Skip to content

Not Me Monday: Birthday Edition

Mckmama- Not Me Monday

This past weekend we did not celebrate one child’s birthday, no we celebrated the twins’ birthdays. It most certainly did not catch me by surprise.

Our Saturday morning did not start with an invitation to a movie night with our girl cousins, and if it had, I certainly would NOT have asked my husband to “sell” the idea to the twins in lieu of a friend birthday party, simply for my own convenience. I certainly would not have forgotten to bake the requested carrot cake on Saturday morning for Sunday’s post-church family dinner and party. That’s just not my style.

I absolutely did not throw myself out of bed early Sunday morning to bake the cakes before my workout. I would NEVER dream of yelling at my husband in bursts of breath in the most excruciating part of the workout “Cupcakes. Out. OVEN.” We never yell at one another at our house.

Even if our morning had started that way, we would not have had ZERO presents wrapped to present to the twins at the family party. That would be wrong. We certainly would not attempt to make it up to them by taking them on a shopping trip to Toys R Us and buying them the toys they wanted, sale or no.

That’s just not how this organized mom of four does it. < rolls eyes >

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Posted in Not Me Monday, Secret Life of a Modern Mommy, Twin Mommy, real life, what were they thinking?.

Tagged with , , , , .

No comments

By wistfulwrists – July 26, 2010

Review: Wii Jumpstart Get Moving

If you follow me on Twitter, you might have gotten a clue that our family is making some bold steps toward a healthier lifestyle. One of the newest tools for our kids is the new Jumpstart Wii game, Get Moving – Family Fitness.

the box

I was thrilled when asked by Jumpstart to review this item. We like the Jumpstart Wii games and online world. Our Wii titles generally consist of Mario titles, which, let’s be honest, despite the Wii platform are still rather sedentary.

The game arrived at our house on a day my kids had a planned sleepover. I let them pack up the game to share with their friends. To my disappointment, their first reactions were less than ideal. The said repeatedly “It’s too hard!” It took weeks of badgering and finally a bribe to get them to play the game again, with me.

As with all Jumpstart titles, all the kids love creating their own “Jumpeez”, the Jumpstart version of the Mii or avatar on Wii. My children always choose the exotic options like blue or purple skin and pink hair. We started off easy the second time around with running games.

Football Running

As we took turns through the games (Get Moving is a 2 player game), we did find a few with challenging movements in some of the activities. Basketball was one in particular that was tricky for my younger children. As I do, I used this as a teaching moment for my children. They have seen me doing my DVD workouts, and I pointed out that exercise isn’t always easy, but it’s worth it. This encouraged them and they tried until they were successful on most of the games.

Basketball 3-point Shooting

The kids loved choosing the arena they play in. There are 11 different arenas to choose from and a random setting as well. At the beginning of each of the 15 sports challenges, Brooke Burke demonstrates how to use the Wii-mote and nunchuck to complete the task. As with most Wii games, this is a good instruction; but height, placement of Wii receiver, lighting and other factors can affect response times. This is why I believe, my children had much difficulty the first time around. We’ve figured out the quirks to playing Wii in our house and how to get optimum response.

Our kids now love to play Jumpstart Get Moving: Family Fitness, and love to tote it along to friends’ houses as one of their favorite games to share. Our favorite mode of play is using the routines, both the preset and by creating our own with our favorite challenges.

Here’s the list:

Pros:
* Variety of sports: 15 challenges, ranging from easy (running) to challenging (volleyball, basketball, etc.)
* Demonstration of movements before each challenge
* 11 arenas to play in to keep interest
* Countless customization options for your Jumpeez.
* Well timed games, long enough for some good cardio exercise, not too long for kids to give up.
* Children truly get exercise, mine worked up a sweat in just one running game.
* Easy menu navigation for early readers.
* Realistic sports moves for challenges.
* Difficulty settings: Easy, Medium and Hard
* MSRP $29.99 is a great price for a just released Wii game
* Compatible with Wii Fit Board, but not required (we don’t have one)

Cons:
* 2 player game at best (we have a family of 4, we take turns)
* Some moves can be challenging, require parents help and encouragement
* Graphics aren’t quite as smooth as other games.

Our family was very pleased with Jumpstart Get Moving: Family Fitness and are glad to have it as a piece of our family’s new journey to a healthier lifestyle. It’s great for our kids, and will continue to grow with them for quite some time.

disclosurepolicybadgesm I received a complimentary copy of this video game to play and review courtesy of JumpStart. These are my personal opinions, no other compensation was received for this post.
For more information please see my Disclosure Policy.

Posted in Tech Fun, Things I Like, reviews.

Tagged with , , .

2 comments

By wistfulwrists – July 22, 2010

Three I Like Thursday: Get Healthy

For this week’s edition of Three I Like, it’s all about getting healthy. Today I’m featuring tools my family has been using over the last few weeks to help us better ourselves.

First up:  Sparkpeople.com and the Sparkpeople iPhone App

Sparkpeople is a free website to help you organize, collect and learn all you need to know about getting healthier. There are tons of forums on just about every topic, whether you are looking to lose weight, want to know about a particular exercise program or are adjusting your diet per doctor’s orders. It’s a bit overwhelming at first, lots of boxes and widgets, but it’s well worth the time exploring to find exactly what it is you need.

I use it for the food and exercise counters. I find it very helpful to keep account of what calories I’ve taken in and how many I’ve burned. I also have a few doctor’s recommendations on particular vitamins and nutrients (like calcium and fiber) that I can track with their tools.

Most importantly for me is that I can track my food on the go. Being able to look up nutrition information from their vast database and other user’s input really helps me to think twice about what I’m about to put into my mouth next. That may not be your issue, but it’s really helped me learn how to make some better food choices and plan my food intake for a whole day, not just grabbing and eating everything in sight.

Number two on my list today is Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred workout video:

For a busy mom, this workout is ideal. It requires the DVD or downloadable video, a set of hand weights, and space. A mat is only necessary if your space is a hard floor. The entire workout lasts about 20 minutes, including warm up and stretching at the end.

It’s considered circuit training. You complete three six-minute circuits. Each circuit consists of three minutes of strength training, two minutes of cardio, and one minute of ab workout. Sounds easy, right?

Wrong. It will kick your butt. First day I tried it, I could only get through one six minute circuit without feeling like I would die. Granted, I realized quickly I was dehydrated (don’t exercise on one cup of coffee) and was coming down from a weekend long sugar binge (really bad idea). I wasn’t going to give up, and I tried again the next day, well hydrated and made it through the whole workout. I was winded and beet-red at the end, but I did it!

I’m already seeing amazing results, my stamina improves every day and I’m beginning to feel definition in some of my muscles. It’s only been six workouts so far. I did have two days without working out while on my road trip, but I think I’ll be downloading the videos from iTunes before BlogHer so I don’t miss a beat.

Stay tuned later today for my third item for the kids: Jumpstart’s latest Wii game, Get Moving- Family Fitness.

Posted in Inspiration, Tech Fun, Things I Like, deals, real life, reviews.

Tagged with , , , .

1 comment

By wistfulwrists – July 22, 2010

Crazy Ideas: Road Trip with Kids

Yes, I made a 400+ mile road trip last weekend. Just me and the four kids. I tried my best to choose the best times for their schedules and for the least amount of strife. While on most days, I’m thankful my kids are potty trained. This road trip made me long for the days of Pull-Ups.

We started our journey Friday morning. While I had grand ambitions to leave between 8 and 9 a.m., we pulled onto the Interstate at almost 11:30. Oh well. We had a few stops between our house and the highway. One of those definitely paid off.

We stopped at the local library. We quickly scanned the available CD audiobooks and found a couple that were just a half hour shy of our journey each way. We don’t own an in-car DVD player because we can’t find a way that all four children can view it well from their seats. And no one wants to buy extra complaining on any road trip. Audio books, on the other hand, are nice because the car has speakers near each seat.

The other benefit, for us, is that the older boys can continue to play video games (without sound) while listening to the story. This really helps Yoshi, who is a very active thinker, and gives him a place to focus his thoughts.

My other secret weapon for a drive with conscious children is a brown paper bag full of snacks. Pretzels with cheese, fruit snacks, Cheeze-Its, mini-cookies are all favorites. Depending on the child and packaging, I will re-package hard-to-open or easy-to-spill items into my favorite snack containers. I overfill the bag so to compensate for the bored hunger, “Mom, I dropped my food!” and “I don’t like this” whine. I do limit what drink they have, keeping it to a minimum number of ounces, so that when (not if) they chug, it will hopefully make it through those no-man’s lands without an exit or truck stop without an accident.

Speaking of truck stops, I discovered my best tip yet on the return trip. When traveling alone and outnumbered, I’ll be skipping the major, interstate exit stops and looking for a store on the main street in town instead. Quite by accident, I followed a sign for a Casey’s General Store. The first sign didn’t have mileage on it, and after committing to the exit, I discovered it was 1.25 miles down the road. Just great!

It was a blessing in disguise. Just busy enough to be safe, the locals were kind and courteous, better than hurried travelers near the interstate. The bathrooms were “one seaters” in a small hallway where I could monitor both genders discretely. After grabbing mommy some coffee and checking out with the very friendly cashier, Luigi made the best discovery of the trip – a PAY PHONE! The cashier and I had a good chuckle as the children marveled over this technological wonder that they’d only seen in Daddy’s favorite childhood movies. It was quite the experience for all of us.

We packed ourselves back in the car and a few miles down the road, all four were asleep. We finally arrived home around 11 p.m. at night. Not my favorite, but definitely easier than listening to “Are we there yet?” for hours.

While it wasn’t easy, and I don’t recommend it, there are ways to make traveling alone with children much easier. Relax, be open to change, and have a good attitude. It works for me!

works for me wednesday at we are that family

Posted in Secret Life of a Modern Mommy, what were they thinking?.

Tagged with , , , .

1 comment

By wistfulwrists – July 21, 2010

Wordless Wednesday

I found this on my kitchen table this morning:


Notice a theme here? My children have found my weakness.
They create heart-tugging crafts to make me forget they didn’t ask permission to use the supplies.

Posted in Kid Crafts, Secret Life of a Modern Mommy, art.

Tagged with , , , .

No comments

By wistfulwrists – July 21, 2010

Team Energizer Application

To Kailani and Krissy,

Please consider this my application and online resumé to be a part of your BlogHer 2010 Energizer Smart RechargHER team. Kailani, I’ve been following you on Twitter for several months. Krissy, I’ve been following you since at least before the team contest was announced, found you with the BlogHer hashtag some time ago. So you know I’m no Johnny come lately. I’m looking forward to meeting you both at BlogHer in a few weeks and would love to take it up a notch by joining you both on the Energizer team.

Here’s what I can offer you as a team member:

1. I’m creative. I think outside the box. I also have a sense of humor. Don’t believe me? Check this out:

2. I love the Energizer brand. I live in the St. Louis area, home to Energizer’s Global Headquarters. Energizer is not just a brand I like, but by supporting and promoting Energizer, it helps my friends and neighbors by boosting our local economy.

3. I’ve actually tried the Energizer Recharge Smart charger and love it. I like it enough to make a ridiculous video to demonstrate this affection. See point number one.

4. I’ve had my BlogHer ticket for months. I have zero sponsors. I’m just doing this thing the old fashioned way so far.As a newbie blogger, this thing makes me exactly zero dollars… and we all know domains and hosting aren’t free. I have a family of 6, so some help would be nice. Who doesn’t like help?

5. I might have some invitations to some private parties. You might have seen a clue or two in the video if you looked carefully. What does that mean? More mixing and mingling with different groups of bloggers, OFF the main BlogHer sanctioned areas. Some even before the conference officially starts. Wink, wink, say no more…

6. I’m a BlogHer virgin. I’d love to be a part of a team and have a reason to strike up conversations with people. Better yet, I’d like to have a reason to tweet out my location for people to find me and find swag. Otherwise I might end up a lonely wallflower… you wouldn’t want that would you?

7. My degree is in Communications, which means I have some skillz. Not just any skills, skills needed to be a good member of what is, for all practical purposes, a street team. Did I mention, I can rock a t-shirt while approaching strangers?

8. I’m willing to have lots of fun along the way, but I’m also willing to work. While I know it’s a contest, I also know you don’t want to be left holding the bag if a team member takes the money and runs. That’s not my style. That’s all I’ll say about that.

9. #ILoveHashtags

Last, but certainly not least:

10. I really, really would like to somehow redeem myself (and my blog) from what my lovely children did to me a few months ago, in such a lovely public manner:

With kids like that, I could use a RechargHER at BlogHer 2010. Thanks Krissy and Kailani for the fun contest and opportunity to join you on the Energizer BlogHer RechargHER team!

~Heather

P.S. If you’d like to play along, contest details are on Barefoot Mommies and at An Island Life.

Posted in Uncategorized.

1 comment

By wistfulwrists – July 19, 2010

Reflecting

The last few days have been incredibly emotional for me. A man who was very influential during my college years passed away suddenly. Not just suddenly, but in a shocking, rug-pulled-from-under-you manner. His name was Rob. Rob began battling colon cancer last September. On July 6, I received a message that he was declared “cancer free”. We all rejoiced that the worst was behind Rob. Two days later, he suffered a massive heart attack that he never recovered from. Devastating.

Grave monument, St. Barbara, Utrecht

Image courtesy lambertwm via Flickr

I met Rob in January 1997. It was a cold dreary day, which made the 200 mile drive to St. Louis all the more difficult. I was a senior in high school interviewing for one of the college’s top scholarships. It was important. I was the oldest of three girls. In my mind, I bore the responsibility of a debt-free secondary education to ensure we all had the opportunity to go to college. Rob was one of three on the interview panel that day.

At the time, I was full of pride. One of the top in my class, a huge list of extra-curricular activities. The ideal college candidate. I’m sure I wore that pride like a fur coat. I finished the interview, got lost in the “big city” with my parents, and returned home. A few days or weeks later, I got the call that I received the scholarship.

What I didn’t know for months or maybe even years was that it wasn’t an easy choice for the scholarship committee. Much later, after I was already enrolled and established at the college, someone shared with me that Rob had lobbied for me. He saw something in me the others couldn’t that day, probably due to my own immaturity and pride. But Rob saw my potential, as an alum, he saw things that he knew would make this college a good fit for me. Rob was right.

The small size of the college cultivated relationships. Rob, and many others at the college, poured themselves into our lives. He wasn’t just another employee. I was blessed to work with him on several teams and projects. I have one very clear, fond memory of a day spent in Rob’s home. His children were young at the time, about the ages of my children now. I recall sitting surrounded by toys in the playroom of his home as the group ate, laughed and planned our next steps.

During college, I lost a dear friend to leukemia; met my husband and even managed to learn a few things in class. Four years of ups and downs, good and bad, laughter and tears produced a different person than the girl visiting the campus that blustery January day. I owe much of that to Rob’s persistance. Sure, I might have landed there without him, but I never had to walk that path.

It’s interesting to mourn in this era of Facebook. It’s amazing to see tangible evidence of his influence. Despite the many different capacities on the campus he served over the years, the words remain the same. “I wouldn’t be where I was today without Rob’s work, advice, etc.” “I never saw Rob without a smile on his face.” One can’t help but wonder why he had to die so soon, wasn’t there more good he could have done?

Everyone who knew Rob knew he was a Christian. There was no hiding that fact. While we have the promise of heaven, we still mourn for ourselves, our lives without such an amazing man.

More than that, we are inspired. Inspired to live in a manner so that we can leave a legacy as amazing as his.

Posted in real life.

Tagged with .

No comments

By wistfulwrists – July 14, 2010

How Can I Be Angry

He was just being crafty. Without permission and with the wrong tools, but still…

he was being crafty and sweet.

Posted in Kid Crafts, Secret Life of a Modern Mommy, craft.

Tagged with , .

No comments

By wistfulwrists – July 7, 2010

No Babies Here

My baby is no longer a baby. Today she’s four years old. Four years is so significant to me. Partially because Yoshi was 3 years and 4 months when Princess Peach was born. People were amazed when they discovered I had four children under four years of age. Now she’s older than Yoshi was when she joined our family… wow.

Here’s an old photo of my baby, when she still looked like a baby and acted like a kitten.

Being number four, we thought we had the whole parenting thing figured out. I thought I was content with only sons. We’d skip over hormone filled drama in the teen years. Be free to travel later in life instead of saving for a wedding. We thought we had it made. The day of the ultrasound when they said “It’s a girl” all I could do was laugh in my nervousness. Princess has challenged me to think and act differently. She points out my flaws without intending, like only a child can do, and inspires me to improve. I’m so thankful God knew better than I did four years ago when he brought this unique blessing into our lives. We needed her.

To celebrate, Princess (age four) and I (age thirtysomething) had our first manicures… together. I think it will grow into a tradition. Something to separate the girls from the boys in our family. She chose a vibrant magenta pink with glitter top to match and I chose center line yellow. Seriously, it looks like the double line in the middle of the road. So bright.

Princess is very girly. She loves dresses and demands I wear them on special occasions. I had intentions of buying a yellow sundress for her birthday party. But of course, when we arrived at the store, post manicure, the dress I passed up two days ago was no longer available in my size. So my yellow nails seem a bit out of place, but there are worse things in life. At least it’s a bold color to go with the bold memory of today. The day I started a new season in life. Diapers, nursing, disrupted sleep, all those things I thought would never end, now just a memory. A memory growing more faint every day.

Happy Birthday, Princess. Thanks for making me a better woman, and a better mom.

Posted in Secret Life of a Modern Mommy, what were they thinking?.

Tagged with , , , .

No comments

By wistfulwrists – July 3, 2010

Crafty Friday Finds

At this exact moment, both my e-mail and my Google reader are at zero. It’s a miracle. The reader was bad, I had some of my favorite blogs that I hadn’t peeked at since Memorial Day. I have to admit, every blog I can, I subscribe via e-mail.

It’s just easier with the iPhone. Bing. New e-mail. Mid-day inspiration while my children are fighting over light sabers in the backyard. What’s not to love?

Since I cleared my reader, I found a few projects I love that you might as well, so I’m dumping them here. Seriously, it’s my blog, I can do post what I like, even if it’s just for my own convenience. <wink>

First up, for those who love embroidery or want to learn. I firmly believe anyone can pick up this skill and should. Lots of tutorials online, lots of free patterns, lots of uses for this skill. On to the find…

From my internet friends over at Sibling Craftery, a quirky wedding present, embroidered tea-towels of LOVE.

There are three images in the FREE set, but the macaroni and cheese is my favorite. Click over to see ‘frosting on my cupcake’ and ‘cookie to my milk’. Who doesn’t love embroidered food with faces?

For those who crochet, check out these adorable and not too kitschy Fruity Trivets and Pot Holders from The Purl Bee.

I love that it’s the same pattern for all 3 fruit, and they give you the exact colors used on each. The photos are beautiful and easy to follow, especially the demonstration of how to create the seeds.

Make sure if you plan on making these you read the instructions carefully. To be practical and actually protect you from heat, the yarn is doubled and the pattern uses a size K crochet hook.

Please don’t forget your crafty internet etiquette. If you download or use these patterns, leave the creators some comment love and if they have Flickr groups, upload images of your finished project to their group. They are sharing their hard work for free, so it’s a nice way to say “Thanks”.

Posted in Inspiration, Making It Home, Things I Like, craft, crochet, embroidery.

Tagged with , , , , .

1 comment

By wistfulwrists – June 25, 2010

Rss Feed Tweeter button Facebook button Flickr button Youtube button