Elfie's Adventures

Probably the cutest part about December and nannying for a family that has a 2 year old is getting to see him wake up to Elfie every morning and seeing what shenanigans he got into the night before. I always feel bad since I'm sure his parents would like to be here every day for it but I am always sure to let them know whether or not Max was actually excited to see Elfie or not. I think his favorite day this week was probably the M&M's, mainly because he got to eat them with his breakfast and what kid doesn't love chocolate?! They usually save the better days for the weekends so they can see him get super excited but that makes sense (and because I really don't wanna have to make tiny pancakes at 6:30 in the morning!).

I hope that everyone has a good weekend! Mine will consist of EMT Practicals all day Saturday and doing a 12 hour ride along shift at the ambulance company!

WOD Wednesday

It's hump day! Which means the week is alllllmost over. Yesterday it snowed here in good ol' Philadelphia which meant I got my first SNOW DAY!! Nannying for a teacher and a principal sure does have its perks (even though I would've loved playing with the boys in it!).

Unfortunately, I had a terrible headache last night so I wasn't able to make the WOD but I'm still going to include it in this post since I was planning on going. Totally the same thing right?!

Thursday December 5th

[1] Power Snatch + [1] Snatch Balance (20 Minute EMOT[2]M)

Rainbows

For Time (7 minute cap)

5-10-15-10-5

Pull Ups (I did ring rows)

Thrusters

Dubs

2 minute AMRAP

Dubs

Butterflies

5 minute AMRAP

Clean and Jerks

If there is one thing that I hate doing, it's snatches. It's awkward, I feel awkward, and I probably look awkward doing them. I'm pretty sure I only got up to 55 pounds. Not that great but it's my least favorite so I'm slowly increasing my weight. No need to rush it. My second least favorite thing: dubs. I think I did like 6? I am absolutely horrible at them. I always end up whipping my arms more than actually getting the rope under me twice. Even trying to do single, single, double. Nope. I just can't seem to go fast enough. Oh well. After two of my least favorite work outs, at least I got to end on a good note with some split jerks. Some people hate them, I absolutely love them! I think it's because I feel so powerful when I get to dig my feet into the ground.

Tuesday December 10th

Power Clean Holds

20 minutes

ODDS- 2 Power Position Clean Holds

EVENS- 5 Strict Pull Ups

Schweddy Balls

For Time (6 minute cap)

20- Kettlebell Swings

60- Wall Balls

20- Kettlebell Swings

Whip 'Em Out

10 minute AMRAP

5 Toes to Bar

5 Pull Ups

30 Dubs

If I had gone to this last night I probably would've only complained about the dubs (see above comment). I'm not a fan of wall balls but they help me get a nice looking booty from the squats so I can't complain much about them. I probably would've subbed Knees to Chest for Toes to Bar and Ring Rows for Pull Ups. Maybe by the beginning of the year I will try to start banded pull ups and see how well that goes!

I hope that you all will enjoy my WOD Wednesdays and it will inspire you to get in the gym and lift some weights! I'm hoping that it will inspire myself to stick to my Tuesday and Thursday night WODs so that I can share them with you!

Crossfit Christmas List

I've only been doing crossfit for about 6 months now, but I am 110% obsessed with it. I got to bring a friend to my box this past Thursday to show her why I'm addicted. I think she fell in love. Mainly, because I think everyone does.

This Christmas all I really want is a new tattoo. However, if I didn't want a tattoo, I decided that I would make myself a little wishlist of what I would want. Yes, it is all crossfit stuff. Yes, I want all of it.

There's really nothing else a girl could ask for is there?

(The tank top is definitely my favorite of all of them!)

I hope that everyone has a great week!

PS- I am going to start doing WOD Wednesday's so that you can see what work outs I have done so you can do them on your own and have sore legs and arms with me!

What I'm Thankful For (Work Edition)

I might be a few days late on this post but I still think it should be said.

In regards to my job, I am so thankful for the family that I work for.

I started working for them in August of this year, but it seems like I have been with them for so much longer! I love the boys I watch more than anything and I would do anything for them. When their parents aren't home, I am responsible for them and I treat them like I would my own children. I truly love those boys and I don't know what I will do when I stop nannying for me. (Hopefully that won't be happening for awhile!)

Besides the relationship I have with the boys, the relationship I have built with their parents is just as strong. I might not see the dad that often, but I still never have a problem texting or calling him when I need to. My relationship I have established with their mom is completely different, in a good way. We send each other pictures of the boys whenever we capture adorable moments and when I'm not feeling well, she is sure to text me to ask how I am feeling. I've talked to her about my guy problems and she complains about work. I love the relationship I have with her and I am so thankful that she had two amazing little boys that I get to spend 5 out of my 7 days of the week with.

Whenever I need time off or I need to leave early from work, they never have a problem with coming home early or finding someone else to watch the boys (even though I hate leaving them). When I was planning my trip to Florida for Christmas and it was cheaper to fly down the Thursday before Christmas, they had no problem with letting me leave then, even though I already have all of Christmas week off AND almost the whole week for New Years.

I am one lucky nanny. That is for sure.

I hope all the other nannies out there think they are just as lucky. I never felt like a part of the family with the first family I worked with but now I couldn't even imagine my life without them.

PS- They are doing Elf on the Shelf and it is the cutest thing I've ever been a part of.

Anybody else out there have a sneaky little elf making messes and keeping the kids in check?

Crazy Crossfit

Last Friday, my box did a WOD that involved a certain challenge called "Bring Sally Up". I didn't get to do it but holy wow. That is all I have to say. I am scared for the day that I do indeed have to suck it up and get my back squat on. For your enjoyment of seeing people in pain I have included a video of said challenge. I dare you to complete the whole thing.

After cringing at these poor crossfitters I decided to do some YouTube searching to see what else I could find that involved crossfit. These are my top 5 videos that I have found so far. If you have seen others, please feel free to share them. I would love to watch them!

1- Don't know what crossfit is? Watch this quick video to see all the sorts of hell we put our body through.

2- This girl. My motivation for sure.

3- I am a chalk user, but definitely not as bad as some crossfitters. 

4- Haha. I'd watch this.

5- Had to show love for CFMY. However, our box has moved since this video was made.

The Worst Thing About A Busy Schedule...

Is that my workout is always the first thing to get sacrificed.

I think it has been almost three weeks since I got to go to the box and man do I miss it. (Stupid dentist appointments!)
I miss the lifts. I miss the ring rows. I miss the bruised shins.
Who am I?!
I'm a crossfit lover who has no time to crossfit but today I can finally go and I am so excited and nervous at the same time.
I am already mentally preparing for the fact that I won't be able to snatch as much as I had been or deadlift anything close to what I had last time, but it's my own fault. The majority of today's WOD is lifts which means I will be one sore nanny tomorrow and I'm totally stoked. I miss the aches and pains.

Wish me luck. T minus 10 hours till I can feel complete again.

And so you can feel my pain, below is the workout. It might not seem too bad, but I'm going to take a wild guess and say I will be sweating and panting.
A LOT.

1 Snatch Pull + 1 Power Snatch + 1 Overhead Squat (20 minutes- EMOT[2]M)

Hamstrung (20 Minute- EMOTM)
EVENS- 3 Deadlifts at 75% of Max
ODDS- 10 Box Jump Overs

I'll be sure to let you all know how this goes!

Anybody else have to sacrifice their workout sometimes? It always breaks my heart a little bit every time I have to do it.

My New Gadget

I read lots of blogs. Anything from baby blogs to cooking blogs to people who talk about whatever they want to that day. I love reading blogs because I can find so many new things that I wouldn't have seen or thought of myself. One of the blogs I read does a whole mixture of different stuff and one of those things is product reviews. I love reading them because most of the time I have never heard of the product so it helps me learn about it and contemplate if it is something that I would benefit from.

Awhile ago she did a review on the Jawbone UP. I thought that I could totally see myself wearing it every day to mainly keep track of my steps. As a nanny, it is really hit or miss with how active I am at work. Some days we will just have a lazy day at home and others we will walk around the zoo or aquarium for hours. I have always been curious about my sleeping habits too. I love that it can connect to other apps that I use on my phone such as MyFitnessPal and RunKeeper.

I got my Jawbone UP in the mail October 30th and I haven't taken it off since!

I think that I am addicted to it. I love plugging it into my phone every day to see how many miles I have walked and how well I slept the night before (which is pretty rare these days). It keeps me accountable for the days that I don't go to crossfit. It's also a great way to show me how lazy I can be some days with the boys. Oh well.

Clearly Claire should come into town more often for bachelorette shenanigans because Saturday night was probably the most I have walked since I got the Jawbone UP. However, I think the majority of those steps were my sweet dance moves at the bar. No shame in my game.

I hope that everyone had a lovely weekend! The weather here in Philadelphia was absolutely amazing!

HAPPY MONDAY!