Don't Fret the Sweat

If you've been following my blog for long, you'll know that my 10 yr old and I ran our first 5K together this last May as part of the Girls on the Run program. It was SO fun, that we've decided to do it again this fall - and we'll be running our next 5K the weekend before Thanksgiving. We can't wait!

But this post isn't about that.

This post is about raising boys and girls in this house. The deal is - dad tells the boys what they need to know, and I tell Wendy what I think she needs to know. We're pretty open about stuff over here, especially considering our Finnish nature. bit the way I figure it, it's just better to keep the discussion lifelines open so they don't ever have to be shy about asking anything. I don't want them to feel like what they are going through is anything embarrassing, or awkward, or that they need to be ashamed of. We're all wired the same way, we all go through the same stages more or less, so why be shy about it?

Wendy embraces my philosophy pretty well. As much as I've tried to slow down her development with hormone-free products, the fact remains - she's growing up.

Just last week she came soaring down the stairs with her nose all wrinkled and a "mooooooooooom" on her lips, followed by - I have a hair IN MY ARMPIT! She's so fun to raise.

It happens to the best of us, right?

While she has a book she can refer to (The Care and Keeping of You) she still looks to me for reassurance and confirmation and NOW WHAT??? From time to time, as she should and as I hope she always feels free to do.

Being that this girl is all about running, and rollerblading, and soccer, and volleyball, and playing hard in general (did I tell you about the leggings she wore through in one day??) we've already had the deoderant talk awhile ago.

In looking for a deoderant for her, first I let her use some Suave* deoderant that I had purchased for myself. Unilever is the leading manufacturer of deoderant and antiperspirants and the makers of Degree® Men, Degree® Women, Degree® Girl, Dove® AND Suave®. Their goal is to ensure that parents and their kids remains cool and confident throughout the day. I switched Wendy over to Degree* Girl the next time I remembered at the store. It's just a little more girly packaged for her overnight bags.

AND - Unilever also has a Facebook page, www.Facebook.com/Don'tFretTheSweat where you can find expert tips, tools and real-life stories about how parents are communicating and transitioning their tweens into confident and self-reliant teens.

No Sweat, Right?

Now as part of this campaign, I'm excited to be able to offer you, my readers, a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card and a Don't Fret The Sweat gift pack. This chance to win is open for a full month, from 10/4 - 11/4/11. You can also check BlogHer for even more chances to win!

Official Rules

----------------------------------------------------

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.


This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

I'm a Sports Mom

I got an email a couple weeks ago asking if I was a Sports Mom. A Sports Mom - me? And then I thought about it. I've been hauling kids to soccer for over almost ten years, we went to Tae Kwon Do regularly twice a week for several years, right now I've got a son playing (well - we'll use that term loosely here) baseball, and a ten year old daughter who wants to try out every sport there is and is currently playing soccer and training for a 5K. So yeah, I responded, I guess indeed I am a Sports Mom. How 'bout that!

So by being a Sports Mom, I had the wonderful opportunity this past week to join in on a conference call with Gatorade along with Mia Hamm's mother, Stephanie Hamm.

One of the questions that I asked Stephanie during the call was a bit of what I mentioned above. I have this daughter of mine who wants to play everything - soccer, volleyball, basketball, running and has just recently mentioned softball as well. Because Stephanie mentioned that Mia was the same way as a young girl, I wanted to know what advice she had for reining it in. Do I eventually tell her to pick or does it all fall into place at some point??

Stephanie, a mother who raised six active children (and is herself the oldest of 11) said that she felt by trying more sports and participating in more things - these children become more well rounded and are able to make a better more informed decision on what they'd like to focus on later in life. She personally felt that this was better than one child playing one sport from a very young age and not having the opportunity to try any others.

I like that.

I also highlighted this quote in my scribbles on how she encouraged her children through the tougher spots:

"I know what you're doing, it's hard - but we're going to get through this together."

I love that.
It's not easy being a kid these days, and I think it's important to remind our kids that we know it's hard and we are here for them. Always.

During this call, we also had the chance to learn more about Gatorade and ask questions. We asked a lot of questions and I'd like to share just a bit of what I learned. But first - did you know that Gatorade has a site for the Sports Mom? I know, right? Me either! But they do - and I love this article about the protein packed breakfast....it comes just in time for when Wendy and I have to run our 5K. Better fuel = better output!

I scribbled pages and pages of notes during the call, but what I was most anxious to relate to my family when they got home that afternoon from school and work was the importance of electrolytes, specifically sodium before, during and after exercise. While we are very heavy water drinkers in this house, I had completely overlooked the importance of electrolytes like sodium, potassium and carbs when it comes to exercise.

They're important!

Gatorade shared the results of extensive studies between those who had just drank water before racing/competing...and those who had the proper carbs and electrolytes by way of Gatorade. The results were conistant straight across the board. Better fuel = better output.

I still believe in the importance of water, but I now know that the competitor and athlete need more.

A few other items that were brought up and shared before I wrap this up....

Several people asked if Gatorade would consider making a line without artificial dyes, and they responded that they already do. Their G Series Natural line is available exclusively at Whole Foods in select markets.

Another question that came up (let me flip my notes to the right page.....) was would they consider making their drinks without high fructose corn syrup, to which they responded that they have been making them without since the beginning of 2010.

I learned a lot.

As part of sharing what I learned, I also have the honor of being able to share with you a chance to win a $100 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods!

Official Rules:

No Duplicate Comments

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt in this post


2. Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tween in a comment on this post.


3. Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post.


4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.


5. The official sweepstakes dates: 6/1/11 - 6/30/11

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by email.

You'll have 72 hours to respond to that email, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Official Rules are available here.

Check the Round-up Page for more chances to win.

Sheets on the line, GE's ecomagination Challenge and a giveaway

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and GE.

Anyone else anxious for warmer temperatures, blue skies….and clothes on the line?

Me! Me! Me! Me!!

But I did put this last few week's cold temperatures to work too.

One of my favorite household chores, if there is such a thing, is laundry – and I’ve been saving energy this way ever since we were married 18 ½ years ago. It’s great for the clothes too, they last so much longer. Believe it or not, we’re still using the towels we got for wedding gifts, and they don’t show much wear at all. I’ll wager they still have another 20 years in them if I keep drying them on the line instead of in the dryer.

And last week, the below zero temperatures were perfect for drying the rugs and jeans quickly over the heater vents.

I like to line dry everything all year long. Only when I fall behind do I put the whites through the dryer. Or those few weeks in the fall and spring when it's too cold to hang things outside, but the heat doesn't kick on enough inside - I've been known to use my dryer then. Like this week. But we're not complaining. I was loving those high 40 degree temps this last couple days! My windows were open!

I'm hopeful for sheets on the line outside by early next week.

This all goes well with the ecomagination Challenge: Powering Your Home that GE is currently hosting. It's an open call for fresh thinking on eco-home technology and innovations that can effectively harness renewable energy for the home. I know I have a lot of creative, clever and efficient readers that have some great ideas to share. Now's the time!

I've been known to call myself the manager of our home, as I often liken the process of running it to the job I had managing a store years ago. So much of what we do as managers of our home is finding ways to make it run more smoothly. This challenge is about sharing those ideas on a larger scale. Make a difference!

Back to my own little part, to keep up with the laundry and be able to dry things on the racks – I do two loads per day (but not on Sunday) I dry shirts on hangers in the laundry, pants on the drying rack in the upstairs bathroom, hand towels and the little boy’s trousers on the mitten drying rack (aka: IKEA kitchen towel drying rack – and those dry on there swell too), and I have another mitten drying rack in the form of a cord hanging from the ceiling that I clip the freshly washed dishrags to.

Another bonus is that it all helps add just a little more moisture into our dry winters and helps us cut the energy on our humidifier.

Love that!

Along with the GE ecomagination Challenge, I also have a giveaway that I know you'll like......

Giveaway Dates: 2/15 - 2/28/2011

Prize: Two $50 GE energy smart LED light bulbs that last 20 years and saves you $85 in energy cost. One given away per week of contest length.

How to win: Share with me what your energy use challenges at home are.

Rules:

• No duplicate comments


• You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post


2. Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post


3. Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post


4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

• This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older


• Winners will be selected via random draw and will be notified by e-mail


• You'll have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.


• The official rules are available here: Visit the Official Rules

Visit the Exclusive Offers section

The small changes we're making at home like unplugging unused appliances, washing clothes in cold water, hanging our sheets on the line and carpooling will make a world of difference in the future.