Sick workout

In the spirit that I might one day be a fitness professional, I offer you this resistance workout:

Procure a 24-pound or heavier toddler, preferably sick and cranky, and carry said toddler everywhere you go. This includes holding him while you do activities that seemingly require two hands such as making your lunch, doing dishes and going to the bathroom. Repeat every day until the first day of kindergarten.

After a trip to urgent care and an epic 3-hour nap on Sunday, you would have never known he was sick. He terrorized the aisle of Target (had to get wipes for daycare) and entertained customers at Marshall's by telling them he found "Thomas" as I picked up a $5.99 resistance band for my Turbo Fire workouts. He smiled and laughed and had a good ole time.

And the came the night.

As the moon rose big in the sky, so did the terrible pangs of sickness. Fever. Thirst. Crankiness. We were up from 2 to 3:30 a.m., leaving us all a little bit worse for the wear come Monday morning.

I can make do with a cup (or three) of coffee but it seems the only thing that can help Miles is being close to his mama. I know there will be a day when I will miss it but lord have mercy on me, I was not up for the challenge yesterday. It wasn't just the whining or the inability to do things. No. It's the fact that he gets heavy after a while. I am constantly shifting him side to side to help even out the work, sometimes even holding him in front to use the strength of both my arms. It really is a mystery for the ages as to why I can't lift heavier weights for the bicep track during BODYPUMP.

Actually, that last part is a bit of a lie. I have been frustrated that I'm not seeing more gains in bicep weight/strength and did a little "research" as Mark would call it. According to some weight lifting forums, the biceps are a small muscle group (this I knew) and it takes a long time to see even small changes. You have to focus on the percentage of increase in relationship to the size of the muscle group. And that's your lesson of the day.

Of course, I don't think carrying a baby is a true strength workout. You have to work your muscles to fatigue, if not failure, to burn calories and build muscle whether it's high reps and low weights or high weights and fewer reps. However, one can't deny after a day with a sick child that lifting and holding is not work.

Physically and mentally.

Best face forward

The smell. The silky texture. The thin, pink liquid. The elegantly shaped bottle. The black cap.

I can remember everything about the Oil of Olay lotion that my grandma Dupps would wear. To an 8-year-old, it was the epitome of sophistication. I loved to run into her apartment, a huge space in a weathered part of Cincinnati, and grab the bottle off her dresser. A dresser with beautiful glass knobs that I still have today. Grandma would squirt the tiniest amount into my hand, and I would rub it judiciously over my hands and face, taking the time to slowly breathe in the perfumey scent.

Grandma Dupps didn't have a picture-perfect life - she grew up in an orphanage, only made it through the third grade and worked long hours after husband died in his 40s. Money didn't come by easy. I knew that even as a child as I'd sit at her kitchen table and slurp Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup.

And that's why I knew that Oil of Olay had to be a great product. Expensive looking as it was, she made it  a priority in a tight budget.

Oil of Olay has since graduated from that bottle. They have award-winning products that help you look younger, have softer, better smelling skin and present your best face to the world - all at a fraction of department store prices. (Trust me on this - I nearly dropped $60 on an eye serum but finally came to my senses.)

Procter & Gamble, maker of Oil of Olay and a Cincinnati company (hometown pride), has recently launched an eStore so you can explore the fabulous and reliable products without leaving the comfort of your couch. Especially great if you have a sick toddler who won't let you put him down to go to the bathroom much less go shopping.

What is the P&G eStore?

The P&G eStore has been created with shoppers for shoppers to be a premier online retail site with new and better ways to shop online. The eStore strives to inspire confidence in purchasing household and beauty products online, with continual development of new services, features and tools to help customers through their online shopping journey.

It's easy to say, "I'm just going to buy it at the drug store. I have a coupon from Sunday's paper and it's on sale." Which might be true but P&G has its own eCoupons on the site, in addition to mail-in rebates and special offers. It also has a wide selection of goods that your store might not carry or require multiple stops on your Sunday afternoon errands.

If the nail tech doing your pedicure on Saturday said that you looked tired (true story), you can try the Olay Regenerist Microsculpting Cream free with $79 purchase (OLAY79); or the Olay ProX Advanced Cleaning System free with $99 purchase (OLAY99).

In addition, P&G is offering readers and non-readers alike some incentives to check out the store.

• Free shipping with $25 purchase
• 15 percent off first order (use code A9Z-MN5-KY3-ISA)
• Free samples with every order

I am betting the ever frugal Grandma Dupps wouldn't complain about that - and she'd probably make those samples last 6 months while she was at it.

I was compensated for this post but all stories and opinions are my own.