To Shower or Not to Shower

When I first met my husband I was in a long distance relationship with someone else. I was unhappy with this guy, he was apathetic to my concerns and somehow thought I would stick around despite my feelings of being unappreciated. I recall the moment my husband and I met eyes for the first time and my mother said to me, "did you see how he looked at you? You're going to marry him." I laughed. Not only was I not on the market, but he was nothing like my "type." I say "type" because in my early twenties my "type" was  recluse, elitist, philosophers with lofty aspirations of being musicians. Eventually, their affinity for recreational drug use was always the downfall for the relationship. By my mid-twenties I started dating more of the traditionally masculine, athletic "type." I was heavily into yoga at the time and my philosophy/ whole foods/ artsy fartsy/ passionate background was dramatically neglected by this "type. "...

    I used to think I could only gain by taking yoga classes from teachers who were better than me. Just in that sentence alone, I make myself cringe. "Better than me" at what? At yoga? What part of yoga exactly?? Yoga is not going to a room with a bunch of other people and doing some postures and going home. It's not all about the asana. It's not about how high you can lift your leg, how bendy your body is, how long you can hold a pose and how cute of an outfit you can wear while doing it. Yoga is a lifestyle...a way of living. A belief that all things are connected; that all things are one. It's a discussion between ones body and mind. It's the choice to live by Pantajali's eight limbs. A choice to walk the middle path, relinquishing all extremes. Asana is only one facet of a much larger organism. After having two children, my body and mind have both been overhauled. My priorities changed, and whether or not it's right, my y...

Some of my blog readers have made a request that I write "another funny one." I must admit I don't really have an ON and OFF funny button. It just kind of happens...or doesn't. My funny is particularly bewildering when it turns on in inappropriate situations such as funerals...No one should laugh at death, but leave it to me and I'll have some smart ass remark. Or when one of my children runs face first into a wall. My husband will be running to their aid staring at me with judgmental eyes as I lay on the floor peeing myself with laughter. This makes taking them to indoor soccer an issue as there is always some kid who doesn't notice the clear wall surrounding the field and attempts to run full force through it. It's one thing for me to laugh at my own child's expense, but laughing at other people's children is not socially acceptable to say the least. It's almost like a tick. In those moments, I swear my brain puts me on autopil...

Yesterday was a particularly tough day in the Martin household so I decided to enlighten you on one of my tricks at parenting. Reggae music. So picture this: There was a point yesterday where I contemplated eating lunch while taking a shower...this being an outrageous and highly impractical idea, I realized that I needed to take a breather. Liam was on a rampage: whining, demanding, hitting, pulling hair etc. Rory was incredibly fussy, very rarely allowing me to put him down. By the time I was able to finish my workout and prep dinner, nap time was coming to a close and I had to chose between nourishment and hygiene. Hence the lunch shower.  I ended up taking a shower without washing my hair and eating a veggie patty while in the parent pick up line for Jacson. So I get Jacson from school and he was in a funk.  Wondering why I hadn't brought him a drink?  Me- we live five minutes from your school we can get one at home.  Asking if he could ...

I was looking at some photos from after I had my first child. I gained 65lbs with him and by this time postpartum I had already lost the majority of the weight. I took a photo of myself and said, "12 lbs left to go!"  I only gained 45 lbs with the second and I still have 23lbs to go (I actually had 20, but gained another 3 at Thanksgiving.) Surprisingly, this is not something I am obsessing about, but now is the time to take control over the situation before it gets out of hand and I wouldn't mind feeling somewhat sexy on New Years as we actually have a baby sitter this year!  Studies have proven that the longer you keep the weight, the harder it is to get rid of because the body gets comfortable and unless we practice good habits, laziness is an easy habit that's VERY difficult to break. The main reasons this pregnancy weight has been more difficult to remove is because I now also have a two year old who has become quite the dictator as of late and I am subje...

I know racism exists.   I've experienced it and witnessed it. I remember my niece and my little brother being harassed at school because they are half black. I remember friends not wanting to spend the night at my house because they were afraid of my black step-father and the taboo of an interracial couple. I remember coming back to the states after two years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and having to defend Muslim friends during a time when people believed all Muslims were Taliban. We have come a long way, but there will always be ignorance to conquer. My opinion of the situation in Ferguson, Mo is fairly complicated because of two facts: I come from a liberal, ridiculously multicultural background and I am married to a white, police officer. On the one hand, I know there are police officers who probably should not be police officers. That goes for any profession. I know that the cycle of poverty is much harder to break than most people of privilege could ever unders...

"The physical Odyssey of making a baby is really humbling...it's like whoa. When you wake up in the morning and your house is a sort of beautiful mess...but you're with your kids you're thinking, this is the best thing I've ever done with my life." -Drew Barrymore I almost cried in Walmart today.  Not because I was having a stressful moment with my children, but because I was having a stressful moment without them.  Ever since I was young, I knew that when the time came to have children I would give them 100% of my time, my love, my care. Maybe because I was raised by a single mom who worked and went to school full time while trying to date on the weekends. The only thing I can ever remember really wanting as a child was more time with my mom. So, maybe I take it to an extreme when it comes to my own children.  Even still, I have these moments where I realize that anything I once loved doing has slowly been erased from my daily activities.  As I'...

My husband and I thought we were too cool for a mini van. Even after we drove one to Colorado and absolutely loved it, we still thought of ourselves as above the ugly, dreaded, so NOT cool mini van. Let me tell you something. YOU ARE NEVER ABOVE A MINI VAN . If you have two or more children and you think you are above getting a mini van than you are sorely mistaken.  In order for me to stay home with my children, I had to trade in my new Mazda CX9 for an old Toyota Sequoia. My husband chose this vehicle because of its third row seat and its impeccable engine. It seemed like the perfect addition to our SUPER COOL lifestyle. I mean we could totally fit three car seats and a stroller in there all while affording the car payment on one income!  Well, 6 months and three children later, this perfect car is in some desperate need for repairs. My irritations with it had already begun as I put what seemed to be an endless supply of gas into it even though I hardly leave the ho...

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I always wanted a daughter. I wanted to raise a strong, confident, independent woman. I wanted to be the mom that supported her dreams and inspired her to push beyond her own limits. I dreamt of taking her to get her nails done and helping pick out her wedding dress...Well...I was blessed with three BOYS.  Don't get me wrong, boys are awesome. It's easier to dress them and do their hair. They definitely love their momma and generally speaking they are a bit less dramatic than what I've seen of female offspring. So, I have finally gotten over the fact that we are probably done having children, therefore, I will never have a daughter.  The idea of four kids sounds impossible at this point in time.  How do we feed them and pay for sports and clothes and family trips? Can my body handle going through another pregnancy? And lets be honest, I'll probably have another boy! One of the main issues I'm having with three sons, besides the fact that I clean pee off of t...