Wii Get Fit Together

My husband and I bought the Wii-Fit the day after Christmas and it was the best gift they could give our family. Like most families, my husband and I are very busy people with hectic schedules. I'm a stay at home mom and run my own virtual assistance company and my husband is a detective. When my husband is home, I maybe busy doing work for a client and may not be free.

Since purchasing the Wii-Fit, we have set aside time everyday to work out together. It has become a family event and in some ways has brought a fun competitive side to our relationship that wasn't there before.

But my favorite part of working out on the Wii, is my three year old son. He is the best audience to work out with! He is our cheerleader, our commentator, and sometimes our work-out partner. Towards the end of the evening, if we haven't worked out yet, he will ask, "When are we going to exercise?" It's wonderful to have a little personal reminder like that! Then my husband and I will take turns working out while the other one takes care of our daughter. You can be sure that our son is right there alongside of us, working out also (and he can do a mean tree pose, let me tell you!) When we do push-ups, he loves to crawl underneath of us as we raise up and he also is always very concerned about the mental state of my Mii. I'm not the most coordinated person in the world, so there are some exercises that I'm not very good at. When I attempt and fail miserably at beating my husband's scores, my Mii always takes it very hard. My son will ask, "Mommy, why is she always so sad?" My husband always finds this to be extremely funny.

One thing I love about posting every Friday with the other mom's on Wii-Fit Mommies, is not only hearing of the weight that is being lost and the transformations that have begun, but also to hear the stories of how something as silly as a "video game" has made a difference in their life. I know it's made a difference in mine!

Sometimes Mommies Get Tired...and Don't Get Fit

Well, I missed my second posting of Fitness Friday's with the Wii Fit Mommies! I couldn't believe it! I had a super busy week and decided to take a day off...that was Wednesday. Boy, did I pay for it the next few days! I'm not someone who has ever had a regular fitness routine so I was not sure what the repercussions would be if I chose not to work out. My husband on the other hand, has always had a very strict workout regimen for himself. If he is not able to work out because he is injured or he gets too busy with work, the whole world pays. I supported him and his "habit," but I never understood it. When he is unable to work out, he is an absolute bear to be around! He gets so grumpy!

Well, I decided that I had too much to do to work out and was going to take a break for a day or two. I learned a few things from this short experience:

1.) Even a day or two break can do major damage to your momentum and motivation. I had the worst time getting back into the work-out routine again.

2.) I was so exhausted from not working out! I could not believe how tired I was! I literally had to lay my head on the desk and take a 10 minute nap. I hadn't had to do that since I was pregnant.

3.) I was grumpier. If my children were older they would agree.

So, I'm getting back into my routine, but it's taking me longer to do it. No more breaks from working out for this Wii-Fit mommy; the whole family suffers!

How Work at Home Moms Play With Their Kids

As some of you know, I never meant to be a working from home mom...it just sort of happened. So, finding the delicate balance between my work, my kids, my husband and keeping a clean house, is well, a challenge to say the least. But I continue to stumble my way through it. As I'm stumbling, I am discovering some tidbits that I would like to share.

So here is my tidbit of the day:

As a working from home mom, I'm sure it is super important to you to continue to spend time with your children and to do worthwhile activities with them; I know it is for me. So, as I have said in the past, I try to outline some art and craft and various activities to do with the kids the weekend before the work week starts, that way I'm prepared.

Well, you can't always be super prepared for everything because emergencies arise with your personal life and with your clients also. Sometimes, as sad as it is, you have to drop what you are doing with your child to send a quick email or to answer a phone call.

Here are somethings to remember for moments like this:

1.) When planning activities and games to play with your children while taking a break from work, make sure they aren't long drawn out projects and games. If you have to continue to ask your child to wait a minute while you answer the phone or to complete a data entry project you are only asking for trouble. Eventually they are going to get frustrated and in turn you will most likely snap at them also. So, a suggestion to this is to plan short games that take no more than 15 minutes to play (Go Fish, Dominoes, Lucky Ducks). Remember, even CandyLand can take forever to play sometimes. Plan short art and craft projects. Most of the time, I just give my three year old a bunch of stuff and let him glue and cut. Abstract is the way to go, because there is no time limit!

2.) If you do have to take a phone call, make sure you have something on emergency stand-by that is going to appease your child for a few minutes. Helping your child learn patience is a good virtue for them to have also, so making them wait while you finish up a phone call isn't going to kill them. But make sure you stand by your word. If you tell your child after this phone call is over you will continue to play with them, then do it! I have four or five baggies filled with emergency play options that I can hand over to my child with no explanation (which helps if you are on the phone with a client and can't explain the project to them). Some examples are: a baggie containing two pipe cleaners and some large foam beads to string, two sticker sheets, some crayons and a piece of paper, some feathers, a picture of a bird printed off the computer and a glue stick!

3.) As your child gets older, long projects may be an option for you to do with your child through the day. For instance during the holidays, you may be able to create a gingerbread house with your child or make a tree skirt out of felt. The nice things about projects like this is that there are lots of small steps that you can divide up throughout the day.

4.) A picture schedule may help your child understand his/her day while you are working! An easy way to make a picture schedule for your child is to print up pictures on the computer of activities that your child may do during the day (i.e. breakfast, watch television, play a game, build with blocks, lunch) and to laminate the pictures. To laminate the pictures, use clear contact paper. Attach velcro to the back of the pictures. Now, take a large piece of poster board, label and decorate the poster board however you like. Involve your child in this part to give him ownership of the schedule. Attach an envelope to the back of the poster board to store the icons that you printed up and laminated. On the front of the schedule, attach the other side of the velcro to store the icons. Make sure you also have a picture to represent time spent with you. You want to ensure your child that you will spend time with him/her every day! A schedule is great for children to use at the youngest of age. It helps them learn so many things, such as chronological order, time management, the days of the week and other things!

This Mommy is Getting Fit!

Well, we got the Wii-Fit for Christmas and it has been fantabulous! My husband and I have been super competitive with it! We love to see who can get a higher score than the other! I hate to say it, but in general, he is totally kicking my butt! I work out during the day while he is at work, so there is about 4 hours of the day that I'm ahead of him with scores on the Wii...then he comes home and wipes my scores out with his better scores!

The nice thing is that we are totally supportive of each other and finding time to work out on the Wii! While one of us is working out, the other one tries to keep the kids out from underfoot. I also found another great support system with my new friends at Wii-Fit Mommies! They offer so much for mom's like me! Check out their website; especially for information on their Twitter Party to be held Saturday night, 1/3 from 8-10 pm Est time.

My goal with the Wii-Fit isn't just to lose weight, but to tone up! I was on bed rest for three months of my pregnancy with my daughter this summer and my muscles (ha ha, I really never had any muscles) disappeared! I'm pretty much back to my pre-pregnancy weight but I definitely have this spare tire going on around my belly and feel like my arms have morphed into my grandmothers (gross, i know).

So, we'll see how it goes! I'm gong to try to post a small update and every Friday for Fitness Friday at Wii Fit Mommies; why don't you join me?