I began running stairs and working out a bit with weights at the gym.  I’d say I was pretty committed at the time, but then in July, we moved from KS to FL, and all that commitment was thrown out the window. I stopped working out and it was weeks of eating out every day, while on the road.

Upon arrival in Florida, came a new commitment — once we’re settled, I am getting back on track and getting my body in shape.  I decided to give crossfit a try, as I thought it would be a good fit with my personality, and I signed up with a personal trainer and began working out three times a week. That was 5-1/2 months ago.

Today, I am still crossfitting and absolutely love it.  It was definitely the right fit for me (it’s important to find and do what works for you).  I actually long for my workouts.  I now do crossfit group classes 3-4 times a week and eat pretty healthy.  Diet-wise, I’m a firm believer in everything in moderation, but I do try to drink a protein smoothie every morning and limit my carbs and sugar intake.  Yes, I still eat sweets, bread, etc. but not nearly as much as I used to.  After my first five weeks of crossfit, I lost four pounds and two inches in my waist and hips.  Since then, my measurements have stayed about the same but I can see my body getting toner. The photo below was taken yesterday.

I can’t believe how much better I feel.  I stand straighter.  I walk prouder.  I feel healthier and stronger now at 41 than I ever did in my 20s or 30s.

As mothers, it’s so easy to put ourselves last, especially when it comes to health and fitness.  Exercise is one of those things that seems so easy to make excuses for or say we don’t have the time to do.  But think about how important exercise really is — not only for our body and mind, but also the example we are setting for our children.

I hope you’ll join me, in finding an exercise regime that is a good fit for YOU (for your body and personality) – one that you can do regularly and stick to.  Let’s get fit together!  Are you in?

After graduating college, Deb Schwedhelm spent 10 years as a Registered Nurse in the Air Force. It wasn’t until she left the military that her career as a photographer began. In 2006, Deb decided to pursue her dream — she purchased a DSLR camera, began teaching herself photography and never looked back. Whether commissioned portrait sessions, commercial assignments or her ongoing personal projects, Deb always remains true to herself and her artistic vision. Deb is married to a U.S. Naval Officer and is the mother to three incredible children, who are often the subjects of her photographic work. She is currently based in Tampa, Florida.  Her work can be viewed on her website, and her inspirational photoblog can be found here as well.

As I sit here with a 4-week-old baby girl sleeping peacefully in my arms, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and reminded of the blessing it is to be a mother (as well as the challenges of one-handed typing). Once again, my life is filled with sleepless nights, endless diaper changes and hours of nursing, cuddling and cooing. With two older brothers ages four and two in the mix, life is insane — but insanely blissful in the midst of it all. Today, I thought I’d share a collection of some of my favorite musings on motherhood, babies and family. They are perfect for when I need to smile, sigh or simply remember what life as a mama is all about.

“A mother’s children are portraits of herself.” – Anonymous

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.  She never existed before.  The woman existed, but the mother, never.  A mother is something absolutely new.  ~Rajneesh

“There is no way to be a perfect mother, and a million ways to be a good one” – Jill Churchill

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.” – Robert Byrne

“Where there is great love there is always a mother nearby.” – Norma Scarlett

“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for” – Anonymous

“A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.” – Carl Sandburg

“Other things may change us, but we start and end with family” - Anthony Brandt

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – Elizabeth Stone

“Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of life” – Maureen Hawkins”

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” – Robert Brault

“A rich child often sits in a poor mother’s lap.” – Proverb

“A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.” – Victor Hugo

“Don’t make a living at the expense of life. There is no such thing as a nonworking mother.” – Hester Mundis

“Nothing is worth more than this day.” – Goethe

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” – Angela Schwindt.

Do words inspire you as a mama? Please share your favorite quotables or thoughts.

Photography came to me when I needed it most. I inadvertently discovered it at the end of my college career (literally in the last semester). Knowing I was graduating with no plan of what I would do with an art degree, photography came to the rescue. Soon after graduation, I quite accidentally got a job in the field with an event and child’s portrait photographer. And because I don’t really believe in accidents, I know it was fate.

Many years later, after fine tuning my photography, learning the business and settling into a fairly lucrative and highly satisfying career in event photography and portraiture I was pregnant with my second child. With this new chapter came contemplating not only the next move of my profession (burnout had me by the throat) but actually physically moving into a new home in a new city during my last trimester. I unexpectedly hit an unsettling and unyielding wall of depression. And the fog didn’t fully lift until my daughter’s 2nd birthday. I can remember a discussion I had with a friend at the party, marveling that I was finally feeling like myself again after all that time. I spent over 2 years in the isolating and terrifying darkness of pre and post-partum depression.

Even after many years, writing about it still feels strange. I barley speak of it. Not sure if its denial or if it was easier to try to sweep in under the rug of normalcy that slowly took its place in our home. Thankfully. When I was asked to share about my personal relationship with photography in conjunction with motherhood for the blog Mothers of Invention, the reality of what I went through really sunk in. And through it all, what really saved me was photography. I had put the profession on hold and so my time was left to being a mother (to 2 daughters now) and wife in an emotional place that didn’t feel safe, secure or stable. If there was a word to describe it, it would be scary. I wasn’t able to articulate it during those years and didn’t even know what was going on with me (some months were far more difficult than others) but upon reflection now I better understand what I was going though and why everything about life seemed so difficult.

Perhaps one of the only things that didn’t feel difficult was taking pictures. Ironically enough, the photos that I took of my second daughter in those early years are still some of the strongest images I have taken to date. At least as far as my own personal collection of family documentation is concerned. And yet sadly, in many cases, the moments that surrounded the photos have all but left my memory. In fact, I have huge holes in my memory from those years. But I know exactly what I was doing. I was seeking out the light from my dark hours. I used photography as therapy. I was able to distill even in the most trying of times glimpses of pure joy, beauty and light that helped me pierce even the darkest days just enough to let the light in. I was able to use my lens to focus on what really mattered.

Now, at 6-years-old one of my daughter’s favorite pastimes is looking through her photo albums; seeing herself as I saw her then. Although those years were really rough, I am so grateful that photography once again came to me when I needed it most. It pulled me out—with every click of the shutter—from my depression and into the miracle of motherhood.

Photography is one of many tools I used during the early years of my children’s lives. The other was journaling. Way back, when I had my first daughter, pregnancy journals were hard to find. So I wrote my own. And then I wrote another for the first year of motherhood. And Chronicle Books graciously published them.

Please leave your comments here for a chance to win one of my two books. I will be choosing 2 random winners from the comments. 1 reader will get a signed copy of Waiting for Baby and 1 reader will get a signed copy of Baby of Mine. You have until midnight on Thursday to be included in the drawing. Good luck!

Tracey is a photographer, writer, mom and an all-around idea girl. She loves natural light, low-tide and her Lensbaby Super-Wide. You can find her on her personal blog or over at Shutter Sisters, where is not only the founder but a regular contributor.