Does a Mom have time to workout?

We live in a very different world then we once did.  We once lived in a world full of physical labor.  Now we are sitting all the time.  Men used to work the fields, work with their hands.  Women would get down and scrub the floor on their hands and knees and wash the laundry by hand.  People once walked to the places they needed to go, not anymore!  Now we have vehicles, sit at desks all day, just to come home and sit at the dinner table and then move to go sit on the couch.   I am glad we have the modern convinces we do but unfortunately, one of the things that was lost with more technology was the necessity to be active. We now have to work to be active, we now call being active "working out".  I do not know if I am the only one, but working out that is more difficult then I would like it to be.  Not only do I  find the time hard to come by but also the motivation to do it!  It just makes so much more sense to have activity built around your day  like it once was then to isolate "activity" to 3 hr. a week (or whatever it may be for you).  Now don't get me wrong, I do not think there is anything wrong with having a workout routine, going to the gym, or for a run, in fact, I would greatly encourage that! I just know that regularly heading to the gym or going for a run can be hard to keep up with. Especially if you are a Mama.  Do you workout in the evening so your husband can watch the kids? That can cut into family time and when does he get to workout? Do you try to do it in the day? How a Mom of three or more kids goes for a run (or has time to workout at all) is completely beyond my comprehension! (Please, fill me in on how you make this happen!)  Some gyms provide childcare, but what if you can't afford a gym?

How is a Mom supposed to get the opportunity to work out?  Between dirty diapers and laundry it can get to be kind of challenging.

Events Worth Noting

Today is a holiday, even if we don't get out of work or school to celebrate it. Many people don't even observe May Day, simply treating it as any other day of the year. I guess I am really one of those people. However, growing up, we would prepare some kind of gift basket or baked good and then drive around to various friends' houses to leave it on their doorstep, ring the doorbell, and run so that they found the treat, but not us. Some years we would call ahead and drop it by, staying to visit after we surprised our dear one with our goodies. It was a lot of fun and a good lesson for us kids in remembering to treat others with kindness and love. I don't know if you do anything special for May Day, but I also wanted to use this opportunity to bring to light two other events going on this week.

The first is Screen-Free Week, which actually began yesterday and goes until May 6th. Its purpose is to encourage children and families to turn off all electronic screens and spend time together doing other fun activities. If you click on the link above you will see the wide array of organizations participating in Screen-Free Week, and that is because our children (and us, too!) spend a horrendous amount of time watching TV and using other electronic forms of entertainment. (Yes, that does include the computer, and thus, our blog.) The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children under age two watch NO television (that's right- zip, nada, zero) and that children over age two (no age specification) watch only 1-2 hours per day.

The second event I wanted to highlight is The National Day of Prayer, taking place on Thursday, May 3rd. This is an annual event in which the focus is lifting our nation up in prayer to God Almighty. If you aren't sure how to get involved, here is a list of ways. Most importantly, use this event as a reminder of the importance to regularly pray for our country and its leaders.

Guest Blog: A Hero Like No Other

Our Guest blogger today is our brother, Paul. Paul presently lives in Kentucky with his wife and two children.

Stories have a plot: problem, solution, result. They also have a main character or characters, good guys and bad guys. This is true for romances (or I think this is true, I am not an expert here!) and even action movies (though, likely to a much lesser degree).

Take one of my favorites for example, The Lord of the Rings. This is an epic story about “the fellowship” trying to destroy a certain very powerful and enchanting ring. Sometimes in stories there is what I call, “the contrast character,” he makes the hero of the story look even more heroic. For The Lord of the Rings its Boromir, for romance movies it is the jerk who doesn’t care (or Mr. Collins in Pride and Prejudice), and for action movies it is probably the guy that is geeky and kills less people. Throughout the story, we see the hero overcome insurmountable odds and defeat the bad guys of the story and bring a solution to whatever problem was introduced. The narrative of Scripture similarly has a plot. Instead of Frodo (or whoever) being the main character, Jesus is, and all the supporting actors only serve to demonstrate Jesus’ superiority.

The Beach Boys are Back!

When asking a woman in her 60's once what it was like to grow up back then one of her comments was that all the young people listened to the same music. It wasn't like today with a hundred different genres. Regardless of race or economic status, everyone knew the same songs. I think that was part of the magic of the 60's and 70's. Music really was unifying (at least among the young generation!).

Just in time for summer, the Beach Boys will be releasing a new album on June 5th!  They are celebrating their 50th anniversary with a new album and a tour.  Three of the original members: Brian Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine, and two other members who were a part of the band as well but not founding members, David Marks and Bruce Johnston.  The other two original members, Carl and Dennis Wilson have passed away.

Of course, I was not yet a twinkle in my father's eye when the Beach Boys were hot in the 60's and 70's but, nevertheless, I feel a thrill of excitment at their reunion.  Who doesn't like the Beach Boys?

WAFFLES!

What is better then a warm waffle with maple syrup? Not much! Maybe, just maybe a savory waffle filled with paprika and cheddar cheese, topped with an over-easy egg and spinach? Well, at least it could give it a run for its money!

I recently invested in a Waffle maker one of the best decisions of my life.  Waffles go so far beyond breakfast food.  You can have them for lunch or dinner, gluten free, or good old traditional.  I do not regularly keep bread in my house but sometimes I get a hankering for a sandwich and what does a girl do? Waffle sandwich of course! The other day I had a delicious cornbread waffle sandwich with pulled beef, horseradish, spinach and peppers.  So, many things you can do with waffles.  

Sunshine, Showers, and Flowers

Who doesn't know that "April showers bring May flowers"? However, I'm thankful that it is not just the showers that cause pretty flowers to grow. This past weekend we had beautiful seventy-degree, sunshine-y days and it was exhilarating. My husband biked 50 miles on Saturday and afterward the boys and I met him at an outdoor musical playground to play for awhile. We made lots of noise and sat in the sun. It was nice. Sunday afternoon my husband biked 27 miles and still had energy left over! So, we took the boys for a hilly walk to a nearby park. They both ran around, climbed, slid, and swung. I hopped on the swing, too, and while I loved it, I couldn't believe that as I soared I also got a little nauseated. I am old. We played for a couple hours and made the trek back downhill. It was perfect weather for the weekend.

Sisters Chat: Dealing with the Elements

I have entitled this chat 'Dealing with the Elements' because we will talk about our responses to factors (exhaustion, anger, stress, excitement) that are simply part of living this life.

Lizzi: We all have full, busy lives. This can mean that at times we suffer from sheer exhaustion.

What do you do when you need to relax?

Maude: I have 2 main things that relax me - reading a good novel and laying down (that's important!). And listening to music.

Esther: A bath with a book.

Maude: Yuck. I hate baths. I tried that once - a bath with a book - I found it stressful, or at least irritating.

Lizzi: I like baths and books to relax, but not together!

Esther:  Really? I think it is wonderful.

Maude: Ugh. To each her own.

Lizzi: I'd just end up dropping my book in the water or catching it on fire with the candles and I'd be stressed out again. BUT I do love them both at separate times.

Maude: How do you turn the pages with wet hands?

Lizzi: Exactly!

It's A..... (boy/girl)?

Well, we are finally here.  Just the other day I had my ultrasound! 

It felt like I had to wait forever because according to my dates I should be two weeks farther along than I am but according to the baby's measurements I am just now at 21 weeks.  So it'll feel like 42 weeks of pregnancy to me (if baby arrives on time and not late!).

Thankfully, the doctor said that everything they could check on the baby came out healthy so that was wonderful which only left the mystery of the gender of my little blessing.

Going in to the ultrasound I thought that the little one was a boy, my husband thought it was a girl, and each of the kids thought it was the same sex that they were.

Two of us were right.

Drumroll please.
It's a .....

Soaring to Freedom

I sit and watch the little planes take off and land from the airfield near our house.  My son always yelps an excited "ooh!" as they fly by.  Often I have this feeling well up inside me that I want to soar like that plane, go where the wind takes me.  May I be honest with you? Motherhood is hard. I am a care-free person, I like to be able to just go and do, try new things, go exciting places but that is a little hard when you have a two hour afternoon nap to fit in and an 8pm bedtime.  Where can you go between 4pm and 8pm? Not very far.

Stay-at-Home Mom's Response to Ms. Rosen

I'm sure you've all heard about Hilary Rosen's comments about Ann Romney on Thursday, April 12th. By now it is old news so it may even be hard to find the original story, but her comments clearly showed her disdain for women who choose to stay home to care for their children. I know that she tried to clarify, implying that it was Ann Romney's wealth that kept her from being an "expert on women and the economy" but we all know the truth. Hilary Rosen would have had no problem with Ann Romney being an expert on the economy (and women!) if she was a wealthy "working" woman. (Well, at least if she was a liberal wealthy working woman.)  Leftist feminism wants every woman to  have a choice, as long as the woman's choice lines up with their ideology.