What I'm Loving about Being the Mom of a Teenager

Isaiah and me after our workout

The teen years are rough. They are rough to live through, and I've heard they are rough to parent. I'm a newbie "teen-mom" (that just doesn't sound right... How else do I say that I'm a mom of a teen?), and I know nothing yet, but there is no harm in starting off positive. :)

My teen boy is an incredible person. He works hard in school; he's great with little ones; and he's a good friend. The thing I'm appreciating so much lately is how he's a great listener. About a week ago, I was having a bad day. I was overwhelmed and and really stressed out. He stopped what he was doing, sat down with me, and asked me what was wrong. After I talked it out, he encouraged me to come downstairs and workout with him to cheer myself up. I did, and instead of feeling down, I was laughing with my son and getting some healthy exercise for my body.

Stressed mama transformed to happy mama

I've worked out with him a couple more times since then. He's really into fitness now, and actually put together some workouts for me. It was not easy, and definitely made this mama sweat!! I told him that you can't tell when I'm flexing anymore, and he said, "Yes, you can, Mom. When you're flexing, your arms go from flibbity flab to just flibbity..." lol Thanks a lot, bud...

It's awesome to watch your little baby grow into a young man that you can respect. It's really special to see that he's there for you when you need him.

Mid First Week Report

As usual, my plan is not going off without a hitch, but it's okay. :)

Monday and Tuesday went very well, and I've been doing pretty well with my macros all week, but I haven't gotten my workouts in as I was planning. Today is cheat day. YAY.

See, Wednesdays and Thursdays are a little crazy for us. Wednesday, we have dance classes from 5:30-7:00. Thursdays, Matt works a full day at the hospital, comes home and tries to sleep before going to his home care job overnight and straight to another full day at the hospital Friday morning. It's crazy. So, that kinda threw off the workout schedule.

As far as my new Plexus journey, my box arrived yesterday!!! Matt and I are splitting it for now until we can afford to get 2 Triplex combo packs per month. I had my first official Slim pink drink yesterday, and we both took a ProBio5 (their probiotic)with dinner. This morning, we both took 2 BioCleanse capsules, and Matt took 2 Xfactor capsules. Well, we are both feeling the cleanse already... especially Matt... at work... Sorry, honey!

I am so happy school is almost over! The next big thing is our dance recital. We have 5 children performing this year, and I'm in 2 performances myself! It will be quite a day!!

Anyway, I hope you are all taking care of your own O2 masks! Have a great day!

My egg whites didn't turn out too bad ;)

New Before Pics and Day One of MY Journey Begins!

I am so excited to begin MY journey today. I put that in all caps everytime to constantly remind me to own it. Own this journey. Own this plan. Own my motivation. This is MY journey this time.

I am currently 150 lbs. My goal is 130 lbs. I had Matt take new before pics for me. I am trying to focus on looking ahead to future gains, not on all I lost... So, posting these requires some bravery. I have to reject all the feelings of shame that I'm tempted to feel. It's not because I'm just ashamed of how I look. It's because I lost so much that I'd worked so hard for. So, please do not think that I think a 150 lb 5'4" woman is in terrible shape. No body shaming here, and that has to start with not body shaming myself. <3 Oh, I should take measurements too. I'll have to do that next time.

I lost my food scale. So, I'm just using measuring cups for now.

After the kids got home from school, and we picked up our new fish from a neighbor, we all piled in the van to meet Daddy at the YMCA. Boy, that childcare is a total game changer!

I didn't want to do my floor exercises in front of everyone at the gym. So, I hit all the leg machines they have. I did one set of 20 at a challenging weight. Then, did one more set of 20 at one level heavier. I also did 15 minutes on the good old stairstepper. I got 50 floors in. 

After the YMCA, we got Little Caesars for the kids since we were pressed for time. We dropped off the 3 that had a dance class. Then, Matt went to Applebee's to get us some salads (Grilled Chicken caesar). I took all the croutons off of mine and didn't use the dressing. It was so good!!

When we got home, I jumped down to the basement with Isaiah and did my floor exercises. Wow! good workout!! Give it a try! Just switch the sets and reps. They got those switched around!

So, here's my day in my notebook. As you can see, Selah got a hold of it. I was under my protein, and over my carbs and fats. Not too shabby for day one, though!!

Whew!! I worked hard today!!!

MY Journey. I'm getting excited!!

I am old school. I like to write things down in a notebook rather than use an app. I took that screenshot of Jessica Enslow's plan, and plugged in my own info. She uses iifym.com to calculate her macros. It's very simple except at the end after it asks where to send your macros, enter your name and email, but continue on the site. Use the sliders to adjust your percentages.

This is exciting! It's already empowering to see this start to come together. This mama is no longer in autopilot. I am owning this!!

Now, I need to plan my workouts.

Check out Jessica Enslow's plan on her YouTube video HERE.

Making the Journey Mine

Okay. Here it goes...

Last year was great. Last year, I started seeing that I could be stronger and more fit than I thought I could be. I started weight training. I started learning about macros. All of my progress came to an abrupt halt due to circumstances beyond my control. Then, I just slowly quit. I quit calculating my macros. I quit working out. I quit blogging. I just got so discouraged.

Well, I'm ready to move on now and make my health and fitness journey my own. It's very good to give credit where credit is due, but as one of my midwives taught me, the greatest coaches teach you that it's all about you, and you don't really need them to succeed. The greatest coaches empower you; they don't use you to promote themselves.

So, I've gained 15lbs over the last 9 months, and I've lost any muscle development I'd gained. All the kids are odd numbered ages now:13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1.5; and we recently joined the YMCA as a family. It's nice. Free childcare makes a huge difference!

I have to do this. I will do this. I put too much stock in a person and I gave that person way too much credit for my success. The truth is that I worked my butt off last year. I pushed myself. I dedicated myself to following a meal plan. I am grateful for the tools that were given to me to succeed, but I did the work. It is important for me to remember that.

I found another mom of 7 on Instagram named Jessica Enslow. She is in amazing shape, and since she's a little older than I am, a little shorter than I am, and has had as many babies, I feel like what she does is something I could do too. I am going to start here.

I also signed up with Plexus today. I hope these health products help me have more energy and maybe I'll be able to even get off my antidepressant. Who knows. I just know that my body needs some recuperation after 14.5 years of pregnancies and breastfeeding for almost all that time.

I have to prove this to myself, and I will. I hope you're all doing well. It's really nice to be back.

Here are some pics from this evening. I did legs and abs with Isaiah. Selah got in on it too!

Baby Fist Bump! Let's do this!

I Am Absolutely Loving Dance!

Last night, I joined a jazz dance class! Last year, I did belly dance, and I loved it! Since we have 5 children taking dance classes this year, we are up to the unlimited class level. So, I thought I'd add a class for myself. I mean, why not, right?! I am so glad I did! I only started dancing last year as a 35 year old woman. I had no idea how much it would mean to me. Dancing is such a beautiful art expression. It's fun, a great stress reliever, and dancing with a group of women creates a sisterhood that I really need in my life. Not to mention how it provides the regular time out of the house that I desperately need for myself!

For the last month, I have been trying to pick myself up, brush myself off, and get going in my fitness again. It has been hard to be motivated, but I have to be gracious to myself and recognize that I needed some time to grieve the loss of a friend and the loss of the gym and weight training (at least for now).  I started The 21 Day Fix, but I let myself keep missing days. I started The Whole30, but after daily gorging myself on nuts and fruit, I quit. I need to decide what I'm doing and stick to it! Being self motivated is not easy!

Last night, my jazz class was just the thing I needed. We spent a lot of time stretching, and then tried some new (to me) dance steps. It was great. I feel like God is giving me the gift of dance, and I am so thankful. Belly dance starts next Tuesday!!

As far as the kids: Daisy and Silas are in a combo ballet tap class. It's adorable, and they are loving it. Malakai, Eli, and Ana are all doing acro, and Ana is doing ballet of course. I am so thankful for our dance studio, the teachers, the other dancers, and the other dance families. Dance is a wonderful part of God's creation. I'm loving this part of myself I never discovered before! Here's to another wonderful dance year!

I am going to get going on the 21 Day Fix again, and stick with it this time. I gotta keep myself in shape for my dance classes!

*All the pictures in this post are from our dance classes last year taken by Cheryl Keeran. (Daisy jumped in with Ana for one of her ballet pics <3 )

Weekend

This weekend did not go as I expected, but hey, that's normal, right? Saturday, I was dressed and ready to go do my workout when my friend's son texted and said he was on his way to do some yard work for us. He did an amazing job!! It is such a relief to have things cleaned up out there! He worked for about 6 hours, and by the evening, I needed to get my little people fed, bathed, and to bed. That workout didn't happen!

Sunday, my oldest was down sick all day. We didn't make it to church. . . again. I had to go shopping. We were out of coffee at home. So, I bought a $0.50 coffee at the Meijer bakery. The only thing they had were those little creamers. So, I cheated on Whole30, and put 2 creamers in my coffee. It was gross, but it helped clear my head!

We stopped by Mad Goat on the way home. I got a cold brew coffee for me, a hot coffee (with heavy whipping cream) for Matt, and 2 bags of coffee beans for home. We dropped off Matt's coffee at the hospital, and we went home. The boys were in charge of bringing the groceries in from the van. Well, 1 of the 3 gallons of milk made it in whole. . .

I caved and put heavy whipping cream in my coffee. Then, I added stuff and put it in the blender to make it a smoothie. It was good, but another cheat because no dairy is allowed on Whole30.

The kids and I worked on picking up the house all day, and I made dinner. No workout again.

I could sit here and beat myself up over my failures this weekend, but I'm not going to do that. We moms are our own punching bags too often. Instead, I'm going to list all the things that went right this weekend:

• Our yard got some MUCH needed attention.
• I didn't yell at my kids (scolded, yes; but no yelling).
• Snuggles and book reading with my little ones
• Precious time spent caring for my oldest
• The house still needs a lot of work (laundry is my enemy), but it's much more picked up now!
• We got an invisible fence for Eleanor, and she's responding to it beautifully!
• We are eating healthier.
• The kids and I were able to really bless Matt with that middle-of-the-day coffee yesterday. :)

Some of my time this weekend has been well spent reading STILL {when all else fades away} by Tiffany Nardoni. This book is my friend's heart printed on paper. You cannot read her story and not change. This has everything to do with my perspective on this weekend. Tiffany has been to the worst place any parent can imagine, and she'll be the first to tell you that things are just things. Plans fail. The only things of true value are God's love, our trust and faith in him, moments spent loving our family and friends, and learning to hold what (and who) we love with an open hand. How could I be down in the dumps over laundry, a couple cheats on Whole30, and missed workouts after that? No, I can't. Reading her story opens my eyes to the importance of: reading that storybook with my little one, snuggling with my babies on the porch swing, a soft answer to wild children, smiling and enjoying their silliness, and seeing how my 12 year old still covets and treasures my attention when he's feeling sick. These little things are actually the big things. Tiffany, if you're reading this, thank you so much for sharing your story. I am only on chapter 6, and it is already helping me be a better wife and mom. I am blessed to call you my friend. Love you!

So, today, I am going to care for these precious people who call me Mom, feed them, get done what I can, and remember that today is a gift. If we don't get a tomorrow, what will I wish I would've done today? 

Love and hugs from this mama to you. Have a happy Labor Day!

Day 3. Everything is going to be okay.

Over the last couple weeks (or has it been 3 weeks now?), I have been so down because I have felt very robbed of a friendship and a part of my life that brought me a lot of joy. For some reason, I feel like I have things in a better perspective today, and I just thank my God for that.

I miss the gym. I do. Going to the gym forced me and my support network to make time for me to focus on ME. I had scheduled sessions. I had goals. My husband, my mother in law, and my kids all supported me. It was amazing. I had so much positivity all around me. No wonder it wasn't a struggle to stick with it. It wasn't just the personal physical "gains", it was all the praise. Huge lesson here: Do not let yourself be motivated by the praise of others. Doing that is just building your house on sand, and houses built on sand will not stand up to the storms that will come.

Here are some awesome truths about my oxygen mask I learned in my 4 short months at the gym:

First, I really need to prioritize making time for myself without the kids away from the house once or twice a week.  Regularly making time for myself without the kids was truly life changing. Just because I am not going to the gym right now doesn't mean that has to stop. 

Second, my nutrition affects my whole family. Let me repeat that: MY nutrition affects my whole family. If I eat well, I am a much better wife and mom. If I eat garbage or don't eat, I am a total mess. It is not loving self sacrifice. It is self neglect, and it inhibits my ability to serve my family well. 

Third, it is vital to treat myself with love and respect if I am going to grow in any way. When I got so down, I immediately started neglecting and abusing myself. I think a lot of us do that. Why is that? It must be because we lost sight of loving and respecting ourselves along the way.

Fourth, don't let fear motivate you. Just don't. Let yourself be stretched. You will be better for it.

Lastly, I want to reiterate the big lesson I mentioned above: Do not let yourself be motivated by the praise of others. Be encouraged, yes, but do not let that praise become your motivation to reach your goals or follow your dreams. Your goals are YOURS. Your dreams are YOURS. Don't let anyone steal that from you. 

Good good thoughts on my heart today. Praising my Jesus for shining His light of truth in my heart.

Today was my day 3 in The 21 Day Fix: Lower Fix. It's a good workout! It was more challenging today because my little Selah was at my feet, but Matt was there to help. So, that was good!!  I can stick with this for 21 days. I got this. :)

This was also our second day on Whole30. It's already feeling so good to eat healthy! The biggest thing for me so far has been my coffee. Yesterday, I had unsweetened vanilla almond milk in it. Today, I tried coconut oil. I did not expect to like it, but it was surprisingly okay! Better than the almond milk, for sure.

Stew: ground beef, sweet potatoes, spinach,
 onion, salsa, and seasonings.

That's it for today! I hope something here encouraged you. I don't know who you are, but I know the God who made you to be your unique self. It is honoring to Him to treat ourselves with love and respect. Take care of yourself today, okay? I'm rooting for you!

Day 2

Today's workout was SO MUCH BETTER than yesterday's!!!! Number one, Matt is off today. That makes everything better. :) Also, we started The Whole 30 this morning! So, I've eaten healthy food all day as opposed to the garbage I've been eating these last couple weeks. First day, and I already feel better!

So, since my workout was such a joke yesterday, I decided to double up today. I did Cardio Fix again. Then, I went right into Upper Fix. It's a good workout, and I was actually able to participate because my sweet little Selah was taking her nap. ;)

I'm breaking the rules a little because I'm doing Whole 30 instead of the 21 Day Fix nutrition plan for now, but that's okay. ;)

Lastly, I give myself major props for having unsweetened vanilla almond milk in my coffee this morning. It's okay. I can do it.

Have an awesome day, friends!

Breakfast! Eggs, yellow peppers, spinach, and salsa
Smoothie: strawberries, blueberries, banana, ice water

Day 1

I just did the first day of The 21 Day Fix: Cardio Fix. It's okay. It's a workout video. To be honest, it was hard going back to that: keeping up with a video, being interrupted by my kids around me and under my feet, deciding whether to rewind or just miss those moves, workouts designed for the masses and not me personally... Yeah, I definitely have a transition ahead of me, but it'll get better. I'm doing this because I just don't know what else to do right now, and people I respect recommend the program.

Matt and I are starting The Whole 30 tomorrow. I'm pretty confident that will make a big difference in how I feel.

No deep or inspiring thoughts today. Just a quick journal entry about day 1. I'm confident that future reports will get more and more positive. It's just one of those days, that's all. :)

I found this meme today. I thought it was an encouraging reminder:

Also, this:

Thank you for reading my little blog. I hope it is a source of encouragement. I know it has been a bit of a downer lately, but that will change soon. I'm sure. :)