Fitness Friday: Parent Relay

At the moment, we own one jogging stroller. It's pretty big and clunky, but it does the job and we like it. We don't, however, have the desire (or room) to get another or sell it and buy a huge double. Maybe its just me, but jogging strollers are a pain to jog with anyway. Think about it, how hard would it be to run with your arms out in front of you? Super awkward.

With one jogger, two kids, and two parents who'd like to get out and run between getting home from work and dusk, you need to be creative! We are fortunate to have a community jogging path about 200 yards from where we live. We realized that when it comes to running we have several options that involve the kids getting out of the house with us, which, after the winter we've had is GREAT. Cabin fever doesn't even describe it.

One option we have is to just go for a walk. A walk or a run - both are good exercise and great for you. If anything, walking is easier on your joints. It just takes longer than running! If we go for a walk, we can put the kids in the double stroller, use two separate light weight strollers, or I can wear Ginny on my back for an added work out.

Another option we have is to do a relay! With one kid in a light weight stroller and the other in the jogger, we take turns doing a lap of the track. The track is about 1/4 of a mile, so its a good walk/run. One parent walks with the light weight while the other runs a lap with the jogger. When we meet up (about 1 1/2 times around) we switch. A few times around and everyone has gotten some good time outdoors.

We can also do the relay at the park (where I ran the 5K a few weeks ago). It is a nice ~3/4 mile track around a little play ground. One parent can run while the other plays with the kids, then switch!

Buying a double jogger would probably be easier, but in the long run I think that this is a much better use of our space and money. Besides, Charlie won't want to sit in a stroller for much longer and we can't use the jogger 6 months out of the year because of snow and ice. With the spring coming (eventually), I'm hoping we will get out more....until it gets hot. Then we may need to find somewhere with air conditioning! ;-)

Tweet Tweet Tweet!

Following the advice of my good friend Mary over at Cherry Blossom Love, I've created a blog Twitter account! Now, there's something you need to understand about me and Twitter. I consider myself pretty tech savvy, but for some reason, Twitter makes me feel like I'm 90 years old. Just give me a Jitterbug and some denture cream.

I think, however, with a few tutorials and the inevitable embarrassing mishap or two, I can figure this all out. So, follow me on Twitter, y'all!

Follow @AllFourLove

And while you're at it, if you aren't following on Pinterest or Facebook, click on over!

Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

Hooray for social media! I hit my milestone goal of 200 Facebook followers. Next? I'm almost at 1,000 Pinterest followers! Who's going to be lucky #1,000?

This also means there are FIVE additional entries you can get in the Oliver's Labels giveaway! Check it out here!

Daycare Transitions & Oliver's Labels Review and Giveaway!

**The product for this review was provided free of cost by Oliver's Labels for the purposes of this post. All opinions are 100% my own and I do not review products that I don't believe in or use myself.**

Say hello to the March celebration giveaway #2!

This review comes at the perfect time. This past Friday, daycare informed us that Ginny would be moving up to the toddler room a few weeks early to make room for some incoming babies. 

But, but, but.....she's STILL A BABY! 

No, she's really not, she's almost a toddler. I cannot believe a year has gone by so fast. On top of that, I thought I'd have a few more weeks to prepare for this transition, but it looks like I've got a few days to figure it all out instead.

In the infant room, Ginny needed the standard bottles, bibs, crib sheet, etc. Most of it didn't need to be labeled because the babies didn't leave the infant room. In the toddler room, however, they have a cubby in the hallway, a lunch box in the lunch room fridge, and a cubby in the diaper changing room. This means a change of plans. 

LABEL EVERYTHING. 

When we first sent Charlie to daycare and needed labels, I found Oliver's Labels through a Google search. There are a lot of label companies out there right now from super simple to Etsy expensive. I found Oliver's Labels to be easy to personalize, fun, and inexpensive; I was able to buy what I needed without being cornered into huge packages of unneeded things. 

With Ginny's daycare transition looming on the horizon, I contacted Oliver's Labels to see if they wanted to partner for a review and they were excited to join in! 

Inspired by her nephew, Oliver, and his penchant for losing shoes, sippy cups, and other things while on the go, Oliver's Labels creator, Debbie began making labels to keep track of the wandering items. Using her experience in the printing industry, Debbie sought to create strong, durable labels to keep track of things Oliver could lose. After other families started asking Oliver's mother about the labels, Debbie knew she had something going and thus Oliver's Labels was born! 

I was given the opportunity to create two sets of labels, one for Ginny and one for Charlie, using the customizable package option. Oliver's Labels offers several useful options in the customizable packages...

Waterproof, scuff proof, dishwasher safe, washer/dryer safe vinyl labels:

• Original Labels (20)
• Mini Labels (50)
• Stick-eez Clothing Labels (35)
• Shoe Labels (7 pairs)

Permanent, washer/dryer safe labels:

• Iron On Clothing Labels (30)

Bag Tags:

• Large Bag Tag (1)
• Mini Bag Tag (3)

Waterproof, scuff proof, tear proof, wrist bands:

• Safety Wrist Bands (7)

The customizable package allows you to choose as many of these sets as you'd like to make the best package for your needs. Whether its daycare, summer camp, school, or even labeling adult things for work or the gym, they've got you covered.

In our packages, I chose Original Labels, Stick-eez Clothing Labels, and Shoe Labels for each kid. This would be plenty for all of the sippy cups, lunch containers, bedding, shoes, extra clothes, cloth diapers, etc. that they would need at daycare!

Customizing the labels was the most fun part. You can make each part of the package a different print with different fonts and colors. Its as easy as pull down menus and checking out the preview. The labels print exactly as you see them on your screen. The themes vary from bright kid prints to more subtle adult prints. There are even special allergy notification labels available. 

I knew I liked these labels before, but now I seriously love them. I spent Saturday afternoon rearranging all of our daycare gear; giving Ginny all of Charlie's smaller lunch containers and setting up larger ones for him. His little lunch containers have been run through the dishwasher hundreds of times and the labels survived the abuse. We never lost a single label. When it was time to take off his labels and put on Ginny's, however, the labels that have been on Charlie's containers for TWO YEARS came off without a single issue. 

This is especially awesome if, like me, you're into consigning kid stuff. The labels come off (except iron ons, which are permanent) without an issue. They come out of shoes, off clothing tags, and off plastic wear. 

Ginny got all of Charlie's old ones and he got new Take and Toss lunch containers with new Eric Carle themed labels! He's going to love them.

Labels went on everything and even though Mommy may not be ready for the toddler room, at least Ginny is ready. There will be no losing her belongings in the mix! I love knowing that once I put them on, they're not coming off until I take them off - even through dishwashing, laundering, and sweaty kid feet. Ick...especially sweaty kid feet.

Would you like to try these awesome labels? Oliver's Labels was generous enough to offer up a $40 gift certificate to their site to one of my lucky readers! Let the March celebration continue!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Boo Boo Charlie & Toddler Head Wounds

You can't tell a toddler, "I told you so." I mean, you can, but they certainly won't understand you. I think between Jeff and me during an hour long grocery shopping trip, we said some variation of, "Charlie, please don't run" about 1,000 times. He's normally not that rambunctious - guess he was having an off day? By the time we were leaving, I'm sure everyone in the store knew his name.

Then this happened.

BOOM. Running towards the automatic door, he tripped on his own feet, and fell just far enough away to catch the door jamb with his face. If you haven't experienced a head wound, even a tiny one, it bleeds A LOT. Like, an unnatural amount. Standing in the grocery store, with my hands and his face covered was quite a site. Thankfully, an employee brought us some paper towels and ice.

An ER trip later, he's got a super glued puncture wound on his forehead, a huge goose egg, and a clear CT scan.

We weren't sure at first whether to go to the ER. He didn't lose consciousness (he cried right away, which is good) and the bleed slowed down after a few minutes, but I try not to mess with big head knocks like this. He hit so hard, he nearly bounced. Turns out, the doctor said we made the right call and with a kid his age, its better to be safe than sorry.

How do you know if your kid needs stitches?

• If the wound is gaping (the sides don't touch)
• Has jagged edges that don't line up
• If it is a deep wound or puncture
• If red muscle or yellow fat tissue is visible
• If its spurting blood or will not stop bleeding after applying pressure
• Has any dirt or debris in it
• If it is on the face and could leave a scar

Charlie ended up not needing stitches, thankfully, and got his wound glued with special skin adhesive. The doctor said it could have used a stitch or two, but it was much easier and just as effective to use the glue. For larger wounds, stitches or staples could have been necessary. Thankfully, this was a little ding!

Next time, he's sitting in the cart!

Fitness Friday: 5K Recap!

Last Saturday I ran my very first 5K race! The temperature was brutal and I hadn't run in longer than I'd care to admit, but I survived and it was fun!

When I say the temperature was brutal, I mean it was flippin' freezing outside. When I got there it was a whopping 10* outside. Luckily, I had plenty of cold weather running layers to keep me toasty warm. 

I wore Under Armor 2.0 base layer pants under a pair of fleece leggings then threw a pair of Adidas shorts over top, more for self conscious comfort than anything. On top, I wore a sports bra, long sleeve cold weather wicking shirt, a t-shirt, and my Under Armor hoodie. I borrowed a pair of weatherproof socks from Jeff to keep my feet warm in my vented sneakers and topped it all off with my favorite Under Armor hat, gloves, and a balaclava. I sported my SPIBelt, but forgot my sunglasses. Whoops! I was plenty warm and honestly wanted to shed a few things towards the end. 

The course was 4 laps of a ~3/4 mile loop around a cute little playground just outside of town. Despite being chilly, it was beautiful outside. We did 2 minutes running, 1 minute walking and it really helped me make it without stopping. Usually, I run 1:1, so I was excited to be able to do 2:1. Even with the walking, we kept a little over an 11 min/mi pace, finishing with an official time of 35:43.  :-)

I can't lie, parts of it were hard and I wanted to stop, but I just kept on going. Running with someone is a welcome distraction from the actual running part.

A huge, huge thank you to Sarah, the sparkliest runner in ever and ever. I still cannot believe I am running and actually enjoying running...at least much more than I thought I ever would. She has this way of talking about running that makes it seem so attainable and real. The passion she has for running and the running community makes you want to get off your butt and run. I never ran before because I didn't think I could run well enough, so why even bother. The truth of the matter is, anyone can run and no matter how slow you are, you're still out there. 

What's next? Who knows! I'm hoping that once Daylight Savings Time kicks in and it doesn't get dark at 5pm, that I can make running a more frequent thing. I'm on the hunt for more races and hope to start training for a half marathon this summer. In the meantime, I'm just runnin'. 

40 Bags in 40 Days

I always find out about these cool ideas too late! In my never ending attempt to declutter and organize my life, I'm all about any ideas or plans that help. The accountability doesn't hurt either.

Over at the beautiful blog, Clover Lane, Mom to six, Sarah came up with a way to use Lent as a way to organize and declutter her home. Thus was born 40 bags in 40 days. She's been doing this for a few years now, but I just heard about it this evening and absolutely love the idea.

I really need the motivation.

So here's the deal. You can use any size bag or receptacle you want, but make a plan and find one bag/box/basket of crap every day and throw it out, donate it, sell it, or organize it. At first, this sounded hard, but once I started thinking about it I realized that we have SO MUCH STUFF and could easily do this challenge.

Despite starting a day late (should have started yesterday with the beginning of Lent), here is my plan of attack for the house...

The area/room will dictate what size bag we use as some places need a whole lot more help than others. The important part will be putting our mind to work sorting through things. We have several fabulous donation centers around here that could benefit from stuff we're not using - might as well pass it on! I'll update as to how its going since I can be pretty terrible at sticking with challenges like this. I'm hoping to stick with this one - I'm excited to think of the space we'll gain!

Who's with me?

Wordless Wednesday: 8 Year Date-aversary

After eight years, four moves, two dual job searches, two amazing kids, the ups, the downs, the stretching dollars, the hard decisions, the date nights, and the 1,000 piece puzzles...you still put up with my shenanigans. And it all started with a trip to Canada.