• Bug,  fitness

    Squeezing in a Fun Walk

    gotta run

    Before we left for the Actuallys’ for our very serious house-sitting/cat-sitting job, Bug and I squeezed in a two-mile “fun walk” at home. It wasn’t the smartest move. I only had a limited amount of time to pack my car with fifteen loads of dirty laundry and every craft supply I could think of, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. I promised the Actuallys I’d take them to the airport so I had exactly 1.2 hours to pack and hit the road. Why not squeeze in a local fun walk too? You know what they say, “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.”

    Pfffffff. I wish that was true. Tell that to the nine people on my waiting list and all the emails in my inbox that have gotten moldy while I take three months to respond to them. Groan.

    Anyway!

    runner girl

    The thing is, I’m fond of this local race. Remember when I ran the 5K when I was eight weeks pregnant? That was so incredibly fun. I wanted it to be my yearly tradition and Bug and I kept it up that first year. But then I flaked in 2007. I did NOT flake in 2008 however. I just flaked on writing about it.

    us

    So here we are at the race in 2009 kicking butt again. Technically we didn’t run it. We walked it. I’m a little out of shape. But we still broke a sweat and I felt like a million bucks when we were done. I really need to step up my game and exercise more regularly. I don’t know why I always forget that exercise feels even better than eating a cupcake.

    she's going the distance

    Wouldn’t it be cool if Bug grew up to love running? I think half the reason I still like to run now in my middle age (besides the fact that I was blessed with knees that never give out on me) is because I used to run with my Dad when I was a kid. Not that my Dad was into running but I was and he ran with me. My Dad is so cool like that.

    I probably never would have started running if I didn’t have this crazy fifth grade teacher who was a running nut. You remember those guys in the eighties? He made the whole class run. It was great. A lot of kids whined and complained about how much running hurt but I took to it which was really strange and fun because I was always that kid who got picked last for kickball teams. I might suck at sports but I can run and run and run and run. I was never fast but running didn’t bother me. Slow and steady wins the race, that was me.

    Running really helped me deal with anxiety back then. I remember as a kid feeling like I had too much energy and no where to put it. My brain might be tired but my body wasn’t. So I’d go run a couple of blocks with my Dad and come back tired and happy. I wish I could still do that.

    Right now I’m sort of stuck in a failure-loop where half the time I’m just too lazy and the other half of the time Bug refuses to ride in the jogger stroller. It’s so hard to get motivated when you have a little person around who would much rather eat waffles with Nutella on them in the morning than go for a little stroller jog on the beach with you. I know, I know. Excuses, excuses. But believe me when push comes to shove those excuses add up!

    cruiser

    Except when they don’t! I’m so proud of Bug and me for squeezing in the Fun Walk. We still made it to the Actuallys in plenty of time to get them to the airport and as far as I know I didn’t forget anything in my hasty packing—A miracle really since every other time I’ve visited, I’ve forgotten something really key. Good thing Bethany keeps a stash of toothbrushes here for me.

    getting inked

    I almost forgot! Bug got a tattoo at the after-race festivities. It’s air-brushed. But that doesn’t make her any less tough.

    super girl tat

    She’s super girl tough.

  • Bad Mom,  Beach Bits,  Bug,  fitness

    Charting

    bribery charts

    Bug and I are charting. (Not that kind of charting. More the put-up-a-chart-on-the-fridge-and-track-your-progress- towards-a-goal kind of chart.) Bribery schmibery—whatever works is my policy these days. Charts worked pretty well for potty-training so I’m trying them out for brushing teeth and exercise. Teeth-brushing for Bug and exercise for me. We both seem to struggle in these areas and it is entirely my fault.

    We’ve been so lax with Bug and brushing her teeth which is horrible, I know! It’s just that we have hard teeth in our family and I know she will probably inherit that trait. I’m not worried about her teeth rotting away. I’ve never had a cavity in my entire life and I think Toby only has a few. Gum disease maybe, but our teeth will last forever. But that’s no excuse to let Bug grow up without healthy habits so we are working on it.

    whatever works

    Bug gets a star every time she brushes her teeth and after seven stars she gets a treat. I probably will have to move it up to more than seven stars but we’re setting our goals low to start out. Her treats will be a trip to our favorite yogurt store or a surprise (which I have yet to determine but I’m thinking something special like a trip to a new park or a picnic).

    Does this count for two stars?

    So far it’s working really well. The after-meal torture has turned into a new fun game. And no, she can’t get two stars for brushing with two toothbrushes.

    I've shot this view a thousand times

    So far the chart is working really well for me too. We got up early and took a long run/walk/jog to a nearby beach. Too bad there was a milkshake stand at the end of that particular jaunt which completely defeated my purpose for the exercise in the first place but we’re taking baby steps.

    If anybody wants a chart too, email me and maybe I’ll make it available via pdf.

    Charts for YOU!

    Bug’s Toothbrushing Chart

    SAJ’s Exercise Chart

    and a bonus:

    Bug’s Potty-training Chart

    (Though, uh…your guess is as good as mine as to how to use it. We just filled up the rows for whatever day we were on with stars and then got candy when a row was filled up. It doesn’t make sense if you’re super anal but it worked for us.)