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. 

Is "Athlete" the new "Princess"?

Recently a mom from Oklahoma, Betsy Gregory, snapped a photo of her daughter's softball team and it went viral. Why? Because this team, "The Freeze," played softball in dresses from the movie Frozen. Today, even the girly girls are playing sports. Athlete isn't synonymous with being a tomboy anymore. You can be fierce and sparkle.

We can't get enough of @betsygregoryphotography awesome "Freeze" photo! Let's keep this going! We want to see your sports girls in action. Snap & share here - http://wshe.es/cp1ShsUI. Be fierce and sparkle! #AthleteIsTheNewPrincess #toughisbeautiful #GirlPower #DreamBigAndGoForIt

A photo posted by Go! Go! Sports Girls (@gogosportsgirls) on Sep 14, 2015 at 3:04pm PDT

That's why I love Go! Go! Sports Girls new campaign: "Athlete is the New Princess."

These memes are on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please feel free to share!

It's all about #girlpower. More great comparisons coming. Follow @gogosportsgirls on social media to see them as they come out.

Go! Go! Sports Girls just launched a new monthly contest to celebrate our girls in sport. If you want to be entered to win free product, all it takes is loading a photo of your favorite girl playing her favorite sport/being active/getting dirt on her skirt. The photos already loaded on the page are A-Dorable!

This month's giveaway includes both soccer dolls and the soccer book.

As a mom of three daughters who have grown up playing with the Go! Go! Sports Girl dolls I feel like I did something right as a parent to be able to give them dolls that represent who they are, versus something I DON'T aspire for them to become (are you listening Monster High and Bratz dolls?) They have a Go! Go! Sports Girls doll for just about every sport they've tried (and so they have a lot) but I loved buying them because I felt I was validating their life just as it was (helps that the dolls are built in specification to a real girl's body, too). You don't have to be glamorous; you don't have to aspire to wear high heels; you don't need blowfish lips and heavy eye make-up. Even if you do want all that, can't we save it for later? Do we really need to push that on 6-year-olds?

Athlete is the new princess because 17 million girls play an organized sport every year.

Athlete is the new princess because Title IX helped create this new line of royalty.

Athlete is the new princess because we have women like Maya Moore and Serena Williams holding court. Women like Missy Franklin, Gabby Douglas, and Hope Solo showing girls how to shine.

Athlete is the new princess because dress up now includes team uniforms, cleats, and sweatbands.

Athlete is the new princess because strong is the new pretty.

Learn more about the Go! Go! Sports Girls dolls and books at www.gogosportsgirls.com.

We All Have Our Moments

As proof that I have moments when my motivation is in the ditch, I bring you this screen shot (my comments are in blue). If you think you're the only one who struggles to get your butt up and out the door, rest assured, you are not.

More about finding motivation is on my website www.lifeasafitmom.com.

How My "Oops!" Parenting Moment Became Welcome Adversity For My Kids

Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to attend a speaking event with Cheryl Strayed, best-selling author of Wild, which as the universe would have it was the perfect prep for my lesson in parenting that week.

The whole of Cheryl's speech was riveting but there was one particular nugget that stuck with me as she spoke of lessons learned from her solo journey across the Pacific Crest Trail. She described how it served as a rite-of-passage for her, something most cultures once provided as children became adults. The common core among all rites-of-passage, she said, include a physically difficult challenge with elements of deprivation that is accomplished in solitude.

That resonated with me as an endurance athlete and was how I described why I trained and raced for marathons and triathlons some 20 years ago to my then octogenarian grandfather. I told him if I had been born 100 years earlier I would have been one of those people in a covered wagon heading west. This modern era of ours doesn't provide many opportunities to experience the kind of physical struggle that was an integral part of life for our ancestors. My struggle as an endurance athlete was fabricated, yes, but in a way that filled the yearning to dig deep, which has been passed down in my DNA by my pioneering forefathers.

Can we all agree that adversity can be good for us? Can we agree that in general, kids growing up in middle and upper class families at least, don't experience a whole lot of adversity? In fact, protecting our kids from adversity seems to have become part of our jobs as parents; to keep our kids safe; to always be there when our kids are in need. Can we all agree then that what we might think of as parenting failures might indeed be just the adversity our kids need?

So it was in HINDSIGHT, after recalling Cheryl's speech, that I realized I did my kids a favor last week when I was downtown at a writing conference and unable to be there for them. They got off the bus in the driving rain (which turned to sleet) and discovered that the garage code, which normally provides entry to the house, was not working. My kids don't have cell phones. Did I mention my husband was traveling?

Without any help from me, they devised a plan: one 11-year-old stayed under the porch with the 6-year-old, while the other 11-year-old and 9-year-old walked about a half-mile to our neighbor's house (not the closest neighbor, but the one with kids on the same bus where they knew an adult was home). My neighbor called me and we managed to get the kids safely inside without me having to leave my writing conference early.

Once all was said and done (i.e. collecting myself after sobbing over the fact that this one time I was not home for them was when they needed me), I realized this opportunity in adversity was good for us. While not exactly hiking the PCT trail solo, this microcosm of a rite-of-passage for my kids provided a challenge without a parent to guide them (deprived of a cell phone and umbrella). I learned my kids are quite competent without me. They handled the situation sensibly and bravely; I was proud of them and told them so. No doubt, they gained a new measure of confidence in themselves (and me in them, ahem).

I can't say I'll set up these sort of "traps" for them as a way to gain their independence, but it certainly helps knowing these mishaps can provide good training ground to allow them to think on their feet and solve problems on their own, while letting me off the hook to be the perfect parent. If they desire a bigger physical challenge, well, they can always sign up for a triathlon.

More about motherhood and raising a fit family is on my website, www.lifeasafitmom.com.

Dinnertime Challenge

The dinnertime challenge: How to please all six of our palates. I've reverted to: You can't please everyone all of the time, only some people some of the time. The ones you don't please at the dinner table have not learned to keep their distaste to themselves and suffer through the meal politely. So far, that includes all of my children.

Despite the dinnertime challenge I haven't given up on our family meal. I try mightily to win these young taste buds over, but the fact remains there are few meals that create an air of excitement for all.

But there are those few that earn a four thumbs-up rating (as in they all eat them willingly and speak positively about what's on their plate). I am grateful to fall back on those few meals as often as I can, and I'm happy to share these recipes knowing full-well they may or may not bring you the same relief at the dinner table.

Chicken Pasta Salad (Deconstructed)

This recipe is derived from a deli recipe sold at a popular Twin Cities grocery store. I have perverted the recipe so badly, I don't think it's wise to give credit to the original. What's more, I have borrowed from a tactic used by Jenny Rosenstrach, author of the book and blog, Dinner: A Love Story (anyone suffering through the dinnertime challenge will appreciate her book), which is the "deconstructed" method of serving dinner to kids with picky palates. In this way, grown ups can have their meal all mixed up, and the kids can choose those ingredients they find less offensive and then have the satisfaction of keeping all food items on their plate from touching, or worse mixing together. But here's the real reason why I recently needed to deconstruct this meal: Because what children like one week doesn't mean they will like it the next. A few years ago I could always count on my kids to eat this pasta salad as is, all mixed up, but recently one child has denounced the celery, another the cherries, and yet another the nuts. Instead of dropping the meal entirely I salvaged it but letting them add what they DO want in their pasta salad.

One box of medium shell noodles (can use gluten-free if you can get away with it), cooked according to directions.
1 1/2-2 cups cooked shredded chicken
Dressing: 1 to 1 1/2 cup mixture of equal parts mayo and poppyseed dressing
Salt and pepper to taste.

Add ins:
2 stalks celery sliced
1 apple peeled, sliced and diced
1-1 1/2 cups dried cherries, cranberries, raisins or whatever dried fruit your kids like
1-1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds nuts or whatever nuts your kids like

Breakfast Pizza

The newest addition to my dinner-time dilemma is something I call breakfast pizza. Breakfast for dinner is always a hit. Kids know pizza is a safe meal for them. Why not combine? I got the idea when I saw ideas for dough-free crusts. One included a crust made from thinly sliced potatoes. I tried this with left-over roasted potatoes and think it will work just as well with a bag of frozen hashbrowns. 

One bag of frozen hashbrowns, cooked according to directions (or leftover cooked, sliced potatoes)

Shredded cheese

Cooked sausage (I typically buy the pre-cooked frozen sausage that's easy to microwave)

Eggs

Spread the cooked potatoes on top of a sheet of greased parchment paper. Make the crust thin like a pizza crust but thick enough that it will stay together. Bake at 400 degrees until crisp. Add cheese over top and continue baking until cheese melts. Meanwhile cook, crumble or slice the sausage and cook the eggs to your children's liking (my kids like them over easy and runny, go figure). Add the sausage and eggs, then cut into slices and serve.

Jalapeno Cheeseburger Quesadillas

This is the meal I might be remembered for at the end of life. This is thee meal my kids will come home from college asking for; the meal that gets a "Yeah!" when I tell them what's for dinner. Created out of a necessity to use ground beef before it turned green, my very own, West Texas influenced, jalapeno cheeseburger quesadillas (just drop the jalapeno if that scares you or the kiddos).

Cooked ground beef (I often use left over ground beef that didn't make it in the meat loaf, spaghetti, etc.)

Shredded cheese

Sliced red onion (three out of six in my family skip the onions)

Shredded lettuce

Pickles

Jalapenos

Mustard

Ketchup

We use a panini machine to cook the quesadillas. I cook the onions for those who want them.

 The Boy wants only ketchup with pickles on the side.

This is a traditional cheeseburger option with lettuce, pickles and ketchup.

 Here is the I-Miss-Sonic's-Jalapeno-Cheeseburger version, with lettuce, jalapeno, and mustard.

Normally I make them all then keep them warm in the oven until we're ready to eat. Normally I don't serve a side with this, but on this particular night I cooked half a bag of frozen corn until charred, then sauteed it with diced zuchini, a little garlic and salt and pepper. Not a fan favorite with the kids, but a easy southwestern side for those who need and/or want a serving of vegetables.

More recipes and stories about overcoming the dinnertime challenge are available in my eBook, Feeding the Fit Family.

5K Training Tips

Me with my first borns at the 5K start.

The 5K for our girls fitness program is in the books. Everyone in this 3rd-5th grade program to empower girls to be strong inside and out (with the exception of two who had strep throat) finished a 5K. Some had run a 5K before, but most had not. For a young girl, 3.1 miles is a long way to go, especially so when it's cold and blustery out. But they were ready and finished with big smiles. Here's a page from our 5K training playbook:

1) Make sure you can walk 3.1 miles first. One of the first workouts we did was a nature hike. We brought along a list of 20 things we needed to find. We had so much fun looking for the items and were thrilled about what we saw: the snowy egret, the frogs, snakes, turtles, that it wasn't until mile two that they started asking, "Hey, how far are we going?" When we made it back to school and I announced they had just finished 3.1 miles they were surprised and convinced they could also finish their race.

2) Find support and be supportive. I have witnessed some special interactions watching these girls extend themselves to help each other. On our very first training run, the girls--without any prompting from the adult coaches--made a tunnel out of their arms as they finished and cheered for the girls who finished after them. At the end of our class sessions the girls had the opportunity to write something they needed to let go or something they wanted to share with the group. Most of these slips of paper included pats on the back and positive shout-outs for their fellow team members. Some people say that women don't support each other enough, especially in a professional environment. I hope these girls take this camaraderie with them into adulthood.

3) Work your way up. Most of the girls had already run a mile in gym class so we knew that was our base. We set out to cover one mile, then a mile-and-a-half. We did a mile-and-a-half again, then two miles. We did two miles again, then two-and-a-half miles. We did two-and-a-half miles again, then 3.1 miles. As Dori says: Just keep swimmin' (or running, in this case).

4) Shake it up (because girls ages 8-11 love that song). In between those running workouts we explored other routes to fitness: a yoga class, hula hoop class and sessions with the high school dance, softball and basketball teams. Even if you love running, your body benefits from moving in new and different ways. I love running, but I don't love only running all the time.

5) Challenge yourself. One of our favorite workouts was a game called Train. We had groups of 4-5 girls run in a line around the soccer field. When we blew the whistle, the girl in back would run to the front of the line and set the pace. Someone from each group wore a pedometer and the group that took the most steps was the winner (of bragging rights). This was one of our most challenging workouts, but also a lot of fun; a speed workout dressed up as a game (and one that would be fun for the family too, hint hint).

6) Write down your goal and share it. Before the race everyone wrote down their goal on a piece of poster board. The girls made their goals public, which has the effect of making them come to life. Plus, when your support system knows what you want to accomplish, they can help you get there or remind you of what you want if it becomes less important to you (say when you don't feel like training or when you feel too tired to go for it).

7) Race. That's all. This part is easy. Just show up at the starting line. Do your thing and then own your finish.

This particular 5K was far from my fastest, but will be memorable and gratifying for different reasons, namely that I helped usher girls across a finish line that really is so much more than a 5K. It was a doorway into world where they believe in their aspirations, hard work, and capable bodies.

Want more information about 5K training? You'll find a six-step training guide in the Ways to Get Moving section on my website, www.lifeasafitmom.com.

Life Cycle of a Running Stroller

Since The Boy turned five, I don't think we've used his stroller once. Is five the official graduation age out of a stroller? Now the stroller sits in our garage where we trip over it often to get to bikes, roller skates, and scooters. We had a good run with our Bob revolution stroller, and I can't help but look back fondly over the good years we had together.

Sure I used the stroller for exercise, but it was an excellent restraint system, too.

As kids get older, they need a few distractions like snacks and toys to go the distance.

Strollers are also rolling cribs. If toddlers fight naptime, like this one did,
the stroller is a great tool to induce sleep. Plan workouts accordingly.

When does a stroller become obsolete? Slowly the kid will spend more time out of it than in,
and as you push the empty stroller you will wonder why you didn't just leave it (the stroller, not the kid) at home. 

Strollers are for babies.

FOR SALE: Gently used orange Bob Revolution stroller. 

Read more about balancing motherhood and fitness on my website, www.lifeasafitmom.com.