5 Ways To Model A Healthy Lifestyle

Living a healthy lifestyle is important to me for both myself and my children. It is my responsibility to model healthy habits for my family and teach my boys that staying healthy is something we all can do in different ways. A healthy lifestyle goes beyond what we put into our bodies. Here are five ways to model healthy living for your children.

1: You are what you eat: It may not be the only way to model health but it is one of the most important components for our children. It is not easy with toddlers to get them to always eat the things you want them to. My first son Chase, was picky and made mealtime a nightmare around two to three years of age. Now at four and a half he has much better at eating what is put in front of him and even reminded his father the other night that he had forgotten to put vegetables on his plate. I smiled to myself and praised him for remembering that he needed to have veggies. I have been fortunate with my youngest, who is two, that he will pretty much eat whatever I put in front of him. I don't give several choices and I refuse to make separate meals. Do I offer choices sometimes? Of coarse! I typically pick two things (which are healthy) and allow the oldest to decide. It is the same with snacks. They will be offered choices yet if I say you need to pick a healthy snack they know that needs to be a fruit, veggie, granola or yogurt. We talk about different fruits and veggies and how they make you healthy.  Yes, my children get crackers, the occasional cookie or chips (saved for those times when we visit the grandparents) because I do believe in moderation and having a treat. Another thing that helps with getting children to want to eat healthy is involving them in the preparation of their own meals. If my son helps me make a dinner he is more excited about eating it.

 “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.”  ~John F. Kennedy 

2: A body in motion stays in motion: Exercise!!! I make time to exercise four to five times a week. This is something that I make happen. I either get in my runs or cross train with video's. I tend to go between Youtube and Grokker for my cross training video's. My children watch me, they know it is important to me. The best is when they try to join in and do the exercises. My two year old does a great downward facing dog and the four year old likes to attempt the weights. Besides being absolutely adorable when they do this they are also learning about keeping yourself in shape. My oldest has asked why I exercise and I explain to him that I want to be strong and healthy to take care of them for a long time. I also encourage exercise with them. We like to take a walk to the farm down the road and visit the cows, there and back makes a 1.5 mile walk. It's not real long but doable for my four year old. Hiking is also something I do with the boys that we enjoy. We call it an "adventure". Often times I bring a bag so Chase can collect "treasures" along the way. It gets him active while enjoying the activity. Incorporate things your children enjoy to do in being active. Encourage active play outside along with playing sports.

3: Hygiene: Health goes hand in hand with hygiene in my book. Teaching children about taking care of their bodies also means proper bathing and brushing those teeth. Washing hands is something I am always on my boys about. At their young ages the put their fingers everywhere! They don't think twice about what they touch or if they touch their own faces after or if their fingers are in their mouths. We are also coming up on cold and flu season, germs are everywhere! Proper hand washing and bathing is key to keeping healthy in the fall and winter seasons. 

4: A good belly laugh: Happiness and laughter, let's remember that if we are happy we tend to be healthier. Mental health is just as important as our physical health. It's is so important to laugh, have fun and do things as a family. One of my favorite things to hear is my children laughing. Play games, paint, do puzzles, dance, sing loudly, be goofy, pretend and encourage play. 

5: Choosing safe cleaning products and being aware of your environment: I am a fanatic about a clean house. When choosing products to clean with I am always sure that it is something that will be safe for my children. There are so many products out there which contain things that are unsafe for cleaning our environments. Since my children are always on the floor I want to be sure that what I clean my floors with will be safe for them. Using a steam cleaner eliminates having to use harsh cleaners and it effectively kills germs. It's the same with my counters and table. Little fingers are touching everything and I want to be sure it is not going to harm my children. As always, be sure you lock up any cleaning agents you have in your house! If we strive to have a clean environment this also means being sure there are not harmful carcinogens in our living space such as Asbestos. Asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma which can be hard to diagnose since many live with it undetected for so long. For more information on Mesothelioma please visit http://www.mesothelioma.com/asbestos-cancer/ . 

All of these things require commitment to follow through. We need to be positive role models for our children. We need to show them how to be healthy and teach them what that means. It teaches children to love themselves, respect themselves, and treat their bodies with care. 

“Health is a relationship between you and your body”  ~Terri Guillemets

The Glass Jar : A Journey through our Moments

Last March I wrote a post titled The Glass Jar. The concept is all over Pinterest and Facebook. Some refer to it as the happiness jar. The first time around I failed miserably. I had intended to make use of the jar and it turned out over the course of a year I only found six things to drop in. Of coarse there was more than six things to be happy about. In 2014 I made more of an effort with the jar. This time around I kept it in my bedroom instead of on a shelf in the kitchen. It sat right on my bureau where I was forced to look at it every day.

New Years Day we decided to open up our jar and take a journey through the happy moments we had collected through the year. I am proud to say that I had a nice pile to dump out. Champagne was poured and Chase was leaning on the ottoman eager for me to read our "moments". We recorded things from Wesley getting his first tooth to Chase playing soccer. There was how we went strawberry picking, took a family vacation to Old Orchard Beach, and how mama did her first Half Marathon. The things I wrote down were happy. Some were funny. They were "firsts". They were moments. Some big, others small. Each one having a special meaning to us as a family.

I felt emotional reading some of them. I could feel tears burning in my eyes as I read how Chase made Wesley belly laugh as I listened from another room. It's those moments that you will never get back. The fleeting feelings that grab a hold of your heart and squeeze. Squeezing so tight that you have to take a moment to breathe. Suddenly you are there again, in that moment.

The glass jar had become more sacred to me than I ever intended it to be. We even talked about other moments through the year that were fun or memorable that we forgot to put in the jar. I was able to jot them down on paper and add those to our pile. Something so simple became a powerful new tradition for our family. In my first post about the glass jar I wrote: "I want to be sure to celebrate these moments and look back on them with a smile and a full heart". This is exactly what we did on New Years Day while reading through the contents of the glass jar. We smiled, we laughed, and my heart felt full of love and happiness.

It all is much more than the glass jar. I know that life moves quickly. I wish I could freeze time or even just slow it down to relish every memory with my boys. I don't want to forget the sound of their laughter, the feel of their hands grabbing at me, or the embrace of their hugs. Moments rush by leaving their impressions on everything around us. It rains, it snows and  the sun comes out again. We love, we cry, we laugh and we grow. Time passes. We mistakenly forget about those events and people that brought us to where we are. I like that we can be reminded in this simple way. Years from now I will be able to look back on these notes and be brought back to each of these moments. The glass jar holds pieces of our hearts; paper treasures to look back on.

Learning to like Preschool

It is Tuesday afternoon and the house is quiet. Wesley is on my lap nursing, I have a cup of tea I am sipping on, and the sun is shining through the windows. Chase is off to school as he goes on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

Sending Chase to Preschool has turned into a good thing for all of us. The most important thing is that he really, truly, likes to go. On school mornings he will ask several times if it is time to get on the bus. He has said, more than once, on his days off: "When am I going to school? I miss my kids". He cracks me up.

Chase taking a break on our hike to find acorns for a school project.

Chase is a social bug like his mama. He may play shy yet after he warms up the kid just really likes to be around other kids and play. He's energetic, enthusiastic, and eager to be engaged. We just finished his 6 weeks of soccer and I am just as sad as he is that it is over. He had a knack for soccer and I see him playing for years.

When he gets home though it is near impossible to get him to tell you about his day. He is more interested in eating (if this was a subject in school he would get an A+) than sharing with his mother what he did. Thankfully he comes home each time with a paper and pictures showing what the children did each day. His school also has a Facebook page that shares what the children are doing in the classrooms. With the help of both of these I am able to facilitate some conversation about school. How great would it be to be a fly on the wall for just one day!

I had a difficult time putting Chase on the bus that first time. I felt sick to my stomach and my heart ached. I cried, my face drenched with tears as Wesley looked at me with confusion. Each time has gotten easier and I remind myself just how important this is for Chase. This is his happiness and future.

Lots of acorns!

This has also opened up afternoons for things I may not have had a lot of time for before. Wesley and I get to have some one on one time. I have been able to get some writing done. I work without being interrupted 10 times because "someone" is hungry "again". Errands are much easier to do with one child than two! I guess you could say I am learning to like Preschool too.

Moments

It's Saturday night and I am sitting here with a glass of wine. To my right is Chase playing in his "living sand" and to my left Jay is trying to get down our almost 8 month old (tomorrow he is 8 months). The sun is shining through the windows. I hear the sound of Chase playing make believe (a sound I have fallen in love with), I hear the sound of music coming from Wesley's swing, and I take a deep breath, I feel so at home right now in this moment. I can sit here, take a moment to write (which I love) and also be in the surroundings of those I love. Things feel right. Things feel good. I feel happy. No, it's not just the wine talking. Give me some credit here, I have only gotten down half of my glass, not slurring my words just yet.

I received a phone call this week from a dear friend who is sitting with her partner right while he is in the hospital after undergoing an Aorta Valve replacement. My friend and her husband are very close. It's been a long couple of days for her and my heart aches thinking of what she is going through. These are two people who adore one another. You look at them and can tell. They are friends, lovers, partners, and a team. I stop to reflect how it would feel to be in her place and just the thought of it alone makes my heart hurt.

Life is fragile. It is beautiful and amazing just as it can be trying and ugly. Each second is a gift. Every moment a miracle. Some days and moments seeing the gift in it may be difficult. Maybe almost impossible. It may be hard to feel the joy in each day. It's there. In each thing we see, in all we do, in people we meet. There is joy, there is love, there is happiness.

It's in these moments we need to stop and live in the moment. Enjoy it. Hold on to it.

It is so easy to take life for granted. I do it. We all do it.

So tonight try to live in the moment as long as you can. Hug those close to you a little tighter. Kiss them a little longer. Always be sure to say those three magic words.

Cheers!