MomOhLogue

Education,  studying,  learning,  observing, thinking, understanding,  analyzing,  doing,  changing the world. The girl who studies gets good grades. Education is important.  Young women if you hear me, study more! Stay in school,  work hard,  never give up, deal with your doubts and stay strong. I was invited to the East Harlem Womens Leadership Academy to volunteer for an outreach program.  I want to go to help so I can be part of something bigger than my own small problems.  As I am researching the location,  I am reading about one of their students who interviewed First Lady Michelle Obama.  I know that young woman who got this opportunity to do something important.  I know the young woman who was 1st in her family to graduate college.  I know she will go far, I know she will have doubts,  I know this because I was that young woman too. I hope I get to do the volunteer event;  I haven't volunteered in Harlem since 2007. This would require me giving up time with my kids whi

I am still exercising and trying to keep up with the 21 Day Fix plan. It's something that makes me feel healthy and keeps my sanity.  I like to feel in control of my eating and exercise and this helps me keep track.  If I left it up to myself,  I would not work out. However,  following along to these DVDs and hearing Autumn Calabrese say positive messages, encourages me to keep going. I have yet to weigh myself and actually measure results but I don't care. I just care about how exercise and eating right makes me feel. I'm not in a contest, I'm just enjoying the journey.

Around New Years I picked up a bottle of Rienzi and Son's (Astoria) balsamic vinegar with pear pulp and used it a couple times on my mozzarella.  It's been a few months since I picked up the bottle and I quickly remembered why I loved it. Makes my salads a pleasurable experience.  Turns rabbit food to a high class meal. Also reminds me of my Nana when I see Steinway Street on the bottle. Try it for yourself!

I got a lower body fix in last night and dirty 30 workout in this morning.  I feel more energized,  calm, and confident when I exercise.  I'm in a better mood and feel strong and sexy. I need to exercise so I can be the best Mom for my kids. Keep going Moms!! You got this!

Baking with my preschooler and making a mess is fun and rewarding.   Betty Crocker does not dissapoint. My daughter attempted to write her name on the cake too and did a decent job.  We gave her a long name, poor kid. Cheers to messes and yummy cake! 

I crashed into Day 21 and am ready to start Round 2.  I missed a couple days, but then "made up for it" by going back on track.  Life and family events (and a few celebratory, tasty mimosas) threw me off a little bit, but it's all good.  I see the positive benefits from this program and while it will definitely take more than 21 days to transform myself (AKA lose the annoying saddle bags and wide-load status), I am enjoying the process of transformation.  I am enjoying the process of change (not craving bad foods and actually looking forward to exercising). I have worked out for years and tried different videos (my 1st one being Eric Nies' The Grind Hip Hop Aerobics in 1996: http://www.amazon.com/Grind-Workout-Hip-Hop-Aerobics/dp/6303421091/ref=pd_bxgy_mov_text_y )  and have to say, in my opinion, these DVDs are worth the money.  They are fun, fat burning, and motivating. As I have known for over 15 years now (I was a member at the YMCA at age 15), being healthy a

Today is day 15 and my quads feel tighter, my abs feel stronger, and I have more energy than I did 2 weeks ago. I have missed maybe a day or two each week and I definitely snuck in a few bites of chocolate and cake for the holidays. I am not doing this perfectly at all. However,  I am still exercising 5-6 times per week, consistently and eating well 95% of the time. This is a major F-ing WIN!! I love how with each work out, I'm getting better at the moves and can take on heavier weights. The hardest exercises for me are: 1. Side plank with leg lift 2. Push up I'm putting in 100% each time and will be strong enough to master these moves. Yup, I will. And I know,  one week I'll get it perfect. The hardest emotional challenge has been taking the 30 minutes just for me when my babies were sick.  My toddler was sick and I didn't want to leave her side. Even though spending 30 minutes with Auntumn Calabrese is much easier than cleaning up diarrhea and vomit, I did no

Sunday's yoga felt great!  I was reminded of how strong you need to be to simply stretch. Since I worked overtime, and a train derailment caused extra delays,  I was exhausted Monday (day 9) and really missed my kids. I decided to skip the video,  use my time to hug and cuddle with my kids and eat a little ice cream with fruit. I didn't feel bad at all. It felt great to just enjoy the sweetness of my daughters and ice cream. So, yesterday was day 10 and I left for work by 6am, home by 7 is and was hungry and tired. My husband is on nights,  so it was all me to cook, give baths,  change poopy diapers,  cuddle and be a good mom. My preschooler has sniffles and needed extra care. I really wanted to split myself in 3 last night so I could give each baby all of me. However,  by 9:30pm, my toddler was in bed,  my preschool relaxing and 4 month old chillen on my bed playing.  I popped in the dvd and did Monday and Tuesday's workout.  1 hour of sweating and toning.  I had to pa

I am at day 7! Today is just yoga,  so I will enjoy the stretching and breathing.  The workouts have been tough but doable.  30 minutes a day is not too much to commit to. The meal plan is so easy to follow.  You can eat great things, cheat once in a while and still be good. Anyway,  I'm looking forward to yoga.  I first took yoga as part of my college curriculum.  For two days a week, I spent 90 minutes in yoga. It changed me as a person.  I continued for a few years in my single life, stopped then picked up a bit in the last 2 years. I can remember laying in yoga class and the exercise was to just lay there and breathe.  It was actually hard to just lay and do nothing. Very enlightening.  New culture,  practice,  being. ..Eastern culture meet western culture.  Back to mommy duties, bye for now.

Will sit in the cup for 4 hours, reheated and sipped. Can never finish at once when home with kids. I can smell it, I want to get back to it but something always gets in the way.

I admit,  this is tougher than I thought.  Day 2, I ate well but decided to spend hours of fun at the library over my 30 minute work out. I missed the work out. I felt dissapointed in myself. Yesterday,  day 3, I cheated with 2 small slices of domino's pizza at lunch but felt I made up for it by a 40 minute walk and I did the 30 minute lower fix DVD!  I also had time for my preschoolers at the library and cuddled with my infant all night.  I'm not doing this perfectly,  I admit, but it is true what they say- each day stronger than yesterday. I don't know what life may throw my way tonight but I know I'll try my best to get in the work-out and eat healthy.

Imposter syndrome means you are smart, capable,  have all the mental tools and abilities but you choose to ignore that and believe your own negative thoughts. This is not a blog to define imposter syndrome but rather discuss ways to overcome/cope and move on. My ideas to overcome since I been through this before at different points in my life.  #5 is the best. 1. Write out all your past negative experiences.  Acknowledge it sucks but it doesn't define you. Shred the list and say goodbye ugly past, you did not kill me and I'm Moving on. We all have bad experiences when we may not have acted our best. We all have normal struggles. Nobody is perfect. 2. Write out all your skills and abilities or write out your accomplishments and successes and then link them to your own personal skills or abilities.  People with imposter syndrome will have a very hard time doing this, so you may want to hire a life coach or talk to a trusted person to complete this exercise. 3. If you ever st

I ate a healthy dinner and did the 30 minute total body cardio. DVD.  It was only 30 minutes but it was tough. I'm feeling the burn today and actually looking forward to the next workout. I'm proud I resisted the delicious semolina bread. I had no desire for it. On to day 2!

I spent part of Saturday shopping around Port Jeff with my 4 year old.  The candy/ ice cream shop was awesome of course, but we actually had the most fun playing a game of Pengoloo at Lainie's Way.  Lainie's Way is a cute toy store with lots of unique, smart games. They appear to be overpriced but in actuality they are quite competitive. The woman spent 15 minutes patiently playing and explaining games to my daughter and I so I felt compelled to continue the fun at home. The game is $5-10 over the cost of Amazon but,  with the cost of shipping and the convenience of having the game in hand and knowing I am keeping a 'mom-and-pop' in business, the extra dollars are justified. Pengoloo is a cute memory game where you have 2 chances to find the correct color eggs under the cute wooden penguins.  I started playing with my daughter and wanted to go more than twice and the woman said, uh-ahh, Mom, you only get to look under 2 penguins. And so, the laughter, competition,  a

10 minutes to order the product by phone. 3 days to receive package. 1 day to open the box and empty all contents. 2 days to read through important materials. 2 days to debate the program in my head. I had over 35 excuses why I couldn't start; funeral, mourning,  kids, commute,  fake headache,  it was raining, it was cold, I ate Chinese and pizza anyway. .. OK. Just...... STOP! ! Instead of focusing on being perfect, I let it all go and just took the chance I had and threw the DVD in, hit play, and did the dirty 30 workout.  I frigging LOVED it!!! The best 30 minute work out I had in a long time. I was sore for next 2 days. I'm now a believer and will put my all into this system.  I said that Saturday.  Yesterday was Sunday,  so I took full advantage of the official break day. It's now Monday and I'm all in baby! Yes, it took me over 2 weeks to get here but I'm ready. Monday, March 23rd is my official start day.  I'm tired of the extra weight.  I

25 is the number of hours I spend commuting a week. I saw an article yesterday talking about how NYers are spending 6-10 hours per week commuting and are fed up and hate it. I wish I only spent 6 hours per week commuting. 

Overall, I give this version of Cinderella an 8/10. The acting was great and the plot stayed true to the book. The kids loved the magical scenes when the Fairy Godmother did her thing. Cinderella practiced forgiveness and moved on with her life.  The best line was when Cinderella's mother said, "have courage and show kindness. ..kindness is powerful." We can all use more kindness. I, personally was just so happy to be there with my daughter, holding her hand, and watching her face light up with excitement.  I recommend all parents to take your kids to see this movie.  You will not be disappointed.

I literally just laughed so hard ... he never fails me. Love you George! http://www.buzzfeed.com/kirstenking/life-lessons-you-learned-from-george-costanza.

Favorite Spring activities: Easter Egg hunt with the kids. Visit children's museum for indoor and outdoor play. Backyard BBQ's. Dust off the bike and go for a ride with the girls. Visit Arboretum. Neighborhood walks with the family. Food festivals. Lots to do with warm weather. ..

Because it's fun.  You need to have fun every day.

Beautiful!

There is nothing like NYC! With the warm sun on my face,  I'm so grateful to all who keep this country safe.

I went to one of my favorite cousin's baby shower yesterday.  She looked so adorable and the location was gorgeous. It was so nice to be able to get a little dressed up with my 4 year old, catch up with family and relax.  So, here I am, at the table with my mom, cousins, daughter and sis in law who is pregnant with my nephew and I "cheers" with my mimosa to NOT being pregnant.  Well, that answers what having 3 kids under the age of 5 will do to a person.  Being pregnant is amazing and beautiful but so is a glass of mimosa after 2 years of being one giant baby making hormone. At times, I would walk around and feel like one big, raging hormone. Thank God my body is finally regulating.  I love normal. 

I leave before my girls are awake, so all I can do is quietly love them from afar. I'll say a quick prayer for their protection,  whisper an, "I love you" and blow a kiss in the air,  hoping my love travels through the air they breathe and finds its way to their hearts. Some days I cry a little when I think of what I may miss in those hours I am away but other days I'm distracted enough by my "to-do" list. I know they are left in good hands but I still wish I could spend every minute close to them. So, when I walk in the door at night, I love to hear their sweet voices, hug their cute tiny, squishy bodies and kiss their sweet rosy cheeks. Some nights,  my oldest who is 4 1/2 will not be as willing to accept or show love and it takes a little time for her to warm up. I know it's because she also wants me close by to her all the time and by her "ignoring" me, just means she needs more attention. And I am always up for the challenge. Last night,

1. Manicure and pedicure services- I mean how awesome would it be to have someone massage your feet and change your polish while sitting in delays? 2. Personal training- can totally add a car on, remove the seats,  add in some free weights and have one crazy mother trucker run a boot camp class. 3. Cooking classes- nope, that's not the smell from the broken down bathroom,  that's Chef's gourmet broccoli rab cooking in the front car. Learn a new skill and eat a healthy dinner. 4. Coffee dispensers- each car should have a huge coffee maker or Keurigs instead of those pointless coat racks. I admit,  I will sometimes spend the first 30 minutes of my commute home to do squats, leg lifts,  and other quiet and effective exercises. It feels great to get in a little exercise before I get home. People watch at times because it's not your typical LIRR behavior,  but I'm a leader and don't care about naysayers.  One night,  some girl and guy were chuckling and I just fl

Today,  it's snowing pretty good and yet the railroad is running great.  I'm so confused.  I was hoping it would be shut down completely so I have a great excuse to stay home and cuddle with my 3 babies. No such luck today.  It's one day closer to Friday and Spring, so no time to be sad. I'm grateful for every good thing in my life.

Today, I was on my A game at home and work, so when they asked for my name at Starbucks,  I said without hesitation,  "Superwoman."

Mom of 4 amazing girls, writer, HR Professional, Leadership Development Consultant,  Coach,  thinker, and runner. Hope you enjoy my posts as much as I enjoy sharing them. Mom-oh-logue (MOL)