A Not So Fun 4th and Tough Week for Faith

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The other day Faith and I were standing in line at the pharmacy, and someone asked her, "How was your 4th of July?" She responded quite honestly, "Terrible!"  Yes, it was definitely not a very fun 4th. In fact, this whole week has been one challenge after another. The only thing we really did for the 4th was go to Art in the Park in Mandan, which was last Friday. Faith found a new tie-dye t-shirt, and I enjoyed a yummy root beer float.  Art in the Park in Mandan on the 3rd I had actually gone with the goal of getting an Indian taco, but it was so humid, I didn't feel like eating anything hot. Because it was so warm, we only stayed for an hour before heading back to Bismarck. That night, I noticed that Faith seemed uncomfortable in her chair, almost like she was having pain. She told me she needed to get out and lie down. I thought maybe being out in the high humidity had been too much for her or that she was having muscle spasms. After she lay down for a bit...
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Exercising with Faith

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Move over Denise Austin!

About three years ago, on New Year's Day I decided 2007 was the year I was going to start exercising on a regular basis. So, like many others who had made the same resolution, I ran to Wal-Mart and bought the latest exercise DVD. It was a dance/exercise video with Denise Austin. I later purchased her Boot Camp one as well. 

I had no idea at the time I began the exercises that Faith would want to watch the DVDs for entertainment. And really, if you think about, it makes sense. Lot of repetition with lots of counting - just right for kids!

Because Faith has watched them so many times, she pretty much has them memorized. This can be sort of comical like the time she went to preschool and told her speech therapist to squeeze her buttocks. Or like when I took Faith to physical therapy, and she told Jackie she was ready to do her active isolated stretches. Her therapist was pretty impressed!

When Faith isn't in the mood to do her stretches at home, she gets motivated when I pretend to be Denise Austin. I tell her, "You're strong, you're fit, show your power!" She rolls right along with it and while doing a tough hamstring stretch, she yells, "Four seconds left - I'll look great in a bathing suit!"

There are some things she gets a little mixed up, like instead of a "downward facing dog" it's a downward facing doll" which probably makes more sense to her. For the most part though, she's yelling all of the words right along with Denise. She especially likes the "shuffle, shuffle, shuffle, squat and lift" part.

When I am actually exercising along with exercise videos, Faith, not Denise is my biggest cheerleader. "Abs are tight mommy - you're a fat burning furnace!"

Lately, Faith has been asking to watch them again - I think she's trying to tell me something!

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