Tales of one woman stumbling her way through motherhood.
I’m over at Mommy’s Must Haves today with a review of High Five, a magazine published by Highlights (remember Highlights when we were kids?) for the preschool crowd.
Now your 2-6 year old can have his/her own magazine without stealing your issue of People each week. You can read the full review here, and also check out how you can win your own subscription.
I was the ultimate geek in high school. While math and science are generally considered subjects where the boys excel, I was always near the top of the class. My senior year, I received the math award for highest math grade of the entire class over all four years. And science? Well, let’s just say that I loved chemistry equations, and I could work a genetics Punnet square faster than anyone.
Sure, I was teased for being a math/science nerd. I was looked at funny for knowing these subjects, because, well, I was just a girl. I also tutored several classmates through Biology and Chemistry, although I had trouble explaining the concepts – I didn’t study much, I just seemed to know the material.
Maybe that’s why I’m now going back to school for nursing: I enjoy science and medicine. (Math, sadly, is no longer a love of mine. I can do basic algebra without problems, but I’d rather never see calculus again.)
I’m hoping that my two girls will also toss gender stereotypes aside and know that science and math are important subjects for everyone – not just boys. These subjects provide a framework for logic and an understanding of how our world works. Actually, I find it upsetting that even science is getting a backseat to other subjects now as standardized tests put more emphasis on english, reading comprehension, and math. All important subjects, but science and the arts are also needed for a well-rounded education.
I think Cordy may have a knack for math and science already. She loves taking nature walks, enjoys learning about different animals, and has a way with numbers, patterns, and shapes that I don’t see in many kids her age. I’m happy to encourage her interests and find opportunities to teach her about science and math whenever I can.
And then there’s the issue of her new favorite book:
(Mommy’s college Chemistry book) She found the book in the car one day and hasn’t put it down since then. She can now tell you about the periodic table, and how it shows us all of the stuff everything is made of.
I think it’s a good start.
** If you want to read more stories about encouraging science in kids, check out today’s PBN Blog Blast. The theme is “Bringing Science Back, Baby!” and if you contribute a post before midnight tonight you have the chance to win a $100 VISA gift card, courtesy of The Zula Patrol.
For the low cost of
two hundred forty-nine bucks
you can bowl with friends
Thanks to Aaron’s brother, we are now the proud owners of a Wii. Awesome game system, and perfect for parties. I can’t wait to try out more games.
To play along for Haiku Friday, follow these steps:
1. Write your own haiku on your blog. You can do one or many, all following a theme or just random. What’s a haiku, you ask? Click here.
2. Sign the Mister Linky below or at Jennifer’s blog with your name and the link to your haiku post (the specific post URL, not your generic blog URL). DON’T sign unless you have a haiku this week. If you need help with this, contact Jennifer or myself.
3. Pick up a Haiku Friday button to display on the post or in your sidebar by clicking the button at the top.
I’ve talked about food so far for Hot by BlogHer, and now it’s time to move on to exercise.
But wait! This just in! I said I’d get a button, and here it is:
If you’re participating with me, feel free to snag the button and display it proudly on your blog.
So, back to exercise…
I hate exercise. Actually, that’s not true. I usually feel great after a workout, but it’s that whole getting my butt off the couch and starting part that I don’t like so much. And with kids, school, work, housework, and hey, is Ellen on TV right now? getting in the way, finding time to get up and move isn’t so easy. But part of loving myself is taking better care of myself, and exercise is a must for a healthy body.
Since I’m getting zero use out of our gym membership (note to self: cancel membership), I’m going back to the Workout: Home Edition model, aka workout DVDs. Less embarrassment that way, too – I don’t need skinny fitness models watching me while I try to work on my self-esteem as well as my abs.
I’ve done workout videos in the past, and I remember how boring they are. The moves are lame, the routines dull, and I feel pretty stupid doing arm circles and leg lifts to cheesy 80’s pop. I want something exciting. Something fun. Something that will make me feel like I might be learning something along with getting a great workout.
The search through the sea of fitness videos was long and painful:
I finally decided I wanted a dance video. After all, it worked so well for Lotus, it had to work for me! Learning a dance would be exciting and fun not boring, and I’d convince my body to participate because we’re not working out, we’re dancing and having FUN! See the difference? There were so many choices: salsa dance, dancin’ to the oldies, cardio dance, ballet, tap, bellydance, African dance, urban dance, and even country line dancing workouts. Oh and this one, too:
Uhm, no. Not yet. Let me get to the self-esteem part of my life change before we tackle striptease, OK?
I thought about it some more, and settled on this:
I love Bollywood movies, and I’ve had a few lessons in basic bellydance, too. And it fit my requirements: dance! fun! something I’m interested in! The reviews all said things like “oh, this video is a lot of fun, although it wasn’t as strenuous as I hoped it would be.” Perfect! Just what a woman who is getting back into exercise needs. (And Lotus, it doesn’t require shoes, either.)
So yesterday, while Mira napped, and Cordy was at preschool, I pulled the DVD out of the Amazon box, unwrapped it and popped it in the player, ready to sweat and have FUN! Hemalayaa stressed that this wasn’t a workout – this was play! (Like every other workout instructor, she was just a little too excited about exercising, er, playing.)
The workout started out with some quick moves, but I managed to keep up. Shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, hip rock, etc. She didn’t give me much time to figure out each new move, but I can do this, I thought. And look, they all have their hair down – they must not expect to sweat much. Haha – I can be so naive sometimes.
That was just the warm up. Then the dance moves started coming fast and furious: turn in a circle, shoulders bouncing (how do they do that?), now step-step-point, hop three times on one leg to the left and then the right, knees in and out, arms alternating left then right – would you give me the chance to catch up you crazy Bollywood freak!?!? And her favorite saying: don’t forget to SMILE!
I tried to smile. I tried to look beautiful with my exotic moves, exuding confidence and sensuality while shimmying and bouncing. But in reality I looked more like I was having a seizure.
I wanted to look like this:
(ooooh, they’re so cool they can dance on a moving train!)
But looked more like a dancer who was rejected from this:
(Have you been high today?)
I made it through 2/3 of the torture before I couldn’t handle it anymore. My knees were killing me and I couldn’t catch my breath. I skipped ahead to the cool down, then collapsed on the floor with my water bottle.
The cat had no sympathy. He thought I looked like a dork, too.
I’m not defeated, though. Hemalayaa will not get the best of me, and I’ll be back for more humiliation play. But maybe I need to take things slower? Start with something more my speed?
Wait. Advanced may be too much. Better start with the beginner.
Those of you who are with me on this journey, how are you getting your body moving? Remember, carrying laundry up and down the stairs doesn’t count.
Tech geek, wife, mom of two, Disney fanatic, woman with ADD, and a complete domestic zero. I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up, but that's not so bad when you get to keep trying new things, right?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
