Category Archives: health & fitness

Boys, Family, health & fitness, Parenting

Be Driving By McD’s

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Here’s a conversation from the car today as we did a few errands:

JC, our almost six year old yells from the back of the van: “Mom, look! What is that giant M?”

Me: “Sorry Hon, I didn’t see it!”

JC: “Mom, it had a giant playhouse in it!”

Me: “Oh?”

JC: “Mom, I want to go there, it looks cool.”

Me: “Hmmmm… I don’t know son. I am going to have to think about it.”

Ok folks, here is my quandary: I have never taken my children to the cultural icon, McDonald’s. I just can’t do it.

After watching Supersize Me many eons ago, I can’t get over what their food did to his body. I don’t trust this food chain for their food nor the cleanliness of their play areas.

Is the unhealthy image of this ‘playhouse’ truth, urban legend or a figment of my imagination?

Me: “Sorry Son, I am going with my gut and keep driving right by that giant M. You will have to decide this one for yourself, when you are old enough. You may even have to wait til you can drive there yourself!” 🙂

health & fitness, Parenting

Be A Cross Country Skier

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I have skied since I was a child, but I can’t say I loved it.  I have memories of whining alot when I skied… oh that’s where our three year old gets it from!

Since having our oldest, almost six years ago, I have been cross country skiing and loving it.  My great friend, Diana, got me into you, got me organized, and inspired me to train to climb to the top of the mountain.  Now there has been no turning back.

Being a mom of boys, the reason that I love cross country skiing, is the exercise I can get when my boys are having fun too!  I pull a chariot that my boys can ride in or I can “drag” them behind on their skis.  Fresh air, white snow, beautiful mystical trees, sunshine above the clouds, who can ask for more?

Now we even has a dog trail so the whole family can have fun while exercising.

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I really believe that cross country skiing is one of the best family activities I know.  Everyone sticks together while going at their own pace.  We often have Nana and Papa joining us on the trails.  Also our lodge serves healthy snacks: granola bars, sandwiches, soup… no french fries in sight!

Boys, health & fitness, Parenting

Be Where You Are

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I have returned to “The Gym”, something I swore I would never do after ten years of competitive sport and countless hours in “The Gym”.

I am loving working out again!  It is fantastic to be active with a group of women who are so inspiring.  I love lining up in a row on your bike/treadmill/stepper chatting away and sweating.

My boys reminded me that I need to stick at my own level.

It is easy to get next to my friend, Penny, who does spin classes two to three times per week and cranks out rpms on the bike that would make Lance Armstrong, without drugs, sweat.   I need to learn to be okay where I am.

Today, my boys pulled out a few crafts from the cupboard behind out kitchen table.  Our five year old, JC, pulled out some paper and a pencil and began writing a story about nighttime animals.  Baby OC, pulled out the playdough and started pounding away. Our three year old, CC, got out a pirate colouring book and went back and forth and back and forth with his favourite blue felt.

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Whether I want to write a new story, pound away or just go back and forth, back and forth, the most important thing when it come to my mental and physical health is for me to be okay with where I am, in this moment, in this day, even at “The Gym”.

Note to self: I also need to continue to allow my children to be where they are.

health & fitness

Be A Smoker (In Your Own House)

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I can’t judge anyone because first I have to look at my own life.  Could I give up real Italian pizza for the rest of my life?  Would I never allow Lindt chocolate to touch my lips?  Could I ask someone to stop smoking or judge them because they do smoke?  To all of these questions, I have to answer NO.

BUT, I am annoyed by the impact that smoking has on my life.

My neighbours, I wrote about their son yesterday, are regular smokers who have created a beautiful outdoor living room because they won’t smoke in their house.  He is a realtor and knows that if you smoke in a house it affects its resale value.  (I am not going to mention the affect that smoking has on ones lungs!)  Anyways, when our neighbours are out smoking, I feel uncomfortable and mildly nauseous playing outside with my children.    The smoke wafts into our backyard, through our sandbox and into our lungs.

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Our neighbours backyard living room under the roof. 

Yesterday, we were outside our beautiful new public library.  Fifteen month old, OC, is starting to walk more and more, but sometimes he does crawl.  There is a slight ramp at the entrance to our library.   He walked halfway down the ramp, fell hands first and crawled through a pile of cigarette butts.

Here is our new library.  You can’t see the cigarette butts that litter the front entrance. 

Feel free to smoke, but do it in your own house!

health & fitness, Uncategorized

Be a Walker

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Yesterday, I attempted to drive my son to Elementary School because it was cold (-8 degrees Celsius) and to be truthful, I was feeling lazy.   He goes to school about ten blocks away, down a hill, in the centre of our town.  The school has approximately 750 students from Kindergarten to Grade seven.

Now here is the kicker: The school drop-off was absolutely insane.  I was seriously shaking my head at how many cars there were.  I couldn’t even get into the school parking lot.

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(View of parking lot from the top of hill I had to traverse!)

I ended up parking on a busy side road, hauling all three kids out of their car seats, walking around the very busy parking lot, over a huge snow pile, and then down the other side clinging onto the chainlink fence.

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We made it into the line-up just as the bell rang.

I think we will go back to walking to school!

But this brings up my next point: Why don’t we walk more?  Why don’t more people get out of their cars and walk into the restaurant?  I understand if you have children to tote or a wheelchair to unfold, but if you are able-bodied and alone in your car, why do you go through the drive thru?

Our fifteen month old just started walking on the weekend.  What a joy it is to see his smiling faces as he “cowboy” walks across the living room!

Last point for today, when my husband was teaching grade six/seven, a city planner came in and asked the students to draw their neighbourhood.  Those children that walked to school had more awareness of the environment around them and perhaps more of an appreciation.  Do children notice how crunchy chestnuts are when you step on them or learn how to walk along a concrete barrier when they are zooming down the road in a car?

Yup, I think that walking is a pretty important skill to utilize, something we shouldn’t take for granted!

Thanks baby OC for reminding me of this lesson – now just remember to watch out for the table!

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health & fitness, Self-help, Uncategorized

Be Less “Sugary”

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Are you ready for a graphic story and a happy ending?

Six years ago, I started noticing that I was having healthy issues that were affecting my life. I was bloated, I had cramping, I often had to lie down. I even had blood on my stools. I went to my MD and did some blood tests and even a colonoscopy. YUM! The doctor couldn’t find a thing. He told me to just try and “deal with it”.

I am the type of girl that can grin and bear it. I have even pushed through athletic injuries knowing that “no pain no gain” is sometimes appropriate, but this pain, bloating, cramping was not normal.

So for the first time I went to see a Naturopathic doctor. She immediately recognized these symptoms and had me eliminate wheat, dairy, sugar and a few other things. Within 6 week, I was pain and blood free. Within 6 months, I had lost 20 pounds and had never felt better!

Now as I start 2013, I am reflecting on my health and where I want to be as I turn 40 in a few years. I realized that I need to again cut down on the sugar intake! I often wonder if years from now research is going to show us the havoc that sugar creates in human bodies. I know that my cousin in Spain would agree with that.

ImageThis morning I looked at the snow and it made me think of my sugar goal. I realized that the ‘sugar’ I shovel should not be going into my mouth!

Goals, health & fitness

Be a Beginner

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I am always amazed at watching my 5, 3 and 1 year old boys.  They are always trying something new, trying to figure something out, moving around, climbing on things and generally just moving through their world in a different way each day.  I was inspired!

I decided that my three goals for this year are to laugh more, love more and make more mistakes.  My type A personality loves the t’s crossed neatly if you know what I mean.

So, today I tried to include all three of these goals into one activity: Zumba!  A year or two ago I said that I would never try Zumba and that I would never join a gym again… well never say never people!  I did both of those things this morning.  My very wise neighbour had, over time, convinced me that I should try Zumba.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE!  It was fun, I made a fool of myself and I got some great exercise.  It was one activity where I had to solely focus on what I was doing. I couldn’t worry about the boys at home, what I was going to cook for dinner or the pile of laundry.

Here is an image that I got off the web that sums up the experience for me:

Now off to have a rest, I am sore!

What are you going to do this year to “be a beginner”?  What new pathways are you going to create in your brain?

health & fitness, Parenting

Be a Swimmer, Skater and Gymnist

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Sexy Neck and I both have Physical Education/Human Kinetics degrees, so when our poor first child was born we had lengthy conversations about which activities we felt were essential for a North American lad.

We decided that the athletic skills that are a challenge to learn, but provide a solid foundation for other sports had to be first.

The WINNERS ARE:

  • swimming (plus we didn’t want our children to drown!)

  • skating (I used to teach adults to skate – yikes, I saw a few broken bones!)

  • Gymnastics (Don’t we all wish we could fly and one day flip through the air?)

Every year our children will take a lesson, from a “professional” in each of these pursuits. I realized tonight that the boys did all of these things this week! I love being intentional about something and seeing it happen.

I must admit, besides the lessons, there is also an awful lot of living room skating, bedroom gymnastics and tidal waves in the bathtub! I now completely understand the making of Jackass the Movie.