Disclosure: Diary of a First Time Mom is promoting play through the Procter & Gamble LeapFrog LeapBand Back-to-School offer at Shop ‘n Save. Although I received some of compensation, all opinions remain my own.

Dear Diary,

In the Hopson household, we don’t have a lot of structure (according to my mother!) I’m not considered a homemaker and don’t enjoy cooking and cleaning. I would rather eat out and step over toys on the way out the door. Or trip over the toys, depending on how high the pile is on the floor. Despite this, we have developed some healthy habits. When dining out, we select delicious and nutritious options off of the kids menu. And we get in our power hour–60 minutes of physical activity. Often, I’m watching Caitlynn run around on the playground from the bench, so I still need to work on increasing my movement. Even if Mother Nature rains on our parade, we find somewhere to play. Like last week when it stormed, we stormed to the indoor playground at a local shopping mall to play and get in some back-to-school shopping.

To track our activity, I strapped a Leap Frog LeapBand on Caitlynn’s wrist.  The gadget encourages active play and healthy habits with 50 fun challenges and a free Petathlon Games™ app.

Leap Frog 1

Leap Frog 2

Caitlynn hopped like a kangaroo, wiggled like a worm and leaped like a frog. Each movement built points to unlock more play. We even customized her watch. You can pick one of eight pets, including a unicorn, robot and dragon—and then choose its name and color.

Leap Frog 3

When school starts, we won’t have as much downtime, but I want to make sure our power hour isn’t cut from our schedule. To ensure this, we’ll do the following activities.

Skip

We’ll skip parking near the front door of our apartment complex. We park on the street, so instead of circling the block in search of prime parking, we’ll walk a bit further.

Hop

We’ll hop to the park, which is across the street. There are swings, slides, monkey bars and more. Plus, there’s an open play space near the fountain where Caitlynn can ride her bike.

Leap

When I lived in the Cayman Islands, I ran most mornings. It was a mile from my doorstep to the end of the street. I haven’t ran much since then, unless you count chasing Caitlynn. It’s time to leap into action again! Caitlynn loves to race other kids. As a matter of fact, the day we went to the indoor playground she left another kid in the dust during a game of tag. So, I can burn calories and reduce stress by strapping on my running shoes.

We’ll get a helping hand to hit our wellness checkpoints using our Leap Frog LeapBand.

BTS LeapFrog Pinterest Pin

You can join in on the fitness fun! By purchasing $30 in P&G products, you can receive a Leap Frog LeapBand by mail. You can also enter my contest to win this prize pack! Just comment below, and let us know how your family stays fit. If you live in Pittsburgh, be sure to visit Shop ‘n Save during your back-to-school shopping trips.

P&G Prize Pack

About The Author

Vlog Mom/DFTM Creator

Not long ago, Heather Hopson hosted a television show in the Cayman Islands. Today, she's back home writing a different kind of story as a new mom. In her 15 years working as a professional journalist, this by far is her best assignment! Growing up, she dreamed of becoming Oprah Winfrey. She was the features editor for her school’s newspaper and a teen talk show host for her city’s most popular radio station. She went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Michigan State University. After graduation, she worked as a television producer and reporter at CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates throughout the U.S. Instead of heading to Chicago to join Ms. Winfrey on her set, she bought a plane ticket to the Cayman Islands instead. She arrived five days before a category five hurricane! She lived in paradise for seven years, hosted an award-winning television show and traveled the globe with a government delegation. She also served on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters and spearheaded a Send a Kid to Camp campaign. Then, she relocated to Washington, D.C. to obtain a teaching certification and instruct 8th grade reading at a high needs middle school. She later returned to her hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to raise her daughter Caitlynn, now 4-years-old. During her 10-month-stint as a stay-at-home mom, Caitlynn inspired her to create this blog, and Diary of a First Time Mom was born on Mother’s Day 2012. Two years later, she expanded the family to include 20+ writers. Currently, Heather serves as the communications director at Allies for Children. In addition, she is the owner of Motor Mouth Multimedia, which ranked #49 in Startup Nation’s Home-Based 100 Competition sponsored by Discover Card and Sam’s Club. Recently, The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments selected Heather to receive an Emerging Black Artist award to develop Diary of a First Time Mom.

6 Responses

  2. MJ
    MJ

    Look at your little lady enjoying herself while getting in exercise. So cute. I love that Leap Band. My daughter would love it as she is constantly trying to wear my sports watch when we are out on our walks. She always reminds me to take it so this would be perfect for her.

    Reply
  3. Cynthia

    My boys would love this. Especially, considering they ate always leaping and jumping. I’ll be sure to share this with my mommy support group!

    Reply
  5. Erica

    Hi,

    We like to stay fit as a family by walking the dog twice a day, and going up to highland park and walking around the reservoir.

    Reply
  6. Kristin Goodson

    My family stays fit by going hiking and bike riding. My son loves to explore around town so we end up walking a lot on the weekend. During the summer we do sport camps and go swimming.

    Reply

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