The Active Family

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

I am so, incredibly, thankful today. For my six beautiful blessings from God. For my talented husband who is still the love of my life. For a warm house. For a big dog. For parents who love with their whole hearts and still teach me something new all the time. For babies. For cousins I get see grow up. For aunts, uncles and grandparents who love my children as much as they've always loved me. For laughter. For rainy nights. For sunshine-filled picnics. For chocolate. For God's Word. For friends who provide just what I need when I didn't know that was what I needed. For family who've become friends and friends who've become family. For mud puddles and rubber boots. For unexpected checks in the mail. For first steps and first words. For being someone's sounding board. For warm quick breads. For bananas. For my big wooden dining room table that seems to swell to fit whomever is here. For those who understand. I am so grateful.

Happy Birthday...

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Old Man ;)

Just kidding.

It's John's birthday today. He's working but in between clients and classes we plan to spoil him with (gasp!) chips, hugs and playtime at the park.

those are my sunglasses, by the way. lest you think he really likes them. he thinks they are ugly and he thought he was pretty funny here.

Don't Wait for the New Year

2011-11-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

With the holidays suddenly upon us ( I say suddenly, but just like every other year we had 10 months leading up to them) it seems inevitable that the added holiday pounds will come, also. The great news is that they don't have to. The not-so-great news is that you have to get MORE active to help offset the indulging that comes along with this time of year.  It is said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That being said, it is a little insane to think that this year will be any different if you follow your usual holiday routine. For most that routine will end with the inevitable New Year's resolution to lose weight and get in shape.  Holy Cow, Susan Powter had it all figured out....."STOP THE INSANITY!!"

Changing your holiday routine doesn't have to be (and actually shouldn't be) drastic. Especially if you start now. Launch your pre-emptive strike on holiday weight gain by simply getting MORE active each day and paying a little closer attention to your diet. For everyone, the definition of more will vary. If you currently aren't doing any kind of exercise, get out and walk for 30 minutes a day. Start taking a look at your eating habits and find one or two ways you can improve on them. Every little bit truly does count. Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to completely overhaul your lifestyle in a day. Habits may be hard to break, but they are definitely not impossible to break. Especially if the goal is worth the sacrifice. I'm not saying it's easy by any stretch. But I guarantee that if you start making small changes now, you could make a BIG difference come January 1!!

Good Morning, Good Feelings

2011-11-08T06:15:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I've been doing some yoga in the mornings. I printed, laminated and posted this photo of Sun Salutations in my bathroom, where I stretch each morning before reading a devotional.

Audioyoga.com has a few videos along with a poster you can order. If you haven't done much in the way of yoga these videos will be helpful. They are a bit dated- at least, the lady's outfit is, but hey, what's old is new again I guess, anyway, I suggest not watching this with elementary-aged boys. Just trust me on that one.

If you're looking to order a poster, here's another pretty one.

But we all know I like free- here's another printable image that includes breathing reminders.

This website has a decent explanation of each pose and you can right click on the image (it's red and blue and numbered) to print it.

If you haven't done yoga at all before, I recommend at least doing a video first (a class is even better if possible). Just reading the descriptions can be confusing. I did yoga more when I was pregnant (especially the first few pregnancies) and became familar and comfortable with it then.

This yoga pose is not in my morning routine.

Quiet Moments

2011-11-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

Quiet moments are few and far between around here. Most of the time, that's fine with me. But I recognize that it's healthy to take a few minutes to be still and breathe. Also, as a Christian I know I should be spending time reading my Bible. I put a Bible on my Kindle (b-day pres from Mom and Dad!!). I've read it once. My birthday was in August.

Like I said, quiet moments when I'm awake are few and far between.

I've been getting up 15 minutes before I want to get in the shower in the morning. I tried to use this as my exercise time but it wasn't enough time. My wonderful hubby never said a word until I said yeah, my pants are getting tighter and my headaches are more frequent. So I need to fit some 30 minute blocks of exercise into my schedule. But in the meantime, I'm continuing with my 15 minutes first thing in the morning. I do some yoga and then read a devotional. I've never been consistent with something like this before but it's been a couple of months now and it has a become more of a habit. It helps that I set my cell phone where I have to get out of bed to turn off the alarm.

Steal some moments of quiet time for yourself. During your quiet time, you can stretch, breathe, pray, meditate, read, see how long you can do a wall-sit...

I promise you that a calmer mom (or dad!) leads to a calmer household and happier children.

Let Dr.Oz tell you how to practice some deep breathing. Less than a minute to lower blood pressure!
Tomorrow I will post some links to printable sun salutations, like the one I use in the mornings.

You're It!

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

tag on roller skates would not be a good choice for our family... but yours might really enjoy it!

My kids all love to play tag. Our favorite version is freeze tag with John as "it". There are so many kids now that he can never get them all frozen so he remains the tagger. He thinks this is great fun and great exercise.

I like to be on the kids' team.

I was brainstorming some other versions of tag recently. Remember stuck-in-the-mud? Where you have to crawl under the frozen person. My big boys love to play Ghost in Graveyard when it's dark out (we have some awesome neighbors). It's kind of like reverse Sardines and tag combined. At the playground we play that I am shark and the kids are on a boat (the playground) and I try to eat their feet. So kind of tag.

Any other suggestions for tag-ish games? This cooler weather is perfect for family running games outside to keep warm yet not get overheated.

Are You Lunging?

2011-11-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

This post is geared toward all you hot mamas out there.... well, more toward all you wanna-be hot mamas (like me, hey, it's okay, I'll totally admit that I'd love to have a tight lil tushie and good hair and all that).

Off topic already. And a bit fresh for this blog, sorry.

Okay, so what I want to say is this--

LUNGES.

Yup. Lunges. They are totally fabulous for your legs and your booty. You can do reverse lunges and these little side lunges, too (lateral lunges, I just asked J). I need to do them more. I love it when the kids walk in and join me. 4-yr-old lunges are the cutest.

I read somewhere that Beyonce does 100 lunges, 100 somethings and 100 something elses when she can't get to the gym. I don't remember what the other somethings were but I do remember those lunges.

Sweet picture of a lateral (side) lunge. I totally look like this, matching shoes and all. Really.

Like I said in the beginning, wanna-be hot mama.

English Muffin Mummies, Anyone?

2011-10-26T20:20:00.000-07:00

Last year I made some ugly witch finger cookies that no one really liked. There might be a photo on this blog somewhere. I think they were healthy. I know they had almond slices for fingernails.

This year we've been working on some fun costumes and not much on treats. I may peel some grapes for eyeballs for breakfast.

John took the big boys to a haunted house at T's school last night and touched a bowl of brains. I'm soooo glad that the boys didn't want to- even John was grossed out at the thought of all the germs hanging out on those wet noodles!!

Brain cupcakes from www.familyfun.go.com. Just to inspire you to have your own Halloween food creation story!

Sweet Link For A Craft!

2011-10-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I just saw this great craft on Crafty Crow: Chestnut Flyers I LOVE the Crafty Crow blog- rarely do I actually do an exact project they show but I get lots of ideas for new crafts to make with the kids. Crafty Crow is one of those blogs that shares links to other blogs, not original blog posts. I love that I don't have to search a bunch of blogs and sift through the junk but instead can just search Crafty Crow.

Wow, they should totally have paid me for that cheesy-sounding-but-absolutely-true soundbite.

Anyway, the craft looks fun, simple and will inspire some physical activity! Let me know if you make it! Thanks, Badut for a refreshing fall activity!

Please Hire Hubby!

2011-10-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce that John is officially self-employed! He trains at Full Throttle (any location) and is really enjoying the atmosphere there.

This blog is going to change a bit, too- our original goal was to have a non-profit (Project Playtime) We still LOVE that but it's on the back burner for now because we have a lot going on in our lives right now. You'll see lots of posts about having an active lifestyle. We want to inspire you to live a healthy life, one (fun) moment at a time.

And, while this has never been a blog of can't-believe-my-kid-did-that stories, you'll only hear about stuff our kids want you to hear about. There are some other funny blogs about kids out there, that's just not our thing. Our kids get to read and see everything we post and we never want them to feel embarrassed or that mom/dad can't keep their "secrets". Wouldn't want our posts to prevent future college admissions ;)

If you're interested in guest posting, please let me know! Just click that "contact me" icon and you can e-mail me. We're excited to expand on the variety of posts you read. John's going to post more, too. I know my posts are ENLIGHTENING and AMAZING at ALL times. But there's a possibility of too much of a good thing. Think cookie dough ice cream.

If you have any suggestions for topics you'd like us to cover or pages you'd like us to (more free downloads?), we <3 comments!

What Should We Do This Saturday?

2011-10-19T08:22:00.000-07:00

Our oldest just finished up his first season of tackle football. He's 15 10. Anyway, we let him play and he LOVED it. Boy #2 can't wait to play as well next season. And, of course, baseball season will be here before we know it (sign-ups next month!!! crazy!). In the meantime, I'm looking forward to some fun family activities like apple-picking, pumpkin-patching and leaf-jumping. What's your favorite fall activity?

Stay Tuned....

2011-10-10T21:23:00.000-07:00

Like our new bloggy style? That's not the only change in store...

See Ya, Wouldn't Wanna Be Ya!

2011-09-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

Missing us? I decided to stop blogging- too much other fun stuff goin' on. You can still find John training at Cal Fit.

Now get off the computer and go play!!!

Wordless Wednesday 19

2011-06-22T00:33:00.001-07:00

Happy Daddy Day

2011-06-19T04:00:00.001-07:00

We have a local run happening today (family- friendly and proceeds raised supporting elementary school extracurricular activities!). What a cool thing to do on Father's Day!

Buy Dad an active present and use it today! A new bike, retro roller skates, new running shoes, tennis rackets for the fam, one of those oversize sports games, a croquet set, passes to a swimming pool for the day, a pool!

Best Bet- Refillable BPA-free

2011-06-17T00:39:00.000-07:00

It is so important to stay hydrated. On a daily basis this can be difficult for a lot of us but now that summer is here we are more active and more sweaty. By the time you are thirsty, it's too late! I mean, it's not too late to drink some water but you are already behind. So what I'm trying to say, quite lamely, is to drink water consistently BEFORE you notice that you are thirsty.

And just in case you don't already find public water fountains gross....

Wordless Wednesday 18

2011-06-15T04:00:00.002-07:00

2011-06-13T13:08:00.001-07:00

No more Pyramid, now it's My Plate.

Here's the link to the USDA site: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

I haven't read much feedback on this yet. I didn't have major issues with the Pyramid but I heard a LOT of negative feedback about it. I think they should've stuck with the old Food Groups. Kids understood that. Too late for that now.

There is a Food Groups page on the same site: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/foodgroups/index.html

From what I've seen, schools aren't teaching nutrition anyway. If you are trying to teach your kids about portion size and making choices at meal time, I love this plate. The USDA should've saved some money and just paid Amy (who makes that plate and runs the cute blog). :)

We Didn't

2011-06-09T08:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we didn't make the Top 25 Health & Fitness Blogs on Circle of Moms- but almost all of the top choices were running blogs. So perhaps this wasn't the best contest for us anyway. There was one from a dietician that sounded interested but I couldn't get it to load (http://inspiredrd.com/). I am quite impatient with the internet in that way. There was also a faith-based website I liked (http://www.peak313.com/). And if running is your thing, check out the list and the other blogs. Runners are... their own being sometimes....

;)

Thanks to all who voted! Here are two Top lists we did make:
Top Family Health Blogs
Health & Wellness Blogs To Watch

Wordless Wednesday 17

2011-06-08T03:00:00.000-07:00

2011-06-07T00:36:00.002-07:00

Our Baby is officially a Toddler. I think he had a pretty good birthday:

He loves his "motorcycle"- and so do we. It's one of those bikes that you balance to "ride". Very cool.

He also loves his baseball bat and ball. Really. A Lot.

And his sunglasses and sports bottle from the kids (they also got him a giant ball but I think Rooster was playing with it all morning).

Happy Birthday Big Boy! But you're still Our Baby.

It's Cold Out So I'm Having A WARM Lunch

2011-06-06T12:00:00.003-07:00

Aunt's Homemade Baked Beans (minus the bacon since I don't eat bacon)

Mom's Homemade Mac n Cheese (minus the bread topping so Rooster would eat it)

eating leftovers for lunch today and thinking of how awesome my family is!!!

Wordless Wednesday 16

2011-06-01T01:30:00.002-07:00

Happy Memorial Day

2011-05-30T05:01:00.002-07:00

Every year on this day, we talk about what Memorial Day means to us. John and I also say that we wish we commemorated it somehow, since BBQing and running in the sprinklers just doesn't seem to be enough.

So this year we will attend a local ceremony. Simple start to what I hope is a new family tradition for us.

Even if your family tradition isn't based on anything military, mention to your kids why you have this holiday to spend with them.

Bigger picture stuff.

Who Are We When Everyone's Lookin'...

2011-05-28T22:45:00.001-07:00

This blog has had 26 international page views this week! And 131 from the US. I have never checked our "stats" before but I just did and I am impressed (at least with the international numbers). As you know now from my incessant posting about the Top 25 Contest, I am also a bit competitive. So now that I know about these numbers I want to get them to climb!
What posts do you love the most? Fitness ideas? I don't do many nutrition hints anymore, do you miss those? Family stories? Comment and tell me!