organization, anyone?

I used to scoff at the parents magazines that said the best way to manage a busy household with small children was to organize, set a routine, and then organize some more.  I scoff a lot in my head.  I smile nicely and then I think "My mom/husband/best friend/self and I are going to have a laugh about that one later."

I was one to fly by the seat of my pants, a lot.  I didn't make many long term plans, because if it happened to be a bad day in my house, we wouldn't end up going anywhere.  On the flip side, if it was a nice day, we would make last minute plans to go to the park, have a picnic, or go swimming.  Sometimes this meant that we ran out of milk, because it was never the right day to trudge through Walmart. 

Somehow, somewhere, my life started to follow a pattern.  As this pattern took hold, I realized (grudgingly) the benefits to having a routine.  Especially with small kids that thrive on predictability. 

Every Monday morning is now Walmart morning.  There are several very nice Walmart employees that recognize/anticipate/dread my small clan every Monday.  There is a sweet checker who never grumbles about my 20 reusable bags, 30 coupons, and small blond 4-year-old that handles all the candy.  And she is super fast at getting me through the line in time to pick up my kindergartner.  There is a quiet cart guy that follows me innocently to my car and waits patiently for my insanely huge shopping cart stroller combo so he can wheel it back to the cart corral.  He has even started greeting me at the door with a quiet "Must be Monday!" 

The E-Mealz has virtually eliminated my stress over dinner.  The meals are nothing fancy, but the less I have to think about a dinner recipe, the less I stress when no one eats it.  E-Mealz has in turn made my Walmart prep every Monday morning quick and painless.  I have started to look forward to the post-weekend coupon hunt and have organized my coupons in a cute little photo album.  I am by no means one of those crazy couponers, but I am trying really hard to not purchase anything with a brand name unless I have a coupon.  Have I saved alot (or any?) money yet?  No, not really, but I am determined that after a few months of this, I will be saving SOMETHING.  My sanity has to be worth a few bucks here or there, right?

Organizing my shopping trip has influenced me to next organize my pantry.  I found out I didn't really need to pick up another can of Campbell's soup, because I actually had three shoved in the back of the pantry that I couldn't see.  I realize that this is probably what most people's pantries look like already, but mine was far from it.  I thought I always knew where everything was because I was just good like that, but I didn't. 

So I've tackled my grocery shopping, my food storage space, and my evening meals.  What's next on the list?  More sleep.  I just received a well reviewed book from Amazon called "Good Night, Sleep Tight."  My sweet almost nine-month-old baby still loves to wake 1-2 times a night to nurse.  I'm not a fan of letting her "cry it out" but I know that she doesn't need these night feeds, and momma needs a full night sleep.  So we are tackling our sleep routine now.  The older kids have it down, but she's not quite there.  I'm hoping this book will help me feel comfortable with the next task on my organization list.

Triathlon training?  It's going.  I have been reinvigorated by a couple of outdoor runs here or there.  I forgot how much I love love love running outdoors.  It is so fresh and free feeling.  I'm still at the pool a couple of times a week, but the nice weather has really made me want to stay outside.  My new anxiety is the bike.  I have yet to ride my bike outside.  My sweet husband has made me nervous by insisting that I ride with him the first few times I venture out.  I thought riding a bike was riding a bike, but apparently I am more at risk on a real road bike.  Or maybe he's just worried about the $500 piece of metal that I might crash?  I don't know, but he did buy me a new fancy pink helmet for Easter, so maybe he is a tad concerned for my well-being...

Quick Check In

As we all scramble to prepare for our mini "staycation" at the Great Wolf Lodge this week, I just had to report a small success in feeding my family.

My good friend Ryanne introduced me to E-Mealz.  You pay $5 a month to have a weeks worth of dinner recipes and a shopping list emailed to you every week.  When she first told me about it and said that she had heard of it in conjunction with Dave Ramsey, I scoffed inside my head.  Dave Ramsey, the budget buster guy, was encouraging people to pay to have someone else make up a meal plan for them?  I thought it was pure craziness at the time.  I looked into the website, was intrigued, and decided to give it a month.  One week into it, I am already trying to hook up my friends.

Last night was the clincher.  I followed the recipes for Taco Calzones and it was a bona fide hit in my house.   My son, instead of "tasting" the new food with a couple of baby bites and then being done, actually ATE his entire serving.  Even my husband, who has never been one to gush about my cooking, told me this morning that he was upset he only got one helping. 

You can choose a plan based on where you shop, how many people you are cooking for, and/or any special diet needs you might have.  The print-outs are fabulous because your entire week of recipes are on ONE PAGE.  Have you ever tried to shop at wal-mart with three kids, 25 coupons, and five recipe cards in hand?  I have.  Something inevitably gets lost.  Usually not one of the kids.
                                      

Complaints

So this was going to be a post of complaints.  I was planning on complaining about my kids being continuously sick over these last couple of months.  I was going to complain about how I've only made it to the gym a couple of times per week because of these feverish, coughing, balls of snot. 

I was going to complain about how my drive to get my kids to eat better has not yet produced mini foodies.  I even had a quote ready: "There's nothing that spoils the taste of good ordinary food half so much as the memory of bad magic food." - C.S. Lewis.

But, as my laptop was warming up, the doorbell rang.  The FedEx guy left me a present on my front step.  I opened it, and immediately remembered why I set out to do this in the first place.  My challenges in life are small and ordinary. 

Why I Really Love Swimming...

My number one reason I love swimming?

My husband.

Swimming at the gym is like our new date night.  Drop the kids off at childwatch for an hour and then swim, side by side, in lycra.  Sexy, right?

I imagine all the other crazy swimmers thinking "What is that super-fast, hairless, professional swimmer doing talking to that slow (non-svelte) chick?  Oh wait, I bet she's taking swimming lessons from him.  Did she just pat his butt?  Maybe she's trying to get a discount.  Good luck, lady.  He's way out of your league.  I wonder if he would be interested in coaching me?  I'll have to ask him for his card...."

Sorry crazy swimming people with the underwater mp3 players.  He's all mine.

Why I love Swimming

For the longest time, swimming was the reason I refused to do a triathlon.  I would hang out at the triathlon "functions" and get asked by numerous tan, skinny, rich, middle-aged women if I too, did triathlons.  In my head, I would answer, "Yeah, right." and out loud, I would answer "I just run.  Two adults training for three sports with three small kids is just too much."  They would nod their blond heads and think, I'm sure, how it was better for them, because if I did compete, I would kick their butts (ha ha).  Well watch out ladies, I'm all in now.

When I thought I was going to do a triathlon a couple of summers ago, the swimming is what made me quit.  I felt like a wet cat just trying to stay alive. I knew I had to look ridiculous, and the whole endeavor (one month of swimming at the Y) exhausted me. I felt I never got stronger, faster, or even looked better doing it. My husband told me that even when he was first learning to swim competitively, he was still enjoying himself.  I was NOT enjoying myself, so I figured I was not cut out for swimming.

I don't know what made me decide to try this crazy triathlon thing again.  I think it was my husbands nonchalant passing down of his FELT road bike.  His true reason behind the "gift" was so he could get a new road bike for himself, but this went over my head.  I decided it was a sign that this was my year to do a triathlon myself.

So I read and read as much as I could about swimming.  I watched videos on youtube and ordered books from Amazon and then... just jumped in.

And now I honestly love it.

I love how quiet swimming is.  Underwater, there is nothing but silent bubbles in my ears and my thoughts in my head.

I love how it works every single muscle in my body.  It is a stretch, strength, cardio workout all in one.

I love walking around the locker room in my competition style suit and fancy TYR swim cap.  I know this sounds ridiculous because I'm not very pretty in a swimming suit, but I feel like a hardass when I'm strutting my stuff in the showers.  No one has to know how super slow I really am.

I love not wearing makeup or not doing my hair and having the excuse "I'm swimming later today" or "I just finished swimming."

I love how solitary swimming is.  Even when all the lanes are full, you're in your own world underwater.  I sometimes imagine I'm swimming out into the middle of the ocean, nothing in front of me, nothing besides me, and everything below me.  I hope I can dive in the middle of the ocean for real someday.

I love that if I was in a shipwreck, I could totally survive for an hour or two, at least.

I love that I'm setting a good example for my kids.  I desperately want my kids to be confident swimmers.  Swimming is by far our family's favorite summer pastime, but I will never get over the fear of my kids drowning.

I love how clean I feel afterwards.  Weird, I know, but I'm not sweaty or smelly after swimming.  I do shower after each swim, but the faint scent of chlorine follows me everywhere I go.  I like it because it reminds me of a freshly cleaned sink.

Other New Year's Changes I'm Making

So in addition to the whole triathlon thing, I've informally resolved to do a few other things differently in my house.

1.  The first, and by far the hardest (harder than swimming 500 meters, for sure) is to make one dinner every night.  Many of you have met my sweet blond kiddos.  You probably also have heard me complain about their pickiness.  I am perfectly aware that I have created these chicken nugget monsters, and I am the only one who can change them.  So every night, I am now making one meal and serving it to everyone, no matter what the backlash. 

This is hard for several reasons.  Patrick works until 9:00, so I am often the only adult eating.  I would much rather throw together a salad for myself every night and feed the kids a frozen pizza.  It is so much easier on me and the kids go to bed with full tummies. 

Now, I am putting together a simple, slightly healthy, but kid friendly meal each night and serving it to everyone, including myself.  Sometimes this means grilled chicken and salads, sometimes this means spaghetti.  There is no more "grown-up dinner" and "kid dinner."  Jackson has done fairly well at trying new things and likes what he tries 80% of the time.  Macy, on the other hand, usually goes to bed hungry, but doesn't complain too much.  Jackson's eagerness has helped me stick with this plan.  I am seeing that really, if there is no other choice, kids will eventually try something new.

I am not loving the meals so much (I would much rather have baked tilapia and roasted zucchini squash) but I keep telling myself that part of the problem was the huge discrepancies between our meals.  If we can meet in the middle, maybe someday I will be able to introduce the kids to seafood and salads.

2.  The next thing I'm trying to be better about in 2011 is teaching my kids compassion for others.  I think both Jackson and Macy actually have a pretty good sense of this, but I want to nurture it so they grow into caring teenagers and adults. 

My first task is nightly prayers.  It felt a little awkward at first, and I had a lot of questions to answer ("Mom, what does 'bless' mean?"), but we seem to be getting the hang of it.  Jackson always prays to protect his daddy at work, so this is a good start, but Macy is a little more difficult.  For the past few nights, she's been insisting we pray for "Hello Kitty." I'm not sure how to handle this, so I tell her she can ask God to bless Hello Kitty and I'll ask him to bless the sick babies at work.

3.  And last but not least, my obligatory resolution that I make every year:  floss once a day.

Oooh, Jillian Michaels...

Just busted my 30-Day Shred out of it's unopened package.  I thought this morning "Hey, I'll do a little 20 minute workout while the kids are out of school, and then we'll all head to the gym this afternoon for an extra swim workout."  No biggie.  Additionally, I thought, "Hey, I've done her Level One Shred before, I should kick it up a notch this morning and do Level Two."  No biggie.  And I used my FIVE pound weights for the first time.  Hmmmm....

Needless to say, my shoulders hurt quite a bit right now.  And I still haven't gone swimming yet.