Tired Mama.com

Please, just get in the house.

It's been busy around our castle lately.

Youngest daughter is performing in her school musical this week, my son has started hockey play-offs, we're progressing the house renovations and my classes are demanding this term.

Lately things have been very uh, busy crazy chaotic.

Yesterday, when my youngest daughter and I had just gotten home from an all day musical practice she decided to try out some Olympic type figure skating moves on the driveway as she waited for me to untangle the groceries and assorted costume paraphernalia from the back of our van.

As I was handing her things to carry into the house she turned to me with a grin. 

"Everyone keeps telling me to break a leg," she informed me.

"Yep," I replied, "that's a theatrical way of wishing you good luck."

"Wouldn't it be really funny if I actually did fall and break my leg?" she asked grinning, then ran off again to slide around some more on the ice in her winter boots.  

Ah, sweetheart?

No.

Just, no.

Sigh.

More rules

At six-thirty this morning my younger daughter marched into the kitchen and announced to me that her older brother was out shoveling the snow off the driveway in his pajamas.

Youngest daughter had gotten a lecture from me this past summer for going out to play one morning in her nightgown and I guess she wanted to make sure the lectures were going to be fairly distributed.

'That's okay,' I replied. 'It's still dark out and he has a coat over top of them.'

'So, it's okay to be outside in your pajamas when it's dark out?' she asked.

'Yes,' I replied, 'but only in the mornings before seven and only when you're working and have a coat on.'

'Oh,' she replied. She left the kitchen satisfied with my answer.

My baby is now almost ten years old, I wonder how much longer I have before she realizes that I'm just making this stuff up as I go along?

Ah well, at least the walkway is cleared.

Hockey Nights in Canada

Over the Christmas holidays Tired Papa and our son built themselves a hockey rink in our backyard.

It's nice. They built boards and put a heater in the pool house to work as a little warm change room and they even put up nets to stop all the pucks from breaking my kitchen windows.

My hubby and our boy go out there when it's dark and cold and they shovel, sweep and flood their rink.

The kids of the neighborhood and my younger children have been using the rink a lot. It's great exercise for everyone and they all have a great time outside.

Me? I've been making a lot of hot chocolate and popcorn this winter.

Do you know what I like most about the ice rink though?

I like looking out my kitchen window and watching my two boys working on the rink and then playing hockey together.

They're not just making an ice rink, they are creating memories. Memories of a father and son working together, creating something together. 

It's good.

Really, really good.

And all the dead grass I'm gonna have back there in the spring?

Totally worth it.

I'm wearing mittens in July.

I made a mistake.

I asked my son what he wanted to do this summer. I suggested camps, volunteer work, baseball, soccer and all sorts of things.

But all my son wants to do is play hockey.

Ice hockey.

And where I live there is a lot of hockey available to be played in the summer months.

Which means that now that it is sunny and warm out I am spending my time freezing in cold, smelly dark hockey rinks.

This is sort of how I spend much of the winter months too.

I really have to learn to say 'No' better.

Sigh.

And the winner is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

47

Timestamp: 2009-06-26 01:06:00 UTC

**********************************************************

The winner of the iPod shuffle and $20 iTunes card is number 47.

And that is:

Keely over at The Un Mom!

Yeah!

Congratulations Keely and thanks for exercising and playing along. And yes, in my book weeding for an hour does count as exercise. Actually in my book doing anything that consists of getting off the couch or out of the computer chair means you've exercised!

Send me your direct address please Keely and I'll pass it on to make sure you get your iPod shuffle and $20 iTunes card!

And everyone else? Keep moving and thanks for supporting me and fit in 15!

Exercise or Ice Cream or Both

Today is the last day to enter my draw to win an IPod shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card.

All you need to do is exercise for 15 minutes today and comment below and I'll enter you into the draw.

Today my youngest had a music exam, so I drove her to that, and now it's time for me to get in my fifteen minutes of exercise. What should I do?

I went to the Fit in 15 website and got some ideas.

I could:

• walk or run
• stretch/shrug/pull
• lift canned goods
• squat
• stair-walk

These all sound good but there is also a carton of Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream in the freezer calling my name.

What to do. What to do.

****************************************************************

If you exercised for fifteen minutes today too, make sure you comment below and I'll enter your name into my draw to win an iPod Shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card. If you've already commented on another day, comment again and I'll give you another entry. 

Twitter about this give away and I'll give you another entry.

Oh, and if you sign up on the www.fitin15.ca website, I'll enter your name into the draw again.

Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know that you've done any of these and I'll keep track of it all. Honest.

I'll make the draw tonight, so come on everyone, let's get moving!

Click

Today when I went to start my van all I got was a 'click'.

I hate that sound.

The dashboard lit up and the radio came on so I knew I hadn't left the lights on but my van wasn't starting. 

So I got towed to the dealership and a few hours later with a new Visa bill and battery and other stuff replaced I had transportation again.

I hate car repairs. I want to spend my money on more fun things.

But I am very dependent on my van. I like to go places. Often there are places I have to be and I don't like not having my own transportation.

Yes, I am spoiled.

I did do my fifteen minutes of exercise though as the kids and I walked from the repair place to a restaurant for lunch, while we waited for the van to be repaired, and that was a nice fifteen minute walk.

I also got off lightly as it wasn't a major repair so I got my van back quickly.

It's all good. I just hate that clicking sound. I like a good purr.

I guess that makes me a cat person. My cat will be happy to know this.

Interesting.

Strange, but interesting.

**************************************

If you exercised for fifteen minutes today too, make sure you comment below and I'll enter your name into my draw to win an iPod Shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card. If you've already commented on another day, comment again and I'll give you another entry. 

Twitter about this give away and I'll give you another entry.

Oh, and if you sign up on the www.fitin15.ca website, I'll enter your name into the draw again.

Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know that you've done any of these and I'll keep track of it all. Honest.

I'll make the draw on June 24th, so come on everyone, let's get moving!

Soup is heavy

I used some big cans of soup to do some arm curls tonight.

Yeah, I'm a little weird but it did seem to work at tightening my biceps.

Any-who, my eldest walked into the kitchen and watched me for a minute, then rolled her eyes and left.

My youngest then came in but instead of leaving she sat down to watch me exercise.

She didn't ask me what I was doing or why I was doing arm curls but neither did she seem to think there was anything wrong with me exercising my arms with a big can of beef soup.

She did however ask me if it was any better to do arm curls with beef soup rather than chicken noodle soup.

I had no good answer.

Yeah, we have some very weird discussions my youngest and I.

I did however arm curl for at least five minutes before I went out for a long brisk walk.

Hooray for me - I got in my fifteen minutes of extra exercise today.

And you know what? I'm okay with looking a little bit weird while I'm exercising if it means in the end my tank tops will fit better.

I mean it's June, I have to put away the sweaters that've been hiding my jiggly arms, right?

Sigh.

**************************************

If you exercised for fifteen minutes today too, make sure you comment below and I'll enter your name into my draw to win an iPod Shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card. If you've already commented on another day, comment again and I'll give you another entry. 

Twitter about this give away and I'll give you another entry.

Oh, and if you sign up on the www.fitin15.ca website, I'll enter your name into the draw again.

Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know that you've done any of these and I'll keep track of it all. Honest.

I'll make the draw on June 24th, so come on everyone, let's get moving!

I just can't find fifteen minutes today.

I got this e-mail today:

Hi Leanne,

How is it going? Have you been able to Fit-in 15 minutes a day or are you having difficulty getting started? It’s OK to miss a day or two, but try not to give-up your 15 minutes more than 2 days in a row.

Love, www.fitin15.ca (Okay, I made up the 'love' part.)

Interesting.

I also have twenty people arriving for a BBQ in an hour and it's pouring rain out. Sigh.

Today might just have to be the day I don't get around to my fifteen minutes, so getting this e-mail was like getting a 'get out of jail free' card!

Although I have been cleaning the house and I think housework is a work out. Today it will have to do.

********************************************************************

So, what did you do today?

If you exercised for fifteen minutes today, make sure you comment below and I'll enter your name into my draw to win an iPod Shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card. 

Twitter about this give away and I'll give you another entry.

Oh, and if you sign up on the www.fitin15.ca website, I'll enter your name into the draw again.

Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know that you've done any of these and I'll keep track of it all. Honest.

I'll make the draw on June 24th, so come on everyone, don't be like me, get moving!

They're exercising my patience

Today my patience is being exercised.

Argh.

My kids are done school for the summer and they are all at home - bickering.

Can someone please tell me how I'm going to get through the next ten weeks of this?

It. is. driving. me. crazy.

Right.

Next.

For my fifteen minutes of fitness today I moved mulch.

Lovely rich black mulch from the pile at the front of the house to the gardens at the back.

It looks great and I am uh, tired.

Maybe if I'm lucky I can fall asleep and then I'll miss all the kid's bickering.

Sigh.

********************************************************************

So, what did you do today?

If you exercised for fifteen minutes today, make sure you comment below and I'll enter your name into my draw to win an iPod Shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card. 

Twitter about this give away and I'll give you another entry.

Oh, and if you sign up on the www.fitin15.ca website, I'll enter your name into the draw again.

Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know that you've done any of these and I'll keep track of it all. Honest.

I'll make the draw in one week, on June 24th, so come on everyone, let's get moving!

I'm gonna run the bases.

I am going to exercise for 15 minutes today. I am.

I am just not sure when I am going to do it.

According to my friends over at www.Fitfor15.ca what I need to do is realize that:

'Starting a new habit can be challenging especially when there are so many demands on your time. A good way to start is to pick a specific time each day to Fit-in 15 minutes of focused activity. Think of it like your morning shower or brushing your teeth – something you just do every day.'

Okay. I wish I'd read this sooner. It is already five in the evening and I have just gotten back from my daughter's graduation ceremony and I now have ten fourteen year olds yelling at each other in my basement (it's raining) while watching a movie. I took my mother out for lunch today because it's her birthday and in an hour I have to take my eleven year old son to his baseball game.

Baseball? Now there's an idea.

I think what I will do is spend my fifteen minutes running around the bases while my son's team is warming up. This is sure to embarrass him.

That works for me. 

What are you going to do today?

If you exercise for fifteen minutes today, make sure you comment below and I'll enter your name into my draw to win an iPod Shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card. 

Twitter about this give away and I'll give you another entry.

Oh, and if you sign up on the www.fitin15.ca website, I'll enter your name into the draw again.

Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know that you've done any of these and I'll keep track of it all. Honest.

I'll make the draw in one week, on June 24th, so come on everyone, let's get moving!

Wanted: Motivation. Oh, and something for you!

I have decided to make a change in my life.

Not a big one, just a little one.

I have decided to uh, exercise more.

Okay, this is not earth shattering stuff but I do need to start doing more to not only feel healthier but to lose a little weight. So, I'm starting today.

Who's with me?

Here's the deal. Research shows that 90% of Canadians want to be more physically active, but cite lack of time as a main deterrent. To address this, the CCA is launching a new website today called Fit-in 15.

The site encourages Canadians to commit to doing 15 minutes of physical activity each day. The emphasis of the campaign is not on dramatic transformation, but on encouraging people to start small and begin forming the habit of being active every day. 

So, starting today I am going to go to www.fitin15.ca everyday to grab some motivation so I can try and fit a little more exercise into my life.

Yes, I am.

Wanna join me?

Just to make it a little more interesting, if you get a chance to exercise today for just a measly 15 minutes or even more, leave a comment below and I'll enter you into my draw to win an iPod Shuffle and a $20 iTunes gift card. 

Twitter about this give away and I'll give you another entry.

Oh, and if you sign up on the www.fitin15.ca website, I'll enter your name into the draw again.

Just leave me a comment or send me an e-mail letting me know that you've done any of these and I'll keep track of it all. Honest.

I'll make the draw in one week, on June 24th, so come on everyone, help me get moving!

Ack, they're gonna make me exercise!

I got in trouble when I was exercising at the YMCA today.

There were three of us on the treadmills and we got to talking and um, laughing and I guess we were a little too uh, animated.

So, as we were leaving the people at the fitness desk stopped us and asked us for our work-out tags. These fitness Nazis then proceeded to book the three of us in for appointments so that we could have our fitness programs re-worked.

I guess we were having such a good time the fitness trainers decided we weren't working hard enough.

Shoot.

I was having such fun too.

Now they're gonna force me to use my fitness membership to get in shape.

It's just not fair.

Sigh.