Quick Run

So, my kiddos woke up early today... 6:40am. By the time we got them dressed and fed, I had about 25 minutes of actual free time this morning before my 4yo needed chauffeuring to preschool. It was actually rather surreal. So, I asked my husband (K), jokingly, "Oh, my, what should I do with my free time?" His answer: "Why don't you write a post for your new blog? [insert something about about starting other things and not finishing them...] You have readers out there that are dying to read the next installment, and you're leaving them hanging!" (Yes, my many many followers are just salivating for my second post.) He also suggested some other options, but seriously, it was 8:20am. So, I opted to go for a quick run. Now, Running and I have never really been the best of friends. I love to play sports... well, I should say, I used to love playing sports. I played volleyball in high school and college, and I even coached a season of middle school ball at my alma mater. But, running... it's not something I love to do. Yet. I really do want to love to run. In my 30+ years of life, I still haven't managed to form a proper relationship with it. I think that's because my lack of love for running is really more about my self-discipline than any thing else. Self-discipline is a virtue, of which I am in desperate need, and thankfully, yet surprisingly, I've seen other opportunities for growth in this area recently, as well. I guess the Lord is finally getting serious with me on this topic. I know that I work best with a schedule, but with three babies in the house, I'm constantly at the mercy of their various needs, wants, boo-boos and levels of maturity... oh, and add potty-training my 2yo to that mix, and you've got quite a random and crazy day...
Well, we're starting to make a change here, people. K and I have become more serious about cooking healthier meals and setting an example for our kids. K was on a 21-day cleanse and lost 15 lbs after deployment. (He wanted to rid himself of the demons contained in nasty ship food.) So, the self-discipline enters in the form of a meal calendar. It's a dry-erase board with the days of the week listed vertically and space to write in lunch and dinner plans for each day. It's from Target. But it's up there on the fridge staring at me all day, telling me what to thaw the night before, what ingredients are on the shopping list, and where I found the recipe. We've been eating so much better, except for the huge burgers we grilled last night! This probably seems elementary for seasoned moms out there, but when you have a 4yo and 2yo that won't eat anything but chicken nuggets, grilled cheese and PB&J, a nursing baby and a deployed husband, cooking a healthy meal for just yourself is the biggest chore known to man. I did do it, but not often enough during the deployment. I was out of practice and needed some focus. And, sure enough, with the help of Target and Pintrest, we're on our way to a more veggie-filled culinary experience. So, there you have it: my second post. I am encouraging you to leave comments here or on FB about how you organize your days/weeks... what system do you use? when do you clean? when do you cook? when the heck do you exercise? and how do you get your crazies to eat their veggies? Let me glean small nuggets of wisdom... Lord knows, I'm far from arriving, but I want to love to run to get there.