Finding the Balance

It's that time again! Next week starts the next semester of grad school.  Last semester I enrolled in 2 classes completely unaware that I would become pregnant at the start of the semester.  It was rough.  Having a packed schedule during the first trimester of pregnancy is not easy.  This semester I decided to enroll in 2 more classes. Yup, I'm doing it again.  Time to see what school, work and everything else is like in the 3rd trimester.  My goal for these next few months: finding the balance.

This semester, my last day of classes is also my scheduled due date.  It is literally d-day, lol. I informed both of my professors of this situation at the time of my enrollment last October.  They promised that arrangements would be made so that I would be able to complete the semester regardless of when the princess arrives. Hopefully, that doesn't mean taking a final 2 days after delivery but I expect that the accommodations will be far more reasonable than that.  Luckily, I have prior experience with both of these professors.

So on my plate for the next few months prior to my due date May 6, we have a few things.  Obviously, keep growing baby Hailey keeping her and myself happy and healthy.  Then there's grad school where we would like to continue with A's and B's.  Next my hip hop class: I would like to have their dance completely taught by the time the baby comes.  They will have to have a sub the following few weeks and then the recital is in June so I want them to be able to be fully prepared before hand.  I am also set to choreograph a college production of Anything Goes in the next few weeks.  This is a big tap show, which I love, but I'm not sure how many actual tappers I'm getting.  So, we'll have to play that by ear.

On top of those things, there is continuing work on my non-profit, whose growth is slow but steady.  We are continuing to sell our calendars and will be bringing them to a few events.  We are also in contact with several dance schools to see if they can be sold at the studios.  If you are interested in a calendar or know someone who would love one, you can check them out here: www.ihopeyoudancecalendar.com. 100% of the profits go to support youth dance.

Then of course, there is maintaining this blog,  helping T with his YouTube video project and work.

The best way to find balance amidst all of these obligations is to first list them all out for a specified time frame.  My time frame is the next approximately 4 months.  If you can, estimate the amount of time each item will take from your week. For example, teaching my hip hop class is 1 hour and coming up with that week's choreography is about 20 minutes.  So that's an hour and 20 minutes I put into my schedule.  Now on those days, teaching dance class is my workout, so that frees me up to do something different in the morning.  Therefore, I might schedule uploading T's videos on Friday mornings, since that's the day I teach.  I might then schedule 2 hours on the weekend where I will work on my non profit.  I also schedule 1.5-2 hours each evening for school work after T goes to bed. Once you schedule all of your obligations, the coming months seem less daunting.  You won't have to wonder how you will find the time because you already scheduled it.  This simple process can reduce stress immensely.

When things come up, as they often will, you can adjust your schedule, but its good to have a plan.  It's also good to have your tasks prioritized.  For example, if work gets super hectic, I may only be able to blog once that week. Sorry guys, but clearly keeping my job is the priority!! Lastly, schedule in some breaks and some family time.  Nothing recharges your battery better than some quality break time! It will also make you more efficient in doing what you have to do.

So, sit down, schedule your obligations and go get em tiger!!

Cheers!

Emily

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Joining YouTube Unboxing

In a past post, I had talked about my son's obsession with YouTube surprise egg and unboxing videos. It started by innocently putting on Sesame Street and Toy Story videos to entertain him once in a while.  Later he would start clicking the recommended videos which brought him to Toy Story surprise eggs.  This progressed to surprise eggs in general and finally YouTube unboxing videos.  He watches these video regularly and will ask for his swipe (my old iPhone) so he can watch a few videos.

Some videos, he has watched so many times that he can narrate the video along with the presenter or he knows which toy is going to be revealed next.  From this, he would start saying some odd things after opening his own toys.  For example, after opening a new toy he would say, "Thanks for watching, please subscribe, see you soon, thumbs up if you like it." Of course, these are the things the presenters say at the end of the videos.

Separately, my husband has always been a toy collector, since long before I met him.  He collects figurines from various movies and TV shows.  He is a big fan of pop vinyls and various other brands that I can no longer keep track of.  This combination proved to extremely powerful.

Soon Dad started fueling T's desire to collect toys.  He started buying him Mashems and Shopkins which he had seen in his perusing of YouTube.  This totally impressed my toddler who would open and describe and line up the toys as he had seen done in his videos.  Eventually he wanted his unboxing of toys to be recorded.  We did a few unboxing videos of Tyler and dad on Periscope, but those only last for 24 hours.  Seeing how popular some of these YouTube channels had become, we decided to join the ranks of YouTube unboxers.

My son officially has his own YouTube channel with 2 videos posted so far and more on the way! We created a quick intro for him showing pictures of him playing with some of his favorite toys using iMovie.  We then recorded a few videos of Tyler unboxing toys with his dad.  We also recorded him and dad building a small Lego set which we then sped up in iMovie for a speed build video.  Two videos are posted so far and a few more are in the pipe line.  We also saved most of the recordings from Periscope which we hope to edit and upload onto YouTube as well.  Our goal is to record the unboxing of toys and figures that the boys would have purchased anyway.  Once we get a decent following, we plan to do giveaways of any doubles we get.  We are also looking into donating some of the doubles we get.

You can check out our channel at the link below! Please like and subscribe to support the T Monster and for your chance to be notified of our giveaways.  We already have a decent collection of Shopkins doubles, so stay tuned!!

Tyler's Toy Time

Cheers,

Emily

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Pregnancy Workouts

I'm going to be honest here.  I'd like to say that I have been working out throughout my pregnancy and I am the perfect model of health and wellness.  I did start out strong, working out about 5 times a week throughout the first and start of the second trimester.  Then December came. With finals week for grad school and the Christmas show hell week, something had to give.  That something was working out.

At the time, I could feel the difference in my body, but I chalked it up to the hectic schedule I was attempting to maintain.  I was exhausted and lacked my usual energy.  I could not get myself up for a 6 am workout and the rest of my day was packed. When Christmas week came, it was time to jump back in the saddle.  After that first workout, I felt 100 times better. I had energy for the day and my body felt good being used and challenged. Even my mind felt sharper and ready for the challenges of the day. Here are some tips to help you with your pregnancy workouts.

1. Choose workouts that involve a lot of stretching, like yoga. Stretching can really help with pregnancy aches and pains and tightness.  A good workout will stretch out your back and hips easing a lot of the tension there.  If this doesn't motivate you to do the workout knowing how much better you will feel after, I don't know what will.

2. Think about your post-pregnancy body.  Getting back into fitness after a baby is hard.  Working out throughout your pregnancy however makes it a lot easier.

3. These workouts should not be super intense, high energy workouts.  You don't want your heart rate to exceed 140 BPM. Light cardio and moderate weights depending on your activity level prior to pregnancy is awesome.

4. Don't think of it as work or an obligation. As I said with the yoga, your mind set should be relieving pain and tension.  For cardio, you can have a dance party with your kids or play my son's favorite game, "You can't get me" where I chase him around the dining room table.   Go for a walk with your baby in the stroller.  Anything that gets you moving.

5. Remember to also lift some weights a few times a week.  Your baby may pop out at 7 lbs., but that baby is going to grow fast.  You want to be prepared for carrying that baby around.  This is another fantastic motivator.

You don't need to go to the gym to get a workout in. In fact, there are tons of pregnancy workout DVDs that you can use.  With winter weather finally here, you will not find me getting my bottom outside in the early morning to get a gym workout.  I use several different DVDs, and sometimes do my own workouts depending on where I am feeling tension.  Some DVDs I use are the Yoga Booty Ballet: Baby on the way DVD, and the Summer Sanders' Prenatal Workout DVD.  I also use the regular Yoga Booty Ballet DVDs for Cardio. I don't find the cardio overwhelming for my pregnant self and I just leave out the exercises that require laying on your belly.  While I love Jillian Michaels, she can be saved for your post-baby workouts.  Those DVDs are a bit too heart pumping for the typical pregnant woman.  There are so many DVDs to choose from, you can definitely find one that fits your needs. Here you can find a ton of prenatal workout DVDs: Prenatal Workout DVDs. Note if you make a purchase using this link, I will make a small commission off of your purchase.

If you need the accountability that a gym class can provide., you can set up a text group with your friends where you have to check in when you completed a workout.  Each day you check in when you completed a workout and everyone gets held accountable.  They don't need to be pregnant for this to work!  You can also set up a workout schedule for yourself if that works for you.  Or we can create a Facebook group where we check in after a workout to keep ourselves accountable.

Just remember, loosing weight is not the only reason to workout! You will feel better, relieve tension in your muscles, and clear your mind. Many times starting your day with a workout will give you the energy to get more done during your day! (And when you're pregnant, you need as much energy as you can get!!)

Here's to a fit pregnancy in 2016!!

Emily

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Telethon Wrap Up and Gender Reveal

So, this weekend has been major for our family. We had T's onstage debut in Telethon for Santa and we found out the gender of baby #2!! Because I like to do things in chronological order, we start with Telethon for Santa.  If you really can't wait to find out, you can always scroll down and then come back!!

So this week was T's theater debut and I must say I am thoroughly impressed.  He spent practically every day last week at the theater helping is dad and Uncle Chris put together the set for the show, often missing naps.  Then he would spend all evening at rehearsal.  He never caused a problem or had a fit and he was a delight to his fellow actors.

Opening night of the show was Friday and I was every so slightly nervous of how he would react to an audience.  It was like he didn't even know they were there, except when he got a laugh, which he utterly enjoyed.  He actually got 2 big laughs in his first show! The first was when he sneezed in the middle of my line.  The second is when he kicked his feet when one of the other elves has to hold him awkwardly to make it seem like he's never held a baby.  In all he had to be carried by 2 other people during the show and he never made a fuss or reached out to mommy.  This 2 year old definitely has what it takes to be in theater! Back stage he was quiet when he had to be and he actually enjoyed watching the show from side stage when he had the chance.  He even had a cold which didn't affect his good behavior one bit!

Besides the show this whole weekend has been crazy! Friday night I had work, then taught a hip hop class, and then had the show.  Saturday, T had dance class then the matinee show, then an ugly Christmas sweater party.  Sunday was the gender reveal shoot, another matinee performance, and finally dinner at Aunt Katie's for her birthday and a visit with Santa.  Some things had to give, but it was a long weekend none the less.

Here are some pictures from the show!

Back stage with mom and dad.

Telethon for Santa 3

On stage, acting!

Here's the full cast!

Soooo now it's time for the GENDER REVEAL!!!

Sunday morning we went to the park and my sister in law, Katie, had filled a big box with balloons.  The idea was to have T open the box and we would learn the gender based on the color of the balloons.  We then did a variety of shots with the balloons.  It was so much fun and I love the shots that Katie got.  It definitely captured our emotions and excitement.  It's a GIRL!!!

Here are some of the shots:

You can check out Katie's work at http://www.katiejoyphotographyny.com. She is great to work with and very patient with kids.  Far more patient than you might be, lol!!

I hope you enjoyed our weekend recap! Stay tuned Thursday for our Christmas craft project!

Cheers,

Emily

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Thanksgiving Food and Fun

Every year the T monster and I do a thanksgiving craft. I also always make fried apple pies every thanksgiving. This is a big hit in our family and always requested. What's awesome is they are so easy to make! This year I thought I'd share some of our traditions with you!

First let's start with the craft. This year we made a:

Paper Plate Turkey

What You Need:

Paper plate

Washable paint

White paper

Orange and red construction paper

Googly eyes

Glue

1. Let your toddler paint the white paper. There are no rules here. Just paint whatever wherever. Meanwhile, I painted the plate brown. Older kids can probably do this themselves.

 2. Cut out a beak from the orange construction paper and a wattle from the red. Your toddler can help you glue these onto the paper plate along with the eyes.

3. Once your child's painting finally dries (this can vary depending on paint usage), cut feathers out of the painted paper. Glue the feathers along the top of the plate.

 4. Show off your finished turkey to everyone and anyone!

Next, we have the apple pies. These are super simple to make and the recipe is easily multiplied for larger batches.

Fried Apple Pies

Ingredients:

1 can Grands Buscuits

2 green apples (I like Granny Smith)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

Vegetable oil

1. Peel and dice the apples.

2. Apple is a sauce pot and mix in cinnamon and brown sugar. Heat until warm.

3. Roll out the biscuits into discs. Place a heaping spoonful of the Apple mixture in the center. Coat the edge of the disc with water and fold over to seal.

4. Heat vegetable oil in pan. Once hot fry pies 2 at a time until they are golden brown. This should take a few minutes per side.

5. Set on paper towels to cool. Enjoy!!

Both the food and the craft are super easy to make and they both were a hit!! The apple pies make a great on the go snack as well!! Hope you try these and let me know how they turn out!!

Enjoy!!

Emily

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10 Tips for Fitness Newbies

Here is a collection of tips for fitness newbies that I've picked up along the way.  There is tons of fitness advice out there, but these are the tips that I feel are the most important.  These items will help you get the most out of any new exercise or fitness routine! The photo below is of me less than  a year after having the T monster.  I definitely made use of most, if not all of these tips.

So, without any further adieu, here we go:

1. Avoid insulin spikes by not eating sweet carbohydrates.  Instead try to stick to whole grains, potatoes and sweet potatoes.  Minimize cookies and cakes, have fruit for dessert instead. Try to cut out as much sugar as possible.

2. Exercise at least 5 days per week.  This should be a combination of weight training and cardio.  Having some muscle will improve your performance in the gym as well as increase your overall calorie burn.  Don't worry, you won't look like a man if you weight lift a few days a week.  Cardio is an awesome way to burn through those extra calories!

3. Don't skip meals.  In fact, healthy meals and snack are recommended! Try to eat 6 small meals per day to keep your metabolism elevated.

4. Eat your fiber, daily. This will help with your digestion, will slim your waist, and will help with your absorption of nutrients.

5. Drink lots of water!!

6. Eat healthy fats including nuts, olive oil and coconut oil.

7. Drink green tea. It has a slight stimulant effect and is rich in antioxidants.

8. Create meals that center around protein. Your body cannot store protein for later, so you need to feed your muscles throughout the day.

9. Get enough sleep. This is essential. Your body needs time to regenerate. Try to get at least 7 hours a night.  It will help your body and brain function better!

10. Brush your teeth after you eat.  The taste will help prevent snacking between meals!

Hope you found these helpful.  If you have any other newbie tips, leave them in the comments!

Happy Monday!!

Emily

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Tips For Starting Kindness Young

I recently had a post published on Today Parenting regarding teaching our kids to be kind.  In a world where bullying is a major issue, finding methods to teach kindness to our kids starting at a very young age is essential.  In this article, I talk about what we do in our household to teach our 2.5 year old how to be kind.  The hardest part, yet the most essential, is being an example of kindness yourself. Sometimes behind closed doors, we forget ourselves and we forget that even though we are not in public, our little people are always watching.  We start to vent and criticize and our children learn from how we speak about people.  Treating our children and family members kindly is important.  But it is also important to speak kindly of others and value kindness in others.

To see how we are teaching kindness to T, check out my article below.

My Today Parenting Article

Happy Monday!!

Emily

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Happy Marriage Tips

There are a lot of things that go into a happy marriage.  It's not like the movies, well some movies, like the uber romantic ones where everyone is happy all the time.  People disagree, people accidentally hurt each other's feelings,  people have annoying habits.  Things like that don't suddenly change because you got married.  A week ago was my husband's and my 4 year anniversary.  While we don't have a perfect marriage, I think every marriage is a work in progress that lasts your lifetime, I do think we have learned a few useful things along the way.

Communication is the key. I know, I know, everyone says that. But it's not necessarily actually telling your spouse what you think and feel that is a problem. It's knowing when and how to say it.  You might say, I tell my husband all the time to put his clothes away when he comes home instead of leaving it on the floor and nothing comes of it. Yes, you are communicating, but it's not in the most effective way.   We'll use this as our example.

If you come home from work and you know you have to get dinner made and the first thing you see is your husband's dirty socks on the floor, your gut reaction might be to say "How many times have I asked you to just put your dirty socks in the hamper? It's not that hard. It's only 2 ft from where you dropped them." This will not be effective.  It immediately puts your spouse on the defensive, and who can blame them.  You are definitely on the attack.

Instead, don't bring it up.  Pick up the socks and put them away, cause let's face it, if you are not bringing it up, they not going to jump into the hamper themselves.  Although you are not bringing it up at the moment, do make a mental note that this behavior drives you bananas.  Now the next day or a few days later, you might have a wonderful date night or even just a fun day with the kids.  While you are both happy and pleased with each other, now you can bring up the socks.  Instead of stating how you can't understand why such a simple task seems beyond him, choose your words more carefully.  Explain that when he throws his socks on the floor instead of in the hamper it makes you feel that he does not respect the effort you make to maintain the household or it makes you feel that he does not take pride in your home.  Make it about you and how it makes you feel.  Your spouse may see it as no big deal, and they just don't understand why you get so upset.  Therefore, they never make the mental note to stop the behavior.  When you tell them why you get so upset at a time when you are not upset, they can really get the message.  Out of respect for your feelings they can make the effort to change their behavior.  Yelling doesn't have that kind of reaction.

Another key is to praise your spouse when they actually do what you have asked.  So when you come home and find no socks on the floor, thank your spouse for putting them away.  Even though in your mind, it doesn't seem praiseworthy, your spouse will appreciate the recognition for their effort.  This encourages them to continue doing it in the future.

This communication technique can and should be used for all kinds of situations, big or small.  It takes effort to not immediately fly off the handle about something you've told your spouse a million times.  I can't claim that I have the control to do this always. But I can say that when I have, the results are much better.

Another tip for spousal communication is to make things about you.  I don't mean this in a narcissistic way. I mean, when you ask (you should be asking, not telling) your spouse to do something, make it about you. I.e. instead of saying "please call the chimney cleaner today" say "Could you do me a favor and call the chimney cleaner today?  I'm hoping to get the chimney cleaned before we really need to turn on the heat." When you phrase it as a favor instead of a demand, you are more likely to get results. It also makes your spouse feel like they are helping you out instead of being your servant.

Also, don't give tasks as a laundry list. 1 favor a day means 7 favors done in a week! When you give a list, you are lucky to get 2-3 done.  Again, lists make you spouse feel like a servant, not a partner.

Lastly, be thankful.  As easy as some tasks are, they are not necessarily on the forefront of your spouse's mind.  You are not the same person and you prioritize things differently. So for you the chimney cleaner might be number one, but for him, he may not be able to work on something until the house is clean. Be aware of this and appreciate when he takes the time out to do your priority.

Marriage is work and communication is key.  Remember, it's not just what you communicate, it's how and when you do it.  As my husband can tell you, I can be demanding at times and I do not always put these tips into practice. But it is something we both consciously work on to maintain a healthy, happy relationship.

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At Home Workout, No DVD Required

I love working out with DVDs. It's fun to have company while you workout and the hosts can be very motivating, especially when you are getting tired. Sometimes, however, I want to kill 2 birds with one stone when I work out. Maybe catch up on a TV show or listen to a podcast.  This is not so easy when using a workout DVD. So, I came up with a set of workouts that includes weights and cardio and doesn't require a DVD.  The whole workout gets done in about 30 minutes.  All you need is 3 sets of weights and a clock.  I use the cable box as my clock.

First, I pick an area of the body to focus on: legs, or back and chest, or shoulders, or biceps and triceps, etc.

Then I pick out 7-8 exercises that I will do to work out this area of the body. So for biceps and triceps I might do: bicep curls, tricep dips, hammer curls, tricep kick backs, reverse curls, overhead tricep extension right, overhead tricep extension left and isolation curls.  For shoulders, I might do: shoulder press, side raise right, side raise left, front raise, bent over fly, upright row, and arnold dumbbell press.

Here's how I set up my workout. The first 2 minutes I warm up by jogging in place. Then I grab my light weights and do 12 reps of the first exercise. As soon as I'm done I finish out the minute with either jogging or jumping jacks or quick jump rope type hops. When that minute ends I grab the medium weights and do the same exercise for 10 reps. I again finish out the minute with cardio. At the next minute, I grab the heavy weights for 8 reps. Again I finish out the minute with cardio.  I repeat this process with all 7-8 exercises.  This should bring you to about 23-26 minutes depending on if you are doing 7 or 8 exercises. To round out the 30 minutes, I always end with abs.  In this case I will do say 20 crunches, or 12 lying leg raises, or a 30 second plank and then again finish out each minute with cardio.  At the very end I will do a stretch and I'm done. The stretch I do depends on the area I was concentrating on for the day.

Once you've done this workout a few times, you kind of get the hang of it and you can actually enjoy your show or podcast while you workout! If you don't have 3 sets of weights, no problem. Just do 10 reps with the same weights for all 3 sets of each exercise. Don't worry about the specific order, just keep in mind the area you are focusing on and do the next exercise that comes to mind.  For days where I am working 2 muscle groups, like biceps and triceps or chest and back, I like to alternate between the body parts. So after 3 sets of bicep curls, I might do 3 sets of tricep dips and then switch back to biceps.  That way I don't over tire the muscle. 

Try this out and let me know what you think.  Need ideas for which exercises to do?  Drop me a note in the comments!

Cheers,

Emily

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Halloween Hand Print Craft for All Ages

With Halloween coming, T and I recently made a Halloween spider craft.  This was super easy and fun.  We hung up the end result in the living room and T shows it off to everyone who comes by.  It's also nice because it can be adapted to different age groups.

Here's what you will need:

Blue construction paper

Black paint

A white or silver pen, marker, chalk, pencil, or crayon

Googly eyes

Glue

Optional:

White paint

Haunted House stickers

Markers/crayons

To start, draw a white or silver spider web out of the left corner of the spider web.  Then flip the paper so that the web in in the bottom left corner.  (This makes it easier to make your hand print.)

Next, paint the palm of your child's hand with black paint. This will be the spider.  Form their hand print on the spider's web.

Here are the optional parts.  If your kid is not squeamish about paint you can also do a white foot print to be a ghost.  Keep the paper upside-down as the heel should be the head of the ghost and the toes should be the bottom.  My son is super squeamish about these things, so one hand print was enough.

When you are done with your prints, you can decorate your picture. For younger kids who don't really draw yet, we used stickers of haunted houses and ghosts, etc. to decorate our page.  Older kids can use markers or crayons to draw their own spooky scene.

Once the prints have dried, you can add googly eyes to the spider and draw on a ghost face.

This is a super easy project both to create and supply.  Nothing you need should be hard to find and you may just have it all at home! I love it because you can make it fun for all different age groups.

Definitely, try it out and share your finished products on my Facebook page!!

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7 Tips for Getting Your Workout In

As a busy mom, sometimes its hard to take time out for yourself.  We have so many other obligations and priorities that we sometimes put ourselves last. Other times, the way that we treat ourselves in not the best or healthiest. Our "me time" becomes have a sugary or salty treat in front of the TV after the kids are in bed.  But, in order to be our best selves and the best possible mom, we have to put our own health as one of our top priorities.

Exercise can give you a high and give you energy to start your day.  It can help you clear your brain and enable you to focus.  It can give you the strength and endurance to get through a long day.  It keeps you healthy and your heart pumping.  It boosts your mood. If nothing else, it helps you shed unwanted lbs. So here are 7 tips to help you ensure that you get your workout in!

1. Have a goal of working out everyday - but don't be hard on yourself.  On average, you want to work out around 5 days a week.  Some people schedule their rest days.  I'm not one of those people.  I find that if you schedule your rest day and then something comes up another day that prevents you from working out, you beat yourself up for missing an extra day.  I make my goal to work out daily and if something does come up or I'm not feeling well, I count that as my rest day.  This enables you to have a lot less guilt. 

2. Workout in the morning - I find that the best time to workout is before anyone else gets up.  This means I'm up at 6:00 am, have a protein shake and start my workout.  I generally don't have scheduling conflicts at this time and things don't generally come up.  Therefore, it is a whole lot easier for me to make sure I get my workout in.  I also have the living room to myself (aside from the dogs) so I can spread out and make as much noise as I want. 

3. Workout at Home - Going to the gym is nice, but it requires a lot of effort and planning.  You need someone to watch the kids, you have to pay a membership whether you get to the gym or not, you actually have to take the time to go there and come back on top of your workout time, and you have to wait for equipment or come early to make sure you get your spot for class.  At home, these things are not an issue.  A 30 minute workout will actually take 30 minutes.  Once you have your equipment, there is no additional cost. And, no babysitter is required. 

4. Have your equipment easily accessible - Set aside a space in your home where you will workout.  This might be your living room or your basement or the garage.  Have all of your workout out equipment all together, easily accessible in this room.  I workout in my living room, so in one corner I have my weights, my stretch band, my ball, my yoga mat and my fold away elliptical.  I also have one location for all of my fitness DVDs.  When I want to workout, I just grab the equipment I need for that workout and I'm ready to go.

5. Be selective when purchasing DVDs - Have you ever purchased a DVD and then never used it because you didn't have the time or the right equipment? Do your research up front so that when you get a DVD, you are actually able to use it.  My first requirement when buying a DVD is length.  I want to be able to get my workout done in about 35 minutes, 40 max.  That way I have time to get a quick shower in before waking up T. So, if a DVD doesn't meet the time requirement, I don't get it because I know I will rarely, if ever, use it.  Next I look at what equipment is required. Generally, I go with DVDs that either come with the equipment required or makes use of equipment I already have.  If you get a kettle bell workout and don't have a kettle bell, well you not going to be able to use it until you get one...

6. Get your kids involved - If you have a teeny guy or gal, do baby wearing workouts where you do exercises while wearing your baby in their carrier.  The baby is your weight and you move up in weight as your baby gets bigger.  This is actually fun for the baby too and some good quality time together.  For bigger guys (depending on how big) you can still use them as your weight.  Toddler chest presses and over head presses anyone? How about a plank with a toddler on top? Squats while carrying your little guy! Workout with your hubby and get everyone involved. For even bigger kids, get a couple light weights and encourage them to join in.  It's never too early to develop a healthy lifestyle. 

7. Set a workout goal - When you have a goal to achieve you are much more motivated to do the work it takes to get there. Decide you want to be able to do 60 squats in a minute, or drop a dress size in 4 weeks, or get through the whole workout DVD without having to hit pause.  Wherever you are fitness wise, there is always a new goal you can set.  Make your goals specific and achievable. Not easy, but achievable.  You want to obtain your goal, not be depressed when your deadline comes and you fall short.

In the end, working out is super important to being the best mom you can be.  You have energy to chase and play with your kids.  You model a healthy lifestyle.  And you will definitely feel accomplished when you finish a good workout. Try to add workouts to your routine little by little and you will definitely notice the difference in all aspects of your life.  In fact, with that extra boost of energy you may find you actually save time in your day because you are able to accomplish things faster and more efficiently.

Here's to healthy, happy mommies!!

Emily

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Crafting Supplies You Should Always Have on Hand

Every mom needs a go to box of crafting supplies for when the kiddies are bored or the weather is bad and they can't go outside, or they have already watched too much TV and need something to do. Crafting with kids can go from elaborate to very basic. You don't need to have an art degree to entertain you kids with some glue and stickers and crayons. Below are some supplies that you should always have on hand for when the need to entertain your child arises or if you want to be able to make holiday or season related crafts without having to schlep to the store every time.

1. Crayons - This is like a no brainer. We had crayons in our house before we even had kids. We generally prefer crayola and you can usually get a good price at back to school season.

2. Markers - There are certain crafts where crayons just won't cut it and you really need markers to get the look you're going for. You can have washable ones and also some mommy only sharpies. Metallic colors are great to have on hand!

3. Glue - Whether you prefer, liquid or glue sticks or glue dots, this is a staple. For more advanced projects, definitely have a hot glue gun on hand. Remember putting glue on your hands and then peeling it off once it dried. Yeah, the good old days when that's all we needed for entertainment...

4. A Variety of Paper - Stock up on all sorts of papers including construction paper, copy paper, and card stock. If you want to get super fancy, you can even have a stock of scrapbooking paper. This is useful for a huge variety of craft projects!

5. Child-safe Scissors - Another essential. These are good whether or not you actually expect your child to do the cutting. You don't want to use your adult scissors and leave them on the table while you continue your project and have your toddler pick them up. Better safe than sorry!!

6. Paint - For little guys, finger paints are great and a ton of fun. You can purchase this, make your own, or use yogurt as your paint. (I'll give you the info on that in a future post) As they get older, washable tempera paints are great. Another fun option is water colors. I find that tempera is best for actual crafting, while water colors are good for strictly painting.

7. Paint brushes - There are so many kinds of paint brushes you can have! There are jumbo ones for the little guys and the foam ones. T especially likes those. Then there are the small water colors ones. Just go with what you feel is suitable for your kid.

The following items are no longer essentials, but definitely good to have:

8. Pipe Cleaners

9. Stickers

10. Glitter

11. Tissue Paper

12. Craft Sticks (or Popsicle Sticks)

13. Googly Eyes - My son will play with these whether or not there is an art project involved.

14. Contact Paper - Great for suncatchers, sticky collages, place mats, or just preserving your artwork

15. Pom Poms

16. Modge Podge - Great for yarn lanterns, collages, and a ton more

Finally, try not to pay full price for pretty much anything. Definitely raid your local dollar store like Dollar Tree and Deals. Then wait for your craft store to have sales. You can download the Joann's and Michael's and Hobby Lobby apps to stay informed on sales. Crafting is a great way to spend quality time with your kid, add to your seasonal and holiday decor, and just have fun. I will be posting some of T and my Halloween craft projects soon!!

xoxo,

Emily

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Prepping for Baby #2

Disclaimer: The Multitasking Mom is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Anything linked within this post are items that the author, herself, would purchase and all other content continues to be the author's own opinion.

At first, when you learn that you are pregnant with #2, you think: "I've done this before" and "I know what to do" and "I won't need to buy hardly anything". But, depending on how long it's been between babies, there are things you forget, things you can't reuse, and things that the first child is still using. For example, for T, we got a convertible crib which is now in it's toddler bed form. While we won't need a new crib for #2 (the toddler bed will be converted back) we will need a new bed for T. While were on the topic, he will also need a new dresser for all his big brother sized clothes.

Other things that may or may not be reusable are clothes. Some are too stained and damaged to save, others may be gender specific. So how do you check what you really need?

My method is to pretend like this is a first baby and download an app or printout a baby registry list. You can find registry 101 lists here: http://www.thebump.com/a/registry-101. Then check off the things you know for sure you don't need to re-buy for example an infant carrier, and infant car seat, high chair, bouncer, etc., i.e. anything that is reusable and not gender specific. For items you will be passing down, adjust the listing to your needs. So I will cross off crib and write toddler bed and next to dresser, I will write "for T". These are things we will still need to buy before #2 comes around.

Some of our clothes and towels and accessories are gender neutral. So they can for sure be reused. If you find out the gender of baby #2 in advance this can help you finish off your shopping list. If your second person is the same gender as your first, there may be very little to buy in regards to clothes. If not, you can sort through what you have saved from number one and then update your registry list to reflect what you already have.

No matter what the gender, we definitely plan to have a new theme for baby #2's nursery, so bedding and changing table covers will be replaced either way. We will also be replacing our baby monitor which T broke one day by spiking the monitor across the living room...

My favorite site to register on is Amazon's Baby Registry. They just have everything. We plan on registering for a few things for T too! We want him to feel like a part of the celebration and not be left out. We will also be registering for some items at a brick and mortar store as we know some people prefer that. (I can say that I'm not one of them, but we like to accommodate.)

Cheers,

Emily

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