WFMW (Wii like to be fit)

Well after 3 months of wishing and an additional 6 months of searching our family has finally become proud owners of that elusive creature the Wii Fit. I swear it's one of the most wonderful "toys" we could have ever brought into our household. The Wii is, in general as well. We don't tend to go out and do things as a family, with our kids public adventures are just that...adventures, not merely a relaxing form of entertainment and as little time as Daddy has at home with us, we like to make the most of the time.

Enter the Wii (and now Wii fit). Only in the comfort of our living room can my 2 year old go bowling as well as my carpal tunnel suffering husband. For my racing obsessed 5 year old nothing beats Mario Kart...he doesn't even care if he loses the race he just enjoys falling off a cliff! And last but not least for my 9 year old who has to win at all costs even if it involves cheating (thus not too many board games played here) there is Mario Party 8...basically a board game you can't cheat on with interactive games every turn.

Now we have the Fit. Again, easy enough my 2 year old can do it...and does! Granted a 2'8 22 lb 2 year old comes up as Obese (I guess the system isn't designed to take into account "baby fat") so don't take it seriously for your kids. My balanced challenged 5 year old comes up with a Wii Fit Age of 33! But that alone is entertaining for the kids, nothing like a spot light coming on a # filling the screen and an animation accompanying it. In the case of my kids, it's the Mii looking like a frail old man/woman leaning over and holding their back.

But enough about that. The activities range from a variety of options under categories of Yoga, Strength, Aerobic and Balance games. I got this beause I didn't want to go to a Yoga or Pilates class, but now that I have it there are so many other things to do. Tight rope between two high rise buildings (Balance), hula hoop challenges (Aerobic and one of my personal favorites), a dance dance revolution style step aerobics (not as much fun as the real thing but still challenging nonetheless) and lets not forget hitting a soccer ball with your head, but watch out for the shoes! What could be more fun than having your family of Miis kick soccer balls, shoes or panda bear heads at you!

I haven't been at it for very long but already I feel my balance improving, I had no idea my posture was so bad. My kids are keeping at it and I even manged to get my husband to create a profile! It brings our family together and our kids beg to exercise! I have no doubt that with continued use the benefits of the Fit will far outweigh the cost.

But don't take my word for it. My local paper just did an article on a woman and her Fit right here. Be patient with the link at the end of the article . I don't think the site was prepared for the traffic they would get as a result of the articles popularity.

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WFMW (Naked Breakfast)

Well it's been awhile since I have posted on this, but I figured I'd get back into the game with a tip I like to call "Naked Breakfast"

My just shy of 2 years old daughter is utensil obsessed! She insists on having cereal in a bowl with milk and a "poon" just like her older siblings, same with spaghetti which not even my 5 year old can effectively keep on a fork.

The rule in our house has always been dressed before breakfast, because my boys will eat until it's time to leave if allowed. Now with my little girl I've had to reverse the order. First I tried to just take off her shirt but her pants got ruined with all the milk she would spill in her attempts to "eat like a big girl". After going through 2 or more outfits every meal I opted to strip her down to a diaper when eating messy foods. A bib would probably have done the job, but she won't wear one, so ya do what ya gotta do.

On a similar note I also keep tooth brushing items in the downstairs bathroom as the first thing the the kids do after eating dinner and the last thing they do when walking out the door in the morning. With kids as easily distracted as mine, out of sight out of mind and convenience is the key.

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WFMW The Snooze Button!

Wow it seems like everything that WFM lately is all about time and sleeping, need to fix that. Oh well, it is how it is and for now, What Works For Me is my snooze routine. That's right I have a routine based around it. I believe there are two kinds of people in this world, those who need to sleep longer and those who need to sleep in, the latter being the ones, like me, who need to have an alarm go off that they can snooze so they feel like they got to sleep "Just 5 more minutes mom". It's worth mentioning that there is a third type of person who rises at the same time every day without the use of an alarm or any kind, but in today's day of 16 hour work days and over scheduled kids, who really gets the amount of sleep they are supposed to, which would allow your natural body clock to wake you when you've been rested.

I don't know about anyone else, but for me the term "rested" is nothing more than a fleeting fancy, like "vacation time" it would be great to be able to have it, but let's be honest, it's not gonna happen, not in our household. So I cope the best way I can. My son's school is a 20 minute drive away and I make it a point to always be on time or earlier (another WFMW for another time). School starts at 7:45am so I try to leave at 7am or on a really late day 7:15am. In order to get out of the house (and back in one piece see, VitaminWater) I really need to sleep in until the last possible second!

I set my cel phone alarm clock to go off 15 min before 5:45. It goes off at 5:30am and I snooze it every 5 minutes until 6am when I sit bolt upright and get out of bed, no slowly making my way out from under the covers (like my dear husband aka DH who is always late). I get up and march straight to my boys' room so make sure they are up and dressed (typically they are not) and then down to get out my eldest son's lunch and put breakfast on the table. Back upstairs and in the shower by 7:13 (or 7:15 if I am running late) and out again by 7:20. Ten minutes to get dressed and ready and then my second alarm goes off, this one set for 15 minutes before 6:45am. The boys get brushed and it's time for them to "Make sure they are ready to walk out the door". By 6:45am (the alarm vibrating in my pocket to remind me of the time in 5 min intervals) I wake up my toddler and get her changed and dressed, some days she even lets me do her hair. Give her her morning bottle of milk and we're out the door by 7am at the latest!

Most people don't understand my need to schedule every event down to 30 minutes extra time, but I find that I will get distracted and lose track of time if I am not constantly reminded. The other day my son brought me my phone having cleared the snooze and I had to work very hard not to be late that morning ;)

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WFMW My Timer

My timer is my lifeline! With all of the not quite settled, moving related chaos, recent school battles, a 4 year old who is really pushing all the boundaries he can get his hands on, and raising this baby blog through the infancy stages, it is very easy to get sidetracked or get in a slump, so much to do so little time and all that. That's where my timer comes in. I find when I am drowning in all the unfinished work that I will just have a 15 minute day. I set my timer and I work on one thing for 15 minutes, when it goes off I stop what I am doing and switch to something else and so on. I am usually pleasantly surprised when I see that my sink full of dishes that I cringe at the thought of going near takes me less than 15 minutes most days. I am a very competitive person and I enjoy seeing if I can beat the timer and even when it goes off I see how much more I can get done during the 30 second beeping session.

But credit where credit is due. I am a going on 9 year fluttering flybaby. I have tried the shining of my sink and I had it down for quite some time, until our house became filled with people of all different schedules and it's virtually impossible to keep that sink clear when people are eating while you (or in this case me) are sleeping. Still I get up every morning, put my indoor shoes on and with the help of my timer I can still usually keep the kitchen under control. There have been times when my kids have claimed my timer and it vanished for a day or two and those were dark days! Without my timer I am completely lost.

This was my first ever WFMW posting, want to see more from other people? Check out RocksinMyDryer