"Pain is weakness exiting the body."~unknown

Sometimes a bit of a routine is a nice thing.
Today our routine got back on track. Last week, despite our change in destination, Ryan still took the week off of work. With him being home, we didn't send Kai to school and just took the days one at a time...lots of relaxing; ironically though, not feeling too rested. That will come soon I hope. We played with the kids, did little things around the house...got in some great workouts and watched some movies (amazing... as this is something Ryan and I have not sat and done in A LONG TIME).
We forced ourselves to do...well not a whole lot of anything! The weather pretty much sucked, as we dreamt of sun and sand. We will get there...one day!

Today, Ryan went back to work...Kai back to school...and my Monday's with our Nanny commenced again as I did errands, work and great workout. I take advantage of Mondays as best I can.  I cram as much in as possible as it is a day that I have some hours sans kids to get it all done. You sure can move a lot faster when you aren't carting another one around...especially in the grocery store when there aren't other arms lifting things from the shelves as you pass by. Yes, sometimes its the little things ;)

Kai was so excited to go back to school today to see all of his friends. I am so happy he enjoys it so much. It makes it so much easier for everyone...and he comes home in a great mood. Bonus!

Now back to the grind. The phone is ringing again; schedules are being made...and goals are being set.

I am not one that's big on New Years Resolutions. In general, I eat healthy, exercise and enjoy my family and friends... I think these are goals that you often see. I read a stat the other day that something like 63% of New Years Resolutions have to do with weight loss and/or fitness. Don't quote me exactly as I misplaced the article...but it was a high number. The other high number, how quickly people gave up on there Resolutions.
Have you made some Resolutions?
Are they still going?

For me, I like setting goals. Such as a race. For each baby born I had a goal of a race to get back in shape...and I have finally decided on my race.
I registered for the Kona Half Ironman. I am stocked!

With a goal, I find that it is something exciting to look ahead to and plan towards. Of course there are off days...or even weeks; but looking at a grander picture keeps me from becoming discouraged and stopping.

If you exercised with a friend or group...maybe your results would be better? Maybe you may hold onto your goal a little tighter? For me, other people help to motivate and push me. A sense of camaraderie. It is a great way to set new bars for yourself. Just my suggestion ;)
If you are looking for a check in partner or group...maybe there is a place here to find it? Its scary to chart progress and god forbid numbers...but when you write them, and you actually watch your progress...well it kinda gets addicting!

I have had numerous people ask me over the past year or so what I do for workouts...and how I fit them in.  Maybe I will keep my "Activity Log" online so that it holds me accountable, and allows some questions to be answered. (For now it is in my side bar on main page- may re-locate when i have more time!)
By no means should you follow what I do. I exercise because I not only enjoy it (i know, crazy right!?), but I find a bit of sanity in my hour(s) as I get to take a breath and re-charge.

So, for all of you out there that set that New Years Resolution to workout/loose weight/get fit/tone, whatever....I challenge you to set a goal instead. Forget the number on the scale and work towards a goal...you will have fun doing it, meet new people possibly along the way, and come race day not only lost weight (if that's your goal) but have a medal to prove it ;) (so to speak)! It could be a 10k, a 5k...or even a goal of walking every Sunday...but moving and seeing progress will inspire you to keep going. I promise you!

Anyways, enough of my Monday ramble. I finally had some moments to check in and get some fingers to keypad.

Happy Monday!

"We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. 

 The amount of work is the same."  

-Carlos Casteneda

"Far too often, our progress is limited by our minds, not by our bodies!"

-unknown

Another Year Past...

New Years Resolution Number One...make more time to blog!

Happy New Year!
I cannot believe that another Christmas has come and gone...another year has come and gone.
Welcome 2012!

Our December flew by. Always filled with family, friends and functions. A season that I love...and always goes too fast. Learning to slow down and take it all in is something I would love to learn how to do better. Somehow amazing times fly by...and then the Holidays come to an end.
Santa was amazing to us all. The kids were SPOILT by all. It was such a fun year as Kai and Si being  a little older were so much more aware of "the season." I am pretty sure they were wound up for a solid 24 days...as visions of Santa Clause danced in their heads!
Their sleep suffered, attitudes were (and still are) BRUTAL...and sugar was endless. New Years Resolution for the kids...cutting back on sweets!

Christmas itself is always, busy for us, to say the least. For the past few years we have been our own family...and this year now a family of five! But aside from our own family, we have three others to spend time with. And the hard part is balancing them all...and honestly not because anywhere do we feel we HAVE to...but because we want to. Yes this may sound like a "smooth" response to avoid any lash from those that read...but its the truth. All are filled with many memories with they people we love. But in our reality, we have to put our family first as nothing and no one will be happy if we don't have our sanity...and health.
This year really caught up to us. Running around...with 3 kids 3 and under, crept up suddenly, and now has us re-thinking our Christmas. When do you begin to put yourself first...and what you have always done and known after? It really is a hard thing to do. Just because you want to do it all, doesn't mean you can. We are learning. At least Christmas is another year away~
After an amazing Christmas, although much of it looked different than originally planned, we are re-settling...de-treeing and welcoming 2012 with much love, hope, happiness and health.

To briefly look back upon 2011, it came with some highs and lows.
Most obviously, my high was the birth of our second baby girl, T. She is an amazing and welcome addition to our family. Sometimes surprises are the best part of life...the proof is in T.
2011 was filled with many more great memories. Many firsts, for all!  Family and friends were a big part of our year. Fun times, great relationships...lasting moments. Thank you.

Each year seems to also come with some struggles. We have had some moments of health in our family to deal with, and in some cases still are. But with perseverance, the will and all the love and support that we all give and get...2012 is looking brighter all ready.

"Become addicted to constant and never ending self improvement."
~Anthony J. D'Angelo

2011 brought some "ah-ha" moments for me. And in some situations, allowed me to feel empowerment in myself. It is an amazing feeling...surprising yourself. Learning to speak or to do as you feel. Yes people judge. It is an unfortunate part of the human being. But what I am learning is, the people that love me don't. They support. They are there to help. To give guidance. Or, to just be. Thank you to all of my family and friends for being there. For helping me discover. For helping me thru the rough times. For showing me how to be a better wife, mom, daughter, sister...friend. Always a journey of learning...but with no regrets.

"Simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret."
~don Miguel Angel Ruiz

Our New Years plans this year changed last minute. Maybe one day I will go into some more detail, but for now I will just say, life has a way of throwing things our way when we thought the things were over... and so, we braced New Years Eve in a different light. With our kids, at home, making an incredible dinner...and in bed barely keeping eyes open to watch the countdown. Yes, we may have celebrated the New Year as some may figure the elderly do...but to us it was relaxing, low key...perfect. Not to mention the wine selection was far from lacking... an '06 Far Neinte Cab was a perfect pair to the night :)
I hope that 2012 brings all that we could hope for and more: some positive changes...and happy surprises.

"Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve.  Middle age is when you're forced to."  
~Bill Vaughn

To another year of love, laughter, tears and joy...goodbye 2010, hello 2011.

With 2010 now two days in the past I sit here reminiscing it in its entirety. With the question being posed, "was 2010 a good year," and "what was the best part" I am still dumbfounded in how to answer these questions. 2010 brought me much adversity, tears, laughter, love, joy and hope. Without the downs I know that I would not be where I am today nor be the person those struggles turned me into being. I thank the downs and the struggles for developing me into who I am today and allowing me to find the strength in myself to prove that I can do it.
January 2010 started with a bang, in Maui to be exact...how could that go wrong! Celebrating the New Year with my husband, our two kids as well as my in-laws, Maui is a tradition that we enjoy every other year. For that, we are very thankful.
Coming home from this family vacation we returned to my in-laws home to live where we had lived for the better half of the year. Awaiting our new home build was a feat that found us finding an inner strength and new-found sense of self and family as we entered their home as a family of three and exited May 2010 as a family of four. Through our living situations and a new baby, once we found peace in our own home, we found struggles in our marriage. I know through having had Kai, that babies change you. They change what you previously lived for, but they also change your relationship as you know it with your partner. And yes, this happened with my husband and I. But the second time round, with Sienna being born, we had a different adversity to add to the normal, living in a home that wasn't ours, with a one and a half-year old and a newborn. Our distance from each other set in to a more noticeable issue once we were on our own grounds.
After all of our excitements surrounding moving into our new home and accomplishing our goal of the Oliver Half Ironman, we began facing our issues as we delved deep into who we are, who we are as a couple, and who it is we want to be: individually, together and as a family. Our findings are and continue to be ironically similar! It is funny how communication is such a simple daily thing and yet in a relationship often times is the first thing to go and where the breakdown begins. Ryan and I aren't new to the world of being together. We have been together now for eleven and a half years, married for five and a half. Yet when our story together began, we were young; throughout the years we have grown and changed, much of it together and surprisingly, much of it alone. This is where the communication has come into play. We were feeling alone. Alone yet always surrounded by one another or one of our children. Ironic isn't it. You can feel alone and sad and yet be sitting beside the one person you wish would understand you most. And so we talked...we talked ourselves through sessions of therapy, evenings at home, phone calls and texts. And now we keep talking, but there is a primary difference, we talk because we know the other person wants to listen and is receptive to hearing the other ones thoughts. Be it a negative or a positive, that's why we are together; to help one another through the good and the bad "through sickness and health" and simply put, because I love him and now I know, he loves me too.
I am hoping that this blog won't pose a "negative conversation" between us now! Lol. I write this because I am thankful for the months, the years, of ups and downs we have faced because here we are at the beginning of a new year stronger than we have ever been. I know that most people face adversity in their relationships at some point or another, and through my experience, there is hope and there are options...but you have to be open to listening. Communication is an amazing world and for us, it works.

So now, with the start of 2011, I am looking forward to a new year filled with many new adventures, goals, love, laughter and fun. I know that there will be struggles, but I am beginning to look at them differently. Now instead of the struggles dictating my life, I am going to do my best to find the lesson in them.

2010 held many positives as well, don't get me wrong! Kai turned 2, Sienna turned 1, we had our 5 year wedding anniversary, we moved, I beat me husband in Oliver ;-), Maui, Mexico, Vegas, Italy, Arizona, Seattle Marathon, Christmas in our new home...MANY moments to be thankful for.

Thank you 2010 for showing me that I am stronger than I gave myself credit for; for holding amazing memories of our children and family, and for a year that came with challenges to make sure we enjoy 2011 that much more.

"Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is bliss, taste it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it."
Mother Teresa

~Happy New Year~

Thank you to the love of my life for showing me compassion, understanding, patience and most of all, love. To an amazing 2011 with much to look forward to, together.