Friday, October 31, 2014

Fitness Friday: Maintaining a Healthy Routine After Baby

This Fitness Friday is a guest post from a lovely mama who inspires me (Jenn) with her motivation to be healthy.  She was awesome enough to write a guest post this week about getting back into a healthy routine post-baby.  You can check out her personal blog over at onehealthyapple.blogspot.com 

Hi PenPal Productions Readers! My name is Yelena (pronounced Ye-lay-na) and I blog (rather infrequently) at onehealthyapple.blogspot.com.  I’m honored to post on this cute corner of the Interwebz and share a bit about how my family keeps up a healthy routine with a very active toddler and a busy schedule, without losing our minds (completely) or ourselves, as many parents do, after welcoming their bundle of joy.

I’m a self-proclaimed health junkie- mostly out of necessity, as I grew up as an overweight kid and teenager. I also saw how unhealthy my grandparents became in their old age and I knew I had to do something (or a lot of things) differently.  Luckily, I also married a bona fide health freak and together we ate healthy foods, hiked, worked out, and enjoyed our separate health interests (me: yoga, hubby: Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).

I worked out through my whole 41+ week pregnancy with my little boy and felt great. I was smug and could not figure out how people didn’t make time for health and fitness with kids and ‘those people’ were lazy. And then the shit hit the fan. I had a sweet little boy who never slept, didn’t take a bottle if I was anywhere in smelling distance, and I was tired. So very tired.  Now that I’m barely out of the baby stage, I wanted to share some of the things that helped me get back on track right after baby, and what we do now to maintain our health:

Right After Baby:
  • Give yourself some grace. Yes, I had gained 35 pounds, but I also just gave birth. Once I forgave myself and let go of this guilt, I felt much better.
  • Start small. Nope, I couldn’t take a whole 75-minute vinyasa flow class, but I could wear the baby and go for walks, so I walked a lot. When that got better, I did quick YouTube workouts, jogged (slowly), or went to the gym for a half hour at a time.
  • Make healthy options available. I couldn’t cook all the time, but I could buy Greek yogurt, fruit, grains, and lean protein. When I was famished from feeding the baby all the time, I at least had some smart choices.
  • Communicate. I had to tell my husband that I didn’t feel like myself without exercise. He helped encourage me and took the baby out for a walk if I was doing a home workout or going for a quick jog.
  • Ask for help. Ask a friend, ask a parent, get a cleaning Groupon. Mental health is as important as physical health.


Life With a Baby/Toddler:
  • Give yourself another break. Kidlets go through various stages and phases. Sometimes they sleep, sometimes they don’t. Nobody likes a cranky parent, so don’t forget to take care of yourself through those sleepless nights and days. Working out can wait. Your body needs sleep to repair itself, so that’s basically a workout there.
  • Make some goals. I made a goal to go to the gym 3 times per week once my son was about 6 months old. It was simple and anything on top of that was gravy. Make sure to reevaluate as you get stronger and as your family reaches a new normal. You can surprise yourself as you knock your old goals out of the park.
  • Reward yourself. It’s hard work! When you reach a milestone (weight, distance, even consecutive hours of sleep), do something nice for yourself. I am more motivated when I have something nice to wear, so a new sports bra or yoga pants keep me going.
  • Communicate. Now that our schedule is more or less set, my hubby and I sit down each week (it literally takes two minutes) and discuss which days we have work meetings, any other commitments, and preferred workout days. My husband trains 3ish times a week for 3ish hours including his commute, while I typically wake up at 5:50 each morning to get my exercise in. But sometimes I go at night, and it’s nice to plan the week knowing where our obstacles are.
  • Involve your little ones in fitness. My son loves to ‘do yoga’ with me, we go on family hikes, and we have continued our walks together with the dog. Sometimes he still makes me carry him, and that’s a hell of a workout with a 30+ pound flailing weight.
  • Ask for help. Make your partner a shopping list, cook dinner together, ask a grandparent to babysit, or get another cleaning Groupon. You can’t do it all and asking for help is not a sign of weakness.


I have to add a disclaimer that I’m not a health professional and none of this is easy. I have lost all of the baby weight and have been maintaining it for about a year now, but sometimes I’m still completely unmotivated and I still eat too much chocolate. I’m only human. Each family works differently, but this is what has worked for us.

Thanks again to Jenn for the opportunity to post!

XOXO,

Yelena
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Monday, October 27, 2014

Top 10 Toddler iPad Apps

We are not a technology-free family.  More power to those who are but I honestly don’t know how we’d get by without the iPad some days.  Or in restaurants.  Always in restaurants.  My toddler has been using an iPad since he was 5 months, when Grandma downloaded Giggle Gang.  And the truth is, I’m not ashamed. 

I’m not even ashamed to admit that after our first iPad was shattered in a horrific puddle-dropping accident, we rushed out to buy a new one within 24 hours.  It was that important. 

I could go on about how we are a technology-driven society, how I grew up with NES and SNES and turned out fantastic, but I’ll save my breath.  I’m already aware it’s one of those infamous mommy-guilt hot topics and I don’t care to get involved too heavily in that.  I will leave it at this: I don’t believe that technology, in moderation, is bad; it’s not going to ruin my child, and honestly, I’ll be damned if an iPad app didn’t teach my son the entire alphabet.  I

So, in celebration of the iPad, I’d like to list my 2 year old’s top ten favorite apps.  There’s so many out there to choose from and I’m constantly changing and upgrading them as he masters them.  Quite honestly, he amazes me by how much he picks up and he utilizes skills that he learns, like shapes, colors, numbers, and letters, in the outside world as well.  Oh, and finding random toddler selfies?  Priceless.  

1) Originator’s Endless Learning Bundle
These are hands-down my son’s favorite set of apps. Included is Endless ABC’s, Endless 123’s, and Endless Reader.  

2) Tiny Hands Super Bundle
Right now we have TinyHands sorting 1 and 2, Lotto 1, and What’s my pair?  The super bundle includes ALL of the TinyHands apps, but it’s pricey.  So it might be more optimal to pick and choose.  However, these are great apps and the super bundle includes all ten of them.  So really, at $20, you’re only really paying $2/each for endless, educational entertainment. 

3) Writing Wizard
This is a new one for us, and a little above a 2 year old skill level, but basically it teaches kids to write letters and words.  My son shows some interest in it which, historically for him, seems to be a precursor to it becoming a favorite down the road so I felt the need to include it on this list. 

4) Reading Rainbow
Just do it.  Support a good cause. 

5) Petting Zoo
This is a weird one.  This app, I’m convinced, has no actual point.  But my child and his friends are obsessed with it and will literally mess around with it for an entire meal out.  So it’s worth noting.

6) Trucks HD
If your kiddo hearts trucks as much as mine, this is a great one.  It’s not super educational, though there’s a section that teaches the differences between compost, recyclables, and trash, so that’s kinda neat.  

7) KidsDoodle and Drawing Pad
I’ve bundled these two together as our go-to artsy apps.  No crayons? No worries!  These are basically just painting apps with all the pretty colors.  This is a good app for us to play with together on the go because I can draw shapes or faces and ask him what they are.  And then he can copy me.  

8) Peek-a-Zoo and Peek-a-Zoo HD
Animals FTW! 

9) Elmo Calls
Okay, this game is pretty annoying, but it certainly taught my son the art of face timing.  I felt it was worth noting for any die-hard Sesame Street fans out there. I believe there are other characters that can “call” your child as w
ell.

10) Flash Apps’ Baby Flash Cards
This one incorporates all that is preschool as far as numbers, colors, shapes, animals, etc.  It’s not as fun as other apps, IMO, but my son still enjoys it none-the-less.  





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Saturday, October 25, 2014

Citrus Lane [infant] Box Review: October


We loved this box as much as the toddler box this month.  Everything was so cute and, most importantly, age relevant!  Tiny man is just starting to grasp objects and show interest in feeling different textures, so we’ve already gotten a lot of use out of this box.  I rate this box a 9/10.


The contents included a donut rattle by North American Bear Co. (plus coupon code), a cage bell by Hohner Kids, a soft book by Tiny Love, and two Calendula Baby Care samples by Weleda.  



So, the rattle.  So cute!  It’s a gender neutral, and has a soft texture with a soft rattle noise to go along with it.  My almost-three month old loves to feel it, listen to it shake, and attempt to hold on to it.  I like it because the noise isn’t too loud or startling, it could easily be taken with us while traveling and be entertaining without annoying everyone around us.  And, did I mention it’s super cute?!



The cage bell is a fun one too.  It pairs nicely with the maracas that came in my two-year old’s box, and now my children can start a family band.  Tiny man hasn’t taken to holding this one so much as he has watching me or big brother make noise with it for him to watch.  It’s not something I’d take on an airplane, but it’s fun for home.





We sat down together to look at the Where Do I Live Soft Book this morning.  It’s a nice little book full of simple colors, animals, textures and stuff to grab at (or gnaw on if the mood strikes).  Tiny man loves the different textures and the crinkly pages.  The first page has felt “grass” and he played with it for a few minutes (which is basically hours in infant time).  It’s also sturdy; it’s soft and made of cloth but it’s not floppy like other soft books we have which makes page turning so much easier on little, tiny hands.  



The Weleda samples included baby shampoo/wash and a diaper cream.  Not too much to say about them as we have not yet tried them out, but it’s a company I’m already familiar with and I’ve enjoyed their products in the past.  In general, samples aren’t my favorite items to receive, especially one-time-use samples, but I suppose it never hurts to toss them into the diaper bag for emergencies.  Plus, they came with a 20% coupon code.








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Citrus Lane [toddler] Box Review: October


If my 2 year old could rate this box, he’s give it a million thumbs up.  It’s basically everything he loves packaged neatly into one adorable box (including the crinkly packing paper)- cars, maracas, and a dinosaur book!  We’re all very pleased with the contents this month.  He couldn’t wait for me to take photos to get into the box with the yellow taxi cab and I had to hunt them down this morning for their proper photo ops. 

Another small excitement was that box boxes arrived at the same time this month so both kiddos got fun, new stuff to play with.  Mostly, this means my oldest won’t steal tiny man’s toys, claim them as his own, and then get upset when he has to share them with baby brother.  This month he’s far too distracted with his new favorite wooden cars.  

I rate this box a 9/10.  The only thing lacking is the fact that I would love a Janod coupon for their store.  The only coupon code included in this box is for Chronicle Books.


The contents included two Story City Sets by Janod, two maracitos by Hohner Kids, and a dinosaur board book by Chronicle Books.

First of all, my son is *way* into cars.  Big, small, metal, wooden, big wheels, small wheels, even trucks - he doesn’t discriminate.  If it has wheels and he can drive it around the house, he’s content.  So this box is perfect!  The first set is the Taxi Story City Set, and of the two cars included in the box this one is his favorite.  He doesn’t care much for the man on the bike because the wheels on his moped don’t move, but he’s sure to carry around his yellow taxi all day and into the evening before nicely tucking it into his bed to go night-night.  

The second set is the Police Story City Set.  Again, he’s not very into the police man himself, so the police man is effectively left without any transportation.  He also ensures the blue car is tucked in safely for bed at night, next to the yellow taxi (and his favorite airplane, boat, and truck…). I actually think these toys are some of his most favorite CL contents ever.  And *I* like them because they’re wooden, don’t make noise, and are just generally simple toys that promote imaginative play.  Oh, and?!  They fit into standard train tracks!!  It took my tot all of 5 seconds to figure this out and it was quite the exciting moment for us all.  

As anyone with kids will tell you, they like to make noise.  One way to do this is by pulling out all of the baking sheets from under the stove and banging them against the tile floor.  A better way to do this is through instruments.  We already own several maracas of different quality, size, and color so this item wasn’t the most exciting content in the box, but I’m still happy about it because it’s something both my two year old and three month old appreciate.  And they’re a nice size, they’re not too big for tiny baby hands to grasp, and not to small for my toddler to a) eat or b) lose interest in.  They still make some decent noise, and really, what else matters in the eyes of a two year old boy?  Admittedly, he has not played with these since I helped him remove his precious cars from their boxes, but I’ll add them to our music box nonetheless.  

Anddd the dinosaur board book.  Dinosaurs are great.  Mr. Man loves PBS’s Dinosaur Train, so anything dinosaur related is usually a win.  This book incorporates dinosaurs AND shapes, so not only do we get to ROAR every time we turn a page, my son gets to point out different shapes (and colors).  It’s become a bed time favorite (and thank goodness for that, because sometimes reading the same 3 books every. single. night. can be, well, tiring).  








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