Birthdays are a big deal to me. It is the one special day that is all your own. But for the last couple years my birthday has taken a backseat to the overwhelming duties of mothering two small children. This year was different though. We did nothing extraordinary yet it was one of my most magical birthdays ever. Here are a few of the highlights…

My husband played hookie and we bought new landscaping. Woo-hoo! Party time.

Buddha had been sitting there for too long between some long dead Fox Tail Palms. He is much happier now.

Best birthday card ever. They were tripping over themselves with excitement just to hand me my card. So sweet.

Can you guess who gave me this card? There was a more sentimental one too but I’ll keep that private.

TT and Gray (and mommy) made my cake. Strawberry Cream Cheese Delight.

Just the four of us sat around the table. They sang a choppy and quite pitchy version of the ‘Happy Birthday’ song but lovely nonetheless.

Here is what was left of the cake this morning. Tiny people with forks can really butcher a cake.

My 33rd year got off to a great start.

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment

Name: Anna Torrens Armstrong

Kids: Jack (2 years old)

Occupation: Part-time faculty in Public health and Health Education for Davenport University, part-time spin instructor for Washington Sports Club, and part-time looking for a full-time job. But most importantly I am a mama to Jack and a wife and friend to Bradley.

Hometown: Tampa, FL (but I am currently a military vagabond…husband is active-duty Air Force Officer and we are gearing up for our third move in three years). We are currently in Northern VA.

H&H Interview with Anna:

1. What are the top 3 items in your grocery cart?

Milk (two types…Lactaid for the little guy, Fat-Free for us old folks), the makings for guacamole, and greek yogurt.

2. What are you reading (honestly)?

A textbook…National Academy of Sports Medicine’s Essentials of Personal Fitness Training. I have a sick obsession with learning and the military provides a great program for spouses to receive continuing education, so I though, “what the heck?” and will be taking my PT exam in a few weeks.

3. What is your guilty pleasure when you get a break from the kids?

We all spend most of our time together as a family. However, our upcoming guilty pleasure is going to the Black Crowes concert in DC in a few weeks.

4. What would we be surprised to find in your purse?

dental floss, a ziploc of washable crayons, and depending on the day, some random food item (fruit snacks, granola bar, or perhaps goldfish…or shish as Jack calls them).

5. What is your favorite reality TV show?

It’s a toss up between Hoarders or Anthony Boudain (but if you ask the Bradley he would say anything that might qualify for a Circus Freak Show…thanks to TLC).

6. What is your cocktail of choice?

Dirty Martini (gin…shaken…extra olives)

7. What is the funniest thing your kids have said or done lately?

Wow. Yesterday he said with all of his cute little thinking pauses, “mama…God…made…sun…beautiful. God happy. Mama…happy. Papa…happy…Jack…happy.” I guess not so funny, but sweet. Funny is when he puts on his new cowboy hat and says, “Howdy Howdy Howdy” imitating the shark from Toy Story 1 who hijacks Woody’s hat. Yes…we’ve seen it multiple times.

8. What is your favorite quotation?

The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn like fabulous roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes ‘Awww!”

Jack Kerouac, On the Road

9. What are you currently working out to on your iPod?

Tool, Audioslave, Foo Fighters, Black Crowes, a little Canned Heat, a bit of AC/DC and some Black Sabbath (I’m a big rock and roll fan…although I listen to everything else as well).

10. Who is your favorite celebrity mom and why?

I don’t follow celebrities much. Hmmm. Nope.. no one pops into mind.

11. What is something most people don’t know about you?

I was a competitive figure and speed skater from ages 3-7 (no, I’m not kidding) and I was an extra in a movie with Ray Liotta and Joseph Fiennes (in a bathing suit no less…I got about 30 seconds screen time).

12. What is your secret to staying Hot & Healthy?

My workout is part of my daily routine and our family life…I work out hard and am not scared of muscle. I look at my fitness as a way to make me better in the day-to-day functional activities of my life (i.e., carrying a toddler, groceries, gym bag, etc. up two flights of stairs). I lift heavy weights, run, bike and teach spin. I eat healthy, but if I want something not so healthy, I eat it. And number one is being silly….we are silly people, a silly family and it keeps us grounded and laughing.

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment

by Alexis Novak

You know how it is smart to avoid politics and religion discussions when in mixed company? I would like to add minivans to the don’t-even-go-there list. In the last year I’ve discovered how vehemently parents feel on both sides of the minivan debate. Since when did the choice to minivan or not to minivan become a debate anyway?

As I currently research my next vehicle purchase, I am getting a lot of push-back from my husband when I’ve confessed my minivan yearnings. My brother attempted to translate. He explained to me that to men a minivan equates to the “death of youth”. My cousin’s husband’s concurs and his motto is that driving a mom mobile means “you’ve completely given up on yourself”.  As my lease runs out on my Jeep in 30 days, my husband is furiously searching the internet for an SUV or crossover that can do all that a minivan can on the inside and not look like one on the outside. I wished him luck! I had already come to the conclusion that a decent alternative doesn’t exist unless you want to drive a living-room sized SUV and break your back lifting the kids up, in and out of it.

I can’t help but think all this anit-minivanism stems from the Toyota Sienna’s commercials.

Toyota’s marketing of the Sienna, a.k.a., “swagger wagon”, has attempted to sell that “parents driving minivans are actually pretty cool”, or looking a little deeper they say, “we know minivans aren’t really cool but our keen sense of humor wasn’t destroyed by the children and we still know how to laugh at ourselves”. (I can agree with the latter.) I think these ads back-fired and left some parents saying, shut up Toyota, they are not cool no matter how hard we are laughing at the ads of parents rapping in front of their pimped-out Sienna. They polarized the parenting set.

But a minivan is a minivan is a minivan, right? There must be something more as two dear friends of mine admitted they both cried the day they bought theirs home. For me, driving a mom mobile doesn’t attack my dwindling coolness since my self-proclaimed coolness these days is most directly connected to being a mom. Are minivans sexy? No. Practical and safe? Hell yes. For the current phase in my life, the practical wins out.

Am I a tad worried that my minivan will make my butt look big? Of course. But then there is the IPod doc, the DVD player, the remote controlled doors, and the seven different seat formations to alleviate my concern. I could also crank Notorious B.I.G. with the windows down and cruise my ‘hood on the days I am feeling more soccer-mom than hipster.

I am no Women’s Studies major but I believe men hate swagger wagons because a minivan is like a giant womb on wheels and we all know how they feel about being called a vajayjay. The delicious irony is that they are not the primary drivers of the metal, 6,000-pound womb. The moms are. So the mom vote, and in this house, mine, should count twice. No womb left behind.

Next month, look for me driving a black minivan around with orange flames licking up the sides. I find it cool to embrace my current reality. The sexy red corvette will just have to wait.

*EDITOR’S NOTE*  Are you a hot minivan mama?  H&H would like to feature you!  Send in a photo of you and your van with the answers to these questions to lea@hotandhealthymom.com:

1. Your name and of course, your minivan’s name and year of conversion

2. The funniest or most surprising item found in your minivan?

3. If money weren’t an issue, what’s your dream car?

Written by Alexis Novak • Leave a comment

One of the most valuable lessons my parents taught me was the importance of daily exercise. Whether it was me and mom doing old school exercise tapes or taking evening walks with dad, one thing was certain – we were always active. Because my family was not big on the sit down dinner we opted to share our days events during these moments. We would have spirited family debates while hoofing it through the neighborhood instead of over heaping bowls of pasta. It worked for us. Most importantly, though, I grew up understanding both the physical and emotional benefits of an active lifestyle and have made it a priority in my own family.

Here are a few ways to get and keep your family moving:

Step 1

Make exercise a way of life. Turning exercise into an adult chore will make it seem less desirable to your kids. This is why you should make exercise a simple daily routine. Introduce your kids to exercise when they are still infants by running with them in their strollers. As they grow up, let them dig in the garden with you and dance around the house when you are cleaning up together. Make family after-dinner walks a nightly routine. Take weekend morning swims and bike rides.

Step 2

Make exercise natural. The desire to play and run around is an inherent trait in children, so it will be easy to encourage play that also happens to get them moving. Instead of getting them only board games, train sets and dolls, get them active toys like balls, rollerblades, bikes, jump ropes, hula hoops and dancing games. When they are outside playing, routinely join in on the fun and games so that they feel encouraged by and connected to their parents.

Step 3

Make exercise a learning mechanism and social outlet. Enroll them in their favorite active classes or sports teams. Kids as young as two years old can usually start taking lessons like gymnastics and basic dance. Older kids are also able to participate in a vast array of sports with children their own age. Help them practice by pitching and catching, spotting them when they do somersaults and having a “dance off” with your own silly moves.

Source: livestrong.com

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment