Yoga comeback

I am tired. Leo is teething and waking up lots, and I am achy and cranky. Probably due to more than just Leo's schedule. The cooling weather is setting in, and the rains have begun. Luckily the trees are turning, so beauty can be found, even on our walks to the store.

But my body is sore, with every week bringing so little exercise, but plenty of activity, carrying ever-increasingly heavier children and supporting their physical health but not my own. Then there's the sedentary nature and repetitive motion of work. I'm carrying around lots of pinched nerves and tight muscles. So I finally got a massage, and I asked the masseuse, what can I do about preventative care - since I've obviously not figured out how to balance life with three children 5 and under - including breastfeeding a teething baby and working three days a week AND exercise. My tennis lessons lasted a month, but it was too stressful trying to squeeze working, nursing, eating, and tennis in one evening, so I discontinued. Wah wah.

So he shared three rudimentary things I should do each day, so basic that I'm almost embarrassed to post:

1. Touch my toes (see what I mean? Obvious, huh?).

2. Twist.

3. Reach for the sky.

Ok. It's not like I never do these things, it's just not deliberate. Yikes. Before I left, feeling kind of like I needed physical therapy and probably mental therapy, he reminded me about yoga. Right... I had totally forgotten how dedicated I used to be. Oh sure, I guess it's not in vogue nowadays like zumba or pilates, but tonight I pulled out my old yoga DVD and started the 'evening bath' series. Dean and Fia, who were in the next room, immediately sat down next to me and followed the instructions. It wasn't as relaxing as pre-kid yoga, but it was way more humorous. 'she's asleep!' 'she keeps rolling!' 'this part is twicky' 'mom, I see your belly'. And nothing like a three year old to show you what limber looks like. The evening bath ends with a blanket and quiet meditation, which they actually loved. They were both sad when it ended, so I promised we'd do some sun salutations in the morning. I know, this was supposed to be about ME. Well, I could use some accountability. And it's probably good to model some healthy habits. Here's to the start of my yoga comeback.

sprinkle dancing

We have found a new playtime activity to beat the cold and rain that simultaneously cleans carpets!  It's called "sprinkle dancing", and it was invented at our house on Saturday.  What a sensation!  Matthew sprinkled the living room rug with my favorite carpet-freshener of baking soda + several drops of lavender essential oil.  The kiddos took turns sprinkling a little more, and then danced, danced, danced on the rug, stomping in all of that lavender goodness.  The whole house smelled beautiful, and I think the kids wore themselves out.  It was pretty fun to watch (but loud).  Matt vacuumed the whole room, and voila!  Clean rug, tired kids. 

Nine goals revisted

About these project management classes... I found out with my good, hard-earned money, that all these goals and lists I keep making aren't really achievable if I don't set a deadline.  Oh.

So, if you, gentle readers of the blogisphere, internets, and cyberspace recall, I've made a few proclamations since starting this blog back in January.   Nine, to be exact - that have basically been reduced to nothing unless I quickly revive them with some serious targets and deadlines.  Ahem.
 
So here goes:

1. More time with family and friends.  Weekly check-ins and social events!   (This is my favorite goal.)
2. More time for introspection.  Weekly blogging.
3. Finish my wedding album.  by August 12, 2010 (10 year anniversary!)
4. Finish my bedroom curtains.  by May 15
5. Join a gym, for crying out loud.  Ride bike once a week: alone to work or with 75 lbs of children to neighborhood park.  I'm starting small here... look at all these other goals!
6. Purchase life insurance.  by May 30
7. Finish estate planning.  by May 30
8. Write children's book on cascarones. Uh... 2011?
   
9. Become certified in project management.  by May 28 (last day of class)

Geez, this got really ambitious.  I'm going to bed.  In the next sixty minutes. or so.

listmaker part II

Tracking my earlier list... I have decided not to join a gym for various reasons.  I'm going to try some fitness classes offered at my work.  My wedding album has come to a halt to make way for curtain-making, which I am about a third of the way through.  And I'm spending way too much time on the computer.  But obviously not blogging.

It turns out that I'm not so great at blogging.  I am, however, very good at list-making.  So I will continue to do that. 

I have some new goals, which I have been spending lots of time on, so let's just attribute my slow progress on previously-stated goals to these front-burner, I-am-now-an-adult goals.

1. Purchase life insurance.  We're not sure where to go here - is it better to use a broker and find the best deal, or to go through our regular bank?  It's a little unsettling.  But either way, we need to do something.  Our financial advisor gave us some leads.
2. Finish Estate Planning.  Matthew and I have been meeting with a lawyer, and it's going really well.  Which is good, because it's costing a lot of money.  I am totally in the wrong field.  So at the end of this, we will each have a will and a trust for the children.  The incentive for this is that if we do nothing, and something should happen to us, the state will decide what happens to our kids and all of our assets will be liquidated with no parameters for how any of it will be used.  Yikes.  Plus, Matt and I need a second honeymoon.  Though now we won't be able to afford one.  Hmmmm...

What happened in February ?

February flew. 
We did some drastic yard work - a 15-20' high photinia bordering our neighbors to the south was reduced to 2' one afternoon with our new chainsaw.  It makes such a difference!  We can actually see our neighbors now, our yard is bigger, and we are getting more light!  The drawback is that it was really a leggy shrub, so the remaining shrub is very twiggy - well, stumpy.  So we'll see if by the end of the summer it grows any fresh new leaves.  Otherwise, it's outta there.  We also pruned our quince and forsythia down to the ground.  After four years, it was time for a universal severe pruning.  Our yard feels a little naked now.

I got out the ol' bike trailer, and gave the kids a ride in it.  Wow, that's ~75 lbs. of resistance!  So maybe summer-time will be about the bike and not the gym?

In February, Dean started moving away from the little red potty in favor of the toilet!  Which means, of course, that we don't have to clean out the potty constantly.  A little respite before Fiona starts up.

And finally, Fiona developed new words!
Besides "Mama" and "Daddy", "uppy" = pick me up, "De" = Dean, and "hep" = help.

She also signs: "all done", which is waving her hands around.  Mainly she does this at the end of meals, but lately it's also in the middle of diaper changes, or when I'm trying to get her dressed and she wants to play, or when we're at the store and she wants out of the cart.  It's such a simple thing to say, but it seems to have many applications.  I think I'll start using this at work.  All done with this meeting, all done with this project,  all done with sitting at this desk.

All done with this blog post.

listmaker

I have a few nagging things to finish up - and some things to start - so here's my quick list:

1. Finish my wedding album.   It's been 10 years!  This is a photo of me and my sis Gina, as I was making my first real attempt at getting this done during our girl's weekend.  I have been collecting all the photos, the album, the paper, and some album bling - like stickers and paper flowers -  for years.  I think I told myself I would finish it before I finished grad school, or at least before we were married five years.  Um, nope.  Then I promised myself to finish it before we started our family.  Or before we had #2.  Oops.  So now I have a real goal - 08.12.2010.  That would be ten years!  Hoping I can do it. 

I should really stop there, if I expect to feel like I can accomplish something soonish.  But I look up and notice that our curtains are halfway done.  The finished part is a SHEER.  It's lovely, but, um, sheer.  So goal #2 is:

2. Finish my bedroom curtains.  I have the fabric and thread.  This should probably be more front-burner, since I often find myself changing clothes in the closet or hiding behind the headboard.  However, my sewing table is also my scrap table.  hmmmm....


3.  Join a gym, for crying out loud.  Preferably one that has some built-in childcare, so that I can take a class on Friday.  Otherwise, I'm looking at 8pm every time I want to work out, which I may want to do, but there are usually no late classes, and I am not sure how I'll ever finish an album or curtains... 

Are goals supposed to be mutually exclusive like this?