I had a mission today – getting childcare added back onto my gym membership…for free. I currently have my membership on hold until after baby B arrives. When I do get back to the gym, I plan on working out in the afternoons so I don’t have to drag two kiddos to gym daycare and then worry about sickness or getting called out of my workout for something. However, I know I will need the option to bring M and B sometimes. And I don’t want to pay an extra $15/month for the option to bring them.

So, what did I do? I scored a better deal. Here’s my 10 step no-fail process to scoring a better deal at the gym. Note: may not work for everyone. 😉

1. Don’t try to fix up the exhausted look of pregnancy. Pity points count.
2. Fully embrace the “I’m-about-to-pop-so-please-have-mercy-on-me” waddle as you walk into the gym. Pity points count x2.

3. Plan to go at your previous regular time so the membership man knows you.   
4. When membership man asks how you’re doing, spare no detail. 
5. Tell him about the emails you recently received from your old gym wanting you back and that they gave you free childcare. They did. They just did it at a higher membership rate so the cost was actually more. Shhhh…

6. Explain that you don’t want to leave the gym and remind him of your loyal membership since day 1 of its opening. You were even one of the first to sign up!

7. Barter with your sister-in-law’s reduced rate and free childcare. 
8. Listen patiently as membership man waxes poetic about how he’s not supposed to do this, but really doesn’t want to lose you around there. It helps to have 2 instructors come up excited to see you too.

9. Give a smile and a “c’mon!” to membership man…in front of said instructor friends. 10. Score a full membership with childcare for two and free access to the tanning and massage bed privileges for $30/month. Screw the tanning bed…but hydro-massage bed? Don’t mind if I do!

Perhaps my next post should be how to convince your significant other you’re not crazy for wanting him to take pictures of you like the above. Us bloggers are a special breed, aren’t we?

Question of the Evening – What types of deals have you bargained before?

Don’t forget to enter the CSN Stores Giveaway! Ends Monday!

Guess what we did for dinner last night?

Yep. Went to Scalini’s so I could eat some of the famous, labor-inducing eggplant parmesan! I feel kind of silly doing things like this, but when it boils down to it, we had a fun little family outing at worst. And at best, the legend may be true. Plus, when you reach a certain stage of discomfort and deliriously wanting the baby out, you will do anything.

And the food was goooood. It started with one of the best house salads I’ve ever seen in an Italian restaurant.

It included beets, chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, garlic, and a vinegary dressing. As well as some little balls of garlicky, doughy goodness.

And we can’t forget the super-star of the night. THE eggplant parmesan.

It doesn’t look like anything special, but it sure tasted phenomenal. Now let’s see how phenomenal it is at starting labor in 48 hours like it claims. All of these babies made it.

300+ babies! I even had to sign a special book. That way if I do have baby B in 48 hours they can send me a gift certificate and a special onesie for him. I’m not counting on it, but it still made for a fun night.

Guess what else? We should think like dudes. I recently read an article claiming that women would benefit health-wise if they thought or acted more like men in certain situations. These are the ideas from the current issue of Shape on what men do from which us women could learn.

• Men Eat A Real Meal: Women may not eat enough calories in their meals, in an effort to be “good”. Then, they consume extra calories mindlessly in a non-balanced manner. If we ate a real meal, we wouldn’t have the fluctuations in blood sugar or feel the need to overeat.
• Men Don’t Hold In Emotions: Women will hide feelings until they become too much to deal with in a rational manner. Men get it out right away.
• Men Drink Beer: Drinking the manly beer over the girly wine or fruity drink is a smarter choice for health and weight management. Something to do with the bubbles making you drink slower and it being more filling.
• Men Play Team Sports: Even as adults, men more regularly join in on team activities together. Women go their activity alone. The community of a team would provide more enjoyment in the exercise.
• Men Take Risks: Men will more likely do things like ask for a raise or go on an adventurous trip. Women try to take the safer approach in fear of the possible outcomes. Risks would provide us opportunities and help us embrace change.
• Men Don’t Mind Their Bodies: 8 out of 10 men are either indifferent or pleased with what they see in the mirror. Women critique themselves way too much and create a negative body image that can affect other areas of our lives. We need to learn to love what’s in the mirror more.
• Men Don’t Dwell On Things: Men will analytically approach a situation, find the solution, do what they can to resolve it, and move on. Women will emotionally dissect things for an extended amount of time before making any real changes or improving the problem.

Shape presented the ideas above. I guess quite a few of them make sense. Not too sure on the beer over wine thing though. I also know women out there do many of these things too. It still provided an interesting read and something to think about. I certainly can get on board with the notion that, as women, we tend to criticize ourselves way too much and could learn not to focus on the mirror. Personally, I can dwell too much on things in an unproductive way. I also could take more risks to really go for things I want. I certainly do more than I used to, but fear will still hold me back at times.

Question of the Day – What are your thoughts on the “Man List”? Do you agree/disagree with any of the points made?