Seattle Mom Blogs

I don’t know how many of us have “losing weight” as one of our New Year’s resolution but according to OMRON Heatlcare, “However, a recent survey conducted by Omron Healthcare found that more than 75 percent of American adults are more likely to set New Year’s resolutions around fitness and wellness over simple weight loss.”

If you’re one of those 75%, as I am, it’s time to find some goals, define how we’re going to reach them and not let this year’s resolution go down the proverbial drain by February 1st.

If you’re like me, you’ve dieted successfully in the past. I’ve gone on the South Beach Diet, Body For Life, Good Carbs/Bad Carbs. But I’m sitting here, some twenty years after starting this whole charade, with an extra twenty pounds and a list of reasons to actually keep it off this time.

This year I don’t just have the “I want to look nice in my bathing suit” or “I need to fit into such-and-such jeans.” This year there’s more at stake. As moms, there’s inherently more at stake. We’re in charge of other people’s lives. Does this scare the ever living crap out of you like it does me? That I am responsible for actual lives? That in order for me to be here for a really long time and annoy my children during their teenage years, I have to take care of myself today? I think this has a bigger impact than the type II diabetes I’m running toward with my high blood glucose levels or the heart attacks that live in my family’s history. No, I want to be arround to watch my children get married, have babies, and in general, be the Mom that is just always sordof there for her kids.

So? It starts this year.

As a family we’ve made a few goals for ourselves. We have friends who are doing the events with us. We’re setting up a support system and want to invite you along. Ready? Wanna share our goals with us?

Coming Events: (AKA: Reasons to get off the couch)

• Resoltion Run: January 1st at Magnuson Park. Be there for a 10:30 AM start time!
• Valentines Run: February 10th at Greenlake. Be there for a 9:30 AM start time!
• Kirkland Half Marathon/5K run at Juanita Park, Kirkland. Start times 7AM and 7:30 AM
• Danskin Triathlon in Seattle. August 17th.
• Vancouver Half Marathon: May 4th in Vancouver, BC

And, just in case you’re feeling a bit intimidated (are you? I am.), please know we’re not the althetic-kick-your-butt type. In fact, Michelle is a self proclaimed “NOT A RUNNER” and Laura, well, might walk if there’s wine at the end and I am getting a bit too old to run that far. So, see? There’s nothing to fear. We’re here for you, a few girls not afraid to take on some challenge to get us motivated because we know we wouldn’t do it otherwise.

And you’re in. Right? You’re in. Comeon. I know you are.

I, personally, need all the help I can get. This baby belly isn’t leaving and there is only 5 months until summer. Oy.

Read more of Leslie’s sarcastic blahblablah at Mrs. Flinger and find podcast reviews, interviews, crafts, events and topics for the Seattle Parent at Mamaspod.Com. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Mom Friendly Fitness, email .

Merry Christmas Eve!

I remember my first Christmas in Hawaii, I was 11 or 12.It was warm, the sun was shining andthere was no sign of snow, ever.Santa was deeply tanned, held up a “Shaka” sign and wore an Aloha shirt that exposed his bulging midriff. I imagine he’d get pretty toasty in his regular red outfit, but still… this was odd.

I couldn’t grasp the idea of this new Christmas, but ultimately it was the Christmas that would define all of my Christmases thereafter. {How many times can you use “Christmas” in a sentence?}

I was so stuck on the ways I celebrated the holiday, I saw Santa’s surfboard and just said; “Nope, that’s wrong.”, and to me it was. It wasn’t done MY way, it wasn’t done how I knew it to be. Needless to say, this was added to my list of Hawaii’s flaws and made me want to go back to New York City even more.

Christmas is celebrated worldwide in so many different ways, I had NO idea of this. I thought everyonehad snow, everyone has Santa with a red suit, sleigh and all of the reindeer. Christmas iscelebrated differently in every household, sometimes even, every family.

I’ve since tried to embrace something “new” every year, something exciting, and I’m still learning about these worldly traditions!

Do youcelebrate anything “different” from what you were taught as a child? Or have you picked up a funinternational tradition to use in your own celebrations? How do you embrace all of these differences and explain them to your kids?

From our family to yours, we wish you the most wonderful holiday, however you celebrate.:)

Mele Kalikimaka, Hau’oli Makahiki Hou!
{Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, in Hawaiian.}

Monique is a young mom of two and a half, you can read more of her adventures in growing with her children at Rain Babies. Have any suggestions for Rainy Day Fun, send an email- monique{AT}seattlemomblogs.com!

I am terrible at this, please forgive me.

Yesterday I learned that I am carrying yet another little boy and spent the rest of my day dancing around my living room; completely forgetting that it was Monday. Last week, I honestly don’t know what happened. As always, I apologize.

My family {my mother, sisters and I}never celebrated Christmas in it’s “traditional” sense. For my sister’s and I, Christmas meant thatour begging all year was about to pay off. We were those obnoxious kids you don’t want yours to turn into. For my mother, Christmas meant mourning the loss of her own mother on Christmas Eve,many years before my birth. I believe that my mother felt she had to make up for her sadness, or lack of holiday enthusiasm, with gifts galoreand super mega Christmas trees.

Now that I have children of my own, I am able to create my own traditions and celebrations.
What I’d like to take precedence is our family, love and togetherness. I want the kids tounderstand that while we may not celebrate as a lot of others do, we still have something special. I want them to appreciate what they have. I want them to relish in the real magic holidays bring. Eventually, I want them to build their own family’s celebrations based on what they had as children, as opposed to doing what I did and going in a completely opposite direction.

How do you make your holidays special? Do you have any traditions? What do you celebrate during this time of year? What did you celebrate when you were a child? How do you keep your holidays from being “commercialized” and superficial?

And lastly- Can someone tell me where the snow is? I have none here.

I will be postingon Christmas Eve, I’ll keep it simple and make it early! However, I will be spending New Year’s Eve {my daughter’s fourth birthday} eating lots of junk, drinking sparkling white grape juice and watching the Twilight Zone marathon.

There are no rules, just grab that button and play along! When youre done, come back here and leave a link behind. Ill be sure to thank you!!

Have fun!!!

Monique is a young mom of two and a half, you can read more of her adventures in growing with her children at Rain Babies. Have any suggestions for Rainy Day Fun, send an email- monique{AT}seattlemomblogs.com!

“We’re going to go waaaaaay up into the woods and cut down our Christmas Tree this year,” my husband told our wide-eyed children when they asked us where our tree would come from.

“Like, hike in and pick out any tree we want?” they asked.

“Oh yeah guys, any tree we want,” their Daddy answered.

“How will we get it home?” said Katie.

“How will we get it to the car?” said Wyatt.

“Can I cut it down?” said McRae.

After reassuring Katie that it would not fall off the roof of our car, and explaining to Wyatt that we’d all help drag it from it’s living location to our vehicle, and letting McRae know that he could help as much as he wanted in the actual “cutting” down of the tree, it turns out it didn’t really matter.

It didn’t matter because this year, we got our tree at the grocery store.

You heard it right, the grocery store.

If I have learned anything since becoming a mother, it is that one must be flexible during the holidays. Sometimes there isn’t enough time to buy a parks permit, outfit everyone in snow shoes, pack a picnic lunch complete with hand warmers for everyone and travel into the wilderness to pick out the perfect Christmas Tree. Sometimes the middle of December creeps upon you and there are little choices in where the tree actually comes from.

And does it really matter?

I don’t think so.

What matters is that we, as a family, picked out our tree the first available moment of unscheduled time we had (when both parents were present to help).

So out into the rainy night we travelled, all the way to the grocery store! There were candy canes and hot cocoa and cider and even helpers wearing Santa hats! There were tons of pretty trees to choose from and wouldn’t you know it? We bought the first one we saw (we aren’t very picky about our trees – well, maybe I am a little picky, but in this case I just wanted to get a nice tree with no bald spots). Which is a good thing, because it figures that it would start raining buckets the minute we decided to go get our tree. We didn’t have time to be choosy.

How happy am I with our Christmas Tree this year?

Very, it’s perfect.

Did we have a good experience?

Yup.

I’ll admit that I am looking forward to strapping on my snow shoes and venturing into the woods to get our next one. But if life gets too busy, like it did this year, there’s always the local grocery store!

*Cross posted at Third Time’s a Charm?

Carrie is a stay-at-home mother of three and wife to one busy firefighter. You can read more of Carrie’s mothering meanderings at her personal blog, Third Time’s a Charm?, or send questions, topics or suggestions to carrieb{at}seattlemomblogs.com.

Here it is! The three moves you can do three times a week during the holidays and feel less guilt over that piece of fudge. Guaranteed.

#1) The Pushup.

That’s right. Remember that GI Jane movie? Remember how you vowed to be JUST LIKE HER, with the cussing and the shaved head and the whole getup? Then, remember how you forgot all about that? It’s time to bring it back. Except maybe not the shaved head this time. Instead, think simple and time effective.

Is one set of twelve from your knees as much as you can muster before you pass out? Then do one set of fourteen just to prove to yourself you can. Start with one set from the knees. Are you shaking? Are you tired? no? Do a few from your toes. You can do it. Then, when you think you can’t, do one more. And that’s it! See? Don’t you feel accomplished already?

#2) The Jumpie.

I was first introduced to The Jumpie during Crew my junior year at college. This bad boy can make you sore in the places you did not know had muscles. In a wonderful wonderful way. You know those flabby inner-thigh muscles? Make ‘em hurt. Tone ‘em right up, that is, with the squat jump.

Place feet shoulder width apart. Squat keeping knees parallel to your feet. (Don’t let your knees go over your toes.) Jump up in the air and land in the same position as you started. Do this 25 times. If you feel up to it, do another set up pushups and repeat jumpies 25 times.

#3) The Ab Workout. You can pick from a plethora of ab workouts. I like to do one using a fitness ball like this. Do at least two sets of 25. You can alternate between situp-type (on the ball) and leg-lift type (lay with ball between legs and pull using ab muscles to bring legs up.)

The thing about these three particular moves is that you hit all major muscle groups. You can do this routine in roughly six minutes. I know the holidays can be a stressful, very eventful time, but try these three things first thing in the morning three times a week.

Why you want to be sore:

A) Your muscles are being stretched to new heights.
B) This is what makes muscles change and strengthen.
C) Which means burning more calories.
D) Which means less guilt over those pieces of fudge and an easier time getting in to a workout grove for the New Year.

There’s a good change we’ll have “Lose weight” or “Tone up” as part of our New Year resolution. But these three moves, three times a week, will get your mindset now to reach your goal for the spring. Don’t forget to give yourself 48 hours between these exercises and walk or stretch on your off days to relieve the soreness.

If you do them, let us know. So far? I’ve done two weeks of this. And my legs are stronger than they’ve been in months. And I love it.

Read more of Leslie’s sarcastic blahblablah at Mrs. Flinger and find podcast reviews, interviews, crafts, events and topics for the Seattle Parent at Mamaspod.Com. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Mom Friendly Fitness, email .

While reading this post last week by my dear friend (and fellow Seattle mom!) Danielle on her favorite easy dinner recipe, I decided that “hey, I need more blog posts like this!” Just think of all the time it will save me. Not to mention that my time in the kitchen has been dramatically cut now that my son is almost two.

I called up my best friend, , (why do I think Google is a woman? And a married woman at that?) and did a quick search for “easy dinners”. What I found were tons of recipes for dinners. But none were as easy as what Danielle had posted.

My heart broke a little.

Okay my dear interweb, this is where you come in. What are your secret easy dinner recipes? If they include “open box, put pizza in the oven,” I want to hear it. If you have a recipe website or blog you frequent, I want the URL. If you’ve found the perfect recipe book, we all need to know. Heck you can even put the recipe in the comments section here. We all need to know.

And we need to know now. Because yeah, my online grocer forgot to bring me a frozen pizza for ’s dinner and we’ve already used the slow cooker this week.

Isabel is a pseudonym for this Seattle-based blogger. She’s been working since the day she realized soda and lip gloss weren’t free. Isabel became a mom in 2006 and continues to work full time, outside the home, since diapers and mortgages aren’t free either. You can read far too much about her personal life at hola,isabel.

If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Double duty. One paycheck., email Isabel at holaisabel [at] gmail.com.

It wasnt until I sat down to beg you all for help that the severity of whats going on in the flood zones really hit me and I started bawling. If you want to understand why, go watch this video from the Lewis County Chronicle website. I really need your help everybody.

I spent yesterday demolishing a single mothers home in hopes of saving it. The main floor of her small house was filled with muddy contaminated water during this weeks record-breaking flood in western Washington. Apparently the water rose so fast that she and her 3 children were unable to get home and move their belongings from the main floor to safety.

4 days later while my 4 girlfriends and I were tearing the sheetrock and insulation from the walls of her home with hammers and shovels, she was still hauling her filthy belongings to temporary housing in garbage bags. A few of her childrens homemade Christmas decorations still clung to the higher walls.

Over 1600 homes were flooded in this disaster, the majority of which have no flood insurance. Businesses have been wiped out. As sad as it was to see Wal-Mart under water and Home Depot condemned, the hardest thing is to know that many small businesses may never recover. So even as their homes are destroyed, their livelihoods may be cut off as well, right at the busiest time of the year for many businesses.

One of my friends kept asking the disaster relief workers what the people would do now that their homes and belongings had been destroyed. Several families are walking away from homes and businesses with no idea what they will do next. The fact that Christmas is almost upon us is the least of their worries.

It was incredibly humbling to drive past homes and farms that had been completely submerged, some blasted by 14 feet of filthy water. Farms that have been handed down for generations are destroyed, their owners left with nothing. Some had to shoot their own livestock so they wouldn’t suffer while drowning. There are cars and farming equipment still under water or stuck in mud and much of it is completely unusable. We saw toys, clothes and furniture several feet up in trees. People are in shock. One elderly woman was found sitting alone in her mud-drenched home staring straight ahead, unable to move. Its a daunting task and several hours of hard labor yield negligible results. Its hard not to be discouraged by the slow pace of the progress.

One of the hardest hit areas is in Lewis county around Chehalis, a couple of hours south of where we live in the Seattle suburbs. My good friend grew up in Chehalis and her father is still a dentist and farmer in that area who, as a volunteer LDS church leader, is helping head up relief efforts. Taking few breaks to eat or rest, he has spent the past several days driving from home to home assessing needs, helping with cleanup, distributing donations and organizing hundreds of volunteers.

Several local churches of various faiths have been turned into shelters and clothing and food distribution centers. People are coming from all over the US to serve and help with cleanup. The main non-denominational relief organizations serving the area are the United Way and the Red Cross and they are doing amazing work.

I sent out an email to the women of my congregation asking for clothing, food and tool donations and within hours, we had a garage full of supplies which Dan drove down early this morning on his way to help with cleanup. When I got home from Chehalis last night, I talked to my neighbors about what I’d seen and they came up with 3 boxes of helpful donations.

Do you live nearby? Would you like to help with cleanup or reconstruction? Do you live far away? Would you like to help these people put their lives back together? Each year at Christmas we try to find someone in need who we can serve, something we should actually be doing all year long. This year the choice seems obvious for us. I can’t remember a time when I felt more blessed and more of an urge to give everything I can to help someone else. Even Laylee has gathered a mountain of clothes, toys and blankets in her room to take to the “flood people.”

Im gathering monetary donations which I will use to purchase gift cards to Home Depot and other local businesses with much-needed supplies. We will drive these cards down to Lewis County and, with the direction of local relief workers, give them to the flood victims to meet their immediate needs. Personally, I believe that people are capable of reaching out and helping each other directly.

Obviously I am not a registered charity so I do not have a Tax ID to give you a receipt for deductions. However, if you have $2 or $2000 that youd like to go directly to people in dire need this Christmas, and you trust me to get it to them, I know that together we can do a lot of good. If you’re more comfortable going the traditional route, please consider making a donation through The Red Cross or The United Way.

If youd like to help me give directly to victims, please click here to send money via PayPal.

All money that comes into my account for the rest of the year will go 100% to help rebuild the hardest hit areas of Washington. The people are cold, theyre wet and they need our help and prayers.

If you have a blog, please pass this information along to your readers. You can lift the graphic from the top and any photos from this post and post a link back to this entry. if you have any questions and please help these people any way you can. Imagine what it would be like to lose everything all at once with little or no warning. THANK YOU!

Cross-Posted at daringyoungmom.com

Seattle is a glorious lit city all year long, but it really turns on the sparkle during the holidays! What better time to enjoy our fair city with your family than when it’s dressed up in holiday finery while cheerful folk mingle and enjoy the festive spirit that seems to encompass every street corner?

Winter, especially during the holidays, is the ideal time to enjoy Seattle with your kids. It is a chance to revisit some favorite traditions you may have had as a child growing up in the area, or a chance to create entirely new ones for yourself and your family! Either way, Seattle will not disappoint during this most festive time of year!

Of course, there are the obvious stops at Westlake Center, which should always include avisitto Starbuck’s for a White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha. But there are some hidden holiday treasures to be found as well, if you know where to look!

For instance, did you know that it snows inside of Pacific Place every night at six o’clock during the holidays? Well, it does. Chances are that if you drag your little rugrats cherubs there around that time, you will amaze them with this impressive sight. You can check out all the details about it here.

One of my favorite and most “secret” places to visit in Seattle during the holidays is Candy Cane Lane. It isn’t necessarily “downtown”, but it is worth the drive, believe me. For as long as I can remember, my Dad would drive us through this adorable, quaint and extremely charming little neighborhood to see their impressive holiday displays. It was incredible to see the tradition come full circle when we took our kids to Candy Cane Lane last year for the very first time. I am sure they will be begging to go again this year too!

A more well-known place to take your kids in Seattle for a little holiday cheer, is, of course Winterfest at the Seattle Center. This festival goes on for much of December and, I believe, into January. There is never a lack of all things “holiday” at this all-inclusive celebration of all things winter! Details can be found by clicking here.

The Pike Place Market is a whirlwind of activity on any given day. It is made more special with the arrival of the holiday season and all it’s festive family fun, great food and unique shopping. Just think, you can create wonderful holiday memories with your family and get ALL that Christmas shopping done in one day! Holiday activities at the market include Dickens Carolers every Friday, from noon-2pm, and Saturdays, 2-4pm through December 22nd! Santa will be holding court every Saturday from noon-4pm also through the 22nd, just in case you have any last minute requests for the jolly old soul.

In addition to all of the free holiday cheer, the market’s food drive and free parking offer continues each day from noon-4pm. Please share your good fortune and give to the food bank. The collection is taking place under the giant clock, you can’t miss it!

I can’t visit Seattle during the holidays without making a stop in eclectic and funky Fremont either! The statue at the bus stop is always decorated in an original, often thought-provoking, sometimes controversial manner. While you are there, why not take the kids up to see the Fremont Troll? This sight will astound children of all ages, I promise, and he may even be decked out in holiday garb, you never know!

Whether you are strolling through the beautifully lit streets or along the water, as many of the boats are lit for the holidays, Seattle won’t let you down when it comes to making special holiday memories for you andyour family. Just standing in the cold air looking up at the tree on top of the Space Needle is one of my favorite things to do and my kids never seem to tire from it either as they proclaim, every time they see the needle, “Look! There it is!”

Remember, holiday memories aren’t about what they cost, they are about the enjoyment of looking at the faces of the ones you love and nurture all year long as they see the magic for the first (or 31st!) time.

Make sure you don’t overlook the parks either during the holidays, as they boast a treasure-trove of breathtaking views of the city, Lake Union and Elliott Bay.

For more helpful holiday guides in Seattle, click hereand here. And do tell, what are your favorite things to do & see with your family in the city during the holidays?

Wherever your holiday festivities may take you, I hope you enjoy the magic of the season and create some wonderful memories for your children.

Carrie is a stay-at-home mother of three and wife to one busy firefighter. You can read more of Carrie’s mothering meanderings at her personal blog, Third Time’s a Charm?, or send questions, topics or suggestions to carrieb{at}seattlemomblogs.com.

It seems to be a good time to start a fitness program. I mean, there are parties to attend, food to eat, wine to drink, chaos to be had. Why not throw in the added stress of starting a workout program? Why not try to, oh, I don’t know, eat well? Why not now?

Because January 1st is too cliche?

Because there will never be a good time?

Because I’ve been saying “now” for four months? And it’s never now?

Hi. I’m Leslie and I’m an exercise science undergraduate major with a Masters degree in Information Technology. That right there? Pretty much means I was born to blog about fitness. It doesn’t say I can do it well, I’m just passionate about it is all. Let’s not ever mix those two up.

Since I was twelve years old I’ve been on some type of diet. I’ve been worried about my pot-belly. I’ve been coveting the size two women. I’ve wanted to wear a bikini. I’ve wanted to be anyone, almost, on TV. Also, I’ve wanted curly hair.

It’s not that I’m fat. Or even especially heavy. I’m just.. thick. Thick and prone to eating too much sugar/caffeine/alcohol/carbs/whateverelseisconvenient. I don’t eat fast food, I work out no less than four times a week and I always, always, always drink 32 oz of water a day.

And still? I am thick.

Throw in two C-sections and a newly acquired love passion for red wine and you’ve got baby-weight and love handles followed by a healthy dose of no-abs. I used to have a waist line.. I think….

This holiday season I want to keep from falling too far behind. I want to find the motivation to keep exercising even when it gets dark at 4:30. I want to go to the parties and enjoy myself knowing I look and feel great and that cookie/cinnamon-role/drink/eggnog latte isn’t going to taste as good as I feel. I want to know when and how and what I need to do to start my way to a healthier 2008 before it even gets here.

Won’t you join me?

Read more of Leslie’s sarcastic blahblablah at Mrs. Flinger and find podcast reviews, interviews, crafts, events and topics for the Seattle Parent at Mamaspod.Com. If you have questions, anecdotes, or topics for Mom Friendly Fitness, email .

Looking for something to feast your eyes upon in downtown Seattle this weekend? Maybe you have some more Christmas shopping to finish or you’re looking for unique and original artwork for your own home?

Have I got the scoop for you!

My brother’s art studio, Fat Tiger, located in the 619 Building in the heart of Pioneer Square has some exciting events planned over the next few days sure to make your weekend more festive and fun!

Fat Tiger will be full of original artwork and good cheer for the monthly First Thursday Art Walk! You are all invited. Come see the great work on display (and for sale!) throughout the building from 6-10 p.m. Check out the new Tiger Cub Gallery outside the building. There have been rumors that my brother’s famous Christmas cookies will be making an appearance, so your sweet tooth will not be disappointed!

And then, on Saturday, December 8th, Fat Tiger will open it’s doors to participate in an all day Holiday Art Show from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The entire building will fling it’s doors wide open to the public, offering wonderful artwork, gifts and even jewelry! Penciling in a stop at this local, unique and awesome event will make your weekend in the city absolutely perfect!

Nothing beats supporting our local artists (and I’m not just saying that because one of them happens to be my baby brother, honest) and sharing the holiday cheer!