Tuesday, March 20, 2012

this mother kept me up last night

The email I sent to talkingback@Vogue.com at 6am:

  re: April issue, "Weight Watchers"

I was horrified reading "Weight Watchers" in your April issue. Withholding healthy food from a hungry seven-year old is emotional abuse. Not allowing a hungry child to eat salad? green beans? Calling her "fat" and forcing her to watch her brother eat food that she wants, but doesn't get?

Ms. Weiss does not care about childhood obesity, or her daughter's health. She is vain and selfish and wants a skinny little girl to appear beside her in photos. My almost-4 year old has never had sugar, and I've dodged cupcakes at pre-school parties, and completely agree that the food in our schools is a nutritional nightmare. But I bring a banana or unsweetened applesauce for my little girl to enjoy instead of sugary, fat-laden treats. Because her nutrition is the priority, not a DIET.

I hope, for Bea's sake, that the author is pulling a Rush Limbaugh here and just trying to shock us (her mediocre writing certainly isn't going to garner her any attention). And I hope she's saving money for her daughter's therapy and eating disorder treatment.

It is so disappointing to see you glorify this by giving it coverage in your magazine (anorexic models on your pages is one thing; highlighting this emotional abuse of a child is quite another).

Angela Broderick Bedell
Leawood, KS

Remember my sugar-free birthday parties?  My daughter's health is a priority, and I am hell-bent on keeping toxic, sugary, addictive junk away from her.  But I  do it by keeping GOOD food in front of her and dodging the bad stuff.  
I am amazed that a mother would, in the day and age, treat a child this way. 

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Wander Woman

We are blessed with some beautiful weather in Kansas City this week.  And it's inspired some unscheduled down time for this working mama.

Our new True treadmill arrived at 8am Saturday morning, and I'm happy to say I'm batting about 800 -- I've gotten on it for at least two miles every day, most days 4+ miles.   (BTW, this treadmill = the best investment we've ever made!).

All this extra exercise has made my knees and feet and hips HURT and I went for a massage yesterday. 

So all this self-care, paired with extra outdoors time with baby girl, and an unplanned two hour drive with Mr Right, has this woman WAY behind.  

My lawn is ugly.  My house needs some serious organizing.  

We've done exceptionally well with nutrition this week, eating all the chicken we grilled on Sunday, and having lunches with lots of brussel sprouts and spinach.  And Mr Right keeps the kitchen spotless.  

My professional life is excelling, and I'm ahead of 90% of it.  Serious check-marks on the Ta-Da list this week.

The tulips are peeking up out of the ground (I didn't plant those though, Mr Right hired somebody to do it).    We are going to have a beautiful tulip garden amongst a bunch of dead grass.   Nominations for "best home owners" coming soon, I can feel it.  Oh, that lawn.  And I'm tripping over at least three baskets of laundry.

Ah to be wonder woman.  I'd love to feel like Wander Woman.  

Despite all my accomplishments, and this glorious weather, I have to WORK to not feel like a slacker. 
How do you stay mentally ahead of all your "musts?"

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Mama friendly workplace

I just love this.
Kudos to Licia Ronzulli, Italian member of European Parliament, who has been taking her daughter, Victoria, to sessions since she was just one month old.  Previous post here of Licia breastfeeding in Parliament. 

Saturday, March 03, 2012

relevé

The Ballerina Project continues to inspire.



Have you tried the fitness-ballet workout?  They seem to be a really hot class right now.  Here are a few that look interesting:
Balletone
Ballet Barre Workout (a DVD)
Barre Physique

In Kansas City:  Fusion Fitness, Personal Best Pilates, and "Fitness Ballet" at Lifetime Fitness.
In NYC, Physique 57 has been around quite awhile and is still uber popular, and I'd love to try a class at Beyond Barre.

First post about the Ballerina Project here. Support the Ballerina Project at BallerinaProject.com. Photos via BallerinaProject.com