State of Motherhood Address

The State of Motherhood – Food

This month I’ve really been focusing on cutting back on the amount of sugar I eat, which you guys?  SO HARD.  I guess I didn’t realize how much I was actually eating until I took an inventory of it for a few days and read Sarah Wilson’s I Quit Sugar e-book.  I really liked her approach of going off sugar as an experiment – to reduce the amount that we eat and really pay attention to how the body reacts.  I’ll be darned if what she said wasn’t true and that I was more alert and happier with fewer stomachaches and crashes in the afternoon.  I’m not perfect and am not eliminating sugar completely from my diet; extreme measures like that have never gone over well for me.  But reducing the amount little by little and only having it as a small treat is working pretty well so far!

 

The only other change I’ve been making in my life food-wise is trying to drink more smoothies.  It initially started off as a way for me to clear out my freezer with a million half-used bags of frozen fruit and spinach, but has turned into a great way to get a good snack in or as a good breakfast option.  I try to pack mine with tons of fresh spinach to get in some veggie goodness!  Otherwise I’ve been really working hard on cranking out recipes for both the blog and my ChefMom projects – staying ahead has been a major lifesaver, even if it was a hard couple of weeks to get there!

 

The State of Motherhood – Exercise

Y’all, I so look forward every day to when I take about 30-40 minutes of me-time and get a good sweat going.  I feel like I’ve been saying this a lot in my State of Motherhood posts, but I am really working on doing more yoga.  I feel so much better and my other workouts are much better when I take 2 days a week to really stretch out my body and work on breathing and being mindful of how I’m moving.  At first it was hard trying to get over the whole lower-heartrate workout thing, but the mental benefits are SO HUGE!  I’ve been alternating my 2 yoga days with Bob Harper’s DVD and a yoga for weight-loss DVD (I can’t find the cover – sorry!), and it’s been great!

 

One of the hardest parts of working out these days is the fact that Weston’s naps are getting more and more inconsistent time-wise.  I use his naptimes to work and workout, and I’m discovering more and more that about 50% of the time I only have time to work and then get in about half a workout.  I was exercising probably about an hour a day, but have cut back to 30-40 minutes a day instead.  I know I can exercise while he’s awake and playing, but it’s a nice change of pace and challenge to crank it for a shorter period of time and then give him my full attention when he wakes up!

 

Otherwise I’m hoping to sign up for a walk or short run sometime this summer/fall – any recommendations for those in the Little Rock area?  I’m all ears!

 

The State of Motherhood – Fashion

Remember a while back when I said I was going to start waking up early to work out and then shower and get ready for the day?  Yeah.

 

Oops.

 

You see, there’s just no way that’s going to be happening anytime soon.  It’s not that I can’t get up early, it’s that I don’t want to.  And I figure it’s so dang hot and humid that it won’t really matter anyway, so what’s the point in losing precious sleep?  I will say this though:  I’ve been trying to make a point to get more dressed up than workout clothes when we go out in public.  I’m not batting a thousand or anything, but trying is trying and I’m getting more and more used to doing it.  I know I teased y’all last month with some big news in the fashion front, and I’m still working on it.  Hopefully I’ll have something to report in August!

 

Otherwise I’ll be traveling a bit this week and having to wear big girl clothes, so I’ll try and get some pictures of some of the super cute StitchFix stuff I’ve been getting lately!  It’s so fun to never know what you’re going to get, and I’m being pushed out of my comfort zone fashion-wise in a really good way.  Love!

 

The State of Motherhood – Work

I mentioned it up in the Food portion, but I’ve been working like crazy the past couple of weeks to get really far ahead in my freelance work (specifically) as well as creating recipes for the blog.  We have a really busy late summer/fall and I could already start to feel super stressed and crazy about it.  So in the spirit of fighting my normally procrastinator self, I buckled down and got about a month ahead in both areas.  Now I’m pushing to get 2 months ahead with the freelance projects so that if anything crazy comes up I can devote whatever I need to that.

 

I also have some really fun and exciting things coming up in work stuff that I can’t quite share just yet, but I literally have to pinch myself every day for having a job that I truly truly love.  It’s not always easy and the income isn’t always consistent, but I love it and it allows me to do my absolute FAVORITE job in the world, which is being Nate’s wife and Weston’s mom.

 

The State of Motherhood – Marriage

I absolutely love being married.  It’s not always easy and it’s a day-to-day thing, but being Nate’s wife has just made me so incredibly happy.  He’s an amazing man, and I could not be more proud of him.  I’d say that while having a baby/toddler has certainly put some strains on our relationship, in the end it’s only made us stronger and more in love.  Watching Nate play with Wes and make him laugh makes my heart completely melt, and I could not imagine a better father.  I am just so thankful for both of my boys who have both helped (along with a lot of prayer and pushing from the Holy Spirit) make me more and more into the woman I want to be!

 

I can’t believe we’re already 16 months in with this whole parenting thing, and I know that it won’t be long til we’re shaking our heads at being 16 years in.  I am always working to enjoy every day, every moment, and allow to all wash in, over and through my heart.  I am so blessed 🙂