Bradley blogs in 200014.

Bradley is my name i have blond hair

I am 8  this is my first blog we had a baby    

She is zero she is a girl  she has green

Eyes she is so cute i love her.

3 reasons to exercise and take care of yourself

With feelings of inspiration come blog posts: Week-end progress for The Focus Group. Wow. I have had a good week. Why? Because of the health and fitness coach extraordinaire, Cousin John. Not only is he an insanely inspired and talented artist AND musician AND a sensitive, involved, hands-on dad, but also apparently he could add "personal trainer" to his list of hats as well. Where do I even begin? I guess I'll start approximately 15 years ago. I was a busy, active, fit dance team member and cheerleader for 6 years: from puberty to the end of high school. As if hours of cardo/day after school wasn't enough, most years I got up 15-20 minutes early to do abs and strength training before I hopped in the shower. I had, not a 6 pack but, an 8-pack. My cousin Michael complimented me once that he could see my abs from the football stands. I had no idea that was anything unusual, because it just happened from having an active lifestyle. I remember people complaining about "finding the time" to work out and exercise and not understanding why anyone wouldn't MAKE IT a priority. I felt great all of the time, and I knew it was because I was fit and healthy. In college, all my good habits went to crap. I started drinking cokes every day, starting in the morning "to wake up." I quit exercising altogether "because I didn't have time to do anything but study." Next thing you know, just a few years later, I looked like this: . Boy had I let myself go....HA! Or, so I thought. No, my good habits were gone, but I was still able to pull off a lean physique due to youth and a good metabolism. This picture was taken approximately two weeks before the conception of my first child. The years then began to speed by. Self-care went out the window; I just tried to get sleep when I could, however I could. That was my self-care, and it was all I could do, considering the family circumstances and my season in life. Three children and eight years later, I find myself looking like this: . Boy have I let myself go! This time, I don't want to look back in 8 years and say, "I can't believe I thought I had let myself go." I stopped breastfeeding my third and final (for now) child back in March. After breastfeeding one child or another for the better part of 8 years, the hormone changes affected me quite a bit, mentally/emotionally and physically. I had a small nervous breakdown that lasted about four days. Some rest and medications later, I pulled out of it and promptly began packing on the pounds. It wasn't the total weight that bothered me; it was the rate at which I was steadily gaining. Between March and August, I had gained over 15 pounds. I was used to a pregnancy/breastfeeding diet (3,000 calories/day and no real exercise other than chasing/strolling/walking/playing with kids), and when I continued at that rate sans pregnancy/breastfeeding, the results were scary! Enter Cousin John. We had a rare occasion where most of the family was able to get together for a vacation all at one time. I noticed how awesome he looked! So fit, and he was drinking water and turning down cokes. I was so intrigued by this strange thing. I asked him what he was up to, and he began telling me about his health and fitness journey, and he gave me some great encouragement and pointers on how to begin, then invited me to join an accountability group he was in that was about to start a new program. The way John got in shape was doing P90X and Insanity, the DVD fitness programs by Beach Body. Of course I had seen the infomercials, but I hadn't ever met anyone who had actually finished the program and gotten the desired results. He and some friends were going to start a new program called T25, so I agreed to join in. He sold me on the idea that 25 minutes = ONE Dora episode. There was no excuse after that. Because I was no longer breastfeeding, and all of my children sleep through most of the night most nights, I decided that I could now afford to get up 45 minutes earlier than the children (they are usually my alarm clock). The kids have been waking up around 7:00 lately, so I set my alarm for 6:00, with the intention of getting up by 6:10 and beginning my exercise at 6:15. I committed to trying it for ONE day. Not 3 months, not 2 months, not 1 month, not 1 week. ONE DAY. I got up and did it the first day. I thought. I decided I could do it once more. I did it the next day. The next thing you know, it's Friday, and I've exercised every morning for one week. I am sore (in a good way), but I feel awesome. I have decided I can do it again tomorrow. Maybe even all next week. I don't know how long this will ultimately last, but I sure hope it's the new normal. And I hope my husband joins in so that we can alternate video exercising and going into the great outdoors to run or bike or something. That is my hope for the future anyway. As for right now; let me just tell you what all I have experienced. There were so many things that surprised me this week. As in, taking time for myself did not take away from my family. It actually enhanced our family life. I thought about all the time I waste during the day and realized that taking 30 minutes for exercise is the best thing I can do for all the most important people in my life. LIVE LONG (for my children) LOOK GOOD (for my spouse; quit telling myself it's not important!) FEEL GOOD (for me) Now, everybody knows that exercise makes you feel good, look good, and live longer. But what about the every day? Here's what happened to me: I had no idea how lazy I had become. What was perfectly okay for the busiest seasons with the neediest of children (babies, little crawlers and toddlers) had become habit. Sitting and resting whenever possible had caused me to fall constantly behind on my housework and neglect preparing healthy meals for my family...ouch. Because of my lack of exercise, I had become so sluggish that sometimes even standing up to take a shower seemed like hard work. Because I never break a sweat, I was taking only 2-3 showers/week and was annoyed at the time even those took. It seemed like a waste of time to do anything for myself since I didn't really get moving until mid morning. As the grandma on Beverly Hillbillies said, "The day's over by then!" I think I had sort of unconsciously decided that taking care of myself was waaaay down at the bottom of the list. Why even try? I'm going to be old and fat and ugly anyway. It's over for me. Plus, it takes away from my children (something a mother never wants to do). Well, two things have been different this week. 1, I have been taking a shower every day out of necessity. After the workouts, I am too sweaty to even think about facing the day without a shower. Non-optional showers are easier to just get over with than optional showers. 2, I caught myself saying to a kid, "Sure, I will fix you breakfast, after I take a shower." I put myself first for once. Do I think I need to always put myself first? No way. Should I SOMETIMES put myself first in cases of basic hygiene? Yes. It models self respect, good hygiene, and it begins to clue my kids in on the fact that they are not always first in life...a lesson that is hard to teach the babies you love so dearly unless there is a legitimate purpose. Speaking of laziness, guess what? After the intense workouts, I did not feel comfortable for hours unless I was walking around. Whereas before, I would be as motionless as possible until absolutely necessary and then begin my daily duties (laundry, home schooling, etc) around mid-morning. This week, my heart was pumping and I was in need of a nice cool-down time by 6:45 or 7am. By this time, the kids are just getting up and beginning to stir. I let them watch cartoons and gave them morning water and milk requests as usual, but instead of taking the opportunity to lie around and avoid getting out of bed or peruse facebook, I kept my legs moving so as to avoid cramps! The laundry was washed, dried, folded, and put away, the trash taken out, the house picked up, and the kitchen was clean by 10-10:30am. I was then able to sit down and take a break and eat a healthy brunch, clean up the kids' breakfast, and start on lunch. Lunch was cooked, served, and cleaned up by noon, and other than homeschooling and cooking supper, my choring was done for the day. I was able to play with, read to, and enjoy the rest of the day without the chores just NAGGING my mind every second. All because I got up to exercise. New habits. John suggested I replace cokes with sweet tea, then eventually replace the sweet tea with unsweet tea. I did that, and today was my first full day on unsweet tea. It left me SOOOO many calories to eat for the rest of the day. AND I got the kick in the morning without the sugar crash. It was just awesome! Is sweet tea tastier? Yes, but I have to think of unsweet tea as "water with a kick" and for some reason, that worked for me. No need for it to taste good, just give me the performance factor. And it doesn't really taste bad at all without the sugar. There were other epiphanies as well, but now that it's almost 6pm, I am less able to think so clearly. Early To Rise leads to the need of Early To Bed. Also a good thing: Justin is able to get to work on time. He is getting up with me and the kids are starting to stir earlier and earlier now that they sense we are up earlier. They have even joined in on the exercise some! The benefits just keep on going. Recap! 3 GREAT reasons to exercise and take care of myself: LIVE LONG for my kids, LOOK GOOD for my spouse, FEEL GOOD for me. I'm sure I am not the first to come up with those reasons, but they are now real to me. I really hope I can turn the new habits into a lifestyle change. Good luck to me and you. **sorry about the pictures not making it in yet; i don't know where the old pic is right now; will add it later**

Quotes I don't want to forget

Natalee said three extra-adorable things today. Unfortunately, I already forgot one of them :(. Before I forget the other two:

1) "Mom, I want my bleed (translation: cat scratch) to go away and come again another day."

2) In a pitiful sleep-fighting voice, in answer to my question of "What do you want to draw tomorrow":

"Pickles...

...and balloons...

...and happy sings (translation: "things")"


--Natalee, age 2

New Smoothie!

2 bananas, 1/2 a pineapple, 1 cup baby spinach, 1 bottle of coconut water, 1 glass of ice: this is doing EVERYTHING for me this morning!

Sleep talking

"I gotta dump over my davidstance. I'm becoming a flower. The speakers! I gotta mark 'em."
--justin 2:18am

Banana-Orange Thickie

This is not delicious. It's wicked-delicious: 1/4 c walnuts, 1/8 c quinoa, 1/8 c chia seeds, 2 c OJ, (blend till smooth), 1 banana, 1 clementine, 2 c ice, (Blend till smooth). (Include 1/2-1 c baby spinach or other greens to make it an official "green thickie")

Mommy Dearest

I had a conversation with a friend the other day that reminded me about the power of motherhood. People say, with such lightness (and sometimes condescension), all the time, "Oh, yes, being a mom is the most important 'job' in the world." As humans, we are programmed to imitate our parents, specifically that of the same sex. This relentless imitation behavior is imprinted upon us for survival, and so it's understandable. And, after all, we love our parents, almost no matter how they treated us. If we're attached securely, we think them the greatest humans in the world; if we aren't attached to our parents, we still have an inner longing to please and, therefore, attach as our continuum continues to demand. Sometimes it's near impossible to avoid imitating our mothers, even if we want to, and sometimes it's just flat not worth the effort. Sometimes it is, though. The trick is to pick your internal battles.