Pure Barre Review

Pure Barre is one of those workout things that I had never heard of until a friend of mine posted about on Facebook. Advertised as "high intensity, low impact", I was intrigued. I have exercise induced asthma and it seems like everything that falls under exercise triggers it. Swimming in an indoor pool isn't as bad, but even that will hit it eventually. And feeling short of breath is not a feeling I relish. 

I decided to give it a try nonetheless, after she said it probably wouldn't mess with my asthma. And after all, why turn down a free "try-me" class? I arranged for my mom to watch Saoirse while I took the opportunity to "lift, tone, and burn."

I was instructed to get a ball roughly the size of a cantaloupe, a set of 2 lb weights, and a stretchy tube thing, and then I found a spot in the center-ish area of the floor, as was suggested by the instructor. 

First off let me say, I have no idea how these instructors keep sounding so perky through the whole thing. 

We started off with knee lifts to warm up, some opposite knee to opposite elbow kind of stuff where it took me a good 5 tries to get my legs and arms working on a diagonal. For someone who has a dance background, I am amazingly awful at figuring out where my body is in space. Following that, we picked up our weights to work the shoulders and arms. I was at least mildly concerned for my rotator cuff, despite the fact they watch your form so you don't hurt yourself. However, courtesy of this, I now use my baby as a weight to the tune of "and lift, for two, and down, for two." Then there were planks, and push ups, and things that I don't know the name for. And I became intensely aware of how little upper body strength I have. Irish dance does not focus on upper body strength at all. As a result, my legs are strong, my core is decent, and my arms suck. 

Finally, after what felt like it had to be at least halfway through class, the instructor says, "And that finishes our warm-up."

I nearly fell out in the floor right then and there. I'm not sure why this shocked me so much, considered we hadn't even approached the bar part of Pure Barre yet. My shoulders hurt. 2 lb weights get really heavy after about 5 minutes. 

I'll leave some of this to the imagination as the "seat and thighs" section at the barre varies from week to week. Suffice to say, my butt hurt by the end of it. And my legs shook through most of it. 

We finished up with ab work. And it definitely works the abs. I don't know that I have ever been so grateful to see my mom walking with Saoirse (them being back at Pure Barre meant class was nearly over). Holding my baby after class hurt. My shoulders were what I felt the class in first. Not surprising since my arms are my weakest area. 

The next morning was when I felt every muscle. Coughing hurt. Getting out of bed hurt. I then went and bought a 5 classes for $51 Groupon and vowed to go once a week. It was such a workout. I've now been for 3 classes. Everyone I've talked to about it says how hard it is, especially that first class. And then they go back. And honestly, it keeps kicking your butt, at least best as I can tell. But I had to share this with everyone. 

You can try out one class for free. There's a Groupon for new clients (5 classes for $51 or 10 for $90 ish- must be used within 30 or 45 days respectively). There's a New Mom special where you get 3 months unlimited for $390 or so. Which is less than the $480 or so for 3 months unlimited normally. It's expensive but it will whoop your butt into shape quickly if you go the 3-4 times a week that's recommended. I can only pull off 1 time a week right now due to having to have someone watch Saoirse, but 1x a week is better than nothing. 

I definitely recommend this workout. 

This review was not requested nor endorsed by Pure Barre or Pure Barre Little Rock. I got no payment or free goodies for this review. This is all my opinion and my money being spent. 

Some nights...

I'm not sure what the heck is going on. Saoirse fusses and fusses and what seems like nothing sets her off. Last night, if it wasn't me holding her, it pretty much wasn't okay. She also refused to sleep for any length of time until 2 am. Fortunately, she was in a good mood. Cooing and crowing and chattering. 

I'm not complaining, not really. Just showing it's not always rainbows and butterflies. Teething sucks. She's been drooling like a St Bernard since she was about 2 months old. 

Some days the only thing that soothes her is teething gel and teething rings or a finger. Her hands are constantly in her mouth. I'm waiting for that first tooth to break through, all the while realizing we're in this for the long haul regardless. I'm not looking forward to 2 year old molars. 

But at the end of the day she's an awesome snuggle buddy and I love her to pieces. 

Christmas Morning

Saoirse's first Christmas went well. She was pretty much lost, being not quite 4 months old, but next year will surely be a bit of a different story. It was also Saoirse's aunt Hong's first Christmas.

Hong on Christmas morning

 She's 5 and had been with our family for one month as of Christmas. If you'd like to read the blog with details of that adoption, here's the link: http://kaijinsbigsis.blogspot.com/ 

Saoirse loves doing the monkey hold on her Daddy. The tutu was her Christmas morning outfit. 

My heart in one picture 

I got Saoirse a glow seahorse. I had a glow-worm when I was little that I really loved so I got her the more modern version. She loves things that light up. 

The bow then went from the seahorse onto her head. It stayed on pretty well and was very cute. My little present. :)

Saoirse and I Christmas morning. 

She got some soft blocks, a set of keys, some outfits, a panda that makes sounds, and the like. In addition to a jumper she got from her Papa Jim and Granny Barb, her great grandparents. 

Playing in her jumper on Christmas

We got it on the 23rd so here's some shots from her first time in it. 

And a final really cute picture of her. 

We love Wubbanubs around here. She's in a sucky phase where she doesn't always want milk, but she wants to suck and she gets annoyed when she gets milk. And then spits up. Everywhere. Wubbanubs are awesome. My cats don't think they're toys like they do the standalone pacis. 

Merry Christmas!

From all of us at Rubber Ducky Regatta!

Also, here's some of the pics from our Christmas card. Only 4 made it on, but these were the options. :)

Thirty Seconds To Mars

Thirty Seconds to Mars is my favorite band. When I found out they were going to be in Tulsa (about 4 hrs away)- the day after my 23rd birthday nonetheless- I was ecstatic. I saw my first concert of their's in Brady Theater on April 13, 2010, the day after my now-husband asked me out and 4 days before our first date (April 17). I introduced Joseph to 30STM, and he is a fan now too. I was so thrilled. Happy birthday to me!

I bought Joseph and I each a ticket, and I arranged for my mom to accompany us to Tulsa and watch Saoirse during the show. Well, an ice storm was headed for Tulsa, so there were major concerns. Would the show happen? Could we even get there between snow, ice, and flooding here in Arkansas? And then Joseph woke up sick the day of, so he stayed home. Mom and I trekked out with Saoirse, deciding if it was too bad anywhere we'd turn back. 

On the way there, we decided Mom could just go in to with Saoirse, so the ticket wouldn't be wasted. I had Joseph's noise canceling headphones for her. We made to Tulsa with no problems. There was ice on trees and all, but we made it safely. We went and ate at Mexicali nearby, so we didn't sit through the first 2 acts. Great food and good service there. I definitely recommend it. 

We went in after dinner and hung out in the lobby until the act was over and we went to find our seats. I bought some MARS pins and we attached them to Saoirse's hat. 

We hung out in there until the next act started and we put the headphones on her. She didn't care for them so Mom took her out to the lobby. You can still hear but it's at a more normal volume. 

Mom and Saoirse hung out at the merchandise table and Saoirse fell asleep. Mom came back in after the act just before 30 Seconds to Mars and we all hung out in our chairs. Saoirse got so many compliments about how cute she is and how awesome it was that she was there. 30STM started so we put the headphones on her and she was okay through "Birth" and part of "Night of the Hunter", then she decided she didn't dig the headphones so Mom took her back to the lobby. 

Asleep on Cheerio with headphones

So she got to hear her favorite band (I listened to 30STM all the time while I was pregnant, and I listened to them while I was in labor. She still likes to listen to them. She likes "City of Angels".) live at volumes okay for a baby, either in the lobby or with nearly $200 noise canceling headphones. Her hearing was protected. 

It was an amazing show. I got some good videos and all. And I GOT PICKED FROM THE AUDIENCE TO GO ON STAGE FOR "UP IN THE AIR"!!!!! Such a story to tell Saoirse about her first concert. My Mom got her to leave the headphones on so that they could see me on stage. 

((Seen in between those arms the arrow is pointing at. The little light pink blob is Saoirse.))

Those headphones just make those cheeks look even chubbier. 

It was an amazing night and really awesome. Saoirse was really good about being in her car seat, which she dislikes, for so much time in one day. She slept most of the way to Tulsa, with a couple stops to breastfeed, but by the time we made it to Sallisaw, OK, on the way home, she was done. She was bored and tired of being in the car seat. So we talked from Sallisaw to Russellville. She had a lot to coo about after such a concert so we talked which entertained her. We stopped and let her eat in Russellville and then she fell asleep from there til home. We kept her home today as I think she'd had enough car seat action for 24 hrs. 

Here's some pics of the show

Me on stage 

SoundSleeper

There's this app for iPhone called SoundSleeper (may have a space, I'm not sure). I am in love with this app. It is a true lifesaver, available for free, or $3.99, or $2.99. Let me explain the variety. 

SoundSleeper is a white noise app. Vacuum, car sounds, rain, thunderstorm, shhh, and a couple more available sounds. Now, for free, the sound will run for up to 30 minutes unattended. After several weeks of pulling this app out, I decided to upgrade. $3.99. Not too bad for the peace and amazing calm-down abilities it has. Better yet, share it on Facebook and you get 25% off, making it $2.99. Yes, please. 

Upgrading gives you the ability to have continuous play, as well as a "listen" feature. I haven't used it yet to see how well it works, but it's supposed to play for a bit, fade out, and if it hears your baby making noise, it starts back up.

This app has gotten Saoirse to calm down when nothing else seems to. When walking, nursing, rocking, and Gripe Water all fail, this will work. Most of the time. Sometimes we're just SOL, but that's by no fault of this app. Which I love. I just wish I could get it to play through my car's speakers. We use "rain" and that works for Saoirse. 

Disclaimer: I was not paid to do this review or anything. I just love this app. 

And some pictures cause I know what you're all here for. 

Holding my head up so well. 

Chatterbox

Today's outfit. Matching feet and hat. 

Pain

It's amazing to me how much pain I will go through for this child. And she's only 3 months old. Over those 3 months, I gave birth unmedicated (although I took 2 hits of stadol during labor), the first week of breast feeding was very painful as my boobs got used to it, we then battled a milk blister/plugged duct and thrush around Halloween and another milk blister/plugged duct just after Thanksgiving. She apparently absorbed some of my cats' DNA which caused her to have claws and a bizarre love of doing a kneading motion generally only done by my cats. She likes to slowly slough my skin off with her nails. She also some times likes to clamp down her gums on my nipple. 

Not to mention the 9 months prior of off-and-on nausea, hip, and back pain. 

And I love her more than anything, and I would do it all over again. 

This smile makes it all worth it.