We went to a wedding at a church on Saturday.
In the car, on the way to the reception,
Colum yelled out, “Oh no!
I wanted to ask Dad to show me how J – j – j …
You know …
Who is she?
The one who came back to life on Easter?”
“Jesus?”
“Yes, I wanted Dad to show me how J – j – jessas died.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah, her.”
“Jesus is a man.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it’s just that he’s usually depicted with long hair. He’s also known as the Son of God.”
“Oh …”
I’m glad we had that talk before he starts Catholic school next week.

by Natalie Kerr

Image courtesy willardparks.com

Have you ever been that mom standing in the grocery aisle or bank line listening to frustrated grunts from inside the stroller? As mothers we need to read this cue as keep strolling mama! So, I ask all of you mommies out there, how fit is your stroller? Does it only see the light of day when you need a bag of milk or are you a trailblazer? Well, the good news is that either way stroller fitness is the surefire way of getting to Fit Avenue fast. What I as a mom love about stroller fitness is that I can stroll to all my favorite iPod tunes and groove out a great workout with scenic views. The best thing about stroller fitness is that the stroller and the darling inside act as a form of resistance to our aerobic workouts. All the equipment you need to reap the benefits of stroller fitness is a stroller, a park or scenic route, sunscreen, water, tunes and, of course, your little one. Now that you have all your gear, here is a sample of your next stroller session.

Stroll YOUR WAY to FIT Avenue Workout

On the Move Warm-up (7-10 mins)

Walk 30 secs + 30 secs shoulder rolls X3

Walk 30 secs + 30 secs arm circles X3

Walk 30 secs + 30 secs toe taps X3

Walk 30 secs + 30 sec walking lunges X3

Walk 30 secs + 30 secs squats in place

Speed stroll (20-25 mins)

The point here, mommies, is to work at your own pace and always use the talk test as an indicator of how hard you are working. You should always be able to talk. If you can’t talk slowdown your pace. If you can sing easily pick up the pace.

Some options to use in the Speed Stroll are a brisk walk, jogging, skipping, side gallops, running, jogging up and down stairs, hills or bleachers.

Remember that if you are a beginner Stroller Mama you may entirely use a brisk walk. If you’re more advanced you may mix it up. Listen to your body; it won’t steer your stroller wrong.

Cardio cool-off (2 – 5mins)

Repeat on the move warm-up

Muscular and core strength

Use picnic tables or benches to do 3 sets of 8-12 reps of leglifts, modified pushups, triceps dips and abdominal crunches.

Final stretches (can be on a table, standing or sitting on grass)

Head/neck rolls, inner thigh stretch, ankle rotations, side stretches, forward folds and deep breathing.

Safety Cues:

Always drink water before, during and after workout.

Do not use light frame strollers suitable only for car seats(any other stroller is fine).

Always check the weather and prepare accordingly for you and your baby. eg humidex, sunscreen, stroller rain cover, baby hat, bug net for stroller etc….

Benefits of stroller fitness:

Safe and effective

Fresh air, sunshine and FUN

Full body exercise

You can do it alone, with a friend or Mommy group

It calms your little one and helps with their sleeping habits, giving you a much needed break.

If you have any questions about performing any of the exercises do not hesitate to email me at fit_maven@hotmail.com. Enjoy your next stroll to FIT Avenue!

Note: All new mommies should wait 6-8 weeks post natal before beginning an exercise program and always consult their physician prior to returning to exercise.All new mommies should listen to their bodies and work within their own limits.

Natalie Kerr has been a Can-fit Pro personal trainer for 10 years, a Zumba and LMI BodyPump fitness instructor for 4 years and a Fitness Club Manager for 6 years. She is also a new mom.

SNACK

Some people get stung by a wasp and they shrug it off.
I’ve seen it.
I am not one of those people.

We got take out burritos for dinner,
And were going to zip down to the lake shore to eat them.
I turned south onto a side street and with my right hand pulled my hair back out of my face.
Then I screamed,
Bloody murder.
I slammed on the breaks and looked at my hand.
There was some sort of stinger at the base of my ring finger.
I pulled it out and flung it out the open window.
“Was it a bee?! Was it a bee?! Oh my god, IS IT STILL IN MY HAIR?!”
I put the car in park so I could make my escape.
Before I could, though,
My husband said, “Yes it is!”
And he started swatting at my head with a fistful of paper napkins.
“Where is it now?!”
“I don’t know. Get out of the car!”
I was already on it.
I swung the car door open all the way and ran over to the sidewalk,
Where I proceeded to shake out my hair,
And then drop to my knees screaming and crying.
Because it HURT.
Also, I don’t know if I’ve ever been stung by a bee before (or was it a wasp?),
And what if I’m allergic,
And wasn’t my whole hand swelling up now?
And was that the tingling sensation of death running up my arm?
I was flailing.
Traffic was now backed up on this sleepy side street,
Because of course I stopped the car right in the middle of the road,
And the driver’s door was still wide open.
I got myself together enough to get back in the car and pull away.
Soon the pain started to subside,
And I turned to my husband and said,
“Did you really have to throw all the napkins out the window?
What are we going to use for the burritos now?”

By Natalie Kerr

When we are little it is all about funky fun fitness. Most tots exercise daily for at least of 30 minutes worth of cardiovascular activity in funky contraptions like exersaucers or jolly jumpers, never batting an eye or never feeling too tired or disinterested. They accept their fitness fate and resign themselves to having a BALL while they exercise. Somehow we lost this commitment to and this love for funky fun fitness. We as MOMS need to get it back and get it back fast. We care too much about what others think. We certainly don’t jump or run just for the love of fitness. I believe we need to bring back the PLAY in our fitness regime.

Bring back the KIDZFUNK Cardio-Blast Workout
In a park or school yard

Warm-up
5 minute walk around the park perimeter

Circuit fun
1 minute jumping jacks
1 minute leap frogs
1 minute wall ball tosses (soccer or basketball will do)
(2 -3 sets)
(30 sec to a minute rest)

Circuit Fun
1 minute hop scotch
1 minute squats jumps
1 minute hula hoop
(30 sec minute rest) (2 -3 sets)

Circuit Fun
1 minute suicide runs
1 minute mountain climbers
1 minute walking plank
Crawl
(30 sec minute rest) (2 -3 sets)

Cool-down
5 minute walk and full body stretches.

This is just a sample workout; the possibilities are endless and your creativity is half the fun of this workout. The point is we need to infuse a little more fun into our cardiovascular workouts to eliminate boredom and bring back the funk of child-play fitness.  Good Luck!

STAY TUNED As I dish on Stroller Fitness with a twist next week!

Note: All new mommies should wait 6-8 weeks post natal before beginning an exercise program and always consult their physician prior to returning to exercise.All new mommies should listen to their bodies and work within their own limits.

Natalie Kerr has been a Can-fit Pro personal trainer for 10 years, a Zumba and LMI BodyPump fitness instructor for 4 years and a Fitness Club Manager for 6 years. She is also a new mom. Nat will be monitoring the comment fields if you have any questions or you can contact her directly at fit_maven@yahoo.ca.

So you know how I tend to stay up too late surfing the Internet working to help support my family? It might be fair to say I’m pretty groggy in the mornings, I guess. It’s okay, though, because Colum is perfectly capable of getting up and pouring himself a cup of milk and turning on the TV. And little Irene is still safe in her crib until I get up and she never goes down the stairs on her own anyways.  So we’re good, right?

Except that this morning my husband helpfully got Irene up out of her crib and changed her diaper and left her to cuddle in bed with me before heading to work.  I mean, she was cuddling with me, or at least playing beside the bed, at some point. And I suppose it’s possible that I might have dozed off because suddenly she was nowhere in sight.

I found her sitting beside her brother on the couch in the living room with half a glass of milk between them. Okay, see? That’s good. Only is that a glass glass? What happened to the drawer full of plastic cups that is conveniently kept at ankle height? Was that glass even clean because how could he have reached the cabinet over the sink to get it? Colum? He shrugged. “Irene got the glass.”

I look at her and she says, “I got gass fom disswasser.” Well, at least it’s clean and in one piece and nobody is hurt. I’ll just let this slide and head into the kitchen to make breakf- WHAT the hell?!

Image courtesy nothingheavy.blogspot.com

Recall that I am Canadian and therefore buy my milk in plastic bags which are then kept in plastic pitchers in the fridge with a small piece of the corner cut off from which to pour. I also buy both homogenized milk for my not-yet-two-year-old daughter and 1% for the rest of us. That means that at any given time there will be two plastic milk pitchers with two open bags of milk in my fridge. Unless, of course, they are all lying in a giant pool of milk on the kitchen floor.

Colum! What on earth happened here? “I don’t know. Irene poured the milk.”

I’m going to go ahead and make a public statement here. At the risk of over-generalizing, milk-pouring prodigies aside, let it be known that 21 months of age is not nearly old enough to be serving beverages of any kind. Shaken, stirred, with a twist, it really doesn’t matter because it will all just end up in a pool on my kitchen floor.

Well, it serves me right for falling asleep. I knelt on the floor and started sopping up the milk thinking that it could have been worse.

That’s when I saw the teetering tower of glassware leaning out of the top rack of the dishwasher.