It worked! My new workout time! Going to the gym in the morning worked fabulously. It set the tone for the day and somehow made me even more productive. I worked out, took care of my children, did laundry, showered/dressed, & prepared lunch all by noon! Then, in the afternoon during nap time I had time to do some blogging and reorganize my clothes in the closet.

So long maternity clothes! Hello, spring wear! Now I don’t have to dig through our huge storage tub to find something to wear all the time. I still have some sweaters out for easy access, but it feels so nice to look at a closet full of cheery, warm-weather clothes. Extra motivation as well. Those stacks of jeans on the mid-shelf? All my “happy place” jeans I hope to be in by my birthday. Yep. I love morning workouts. They make my day SO much better!

And now, time for this week’s FFF Features! Don’t think I forgot about them now!

Featured Move: Don’t Ignore This Back Move!

I didn’t have the chance to shoot a video myself, but didn’t want to leave out a favorite move. I did pullovers this past week at the gym as a back exercise. I love them and think they are too often overlooked and not included in training. Give them a shot!

Featured Moment: Owning My Blog

I don’t mess around when I say how much better it feels after sharing the blogging thoughts I had running through my mind. And making blogging work for me. The blog is a living, breathing entity so how my blogging runs will always change – but I know now where to keep the focus. On having fun!

Featured Meal: Mexican Black Bean Casserole

<--- That is my sad face for no longer having more of this dish left. It was that good.

Featured Quote:

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." – Thomas Edison

Featured Cuteness: Kiddie Clothing

They will look so adorable in their new clothes. I love kid clothes!

Featured Reading: Dorry @ Living With Healthy Hunger – Indecision Vision

I don’t quite know what struck me most about this post, but I love the idea of going with your gut and being decisive in life. It really does bring great reward to go after things with decisiveness.

Katie @ Health For the Whole Self – Conquering the Urge to Diet

Just as the title states, Katie discusses three things we should all consider when we feel the need to “diet” and “restrict” to look better or feel better about ourselves. As always she does a great job distinguishing between a healthy approach to our bodies and the thin line of slipping into negative behaviors.

Question of the Day – Do you switch out your clothes each season or keep them all up in your closet/drawers year round?

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?