Finding Time to Exercise

   Here's Wednesday's health tip.  Exercise when you can!  

   As a busy mom I hear all these wonderful people telling me to "schedule your workout time and don't miss it... no matter what!".  Whatever!  Tell that to four of my five children who had the stomach flu this weekend!  "Sorry kids, I've gotta workout!  You know where the toilet is, and, oh yeah, if the baby's diaper leaks again just clean it up please." Right!

   In the summer this is pretty easy for me.  We are a bicycling family.  We are always out with or without the kids on trails.  If I'm not on a bike I'll be out walking and I even started jogging this past summer.  Then it gets dark so early come fall I can't sneak out when I normally do. So now I set a couple times during the day with the goal to hit one of them! This may seem like a no brainer to you all but I am really an all or nothing person in some areas and this was one. I always thought, "I'll exercise at 6:30 am."  Then I had kids up all night or Paul and I decided to embrace the night owls we are and stayed up late watching a movie (or two) and there was NO WAY I'd get up at 6:30 so I'd figure my day was shot.  And of course I'd add big heaps of guilt on top of myself  which didn't help me look forward to exercise much. Now I'm a bit more realistic (read smarter).  I have that 6:30 time slot but if I sleep in I also know I have from 2-3:00 to exercise instead of rest if I need it.  Now, I'd rather rest and relax which encourages the 6:30, but I know I have a back up.  This also helps if I know we are going to be gone in the afternoon- I better get my tush out of bed in the morning.  Come  summer I'll be back to my lovely evenings.  I guess there is actually something nice about having different routines for different seasons. Not much is predictable in life with a handful of kids, you just have to start to roll with it ya know!

I'm learning to embrace the craziness of life here lately. Join me...it's so much nicer here!