Conquering Mt. Rubidoux

Living in the Inland Empire has its perks. We have easy access to hikes and trails galore. I've lived here for more than 10 years and I've only had the opportunity to explore a few. The "easiest" one for me is Mt. Rubidoux. And when I say easy what I really mean is it's the closest one to me AND it's a paved trail all the way up the mountain. Which makes it easier to push strollers up. But that's about as easy as it gets.

The walk from the parking lot at the bottom of the hill up to the entrance to this trail itself is up a pretty steep grade. Daniel and I were already huffing and puffing by the time we reached the beginning part of the trail. Which goes to show just how out of shape we both are. Just a few short years ago we were both fitness junkies and in the best shape of our lives. But in our defense, we were pushing a double stroller (that weighs 29.5 lbs by itself) carrying a 27 lb. toddler and an 18 lb. infant. Plus a diaper bag. And that was NOT easy!

Anyway, once you actually get to the top of the hill to the start of the trail, it gets a little easier.

There are 2 trails you can choose to go up. The left trail is a shorter and faster trail to travel. However, it's a pretty steep climb. Much like the one we climbed to get there. And the trail to the right is longer but not as steep. Wanna guess which trail we chose?

Yup! You guessed it. The one to the right.

When Ella asked if she could walk instead, we didn't protest. We were hands down thrilled we didn't have to bribe her to get up and get some exercise with us old fogies.

The last time I hiked up this trail was when Ella was maybe around a year old. We used to come here pretty often for a mommy and me playdate with a fellow mom-friend and her daughter. I almost forgot just how pretty this hike was. And the views of Riverside is just so gorgeous.

Of course this gem made my Ella Bella want to explore it up close and personal.

She said it was her castle. And she was the princess.

I love how new places and things excite her. I cannot wait till we take her to Disneyland for the first time. If she loved this castle so much, I can only imagine just how crazy she'll be about Sleeping Beauty's castle. Oh to be a kid again!!!

Anyway, where was I? Oh that's right... Mt. Rubidoux. When we finally made it up to the top, we took a little rest break. To enjoy the sights, to get a drink of water, to just be in that moment.

It was windy as heck. And it got chilly as the sun started to set. But it didn't seem to faze the babies at all.

So we stayed a little while before we made the trip back down the hill.

I couldn't tell you how long it took us to get up and down the mountain but I will say it was such a great workout. I definitely felt it the next day, that's for sure! We'll have to hike another trail soon.

Got any suggestions on which hiking trail we should conquer next?

Tags: #mtrubidoux #workouts #hiking #inlandempire #riverside #california #southerncalifornia #hikingtrails

And We Are LIVE!!!

Yay! That Plain Jane Life is FINALLY up and running! I was hoping to have had it up sooner but hey, better late than never right?

Before we go any further, let me introduce myself. My name is Jane. I’m a 30-something year old living in a city called Moreno Valley in Southern California. Borderline Riverside. Like seriously, if you cross the street, you’re in Riverside. Anyway, I’m married to a man named Daniel. We have been together for almost 17 years, married for 9 years. It’s so crazy to see those numbers written down because I can’t believe it’s already been that long! We have 2 beautiful daughters together. Ella Juliet will be 3 years old in June and Everly Rose is almost 8 months new. They are definitely our greatest accomplishments for sure!

Other fun facts about me: I have a furbaby (my first baby) and her name is Tipsy. I was born and raised in Hawaii and I’m a 1st generation immigrant - my parents are from the Philippines who immigrated to the US back in the 70s. I moved to California when I was 18 to attend college. Met my husband my junior year of college. Got a degree in Film/TV Production with an emphasis in Screenwriting but ended up with a career in Visual Merchandising in the fashion retail industry.

*Click the arrow to see more photos*

So what exactly is That Plain Jane Life all about? Well, it’s basically about my life and my journey through motherhood. Which is beautiful and exciting for the most part... but can be scary and overwhelming as well. I want to share my real stories of motherhood (both good and “bad”) to help other overwhelmed mamas out there stay sane and to let them know they’re not alone. To encourage them they can still live their best lives. And that they can use my blog as an outlet to share their stories. For real, mamas! I can’t wait to engage with you on all topics - pregnancy, breastfeeding, mom-shaming, terrible 2’s, EVERYTHING!!!

With that said, I hope you’ll stay awhile... enjoy the stories! And if you have any questions, stories, or comments drop me a line and let’s talk!

Pink Or Blue? What's It Gonna Be?

*Originally posted May 1, 2017 on Fab . Fit . Me*

And here we are.... I'm about to reveal to you, my faithful readers who do not yet know what we are having, just what's been growing inside this belly of mine. Gonna try to keep this post short and sweet since I've kept you waiting for so long.

Ok so let me start with the "back story" of this exciting event. Last time I was pregnant, I had to wait till I was 20 weeks gestation to find out the sex of our baby. That's when they do the 1-hour long anatomical ultrasound.

This pregnancy though, I didn't have to wait that long. Why? Well because I'm old now.

Say what?

Yeah, it's because I'm in the "35 and older" age range. I'm considered "high risk" for things like birth defects and/or health issues for baby. And because I'm in this category, I am offered all kinds of extra testing to check if Baby P #2 may be at risk to have any kind of health issues.

One of the tests is called an NIPT blood screen. Totally non-invasive. Just a blood sample from me that goes off to a special lab somewhere. And then experts take a look at it and check to see what kind of chromosomal make up Baby P #2 has.

I went in for this blood screening on Monday, March 20th. I was about 13 weeks along. The results were emailed to me on Friday, March 24th. I was told I may be waiting 10-14 days for the results to come in. Totally didn't expect it in 4 days. And since we had shipped Ella off to Grandma's for 2 weeks when this took place, we didn't plan to have our Gender Reveal dinner till she came back. April 15th was our scheduled dinner.

And can you believe we were able to wait that long without peeking at the email?

Seriously though, we were good. We didn't even try.

Anyway, my friend that helped me pull off an awesome Reveal last time helped me again this time. And it turned out to be another hit!

Last Reveal, we did balloons with confetti (click HERE to read and watch Ella's Gender Reveal!).

This time we did silly string.

Finding these were a pain in the ass. Amazon and major retail stores were selling these for $5 a pop. My friend eventually found these at a 99 cent store. And they didn't have a lot in stock. She bought every single one they did have. And then she made the cans look all pretty. Totally grateful everything worked out! Our plan B was to do confetti cannons (in case you were wondering).

Anyway. Saturday April 15th, finally came. Yummy dinner. Great company. An overall success.

Team Pink represented.

And so did Team Blue.

And as you can see, most of our guests were rooting Team Blue.

But did that make a difference?

Watch and find out!!!

Tags: #genderreveal #genderrevealideas #secondpregnancy #pregnancyjourney