My favorite thing about having days like these is that both kids fall asleep almost instantly!

That alone is enough motivation for me to encourage my kids to be active every day of the week.

That would be the perfect world right?

Well I guess lately I must have felt like I have been living in that perfect world.

I had my annual check up today, and I realized that I need to step it up in the nutrition part of living a healthy life.

Note to self: even healthy food has calories!!

I work out 5-6 days a week, but working out is only 20% of the equation.  Fueling my body with healthy food is the other 80%.  Since it makes up such a huge part of the equation in living a healthy life, it has to be kept in check.

I love reading anything related to fitness and nutrition, and tonight I came across some great weight loss tips from Tina’s blog Carrots ‘n’ Cake that inspired me to do better.

I am committing myself to do better and to focus on keeping my nutrition in check!

This weekend, I am committed to eating healthy and staying active!

Weekend goal:

No aimless snacking!!!

What are some of your weekend goals? 

Have a fabulous and active weekend everyone!

A few weeks ago I posted about the “Let’s Move!” intiative that the First Lady Michelle Obama started. I love the idea and mission behind this initiative, so when I saw the video above today I had to share.

*As a side note, I am not a huge Beyonce fan and her style of dress, but I love this idea of encouraging children to get up and MOVE! Don’t judge me

Life would be much easier that way because I have a little dilemma:

This afternoon my oldest was playing in our backyard with some neighbor girls.

I was watching them play together and noticed that they were not being very nice to him. They took a toy away from him and yelled at him for “taking” it.  He didn’t seem to be too upset about it all, but I was!

Me being the “cool” mom that I am, I hid and yelled out, “Be nice to him!”

After they left him, I called out to Deagan asking if he wanted to go play at a really cool place somewhere else where there would be totally cool things. He just stared at me like he had no idea what I was talking about, and to be honest I really didn’t know either.  I just wanted those mean girls to leave him alone and to be sorry that they weren’t nicer to him! (Who was the adult in this situation again?)

 Good thing my son is only 3 otherwise he might totally hate me right now.

The girls walked away, but came back later to ask if he wanted to play in a really nice way.  They were back on the good list:)

My husband was watching this whole thing and just laughed at me.  ”Who is this woman?” he must have been thinking.

He later asked my son if he liked it when mommy stood up for him. He didn’t have an answer because I don’t think he had any idea what we were talking about.

But this made me think, am I really becoming that mom that hovers over my children and steps in to solve all their problems without them asking for my help?

I want to keep my children from getting hurt, but at the same time I want them to be able to solve their own problems.

I had a friend tonight tell me to use the “life or limb” analogy; if your child is going to get hurt physically, step in, but if not, let him work it out.  Good plan, but hard to follow for me.

How do I let go and not become the helicopter mom though?

]]> http://mommaintraining.com/2011/05/05/sticking-up-for-my-son/feed/ 0 nelsonmg1021 DSC_0007 http://mommaintraining.com/2011/05/05/late-to-bed-early-to-rise/ http://mommaintraining.com/2011/05/05/late-to-bed-early-to-rise/#comments Thu, 05 May 2011 12:00:17 +0000 nelsonmg1021 http://mommaintraining.com/?p=542 Continue reading →]]> My husbands last day of school for his Master’s program is today!!

He has his last final this morning during the time that I normally work, so I took the day off.

I was envisioning sleeping in past 7 since both boys seem to sleep close to 8 every day when I am at work, and since the big brother did not go to bed until 9:30!

Well, they had different plans:

This happens everytime I have the day off, so you would think I would be use to it.

But I’m not.

I am determined to make this a good day since it is my husband’s last day of school!!

I am off to make him some pancakes with freshly milled flour in hopes to keep him full and focused for his final!!

Have a great Thursday everyone!

Just look at the stats: (for 1 cup)

Vitamin K – 1327% RDA (recommended daily allowance)

Vitamin A – 192% RDA

Vitamin C- 88% RDA

Omega-3-10% RDA

Dietary Fiber-20%

Pretty impressive right? This food alone could prevent cancer! Well, probably not, but it is beyond good for you.

I am all about trying foods like this, so I found a recipe for Kale Chips and made them with dinner one night.

Our family verdict: TOTALLY DISGUSTING!

While these are supposedly the greatest food on earth, they have a very strong and bitter taste.  I used cooking spray instead of olive oil when I coated the kale leafs, so that might have been part of the problem. But I was really disappointed with how they turned out because I have heard people raving about these.

I am all for trying these again, but I want to try a different recipe.  If you have a recipe for kale chips that you love or any tips on how to make kale more edible, send them my way.

I am not giving up on kale just yet, but it is going to have to make a pretty big comeback if it wants to become a permanent resident in my kitchen.

Have you ever had kale before? What did you think of it? If you like it, what recipes do you use it in?

HELP ME LIKE KALE!!!

Lame right?

I don’t want my kids to grow up fearing things like I do, but I have begun to see them doing just that!

I have made it my mission as of now to help my children try new things and to not be so afraid all the time!

Even if that means encouraging to try things that scare them.

The funny thing about this video is that right before this he accidentally ran right into that wall around the tennis courts.  He was so afraid to try it again, but I was determined to get a video of him riding this.  Maybe it was just because I always wanted something like this as a kid and I was living vicariously through him?  Either way, I am excited that he gave it one more try!

Are you a timid person by nature? If you have kids, do you find that they are following in your footsteps with that? If so, how do you encourage your kids to to be brave and try new things?

You would think that going to a baseball game in May would mean that one could sit and enjoy the game under the warm evening sun.

Well I guess that is what it would mean if you lived in any area but here.

It was freezing!

It was rainy and windy, and to top it off I forgot to pack the baby a jacket.  It was one of those moments where my husband asked me for the jacket and I assumed he grabbed it when he assumed I grabbed it.  Yea, thats a mom fail moment.  We ended up buying an over priced blanket there to keep him warm.  Thats the price you pay for not being prepared I guess!

We did not stay the whole time, only about 2 innings, but we had been there about 2 hours up to that point and we were just not dressed for the weather. I am sure I looked like such a great mom with both of my boys being way under dressed.

Despite the set backs, and the game delay of about an hour, it was just fun to get out and to spend time as a family and with some friends!

And to eat some ball park food too

Grilled cheese sandwiches make the perfect “go to” meal in our house, but lately I have become a little tired of the same old same old.

This past weekend I decided to do something CRAZY and I put an apple in the middle of the sandwich! Ok, so not totally crazy at all, but it is definitely different.

My mom was my inspiration for this one.  When she was staying with us after I had our baby, she made a grilled cheese sandwich with an apple in the middle and I remember really liking it.  I had totally forgotten all about it until this past weekend, but I was so glad I remembered because this was one tasty little sandwich. I love the sweet and savory flare to this, and I am now thinking of more ways to incorporate this sweet and savory theme into more of my foods.

There is no specific recipe I follow for these little beauties other than to stuff the sandwich with some cheese, lunch meat, and some kind of fruit.

What does your normal grilled cheese look like? Do you like to dip your sandwich into anything like ketchup, soup, etc?

Growing up, we always dipped our grilled cheese sandwiches in ketchup and I carried that with me until I got pregnant with my first. Now the thought of ketchup almost makes me gag sometimes. Sad day!