Monday through Friday, Drew goes to work and I am on my own with them for 9 to 10 hours a day.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being home with my kids. Most of the time. But the hours are long. The days can get monotonous. The cleaning is never done, and usually by the end of the day it looks as if I have done absolutely nothing. (I wonder what it would look like if I really didn't...? ;) ) I am most definitely not one of those moms who has it all together. Most of the time, I'm barely hanging on by the skin of my teeth, counting the minutes until Drew gets home and I have another adult to talk to.
I rely way too much on Toy Story (1, 2, & 3) to get us through the day. We build blocks. We read. We sing songs and listen to music. I talk to people on Facebook a lot. I try to get Kieran to eat foods other than expensive fruit pouches and peanut butter sandwiches. (I fail.) We practice words. I change a lot of diapers. I try to keep up with laundry... which is not going so well the past two weeks, seeing as our washer is currently broken. I try to find the source of smells when they come up... usually successfully. We have play dates sometimes. And I try to keep us alive by buying and cooking our food.
A lot of time is spent nursing Silas, while trying to keep track of Kieran.
I used to yell a lot. (loudly)
I used time outs.... (more often than I would like)
I had mommy guilt. (can't help it, I'm Catholic.)
And in the middle of all of this, I started to work out. At least 30 minutes a day... usually more.
I'm not crazy.
....................
......
.....
Okay. Well, that's not WHY I'm crazy.
Working out releases endorphins. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer
negative effects of stress.* (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=55001)
Is that sinking in? WE FEEL FEWER NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF STRESS WHEN WE WORK OUT.
Also.. it doesn't say that you need to go to a gym to get this. I can work out at home. I can work out at home and not need a babysitter. I can work out at home and keep my stress levels from getting so high that I go completely bonkers (which is still a close call sometimes...).
And I don't waste naptime working out. (See? I really am not crazy ;) )
Kieran loves to "max out!" during Insanity with me. He loves to stretch during PiYo and P90X3. He loves to jump around. He loves to dance in Brazil Butt Lift. And he's learning to do more everyday. And also, he's learning that his mama is such a better, happier, more fun mama when she works out. (He's a pretty smart kid.)
And Silas LOVES to jump in his bounceroo while his big brother jumps around with me.
At first, I tried to just work out once I got them both to sleep. But then... my time to pick up and make sure I had everything together and to just take a second to EAT by myself and not INHALE my food DISAPPEARED. I thought to myself, 'Why are you throwing this time away? Why can't the kids be awake for this? Why do you need to be alone?' And so the next day I tried it out. I worked out and let Kieran run around while I did.
And it was fine. He ran into the kitchen a lot. I paused it a lot to check on him. I was a little frustrated.
The next day... he joined in.
And the next, and the next, and the next....
Sometimes, he still runs off. But I yell out to him, and he yells back, and I have learned to let him explore a little bit as long as he checks in.
Sometimes, Silas cries and refuses to be put down for more than five seconds.
These days are hard.
Thankfully, I can workout when Drew gets home on these days, and they are rare.Or, I can do low-impact workouts and modify them in ways that I can hold Silas and still work! (Sometimes you gotta be creative.)
And I have come to realize that, not only am I benefiting myself by doing this, by becoming more fit and healthy every time I turn on my #beachbodyondemand and choosing a different workout, or putting in a disc, I am also benefiting my children. I am teaching them dedication. I am teaching them not to be stagnant. I am teaching them to be fit. And I am teaching them how to relieve stress. And even at the tender age of 2, Kieran has picked up on the fact that a good workout means a good day with me. He shows it by bringing me workouts, by trying to start the computer, by saying 'max out?' to me when I start to get short and huffy with him. I am ingraining good fitness habits into them, so that they will work out hopefully all their lives. It will just be natural to them.
And now..
I don't yell as much.
Time outs are fewer and more far between.
I have less guilt. (still Catholic, though.. ;) ).
Our home is happier, and the hours aren't as long.
#thanksbeachbody
<3
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