"It's Wintertime!"

Last night, David looked out the window and said, "Mommy, look! It's Wintertime!" We had our first snowfall that stuck yesterday. Today the kids and I played out in the snow. Rebecca has an obsession with water and loves playing in puddles. She and David decided to pick up handfuls of snow and drop them in the puddles. I'm not sure where kids come up with some of their ideas, but they had lots of fun. Ganon and I think that snow is much more bearable when you have kids to enjoy it with.

David's window on the World

David has loved our big picture window. He gets so excited to see what is going on around us. Sunday, he and Rebecca were watching the neighbors put up their Christmas Decorations in their yard. Here are a few pictures. We moved our couch in front of the window, making it a little more difficult to get a good view, but the change has not stopped the kids from looking out.

Homework Time

Today it is cold and wet outside.  Ganon is home from school, but he and I both have homework to do.  David decided that it was time for him to do his homework, too.  He got out his laptop and typed his name.  Rebecca wanted to join in, so we got her pretend keyboard and mouse out.  They had lots of fun doing homework together.  If only our real homework was fun, too.

Healthy Holidays

So, I went to an Enrichment Activity this week where we were given a few tips about how to eat healthy and lower our stress this holiday season. I thought I would share a few of the ideas.

*Load up on the veggies! -try doubling the vegetables in your recipes, try to make your meals colorful (3-4 different colors on your plate), keep fresh, cut veggies in the fridge for snacks, cook veggies with olive or canola oil because they're better for you

*Lighten the calories where you can. -use low-fat cream cheese, sour cream, skim milk in recipes (you usually can't taste the difference)
-Budget your calories- when you know you're going to a big party or restaurant, eat lighter meals beforehand.
-Watch your liquid calories- the calories in drinks add up faster than you think.

*Cook in Advance. -When you make a meal for your family, double it and put 1/2 in the freezer for another time.
-Make a weekly or monthly meal plan, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Then make a grocery list based on this menu. It will save stress and time and money since you aren't having to go to the store every day. (I personally have found this to be very helpful. I used to use a monthly menu faithfully, but pregnancy food issues has caused some difficulty. I am planning on getting back on the bandwagon by the beginning of next month. If anyone would like to see a copy of my menu for ideas just let me know and I'll email it to you.)

*Make time for Exercise!! -Do fun family activities that encourage movement.
-Ideas include: Walk around the block, turn on music and dance with your kiddos, go sledding With your kids (don't just watch), have a snowball fight, go swimming instead of to a movie, etc.
-Regular Exercise lifts your spirits, gives you more energy, and helps you handle stress better. It also helps you want to eat Healthy food.

*Don't forget to Breathe (I added this one--Ganon always reminds me of this one because I forget it so often)

*Remember the reason that we have this wonderful Holiday Season!!

Look Alikes

I took a couple of pictures of Rebecca recently, and they reminded me of David when he was her age. I looked back through our pictures and found a few of David at the same age. I thought it was fun to see how they look alike...and different.