Babies don’t sleep through the night. Daycare is expensive. Everything you own will eventually be destroyed. You will drive a minivan and get excited for double-coupon day.
If you told me all of these things 10 years ago, I would have foolishly chuckled as I and booked my next last-minute weekend jaunt to some urban paradise. Where going out started about the time when I now come in for the night.
Take these pictures, for example:
Spagetti Sauce Crunch
Shaken not Stirred
Here I am with my three kids (ages 6, 4, and 3) and we are watching an exercise DVD, using canned food as hand weights. We can’t donate to the food drive, because we can’t afford the gym, and well we kinda need the olives. And the spaghetti sauce.
I miss my afternoon runs, showering at the gym, and long weekends up and down mountain bike trails, through streams, and camping in a tent one person could easily assemble. Exercising with kids requires sacrifice and the patience of a saint. To start, kids are short and fall over a lot. Distracted easily, a game of baseball can quickly end at the mere glimpse of a bumble bee.
I like to think that adults set examples of a healthy lifestyle through exercise, balanced meals, and even unplugging from everything (it’s a small miracle we survived the 80s without GPS and weather.com). But, you know, sometimes I watch the pony tails of the high school track team bounce by and know I’ll be heaving the Ragu between homework and bath time.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Julie, are you doing the 30 day shred? It looks a lot like it based on your moves. =) I tried to do it with the kids Thurs, but about 10 min in, it got WAY out of hand and in my crazed, sweaty, state, put them all out on the deck and locked the slider until the cool down stretch. I feel no shame, growing & birthing their sweet souls got me in this state.
I found that the cans of Corned Beef Hash worked pretty good too…
Don’t forget to teach the kiddos how to snarl back at Jillian as she does those side crunches!!
Becky, it is 30 day shred! And, these photos were taken about 2 minutes before Calvin and Marie started fighting and then then Owen dropped a can of olives on his foot. So, I only made it to section 2. It’s enough to drive me crazy. I hate that I can’t even get an uninterrupted 20 minutes. You hang in there too. I imagine “Lord of the Flies” on your deck.
When they get a little older, please introduce them to your outdoor passions. I know it was an insane amount of work, but I’ll always appreciate my childhood camping trips and it’s instilled a permanent love!
Seriously, why the heck are your new posts not showing up in my dashboard?! Even your old blog doesn’t redirect me here, ugh.
See, we all have something to complain about
My gym membership is part of my sanity, it’s way more expensive to *not* have my sanity than not afford the gym. Childcare included = a necessity.
Julie, you will figure it out, but I know it’s frustrating right now.
Ha! Yeah, just a simple walk often ends with me toting Levi the rest of the way….not so fun while pregnant.
Also, just a heads up, your posts aren’t showing up in my Google reader.
You are incredibly real and I love that! You Rock!