My children and I are in Bald Head Island for two days visiting some friends who have a house here. To get to the island you take a ferry, bringing whatever bags and gear on board with you. Since we are staying such a short time, we didn’t bring much. One item was large and a little unwieldy, but essential for the trip…the Baby Jogger. [Read more…]
The Beach and the Baby Jogger
June 22, 2011 by 3 Comments
Happy Father’s Day!
June 19, 2011 by 6 Comments
I am Bert Belt’s daughter. 20 years after his death I still miss him and think of him often, as I do on this Father’s Day. My dad instilled in me a love of sports. Whether he was participating in them (he loved golf, running, and skiing) or watching them (his favorite team was the Iowa Hawkeyes), my dad valued athletics. I remember that on most Sunday mornings when we were growing up he would go out for a 12-mile run. The funny thing is, I don’t ever remember him running any other day of the week…just that one weekend run. That was sort of how he was. I recall one morning when I was about 10, he announced (after he had been at a party the night before) that he and his friend were going to run the upcoming Chicago Marathon. This was way before running marathons became a popular thing to do. Whether it was pure spontenaity or the influence of certain beverages at the party, it was a little insane. He didn’t have much time to think about a training regimen since it was a matter of days before the race, not weeks or months! [Read more…]
Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Pizza?
June 14, 2011 by 7 Comments
After loading about 10 frozen pizzas into the car on a recent shopping trip, my husband turned to me and asked, “Is it possible we are buying too much pizza?” According to my kids, there is no such thing as too much pizza. As the mother, however, I know there has to be a limit, right? But I do love pizza (yes, even the frozen kind)! To me it isn’t just how it tastes, it’s what it means…no cooking! I have tried recipes for pizza crust before, but in the end, it just seems like a lot of work for what has always been the “easy night”. Pizza and work in the kitchen just don’t seem to go together. [Read more…]
Be Careful Running in the Heat if You Are Pregnant
June 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I was on a local running trail last night with a few of my cross country runners and we ran by a pregnant woman pushing a baby jogger. She caught my eye, not just because of her bump, but also because she was wearing black exercise tights…and it was 98 degrees! She was running at a slow pace, and was smiling, so I’m sure she was fine, but my alarm bells were ringing. As I have confessed before on this website, I am a hypocrite when it comes to seeing pregant women running. Although I ran through each of my nine pregnancies, except my first (I started getting cramps at six months and so stopped running), I still wanted to scream at that woman to stop running and get out of the heat! [Read more…]
Fitting in a Workout While on Vacation
May 31, 2011 by 4 Comments
I am writing this in the airport waiting for our return flight from Florida, where my husband (James) and I got away for four days. While there, we fit in some exercise. James is not the exercise enthusiast that I am, but he does like to run and is wonderfully supportive of me and my fitness “habits”. So while we were away, I ran three times (twice with James along Beach Road in Jupiter with beautiful ocean views, and once by myself for 8 hot, humid, and flat miles). I also went to a Kettlebell/TRX class taught by a friend, Josephine Bunn. Technically James and I did this together, since he dropped me off, went to Dunkin Donuts, and brought me coffee and a donut after the class (as I said, he is very supportive). Of course without our children with us, it was easy and fun to fit in a few workouts while on vacation. However, this is not our typical vacation (it was the first time we have gotten away for more than an overnight in 22 years). The other 99% of the time that we get away our children are with us. Yet, I still manage to squeeze in fitness most of the time. So with summer fast approaching, and the start of family vacations, I am sharing five ways to fit in a workout while away…or not! [Read more…]
Quote of the Week: Eternal Father, Strong to Save…
May 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
There is really only one thing to say on this day, and that is “Thank you”. Thank you to all the men and women who died serving this great nation of ours. Thank you to all of our military, both living and deceased. Thank you to those who are in foreign lands serving at this moment. Thank you to all of our retired veterans. Thank you to those in military training who will serve our country in the future.
Thank you for your bravery and commitment and especially, for your sacrifice. I hope on this day, we can all take some time to think about those men and women who are presently in harms way, and remember those who fought and who died so that we can continue to live in the Land of the Free. Yesterday at church we sang what is known as “The Navy Hymn” in honor of Memorial Day. With a son at the United States Naval Academy, I have grown to love this hymn and so use it as my Quote of the Week. The following are just a few of the verses:
Eternal Father, Strong to save, [Read more…]
Wounded Warrior Project’s Soldier Ride!
May 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Today my kids and I were inspired. With our neighbors, we volunteered at the Soldier Ride in Charlotte, NC, early this morning. As we listened to a few of the men and women speak before the ride, we were amazed and encouraged by their will and determination. [Read more…]
Go Bananas! 9 Reasons Bananas are MY Super Fruit
May 14, 2011 by Leave a Comment
We eat a ton of bananas at our house. I once brought home six bunches from the grocery store! They are definitely my favorite pre-run snack, and sometimes I eat two or three a day. My kids love them, too. Actually, Sam (#9) used to love them, but lately he’ll take one bite and then mash the rest between his fingers. I guess he likes the way it feels. I’m not sure whether bananas have “super fruit” status, but they are super in my book. Here are nine reasons you should be eating bananas: [Read more…]
Welcome Another Mother Runner!
May 12, 2011 by 1 Comment
Thank you to Another Mother Runner for profiling 9 Kid Fitness today! For those of you new to our site, Welcome! Thanks for visiting!
Another Mother Runner is the companion site to the book Run Like A Mother, and is an awesome source for all things running and mothering…and actually these mother runners are quite funny too! They show us how to gracefully (and sometimes not so gracefully) fit it all in.
For my 9 Kid Fitness readers, check it out!
The Wonderful “Realness” of Motherhood
May 6, 2011 by 1 Comment
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit. “Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are real you don’t mind being hurt.”-The Velveteen Rabbit
I think one of the hardest parts about being a mother is that we are real… and so are our children. Parenting is a continual act of living in reality…even if we would much rather just live in a world where our children didn’t get hurt, didn’t make mistakes, didn’t have to suffer. I remember when my first four or five children were little. My oldest was no more than 10. Sometimes it felt like I was the mother duck and they were my little ducklings; if I looked behind me, they were all following…my little brood. I’m sure I thought this was real, and it was. But it was also only temporary. As my first few children embarked on the teen years, the “real” was not so easy. When I looked behind me I didn’t always have the same view. What I saw was the older ones venturing off in different directions and I couldn’t as easily herd them back. I started to lose that control that I must have believed I would always have. It hurt a little, and my fur got a little tattered. [Read more…]
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