Healthy Wealthy Living

10 minutes and a jump rope by: Lara Harrington, ISSA, ACSM Fitting in exercise so you can fit into your pants... It’s really not as elusive as it may seem. My life motto: “10 minutes will rock your world”. Whether its 10 minutes taken to focus on your breath, 10 minutes to sit and enjoy your morning coffee, or 10 minutes to exercise - you can reap huge rewards from taking just 10 minutes to focus on you; your mind and your body. I first discovered the wonderful world of ‘short’ workouts after my daughter was born. I was on maternity leave and the pressure was on to return to work (as a personal trainer) in outstanding shape. I wanted more than anything to demonstrate that it is possible to look and feel great after childbirth - right after childbirth, not 3 years later;)  My saving grace? A $5 jumprope I bought at Target. Every second I got, I hit the rope. If Margot (my daughter) fell asleep...jump rope. Waiting for food to heat up in the microwave...jump rope. Taking the bab...

You know the drill. You put your child to bed, tuck him/her in, say goodnight, leave the room, then called back in to check under the bed for "monsters".  You check under the bed, in the closet but no monster. Your little one swears it is there. How do you convince your very imaginative child that the very scary monster is not there? I recently stumbled upon an awesome, interactive storybook, Matthew's Monsters by Stephanie Sisler. I'm so glad I did! The story is about a 6 year old freckled little boy, Matthew and his quest to find the five scary monsters he keeps imagining.  This 31 page book is now one of my daughter's favorites. Not only does it tell a story, but it teaches colors and color word recognition, counting and has pages that your child can finish coloring in. Matthew's Monster s ends with Matthew realizing that the noises in fact were not at all what he imagined. A message that your child is sure to find comforting. I have never recom...