Fitness Challenge!

I mentioned last week that I was making some changes in order not to have another meltdown like I did on Tuesday. One of the changes I really need to make in my life is being healthier. Sleep is a major issue, but there's not a whole lot I can control with that right now. What I can control is taking care of myself.

I met with my friend, Katy, who has three children and is one of my real-life mentor moms. She is smart, funny, and a really good mother. She is also a size 4 so let's try not to hate her. Katy has agreed to write a few guest posts on here, so keep an eye out for those. My favorite is the IKEA story. (Do you see how I did that, Katy? Now you have to send me something).

Anyways, even though she is tiny and I wanted to hit her initially when she told me, she wants to be healthier and more toned. I get that.  She's doing a fitness challenge, and I've joined too. The idea is to have three SMART fitness goals. They need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-specific. For me, these are great baby steps to inch closer to my goal of having more energy, alleviating my esophagitis symptoms, and fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes.

Each week you pick three goals: one diet goal, one exercise goal, and one personal goal (which can be an extra diet/exercise goal or just a goal to help you achieve your existing diet and exercise goals). The idea is to find a goal that's a little out of your comfort zone that just makes you be more mindful. It's not to completely alter your life all at once. I've tried that, and I've got too much going on to worry about how many carbs are in a peach.

My goals for this week are:

Diet Goal- Eat one fruit and/or vegetable at every meal.
Exercise Goal- Go to step class on Thursday.
Personal Goal- Only one caffeinated beverage a day.

My problem in the past has been that I jump into a diet or exercise program, but I can't keep with it because it's so much all at once. For example, I could never do P90X because there is no way I could ever work out every day, let alone work out for an entire hour alone in my house. It's too much and I would be setting myself up for failure (this is why your goal should be Attainable).

Each week you add to your goals, but you don't forget about the goals you've already made. For example, next week I might make the goal to drink 36 ounces of water a day. I still have to eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal.

Wish us luck, and if you want to join the challenge, let me know so that we can link up!

Don't my nails look great in this picture? ;)

Today Is a Rough Day

• I was up late last night finishing up grad school homework, so I didn't get to go to the book signing. It wasn't so much because of poor planning as it was that I misread the assigned readings and had to catch up. C's = F's in grad school and I can't fail this class or I'm out of grad school.
• When I finally did get to bed, I had a terrible night of sleep. Palmer woke up four times and decided that 5:30 a.m. was the best time to start the day. 
• I had to completely tear apart our room in an attempt to trap Gus, our cat, in order to make it to his vet appointment on time. 
• I took a toddler, an infant, and a yowling cat to the vet. Alone.
• I took a toddler and an infant to the grocery store. The energy it took to talk Henry down from having to have one of the Hot Wheels toys the had at the end of the aisle... and the left over Easter candy... and a random crab toy... I caved when it came to the Ranch Doritos. So my child has eaten a cake pop from Starbucks and a bag of Ranch Doritos today. Meanwhile...
• I have eaten next to nothing because of my esophagitis, which I have from the massive amounts of caffeine I drink between 5:30 a.m. and noon. I get indigestion every time I eat. The only thing that doesn't hurt to eat are carbs. So good for you, I hear.
• I am so tired.
• I haven't been on a date with my husband since September. I don't think I've had a *real* conversation with him since Saturday.
• I haven't seen or heard from some of my good friends in months. I feel terrible about it.
• My house is a wreck despite spending all my spare time folding, doing dishes, picking up toys...
• I can't believe I have to go to class tonight until 10 p.m. I was so tired last week that I drove home with the lights off. I live thirty minutes from campus.
• My sister-in-law posted a family picture from Easter. She has a three week old and looks AMAZING! Then there's me. I look like Buzz's pale-ass girlfriend. I can't even write about it.
• I am overwhelmed. 
• I spent 20 minutes scouring the house for "Blue Car" because Henry wouldn't go to sleep without it. Do you know how many blue cars Henry has? 2345. Do you know where toddlers like to put cars? Everywhere. Including down the toilet. Thankfully, the blue car he wanted was only in his car seat.
• I hate that no one told me how hard it was going to be to stay at home with two kids. I hate that even if they had told me, I wouldn't have understood.
• I haven't showered today and I now have to finish typing because it's the only chance I'm going to have to get clean before class tonight. 

What's Working

I'm no Dr. Phil fanatic, but I really love when he asks, "How's that working for you?" Sometimes it just takes asking that question to find value or fault in something that you just deal with absentmindedly. So, Dr. Phil, here's what's working:


My hair
I have had long hair for about ten years, but last month I got sick of looking at my bedraggled mop. There was just too much maintenance and not enough time, so I decided to trade in my long hair for something sleek and pulled together. A part of me worries that this is a mom cliche haircut, but my mantra lately has been "it doesn't have to work forever; it just has to work right now". This haircut takes me 15 minutes to blow dry and looks the same every time. It's a win in my book, and if I change my mind, hey, hair grows!

Now you know who to stalk.

Yoga Pants
Obvi. This is basically my uniform. I put on yoga pants, a cardigan and some ballet flats and BOOM, I'm ready. The trick is finding the perfect pants, which I have just about mastered for myself. And no, they have never been to yoga class. Who has time for that? Keep reading.

And I look exactly like this in my yoga pants.

BB Cream
I'm not one for makeup crazes. The ombre nail polish thing sets off my OCD. BB Cream happened because I ran out of moisturizer and thought it would be a great way to keep my adorable metrosexual husband away from my product. I have had more compliments on my skin in the past two months than I have since... well, I can remember. It's like a tinted moisturizer put on with an airbrush machine. It's working. Mommy rikey. Daddy no rikey.

This is the one I use. No, I am not getting paid for this endorsement, but I should.

Now for what's not working.

Sleep
Oh. My. Umm... I want to go back in time to when I was in college complaining about being tired and punch that girl in the face. And then I want to make that girl go punch another girl in the face. I was not tired. You see, Palmer, aka Puff, aka P Diddy, likes to check in with me anywhere from 3-7 times a night. Sometimes, just for shits and giggles, Henry will also wake up and as soon as I open his door, he goes back to sleep. Occasionally George, the dog, and Gus, the cat will chime in. I feel like it goes without saying that when Ryan snores, I hit him. With my pillow. Filled with bricks.

I heard somewhere that prison guards have made prisoners stay up as a form of torture. I understand. This is an effective form of torture. It makes me tired. Duh. But lack of sleep also makes me indecisive, crabby, unmotivated, and depressed, which all make me feel like a bad mom, a bad wife, and a bad friend. My birthday is next month and I'm not interested in presents. I'm interested in a hotel room to myself.

Time
Once upon a time, a 24 year old me told a friend she was planning on starting her novel when she became a mom because she would have more time on her hands. Fire up the flux capacitor on the DeLorean, boys! I'm going to go beat the shit out of myself!

"WTF, McFly. I told you to bring the Cheetos!"

I somehow got bamboozled into going back to grad school. Something about finishing my degree by this fall in order to save 24 credits and $12,000 I'd already invested in my education... Don't get me wrong, I love grad school. It's like a four hour vacation every week, but on top of my job as a full time caretaker, chef, maid, financial planner, event coordinator, professional organizer, and errand runner, it is stressing me out a *little* bit.

So there you have it. What's working or not working for you? Feel free to use my post idea and link me up to your blog. Or however that works.

Cheers!

No Rest for the Weary

Diet Cokes: 0
Cookies: 0
Hours of Sleep: 4.5, in and out hours

I have a cajillion things to do today, but I am running on fumes and don't even know where to begin. I need to decide on an outfit, my mom wants me to come over, I have 24 tarts to make, and I have to wrap a holiday present. In 9 hours. I guess it's a good thing Henry woke up early today.