Snacking with the kids

Whoever said having children keeps you thin and active lied. Yes, my children keep me busy. Yes I constantly run around chasing after my daughter (who turns 2 this Saturday, yee!), but it definitely doesn’t do anything for my waistline.

Now let me tell you what having kids around the house really does to all that belly fat. It adds to it. I’ll  start by pointing out all of the extra snacks you have around the house to keep them happy. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t indulge here and there in all those tasty treats. It’s really hard not to when it’s just right there.

Then don’t buy junk you say? Easier said than done.   Yes, I do buy healthy snacks. We have fruit, crackers, cheese and other healthy goodies, but every kid wants a little supply of cookies or chips on hand.  Especially when they get older. Unfortunately, my willpower is not that strong, and I usually end up snacking right with them.

If that isn’t bad enough, I usually end up eating what they don’t finish. That makes my normal-sized meals extra large. Rarely do the kids ever finish everything on their plates, and for people like me who hate to waste, I usually try to finish up their food. Sometimes it’s just not enough to save and too much to throw away, so I just force it down into my already full tummy. Hey, we try to set good examples for our kids, right?

So the whole point of this blog is that kids make you put on pounds. End of story. Yes, I know plenty of moms who make me want to vomit because they are just so perfect. No stretch marks. No tummy flab. Total bikini bodies. Too bad I wasn’t quite blessed with those MILF genes.

In order to counter the “kid” effect, moms really need to take accountability for their actions. Do you really need to grab an ice cream bar when you get one for the kids? Or do you really need to snack on those chips? And if you do, why not make a little extra time to take a quick run or head to the gym. That is one thing that I am still learning. I’ve come to a point where I have to stop blaming my kids and just start taking some actions to make sure I stay healthy.

Working out. Eating healthier. These are things that we have to push ourselves to do. So if you have 30 minutes every night and can’t make it to the gym, try doing crunches and other exercises, even jogging in place or doing a workout DVD. There are so many things we can do to better ourselves, but we just have to take action and do it. First things first. I need to start taking my own advice.

It’s all about the fair

The California State Fair. Oh joy. It is an event many of us look forward to so we could consume three times our daily calorie intake on the fried foods and sugary sweets the fair has to offer. After gorging on these culinary delights, we’d get close to regurgitating it on the stomach-twisting, twirly, spinny, upsidedown rides. Oh joyful memories.

Oddly as it sounds, those were such happy memories for me when I was a child. Naturally, I take my children so they could have the same fun experiences I had. The only difference is that I’m experiencing the fair from a different angle, as a parent.

Now I worry about things like sunblock, if the kids had enough water, if they ate too much junk, if I brought enough diapers and the list goes on and on. Top that off with a rambunctious toddler, and I am usually ready to go home after the first hour.

But aside from all that, the fair just did not seem quite as magical as it used to be. I am sure a good portion of that has to do with the pain of our country’s economic state, which was  so apparent at the fair. One main telling factor? There were no lines. No lines for food. No lines for games. No lines for rides. On top of that, you could wander around without bumping into people.

Granted, I went to the fair on a Monday when most people were at work or school, but I have never seen the fair so sparse. I’ve gone to the fair on a weekday before, and it was not quite this empty. I use empty for lack of a better word. I mean, there were still people around, but it was not crowded. For an event that only happens for a few weeks each year, you expect huge crowds. That wasn’t the case here.

If you think about how much a day at the fair costs, you can understand why it’s not drawing the crowds it once did. Not only do you have to pay for parking and admission, but the cost of food and rides is pretty painful. For example, one turkey leg is $10. That is more than Disneyland charges ($8). In addition, each ride ticket is $1 when each ride requires around three to five tickets. Now if you have a toddler or young child who needs you to accompany them on each ride, your ride price has just now doubled. Definitely steep for anyone’s pocketbook and is not the place to be for anyone on a tight budget.

There also seemed to be fewer vendors at the fair. I always enjoy walking around looking at the exhibits and visiting vendors during the day, to stay out of the heat. There just did not seem to be as many when I wandered through this year.

I enjoy watching the excitement on the faces of my children, but that is about all I got from the fair this year. For what it cost, it just did not seem worth it to me. Things just don’t feel the same. Hopefully, things will be better next year and the fair will get that festive atmosphere back.

About me

I’ve been wanting to start blogging again for some time now, but really needed the push to actually start again. So here I am. I figured the best way to start would be to share a little about myself and my life.

My biggest blogging focus will be on my kids and parenting. I have a daughter who is almost 2 years old and a son who will be 10 years old in November. I truly love being a mother, and my life is centered on my children. Although my life focuses on my children, I am still a person. I am well aware of the balance needed between being a mother, a wife and just your everyday woman. So because of that, I will blog about other things as well.

I love to read, write, read the news, write the news, travel, snowboard, eat, cook, bake, play puzzle games, surf the web, listen to music, watch good movies and so much more. I am a pretty active person who likes to live life to the fullest. I have a degree in journalism with a minor in communication studies. Graduating from California State University, Sacramento was one of my proudest moments.

I was very young when I had my son, only 20. So I struggled working full time to support my son and then attended school nights. I am not ashamed that it took me 10 years to finish college, and am actually proud that I was able to support my son on my own and earn my degree as well.

I plan to talk about parenting and life in general in my blog. This includes things I do, things my kids do, books I read, movies I watch and much more.  We all have so many aspects in our lives and so much to share. I hope to motivate people and be motivated by others.

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