you to be you.

Its only been a year, its all gone so fast, and yet I am so excited for all the fun years ahead of us. Don’t grow to fast my little one. I want to enjoy every moment. Thank you so much for inspiring me to do what I really love. To go after my dreams and not be afraid to put you first. You are my everything, Isabella and everything that I choose to do in my life, I choose it with you mind first.

I love you more each day. Happy FIRST Birthday!

Love,

Mommy

Bella's first birthday party

We survived the first birthday party. This time last year, I was in labor. Its sooo weird to sit here and think about that. At this particular moment, at 930pm, I was at the hospital pretty much miserable LOL. My water broke at about 6pm and I quickly progressed from 4cm to 6cm but then I sat there... and sat there... and the contractions were seconds apart and I pretty much felt like my uterus was being ripped out of my body... to put it lightly. haha. Needless to say I suckered through it until about 2am before I felt I could NOT do it anymore... and I was STILL 6cm and got the epidural. :( It was all OK thought and Bella was born at 9:45 in the morning on September 29th.

The birthday party was wonderful. LOTS of people. LOTS of presents! Thank you so much to everyone for your wonderful gifts and for coming to share Bella's special day with her! She was a good sport and loved everything....but she did NOT want to smash the cake. Haha. We tried, and she didn't want to get messy. The cakes, however, were beautiful, and SO yummy! My friend Crystal did an amazing job, and if anyone ever needs a cake made-- ask HER! She's AWESOME!

I took the day off work tomorrow to spend the day with my baby girl. Oh, my baby baby Bella. Beautiful Isabella Rose.

Thursday Thoughts

Some quick thoughts for Thursday.... first of all, if you don't already, be sure to subscribe and follow my photography blog at: http://www.mandyleonards.wordpress.com or by clicking here MANDY LEONARDS PHOTOGRAPHY

Secondly.... someone asked me yesterday how often I workout myself, and I realized that I get this question a lot. So I thought I'd post up here for all to see. You've seen me post my workouts most days. The truth is that my workout schedule changes each month to help me from getting bored. This month I am doing an upper/lower split, so I am doing 4 days of weight training and 4 days of cardio. My 4 days of cardio are split up into 1 30 minute elliptical session, 2 TurboKick sessions (45-60 minutes) and 1 30 minute session doing intervals on the treadmill. I am doing 2 upper body training days and 2 lower body training days. I work my workouts in during the week however I can. Sometimes its all at once (training + cardio) and somedays (most of the time) it is more split up. I rarely workout longer than 1 hour because honestly I just don't have the time!

So there you have it folks... thats what my current training schedule looks like. And its been going very well this month. I'm feeling stronger, a bit leaner even and healthy (not overtrained). If I workout more than 5 days a week, my body usually starts to yell at me. I've learned that the hard way so I just try not to overdo it.

Wordless Wednesday

Thoughts for Tuesday...and a Recipe!

Thoughts for Tuesday...

Monday was yet again another crazy work-filled day for me and I chose not to workout during my break and instead take a much needed physical and mental break since it was a long 12 hour work day. Today however, I got much done. Bella is still going back and forth in her naps and cannot decide if she wants 1 or 2 naps, so we're just going with the flow and the last few days, she has taken 2 naps. During her morning nap, I got a leg and short interval workout in. I also got her newborn, 0-3, 3-6M and most of her 6-9 month clothes all in bins to be more organized. Bella was trying to help me, but instead she was pulling all of the clothes back out of her bins, haha! It was sad putting the clothes away. Remembering how tiny she was-- brought tears to my eyes. I am feeling very nastalgic this week as we approach Bella's first birthday. I canNOT believe its been a year in less than a week. I've also found myself thinking about more children. If you would have asked me when B was 3 months old if I was going to have another baby, I would have probably laughed at you. But now, I can definitely tell you that the answer is yes. We definitely want more children, and I cannot wait until we are ready financially :-)

I will finish this post with my workout from today for those who enjoy following. I also have a recipe to share today.

Crockpot Turkey Feta Meatballs
*one of my favorites but for the crockpot!

1 pound lean ground turkey
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
garlic to taste
basil to taste
oregano to taste (i admit to not measuring out these 3 things...can you really have too much?)
1/2 package of reduced fat feta cheese
1 egg

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Shape into meatballs and place into sprayed crockpot. Top with 1 can of reduced sugar tomato sauce. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Serve hot! YUM!


Tuesday workout
Training: Legs & Shoulders

Steps Ups: 20#/15r, 25#/10r (per leg) x 4 sets
DB Deadlifts: 40#/15r, 50#/12r, 60#/10r, 70#/8r x 2 sets
DB Shoulder Press: 20# (total wt)/15r, 30#/12r, 40#/10r, 40#/8r x 2 sets

Widestance squat: 35#/15r, 40#/12r, 45#/10r x 3 sets
Front Squat: 35#/15r, 40#/12, 45#/10r x 3 sets
Front Raise (total db weight): 20#/15r, 24#/12r, 30#/10r, 30#/8r x 2 sets

Reverse cable lunge: 50#/15r, 60#/10r x 2 sets
Upright Row: 30#/15r, 40#/10r x 2 sets

Cardio: 20 mins elliptical intervals: 1 min sprint, 30 sec recovery

Weekend Workouts

This weekend was a busy one! Workouts included a rest day on Friday, teaching Turbokick on Saturday and then upper body and 15 mins sprints/15 mins incline walk on the treadmill today. I also got together with some of my girlfriends last night for a girls night. We had a great time, just talking and drinking a couple glasses of wine! I highly recommend all of you ladies to find time for girl time in your life. Its so easy to let the time get by you with jobs, husbands, finances, etc... but we all need a little chill time with our friends. We are going to try to make it a monthly thing if we can :)

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend! I'll be sharing some new recipes this week so stay tuned!!

Be Thankful

So yesterday at sundown was the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. We went to services last night and during the sermon some of the messages and words that Rabbi Adland spoke, hit home to me and I wanted to share with all of you. He spoke about thankfulness, and how important it is be thankful for the little things in life, especially when things aren't going as well, such as the bad economy. Its very easy to get caught up in the negative-- how business is declining, health care needs reform, budgets being cut, etc etc... but what about being thankful for having your health? Your wonderful family and friends? Being thankful for our freedom? I encourage you, just has Rabbi Adland encouraged us last night, to thank all of those around you for the little things often. So right here I am thanking all of my wonderful friends for their continued support with all my endevours and changes in my life. I want to thank my incredible parents for everyhting they do for us, my wonderful in-laws for being such great grandparents. I want to thank my husband for being him. I want to thank my daughter for being the light in my life. I want to thank all of my training clients for working hard and coming back. I could go on and on... but the important thing is to thank everyone for the little things and be grateful.

The other thing that Rabbi Adland spoke about last night was taking responsibility. I also find this virtue super important. Take responsibility for having your voice heard. While we may not always agree on political battles, for example, it is your responsibility to speak your mind-- have your voice heard-- VOTE. Take responsibility at helping make this world a better place.

And to finish up my New Years post, have a happy and sweet New Year!

Infant Safety

So today was not my favorite day thus far of the year. The morning was fine-- B and I were enjoying each other's company. She is walking all over the house now and I am still getting used to how much quieter walking is from crawling! AND FASTER. So she made it over to the dog dish. It got very quiet and I went over and she had 6 pieces of dog food in her mouth. I proceeded to start to pull the pieces out, and then suddenly she coughed, then did the silent cough-gag thing where there was no sound. I don't know how I did it, but I flipped her over and did 3 back blows and the dog food came flying out. She started crying... I held her (shaking seriously...) and told her it was okay. She cuddled and after 2 minutes was ready to go play again.. while I felt like I could throw up! Needless to say, I am very happy she is fine and that I reacted well. But due to these events today, I thought I would post up this information for my fellow mothers out there.

Info from: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/frs-safe/resources/parents/infantheimlich.asp

Determine if the infant can cry or cough.
If your infant is choking and cannot cough, cry or breathe, follow these instructions.

1. Give 5 back blows.
   Place your baby facedown on your forearm and grip their jaw with your hand. Rest your arm on your leg. With the heel of your other hand, give the child five forceful and rapid blows between his/her shoulder blades.
2. Give 5 chest thrusts.
   If the object does not dislodge, turn the baby to face upward and resting on your thigh. With your index and middle fingers on the center of his/her breast bone (just below the nipples), give him/her five chest thrusts one half inch to three quarters of an inch deep). Alternate between back blows and chest thrusts until he/she coughs up the object or begins to breathe on his/her own.
3. Look in the mouth to check if you can see the object.
   If you can see the object remove it carefully with your finger.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 above until the object is expelled or the infant becomes unconscious.
   If the infant becomes unresponsive, perform CPR and call 911. If you see an object in the throat or mouth, remove it carefully.

I suppose you can never be too careful.


In other news... here was my workout today, for those of you who like to know.

TRAINING: Legs & Abs

Stationary Lunge: 20#/15r, 25#/12r, 30#/10r, 40#/8r x 2 sets
DB Deadlift: 40#/15r, 50#/12r, 60#/10r, 70#/8r x 2sets
Jump Squats 4X10

Stability ball crunch with cable weight: 15#/20r, 20#/15r, 30#/12r x 2 sets
Reverse bench crunch: 4X 15
BOSU burpees: 4X 10

Wide Stance Squat: 30#/15r, 35#/12r, 40#/10r, 45#/8r x 2 sets
BOSU jump squat overs w/ 10# DB: 4 X 10

Med Ball Twists: 3 X 15
Crunches: 3 X15

CARDIO: 40 minutes Turbokick

Wednesday Workout

Today's workout was upper body and cardio. Felt strong today!

TRAINING: Upper body

Chest Press (DB total #): 30#/15r, 40#/12r, 50#/10r, 60#/8 x 2sets

One Arm Row: 20#/15r, 25#/12r, 30#/10r, 35#/8r x 2sets

Chest Flyes on roller: 20#/15r, 30#/12r, 40#/10r x 2, 40#/8r

Standing Squat/Row: 35#/15r, 40#/12r, 45#/10r, 50#/8r X2 sets

Cable Chest Press: 30#/15r, 35#/12r, 40#/10r x 2sets

Standing High Cable Row: 30X/15r, 35#/12r, 40#/10 x 2sets

Bicep Curls (DB#) : 12#/15r, 15#/12r x 2 sets

Tricep Extension: 12#/15r, 15#/12r x 2 sets

CARDIO: 30 minutes elliptical at level 8

Wordless Wednesday

As always, here's a photo share from my recent portfolio building shoot. Dylan was a great little sport and I was very happy with how this set turned out!

Bella in the park and the Biggest Loser begins

We took Bella to the park this past weekend. WE had taken her aroudn 6 months and she thought it was fun and smiled in the swing, but was a little unsure about it all too. This time she had a BLAST! She was squealing and laughing and didn't want to get out of the swing! She was walking in the grass and picking up the sticks and then handing them to me, haha. It was really fun! Her nap transition went well today. She slept 12-3 and then was happy until bedtime at 7:30. Fingers crossed she gets herself back on track.

The Biggest Loser started tonight. I love watching this show. I love watching people choose to change their lives and make themselves healthier. I was truely shocked as I just watched the first few minutes and saw them walk a mile, and 2 of them in ended up in the hospital. Craziness. Wake up call? For sure. But good for them for doing something about it! I am looking forward to this season!

Manic Mondays

Mondays are just that around here-- manic! Its always my longest and busiest day of the week. I start the day at 7am at work and didn't finis working until 8:30 pm last night. WHEW! I did manage to get a training session in while at work though since I had a 2 hour break. During that time frame, I did the following:

9/14/09

TRAINING: Legs & Shoulders

Smith Machine Front Squat: 50#/15r, 65#/12r, 70#/10r x 2 sets

Reverse Lunge off balance pad (DB in hand): 20#/15r, 25#/12r, 30#/10r, 35#/8r

Front Raises standing on pad (DB): 8#/15r, 10#/12r, 15#/10r x 2 sets

Side to Sides w/ 15# DB: 2 sets

Leg Press: 130#/15r, 135#/12r, 140#/10r x 2sets

Hamstring Seated Curl: 45#/15r, 50#/12r, 55#/10r, 60#/8r

Shoulder Press Machine: 30#/15r, 40#/12r, 45#/10r x sets

Side to Sides w/ 15# DB: 2 sets

Wide Stance Plie Squat (DB in hand): 25#/15r, 30#/12r, 40#/10r

Adductor: 115#/15r, 120#/12r, 125#/10r

DB Rear Delt Raises: 8#/15r, 10#/12r, 15#/10r

Also today was a cardio only day. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical and 15 minutes of heavy bag work.

I'm also in the middle of working with Bella's routine. She has been all wonky lately ever since we got back from Atlanta. At first I just thought it was getting over being sick, but now I'm thinking maybe she is trying to transition nap times. So today is the first go of it. Instead of putting her down around 9 or 10, I kept her up and she was happy. I fed her lunch earlier at like 11, and some milk and put her down at 12. Its 1:30 and she's still sleeping! WHOOHOO! I'm hoping she'll sleep until around 3, get up for a snack and then play until bedtime around 7:30 or 8. I can't believe how grown up she is getting!!

Weekend Workouts

This weekend was super busy around the Leonards household! Friday night we took Bella to her first Shabbat services at IHC. We lucked out, and it was family night so there were lots of other kids there and lots of singing--which she LOVED. She squealed and pointed and said "whats that?" to everything. haha! Saturday morning I worked at PUSH, then had a photo shoot for a cutie-patootie Dylan in the afternoon. I think I got some of my best shots yet! There was no workout for me on Saturday. Jer and I ate at home last night but we did enjoy an ice cream treat:)

Today's workout was 60 minutes of Turbokick. I was feeling kinda BLAH throughout my cardio though-- just overall lack of energy and I was clock watching... doesn't happen to me often and not sure what thats about either. Tonight for dinner we had skillet thai shrimp with brown rice and peas--yummy!

Remembering September 11th

A day late for this post, but I didn't have a chance to post on here yesterday. I wanted to make sure I wrote a post remembering September 11th. I will always remember what I was doing that day. I was a sophmore at Purdue, and I was in Jerry's dorm room. I was getting ready to go to class when my cell phone rang, and my mom told me to turn on the television. I couldn't believe it-- it looked fake. It was right at that moment that the second plane crashed into the twin towers. My mom and I were actually speechless (which for us, as you know, is a rare occasion). I then started to worry because my biological father was actually in New York City just a week prior, and I wasn't sure if he was home yet. Luckily, he was no longer in NYC and was safe. The rest of the day was slightly a blur. I will always remember the swarm of students in the lobby of Lilly Hall when I went to Biology class-- all of us surrounded around the television. Biology class went on as normal that day but I could not tell you what we were learning about-- everyone was way too distracted.

Probably one of the most shocking and sad days in my life so far and in America as well... but I would like to take a moment to remember the lives lost, the families touched and to thank those who have served our country-- including my aunt Peri, my grandfather Don, my friend Matt Caras. THANK YOU.

If you are reading this, please take a moment to remember those lives lost and families touched. And thank someone you has been overseas.

Friday Workout Log

Friday September 11th, 2009

First here's my workout from Friday.

TRAINING: Upper Body

Superset 1:

Unassisted Pull-Ups -- 1r (thats all I can currently do, LOL) + 5 5 second holds with negatives

Wide Grip Row- 40#/15r, 45#/12r, 50#/10r, 60#/8r, 65#/8r

Chest Press Machine w/ roller- 40#/15r, 45#/12r, 50#/10r, 55#/8r x 2 sets

Superset 2:

Lat Pull Down- 50#/15r, 55#/12r, 60#, 10r, 65#/8r, 70#/8r

DB Bench Flyes- (#is total): 30#/15r, 40#/12r, 40#/10r x3 sets

Superset 3:

Close Grip Row- 45#/15r, 55#/12r, 60#/10r, 70#/8r

Bench Dips- 4X15

Superset 4:

v-bar bicep curls: (# is plate weight added to bar)- 5#/15r, 10#/12r, 15#/8r

Seated Dip machine: 60#/15r, 65#/12r, 70#/10r

CARDIO: 15 minutes treadmill sprints w/ 1 min sprint at 8.0 and 30 second walk at 3.5 an then 15 minutes treadmill walk at 8% incline at 4.0 speed

Thursday Workout Log

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Today's workout was split up because I just CANNOT do a leg heavy day and cardio right after when I'm lifting heavy like I am this month. Also, my training session took about 40 minutes by itself and I wanted to do some Turbo today, which is 45 minutes or so, so its too much time at once when working out during a baby's naptime :) I'm also still helping getting poor Bella back to her healthy self. The poor kiddo is still getting over her double ear infection.

TRAINING: LEGS & ABS

Superset 1 (# is DB in hand):

Stationary Lunge w/ back foot on BOSU: 20#/15r, 25#/12r, 30#/10r, 30#/8r x 2sets
Wide Stance Squat: 20#/15r, 25#/12r, 30#/10r, 35#/8r X 2sets
Jump Squat: 4X10 reps

Superset 2:

Ab Crunch on Ball with cable weight: 15#/15r, 17.5#/12r, 20#/10r X2 sets
Stability ball pull-in: 4X 15reps
Jumping Lunges: 4X10 reps

Superset 3:

Cable Hamstring Pressbacks: 10#/15r, 17.5#/12r, 15#/10r, 20#/8r
High Step Ups: 20#/12r, 20#/10r, 30#/6r X 2 sets

Superset 4: 3X15 reps

Bicycle crunches
Reverse Crunches
Bosu In-Out hops

CARDIO: TurboKick Round 32 (45 minutes)

How was your workout today, everyone?

Wordless Wednesday-Photo Share

This week's photo share is of my good friend Christina's adorable baby girl, Makenzie! You can follow Tina's blog HERE ... she is currently training for a figure competition and I'll be cheering her on from Indiana!

Wednesday Workout Log

Wednesday September 9th, 2009
Here it was today! Felt strong... personal record on the Incline Press!

TRAINING: Chest/Back/Bis/Tris

Pullovers—30#/15r, 40#/12r, 25#/10r, 30#/8r x2 sets

Incline DB press 15#/15r, 20#/12r, 50#/10r, 60#/6r, 60#/5r

Cable Flyes 20#/15r, 30#/12r, 40#/10r, 45#/6r x2 sets

Seated Rows 30#/15r, 40#/12r, 50#/10r, 60#/6r x2 sets

Pushups on BOSU 4X15r

Lat Pull Down 50#/12r, 55#/10r, 60#/8r x2 sets

Seated Incline Curls- 10# dbs- 15r , 15# dbs- 12r x2 sets

Tricep DB Kickbacks- (each arm) 10#db/15r, 15#db/12r x2 sets

CARDIO: 30 minutes elliptical, level 8

Tuesday: The importance of REST DAYS

Tuesday September 8th, 2009: REST DAY

I am v.v.very sore from my workouts the past few days so today is much needed rest day for me! Rest days however are super important for everyone who works out regularly. They allow ample time for your muscles to recover, rebuild and repair themselves. Psychologically, rest days are also really important to help you fit in a balance of fitness into your everyday life. Even competitive athletes need rest for both physical and psychological reasons. In the worst cases, not having enough rest days can cause you to overtrain, which can lead to injuries and can be hard to recover from. Symptoms of overtraining include fatigue, moodiness, lack of interest in exercise, chronic muscle or joint soreness, insomnia, decreased appetite, headaches, drop in exercise performance, depression, a compulsive need to exercise and decrease in immunity.

Obviously overtraining doesn't sound like fun--which is exactly why I build rest days into my normal exercise plan. So, if you are working out consistently and find yourself hating or dreading the gym, feeling sore, cranky and tired... give yourself a day off!

Atlanta Trip!

We just got home from visiting friends in Atlanta. We made the long drive with Bella in tow and went and stayed with our friends, Christina and Peter and their adorable 10 month daughter Makenzie. We had a wonderful time! Unfortunately, we arrived Thursday afternoon and Friday morning Bella woke up with a high fever and we had to take her to the urgent care center. A double ear infection and Bella's first real sickness :( She wasn't very happy, but we gave her lots of hugs and love-- and antibiotics of course. It was hard for me to see her not feel well.

For the fun stuff though-- Tina and I share a passion for fitness so we worked out together which was SO fun! We learned things from one another and it was awesome. We also took the kiddos and went to Stone Mountain, and also made a visit to the Georgia Aquarium. Both girls loved the fish and kept waving and squealing at them:) We spent the rest of our time talking and talking and enjoying each other's company. I didn't want to leave them and only wish we lived closer!

Mandy's Monday Workout Log

By popular demand, I am going to begin posting my own workout log each day (when I do workout, LOL) in here :) Feel free to comment on it, make suggestions, or post your own workout log on your own blog and I'll link it to mine to help your blog get more traffic, and also to keep you accountable!!

This is a new month... and I like to change things up each month for myself in the gym so I don't get bored. So this month I'm going to try an upper/lower split. I'll be honest. I usually HATE upper/lower splits and rarely do them. However, after a trip to see my friend Christina this past weekend, I realized it might be good for me to help with strength :) So here goes!

Monday, September 7th

Training: LEGS & SHOULDERS

Superset #1- 5 sets total

DB Squat (# is total weight in hands with DBs): 40#/15reps, 60#/12reps, 70# 3 sets of 10 reps

DB Deadlifts: 40#/15 reps, 60#/12reps, 70# 3 sets of 10 reps

Superset #2- 5 sets

Bosu Squat over jump: 10#/15reps, 15#/12reps, 20#/10reps (2 sets), 25#/8reps

OH Seated DB Press: 16#/15 reps, 20#/12 reps, 30#/10reps, 40#/8 reps (2 sets)

Superset #3- 4 sets

Reverse Lunge: 20#/15reps (each leg), 25#/12reps, 30#/10reps, 35#/8reps

Front Raises: 16#/15reps, 20#/12reps, 30#/10 reps (2 sets)

Upright Rows- 3 sets

40#/10reps

30#/12 reps

30#/15 reps

CARDIO: 20 mins heavy bag work

Wordless Wednesday-Photo Share

Here is the photo share of the week. My good friends Megan & Max. You may visit Megan's blog HERE to see some more adorable photos of her daughter Anastasia!

GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!

Hi everyone! I am getting ready to go on vacation to Atlanta tomorrow until Labor Day. But before I leave, I wanted to be sure to post up the winners from both giveaways this week! Thank you so much for everyone participating! Stay tuned for more exciting giveaways after Labor Day!

RAWWAY Winner: #25: 5webs (Alicia)

CELEBRATE Almonds Winner: #6: elkaye

WINNERS-- Please email me at mandyleonards@gmail.com by 10pm tonight 9/2 or another winner will be chosen. Please email me your mailing address so that I can forward your contact information to the giveaway sponsors!

Thanks again everyone, stay tuned for more fun giveaways in September!