No excuses Mom- not here. Do you remember that lady? 6pack abs and a ton of kids? I think moms should get all the excuses in the world!! Moms already face so much pressure- I don’t need to give you more by saying there are no excuses for not eating right and working out!

Really, being a mom is crazy hard and crazy busy. I can feel the stress rising when I think about all the stuff I’m responsible for getting done in a day. Sometimes it feels overwhelming. Now I’m being told I suck if I don’t go to the gym and eat kale everyday?
Being a mother seems so competitive these day too– thanks Facebook for only show my friends’ children when they are dressed head to toe in Baby Gap and behaving like angels, thanks Mommy blogger for telling me 10 fantastic (and complicated) play date crafts using glitter and F-you Pinterest for inventing those theme birthday party spreads with the over the top theme related food tables and loot bags. Now we moms are suppose to have 6-pack abs too?
I’ll admit- I was a bit over the top sometimes in the mommy department. I threw theme birthday parties and hosted tons of play dates and I volunteered way too much at my kids’ school. All these activities were my excuses why I didn’t workout. At the time, I thought a perfectly clean house and decorated sugar cookies were more important than me taking some time for myself and going to the gym. I’ve realized that I can still be a great mom and still take time for myself.
Now I am the Queen of Excuses! Except now, the excuses get me out of things that are keeping me from the gym. I sat through 5 years of parent council meetings plus another 3 years on nursery school executive- it’s someone else’s turn 🙂
Some excuses are real! It’s hard to get to the gym when you need to make dinner. My kids want to eat dinner every day- regardless if I’m trying to get to a 5:15pm workout class! I also want to feed them clean and healthy food. Is this even possible?
A little smart cooking can take those excuses away. Yesterday’s blog talked about how I made double of Saturday’s meal so it could be our quick dinner on Thursday. On Sunday, my daughter and I were baking. Since the oven was already hot (and Sunday’s dinner was in the crockpot) I made a quick meatloaf, cooked it in the oven and stored it for Monday night’s supper. I will have no problem getting to my workout since all I have to do is warm up meatloaf and make a simple salad. Tonight I had extra time so I made garlic mashed potatoes and carrots. My kids are super happy- one of their favourite meals!
Here is my Meatloaf recipe. You will need:
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
3/4 cup Quaker® Oats(quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup ketchup (I know not super clean but I do use a sugar free ketchup)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

The directions can be found at http://www.laughloveandcraft.com/2011/07/manic-monday-recipe-meatloaf-with-my.html?m=1
Look how beautiful mine turned out!
I doubled the recipe (my kids love meatloaf!) and I bake it on the broil pan so some of the fat drains away.

Today, it actually seems possible to get to the gym! Exactly one year ago today I was leaving my first Inner Athlete class knowing I found something special. I knew that class was going to change my life- I just had no idea how much impact it would have.
Filled with gratitude.

Choose happy 🙂