The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms

Some days I find it hard to find time for exercise. Like every mom – no matter the size of the family - I find that life with four kids and their various schools (three) and sports (four) and activities (three) makes each day chaotic and busy. If I sleep in, or something throws me off-schedule – the kids have a fight, or a stomach ache, or lost a toothbrush – I can almost feel the minutes getting sucked out of my day and the time I’ll have for exercise shrinking smaller and smaller.

Even when things do go well and I’m almost set to go for a run things can quickly go awry.  I find myself tying the laces of my runners at the same time as picking up a forlorn sock here, a pencil off the floor there or sweeping up a fairytale trail of crumbs through the house. Before I know it I’ve spent forty-five minutes doing small – and mostly unnoticable – clean ups instead of enjoying some fresh air and sweating out stress.

I recently came across these two Nike ads which I think are a great reminder that busyness is only a state of mind and that not only do we need to take good care of ourselves first in order to take good care of our families, but that it should be a priority to do so.

Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving the little messes for the kids to clean up – instead of doing it for them. I think that learning to respect my own needs will be a good lesson for all of us.

See you on the trails,

Melanie

We have seen them all over Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and the web, the Girls of GirlGetStrong.com seems to be just about everywhere sharing tips on health and fitness and inspiring people by sharing stories about regular women who have accomplished amazing fitness and weight loss goals.

A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to catch up with co-founder of GirlGetStrong.com Melanie and she agreed to answer a few questions for The Survival Guide for Rookie Moms. If you missed it, click here to read that interview.

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Read Our Archived Guest Blog Posts

OB/GYN and ‘Pink Posse Leader’ Lissa Rankin on How to be a Mommy with MoJo: Part 2

OB/GYN and ‘Pink Posse Leader’ Lissa Rankin on How to be a Mommy with MoJo: Part 1

Rookie Dad Tim on A Chip Off the Old Barf

Sarah from Better Way Moms on Storing Breast Milk

Melanie from GirlGetStrong on Seeing the World Through Different Eyes

Pediatician Dr. Kim MD on Fairy Dust or Wizardry: What are those Crystals in my Baby’s Diaper?

Fit4Two Postnatal Fitness Expert Melanie on Surviving Your First Fitness Class With Baby

Rookie Dad Terry on Bedtime Woes