See You Next Week

No post this week from Mama Sweat. 

Blame it on summer. Life is good.

26 Ways About the Things We Love About You

I love the title. And that the authors are also the "illustrateders."

I'm not the only fit role model around here. My kids made a book for their dad on Father's Day and I can't help but share a few pages just to drive the point home that what they see when they see us working out makes a good impression on those growing minds. And, yeah, to show off these cute drawings.

A is Active. 

This is so much better than "A is for Addict" or "A is for Agoraphobic." But they didn't fall back on the popular and overused "Awesome" either. I think it is awesome they chose active.

N is for Nature. Daddy takes us on hiks.

I love that these walks are picture worthy to them. Do you know, not one picture in the book is of them watching TV together or playing video games? (Not that we don't do that.)

Q is for Quick. "When you run you are quick."

Well. That's relative. But their daddy hasn't lost his quick. He is quick with the wit, too, but that is hard to draw.

W is for wife. Daddy has a wife.

Just the one wife. That's me. Glad I made the book. I couldn't help but include this. I am crazy for him.

Here's to the dad's that pursue an active life and support us with our own! Hope you enjoyed your Father's Day!

No Drama Decisions With Ms. Mindbody

Since we're all super busy, you don't need to read this post UNLESS you:

1. Have ever said or thought, "I'm so busy I can't think."
2. Believe that breathing is a sole function of the sympathetic nervous system and therefore never needs to be done intentionally (because, who needs one more thing to do, right?) 
3. Make decisions by committee, or agonize for days/weeks/months over making decisions.

Now, who do we have left here? Everyone? That's what I thought. OK, read on. Actually LISTEN on.

I'm doing something fun this week with Kate Hanley, the Ambassador of Chill over at Ms. Mindbody, the creator of the Daily Unwind and author of the Anywhere Anytime Chill Guide. Just knowing Kate online adds zen to my life.

There's an entire section in Hot (Sweaty) Mamas about "Rejuvenating the Multitasking Mama." It's important. For all kinds of reasons. Kate makes some excellent points about why--EXACTLY--beyond the oft overused oxygen mask analogy, namely that when we take time to tune in to ourselves we get VIP access to our intuition. I KNOW! I forgot there was intuition in there somewhere!

On Thursday, June 14, you can listen in on our 30-minute conversation about No Drama Decisions. You'll need to register, but it's free. Join us and you'll also get access to a special deal on her Daily Unwind program. The call times are:

11am EST / 10 am CST / 9 am MST / 8 am PST 

or 

8 pm EST / 7 pm CST / 6 pm MST / 5 pm PST

I know you're working on finding time to reclaim your body. Are you finding time to reclaim your mind? Listen in on the call, so you can get your mind and body back on speaking terms!

Planning a Stress-free (Almost) Summer

Even a fit family gets plenty of downtime. I will plan for that.

Here we are, last week of school, and I'm experiencing a mix of emotions. I remember feeling this way last year and reread my post about "Adapting to a New Summer Schedule." I was definitely on the right path coordinating the kids' fun with my own fitness, but I was mentally exhausted by summer's end. This year, with the help of friend (well, virtual friend and fellow triathmom) Whitney Roosa, I have a better plan.


Whitney sent me a book-in-progress* she's working on--a guide for moms to help kids stay busy without busting the bank on a lot of camps and classes, while scheduling time for workouts and keeping up with the house so it doesn't look (or smell) like a zoo by summer's end.


It's a little bit of a leap for me because there's a plan. Daily. Set up for each week. For the whole summer. I love the idea of having a plan, but the problem with me and a plan is that there is work on the front end to *create* the plan, so what normally happens is that the plan goes uncreated and I continue to wing it. Winging it as a mother can be really stressful. 


I'm ready to embrace a plan. For the whole summer.


But then the carefree me, the lover of spontaneity and surprise, loathes the plan. It almost sounds like a diet for your life, doesn't it?


No. No. Really, I need the plan. Grasp the plan, don't look back.


I'm using Whitney's book so that 1) we have structure for our day and 2) I still have time for myself. As I customize the summer schedule, I realize it isn't so confining: She's provided activities and suggested entertainment for each of 10 weeks, which are organized by themes. There's recipes, games and even time allotted for clean up. Best of all, she included scrapbook pages for each week, so we can record our summer memories as we go. I love the potential. I want to be that mom!


Plus, one sentence in Whitney's book really struck me:

"Each morning, post the day's agenda on the fridge for your children to find. Kids respond better when they know what to expect."

So true, and it applies to grown ups too. So I did something I've never done before. I took the plan a step further and got a coach to help me train for the Life Time Fitness Triathlon, July 14. While on the surface it might sound like I'm being a hardcore bad-ass, it really boils down to paying someone to create my plan and tell me what to do so I don't have to think about getting prepared for a triathlon because I'm already tired planning the schedule for four kids! 


The final step was integrating the kids plan with my plan.


On paper, the summer schedule looks great. I workout with my coach and training group (meeting a few new hot (sweaty) mamas in the process!) before-the-kids-are-conscious early on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday mornings. I still had to look at the schedule to find time for other workouts. And I did:

• Swim workout when my daughter has a swim lesson.
• Strength workout when my kids are in a gymnastics class.
• Run workout with jogger and kids on bikes or take kids to the track.
• Get sitter on Friday mornings so I can get a bike ride in.

So, I'll still "Make Time," "Take Time" "Share Time," and "Snare Time," as recommended in Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as Fit Mom, but I will know when to expect those workouts in a daily plan. I know how easy it is to lose a workout in the day when it's not written down to see.

But, I'll have you know I scheduled Friday afternoons to be spontaneous. Total and complete oxymoron to schedule spontaneity. I know that. I felt like I died a little bit inside when I wrote that down. I have to hope, though, that being more organized and having a plan will take some of the stress out of summer and free up the mental space to be more creative and spontaneous.

I'd love to hear from you ultra-organized moms (you know who you are). Any more tips for me?

How will you Make/Take/Share/Snare time this summer?

*I have a feeling you might ask me how to get Whitney's book. Like I said, it's a work-in-progress. Still in development; she's considering publishing options. When the book becomes available, you'll hear about it from me!

Barnacle Busters and Book Winner

We have a winner for the book, Train Like a Mother!

And she is... LISA! I'm trying to find you Lisa, so send me an email at kara@karathom.com so I can get your address.

And I've got to share the barnacle busters with you, because good ideas are meant to be shared:

Melissa says: I avoid the need to bust the barnacles (98% of the time, anyway) by running before they awaken and attach themselves to me in the first place. It's infinitely easier to get away from them when they're stil unconscious!

Jayne says: My husband is my favorite barnacle buster. Sounds too good to be true and cheesy (I know and I own that) but he truly understands the need for me to run and he's always ready to distract said offspring so I can escape.

Lisa says: Barnacle buster: Their beds/crib! It might mean boring treadmill runs, but after they are all in bed I'm most able to get a run in.

Christine says: My favorite barnacle busters are the neighborhood children. My kids love to play with their friends.

Unknown says: Bathtime with Daddy! He leaves early and works late most days so my time is limited. As soon as they are fed, and he's home to put them in the tub, I'm-literally-running out the door. They don't usually attach to me when he's home and my 3-year-oldo thinks it's hilarious when I tell him I'm running to get my crazies out. True though.

Kate says: Daddy and the park are great barnacle busters, though honestly, I haven't been getting much running in lately. I need this book to get me focused on a race and running again.

Ann says: My favorite barnacle buster is my husband. He understands my need to exercise and happily takes the kids when I need to get a work-out in.

Let's hear it for the Dads!