Healthy Life Lessons

This morning was the second Sunday in a row I was woken up by Big A before 6:30am (Sunday is my only sleep-in day...anything after 5am being a sleep-in for me) calling for me from the toilet because she made a poo and needed someone to help her wipe it. It's moments like these when I truly envy the single and childless. I picture them lazing in bed until 9am and then lingering over coffee and the newspaper until they can muster the energy to head to the latest hip cafe for an overpriced brunch. Actually, I'd just be grateful to have both my children sleep past 7am on the weekend. But Little A was up before 7am this morning too, fortunately, she was happy to babble and play in her crib by herself for long enough for me to wolf down a bowl of oatmeal before I went to get her. Sundays are my favorite day. Adam takes the girls for the morning and I head to the gym for a killer weights workout and then I teach my spinning class. It's the only remnant of my former life tha...

It's been snowing for a while now and has finally started accumulating. It's going to be one of those days where you have to shovel the same spot like 3-4 times. P1: I am finally feeling somewhat satisfied with the direction of my career aspirations right now. Here is the update of my plans for the near future: 1. Two more weeks until I complete my first course for my Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, then I begin my second course, Theories of Personality. 2. March 10 - Meeting with CEO or corporate research company to discuss wellness seminars and fitness classes I will do for some of their corporate clients. 3. March 17 - Meeting with miscarriage/infertility counsellor who works with my sister-in-law (the ob/gyn) to discuss mentorship opportunities. She is also the one who teaches a certificate course in this type of counselling. I think I may begin some of the courses in May when I have child care for Little A. 4. March 30 - Audition to teach fitness classes at Toron...

People get very attached to particular cardio machines, I've noticed. One of my pet peeves is seeing people come to the gym and get on the same machines and do the same workout every time, especially, when they are using the least efficient machines there. It seems like such a waste of time because they are unlikely to be getting much out of their workouts after a very short period of time. First off, you should be changing up your workout as often as possible. Your body adapts to the demands placed on it very quickly. So if you aren't able to increase the time or intensity of your workout, at least change another variable. Alter the incline on the treadmill, do intervals instead of steady state training on the stairmaster, etc. Second of all...and I know I'll piss people off with this one, unless you are injured, pregnant or over age 60, get off the elliptical!!!! They are the least efficient machines in the gym and they do not mimic any real life activity. Most people (th...

We eat a lot of beans in this house, as well as tons of fruits, veggies and whole grains. It's no wonder we're a gassy bunch. Oh well, that's the price you pay for eating healthy foods. These are really yummy...just make sure everyone in the household eats them so you're all on equal ground. Otherwise, you might want to consider sleeping alone. The beans makes enough for 4 large tortillas but this recipe makes TONS of veggies. We love them, cooking the onions and peppers down brings out their natural sweetness, which is enhanced by the tomato paste. After stuffing the tortillas with them, we smother more over the top, but you can always save the extra for another day. You can top a baked potato with them or add grilled chicken and make chicken fajitas. Refried beans: 1 can black beans or pinto beans, drained 1 roma tomato, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tbls chili powder 1 tsp ground cumin pinch cayenne (optional) Veggies: 1 tsp olive oil 1 Spanish onion 1 purpl...

I thought I'd devote a whole post to the topic of fitness since I promised to share my knowledge in this area on the blog but haven't done much of that yet. Here's my commentary on fitness trends. Fitness, like any other commercial industry, is subject to trends. Unfortunately, I have found that this leads people to fixate on one type of activity, and in order to attain optimal fitness, you need to participate in a variety of activities. There are several main components of fitness: muscle strength and endurance, cardiovascular ability and flexibility. Any fitness program should contain elements of each. But, unfortunately, too many people will jump on the bandwagon of the latest fitness craze and focus on one element, to the exclusion of others. In the 70's and 80's there was an obsession with high impact cardiovascular activities which ended up taking a toll on enthusiasts joints. With the advent of the STEP in the 90's, group exercise classes became mor...

My parents may tell me differently, but I don't recall having a favourite parent when I was a little kid. I do recall preferring to go to the mall with my father, however, because he could always be persuaded to take me to Marks and Spencer to buy a bag of licorice allsorts or wine gums which we would joyfully share together. My mother wasn't always as willing. If my parents favoured my brother or I, they hid it well and I would say they did a fairly good job of appreciating our differing strengths and weaknesses. But playing favorites in our family seems to have become the norm. And no, I don't mean Adam and I have a favorite child. I mean our children play favorites. Big A seemed to like us equally until she was about 18 months old. Even though I nourished her from my own body, she never really preferred me to Adam. But from about 18 months until about 2 months ago, she overtly preferred Adam. And believe me, this is not insecurity on my part making me see things...

P1: Aside from my phone meeting set up with my ob/gyn today, I have another phone meeting with someone from the corporate wellness company to discuss doing seminars and fitness classes. I also got an email back from a counsellor I contacted, who specializes in infertility, post-trauma and grief, who works with my sister-in-law (my brother's wife) at the fertility clinic where she works (she's an ob/gyn too!). She said she would be happy to meet with me to discuss volunteer/mentorship opportunities AND she informed me that she teaches an online certificate program in infertility counselling. It is probably critical that I do this certificate and I'm thinking that it may even be possible to do it concurrently with my program, once I have child-care for Little A. P2: The past few mornings, the girls have been so affectionate with one another. There is really little that warms my heart more. Little A will lean into Big A, who will wrap her arms around Little A and Little ...

Thursdays my mom's group meets. It's so great to have other moms in the neighbourhood to hang out with, especially since we live in a very uncool Toronto neighbourhood. I don't know why. It's very centrally located, close to public transit, has lots of parks and green spaces, a farmer's market, a great family run grocery store that carries a lot of interesting local and organic products, and has several other grocery stores, daycares and schools in the area. But it is so uncool, it doesn't even have a name. On most city maps, it remains unlabelled. Just a blank space. Occasionally it is referred to as the "Christie Pits" neighbourhood, after the large, well-known park in the area. However, as one mom in my mom's group put it, "You never really want to be living in a place that has 'pits' as part of the name." Oh well, as Adam always points out, the unpopularity of our neighbourhood keeps our property tax lower.

P1: After feeling pretty discouraged about finding either paid or volunteer work for the spring, all of a sudden things have sprung up! My ob/gyn's assistant called and rescheduled our phone meeting for this Friday at 10am. Of course, I know an emergency could interfere again, but at least we have the meeting rescheduled and hopefully a volunteer opportunity will come out of it. A corporate fitness company I applied to emailed me back to ask if I would be interested in doing wellness seminars and/or teaching some fitness classes for them. Unfortunately, many of their locations are in the "GTA" rather than downtown, so it would likely require quite a bit of driving. But it sounds very interesting and perhaps just what I need. I had an interview today for a position at the gym where I already teach spinning. They are looking for someone to coordinate the fitness classes and special events. It was previously a full-time position, which would not be ideal for me at this...

Yesterday was Family Day, the new Ontario holiday, and it certainly was a family day for us. Because of all the germs floating around, we pretty much hung out altogether at home all day, which rarely happens. We, unfortunately, had to cancel the 2 playdates we had, that I was really looking forward to, and I know Big A was disappointed too. But in the end, I was not fully recovered from my puke-fest on Valentine's, Big A threw up once, Adam still has a terrible cold and Little A keeps making these diaper explosives that require immediate baths and a change of clothes. I'm not sure if she has a bit of the tummy bug too or if this is due to the iron supplement we have started to give her because of her paltry diet. However, I thought iron is supposed to make you constipated?? So aside from when my in-laws took us out for lunch to a local cafe, to get the girls out of the house, we were all at home taking it easy. It's the taking it easy that is so rare. When the girls...

Well, this day didn't turn out quite as planned. I came down with the stomach flu and was bedridden from 2pm yesterday until today. Needless to say, our Belgian waffle dinner didn't happen. I could hardly get down gingerale. I'm feeling better today but definitely not 100%. Adam now thinks he might be coming down with it and given how grumpy Little A was when she woke up this morning, we're worried she isn't feeling well either. She hardly ate anything for breakfast today (a few chunks of kiwi and a few cheerios), but that could be just her being her picky self. Hopefully her mood is improved when she gets up from her nap. We're all home today because it's Family Day and I have to say, Big A has been wonderful. She's been playing imaginary games by herself and some that include Adam as a participant. Unfortunately, all 3 floors of the house now look like a cyclone has hit them because there are toys EVERYWHERE!

So one thing that I love about having kids is it gives you ample excuse to discuss certain bodily functions. I will admit it right now: I have a juvenile appreciation for bathroom humour! I find belches, farts and poop extremely amusing. I come by it honestly as my whole family has the same appreciation, to various degrees. I can recall my brother and I burping the alphabet at the dinner table as teenagers as my parents tried to admonish us while laughing. So here's a good story. Today Little A did something that I would say ranks as the grossed thing either of my children have done to-date (this beats Big A pooping on my face when she was 3 weeks old and Little A spitting up into my mouth when she was a few months old). She had just woken up from her nap, and Adam went and got her. He took her out of her crib and put her on the floor to play with some toys. All of a sudden he heard a flurry of "diaper activity". I then very quickly heard him call me, "Oh my...

The meeting with Dr. M, my ob/gyn, never happened yesterday. Waah! Her assistant told me she got "tied up". This could mean she was just saving a life or two, or something insignificant like that. Not surprising but very disappointing. Hopefully we can reschedule. But that leaves me no more closer to figuring things out for my near future...and I HATE uncertainty.

P1: Meeting with my ob/gyn from Mount Sinai today...hopefully we can arrange a volunteer counselling opportunity for me, I'll keep you posted! Fridays Adam takes the girls to his mom's or grandmother's for an early dinner so I get time for school work. At 5:30pm every Friday my group from my class gets together for a "virtual" meeting to discuss our group projects. We have completed 3 and have just one more to go. Yay group! P2: Although Little A was up for the day at 6:40am, things went pretty smoothly. I left her babbling in her crib until Big A got up at 7am. Unfortunately, I had to make Big A her breakfast while holding Little A in one arm. When people at the gym ask me how my arms got so strong, I tell them it's the kids...I'm sure of it! I was pleased that Big A chose a no sugar breakfast today of oatmeal with banana and cinnamon because they are celebrating Valentine's at daycare today, which means all the parents bring candy for the other kids....

A lot of moms have asked me for this recipe. I came up with the idea as a way to use up all the pureed fruits and veggies I had in the freezer that Little A wouldn't eat. Big A helped me make them and the experience showed me that I can start giving her more control (sometimes). Normally when we bake together, she really just watches me because I am too worried she will make a mess or screw something up. This time, I allowed her to fill all the muffin cups herself and she did an amazing job. No mess! I was so proud of her! Turns out that both Little A and Big A love these muffins, which is great, because they are super healthy and have NO added sweeteners of any kind. 5-6 cups pureed cooked organic fruits and veggies [make sure you have a good ratio of naturally sweet ones (carrots, sweet potato, corn, apples, pears, peaches, etc.) to the others (broccoli, zucchini, cauliflower, etc.)] 2 eggs 1/4 cup organic canola oil 1 tsp vanilla extract 4 cups organic whole wheat flour 1...

P1: Tomorrow I have my phone meeting with my ob/gyn to discuss volunteering at Mount Sinai. Regardless of how this turns out, I have another plan for getting relevant volunteer counselling experience: Planned Parenthood of Toronto! They have a peer counselling program, which involves a 10 week training program in September. Unfortunately, it is apparently quite competitive, so I'll have to apply this summer...fingers crossed I get accepted! It's the flip side of the reproductive health counselling I want to do, but would be excellent experience, nonetheless. P2: Another major challenge of parenting young children I seem to face daily, is knowing when something is seriously wrong with them versus normal, developmental challenges. Yesterday when Little A and I picked up Big A from daycare, her teacher warned me that she had not taken a nap and was "on a short fuse". Great! She certainly was grumpy so I told her she was tired from not napping, and would feel bett...

P1: I met with the volunteer coordinator from Circle of Care yesterday and it looks like I'll be starting as a "phone pal" in the next few weeks. I am looking forward to this, although seniors are not my target population for my counselling practice, I have always enjoyed working with them. Unfortunately, the sitter I booked to come watch Little A while I had this meeting, cancelled at the last minute so I had to bring Little A with me. Lucky for me, the woman was amazingly accomodating and understanding (she even let me change a stinky diaper on the floor of her office!), and loves babies AND Little A was wonderful. In fact, Little A has been an absolute ray of sunshine the past few days and has finally started crawling!! P2: After a rough start to the week on Monday, the girls have been great the last couple mornings. This morning I brought Little A down for her morning nursing but she was more interested in Big A. So Big A started to tickle her and Little A started lau...

Monday, February 8, 2010 P1: I am currently about halfway through my first course - Biological Developmental and Scientific Basis of Behaviour - of the MACP (Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology). It's an online program, which is a new experience for me. It took some getting used to at first, but now I am really enjoying it. The program is 20 months of course work plus a minimum of 4 month practicum at the end. My challenge right now is finding some volunteer work to give me some counselling experience before my practicum, as well as some paid work, to start in the spring when my mat leave with Little A ends. It's more difficult to find volunteer work than I had hoped! Fortunately, I have a meeting with someone from an organization called "Circle of Care" tomorrow, to discuss starting to work for them as a "Phone Pal". This involves calling isolated seniors at home and giving them an opportunity to talk to someone. I figure this is a good first step. On ...

Aside from my P rofessional future and P arenting experiences, I will also share information about F ood and F itness, two things very close to my heart. I love cooking and like to think that I'm a very ecclectic chef. I rarely ever use recipes and, if I do say so myself, I come up with some pretty creative ideas in the kitchen. I consider myself a foodie, of sorts, but in an unconventional way. I'm not a big fan of French cooking - small portions of , staid, unhealthy food in not so appealing to me. I prefer spicy, exotic cuisines like Thai, Indian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Caribbean. And I always try to put a healthy twist on everything. Oh and I love Italian food too, but my take on it...i.e. NO WHITE FLOUR. White flour is a pet peeve of mine so if it's going to be pizza and pasta, it's going to be whole grain in our house. Fitness has been a big part of my life since I was 14 years old and started doing aerobics regularly. By 18 I had become a certified...

While the purpose of this blog is to document my attempt to reinvent my career, I am also going to cover a lot of parenting issues, seeing as that is really my primary job right now. We have one daughter turning four in May (Big A) and one turning one in April (Little A). I feel very fortunate to have two, beautiful, healthy girls, and ones that absolutely adore each other (at least for the time being). But I'll be honest...and I know I may upset people by saying this, I HATE BABIES! While I found that first year with Big A to be challenging...this time around, I have been utterly miserable. Granted, we had a lot more support from family with Big A, and Little A has thrown a lot of curve balls at us, that Big A did not. Big A ate and slept well at night, period. Our only real challenges with her was that she wasn't a great napper until we moved her down to one nap at 16 months, and she was high maintenance - she would not entertain herself for a second, you had to do th...

Well, I've started this blog because I feel like I'm at quite a crossroads in my life, and while this feels somewhat narcissistic, my husband thought it would be therapeutic for me. I'm 35, and I'm exactly where I'd hoped to be personally (wonderful, loving husband, 2 adorable daughters, great friends and family and a cosy house) and very far from where I'd hoped to be professionally, at this age. I guess that's not so unusual these days, but it feels pretty pathetic seeing as I already have a BA, MA, and PhD under my belt, and after still accomplishing nothing, career-wise, I have returned to school yet again - this time, to pursue a Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, so I can eventually begin a psychotherapy practice. My previous jobs have all been in research. Most recently, I was associate vice president of a market research company, leading the health research practice. Sounds impressive, but really was just a nothing, middle-management posit...