What prevents me from being “Super Mom”

Over the past two years, I’ve worked very hard to figure out how all these successful stay at home moms keep their house clean, raise respectable children, and look like a million bucks doing it.  How do they have the discipline to “get it all done”?  I really do understand that no one is actually perfect, but they sure seem like they have it all together!

Like I said, this has been a process.  I’ve done a pretty thorough assessment of myself and I believe that it all comes down to three things:  Distractions,  Lack of Discipline and Pity Parties.

I swear sometimes that I have Attention Deficit Disorder with as scattered as my brain is, but how many unnecessary things do I have going on in my home that take my attention away from the important things?  I first started to realize how much he t.v. is on in my house.  I say I like it for the noise, but it honestly takes my attention away from what I need to do.  You’ve had those moments where you look in the pantry to get something and then can’t remember what you were trying to get.  What all is going on in your house when this happens?  How much of that is just unnecessary noise?

Lack of Discipline, I’m soooo guilty of this.  I don’t wake up at a set time every morning.  My husband’s alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. and he hits snooze for an hour.  I get up sometime in that hour and fix his breakfast and lunch for the day.  Sometimes I stay up and clean or I go back to bed.  I don’t get my kids up at a certain time, I just let them wake up on their own.  Every morning always seems so crazy because I feel like I never know what’s going on.  I’m horrible at scheduling.  Definitely something I need to work on!

And lastly, the dredded “pity party”.  How many times have your kids and husband been in the living room/den watching a movie while you are still stuck in the kitchen cleaning or even getting things ready for breakfast in the morning?  It’s really easy to feel the, “THIS ISN’T FAIR!!” feeling although you know that if you don’t do this life will just be harder tomorrow or for the next meal.

Being a stay at home mom really is a blessing.  I realize that in another 10-15 years, my babies will be teenagers and life will be drastically different.  Probably less hugs and kisses and they will need me to do things for them less.  I know when that time comes, I’ll be missing days like today.  So, I’m trying to embrace the work I put into them now because I know that I will be blessed for it later!  Super mom, maybe she doesn’t exist, but I’m going to do the best that I can.

First couple of steps are the hardest

I understand that day two of a workout program isn’t much to brag about, but I did it and gave it my all! I’m on day two of Chalene Johnston’s TurboFire program. It’s possible I may be in love with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). At least I have a second to grab a quick sip of water!

Day 3 is a day I dread. It’s rest day, ALREADY! I’m one of those people that when I get into a groove, I don’t want to stop in fear I won’t start back up again. Between this blog and a few “fit clubs” that I’m a part of on Facebook, I should be able to keep on keeping on on day 4.

One of my goals is to take better care of my skin and I think I’ve found a skin care line that I’d like to try. When I get it, I’ll share it with you.

Hope you guys are making your plans so you will make your 2013 goals happen!

New Year, New You

Well, today is December 18th. A couple of weeks now until the new year. Always scared of getting behind, I attempted to start my new year early on my birthday in November.

I have several very specific goals this year. The more specific I make them, it’s much easier to measure my progress. I mean, if I just said, “lose weight” when would I know when I’ve met my goal?

So, here we go:

1. To reach my goal weight of 135 lbs.

2. To get my BMI below 23.

3. To increase my overall flexibility to be able to do a back bend with no assistance!

4. To learn to forgive myself in my failures so I can continue to move forward in my goals. (I’ll explain this in another post)

5. To read the entire Bible in a year.

6. To learn how to appreciate my family more instead of just feeling frustrated about the things I haven’t done. Part of that forgiveness thing.

7. To take better care of my skin and show the world that I like me enough to take care of me.

8. Learn enough conversational Spanish to be able to understand most of what people tell me and to respond accordingly.

9. To learn how to cut my boys’ hair!

10. To make monthly plans for fun date nights to show my husband that I DO appreciate him and that I want to know even more about him!

Yes, yes, yes, I’m one of those people who makes goals in multiples of fives and tens. I’m sure it’s not as OCD as I think it is!!!

So, I plan on explaining all these soon as individual posts. This year will be full of physical changes as well as mental and spiritual. I’m very excited. What goals or plans do you have???

View in the Stroller

I did run yesterday. I walked today with the kids. Just 1.64 miles, but it was a hobble. I just was really tired today, but got out there anyway. It was awesome. We saw 7 squirrels, four birds, and two airplanes!

No makeup today, but I did put some product in my hair!!!

Hoping tomorrow is better and I can actually RUN!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

Today is here!  I am 33 years old today.  You know, if my birthday was on a school day when I was a kid, my mom would come in my room with a Hostess Ding Dong and a candle and sing happy birthday.  My husband threatened me with that this morning!

Running:  I didn’t run, but I did push a toddler in a stroller for 1 whole mile.  It was NOTHING.  Tomorrow I’m going to figure out why my stroller is acting wonky so I can actually run with it.

Makeup/Hair:  Make up was on pretty early.  I’ll admit, I’m out of practice, but at least I’ll look a little better for my birthday festivities!  Yesterday, I talked to a friend of mine that sells Mary Kay about having a color consultation.  Her makeup always looks so perfect.  So, I’m going to get her to teach me how to look better!  Since I don’t wear makeup much, I heard my son say, “Mom, what’s wrong with your eye???”  Forgot I had on eye make up and rubbed my eyes!  Nice, right?

Food:  Well, it is my birthday, so it’s a cheat day.    My husband said he didn’t want me to really cook today.  He took us to lunch and then we went out to eatfor dinner!  I definitely didn’t eat what I should have been eating.  I will atone for my eating sins tomorrow!

Food Intolerences:  I have an appointment on the 13th to talk to a doctor about some of my issues and to ask for 1)  allergy testing  and 2) nutritional consultation .  The faster I figure out what’s going on, the faster I can make a plan to eat better!

Quilting:  I didn’t really need an excuse to play on Pinterest, but like I said, I’m a woman with a goal!  So, I’m just looking at some of the simple quilts and printing off some that I would like to do.

 

Overall, a pretty good birthday and it’s nice to have people that love me enough and to celebrate it with me!  Have a great night folks!

My New YEAR Resolution

I’m sure you’re thinking, “But New Years is still two months away!  What you talkin’ bout Willis???”

Well, that’s the start of the calendar year, but tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY!  The beginning of my new year of life.  It’s the time of year where I start looking in the mirror and say, “What is going on here!?!?!”  I am not to ashamed to admit that I will be 33 years old tomorrow.   I don’t feel a day over 25 mentally, but physically, I can tell that I’m not a teenager anymore.  There are a lot of things I want to change this year.  What better way to stay on track than to make a public announcement about your goals!!!  So, yeah, you are free to email me and tell me, “GET YOUR BUTT IN GEAR” or “RUNNING IS BETTER THAN PROZAC”!!
So, without further ado… Here are MY new year resolutions (in no particular order):

1)     I will run/walk/jog/hobble at least 1 mile per day.  On our 10K run the other day, I realized how much I love running and I don’t devote enough time to it.

2)     I will start wearing makeup and blowdry/style my hair… DAILY.  No, I’m not going to put a picture up everyday, but if you see me and I don’t have makeup on you can feel free to get me back on track!

3)     To actually have a food cheat day that I stick to.  (You knew I had to have a food one, everyone does!!!)  My cheat day will be Saturdays, unless there’s  holiday or birthday or something like that.  You understand!

4)     Find my food allergies/intolerances!  I know there are things that are in my diet that cause me problems.  I just haven’t figured them out yet.  This is going to be the year that I do.  I want to be healthy and feel better.  No excuses, this year, I will find out what’s keeping me from being 100%!

5)     I WILL finish a quilt by my next birthday.  It would be nice to start AND finish more than one before 2013, but for goal purposes, I want to at least finish one.  I wouldn’t mind if it was just a baby quilt.  (Anyone have a dummies guide to quilting???)

6)     YOU KNEW this was coming… BLOG DAILY… about my goals.  Hard to hold myself accountable to you, if I don’t tell you what’s going on!

Look for my blog tomorrow after my run in the a.m.! 

Feel free… quiz me.  If I fail to plan, I plan to fail.  Help me find flaws in my goals so I can figure out how to get around the problems when they arise.  

Rocking the Crock Pot!

Who wants to cook up a storm on our hectic days?  School is about to start for my oldest.  We are starting to set up play dates for my youngest.  So much to do with Fall coming.  It’s days like today that I really LOVE my crock pot!  Our “go to” meal on our crazy days is always a Mexican dish!  It is way too easy to do.

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

4 chicken breast (fresh or frozen)

2 cups of salsa (your choice)

1 cup water

 

Put in your chicken breasts at the bottom of the crockpot, throw in your salsa and your water.  Put your crock pot for 6-8 hours on low heat.  After the chicken is done, shred with a fork.

We generally serve these on soft corn tortillas with all of the taco fixings.  The chicken is so tender… yum yum yum.  We could eat these almost every night!

Herbal Teas

I’m finding that my sporadic posts are just as bad as me trying to keep up with one of the kids playgroups!  We show up “sometimes”.  Well, I guess God has begun to put new things in my head.  Or more precisely, I’ve started to listen a lot better!

Today, my topic is herbal teas.  Yes, you can call me a hippie all you want, but when stuff works, it works!  Most of my life, I’ve lived on the great Western diet with fried and processed foods.  My husband and I have worked really hard to change our diet over to one this is more “whole foods” oriented.  Besides just trying to lose weight, we just feel better.  After you get all that “junk” out of your system, you can learn so much more about your body.  I’ve found that my body is sensitive to dairy and excessive sugar.  When I eat dairy, I bloat and have stomach issues.  Eating just a few cookies, makes me feel lightheaded and I get a racing pulse.

Why did I just explain all that?  Well, when you get the “junk” out of your system, God’s remedies actually work a lot better.  Ladies, do you have HORRIBLE menstrual cycles with painful cramps and excessive bleeding?  Try red raspberry leaf tea.  During my last pregnancy, I bled a lot.  I bled enough that the hospital was completely convinced that I was having a miscarriage.   I went to a natural food store and talked with a wonderful lady who suggested the red raspberry leaf tea.  She said it was definitely safe during pregnancy.  I began drinking the tea and a day later the bleeding stopped.  Throughout my pregnancy, I had times were I would bleed.  I would drink the tea and the bleeding would stop.

I still drink the red raspberry leaf due monthly with my period.  It lessens cramping and the bleeding isn’t NEARLY as excessive.  I’m continually amazed at the wonderful healing plants that God put on this earth for us.

Another great herb for us ladies:  Dandelion Root.  As far as pregnancy goes, they are kind of iffy if it should be used or not, but for those of us that aren’t, it’s amazing.  They are really rich in Vitamin A, calcium, and iron.  It helps nourish your liver and really helps with bloating.  You know ladies, when you find that your rings are kind of tight on your fingers and you are retaining water?  Dandelion Root tea is your best friend.  I’m having a cup of it now!

I haven’t been brave enough yet to actually harvest the root out of my yard yet, so I buy it pre-packaged at the health food store.  Even if you don’t have a health food store close, you can get them through natural food stores on the internet.  Even Amazon.com has a lot of them listed and at pretty decent prices. 

Teas are definitely worth trying!  Here is the website to American Pregnancy.Org for more information on what herbs are safe and unsafe during pregnancy.  They have great information and it’s where I pulled some of the safety information for this blog!

Drink up!

Drew Brees

Reblogged from FitnTrim:

MVP of the 2011 NFL World Championship Game.
Single-Season Passing Yards Record Holder.
New Orleans Quarterback.
AdvoCare National Spokesperson.

Read more… 10 more words

My boy is staying in New Orleans! Waiting on a friend to get her 24-day challenge in and we are starting our journey. Me a restart and her first challenge. I think it's going to be fun to get back on the wagon. :)

My Gym Schedule 6/4/12

Beautiful day for the gym. As I stated earlier, not a pretty day at all. The kids seem to be sleeping later considering that the sun is blocked out by all the clouds.

So, I’m a firm believer that you don’t go to the gym without a plan. Kinda like grocery shopping without a list. You are less productive and you don’t come out of the store with what you need. At the gym, I need to use the time that I’m allowed there and to burn some fat.

 

Here’s my plan for my two hours:

 

Warm-up Cardio 15 minutes Elliptical

 

Strength Training 45 minutes Legs/Abs

 

Cardio 30 minutes Couch to 10K w/Hubby

 

Cool Down 15 minutes Sauna

 

Pick up Kids 15 minutes LUNCH TIME!

 

 

Strength Training:

 

3 Sets of Each

 

Squats with Dumbbells

Leg Extensions

Walking Lunges (HATE THEM, but will do them)

Calf Raises with Dumbbells

Lower Back extensions

Mat Crunches

Ball Crunches

 

So, What are YOU doing today?