It's nearly 3:00am as I write this. I have to be up in about an hour to make an 8 hour roundtrip drive to an appointment on the Eastern border of Ohio. I'm up because I fell asleep on the couch around 8:00pm watching The Bachelorette and eating cheese sticks and summer sausage for dinner (this was an all-time low, even for me). I never can sleep through the night on our sofa. No matter how tired I am, it's like my subconscious knows that the couch is for napping, not for sleeping.
I've had so much to say and so much swirling around in my mind that I would love to get out on my blog. Time, it seems, will always be an issue for me. Alas, I am resorting to a "Life Lately" post because it's better than nothing, right?
WORK
Last week, I finally returned to a regular, 40-hour work week. I've maintained a flex schedule since returning from maternity leave which has been incredible in terms of easing me back into my professional life. Am I excited about the change? Not necessarily. Do I acknowledge that my position requires 40 hours a week of my time? Totally. I can't overstate how much I love my job, so I'm doin' what I gotta do.
HEALTH
I've been struggling badly as of late to try and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I have a gym membership that hasn't been used because I honestly don't know how or when to go. Chuck is in a band with his brothers so two nights of the week are spent practicing and performing, which means I'm on house arrest with my little sleeping cherub. The other weeknights vary. Some times Chuck wants to go visit with family, some times it's been entirely too long since we've seen each other so we opt to stay in for a much-needed, marriage-centric evening. This leaves the weekends, which lets face it, are possible, but not ideal.
Generally, I'm a poster child for local, healthful, organic eating. Lately? Yep, those are 10 boxes of mac & cheese and freezer meals in my shopping cart. I don't like eating this way, it makes me feel like crud and the fact that I had to buy the next size up when I could no longer fit into the few pairs of shorts I own just added insult to injury. I don't care about the number on the scale. What I care about is that I'm giving my body the nourishment it needs, and giving Charlie the nourishment he needs a la breastmilk. I'm not and I don't feel like myself. I feel slugglish, frumpy, and out of shape.
(This is where I could really use some tips, advice, suggestions from fellow working Mamas- how do you keep yourself eating right and working out???)
BEAUTY
This is a weird category, but I couldn't think of anything better to label my recent upgrade. I have always had ridiculously thick hair, which admittedly can be really nice. But with as busy as I've been, it became nearly impossible for me to keep up with it. Nine times out of ten, I threw it up in a bun with some bobby pins to hold back my bangs for good measure. Last Wednesday, it had been nearly a week since I had even brushed it and I was DONE. I love having long hair, but it's only nice if I actually do something with it. So, I called, made an appointment for that evening and chopped off eight inches of my thick, unruly mane. My hairdresser was a bit cautious because most people doing that drastic of a change have reservations. I had zero reservations and I am in love with my short, easily manageable new 'do.
MARRIAGE
Chuck and I have been really trying to be more intentional about making time for each other. With us both working full-time in different cities, as well as Chuck's musically-inclined extracurriculars, we rarely see each other. It was getting to the point where the few hours a week that we did see each other were spent discussing household logistics, finances, etc. Or we were just plain cranky and snapping at each other. We were both feeling strained and disconnected and mutually agreed that we need to make our marriage a priority above all else going on in our life. Needless to say, our evening spent together cuddled up on the couch last night was completely restorative.
CHARLIE
My little guy is doing great. His 7-month "birthday" is just days away, so more details to come. But, after over a month of trying to get this kid to eat solids, we're finally having some success in this arena.
FAMILY
My house is a wreck and it's gotten to the point where it's so bad that I don't even know where to start. My sister politely (although maybe not genuinely) offered to come up and help me organize. I promptly took her up on it, bribing her with baby snuggles and we spent all last weekend together. I think total, she packed up 3 boxes of non-essentials for me, but we got to have a dinner & movie date to see Trainwreck on Friday night and spent Sunday evening watching Parts 1 and 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, so I'm calling it a win!
Life lately has been exhausting to say the least, but such a (bee)autiful blessing ♥
So, I don't have any suggestions on working out (because I hate it and I am lazy), but I do have a suggestion for eating better. Have you ever heard of emeals? Basically it is a meal planning service. I had a number of people suggest it to me but I kept brushing it off because I thought it was foolish to spend money on something like that. I was wrong. This has saved me so much time and energy. You can sign up for a two week trial to see if you think it is worth it. Every Wednesday they send you a meal plan that includes recipes (for main dishes and sides) and a shopping list with an estimated cost at the end. There are a bunch of meal plans to chose from like Clean eating, Paleo, Classic family, and specialty ones like Diabetic friendly. We picked the budget friendly plan. It cut our grocery bill by about 30% and I have left overs for work the next day. It's great because I don't have to spend time thinking about what to make for that week, and the recipes are right there so Dean can start cooking before I get home, we don't get in a rut where we are eating the somethings over and over again, and I am making whole meals with sides and veggies and everything. It is wonderful! We have been using it for about 6 weeks and only had one flop recipe. Dave Ramsey recommends it too. If you want I can send you a referral link.
ReplyDeleteThe time you spent with your sister warmed my heart. I don't have a specific reason. I don't have a sister. I haven't seen Trainwreck (but I want to). I don't even like Harry Potter. I guess I could just relate to spending some quality time doing a task that you need to tackle and mixing in a little fun with it as well.
ReplyDeleteyour hair looks fabulous!
ReplyDeletei feel you on the eating well and working out - well, kind of because i don't have any kids and i know that it gets much harder. i imagine i will do a lot of working out at home when we have kids because it will be too hard to go to a gym or run outside. we'll see. i am really struggling with eating well right now, i just don't feel like cooking anything and everything sounds boring.. except for takeout and frozen meals, sigh.
I love your haircut!! It looks so good!
ReplyDelete