FitTin' in Fitness

Oh wait.. the house, the kids, work, and all the craziness that comes with isn't enough?  Let's fit in workouts, too. What??? Aren't we doing enough? No, my lovely "Have It All" moms.  We are going to do more!
Have you had trouble fitting it that "me time?"  Oh yes, let's not confuse the fact that exercising counts as "me time." What?  How is that fair? We have to maintain, but it doesn't count towards our day? What did we title those fantasy women that lounged all day with their bon bons (I'd settle for a Hershey bar.)?
Yes, it is absolutely not fair, but we can do it.  That is why we are moms!  If you are like me, you have tried a thousand options to get your workout in.  Maybe you could fit it in during nap time(Not I, mine would never stay asleep during the day if you put them down.).  Maybe you strolled baby to get your steps in.   Maybe you went on ventures to grasp some extra miles.  Whatever you have done, we know it was not easy and we applaud you.
I tried strolling baby to get steps in, but the weather really controls your efforts.  I also tried setting up a ball pit in the basement to occupy my tiny terror, so I could count calories.  Toddlers tend to be adept escape artist though. It took me till quarantine time at two years for her to be independent enough that I could get a few minutes of cardio in., but now I have two... What to do?
There are two options.  You can create time for yourself or merge minutes with the babies.  This means that you could sneak time away at naps to fit in your fitness routine or integrate sweating and time with the kids.
I love any time when I can multitask.  One of my favorite options is taking the kids to the zoo and being sure to walk the entire length (Thank you zoo membership! https://kidszoo.org) Another great choice to make sure everyone is getting some vitamin D is a little local stroll.  Problems are that destination strolling can get expensive and local strolling can be boring.
So, should we carve out time for ourselves to exercise? Don't we already have too much "mom guilt" without doing anything fun?
I know a lot of my own workout hangups come from either not doing enough or from making it "my" time.  To overcome this, first , I stopped beating myself up for missing a day or not doing enough.  Let's aim for that 30 minutes a day, and if you miss one, don't make yourself pay, but congratulate yourself for getting back on track the day after. Remember, you have 837 jobs each day.  You are allowed to celebrate getting each one done. Not happy because of someone else? Shrug it off, you are awesome! Not happy because you thought you should have accomplished more? Appreciate what you have done, make a list for tomorrow, and get a good night's sleep!
You've got this. Sweet dreams!

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