daily life Archives - Page 4 of 35

Feb 19, 2013

Weekends Aren’t As Much Fun As They Used To Be

I remember loving three-day weekends when I was younger. As a kid, it felt like a nearly endless time of playing, with no schedules to keep, staying up late, and plenty of time to watch cartoons.

Even once I was in the working world, a three-day weekend meant an extra long weekend of fun, relaxation and sleep. Sometimes we’d go on a trip somewhere, but most of the time it was just extra time to be lazy, hang out with friends, and have a TV-watching marathon.

Or take a long afternoon nap, like this bear at the zoo.

I occasionally miss those days.

Now weekends in general are “chore and errand catch-up days” and a three-day weekend is a challenge to get as much accomplished as possible while also fending off children who may say they like weekends, but in reality prefer the structure and routine of the weekdays. I can only be their cruise director for so long before I’m out of ideas. Sadly, “let’s fold and put away the towels” isn’t a game they enjoy all that much.

The past three days involved little extra sleep or fun. There was lots of cleaning to be done that we can never seem to get to during the week. Lots of laundry, too. Haircuts for the kids. And grocery shopping. See all of the FUN we’re having?

Then we put new tires on one of our cars in preparation for our upcoming anniversary trip. Both of our cars need new tires, but only one gets the prize at the moment. (Tires are EXPENSIVE!)

You know that little trick they tell you to check tread depth, where you stick a penny into the tread upside-down, and if all of Abe Lincoln’s head is showing it’s too shallow? You could probably have seen his top hat with our tread, should he have been wearing one. It’s no wonder that the tires had trouble gripping the road, even on clear, dry days.

We know how to live it up on long weekends, yo.

And if all of that wasn’t excitement enough, our Saturday ended with a bang. No really, it was a loud bang as our garage door opener broke it’s hinge and the part that runs along the ceiling came crashing down into our garage as I tried to raise the door. One part shattered, with pieces found everywhere, including wedged into the door hinges.

Even though it was a holiday, garage door repairmen are available on Presidents’ Day. So Monday was spent waiting for the garage to be repaired. $135 later, we have a working garage door again.

At this point I think I’m ready to trade in my adult membership card for a weekend of acting goofy with friends and sleeping until noon.

How was your three-day weekend? (Or regular weekend for those of you outside of the US?)

Filed Under: daily life, family time, growing up, holidays, home ·

Feb 4, 2013

The Invisible Dad At Costco

By Christina ·

It was just last year that my family discovered the wonders of Costco, and we’ve been hooked ever since. The brands you can’t get anywhere else, the deals on clothing and basic pantry staples, and of course the samples! You can easily have yourself a mini-lunch by wandering the aisles and trying all of the samples on a weekend.

Usually I’m the one who does the Costco shopping, but yesterday Aaron went to Costco with Cordy while I ran other errands with Mira. Costco’s samples work magic on Cordy – the kid who is always scared to try new things is somehow more likely to try a new food with a grandmotherly figure offering it to her in a warehouse store. I can’t explain it.

But when Aaron got home, he was a little annoyed at the trip. They tried lots of samples, but he ran into a slight obstacle. At nearly every sample station, the workers (who Aaron has now dubbed the little old lady mafia) looked at Cordy and asked, “Where’s your mom? You can have one if she says it’s OK.”

Now, I know it’s always Costco policy that a parent must be present for a kid to get a sample. That’s a perfectly safe practice to make sure a child isn’t eating something they’re not allowed to have, or could have an allergy to. I support that policy entirely.

The first time someone said that to Cordy, Aaron was further down the aisle, so it was very possible that she didn’t notice that Cordy’s dad was trying to catch up to her and nodding that it was OK.

However, Aaron said that every other time he was standing right next to her – close enough to indicate they were shopping together – when she was asked where her mom was or told she’d need to ask her mom before she could have one.

And it was never “You’ll need to ask your mom or dad.” Dad was completely left out of the statement and apparently ignored even when he was standing with the cart right next to Cordy. He felt invisible to them, at least when it came to being recognized as a parent. I’m certain Cordy would have been talking to Aaron and probably tugging on his arm to ask if she could have a sample, so it’s puzzling how that connection would have been missed. Multiple times, too.

I’ll admit, I found his tale a little funny, but I can see how Aaron felt like his role of dad wasn’t as important to the sample handlers. Getting mom’s approval for Cordy to have a sample seems a little extreme when dad is right there and telling her she can have one. It’s certainly not a situation requiring a call for my blessing.

We still love Costco, but I hope in the future they’ll be more sensitive to dads in their training. It’s not a great amount of effort to say “If your mom or dad says it’s OK.” In 2013, moms aren’t the only ones doing the shopping, and we’re not the only ones taking the kids with us to shop. Aaron is just as capable of giving permission for Cordy as I am.

This is, of course, a lighthearted example for equal rights (Aaron was bothered by it, but not utterly offended), but the lesson still holds true. We’ve fought hard to gain more acceptance for women in the business arena, and I think it’s only fair to give equal acceptance to men in the domestic arena.

Filed Under: Aaron, daily life ·

Jan 24, 2013

How Many Steps Do You Take Each Day? (FitBit Zip Review)

By Christina ·

Now that the holidays are long over and we start edging ever closer to longer, warmer days (although you wouldn’t know that at the moment), my mind has already clicked over into shaking off the holiday hibernation and getting back into shape. Every year I give myself time off from calorie counting and workouts between Thanksgiving and the new year. It’s a time of food, family gatherings and holiday parties, and I enjoy the time a lot more if I’m not thinking about my weight.

But now. Now it’s time to get back on track. I willingly accept a little weight gain during the holidays, but apparently my new-found love of Nutella added a little more than I had planned. The scale was a bit of a shock.

I’m back to carefully tracking my food intake again, but getting started with exercising at the beginning of the year seemed more difficult than usual. I have a treadmill and know I don’t need to necessarily run – even walking would be better than nothing. The key is always motivation – how do I make it fun?

I’ve been eying the FitBit Zip for several months, and recently was offered the opportunity to give it a try from Best Buy. I’m a gadget person, so any new gadget that can get me excited about exercising and learning more about my habits is perfect for me.

If you haven’t heard of it, the FitBit Zip is like a pedometer on steroids – in function, not size. Not only does it track every step you take (along with estimated distance and calories burned during the day), but it wirelessly transmits the data to your FitBit dashboard so you can compare your current data to any goals you’ve set for yourself.

The medical community recommends that most people walk 10,000 steps each day for optimal health. (Obviously check with your doctor first to make sure you’re healthy enough for exercise.) Before I received the FitBit, I tried to estimate how many steps I took in an average day. I figured I probably walked 5-6,000 a day on non-active days, but wasn’t really sure. I knew it needed to be more, but still thought I was semi-active in my daily life.

Setting up the FitBit was a breeze, which was good because I was in a hurry to try it out. Once it was ready to go, I clipped it onto the waist of my pants and took a walk around my house, then after a few minutes ran back to the computer to sync the device and see how many steps I’d taken. (Oh c’mon, you know you’d do it, too.) It registered 58 steps on my online Dashboard, a tiny amount compared to the recommended steps per day, but proof it was working like it should.

The clip on the FitBit is very secure, even for such a small device. I worried at first that it might come unclipped from my waistband or pocket, but it’s a strong grip. Women can also wear it clipped to our bras, which I often prefer because it’s completely hidden and it adds that extra security from losing it that someone as clumsy as me worries about.

Your stats can be checked by tapping on the FitBit Zip. It’ll display the current time, the number of steps you’ve taken, the estimated distance you’ve traveled for the day (based on average stride length for your height) and average calories burned for the day. It’ll also show a little face with an expression that changes based on how well you’re doing for the day. Mine is usually sticking it’s tongue out at me.

Note: If you wear your FitBit Zip strapped to your bra, you can’t check your stats for the day from the FitBit as easily. Reaching down your shirt to unclip it and check your steps might be a little awkward in public. Be aware of that when choosing where to clip it.

Since I’m rarely away from my computer, I can check it on my Dashboard instead. It syncs automatically if the wireless unit is plugged in to your computer, and you can manually sync it if you’re too impatient to wait for the next sync. iPhone 4s and 5 users can also check their stats from the iPhone app. And you can link up with other FitBit users to motivate each other.

So how’s it going, you ask? Well, the FitBit Zip has revealed to me that I’m a lazy slob. OK, not exactly. With my first full day of using it, I made it a point to get out and walk around as much as possible, including walking the dog and taking the kids out for the day. After a full Saturday, I couldn’t wait to see what my results were:

Only 5300 steps? Hmmm…I thought it might be more. Still, that was over halfway to the 10,000 step goal promoted everywhere, so I patted myself on the back for a good start.

However, I soon realized finding a way to get more movement in would be harder than I thought. On work days, my typical day looked a lot more like this:

Ouch. Only a quarter of the recommended steps per day. It’s true I don’t get to move around as much when I’m working at my computer all day, and it’s been a strong reminder to get up and move around more.

Tracking my steps has been an eye-opening experience. Not only has it shown me that I’m not walking enough, but it’s also helping me visualize just how much of a difference 10 minutes can make.

Seeing how low my numbers were, I decided to try walking just 10 minutes on the treadmill at 3.0 mph – which is slow enough for me to check my email and Facebook on my phone while I walked. I looked at my FitBit stats right after that and suddenly I had nearly 1000 steps more just from one 10 minute walk.

Anyone can find 10 minutes in the day, right? (And that’s 10 minutes that don’t even work up a sweat or require another 20 minutes to shower and change clothing!) I’m now squeezing in two 10 minute walks in-between work and kids and everything else in my life, and my stats are starting to look a lot better. I like the instant gratification of seeing my stats right after I make each small effort. It provides a mental reward to encourage me to find new ways to sneak more movement into my day.

I love that the Zip is so small and doesn’t get in my way all day. Clipped to a waistband or my bra, I rarely notice it’s there and it doesn’t show under my clothing.

Size reference: that’s my 95-pound-dog’s paw.

The only downside to the FitBit Zip is – like any other gadget or workout device – you have to use it for it to help you. I take it off at night and put it on my nightstand and then put it right back on in the morning. I’ve only forgotten to put it on once so far.

You still have to do the work – it only holds a mirror up to your activity level for accountability. But if you like seeing numbers and stats about yourself, and you enjoy the challenge of forcing those numbers higher, you’ll love the FitBit Zip. For me, I’ve combined the FitBit with logging all of my foods again, and I’ve already lost four pounds in two and a half weeks.

Big thanks to Best Buy for giving me the chance to try out the FitBit Zip. You can find it in stores in several different colors for $59.99. Mine is the neutral charcoal color, but the magenta one is really cute!

And if you think the FitBit Zip might be right for you, Best Buy provided me with a printable coupon for 20% off of any health & fitness product! (Good through 2/13/13.) If you’re not ready to get moving yet, but want a new juicer or some other small appliance to start new healthy eating habits, I also have a printable coupon for 20% off small kitchen appliances at Best Buy.

If you already use a FitBit, let me know your profile URL and we’ll link up! You can also join in using the #MillionSteps and #BestBuy hashtags on Twitter to find even more people tracking their steps together.

Full disclosure: I was provided with a FitBit Zip by Best Buy for the purposes of this review and no further compensation was received. Screen shots above are from my actual dashboard, all opinions are my own and your results may vary. And yes, I’m aware I’d walk a lot more if I didn’t live in a city that relied on cars so much to get anywhere.

Filed Under: daily life, healthy living, me me me, reviews ·

Jan 16, 2013

Finding Time

By Christina ·

We’ve been trying to find a new routine around here since the start of the year. Aaron is back to full-time at work, which makes all of us happy, but with the new position he has to be in the office every day, with no chance to work from home. Not too big of a deal, except that his office is a loooooong commute and he has different hours. So he’s gone early in the morning and home much later.

This has required me to rearrange my schedule as well. I’m now the one getting the kids onto the school bus, and I’m always the one picking them up from school. Since he gets home so late, it falls on me to do a lot of their homework with them, too. Housework, working out, errands? I get to them when I can, which means not very often. I’m grateful that my job is flexible enough to accommodate working weird hours when needed. That’s one piece to the puzzle that we don’t need to worry about.

I’m not resentful that I’ve had to take on more of the kid responsibility lately, although I’m finding it harder to make everything fit into the hours we have available. And I worry that Aaron doesn’t get as much time with the kids now, possibly an hour to an hour and a half before their usual bedtime. (which includes dinner)

Waking up earlier would probably help me get a better start to the day. But I’m not a morning person at all. In fact, talking to me before I’ve had the chance to fully wake up yet generally goes poorly. I’m convinced that gravity is twice as strong in the early morning, when it takes tremendous effort to drag myself out of bed and get moving. Non-morning people will know precisely what I mean.

On the other hand, Cordy has always preferred to go to bed early. It wasn’t so bad when she was in kindergarten and falling asleep at 6:30pm. She has always set her own early bedtime, and previous attempts to push it back never worked. (Mira is super flexible on bedtime, although she still wakes up early no matter what time she goes to bed.) Cordy springs out of her room wide-eyed and full of energy at 6am. If it wasn’t for the obvious family resemblance, I’d swear she was switched at birth because I have no idea how it’s possible to wake up so…awake.

But now Cordy is in second grade and has more responsibilities and homework. She stays up until 7:30 most nights now, and seems capable of staying up most nights until 8pm. Her homework takes up a portion of the evening – her spelling homework alone can take half an hour to finish. Staying up until 7:30pm is an improvement, but still limits our available time to get anything done when there’s only an hour to an hour and a half of full family time together.

If we try to have the kids stay up later, Aaron gets more time with them, but then Aaron and I have practically no kid-free time together before he falls asleep on the couch and then stumbles upstairs to bed. (He’s up for the day at 4:30am many days.)

I’m sure we’ll figure out a new routine that works, but there may be some rough days ahead while we find what works best. Getting more done would be nice, but I’m more concerned that the kids feel they’re getting enough of our attention – both of us – while I still get a little time with my husband without a child wedging herself between us to tell us all about her favorite Skylander.

And now for the interactive portion of our show: I need your help. I want to know your routine and if it works well for your family. How late do you let your kids stay up? (and ages, please) Do you or your spouse (if you have a spouse or sig. other) only get to see the kids for a very short time in the evenings before bed? If so, how do you/your partner maximize your time so the kids feel like they’re getting enough of your time? Is someone in your family not getting enough of your time? I’d love to hear how others make the parent-working-late situation work for them

Filed Under: daily life, family time · Tagged: advice from readers

Jan 7, 2013

Snow Days

By Christina ·

This winter has already proven to be far better than last winter. The day after Christmas, the snow started, and kept coming in intervals of every couple of days until the new year, leaving us with a lovely blanket of the white stuff.

With the past few winters being fairly dry and lacking in snow, Mira hasn’t had a lot of experience with it, and Cordy’s experiences are vague at best. Once they saw it on the ground, it didn’t take long before they were asking to go play in it. I bought them snowsuits and new boots and decided that since it was winter break, we’d make the most of our time with the snow.

This was also Cosmo’s first experience with anything more than a dusting of snow. He nervously pawed at the snow at first, but seeing the kids run out into it helped him get over any fear.

About to be knocked over by a dog running full force.

The next day, we decided to take the kids sledding. There’s a local sledding hill that apparently a large percentage of Columbus decided to visit with this new-found snow. During the drive, we created an image of how awesome sledding was for the kids, and how much they would love it.

At the hill, Aaron took them both up the hill to wait in line while I stood near the bottom to meet them when they came down. Mira was the first one down the hill – it’s hard to see, but she’s the one in the middle of the screen after a few seconds on the pink circle sled. Also? You can watch with the sound off so you don’t hear the people beside me yelling to their friends across the hill:

She was a little scared after clipping a few people at the end, but wanted to try one more time. Cordy had a harder crash on her first trip down, colliding with another sled on the way down. She was also shaken and scared to try again, but she also agreed to give it another try.

Parents, a helpful tip: if you must wait for your children at the bottom of the hill, stand to the side or far enough back that you don’t serve as an obstacle for the uncontrolled projectiles coming down the hill. I can’t count the number of adults who served as an abrupt stopping point for random kids, and many of the adults were then upset that the kid crashed into them. If you do choose to stand in their way, pay attention to the hill and move if someone is coming your way.

Mira’s second attempt ended poorly. Two other kids had collided and stopped halfway down the hill. Mira’s round sled hit another little girl just as she stood up, taking her off of her legs again and landing on top of Mira’s head. But Mira kept going, finally ending her rough journey by slamming into a group of adults and a sled they were holding. (No photos of that because I saw the crash coming and put the phone away!)

I was still comforting Mira and wiping away her tears when Aaron got Cordy into position. I tried to wave to Aaron that maybe we needed a break, but I was lost in the crowd and Cordy came down the hill again.

Thanks to all of the snow being packed, she picked up speed quickly. I was trying to run to her to help stop her, as well as yell to a group of people to watch out, but they didn’t move. Cordy hit them but had enough momentum to keep going. I jumped right into another group of people and grabbed Cordy’s coat just as she hit me and bumped the people next to me.

At that point I felt like an awful parent as both kids told us they hated sledding and wanted to go home. We had been there for less than half an hour, and they were now hurting and traumatized by sledding. So much for that awesomely fun experience, eh?

My mom came to the rescue a few days later, suggesting they go to my aunt’s new house and try sledding on the little hills around her house. There were no obstacles, no crowds of people – they could even have their own hills! (Why didn’t we think to do that in the first place?)

It took a lot of coaxing, but they now like sledding again. Cordy won’t try anything larger than a speed bump, but at least she’s willing to try the sled again.

This weekend we all went back to my aunt’s for a little more quality time with the snow, bringing Cosmo with us as well. Squeals of joy and laughter were heard all morning.