self image & self worth (& free printables!)

There is a picture in my scrapbook of me from about a year before I got married. I'm standing with my upper body out of a pool and at the time I felt a little "bigger" than I'd like to be, not quite as lean as I would have liked.
I laugh now because what I would love to look like that now!

Click {here} for the printable.

Truthfully, I have been really down on myself lately about my after baby body. I have been losing the weight much slower this time around and my joints have been hurting a lot more when I do try to work out. It certainly wasn't helping matters that first my favorite pair of skinny jeans that got me through most of my pregnancy and fit pretty soon after I gave birth finally died on me, then my back up pair of jeans got a huge rip too. So I was basically down to one pair of shorts and one maxi skirt for everyday wear.
Well, unless I want to wear workout clothes everywhere.
Yes, I realize that my body has been through the ringer having three kids in four years.
Yes, I realize it took 9 months to gain the weight and it's going to take time to for it to come off.
Yes, I realize that some women don't lose the weight while they're breastfeeding, and that I am one of those.
Yes, I know that you shouldn't stress about a number on a scale.
I know all these things but it doesn't you feel better when you're looking in your closet trying to find something to wear and you're basically cycling through three outfits.

Click {here} for the printable.

The other day it just kind of hit me like lightening, why keep waiting to buy new jeans until I lost the weight? I'm making myself miserable everyday, wouldn't it be better if I avoided my daily fight with my closet and felt good about myself?

So I went out and bought a couple new things; no big deal, just a couple new shirts and a pair of jeans that were on clearance.

It's amazing how such a small thing can create a paradigm shift.

I shouldn't be mourning the body that I had.

I've been blessed to have given birth to three children. 

I've been blessed to be healthy.

I can feel good about myself now, before I've reached my "ideal" goal.

Patience is still something I'm working on.

Click {here} for the preventable.