Sooooo I said I was going to update this monthly. Ooops, guess I missed last month. No worries, though, I'm still working out and (trying) to eat healthy. As of today I am 6 lbs away from my ultimate weight loss goal. That's 47 lbs lost since Sophia was born and 33 lbs lost since I started working out and trying to lose the weight. I'm feeling great!
I still run. I'm still a slow runner. Honestly, I highly doubt my ability to be anything but a slow runner. I just don't know how to go fast. I'm switching up my training from heart training to speed training these next couple of weeks (or I'm going to switch it up every couple of runs) in hopes of getting faster. I ran my first 10K last week on Thanksgiving. I didn't come in last place, but it was close enough to make me cringe. I keep telling myself that at least I'm getting out there and running. I keep the motto of "I'm lapping everyone on the couch" - but it's hard to keep the motivation up when I run so freaking slow.
I've been lifting 3 days a week too. It's going good. I'm getting better at the two specific lifting circuits I'm doing. The first day I could only get through 4 sets and now I can do all 8 sets without getting out of my heart rate range. Each set used to take me 10 minutes to complete and now I'm down to 5.5-6 mins each. It's an improvement I'm happy with.
Next up: more of the same. I'm going to keep up the running. I'm planning to run the New Year's day Polar dash 10K. I'm hoping some speed training between now and then will show a much improved run time for that race. Depending on how that race goes, I may move up the date of my first half marathon. I didn't realize how many there are in late winter/early spring here. Still going to keep up with the lifting too. If it gets too routine and "easy" I'll be adding weights. I'm not sure when I'll officially be taking a PT test. I'm hoping not until the weather gets warmer. Not because I couldn't pass yet, but because I think I'd be faster running in 50-70 degree weather instead of the 10-20s.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sisters and little stars
Here are a couple of videos for your viewing pleasure. The first one is of Sophia and Evelyn. This night Evie was getting huge belly laughs out of Sophia so I grabbed the camera to get their interactions documented. Of course Sophia stops with the laughing when I turn the camera on, again, but it's still a cute video. The second one is of Lex serenading you with his rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Social media and the modern day momma
How did our parents and their parents and their...well you get the idea, how did they parent without the lightning fast connections to other parents we have today? How did they get advice to parent in the moment? How did they know what they were doing was right and not going to cause lasting negative impacts on their children's lives? My guess is there was a lot of winging it. Oh...wait...I'm pretty sure that's what I do every day...
Anyways, I know I've posted before about how some of my online mom groups have been influential in helping me deal with the emotions and challenges of parenting, have been unending pools of resources, and generally just been a great group of gals to hang out with. Besides my moms groups, the internet is filled with resources for parents to turn to. There are medical sites, magazines, blogs, Facebook, Pinterest, chat forums, etc. You can gather information about parenting just from viewing how other parents behave through their blogs, status updates, tweets, pins, so on and so forth. You get this, I'm sure. If you're reading my blog you have an understanding of how social media works. Even if you're not a parent you can see the inherent benefits of being connected so instantly to other "subject matter experts".
Have you ever thought about the negative impacts this instant access could have?
The biggest thing to remember about social media is that these forums are EDITED versions of people's lives. When I think a picture shows just a little too much of the baby weight I'm still carrying it doesn't get posted. When the latest video I shot of my kids shows them having another argument and, whoops, one of them let slip a word any parent would be ashamed to admit their kids may or may not have learned from them, it doesn't get streamed. When I'm having a bad day and I yell at my kids a little louder than what the situation calls for, I don't post about it. When the house doesn't get picked up, I don't blog it.
Get the idea? I can choose what you know about my life. I can post pictures that flatter my figure, I can upload videos that show my kids holding hands and playing nicely, I can blog about super creative projects I do with the kids, and I can tweet all the amazing food I make on the days inspiration hits me. I can make myself look like super mom even when I don't feel I am.
Lately I've been feeling a lot of mommy guilt. I keep comparing myself to moms who spend every moment of every day with their children and act like it's the only thing they need in their lives to be fulfilled. They create age appropriate activities to do with their children everyday and foster learning from one minute to the next from morning until bed time. They cook elaborate breakfasts (from all organic food picked up at their local farmers market), turn their children's lunches into replicas of their favorite cartoon book character (because they never do watch TV), and have a 3-course-minimum dinner waiting on the table when their husbands get home. Their houses are always clean. Oh, and did I mention that they seem to accomplish all of this and put makeup on?
Where the hell did I get this idea of what a super mom should be or that there are moms out there who can do all that? I know there's no way I can come close to that, even though I wish I was that mom. The only conclusions I can come to is I saw it on TV, read it in a book, and experienced it through the edited version of social media. After talking with other moms over the past couple of years I know I'm not alone in my skewed idea of super mom. That fantasy mom I described above rarely, if ever, exists.
Here's the real deal, unedited.
I love my children with all my heart and I do my best to make sure they know it. I send them to daycare for the academic learning, social interaction, and age appropriate creative daily activities. They LIKE it. My kids are not my entire world, though. I need work, school, exercise and independent goals to feel like I have a purpose. As time allows I do crafty projects. Currently I'm in the middle of putting together their yearly picture book and I'm making a queen size quilt out of their outgrown baby clothes (I'll so post pics when I'm done).
I feed my kids. I don't skip any meals. Heck, I even make sure they have snack time. Sometimes I cook creatively from scratch with organic foods. Sometimes I even turn their pancakes into Mickey Mouse. I also cook a lot of things from a box or a can. Guess what? They LIKE it. Mac and cheese is one of their favorite meals. There's not enough time in my day to cook elaborate meals on a daily basis. If we eat out once or less per week I feel like I've accomplished something. On the weeks where we eat out more often...oh, well. At least I fed them.
I clean daily. News flash for you: 3 kids (and a husband) make 9 times the amount of mess you think possible. Just like with cooking, there's not enough time in my day to keep the house clean top to bottom every day. I devote 20 to 60 minutes a day for cleaning. Sometimes I deep clean one room and sometimes I use that time to just do a general pick up. If I can see the floor in each room it's considered a good day. And, yes, some days that is difficult to do.
Other confessions: Sometimes I lose my temper and yell too much. There are days when I'm just plain lazy and the kids have a lot of independent play time. Or TV time. I let my kids cry in their rooms when they're having one of "those days". Occasionally I let them win the tooth brush battle.
When it's all said and done, though, I know I'm still a super mom. On the days I'm perfect I'm even a super duper mom. I love my kids, my kids love me. They're growing, they're learning and they're adorable. I care about and provide for their well being. They enjoy school and church, they're polite and caring, and they're compassionate.
I just wanted to post this for other moms who may be experiencing their own mommy guilt at the moment. Sometimes we each need to see a little of someone else's experience unedited.
Anyways, I know I've posted before about how some of my online mom groups have been influential in helping me deal with the emotions and challenges of parenting, have been unending pools of resources, and generally just been a great group of gals to hang out with. Besides my moms groups, the internet is filled with resources for parents to turn to. There are medical sites, magazines, blogs, Facebook, Pinterest, chat forums, etc. You can gather information about parenting just from viewing how other parents behave through their blogs, status updates, tweets, pins, so on and so forth. You get this, I'm sure. If you're reading my blog you have an understanding of how social media works. Even if you're not a parent you can see the inherent benefits of being connected so instantly to other "subject matter experts".
Have you ever thought about the negative impacts this instant access could have?
The biggest thing to remember about social media is that these forums are EDITED versions of people's lives. When I think a picture shows just a little too much of the baby weight I'm still carrying it doesn't get posted. When the latest video I shot of my kids shows them having another argument and, whoops, one of them let slip a word any parent would be ashamed to admit their kids may or may not have learned from them, it doesn't get streamed. When I'm having a bad day and I yell at my kids a little louder than what the situation calls for, I don't post about it. When the house doesn't get picked up, I don't blog it.
Get the idea? I can choose what you know about my life. I can post pictures that flatter my figure, I can upload videos that show my kids holding hands and playing nicely, I can blog about super creative projects I do with the kids, and I can tweet all the amazing food I make on the days inspiration hits me. I can make myself look like super mom even when I don't feel I am.
Lately I've been feeling a lot of mommy guilt. I keep comparing myself to moms who spend every moment of every day with their children and act like it's the only thing they need in their lives to be fulfilled. They create age appropriate activities to do with their children everyday and foster learning from one minute to the next from morning until bed time. They cook elaborate breakfasts (from all organic food picked up at their local farmers market), turn their children's lunches into replicas of their favorite cartoon book character (because they never do watch TV), and have a 3-course-minimum dinner waiting on the table when their husbands get home. Their houses are always clean. Oh, and did I mention that they seem to accomplish all of this and put makeup on?
Where the hell did I get this idea of what a super mom should be or that there are moms out there who can do all that? I know there's no way I can come close to that, even though I wish I was that mom. The only conclusions I can come to is I saw it on TV, read it in a book, and experienced it through the edited version of social media. After talking with other moms over the past couple of years I know I'm not alone in my skewed idea of super mom. That fantasy mom I described above rarely, if ever, exists.
Here's the real deal, unedited.
I love my children with all my heart and I do my best to make sure they know it. I send them to daycare for the academic learning, social interaction, and age appropriate creative daily activities. They LIKE it. My kids are not my entire world, though. I need work, school, exercise and independent goals to feel like I have a purpose. As time allows I do crafty projects. Currently I'm in the middle of putting together their yearly picture book and I'm making a queen size quilt out of their outgrown baby clothes (I'll so post pics when I'm done).
I feed my kids. I don't skip any meals. Heck, I even make sure they have snack time. Sometimes I cook creatively from scratch with organic foods. Sometimes I even turn their pancakes into Mickey Mouse. I also cook a lot of things from a box or a can. Guess what? They LIKE it. Mac and cheese is one of their favorite meals. There's not enough time in my day to cook elaborate meals on a daily basis. If we eat out once or less per week I feel like I've accomplished something. On the weeks where we eat out more often...oh, well. At least I fed them.
I clean daily. News flash for you: 3 kids (and a husband) make 9 times the amount of mess you think possible. Just like with cooking, there's not enough time in my day to keep the house clean top to bottom every day. I devote 20 to 60 minutes a day for cleaning. Sometimes I deep clean one room and sometimes I use that time to just do a general pick up. If I can see the floor in each room it's considered a good day. And, yes, some days that is difficult to do.
Other confessions: Sometimes I lose my temper and yell too much. There are days when I'm just plain lazy and the kids have a lot of independent play time. Or TV time. I let my kids cry in their rooms when they're having one of "those days". Occasionally I let them win the tooth brush battle.
When it's all said and done, though, I know I'm still a super mom. On the days I'm perfect I'm even a super duper mom. I love my kids, my kids love me. They're growing, they're learning and they're adorable. I care about and provide for their well being. They enjoy school and church, they're polite and caring, and they're compassionate.
I just wanted to post this for other moms who may be experiencing their own mommy guilt at the moment. Sometimes we each need to see a little of someone else's experience unedited.
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