Wednesday, January 12, 2011

I GOT THE POWER!!

Week 2 of the lunch hour workouts is in full swing and I was TERRIFIED of the class today...Metabolic Conditioning...good times! They pretty much make you do a ridiculous amount of cardio combined with weight training and it will kick your body into full on fat burning mode for about 36 hours afterwards!! I am ALL over that part of it, but wasn't sure if I would be able to walk myself back to my office after the class.

But my lovely friend Tacy and I rocked it out for sure!!! We conquered that class and need to feel really good about it right now because come tomorrow morning we KNOW that the class will have taken all of the pride from us! And we still have 2 MORE classes this week. I figure by the time Saturday morning hits I am going to be a pile of goo that won't be able to move out of her bed. But I know my WONDERFUL husband will wake up with the kids and let me rest my muscles in the comfort of my nice warm bed... :)

But all in all, I am feeling pretty good. Now if only I could get the snacking thing under control...hmmmm, guess I need to find the old will power to accomplish that task! I am trying not to change EVERYTHING right away because I honestly believe that has contributed to my downfall in the past. There is such a thing called "Too much too soon". We all get overly motivated and immediately want to change everything really quickly and if you are like me, expect results IMMEDIATELY!!! This is so not the case and it takes a ton of work...but results are possible and I just have to keep reminding myself of that!

So, I will continue to dominate my workouts and keep crossing them off my schedule in my office as a little "YAY Me" and move onto the snacking in a little bit...

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Lesson of the Day

DON'T SLEEP IN A TODDLER BED!! This should be a no brainer on any given day, but the things we do for our children and to keep them out of our own beds so that our spouses can sleep is really amazing! Caleb woke up last night and instead of bringing him into our bed I just crawled (sort of) into his with him. The rest of the night was both of us banging our heads, arms and legs on hard plastic edges of his car shaped toddler bed which resulted in a BRUTAL sleep for Mom! But at least he didn't win by getting to be in our bed right?? HA! Somehow I still think I'm the big loser in this one! Oh what a sight it must have been to see my legs hanging off the end of it and balancing ever so carefully on the side of it to make sure I didn't disturb his sleep in any way. LOL. As I'm typing this it seems funnier and funnier...ah well, I guess it will be one for the memory books!

Started the crazy exercise classes at work today and boy oh boy the lesson to be learned there is that if you ever need the motivation to get your butt moving, ALWAYS stand in front of the mirrored wall and watch yourself bounce and jiggle in a way that is so not natural it isn't even funny! Wow, what an eye opening experience that was!! LOL. It was like a train wreck...it was horrible but you just can't stop looking in disbelief! But it prevented me from snacking the rest of the afternoon so that's a victory in itself!

Can't wait to do it all again tomorrow...minus the sleeping in the toddler bed...not recommended at all!!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Miracles do happen my friends...

...and the miracle that happened to us today was that we actually went to Costco tonight and only bought what we NEEDED!!! I know right? Give ourselves a pat on the back and all that jazz! I was uber impressed with us. The store was pretty much a ghost town, the kids were angels and they got to run some stink off as we accomplished what we set out to do! It just doesn't get much better than that people!! Sometimes it's the little things that make the day so much better!! That and the fact that Mike's back to come along to the store with me with all the kids. That definitely brings my stress level right down.

Like I said in an earlier post...I have a great feeling about this year. Priorities have shifted and so has my outlook on wants vs. needs and I am noticing how much more relaxed I'm becoming...slowly...but it's progress and that's all that matters this early in the new year's game!

Starting tomorrow I am doing an exercise class in my office building over the lunch hours so there is no longer any excuses as to why I'm not fitting in any physical activity. When I get home at night I am so busy doing a million things that there just isn't any time so I figure if I can get it all done over lunch then I'm golden!! I also have a pretty awesome workout partner who will drag me down to that room kicking and screaming if she has to, so that's some pretty great motivation.

Costco miracles, new way of thinking, new goals (or recycled ones from years before)...pretty great start and tons to look forward to...but we're only on day 4! LOL

Oh, and on a side note...another miracle for today is that I've actually done 3 blog posts in a row. WHOO HOO!!!

Monday, January 3, 2011

Life...so many decisions to make...

If only there was a REAL thing called the Easy Button! Life is just so hard to figure out and to know which route to take. I had a few conversations today with my sister in law, a mom of one of my daughter's friends and of course, myself about a decision that I have been thinking about for a very, very, exhaustingly long time....STAYING HOME...

Mike and I always knew that it wouldn't even be an option until he was all done his schooling and has a full time job. Well, that was 4 years ago and now he is embarking on his last year of school and the reality of actually being able to stay home is smacking me in the face. Part of me really likes my job, my company and the people I work with. I consider myself to be very lucky in that respect. But a larger part of me is so tired of the commute downtown, the rat race, rushing around for dinner and not being able to spend a ton of quality time with my kids. Everything always feels so crazy and ridiculous and I feel like I'm ripping myself and my kids off!

Many factors come into play of course. I have medical coverage at my job and if I ever have to face the dreaded cancer again I know I will be covered for any time off I have to take. It also covers my yearly prescription which costs a small fortune. But I also don't want to give the possibility of cancer that much power to control the way I live my life. It's already taken so much of my time and energy. On the flip side, who knows how much time we have in this world and no one ever dies saying that they wished they would have worked more...

I never thought I would get to the point in my life where I would prefer to be at home, but I also think it's because it's never been an option for me in the past. I have always made my own money and am very happy with doing that so I will definitely have to do something on the side or very part time to bring in something but I am already trying to explore a few options to help me do that. But there's also the fear of quitting a great job that has me set up for retirement, savings and stock options which also benefit my kids and family in the long run and then things not working out the way we had hoped and I find myself having to look for another job...maybe I'm just over thinking it all???

Many people have told me "what's the point now? Your kids will pretty much all be in some sort of schooling by the time you are able to stay at home with them so why bother?" This fact is very true but I spoke with someone very wise today and she is the only one who has ever said this to me. She said "they need you just as much when they are older because that's when they can get into trouble and need a different type of guidance". I had honestly never thought of it that way because everyone puts so much emphasis on the first 5 years of life. So after all this it seems like a no brainer right? Then why am I experiencing such a fight over it? Because I'm scared to death of the unknown, I HATE change and despise leaving my comfort zone and not having a solid income of my own would definitely take me out of that area.

Bottom line - I want to be the one to drop them off, pick them up and hear all about their day...and the internal struggle continues...where's that EASY button when you need it??

Sunday, January 2, 2011

2011 is here...and I have a 9 year old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011 is now upon us and today is Taylor's 9th birthday! Amazing! I told Mike yesterday that part of me can't believe that Taylor is already 9 years old, but then another part of me can't believe that she's ONLY 9 years old. Does that make sense?? It's because it feels like she's always been a part of our lives and it's hard to believe that it's only been the past 9 years that she's been here.

Anyways, what an amazing day! We hit the mall, grabbed some snow gear for Dad then went sledding!!!! Now for those of you who know about my "near death" experience (ok, not really) when I was sledding when I was 13 and I have NOT gone since. But...today was the end of my sledding strike! I figured I should no longer deny my children of something that I had SOOOOOO much fun doing when I was little so away we went! We just hit the hill down the street from us but it was more than enough for the maiden voyage!

The giggles and screams of joy along with the incredible amount of laughter was so heart warming I couldn't help but feel like a complete idiot and borderline horrible mother for not taking my kids out sledding earlier. We had such an amazing time that I can't wait to do it all over again! I guess it just goes to show that we should never put our fears onto our children...they need to experience life for themselves and come to their own conclusions!

As all birthdays go in this house (because I am a birthday NUT) we always have a family get together on their ACTUAL birthday! It really is my FAVE combination...a houseful of people AND a birthday...doesn't get much better than that! The kids have so much fun together it's incredible (loud, but incredible). I am so very thankful that we all live so close together and they can see eachother often. I grew up seeing my cousins once a year (if we were lucky) so I think it's absolutely fantastic that the kids can grow up together!

All in all it was a great day and a wonderful start to another new year. I actually have a different feeling about this year, and it's a good feeling!

Happy New Year everyone!