Life with J, My Innovative One

I was enjoying my morning shower when I heard a knock on the door.

"Yes?"  I heard some mumbling, making it clear that it was my 3-almost-4-yr old on the other side.  "I'm sorry, sweetie.  I can't hear you."  Some more mumbling, then silence.  Deciding that there was no crisis, I continued enjoying my shower.

A few minutes later there was another knock.

"Yes, honey?"  I turned the shower off so I could hear better.

"I did it all by myself."

"What did you do all by yourself?"

"I put chocolate milk in my cup."

"You did?"

"Yes."

At this point, all sorts of images popped up in my mind, but I decided that any catastrophe that was going to take place had already happened, so there was no point in panicking.

When I got out, I thought I would survey the damage.  To my surprise, not a drop had been spilled, and the milk had even been put away.

All the mess that there was - just the chair that he used to get his cup from the cupboard.  :)

I have learned that I have a very independent and innovative son.  Here are some of his recent adventures:

At camp when I didn't get him food when he was hungry.  I think he went for chocolate chip cookies, but couldn't get them.  Seems he decided that a box of Cheerios was a close second.  By the way, when I asked him if he was sleeping, he said, "No, I'm dead."

What I found in the kitchen this morning.  Note the peanut butter lid on the counter, but the lack of the jar.  I went on a search to find this...

It seems that peanut butter tastes great right out of the jar.  I took it away and made him a sandwich instead.

He can also load and play Lego Star Wars on the PS3 all by himself, including choosing levels and characters.  I imagine if we taught him his password for Webkins, he would be able to get on there on his own as well.  He has been known to escape the yard to go across the street to play at the park.  Stools and chairs are tools to reach what others don't feel like getting for him (or in some cases, don't think he should have).

Yes, life is an adventure with him, but I can't think of any reason to have it any other way.  After all, it's this kind of thinking that will take him places.  Look out world...

Being a camp Health Officer is Just Like Being a Mom

1) They only come see you when they want something.
2) A Band-Aid can cure all.
3) By the time you have done what you need to do at mealtime, everyone else has already finished eating.
4) You go to bed every night hoping and praying that there won't be a knock at your door.
5) You know that the moment you close and lock the bathroom door, all hell is going to break loose.

The biggest difference?  There are a lot more kids...

Maybe They Should Have Done the Math First...

This appeared on the sidebar of my Facebook page a couple of times today: "Jennifer Lopez lost 32 lbs. of belly fat in just 1 month by following these 2 simple diet secrets."  Usually I don't even pay any attention to those things, but since it came up at least twice, somehow it stuck in my head.  Then I started doing the math...

I looked up some stats on good ol' J-Lo.  She claims to be 5'6" and 120 pounds.  So let's say she was 160 pounds.  Now the "average" female is 25-31% body fat.  If your body fat percentage is higher than 32%, you are considered overweight (depending on which chart you read).  I've never considered Jennifer Lopez overweight, but let's go with 30%.  (I would sooner think she fits in the "fitness" category, which is under 25%, but we'll be "generous" here.)  30% of 160 is 48 lbs.  This means that she would have had 48 pounds of fat spread out over her entire body.  And at least 32 pound of that was belly fat?  I'm sorry, but I've seen her figure - her fat is NOT focused around her belly.  So now she has 16 pounds of body fat at 128 pounds.  That would put her at 12.5% body fat, which would mean all she had was essential fat.  (Even a female athlete should have at least 13% body fat.)  I've seen pictures, and she looks much healthier than that.

Now if they wrote, "Jennifer Lopez gave birth to twins and between the day they were born and one month after, she lost 32 lbs. from her abdominal area" well, I might believe that.  After all, you lose about 20 pounds just giving birth to one child - within a few hours.  So if you want to do what she did, go get pregnant with twins.

Oh, and by the way, if you want to lose 32 lbs. of body fat, it will take you at least 4 months, and it won't all be from your belly.  But don't worry - you likely don't have 32 lbs. to lose there anyway.