Kid and Caboodle

Just spent about 40 minutes playing with the Wii. Much of it was my trying to figure out how to play various games, then going back and trying to get it right. Oh well. No matter what, it was more fun than jogging on the treadmill. I fear I’m going to be pretty sore tomorrow, though!

Technically I received a Wii gaming system for Christmas. It was supposed to be a fun way for me to get exercise. In reality, I have spent about 20 minutes using it, hurting my finger in the process. In contrast, A.J. and Chris have spent the last few days playing with it. I guess the Wii was really a gift for the household!

Oh well. Technically I gave Chris a Kindle for Christmas, but so far I’ve spent more time using it than he has!

This week my son’s school started a “Healthy Choices” challenge. Every single day, from October 1 to December 12, A.J. must read for 20 minutes, exercise for 20 minutes and eat a healthy snack or food. This doesn’t sound like much, but the last three days have been very tough.

The healthy food part of the challenge is no problem, as I can easily make my son eat a piece of fruit during dinner, but finding the time to fit in 40 minutes of required activities is really hard during the work week. The three or four hours A.J. spends in his afterschool care program running around the gym/playground or reading don’t count toward this challenge. This means that between the time I pick him up from school at 6:15 and the time he has his evening shower at 7:30 I have to prepare dinner, feed my son, make sure my son does his homework (yes, first graders get homework), and make sure he gets in at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise. To fit in his 20 minutes of required reading, we have sacrificed the time we used to spend talking about his day as I prepare him for bed. I think both my son and I are beginning to resent these new requirements. I personally think they must have been set by someone who doesn’t have a full-time job outside of the house.

The new activities I have to fit in for A.J. every day are also hurting my own ability to stay healthy. I am having a very hard time finding time to exercise since I am so busy in the evenings before bedtime, and I never seem to get away for lunch. This means that I would have to exercise in the morning before getting ready for work; i.e. I would have to get up at 4 a.m. to get in a useful amount of exercise. I am starting to depend more on prepared foods for meals rather than cooking, and I am getting less sleep per night because I still have to do things like go through the mail and clean dishes after putting my son to bed.

Maybe I’ll have a chance to catch my breath this weekend.

Got up this morning at 4:45 to get in some exercise before work.  Decided also to try checking my e-mail and other things I usually do in the morning.  I managed to set up my laptop on the treadmill (no mouse), but had a lot of trouble trying to type and walk at the same time.  I did ok reading online newspapers, though, and even managed to e-mail a piece to someone.  Not sure if I’ll continue this experiment, but it was interesting.

Today we took A.J. to a trial Mandarin Chinese class.  The class is set up like a regular preschool class; children learn through playing games, singing songs, doing art projects and other fun activities.  After the trial class, we asked A.J. what he thought about his experience.  He said he had fun and would like to do it again.  The teacher said A.J. would fit in with the class just fine even though it is already the third week of the summer term, so we happily registered A.J. for the rest of the term.  Since we were there already, we decided to register him for the full 2008-2009 academic year as well.  Hope this works out!

This means, of course, that Chris and I will have to start studying Mandarin again so we can keep up with our son ….

A.J. also expressed interest in taking tae kwon do classes recently, so we’ve signed him up at a place where many of his classmates go.  I’m wondering whether Chris and I also should take some tae kwon do classes so we can defend ourselves from A.J.’s new repertoire of punches and kicks ….

A.J.’s bike riding also has inspired Chris to buy a proper bike rack for my car and to look into getting his own bike cleaned and repaired.  I should probably get my bike checked out at the same time.  Maybe we can all do some family bike rides and thereby get exercise while enjoying ourselves!

It’s amazing the influence that little kid has on our lives ….

The numbers on the scale in the morning are starting to alarm me.  It’s obviously time to resume watching what I eat and, more importantly, to get more exercise.  But when?  I don’t want to get up any earlier than I already am during the work week, and I’m really tired in the evenings after I take care of my son.  Perhaps I should try walking around a lot at lunchtime?

Here is something I should try as well:

Need Encouragement to Shed Some Pounds? Blogs May Help.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/12/AR2008051202555.html