Exercise Incentive

I always had this thing about exercise equipment. People spend a lot of money on it, or on clubs that have it. Or videos. Or programs. Or and or and or. I always figured if you're that motivated to exercise, why not walk out your door and go for a walk? Or walk up and down the stairs in your house rather than spend a fortune on a "step" do walk on in front of your tv?

Now I guess I'm starting to get it. Perhaps it's the routine of a program. Or the novelty of buying some cute piece of equipment (or manly, whatever.) Or justifying the purchase by actually using it (at least for a while.)

We joined the Y. I wanted to keep up my kids' momentum with swimming. So now that we have the membership, I'm trying to commit to a weekly yoga class. It's included with the membership, and it's good for me. And it's time just for me, and I get out of the house, and it's a little time away from the kids (I feel guilty listing that as a plus, but it helps me to recharge.) So I am trying to set things up so I can go. I've mentioned it to hubby a couple of times. I've looked up the days/times. I've even sent a message to the woman who babysits for us to see if she's ever available on those days/times. Now it's just following through. Hm. I wonder if there's anyone who'd want to do it with me? Not that I need that. I'll go myself, too. But committing with another person makes it harder to bail out. And blogging about it makes it a sort of a commitment, too.

I also bought my husband a Wii for Christmas. And I have asked for Wii Fit for my birthday. I want to exercise, really I do! It's just a matter of finding the time. Does that sound like a lame excuse? Maybe it is. But I with my children for all but 45 minutes of most days. At least one of them. And that 45 minutes is used for sewing, computer stuff, phone conversations, sometimes showers...and it flies. Exercise with my children, you say? Yeah, sometimes that works. If they're both in the mood and agree on what to do. And really that more often means exercise for them, and not so much for me. (i.e swimming at the Y. They paddle around, while I walk slowly around supporting DS) Anyhow, excuses, excuses. In order for me to feel better, I need to shift exercise to the top of the priority list, which, of course, bumps something else. There's just not enough me time. =(

Anyhow, I won't mope, but will find a way to fit some kind of exercise in every day. It's good for me, and it's good modeling for the babes.

What have I done today........?..............shoot. Nothing.

Treating Common Illnesses In Kids(?)

Both of my kids are sick with a cold/flu-type thing. I've never been the type to run to the doc at the first sign of a cough. Or even the second or third. In fact, it doesn't occur to me to head to the doc's unless things start to make me nervous, like DD's one and only ear infection (knock on wood.) I treat the symptoms myself, with whatever I feel is needed at the time. Now, I grew up with a doc. I use traditional medicines. I have given my thanks to Infant and Children's and regular Tylenol again and again. I have used decongestant on my children a couple of times. Only when I could just cry from hearing one or both of them suffer so much with breathing that one or both couldn't sleep, and everyone was tired, sick, sore and miserable. I quickly agreed to antibiotics for the ear infection that the doc said would usually be left to run its course but in this case... I use Hyland's homeopathic flu tablets sometimes. And when they arrive, I will try using my new collection of essential oils. (A bunch of bologna? Who knows? Keep posted for my EO trials!)

The question is, at what point do you decide to treat something? Are some symptoms treated and others not? I know that with congestion and runny noses in kids it is generally recommended by the docs and pharmacists to let it alone. The idea as I understand it is that it is generally better to let the nose run and get the junk out of the body rather than dry it up and risk a sinus infection. Fevers are there for a reason, but at which point do you decide that it's gotten high enough? Or that the kid/s are miserable enough to warrant intervention? At which point do the kids stay home from school? Does any symptom warrant a day of rest? Or does the kid have to be positively pathetic? If a kid is home from school, is a small period of time outside warranted? Or is the kid stuck inside all day?

Being relatively new to the child in school phenomenon, I question the go to school/stay home thing frequently. There are days I keep DD home, then decide that she would have been just fine at school. There are days I send her, then feel awful when she comes home looking completely worn out.

And one more thought. If a child is working her/his heart out to convince you that she/he is too sick for school, how do you decide if she/he is full of the dickens? Yesterday hubby and I thought that DD was hamming it up to get out of a field trip tomorrow that she has been very anxious about. Then last night she coughed so hard, a couple of times, that she made herself physically sick. She sure didn't fake that! She and DS have the same bug, and both are plenty sick and feel miserable, but they present in completely different ways. DD's energy, at least this time around, has remained high, and she is all over the house and asks to go outside. DS is content to sit and play quietly. He is needier than usual, asking to be held and asking to nurse more than usual. Very different.

So what do you think? What do you (or would you) do?

Tilt

I have a boat. My Mom got it for me and my hubby years ago. It's so cool. It's an inflatable canoe. It's different from paddling a wooden canoe. It responds more slowly. Despite my awareness of this fact, when I paddle on one side of the boat and it doesn't respond right away, I continue to paddle on the same side. The result, of course, is that the boat turns too far to one side. Then I overdo paddling on the other side of the boat to set us straight, and we end up going too far the other way. And so on. The ride is still fun. A lot of work, a bit frustrating, tiring, but ultimately fun and rewarding.

It is much like how I see my life. I imagine a big wheel. Or a circle of some kind which has been divided like a pie. Lots of wedges. Each wedge represents some aspect of life. Like...eating well. Or exercise. Good health. Good sleep/rest. And so forth. In order to maintain balance, each wedge must be "attended" to and maintained. If one wedge is imbalanced, the wheel tips. Whatever that wedge represents, it effects the entire balance of the self. If good rest/sleep is not attained, it effects good health, exercise, eating well, etc. This is true for each wedge. I am aware this is not a new concept, just my interpretation of it. While it becomes critically important to focus on the wedge that is throwing the balance of the wheel off, there must also be attention and awareness on the other wedges. Too much attention to the single wedge throws things off in another direction. Much like my boat. If not enough sleep is attained, the main focus is on getting more sleep, but not to the exclusion of proper eating, exercise, etc. Perhaps the focus is less strong on these other areas temporarily, but the focus is never away.

This is extremely hard to achieve, I feel, but is the key to being, and feeling, balanced. It is the purpose of my blog, and my efforts in general. I feel imbalanced all of the time these days, and I so want to get closer to feeling fine. So I am trying to take a look at all of the wedges on my wheel. The problem is keeping that focus in every area. It's hard!! When I am focusing on sleep, I really fade out on eating well. When I focus on this, I fade out on that. Ugh! But I'm trying. Perhaps it would be easier if I tried to make myself an actual "wheel." Perhaps a visual would help me to remember to keep myself aware of all areas. It's worth a shot. And maybe it would be a good teaching tool for my kids....?

Self-Conscious She, Self-Conscious Me

My daughter is 5 years old, and intensely self-conscious. Sometimes. And very, very timid. Sometimes. And it's a little unpredictable. So starting school last year was challenging for us all. Now she's midway through Kindergarten. And in my eyes, knowing her as I do, she is doing incredibly well! She has no problem when I leave her at school in the morning. (anymore) She reports having a good day, every day. By report she is doing well at school. She comes home enthusiastic about what she's done at school, and loves to write and draw. She's made loads of friends, and the kids really seem to love her. Before school started, she would barely engage with other kids at all. All great stuff.

But, she refuses to eat at school. She won't use the bathroom at school, ever, unless I am there. She won't throw anything away at school. Not ever.

My interpretation? My daughter is making the best of the situation, but is taking control wherever she feels she can. Because otherwise she feels completely out of control of the situation.

So, after two months of the school year had passed and my daughter had not eaten anything for snack or lunch, I decided it was time to act. The school felt the same. So I started to put things in place to "encourage" her to eat. Or really, to discourage her from NOT eating. I told her she could have no sweets at home on the days she didn't eat. I took away after school outings. And so forth. And the school, from what I've been told, informed her that she had to have at least three bites of food at each meal. They threatened to take recess away from her, her favorite part of the school day. All of this, or some of this, worked. She started eating at school. Granted she turned "at least three bites" into "I only have to eat three bites," but she ate. Then she got incredibly picky about what her lunch could be. We ended up giving her 6 bites of pizza every day. Three bites for snack, three bites for lunch. For weeks. Then suddenly, two weeks ago, she stopped eating. Every day, when I picked her up, she would inform me that she hadn't eaten that day. She was upfront about it, but had no explanation. The only thing she could come up with was that there was a teacher watching over lunch who did not usually do so. This threw her off. But how does that explain a run of not eating, which, to this point, has been two and a half weeks?

Sighs. So I decided to take a different approach this time. Instead of approach it as a discipline problem, which I never thought it was to begin with, I decided it was time to try to find out what makes her so anxious that she needs to take control in these ways. I didn't feel like giving her consequences for something that she herself doesn't understand. Let me add that the school, of course, has noticed, and has appealed to me to act in some way. Or decide what should be done about it. I have mentioned, twice, that I want to figure out what the problem is, instead of making the resulting eating issues the problem. Does that make sense? One teacher stated that perhaps part of it was anxiety and part was behavioral. Regardless....

So today, with some pressure from school, I discussed the situation with DD in the car on the way home. At first, she told me that she couldn't talk with me. Then she said that she doesn't like people watching her, and wants to eat by herself. I told her that this was not really possible at school, as it was expected that the group eat together. I asked her if she would eat if she could sit near the group but on her own (she had been doing this at the beginning of the year. Not eating, but sitting separately) and she said yes. Hm. So I emailed her teacher, and I await a reply.

There are a couple of other situations at school where the school feels DD should be made to conform to the school-day routine and DD feels differently. One is greeting other students in front of the entire school each morning. She puts her head down and refuses. Another is speaking up in class. Again, unless she is feeling confident at that moment, she won't.

I am curious. What would you do? Would you insist that she get with the program and do what the school expects her to do without question? Would you accept your child's discomfort and try to find a way for her to fit in while keeping her desires/comfort level in mind? Would you seek an environment that suited your child's temperament better? (i.e. Montessori, where no child is forced to speak in front of the class unless he/she chooses to)Thanks for your thoughts.

Hats off to Suzanne!

I have gotten reconnected with someone I knew years ago when I was a kid. She and I rode the school bus together. Her older brother and I were good friends. She and I have reconnected through Facebook. As I get to know her as an adult, I'm simply amazed at how much we have in common! I thought I would share with you some of the work she does. Her name is Suzanne. Suzanne has a website  on which she explains how she came to enjoy working with people to help them live more healthy and balanced lives:

"Often, life is so busy that it is challenging to find time to prioritize your needs, and especially your health needs.  I work with clients to simplify the process of making healthy choices and to help them find the time in their busy schedules for needed change."

Suzanne writes a monthly newsletter, with simple suggestions ("nuggets") for readers to help them on their path. It's short, easy to digest, and suggests simple tasks to help keep balance in your life. (i.e. this month's newsletter reminded us that we should take the time to stretch each day.) She also works with people one-on-one, and from comments left on her website, it sounds as if people truly appreciate how she works and the advice that she gives.

 One person wrote: "I feel much better, and I am in control of feeling better." Another said: "Working with Suzanne as a Holistic Health Counselor helped me to change my whole outlook on the direct relationship between my health and what I eat."


I'm sharing this because I think what she does is cool. And I think she's cool! I wish I lived close enough to attend her informational meetings on holistic topics. So check out her website. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! 

2010 - February Plan

February Plan and (eventually) Results:

Purge plan for February:

Kitchen purge #1 Get rid of all cooking items that aren't currently being used (pots/pans/small appliances).

Rusty tins, cleansers we haven't used in years, assorted other stuff - BYE-BYE.


Plastic soda can holder, knives, ceramic bowls, heading to DD's school after the winter break. Whoo-hoo!


Rusty nut cracker in the garbage. Coffee travel mug up for donation along with some plastic food storage containers that we don't use. A neighbor just claimed these two items plus a glass that we don't use.

Random things found in the kitchen cabinets...

More random unused stuff. 

All of our coated pots and pans and lids are being donated to DD's school. We are replacing this bunch of purge stuff with a new set: 6 pots and pans and 4 lids. Total reduction: 13 pieces out, 10 in = 3 gonegonegone. =) And we're upgrading...no more coated pots and pans. We're now going with a safer stainless steel set. 














Green plan for Feb:

3. Choose natural personal care products and cosmetics


We use Burt's Bees hand salve and lip stuff. I am hoping to find an alternative to Aquaphor that my skin will accept. I use natural shampoos for myself and the kids most of the time. Our soap bars are transitioning from Dove Sensitive skin to Dr. Bronner's castile soap bars. I am hoping to find a way to keep my skin outbreaks under control without using steroid creams. I currently use a very small amount of steroid cream nightly. I haven't used cosmetics of any kind for years.


I bought California Baby's Calendula Cream yesterday - an attempt to replace Aquaphor for our hands. For me, it failed after one use. I could feel my hands drying out after using it. That happens with every lotion whose first ingredient is water. Hopefully I can use it for something, because 2oz of the stuff cost over $12.00. Sheesh. Oh, and the packaging is very disappointing, too. Plastic bottle and cap, with a plastic "disc" over the top when you open it, sealed by more plastic around the top of the jar. The jar is recyclable (#5) but the rest is trash that won't decompose. Yuk.


I have purchased a bunch of essential oils, and am gradually finding ways of using them, blended, in our home. I have been using oils for diaper rash (if successful this would eliminate Desitin and similar ointments from our house.) I am hoping the oil blends can replace a number of personal care products in our home. I've been using Sweet Almond Oil (organic) on the kids after the bath instead of Aquaphor much of the time, with good results. DS has some eczema rashy spots, which I am paying special attention to, but they seems to be pretty manageable. They're not going away, but they're not too bad either....

4. Go for recycled, naturally bleached toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues


Progess:


I do not use paper towels, and we nearly always out of tissues. My kids use cloth wipes for their noses. I don't like them much when I'm sick, but I try to compromise. 

I purchased toilet paper this month that was made from recycled paper. It's more expensive, and we'll likely go through it more quickly than the 1000-sheet roles, but I will try to be more conservative...Actually it seems to have a lot of sheets like the others we've gotten. It seems to be lasting as long...Duh, there it is right on the package. 1000 sheets. Yeeks. :P

Holistic Moms Network Green Plan:

This month's resolution is an effort to simplify and to focus on what matters: eat whole foods.  Eat foods in their whole, natural state.  Look for foods that are the same as they come out of the ground or in their most natural, simple form.  Organic - great!  Local - fabulous!  But whole is our primary resolution.

Progress: 

I have already signed up for CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for this year's growing season. We have joined the same farm in the past. It is organic, and wonderful. Each week we pick up a share of the farm's produce, which varies from week to week, depending on what is ready to harvest at that time. The food tastes amazing (picked fresh as opposed to picked early and shipped), it's organic which I love, and it encourages us to eat veggies we may not otherwise try. I love it.

I am trying to be more cognizant of serving raw fruits and veggies as well as cooked with most meals. This is a tough area for me. But the kids LOVE fruit and veggies too, so I just have to HAVE them.

Exercise:


Walk in the 'hood: 5
Wii fitness workouts - 15 minutes most nights
Swimming with the kids: 3

From Jan plan: I gave away a bunch of kids' books to friends. The remaining books will be donated or tossed (some are in poor shape.) 


4 books given to Children's Museum (brought 1 home)

I've decided to move the cookbooks, and since I was going through them anyway, I decided it was a great time to PURGE. A bunch more stuff thrown out, recycled and donated!

2010 - January Plan - Results!

Results for January:

PURGE PLAN RESULTS:

Reading Material Purge:

Magazines purged: 39

I am liking the idea that I have been able to pass some of these magazines on to others to enjoy before they are recycled. I sorta wish people were more into sharing periodical subscriptions...

Newspaper purge: At least one each day

Book purge: 1 book sold on Amazon.com. 12 more listed. In the meantime they will live in the garage! 17 books thrown away (many were old text books.) 4 donated to the library. 2 offered back to MIL, who leant them to us years ago! 1 offered to HMN folks - to be donated to library in 1 week...(1/12-19) 12 to be donated to library or DD's school - will sit in the car meanwhile. Gone from car - donated. One bag of kid's books given to a friend, two more to be given/donated. One in the car, one on its way to the car.

Easy Green Living book-RESULTS:

Clean Kindly:

+Rejected soap nuts liquid for the dishwasher. Replaced it with 7th Generation power which has been great.

+Soap nuts liquid for kitchen clean-up is good. Really like to use castile soap for general household cleaning.

+Bought myself a bar of castile soap scented with Eucolyptus oil. Very nice! Suds a lot (which is not important to me, just a comment) and smells very nice! Aromatherapy while you shower. Unusual for me as I buy unscented stuff due to my skin issues, but this is all-natural, I'll see how my skins deals. So far so good!

+At my daughter's insistence we bought some "all natural" hand soap yesterday. Grapefruit and pomegranate scent. I have been sneezing ever since. I have run into this before with orange scented natural cleaners and have removed them from my life. Must be all citrus scented stuff. Weird. DD loves to pick hand soaps, and doesn't like to be limited to my castile soap concoctions, even when I put it in the foaming hand soap dispenser.... perhaps if I try using scented oils in it?...... She might enjoy making it with me...

Be Wise With Laundry:

+Soap nuts liquid in the laundry has been excellent. I started using Biokleen oxygen bleach this month, with good results.

Holistic Moms Network Green Resolutions: RESULTS:

#1 Ditch the plastic. Replace plastic water bottles with alternatives that are reusable, recyclable, safe

I have already gotten two stainless steel water bottles (Christmas present, thank you dear hubby!) I ordered two stainless steel water bottles for the children. I have thrown away a bin filled with all of our plastic bottles, sippy cups and plastic cups. (See photo in Plastic Purge Phase 1) .....The kids' bottles have arrived, and they started using them right away. They are the perfect size, and they have sport-bottle tops that are safe. My plan is to wash and fill them with fresh water every morning. So far it's worked great. The kids are drinking more water, which is good.

Exercise - RESULTS:

snow shoe/sledding adventure, kid-style: 1

neighborhood walk: 2

yoga: about 9 times

Joined the Y mid-Jan. swim with the kids: 4

hike w/family: 1

Wii sports: A few minutes most days beginning mid-Jan.

Beautify House-RESULTS:

Adding once again. Beautify house. I am officially really embarrassed to have people see our house. And now that DD is having play dates all over the place, I need to get my act together. Progress so far? NONE. Perhaps this will kick in in Feb.

I am very pleased with myself for having done all of this. I hope I can keep the momentum up for Feb! The results are good motivators.