Hula Hooping Through Life

I have decided to make exercise part of my life. My first order of business is quitting the gym. That's right - I quit. How can I really be a fit example for my children when going to the gym means dropping them in the childcare? Instead, I am going to find ways to truly integrate exercise into our routine so we will all enjoy and benefit.

Today was a good start. We took a walk to the playground. The older kids walked and I pushed the little guy and picnic lunch in the double stroller. We took the long cut around the pond and then the kids ran through the field and I pushed the stroller across the grass. Let me tell you, pushing a double stroller across an uncut field is better than any exercise machine I've ever tried! At the play ground I pushed the kids on the swings and did a little swinging myself. Back at home we cranked up the music in the back yard and danced and hula hooped. I'm still a pretty good hooper - and my abs loved the hip shaking!

I think this is going to work! I did a little googling and at 120 pounds here's how many calories I would burn doing the following activities for just 20 minutes, according to the Fitness Partner Connection:

• Bicycling: 12-13.9 mph, leisure, moderate effort - 145.4
• Dancing: disco, ballroom, square, line, Irish step, polka - 81.8
• Frisbee: general - 54.5
• Rope Jumping: general, moderate - 181.8
• Swimming: general, leisurely, no laps - 109
• Walk: 2 mph (30 min/mi) - 45.4
• Gardening: weeding - 81.8
• Watering plants, by hand - 45.4
• Child-care: bathing, feeding, etc. - 54.5
• Playing w/kids: vigorous effort - 90.9
• Child games: moderate, hop-scotch, jacks, etc. - 72.7

Compared to the 90-130 calories for the aerobics I used to do, not too shabby! More time with my kids, fitness for the whole family and the same health benefits. I am suddenly really excited about exercise.

I'm off to weed the garden and then gather the troops for a bike ride...

Money Can't Buy Me Love

The downward economy has caused me to do a lot of thinking about the role that money and material things play in my life. I would like to say I have the upper hand in my relationship with money, but I will admit there definitely has been a power struggle between us sometimes.

I never thought about money until college. I went to a private university with a lot of wealthy kids (or kids of wealthy people, which apparently makes the kids wealthy as well) and was quickly introduced to a new standard of “normal.” Not only did my friends have designer clothes and endless party money, they also had cabins, condos in Florida and other really fun things that I didn’t mind being part of. My friends shared, so money was fun!

As I got older and we started to get careers, houses and families of our own, the pressure to keep up with the Joneses became a vise grip. Dinner parties were actually an opportunity to show off the latest home improvement projects, golf outings were at the country club and kids birthday parties seemed more like carnivals. My husband and I quickly got into the ugly mindset of always wanting more and never being content with what we had. So what did we do? What so many Americans have done – we tried to keep up whether we could afford it or not.

It was all fine until my husband’s income dropped substantially and we couldn’t pay our bills. No rich parents to bail us out. Times were tough for a long while and we are still paying the price catching up.

Fortunately, I can say that we learned our lesson. We’ve been pulling ourselves up by our boot straps and living a pretty darn good life within our means.

We don’t have a condo in Florida, but we do have a local beach that our three wonderful kids love to play at.

We don’t have a cabin, but we do have this awesome tent that sleeps eight and has a screen porch on the front.

We don’t have endless party money, but Trader Joes has pretty good wine and my husband is a great cook.

Best of all, we’ve learned a lot about what’s truly important and know that all that really matters is that we have each other. Even without all the extras, we still have love. (Cheesy, yes, but true.)

That said, my husband and I have learned one final lesson that I would like to share: If you are a poor kid attending a rich college, don’t fall in love with the one other poor kid at the school. In other words, in times of trouble, remember your sense of humor – it goes a long way! : )

Home Not-So-Sweet Home

I can hear my three kids in the other room fighting over the wii. There is probably nothing that I dislike more than the sound of them arguing (except maybe the sound of the video games). It is a particularly harsh sound right now because we just got back from a beautiful day in the country visiting family. My husband's uncle and aunt live on a hobby farm and from their lovely little white house you can see nothing but grass-covered hills and an old red barn that has seen better days, but fits perfectly into the picturesque view. I felt so wonderfully at peace watching my kids running through the fields and rolling down the hills with their cousins. I was relaxed in the fact that I didn't have to watch too closely because there was really nothing of danger around and I especially loved that they were happily entertaining themselves with really nothing but each other and the beauty around them.

But now we're home. I hadn't finished unpacking the car and the video games were already on and the bickering had begun. So now I'm sitting here wondering why. What is it about our home that seems to bring out the worst in them? Are they simply exhausted from a big day? Did they use up all their good behavior around the relatives? Is it the video games that makes them instant animals? Are they just being kids? I am trying to get to the heart of it. I think a peaceful home is the foundation of a lovely life, so it is probably the best place to start.

For now, I'm going to try to get them away from the wii and out into the garden. Maybe they will listen to mother nature better than they listen to me. It sure seemed to work up at the farm.