new things

we are all creatures of habit to some extent i suppose, but change can be good sometimes. i have become an "amazon-mom," which basically gives you amazon prime benefits for free if you have a baby, which means you can get free 2-day shipping and discounted rates on DIAPERS. i've been using the target generic diapers for a long time, but let's be honest, it is just better for our budget if i don't go to target very often. and plus, loading up all the kiddos for that 20 minute drive is sort of a pain AND pampers are actually 2 cents cheaper per diaper and they are delivered to my door each month. neato. brave new world? maybe. i'm sure i'm one of the last to realize that you can also order all kinds of non-perishable groceries from amazon. i am mostly excited about this amazing multi-grain flour and bob's red mill products, but if i can get organized, i may start ordering more groceries this way. everyone in nyc does it, so it must be cool. i just have to figure out the best way to do bulk shopping without spending too much in any one month...

in other news, we joined a community center/gym in our city recently and it has broadened my exercising options. except for a short stint of water-aerobics when i was pregnant with marit, i have depended mostly on running for exercise for the last 16 years. i love to run and hope it can always be my primary workout, but that triple stroller just gets heavier and heavier and i feel like i have fallen into a rut of sorts, especially on adam's busy months when even venturing out for a 30 minute run alone is just not possible. so, with a few friends, i have been exploring spinning once a week and bodyflow (a yoga/pilates class). it has been a nice change of pace and while i do this for an hour, the kids are having a blast playing on the playground or coloring or dressing up or doing puzzles. and then sometimes we go swimming together afterwards. i take spinning with a sweet friend who has suffered much in her life and she reminds me of the spiritual discipline of enduring. body flow is slowly strengthening my core as pregnancies have been hard on my back and tummy muscles. just stretching, balancing, resistance-work for an hr a week makes me feel so much looser overall. change is fun!