Balance

This past weekend was such a gift! Bryan and I had a weekend away; we dropped the kiddies off with their loving grandparents and we drove in peace to the beach! While there we celebrated the marriage of Bryan’s cousin and enjoyed time with family. We also enjoyed time together, just us!

We spent our time well – we didn’t want to waste any of our precious alone-time! We both woke up before the sun (I guess we were just really excited to have the freedom to do anything that we wanted to start right away!) So we biked to the beach and enjoyed a walk/run together. We biked home and showered, then went downtown for some delicious breakfast. We then spent some time back home before meeting up with family and beginning the wedding festivities.

The quality of our time together was amazing, beginning with that long, quiet car ride and lasting throughout the entire weekend. One of our goals for our time was to talk intentionally about our time, specifically time spent working and time as a family. One of my biggest “complaints” lately about my day-to-day has been that I have too much to do and not enough time. It feels like all my daily tasks are jumbled in my head and the second I get a spare moment to address one of those tasks, I have no idea how to prioritize and decide what to do first, that I get even more frustrated and give up.

So we came up with a plan! I used some wisdom from a really awesome top Beachbody coach and sort of mapped out my week, hour by hour, assigning each hour with the thing I would focus my attention on. I decided on my top 6 priorities, and each of those priorities gets certain hours of each day!

We started with this plan on Monday and it went GREAT!!! I was so excited. Then, around 4am on Tuesday morning (an hour that is to be given to sleep…) James woke up with a stomach bug. This, obviously, brought the “plan” to a screeching halt.

What I learned from this experience is that I want to plan, I want to be wise with my time, and I want to give the people and tasks I love most my focused attention. BUT I cannot be a slave to the “plan.” My schedule is good, it is well thought out and fair, but it cannot be the end-all, be-all because at the end of the day, God is in control. I want to honor my schedule, but I want to honor God more. So if that means canceling some work hours to tend to my sick boy, or moving nap time up by 2 hours because everyone is exhausted from being up since 4am, so be it.

We got back to the plan on Wednesday and things went smoothly. I’m glad to know I have a general guide for how my days can be spent, but I’m also glad to know I have a God who keeps me on my toes!

In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.

Proverbs 16:9

Who has the time??

In the past, time (or lack thereof) has always been an easy, yet valid, excuse as to why I couldn’t exercise on a daily basis. I work from home and have a toddler and a newborn. Enough said. Not to mention attempting to stay on top of housework, laundry, meals, etc… the days fill up FAST! So I’m having to learn how to prioritize my time and fit the workout into the busy schedule. I had to just make it a priority, a non-negotiable, and somehow it has been fitting into my day for the past two and a half months, practically every single day.

Basically, my 2 year old takes a daily afternoon nap, so it is easiest to fit my workout in while he is asleep. That is also when it works best for me to do my freelance work, prep dinner, clean, do laundry… well, you get the picture. His nap isn’t long enough for me to finish absolutely everything, but I put him down for bed and immediately go turn on the DVD player and do my workout.

Thankfully, my sweet, precious 6 month old is pretty laid back and easily entertained. If she is awake during my workout time, she hangs out in her exersaucer, happily watching me sweat and burn. Having her around actually makes me work a little harder and cuss at the TV a little less 😉

But I’m also learning that it’s important for me to incorporate my kids into an active lifestyle, for them not just to be spectators but to include them in the activity. I got to go to a Mommy & Me yoga class a few weeks ago, and it was SUCH a fun way to include my daughter in my workout. She had a blast and I learned some really great moves that I can do with her so that I can work out and she can have my full attention, and lets face it, we both have some fun.

With my son, he has energy like crazy. All we need to do it go outside and run free! I’m realizing how much he follows my lead. Recently we went outside, and I stuck right beside him, I kicked the ball to him and ran, I put him on my back and galloped around, we threw leaves and collected treasures. He loved it. I sat on the steps, he came and sat right next to me. I pulled out my phone to snap a quick picture, and he wanted to see it. He was like my little shadow and I realized for the millionth time that I have such a responsibility to set an example for him! If he sees me being active, eating healthy, taking care of myself, he will do the same.