mom of the month :: deirdre myers

tell me the members of your family: Scott my husband, Peyton Rayne, Holden Grey & Striper my dog
what is or was your career?:: Before I had Peyton I was worked in Retail. I was the store manager for Restoration Hardware. I currently make hair bows out of my home.
how long have you been a member of stroller strides and what has it done for you?:: Ok so I've been a member of stroller strides for 1 1/2? I've met some really great people, got some great advice as well as piece of mind. And let's not forget a smaller waist!
what is something that has surprised you about being a mom?:: Something that's surprised me since I've been a mom is how comfortable and easy it is to discuss the 2 P's (poop & puke) with strangers.
favorite website:: Let me see favorite website, FACEBOOK!!!!
list three current obsessions::Facebook, Shopping & Sons of Anarchy!!!!
what is your child's favorite thing about you or favorite thing that you do?:: If I had to guess I think Peytons favorite thing I do would be singing her favorite songs while dancing and being animated aka Dance party!!!
any tips for other moms out there?:: My advice to all moms is don't forget about You!!! Do something for yourself at least once a month whether that is going out with friends, buying something for yourself, getting your hair or nails done or as simple as a warm bubble bath with lit candles with no interference for at least a half hour. Trust me it'll keep you sane, maybe ;).

target tales from the other side

most of you know how many hours a week i spend in target, and i'm thinking of having a regular weekly target post on this blog.
today, i saw two funny things and they both have to do with dads in target with their children. i just had to share because it's nice to see it happen to them once in awhile.

story number 1. i see a dad, a brand new baby screaming his (or her - hard to tell with the amount of tears flowing) head off in the carseat in the cart, and a small boy walking beside them asking for candy. the dad was totally stressed and muttering under his breath something about "where the hell is mom?!" people were starting to look at him and the crying baby and he was starting to sweat as they paced back and forth by the checkouts. so then i see him bend over and whisper to his son,"can you just yell 'mommy!' really loud so we can find her?" so the boy yells -incredibly loudly- "MOMMY!!" then to save his face, the dad says, "shh, buddy. we'll find her." all calm and collected like he has it together. so, so funny.

story number 2. a dad with his 4 year old daughter in one of those carts that has the infant seat. the 4 year old was in the infant seat in a very precarious position. the dad was holding up a monkey costume saying "oooh, look - a monkey" in this really cheesy over-eager kind of way. she just looked at him with this condescending look and said "it's NOT a princess." he did not want to buy the princess costume and she began to have a fit. i walked away before a child of my own i started to have a fit, considering how we had been there for over an hour and hadn't eaten lunch.
so i'm in the checkout line when i hear this horrible screeching sound. well, lookie here, it was the princess-whose-dad-preferred-monkey-costume girl and she was NOT happy. obviously they hadn't found a princess costume. i hear the dad lean over and say menacingly, "do you want me to call your mother? i'm calling your mother!" so he did. and proceeded to hold up the phone to the tiny little mouth that was releasing insane amounts of noise. that accomplished nothing other than angering the little girl enough to try to climb out of the infant seat. all thirty of the moms in the adjacent checkout lines sucked in a simultaneous breath as we all willed her not to fall out of the cart while the dad, in all his oblivion, complained to the cashier that his daughter wasn't happy with the monkey costume he had picked out.

like i said, nice to see it from the other side sometimes.

"i just need two minutes"

that's what i heard myself telling my little emmie today and i realized how silly it sounded and at the same time how much i really just needed her to give me space for two minutes. just two.
i'm the type of person who, if something is bothering me, i need to deal with it and move on. otherwise, it eats at me and distracts me until i take care of it.
that was background. now to the real story::
today i received an email that bothered me and i needed to deal with it. so of course, that is the precise moment when emmie decided to repeat "mommy, let's go. mommy, can we go now?, mommy let's go NOW!" nothing like trying to solve something bothersome while someone is pulling your pants down and whining incessantly!
so i let out my flustered "emmie!", then immediately calmed myself and got down to her eye level and said, "i just need two minutes. just two emmie, and then we can go, okay?" i realized that other mothers were looking on and i wondered what i looked like to them. did i seem selfish for wanting to text a message on my blackberry when my daughter wanted to leave? did i seem like i was ignoring my child? did i seem calm and nice for trying to explain that i needed time? did they feel sorry for her because she put her head on my lap and just laid there while i texted away? (for LESS than two minutes i might add)
i don't know what they thought, and as i've said before, i hope we mothers don't judge each other based on the tiny little glimpse we have into another mother's life.
i DO know that i wouldn't have handled it any other way. i would much rather "ignore" my child's demands for two minutes of the day and be able to come back to her with my full attention than spend the rest of the day distracted and bothered by the issue that i pushed aside to cater to her whims.
i don't really know what the point is here, but i think it is just another one of those things that underscores the importance of taking time for YOU. take your two minutes, moms. maybe that means dealing with an issue that you need to get out of your head. maybe it means hiding in the bathroom pretending you're sick so you can have a couple minutes free of answering questions. or maybe it means eating a piece of chocolate and reading a magazine in the laundry room while your husband wrestles with the crying baby (just a minute honey, i'm trying to find the other sock!)

survey says...

a few months ago, i sent out a survey to the moms who have expressed interest in stroller strides, but haven't come yet, and to those who haven't been in awhile...
here are some of those survey results along with my responses.

Q:: i haven't been to stroller strides in awhile (or ever) because :

survey says:: most of you said you are on a tight budget. my reply - where else can you get in fantastic shape, meet new moms, hang out with your friends, get advice and support, entertain your children, give your kids a playdate, all for $50 a month?

survey says:: i'm scared my baby will be fussy. my reply : whose baby isn't at some point?! let me know, because i need to have a talk with her!! all the babies fuss a little bit at some point, but the wonderful thing about stroller strides is that we do lots of things to make them happy again. there is always a mom around to rock the stroller or put the binky back in baby's mouth. we sing, we dance, we tickle. if you have a little one, you can use a front carrier to do most of the exercises. don't let your baby be your excuse, moms. your baby should be one of your motivations!

survey says :: classes are during child's naptime. my reply: some kids sleep through class, and if yours isn't one of those, babe's nap schedule will change right when you get used to it, so you can join us sometime down the road!

survey says :: don't want to be hassled about buying a class package or membership. my reply: my belief is that you either love class or you don't, so i'm not going to pressure you to buy a class pass. of course, i'm betting you will love it!

survey says: don't know where classes are. my reply: well, that's simple - visit my stroller strides page to see the schedule

survey says: working during class hours. my reply: there may be weekend or evening classes in the future!

Q: im an interested in stroller strides because:

survey says: i want to get in shape. my reply: then, you've come to the right place! we do cardio, resistance exercises to get stronger, more toned muscles, and we strengthen your core! if you come on a regular basis, you WILL feel and see results!

survey says: i want to meet other moms. my reply: again, you've come to the right place! i think we have some of the best moms around! i love watching how the stroller strides moms welcome new moms and babies, and how we all support each other. we are all in this together!

Q: i am interested in the luna moms club because :

survey says: i actually don't know what luna mom's club is. my reply: stroller strides is proud to partner with LUNA in hosting the LUNA Moms Clubs. all stroller strides locations offer LUNA Moms Clubs. each month, your LUNA Moms Club will host playdates, moms' nights out and activities for you and your family. there is no cost to be part of the LUNA Moms Club. join our meetup group to stay posted on upcoming events

survey says: i want fun playgroups for my child(ren). my reply : you found it! our playgroup captains work hard to find fun, inexpensive activities for the kids to do together and the kids love it!

Q: the thing that would get me to class would be:

survey says: free demo for the public. my reply - if you have a moms group or other group that would like a demo, please let me know - i would love to!

survey says: if my friend would accompany me. my reply: then bring her! the more the merrier! i know it can be scary coming to a group where people know each other already. but we have so many moms on different schedules that in almost every single class there are moms that don't know each other! it's funny how fast you bond over lunges, though! and another bonus - if you refer a friend, you both get $10 off future class purchases, so spread the word!

Q: other suggestions, concerns or comments

A: survey says: consider rotating class locations to member's houses. my reply: it works much better when there are set places and times to meet. mom's have enough to worry about and changing locations frequently just adds to the chaos.

survey says: how about playdates for younger children. my reply: we have many children under 1 year attend many of the playdates. honey child music is great even for babies as young as 5 months old! also, the playdates at parks and even museums are great for any age. as always, you may contact us with any suggestions for playgroups you may have. we love hearing new ideas!

survey says: a different range in the times when playgroups are offered. my reply:: we usually offer some in the mornings and some in the afternoons. we don't offer playgroups during stroller strides class time because so many of the moms attend class.

survey says: i'm intimidated to come to a class where people know each other and may be in much better shape than i am. my reply: we have all different fitness levels in class! the beautiful thing about stroller strides class is that it can be modified to suit your needs. we have some moms that can run half marathons and we have other moms that are challenged enough with walking and not using the resistance bands at all. we have lots of pregnant moms, and a few moms with injuries that we are careful with. i want class to be a great workout for everyone who comes, no matter what their current fitness level is! i have a strict positive body image policy - no negative body talk is allowed, and we don't judge other moms. everyone at class is amazing for getting out of the house and coming to exercise instead of letting excuses get in the way of being a happy, healthy mama!

breast cancer awareness class

hi moms,
don't forget to wear pink to class on tuesday, october 12. i will donate $5 to susan g. komen for the cure for every mom wearing pink!

mom of the month :: cybele schorr

tell me the members of your family: Me, my fabulous husband, Chad, Marlowe and our pooch, Bella = a 3 year old border terrier aka our first child

what is or was your career?:: I was teaching darkroom photography, digital photography and ceramics to middle schoolers at Horace Mann, a private school in Riverdale, NY. I am trained in fine art photography and I am trying to get a portrait business going now and am working out the kinks - my goal is to be fully up and running by next summer - I am currently working on portfolio development. This is my photography site: cybele schorr photography - Eventually, I plan to create a separate portrait site! (In my free time).

how long have you been a member of stroller strides and what has it done for you?:: I started coming over the summer - In June I think. Being active and fit is important to me and I was having trouble fitting it in which was not good. I also REALLY needed some socialization and wanted to meet new people. We are somewhat new to the area and meeting new people can be tough.

what is something that has surprised you about being a mom?:: How much I LOVE my girl. I knew I would love her, but I never knew how it would feel. Also, how fast time goes. I've heard it all my life 'time goes so fast' but I don't think I really understood until I became a mom. I blinked and she's becoming her own person right in front of my eyes!

favorite web site (or a list, if you can't narrow it down to one):: awkward family photos - the name says it all, gawker - very entertaining, facebook - always a good time suck of course, e! online - got to get in some good gossip

3 current obessions ::

super duper rice crispy treats - a layer of chocolate rice crispy treats, a layer of marshmallow fluff, a layer of graham crackers, a layer of melted chocolate, a layer of regular (or chocolate again) rice crispy treats. YUM!

Design sites - brainstorming about decorating and redecorating.

Cooking/baking. I love it and wish I had more time. Always trying to find new recipes for yummy quick(ish) dinners. epicurious.com is a favorite goto.

what is your child's favorite thing about you or favorite thing that you do?:: I'm not sure Marlowe has a favorite thing yet, she's only 8 months, but when I get her out of her crib after a nap or in the morning she gives me the best hug - I guess she likes me ;)

any tips for other moms out there?:: I say relax and enjoy and don't sweat the small stuff. Yeah, sometimes I'm up in the middle of the night but I would not trade my lack of sleep for anything in the whole world!

(belated) mom of the month :: you!

being that we have one day left in september, i figured it's time to post our mom of the month.
(drumroll)... it's all of YOU, moms.
and before you get all huffy and think "what a cop out", just hear what i have to say...

i've been teaching stroller strides for almost two years, i've been sending my children to various schools for 4 years, i've watched moms at hundreds of playgrounds on both coasts, i've seen moms on planes, in grocery stores, at the library, and .... well, you get the picture. so after all of that observation, you want to know what i realized? you rock!

you somehow manage to drag your tired, achy, harried bodies out of bed every day, get your children fed and clothed, pack your survival gear (snacks for the kids), and start exercising by 9:35 each morning. that's pretty awesome.

you push your bodies to do just a few more lunges or squats. you hold that plank for just 5. more. seconds. you entertain your baby for an hour while you tighten those booty cheeks. you sing to your baby, make him or her smile, even when you think your heart is going to beat right out of your chest from too many jumping jacks. you teach your baby that exercising is fun. (just look at all the stroller strides babies doing mountain climbers and squats at home!) you teach your little one that mommy is important, too. (i know it seems crazy little baby in the stroller, but it's true!) you allow yourself to do something for YOU. you give advice and support to the other moms without judgment (i hope!). you push heavy strollers. you push yourselves.

you leave class with a smile and energy, ready to face the rest of the day (which is probably filled with a lot of bum-wiping, crying, temper tantrums, worries and guilt).

know the best part? you come back for more. with a smile. you are all so inspiring and such an awesome group of women. keep up the great work, moms!