I do not exercise for the pure joy of it. Seriously. That is not to say I do not like running, swimming, hiking, skiing I do. However, I am much much more comfortable in a sloth like state.

So how does one go from Sloth to Superstar? Slowly. In the month of January I started walking on the treadmill or outside everyday. For me, everyday is key. Taking days off to rest messes with the consistency I need to keep it going. Some days I rock the treadmill, running/walking at a pace that I can brag about. Other days I struggle to get one foot in front of the other.

I do it.

Everyday.

After almost a month of walking/running I decided to step it up a notch. I had been perusing blogs and came across Shredheads. Feeling inspired, I bought the Jillian Micheal’s video.

owie.

So the first time I tried the video, the kids watched me … laughing and inquiring why mommy was so sweaty, red faced and couldn’t breath.

nice.

The work out is hard. I want to be in better shape really really bad. So hard it is. Every morning I am up at 6 am, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have to be at it by 5:30 am so I can be out of the shower before J needs it.

yawn.

I am so proud that I was able to get up and just do it. Like I mentioned the workout is tough and I wasn’t able to make it through the entire 20 minutes at first, but as the week progressed I got better. I am still not quite capable of every exercise (push ups ugh and whoever dreamed up butt kicks deserves one!) yet I am progressing.

sore.

My body aches everyday. It is a nice reminder that I am doing it. Every evening I have been jumping onto the treadmill and walking for 50 minutes. Although one night I bailed at 35 minutes. The last two nights life has prevented me from getting on, which annoys me.

commitment.

I am committed to changing my lifestyle. Exercising everyday. Eating better. Getting into better shape. I asked our family doctor if I have to rest if I am sore. Now I am talking muscle ache from working it, not injury or strain. He said to keep at it. As Jillian Micheals says in the video, you have to put stress on your body in order for it to change (not a direct quote, seriously I can barely focus when trying to keep up!)

I have progressed to level 2 of the workout. It is still hard but I feel so freaking amazing afterward. I have energy all day. I am in a positive mood. I am showered, hair done and ready to face the world before 7 am. I have breakfast on the table for the young, with a smile on my face as I sip my first coffee. I feel good. My house is cleaner. I am happier. My kids are happier.

Ok for real there are some nights I am exhausted. However, remember last month I resolved to head to bed earlier? I am still doing that and since I established it before I tried getting up earlier, it doesn’t feel like a loss.

When do you exercise? Do you feel better after?

This past weekend, I needed a new pair of jeans (a size smaller w00t!) so Becca and I ventured to the mall. She finally proclaimed that she would get her ears pierced! I have been trying to pursuade her for years to get it done. However I made the mistake of being honest with her when she asked if it hurt.

I felt like if I told a fib, she wouldn’t trust me in the future. Instead I created an anxiety monster that grew way out of control. She totally wanted to get her ears pierced but could not bring herself to allow the person to do it. For an hour she said she would then backed out. I tried to drag her out of there, but then she would howl and say she wanted to.

Finally she did it. She screamed aloud when they actually pierced her ears (there were two ladies at this point trying to coax her). I was so embarrassed at the drama and time we wasted. However once it was done we both escaped the mall feeling good.

Becca is totally my anxiety kid. She thinks about things way too much, quite often thinking herself out of a situation that could be really fun, exciting or whatnot. It drives me crazy witnessing this, and at times I at a loss on how to support her through.

I am so a DO IT… OOOOoooo …. ROCK ON! kind of girl. I have had several piercing in my lifetime, tattoos … bungee jumped in London, England while there working as a nanny … This hesitate till you do not do it behaviour is so foreign to me.

Granted when she is a teenager and not taking unnecessary risks I am sure I will be grateful.

How do you encourage your kids to go for it? Are you a play it safe type or a rebel?

Cordi is so awesome. Seriously if you are considering “just one more” I totally recommend it

At six months she has two bottom teeth, can sit totally independent, plays on her tummy, never rolls because she doesn’t want to, loves to watch her brother and sister and eats apple sauce, avocado, bananas, peas and rice cereal. So did not think she would be eating already but the girl loves it.

Cordi is so calm to be around it hardly seems like she is with us at times. She is so content in the sling when we hustle and bustle to different places. She absolutely loves to be placed in the backpack to walk to school. Driving to school not so much.

Since having the stomach bug she hasn’t been quite as easy going. She has been extra clingy this week, either growing or teething but still way easy going over all.

In a flash she will be a year old … how can that be?

At the beginning of this month I had set three goals:

1. Go to bed earlier.
2. No snacks after 7pm.
3. Exercise Daily.

I am totally stoked to have achieved all three goals!

I tried to go to sleep by 9:30 pm, however that really is just too early. So by 10 pm I am in bed, usually reading.

Twice we have had popcorn watching a movie this month. Besides that no pop or snacks after 7pm.

I have succeeded in exercising everyday except when I was vomiting. Some days I went for a walk outside, other days I ran on the treadmill or went for a swim.

To celebrate I am giving away a copy of “The Make Today Matter Makeover” by Brook Noel. The book totally fits into all that I am attempting to achieve. I have really enjoyed the authors approach and tone in the book. The book is full of mini-makeovers that are broken down into small achievable goals. I have been slowly making my way through the personality quizzes that Noel has set up to illuminate where my passion lies and how to take the next step. Which brings me to February’s goals. Now that I am exercising everyday I need to take the next step. So following Noel’s book and checking out her example online, I designed a simple food diary to keep track of what I eat, how I exercise and how I am feeling.

This month’s goals:

1. Keep a food diary.
2. Give up drinking milk (I love milk and this so sucks)
3. Add a morning exercise to my routine.
4. Run a minimum of 9 km a week (3x 3 km)

Meanwhile I am going to continue working through the mini-makeover in Brook Noel’s book, “The Make Today Matter Makeover“.

Are you trying to achieve some goals? Losing weight? Fitness goals? Financial goals?

Tell me about it in the comments and I will select one random commenter to receive a copy of Brook Noel’s book!

I had not imagined Ethan being a middle child. He was going to be my baby, forever. Then as our lives settled we changed to a new path. The path of the middle child was his destiny once Cordi was born.

My mind drifts to his third birthday, that is still a few months away. He has no friends his age. Well that is not completely true. My BFF has a daughter close to Ethan’s age, however he gravitates to her older children when they play together. He is used to playing with a five year old. So kids his age seem so young to him. Having a big and little sister has essentially stunted his socialization with kids his age.

We do attend the library once a week with kids his age for a Storytime, however he sticks really close to me that entire class. I want him to feel a little more comfortable around his peers. We started to attend a play group at the recreation centre by our house once a week. Tuesday was our first day and he loved it.

Ethan and I have been struggling with power. Being almost three means he is testing me a lot and it get really tiring. He yells and cries, keeping himself beyond reason and even comfort. It frustrates me beyond belief not to be able to cheer him up or distract him. Yet we have great days (like today) and all those feelings of frustration fade away.

He so often gets shuffled between his sisters’ needs. Cordi being totally dependent on me and Becca needing big kid stuff done. I am finally feeling like I am making time for him, making sure he feels important, special and not merely a sidekick for his sister.

On a completely unrelated note, have you ever walked by unfolded laundry so many times that it has disappeared?

ugh.

With Becca on antibiotics I really thought we were in the clear.

Until last night when Cordi repeatedly vomited.

I am a freaking wreck. All day I have been nursing her for a couple minutes then taking that nourishment away from her. Not fun. Hungry baby. Sad, torn up mom. Toddler ready to take on the world, constantly shhhhh’ed because stressed out mom is trying to make sure, sick baby is getting enough rest.

Then baby sleeping. Toddler napping. Phone rings.

“Becca isn’t feeling well”

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH~

Wake sleeping baby.

Wake sleeping toddler.

Sooth sick baby for two minutes.

Bribe cranky, woken too soon toddler with granola bar to get on the potty and into car.

Get outside.

It’s raining.

Carry sick baby, hold sticky hand of still a little cranky toddler, trudge through rain from parking spot half block away from school (we live like 3 blocks away so not sure how much effort I save here) into the office.

Once home, feed baby very little and watch as under-stimulated so very hyper toddler and once sick but now suddenly much much better girl get rowdy.

Meanwhile Cordi had not vomited all day, so at supper we chance a little apple sauce. Yeah. We are idiots.

Cordi vomits during storytime.

Back to only providing scarce amount of nourishment even though very instinct in my body wants me to nurse my poor sick baby.

So this is rock bottom right? We can only go up from here …. right??????

edited to add: Somehow in the haze I failed to mention that Ethan vomited again Saturday night. J was downstairs with Becca (she was sick with strep throat) and he called out to me, so I went in and he sat up and threw up all over his bed. Good times. Good times. I have to say since then Ethan has been awesome and seems to be his old self again!

That was bad.

Seriously.

Bad.

After I blogged on Thursday, I headed to bed, lying there my tummy hurt so bad. A couple hours of pain and the contents of my stomach hit the porcelain like a tornado in a trailer park. That continued for a few more hours until every ounce of food, fluid or otherwise had left the building.

Friday I spent the entire day in bed except for two major exceptions.

1. Becca’s school called right before noon. She was ill and wanted to come home. Like any mother I dragged my sick butt over to the school to pick her up.

2. Cordi was refusing to nurse, her nose was to plugged up. SO I called the family doc and dragged my butt downtown to have her checked. She has a cold.

Once home all the motion & stress caused the little water I had sipped throughout the day to leave me in a violent way. At that point I gave myself up completely to sleep and remained unconscious until late evening.

Poor J, although not fully recovered, was in much better shape than I … he was left with the masses as I remained unconscious. He kept muttering “Three … Three … Three”

We have not been this sick in years. Last time in fact, we had one child who thought she had won the lottery because she was able to watch Nick Jr ALL DAY! A lot more challenging when you have a five year old that has strep throat (I took her to a walk in clinic this morning, she is now on antibiotics poor thing!), a 2 year old that hasn’t been let out of the house and a 5 month old with a nasty cold.

Both J & I have an extra spring in our step feeling fully alive and recovered today. We both keep smiling and giggling at each other. It almost feels worth it to go through feeling this sense of amazing euphoria afterward.

and I lost an additional 5 lbs! hehe

How you doin’? <–in my very best worst Jersey accent

Cordi has the worst cold ever .. she can’t breath, is all snotty and … the heart breaker she is sad like epically sad … ’cause she doesn’t feel well.

Ethan, Cordi and I had to rescue J from work, now he is tragically ill. I am solo parenting all the while I have told no one ….

I feel like poo and sure to be the next victim. I heading to bed in hopes to sleep the ickies away.

is winter over yet?