Emily's week 14

Saturday - yoga class (75 minutes)
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - nothing
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - nothing
Friday - nothing

Thank you, everyone! It is encouraging to hear that I'm not the only one who can't keep all the plates spinning all the time. :)

I especially liked what Yolanda said here:

"But it can be a challenge to keep my priorities in check and avoid stressing about all the other items on the to do list that have to fall by the wayside."

This is exactly my problem: I think that everything is (or should be) a priority, and get frustrated when that (obviously) doesn't work.

Kelly, your goal of something for the family and something for you each day made me think more clearly about what I actually do during the day. For the family, dinner and/or laundry tend to be my priorities. For me it is usually an orderly house (I get really stressed by visual messes) and/or reading for pleasure. And once I really thought about it, I realized that exercise just doesn't have the same importance to me as either of those. Hmm. Now to decide if it should, or if I should just quit internalizing the culture's stick-thin expectations...!

Jess, your comment about it not being sloth, but rather "triage" made me laugh, and I think you're absolutely right! My whole life is one big triage room right now. :) Thinking about it that way is helpful.

So again, thank you for your encouragement and wise counsel. I'm blessed to know you girls!

Emily's week 13

Saturday - yoga class (75 minutes)
Sunday - nothing
Monday - nothing
Tuesday - nothing
Wednesday - nothing
Thursday - nothing
Friday - nothing

Phooey. This is not going as planned.

Ok, girls, I want to know if the rest of you have the same problem I have. Namely that something always gets dropped each week. Every week I'm aiming for a clean house, clean laundry, healthy meals, quality kid time (reading, preschool, park, play, etc.) and exercise. (And church work and doula work and getting-ready-for Christmas, of course.) Every week something gets dropped. If I'm exercising, it is a good bet that my house isn't clean or I'm not paying enough attention to the kids. Rationally, it doesn't seem like it should be this way, but practically that does seem to be how it plays out.

Is this just me? How do you manage to keep all the plates spinning at once?

This is Emily, checking in :)

I've definitely changed my focus lately, but I think that it is overall a good thing for me and our family. I'm going to karate twice a week. Originally I was planning on this being something I did with/for Jonathan, but it turns out that he's not really ready to do it. And I discovered that I like it and don't want to stop. Although it can be difficult to get there twice a week, I do enjoy it when I'm there and it really helps me to have steady, regular exercise outside of my home.

Other than that, I'm focusing on eating well according to my new game plan (no white flour, white sugar, or caffeine, basically no processed stuff). I still miss brownies, and I still think that it is worth it. :)

We're starting homeschooling next Tuesday, officially, although Jonathan asked to "do school" this morning and so of course we did! :) I'm spending this last week trying to get all my ducks in a row so I feel ready to start. (I don't. Feel ready. At all. Ack.)

As far as continuing to post here...maybe I'll post the kinds of things we're doing in karate? Last class we spent 30 minutes working on proper form for push-ups. Oh. My. Word. I am SO SORE!! I wasn't doing push-ups (because of wrist/shoulder pain) so I was holding various forms of plank and OUCH!!!!!!!

Another interesting part of karate for me: making some changes in the higher level forms. Because of my shoulder, there are some motions that I just can't do. And Fr. David has talked with me about making changes that accommodate the injury, while still honoring the intention of the form. It is a fun and interesting challenge, coming up with alternative ways to do them.

Ok, quiet time is about over and I need to make a phone call...this is Emily, checking out! ;)

No More Trouble Zones + pull-ups

Did these today. 

But, more importantly, congratulations, Katie! Below pre-pregnancy weight is splendid. I'm so happy for you!

-Jess

Catching up!

I've been without internet for about 5 days, because one of my children cut my internet cord. It was annoying, but in some ways I think it was a blessing. I think my weekend without Gabe went better because I didn't have the option of "checking out" from my family (which is definitely my vice when it comes to the computer.)

As mentioned before, I'm sticking with just karate twice a week for right now. And I think that was the right decision, because I have enough stress and enough to do right now without extra exercise! Thankfully, we are making progress in the kitchen (and I'm no longer worried that the contractor is going to take our money and disappear, thanks be to God). Our sink and dishwasher are installed again, so no more dishes in the bathtub! You have no idea how grateful I am, right now, washing dishes! :)

Amie, I'm still praying for Julie. Your family reunion sounds crazy! As does tent camping and counseling with littles in tow. I look forward to hearing that you survived. :)

Katie P. - that was a fascinating read (about your food and caring for yourself realizations). I've left it open in a tab because I want to read it again and think about it for awhile. Thank you for sharing. Also, I'm so glad to hear your shoulder is behaving itself!

Oh, and Buns of Steel? I've never done it, but I remember my Dad offering to buy it for my mother (eons ago!) and being quite firmly rebuffed. Dad didn't learn very quickly, because a few months later he gave my mother "Women at Large" for her birthday. :) He has never lived that one down!

Jessica, your workouts (as usual) put me to shame. :) I can't wait to hear how your surgery went! Regarding the green smoothies - yes, I've been making them nearly every day. They're also one of the easiest things to do without a kitchen, as long as I clean the blender right away.

HOWEVER: do you all remember how Gabe said that if this (my third) blender broke, that I could get a VitaMix? Well, IT BROKE. The same way the last one did, which makes me think it is a design flaw. Now that I have technical permission, I'm feeling super guilty about actually spending that much money on...a blender. But I'd use it all the time, and it would be so incredibly awesome... ??? Or I could just try another blender. But I've already tried the top two reviewed blenders that aren't super expensive. Thoughts?

Conversations

Jessica, I don't think I've had the thought "I'd better enjoy this", rather "I'd better do this" in order to stave off the the inevitable decline. :)

I also find it helpful to focus on what I hope to obtain from these workouts. Shred gives me muscles. Yoga gives me a quieter mind and a more flexible body. Karate gives me a sense of a grounded center in my body (does that make any sense?) which I really like.

And when it comes down to it and I just really really don't want to work out, I'm with everyone else in finding this accountability blog helpful. Last Friday the main reason I worked out was because I didn't want to have to admit to being lazy! It can be so easy to talk myself out of exercise, but harder when I know I'll have to admit it later. :)

Most despised household chores: cleaning the bathroom and vacuuming. Oh, and dusting. Come to think of it, I'm not sure there are very many that I like... But I really like the results, especially a clean bathroom. I just have to remind myself that I like the results so very much (rather like how I hate the shred but like the results...!)

Shape changes post-pregnancies are so very real! I can't even begin to fit into college jeans or shirts or dresses, but college skirts fit just fine. My bust got enhanced, as did my hips. :) Jess, how do you measure your fitness level comparatively? Your comment about being in better shape made me wonder about my own level of fitness, and I'm really not sure how to compare. My body and my life were just so different back then.

Katie P, shred workout 1 is my favorite. :) I like boring workouts, apparently. Also, I find it the simplest one to modify. There's just not much in workout 3 that my knees, shoulder, and wrist can handle, so it feels rather pointless.

Does anyone else find holding Warrior 2 arms in yoga to be killer??? Bob is always talking, in my dvd, about how "your legs are cooking now..." and I'm standing there thinking "my legs are fine you crazy man, its my arms that are going to fall off!