SANDPOINT - As any parent can tell you, being a mom is a massive demand on both time and energy, and Jenny Mire's experience was no different.

After giving birth to three children, she felt that keeping her body healthy and fit just wasn't in the cards anymore. A few national headlines ultimately changed her mind, and a year later, her renewed commitment to fitness has earned her a spot as Miss August in an upcoming national calendar.

Mire's story is mirrored by that of a similar mother of three. In 2013, fitness personality Maria Kang provoked controversy when an image she posted on Facebook went viral. The picture, in which Kang displays her taut physique while surrounded by her three children, features the banner text, "What's your excuse?" Many articles in nationally-read blogs and publications decried the image as being judgmental and insensitive, but Mire took inspiration from it.

"It hit home with me and woke me up in a sense," she said.

Mire began placing greater importance on her own fitness while juggling her own responsibilities as a wife and mother. Soon, she began attracting many like-minded North Idaho mothers who found the no excuses commitment to exercise and fitness inspirational. Together, they formed No Excuse Mom North Idaho, which utilizes Kang's approach to fitness after childbearing.

As a smaller group connected to Kang's overarching organization, the North Idaho moms regularly kept up with No Excuse Mom's events and opportunities. So when the organization announced it was seeking submissions for a 2015 No Excuse Mom swimsuit calendar, Mire decided on a lark to enter the competition .

The competition was relatively straightforward. Applicants submitted photos of themselves modeling swimsuits while accompanied by their kids. They also detailed their personal stories and expressed what reclaiming fitness after giving birth meant to them.

While Mire initially felt self-conscious submitting a swimsuit photo of herself, she was motivated by spreading the message that health and fitness comes in all variety of packages. It's not about having the idealized body portrayed on Photoshopped magazine covers, she said - it's about pursuing health for yourself and family despite stretch marks or cellulite.

"There are all different shapes and sizes portrayed in that calendar," she said.

With the help of local photographer Janel Gion, Mire submitted all her materials before the deadline. She was surprised when she learned judges selected her as one of the 50 finalists out of hundreds of submissions, and even more shocked when her fellow No Excuse Mom advocates voted her as one of the top contenders.

"I was shocked - just really shocked - that I was chosen," Mire said.

The calendar is available for preorder at www.noexcusemom.com and should be ready for shipment this month. Meanwhile, the project is set to be featured in national media, with Kang scheduled for several TV and print interviews.

Mire is thrilled she could do her part to contribute to the project. And with any luck, the mothers featured in the calendar will provide another individual out there with similar inspiration. Meanwhile, local No Excuse moms continue to meet for work outs regularly. Find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/noexcusemomnorthidaho