Stephen and I have been talking a lot about our plans for the garage. Per usual we’re knee deep in a lot of projects, including the guest bedroom still (if you haven’t heard me say it before… Projects take longer the more kids we add to the crew. It’s all good though!) while simultaneously wanting to do more. This one though comes up often in our “what we want to tackle next” conversations for a few reasons: we spend a good bit of time out there working out, it’s quite dusty and dirty already, and it screams “I need to be more functional!”. 

It’s going to be a big task but we plan on taking everything out of the garage and giving it a really good clean to start. It is so needed. We blew it out when we moved in but we quickly started unloading boxes and never quite got it to the level of clean we desire. As you can see it’s quite a mess currently but it does the job! Once we clean it all out we will most likely adjust the lighting situation so that we have a bit more clearance to put weights overhead. We’ll potentially paint/epoxy the floor and then paint the walls. What a difference all of that will make! 

As for improved functionality, the arrangement of our things is going to be really important. This is what Stephen and I brainstorm over the most. We’ve been saving up to buy a freezer dryer this fall and we plan on storing and using it out here in the garage along with the rest of our food preservation tools. One section will be designated to that while we also will have a designated space for our workout equipment (you can read about everything we have in this post), space for the freezers, and space for a car, among other things.

Here’s our plan:

This postpartum season has been quite different for me compared to the others. There’s a lot to that which I’ll save for another day. One thing is for sure though, it is quite the task to workout with three kiddos around while getting subpar sleep throughout the night. Now more than ever I am grateful for Street Parking. 

Street Parking is a community developed by two former CrossFit competitors that wanted to create workouts that were efficient and could be completed at home in the garage while the car is parked on the street (get it?!). The intention (just like with CrossFit) is to focus on functional movements that all people can do no matter their starting workout capabilities or age. They also made it so that the workouts can be customized based on the equipment you have at home and walk you through all of the movements. It’s truly so amazing. They make it encouraging with lots of fun goals to aim for which include amazing prizes when you hit them! I pay $15 a month with the military discount. I started doing it postpartum with Ellie using their postpartum mothers plan and have been using it ever since. I highly recommend! 

It was difficult for me to get back into the swing of things but I finally think I’ve found a rhythm. I’ll tell you, this might make some people gawk or call me lazy, you name it… Go ahead… But I refuse in this season to wake up at the butt crack of dawn before my kids (who wake up at 6:15 typically) to get a workout in. Someday that might be my new rhythm but this is just not that time and that is okay. I so deeply believe sleep is a gift from God! He is the most intentional and for that reason He made sleep such a great healer and time to turn our minds off, among so many other things. Since Jack is still waking up about every 2-3 hours throughout the night, I haven’t been sleeping great and until very recently when I started making big strides in my healing, it was like moving a freight train in the morning to get me out of bed. I wish I was exaggerating. It was so bad and hard to get me up. Stephen is the real MVP for getting up with the girls on the mornings he wasn’t already at work. But like I said, I’m healing! My body is starting to get out of fight or flight which is regulating my cortisol so much better which means getting up in the morning hasn’t been as difficult. All of that said, I’m still not doing it at 5 am. Ha!

In this season my goal has been to workout at least 4 times a week. Typically that means Monday, Wednesday, Friday and then one day on the weekend. I set this goal of mine not necessarily with weight loss in mind. While this is the most I’ve ever weighed postpartum, this is also the most solid my milk supply has been this far out (he’s nine months old now). I’ve always nursed beyond a year but this time my supply hasn’t dropped at all yet like it did with my girls. Am I a bit uncomfortable in my skin right now? I’d be lying if I said no. But I’m also not stressing over it because I know it is just a season. The main reason I’m aiming for four days a week is for my overall health, for instance, to improve my insulin sensitivity, and to maintain and eventually improve my muscle composition (you can listen to a good podcast on this here and here and here). 

The ability to do my workouts at home is much more convenient than having to load up the kids and go somewhere but that doesn’t mean every day is easy or that I’m super motivated all the time. Shoot I’m far from it! I decided to get some new training shoes that I came across while browsing womens running shoes and nursing-friendly sports bras since mine were so absolutely trashed. As crazy as it sounds, it did motivate me to lace them up and get out there. 

Get to the rhythm Jordan… Well I hate to be so vague but I don’t really have a set time. The current rhythm is simply that I said I’m going to do it 4 times a week so I get out there 4 times a week. Sometimes that’s when by the grace of God, both of my youngest are napping simultaneously. Other days it’s when Stephen happens to be home for the morning so I can get out there. I take it day by day. Just like I try to do with motherhood in general. I suppose that’s my golden nugget to offer you out of all of this… Most days my time in the garage looks like an absolute mad house with kids running/crawling around while I’m breathlessly breaking up fights or keeping them content and happy with a podcast blasting in the background but you know what, we’re out there and we’re making it work. They get to see their mom doing her best to steward the body she’s been gifted with to the best of her ability. That’s what matters to me right now.

Now that it’s starting to cool off we’re really looking forward to getting this project started and sharing the process with you. It’s going to be a doozy but so worth it for the improved functionality!