I was surprised by the amount of emails that I got on last night's post, echoing some of the commentors. While this is what works for me (and may not work for everyone), I'm more than happy to share!
Half-Marathon: Sarah and I are running the Women's Running sponsored Women's Half Marathon on Sept. 24th. It starts at 7am and the course closes at 11am. Join us!!!
Time: Finding time to work out is one of those things that I always used to avoid it. "I dont have time." But, really, I do. And it's kind of amazing to think that I'm not scheduled out the wazzoo to figure it in. I do quite a bit when the kids go to bed. We have pushed their bedtime back a bit (since summer is on its way!), so they go to bed between 7:15-7:45 these days. My PT appointments are scheduled for 8:30-9:30pm (the gym is only 2 miles away, so I can get there by 8:15 to start my warming up.) When I'm working out at home, it's between 8-9pm. I do my long run on one of the weekend days, so Peter is home with the kids. 2-3 times a week, I go to the gym for an hour or so. On one of those days, the kids are at my in-laws for the afternoon (see below). The other two days, my mother-in-law visits and hangs out with the kids for that hour. It's good for Bobby and Maya because they love spending time with their grandparents, and it's nice for my MIL because she really enjoys babysitting the kids. I do this after nap and lunch, so that there are no big things that have to be dealt with while I'm gone. Other times, I dont leave when she is here, and weather permitting, I load the kids in the jogging stroller and we run together! I look forward to more running together as the weather gets better, but since I started hardcore in the mid-fall, there have only been a handful of times using the jogging stroller.
Housekeeping: I do basic housework all week: laundry, cleaning the kitchen, straightening up the bedrooms and living room. The kids help me in their rooms and in straightening the living room. After their meals, they play in the LR while I clean up the kitchen. It takes, at most, half an hour (usually half that!). Once a week, however, the kids go to my in-laws for a visit. I drop them off, do any sort of errands that have come up (like go to the bakery for fresh bread or the farm for meats), then go home and do a top-to-bottom, invasive house cleaning. I'll do laundry and the like, of course, but this is the time for scrubbing bathrooms, floors, dusting, and changing sheets/towels. When I'm finished, I go to the gym for an hour or so. Then, because she is like that, my MIL makes us dinner! Her reasoning: who wants to cook in a freshly cleaned kitchen?! So, that's pretty awesome.
Homework: I'm still working on my BAI certifications as a labor doula and childbirth educator. I do coursework and reading while the kids are napping in the afternoon and on the evenings that I'm not working out after they go to bed (unless I am really highspeed and then I do a little schoolwork too!). From next week through April, I will actually be attending childbirth classes on Thursday nights, so I wont be home for 2 hours a night. Fun times. It's after the kids go to bed, but still; those days will be very busy! I'm in bed by 10pm, so that gives me about 2.5 hours- at most- after the kids go to bed to workout, schoolwork, and any additional cleaning I need to do.
Eating as a Family: I'm always caught off guard by how surprised folks are that we all eat together at the table. The kids dont have highchairs (well, they do, but they are in our basement and we bring them up for visitors or when we need extra chairs and we can transfer the kids into them, but that is rare!). They have booster seats on top of our dining room chairs and they sit with us for breakfast and dinner. For lunch, they usually are in the middle of the kitchen eating, while I stand and eat or sit in between them and eat. But, yes, we all eat together. And they eat what we eat. Last night's dinner: roasted potatoes, red cabbage, rolls, salad, and lamb chops, with some banana bread for dessert. This morning, they ate blueberries, dry whole grain cheerios, banana bread, and icelandic yogurt. They (and Peter) drank juice and I had coffee- that would be the biggest difference! They love food; that is something we, thankfully, dont worry about. And dont let Maya fool you; she's smaller but that's genetics. That kid can go head to head with Bobby in an eating contest.
I think I covered everything I've been asked, but please drop me a line if I missed your question!
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