Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Plogging, Pregnancy, & Pill Bugs

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I've passed the halfway mark of this pregnancy, and I thought it'd be a good time to update y'all about how things are going over here. 

In short: I've taken up (occasional) plogging, I feel huge, and sometimes I want to be like a pill bug and curl up into a ball under a shell. 

For further details and a bit of early morning, caffeinated rambled, do read on ;) 



First off, plogging. Within the last couple months, I met this awesome woman at a library toddler event, and at some point she started talking about plogging-a practice that is apparently huge in some European countries right now. Plogging is, basically, the act of jogging and then stopping occasionally to pick up trash. Because of schedule conflicts and sickness, my friend and I have only plogged together a couple of times, but my toddler and I have plogged solo once. It's a nice way to keep running with my very limited running abilities. 

Because yes, I have very limited abilities regarding running right now. I wasn't much of a runner prior to pregnancy, and now that I'm pregnant and pushing my toddler in a stroller while I run, I have found that I just can't go very far. A couple of weeks ago, I thought it would be fun to run down to the local farmer's market, since it's just a couple miles away. Well, after about a mile I had to stop and walk for a bit! I usually just run half a mile at a time. It's not a lot, and I'm really slow (my "running pace" is other people's "walking pace"), but I'm happy that I can still keep active in this way. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be cruising along, though, because I'm probably going to get quite a bit bigger very quickly! 
24 weeks pregnant!
I'm nearing the end of the second trimester, and yesterday I started to feel huge. As in, "I really don't want to get out of my chair because it'll take so much effort" huge. My most recent appointment was a couple weeks ago and I found out I've 13 pounds so far, and even if that's not a lot to some people, when you all that extra weight sticking in front of you, being motivated to get up can be a struggle! 

Yesterday, my toddler and I spent a lot of time playing in the dirt, and we found lots of pill bugs. As we held these little critters, I thought about how lately, I've been wanting to enter "pill bug mode." You know how when you pick up or stimulate a pill bug, it will curl up into a ball for a while as a defense mechanism? I definitely want to do that on some days. I'm doing really well, but these past couple months have been mentally and emotionally exhausting (I think mainly because I started therapy), and I'm physically worn out from taking care of a toddler all day and being pregnant-gestating a tiny human can take a lot out of a girl! So I've been struggling when it comes to things like working on my To Do list (I have gone days without opening my planner) and keeping on top of writing or other responsibilities. It didn't help that we had a rough couple weeks of my husband (and then toddler) being sick/struck with horrible allergies. 

Today is a new day, a new week, and as I sit here in a coffee shop, I'm feeling rather optimistic and energized. Yesterday, I started reading Jennifer Fulwiler's new book, and let me tell you, this book is coming at the exact time I need it and I relate to her words so much right now, even in some rather random details. On that note, I hope that you all have a wonderful day and an awesome end to your Easter season! (as we prepare for Pentecost, I did manage to type up a little reflection on how the Holy Spirit wants to know you-even if you don't consider yourself "charismatic")

11 comments:

  1. So glad things are going relatively well! And plogging just sounds like a hilarious word to me. But a cool concept! And my running is totally slow like some people’s fast walking I bet, haha! Anyway. Can’t believe it’s already almost Pentecost!!

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  2. I have never ever heard of "plogging" before, but it sounds like a great way to clean up the neighborhood a little bit at a time! Everything helps!

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  3. You are glowing!! So excited for you, AnneMarie! I feel ya with the exhaustion and not getting much done as I close out my first trimester of pregnancy :) Looking forward to more of your updates. Xo.

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    1. Thank you so much, Elisabeth! Congratulations!! Are you hanging in there okay? First trimester exhaustion can be challenging to deal with. Hopefully you'll have more energy and feel better in a few weeks.

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  4. You look lovely! Hang in there. Those “can’t get out of the chair” days are rough.

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    1. Thank you so much! I'll try-in the past two weeks since the above picture was taken, my belly has gotten even bigger so it's definitely continuing to be a struggle! Though thankfully, now I have an excuse to ask my husband to go help the toddler in the middle of the night if he wakes up, since it takes way too much time and effort to get out of bed :P

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    2. I actually put a small step stool in the car so my toddler could climb into her car seat by herself. It saved me from trying to pick her up.

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    3. Ooh, that's a really good idea! Thanks for mentioning that. Unfortunately, our small car is kind of cramped with the car seat (he's still rear-facing), so I don't think there'd be a way to arrange that right now. But I'll keep it in mind for when he starts facing forward, that may help me out!

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  5. I feel huge, too, which is funny because I've actually gained a lot less during this pregnancy than in my past two. You must be due in August?
    I just realized that Nitara's second birthday is later this month. (Where has time gone?) This means Peter must also be turning two. Happy birthday to him!

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    1. I am due in August! The very end of August, though, so I may easily have a September baby in here :) Thanks-I'll pass along the message to Peter. He turns 2 this week! Please tell Nitara "happy birthday" from us as well. The time really has flown by, it's amazing.

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