Please excuse me while I get my thoughts out for a minute...I'm not
completely lazy. Odd way to start out my blog entry today, I know, but it seems appropriate to clarify that. What am I talking about you ask? Working out. Yuck.
I used to be very active and therefore, physically fit, so I never really had to dedicate a specific time to "working out", because I was always practicing something, or going to some two-a-day or dance class or something. I was involved in about every sport you could imagine at some point in my early life, from softball and soccer to competitive dance and snow skiing. I love to be outdoors and I really get enjoyment out of going to sporting events. So what happened to me? Life happened. Don't get me wrong, I am not making excuses. I do need to get myself back into shape and be more healthy...I know that. It's just sometimes it's hard to fit that into the rest of my adult life duties and especially with the addition of motherhood and all of it's added responsibilities...where do people find the time?
It has been an ongoing "issue" (let's just keep it nice and neat) in our home about when I am going to be able to find time for myself, to take care of myself. David has a very demanding job (especially with today's market), one that requires him to often work long evening and weekend hours, and this usually leaves me to manage the other aspects of our life and work my "9-5" job at the same time. I really am not trying to get your sympathy, but I don't think some people really understand how much that really means and it is an on-going source of frustration for me. We know that all of David's time spent with his career is going to pay off and help our family in the long-run, so I am happy to assist him as much as possible and it is so exciting to be a part of the early stages of what I know will be a long a successful career for David, but it can be very tiring and demanding for me too.
When I went back to work after having Ally, I switched my hours to a 7:30-4:30 schedule, so I could get Ally picked up from the babysitter by 5:00 and avoid a lot of the traffic issues I had faced before. In order to make it to work by 7:30am, I have to leave my house NO LATER than 6:45am. That is pretty darn early folks (at least for me who has NEVER claimed, even for a minute, to be a morning person)! In order to leave my house by 6:45, I have to be up and out of the shower by 5:30 (and I probably should get up even earlier than this). I spend 45 minutes on myself (which is probably why I look the way I do some days, but another topic for another day) and then spend 1/2 hour to 45 minutes getting Ally ready, before waking David up to take over baby duty so I can head off to work. It's a pretty rushed hour to hour and a half most mornings and I feel bad for having to rush Ally, especially.
Why don't I take "me time" at night and work out then? Well, anyone who has ever had a child that never stops moving and takes very few naps, can answer that question. Between dinner and baths and bedtime routines and I don't know, maybe spending a few minutes of quality time with my child or trying to keep up with the house duties, the few hours I have at night before I need to get to bed, go by before I even know it and then it is time to start the same routine again. And, who wants to work out at 10:00 at night when they get up at 5:30?
I love my life, I have it VERY good...this I know, but if I could wish for something, I often think I would wish for more hours in the day. :-) I'm sure there are a ton of moms out there that often wish for the very same thing.
Well, to bring all of this back home...yesterday, David and I were once again having the "I don't have enough time to work out!" "discussion" and I mentioned that if David were to get up with Ally in the morning and get her started, I would workout when I got up at 5:30 and then finish getting ready during the time that I would have normally been getting Ally ready. Now, I should probably state that David is also not known for being "of the chipper morning variety" and it normally takes at least three rounds of me harassing him before he is actually out of the bed (not blaming him one bit, just saying). I didn't really think this whole "why don't you get up a half hour earlier so I can work out" thing would really go over very well with him, but to my surprise he agreed with pretty much no hesitation! We have two vacations planned this summer and we are both in a beach wedding for good friends of ours in October, so David knows how important it is to me to get in better shape before any of those events. It's important to him too, so he has been working out every morning with his dad, after he drops Ally off at the
babysitter's, for the past couple months. I am so proud of him for his
commitment to getting healthier, but I think David realizes I don't have the
luxury of that kind of schedule or time, so maybe that's why he is so willing to get up extra early to help me out.
I don't know, but I hope he knows how much I really do appreciate it!
I started my new workout routine this morning and it was a little rough to go from nice cozy bed straight into lunges and crunches, but I feel really good about doing it. I have realized, once again, that I am no where near as young as I used to be and am not able to do what I used to be able to do, but I am hopeful that I will get there soon or at least closer. I am hopeful that this will help me to have more energy and feel better about myself and to set a good example for Allyson.
OK, let's be honest, I am most hopeful that I will be able to continue to get my rear-tail moving that early in the morning and that my husband won't decide he was crazy for agreeing to this new routine...it has been only one day after all. :-)
To Bud, my wonderful hubby,Thank you for helping me carve out some "me time"! It really does mean a lot to me and it has rejuvenated me more than you know!I love you and your willingness to be so supportive! Can't wait for our summer on the beach together!-EWish me good luck and good use of my new 1/2 hour of "me time"!! I will keep you all posted on our quest to get in shape!
And then Daddy sat down in one of her seats and she thought that was pretty funny...
We finally convinced her to open some of her other gifts and she had a ball! She got so much stuff from Santa (a little too much stuff, but whatever)... 
Then I opened a couple gifts...a very nice shelving system for the garage that I have been wanting, but have been told I don't need (I wonder if Santa was just trying to trick me into thinking I wasn't going to get it :-)) and the most amazing gift I have ever received under any tree...
This photo doesn't do it justice, but in this picture are my two Ally's...my daughter, Allyson and my grandmother who passed away four years ago. My Ally is named after my grandma and she was one of the most important people in my life. Our time with her was far too short, but at least now I have this amazing reminder of her. David has been planning for months for this gift and I was in total shock! A lady he works with is an artist and sketched this beautiful photo for me, so that I would have a picture of Ally and my grandma together. I think I sat and stared at this picture for ever, after I was done crying tears of joy that is. Thank you, David for the most amazing gift! I can not put into words how much it means to me. Here is a picture of Ally and me, after I had cried my eyes out for 15 minutes. :-)
After we finished all of our presents (including some that came all the way from Florida to us...thanks GG & GG-pa Clark!!), we let Ally have a sucker from her stocking. 
Then she preceeded to lose her mind, because she wasn't allowed to have another one. :-) 
After we calmed the meltdown, I fixed eggs and biscuits for breakfast and we relaxed and played with new toys before heading to our first of several Christmas stops for the day. 
What a fantastic morning! Merry Christmas, everyone!
Happy Halloween!
