Sunday Update: Reading, Sports, Sleep (and some photos!)

I give myself a 6.5/10 for this week.  It had some good stuff, some nice stuff, and a LOT of kid stuff (Time log notes that I did 77 hours of active parenting this week, and 53 hours of sleep, which still leaves 38 hours of other things in a week.  But... I like slightly more other things).  Also this is the weird thing about time, that I had a FULL TIME JOB of time left over after watching kids and sleeping.  It's weird that a full time job is considered a big deal and yet 40 hours a week can disappear without me even noticing it.

As I keep saying - life is going to be so fun someday!  All these kids will be great someday!  But right now, a week off school and a week off nursery and a week where lots of stuff is closed = a long week.  That said, we did have fun things, of course.  Christmas was pretty nice.  We stayed up late (7:15pm!) playing board games (Poop Bingo) with the big kids.  The babies are solidly on one nap a day, which has sometimes lasted up to 3 hours.  We can leave the house in the morning (or have to leave the house in the morning, whether we want to or not).  It didn't rain.  It was cold and foggy though:

Reading

Very slowly reading The Dead Romantics still.  I got my copy of The Most Wonderful Crime of The Year on Libby and downloaded it so I need to get reading.

Andy and I started watching A Man on the Inside which is taking some reading time, but it only has 8 episodes so we will probably finish before the new year.  Enjoying so far.  Ted Danson is great, always.

Sports

I am still making a lot of effort to make sports time, although I am tired and unfocused and mostly doing it for the "streak" at this point.  Which is dumb, but not exercising is also dumb right?

Also, I donated blood on Christmas eve, in the morning.  I made sure to get my exercise in before I donated, but I think bodies and muscles need blood (note: I am not a doctor) because I have been way more easily fatigued since donating blood.  I knew I would be tired, but I'm a bit surprised on how long its lasted.  But also, my life might just be tiring.  

One of my life goals is to donate the same number of pints of blood as my age.  Women can only donate 3 times a year, and I calculated that I'll catch up to my age when I'm 55 if I'm able to keep donating at that rate.  

Anyways:

• Monday
• 30 Minute Holiday ride with Robin Arzon
• 20 Minute Pilates with Kirstin McGee
• Tuesday
• 30 Minute Sundays with Love with Ally Love
• 10 Minute Lower Body Stretch with Matty Maggiacomo
• Wednesday
• 15 Minute Lower Body Strength with Ben Alldis
• 5 Minute Core with Ben Alldis
• 15 Minute Pop Ride with Ben Alldis
• 5 Minute Lower Body Stretch with Ben Alldis
• Thursday 
• 20 Minute Full Body Strength with Ben Alldis
• 10 Minute Full Body Stretch with Ben Alldis
• 1 hour walk in lame weather with sad babies
• Friday
• 20 Minute Pop Ride with Tudne Oyeneyin
• 5 Minute Post Ride Stretch with Ben Alldis
• Saturday
• 20 Minute Upper Body Strength with Ben Alldis
• 10 minute Postnatal Core with Emma Lovewell
• 5 Minute Upper Body Stretch with Ben Alldis

I haven't really got a regular time to exercise.  Options are:

Morning.  Babies are generally sleeping or at least in bed until 6:15.  But... i am so tired.  Also excercie in the morning makes me hungry and tired all day

Midday (during baby nap).  Probably the best for energy levels, and I always feel great after, but it ifeels like the only hour of the day where one can accomplish anything in household management (Laundry, putting clothes away, writing a blog post, updating budget, Doing dishes, sorting kids toys, putting things back where they belong, writing emails... all of it.  Also I share this time with Andy and babies only nap a guaranteed 60 minutes (usually at least 90) but even if we split the time 50/50 (because one of us needs to be watching big kids) it's just not a lot of time

Evening Everyone is generally asleep by 7:30pm and I can theoretically do sport from 8-9 every evening but it's really hard to motivate myself.  I do motivate myself, but it's not the most inspired workouts ever.

I am hoping when I start work again (which is the 6th of Jan - Christmas breaks from school are LONG!) I can either do my sport in the mornings or at my lunch break. A day of work takes far less energy than a day of watching kids.  Until then, moderately consistant home exercise is probably good enough.

Sleep

This morning I slept until nearly 6:30am which a massive sleep for me.  I did wake up at 5:30 as usual, but decided to close my eyes for a few minutes and opened them with Andy sorting the babies at 6:30 and the big kids still asleep.  Miracle!  My average is 7.75 for the week, which has to be a recent high for me.  Not getting up in the morning to do anything = more sleep.  But also, less me time.

Some photos

Today during baby nap, instead of exercise, and while the big kids watched the Grinch (the animated one, a Christmas favourite now), I sewed Isaac's ripped jacket hood back together.  I don't like sewing or fixing kid stuff, but it's getting cold and I'm tired of seeing this broken jacket on the to-do list, and also I couldn't be bothered to drive it to our local sewing lady to fix.  So, TA DA:

It's not sewn particularly well well, but it is attached! Isaac said he doesn't mind the white thread showing.  I think my third grade sewing class skills really shine here.

In December Andy and I ordered new socks from Stance.  I really like Stance socks.  New socks are cozy. Rainbow socks are great.  I like my socks:

That's all for this week.  I hope you had a great Christmas (if that's your holiday jam) and otherwise if you have a bunch of kids at home and no childcare then please know I SEE YOU.