On Fire!

Yikes.... So I have missed 4 Stroller Strides September Classes thus far and .... Well I have decided NOT to beat myself up over that fact. I *just* saw pictures from Stroller Strides "Grand Opening" in my 'hood and... Let me tell you - 7 months ago I was not a pretty sight. When I say "Hot-Mess" I usually mean "walking disaster" but I.... I looked like a Hot-Mess! So then to now - What's 4 classes? It sucks yes! It's a "fail" according to my Stroller Strides September Goal... But I am doing the best that I can. I am really, honestly, 110% trying and I think I have made GREAT STRIDES where my health, fitness, weight and mental well-being are concerned. So there! *sticking my toungue out* I look better than I did before I got pregnant with Lily {who is about to turn 2!!!} and I look better than I did before I got pregnant with Grace. So in my book - WIN!

Today after a hard-core class we took the kiddos to the neighborhood Fire Station and let me tell you - BEST LUNA MOMS CLUB PLAY DATE EVER!  {Not that I don't love all the things Katie and Kelly plan for us each week - but this.... this rocked!} The kids had a ton of fun the moms... well let's just say most of us were unprepared for the "heat" if you know what I mean? {Sorry... Those boys were hot!} and the way the were with all of the kids - amazing!  I could share pictures. I could tell stories from the tour of the house, truck, etc.... But my friend Mel, author of  m.b.r.a.c.e. mommyhood wrote a post today that... well... reading it, I was pretty sure she was talking about me {Except I thought Physical Therapy and went Physical Education instead. Everything else she said is pretty much me, dead-on!} So please take a moment and check out her post What do you wanna be when you grow up?   So what if I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up... Apparently I am not the only one - WIN!

Then at drop off this afternoon for prechool, Gigi said "Bye Mommy, I'll see you in a couple of hours" WITHOUT so much as a tear, lip quiver, whine, plea... nothing. It was even noted by both of her teachers at the end of the day that the transition was "seamless" WOO HOO! I know that next week could be a different story but I will take a victory no matter how small, wherever I can get it! That was a big ole "WIN!" in my book!

Tomorrow.... Well, I am on the fence about tomorrow. I unexpectedly stopped swim lessons as of today. So that means our Fridays are wide open. I had hopped, or at least planned on keeping the girls in lessons for at least another month.  Well...plans change, I am a reed, and so now I have to decide; Stroller Strides - Me - What I want  - or a completely FREE fun day for my girls.  Truth be told I would love to day each week with no plans, no agenda, no schedule. If we go to the zoo, or the park or the museum, then we do. And if we stay home and snuggle, then we do. I truthfully think we all need a day where we can do as we please... I don't know... we shall see what happens. So, totally bummed that swim lessons have come to a temporary end, but a free day... You guessed it - WIN!

Stroller Strides September is half over, the Stroller Strides September Giveaway {which makes me sad was not a bigger hit} closes next Friday and I am almost halfway through one of Hubby's two week road trips.  I like the feeling of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, even when the task at hand is a pleasant one. There is some sort of feeling of accomplishment when something comes to an end.  Yesterday's time to myself has me ready to face the world again. Things are getting done, pieces are falling into place - at the moment... I am on fire!


Noteworthy Links:

* Enter The Stroller Strides September Giveaway here
* Read one mother's story {not mine} about how wrong she had been about Stroller Strides here
* Subscribe to A Mother's Musings, Mishaps and Milestones via email here
* Find information about Stroller Strides, including franchise opportunities here
* and of course - Check out my store "Gigi and Lula" here

Friday Food For Thought

While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about.

~Angela Schwindt

Don't forget to share what your "Stroller Strides September" is going to look like HERE!


Turn over a new leaf, start a new routine, make a positive change, put at least one of your needs first this month!


Writing our goals down and sharing them with others helps keep us accountable. Let's do this together!


Happy Stroller Strides September
and of course..... Happy Friday!


Wishing you all a happy, healthy and safe holiday weekend!


~Shelbi

Stroller Strides September - "What will yours look like?"

We want to know... I want to know... Tell me what your Stroller Strides September is going to look like?

Is is a commitment to yourself to start walking?
Start a workout routine?
Join a gym?
Get back to the gym?
Run?
Play a sport?
Find a local Stroller Strides?
Really commit to your current Stroller Strides routine?

What will you do this September to make a positive change?  I will say it again... It's Fall, the kids are back in school. There is no better time than now to start a new routine!

Tell me here what you plan to do... or link your blog post about your Stroller Strides September.

Sisterhood in Motherhood... Lets encourage one another, share our struggles to get started and our triumphs of actually doing it!

I warned you I was going to hit it hard this month... Now make me proud, and I promise I will be proud of you. If all you do is get up and get moving for 5 minutes a day I will be proud of you!

I'll get the ball rolling- See what my Stroller Strides September looks like below... And don't forget {like I did}to sign your name so I know who I am proud of!!



{ Click here to read more about Project Stroller Strides }

Project Stroller Strides: "Stroller Strides September"

September 1, 2010

I started my mission: Stroller Strides September on Monday {August 30th} because it just seemed that waiting until Wednesday for the 1st of the month was stupid. So in my mind Stroller Strides September had kicked off already. I made it to class both Monday and Tuesday. I was feeling great about this new commitment to myself and taking time to do something for me at least four days a week… But at breakfast this morning I realized that it was only 82 degrees out.

I know…. 82 degrees to a number of you must sound hot for 7:30am. But for us… it was heaven, a gift, a treat, a morning not to be missed or wasted… So out to the back yard we went. I cannot being to tell you how I have missed drinking my iced coffee, nestled in one of my patio chairs - the early morning light - the possibility of a slight breeze on my face - air that doesn’t hit you like the opening of an oven door - my girls playing in the grass, Handsome Hal snoozing in the sun. . .

It has been three months since we have been outside and not miserable the entire time. At least back home in New England we could bundle up and play in the snow. We could go sledding or skating, or even take a walk. There we were not trapped indoors for the winter. Here… in the desert… When the summer sun, scorches the earth and the temperatures soar to 116 degrees or more - When the setting sun brings minimal relief and the evening cools to 100 degrees if you are lucky. There is no playing outside. It is in truth too hot to even go swimming most days. To say that we have needed a morning out in the fresh air is a gross understatement. Herein begins my dilemma …

It had been my plan to make it to Stroller Strides Monday – Thursday this week. I hope to be able to make it on Friday and Saturday as well, but my goal for the week was four classes right in a row with an option to attend more… But the girls we outside, running around, happy as clams, not red faced, sweating, melting, witling and asking to go back inside. They were so excited to reunite with their Cozy Coupe and their Sweetheart Cottage and a myriad of other toys left idol on the patio all summer. They were blowing bubbles and running after them; and I knew that within the hour the temperature would being to rise. That this glorious 82 degree morning was going to be a 104 degree afternoon before to long. If I went to Stroller Strides, the girls would miss the only part of the day safe enough to play outside.

So I resigned myself to the fact that I would miss class today, have to go tomorrow and that I could not miss Saturday and would have to make a serious effort to fit class in on Friday. And that was my plan…. Until I realized it was September 1st! September 1st!?!? I cannot be all about Stroller Strides September and NOT go to Stroller Strides on September 1st. I have been telling everyone about my mission this month. I would never live it down and I knew I would regret it if I started September off with a skipped class. And not a skipped class because someone was ill or had an appointment or because of school, just because "it seemed too nice out to go"…Unacceptable. {Insert expletive here}! I have to go and now… somehow I have to ply my children back into the house, into their clothes, into the car and into a stroller so that Mommy can get her sweat on. Children who had almost forgotten what fresh air smelled like and how grass felt on bare toes and what it was like to walk in the sunshine. I was going to ask toddlers to walk away from their most fervent dream these past few months, of playing outside - and this was not going to be easy. I used bribery and it worked only well enough to get them into clothes and to the car. The tears and whining and attitude began once it really hit home that we were leaving the fresh air and they were going to have to sit in a stroller for an hour in a stinky old gym.

We arrived – late – to class, but better late than never. Upon entering the gym I realized that this was Kelly’s {the franchise owner} first class back from a month long hiatus. Uh oh! I was in for the butt whooping of a lifetime. Kelly was there - with a videographer - rearing to go. I was late, not in a focused mindset with two unhappy, whining, tantrum-throwing little girls. Oy!

I sweat more today than I have in a long time. I worked harder today than I have in a long time. I sucked wind, struggled to keep up, reached deep, prayed for death, felt exhilarated, felt useless, felt the burn and in the end I am so happy that I bribed my kids back into the house and out the front door and gutted it out - because that is how you kick off Stroller Strides September! All out, no holds barred, sweat running down your face, collapsing in a heap, proud of yourself workout – with some of the most amazing, inspiring, supportive women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing!

Since I began my journey with Stroller Strides in March I have lost 16 pounds, gained an amazing support system of friends and rediscovered my sense of self worth. I am a mother, I am strong, and I can do anything!

Get ready folks, this is just the beginning. There are 29 more days left in Stroller Strides September and I plan to hit it hard! I would love for you to join me! I would love to hear what you do this month to make a positive change.
What will your Stroller Strides September commitment be?
Will you find a local Stroller Strides and join?
Will you make a commitment to get your stroller out and take your little one on a walk once a week?
Once a day?
Will you start running again?
Go to the gym?
It's Fall, school is back in session this is the perfect time to start a routine...  Baby steps count, every step makes a difference. Will you teach your little one(s) the importance of exercise and taking care of yourself?  Let's hear it... what will your Stroller Strides September look like?



{ GIVEAWAY }
Stroller Strides is hosting a Giveaway this month on A Mother’s Musings. Look for details in the next few days. One lucky reader will be getting one week of Stroller Strides FREE and a signed copy of Lisa Druxman’s book Lean Mommy.


Want to know how my Project Stroller Strides journey began? check out my previous posts in the "PROJECT STROLLER STRIDES" ARCHIVE