Early to bed, early to rise.

OK, so day number one of the Evensen’s Healthy Overhaul was…semi-successful. Let me start by admitting that even though just the other day, I pointed out how exhausting it was to get drunk with Jason and stay up late, it was St. Paddy’s Day! What else were we supposed to do but stuff our faces with meat and potatoes, cake, drink LOTS of beer, and talk about remodeling opportunities until 3am? It was inevitable! But after a very slow morning, I’m proud to say that the first thing I did was chug a bunch of water, a BUNCH of water. I’m sure that on a better day it would do my body pretty good as opposed to just bringing it up out of a pretty substantial hangover, but baby steps right? Yeah. Baby steps.

Progress came to a pretty steep halt when we decided to have leftover strawberry-cream-cheese cake for breakfast, but I did omit the homemade-green-whipped cream, so it has to count for something right? And I spent forever on Wednesday making this super efficient “meals list”, that has much healthier options for breakfast (yogurt, granola, fruits, all that jazz), but this blunder is getting chalked up to good ol’ St. Patrick’s Day again! Had a good lunch, drank lots of water throughout the day which feels AMAZING, and I did get quite a good workout in, so day one was pretty good. And of course, gave me yet another idea that I’m convinced will help us along the way…

What does it take to be a morning person? Someone who doesn’t push the snooze button has time to shower and brush their teeth before they scramble out of the house, and even has time to eat a well rounded breakfast? I have absolutely no friggen clue, that’s why I asked! I’m a HORRIBLE morning person! But I do know that there is some serious truth in that whole “early bird gets the worm” thing. Moving into this house has made us realize the importance of the sun in our day. There are so many things out here that you just plain can’t do unless the sun is out. The kids go to school when the sun is out, shops are open, it’s warmer, Jason works, it’s not creepy dark where you have to run past the living room window on the kids floor cause it doesn’t have a curtain and who knows what spine-chilling horror movie ghoul is lingering out there…So in only one day of a health kick I’ve realized that unless I put my foot down and get up earlier in the morning, like a damn adult, so I can wash my face, change my clothes, and possibly get a cup of coffee down before the kids even wake up to ensure I’m in a pleasant mood, I’m not gonna get very far. So, here’s the advice I’m trying to give myself in order to smooth this thing out a little:

EARN MY REST. On the days that I do get up at a decent hour, make all the food, clean the house, do the homework, the laundry, the workout, you bet your ass I’m ready to take a shower and pass out immediately after we put the boys down (at 8pm). Boring yes, but it was my choice to have so many stinkin’ children, and this is me making my “wife and mother of three” life run like clockwork. So, I guess after day one I’ve done what I usually do; add yet another thing to the list! But I swear if I get up earlier with a previous day full of workouts and suitable water consumption behind me, I’ll be able to…take over the world? It’s possible =)

No More Excuses

So I started this whole blog thing originally because I’m a theories kind of person. I have theories about everything. Theories about raising kids, marriage, organization, money, sex, (lets go here for a minute…I have this Carrie Bradshaw dream of writing about sex, getting a book deal, and going on lavish vacations with my best friends, but I’m not quite sure I’m ready yet. Don’t get me wrong, the world would be a better place if more men could hear the bawdy things my girlfriends and I talk about, but my Grandparents have internet access, just sayin) and plenty of other things that for some reason I’m so passionate about. This combined with my love of writing brings us to this blog. So while I really enjoyed the “day in the life of me” direction the blog was taking (in the whopping 4 posts I made) I want to start it back up on a different foot…a ranting foot of course!

I read an article not too long ago that said there are only four things that you ultimately have control of when it comes to your health: the choice not to smoke, a dedication to exercise, eating a good diet, and having an optimistic attitude. Well shit. I smoke, I don’t exercise, I have an ice cream addiction and can sometimes be a bit of a realist. Not a pessimist, a realist (that’s what we all say). So I’ve been having a mental argument with myself about all kinds of things since reading this. What’s driving me nuts is how difficult I make it to do such simple things! It’s like pulling teeth! It’s like getting the boys to not pee all over the entire toilet! And the wall! WHY? I get all wrapped up in the chaos of being a stay at home mom, and don’t even realize until 2pm that I’ve been up since 6:30, done drop offs, gone to school, ran errands, done two loads of laundry, cleaned a bowl of milk and cereal off the ground, broke up a couple fights and I haven’t even eaten anything! Or drank a glass of water! What the hell am I doing to myself? I NEED the energy. More than anyone I know. This whole full time student/full time Mom/wife/artist/musician thing is no joke. Lets not get confused or anything, I love every second of it, but I need me some more energy or I’m gonna fall apart. A LOT more, and I’m officially prepared to put and end to the insanity.

So here’s the latest step towards Superhero status, GROW THE FUCK UP NIKKI!! I am fully aware of the fact that I have the opportunity as a mother and the woman of this house, to control how it works. And in most other ways I make it run like friggen clockwork. So I’m gonna woman up, put on my big girl panties and stop messing around. I can’t complain that I’m exausted if I get drunk with Jason and stay up too late on a school night, or that my body aches if I’m not stretching and exercising. I WILL drink more water, I WILL *gulp* quit smoking, I WILL get better sleep, I WILL exercise, I WILL eat better, and so will my children. And as a result I’m convinced that we will all be much happier people, which will take care of the “being more optimistic” thing. So at the moment, the only goal in the Evensen house is to put health and wellness first, without all the lame “I don’t have time, I’m too tired” bullshit excuses. Here’s to hoping the kids don’t catch me sneaking vegetables into their pizza sauce =)