me, myself and i

One place where I CAN easily shop with both boys: Costco. They have a double seater cart!

I think that one of the most challenging things about becoming a mom has been to find time for myself and the things I need to do.

When I first had Luca I thought "What have I done? I'll never be able to get anything done ever again!!" Granted, I was sleep deprived and experiencing hormonal ups and downs so it was rather melodramatic. As I've embraced motherhood and its joys, I've also faced the challenge of finding new ways to do life in general.

Slowly, I've carved out little breaks for myself here and there and I cherish them wholeheartedly. They key for me has been less spontaneity and a little more structure:

-To-dos: I use my lunch break every Wednesday to do something that is too difficult if I'm accompanied by Luca and Andre. The list is long but some examples are a pedicure, a trip to Target, sushi with a friend, errands of any kind.

- Exercise: once a 5-day-a-week gym goer, now I'm happy when I squeeze in a 45-minute GRAVITY class at lunch on Thursdays, and a 1-hour spinning class on Saturday mornings.

- Friends: every Thursday evening I meet up with a group of girl friends. It's like a breath of fresh air!

- Relationship: this one's been a lot tougher lately since we've had trouble finding someone to care for Luca and Andre. In theory, we like to have a date night once a week. In reality, it's been more like once a month... I'll keep working on finding something that works and report later on. Any ideas?

Now that I've been a working mom for 3 years and have accepted the fact that being tired is not an acceptable excuse for missing out on something, I actually enjoy myself a lot more. No matter how tired, I drag myself to the gym, to coffee with the girls, to the store for supplies. Afterwards, I still feel physically tired but mind and spirit are on a high.