I've Been Hit......By Cupid's Arrow!

I love Valentine’s Day.  It’s an oasis in the middle of the long stretch from winter break to spring break and this year I decided we would make home-made Valentine’s Day cards for the kids to bring to their preschool party to give us something fun to do and save money.  By us I mean me because the kids lost interest after 5 minutes and by to save money I mean spend so much more because the Amazon order of 50 glowsticks didn’t make it here in time so I had to run out to purchase them, but I digress.  They turned out super cute!

As for my husband and I, we celebrated one or two of these Hallmark Holidays early in our “courting” years before we agreed to just get each other cards and for the last several years we have done nothing, nada, zip, zilch.  It’s a running joke that I pretend I purchased him a thoughtful gift just to see the look of panic settle across his face before I admit that, alas, like every year I haven’t gotten him anything for Valentine’s Day.  But then I got to thinking about how boring we’ve become.  A pair of real duds!  So this year, as I was wandering the aisles of my favorite store, Barnes and Noble, I decided to purchase a gift for us both for Valentine’s Day.  They were 100-item quiz books entitled “Do You Know Your Husband?” and “Do You Know Your Wife?”  At first I thought the questions were going to be corny like what’s your husband’s favorite color or who is his best friend?  My curiosity was peeked when I read some of the questions:

He’s walking, in no particular hurry.  Across the street, he sees a crowd and two police cruisers with lights flashing.  Does he:

                ___Cross over to see what’s happening?

                ___Keep walking, glancing back over his shoulder?

                ___Ignore the whole incident?

Interesting.  I would go with the second option, but after nearly 10 years of marriage, I’m surprised that I don’t immediately know the answer.  I read on:

He pulls into a metered parking space.  There are eight minutes remaining on the meter.  He’s planning a ten-minute errand.  What does he do?

                ___Put in a coin to be safe

                ___Put in no money and try to rush through the errand

                ___Put in no money and not worry about it

I’m intrigued.  I guess the third option but again….it’s just a guess.  Excitedly I purchased the books and we made plans to fill them out together last night because I will be working late tonight.  I gathered the pens and quiz books and whipped cream (let’s keep it PG here folks—it was for our hot cocoa!)

and tiptoe into our room where I found……………………my sleeping husband.  He looked so peaceful I just couldn’t bear to wake him. 

I was momentarily disappointed but my deep gratitude for this man, the father of my three precious children, quickly extinguished any disappointment.  He recently took a job in Beloit, Wisconsin and has been waking up every morning at 5 AM to make the 1 hour and 35 minute commute in to work.  We contemplated moving to lessen his commute but after some deliberation and his insistence that the long drive doesn’t bother him, we decided to stay put.  I will be eternally grateful to him for that decision because I depend so much on the support system I have here to help me with our kids.  This morning, nearly 10 years into our marriage, I am overwhelmed by my love for my husband.  And that’s why I love Valentine’s Day!

P.S. The next session of Prenatal Pilates starts Monday, Feb 20^th from 7:30-9PM.  Visit www.pilatesbycarrie.com for more info or to reserve a space.  These classes make GREAT gifts, too!  Speaking of gifts, stay tuned for a give-away in the next few weeks (and no, it's not a package of 50 glowsticks!)

Happy New Year!

You know you're old when your kids outlast you on New Year's Eve (and your oldest is 5 years old)!!!
Many blessings to you in 2012!



The Day After Christmas

It’s the day after Christmas and 93.9 the “Holiday” Lite is now just Lite FM and I’m kinda sad about it.

It’s the day after Christmas and my house is a wreck.  We were gone from 11 AM until 9 PM on Christmas day and the living room floor is barely visible beneath the half-opened toys, and remnants of wrapping paper, and empty cardboard boxes. 

It’s the day after Christmas and I would LOVE to pay someone, anyone, to spend the day at my house putting together all the Christmas toys.  Nowadays you need an engineering degree from Stanford just to disassemble toys from their packages.  First you need some garden shears or meat cleavers to cut through the plastic, then there’s those metal twist-ties or the plastic turny things to free the toy.  Half the toys require assembly or batteries or another step before they’re even ready to be played with and by then the toddler has already lost interest and is shoving another toy in your face to put together.  We already visited the local ACE Hardware for a toy that was mysteriously missing all 17 screws.  Have you ever been to the screw aisle?  There are a million choices.  Flat head or round head, Phillips or straight, wood screws or metal screws, ¼ inch or 5 and 3/8 inch.  I was hoping to find a screw that was labeled Missing Screw for the Rapunzel Magical Talking Vanity but no luck.

It’s the day after Christmas but it’s also the day before my oldest son turns 5 years old.  After work I raced off to Party City for a bouquet of Scooby Doo balloons and then directly to Toys R Us before they closed to exchange one of the birthday presents I bought him that he received as a gift from someone else at yesterday’s Christmas party.  I always get sentimental around the kid’s birthdays.  I imagine what I was doing at this exact moment 5 years ago.  I was watching a movie with my husband as I timed my contractions that were exactly 7 minutes apart.  The house was quiet.  There was no mess from Christmas packages torn open in excitement (after all it was just my husband and I).  There were no toys to put together or directions and manuals to read.  There were no trips to the store for screws or batteries.  There were no squeals of delight when you switched the toy to “on” and the Magical Talking Vanity lit up and started talking to you.  There were no looks of amazement as a child learned that the garbage truck he had been playing with all morning actually had a lever that lifted a motorized arm to dump the wadded up toilet paper he had been using for trash right into the back of the truck!!!

It’s the day after Christmas and I’m counting my blessings.

P.S. Congratulations Amy R on winning the 6 week Pilates class (rest assured she received her gift certificate last week)!  New Prenatal and Postnatal classes are starting January 7^th.  Visit www.pilatesbycarrie.com for more information.

The Elf on the Shelf

I have trouble sleeping which is odd considering I spend a large portion of my day trying to stay awake despite my exhaustion.  When my head hits the pillow at night it’s like a signal for my brain to start spitting out all the “To Dos” that have built up throughout the day and thus begins my bedtime “dance.”

            Brain:  “Don’t forget you used the last of the Desitin and Gabe’s diaper rash is

            looking pretty angry.”

               

Me:  Covers off, bolt upright, click goes the bedside lamp being turned on, scribble

scribble goes my pen over a post-it note, click goes the lamp off, lay down, covers

back up.

Brain:  “Remember to schedule the kids’ doctor check-ups.”

Me:  “Put a cork in it, Brain.”

Brain:  “The last time you waited until the last second, you got stuck with the

appointment slot right before lunch when the doctor was way behind schedule

and the kids were STARVING………

Me:  Sigh. Covers off, click, scribble scribble, click, covers on.

Brain:  “And you’re all out of birth control pills…………..”

Me:  “Hey, I am TRYING to sleep here!”

Brain:  I just wanted to remind you about that article you read stating the cost of

raising a child from birth to 18 is $250,000.  Now multiply that by the 3 kids you already have and that’s $750,000.  NOW add in a surprise baby and that would bring the total to ONE MILLIION DOLLARS!”

Me:  “I’m up, I’m UP!!!!”  Covers off, click, scribble scribble, click, covers on.

My husband (exact quote):  “Will you turn your brain off!  I’m trying to sleep over here.”

And with  Christmas fast approaching coupled with my oldest son’s 5^th birthday two days later, my brain is working in overdrive with last minute gift ideas, and birthday prep, and Santa visits, and extra baking for parties, etc, etc, etc.  But to be honest, bolting upright in bed to satisfy my brain’s requests 200 times a night is worth it to see how excited the kids are this time of year.  There is something so magical about their belief in Santa Claus that recharges me each morning, allowing me to make it to the end of each day with left over energy for my “click, scribble scribble, click” dance. 

This year I’ve added a whole new reason to bolt out of bed at 2 AM…..The Elf on the Shelf.  Could it be that some of you have not heard of The Elf on the Shelf?  Well pull up an ice block and lend an ear (now if THAT sounds familiar it’s because it’s a direct quote from the Snowman narrator of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which, along with Home Alone and Jim Carey’s The Grinch That Stole Christmas, are being played continuously by the kids these days).  The Elf on the Shelf is a popular new tradition that involves a little elf doll being sent by Santa himself to your house to watch over the behavior of the children in your house (genius!).  The Elf then flies back to the North Pole once the kids have fallen asleep to report to Santa what he observed that day before flying back to your house and re-locating to a new spot for the kids to find when they wake up.  Adorable.  The first thing my kids do when their eyeballs pop open is to go traipsing around the house searching for Ernest, as we have fondly named him.  Problem:  The exhausted, scatter-brained parents have to remember to hide the Elf each night from Thanksgiving to Christmas (31 nights and 31 new and exciting hiding spots!) hence the 2 AM panic.

                        Brain:  "I know you just got to sleep and all, but did you remember to hide the Elf?"

Me:  Bolt upright, click, scribble……………

Brain:  “I hate to interrupt but what if the kids wake up before you do and go looking for Ernest the Elf only to find him in the same spot as yesterday.”

Me:  “Then I will tell them there was a storm or construction on the way to the North Pole or………………………………..You’re right, you’re right, we should hide him now.” 

“Babe, wake up!”

My husband:  “Huh, what, what is it?”

Me:  “We forgot to hide Ernest.”

My husband:  “Who the hell is Ernest?!”

Me:  “Ernest the Elf!”

My husband:  He knows it’s a losing battle so he stumbles off downstairs to hide

the elf.

And when the kids wake up they squeal with delight to see Ernest hanging upside down in the shower (this one really freaked my husband out too), or acting as our tree topper or laying in the candy bowl with empty wrappers and chocolate on his face (my favorite!)

And it makes our late night charades all worth it!  Unfortunately our creative juices are starting to run dry.  Here’s how you can help.  Post a comment to this blog with your idea of where we can hide Ernest the Elf or what we can stage him doing and you will be entered in a drawing for a chance to win a 6 week Prenatal or Postnatal Pilates session in Naperville (a $130 value).  These make great last minute Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers.  New classes start the first week of January so visit www.pilatesbycarrie.com for more information.  I will email the winner this weekend and mail it out ASAP so you will have it in time for Christmas!

BTW, the winner of last week’s drawing for the Nose Frida (I have used mine all week and it is pretty amazing!) is……………..Amy C!  Amy I will send you an email in case there's more than one Amy C and Merry early Christmas to you!  It will be mailed off to you tomorrow!

Coupon Crazy!

I am a sucker for a good deal.  Combine that with my LOVE for early Christmas shopping and you have the recipe for disaster.  I get the “bug” in mid-October (probably because the stores start slowly infiltrating their aisles with Christmas teasers).  Several months ago while I was picking up a few last minute Halloween costume accessories at Target, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, an aisle way at the end of the store that was loaded with garland, and tinsel, Christmas lights and ornaments.  The Rudolph lawn ornament seemed to taunt me:  “Come on, Carrie, just wander down my aisle for a minute….I Double Dog Dare You!”  Stay focused.  I need ears for Madelyn’s Cat Burglar costume and a new set of handcuffs for Tyler’s Police Man ensemble now STAY OUT OF THE CHRISTMAS AISLE FOR GOD’S SAKE IT’S OCTOBER!!!!!!! 

Too late, my mind was already forming a mental Christmas list of what I would be buying for the kids, for the family grab bag, for my husband, for the kids’ teachers, for the babysitter….. Would I still give the garbage man (or is waste management employee more PC these days?) his parochial $20 for always waving to the kids and raising the garbage thingy to fling the bags into the back of the truck right in front of our house followed by squeals of delight from my children (I’ve done the math and it equates to about  40 cents per episode which is well worth it!)  The point is, this mental Christmas list quickly materializes into a handwritten list  

and then over the next several weeks as the toy catalogs start arriving in the mail, I start filling in the blanks with all the kids’ “wants.”  Then every Sunday I meticulously analyze the sale papers in the Sunday tribune cutting out coupons and storing them in a very organized………..large plastic Ziploc.  

I agonize over the ads boasting “Our Lowest Price of the Season!”  Is it really?  Last year I bought the kids a large dollhouse from ToysRUs with a coupon for $10 off.  I patted myself on the back for my savings as I waited in the pick-up zone for at least 15 minutes for someone to wheel this monstrosity out to my car and hoist it into the trunk of my SUV.  From there I then unload it at home into the corner of the garage covered with blankets and threats to the kids to STAY AWAY!  Two weeks later the same dollhouse is part of a ToysRUs Doorbuster deal for 20% off which is a far greater savings than my $10 off coupon was causing me to curse toy companies and big box stores and marketing people who probably sit around some large conference table planning out the next way to dupe the coupon-conscious early Christmas shoppers like myself.  Then I get a grip, calmly load the kids in the car with my receipt that I almost cannot find at the bottom of my Ziploc bag of coupons, and proceed to the customer service desk where I attempt to politely demand a price adjustment before I go “Christmas Crazy”.

 This year I decided to get all three kids a large kitchen set.  Once again I stalked the sale ads and the Rewards Member coupons before settling on a perfect plan.  I would do all my toy shopping at ToysRUs (will I ever learn?) because I will receive a $10 gift card for every $75 dollars spent.  I had at least $150 of purchases meaning I could use the $20 gift cards towards the purchase of the kitchen.  Done.  I drop the kids off for an hour with my daycare provider because if you think I am bringing 3 kids into ToysRUS, now YOU’VE gone Christmas Crazy.  I immediately turn the dial to 93.9 since LITE FM started playing Christmas music in April, sip my 2500 calorie Peppermint Mocha with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles and speed off to Toys R US.  Once there I quickly find all the toy items on my list (NOT) and wait patiently in line (NOT) only to learn that the $20 in gift cards I just earned cannot be used until SIX hours after they’ve been activated!  On my way out of the store, disgruntled and defeated, I bump into a former patient who hands me a 20% off coupon she cannot use on her item (GO FIGURE!)  Hooray for me!  Even better savings than my $20 gift card.  With the Christmas Crazy replaced by newly found Christmas spirit, I proceed back into line with the ticket for my kitchen set only to learn that the 20% off coupon is a special deal that doesn’t start until 3:00 and it is only 2:30.  Seriously, they make me wait.  I stall and then at 3:00 on the dot I present my coupon.  They ring up my item but the coupon won’t work.  Apparently it is only for the doorbuster items that were listed on the front of the ad that I didn’t have because the coupon was handed to me by my well-meaning former patient.  My $20 savings in gift cards doesn’t cover my gas, daycare and Starbuck’s expenses.  I lost money.  Sucker for a good deal or just a sucker?  Please don’t answer that. 

In hopes of replenishing my Christmas spirit I’ve decided to give one of you a present!  The last class of all my Postnatal Pilates sessions is a spoof on Oprah’s Favorite Things show called Postnatal Pilates Moms’ Favorite Things.  All the women bring in or discuss a few of their favorite baby items.  I have selected one of their items to be given away FREE (there is no fine print, coupon needed, or any chance to find it for a lower price later in the season!) to one of my blog subscribers.  The item I selected is………The Nose Frida! 

I was skeptical at first (see my July 30, 2011 blog entry) but Cindy made me a believer so I purchased one for my baby and one to give away.  If you don’t have a baby maybe you could try it on your spouse, friends, or simply re-gift it to someone on your Christmas list………tis the season!

P.S. I will also be giving away one free 6 week Pilates class in an upcoming blog to all those who comment.  These make great Christmas gifts and can be purchased at the Women Serving Women Physical Therapy clinic by calling 630-527-0485.  Stay tuned!

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

It was 11:30 PM on Thursday night.  I should have been slipping into my pajamas but instead I was slipping into my most “non-Mom” jeans and a sequined T-shirt that made me look 5 years younger (I hoped).  I should have been slipping into bed but I was slipping out of the house.  I should have been slipping into a splendid slumber but instead I was slipping into a movie theater packed with thousands of teenagers (and shockingly just as many twenty and thirty-somethings) to watch the Breaking Dawn premiere at 12:01 AM.  To understand how I got to this point we have to back up 4 years.  OK maybe 24 years. 

I love to read.  I am a bookworm.  When I was younger I read EVERY Babysitter’s Club book in the series.  I read Nancy Drew.  I read fiction and non-fiction, biographies and autobiographies.  I LOVE to read.  Fast forward 20 years and 20 weeks into my first pregnancy.  I read What To Expect When You’re Expecting, and The Happiest Baby on the Block, and Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child.  And then I had a baby and I read Goodnight Moon and Spot my Toys and Where is Baby’s Belly Button.  My second child was about 6 months old when the kids’ 13 year old babysitter begged me to read Twilight, the first book in a series of four.  A fiction book about a teenager falling in love with a……vampire?  No thanks.  A book that would not teach me what my pregnant/postpartum body was going through or how to make my baby happier?  Again, a book about…..vampires?!  I didn’t have time for that nonsense.  But she left it at my house anyway.  Several weeks later I had just finished reading Baby Signs and was desperately in need of some reading material for a little bathroom time (TMI?) and so I reluctantly picked up Twilight.  The first chapter was so-so.  The second chapter was decent.  And before I knew it I was 5 chapters in, I was hooked, and my legs were numb (TMI, again?).  I finished the book a few days later and called my babysitter at 10:00 PM on a Tuesday night.  “I’m coming over to get the second book!”  And over the course of the next few months I read them all.  And I fell in love with reading again.  The excitement of being transported to a world that didn’t include poopy diapers or sippy cups of milk was intoxicating.  The books were a total escape from reality and I learned nothing.  I tried to spread the love, just like my babysitter had done for me.  I had a Twilight sleep-over party with my sister and sister-in-law.  After I put the kids to bed, I lit candles and decorated the mantel with framed quotes from the movie.  I served Pomegranate martinis and Vampire red wine in glasses that I had adorned with AB+ and O- designs.  I melted butter in a saucepan and added red food coloring to drizzle over our popcorn.  I arranged Red Licorice ropes in glasses to form centerpieces.  And of course we watched the movie Twilight.

I should have stopped drinking when I ran out of the martinis but instead I just switched to wine.  I could have gone to bed when I got up to stop the DVD and tumbled to the ground but instead I giggled and hiccupped and giggled some more.  When my daughter awoke at 6 AM I would have rather poked my eye out with a sharp pencil but instead I made the journey to her room, my upper body at a right angle to my lower body, and traveled downstairs to set her down on the kitchen floor at my sister’s feet, uttered something incoherent and slowly found my way back to my tile floor bed.

This story has a happy ending because I felt somewhat human by mid-afternoon and to this day have NEVER had that much to drink again.  But the point is this……..what should you re-discover in your life?  Is there a hobby or passion of yours that is collecting dust while you tend to everyone’s needs but your own?  Could you carve out a few minutes each day or even each week to get lost in a book or a project or whatever.  Would you be willing to put yourself first just for a little while?  I think you would be surprised at just how exciting feeding your inner child can be.

“I knew exactly what I wanted, but I was suddenly terrified of getting it.”  -Bella Swan, Eclipse

P.S. Speaking of knowing exactly what you want, are any of you grasping at straws as you try to come up with your Christmas wish list?  For those of you who are pregnant or have had a child recently, don’t forget there are gift certificates available for 6 week sessions to Prenatal or Postnatal Pilates classes.  These also make a great (and unique!) gift for someone on your list who may be pregnant or recently postpartum.  Call 630-527-0485 if you are  interested in purchasing a gift certificate and visit my website at www.pilatesbycarrie.com for more information on these popular classes!

P.P.S.  I am now filling spots for Prenatal and Postnatal Pilates classes beginning in January.  Fill out the Contact link on the website www.pilatesbycarrie.com to reserve your space.

P.P.S.  In the next few weeks I will be giving away one free 6 week session as well as an item from my current Postnatal Pilates moms’ List of Favorite Things.  Be sure to become a blog subscriber to be randomly entered for your chance to win!

Daylight Savings Time

I  HATE the change in time for several reasons.  First of all, my life DEPENDS on the time all day long.  But because I am always running late, I believe in the practice of setting each clock to a slightly different time to “scare” me into thinking I’m late thus allowing me to arrive barely on time.  My watch is set approximately 7 minutes ahead, the kitchen stove clock is somewhere around 10 minutes ahead, and my car clock is about 6 minutes ahead.  I say approximately and somewhere around and about because knowing exactly how far ahead each timing device is set would defeat the purpose.  I would simply calculate in my head that according to the kitchen stove it is 8:40 AM minus 10 minutes which is 8:30 meaning we are doing “good” on time and then we would be late to preschool.  I lost my watch last week and it nearly ruined me.  I had to depend on my cell phone which of course gave the exact time which got me so discombobulated I was almost late to work.   On the day after the time change I then have to wander around changing all the clocks to their new wrong times. 

It made me wonder why we even change the clocks at all.  Apparently, the idea of daylight savings was first conceived by Benjamin Franklin in 1784.  Need I remind you that this is the same man who attached a metal key to a kite and then floated it up towards a storm cloud to tease a lightning bolt?  Just sayin’. The theory is that in the summer months we move an hour of daylight to the evening so the amount of electricity used for lighting and small appliances is less (or something like that).  On the flip side, a study by Carnegie Melon University discovered that the number of pedestrians hit by cars soared at 6 PM during the weeks after the clocks were set back in the fall.  In fact, walkers are 3x more likely to be hit and killed by cars right after the time change than in the month before.  That is a 186% jump in the risk of being killed by a car for every mile walked because, the researchers speculate, the drivers go through an adjustment period when dusk arrives earlier.  Is this really worth it?!!!!

As I read on I am encouraged to learn that I am not the only one disgruntled about the time change.  A Canadian poultry producer named Marty Notenbomer complains, "The chickens do not adapt to the changed clock until several weeks have gone by, so the first week of April and the last week of October are very frustrating for us."  I am right there with ya, Marty.  No one told my “chickens” about the time change either.  When Tyler and Maddy woke up at 6 AM on Sunday they did not check their wristwatches and say, “By Jove, we still have another hour to sleep!  Let us close our eyes for a wee bit longer!”  And when the baby awoke one hour earlier than that he did not sit up in his crib and think, “Based on the sun’s position in the sky outside my bedroom window, I calculate that I have at least another hour before I will cry to get out of this soiled diaper and to have my bottle-full of breakfast escorted in for me!”

I don’t know about you guys but you are welcome to Spring Forward without me because I plan to Fall Back into my bed in exhaustion.  What I DO know is this—I am NOT going for a walk at dusk for at least another 3 weeks!