Once upon a time,

long, long ago, I had abs. Granted, they were no 6 pack, but I had pretty nice definition. A combination of running, yoga and ab work left me with a strong core that didn't look too shabby in a swimsuit. 

Then I got pregnant. And my stomach swelled with the miracle of life. I gave up a nice hard stomach for a big round stomach that elbowed me when I was trying to sleep. It was beautiful. 

After Olive was born I told myself I would get back to the gym/pavement/yoga mat. Yeah, that never happened. I would get in a groove and hit the gym 3 times a week or do a workout DVD at home a few days a week and feel great. But then life would get in the way like it always does and I would fall off the proverbial wagon. And since I was never really all the way into the wagon anyway, it was never a hard fall. More of a soft bounce and I would quickly forget I was ever on the wagon. So my core stayed a bit on the soft side with a bit of it's former definition. And I was ok with that. Kind of. Sort of. Well, to be honest, I was lazy and just didn't care.

And then I got pregnant again. And once again my stomach swelled with the miracle of life. And I gave up my soft, once hard stomach for a big round stomach that knocked me on my butt for 20 weeks with horrendous "morning" sickness. And again, it was beautiful. Albeit, pukey.

And when Penelope was born, I told myself I would get back to the gym/pavement/yoga mat. But this time I am serious. Stop laughing. 

No really, stop it. 

I want a strong core and back that supports my body and doesn't ache all the time. I want to get rid of my jelly belly*. I want to be active and move my body instead of making excuses or say "meh, there's always tomorrow".  I want to get rid of the arm flab that is starting to develop. I want to get rid of (or at least lessen) a bit of the pregnancy jiggle that seems to stick around. I want to have better eating habits. I want to feel strong and confident.

Why am I telling you this? Well besides the fact that I like to listen to myself talk (you know what I mean), I am doing it to hold myself accountable. If I put it out there on the internet that I am serious about getting back into shape, there is no going back. Because let's be honest, once something is on the internet, there is no taking it back (which is why I am so glad I wasn't on Facebook when I was in college...).  

So, my dear readers, I am asking for your help. I am going to write about my health/fitness/exercise accomplishments each week. A bit of a check in, if you will. If I start slacking, make sure you get on here and give me heck for it. And if you want to join me, feel free to comment with your own fitness accomplishments. 

There. It's out there. On the interwebz. No going back now! 

Now, off to the gym! 

Ok, not really. But I do have two sleeping babes, so I am going to do something active. I wonder if folding laundry counts as aerobic exercise....

*Yes, I realize I just had a baby 9 weeks ago. I am not expecting miracles here folks. Slow and steady wins the race. And a pair of Spanx never hurts.