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The Cure for Mom-Brain

6/12/2023

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​By Laura Breksa, Personal Pursuits CouncilMom
NOTE: This is the third in a series of related blog posts -- as we post them, we will link them together. 
The first one is about the first S in the S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym and can be found here.

The second one is about the P in the S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym and can be found here.
Mom-Brain gets a bad reputation -- we've all experienced it: the fog, the stupor, the yearning for more than Sesame Street-level learning! Here at Momivate, we believe in your Mom-Brain -- that motherhood can actually cause you to spark new dendrites by the second, as you look for ways to solve the many mysteries and conundrums inherent in raising children! Here are some ways to set Intellectual goals (that's the 'I' in our S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym) and feed your brain!

INTELLECTUAL

Long car trips and your kids are itty-bitties? Listen to an audio book or podcast on a subject you want to learn about.
 
Learn along with your children at science museums! The hands-on displays aren’t always for little hands. And your enthusiasm for the exhibits will be contagious -- your children will soon catch on that learning is exciting, not a chore!
 
Take an online class. There are many free classes, it will be a great example for your kids to see you taking time to learn, and they can sit on your lap, sit next to you while you are learning, and you can even teach them what you are learning.
 
SEE  https://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses
 
Do you have a friend with children with a skill you want to learn, and she wants to learn something you can do?  Sounds like an excellent skills-swap playdate!
 
If you don’t know how to play an instrument, think outside the box here, I’m not talking about an instrument that you find in an orchestra, or that you must master. Be average on an unusual instrument! The power is in the practice! Learning to play an instrument, "may be one of the best ways to help keep the brain healthy. ‘It engages every major part of the entire nervous system,’ said John Dani, PhD, chair of Neuroscience at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.” (Penn Medicine News, pennmedicine.org/news).
           
Consider:                      Steel Tongue Drum
                                    Musical Spoons
                                    Wish Well Tibetan Singing Bowl
                                    Gecko Travel Cajon
                                    Deekec Zelda Ocarina
                                    Newlam Kalima Thumb Piano
                                    Cuecutie Lyre Harp
                                    LP Vibra-Slap
 
Learn a vocabulary word each day about a subject you are interested in, not something you think you should care about, but what you want to learn. You could even choose to learn a vocabulary word in another language!


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Physical goals are not impossible!

5/29/2023

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By Laura Breksa, Personal Pursuits CouncilMom
NOTE: This is the second in a series of related blog posts -- as we post them, we will link them together. 
The first one is about the first S in the S.P.I.C.E.S. acronym and can be found here.
This is the second, and the third is for the I in S.P.I.C.E.S. : intellectual goals! Read it here.

Let's be honest, motherhood is a challenge to our physical well-being. Whether because we are growing a baby in our womb or we just don't have time to hit the gym, physical goals seem to get knocked off the stove altogether (not just put on the back burner!)

Here's a few ideas, though, to change our mindset about how motherhood COULD become the means by which we get some physical fitness accomplished even amidst meeting the needs of our toddlers or teens.

Remember to check with a health professional before doing any exercises! The following are pointers, not prescriptions!

  • If you're already on the floor with kids, do some yoga or ab work
  • Run around in the park with your kids or race them when you can
  • Use the bars at the park to do some push-ups or use those steps for step work.
  • Turn on some fun, loud music, and dance, especially when things get tense at home.
  • Do the cha-cha or something like it while vacuuming and other chores around the house
  • Squat whenever possible around the home – why bend over to get that bottle off the ground, "Now here we go, just bend those knees keeping your feet hip-width apart, now straight down, that's right - now on the count of three, 1, 2, 3…squat, pick up, stand up slowly, squat, put down the bottle, stand up slowly, squat again, pick up the bottle, slowly stand, give the baby the bottle, your doing great, keep up the good work!"
  • Kegels are perfect while making dinner or waiting to be seated at the restaurant – trust me, Girl, your menopausal able-to-sneeze-in-public self will thank you later. 
  • Refrain from eating what the kids leave on their plates. Just let it go. 
  • If you're helping kids with their homework, you don't have to sit there! Stand, and do strength training with hand weights--which could just be a canned food item from the pantry! (Don't do serious weights more than two times a week)
  • Make healthy food for everybody, with everybody. Involve the children in the planning, preparation, and clean up as much as possible! Their involvement is key to their enjoyment of the meal!
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Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash

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