Mom On The Run

Last week winter FINALLY decided to show up here in Toronto! Yay! Hubby was away in LA, so the kids and I spent 2 nights and one day of his business trip sledding. It’s been AGES since I wrote about the kids or even shown you pictures of them, so below are a few that I took (yanno, in case you were in Sierra & Brooke withdrawl):

Sierra & Brooke's Big Ass Snowball

Brooke & Her Sled

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As a mom I feel it’s my job to make sure my girls are never embarrassed by showing up unprepared.  If its library day at school – it’s my job to remember to pack the library book Sierra borrowed the week before to return, etc…  I know at some point that I will need to transition that responsibility to her – but she’s only 4.  Over the next few years I’ll slowly introduce her to the process of thinking about what she’ll need for the day.  That said I’m also all for tough love – having her show up empty handed a few times will reinforce that the ultimate responsibility is hers, though she’s still a bit young for that.

This week my responsibility was Valentine’s Day.  More specifically to make sure Sierra and Brooke had Valentine’s Day cards to hand out to all of their friends.  This seemingly simple task is complicated by the fact that Sierra needed to bring cards to both her daycare class, and her Kindergarten class.  (She goes to full day Kindergarten Tues/Thurs and generally every other Friday).  Her schedule is a little wonky to say the least.  I needed to make cards for close to 50 kids for Sierra and another 21 kids in Brooke’s daycare class.  Due to the volume of cards, I didn’t even bother addressing the cards – I simply wrote “To My Friend”.  Now this where we get to how mommy screwed up.

Wednesday night at 11 pm, I was dog tired from 3 busy week nights but I was up in my PJ’s addressing cards, slipping tattoos into the corners of the cards and taping heart-shaped lollipops to the cards.  The Type-A part of my personality simply won’t allow me to just have the kids show up with the bare minimum of what’s required for the event.  Oh no – they need to have the best cards and something a little extra for their friends.  On his way to bed hubby hugged me good night and I got all pissy on him.  Why should I be up doing this while he gets to sleep?  They’re his kids too!  Anyways, he goes and looks at the schedule and tells me that Sierra has Kindergarten (big school) on Friday.  This meant that all of the three Valentine’s Day parties were going to be on Friday and none of the cards were due the next day.  I happily packed everything up, went to bed and didn’t give it anymore thought – I finish all of the cards Thursday night.

The schedule Sierra’s Kindergarten teacher sent home was wrong and Brooke’s class changed their schedule… both of their class parties were on Thursday. Only Sierra’s daycare class party was Friday.

Both girls came home sad Thursday night – ‘cause mommy screwed up Valentine’s Day.  Sigh – this parenting gig would be a hell of a whole lot easier if the school and daycare would at least send home accurate schedules.

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Relaxation is a big part of living a healthy and balanced life.  So fire up that fireplace, grab a glass of wine (I prefer a deep red, like a Merlot), a good book and a cosy blanket.  Then put on the new SADE “Soldier of Love” CD.  That’s what I did last night.  This morning I felt energized, and ready to take on the world – I even felt so energized that I went and swam laps for 25 min before work!

Guess what? I have 3 copies of the new SADE “Soldier of Love” CD to giveaway so that you can relax and re-charge your batteries to my favourite sone “Bring Me Home” too! 

Known for their one of a kind timeless sound, Sade has enjoyed phenomenal success both internationally and stateside throughout the span of their twenty-five year career. Since the release of their debut album, Diamond Life in 1984 the band have seen all five of their studio albums land in the Top 10 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart selling a total of more than 50 million albums worldwide to date. They’ve been nominated for American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and have won three Grammy Awards – first in 1986 for Best New Artist, then in 1994 for Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group for “No Ordinary Love”, and again in 2002 for Best Pop Vocal Album with Lovers Rock.

Among the new tunes is “Babyfather,” “about how great it is to be a parent, what a great honor and privilege that is, and what a terrible thing that is to waste,” frontwoman Sade Adu recently told PEOPLE. “As long as you feel good about yourself, you can be a good parent, and then it becomes an endless fruitful cycle,” she says.

SOLIDER OF LOVE was recorded in England and produced by the band and their longtime collaborator Mike Pela.  For more info, visit SADE’s official website: http://www.sadeusa.com/

PRIZING:
Three (3) winners will receive a copy of the new CD!
Prizing Value: $13.98 per CD

Please Note: All giveaways are open to US Mailing addresses only.

TO ENTER:
Leave a comment below telling me how you like to relax.

BONUS ENTRIES:
1.  Subscribe to my Fitness Cheerleader Newsletter

CONTEST CLOSES FEBRUARY 23, 2010< -->

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Wow! January flew right past me! How about you?

This year I made a few resolutions so I’ve decided each month to go back and re-visit them. To re-cap, my resolutions were to:

1. Learn how to cook
2. Eat healthier
3. Feel better about myself
4. Train for a half-marathon
5. Lose 16lbs (get back to my wedding weight)

So how am I doing with my goals?

1. Learn how to cook
   I’ve definitely been trying and making a big effort in this department. This has been a rather expensive little goal because previously all of our meals came from packages, so I had no spices in the house with the exception of pepper, salt and cinnamon. Purchasing all the spices I need has been expensive, but it’s been worth it. I’ve made a few things that my family has loved: Banana bread, Low-Fat Turkey Chili, Tuna casserole, Beef stew, Beans & Bacon Saute (These recipes can all be found on my Fitness Cheerleader site) and I’ve made some stuff my family hated: Tufu & Veggie Stirfry in a Peanut Sauce (Peanut Butter FAIL), The Best Ever Mashed Potatoes (Parmesan Cheese FAIL). I also made a Quinoa & Black Bean Salad that I love and have been bringing for my lunches.
2. Eat healthier
   This goes hand-in-hand with learning to cook. So far I’ve been successful with this. We’ve definitely eaten a lot less packaged foods, though there have been a few nights where my kids ended up eating a bowl of grapes and a peanut butter sandwich for dinner because the meal I tried to cook didn’t turn out very well. I’ve had a lot of healthy left overs for my lunches, and I even made healthier choices the few times I did eat out. Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I CUT OUT COFFEE!! I’m now drinking decaf green tea instead. I haven’t completely given up caffeine though – I do have one caffeinated green tea from Tim Horton’s each day. This is as much a social thing as a nutritional day because I walk over, and line up at Tim Horton’s every day with one of my co-workers. The nice part about this is that I now sleep WAY better! Yay!

3. Feel better about myself
   This one has been really hard, though I’m starting to be more aware of my mood cycles and have picked out some triggers. Such as:
   • Sleep (or lack of it)
   • Too much caffeine
   • Processed foods
   • Not exercising
   • Missing hubby

Thankfully most of these things I have control of. I can go to sleep earlier, minimize my caffeine intake, eat healthy (clean foods), exercise. I’ll keep working on these things over the year.

4. Stop rushing around and plan ahead
   I did well with this for the first two weeks of the year but I’ve totally slacked off in this department. Brooke has been sleeping horribly (she’s transitioning to a big girl bed) so I’ve been “too tired” in the evenings to pack stuff up, then sleeping in because I’ve spent an hour or more listening to her whimper and try to fall back asleep each night. I’ve done a great job planning meals, grocery shopping and having food on hand. I really need to make more of an effort on the packing and preparing lunches ahead of time thing.
5. Train for a half-marathon
   I’ve really done a great job over the past month sticking to my training plan. This week has been a bummer due to my calf injury, but I got my 10K in this weekend which was completely awesome!
6. Lose 16lbs (get back to my wedding weight)
   I have no idea why being larger than I was 6 yrs ago bugs me so much. I have had two kids after all. But I know I can be fitter, leaner, stronger with more energy – the kind I had before kids. The training, sleeping, healthy eating and planning are all helping with this goal and so far I’m down 6lbs. Not bad for 5 weeks! At this rate I’ll be down to the weight by our 6 yr anniversary on April 6, 2010.

How are your resolutions going? Have you been sticking to them? Don’t worry if you haven’t – you can start over again any time. Every meal and every day is a new fresh start!

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As you all know I LOVE LOVE LOVE running!  And I’ve been running a lot lately – so much that I haven’t had time to blog J  Running is my #1 love (well besides my family), though I must admit I love my family more when I’ve been running.  Sunday I ran 10.31k – it felt amazing!  I also loved my family so much more that day (maybe because I got away from them for an hour?). 

It’s been so long since I’ve trained for anything that I’ve forgotten how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Did I mention that I’m training to run the Mississauga ½ Marathon?  Running, strength training, nutrition, rest, recovery, easy runs, hard runs etc… They all need to be carefully balanced when training for an endurance event.  The last race I ran (besides the 10k in September) was the Mississauga ½ marathon 6 yrs ago!  So after Sunday’s hard 10k I decided to run an easy 6k on Monday at lunch.  Unfortunately I hadn’t properly rested my legs (took Sierra swimming Sunday night) and I hadn’t properly refuelled (not enough water, not enough sodium, potassium and carbohydrates to replenish my stores).  Less than a km into Monday’s run my right calf cramped – the contraction was so strong that it caused some minor muscle tearing.  I did Yoga on Tuesday (calling that an active rest day) then ran 5.88k through pain at ½ marathon pace on Wednesday.  By Wednesday night I was limping around the house like a little old lady.  I was in a fair amount of pain. 

The thing is I’m one of those people that when I get an idea in my head, I’m going to do it come hell or high water.  I’m a stubborn little mule.  So I persisted through my training for a few days only to cause more damage.  Yesterday and today I’m forced to rest – I’m supposed to do 10k tomorrow.  I hope that by adding some rest and nutrition pieces to my puzzle that I’ll be able to be back on track next week! 
PS – The other day I got an email from Amanda of UpSpring Baby who told me that she’s listed me as one of her Top ten Fitness Blogs for Moms.  I was listed with some of my heroes, Lisa Johnson Fitness and Workout Mommy.  What an honour!   Thanks Amanda!  (You can follow her on Twitter – she’s @Amanda-Upspring)

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T’was the month after Christmas, and all through the house,
nothing would fit me, not even a blouse;
The cookies I’d nibbled, the eggnog I had to taste,
at the holiday parties had gone to my waist;

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber),
I’d remember the marvelous meals I’d prepared,
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared;

The wine and the rum balls; the bread and the cheese,
and the way I’d never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband’s old shirt,
and prepared once again to do battle with dirt,
I said to myself, as only I can,
"You can’t spend a winter disguised as a man!"

So, away with the last of the sour cream dip.
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished,
’til all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won’t have a cookie–not even a lick.
I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I’m hungry, I’m lonesome, and life is a bore,
But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

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