2015 has been such a fun and rewarding year and I've thoroughly enjoyed spending time with all of the women who participated in the FITMOM 2B, FITMOM & Baby, FITMOM Stroller Strength and FITWOMAN classes. It has been my pleasure to offer a variety of workouts, both indoors and outdoors and to see so many of you achieve or surpass your fitness goals, becoming stronger and healthier each week.

Here are a few of the highlights from 2015, a year that saw me celebrate 5 years as FITMOM Ottawa's owner, 10 years of FITMOM in Ottawa and 15 years since FITMOM's inception!

I started the outdoor season with a new location - Brewer Park! As it turns out, this was a terrific choice and the classes there were very popular! All of the moms seemed to really love the fact that it was so central, there was a large, shady area and of course, there was great camaraderie among both women and babies. There was plenty of space and lots of moms and babies, making it easy to find new friends at every class! As a bonus, there was a large covered area that we were able to use when Mother Nature decided not to cooperate with us!

The other change for the outdoor season was a new FITMOM Stroller Strength class on Friday mornings at Brewer Park. This was a great addition to the schedule and lots of moms were happy to add a Friday workout to their weekly fitness sessions.

Outdoor FITMOM 2B, FITMOM Stroller Strength & FITWOMAN classes

2015 saw social media explode and I took the opportunity to learn how to better use various platforms to help spread awareness about the FITMOM program, so that more women could benefit from safe and effective exercise during their prenatal and postnatal years. I was overwhelmed with the response when so many of you began sharing information, photos, blog posts and newsletters and as a result, all of the FITMOM classes were quite full for the entire year. In fact, this year, I had some of my largest classes ever - with over 30 moms, babies and sometimes toddlers! Thank you so much for believing in FITMOM and spreading the word to your friends, colleagues and family!

Indoor FITMOM & Baby and FITWOMAN classes

For the past few summers, I've run an unlimited promotion for the spring and summer time. This summer saw the most women participate in the promotion and with four FITMOM Stroller classes and three FITWOMAN classes to choose from, the level of commitment and dedication was terrific! I was lucky to see a number of moms at least twice a week, if not three times a week! The best part? Watching their babies get bigger while they were getting stronger and leaner! Despite often being sleep deprived, it was amazing to see them all leaving with smiles on their faces! Be sure to keep on the look out for the Get Fit promotion in 2016!!

In March 2015, I joined the Ladies of Old Ottawa South to Bust a Move for Breast Cancer. As part of our fundraising, I taught three FITMOM classes over the March Break where the only cost was a donation to Bust a Move. I was very grateful that you all helped me raise over $600 for the cause! Our last FITMOM and Baby class in December was an extra class that was used to support the Food Bank. Thank you so much to everyone who donated to these two wonderful causes.

For four years, I have been so fortunate to have Lindsay teaching the Monday night FITWOMAN class for me. I can't thank her enough for continuing to bring fun and interesting workouts for the Monday night FITWOMEN each week. It makes my life so much better, knowing I can rely on her to teach a great class week after week.

I've also been lucky to have had three new teachers help me out this year - Candace (who has sadly moved to Texas), Tonya and Jenn. You may recall that Tonya taught the Monday night FITWOMAN class this summer and Jenn taught the FITMOM 2B and FITWOMAN class in the fall. I'm looking forward to working with Tonya and Jenn again in 2016!

So many great things happened at FITMOM in 2015! But the best part has definitely been seeing so many amazing women week after week and watching them work hard to become stronger, leaner and happier. So, thank you to all who continue to support FITMOM, whether it's coming to classes every week, returning to classes after a hiatus or telling your friends about me. I am truly grateful to have you in my life!

From my family to yours... I wish you all the best for a healthy and happy 2016. May all of your wishes come true:)