I'm Not Who I Claim to Be...

A rare Saturday confession...

I've been struggling a lot lately, with the fact that I am struggling. It seems counterproductive to being a good mom/wife/person/Christian that I have the luxury of being the first person awake in my house on a Saturday at 8:45AM yet I can complain that I am always busy and have too much going on to breathe. I have it SO EASY compared to my mother, who had me just before she finished nursing school and had to take care of the house, the baby, and find time to study. Or so many others out there who have gone through a separation with their baby's father and have to do it all on their own. Or the parents whose children have had to endure medical issues, multiple doctor visits, surgeries, and complicated feeding schedules.

And now I must confess: I am lazy. I have motivation issues. I am obese. I don't take care of myself or eat right (damn Starbucks for re-introducing that Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate this fall...). And I desperately want to change that. Finally, I feel that I am making a commitment I can follow through on.

The time is right: October is my absolute favorite month, and this October began for me with a 3-day weekend and the most beautiful fall weather you could imagine. I joined a work-sponsored wellness program that starts at work on Monday. I am starting a new home-party business with Scentsy (more on that in a couple of weeks with a giveaway) that motivated me to get my house company ready since I've invited oh, about 50 people over in 2 weeks. And this new drive has caused a sort of pay-it-forward morning for me.

I got up and began preparing breakfast for my family, when usually I lie in bed until the last possible second on Saturday and then bring Jacob in to nurse while hubby goes downstairs to cook. After breakfast, we had wonderful family time playing for an hour or so and then we let Jacob play on his own while we started dusting and cleaning the clutter out of our living room. I think starting to clean before he was down for his nap really drove me to do more. I usually wait until he's asleep, get on the web for a while, sip my coffee and watch College Gameday, and then clean for a half hour or so.

Now, I have clean baseboards, doors, the top of the fridge, a dusted, vacuumed, and mopped kitchen and living room, and significantly reduced clutter. My nearly 3 hours of work possibly burned my sensible breakfast's calories, and my ensuing cool shower was better for my hair, skin, electric bill, and possibly even environment than my usual 15 minute hot ones.

I'm using the rest of my "me" time effectively by sending out e-vites for my Open House and getting ready for a family gathering.

And my underwear even matches my shirt.

Who is ready for a whole new me?