NO More Diapers for Joey!!

Joey has decided he is a big boy.  He has been in Underwear since Mid-February.  He loves being a big boy.  He hads been sleeping in pull ups or the left over diapers but wakes up in the morning dry, so we decided to give it a shot and try underwear.  Knock on wood he has been dry.  We have had a few poop accidents and a peeing accident when he was a sleep on a long car ride but other than that, he does nto even tell me, he just goes.

I also bought new toilet seats that have a smaller seat inside the lid and he loves that he can sit on the big potty without falling in.   He also loves announcing to anyone who will listen that he is a big boo because he pees in the potty so I guess he no longer needs batteries (For anyone that did not hear, in January he told me he could not be, his pecker was broken, it needed batteries....I wondered where do you put the batteries?)

I have a feeling Julianna will follow suit being that she has been trying to keep up.  She walked at 10 months and climbed the stairs safely up at 9 months and now at 12 months safely can come down the stairs.  She is fasinated with sitting on Joey; little potty so I think once she can tell us she needs to pee she will be trained too.  They grow up so fast.  I was just pregnant with him and he is going to be 3 and she is almost 13 months ols.  The moms at StrollerFit talk about when you are a teenage life is moving so slow.  You can not wait to drive, have your first kiss, go to college, get married etc.  When you have kids it seems like life speeds up, you get pregnant and in a blink of an eye they are already off to school. 

So Remember to cherish every moment with your children

The 10 secrets of StrollerFit

I must give credit, where credit is due to Wendy in California for this list.  It is all true and they are just some of the reasons if you have not tried a class you should.

 

1. It's been documented in several articles and studies. When you push a stroller, you are burning more calories than walking alone. Us moms are always looking for a way to multi task and StrollerFit does this.

One article claims walking at a brisk pace can burn 100 calories, a brisk walk with a stroller bumps that up to 180 calories! Not only will you be able to squeeze in that exercise, but you'll also be more efficient while doing it. ediets Diet & Fitness blog

2. Walking with a stroller is not the only secret weapon of StrollerFit. Many of our exercises use resistance bands and tubes. The principle behind these is strengthening the muscle on the lengthening phase, much like pilates. This creates long, lean sexy muscles.

3. The weighted mommymuscle bar combines strength and resistance into one exercise. Using the muscle in both directions, increasing muscle strength. Muscle burns more calories than fat..so more muscle is good.

4. Your body burns calories while you are doing a cardiovascular exercise, like a brisk stroller walk. Do a StrollerFit class adding resistance training to that cardio and you'll keep burning calories for up to 48 hours after you're done.

5. No one has ever asked me why we sing in StrollerFit, or why I'm always encouraging moms to sing louder. Seems obvious right? Nice loud singing entertains our kiddos, what baby doesn't enjoy Ring around the Rosy, or what toddler doesn't like picking the farm animal for Old McDonald? True, but there is a bonus reason. When you sing, your uptake of oxygen increases. Making the effort of singing while exercising even more challenging AND building cardiovascular fitness. AHHH HAAA!

6. Adding imbalance to our exercises with the mommymuscle ball, or by doing them on one foot engages the core muscles, improves the proprioception sense and challenges the body even more. Balance is also a sense that will decrease overtime if we don't continue to challenge it. Weight bearing, gravity based activities increase our sense of balance and keep it from diminishing as we age.

7. Combining weight, resistance and imbalance really bumps up the calorie burn and effectiveness of the workout as a whole. Making the most of the short time moms have to exercise each day.

8. Above all, I believe the greatest part of the mommymuscle theory used in StrollerFit is that it allows a new mom who is also new to exercise to work at her own level, while working out right next to a mom who has exercised her whole life and is also being challenged. Now that is an all levels class.

9. The social advantages of working out with other moms are obvious. We love being in the company of others who understand we may need to stop to explain to our toddler why she can't hit her sister, or stop to nurse a baby who woke up late and is off schedule. It's also just fun to be around other moms in general.

10. Last but not least, I bribe the kids. Stickers, fun songs, tickling feet...it's all to get them to ask you "mom, are we going to StrollerFit today?" No not really, I just adore kiddos, but it's an advantage for sure.

So, the secrets have now been revealed. You now know why you were able to go from 34 squats to 48 in an 8 week time period, why your pants fit and why you're now able to unload the dishwasher while balancing your toddler on your hip without falling over.

See YOU in class mamas!

Adding Nutrients to Kids Meals

SO my Blogging has been slacking as I have gotten busier with the kids and life ingeneral.  I recently have been talking with Sara Eberle, Producer & Host of the MommaJam Podcast and she sent out an email after her interview with Denielle Finkelstein regarding kids and shuning vegetables.

This made me think of the things I have read recently and the conversations we have in StrollerFit about food.  First off does anyone know what the statistic is of kids who eat french fries, mash potatoes and other forms of potato as a vegetable - over 60%.  Potato is not a vegetable it is a starch.  The StrollerFit moms talk about the veggies and fruits there kids do and do not eat.  Mine eat a lot and I am amazed at how many eat few or non at all and how many moms sneak in veggies. 

Here is the info Sara sent from her podcast, I hope it makes you think about whaty your kids eat:

Some moms resort to sneaking fruits and vegetables into family meals to add nutrients to basic, everyday dishes that kids love, like mac ‘n cheese and pizza. Who says these standard fares need to be fattening and junky. When you infuse the recipes with naturally healthy and fresh ingredients, you boost the nutrients and flavor, making mom and kids happy.


This week’s podcast is with fellow mom Denielle Finkelstein, who talks about her successful techniques for adding fruits and vegetables to her son’s meals. Check out this podcast for great ideas on making mealtime molto bene with ingredients such as apples, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, cinnamon, vanilla, carrots, and more.

We also talk about two notorious cookbooks on the subject, “The Sneaky Chef” by Missy Chase Lapine, and “Deceptively Delicious” by Jessica Seinfeld. To sneak or not to sneak is a controversial topic discussed frequently online. Some moms and experts believe sneaking food leads children to have eating disorders. Others find that adding fruits and vegetables on the sly is an easy way to ensure healthy eating is a priority.

So Tune in to Sara's MommaJam Podcast to hear our solution for creating balance so kids get the vitamins and minerals they need to grow and look at what you are feeding your family, I am reevaluating what I am feeding mine.

Stay tuned for my StrollerFit PodCast on Momma Jam in the next few weeks.

What a Week!!!!

What a week!!!  Last week ended with us putting our dog Raven to sleep and Joey does not understand Heaven, he keeps telling us Evan stole his dog.  then to this week...

It started with Joey getting a stomach bug, so I cancelled class on monday and felt yucky without a workout, and on a day that was warm and beautiful.  I ended up taking the kids for a long walk later in the day when Joey seemed better.

Tuesday was my birthday.  What a birthday, joey gave me his stomach bug, i was sick from noon til midnight and to top it off Scott forgot my birthday.  He tried to make it up by buying me flowers but I was too sick to care.

Wed was a better day and I got tulips delivered to me from Scott.  They make up his forgetfulness a bit, but he still needs to work  bit more....

Today is is starting to get cold after 5 warms days so we are inside for StrollerFit and preparing for the rain and the crazy weekend.  I am teaching a LGT Review friday, starting a WSI class saturday and then Sunday is the Blackstone Valley Baby Expo and then sunday night is the a benefit for a little girl with a tumor.  It will be a busy few days but all great activities so today I plan to teach Strollerfit, clean the house, have a playdate with a new baby friend of Julianna's and then have dinner with a good friend.  

I wanted to remind everyone that monday is the StrollerFit Open House at Milford Sports Center at 9:30 AM, with lots of fun prizes and I have a great workout planned!!  Come and bring friends..

My crazy children..

So today strollerFit was held at a new location, The Milford Sports Center at 132 Central St, Milford, MA.  Joey was so excited to be at anew place where he could play ball.  He also was excited about peeing on there big boy potty and told everyone he saw thta he did it twice.  This was almost as good as him telling the girls at the supermarket bakery that he needed 2 cookies please, because he peed on the potty at the supermarket.  He knows many of the emplyees at the supermarket because he sees them every week, so he told eveyone who said hi to him that he was a big boy who was wearing lightning mcqueen big boy underware and that he peed on the potty at the supermarket and that  Erin in the Bakery gave him 2 cookies because he is now a big boy.  It was very funny.

Julianna had fun walking and crawling on the turf at the end of class today.  But I think she had the most fun climbing on me while we did planks.  she only weighs 17 pounds but a climbing little girl makes planks very difficult.

The kids at class today seemed to like the new location as did the moms so hopefully StrollerFit Monday's and Wednesday's at 9:30 will get lots of new moms.

Now I am watching Joey sleep, he ran a lot and was tired and Julianna is climbing.  She is going to be a handful.  She climbed on a small chair, it fell over, she cried, I picked her up, she stopped crying and then went back to climbing the chair.  God help me.