Thank you all SO much for your comments and support on yesterday’s post. It appears to be a hot topic and I’m glad we could all discuss here on FFF! Moving on…

I love my workout time. You all know that. I choose workouts I really enjoy and I have no problem getting them in. For example:

Monday – Upper Body Weights & Week 4, Day 1 Couch to 5K

Check out my post for how I create strength training plans.

Tuesday – Lower Body Weights (Cathe Butts & Guts DVD)

Wednesday – Week 4, Day 2 Couch to 5K

What I’m not  loving? The workout time…as in time of day. I miss my morning workouts!! I hate going in the afternoon/evening when Peter gets home. Seriously. HATE.

I have always loved morning workouts the best. Before Braedon, I happily went at around 8:30 in the morning after M and I ate breakfast. I followed that little routine time of day from the time I began bringing her to the gym until the end of my pregnancy. It works for me. I have energy. The gym is not too crowded. It leaves the remainder of the day open. It starts me off on the right foot and puts me in a good mood. I will say it again - I miss my morning workouts!

I knew I couldn’t utilize the gym childcare for a short while after Braedon’s arrival. I planned accordingly and made time for myself to get in my workouts after Peter gets home. I thought it wouldn’t cause a problem and I would still love going at that time of day just as much. Scratch that thought.

Going EVERY afternoon for a full workout drives me batty! It makes the whole afternoon and evening one big rush fest. Peter gets home. I finish feeding Braedon. I rush to the gym. Its crowded so it takes me a bit longer to do some things. I get in my approximate hour, then head home to make dinner. We gobble up dinner and then its time to get the kids in bed. By the time all is said and done, I haven’t had any real family time in the afternoon and Peter & I only have 1-1.5 hours of time to relax just the two of us. Every night. See why I hate going in the evening?

I want that 8:30 workout time back. And its doable now that baby B is 6 weeks old and I can bring him to the gym child care. So what is holding me back?

Mommy guilt. I fear being judged by other mommies if I chose to bring my child to the gym daycare at such a young age. Mommy friends. Mommy readers. Mommy gym workers. Actually, when I started writing this post I intended to ask for advice on the scenario. Now I find myself realizing the ridiculousness of that.

The child care has a completely separate section for infants. B would likely stay in his car seat asleep the entire time. I brought M to the gym child care without problems from early on. I would only take them a few days a week right now since I have DVDs I do at home on Tuesday & Thursday. It gives us more time to spend together as a family during the week. It works for me. Why do I need validation in that?

So, I’m going to give it a shot tomorrow. Mommy guilt be damned. If it doesn’t work out I can always go back to evenings. But it will be because its what works best for me and my family – not because its what I think others deem appropriate.

Question of the day – What’s something you have felt needlessly guilty over?

Numerous times, you all credit me with honesty. I have to come clean again with some thoughts I have experienced over the past few days. Writing gives me clarity and two posts I have recently written did just that. First, I wrote a guest post (check it out) for Chelsey’s blog. Then, I wrote yesterday’s post about 20 Things To Keep In Mind. Both of those had me questioning my current approach to blogging.

Before moving on, please note that I’m not segueing into an announcement of “I’m not blogging anymore”. Not by any means. I truly feel called to share myself in this crazy thing called blogging. I love blogging. I do not hesitate for a moment to call it a passion of mine. However, that passion can take a negative spin sometimes and I recently realized it had done so for me.

I will say it outright. I have goals for this blog. It provides a wonderful creative outlet and the flexibility to do something I love. It suits me perfectly right now as an adult outlet while staying at home and as a way to bring in a little extra side money for our family. I cannot deny my hopes that when the time comes for me to return to work in a few years, I can involve blogging in some way. By no means do I expect my blog to become my full-time income (& likely wouldn’t want it to). I still wouldn’t mind it working well alongside whatever other path I choose to take (personal training? wellness coaching? writing?).

However, in reaching that possible goal, I do not ever want to lose sight of why I blog. I fear I had started to do that. I emphasized developing my blog over the aspects of blogging that bring me true joy. I reflected. And reflected some more.

Why do I blog?

I feel an immense purpose in telling my story. With time, I knew the things I had experienced had some meaning. They weren’t simply to make me stronger or learn some important lessons. They did those things, most definitely. But I have no doubt in my mind that I lived through the depression, hurt, binges, self-hatred, tough relationships, and more to tell my story. God has a plan and something in my gut tells me this is part of it for me.

Nothing matters more than loving others. The innumerable connections and relationships possible through blogging matter to me. I don’t want to get so caught up in my own blog that I can’t make those true connections and friendships important in the blogging world.

I believe in being real. I share 100% openly and honestly about all things body image, balance, motherhood, fitness, weight loss, fears, etc because I think we too often put pressure on ourselves that is not realistic. Heck. It’s what I’m currently experiencing with blogging and something I believe not talked about nearly enough. I want to show the truth in all ways, so we can learn more to uplift one another in struggles and not hide behind false fronts.

And lastly, its fun! Its a great way to learn more about myself, share anecdotes of my family, capture life, and experience new things. I don’t want to lose the fun aspect!

Those are the reasons I blog and those are the things I do not want to forget. What does that mean? For myself personally, It means taking off the self-imposed pressure. It means keeping blogging a hobby and pleasurable pastime and trusting God to develop it as a part of my life in His own way.

And for FFF? The main difference you will notice is that I may blog less often (1x/day) so I can keep my focus on what I care about most in blogging. I hope I can more genuinely reflect why I blog, my mission and purpose in blogging, and who I am as a person – a busy mom/wife/friend working towards personal goals and loving life – in every post.

Who cares what it does to page views? Who cares if its not the standard for blogs trying to grow and develop? Who cares if it makes me slightly nervous as to how that will affect the styling of my posts and if they become too long for you to want to read? All I care about is that I stick to my reasons for blogging. I follow my gut. I do what I know is right. I continue to have fun so it remains a passion. Whatever path that ends up leading down…so be it. I will have blogged with purpose, dedication, and compassion. Yea…so be it.

With all of that being said, if you like what FFF stands for, I would be honored to have you nominate me for Women’s Health Magazines “Blogs We Love”. Pretty please?? 🙂 Just click HERE and take a short moment to enter my site.

Question of the Day – Why do you blog? Have you ever lost sight of that? What caused you to do so and how do you keep focused?