Friday, March 22, 2013

Post Spring Break

Well the kids had a great time on Spring break with their grandparents. They did lots of fun stuff like go to the San Jacinto Monument......

 
....and the Battleship Texas......

 
and they even went to the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo where they saw Jake Owen in concert.
 
All in all, I think they had a pretty good time.
 
Then when they got home, Addison and Abigail had decided to switch bedrooms. So my once clean house turned into this......
 
 
Those are bags and bags of  clothes and toys that they've outgrown, and that toy box is full of shoes and backpacks that they've outgrown. On the bright side, though, look at how much less stuff there is crammed in every available spot in their rooms. The rooms look so much bigger without all of this stuff in them.
 
That's how they spent the remainder of their weekend. Just getting settled into their new rooms.
 
On Tuesday night we had the pleasure of attending the National Junior Honor Society induction ceremony where Kirsten and Abigail became new members. We're very proud of them and their achievement!
 

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Guest Post on Diabetes Prevention

Since the kids are on Spring Break this week, they have gone to spend their time off with their grandparents. That leaves me with not a lot to talk about. But fear not, I have a guest post from Carolyn at Full on Fit. She's going to talk to us a little bit about diabetes prevention for our kids.

Take it away Carolyn:



Encourage Type II Diabetes Prevention All Year Long


Only a few short months ago, one of my youngest cousins was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.  We were shocked and scared when we found out, but this quickly turned into a great desire for our family to start working together to become healthier in order to beat diabetes, and prevent anyone else in our family from developing it.

 

Talking to different doctors, I found out that Type 2 has many serious consequences. Information from Syracuse’s St. Joseph’s Cardiac Hospital   points out that one type of serious consequence is heart disease. As February was National Heart Month, and we are now getting closer to nice summer weather, what better time is there than now to start working with your family to develop healthy habits for life? Here are some things to consider:

 

Nutrition Tips

1. Make Smoothies to Get Recommended Daily Allowance of Fruits and Vegetables

Smoothies are a great way to get kids to eat enough fruits and veggies. They can be used for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert! Furthermore, if your kids are resistant to eating fruits and vegetables, make them  smoothie that combines both, but tastes delicious!


2. Avoid Eating Refined Sugars

Refined sugars are empty calories and lack any natural minerals that actually come from the cane. While many recipes call for sugar, you can use substitute products such as honey, or use a substitute sugar product.

 

Here’s a great banana bread recipe we like to use that uses sugar substitute:


- Combine 2 cups of whole wheat, oat, rice, or chick pea flour, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt in a large bowl

- In another bowl, mix 1 cup of Splenda or Stevia and ¼ cup of margarine with a mixer

- Add 2 eggs, one at a time and blend with a mixer

- Add 3 ripe bananas, 1/3 cup of non-fat plain yogurt, and 1teaspoon of vanilla

- Add the flour mixture and blend until moist. Spoon the mixture into a loaf pan and bake for 1 hour in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

- Let it cool. Enjoy!

3. Incorporate Lean Proteins

Lean meat or vegetable-based proteins are recommended to prevent obesity, which is known to lead to diabetes. Examples of lean protein include quinoa, oatmeal, and white mean chicken, among others.

4. Avoid Junk Food

Junk food is really just that… junk. It’s not natural and therefore has no nutritional value. The more you can avoid it the better. Although it might be hard to quit it altogether, let alone the time it can save, if you plan ahead for meals and snacks with healthy foods you will soon find that the craving you once had for the bad stuff slowly fades away.  Not only will your health be better, you will have more energy and feel better too!

 

Exercise Tips

1. Exercise for 30 Minutes Daily

A great goal would be to push to exercise for 30 minutes per day. Of course, there may be days where this just doesn’t happen, but the most important thing is to at least get 4 days in of this kind of exercise. Whether it’s a full-out run during the day, to walking on the treadmill while dinner is in the oven – whatever it is, push for regular exercise as much as possible.

 

2. Get Active as a Family

The more you exercise as a family, the healthier you all will be and the more you will be sending the message to your kids that exercise is an important part of daily life. If you push them to exercise but don’t do it yourself, they are going to view exercise as a punishment. If you do it together, and make it fun, you are able to instill healthy habits in them they can use their whole lives.

3. Mix Up Your Activities

To keep motivated and interested in exercising, make sure to mix up the kinds of activities that you do. Take turns letting each family member pick the activity of the day. Some great activities my family likes include:

            - hiking in the woods on different trails

            - biking to and in the park

            - rollerblading around the neighborhood

            - skiing and ice skating during the winter months

            - yoga and Pilates in the basement

            - swimming at the local pool or lake


4. Get Kids Involved in Organized Sports

If your kids are interested in playing sports, joining an organized team can be a great way to get them to exercise regularly. In addition, other important life skills can be learned while playing organized sports, such as teamwork, how to lose gracefully, persistence, etc.

 

 

Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well-being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and has been known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out Carolyn’s blog at http://fullonfit.blogspot.com/

 
Thanks so much to Carolyn, and y'all be sure to head over to her blog and check it out for more great information on being fit and a whole lot of other great things.....and tell her I sent you.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Work of Art

Abigail finished this painting of Rocky last night.


And no, he didn't lay still for her to paint him.

I think she did a great job......but, of course, I might be a little biased.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Oh, the madness!!!

OH. MY. GOSH. I started this post a week ago and haven't had the chance to get back to it in order to finish. So, I guess here goes.....a week or so crammed into one post.


We've been going over everything and filling out schedules for next year.


Next year. When they'll be in HIGH SCHOOL!!!!


I can't believe it's already time for this.


I also can't believe how complicated it is. There are options for following on a career path through high school which involves certain classes. There are three different options for curriculum, basic, recommended, and distinguished. There are regular classes, classes that can count as college credit if the test is passed, classes taught on campus by a college professor, and options for correspondence courses that count as both high school and college credit. It's more than a little overwhelming.

On Tuesday night (this was two weeks ago) Rocky (Abigail's dog) jumped the fence as usual, but this time he managed to gash his leg wide open. Of course he did this after office hours so I had to take him to the emergency vet. After several hours they got him all stitched up and awake enough that he could walk to the car and Abigail and I could get him in.

While I was gone doing that, Dax was at a meeting at the Sheriff's Office so had his phone silenced and didn't get my message until some time later. Then, Addison texted me because she wasn't feeling well. She was running a fever and had a sore throat. Of course! These kids are seldom home in the evening by themselves, so of course I wished one of us was home this time.

We did get everything taken care of for Addison and for the dog and both are doing fine.

Then on Wednesday night they had orientation for high school. We went to it, but did leave early so that we could get home and finish dinner and because it had been kind of a long night the night before. Besides, we had already been at orientation for 3 hours when we finally left. I really felt like I had put in my time. lol

Thursdays are always long days with Kirsten and Abigail doing their tutoring in the mornings before school and Addison's Kumon after school.

On Saturday, Addison and I set off on a quest to find white go-go boots for her pageant on Sunday. We didn't find the boots, but I did manage to get lost. But, in the process discovered a whole little area by the lake that I didn't even know was there.

We made do without the boots, and Addison competed in a pageant on Sunday. She won grand supreme. She won a huge crown, a sash, a trophy, and some cash. She was thrilled to say the least.

Okay, I think that gets things caught up.....at least a little.