In an effort to get myself fit and serene, I've been attempting to include a short yoga workout while the kids are in school. Since I can't get my youngest to play nicely and quietly while I stretch, I've invested in some DVDs that are aimed at children, which I figure we can do together. It's not as peaceful as all the New Age gongs and stuff that you get on grown up DVDs, but I'm telling you, we are having a blast.

Yoga For Kids is the set we have, and they are really fun to do.

First of all, there is no expectation of perfection. There is room for messing things up royal, and still having fun with it. Then there are animal noises. Heh! Cat-Cow is WAY more fun when you are mooing and meowing. Volcano pose has already been an effective tantrum avoider. And I think I get more joy out of pretending to drive while 'walking' forward on my sit-bones. Honk, honk! Beep!

And then there is the Namaste Song.

Oh, the cuteness. My three-year-old's chubby cheeks bounce as she sings "Mama-Stay! Mama-Stay!" while bobbing in an exaggerated bow towards me. I love that she thinks it's all about me.

And! Then you get the added cuteness of watching little kids chant "om" which also makes bunchy chipmunk cheeks.

A while back, it dawned on me that I'm just not the type of mom who is going to join a gym, put the kids in the day care, and work out daily. It just isn't my style. I need to do workouts that are varied, fun, and often, funny. I need to do something that includes the kids, and fits into my day without an extra stop. The plan is to stop calling it working out, and to treat it like a play date with my family. We have been riding scooters and bikes, having mini-trampoline trick shows, and walking everywhere. It's been fun, and relatively painless. We'll see how it works towards my goal of losing 50 pounds.

I've been invited to create a blog to chronicle my weight-loss attempts for ClubMom - and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to blather on in yet another location. I'll give more details about the new site as it gets closer to launch, but I hope that you'll come check out my daily progress, and share your thoughts and ideas with me as I try to lose these 50 pounds.