The Challenge: Does Total Gym Really Work?

Okay, so I am a busy mom of two preschoolers (or rather, I am a mom of two BUSY preschoolers!) so I find it difficult to maintain the kind of work out routine that I held in the past. I have fond memories of my single days when life could literally revolve around trips to the gym. I was in shape and enjoyed working out. I could actually enter a 10k race and finish it.

That was one husband and two children ago. For awhile I had a gym membership that worked for me and I was on my way back into good health. But then we moved and the gym no longer was a convenient possibility for me. So here I am, desperately needing some sort of routine that will work for a tired mom. Cue the Total Gym commercial.

I was flipping through the satellite guide the other night and saw that an advertising spot was on for the Total Gym. Now, we had picked one up second hand for my husband years ago, but I never used it. I started watching about the product and they claim you just need to do it 10 minutes a day. Now exactly what the results are supposed to be was not spelled out, but there was fine print about having to eat a healthy diet if you wanted to lose weight.

But back to the point - 10 minutes. I thought it's one thing to not want to bundle up the kids in winter time and drive 20 minutes to the gym so you can workout for an hour. (that was why it didn't last once I moved!) You eat up half of your day just getting your workout in. But if all I have to do is can't find 10 minutes a day then I am just being plain lazy NOT to give this a try.

So, the challenge is on, and I will let you know how it goes. I am going to do 10 minutes a day for 60 days. I will find out if this is the perfect workout tool for busy moms and you can have an unbiased, unpaid review of this product.

New Year, New Format

A big apology to my 1 or 2 readers out there besides my mom. We have had a major interruption this week in my ability to blog. First I have been having computer problems and was concerned about having a virus. I wanted to download the AVG free virus protection program, but on dial up, it was a very lengthy process. (about 4 1/2 hours) To make matters worse, I kept getting disconnected and having to restart the download.

Then, after finally getting the virus protection up and running, we had an unforeseen major change of venue. We packed up our kids and drove 27 hours to Phoenix. Hubby is going to be working down here for a while. With all of this going on, I have not had the opportunity to do my regular blogging.

Meanwhile, I have been thinking about changing the format. My original concept was for a book that would categorize activities for moms. I am going to start doing posts following this format. Each post will be under one of the activity labels - indoor time, outdoor time, arts, crafts, music, and story time. Then you can pick and choose your own activities by looking under the labels on the blog page. The good news is that I am back on high speed internet now that I am in Phoenix, so I should be able to get the site completely updated while I am here.

Thanks for your patience and next week will resume regular postings.

Now for wading through all this, you get rewarded with this touching little tidbit to remind us that children may say the darndest things, but sometimes they also say the most profound things. Click on the Sky Angel Cowboy link and listen to the audio message.

Do the Holidays Ever End?

Okay, I admit it. New Year's Eve completely snuck up on me. In celebration of (or recovery thereof) I will not be posting activities for tomorrow. Have a great day with your family. If you need something to do with your kids, then take a trip down memory lane. Look at photos from 2007 and remember all the great times you had together.

Happy New Year!

Keeping it Clean

A little blog housekeeping first - tomorrow is Favorites Friday, so you get to repeat your children's favorite activities from the week. I won't be posting the Daily Grind next week for a couple of reasons. One, we have family coming in for the holidays so it promises to be quite hectic around here. Two, I don't think most people are going to have a problem finding ways to keep the kids entertained next week. For most of us, the kids are going to have a bunch of new toys to keep them happily engaged for the week. But, I will be hosting the SAHM Blog Carnival this Sunday. Be sure to check back in and see what moms are contributing this week for your reading pleasure.

And, since I mentioned it a looooong time ago, I thought I would post my cleaning schedule for those of you who can't get enough of schedules. This schedule is designed to keep your house clean - NOT spotless. Go see Martha Stewart if you need a spotless house....better yet, go see a shrink. You need to get your priorities in order. Spotless homes and small children are not congruent. If you fail to get everything done everyday, then at the very least your home will be tidy. This far surpasses the (total chaos)(pit of despair) mess that reigns without some sort of schedule in my home.

Being an accountant by trade, I am an excel freak. So my schedule is posted as a spreadsheet on my refrigerator. Feel free to write it up in whatever way works for you. You could use index cards for each day/category, make a list then laminate it, write it on a white board where you can check it off as you go...the possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Here is my schedule:

DAILY: Straighten all rooms
Do dishes and put away
Make beds
Plan meals
Do a load of laundry
Wipe bathroom sinks
Wipe down shower after use
Clean stove/oven as needed
Pay bills
Water plants/garden
Feed/water pets

WEEKLY -
MONDAY: Empty wastebaskets/take trash out
Sweep kitchen floor
Spot-clean walls/floors
Change bed sheets
Choose a monthly task
TUESDAY: Clean kitchen sink
Clean bathroom mirrors
Clean toilets
Clean ceiling fans
Choose a monthly task
WEDNESDAY: Empty wastebaskets
Clean toaster, microwave, coffeemaker (i.e. regularly used small appliances)
Wipe cabinets/appliances
Sweep/mop downstairs
THURSDAY: Clean kitchen sink
Clean bathroom mirrors
Clean showers Spot-clean floors
FRIDAY: Empty wastebaskets
Dusting Sweep/mop upstairs
SATURDAY: Clean kitchen sink
Choose 1-2 monthly, bi-monthly, bi-annual, or yearly tasks

MONTHLY: 2x - dust out of reach areas/polish
Check dryer vents
Vacuum in/on/under furniture
Clean refrigerator inside/top/under
Wash kitchen curtains
Turn mattresses
Wash garbage cans
Wash windows inside

EVERY OTHER MONTH: Dust blinds
Wax floors
Clean kitchen drawers/cupboards
Wash curtains
Wash whole stove
Wash windows outside
Baking soda in drains to clear sinks
Clean throw rugs

BI-ANNUALLY: Carpets cleaned
Rotate seasonal clothes
Clean closets/drawers
Check smoke detectors/replace batteries (do at daylight saving time each year is an easy way to remember)

YEARLY: AC/heating system maintenance
Wash walls
Wash blinds

I know, I know....it seems overwhelming. But the reality is, you are doing most of this anyway. You just didn't realize how much you were juggling every day/week. Or you did, and it made you want to fake your own death and disappear to a tropical island somewhere. Utilizing this schedule will help it be more manageable. Really, if you are following this schedule on a regular basis, most of the daily and weekly stuff just isn't so bad. It's when you fall behind that the tasks can become laborious. For instance, if you haven't so much as looked at the blades on your ceiling fans since the day they were installed or you moved in, then it is very likely going to be a highly time consuming chore the first time you clean them. But after that, each week will be a pretty quick and painless assignment to dust the blades off.

Also, you can shift items around as needed for your home. Our garbage is picked up on Tuesday morning. I was scheduling to empty the wastebaskets 3x a week, so I did MWF to accommodate getting them emptied the day it needed to go out. Our last home was only one level. I just split the house into two sections and swept/mopped half the house on Wednesday and the other half on Friday. Also, I assigned everything from Mon.-Sat. I like having Sunday off from any chores. You can set up your schedule for every day of the week if you like or maybe you would rather do more during the week and have off Saturday and Sunday. Just be realistic about what you can get done in a day without totally neglecting your kids.

Oh, yeah. Here's the really important part....your husband should be helping you get this all done. Stop laughing - I'm serious. Keeping a household clean after you (get married) have kids is a huge task. Having this chart helps you to make that point abundantly clear with your significant other. Sit down with him sometime after the kids are in bed and before you become completely comatose, and go over the list of tasks, assigning them between the two of you. If your husband still needs more convincing that you need his help, then I suggest the two of you read Babyproofing Your Marriage. (review here) This book makes it clear that if a man wants you to meet his marital needs (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more) then he needs to step up to the plate in a big way with the housework. Really, once you have kids, housework is the new box of chocolates/bouquet of roses. I remember telling a girlfriend of mine after the first baby, "Hubby did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen and swept the floors last night. It was the best foreplay I've had in a long time!"

Enough said. Divvy up the housework and give yourself grace on those days it just doesn't all get done. Your house will live to see another day. (and you will too!)

Friday Favorites

Okay gang, here's the deal. I don't know how it is around your house, but there is tooo much stuff to do with the kids. What ends up happening is my older daughter wants to do something we did before, but of course I've already lined up something new and different to do for the day. In the spirit of 'this is supposed to make life easier with our kids' I am not going to post a fifth day's worth of activities. Fridays are now favorites day. Redo your kids favorite activities from the week. How do you know what those were? Ask them! When it is time to play a game, ask what game they want to play. If they don't name one off the top of their head, then guess what? It gets to be your favorite from the week! Either way, you will have plenty of choices and continued fun with your kids.

Enjoy your Friday favorites!

Lead Poisoning from Christmas Trees?!?

Unbelievably, my new AC adapter arrived for my laptop. I ordered it on Monday and really hoped only that it might arrive by Saturday. What a surprise to see it on my front steps today! But good surprises are always welcome. :)

Since I was unable to post pictures and did late posts, I have decided to take a break this week from the activity posts. I am going to concentrate on getting my site up on kid-daze.com instead. Then I will start up again on Sunday with the activity posts again. I will be reposting Monday and Tuesday complete with photos of the crafts.

Meanwhile, I wanted to write about an interesting discovery that we made in our home this past week. Friday was the day to pull out the Christmas tree and set it up. We purchased one of those pre-lit artificial trees several years ago. This year when we set up the tree, several of the strings were not lighting up - bummer! So, my dear hubby began fiddling with it and eventually got all but the strand at the very top to light up. I pulled out the paperwork that came with the tree to see if there were any tips on dealing with unlit strands. I read through it all and it was the last bit on the "Important Safety Instructions" that threw me for a loop. I quote:

"Prop. 65 Warning: Handling the coated electrical wires of this product exposes you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects and other reproductive harm. Wash hands after use."

Now, I don't know about you, but I would never in my wildest dreams have considered my Christmas tree as a potential source for lead poisoning. This is especially distressing considering I was pregnant with my first child when we bought the tree and we are going on our third year of handling these lead coated wires.

I googled "Christmas tree lead poisoning" and surprise, surprise, there are a lot of articles out there. One thing I read was that the concern was greater with products made in China. (as our tree was, as well as the slew of recently recalled toys) Also, just because there is no warning doesn't mean that there is no lead in your Christmas lights or other decorations. It just means they don't sell it in California which requires by law that it is marked as containing lead.

Here is a link with valuable information on it geared toward safety for your children.
health information

Now why haven't I heard about this before? Does everyone else know this and I just live under the proverbial rock? Or is this new and disturbing information to the other parents out there?

PLEASE, pass this information along. Thanks!

Getting Ready for Turkey Week

This could be a busy week for you and the kids depending on your holiday plans. But never fear, we have some really fun things for you to do with your kids if you get some down time. Which brings me to why I am writing to you tonight. I wanted to give you a heads up on the upcoming week and a few hints for going forward.

One thing you might want to do is start saving some of the things you normally throw away. Think empty egg cartons, paper towel rolls, soda boxes, cereal boxes, milk jugs, etc. Don't get buried in this stuff, but set aside one big box that you toss these things into. Once you have reached maximum capacity, stop saving. This way you will have some resources on hand for getting creatively crafty with. For sure be saving up those empty egg cartons. If you are not an egg eater, maybe you have a neighbor or friend who will save you up a few. There is a super fun project in December using these, and the more the merrier!

For this week there are a few items you will need for the crafts. Some you may have and some you may need to get. Here is the list:
construction paper, multi-colored
glue
large marshmallows
gum drops (aka spice drops)
toothpicks
feathers (optional)

You may also want to create a craft box. We have one in our home where we collect all our arts and crafts type stuff - crayons, markers, doodle pads, stickers, etc. A great place to go is a dollar store to stock up on the basics. Craft stores or WalMart also have some other items that are good to have on hand such as pipe cleaners, google eyes, pom poms, etc. Create a nice little stash for yourself up front and chances are good you either will have everything you need, or at least have something that would work in place of my suggested item.

But never fear, I will always give you a heads up before the beginning of the week to make sure you have everything you need. So, gather up your goodies and get ready to have some fun with your kids.

I've Got My Schedule, But Now What Do I Do???

I know, I know. The ultimate mother dilemma. How to keep our kids entertained all day long without going nutty ourselves. This is why the super easy flexible schedule comes in so handy. First, you have specific activities that you will be doing. This keeps the day varied and interesting. Second, you don't even have to figure out what to do for Craft Time or what game to play for Indoor Time. That is the real beauty of this site. New ideas will be posted for each weekday that you can do with your kids. Yep, you heard right. Just check in every day to get your activity list for the day.

Does this mean you have to do what is posted online? Of course not! They are just suggestions to get your own creative juices flowing. Feel free to find your own unique ways to implement each idea. If you hit upon one that your kids just love, then by all means, use it again and again. (you know how kids like to do the same thing over and over and over and over....) But the option is there to follow each idea as outlined and leave the creative thinking to Kid-Daze. :)

More on the Super Easy Flexible Schedule for Your Kids

Just when you thought you had it all down... there are other ways to use the super easy schedule for kids. Not everyone is a schedule person that wants to do the same thing all the time. This goes for kids too. While they need a certain amount of routine in their lives, all kids have different personalities. So if your skin crawls with the heevie jeevies just thinking about being on a schedule with your kids, there are a couple of ways to modify its use.

In our original schedule, we ordered our activities and then started at the beginning each day and moved through the different activities. No matter what point we reached at the end of the day, we start at the beginning the next day.

In the first alternative, you can just continue where you left off the day before. This way you just continuously move through each activity. You would do the most variety of activities with your kids following the schedule in this manner.

The second alternative is to make it more of a game for your kids. Put the different activity times on an index card or piece of paper - one activity per card. Then put all the cards in a jar or bowl. Have your dear little one pick one out and that is your first activity. Each time you are ready to move on to another activity, your child gets to pick it out of the jar - surprise! This becomes the routine for you and your child.

The most important aspect of the schedule is that you are finding time to spend with your kids while keeping them entertained and learning about their world.

A Super Easy Flexible Schedule for Your Kids

We have all heard it before. If you are a mom you are painfully aware that keeping your kids on a regular schedule is important if you are to keep your head up high in the mommy circles. But for most of us, daily life isn’t so easily scheduled as to write it in erasable marker on a board in the kitchen and “so be it.”

My solution is the “Flex” Schedule. Here is how it works.
There are different activity times in the schedule for which you should allot 30 minutes each.

Story Time - read a story or look at picture books
Music Time - singing songs, dancing, making music or playing with musical toys
Art Time - painting, coloring, drawing, sculpting
Craft Time - making something by cutting, gluing, decorating
Outdoor Time - games for the great outdoors
Indoor Time - structured play for inside

These are the main activity times which will account for 3 hours a day with your kids. The order they are in does not matter. What does matter is that you are consistent in the order. So, if you set up your schedule in the order listed above, you would always follow up Story Time with Music Time. Now, does this mean if your kid is having a crank monster day and has absolutely no interest in doing your planned Music Time activity with you that you force the aforementioned crank monster to comply to your will? Absolutely not. That is the beauty of the flexible schedule. Maybe they have their own idea of what to do for Music Time. Maybe they just need some Free Time first and then they will be happy to participate in your planned activity. Or maybe you just need to skip music time for the day and move on to Art Time.

Which brings us to the whole ‘flexible’ concept. I know at my house I don’t want to be tied to doing activities at particular times. I might need to go shopping, meet up with some other moms for a play date, or go to the dentist. Whenever there is an activity that will create a break in your schedule, simply pick up with the next activity time once you are back home. Again, if they are used to Music Time following Story Time, then that is what you do upon returning.

Now, how to pick the order of your schedule. Since other life activities will often reduce the amount of time you have for your planned activity time, determine which activities are most important to you for your children. Personally, I love to read, so I want to instill the love of books in my children. That makes Story Time as the first activity on my schedule. It’s the one thing I definitely want to do with my kids everyday. Maybe you are just not a crafty person. Put Craft Time at the bottom of your schedule. Chances are good that many days you may not even get around to craft time - even when you stay home all day with the kids.

What?? How can that be? We already added up our activity time and it was only 3 hours, correct? So, how could we not get to all the activities everyday? The rest of the day is filled up with snacks, naps, baths, meals, and free time. You can see the day is suddenly very full!

Most kids will need some free time after spending time interacting with you. Usually after 30-60 minutes of parent interaction, kids will want some time to play by themselves. This is the time you get, to take care of your own personal schedule - chat with your girlfriend while supervising the little ones, pay bills, do some laundry…you don’t need my help figuring out what to do when your kids are happily playing. (but if you want my help, I have a cleaning schedule you can use to fill up that free time!) Kids can burn up a lot of the day with their free time play, and isn’t that what we want? Ultimately, we want to stimulate their imagination and curiosity.

Now that you have decided how to order your schedule, here is how to implement it. First you need to put it in writing somewhere you can see it. I suggest the refrigerator door - goodness knows you probably spend a lot of time in the kitchen - I know I do! You can do something as simple as writing it up like it is a grocery list or you can be creative. It does make an excellent project for your kids to do during Craft Time. :) Try cutting circles or squares out of construction paper and write an activity on each circle. Glue the shapes on another sheet of paper and tape to the fridge. Use a magnet to mark the current activity time. This way you have created a visual reminder that the kids are actually following a schedule and it gives them that comfortable ‘routine’ feeling they desperately crave.

Second, remember that it can be difficult for kids to make transitions quickly. Be sure to give your kids some ample notice that you are going to be doing something else soon. Not giving them proper notice is a sure fire way to rouse that sleeping crank monster.

Third, be sure to have your kids help clean up before moving on to the next activity or free time. It is never too soon for them to learn to put their things away. Have them help even if you have to literally take them by the hand and show them how. (I.e. very young toddlers)

There you go. You have a schedule for your kids, a newfound sanity, and it wasn’t even painful. Now go enjoy your kids!