Hazardous to Your Health

I wonder sometimes why children don't come with little warning tags. You know, you see them on refrigerators, medicine bottles, cleaners..."May be hazardous to your health..." I thought about this today as I was attempting to exercise. I don't really care to exercise. I can think of a lot more things I would much rather do (like eat or read a book). But it is a necessary evil, especially since having gone through two pregnancies and deliveries...my body has never been the same since. (I am sure I could somehow blame the other two also like all of the eating I did when I was stressed waiting for those adoptions to finalize. :) Anyway, so I am trying to exercise during the day rather than in the dark of the night when my muscles are screaming that they are tired and would rather be in bed. My children are happily playing around the house, making all kinds of messes. Then I turned on the t.v. to start my workout. (I have been working out with my own "personal trainer" on Wii Active; it truly is a workout!) Suddenly I had an audience. They abandoned all toys, all books, etc. and came to watch me "perform". Then they started asking questions like "Why is the sky blue?" as I am trying to exercise. Then the youngest just has to hug my leg. Oh, and the tattling, the non-ending tattling between the girls. All I wanted to do was something healthy for my body. Instead I got distraction after distraction. See, hazardous to my health.

Just in case I haven't built up my case enough, here is a little more evidence...

• Remember my swollen ankle that lasted for weeks? I tripped over a little toy bowl at the bottom of our one stair (that leads to the garage).
• I constantly step on Cheerios.
• I was climbing a little chair to put a gift away out of view when I hit my leg (close to my foot) on the chair. I now have a coffee cup size bruise on my leg. (In case you don't see the connection, the gift was for the kids...)
• My hands are so dry they are almost crackly. That is because I wash my hands all of the time after wiping faces, changing diapers, scrubbing heads, etc.
• I have a cut on my finger (required a Thomas the Tank Engine bandaid) due to the lid of a can of pumpkin when I made pumpkin muffins for the little child who I know LOVES them. (Okay, I have to be honest on that one...I love them too)
• All of the missed sleep due to staying up late to accomplish all of the things I cannot accomplish when little people are still up
• The strained voice from saying all day, "Does that really concern you?" or "Whose shoes are in the middle of the floor?"
• The frostbite (not really but sounds good) from getting out of my nice warm house to drive a few towns over to get out in the frigid temperatures just so my son could see one of his friends in the Nutcracker...again.
• The tired fingers from blogging which is the only way I will ever have any record of what we are doing in our lives (like watching The Nutcracker again)
• The bruises on my forehead from banging my head against the wall as I once again explain why we take showers every day
• The broken heart that we moms have every time our children get hurt from the ugly parts of life
• The sore knees from the constant praying for our children, their little personalities (and quirky traits), and their futures.
• The many colds I have caught thanks to the germs of those little people running around
• The high blood pressure when I look at my just cleaned kitchen floor and see a large puddle of sticky juice from a careless kid
• The strained neck from turning around in the car as we travel to hand dropped items, break up arguments, and explain again that we are NOT there yet.
• The wrinkles on my forehead from wondering if my child will always tell lies with a straight face or ever be able to sit still for more than three minutes apart or from guilt that I can never seem to get it right
• The half brushed hair because I am too busy brushing and fixing the hair of others
• The burns on my hands from the times I had to shut the oven door quickly before curious little fingers touched the hot door
• The overflowing heart from the love that keeps growing and growing and growing

I am sure there are many more but time is limited. Do you have any warnings to add?

Reba