Mommy Confidence

I recently picked up the book "Mommy Confidence" by Kimberley Clayton Blaine. This quick read shares "8 Easy Steps to Reclaiming Balance, Motivation, and Your Inner Diva" Kimberley (aka The Go-To Mom) is not only a funny writer, she is very easy to relate to and offers advice without judgment. Her tips on everything from making life wish lists to "workin' it" in a swimsuit are great ideas for bringing a little more confidence back into the life of a busy mom.

Like any mom, I have my good days and my not-so-good days. Today just happens to be one of those not-so-good days where my confidence could use a little re-boot. Reading Mommy Confidence is a great reminder to cut myself some slack. It's all about finding balance...something I continue to work on each and every day.

Mommy Confidence is a fun little read for any mom and be sure to also check out The Go-To Mom TV.

Jillian Michaels, My New BFF

Today marks two weeks straight of working out every single day. Every muscle in my body is sore and I'm blaming it on Jillian Michaels. Her workouts are available "on demand" from our cable company so I've been giving them a shot. Whoa! This girl is tough!

She is super motivational though. She's always yelling things during the workouts like, "You gotta want it!" and "You gotta fight for it!" Seriously, though, just watching her with her rock-hard body is motivation enough!

I've only lost about 5 pounds so far (and I gained 5 pounds over the holidays so it's pretty much a wash) but I am starting to feel stronger and am excited to keep going! My goal is to lose another 25 pounds so I have a lot of work ahead of me. Looks like Jillian and I will be spending lots of time together in the coming weeks!

Before and After

With the hum of thankfulness still in the air from Thanksgiving, my thoughts have turned to my gratitude for a healthy body. This year I delivered a baby, my second one via c-section. Anyone who has been pregnant and given birth can testify to this; the body is a miraculous thing. Just watching the transformations as your body grows another human being and then seeing the fruits of your labor when your little one arrives is incredible. So I'll start by saying how thankful I am for this body of mine and all that it can do!

With that being said, I have been feeling rather unhealthy these days, and I'm hoping to change that. And yes, I'm talking about losing weight, but that's just a small part of it, a benefit really. What I'm most desiring is to improve my overall health. From my teeth to taking a daily vitamin to yes, my weight, which currently is a number which shall not be named.

Lucky for me (and another thing I am extremely grateful for) my mom watches the babies on Tuesdays. So with a whole day to myself today I hopped on the treadmill AND had a 2 hour intense cleaning at the dentist. The dentist I'm obviously not planning to make a daily habit but I'm hoping the treadmill will stick. It sure feels good to break a sweat (even if it did send me running to the bathroom feeling like I was going to throw up afterward).

I'm sure I'll be blogging more about my quest to get healthy in the weeks and months ahead. Who knows, maybe I'll even get brave enough to post a before and after...but I wouldn't hold your breathe on that one!