Work-Out Partner

A little over a year ago I started doing the Biggest Loser work out DVDs. I love them so much, they are short enough so mom's can find the time to work out, but they are tough enough to have you breathless by the end. Last year I was using the Cardio Max video but it was something I could only do after Logan had went to bed. I couldn't do it during his naps because there were chores that had to be done, couldn't do it while he was awake because he didn't understand and would want to crawl or stumble around by my legs and feet. I would get 30 seconds into it and have to give up. So I was content with waiting until bedtime to start my video. After awhile though, you start to think that that's just too late to work out, it's bed time. For about 2-3 months I took a break from my videos and busied my evenings by hanging out with the hubby, reading or doing some cross stitching.

Then Christmas came and I received the new Biggest Loser-Last Chance Work Out DVD. I loved it! So I started at it again after my son went to bed. Then recently I thought I would try it while he was awake, maybe get him involved as well. So I put it on and told him that we're going to work out now. To my surprise the kid is actually very good at it. He loved it. When they're doing jumping jacks he's...well he's trying. But he's laughing and he stays out of my way. When we do push ups, he gets on his hands and knees and bounces. Sometimes he doesn't follow the DVD at all and he'll just twirl in circles. Whatever works!! By the end he's usually over it, luckily I prepare ahead of time and have a snack and water waiting for him on the sidelines. Usually when he's done he'll head that way and play from there, continuing to stay out of my way for the remainder of the video.

The point of this post is to let everyone know that your toddler may enjoy a little work out to0. It's worth a shot. I used to let having him around get in the way of my workout, but I found away to make it enjoyable for him so I can do what I need to do. I dare all you mommy's out there to try it. Couldn't hurt. I also highly recommend the Biggest Loser Last chance workout DVD. It's fantastic. My husband who is pretty fit and can run for days, had a hard time keeping up the first time he did this DVD with us. Also the Cardio Max DVD helped me while I lost 70lbs last year. These DVDs are NO JOKE! And they're pretty cheap too, especially compared to other workout DVDs. Good Luck all!!

- You can purchase these DVDs at Walmart for like 9 or 10 dollars.

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Diaper Shopping - Should it Really Take This Long?

Diapers, diapers, diapers. Why are they so complicated? There are like 50 brands, ranging from all prices, designs, stretch here, leak guards...blah blah blah. Why can't they just say, "Hey, ours works better", and be done with it?! Every time I go to the store to buy diapers, it takes me twenty minutes because I have to look at my favorite brands, then look at the pricing and sales that are going on, then decide which one has more and is it worth it? Is it cheaper if I buy the big box with 46 or if I buy 2 of the smaller ones with 25? Sometimes it's cheaper to buy 2 of the smaller ones. When Logan was in regular diapers it was especially tough because just about any brand would work, so I was comparing prices on the entire aisle. Now he is wearing Pull Ups, and it's been a different experience. We've only found one brand that works great...and no, it's not the cheap one.

When we first made the switch from diapers to pull ups I used my general pricing scale as my purchasing judgement. I bought the Target brand, Up & Up. When Logan wore the Up & Up brand diapers they worked perfectly fine, and they were usually cheaper then the rest. However, their pull ups are a different story, although still cheaper then the leading brands, they don't work quite as well. Logan would wake up every morning soaked. I mean SOAKED!! At first I thought it was him, so I cut off his beverages earlier then usual. But then I noticed we were going through more diapers during the day too. One lil wee wee would make his pants huge. So I started blaming the pull ups. No more Up & Ups for us, time to try something new.

My mom had seen a great deal on Pamper's Easy Ups at Target, where you buy 3 packages, you receive a $5.00 Target gift card. So she bought one for me, one for my sis, and a spare for her house. They were free, so that is always the best! At first they were fine, but he still leaked through pretty easily. I also did not like that you practically had to rip the pull up in half to get it off. The little stickers on the side did not work. Although Pamper's brand did work better for us then the Up & Ups, it still was not working for me. I was beginning to think that all pull-ups were like this and maybe I should switch back to the basic diapers. But I had one more brand that I needed to try before giving up.

Although Huggies is usually one of the more expensive brands, for Pull-Ups, they are the only ones worth buying. Once we've started using Huggies we've had no accidents. His pants don't swell at all, and they have an emblem on the front of the pull-up that fades when the pull-up is wet. The Velcro sides makes it incredibly easy to remove as well.

The fact that I will only purchase Huggies brand Pull-Ups from now on makes my life at Target a little easier now. However, I do still sit and debate with myself which size package is the better buy. At least I'm only comparing prices with one brand now instead of the entire aisle.

Huggies should change their slogan to: Hey, ours work better!

Photo Credit: http://planettran.wordpress.com