100 Day Fitness Challenge

I’m going to keep this post short, to the point. It’s been a few years of me saying, “I’m going to be the fittest me this year!” Today, officially, my days are numbered. On April 19, I will stand on the scale, at the end of this challenge, and I will KNOW with every fibre of my being that I gave this challenge my 110%

I’ve got a beautiful little girl who looks up to me and maybe will model herself after my values, perspectives and choices one day. That’s a LOT of responsibility, and I take that very seriously.

“Parenting in the now”, to me, involves responding without thought, and responding out of emotion and not logic. I do this when I’m tired, busy, distracted. Sometimes, this works. Sometimes, I don’t take into account my daughters’ feelings and among many things, I may be communicating to her that I don’t listen to her, what she has to say is not important to me, and that her thoughts and emotions don’t matter to me.

My usual M.O. is to consider the situation and to respond “appropriately*” (*Appropriate as per me…which may not jive with others…meh). And sometimes, I’m told I’m an “unneccessary worrier” when it comes to the “little things”.  Suffice it to say, I feel strongly that the parenting tactics that I present to my kids today WILL impact their values and perspectives as adults, spouses and parents themselves. Maybe I want them to have only the bare minimum “Mommy fodder” to rage about with their future therapist. Whatever the reason, I just want to do my very best as a parent and to be my very best, for me and for them.

Are you aware that girls are developing eating disorders as young as 5 and 6 years of age? They may be developing obsessions from parents who are preoccupied with their own body images, and media images of skinny pop stars. 6% of children who develop eating disorders are boys, but most are girls who are often following examples set by their mothers.

So back to my challenge. My days of justifying, back-sliding, excuse-making, and just plain not following through are done. I get to look into my little girls gorgeous, blue eyes each and every day and KNOW that I have done my very best. I can’t control the media she will be exposed to, but I can have a strong impact on her relationship with food and exercise right now. And I can make darned sure that she sees her Mommy enjoying life with healthy food and exercise on the schedule every day.

This challenge involves full disclosure. I will be sharing weekly progress, meal plans, fitness schedules, and anything else that may encourage others to succeed as well. Let’s choose today! Let’s kick this challenge into high gear and commit to our health, happiness and fitness!

The fastest, blurriest year of my life…

Here is the very first photo ever taken of my gorgeous little man…

Christmas has come and gone. More amazing memories have been made, more photos taken to mark the event. Collectively, we are 4 days away from kissing 2012 goodbye. This mama is 2.5 days away from “celebrating” the first year of my beautiful son’s life.

I’m always happy to welcome a new year; to make new memories, to accomplish new goals and dreams, and to cherish all that I’ve been given in this amazing life ‘o mine. I’m not, however, really FEELIN’ this realization that my son is ALREADY 1 year old. Where did the year go? Time flies, I realize that. But this year seems to have gone by faster than any other year I can remember.

I feel sad.

I know the second-child-syndrome = less recognition, less photos, less one-on-one time. However, his first year has been an absolute blur and I want some savoring time back, please.

Kasiah’s first year involved logs of feeding and sleep schedules, logs of which foods we were trying out when, and a weekly account of her weight gain. Xavier just fell into step with our current schedule. He sort of had to! As a result, he sleeps like a champ now (Thank you, Dr. Weissbluth! xo), eats anything and everything (hopefully he gives up the love of dogfood before he heads to college), and is the happiest baby I’ve ever met. He likes road trips (Kasiah hated her carseat even being in the same room!), noise (we kept our home quiet as a tomb whilst Kasiah slept), and adores his big sister (she adores him too).

With Kasiah, I don’t think I left her with a babysitter until she was able to verbalize to me that she was happy and not maimed in my absense. With Xavier, I have been known to allow a 12 year old neighbour to care for my two while I ran to the gym. I think I left so fast I forgot to give her my phone number.

Kasiah celebrated her 4th birthday this past November, and I spent months preparing for it. Xavier turns 1 in 3 days and I’ve considered throwing a tea light in some stale raisin bread and calling it a day.

We had a number of prepared Diaper bags for Kasiah, completely stocked with everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink. Yesterday, we went out without a diaper bag, without wallets and a few Starbucks napkins in the glove box. I contemplated turning his diaper inside out in the event of an emergency.  

I published a birth announcement, including her weight and length, when Kasiah arrived. I had to call my mom for these details when I required them for my yearly scrapbook. All I could muster on my own was my address and bra size (which I got wrong).

Kasiah’s First Christmas involved centering the festivities around her nap schedule. Xavier slept through his first Christmas. He received some gifts, but his favorite is a wine cork (That’s my boy!).

As mentioned in previous posts, this little man is AMAZING. I know, all mom’s say this and we are all biased…. even though I totally think my kid could take down your kid in 6 seconds or less. Here is my beautiful little man today.

Laid back little dude

All this to say, what an amazing, magical, fast year we’ve had. PHEW! Since I have no control over TIME, I guess I will just have to keep working hard to savour these little monkeys of ours.

If you have any fun ideas for my lil man’s first birthday, get them to me quickly… or else you’ll have to suffer through far too many photos of a sweet little boy blowing out a tea light on a stale piece of bread.

And the “Best Son…EVER!” award is given to….

Wow! This month has just flown by!

No, I haven’t fallen somewhere and can’t get up. I’ve been working hard! I’ve been balancing, prioritizing, and getting things done. Things like reorganizing my kitchen so that things are more sensical in terms of layout. Things like de-cluttering the clutter, giving away things we don’t need, following a house cleaning plan (which enables the house to be considered clean each week by completing set chores each day of the week). I feel like I have just a little more time in my life to accomplish great things. Is this what the early stages of acheiving balance feels like? I’m slowing eeking out more time in a given day to concentrate on the important things: Sitting down to work on a puzzle or a craft with my sweet girl, or holding hands with my little man as he runs through the house giggling like a crazy boy…or blogging. Have I mentioned how much I love to sit and write to you? Well, I love it.

I’ve also been de-cluttering my personal clutter. I’m realizing there are things outside of my control that are weighing me down, decreasing my productivity, and that are allowing a slow air leak out of my tires. And you know what? I need that air in my  tires. My kids and my husband need me to have that air in my tires and the slow leak ceased yesterday. Did you know the HAPPY people out perform the UNHAPPY? It’s true. Happy people put in more hours in a week, WE are more cooperative, less self-centred, and more willing to help others. And because WE tend to help out others, others tend to help US. So are you with me? What better time to CHOOSE to be HAPPY than right now!?! Let’s shine!

One more thing: I was given a beautiful gift! MY son slept through the night and as I type this (0726am), he’s still sleeping!!!! Mr Man, you are one incredible creature! Thank you so much for this! I feel like a new person!!! Mwah!!!

 

Now go take on the day. Make it count! Especially YOU!

 

Stop the Insanity! ~Susan Powter

Once upon a time, my husband and I found ourselves convinced that if we bought a certain car we would be happy. So after shopping around, researching and negotiating, we bought a shiney car.

And you know what happened? NOTHING. We actually experienced mechanical issues. Despite the mechanics reassuring us this was “normal”, the car consumed an excessive amount of oil. It didn’t improve our quality of life. We didn’t become better people. Upon realizing this, we decided to sell the car and get something more practical and suitable for our family. We didn’t seek out a status symbol, but one day we awoke and realized that’s exactly what we had. I’m not trying to judge you, your decisions, your preferred brands or your choices. I’m just saying that, for us, this was a predicament we found ourselves in. We made a decision with a certain hope in mind and were disappointed. We needed to make a change. So we did.

This was a number of years ago. Fast forward to today. Once again, i’m on a journey to improve my life overall. This is an ongoing process for me… as it is for the majority of the people that I know. So my ambitions entail Clean Eating, a regular fitness regimen and specific end results for competition. This experience with the car came back to me. Why?

Peanut butter, chocolate chips, frozen yogurt, marshmallows, and sweet, luscious mini chocolate bars. These are just a few of the temptations that whisper in my ear, urging me to sample them. Not all at once, mind you. That may entail mental health medications. Halloween has come and gone and most places I have to visit in a given day (my kitchen pantry included) have a basket of left over candy to reach into. Yesterday, I am proud to say that I refused all temptations and enjoyed my first sugar-free day in a long time. Ok, I’m getting to my point now. I promise.

We bought the car, it didn’t make us better people. It didn’t fill a void. The sweet chocolate Mars bar called my name, I obliged and savored it for maybe 3 minutes. As I discarded the wrapper, I realized, it’s gone and it didn’t fill the void. I didn’t feel satisfied, or complete. I ate 2 more to be sure; a Snickers and an Oh Henry. You know what happened? My teeth started to ache, and the guilt stick reared up and tapped me sharply. I became disappointed and frustrated with myself because I’ve been here before and I was still expecting a different outcome. Albert Einstein quotes the definition of Insanity as “Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.”

I realized the cycle of my own insanity was continuing despite my best intentions. What needed to take place, what needs to continue to take place, is a shift in my thinking, a change in my heart, and the evolution of a resolve so bullet proof that I never again question my own value and worth. Because you know what? I am more valuable than a mini chocolate. My goals are reachable and worthwhile. My desire to succeed has to be more important than my desire to eat crap, and/or give in to a temptation. And it’s up to ME! It’s my CHOICE! My mindset must change from “I can’t have that” to “I choose not to have that”.

I realize I’m only human and I am a work in progress. However, I am worth it! I am worth treating my body with respect and indulging in unhealthy choices is not respectful to the only body I’ll ever have.

He aint heavy, he’s my Batman!

I’ve got two other blogs in the Drafts folder, awaiting my attention and finishing touches. I love blogging. Have I ever told you that? The problem, there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get it from my heart and into a published post. Whenever I get some spare time, I type my heart out, then more often than not, something happens where I have to stop suddenly to tend to something else. Kids, work, company, samples, etc. The list of distractions is endless.

So October has come and gone. My Month of LOVE, Remembering Love and making Marriage my focal point has ended, and just like September’s de-cluttering and boosting energy, I’ve learned this is yet another process and not an event. So while the month has ended, the process continues.

October was very busy. My husband was away for a good measure of it, I was working at the clinic two days per week, I had a lot of work coming into my business, fitness was also a priority, alongside cherishing the kiddos and my quality time with them… then we went on a 6 day vacation. That’s a bit to jam in. You know what helped a LOT? I have a husband who is a big fan of my blog and an even bigger fan of my endeavors. A few years ago, he bought me one of my most favorite gifts for Christmas and he used this as a tool to remind me of my “Remembering Love” focus.

He bought me this mug, and often writes me sweet messages on it. He gets up earlier than I do most days, so I pad into the kitchen to find he’s made oatmeal (one of my faves) and written me sweet words. I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to wake up to these messages. It never ceases to start my day on the right foot and I’m not sure he fully realizes how much this small act means to me. As mentioned, he’s a fan of my blog, so I’m sure he’ll know soon.

Simple words. A simple act. These small, frequent gestures mean more to me than flowers on my birthday (although that was nice). One of the secrets of adulthood was/is “What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while.” This statement definitely rings true. Regular date nights may not be a realistic game plan for us right now, it’s just not feasible. However, taking the time to pay attention to the little things? That’s do-able. On that note, did you know hugging for at least 6 seconds actually promotes the flow of oxytocin and serotonin? It’s true! These mood-boosting chemicals promote bonding. Who doesn’t have time to hug for 6 seconds at least once per day? I hug my hubby and my kids a LOT each day and you know what? I have that little boy who is a cuddle monster and a little girl who randomly calls out to me (at home, in the grocery store, at a friends place, etc) “Mommy? I love you.”

So take the time. It pays off in spades. Love your family like crazy today and every day!

November is my month to AIM HIGHER, Work Smart, Enjoy NOW!!! Are you with me?

I look forward to your feedback, insight, stories, encouragement!

Remember Love

Commandment #12: There is only LOVE

Love is a funny thing. There are, of course, studies and stats put out by people in the know and “they” say conflict among couples is most likely due to one of these things: money, communication, religion, children, work, in-laws, sex, appreciation, and leisure activities. Michael and I have all of these things. Just the other day, we were communicating poorly about the lack of money in our wallets, while driving to church, with cranky kids in the back seat, while the in-laws were on speaker phone. Well…maybe that’s not true, but we do have tense moments involving all of the above.

With LOVE as my focus this month, I’m tuned in. I’ve realized a bunch of things about myself. I admit, I have a pretty solid marriage. Hubs and I are very affectionate towards one another, we indulge each other, we handle conflict pretty well, we don’t tend to “bicker”, and we purposely demonstrate love and respect for one another on a regular basis. This January, we will celebrate 9 years of wedded bliss!

When I tell you I’m learning a lot, it’s pretty one-sided. I’ve learned I have become quite dependent on my husband. Here’s a few secrets I’m exposing. Try not to point and laugh, m’kay?

I avoid taking both kids to the grocery store. I’ve just felt it’s “too much” to handle while trying to stick to my grocery list. I inwardly whine about the amount of work I need to do each day with kids, housekeeping, business, fitness, etc. Then I secretly resent what hubs doesn’t do when he arrives after his day at work. I take offense when he gets home and tidies random areas of our home. I feel he’s communicating “this place is a pig sty!” When he’s away, I panic that I can’t take care of my kids in the event of an emergency. ie. Someone breaks in and I’m too busy in the fetal position to wield the baseball bat.

Hubs was away for a week this month, and he’s set to go away again next week. You know what happened? I “manned up”. I realized and reaffirmed that I can handle anything and I can do it with grace. No, I didn’t hire a nanny/housekeeper named Grace. I realized that my role as Mom, wife, business owner, friend, bat wielder is MY CHOICE and my pleasure. The things I take on are my choice and my pleasure. I WANT to be the best mom, the best wife, the best business owner and the best friend that I can be. So in order to accomplish that, I need to take it by storm and with pleasure. I changed my heart, I changed my perspective.

So Simple (photo credit)

I’ve taken the kids grocery shopping a couple of times now and you know what? They were excellent, I was able to focus on the task at hand, and I have nothing to worry about. Some days they will melt down in public and that’s okay too. They’re human and just like me, they will have good days and bad. I’ve also lost my bad attitude where the hubs is concerned. It’s his job to leave the house every day to “bring home the bacon”, and sometimes he has to leave for longer durations. I can hold down the fort, I can be the mom and the dad when it’s called for, I can wield the baseball bat. When he comes back home, we welcome him with open arms and no hard feelings. If he comes home and starts to tidy, I KNOW it’s because he struggles with feelings of “not helping out enough”, and not because he doesn’t think I’m doing a great job. It’s my choice to be the very best ME that I can be. I always say, “I need to give my kids SOMETHING to talk about in therapy.” …but what I really want is for the people in my life to know I love them beyond measure, and to do my very best with each day that I have.

Thanks for being on this road with me. Fun, isn’t it?

…Simply because you’re near me…

Remember Love

That’s the theme of the month. A theme, I must admit, is pretty tough to put into action when the hubs has been away for the first 6 days of my challenge. Add to that, I’ve been punching the time clock in the operating room and then the home biz at the end of the work day. Which leads me to my first fact: Marital satisfaction drops significantly after the birth of the first child. I can attest to this. Add one more baby and less sleep at night and you’ve got a recipe for potential disaster. We’re busy and we’re tired. Am I right? Does this resonate with you too?

I’m going to take this opportunity to share Our Love Story with you.

We met on May 25, 2002 in a bar called The Druid. I was meeting up with some friends to celebrate the fact that I had just been offered the job of my choice in the Emergency Department in Wellington, New Zealand. Needless to say, I was NOT looking for a relationship. I had just returned from a year away, working and travelling throughout Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Travelling was my passion, I was living my dream. I was in Canada only because my Student Work Visa had expired and I needed a new adventure to embark upon.

I was now preparing to leave the country, once all of my legal documentation was in place. Enter Michael, aka “the man of my dreams”. Upon my late arrival to the bar, my inebriated friend encouraged me to point out “my type”. Let me start by insisting, I was not in the habit of meeting a man in the bar. There was a handsome, dark haired man near our table and I spotted him immediately. Still, my friend walked me ’round the bar to ensure I had taken in the full gammet of potential “types”. I fully realize you cannot judge a book by it’s cover and you certainly can’t find your soul mate peering through the lens of your beer goggles. Having bought my first drink, I picked my Michael out of the crowd immediately.

To make a long, silly story short, my drunk friend facilitated a meeting, a dance… then a few more dances. We had planned to meet up at a restaurant later on (we each had friends who were beyond the point of no return drink-wise and needed to be driven home), and it turned out there were two of the very same restaurant on one long street in Edmonton. I went to one, he went to the other. Weird. So we never did meet up again that night.

My drunk friend managed to string one logical sentence together in her introduction of herself. She has probably one of the most common first and last names, so seeking her out in the phone book took some doing on Michael’s part. And when he called her to ask for my number, she refused to give it up. So he left his number with her and she would take a few days to decide if she would pass it on to me. She did eventually. It took a few more days for me to decide to call. To nutshell this, we had a first date and my life took a dramatic turn. I did still take that flight to New Zealand for that amazing job opportunity. However, we dated with worlds between us which was an amazing experience. We really got to know one another and communicate in a way few couples manage that early on in their relationships. I returned after 6 months. We were engaged a few months later and married on January 10, 2004.

In that time we’ve cleared a lot of hurdles, grown as individuals and triumphed as a married couple. He’s my best friend, and I love being married to him.

My husband is my biggest fan. He reads every blog and cheers me on as I take on one crazy challenge after another. (Mikey, I miss you. I can’t wait until you’re home!)

Pierre Reverdy wrote: “There is no love; there are only proofs of love.” And Gretchen goes on to emphasize, “Whatever love I might feel in my heart, others will see only my actions.” Apparently, 47% of people surveyed reported they were more likely to feel close to a family member who frequently demonstrated acts of love over those who rarely demonstrated acts of love and/or affection. And did you know that hugging relieves stress? So my mission this month is to ensure my loved ones know for darned tootin’ sure that I adore them. It feels like a simple challenge, but I know there will be some question marks along the way and I look forward to sharing it with you.

“Marriage is not a ritual or an end. It is a long, intricate, intimate dance together and nothing matters more than your own sense of balance and your choice of partner.” – Amy Bloom