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As Mama Jess (aka step mom to three beautiful girls, 2 of which live at home with us), I always get a bit of anxiety when school starts, especially now that we have added Jackson, our son to the mix! The reason the anxiety starts is simply a matter of time, or lack thereof. Time is so valuable and the schedule of each day gets a bit hectic when school is in session. I know that Jeff and I are not alone with this! Managing a blended family schedule, two full time careers, a one year old toddler, two awesome furry friends and maintaining a healthy life can be challenging! The way we handle all of this is PLANNING, PLANNING AND MORE PLANNING!! Did I mention, PLANNING?
For those that know me well, know that I am a planner by nature…darn that type A personality, but it serves me very well when it comes to balancing out the “hecticness” (is that a word? J) of life. This year marks a big change in our world…the first day of school is also my first day back at work after staying home with Jackson for the last year (14 months). I’ll need these tips as much as ever!
1. Calendar
The first thing we do is keep a calendar, we have a whiteboard calendar on the wall in the kitchen in our “command station” for the current month. On here we can keep track of what day we have the PEGS (aka the girls), what days we have events, what days Jeff has to travel, no school days, etc. Having this public schedule allows everyone to be on the same page and know what’s expected for the week.
2. Food Prep and Planning
The second thing is surrounding the food for the week. To manage and maintain a healthy lifestyle for both us, Jackson and the PEGS, we plan ahead! To start, I sit down and figure out the meal plan for the week. I typically will pick 2-3 dinners, that we weave into our “Somar Staples”, and dishes that we can prepare quickly, easily and have left overs. I love to try Pinterest recipes and make them my own, and of course share them with you all!
We typically grocery shop weekly, this way we always have the fresh and healthy foods we need for the upcoming week. Our go to stores are Costco (and if you are thinking, we don’t need that MUCH, I even shopped at Costco as a single gal – you can get great finds!) and Target. Target is a little dangerous when I go, since I wander out of the grocery section, but we have the Red Card, so save 5% which is helpful on the bank account. Not all Targets have a great grocery selection but ours is fantastic. Sometimes I will need to do an additional trip to Sprouts, for deli meat (we ONLY use Boar’s Head) as well as some organic snacks for Jackson.
After we go grocery shopping, we prep foods for the week, so grill up the turkey burgers, chop up vegetables, and make ahead quinoa, etc. This makes is super simple to throw together healthy dinners at the end of a busy day. Some weeks, on Sunday I will take the time to make all of my lunches, the kids lunches and snacks ahead of time, but honestly I don’t do this every week. I wish I would because it makes things so much easier. Jeff works from home, so he can pop in the kitchen and grab his snacks and lunch with ease. What is cool for the family dynamic is doing all of this together from the grocery shopping, to the food prep to the cooking. We always try to take the opportunity to educate and teach the PEGS about healthy eating. They LOVE healthy food (almost as much as junk food, lol) and help me put together their lunches and make dinner. Jackson has only really been exposed to healthy food, since he is only 14 months. We introduced foods using the Baby Led Weaning method, which I will share more about in another post…but moral of the story is he eats and has always eaten what we eat!
3. Workout Schedule
Thirdly, we of course need to talk about scheduling in MOVEMENT!! Just as important as the food planning is the workout planning. Over the last year, we have build our very own home Garage Gym. Jeff also got me an elliptical for my birthday a few years ago! Between those two things, we have just about everything we need to get in an awesome workout each day! Now, just because you have the equipment (maybe even in your bedroom), doesn’t mean you're workouts are guaranteed! There is this little thing called, LIFE that can get in the way. This is where, again on the weekend, you should sit down with your calendar and plan out your work outs. We typically go based on body parts…For EXAMPLE:
*Monday – Back and Bis
*Tuesday – Chest and Tris
*Wednesday – Legs and Shoulders
*Thursday –Back and Bis
*Friday – Chest and Tris
*Saturday – Legs and Shoulders
*Sunday – Abs or Yoga or Rest
This is obviously our lifting schedule and we will add in cardio as necessary – whether its hopping on the elliptical, or working it into our weight routine doing rapid fire rounds, or HIIT. Stay tuned for more on all that fun! That what gets me really fired up!! Don’t forget to include activity for the kiddos too! They need to get 60 minutes of physical activity daily, whether that’s playing at home or in an organized sport or activity. This can add to the chaos, but is hugely critical for their health and development. Remember, planning helps us stay on track, but even we fall short sometimes…and that is okay! Just get back on track the next day!!
The last thing, and possibly the most important thing to remember when life seems a bit crazy is partnership and sharing responsibility. Now, you may be thinking, I am a single mom/dad and have no help. If you have kiddos, you have help! At the Somar household we share responsibilities! The pegs have chores and duties and Jeff and I divide and conquer many of the day-to-day tasks. When everyone knows their role and gets to contribute, it allows for more to get done and everyone feels fulfilled! While chores and schedules are important, we also try to have a bit of FUN each and everyday. A day without laughter is like a day without breathing, you need it!
If life feels too hectic, take a second to take a step back, take a breath and put pen to paper:
1) Write out your schedule
2) Write out a grocery list
3) and commit to your workouts!
Don’t forget to get good rest and a good laugh too!
