My Experience with Pregnancy and Crossfit

I have had mixed reviews when I tell people that I have continued to work out, especially when I mention that I am doing crossfit, throughout my pregnancy.

A lot of people are very supportive and talk about how great it is for me and the baby.
There are others who are very opposed to me doing or lifting much of anything.  It seems to differ based on their generation.
While I know it is all out of love, it can get to be a little much to have people questioning everything that I am doing.

There are so many women who do so much while pregnant.  My Mom was raising 4 other children and working while she was pregnant with my brother.  All I can do is listen to my body and my doctor.

One of the first people I told when I found out I was pregnant was an owner of the gym.  She is also a PA, so she was a perfect person to talk to.  She could give me some guidelines before I saw my doctor (on top of the endless research that I was doing).
The general guidelines I have been following from my doctor and listening to my body are
- I am not lifting anything heavier than 35 lbs
- Since I have started me second trimester, I have not done workouts on my back
- Throughout my work out, I should be able to have a conversation

For all of you crossfitters, you know what it is like during a work out.  If you can talk after a lot of the workouts, you weren't pushing yourself enough.
It definitely wasn't easy to scale back my work outs, especially in the beginning.  I was feeling great and right before I found out that I was pregnant, I was hitting a lot of PR's.  There have been a lot of work outs that my trainer has had to change for me.  For example, a heavy dead lift workout doesn't do a whole lot for me when I am only lifting 35 lbs.

(Murph 2015)

That is what I love about my box though.  Everyone has been so supportive and the trainer has gone above and beyond to make sure I am getting a great work out in but am also being safe.

I have felt great throughout the pregnancy, and I believe part of that is being able to stay active throughout.  I feel very grateful that my body has reacted so well to pregnancy.  It is really funny when people ask me how I am feeling.  In reality, I have never felt better.  I am conscious about what I am putting into my body, I have been getting up early to go to the gym, going to bed early, eating very healthy, and just overall feel great.

Working out is getting harder and harder.  Getting up and down takes a lot more effort, burpees are not my friend, but it feels great to throw around a barbell.  I get winded quickly, but feel awesome that I am able to do something.

I am interested to see what the rest of the pregnancy will bring, as of next week I am in my third trimester!  I am excited to see how my body reacts after.  I can't wait to throw around heavy weights again, (after I get some rest) and see what my body can do!

(this was earlier this week)

Wednesday Bump Day

Helloooo long lost blogger friends.  It has been a long while since I have said much around these parts.  Things have been pretty crazy over here, ya know with being pregnant and all.  I have been documenting the pregnancy slightly with pictures, but I want to dust off the old blog and keep some commentary with those pics.  

Here is a bumpdate for today.  I still need to take a 26 week picture, but I have added some pictures from throughout the pregnancy.  

Due Date? September 28th

How far? 26 Weeks!

How are the dogs?  They seem to not really know yet.  They don't do anything special, they don't cuddle up to my belly any more than they did before.  I played a crying baby video on youtube for them, and neither of them even moved their head.  I think it will be an adjustment when baby comes home, just dividing up attention to everyone.  As for now, they are unaffected.  

Maternity clothes? Yes, yes, and yes.  They are amazing.  I can't believe how long I tried to fit into my regular clothes.  The pants are the worst.  It is hard to spend so much money on clothes that you are not going to wear for very long, but a few good pairs of pants and tops and dresses are well worth it.  

Sleep? I have been sleeping pretty well!  I have been working out at the 5:30 am class 3-5 times a week, so by the time my head hits the pillow, I am down for the count.  According to my fitbit, I am always over 90% sleep efficiency, so being 6 months pregnant, I will take it!  Crazy, crazy dreams though.  Last night I dreamt I was being chased and shot by a sniper every time I left Wegmans.  

Work outs?  I have scaled my work outs since I found out I was pregnant.  I haven't lifted anything heavier than 35# (other than my dogs), I haven't worked out on my back since I entered the second trimester (other than when I cuddle with my dogs), and I have a pretty good handle on my heart rate.  From what I have read and talking to my doctor, the big thing is to be able to have a conversation while working out.  If you are huffing and puffing any harder than that, it is too strenuous on the baby.  

The huffing and puffing is coming quicker now, and any sort of burpees/pushups/getting up and down at all are getting much harder.  It just feels so good to get out of bed and do something. 

Best moment of the week? Passing my glucose test!  Wooohoo! (it's the little things, right?)

Weird pregnancy moment?  I think my dreams last night were the oddest pregnancy moment.  It felt so real, as if I had been shot in my leg.  I would wake up to try to get out of the dream, and go right back in to it.  Not cool, baby H.  

Size of baby? The same size as a head of lettuce.  Well over 2 pounds now, as the baby was almost 2 pounds when we went for our last ultrasound, a week and a half ago.  

Belly Button in or out?  In for now, but it seems to be very itchy, so it may be popping out soon.  

Food cravings? Nothing really to speak of here, I divulge into carbs more than I did pre-pregnancy, but no "melt down unless Ryan runs to the store immediately because I must have my pickles" sort of thing.

What am i looking forward to? This week I have really wanted to throw around some heavy weights.  Work has been stressful, and I just want to be able to push myself with the weights.  Eventually I will get back there....

Stretch marks? Yes, and they are growing higher by the day.  I use the palmers lotion, but I think I am just genetically blessed to have those beauties, or battle scars.  Worth it. 

Nursery? How far along should I be?  Because I am not.  

Movement?  It goes in spurts.  Some days I can't get the baby to stop moving, and some days baby must be very tired.  Some days the baby pushes into what feels like my lungs, some days it is much lower and pushes into my lower back.  The movements are getting much more prominent outside my belly, now if only I could get Ryan to stare at my belly long enough (jk that is weird).  

(Don't judge the slippers lol, swollen feet)

Symptoms?  Heartburn and swollen feet.  My feet/cankles are like grapefruits some days when I get home.  Even days where I think I drink enough water.  I sleep in a V when I first lay down at night.  I have to keep my head slightly higher due to the heart burn and my feet higher because they are swollen.  Ryan is sooo over the number of pillows in the bed.  

Overall, I have been feeling really good.  Work has been crazy, so I get home and just crash, but you hear so many pregnancy horror stories, that this is much easier than anticipated. 

I think I need to stop saying that though, because I am just setting myself up for a horrific labor or something like that.  

Thanks for listening!

"Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence, is the key to unlocking our potential"Winston Churchill

Nothing...finally

Happy Monday everyone.


Yup, feeling's mutual.


This past weekend was the first weekend I didn't really have ANYTHING to do.  Literally in months.  Between my wedding, showers, bachelorettes, birthdays, all of which I love, it was so nice to have a weekend to not do anything.  The first Sunday I could watch as much football as my little heart desired.  Continually refresh my fantasy page, all of my hopes to be destroyed with the Sunday night game.  

My sister came over Saturday with her "dog" (she is a chiuahua daschund, hence the quotations.  I think beef and baine were born bigger than she is now) and we ate and drank wine and caught up.  It is funny to look back on relationships and how they evolve.  I am in a great place with all of my sisters, but they have taken their ups and downs. curve balls. and roller coasters.  It is hard to understand siblings when they are in different places and going through different things.  When I left for college, my one sister was still in Elementary school.  It wasn't until she graduated high school until we became close.  

Family is family after all.

Anyways, it was really nice hanging out with my sister and just having some girl talk.  

I made some delicious turkey chili in the crock-pot (recipe later this week).

Ryan brought it to my attention that I am not the most timely with certain things that are important.  For example taxes, car registration, the electric bill.  Important things.  Now that we're married, it is important to both of us that I work on this.  Sunday consisted of a lot of football and some serious pinteresting.  I found some great schedules and budget sheets.  I made a binder for a bunch of house hold important stuff.  I will share more of those later also!

For now, I have to get packing, I am off to Chicago for the week for work.  

Happy Monday all!

Week to week fantasy tips

It is Friday!!  Let's talk some sports!!

The draft has happened, you have your line ups set.  But there are little tweeks you can do to your line up week to week to give you those couple points that add up to a W!

1.  Check available kickers.
Kickers have big games based on match ups.  If you look at the available players and look at kickers, your site will show you projected points.  While it is not perfect, it is a good indication of what the professionals think of their match up.  They do a lot of the research for you.

2.  Check available defense.
Pretty much the same as above.  While overall the Seattle defense is suffocating, I wouldn't take a chance on them against Denver, one of the top offenses in the league.  Anyone playing the Rams is a good idea.

3. Probable, I would play, questionable, especially with a 4:15 or Sunday night game is iffy.
The worst thing is when you had a player who was questionable and played him over the one who only had 8 points, to find out the questionable player gave you 0.  Many of the decisions are game time, so if they play a late game, it will be too late to change.
My opinion is that something is better than nothing.  Even though Cam Newton is probable, he will be playing less than 100%, so isn't exactly what you want out of your quarterback.  Many games come down to a few points, so I think better get a few points than none.

4.  Check your bye weeks.
The worst is when both of your quarterbacks have the same bye week.  This is something to look at before it is too late.  You can make a trade or keep your eye on available players.  Failing to prepare is preparing to fail!  ( I am such a nerd)

5.  Smack talk, smack talk, smack talk.
Who doesn't love a good smack talk session.  That's what it's all about, right?\


If you like fantasy football, The League on FXX is HILARIOUS.  It is a group of friends who are in a league together and end up doing ridiculous stuff with smack talk.  The characters are awkward and slightly ridiculous, but worth the 30 minutes.  Wednesdays at 10.  If you hate it, blame me.

Happy football weekend!

Why I will forever be a mastiff person

I love all dogs.  On the weekends I occasionally work at a dog day care, so I see all types/sizes/breeds/behaviors.  After dealing with hundreds of dogs, I think I will always be a mastiff person.

If you asked me in high school, I thought I would always be a lab person.  My parents have a yellow and black lab/australian cattle dog mix.  They are incredible.  They are loyal, they listen, good size dogs, and so easy to train.

That being said, we now have 2 mastiffs and I am hooked (Beef is a St. Bernard/English Mastiff mix and Baine is a Neopalitan/Bull Mastiff mix).  All breeds have their pros and cons, but here is why I am a Mastiff Maniac.

They are Lazy-

Ryan and I are busy.  We both coach, I travel a lot for work, and we have busy social calendars.  The last thing we need is a dog who needs to go for a 10 mile run and then still wants to come home and play the rest of the night in the back yard.  When we go for a mile walk, they are done for the day.  We have a fenced in back yard, so we pretty much let them out a couple times a day and they are good.  One nice thing about having two dogs is that they do entertain each other.  Even getting Baine to come for a treat during training was difficult.  He was very comfortable in his seated position.

They don't need a lot of room-

While they are big dogs, they are known as apartment dogs because they are so lazy.  They pretty much just want to lay at your feet the whole day.  Even if you have a large house, you are just going to be tripping over them the whole time because they are at your feet.

They serve as excellent protection-

We have 300 pounds of dog sitting at our front door.  No one is breaking in.

Scary, huh?

Wouldn't hurt a fly-

While they are great protection, only because people don't know what they would do.  They are both great with people, kids, other dogs.  Beef is not the best dog to walk, he pulls a little, but as soon as Ryan's neice or nephew take the leash, he knows he can't.  A little girl came up to Baine when we were at a lacrosse game and before I knew it he was licking her face.  I melted.

They are just big lap dogs-

It gets pretty cold here in upstate New York.  There is not a lot better than curling up with a glass of wine and being warmed up by the heat from the dogs.  It is not as great when they lay in bed with you and then you can't lift up the covers and so instead you go to sleep freezing.

Low maintenance-

Along with being lazy and not needing to be excercised a lot, they also don't have to be groomed often.  They have short hair, don't shed a ton (the St bernard part of Beef on the other hand), and pretty much can take care of themselves.

They are lookers-

I am not going to lie, I enjoy walking down the street or going to a game and bringing them and people being awed by them.  It is fun.

While again, I love this breed(s), they are not perfect.  They drool, they fart a lot, they don't have a long life span, they are VERY stubborn, I wouldn't change them for the world.

What is your favorite dog breed? 

Dream Home

I am always thinking about our next home.  Ryan grew up in the house we currently live in.
I am SO lucky that when I met Ryan he already had a house we could settle into and had a lot of things that many couples my age do not have.  I love that we have a yard that our dogs can run around in.

That being said, our kitchen is too small, we don't have enough room for when we expand our family, and I want a house that is ours.  We also need more storage space.

Vent over.

A girl can dream right?  So here are my dreams for our next house.

A welcoming entrance.



Right now we have a raised ranch.  It is cramped when people try to come in, especially when there is 300 pounds of dog trying to sniff you and lick you and wag their baseball bats of tails.
It is just not my ideal way to come into a house.

Counter and cupboard space



Ryan and I don't typically like to eat the same thing, so we are cooking two different meals together often.  Prep work takes up some space.
I really enjoy cooking.  It should not be a stressful task.  Yet many times it is for me.  We are bumping into each other, not having places to cut things, not to mention tripping over 300 pounds of dog.
We got some awesome kitchen things for our wedding, we just don't have enough places to put them.  I also hate walking into the kitchen and getting the feeling that it is cluttered.  Right now, that is how I feel.

An island



I love to entertain.  We grill almost every weekend during the spring and summer and invite people over to enjoy it.  While my friends and I prepare and cook and chat and drink in the kitchen, the guys sit on the deck and talk guy stuff.  On top of the kitchen being small, there is no place to just sit and talk girl talk.  I would love to have an island where people can sit and enjoy each others company.  while the other are cooking or washing dishes or whatever.
(again, a girl can dream)

A walk in closet



Sex and the city anyone?  I don't think this needs too much explanation.

Wood burning stove



We currently have a wood burning stove, but it doesn't look like this.  I want it to look kind of pretty, and have a couch snuggle next to it.  There aren't many things better than putting on a new pair of socks, getting a good book, and sitting next to the warmth of a real fire.  Heat from a wood burning stove is just different.

A cozy back deck



Again, we like to entertain.  We have a nice back deck right now, but I would like it to feel more comfortable and like another living room.  Cushions, the lights, lots of candles, I love this.

A pretty laundry room



Laundry and I are not friends.  I hate it.  At least I can enjoy the room while doing something I hate right?  Like laundry feng shui.

What is in your current or future dream home?

Life on the Road

This week is a little crazy over here.
I worked all day Monday and on my way home, my Dad called to say to pack my bags and get ready to leave.  We had to be in Cleveland Tuesday and Wednesday, then head to Cincinnati, where we had a meeting Thursday morning, and then I am currently on my way to Pittsburgh, where we have a meeting tomorrow morning.  4 different hotels and 4 different cities in 5 days.

I am coming upon my 2 year anniversary at my job, and there are some things I have learned that make life on the road a lot easier.

1.  An unbelievably supportive husband
While it is not easy being on the road, it is also not easy to be on the other end.  I can't help with househould stuff, I can't help feed the dogs, I can't let the dogs out in the middle of the night, I can't take our the garbage, I can't do laundry.  Ryan has never complained.  While I don't plan on traveling forever, I am putting in my time now, and he understands that.  I can't imagine going home and feeling guilty about having to travel for work. I am missing Baine's vet appointment as I am typing this.

2.  Books on tape
Of course not really on tape anymore, but I love listening to books on long trips.  There is only so much music to listen to when you're in the care for more than 2 hours at a time.  I really like listening to sales books when I am going on sales calls because it gets me all jazzed up.  I can use the things I learn right away.  There are times though I want to listen to a sappy Nicholas Spark's book.  I am going to try out http://www.booksfree.com/, which is like Netflix for audiobooks.  They have a huge library, and it is nice because I get bored sometimes with listening to the same books over and over.  Review to come!

3. A good rewards program
I really enjoy staying at Marriotts.  With all of the points I have racked up, we stayed at a gorgeous Marriott in Seattle for free on our honeymoon.  We also used some for our hotel in LA, which was beautiful.  Marriott may not be the best program, but just being able to add the points up is nice.  If there isn't a Marriott that's available, I like to use hotel.com because you get 1 free night after you book 10 nights.

4. A wireless hotspot
You never know what kind of wireless availability is out there, so my hotspot is the best $10 a month I spend.  I use it on my sales calls all the time, and I can also do work at rest stops while eating my lunch.  When I originally started, I tried using my phone as my hot spot, but it was not great.  The connection was slow, if anyone tries calling you it messes it up, and you just do a lot of waiting around.  4G is the way to go.  I am on it right now, as my dad drives and I type.

5.  Good luggage
I felt really old a couple years ago when I asked for luggage for my birthday, but it was worth it.  It is a unique pattern so I can spot it quickly at the airport, it is really durable, and makes life easier.  I also have all my travel stuff (toothbrush, deodorant, toothpaste, body wash, so on) that I have in nice small bags that are easy to grab and go.

6. Two of everything.
In my separate smalls bags, I have a toothbrush, deodorant, toothpaste, body wash, mouth wash, things like that.  I don't like having to worry about if I packed everything, so I just have travel bags that I keep second sets of all that fun stuff.

7.  Extra clothes.
Sometimes my trips are 2 or 3 days.  If i am just driving to the area one day and driving back the next, I used to only bring 1 pair of pants, and then 2 shirts that go with those pants.  Until the day I spilled coffee ALL over my pants.  Can't really wear those to my meeting.  I also made that mistake when I got snowed in.  I brought just enough pairs of socks for the days I was there, not knowing I was going to be stuck there for an extra day.  It is always worth the extra room for these mishaps.

8.  An open mind
When I first started traveling I hated being out in public all the time alone.  I would get my dinner to go because I hated dining alone.  I got over that.  Now I sit at the bar typically and make friends with the other salesmen that are doing the same thing I am doing.  I have met some really interesting people.  I also went to a Caveliers game alone.  Would I rather be there with someone else?  Of course.  I am glad that I got to see Lebron play and it was better than watching it in my hotel room alone.  It also gives me time to think about life a little deeper.  I am not caught up in day to day things and can just reflect, which is nice.

What are your things you HAVE to travel with?