We interrupt this blog

I have attempted many times this month to write a new post. Somehow here it is the last day of January and 3 weeks since my last post. At the beginning of the month I made a list of goals for the year. The good news is I have been working hard on those goals all month. However, that is also the reason I haven’t posted in 3 weeks. Some of you might remember that a big goal for my son, Owen, was to be potty trained. I am happy to announce that he is very close to reaching that milestone. But you can also imagine that about every ten minutes I must stop whatever I am doing to take him to the bathroom. I am definitely not complaining as it will be nice to only have one child in diapers.

Before I would do a lot of catching up on cleaning, laundry, or blogging on the weekends. But another goal I set for myself was to catch up on scrapbooking. My husband has been kind enough to let me have at least two hours every Saturday to lock myself in a room with my glue, scissors, paper, stickers, and hundreds of pictures. Since I am about 2 1/2 years behind this is going to be a long process. I have really enjoyed the two hours of quiet time. I find it so relaxing to organize the pictures and relive the memories. This weekend not only did I get quite a few pages completed but I also found some motivation for my fitness goals. Nothing like seeing a picture of yourself 30 lbs heavier to encourage you to work out. I have never been a fan of the scale since there are so many variables. But after scrapbooking the picture below I knew I wouldn’t have a problem completing my work outs this week! The first picture was taken the summer of 2009 a few months after my 3 child was born. I was heavier than I had even been and was just starting P90X. The second picture was taken last fall almost a year after my 4th child.  Now that I am on the right track towards my goals I just need to figure out how to add another 4 more hours to the day so I have time for everything.

 

Time to Bring It Again

My husband has been riding his  bike to work since the beginning of June.  This has inspired him to want to work out more.   During a recent conversation he suggested a round of P90X.  I never like to shy away from a challenge so I quickly agreed.  I have completed the program before so I thought it would be a piece of cake.  I don’t like to admit this but….I was wrong.

Previously, I have followed the lean program which provides more cardio and less resistance.  I started 6 weeks after my pregnancy so I was focused on shedding the baby fat.  I reached my goal weight therefore toning up is now my primary concern.  My husband’s goal is to gain mass.  So we will be doing the classic program for this round. 

I am a creature of habit. I prefer to do my work out first thing in the morning to jump-start my day.  I am encouraged when I  cross exercise off my to-do list even before the kids are awake. It also gives me more energy to chase after the  kids.   However, my husband is NOT a morning person.   There is no way I can convince him to give up 90 minutes of sleep in order to work out before he has to go to the office.  So we are working out in the evenings after all the kids activities and dinner.  Today was day 4 of this new routine.  I had no idea that working out at the end of the day would seem harder for me.  It is a whole new adventure and I am curious to see if I learn to love the new schedule. 

I have discovered that I am more competitive now that my husband and I doing P90X together.  Of course I can’t lift the heavy weights like he can.  But I push myself harder to do more reps.  I refuse to do the girlie push-ups when he is in the room.  I attempt pull-ups without the chair.  In other words I get out of my comfort zone.  A little competition is good for a marriage right?

I am definitely excited for this round.    Only 86 more days to go!  Oh yes, I am counting down because  we have planned it perfectly so that day 90 is  the week of our 10th wedding anniversary.  Our reward for completing the program will be a vacation to San Francisco.  By vacation I mean no kids, so Mom if you are reading this it’s time to book your flight to stay at my house.