MommyCoddle

saying it out loud

I like to think that I'm pretty honest on this blog. That while I may be guilty of moving the camera ever-so-slightly to hide the toy-strewn floor or blurring just enough so you don't see gargantuan laundry piles, I'm pretty open. At least I hope that's how this place feels.

With that in mind, I decided over the weekend that it's time to keep that trend going and share a goal that I'm forcing myself to say out loud.

In just a few short weeks, 48 days, to be exact (right, Mags?) I will be a bridesmaid in my cousin's wedding. Now I thought that after giving birth to a certain number of children or reaching a certain age, one became exempt from bridesmaid duties, but alas, here I am, happily and proudly standing up in my dear cousin's wedding.

My cousin will be having a beautiful, straight-from-the-pages-of-a-magazine-without-even-trying wedding on my grandparents' farm. (Basically, she's having the wedding I've always dreamed of, but that's another story….) And I am excited to be a part of it.

Of course the first thing one thinks of when asked to be in a wedding is "What will I wear?" and then the second thing they (most likely) think of is how many pounds they plan to shed before the big day.

And for awhile there, I was really on a roll. Around the holidays I signed up for a "body conversion" class that got me moving in the right direction. The momentum kept up, I loved escaping to the gym to exercise and for the first time in my adult life I was actually enjoying it.

But, the past month, life has granted me plenty of excuses not to "get in there". Dan working late. Tired kids. Tired me. Work left to be done at the end of the day. 4-H meetings. blah. blah. blah. Really. Those things are always there, it's just a question of whether or not I allow them to get in the way of what I need to do.

So, I've obviously let go of the fact that I will not be 20 or 30 pounds slimmer come bridesmaid day. But I do know, for the sake of my self-esteem and confidence and general well-being and outlook on everything, I need to get back in there. I need to be moving in the right direction again.

And so, I'm saying it out loud. Ugh. Here goes:

Between now and the wedding (and beyond) my goal is to GO to the gym to work out a minimum of three times per week.

It's the getting there that's getting me. But now, I've said my goal out loud. Which means that other people know what I'm striving for. And that's good. I need that.

There is so much I could write here about this topic, but for now, I think I'll keep it to the nuts and bolts of my goal.

Wanna join me? You don't have to sign on to three nights of workouts each week, but maybe there's some other thing that's nagging you, that needs to be done or picked back up again or dealt with. Maybe saying it out loud will help you make it happen.

As always, thanks for listening friends….(I hope I don't delete this in the morning…… 🙂

With that in mind, I decided over the weekend that it's time to keep that trend going and share a goal that I'm forcing myself to say out loud.

And so, I'm saying it out loud. Ugh. Here goes:

Between now and the wedding (and beyond) my goal is to GO to the gym to work out a minimum of three times per week.

It's the getting there that's getting me. But now, I've said my goal out loud. Which means that other people know what I'm striving for. And that's good. I need that.

There is so much I could write here about this topic, but for now, I think I'll keep it to the nuts and bolts of my goal.

As always, thanks for listening friends….(I hope I don't delete this in the morning…… 🙂

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June 5. My best tip for going to the zoo with kids

So I thought I had this whole zoo-trip thing figured out. We were capitalizing on a rare break in the heat and humidity to make a trip to the zoo. We had the “homeschooler advantage” meaning most schools were winding down, but too late in the year to be taking big field trips to places like…the zoo.

We waited until later in the morning to hit the road, knowing that if we left too soon we would hit traffic in both Baltimore and DC. And the trip was smooth sailing. But I should have known, when

We waited until later in the morning to hit the road, knowing that if we left too soon we would hit traffic in both Baltimore and DC. And the trip was smooth sailing. But I should have known, when we arrived at the zoo, parked in the very last parking lot (since all the others were full) and had to loop for twenty minutes before a space finally opened up, that maybe my plan wasn’t so perfect after all.

Turns out the zoo was packed. Who these people were, I have no idea, but they were all at the zoo. Families. School groups. Boys and Girls clubs. Nursing home residents.

We also arrived at the zoo at just about high noon. What do animals do in the heat of the middle of the day? Well, they go into the cool, dark shade and sleep, that’s what!

There were no tigers. Just Mallards floating through their pool. We have mallards at home, people. The lion was sound asleep, in the shade. So still and quiet, the kids didn’t believe that he was real. The monkeys were nowhere to be found. The river otters were deep in their holes. The elephants. Well, there were elephants. That was a success.

But there was a carousel. Full of every single animal we should have been seeing at the zoo. So we rode the carousel and loved it. And of all the exotic animals to ride, two of my children, I’ll let you guess who, chose to ride the horses. (*Emma*cough*Birdy*cough*)

As we were walking out of the zoo, late in the afternoon and making our way to the car, we noticed that the zoo traffic had completely thinned out. The weather was cooling off. The breeze was picking up. Animals were moving out of the cool of their dens to come out and romp and play. School groups were gone. The littlest kids were home taking naps. It was the perfect time to be at the zoo. Just as we were leaving.

So next time, when we get motivated to do this again, we’re leaving the house at lunchtime. Packing dinner. And staying until they kick us out in the evening.

And promise me, if you do go soon, you’ll play this gem for your kids the night before. It was in my head all day long:

#GivingTuesday : Barnraiser–Kickstarter for farmers

#GivingTuesday may almost be over, but it seems like the perfect day to share one of the things that has been bookmarked on my computer for weeks, because I knew I wanted to share it with all of you. Projects like this are always near and dear to my heart, and this is one that needs more eyes, voices and support behind it.

An email from Barnraiser showed up in my inbox a few weeks ago and I was immediately intrigued. The best way for me to sum up Barnraiser is that it is like Kickstarter for farmers, artisans, educators and community projects that are aimed at helping to reshape our food system. It’s for anyone wanting to make a difference in the way we farm and the way we eat.

Just a quick perusal of the site and you’ll find projects like heirloom fruit orchards and classroom gardens, a bakery’s wood-burning oven, a farm’s micro-creamery, sustainable bees and responsible chicken farms, looking for financial support to get their projects and ideas up and running.

Secretly, I’ve always had lofty dreams of ways I’d love to dig my hands into agricultural and community-based ideas. But one of the things always holding me back was “where would I ever come up with the money.”

It’s projects like Barnraiser that are opening the doors for these ideas that are making a difference and making changes in our local resources, small farming communities and the food that ends up on our tables.

Take a moment on this #GivingTuesday (or Wednesday or Thursday or any day!) to check out this Barnraiser. Trust me, you’ll be inspired by these people.

**Also note: Anytime you make a pledge on Barnraiser you can elect to gift your reward to someone else…what a cool way to give this holiday season.**