On to something

Matthew rejoined Weight Watchers and his interest in activity and food intake has helped me take a little bit more control of my own actions. Earlier this summer I paid for lifetime membership on sister sites Menu Mom and www.MenuPlanningCentral.com which gives me access to ebooks with all kinds of recipes as well as weekly meal plans. I have access to all the meal plans (family friendly, frugal, vegetarian, and healthy) but I opted to go with the healthy one this week because it had the best variety and includes nutritional info as well as the recipe which would be beneficial for Matthew. I am hoping that having a meal plan will help reign in the grocery spending as well.

For my birthday my MIL gave me a Fitbit Flex, but since I was basically sedentary I let Matthew use it. At this point I should get a new one for me. They are on sale through AAFES and was going to pick one up on Thurs but noticed the Fitbit One was the same price. I decided I needed to do some research and decide which one I really want. I wished I had it today though because I have definitely been active!

Since being in TX I have felt the itch to replace my bike. It needed new tubes and tires but I couldn't get the tires off. I took it to a bike shop to pay them to do it earlier this summer only to discover that they wouldn't b/c of the type of rims. Basically they deemed the bike unsafe. :/ So I have been in the market for a new bike ever since. I found one on Ft Sam I really liked but not getting. I wished I'd have at least written down its info so I could find it again. I was hoping that Hill AFB would carry the same ones but it didn't. Oh well...

At my 6 wks check the midwife prescribed at least 20 minutes (preferably an hour) of outside activity every day to help me feel better. Friday ended up being a magical kind of day and I finally captured that feeling of last year's summer. I went swimming! It felt so good! In the evening I took Matthew's bike and the boys and I rode around the block. Man are my legs out of shape! Saturday I rode the same route again. I only swam about 20 minutes the day before, but my muscles were still pretty sore.

So my research for the fitbit seems to have subconsciously spurred my willingness to be active b/c this morning I wanted to take the boys on a ride to the school. I pushed the stroller and they rode bikes. Aaron needed the practice too if he is going to ride to school. We have a week to get into shape! The school is about a mile away. It took about 20 minutes for me to walk each way. I had flashbacks to last summer the entire time. The difference was that I was walking and not running or riding. It was nerve wracking not being able to be as fast as the boys with Aaron being such a novice at the bike (sans training wheels). Once we got to the school they practiced locking their bikes and then we headed to the play ground. We were there about 45 minutes and then I attempted to herd them home. Again I thought about last summer.

I realized that Jared was as much a novice bike rider last summer after returning from TX as Aaron is. I didn't have my bike until we got back either which means that all that bike riding happened the last 3-4 weeks of summer. Granted our school starts earlier, but we are in the same place as last year. The difference is we have Matthew around in the evenings and Peter dictating when and how I can participate in activities. Anyway, as the boys were riding around the playground I realized we spent a lot of time on our bikes last summer in a business parking lot. It was a large space where we could perfect our skills. Although we have the apartment roads, it just isn't the same because you always have to watch out for cars. There isn't the element of freedom.

As I watched the boys ride ahead of me on the playground and I wished I could be as fast as them - either by chasing them on my bike or running after them, I think I finally understood the feeling of last summer I have been trying to capture: empowerment. Last summer was empowering. It seems a shame that we are on the last week of summer and I finally found what I was looking for.