An un-proofread post about kid messes, exercising, and poison ivy

Today I told my kids to pick up the duplos (we have two big bins full, and yes we use them all), and they asked why. So I said, "I can't live like this anymore!" (Nobody got the Frozen reference, because if they had they would have said, "Then leave!".) They said, "Sure you can." I explained that all day I had been feeling like I was going to fall or step on something because their stuff was everywhere. They still didn't care. Then Ann Marie threw up on the one open space (thankfully), so I changed my tactic to, "If you don't pick up your toys Ann Marie will probably throw up again and it will get on your toys." That kind of worked, or at least it gave them enough motivation to pick up the duplos and a few other things. Maybe we can finish the job tomorrow. #mykidsplayhard

Yes, I could pick up after my kids, but 1) I don't want to hurt my back again, which could happen if I bend over too much and 2) I don't think it's right for me to have to pick up after them. It's not fair to me and it's not doing them any favors in the long run either. And even though it's still a huge pain to get them to clean up, I have to say I think it's better than it used to be.

I'm trying to decide if I should be super strict or just accept that this is going to be my reality this summer. The truth is that while I hate the mess, it's a byproduct of having really creative kids who love to play together, and that's something to be grateful for.

Also, wrt my back, today I was able to do a good exercise workout for the first time in two and a half weeks. It felt great. I'm so proud of myself for exercising consistently for nearly three years. I've been trying ever since high school, but life would get in the way and I would fall off the bandwagon after a while. Soon after Ann Marie was born we had some family pictures taken, and I didn't recognize myself because there was so much added weight in my face. I'm all about loving yourself at any size, but seeing that picture really motivated me to make some changes. I got a membership at the Y and tried to go three times a week. I didn't always meet that goal, but if I had a bad week I still went the next week. Since last fall I've been doing workout videos because it was easier to fit them into my schedule and it worked better with our car situation.

Story time. When I was in high school I decided that I was not going to do another semester of Lifetime Sports, which I hated, so I switched my schedule so I could take Fitness. At the time it was mostly used as a time for the jocks to get their weightlifting in. On the first day Mr. Arossa actually sent the rest of the class ahead into the weight room to get started so he could talk to me and make sure I hadn't somehow mistakenly signed up for the class (because non-jocks never signed up for this class), which actually made me more determined to stick with the class. I did stick with it and much preferred it to Lifetime Sports, and by the way, Mr. Arossa had also been my dad's teacher and really liked my dad, so he was predisposed to like me and we got along nicely. Also, I think there was an increase in non-jocks signing up for Fitness after that, and they even started a Women's Fitness class. I wouldn't know if it was my influence, but I think it was a positive change. Not everybody likes sports, but I think almost anybody can find a type of exercise that works for them.

I just think it would be interesting if my PE teachers could see me now. I'm still not athletic or strong by any means, but I'm consistent and I enjoy my exercise.

On a different topic, did I mention that poison ivy is awful? Two weeks later I still have rashes on my legs and arms. I've single-handedly used up an entire tube of anti-itch cream and I'm starting my second. Oh, and I noticed over the weekend that there's more poison ivy poking up. Ryan and I have decided that if somebody could genetically engineer a pest that would only devour poison ivy they would probably get the Nobel Prize.