Day in the Life: Megatron at 13.5 months

It's been about 3 months since I did a "day in the life" post so I thought I would do it again.  Mostly for myself.  Time seems to be flying by lately (I mean, this kiddo is SIX months post-transplant this week!) and I don't want to forget these baby days.  So here is what we did on August 28.

My alarm went off at 6 am but thanks to an hour long Jillian Michaels workout the night before, I was sore and exhausted.  I finally dragged myself out of bed around 6:20 am and shuffled my way downstairs to get Megatron's meds ready.  The past couple weeks he's been sleeping soundly in the morning and we have to wake him up to take meds at 6:45.  I hate waking him up but luckily he's usually pleasant.  Today though?  He was tired.  As soon as I picked him up, he laid his head on my shoulder.  Something he rarely does.  

After meds and a bottle (7 ounces still but now we are mostly on whole milk with a splash of formula-mostly just using up the last canister of formula), he's usually ready to play but today he was very clingy.  He wanted up, but not really.  So I put him down.  Then he tried to bite my leg.  

He finally entertained himself by emptying his diaper bag while I made breakfast for myself.  When he got quiet, I looked over to find him trying to pick a piece of dried food off the floor.  Looks like I missed it with the mop the night before.  Gross.

After chasing him away from the cat water bowl and from trying to pull a lamp over, he finally played with his toys while I ate.  After I was done, I took him upstairs so I could get dressed.  We have some toys in our bathroom but recently he likes to play with the hangers that are on the floor waiting to go to the basement with the laundry.

We went back downstairs and played with toys until it was ready for his second breakfast.  I made him a whole grain waffle with butter and some bananas, a cup of whole milk and one of his after breakfast meds.  

Yup, a Valentine's Day bib.  Might as well get more than one day of use out of those holiday items!  He looks proud because he finally figured out the sippy cup and loves to do it himself.

As soon as I cleaned him up from breakfast, I put him in the Pack'n'Play so I could run to the garage to set up the run stroller.  I also ran to the backyard to dump the water from his baby pool.  We were splashing around the day before when a pop up storm rolled in.  By the time I got a chance to go dump the pool, it was prime mosquito time.  I am already recovering from being a buffet for the mosquitoes a couple nights ago, so I left the pool in the middle of the yard.

I came back in to find Megatron chewing on the rail of the Pack'n'Play.  Teething and boredom makes for a slimy play pen.  He smiled and inhaled sharply as I picked him up.  It's his way of saying he was excited I picked him up and got him out of baby jail.  I put him in the run stroller, handed him a toy and we were on our way.  Normally he falls asleep within the first half mile, but at mile 2.5 he was still awake.  He finally fell asleep a few minutes later, but I really only planned to go about 3 miles.  I had to keep going because I knew he wasn't asleep enough to be picked up and taken to his crib and stay asleep.  I was really losing steam by 4 miles so I did a lot of walking that last mile.  I was about to just go home and sit on the front porch while he slept, but he woke up sooner than usual, so I started to head for home.  We got in a smidge over 5 miles.  And I was feeling it!  

I feel bad picking him up when I'm all sweaty so I kind of held him out and plopped him in the family room.  He played while I attempted to stretch.  So sore!  More from Jillian Michaels than the 5 stroller miles I think.  I took Megatron upstairs and put him in the baby jail that is in our bedroom while I took a quick shower.  When I got out of the shower, this little face was peering at me from around the corner.  I sprung him from jail again.  He crawled around the bathroom and played with hangers....they make a lot of noise when they hit the hollow bathtub....while I finished getting ready.

Time for some laundry.  We went to the basement to get some laundry started.  Back upstairs I had to pin him down for a diaper change.  He tries to escape every.single.time.  I've tried books and toys, diaper changing supplies, cat toys, everything to try to get him to stay on his back for the diaper changes but no such luck.  He's wild.  

We read some library books (he actually sat through 4 books!) and played a little more until it was time for lunch.  We had some leftover pasta so I added a little Romano/Parmesan cheese to his (we are still trying to add calories wherever we can for him).  We also had some mixed veggies with edamame, and grapes for him.

While we ate, I iced my knee, which decided it was cranky.

After I cleaned him up from lunch and put him on the floor, he made a bee line for his new car seat which is still sitting in the living room.  I think we have a climber on our hands!  He face planted into the seat and crawled right in.  He tries to climb on everything!  He didn't get the memo that he's only 27 inches tall and a little too short to climb on too much.  That doesn't stop him from trying though. 

Since he only slept about 30 minutes in the stroller (instead of his usual hour), I was worried about him being cranky for his 2 pm physical therapy appointment.  I take that back.  I was worried he would fall asleep on the car ride there and I'd have to wake him up after a 10 minute cat nap.  I decided to leave early so he could sleep longer.  I brought a book to read in the car.  It was a perfect plan.  Ha!  For once, this child didn't fall asleep in the car.  I kept driving around thinking he would be asleep any second.  Nope, he just sat there, squealing.  I finally gave up and headed to his PT appointment.

We haven't been to PT in a month because he's been doing so well.  She wanted to see him again to make sure he was staying on track with his "emerging" skills: crawling on hands and knees and walking with assistance.  She was amazed with his progress!  She had him crawling and climbing on obstacles to gauge his strength.  He really doesn't need her help anymore, but they are going to keep him on their service until after his abdominal closure surgery in early October.  He might need some help catching back up after surgery.

After the 45 minute appointment, kiddo fell asleep in the car within minutes of pulling out of the parking lot.  Luckily he was still conked when we got home and I easily transferred him from his car seat to his crib where he slept for an hour.

While he was asleep, I worked on a few things on the computer, including printing a cover for a photo album we are in the process of making for him to look at.  

Once he woke up, he got pinned down for another diaper change before heading downstairs to have a small bottle and to play.  We are slowly decreasing that bottle and will replace it with a snack soon.  Once he was done, he was more interested in walking around than playing. He's getting more and more stable but still needs to hold on with both of my hands.  Sometimes he will take a few steps while holding one hand but then he starts to whine and reach for your other hand for help.  

I got him distracted with the box of ribbons that I showed him back when I did the last "day in the life" post while I made dinner.  Tonight we had grilled cheese but it was fancy!  Provolone, muenster and spinach.  I've been trying to sneak more spinach in our food because he recently stopped taking an iron supplement and because we are raising him vegetarian, I want to make sure he's still getting enough iron through his diet.  He also had a hard boiled egg, veggies and banana.  I had a salad too.

He was a clean plater!  And only a few pieces of corn made it to the floor and that wasn't intentional.  They stick to his fingers and fall out.  :) Notice the cat in the background enjoying a few minutes of rest without worrying about Megatron trying to "pet" her.

After getting cleaned up from dinner, we took some selfies.  He loves to look at himself on my phone.  I love his onesie.  

One can only take so many selfies so we headed outside to play on the swing set.  I love that the swing set is in the shade in the evening so we can go out without being blinded by the sun.  He likes to swing, but he's still a little small and starts to slump down in it.  He also loved going down the slide and walking barefoot in the grass.  He got a kick out of me holding him and then pushing the empty swing and watching it go back and forth.  I have no idea why but he was giggling every time I grabbed it and then let it go again.

I try to have him inside and heading towards the bath by 6:15 at the latest so he's all ready for meds and his bedtime bottle at 6:45.  He loves the water and now that he can stand, he likes to stand and the edge of the tub and watch it fill up.  This picture cracks me up because he wanted so badly to climb in.  He kept raising his right leg but obviously he's short and wasn't going to get anywhere.  

After the bath, it was back downstairs to get his meds and bottle ready.  Evenings are getting easier and easier.  We only have two meds given through syringes and one pill.  This is a lot fewer syringes at night than a couple months ago.  Progress!  At 6:45 I gave him his meds and then a bottle.  Again, it's formula and whole milk mixed.  He's still drinking 7 ounces before bedtime and when he gets up in the morning and since he's still so small and needs to gain weight, I'm not in a hurry to get rid of those bottles.  Plus he's still very interested so we will just transition from the bottle to drinking from a sippy cup for those "meals."

After he finished the bottle, I took him upstairs and read him a book, turned on his music, put him in his crib and didn't hear from him again until 6:45 the next morning.  Well, sort of.  He sleeps through the night but he's a noisy sleeper.  He sometimes randomly cries out, sometimes for a minute or so but then settles down again on his own.  I've read that some kids taking the same immunosuppressant have sleep disturbances, but he almost always falls right back to sleep so I don't have go to him.

I wasn't as productive around the house because of my run and then his PT appointment so I got to work after he went down.

From 7:30 to 11:00 pm I raced around:

I got some laundry started.  I called my mom while I picked up toys in the family room.  I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher.  While I cleaned the kitchen counter, I looked over and realized that the cat was watching PBS.  I had flipped on a documentary, Earthflight, all about birds.  Needless to say, the cat was in love.

Once the kitchen was clean, I made another mess.  I realized the bananas I had were looking really sad, and I doubted I'd have time the next day so I went ahead and made a batch of banana chocolate chip muffins.  Yum!  I also threw in another load of laundry.

While the muffins were in the oven, it was time for my least favorite chore: washing syringes.  Of all the chores associated with the baby, I hate this one.  It's not hard, it doesn't take that long, it's just something I really dislike doing.  Once they were all washed, I stuck them in the drying rack and moved on.  More laundry!

I washed up the mess I made from the muffins and then moved on to clean up the kitchen table, Megatron's booster chair and the floor around his chair.  That child can make a heck of a mess during meals.

Once everything was clean and I dealt with more laundry, I finally sat down to stuff some cloth diapers.  The cat tried to help but ultimately sat down to watch as I put the absorbent inserts into the diapers.  It's a mindless chore that I can do while relaxing in front of the the TV.

All ready to be pooped in!  :P

I finally went upstairs to go to bed.  I laid down and read for a few minutes to help turn my brain off.  I also reassured myself that The Pilot would be home the next afternoon.  Usually after a couple days of being on my own with Megatron, I start counting down the hours until I have some backup.  And after two really hard workouts while he was gone, plus taking care of Megatron, I was exhausted!

Mission Undo What the Baby Did: Update 3

Last week went much better than the week before.  I had over 5.5 hours of exercise.  I had a race at the end of the week but I tried hard to not slack off before the race.  I did skip the abs and arm workouts the day before and the day of the race but I got them in the other 5 days.  I was even able to progress each day with the abs and arms challenges.  They are definitely getting harder each day but I'm doing my best to hang in there with the schedule.

I also tried a Jillian Michaels yoga video.  It was HARD!  I had to modify A LOT of the moves and had to take a few breathers.  She moves fast through each move to burn more calories but it was a little too fast for my fitness level but also for the speed my brain can compute what she is doing.  I also somehow managed to pull a muscle in my hand during the workout.  Seriously?!  It took a couple days before I could do a push up with an open hand!

I was feeling a little run down so rather than trying another high intensity Jillian Michaels, I opted to do the post-natal rescue video twice.  It's much slower pace and focuses on strengthening the core but also incorporates some leg work that I've noticed has helped with some tightness I've had in my hips.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday I got in some great mileage!  14 miles to be exact!  Friday was a family 3.5 mile walk.  Other than spending time together, the best part was that The Pilot pushed the stroller!  Saturday might as well have been a 4 mile swim.  For once I wasn't exaggerating and it really was 100% humidity.  It was about 70 when we got started but it felt like 90.  Katy pushed me through it though and we did a lot of running and finished just under an hour, which put me at pre-pregnancy pace....for walking but hey, it's progress.

Sunday was the jackpot though!  It was my first "real" race since having Megatron.  I've done two charity 5ks for great causes but this was a chance to race.  It was a quarter marathon, so about 6.5 miles.  I'll hopefully get a full race recap written soon but it was an amazing morning!

And since this is an undo what the baby did post, how about a picture of the guilty party.  He likes to steal my food.  This time he stole my nectarine and started gnawing on the core.

Mission: Undo What the Baby Did: Update 2

I fell a little short of my weekly goal (at least 4 hours of exercise) last week.  I came in at 3.5 hours.  I only missed one day completely and if I would have planned a little better, I would have been right at the 4 hour mark.  We were road-tripping on Friday and I should have just done a quick workout before we hit the road for home but I didn't.  Oops.  Next goal: plan ahead!

I did spend 30 minutes on the treadmill at the hotel while we were away.  And it was about 100 degrees in the fitness center.  Maybe that counts for extra time??  I was dripping as I walked back to my room which was luckily not too far away and I didn't run into anyone. Not that it would have mattered, the hotel was full of gaming convention attendees and airline employees.  There's only one airline employee that I ever try to impress and he was sitting in a hangar somewhere proving he knows how to operate the windows in the cockpit so I knew I would be cleaned up before I saw him again.  Anyways...

Why, oh why do they put mirrored walls in hotel fitness centers?  I do not need to stare at myself while I sweat buckets.  Also unnecessary?  The windows behind me that faced the lobby.  I do not need all the hotel guests looking at my sweaty back!

I made it to day 9 of the arms and abs challenges but it's getting hard!  My theory is if I don't successfully complete a day, then I have to try it again.  Once I finish it, then I move on.  That means I did have to repeat a couple days (and then missed Friday completely).  Ultimately it will now take me more than 30 days to complete the challenges but it seemed like cheating if I don't actually complete each exercise outline on a given day.

On Saturday, I got my butt kicked by Jillian Michaels.  I attempted one of her hour long workouts again.  The first attempt I only made it 45 minutes before I waved the white flag.  This time I stuck it out the entire hour.  There was only one move that I could not do at all.  As in, my brain couldn't even figure out how to attempt it.  And then I did have to use her modifications quite a bit.  But I survived an hour.  I was dripping though!  And then when I tried to walk down the stairs afterwards, my quads were shaking.  Fun times.

Not so fun?  Doing that Jillian Michaels workout at 8:00 pm and then making plans for a 4 miler at 9:00 am the next morning.  The plan was to do a pretty solid run/walk but after I woke up and realized every fiber of my being ached, I knew I would have to just get through the miles.  Katy met me at my house, I strapped Megatron into his stroller and we were off....very slowly.  We only did two run breaks and walked the rest.  But it was over an hour of exercise and even though I was sore, I still got it done.  Plus, I got to have adult conversation which is hard to come by when I'm home alone with Megatron. 

One Year

One year.  It's a miracle that we are still standing. It has been the longest, yet fastest year of my life.  It's been the most heartbreaking, yet joyful year of my life.  It's crazy how it could have been all those things at once. I've heard people say about parenting that the days are long but the years are short.  I cannot think of a more accurate description, particularly because of our circumstances this year.

It started with my unexpected early delivery of Megatron.  That seems like a lifetime ago.  I remember thinking at the time that those first 24 hours of his life were the most difficult thing I had been through because I wasn't allowed to see him.  Ha.  I can barely remember what it felt like.  Both because of the medications I had to be on but because we have been through SO much since then.

Ten days after he was born, my beloved grandma and whom Megatron was named after, passed away.  Then there was Megatron's diagnosis and prognosis.  Then The Pilot's uncle passed away after a very short illness.  Then Megatron's first surgery.  Then I found out my dad was living a lie and was making morally questionable choices.  Choices that made me feel it was important to shelter myself and Megatron from, so I had to distance myself from my relationship with him.  Like an ocean between us kind of distance. Then my brother's family lost a furry member of their family, one of their cats.  In our family, cats are family and when any member of the family hurts, we all hurt.  Then I had to walk away from a career I truly enjoyed because we saw the writing on the wall.  We wouldn't be able to balance my travel schedule with The Pilot's schedule while taking care of Megatron's complex medical needs.  Then my parents sold the house where I spent my formative years and ended their marriage after 41 years.  Again, when one member of our family hurts, we all hurt.  My heart was breaking not just for myself but for my mom too.  Then Megatron's liver started to fail.  I had to abandon my annual trip to Disney for the marathon because my sweet boy was in intensive care. He developed life threatening complications from his liver disease.  We came within days of losing him.  Then, in the greatest act of selflessness, The Cousin gave Megatron part of his liver.  Then my mom's cat passed.  He was a kitty that we got when I was still in high school so he was just as much my cat as he was her's.  Things slowly started to get better.  Megatron finally started to grow and thrive.  He didn't look sick anymore.  We got to come back home after 6 weeks in Pittsburgh.  We have still had a roller coaster since Megatron's transplant, from another hospitalization and three more trips to the emergency room, to nutrition setbacks and minor rejection of his "big boy" liver but overall, things really started to settle and we worked on finding a new normal.  Then, two weeks ago, we had to say goodbye to one of our cats.  It was very sudden and heartbreaking.  This was the kitty who we assumed would be Megatron's buddy.  Wherever the baby was, DC was nearby.  I think he sensed Megatron's special needs and was there to "protect" him.  It felt like once again, we had been punched in the gut.

It felt like with each heartbreaking event, the Universe was trying to knock me down a peg; Like the Universe was trying to break me.  While from the outside, it may have seemed like I was holding up well and keeping a positive attitude but in reality, it felt like the weight of the world was crushing me.  On multiple occasions this year, I questioned what I had done in this life or another, to deserve all this.  I questioned if I had somehow knocked my karma out of balance.

Some days I still feel that way and it's a challenge to realize that our family was given two incredible gifts.  Megatron and his new liver.  But each day I become more and more thankful.  I believe that Megatron was born early so he could meet my grandma.  I think my grandma held on long enough to meet him.  I think he came early so that he could be a joyful spot through all of the grief that our family was about to experience.  I think the heartache we experienced from his liver disease showed our family not to take one moment for granted.  We hug tighter.  We say I love you way more than we ever did before.  We are closer than ever.  We learned what it means to be selfless after seeing what The Cousin did for us.  After seeing that donor blood saves lives, some of us overcame fears and donated blood.  We do our best to pay it forward whenever we can now.

I see so much kindness in people around me now and that is my reminder that we survived this because of the kindness of others. Sure, at the end of a long day, even an incredibly fun day, I sometimes lay down in bed and sob.  How are we still standing?  How and why did all this happen? Sometimes I'm still angry that my one year old baby is on 8 medications.  That three times a day I have to give him medications and then wash the countless syringes.  That I have to argue with pharmacies and the insurance companies.  That I have to be "that" parent who sanitizes everything in arm's reach of the baby when we are in public places because his immune system is suppressed.  That my dad walked away from the life and family he created. That we lost so many amazing family members this year.  But then I hear Megatron breathing or sighing in his sleep over the baby monitor and I'm put back in my place.  We were given a second chance with him and I need to accept those challenges.  So I flip through a couple pictures of him and see his smile.  He's been through more challenges in one year than most people face in a lifetime.  Yet he's still smiling.  And I smile because he's here.  And he's thriving.  See why I think this baby was a gift to not just me and The Pilot but to our entire family?

So with each day I do my very best to focus on the amazing aspects of our days.  I try to focus on how far Megatron has come.  Six months ago, we nearly lost him and now he's crawling and will be walking soon.  Sometimes I fail miserably but others days I want to shout from the roof tops.  "LOOK at my baby!!!  He just climbed up the stairs!  He just learned to use a sippy cup!!  He's amazing!  He almost DIED and now look at him!"  While I brag endlessly on social media about him, I try to refrain from blurting out to strangers in the grocery store that he is a miracle and just let them comment on what a peanut he is.  I just smile and nod.  Of course he is special but I don't want him to grow up feeling different.  He will live in a medical world but I want him to feel "normal," whatever that is.

I'm so thankful we did monthly photos of Megatron this first year.  Even though one was taken in a hospital and one was taken 2 weeks late because we were in a hospital.  Even though he looks so sick in the 7 month picture (2 weeks pre-transplant) and so skinny in the 8 month picture (2 weeks post-transplant).  I'm glad we recorded our year even though it was traumatic. We won't ever get the first year back, so even though some of it looked so scary in pictures, I'm glad we documented it anyways.

It's been a hell of a year and if I could change it, I would.  While we have learned to appreciate life more, I would still take back Megatron's liver disease if I could.  But I can't, so I will try hard each day to focus on the good things in our world.  And I will focus on restoring some karma in my life!  Because I still think it must be out of whack!

Happy First Birthday my sweet boy!  You are one hell of a fighter, that's for sure!

Megatron at his birthday party...with his smiling, plush liver that my brother and his family found online.  He loves it!  And see that thing sticking out the top?  That's the hepatic vein and he loves to chew on it. 

Mission: Undo What the Baby Did: Update 1

My first week of keeping track of my workouts was a success!  My goal was to complete at least 4 hours of fitness activities in a week.  I hit 4.5 hours!  I also completed the first week of the 30 day abs and arms challenges that I started.  I'm halfway through week two and I'm just now starting to feel sore.  My abs hurt when I sneeze.  My armpits hurt.  Good times.

I did a 3 mile walk with the stroller last week with a new friend, Cathy, but then got in not one but TWO stroller-free workouts over the weekend!

First up was a virtual race with a group called Moms Run This Town.  It's a national, free running group for mamas and there is a local chapter here in town that is really active.  You could just show up and pick your distance.  I had plans to do 6 miles the next day so I opted for the 5k. The women were so welcoming!  They were all paces and probably the least intimidating group of women ever.  For three miles I got to know a couple of the ladies and we had a blast chatting, getting temporarily lost, taking selfies and getting our sweat on.  I hope to continue to get more active with the group so hopefully I can get to know some other mamas with small children.  This whole stay at home mom gig can be pretty isolating.

The next morning I met up with my other training buds.  I haven't made it to a group workout in several weeks because they meet at 7:30 am over the summer months.  And if The Pilot isn't home to do the baby wrangling, I can't go.  Megatron gets his morning medications at 6:45 and we don't have much wiggle room.  But The Pilot was home last weekend so I was out the door early both days!  My friend Katy (she's the rock star from my It Takes a Village post!) had already agreed to go 6 miles with me and push me.  And push she did!  She let me take walk breaks but then would tell me when to run again.  Which is just what I needed because I would have forgotten and just kept walking the rest of the way.  In the end, we tackled 6 miles (well, she did 9 because after 6 miles with me, she wanted to go have some more fun) in 1 hour 29 minutes.  That is the fastest average pace I've had since before things got so bad with Megatron at the beginning of the the year.  It felt great to push myself and be able to see what I'm capable of right now without pushing 40 pounds of baby and stroller!

Finding my new groove

I'm still struggling to find a new workout routine.  I will say that not working makes it easier to get some form of exercise in.  Having a husband who is gone for several days at time though adds a degree of difficulty because any workouts that I want to do while he is away have to be done with a 17 pound wrecking ball baby trying to climb over me or heckle me from the stroller.  It's happening though.

I got in nearly 9 miles total last week, doing a run/walk combo.  That's nowhere near where I'd like to be but it's better than 0 miles!  I'm only at 3.5 miles so far this week but I have plans to get in at least 6 more by Sunday.  I've also recently added two "30-day challenges" to my routine.  I found two beginner arm and ab challenges where each day you build upon what you did the day before (with some rest days).  There have been lots of sit ups, pushups (modified for my current ability), planks, bicycle crunches, reverse crunches and chair dips happening in the family room while Megatron crawls (yes, CRAWLS!) all over the place.  Also part of my workout rotation right now is a Post-Natal Rescue DVD.  It is more directed to women who are more immediately post-natal but that's ok.  My fitness level is so sad right now, that the DVD is challenging but not discouraging. 

I did a free Jillian Michaels workout off Amazon Prime/Roku and damn near had a heart attack during the warm up.  I only made it through 45 minutes of the hour long work out.  She would probably have spit in my face or something had I quit on her in real life.  I was also sore for two days after the workout.  And I didn't even use the weights like instructed.  I'll definitely try again because ya gotta start somewhere.

Prior to January I never really did much exercise other than mileage.  I would just do my mileage needed to train for a particular race.  I could never seem to stick with a strength or cross training routine.  Of course the times I saw the most results in terms of my fitness and weight was when I was training for triathlons.  Mixing up the three sports made a huge difference.  Triathlons aren't really in the cards now and I need to be able to do short, more frequent periods of exercise in order to juggle Megatron while The Pilot is working.  I'd love to be all hardcore and take Megatron on bike rides too (in a mounted seat or a trailer) but even though he's a year old now, he's so tiny that the smallest bike helmets don't fit him yet.  Maybe next year.  Other than wrangling Megaton during his 30 minute, once a week swim lesson, I don't have access to a pool right now either.  Maybe next year.

Faster mommy!

This new workout routine is a completely new way of thinking for me though.  I'm so used to working out for an hour or more (sometimes A LOT more if I was training for a half or full marathon) but I can't really strap Megatron in the stroller for a 3 hour walk/run.  The goal I have set for myself is no fewer than 4 hours of exercise in a 7-day period (ideally more but for now I'm erring on the side of realistic).  If I need to break that up into 10 minute increments when I get interrupted by Megatron taking foooorever to eat his breakfast, then so be it.  I found an exercise log online that I printed so it's handy for me to jot down what I've done each day so I can be sure to stay on track.  Hopefully writing down my progress on a piece of paper that sits in the kitchen will help remind me to not slack off.  I'm going to also try to blog more because that has always kept me more accountable in the past.  Megatron sure isn't holding me accountable.  He's perfectly content if my only exercise throughout the day was to chase him away from the cat's water bowl....all.day.long.

My training partner is LAZY! He almost always conks out within the first mile.