Just keep swimming

As I have previously made clear, I am not perfect, nor do I try to be. Rather than perfect, I would be more comfortable with saying I try to be better. When I say better I don't mean better than someone else, I just mean I try to be better than I was yesterday..... I think that is the best way to look at anything really, it doesn't just apply to being a parent, or a partner. Striving to be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday is a positive and very achievable goal.

What's the cliche you may hear from time to time... It's the little things in life that matter the most. Well, I get a little better every day. I get a little faster when I run, a couple more things folded for the kids, more work done..... Just one thing at a time......

When things get to overwhelming, or I feel like I truly can't handle things I tell myself it will all get done to just take it one thing a a time..... now, if we are being honest there are times where I have to repeat it several times over till I can refocus, but we all have those times.....


So really I just wanted to point out, take it one thing at a time. Don't focus on being perfect, just try to  be a little better than yesterday. Like Dory says "Just keep swimming... Just keep swimming"...

Update and advice

for writing a blog... nothing else!

Once again mom life has taken over and i have been left falling behind some things,  this blog being one. So here we go....

Still doing Orange Theory and working out on my own in my spare time... I am officially down 20 lbs since March and am psyched to lose the rest.

the newest edition has started daycare which means .... the dreaded germs!!! yes he has his first stomach bug. bleh. Which made me think of things no one told me the first time that i should have remembered the second time... hopefully this will help someone else.

Yes your child is in day care, now that you can work full time without worrying about things remember you will need those days off cause your kids about to get sick. When I say sick I simply mean, the lil one is now being exposed to germs they previously weren't acquainted with so naturally this won't go well ... for anyone. In preparation remember to do the following...

1. find a diaper rash cream that works for your kid. Some people swear by the Butt Paste, but my lil guy does best with Aquaphor / CeraVe combo. 
2. always have Pedialyte on hand incase you are worried about dehydration with regards to how much fluid your lil one is not retaining ... in what ever way you want to take that.
3. if you have more than one child, please don't be mad when I say this, divide and conquer. It may seem unfair but only one parent should care for the ill child and the other take care of everyone else. the reason for this is simple. I can almost guarantee that whoever is taking care of the sick kid will get whatever they have and its easier to have one sick kid and later an adult than the WHOLE house getting it.
4. lysol... or Clorox... whatever you use to disinfect, USE IT. 
5. I hate to Tylenol my kids or give them any medicine really unless absolutely necessary but if it will help them, do it because if you are not simply because you think you can make it through... that is a lot of just thinking bout yourself. 
6. finally the advice that I hate the most... Nap when the kid does. I know this is what they tell you when you first have a kid and from an outside perspective it sounds nice but you are telling yourself... oh then I guess I will clean when the baby cleans .. right? but seriously. You are going to be exhausted from taking care of a fussy child.. whether its your infant or your eldest, so just take the ten minute nap or if you are lucky longer. Because you won't get better either if you don't rest. Theres stuff to clean? Cool, do it after the nap it will still be there.
7. Last but not least  wash your hands!!! simple but still ...

So thats it. Good luck on forging ahead. be prepared, be aware, and just be ready to have it tough for a couple days till you make it through to the other side. Remember "if you're going through hell, keep  on moving"

SilverLining

So its been a hot minute, but here I am.

Still doing the OTF. When I thought I was hitting a stride where I was able to get full nights sleep.... I was sorely mistaken. My little guy has started rolling over and over .... and over. and in the middle of the night when he rolls over it startles him and he wakes in terror.... so I get woken up about every hour and a half..... In true parenting fashion, I am just gritting and bearing through this patch of non sleep... caffeine is my friend.

On a separate note, prior to my parenting life where my weekends are now spent with a glass of wine sitting next to laundry - folding clothes while I watch an episode of something or am watching the most efficient way to apply eyeliner... I used to love going to karaoke. While I miss going to a karaoke bar and having a beer, my karaoke is now singing to my 3 yr old at bed time. To him I am whoever he wants to listen to, I get to be Elvis, Patsy Cline, Judy Garland, Selena, Hank Williams or whatever other song he wants to hear... what makes it better is that he has started requesting the songs and singing along. Although I do miss singing and going out, I love the smile from my lil man when he asks for "mommy song" which is really just an Elvis song, and he sings along with every word...

Where I am going with this post is that, yes the nights are long and make for exhausting days but there are those things... the little things that my boys do that make me forget I haven't slept longer than 45 minutes at a time in a week....

Get back to fit

So although the time limited and far between, I like most other new,.. or recent moms, can't wait to start working on losing the rest of the baby weight. Whether its taking full advantage of nap times, which if you have more than one little one - its a miracle if they are sleeping at the same time, waking up super early to do so before the day begins, or waiting till everyone is asleep and knocking it out before the next feeding time.

Anyway you cut it, you have to figure out a way to work in your work out. Last week I have started working out again, and adjusted my diet... I miss bread. I do a kettle bell work out in the morning after I have gotten the little guy to sleep after his 4  or 5 am feed, that way I have about an hour or two before both my 2 yr old and the newborn wake up again. I do the midday lunch time walk with them, if I have help at home they do the walk and I go for about a 2 mile run. If I can't run midday this gets kicked to a night run after the kiddos are asleep.

Which brings me to yesterday.... yesterday I tried Orange Theory Fitness.... it was AWESOME, I am exhausted and sore but it was a great work out. I really enjoyed it, and what I like about this is I can get a class in early in the morning before I go to work (when I get back from maternity leave), or I can go in the evening after I get the kids down to bed. The time flys by fast and you feel like you get a lot of work done in a short time.

now lets see how long I can go on OTF, but whether I continue OTF or not, my other standard workouts will continue... If I don't make it a priority then I won't ever reach my goal.....

The gist of this is, it seems like you don't have the time or energy, but you have to make goals for yourself - take the kids on a ten minute walk.... to a five minute work out while they nap, instead of bacon and eggs, have yogurt and granola.... its all about baby steps....

the multi-tasking mom

The job description of being a Mom requires you to be at least semi efficient at multitasking on some level. Whether its your ability to feed your baby and drink your coffee at the same time, or make dinner while simultaneously folding your laundry, feeding the baby and talking on the phone.

There is a meme I have seen where it shows the levels of what people think moms do at home, as well as spouses, family and then the actuality of what happens.... Prior to me having a child, yes I thought being a mom theoretically didn't seem like it was overly difficult, you feed and change a baby  - how hard can that be? well limited sleep, add a two year old and multiple pets.... and life starts getting challenging. 

Juggling daily tasks seems difficult only because it feels like there aren't enough hours in the day. Aside from taking care of a baby, and feeding and entertaining a 2 year old, I still need to pick up the house, take care of the dogs, get groceries, do laundry, it seems like there is always something to do - if I weren't able to multi-task my way through most of the jobs it would never get done. 

So tips for the multitasking mom....

1. the most important thing EVER ->Coffee...

2. I know everyone doesn't agree with using the microwave for things, but seriously - I get the steamed veggies in a bag, and toss them in the microwave that way I really only have to seriously worry about cooking the protein.

3. Nap times... what people say about napping when your kids nap, BALONEY  - this  is the time where I, and I am sure so many other Moms, get stuff done. Nap time is when I can vacuum and mop the house without my kids or dogs jacking up the floor immediately after I finished it... kids nap time is also the ONLY time you will ever have to go to the bathroom without someone banging on the door trying to find you....

4. Workouts? - these are my "walks" with my boys - really its a slight stress walk/jog, but they get time out side with exercise and sun and so do I - the stress part is the crazies that drive like buttholes in neighborhoods, like seriously where is it that you have to be that you need to go 50 in a 30???

5. once again -> COFFEE .... I would die without it - I hit the 2 pm wall where i have been up since 4 and can't think about anything other than sleep.... but Coffee and then I am back up running the dishwasher while the newborn naps and doing an art project with the 2 yr old....

All things I am sure any other mom knows... but its early and again I have been up since 2 so... this is what I've got.

Post baby NonCompliment

Not the first time this happened to me, however this happened twice to me today and I feel the need to share.

I was at the grocery store, by myself, at the meat counter getting something for dinner, and the woman next to me stops before she walks away and says to me "Blessings on you and your unborn baby". As you may have read in previous posts I had my baby 5 weeks ago..... Now i get she was saying something nice and honestly if she was in a younger age bracket I would have snapped at her, but she wasn't and although i was EXTREMELY pissed about this comment, I just nodded and said thank you.

Later on at a completely different store someone else said something along the same lines.... This makes me super pissed basely for the fact that I thought I was looking good for where I am at. Granted I am not one of those women who are rocking a six pack a week after delivery, and thats cool, but where do people get the idea that they should comment on that.... 

with my first one, essentially the same thing happened only it was a little girl who looked at me and asked her mommy  - "why is she fat?" now this pissed me off particularly because comparatively to her surrounding company I was not fat... and her mom instead of saying "you shouldn't say that" said "oh she's probably pregnant".

Making comments on someone assuming they are pregnant is pretty rude, making comments on peoples weight is rude. Regardless if I smile and say thank you, it doesn't negate that I end up crying in my car for about ten minutes after I leave the store.

Long story short.... think before you comment on someone regarding if your think  they are pregnant, because there is a myriad of reasons why it is not a good idea to do so.

#MomLife

As much as everyone says this dumb phrase.... the struggle is real....

being a mom, your life essentially consists of doing one thing... taking care of everyone else, which doesn't sound horrible but if you don't make it a priority to make some time for yourself you can get lost in it and then its a slippery slope to crazy town. With a newborn this is increasingly difficult, because your new little one needs you just about every two hours to be fed and changed and so on... which if you are formula feeding will give you more freedom as your spouse can do it so you can take a nap or an extra long shower.... 

I am lucky enough that I have family close by who is more than happy to spend time with my little ones so I can take a beat and find the calm I need to not go absolutely crazy town. but the struggle is there.. like I have said in previous posts the strive to be that "perfect" mom is harrowing, and will drown you if you let it. Even though I have family to watch my children every now and then, it is few and far between as I don't want to overuse that asset, so with lack of sleep with a newborn and an almost three year old, there are times where I think I am totally failing... but like the last post I did, referencing WineMom, rather than holding myself up to the other "perfect"moms, I need to find that place where I am okay with just being an "okay" mom.... somewhere in-between....

To quote Ferris ..."Life moves fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while you might miss it..."

Applied in the 80's ad still applies now.