Easy DIY Fall Decor (Great Kids Project!)

A terra cotta pot.

Some black paint or a Sharpie.

Fake flowers.

Done.

It's Not You, It's Me....

It's been a while since my last post.

For all the reasons I've been giving you for why my schedule has cut back, it's now grinding to a halt.

It's not that I don't enjoy blogging.
It's not that I don't have fun putting up pictures and writing about the goings-on of my fambly.
It's not that I don't enjoy hearing from you all, and interacting with you through comments and email.

It's not you, it's me.

Work.
6 kids.
Some fluid number that I keep losing track of number of animals.
RAD.
PTSD.
Teenagers.
Cooking.
Cleaning.
Broken appliances.
Broken gates.
Runaway ponies.
Vets.
Farriers.
Doctors.
Dentists.
Orthodontists.
Medicine.
After-school activities.
And more....
      and more......
          and more.......

Sigh.

Anyway, I can't keep up with it anymore. I admit it.

I've got to let the blogging thing go, as much as I hate to.

I won't give it up completely, but I will no longer keep any kind of regular schedule.

It won't be forever. I hope to get back to blogging regularly again someday.

But today is not that day.




Thanks for always being there for me, and for all the support you've always given me! I have the best readers.

You guys really do rock.

Love ya'!

Weight Loss Wednesday

The Weight Loss Wednesday that wasn't.

I didn't go to my meeting last night.

I didn't have it in me. I couldn't do one more trip out; I had met my quota.

Here's how my day went:

Get Bella on the bus.
Take Daniel to school.
Back home.
Take Julie to her day program an hour away.
Back home.
Out to pick up Daniel.
Back home.
Out to pick up Bella.
Back home.
Out to WalMart.
Back home.
Out to drop off Rosie and pick up Julie's friend.
Back home.
Out with Fred to an appointment.
Back home.

I was done. Just done.


You ever have one of those days?







Anyway, that's it for this week. For any of you also on the weight loss path, hope you're doing well. Let me know how things are going for you!

And for anyone just joining in, you can read what I've written on this subject previously right here:


Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10



Till next week, happy weight loss!!






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Captain Phillips

I went with some of the kids to see Captain Phillips last night.

I was very disappointed.

I did not see Phil Phillips ONCE in the whole movie.

There wasn't even any singing.




Image source


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Motivating Kids to be Active

I have a wonderful guest post for you today from the lovely and talented Caitlin Hudson.  Take it away, Caitlin!


Motivating Kids to be Active
A post from Caitlin Hudson

With all the electronic distractions, it seems my kids could be happy never leaving their rooms some days. Just give them an iPad, and they’re good to go. But it’s not good for them to live like that. It’s important that they stay fit and exercise regularly, especially as they get older. Once they become teenagers, their natural resistance will make it even harder to get them to try new routines. Starting while kids are young is the wisest move. But if older kids and teenagers need to get in shape, there are still some good ideas to get them moving.

Monkey see monkey do
An important thing to remember, especially with younger children, is that they learn by example. If you want your kids to lead an active life, you also need to practice what you preach. I try to show my kids that exercising is fun and enjoyable. I make it a fabric of my own life and that rubs off on my family too. On the weekends my husband and I try to make it a family affair. Quality time, family bonding and little sibling rivalry can go a long way. Some of my fondest memories growing up involve playing games outside with my siblings, and I hope to provide my children with the same.

Outdoor activities
When the weather’s reasonable, it’s great to get the kids outside. During the summer and fall, my kids never seem to want to go inside. They will run and play for hours. We love to patronize splash pads and water parks. In the spring and fall, we go hiking. I have found that motivation can go a really long way. A kid who ordinarily would think a walk or a hike is really boring might be more excited with a scavenger hunt of items to find on the trail. You can find great ideas for scavenger hunt ideas. Sports are also a great idea. Not only does it also teach them the importance of teamwork, but being around other kids their age is great for socializing and many times, this is where they make great friends. A little competition plus vigorous exercise can really encourage healthy development.






Screen-time
Motivation can work just as well at home. It just takes the right approach. Kids and teens watch an appalling amount of television, despite expert recommendations that they have no more than two hours of screen time per day. So, I try to maximize that time. Balance balls are fun and work several muscle groups. I incorporate them into my own workouts, but my kids really enjoy bouncing on them while they watch TV.  Otherwise, competition at home is just as good as competition on the field. There are numerous pieces of equipment such as the Wii and Wii Fit that are designed to get families up and moving. The games are fun and improve balance and coordination while burning calories. For a lower-tech approach, I like to have a family calisthenics competition during commercial breaks. The person who does the most pushups, stomach crunches or squats gets to pick a healthy snack for all of us to share.

Let’s face it–we all could do with a little less sitting on the couch and a little more getting up and moving. The best thing I can do for my kids’ health is for me to set a good example. If I stay active and help them understand that exercising is important to me, it will be more important to them. And the work we do as a family to improve our fitness will last them into adulthood.



Author Bio:
Hi all, I'm Caitlin Hudson, a full-time SAHM, nature lover, writer, and health nut! I am in the process of starting my own blog, but in the meantime, Anne has been generous enough to let me contribute to her awesome blog. Today, I'd like to share with you some of my favorite tricks to get younger kids to exercise and be active! If you have any questions feel free to email me at Caitlin.hudson1@gmail.com!




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Weight Loss Wednesday

Yay!

Yay-yay!

That weight I was a little behind on? Got it off this week.

I was down another 2.8 last night, for a total of 31.2.

I attribute it to getting back to my walking. Not only did I not walk when I was sick, I didn't walk much the week after that, either. But I walked 5 or 6 miles on Sunday when I was waiting around for my kids at their jobs, and I'm back to my weekday walks in the park with my friend (Hi Debbie!).

Plus, of course, watching what I eat helps.

It's a bore, but hey, it works.


Anyway, that's it for this week. For any of you also on the weight loss path, hope you're doing well. Let me know how things are going for you!

And for anyone just joining in, you can read what I've written on this subject previously right here:


Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10



Till next week, happy weight loss!!






Throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs? You know the drill by now. Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!

New Job

First day on a new job for Rosie yesterday. She's a ref for the local recreational soccer league. She reffed three games for U5 and U7 teams, so some of the kids were as young as four years old.

Adorable.

Rosie has a whistle and a t-shirt and a giant wrist watch/timer. She feels very special, in a helmet-wearing kind of way.




She loved the little tikes, but already got her first taste of the wrath of the Soccer Mom. There were a couple of shots on goal that the defenders were able to kick out before they crossed that invisible line that represents a score. So Rosie told them to play on, but apparently the parents were none too pleased that little Brandon's and Austin's goals weren't counted.

They'll live.

It was such a drastic change to watch some of the games. Were my kids ever that little? In these games, the coaches were right on the field with the kids. There were no goalies, no off-sides, no throw-ins.

The "language" I hear from my daughter's U17 teammates sounds something like this:

Let it.
Here, here!
Man.
Time, time!
Yeah, yeah!
Cross!
Keeper!

The "language" on these teams comes all from the coaches, and it goes:

Stand up, honey.
Run!
Go the other way!
Where's the ball?
Kick the ball.
No, the other goal.

You know when you're training a puppy, and you want it to learn to come, so you kind of run away from it just to get it to run in your direction? I saw a coach use that method with a five year old yesterday.





Rock on, Rosie!





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Hot Flash

I experienced a bit of a hot flash yesterday, though I haven't had any of those in awhile.

Could it be that the orthopaedist I took James to bore more than a passing resemblance to Denzel Washington??



Image source


Image source


Humminahumminahummina.

Sorry, I guess I should have led with that other part.

The part about James needing to see an orthopaedic surgeon.

See, he broke his hand.  Third metacarpal of his left hand, to be exact.

He was out doing some stupid teenaged boy thing, namely riding dirt bikes with friends, when a tree jumped out in front of him.

When Fred and I saw it last night, we were like, "Yeah, that looks broken. It'll keep till tomorrow morning."

We have been parents of teenagers wayyyyy too long at this point.

Someone needs to remove us from the home.

So anyway, James went in with Fred to the hospital this morning, and got him an xray. Then I picked him up later and took him to see the orthopaedist which Fred had so nice and neatly arranged.

And the guy walks in and starts looking at films and pressing on James' hand and talking about metacarpals, all the while with that sly Denzel grin goin' on.

And every now and then he would look ever at me and ask me a question about the whole thing, and I would just answer,

"Flibberty fork."

And he would say,

"Excuse me?"

And I would be all like,

"Hvzkamenoff."

And he would say something about inflammation and alignment and I would politely nod and say,

"Incandescant" just to sound smart.

Then he kind of chuckled and told me something I'm sure I was supposed to remember about pain meds and ice and elevation and follow-ups, but it's all kind of a blur.


I'm sure James will be just fine.  I don't even think it was his dominant hand or anything.


Meanwhile, I think I'll just go lie down for a bit so I can swoon without fear of falling.


Although maybe if I fell and broke my hand.....



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Weight Loss Wednesday

I had to skip my Weight Watcher's meeting last week due to the minor inconvenience of having my body ravaged by an ungodly flu-like illness.



Image source


So I went last night with dread. I knew I'd gained. After all, I had gone from walking 20 - 25 miles per week to walking 20 - 25 steps a week. My appetite had diminished, true, but when I did feel like eating, gone was the resolve to put together something healthy, like a nice salad. Instead, I grabbed what was quick and easy. Cereal. Some toast. A bagel. Carbs and I became reacquainted. We were like long lost chums sitting down to catch up over a cup of coffee.

I was afraid, very afraid, to step on that scale.

But happy day, happy day, I lost another two pounds!

Total to date: 28.4 pounds down.

I had hoped to lose 30 pounds by the end of September, but I guess I'll have to settle for a week late.

And I can share a lesson learned here: if you're trying to lose some weight, be prepared for illness. Keep some healthy and easy-to-stomach foods on hand such as soup, crackers, and ..... oh I don't even know what else. I'm still thinking of my carbs. I miss them so.



Anyway, that's it for this week. For any of you also on the weight loss path, hope you're doing well. Let me know how things are going for you!

And for anyone just joining in, you can read what I've written on this subject previously right here:


Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9



Till next week, happy weight loss!!



And PS: Don't forget to keep checking out my son's blog. He'll be writing it for one month!




Throw me a vote on Top Mommy Blogs? You know the drill by now. Just click the juggling chick and you've voted. You can vote every day till like, forever.



Thanks!