The little things are the most amazing in life...

I have watched for weeks as Julianna has tried to crawl, she did it this weekend, but I thought I was seeing things. Monday, she crawled 4 steps to me, it was amazing. Then She did it again and Joey clapped for her and said "Go Jujubee" (his nickname for her).

It was amazing to see her move and change from a baby 6 months ago. I can not believe she is 6 months and Joe is 25 months. Where has the time gone. This time last year I had a 13 m old and was 12 weeks pregnant.

This morning, Joey was having a tough time, but when he was not crying, he gave me a kiss and told me he loved me, melting my anger away from his previous behavior. He knew how to tug at my heart strings. I guess I am wrapped around his little finger.

Last week, one of the StrollerFit moms Jesy was amazed when her son Christopher waived at Joey during StrollerFit. I love to see the moms excited when there children grow and change. This week Christopher has learned to get out of our workout area while we stretch. Jesy is amazed by his prowess while the other moms laugh. It is great to be able to share these events with each other.

This morning one of the StrollerFit moms mentioned that without StrollerFit she would be stuck. in the house. While she worked she did not know anyone in he area that was home. Now she has friends to walk with, hang with and just talk to about her kids. The conversation developed into the moms discussing the benefits of a group like StrollerFit which makes me happy to know that the group has helped other moms like it has helped me.

Yeah moms

I want to commend the StrollerFit moms who came out last week and this week in the sweltering humidity. It has been hot and humid but the moms have been out with their kids in full force.

We were at the zoo today. We did not run, but I think we worked out hard and still got a great workout doing other things like push ups, tricep dips, leg lifts and other activities.

I just want to remind you to keep hydrated and drink lots of water and make sure the kids drink a lot of water too so they stay hydrated until the heat breaks.

Just a heads up, I am working on our fall fitness challenge, keep reading the blog for additional information as the weeks roll on.

My new addiction and the heat

For anyone that knows me, I love to take photos, but I print them and they sit forever,it takes me forever to get them into a photo album, with the things I collect and they rarely get labelled so years later i can not remember the names of people. With 2 kids and StrollerFit, it does not get done often.

I have recently found Heritage Makers, digital scrap booking and in one weekend, scanned the items I collected from my cross country trip 3 years ago, uploaded the digital photos and go the album done. and it is being printed as a beautiful bound book with quotes, backgrounds and other great thins. I love it and love that the 8 1/2 by 11 1/2 book is on sale so I can do my brothers 2 nd wedding and a book for my mom and some Baby books. Joey has albums of pictures from his first year and a baby book with info but no pictures, so now I can make him a baby book with both and create one for Julianna.

I loved it so much, I have decided ti become a consultant, so if anyone wants info let me know. As a consultant I get great deals on products for my self and clients. I think with the StrollerFit family, this is a nice fit.

It is hot hear so, I have had to cancel StrollerFit for the first time all summer, our indoor location is no cooler than the outdoor location and one child and another parent already dehydrated on Monday. Hopefully it will be cooler Thursday to have class, in the mean time I have been at the beach, the pool and in the AC working on a fall StrollerFit challenge and preparing the training for the Tufts 10K in October and working on my scrapbook.

Here's to new ventures and to getting all I need to get done today in the heat.....

stay at home moms feeling overwhelmed

This week has been interesting. One of my moms thought she may have been sickened by ecoli in the water. Another called for advice about taking her child to the Dr and another was feeling rushed when she had to go from class to an appointment 30 minutes later that was a ten minute drive. On my side Joey has been a monster, the terrible two's are here and I keep telling my mom, I am shipping him to her. All these things and other conversations with the StrollerFit moms got me to thinking about all the things that make us Stay at home moms feel overwhelmed and what we can do to help ourselves and each other.

Being a stay at home mom for many is a dream , but being a stay at home mom to one, two or more children 24/7 can leave many moms feeling overwhelmed, depresses and stressed from the day to day demands of being at home. The benefits are suppose to out way the down sides but sometime stay at home moms need adult interaction and others who know what they are going through to help them get through the day. I love StrollerFit for this. IT is a place to workout, a place to vent your frustrations and a place to make friends who you can bind with while your children make friends.

Many husbands and working moms think a stay at home mom is tending to the children and picking up the house, when really they may be struggling with finding balance between children and housework. Many feel isolated while being at home and coping with the sleep deprivation and stress by their job at home. Here are a few steps that some of my StrollerFit moms have said help them.

• Reduce clutter. Living in a cluttered environment on a continuous basis raises stress levels. Try carving out small increments of time each day to start reducing the clutter that exists in the home. Freeing the environment of unnecessary things can promote a feeling of peace in the home.
• Schedule the day. Being a stay at home mom is a full-time job (with no paycheck), the day tends to not have the structure of a typical job. One mom said creating a flexible schedule day helps provide focus for the daily tasks at hand. It also may help the child to be flexible. If the schedule is so rigid the child will be unable to cope when it changes, making life tough for mom.
  
• Take time to enjoy the family. Many times Stay at home moms get lost in the household chores. Keep in mind that there will always be laundry to be completed, crumbs to be swept and bathrooms to be cleaned and it is OK to let it go for a moment or to while spending precious moments with your child(ren), it will all get done. Children are only little once. Set the chores aside to get down on the floor and interact with the family.
• Stay active. Exercise can help reduce stress levels. The great thing about exercise is that it can be accomplished at home or at the gym, with kids or by oneself. StrollerFit is great for this and if you can not make class there is always the Mommymuscle DVD's. One of my StrollerFit moms works part time and says the Restore the core DVD helps her relax at the end of a crazy day.
• Connect with fellow moms. The importance of maintaining social contacts for the stay at home mom and their child is something that words can not describe. It is important to maintain social contact when staying at home. Making a connection with a fellow mom who is attempting to navigate the same season of parenting is wonderful for both moms, another added benefit to StrollerFit.
  
• Carve out personal time. Many of the mom's also struggle with finding time for themselves, often putting other family members needs before their own. Down time or alone time is important for one's personal well-being. Taking a break from the rigors of stay-at-home life allows moms to catch their breath and eventually return to their job with a renewed vigor. Our mom's nights out help, but sometimes a stay at home mom needs a night on her own, a drive alone or a night with friends just to laugh and giggles. And sometimes they need to remember they are women too and may need a night out for a romantic evening with the hubby with the kids at home with a babysitter, this too is OK to do. Sometimes stay at home moms forget that they can have a life away from the kids whether it is out with the hubby or at a event by themselves.

Stay at home moms need to take care of themselves and I am glad I found Strollerfit and the StrollerFit moms, because it helps me to be the best mom I can be while taking care of my children, the house, my family and most importantly myself!

I would love to hear how my StrollerFit moms handle the feeling of being overwhelmed and what works for you.

Vote for Julianna

or her
Julianna has been attempting to feed herself and I took some great pictures. see below


So I entered her in Disney's Messiest baby face contest. I am hoping all the StrollerFriends will vote for her.

I was visiting Disney Family.com and thought you'd enjoy this:

Blueberries Messy Baby Faces Contest

http://family.go.com/messy-baby-contest/messy-baby-girls/blueberries-11084/

Hope you enjoy...

Thanks Cari and Julianna

Things I learned this weekend

This weekend was eye opening for me. Joey is a great napper, he goes down easily when I put him down, but he is not on a set schedule. But when he does not nap he goes to bed and wakes up 2-3 hours later, ready to go. As if he just took a nap and he wants to play at 11:30. So, I realized he needs to nap even if I want to go somewhere so he sleeps thru the night!

I knew kids could eat food without teeth, Joey gummed a lot for months before his teeth came in. Well Julianna is following in his footsteps. she has eaten chicken, pancakes, mac n cheese and the tops of broccoli. She loved feeding herself too. It is amazing to see what they can do as they grow. She will be 6 months old next week and everything she does still amazes me and reminds me of all the things Joey use to do and the things that are to come.

Julianna is going to be a handful, more than her brother. She is a mover and a shaker and ready to go. I was a climber and I think she is going to follow in my footsteps. My mother wished one on me just like me and I think I got it. Thanks mom. I look forward to her growing up and hope my relationship with her is like the one I have with my mother as an adult, my mother is my best friend.

Well it is hot and humid today, so I better prepare for Strollerfit and get organized. I want to remind all the StrollerFit moms that on days like this the kids and the moms need to keep hydrated with a lot of fluids. No Moms will dehydrate or worse under my watch.

What StrollerFit has taught my children and the Children of other StrollerFit families

I wish I could get a photo of Joey doing squats, but I never seem to have my camera. Today during the stretching portion of Mommymuscle sculpt Julianna showed us her superman and she did it again at Sears, when they did her 6 month photos.

Many of the kids in StrollerFit know how to lunge, squat, do bicep curls and other moves. It is so cute. I am hoping to get some photos of that in the coming weeks to post. It just proves my point that there are many benefits to StrollerFit and working out with your kids. Not only do we teach them that exercise can be fun and enjoyable, but they learn how to exercise.

Amazing Moms

I woke up this morning thinking about the amazing woman, more specifically the amazing moms I know. My grandmother comes to mind first, I live by her motto "Live for today, you can't go back to yesterday and there may not be a tomorrow!!" I am trying to instill this in my children.

Next comes my mother who is battling a horrible disease with grace and dignity and who has taught me the small victories are important and the small stuff is not important.

Then I think of those who lost there battle with cancer, Linda and Bertha, 2 amazing woman who helped me to be the mom I am and woman I miss dearly and am saddened that they will never know my amazing kids, but who I know are looking down and smiling at Joey and Julianna's antics, especially when it causes me to say things my own mom said that I swore I would never say like "I'm the mom that's why."

I know many moms who have amazing stories, but the group I think about most often that really inspires me as a mother is the mothers I have meet thru StrollerFit. Some had trouble getting pregnant but they were tough enough to battle on, some had pregnancy complications, or delivery complications, some had post delivery complications and many have trouble due to lack of sleep. But these women get up everyday and amaze me with all they do. Some work so do not but they are all remarkable mothers that make me realize thru it all we can do anything!!! IT is great to hear there stories and tales each day and the bond we have formed is great for me and I hope for them too.

What a weekend

The weekend started with a Restore the Core Class. Then we went To Riverbend Farm for a animal adventure with Emily, Carlos and Jose. Then the boys went swimming and then we went to Mason's 2nd birthday.

Left-Joey, Carlos & Jose looking for bugs, fish, etc at Riverbend Farm.


Then today we went fora stroll at the Zoo and then to the beach again. It was cloudy but at least it did not rain. Check out the photos of our busy weekend.


Julianna getting water dumped on her by Joey and the boys digging in the sand at the beach at West Hill Dam.





The kids are napping and I am getting ready for the week ahead. Oh I almost forgot, Julianna ate chicken at Wright's Chicken Farm, applesauce at Riverbend Farm from a Hannaford's giveaway and she tried homemade pureed blueberries. It was a big food weekend for her.

My first Rescue of the Summer

Friday's StrollerFit class was held at the West Hill Dam Park. We had a great workout and then planned to spend the day at the beach there and have a BBQ. But guess what happened....

It Rained!!!

So we packed up and went home. On our way out, Jesy realized Christopher's Whale was missing, I saw it in the middle of the lake, so I jumped in, swam for it, got it and came back. I used my lifeguard swim stroke to keep an eye on it and Christopher was happy to have it back. That was my first save of the summer and I am glad I could help. I hope it is the only save I have to make, I love rescuing toys, do not want to rescue a child. I am thankful that my StrollerFit moms and Stan, my Dad who comes to Mommymuscelsculpt and other group activities keep an eye on there children, over the years I have seen many moms and dads who do not watch and that is when there is trouble.

Remember even with a lifeguard parents should still always watch there children around water.

After my rescue we went home, the kids had a bubble bath, the parents had showers and then we had lunch at my house. It turned out to be a fun afternoon anyway.