My neck and arms are sore. Not from lifting weights, but from gripping the toilet as I puked.

I had to take a shower to wash off the sweat. Not from working out, but from my fever breaking.

I most definitely lost weight this week, but not the way I would like to.

My blog has been sad and lonely this week. All the crazy started Monday night with the ice and snow. Tuesday was a blast with the kids in the snow. Wednesday we tried to have a blast again. That’s when I got a blast alright. Charlotte and I were sledding with the neighbors. It was me versus a tree and the tree won.

Ice on my back after sledding. Ooph! That tree hurt, ya’ll!

She wanted to go down the hill and I obliged by going down the icy hill first to make sure it was “safe.” I was able to stop myself with my feet. I went back up the hill, foolishly said it was “totally fine” and put 30 lbs of 4-year-old on the sled with me. That weight was all it took. I couldn’t stop us with my feet this time. My back into the tree stopped us. All the breath was knocked out of my lungs. I knew I was hurt. Ice and prescription Ibuprofen from labor and delivery were my friend for the next few days. The snow delayed our usual Wednesday Body Back workout until Friday. I took it easy with a modified workout. Things were okay. Not too shabby. Stiff and sore, but okay.

Then Friday night came. I went to go see a friend’s new baby and life was good. Right before I went to bed I mentioned to Greyson, “Ugh. My stomach is a little off.” I didn’t think anything of it until 3:00 am. I won’t give you the details. You can imagine what was going on. It wasn’t pretty. Saturday evening I went to urgent care after many hours of not being able to hold anything down, including water. I was diagnosed with a stomach virus. The doctor took a look at my back and gave me some tips for healing my bruises and pulled muscles as well.

I have been so focused and in the zone during Body Back. I have diligently logged all my food, been to every class and done every supplement workout. There is an intensity to this eight weeks that is hard to explain. It’s a commitment. You’re in it to see results and when you’re not in it 100%, it’s frustrating.

But life happens, even during Body Back. Snow/Ice storms, sledding accidents and stomach bugs happen. I just have to remind myself to not let it get to me. If it slows me down this week, then just do all I can the next week. I’m sad I’ll miss class tomorrow, but I’ll bring it the rest of the time. For now I’m taking my medicine and hitting the sack with my heating pad. See you soon when life is a little better.

I’m sitting here drinking something I think I invented, but have not Googled it to see if I actually invented it. I call it “Honey Milk.” It’s really what it sounds like. We’ve had two snow days here and everyone was all like, “Hot chocolate!!! Snow day!!!” Then I was all like, “Wait! I can’t! Our Body Back challenge for three days is no sugar!”

Our instructor Christie has challenged us to eliminate processed sugar. We can have natural sugar like honey and maple syrup. Sugar, fructose, dextrose and a bunch of other sugars disguised with fancy names are out. I really wanted my warm, sweet, snow day beverage fix. Here’s what I came up with:

Almond Honey Milk:

1 cup vanilla almond milk

1 tbsp. honey

Sprinkle of cinnamon to taste

Heat milk in a saucepan or microwave. Stir in honey. Add cinnamon. 

After I drank this I realized the almond milk was sweetened. Womp womp! So much for my quest to avoid sugar. I will make sure to buy the unsweetened almond milk. I’m pretty sure Trader Joe’s has unsweetened vanilla. You can also add vanilla extract.

We don’t have sugar cereals around here. Actually, we don’t eat much cereal. Which is insane, because that’s all I used to eat. Charlotte saw some “Frozen” cereal in the store. No. Everything the child has is embossed with  a goofy snowman or “so-close-yet-so-far” sisters. I can’t buy her “Frozen” cereal that is really just Lucky Charms. No way. I also try to keep the candy to a minimum and we keep desserts to once or twice a week. But, hidden sugar is EVERYWHERE! It creeps in everything we eat. Bread, peanut butter, ketchup, oatmeal etc.

Oh! Another fail in the sugar ban: salad dressing. My favorite Balsamic Vinaigrette from Trader Joe’s also has sugar. That’s why it’s so delicious.

This has made me realize how extreme my sugar addiction is. For real, I could eat dessert after lunch and dinner. I could drown a waffle in syrup every morning. Gah! Waffles! I have not had a single delicious, sugary latte since Body Back began six weeks ago. I’m not craving them anymore. I think if I keep reducing my sugar, I won’t feel that craving as much. Honey and fruit as natural sweeteners have been the way to go for me and quite literally kept me afloat.

Have you done a sugar detox? Did you eliminate everything? Even honey? My girl Erin did a sugar detox recently as well. Let me  know what is working/worked for you! 

It was Valentine’s Day this weekend. So, naturally this happened:

No! It’s not what you think you perverts! Plus, he’s not that lucky to have me take pictures of it. This is me doing wheelbarrow push-ups while he is in a wall sit. Our Body Back instructor Christie gave us a Valentines workout to do with our lovers. Ugh! “Lovers.” I hate that word. In the immortal words of Liz Lemon “That word bums me out unless it’s between the words “meat” and “pizza.”

Okay, she gave us a workout to do with our husbands. We had to do each exercise 14 times. (Get it? Feb. 14th?) Then repeat the whole series again.

Valentine’s Partner Work-Out

1. Wall Sit/Tri-Dips

–One person is doing a Wall Sit while the other person is doing a Tricep-Dips on their knees. — SWITCH POSITIONS

2. Plank High Fives

–Both are in plank while doing high fives. Both right hands clap then left.  –SWITCH POSITIONS

3. Wheelbarrow Push Up/Wall Sit Squat

–One partner is in a wall sit while holding other partners legs so they are in a plank. As the plank partner does a push up, the wall sit partner squats down slightly.–SWITCH POSITIONS

4. Dynamic Lunge

–Stand arm distance away holding each other’s hands. One partner lunges forward with right leg as other partner lunges backward with left leg. Reverse motion so right leg partner lunges back and other lunges forward with left leg.  –SWITCH LEGS

5. Back To Back Partner Sit-ups

–Sit on the floor back to back. Hold arms together. Stand up slowly while straightening legs and pushing against each other’s backs. Then slowly sit back down. 

6. Core Partner Leg Toss

–One partner stands up with feet hip width apart. Other partner lays on the floor with head near partners feet. Hold onto their ankles put legs up in the air. Standing up partner pushes legs down while laying down partner tries not to let legs hit the ground. Then bring legs up slowly. –SWITCH POSITIONS

Naturally my husband wanted to get frisky as we got sweaty. I told him there was to be no funny business until the workout was done. He had trouble with this rule. I mean, can you blame him? These buns are getting tight!

Yet another reason to do Body Back, ladies. Who needs Fifty Shades of Grey?

My Sunday night conversations ranged from Katy Perry, to Miranda Lambert, to Kanye West’s antics. Yep. The Grammys. I wasn’t alone, thank goodness. My step-brother stayed over with me so I could go to Body Back in the morning. Tuesday night we helped make Valentine’s cards for a very excited 4-year-old. My step-sister stayed with me so I could go to Body Back in the morning. Greyson was traveling for work this week. I needed them. So, yeah. I have the greatest family ever.

I realized no one does Body Back alone. You have to have a support system. You have to have a team behind you. Your husband, your kids, your friends and extended family have to be your team. This is a great 8 weeks, but a focused, intense 8 weeks. You have to have someone with your kids when you go to your workouts, obviously. But, it’s also great to make others aware of what you’re doing too. More than once in recent weeks friends have remembered that I’m likely not up for Five Guys or Baskin Robbins right now. Treats are not off-limits, but if I’m committing myself to this 8 weeks, I want to stay focused. Intense workouts at 5:30 am and eating whole foods impacts those around you. Your changes influence the lives of those you love.

Thankfully, I don’t work out alone. My group for this session is five women and our instructor Christie. Body Back alumnae frequently join our class as part of “Body Back Boost.” It’s a great group. We have a private Facebook group so we can keep in touch all week long with Christie’s homework, recipes, inspiration etc. I see them getting leaner. We all look stronger than we did 5 weeks ago. It’s really amazing to see. I love it.

They obviously all know I’m writing about all this on the blog and are putting up with my blogging requests. Nicole even agreed to take a makeup-less “sweaty selfie.” God bless her. See, it takes a team to do this.

I wanted to dress the kids in their Tar Heel gear in honor of the beloved long-time men’s head basketball coach Dean Smith. He died this weekend. When I had a boy after having a girl there were surprisingly quite a few outfits and onesies I could pass down to Baby Brother from Big Sister. Yellow and green pajamas, plain white undershirts and sports shirts come to mind.

We had lots of sports stuff. All our family’s alma maters, both NFL teams and our NHL team. The shirts go on and on. I found this one in Henry’s size.

I looked at him. Something looked funny. It took me a second, then I noticed the little white hearts and the puckered sleeves. Oh, technically this is a “girls shirt.” I thought for a second about leaving him in it. If it took me that long to notice, who cares, right? I chuckled and changed his shirt.

Then I got frustrated that I chuckled at this situation. I was frustrated at myself for changing my son’s clothes. I imagined for a second that my children were reversed, that I had a boy first and a girl second. If a little sister were to wear her brother’s old t-shirt it would be “cool” or “fun.” If my son wears his sister’s shirt, it’s humorous or even degrading. Even as a one-year-old it somehow emasculates him to wear a “girl shirt.” It goes back to the “guys dressing in drag is funny” thing. I love the little hearts, personally. For my daughter it was awesome. We’re girly-girls but we also love sports and cheering on our teams. That’s just who we are. But, I changed my son’s shirt.

If I can accomplish one thing as a mother raising a son it would be that one day he is in a locker room, on a playground or gym and corrects another boy for using the term “like a girl” in a derogatory way. (That Super Bowl ad. Loved it!) Even if he never corrects another, I have done my job if he never says someone is “like a girl” in a bad way.

It’s funny, though. I never said the word “princess” to my daughter and she found the pink sparkly magic all by herself. I never said the word “train” to my son and he is suddenly fanatical about trains and trucks. There is something to be said for “kid stuff” in general, though. My daughter loves “Cars,” my son watches “Sofia The First.”

If I’m such a feminist, then why did I change his clothes? Well, I figure I’ll start my kids out in the traditional garb of their gender and they can make their own decisions later. My daughter loves dresses. That’s what she likes and chooses to wear. If one day my son wants to wear his sister’s old “Frozen” shirt. I’ll cringe for whatever ridicule he may face. I’ll warn him some people may be rude about it, but I’ll let him make the decision.

Before the basketball tournaments I’ll find a “boys” Tar Heels shirt for him. I’ll be a feminist example through actions, not wardrobe.