Today…
It’s crazy how fast it went. Unbelievable really. Fastest year of my life.
Let’s not dwell. We had the BEST birthday/St. Patrick’s day! Here’s some of my favorite pictures of the day…
With a houseful of old and new friends, family and KIDS (OMG there were so MANY!) It was a whirlwind in a good way. And yes.. I enjoyed my green beer…
and birthday cake. :)
Hope you had a great St. Paddy’s!
Fourth week of Tough Mudder Training complete! I’m feeling good but not great. Honestly, it doesn’t feel like I’m making any progress. I guess I am. The runs are getting a little easier and I’m able to transition from run to drill pretty seamlessly but time seems to moving faster then I am. If that makes sense.
Anyway, just letting you know what I’m feeling. On to this week’s mudder workout…
~1/3 mile Run3 sets of squat presses and bicep curls with calf raises. ~1/3 mile RunSand bag flipping in seated position and a jump back (like the second half of a burpee) (not sure I’m explaining this one correctly) ~1/3 mile RunStraight Leg Dead Lifts with 35lb kettle bell and then sprint in place (repeat 3 times)~1/3 mile RunThe tires! Repeat this..5 times and then flip tire back to starting position.
~1/3 mile RunRepeat this…3 times
~1/3 mile RunNow that I wrote all that out I’m reconsidering. Maybe I am making progress afterall. :)
I was bitchy. Moody. Even feeling a little evil. Almost had a meltdown, too.
“Well, what the hell was your freaking problem, Josie?”
Thank you for asking. It turns out my fitness was staring into the face of Craptastic. I wasn’t getting enough sleep awhile back, and it was causing me all sorts of problems.
I wanted to slap somebody, starting with all the stupid people. I wanted to drop kick the ice cream man in the throat for not driving down my street. I wanted to tell the husband, “wash your own damn clothes!” (might still do that), and I started to slightly not give a damn if I ate too much popcorn and other forms of tantalizing carbohydrates.
Did I mention I almost had a meltdown? All because I wasn’t getting enough sleep.
That’s Craptastic Fitness, ya’ll. You ever teeter on the lines of Craptastic?
I do possess a magical solution that healed me of this ailment. Spring Cleaning! You know, clear out the fitness cobwebs — get rid of shoddy tactics that aren’t working, but you haven’t changed yet. Spruce up the place a bit. Bring some freshness into your fitness so it doesn’t suffer instead. When summer gets here I don’t wanna hear you boo-hooing because your Craptastic ratio is still elevated.
Craptastic Fitness includes but is not limited to…
Not enough sleep.No change in fitness routine to keep the body guessing.Not pushing yourself to the next level.Too lazy to commit to anything beyond easy.Lack of improved food choices (at some point, you just gotta start doing better).Other people/things/situations always taking precedence over YOU.Other Craptastic stuff my brain cells can’t think of right now.Got any fitness cobwebs hanging? Craptastic is NOT the hot look for summer, so take care of it right now while there’s still plenty of time. If you’re desperate for spring cleaning supplies I’ve got a crusty mop out back you can rent.
Last week was heaven.
Five full Tornado & Me days which were reminiscent of all our time before Kinder started.
We laughed, we cried (seriously. all that one-on-one time was NOT without its bickering!) it was better than Cats.
What I loved most was the fact we didn’t travel.
We hung here & just spent time together. Time which caused me to marvel at how she’s matured & reflect back on all Ive learned *from* her the past six years.
In chronological order please to enjoy.
1. Cardio can be creative. You, oh Tornado, were a crier. All the time. Needed or not. You cried till you became red in the face and (as we searched for late night levity) we joked you appeared to be winded from the workout. What did I learn from that? Anything done long enough & with enough tenacity/focus (hello bubblewrap!) can be cardio! You taught me to skip (it) the traditional & let my imagination soar.
Getting your workout on.2 . Pull-ups are fun! Back in the day, before you were The Tornado, we referred to you as Toddler Freaky Strong. The moment I’d dump you in the pack and play so I could finally shower set you in the P&P so I could work you’d commence pulling upward along the side. Happily. You’d smile, giggle, do pull-ups to fatigue never once complaining or shouting “Hey!! can I get a spot up in herre?!” What did I learn from that? Pull-ups dont have to be a dreaded to-do on my back workout schedule. The mere challenge of them & the faces I make as I struggle upward can!be!fun!
Practicing pull-ups poolside.3. Eat mindfully! Now, to be clear, I discovered the importance of mindful eating long before you hit the scene. With the addition of you, however, I began to rush through my self-care (fitness to food) in order to return to you-care. Then you turned three. You began to express a clear opinion as to what you wanted to eat & when you wanted to eat it. You’d share these thoughts (slowly) and happily (slowly) ate what you ‘ordered.’ What did I re-learn from this? You weren’t annoyingingly slow at all—merely mindful. You *paused* to ask yourself if you were hungry. You s-l-o-w-l-y ate your food savoring, tasting, touching, EMBRACING each bite. You reminded me to be more mindful.
The inexplicable chop sticks phase.4. Wind-down routines ROCK. I’ve always lamented the fact Im a poor sleeper. I’d go to bed different times each night with absolutely, positively no method to my nighttime madness. Id watch TV in bed. I’d check email from bed. I was a wind-down mess. Then you came along. You thrived on routine & practically demanded a strict nighttime regimen. One small deviation from this plan and you’d not fall asleep. What did I learn from this? I need to sleep like a child, too. Ive never slept better.
Pink princess PJs help.5. If at first you dont succeed—QUIT. I’d known this at one point & somehow forgotten until you dancingly reminded me. You “just knew” you wanted to take ballet. You longed to learn to dance like the ‘pretty ladies.’ You tried, you loathed, you quit, you never looked back. After two classes (the class leaped delicately as instructed over a stuffed bunny. you stopped, KICKED SAID BUNNY, and leaped away) you declared yourself done. You informed me you’d prefer soccer and you’ve never looked back. What did I learn? I re-learned there’s no percentage in sticking with something I know is not a fit for me. I reminded myself I *know* when I long to quit out of fear and when I’m merely banging my head against the wall kicking a bunny.
Kicking encouraged.6. Read the wall. This is one we learned together over spring break. Somehow Id forgotten all the lessons Id learned from climbing and needed you to remind me of them. Life can be overwhelming and, at times, I plunge ahead without looking, scanning, planning or preparing. In fitness I’m slowly learning I need to have a plan, too. Spontaneous is great—but only goes so far. I need to look ahead, read the wall, and prepare for what I want to achieve down the road. Muscling my way through works—-but only in the short-term.
"Watch and remember, Mama."In the moment I couldn’t see any of these concepts being “taught.” It’s only with hindsight I see my greatest teacher is a six year old Tornado.
Have you, too, learned healthy living lessons in surprising places?
LOVE this. Couldn’t wait for the weekend to post. :)
Found on MotivationIntoHabit.tumblr.com
Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.It all started with my tough mudder training. I’m proud of myself this week. I had to do a little shifting of the schedule but I completed all workouts except a run that I plan on doing tomorrow. Basically I swapped my Monday rest day for this past Friday to prepare for the party.
I’ll post more details tomorrow but here’s a peak at the stations we set up…
When I got home I made myself a smoothie for breakfast. After yesterday’s food-fest it seemed like a nice light way to start the day.
I used banana, frozen blueberries, spinach, almond milk, cocoa powder and protein powder.
After breakfast I decided a warm bath was in in order.
It was GLORIOUS.
A few laundry bombs to kick start our chores.
Notice Grandpa in the doorway. :)
New birthday toys to play with.
Lunch time!
I made the boys grilled cheeses.
And I made myself a fun wrap using this new yumminess…
Click here to check out my Sweet Cinnamon and Pear Chicken Wrap.
After lunch we were ALL tired.
Baby went down for nap and we decided to relax and watch some golf.
It was my idea. I knew it would knock me right out and it did.
I had the bed head to prove it.
Post-nap we cleaned up, kept the laundry moving and I made The Little Guy lunch for tomorrow.
I’ve been slacking on the lunch box ideas. I think I just needed a week off. I’ll start posting again this week.
Dinner was homemade pizza again.
It’s really the perfect meal for our Sunday night picnics.
We ate, we watched and someone practiced their walking. :)
It was a low key day/night ending with the family putting away laundry, baths and stories.
I really had one of the best weekends ever. I’m going to bed with a big smile on my face ready to tackle another week of craziness!
Actually this whole weekend ROCKED. Friday night we cleaned the garage, ordered pizza and watched a movie. I know.. nothing spectacular but it really kicked off a fun productive weekend.
Saturday started with my Tough Mudder Training. More on that tomorrow. It was awesome. I also took the Little Guy rock wall climbing. We had a blast. I can see myself REALLY getting into it. Little Guy’s a bit more like his Dad in the scared of heights department but I’m working on building his confidence. He almost made it half way up this trip!
Today started off early with a little reading.
I don’t get sucked into books often but this one’s got me. After I saw the movie I needed to read the books.
We were going to have breakfast but with no eggs in the house we were out of ideas except… an early trip to the grocery store!
Notice the reusable shopping bags. We remembered!
Also notice the soda, *sigh* If it wasn’t for the husband I’d run a soda free house.
My breakfast…
1 egg omelet with ham and red peppers and a whole wheat English muffin on the side.
Then the boys played…
while I put away the groceries…
and framed our new family photos.
In 6 years we went from one 1 year old to one 1 year old and an almost 7 year old. :)
With a little argument I finally got the laundry moving.
Then I made lunch.
We clean the fridge of leftovers. :)
Then goofball…
… and I went to the see the Lorax in 3D.
It was ok. Not my favorite animated flick and I’m a huge Seuss fan. I thought Horton was better.
When we got back The Husband swept Little Guy away to the driving range. Bean and I kept the laundy moving…
… annoyed the cat…
… had snack on a walk…
… and hit the park.
I got one-on-one time with each one of my babies today. How awesome is that!
Dinner was a grill-fest!
Cabbage wedges, turkey burgers and sugar snap peas.
While I cooked the boys played, again. :)
Dinner time!
The boy who doesn’t like fruit struck again but I’m not giving up that easy. ;)
After dinner it was Return of the Jedi time!
Oh.. and Chocolate time.
I’ve been quite obsessed.
I didn’t run today. I traded my rest day for tomorrow and plan on 7 miles then. I have some more fun running news but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Once Upon a Time.. Mad Men.. It’s time to spend time with my other baby. :)
