Check out my guest post on weight training tips over at Side of Sneakers!

Busy. Hectic. Crazy. That would sum up this week so far for me. It would also likely sum up myself, especially the crazy part…but we won’t go there. The sad thing? I don’t even really know why it has felt like such a mad rush all week. We haven’t had too many more things on our plate than normal.

We have had play dates with friends at story time.

We have visited the pediatrician for a 4 month check-up.

Although don’t even get me started on the times they schedule well visit appointments. Losing nap time does not make a very happy Tina. Or Braedon. Or Makenzie. Sounds fun, huh?

I felt like a high school student cramming for an exam. Well, kind of. I had to cram a bunch of planning and prep work for the final exam review tutoring I have coming up in the next few weeks. Over 500 Spanish vocab words turned into online flashcards and practice questions. Me hace loca!!!!

I have also made sure to stay on top of my fitness routine. Tuesday I went to the gym for a run on the treadmill and weights. I completed 4 miles at a steady 9:30 pace and then hit up the weights to make my hamstrings, back, and biceps want to cry.

Then, yesterday I mixed up some cardio DVDs for a little fun variety cardio workout. I did about 30 minutes of a Turbo Kick workout and then the intervals of the 30/30 HIIT Cathe Friedrich DVD. It added up to 50 or so minutes of cardio madness fun.

Amidst all of that, I have had a toddler going through some teething. Her back molar is coming in on one side and its made for a little added crankiness. Thank goodness the kid loves green smoothies.

Smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, eggs, and macaroni and cheese are about all I can get her to eat because her mouth hurts her so bad. Poor kiddo!

And then, there’s baby B deciding to switch up his normal routine suddenly. Kids are little tricksters. They get you comfortable with how things are running so smoothly and then switch it on you. Bring it, Baby B. Momma can handle you! 😉

So, nothing too over the top – but enough to diminish my desire to cook up fancy meals from scratch. Okay. I can’t fool you. I never whip up fancy meals from scratch. But I do try to make the most of easy meals. Like with my trusty standby of sandwiches. Which inevitably makes me crave soup. Who cares if we hit the 90s? I can always eat soup.

My craving led me to scrounging up a can of vegetable soup, which I spruced up by adding a large handful of spinach to wilt into it. I also added some sliced up Trader Joe’s Jalapeno chicken sausage for an extra little fill factor.

It worked…but not as well as my sandwich. I spread Chavrie herbed goat cheese on some whole wheat bread with sautéed mushrooms and tomato slices. Then, I cooked it panini style of course.

Goat cheese makes me happy. It helps me breathe for a moment. Just a moment though. That’s all I get in the life of a mom. Now, time to get going again! Have a great Thursday my friends! And stay tuned for a heart pumping giveaway later today! 😉

• Can you eat things like soup or ice cream year round, despite the temps?
• Did/do you cram for exams? I always did! I worked better under pressure. It must have worked sine I only got one B all through college. <—Nerd alert!

Thanks everyone for the encouragement on my recent Body After Baby progress post! It really was a challenging month that still turned out successful and informative. 🙂

There is something about music that inspires me. Something about the lyrics to particular songs that touches me deep to the core. I can hear a song and almost instantaneously feel uplifted. Understood. Capable. Worthy.

On a tough day recently, I heard all three of the below songs on the radio while driving. I think God wanted to tell me something. I think He wanted me to pass it along to you too.

You are MORE.

There's a girl in the corner
With tear stains on her eyes
From the places she's wandered
And the shame she can't hide
She says, "How did I get here?
I'm not who I once was.
And I'm crippled by the fear
That I've fallen too far to love"
But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?
You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

You are BEAUTIFUL.

The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His
You're beautiful

You are WORTHY.

You might be the wife, waiting up at night
You might be the man, struggling to provide
Feeling like it's hopeless
Maybe you're the son who chose a broken road
Maybe you're the girl thinking you'll end up alone
Praying God can you hear me?
Oh God are you listening?
Am I more than flesh and bone? Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah I wanna believe, I wanna believe that
I'm not just some wandering soul
That you don't see and you don't know
And I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

Yep. Music moves me. Does it move you?

Only 24 more hours to enter my giveaway for a new workout top!