State of Motherhood Address

The State of Motherhood – Food

You know, it’s funny how my thoughts toward food have changed over my lifetime.  My attitude has gone from not caring at all to caring too much to eating too much, and now I’m finding my way to a new place of caring and eating just enough to enjoy food but not let it rule my thoughts and my life.  If you have questions about any part of that previous statement feel free to email me, but the point is that I’m working on eating a healthier whole food diet and eating just enough to not curb hunger – no more, no less.  Isn’t it crazy how hard that can be sometimes?  It’s like that AT&T commercial with the little girl who keeps saying, “If you want more you want more” – if something is super tasty, why wouldn’t I want to eat the whole batch a million times over?  And then you turn to the latest fitness and “health” magazine and they’re giving you ways to cut a bajillion calories to get swimsuit ready.  Finding that balance in this all-or-nothing world can be a real challenge sometimes, but I feel like I’m finally making progress!

 

Lately we’ve been eating a lot of cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, zucchini, and a TON of strawberries.  I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing the strawberries are here compared to the ones we had in Colorado.  I feel like I’ve been introduced to them for the very first time and I just can’t stop eating them!  I have also recently discovered with Weston that I can get him to eat anything if it’s covered in marinara sauce, which can only go to show that my blond-haired blue-eyed boy has definitely got his share of Italian blood.  He loves the stuff!  And since I make it at home with real ingredients I can’t help but be proud of all the good stuff he’s downing, even though he can never wear clothes while he’s eating now.  There’s only so much marinara stain removal I can handle, you know? 😉

 

Food is going well and I am just really excited to start another month of introducing Weston to the good stuff.  I’m excited about summer and farmer’s markets and growing my own veggies and herbs.  I’m thankful for fresh, honest food and for the changes that God has made in my heart and my mind toward it all!

 

The State of Motherhood – Exercise

I love exercise; it’s never been an issue for me.  In fact, the biggest issue regarding workouts is when I don’t get one it – I need to have that time to be active and to be alone with my thoughts.  I’ve continued with my regimen of GPP workouts (love.it.), but am working on finding ways to get in some more flexibility training as well.  Over the past 29 years I’ve seen that flexibility really is so important, especially since I wore my knees out with running so early in life.  Stretching and strength keep my body moving well, but it’s so easy to let that stretching part slide at the end of a workout.

 

I would really love to start doing yoga more often, but my issue there is that it’s hard to do it at home and I have yet to find a DVD that I really love.  I’m hoping to try out one from Bob Harper soon, but if I could just throw money into it I would totally go to a studio.  I love being in a class and not having the distractions of a messy house or two cute puppies or a baby waking up from naptime early.  HOWEVER.  It gets pricey, so for now I’m just going to be diligent about it and devote 5 minutes a day to stretching and flexibility.  We’ll see how that goes – I’ll let you know next month 😉

 

ALSO – I have a great review coming up for a new online service.  I love my GPP workouts, but don’t necessarily recommend them to everyone.  I really dig the athletic movements, but have been supplementing them at times with these other workouts.  Look out for it – I think there are a lot of you who will really love this new website!

 

The State of Motherhood – Fashion, etc.

I’ll be honest here, I really struggle with getting ready.  My intention is to, in the next few weeks, work on waking up early and doing my workouts before Weston gets up so that I can actually get ready for an entire day.  But for now?  Yeah.  All I have to say is thank goodness for StitchFix.

 

My day basically goes like this:  wake up when Weston does (around 7), feed and play with him, put him down for a nap, work/workout.  Then Wes gets up from his nap, we eat lunch, and then we play until he MAYBE takes a nap again.  If he naps, I get more work done and/or clean the house a little bit.  I usually shower in the afternoon – before Nate gets home from work – and even then it’s usually just a quick shower without makeup or hair styling or anything.  I usually throw on some clean workout gear and play with Wes until Nate gets home, at which point I cook dinner, we eat, put Wes to bed, and then spend the evening working some more and cleaning the house.  Now that Wes is sleeping through the night better (knock on wood) I’m hoping that I can just get the workout stuff done and then put on real clothes for the rest of the day.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I really love my workout gear.  It’s comfy and reliable and always fits.  It means I can get on the floor and play with ease, can spill food on it without panicking, etc.  But there is a big difference in my confidence when I actually spend 30 minutes on myself versus when I don’t, and I want to get to a place where I’m happy with that look more often than not.  Again, it’s all about finding that balance of what I feel good in versus what the world says I should wear/do/look good in!

 

The State of Motherhood – Work

I mentioned it yesterday, but I’m in the process of redefining my work roles lately.  My main job is Mom.  I love it with every fiber of my being, I relish it, it’s the best job I’ve ever had.  My second job, as a writer/blogger/recipe developer, is amazing and I love it too.  I’ve worked hard to get where I am with it, and I cannot believe how blessed I am.  That being said, I am just working through what my second job will look like as my responsibilities with my first job continue to change and grow (no, we are not expecting again – yet).

 

Over the next few months I’m really going to be getting detailed about ways that I can be intentional with the gifts I’ve been given in this online space.  I really love food, and I love that this is a food-centric blog.  I love the way it brings people together (I’ve said that so many times!) and I love the way that everyone can connect over food.  Recipes will not be going away, but as for the way I write – well, I just want to make sure that I’m true to myself and the experiences that I have.  I am someone who feels incredibly deeply, and I can’t always turn life into a big sarcastic joke.  I love reading blogs who have hilarious stories all the time and can laugh at themselves at the drop of a hat, but that’s not always me.

 

So this whole work thing?  I am slowly figuring it out.  Looking at the long-term goals of where I want to be with my first and second jobs in the next 10 years.  I have some huge dreams and this process of the unfolding of them is incredible!

 

The State of Motherhood – Marriage

Y’all, I am passionate about marriage.  I love it.  I love my husband to a point that it literally makes me speechless.  I truly cannot express in words what he means to me, how blessed I am to have him.  I love being a mother, but seeing Nate walk through the door and spending time with him is the highlight of my day.  Before I go any further – yes we fight, yes marriage is hard, yes we have to work on it daily, and no it’s not perfect.  But the process of it all is the best thing I could ever experience and any bad day with Nate is better than any good day could be without him.

 

Yesterday I read this post from Susie Davis, and found myself nodding along the whole time.  I really don’t know if I could word it any better than she did there, and I am just so excited to be living life with a man that I admire so much.  Nate, you are a blessing in every sense of the word.  I love you.

 

So that sort of sums up the state of this momma these days!  14 months ago my world changed forever, and while the transition will always be ongoing, I am so thankful and happy to have the chance to be the wife and mother that I am!