Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Teenagers make you fat

Today we made the trek downtown to see the circus parade.

All 39 seconds of it.

Max was able to see some elephants, and (good news) they didn't eat anyone!

The Children's museum was having a special event with free activities that included face painting, balloon animals, a magic show, cotton candy and popcorn.
The place was packed with moms, strollers, and about a billion kids.

I made an observation that most of these young moms were very skinny. Maybe pushing a double stroller with two small children and keeping track of two more little ones while carrying a diaper bag, and a new baby in a sling gives them a good workout.

Or, they just don't have time to eat.

We also went to the chocolate store, and I was able to get my favorite caramel, chocolate and pecan covered apple.

:0D

On the way home I asked Max what his favorite part of the day was. His answer?

"When we were going on the eskavator, and it also made me falled down and you catched me."

No elephants, no balloons, no popcorn. Apparently Mom saving him from falling down the escalator was the high point of his day.

Fast forward to this evening. It was parent teacher conference at the Jr. High.
We were able to find out that CJ is a good kid, and quiet in class. He seems to be doing really well.

While there, I made another observation. As I looked around at the other parents, I noticed that they were a bit different than the mom's of the toddlers that I had seen earlier in the day.
Let's just say that I felt like I fit in a bit better among the older parents. Most of us were a bit "healthier" looking than the skinny little moms at the children's museum.

My conclusion?

Teenagers make you fat.

21 comments:

Kalynne Pudner said...

You are ABSOLUTELY correct! I cannot believe I didn't make that correlation myself earlier! The year my eldest turned 13, I put on 55 pounds -- no lie.

Now the question is, when they all get to their 20's, does the trend reverse itself? I mean, think about it: most of the old ladies you see are skinny. (And please don't tell me it's because mortality is proportional to obesity.)

Kristina P. said...

Yeah, not unless you are like the meth moms I work with. Delightful!

Jana Nielson said...

Great!!! Now I have an excuse for the baby weight I haven't lost yet (he's 2)......I have a 14 year old!! I'm gonna be fat for a L..o..n..g time!

b. said...

excellent conclusion!

Camille said...

Can I count my husband as a teenager?

LisAway said...

That Max is beyond cute. And now you know that if you're low on cash or energy just take the boy to the nearest mall and help him almost trip at the eskavator and catch him in the nick of time. What a blast. Cute little grateful boy.

Jessica G. said...

Wait...teenagers make you fat? But I don't have any teenagers so what's my excuse? Maybe it's because sometimes I still act like a teenager...

Suburban Correspondent said...

Excellent hypothesis. It bears out well over here, also.

charrette said...

Haha! Then I must be doubly fat, because I have TWO!

charrette said...

Oh --And the saving on the eskavator part? Adorable.

M said...

Crap! I'm totally screwed. In three years, look for a newscast with the woman in Alaska who's too fat to get out of bed.

MamaHen Em said...

I think you might be right. I'm hoping it doesn't sneak up on me as my kids get bigger. Maybe I shouldn't have retired the double stroller quite yet. i didn't know that once I quit pushing it, I was heading into new weight territory!

Carissa(GoodnCrazy) said...

It's TRUE. You have no time for yourself once they get old enough to have tons of homework and all their activities...

You can do yoga with me.

I love max speak. And I've found out too, it's not the elephants or balloons.... it's the elevators and the Hotel pools they remember and love. Oh well.

Jo said...

And crazy, don't forget crazy.

Mum-me said...

Your conclusion doesn't fit in with my observations. I have a teenager, a pre-teen, and four girls under the age of 7. Pushing strollers and chasing littlies never helped me lose a single gram, but I don't think the teenager has made me any fatter either!

My problem is that when I read about your favourite chocolate store I just had to go to the fridge and open some Cadbury's chocolate (and eat it.)

Melissa said...

Oh crap... we are just 3 years away from life with a teenager... wait. Wow... I'd never thought about that before. I will have a teenager in 3 years?! How did that happen??

Unknown said...

Well that makes me feel batter because on Sunday I will officieally have a teenager -- now I can be fat but have a good excuse :)

*MARY* said...

My three year old son LOVES escalators. Every time he sees one we have to go up and down at least 5 times. And I allow this because I'm terrified of him throwing a tantrum in public.

elasticwaistbandlady said...

When my kids were younger we took them to the circus and then shopping at the Galleria afterwards.

My oldest son, 5 at the time, kept telling people about the "giant fags"(flags)we saw. Yeah. That's all he remembered was the giant flags hanging up in the Galleria courtyard area.

Joanna said...

That's so cute! I love it when they think you are the best because you made the owies better.

mommeeof10 said...

He likes escavators? My kids are thrilled by escalators and elevators. We need to get out more? The only building in our town with an elevator, besides our church, is the county hospital. Only adults and physically challenged people are allowed to use the one at the church.