4/28 Blog: Windows, weeds and more

What a beautiful day in Cincinnati today. For those in NY you are in for a gem tomorrow, just a perfect day. Of course it calls for two more beautiful days and then rain on the weekend again. We had rain last weekend, just in time to rain out Ben's baseball game and it continued through Monday night, which meant no practice either. The boys are going to be rusty.

But rain on the weekend would mean no mulch again...so the weeds keep coming. I hate weeds, a lot. I can't take them, notice them in my beds (and other peoples) and just can't put up with seeing them. So each night I got to a part of the house and start picking away. Tonight Claire decided she liked to pull weeds, which really helped a ton, four hands are better than two.

We got two big areas done in the back. We also cleaned up our "rock" area where the water drains. We had bought some bags of rocks to fill in that space but I wanted to get some of the weeds out first, so we finally got to that.

My night started with quick leftovers for the kids. They were all happy getting to choose what they wanted. Arnie had a hockey game so I was on my own, a perfect night to clean out the fridge. While sitting eating dinner as the sun came in the window I realized that I really needed to clean them, so I got my bucket, ladder and off I went. I got half-way done when my neighbor Tracey came over looking for her cat. We chatted for a while and then I finished them.

I probably should have exercised but decided to get the weeds done instead. I finally saw a specialist yesterday about my tail bone. I did something to it after xmas and it has been really painful since. He diagnosed it and told me I need to do non-impact exercise 4 times a weeks to get it to heal, plus medication and other stuff. You all know me and my dislike of exercise...but let me tell you, the pain is enough that this will make me do it. I got a long walk in last night, but not yet tonight. I may put the exercise on demand channel on and do some Yoga.

For now I am off to put the kids to bed.

4/26 Blog: the love of photos

I love photos, taking them, looking at old ones and yes even putting them away. Digital photos have really changed the way many people think about photos. Today they are easily posted to facebook or others sites and shared with friends and family. But there are thousands of people who never print them, instead storing them on discs and computer hard drives.

For me the love of photos comes in looking through photo albums and remembering the good times that were had when the photo was taken. I still print my photos. I know that sounds bizarre to a lot of people but I do.

It is not easy. In fact photos is now a multi-multi-step process. First you take them, which is very much improved from the old days. Remember the excitement of picking up your photos only to be disappointed that they didn't turn out right...glad those days are gone. Now you can pick and choose and instantly re-create the moment if you have to (just like "reality" TV).

Then you upload them to a computer somewhere. For us that is a two step process, first to our hard drive and then to snapfish.com. From snapfish we share them with our distribution list. I tool the time to set this up while in Europe, and haven't really touched it much. This means there are people who really wish they no longer get the link and others who should get it and don't. But that's how my family sees our photos, as I am not a big fan of posting them on facebook (too much time to only choose a few).

Then a few times a year I purchase the picks. Usually about 400 at a time. When the kids were young I did it more often. Now I plan for a weekend day to do my photo albums. If all kids are in the pic I buy 3 of them, as I want all their photo albums to be complete. I don't scrapbook, never found the time. But I do have books from the day they were born til now. Less and less I find I have "family books"...never any pics of just Arnie and I. So we really do "live" through our kids and their albums. One day I will give them all to them, something I never got from my mom (though it isn't too late I guess).

Sarah already must be like mom, she takes out her album from her shelf almost every day at quiet time and looks through them, she loves it. Me too. I love pics and having them to look at time and time again. Just like my wedding video (yes I still watch it).

4/21 Blog: Just finding the time

You know when you have those things that you really should or want to get done, but just can't find the time. And then they pile up on top of one another, adding stress to your already busy day. That certainly is what the past couple of weeks have been for me.

I guess it started with me backing into our garage door. That morning, like any other morning, I hit the button for the garage to go up and it did. At least I thought it did. Unfortunately the bottom panel stopped near the top, I backed-up and BANG. Arnie immediately came out and was amazingly pretty calm. Needless to say I didn't immediately stop so I really "pushed" the door out of the rails. It took us about 10 minutes to figure out a way to get it back on the tracks so I could at least go to work. Amazingly it did very little damage to my car, just broke the 3rd brake light cover at the top of my hatch.

So, now we needed to get the door fixed or replaced. This is on top of trying to get the yard in order, which also included leveling a portion of our yard for the new trampoline we bought. That took every night last week and all day Saturday.

I also needed to go to the Dr. I have been having a problem with my tail bone since the first of the year and have put off seeing a Dr. hoping it would go away. But is hasn't. So I also needed to find time to get to the Dr.

With all this piling up I decided to work from home yesterday to get it all done. In one day I met two garage door companies, went to the Dr, got a pedicure and was amazingly productive. Not being the office means focus and I could crank through some projects and make a dent on my work to do list, while crossing off those hard to get to items. Saving the hour of drive-time plus walk into the office also makes me more productive.

I was so HAPPY at the end of the day, knowing I took time for my personal needs (like the Dr.) and to fix the problem I created with our door. If you have the flexibility to work from home every now and then, or even on a regular basis I recommend it. You'll find the shorter walk to the kitchen for lunch, bathroom for potty breaks and no one to talk to actually increase your productivity a ton.

4/19 Blog: Exercise and the busy mom...possible?

The busy mom fitting in time for exercising…is it really possible?

I have been thinking about this a LOT lately and decided to do my monthly FOX segment on it this week...so here it is for you all to read...enjoy.


Moms play many roles in life; mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, teacher/nurse/manager. Many of us at one point also played the role of athlete or gym rat. I personally found that the first role that fell from my list when I had children was athlete/exercise enthusiast. I used to play in many sports leagues throughout the year after work but when I started my family it was too difficult to commit to playing.
I was able to lose my baby weight after each of my kids likely because I breast fed so the weight easily came off. I also walked a ton with the kids in the stroller and was constantly chasing after someone. But as the kids and me got older, instead of running after them I was sitting at their events watching them. My physical activity was drastically reduced, and the weight came. Now I really need to exercise more, but struggle to find the time without the guilt of leaving them for hours at a time (which for me is important).
As I looked at what friends are doing and what works for me, I pulled together some tips to think about:
· Make fitness a fun family outing or activity. Head to the nearest walking or bike trail and go for a ride together. Check out a city or county park and go for a hike. The kids will love being in nature, you spend time together and you are actually getting a workout in.
· Exercise while they practice. We spend a lot of time shuttling kids to various events or practices. Take the time while they are at the practice to exercise. Now in the spring during baseball, soccer or lacrosse practice go for a walk around the fields. I rollerblade on the walk around Short Park in Newtown while my son practices baseball. If your fitness center is close enough you can even drive to that for a 30 minute routine and get back in time.
· Exercise on Demand at your leisure. Time Warner cable has an Exercise On Demand , Channel 426 in Cincinnati. It has everything from Yoga, Aerobics, 10/20 minute work-outs, dancing, 30 day work-outs, Biggest Loser workouts and more. Because it is on Demand you simply begin the program of choice when you want in the comfort of your own home and you save the drive time.
· Exercise before the children get up. Most fitness centers are open very early, so you can get a work-out in before the kids are up. My husband swims a few times a week while me and the kids sleep. Not ideal for the evening person, but another option that doesn’t take away from family time.
· Alternate nights with your husband. This tip isn’t my favorite because it takes time away from your family and spouse, but it does work for many. Simply alternate nights with your spouse for workouts so someone is always home with the kids.
· Take advantage of daycare at your fitness center. Many fitness centers have daycare provided for young children. You can drop your kids off and get a quick work-out in.