A Mother's Body

Our society places a lot of unrealistic demands on women, especially mothers, to look a certain way. Women such as Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham and Angelina Jolie are plastered on the covers of magazines in our neighborhood grocery check out lanes. We are told that *this* is how WE should look. Magazine cover stories all but scream "Look at her! You should look like this! It's soooo easy!!!"at unsuspecting (and sometimes fragile) women just trying to feed their families.

Well, excuse me, but who the hell are YOU to tell ME how I should look?

Let's be honest - these women have full time help and money to burn. So, they can hit up the gym for hours each day, get a personal trainer, and pay someone to cook healthy meals for them then serve said meals in the correct portion size. There is no guess work, no juggling a clingy baby on one hip while you weigh your chicken on a scale, no being called away from cutting up vegetables to clean up the spill in the living room. They don't spend hours up at night with a colicky newborn, then have hours to burn at the gym. It just doesn't work like that. If someone is telling me that she has 3 hrs/day to spend at the gym, eats perfectly portioned servings of food at every meal, showers, puts on make up and real clothes every day and has date night once/week - with a 3-month-old at home - I am going to tell her she is full of shit. Or lying. One of the two. Either way, I am calling shenanigans.

And this is who you think I - a work at home mom of 1 active little boy and 1 infant who is just starting (somewhat) sleeping through the night - should look like?

Piss off.

The only way I am able to do what I am doing with my body is because I am extraordinarily blessed to have an understanding husband and be able to afford boot camp and healthy food. It's as simple as that.

These days, I am making a concentrated effort to choose to focus on being healthy and becoming strong. On being secure in my own skin. Too many women lament how their bodies are imperfect - and don't get me wrong, I do too. But the truth of that matter is, if you're a mother, you've experienced something miraculous -- a new life growing inside of you. And that needs to trump feeling sad about the stretch marks all over your body. Just remember, those women in those magazines are airbrushed - real women are not.

I am happy to see sites and tributes dedicated to the changes a mother's body has undergone. A couple of my new favorites include Birthmarks and The Shape of a Mother.

It's about time we start celebrating our bodies and the lives they've nourished and brought into this world. It's time we start looking to each other as role models, instead of celebrities. It's time we focus on being healthy, strong and happy - instead of what society tells us the "perfect" mom should look like.

Your baby thinks you're perfect just the way you are, because you love him/her unconditionally. Love yourself the same way.

And yes, I'll try to take my own advice! ;)

Time Sucks

Lately, I have found a lot of ways to waste time. It seems like whenever the boys are down for naps, or in bed for the night, I am on my computer checking out my latest time sucks. Don't ask me why. Maybe I need down time. Maybe I am sick of cleaning my house. Maybe I just like to sit and stare at a computer screen. Maybe I am a procrastinator at heart. Who knows!

Some favorite game time sucks include Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds (thanks Bill).

When I am feeling crafty, I check out Twinkle Baby Boutique, or a crafty blog, such as Make It and Love It. And then, I either purchase something or bemoan the fact that I haven't gotten out the sewing machine I just had to have in about 1.5 yrs. It's collecting dust in the basement, under a pile of God only knows what. What an investment! But, do I do anything about it? Do I get said sewing machine out and relearn how to sew in a straight line so I might be able to one day be the crafty goddess I long to be? No. I just check out more projects, "ooohing" and "ahhhing" and otherwise drooling over lush fabrics, darling skirts and cute pillows.

When I want to find new ways to waste time, I log on to Pinterest because, MAN, can that site suck time away nicely. Not only do I enjoy hours of viewing possible pins, and repinning the best on my boards; but inevitably that endeavor takes me to something else - like looking at more craft blogs.

Then, there's the money time suck - Etsy. God help me. I love me some Etsy. Just writing that word, Etsy, makes me itch to come up with a reason to purchase something homemade for my boys or my goddaughter, Gabby. I swear he needs it, Bill. NEEDS IT.

Let's not forget my all time favorite time suck - Amazon Mom. OH. MY. WORD. You mean I can find 75% of the things I need for my home/children, for a discounted price, AND get free shipping, thus making going out to the store with 2 screaming children virtually unnecessary? Yes please!

I'll leave you with my new favorite time suck, also known as "the site where I would spend all my money if I didn't have a conscience and, you know, think about the boys and their needs above my own desires" - Ruche. L-O-V-E.

So, there you have it. Just a few of my favorite time sucks.

And with that, I am off to work now - because 10pm is a perfectly appropriate time to just be starting to work on things like cleaning the house or my business. Why do at 7pm what you can put off til 10pm? That's just crazy talk.

Thirty-One Gifts

I realized not too long ago that, while I have a button for it on my blog, I have never really talked about Thirty-One! For shame, Mary, for shame!

Here are some FAQs I routinely get -

What is Thirty-One Gifts?

Thirty-One is a faith based direct selling company specializing in unique, embroidable (for the most part) organizational/storage products, purses, totes, stationary and home accessories for busy women on the go! The products are functional, fun, fashionable and, most importantly, AFFORDABLE. Go ahead, check out the catalog and tell me there isn't one thing you see there that you don't just want, but could actually use...and not only that, but you absolutely love it. Oh, and the added bonus is this month, the Customer Special is 15% off EVERYTHING in the catalog - no minimum purchase required. Pretty. Sweet.

What does Thirty-One stand for?

Thirty-One refers to Proverbs 31 about the Virtuous Woman. Thirty-One Gifts exists to Celebrate, Encourage and Reward Women.

How did you get started?

I started as a Consultant in October, 2009. I hadn't been working since Drew was about 7 months old, and while I was very happy being a stay at home mom, I needed something in my life to allow me to earn some income while staying home with him. I didn't want a traditional job, even part time, because I wanted the flexibility to make my own schedule and work as many (or as few) hours as I wanted. I started off with the intention of earning maybe a couple hundred dollars per month. Nothing huge. I really didn't have major expectations. Within a day of signing up however, my friend also signed up...then another friend signed up...then people I barely knew...then people I didn't know at all. And the more I shared Thirty-One with others, the more they wanted to be a part of this amazing company. In addition, my hostesses became repeat customers, as did their guests, and word got around just how fantastic the products are. And so parties were booked, and sales were made, and it just kept getting better and better. So that couple hundred dollars per month I set out to make turned into nearly what I made working full time before Drew was born. Seriously.

What is your favorite product?

Oh my. Too many to name. I love, love, love my organizing utility tote, which I use as my traveling office. Another product I could not live without? The large utility tote. Even my husband loves this tote. I honestly could go on and on, but I'll leave you with one last favorite - the Cindy Tote (middle of page 41). It. Is. Amazing. Especially in the dark denim fabric, which is new for fall. (please bear in mind that the Google pages include fabrics which have been discontinued, and prices have changed for the fall, so please consult with myself or the current catalog for the correct fabrics and prices)

Is it a lot of work to host a party?

Absolutely not! You just invite your friends, family, co-workers, anyone you think would love Thirty-One and I do the rest. I send out the invites, I bring everything we need and send you a hostess packet (or hand it to you at a party) detailing what will be going on. You just simply put out some chips and dip, pour a few drinks, and get ready to have an amazing time. My presentation is never longer than 15-20 minutes, it's interactive and based on your guests interests and questions. This also ensures that if you attend more than one party where I am the Consultant, you will not ever sit through the same presentation twice.

What do you love most about Thirty-One?

Gosh. I love a lot of things about Thirty-One. Helping women realize their dreams, the products, my team. Probably number one, however, is that it affords me the ability to earn a pretty decent income while staying at home with my boys. As long as our needs don't change, I should be able to keep this as my source of income until the boys are out of school and I feel like it's time to return to work full time. I should be able to be involved with my boys' school activities, after school activities and sports. I will be able to spend summer vacations with them. We should be able to take vacations relatively easily, because we'll only have to worry about school breaks and when Bill can get time off work - and not have to factor my work schedule into things at all.

So, there you have it. I won't spend a ton of time on this blog discussing Thirty-One, as that's not what I had in mind when I began the blog nearly 3 years ago. But, it is a part of my life and I wanted to share it. :)

Come Sail Away!

Last week, the hubs and I went on a 4 day cruise.

Sans two little boys.

Among other things, we

Lived on a ship for 4 days!

Spent some quality time together, just the 2 of us!

Kissed (and swam with and hugged) DOLPHINS!

Celebrated a dear friend's wedding! Congratulations Jeff and Karyn!!

Wore napkins on our heads at dinner!

Got up at 5:30am to try and see Atlantis landing in Cape Canaveral!

It was a wonderful trip, full of great times and we made some amazing memories (DOLPHINS anyone?!). We were happy to get home to our little men, but glad we were able to experience this time away together.

Lasagna - It's What's For Dinner

So, my friend, Krista, of Thar She Sews requested that I do some blog posts about the meals I am making.

Well, Krista, ask and you shall receive.

Tonight I made The Best Vegetable Lasagna from Kath Eats Real Food. And the verdict is ...

Delicious!

For those of you who know me well, you know that mine is a love-hate relationship with vegetables --- in that I can't stand most of the vegetables that are good for me, but I want to eat them because I know they are needed in my diet. And thus, I am always looking for different ways to get vegetables into my diet. Let's be honest here, I bought "Deceptively Delicious" as much for myself as my kids. And still, there are some things (like broccoli) that I will not touch.

I digress. Back to the recipe.

You will see the suggested vegetables are spinach, carrots, sun dried tomatoes and zucchini. Since I like all of these, I stuck with her recommendation. I did change up the sauce, however, as I've been on a Ragu kick as of late. Why? Because there are 2 servings of vegetables in each 1/2 cup, so I like to think I am being all healthy eating this sauce in my once weekly pasta meal. (Yes, I'm a terrible Italian eating Ragu, but I haven't had time to make my own sauce in awhile. *shame*) It also calls for cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese, which made me skeptical, but I really enjoyed it. Anyway, back to the vegetables - I recommend grating the zucchini and carrots. I found I could get more of each into the lasagna by doing this. I also put 2 cups of spinach in, instead of one. The only thing I didn't do, because I didn't think it would be an issue, was cut up the sun dried tomatoes. I would definitely recommend that! They were hard to eat, and Drew nearly gagged on them. So, that was a bit of a fail.

All in all, this is definitely something I would make again. If you make it, be sure to post and tell me what you think!

Bon Appetite!

How I'm Doing It -- Diet

You've read about the exercise component of my journey to healthy living, so now it's time to talk about the nutritional side of things. What am I doing to ensure I am eating properly? After all, a proper diet (ie: staying within one's correct caloric intake, balancing protein/carbs/etc correctly, eating smaller meals more frequently) is even more essential to losing weight and being healthy than proper exercise. You can workout all you want, but if you eat like crap, you're going to feel (and look) like crap.

For my weight, height and BMR (basal metabolic rate), I am afforded a certain number of calories, grams of fat, protein/carb intake each day and I am encouraged to drink at least 64 oz of water every day. How do I ensure I am staying within my limits? As I mentioned, I track it - using My Fitness Pal. Haven't used this? Try it - it's fabulous! It's super easy to use, a lot of what I am cooking/eating is already in their system, and it really helps me stay on track!

I am also reading. A lot. Websites, blogs, Facebook pages. And getting some of my recipes from the following publications -

I totally plan to get a subscription to Clean Eating!

In addition, I make meals from this cookbook -

And, my all time favorite recipe website - Skinny Taste. Love me some Gina's recipes! Everything I have made tastes like it's loaded with calories and fat - but it's NOT! It's absolutely amazing, and the best of both worlds for this girl who looooves to eat - tasty foods and guilt free eating! Even my husband told me that the chicken enchiladas were better than anything he'd ever eaten in a Mexican restaurants. We live fairly close to some pretty authentic Mexican restaurants, so this is a huge compliment. I am so happy my friend, Mandy, let me in on this site last year!

Some other good sites for recipes and nutritional information are - Kath Eats Real Food and The Daily Garnish. A good blog to read is Weighing In and Moving On - Kristen is chronicling her journey to a healthy body and she has lost about 150 lbs so far! She is truly inspiring!

I hope you find something tasty (and healthy!) to eat from this post. I plan to update on nutrition (and exercise) as I continue on my journey. So, stay tuned ... and HAPPY EATING!

**special thanks to fellow heart mom, Jenny Lincoln, from Aly Jean's Special Heart for teaching me how to hot link!! **

Progress

It occurred to me that I never posted a "before" picture, so I could document my transformation as I go through boot camp and learn to eat properly. I have yet to do the full body picture that you see a lot of women and men doing when they're documenting weight loss. I have not been comfortable with seeing myself full on in a picture, much less posting it-- but I am getting there. Maybe by the end of my next session of boot camp, you will be able to see a full shot of me in all my workout gear or fun new clothing glory.

I decided I would start the picture journey for this blog with a picture from Mother's Day, which was approximately 2 weeks before my first session of boot camp -

Now this picture is from Karyn's birthday in early June, so halfway through my first session of boot camp. Honestly, I don't notice much of a difference. I didn't start feeling a difference until the following week, so I guess that makes sense. In fact, I think I look worse than I do above in this picture because of how I am sitting. Oh well, here you go -

And finally, here I am in between the first two sessions of boot camp. I think you can finally start to see the difference in my face -

So, there you have it. Some pictures to serve as an example of how I am beginning to change. And I am starting to change as I navigate my way through my new life of working out consistently and eating properly. What do you think? Do you think it shows?

Oh, and I have to take a head shot of myself for my work publication, as I recently promoted to Senior Director (*squeeeeeeee*!!!!!), so I will put that in a subsequent blog post. Along with some better shots of my body. I bet you can hardly wait! ;)