Not Me! Monday

This is my first time participating in Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not forget to call my mother and my mother-in-law on Mother’s day. I certainly wouldn’t forget to drop by my mom’s house since we live within walking distance. Even though I made her brunch on Saturday, I wouldn’t consider that an excuse not to do anything on Mother’s Day. I did not send my sister out shopping the day before Mother’s Day for a last minute gift for our mom. I did not run out of time to make a photobook for her, in spite of my best intentions.

And I would never count on my sister-in-law to pick up a gift for my mother-in-law and ask her to just sign the card from us as well. And I most certainly do not still have both mothers’ day cards still sitting on my desk unsigned. I love my mom (and mil) and always go all out on special occasions.

Speaking of my own Mother’s day, I did not consider the fact that my husband cleaned the kitchen and made cookies the best gift ever. I did not make him return the expensive purse he bought me. I did not have trouble justifying spending so much money on just a purse.

I did not exercise this week to a cheesy 90’s DVD. And if I did, I certainly would not be unable to complete a 5 minutes abdominal exercise. Having two children and one c-section is no excuse for not having any abdominal strength at all. I did not feel the burn from doing the aerobics exercise even without any weights. I certainly did not want to pause the DVD to give Princess a snack. I wouldn’t need a break after a short exercise program. And I did not start staring at the screen after 30 minutes and wonder when it was going to end.

I did not lose track of time and almost be late for work because of it. And it wouldn’t have been because I was reading blogs. And speaking of reading, I did not read my first parenting book this week. I have not been trying to figure out the complexities of parenting on my own.

Those are all the things I did not do last week. What are some things you did not do last week?

My 2nd Work-out

I had nothing planned for today and by 1pm the girls and I were getting restless. I decided that for my own sanity we needed to get out of the house. I bundled everyone up and grabbed my cell phone and water bottle and strapped them into the double stroller. I wore running shoes but kept my jeans on since I only planned to do a leisurely walk. This was the first time I’ve gone for a walk with them since last summer. They have gained at least 15 pounds between them since then. Half-way up the first hill, I realized that pushing 50 pounds worth of kids is hard work. My sweater quickly came off.

The weather was perfect for a walk today. It wasn’t raining or too hot outside and there was even a cool breeze. I love the return of summer and being able to exercise outside. It’s something I can do with the kids and it’s free. Even the stroller we were using was free. It’s not the prettiest but it works and when someone you barely know calls you up and asks if you’d like a free double stroller, you take it. It does make it harder to convince your husband that you need a better (and prettier) double stroller when you already have a functioning one. I secretly dream of finding a really inexpensive Phil and Ted’s Stroller or a BOB Duallie Stroller on craigslist though.

I don’t know about your kids, but it’s hard to get my two kids to sit still for an hour so I brought along a snack to bribe them. The BzzAgent Company sent me a huge box of free toddler food to try out and share with others. Princess loved the yogurt nibbles and grudgingly shared them with her little sister. Once the snack was gone they wanted out of the stroller so I had extra motivation to quickly walk home. Thanks to the girls my leisurely walk turned into a great work-out.

So we had a free workout in our free stroller with a free snack. Even half the clothes we were wearing were gifts or hand-me downs too. The best things in life really are free.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever gotten for free (besides your kids)?

My First Work-Out

This week, my wonderful mother informed me that she was home all Thursday morning and I could drop off the girls so I could go out. I love unsolicited offers of free baby-sitting! It took me a second to figure out what to do with this unexpected free time though.

Then I remembered my list of post-school resolutionsand one of my goals was to get healthier. It’s not that I don’t have time to exercise it’s that I don’t have enough time without the kids to exercise. I could take them to the gym but with the cost of childcare it would add up quickly. Plus it’s only at set times and would probably interfere with nap time. But, thanks to my mom I finally got to work out.

As I was getting ready for my big day out, my husband called and needed me to bring him some tools and lunch so I picked him up a fruit smoothie and McDonalds. Since I needed some nourishment for gruelling work out, I bought some for me too. After enjoying a quiet lunch with my husband, I headed to the gym. I haven’t worked out since my youngest was 3 months, which is coincidentally also the time I started the Fall semester. I was surprised I was still able to run for 20 minutes without feeling completely exhausted. All the running after kids I do must help. I did a bit of stretching and some weights. I really wanted to work on my abs too but couldn’t remember any ab exercises besides sit-ups. Good thing I’ve ordered an abs video to help me get a six pack before I go to Mexico in August.

Today I’m feeling a little big sore but nothing major. I hope I have an opportunity to go again soon. Next time though I’ll avoid the pre-workout McDonalds meal so I’ll actually burn calories instead of just cancelling out the calorie intake and calories burned.

I’ve also avoided buying any junk food so we don’t have anything left in the house. Unfortunately, I still have cravings so I find myself snacking on chocolate chip cookies and mini marshmallows. One step at a time I guess.

• What do you do when you have free time?
• When do you find time to work out?