The truth is, I absolutely cannot continue on this pace for the rest of my life without making some changes, which means I need(ed) to decide what is and what is not worth stressing about spending my time on. As a part of this process, I looked at everything I have going on in my life and rated those against my priorities. I do not think my priorities are out of whack, but I do think that I was not being faithful in sticking to them at times. I should be saying “no” more often. My top priorities are:

• God– this includes personal time to read and pray; attending and supporting our home church; and fulfilling my duties as a Deacon.
• Family– Kevin and TB are priorities. Period.
• Work– Doing my job well.
• Running/Exercise– Taking care of my body is important.
• Reading– My mind needs to be flexed!

You will notice that blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc are not in my top five yet when I evaluate my activities, there are a lot of things that do not contribute to my top five. Below is just a sampling of what I am up to most days/weeks.

• TU Lettermen’s Association Board
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Family Blog
• Meals with Maria
• Pieces of my Mind
• Running
• All things TB
• All things Kevin
• Date night
• Work
• Deacon
• friends
• family
• email
• cooking meals for family
• cleaning
• laundry
• cat (Cane)
• gardening

Needless to say, there are only so many hours in each day, and each activity went under the microscope.

The results?

Coming soon to a blog post near you. Ha ha! I’d promise it tomorrow, but I can’t

1. Exercise is good for my physical health.  Not only is it good for developing my own muscles and bones, exercise affords me the endurance to keep up with my very active three year old. After two months of training for a half marathon (I am not suggesting you take it this far!), I can run 12 miles on Saturday morning and still take TB to the zoo afterwards without feeling like I am about to fall over!
2. Exercise is good for my mental health. Exercise allows me time to think, ponder, and burn off stress. My mind feels refreshed after every run, and over all, my stress level is way down. How does this relate to my parenting? I am sharper and better able to deal with teaching and guiding my son in a patient and loving manner. When my mind is refreshed, small things remain small, and my son (and husband really) is the beneficiary of a happier, more carefree, fun mom!
3. Exercise is good for my spiritual health. I spend a lot of time while running pondering theological questions, praising God, and basking in His grace. Seriously. There is nothing more refreshing than the sun on my face, running, singing a love song to God. In that same context, I feel much more free to explore theological questions, question the norm, reflect on what I have been reading, etc. This directly benefits my son (and family), because I am better able to explain and articulate beliefs and lead TB as he continues to learn about God.
4. Exercise is good for my self-esteem. Yes, this one is a bit selfish, but I feel a lot better about myself when I am exercising. Sure, it is sometimes uncomfortable, because I am a competitive person, but when I finish, the way I feel about my body is overwhelmingly positive!  When I feel good about myself, I tend to be happier and more fun, which TB enjoys as well!
5. Exercise models a positive lifestyle for TB.  I know some are thinking that he gets enough of that example from Kevin, but I disagree for two reasons. First, Kevin’s exercise is his profession. He is very good at it, but I do not want TB to think that unless he is good enough to make it his career, he needn’t exercise. In other words, I like to model that exercise is important for a healthy lifestyle no matter what your profession or skill level. Second, I think it is important for TB to see his mother exercise so that when he is married, he will know the importance of exercise to his wife. Far too often we see men exercising (TV, families, etc) with little attention paid to time for the wife/mother to exercise.  Beyond those two reasons, exercise is a part of an overall healthy lifestyle, which both Kevin and I feel is important to model for TB.

Why do you exercise? Does it impact how you parent?

Thank you Annie @phdinparenting for posting this before me.

When I was wrapping up college, I was exhausted. ALL. OF.THE.TIME.  For a long time, I thought it was simply the usual college fatigue. You know. Not sleeping. Going all of the time. Working. Studying. The usual. Then I started tracking how much I was sleeping and my tiredness, etc. It seemed that no matter how much I slept or how little, I was tired, so I went to the doctor and found out I suffer from hypothyroidism.  When under control (i.e. medicated), this is not such a big deal. When un-medicated, it can cause problems in pregnancy and with nursing.

Throughout my pregnancy and nursing, I religiously had my thyroid tested, as I knew that both can cause my thyroid production to change on a dime. While in Germany, however, the doctor’s weren’t happy to just treat my symptoms based on the blood test. I had to have an ultrasound of my thyroid, and it was then that I learned that my hypothyroidism is auto-immune based.

Flash forward to last summer. I was in DC and having some problems with my medication, struggling to sleep, and I ended up not taking it. I was off the medication for about a year.  At first, it wasn’t bad. I felt good, but as time slowly went on, I felt like I was going crazy. Life was out of control. I wanted to sleep all of the time, and I would sleep ten or so hours at night. And in the TMI category, I found myself needing to drink more laxative tea and more bloated.  My world was fuzzy– I struggled to focus and was frustrated with my lack of sharpness, though my bosses assure me that wasn’t the case at work. I can’t help but think though how much better I could have done if I had this under control! Unlike some, I didn’t suffer from weight gain.

I have been back on a lower dosage of the medication for a little over a month now, and things are slowly coming back in to focus. I go back next week to have my blood/thyroid levels tested again. I suspect the doctor will elevate my dosage a bit, and I know this process of finding the right dose will take a while, but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel makes it easier.

A lot of people, especially women, suffer in silence with thyroid disorders. I encourage you to share your story, if you have one. Talk about it. You never know when it will help someone.

Over and over again, I hear moms say that one bottle (of formula) won’t hurt their breastfeeding relationship, and for some that is genuinely the case. However, the truth is that one bottle of formula can and does hurt. Here’s why.

• Just one bottle disturbs the gut flora of a baby. (1)(7)
• Just one bottle increases the liklihood of a dairy allergy. (1) (2)(7)
• Just one bottle changes the pH of the bowl and can take up to a month to undo. (1)(2)(7)
• Just one bottle can cause nipple confusion. (same with a pacifier) (2)
• Just one bottle can impact the supply-demand system between baby and mother. (2)
• Just one bottle can increase engorgement by not emptying the breasts. (2)
• Just one bottle can decrease a mother’s confidence in her ability to feed her baby. (2)
• Just one bottle reduces the duration of breastfeeding. (2)

The bags that hospitals give out are NOT helpful either. You might put it in the cabinet and try to forget about it, but those without a formula sample 3-5 times more likely (8.8 if you are not a first time mother) to switch to formula. (3)(4) Remember, those bags aren’t free either. They come with a handy price tag of about $700 per year above the cost of store brand formula. (5)

To be fair, hospital practices also influence the success rate of breastfeeding. (6)

If you want to find reputable help towards succeeding at breastfeeding, do yourself (and your baby) a favor, and DO NOT look for it on a formula website. They are full of traps. Call your local LLL Leader. Visit a lactation consultant. Talk to an experienced (and successful at breastfeeding) friend. Most importantly, make an informed decision for you and your baby.

(1) http://www.naba-breastfeeding.org/images/Just%20One%20Bottle.pdf

(2) http://www.breastfeeding.org/bfacts/bottle.html

(3) http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2010/03/18/study-shows-how-free-formula-affects-breastfeeding-rates/

(4) http://banthebags.org/22

(5) http://banthebags.org/54

(6) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090319161505.htm

(7) http://massbreastfeeding.org/formula/bottle.html

Some differences in outcomes can be found here.

I will say though, I am very proud of myself (yes, I know. I shouldn’t be.) for running that many miles. I had been stuck in a 3-4 miles at a time rut, and the long weekend runs are really helping me to believe that Saturday’s 6.55 mile race will be a walk in the park in spite of getting off an airplane around midnight. Hey, 6 hours of sleep… OK, let’s be honest, I told the coach that I would be deciding at the start line just how fast I am going to run knowing that I am getting very little sleep. I will, however, be pre-hydrating like mad. It’s hot out there. Look for some cool Friday Feature’s though as a result.

So…the lip gloss. I went back to the post announcing the contest and added everyone’s name in the order of the comments on the posts. I wanted to do it chronologically, but I lost track. Sorry.

1. Erin
2. Carrie
3. Elita
4. Erin
5. The RHOK
6. Georgie
7. Elita
8. Elita
9. Alexandra
10. Elita
11. Alexandra
12. Elita
13. Carrie
14. Erin

I like comments, so let me take a break here to thank each and every one of you for taking time out of your days to visit my blog and comment. I feel the love.

I wanted to have TB pick a name from a hat, but Kevin took him to the Aquarium this morning. Therefore, Random.org it is.

The winner…

Congratulations Erin!

Prior to last week, I would have definitely only written about The Stick, but I won an 18″ Tiger Tail, and I love it at least as much as The Stick. Here’s my breakdown.

The Stick: What I really like about the stick is that the individual plastic rollers can really dig in and in some ways, the stick is more flexible than the Tiger Tail, so if feels like it is able to wrap around muscles. The downside is that it pinches and often times leaves me wishing for a foam roller to dig in deeper, especially when there is a specific spot I want to hit.

Tiger Tail: Kevin has the longer Tiger Tail, and I don’t really like it, as I always felt like it didn’t roll smoothly. Now that I have the shorter one, I think his was just too long for me. The length changes the angle at which you push, and therefore impacts the smoothness of the roll. Unlike The Stick, the Tiger Tail has only one piece that rolls, so there is not any pinching. Also, Tiger Tail is firmer than The Stick and doesn’t seem to ever bend out of place. It also is able to work my knots over more smoothly, and it gives excellent neck massages with one hand. Kevin’s Tiger Tail has held up much better than The Stick (we share the stick, and now we each have our own Tiger Tail).

Overall, I have to say, I like the Tiger Tail better, but both are good products. I used the Tiger Tail after my 7.5 mile run Saturday and noticed a difference in my recovery. I did not feel any ill-effect of the long hilly run Sunday or Monday, which was nice. I also have been using it on my IT band, as it has been a little tight, and Monday morning I ran without any IT pain for the first time in over a week. If you are even casually in to fitness, these products can really help.

I plan to use my Tiger Tail to help me warm up Saturday (scheduled run of 8 miles), as Kevin tells me they are very useful in that area as well!

Both options are small enough to pack in a suitcase, though the Tiger Tail is a bit heavier than The Stick.

Do you use a similar product? What do yo like or not like about it?