Monday, November 30, 2015

Throwing a Fit: Toddlers to Tweens and Injury in Between

The title of the third book in the Life as a Fit Mom eBook series or a rant about my experience at Disney World last week? For fun, let's make it both.

Rant first (so I can end this post on a positive note).

We had been talking about this extended family (14 of us in all) trip to Orlando for a year. I had called the Disney planning help-desk (my term) no fewer than five times, read three travel guides and visited several Disney blogs. Still, I felt planning this trip required a secondary degree. I figured this would all be worth it when The Boy, who would be making his inaugural trip, experienced the Magic.

As you can see in the photo below (taken about one hour after walking through the front gates) The Boy (front center) was not impressed. But I can't say I blame him. We rode three rides using Fastpasses and then weren't able to get any more Fastpasses for the day. This meant hour-plus waits for other rides we wanted to do. The place was wickedly crowded. We left before the fireworks.
No matter. For The Boy this trip centered on going to the Jedi Training show. On my first call to Disney I learned 1) I needed to go to Hollywood Studios to experience the Star Wars attraction. 2) I couldn't make a reservation so needed to show up at 8 a.m. when the park opened to ensure we could get in. 3) The sign-up for Jedi Training was next to the Star Tours ride.

I had been through these steps with no fewer than three Disney customer service people in the months and weeks before our trip. I made my entire party of 14 (including two teenagers) get up and leave our hotel at 7:15 a.m. (which was really 6:15 our time) so we could make sure The Boy went through Jedi Training.

Jedi Training! A memory my little Star Wars fan would never forget!

After entering the park promptly at 8 a.m. I asked our ticket taker the fastest way to Star Tours to sign up for Jedi Training.

And this is what he said: "There is no Jedi Training today."

After all that studying, checking, and rechecking. Wha? It was closed, he said, for refurbishing. I had known the show had been closed months ago, but my first Disney guide told me the show would reopen mid-November, and--weren't we lucky--we would arrive after the reopening.

Somehow, Disney failed to inform the customer service agents I spoke to about the delay in reopening. And there I was with my 13 family members looking to me for... what? Permission to beat the guy up? A chance to go back to bed?

I really, truly wanted to throw myself on the ground and sob. I had spent about six months planning this trip. Magic Kingdom had been a bust. I wanted a good day. I wanted some freaking Magic.

It was Thanksgiving. By golly we had Fastpasses scheduled so we rode our rides (inducing Star Tours, which The Boy loved immensely) and allowed him to construct his own light saber. We left early (because we couldn't get anymore Fastpasses anyway) and let the kids swim in the pool the rest of the afternoon.

I had made reservations at the Swan Hotel's Garden Grove restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. A coup with our large party. The restaurant was in a Disney hotel and B-list characters--Chipmunks, Pluto, and the like--would be in attendance. (I had attempted making Thanksgiving Day reservations in June for every restaurant inside every Disney Park but all were booked. I knew then I was out of my Disney vacation planning league.) With two days of Disney in the books I was ready to give thanks with my family over turkey and gravy. What more could go wrong?

The restaurant did not have our reservation.

I was quickly whisked away to a nearby bar by two women who care deeply about my mental health, while the husbands stood back with the kids raiding the dessert table during the hour wait.

Could the night get worse? Yes. The martini was awful. Jet fuel with a sake backwash aftertaste. I just needed a little something to take the edge off, make this day laughable, but I couldn't choke it down. Then, once we finally got seated and made our way to the buffet, the turkey was served with a salacious come-on... to my 17-YEAR-OLD NEPHEW.

Seriously, Disney. Not cool.

We spent the next two days at Universal and thanks to our Unlimited Express Passes (if time is indeed money then they were worth the expense) saw and rode to our hearts content. Still, what the kids enjoyed most was hanging out with each other in the pool. For free.

It really is that easy (and cheap). Being together was priceless and for that I was grateful.

I'm also grateful for the release of my third eBook. Yeah!


Throwing a Fit: Toddlers to Tweens and Injury in Between is available here:

Barnes & Noble
Amazon
iBooks
Kobo
Google Play

This book covers the hard stuff (not unlike repeated letdowns at Disney World) and how I worked my way through them, some better than others. The book is in large part about the importance of fitness when clinging to sanity, how to stick with it when motivationally challenged, what fitness even means when you're injured and can't do the things you want to do. Truly, the chaos I speak of when I say "chaos of motherhood."

There's something magical about picking yourself up from the asphalt (or couch) and going forward despite not getting your way.

Remember to connect with me before this blog comes to an end -- on the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. And don't forget the e-newsletter sign-up form on my website so I can touch base here and there (that's where the e-book deals and freebies will come from).

Monday, November 23, 2015

The Fit Mom's Guide to Pregnancy and Postpartum Speed Bumps


Not long after starting the blog in 2008 I became pregnant with The Boy. Over and over I promised readers I wouldn't chronicle my pregnancy in detail; I would stick to the blog's mission of finding fitness in the chaos of motherhood. Already having two 4-year-olds and one 3-year-old made for plenty of material on that front. Alas, my pregnancy crept into my posts, as did my postpartum experience trying to rebound (but damn the mastitis!).

I wrote enough about the pregnancy and postpartum experience to create a (short) eBook, which is now for sale (for $1.99) on:

Google Play
Amazon
iTunes
Kobo
And coming soon to Barnes & Noble

While most of the material I believe is great advice for new moms or moms-to-be (such as "Everything I Know About Coping with Pregnancy I Learned from Being a Triathlete"), some of it serves as a cautionary tale, as in: Read and learn from my mistakes!

As we gear up for Thanksgiving this week I am grateful for the nearly eight years I spent blogging and interacting with my fit-mom readers. I hope you'll stay connected with me on the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. And don't forget the e-newsletter sign-up form on my website so I can touch base here and there (that's where the e-book deals and freebies will come from).

Have a happy and active Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 16, 2015

Finding Fitness in the Chaos of Motherhood


For the last two years I've been putting together the Life as a Fit Mom eBook Series based on the last 7+ years of Mama Sweat blog posts. And finally, they are getting published, starting with the first in the series this week, "Finding Fitness in the Chaos of Motherhood." 

It's official!

Why the eBooks? Because soon--as in, the end of the year--I will no longer blog. Mama Sweat has been a cathartic journal of balancing fitness and motherhood, a repository of my fit mom opinions, and even grew into a fit mom community. I would swear no one but my mom was reading and then I'd hear from a reader I didn't know in another state, even another country. These weekly blog posts not only gave me structure in my chaos, they also gave me immense satisfaction knowing they mattered to other people out there, too.

But.

I've covered an awful lot and it's time to move on. I want to spend more time focusing on writing the fictional stories of the Go! Go! Sports Girls, promoting fitness literacy and health empowerment to kids,  and, of course, nurturing my own athletic children.

I have published the highlights from Mama Sweat (including the ever-popular pelvic floor posts) on my new website, www.lifeasafitmom.com. Links for my books, including the Life As a Fit Mom eBook series, will be there too. The ebooks are based on the best of the blog posts plus more material (dare I say, a few fit mom poems, too).

Although the blog will soon come to a close, I will still be out there on social media: on the Hot (Sweaty) Mamas Facebook page, Twitter, and Instagram. And, there is an e-newsletter sign-up form on my website so I can reach out to you very occasionally (seriously, no one hates a cluttered inbox more than me so I promise to be respectful). Another reason to sign up for the mailing list is because everyone who is signed up before Friday, November 20, will receive "Finding Fitness in the Chaos of Motherhood" for free. So there's that.

What is the first book, "Finding Fitness in the Chaos of Motherhood" all about?
Whether you're expecting your first child and need a dose of reality or feeling overwhelmed parenting young children, Finding Fitness in the Chaos of Motherhood will provide motivation to become more active and the lift you need (for muscles as well as mood) to be strong enough for motherhood.

In Finding Fitness in the Chaos of Motherhood, Kara Douglass Thom shares the absurdities she faced while keeping fitness a priority in her life after having children. While embracing the chaos she had to change her perspective on what "counted" as a workout and find creative ways to fit fitness in.
If you'd like to read more, go sign up and I'll send the eBook to you at the end of the week. The next five books in the series are:

Stay tuned for more details on those titles in the next few weeks to come. Meanwhile, thanks for being such great readers and supporters of Mama Sweat! See you over at www.lifeasafitmom.com