Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts

Monday, September 10, 2012

Parenting and our health


How are you feeling? Does the first week of back-to-school have you as wiped out as I am? Evening meetings, snacks to pack, kids to get out the door--it feels like summer ended much more than a week ago! On top of that, at our house, we're celebrating a birthday for one of our kids. So that means a birthday party and birthday dinner all as I'm trying to navigate the massive shift back to a school routine. A routine that starts 30 minutes earlier than last year and involves both my kids this time around.

Soooo.

I'm not taking very good care of myself. I've fallen into awful routines with my sleep, exercise and diet. I'm reaching for Diet Cokes and indulging in Starbucks runs. I'm staying up late to catch up on TV even though my kids are getting up an hour earlier. I'm not drinking water. Exercise? Um, no.

There are four areas of my health in desperate need of improvement. I need to:

1. Sleep 8-9 hours a night.
2. Drink water at every opportunity.
3. Exercise 4-5 times a week
4. Cut out the sugary and salty snacks. Replace with fruits/veggies/whole grains.

Seems pretty simple, but it's a massive undertaking to commit to all four at once. For this week, I'm tackling only the first two. I'm starting with a manageable goal and building from there.

Back to my original question. How are you feeling? Are you up for the challenge of improving a health goal for the next week? Which one and how will you do it?

Friday, April 27, 2012

Friday Faves


A new feature here will be 'Friday Faves.' This will give a few links to some of my favorite articles this week from the blogs I read.

7 tips to maximize your child's health from Confessions of a Dr Mom. Many of these are common sense (like trying to eat as a family) but they are great reminders.

Science at play by Modernparentsmessykids.com. As a former science teacher, I love seeing ideas for how to incorporate science into my everyday life with the kids. 

Bragging rights by Momastery. Her writing is always insightful, but this one really struck me. Is it OK to brag about our kids? When? How? 

Food 'porn' from npr. They are wondering what's up with all the sharing of everyday eats? Are all these sites and tweets helpful? As someone who posts recipes on my twitter (parentinginpdx), I found it an interesting question. 

Ice cream sandwiches from smitten kitchen. This is a recipe link that I'd love to try. I also love that it includes links back to previous posts with recipes for such everyday treats as graham crackers. 

Happy Weekend!