Making Evenings Work for You

What are your evenings like? Ours go like this: 3:10pm: pick up A from from 4:45pm:I get home; someone walks the dog 5:30pm: hopefully have dinner ready, depending on how much I've planned out 6:00pm: dishes and playing with the kiddos 6:30pm: Bathtime 7:00pm: Storytime 7:30pm: Kids (hopefully) asleep! 7:45pm: curl up on the couch, watch TV or read a book. Hubby goes downstairs, watches old episodes of Top Gear or works in his shop.

There's not much "wrong" with this schedule until we hit about 7:45/8 at night. Then suddenly we become couch potatoes - and separate couch potatoes at that! No fun Scrabble games, or interesting conversation....just a boring old couple too tired to do much else.

Last night I was angry going to bed, because I realized that in addition to sitting all day long at my desk job, I basically sat all evening long, and went to bed with a sore back and neck. I've never thought of myself as a couch potato until I had a child, and now I'm the queen potato!

So, today I have compiled a list of things that hubby and I could be doing in the evenings. Some are projects that we can work on together, while others are personal goals of ours that we should be attempting to achieve.

• Using our indoor bike trainer (hubby)
• Doing yoga (Me)
• Creating a family budget
• Planning for our 2014 garden!
• Work on organizational tasks
• Meal planning

What do your evenings look like? Any tips for ways to reconnect as a couple?

Getting Sick: Before and After Kids

Getting sick in my pre-kid days was a simple, three-step process: 1) Get sick

2) Lie in bed. Moan. Coerce loved ones to take good care of me, bringing cool cloths and ginger ale.

3) Get better.

Getting sick with kids is slightly more complicated:

1) Feel the onset of sickness. Panic slightly.

2) In anticipation of sickness, rearrange all plans - find alternative rides to school, reschedule appointments and cancel all extracurricular activities.

3) Get sick.

4) Keep taking care of kids and cleaning house, despite horrible sickness. Lie on the couch only when children are occupied by the television, lest they try to destroy the house. Carry plastic bags with you for school drop-offs, just in case of sudden bout of vomiting.

5) Husband stays home and lets you lie down. Baby needs to be nursed every 2 hours, and 3 year old bursts in on you several times throughout the day asking for random stuff. "Where is that pink shape I cut out yesterday?" To which you answer, "I don't know, jerk, go away!" Or if you're a really Good Mother like I am, you say "I'm not sure, sweetie, why don't you go ask Daddy?"

6) Continue to nurse throughout the night, while running out of the room several times to get sick. Wake baby more often by running out of room.

7) Begin to feel slightly better.

8) Get a sore throat instead.

9) Get woken up in the night by vomiting 3 year-old.

10) Seven days later, your family is finally healthy...

Until next week of course!

Hoping your family is happy and healthy this Spring Season!

5 Stars for Starr Gymnastics!

Welcome to Starr Gymnastics, our featured sponsor this month!

Our daughter was delighted to check out Starr Gymnastics (Orleans location) this past week. We've been living in Orleans for three years now, and have definitely been missing out on this local gem!

With a bright and large open space for plenty of exercise, Starr has it all - a climbing wall, a swinging rope, several mini-trampolines, and balance beams and bars. There is also a nice quiet room in the back, intended for use by parents with really young children, and a raised area where there are four large round trampolines, and a foam pit for the children to dive into. There are also slides, balls, hoops, bean bags, and small play equipment spread throughout the space.

Starr offers regular instructional classes,March and Summer day camps, and private birthday parties. We checked out one of the many drop-in play times. My husband was very impressed with the instructors, who he said were enthusiastic and very helpful. The highlight of the hour was the parachute, when the kiddies got to send a bucket full of balls flying up into the air. By the end of the drop-in, my daughter had already decided that instead of soccer this summer, she would rather do gymnastics camp!

We'll certainly be signing her up for a class. If you're looking for last minute March break activities, there are still spaces available in their half or full-day camps. For those who like to plan in advance, summer camps will be posted soon!

Have you visited one of the three Starr Gymnastics locations? What's your child's favourite activity?

Let's Say Goodbye to the R-Word

Do you see things on Facebook that you find offensive? I'm not talking about grammatical errors and spelling mistakes (although, yes, those are annoying), or the fact that your brother supports the conservatives (equally annoying). I'm talking about comments, posts or photos shared that have you shutting down the computer in disgust, and going to rant to your husband about the insensitivity of other human beings. Today I commented on a photo that a friend had shared, and was appalled to see someone else commented using the R-word. What she was really trying to say was that the photo (and situation/context) was ridiculous or stupid. Instead, she used a derogatory word - perhaps because she is unaware of its meaning, or perhaps because she is just plain mean.

If this woman was my friend, I would have sent her a private message and kindly asked her not to use that word anymore. But because she was a friend of a friend, the situation was a little awkward. So what I decided to do instead was to share this wonderful website with all of my Facebook friends, so that we could start an important conversation - hopefully one that might continue at the dinner table tonight.

This is not about being "politically correct" - this is about recognizing that a word is offensive and hateful, and should no longer be a part of our vocabulary. People with intellectual and/or physical disabilities do not deserve to be associated with a word that means "dumb" or "stupid."

So check out this great website with your children, and start a discussion. Spread the word to end the word!

Kids and Pets

Like many couples, my husband and I had a pet before we had children. Darcy the pug was our first baby - our "fur baby." She has been with us through our early relationship, marriage and eventual expansion to a family of four. As Darcy enters old age, we're very aware of the fact that we will become pet-less at some point in the next few years (although who knows, she could hang on until 14!!)

Last night my oldest daughter and I were talking about pets. She mentioned wanting another pet - a goldfish or a bird. I groaned inwardly, as we all know who ends up caring for "family" pets. I'm not fond of any kind of caged animal or reptile - I find their existence a little sad.

But the conversation did get me thinking more about children, pets and empathy. I feel strongly that children who have animals to care for (and animals who care for them) develop more compassion for our natural world.

So I devised a few questions that parents may want to ask themselves before purchasing a pet:

1) What do you hope your child will get out of the experience?

2) Realistically, how much work do you think your child will be able to put into caring for this pet?

3) Does the "pet" in question match your values and beliefs about humans and our relationship to the natural world? For example, are you comfortable purchasing an exotic pet who's natural environment is thousands of miles away?

4) Are you prepared to explain death to your child, and help them deal with the loss of their pet?

5) Are you prepared to invest in your pet? Depending on what you choose, there will be general maintenance for their living area, food costs, and perhaps veterinary bills. Pets can be expensive!

What questions did you ask yourself before purchasing a pet for your family?