IT'S ALL ABOUT SPIN CLASS

As some of you know, over the past year or so, I have been slowly yet successfully losing weight and getting in shape through exercise and changing how I eat (with the help of Weight Watchers). One of my favorite ways to burn calories has been taking spin classes at the gym. Okay, I have a confession to make (don’t you just love my confessions?). Until I took a tour of my new gym and they showed me the spin room with all those shiny bikes in there, I thought spin classes had something to do with dancing. (You know, spinning around or something. Right?) I have a friend who, to this day, will still do a little twirl sometimes when I mention I’m going to spin class!

So let me tell you first why I started going to these classes. Because somebody told me I shouldn’t! Really! It was early in my working-out days, and I mentioned to a friend (who is very physically fit) that I was thinking of trying it out, and she told me she thought I should get in better shape first. Hmmmph! I showed her! (Actually when I brought this up to her a few months ago, she couldn’t believe she ever said this to me and was even more proud of me that I tried it and stuck with it!)

Here’s why I stick with it: I can’t embarrass myself! In step or dance classes, I just can’t seem to pick up the moves fast enough, so I end up bumping into people or doing the wrong thing. But in spin class, I can’t make a wrong move! All I have to do is pedal! And if I get tired, nobody has to know that I took resistance off for a little bit while I recharged my energy. But in a step class, they would surely notice if I stopped moving for a while!

Now the spin instructors are all over the board. There are instructors who just stay up there and pedal and tell you what to do in a very monotone voice and are very boring. I stay away from their classes! However, I also stay away from the ones who DON’T STOP TALKING THE ENTIRE TIME! Good music is a must. Being motivating is absolutely necessary. And good videos are definitely a plus. Most instructors just use the videos that the gym supplies (Bike-O-Rama-Vision through different parts of the country – yawn, various bike races – double yawn), but I have one instructor who actually puts different music videos together for our rides. Even cheesy 80’s videos! I love those days! (Thanks, Karen K!)

So if you’ve never tried a spin class, go for it!. Yes, your butt will hurt like hell for a couple of days, but it really does go away if you keep going to class. As my “music video” instructor says, don’t worry, you don’t get calluses on your butt, either. If she did, her husband wouldn’t let her teach these classes!

Karen

Wow, have you seen all the choices out there for your kids this summer? There are camps for any and every interest, sport, activity or anything your child might have the slightest inclination to try. There are all day camps, morning only camps, or overnight camps. You can send them to summer school, tutoring or any number of services to help your child in school.

All of these are great. IN MODERATION. But, WOW, you can really get carried away with all these choices, can’t you? Of course, I understand when parents have to work and don’t get a 3 month vacation themselves, these alternatives are fabulous. But when there’s a parent or nanny at home, I have one word for you concerning your child: RELAX! You relax, let them relax, and just spend a relaxing summer with your kids. I tried it last summer and we ended up having a great time. Yes, I enrolled them in a couple of morning camps, just so they could get some energy out, and yes they had to go to the gym with me so I could get my energy out, but otherwise, it was pool time, Lego's, reading, parks, and whatever else we could think of to do together. (Don’t get me wrong, I was still happy when school started again, but in a strange way, I was a bit wistful also!)

Just think about it. Instead of a hectic summer of driving from here to there all day long, all summer long, how about buying a pool pass and just hanging out for 3 months? Hmmm, tempting, isn’t it?

Now for my shameless book plug! You’ll probably need a bit more childcare over the summer than during the school year, so to keep all your ducks in a row, be sure to use The Caregiver Organizer. It organizes all that information about your little ones into a clear and concise format for your sitters, so they don’t need to call you every five minutes asking you questions. And for reading our blog, you get 25% off an eBook by using coupon code “caregiver25” at checkout on our website. Just go to http://www.thecaregiverorganizer.com/ and get yours today!

Karen

Friday Funny- In the Spirit of the Children's Medicine Recall

Have you seen the news lately? There's been a huge recall for some over the counter cold medicine for children. Something like 40 different products. Reminds me of the time my son, Z1 overdosed on Benadryl. NOT good.

I had been adamant with my husband about keeping the cough syrup and such put away because it had a flavor the kids liked. They were only 2 and 4, so really, no understanding of what medicine could do if you took too much. I was gone that morning and came home and found the bottle of Benadryl with a loose cap on the sink in the kids' bathroom. I asked my husband what it was doing there and he said he had given Z1 some for allergies that morning. After a conversation and notice that a LOT of the medicine had been used, I went to find my son. Here's what Benadryl does to a four year old when he has too much of it at one in the afternoon:

1. Makes him climb up on the table and jump off.

2. Makes him catch imaginary butterflies (I'm NOT kidding!).

3. Makes him giggle endlessly and sing VERY loud.

4. Makes him run circles around the house.

5. Keeps him awake WELL past 11 pm.

Obviously, we went NO WHERE that day, because having a four year old who is on a Benadryl induced high is not something you want to take to the graduation party we were supposed to be at that day. And this is the reason why, even though they are now 7 and 9, I STILL keep all the meds up and put away.

Yours, hoping SOMEONE got a giggle out of this, because it was a long time before WE did,

Melissa

Thursday Thoughts- A Completely Unorganized Day

I know, right? Did you READ that title? Seriously- me? An unplanned day? Unorganized? No appointments? The last time that happened was when The Hub MADE me pack the bags for Spring Break. Even then, I still had to organize every one's clothes and think through what we would and wouldn't need, activities for the kids, meals and such. Vacation is rarely a vacation for the mom.

But today, I have no appointments until 7 pm and I have to say, I'm just giddy about it. The kids are away at school. The Hub is working all day today and will be working long hours as he is installing a new computer server next week. The house is insanely quiet and I have a sudden urge to turn up the music and dance because, well, because I can and there is no one around and no to do list to stop me!

Don't get me wrong. I actually have a list a mile long, but I'm not looking at it right now, because, well, frankly, I don't have any deadlines today so I really don't give a flying flip.

The only kicker is that I have a cold that is kicking my tail. I've sneezed eight times in the last sentence.

But sometimes you just have to say,"I'm having an unplanned, unorganized day. I'm going to make myself some (French Press, thank you) coffee, take my blank book and go sit on the deck and dream for a while. And if I feel like it, I will fold the laundry when I come in. And if I don't, they are old enough to find it in the basket. (Note to self: This summer, make the kids learn how to sort, wash and fold laundry. I think they are old enough. They have to learn sometime. No time like the present!)

So excuse me, but the tea kettle is whistling and there is a beautiful spot on the deck waiting for me. Happy Thursday, and may you take at least 30 minutes for yourself to be completely unplanned and unorganized.

Yours, pouring the water now,

Melissa

THE POOL IS OFFICIALLY OPEN!

We opened the pool a few weeks ago, but in true St. Louis form, it got cold again, so it remained empty. Until the other night when it finally got warm enough (thanks to the weather and the heater!) and my husband and the boys just couldn’t take it anymore. Not me, of course. Warm water isn’t enough for me. It has to be warm air also. I can’t have the part of my body that’s sticking out of the water cold, and I can’t be cold when I get out. Weird, I know, but I had fun watching them and taking pictures!

AHHHH, SUMMER!

KAREN

Tuesday Tidbit- The Legalities of It All

Melissa here, and I've come to the legalities section of the book. OY. So much to look at, think about,to know and know where everything is located. While I will feel much better when I have this section written, I have to tell you, looking at all the things to consider, I am completely overwhelmed (kind of like Karen and Spring Cleaning!) The more I write, the more I think, "Man, I could not begin to imagine having to deal with all of this kind of stuff without my parent's input as to where all the papers are, or what their wishes are on how things are handled." Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking forward to it at any point, but having to sort it out on my own would NOT be pretty. I mean, hey, I'm doing good to keep my OWN papers organized!

One of the big things to consider is knowing where all of the documents are. I tend to be one of those people who puts things in a manila folder and files alphabetically. Yes. My husband makes fun of me. But about six times a year, he stops laughing when after he searches for a particular paper for about three hours, I can find it in the file in less than five minutes. It seems like it could be a lot of work, but if you do it now, it's less headache and stress later.

Now consider this: what happens if all of a sudden your parent goes into the hospital and someone needs to take over making sure the bills get paid in time or making crucial financial decisions for your parent. Would you even know to begin? Would you know where to look for the needed papers? Where DO they keep all their financial and legal (birth cert., property deeds, will, etc) documents?

I know. Overwhelming, right? Hopefully, once we get finished with the book, it won't be.

Yours, wading through the waters for you,

Melissa

AND THE SPRING “CLEANING” BEGINS

In my house, I don’t do Spring Cleaning so much. It’s more of Spring Organizing. If you know me at all, you know this fact: I DON’T CLEAN! Now don’t worry, I don’t make my family live in filth, I just hire out the cleaning part. No, it’s not like I’m rolling in the money, it’s just that I know where my priorities are, and having somebody else clean my house is definitely one of my top priorities. Even when I didn’t have 2 nickels to rub together, I still had a maid. (Woops, I mean housekeeper. Is that the more politically correct way of saying it?) Seriously, give me a toilet brush, and I’m going to wonder if I’m supposed to clean the oven with it! (I know, ewww, right?)

So while the housekeeper (I’ll say this because I know I’m supposed to, but even she calls herself the maid!) takes care of the Spring Cleaning, I’m doing my Spring Organizing. My first step is to eradicate all memories of winter. So even though we may still see some chilly nights, too bad. All winter clothes are put away and summer clothes are out. No more of having both seasons crammed into the closets and drawers. Bye bye sweaters, hello swimsuits!

That’s the most pressing project. After that, it’s just taking a look at things that need to be done. But to make sure I don’t get overwhelmed, I could go about this many different ways. The key here is to just don’t try to do it all at once. How do I do it? I start with what annoys me the most! This weekend it was my closet! Changing out the clothes was a great start, but it needed so much more than that. After the closet, I moved to the laundry room. (And hey, as long as I was working on the laundry room, why not do laundry? Who says I’m no good at multi tasking?)

Anyway, you get the idea. I had no illusions of getting the entire house organized in one day, even one weekend. I was darn proud of myself for doing as much as I did! So whether you’re Spring Cleaning or Spring Organizing, break it down into manageable projects and take them one at a time. You’ll see, soon the important ones will get done, and the others will follow eventually!

Karen