Running (From?) With the Kids: Family Fitness

I want to raise active kids, not just for physical fitness but for mental fitness as well. I'm not one to over-schedule my boys with lessons and activities during their "free" time, but I think it's good for them to have things to do. It is really obvious when they are bored because they get grumpy, misbehave and fight with each other. What's interesting is that when this happens, it's because I'm too busy with laundry, doing bills, etc. and they are left to occupy themselves.

Sometimes my running buddy is not available to do our early morning runs on the weekend. That means I have to run during the day because I'm too afraid to run at dawn alone. Since my kids are awake,  they want to join me when they see me in my running gear.  That is my "me" time usually, but who can say no to two adorable little boys (especially 3 year-old Buddha who says, "I want to run Mama")? I have to admit Chip is a good sport about it. He tries to avoid running because both of his knees are pretty shot, but he accompanies us on these adventures. The reason being, my kids can only run a very short distance. I want to encourage them, so I bring them along. But once they tucker out, I can leave them behind with Chip and take off and "really" run. I actually get the best of both worlds: family time and me time. Even better, family fitness and burning a few hundred calories. Score!

This past summer I kept the boys fairly occupied with various camps, and I could definitely see a difference in them when they were not in an activity. There were only a couple weeks where they had absolutely nothing going on, but I can definitely say next summer that number will be zero if I can help it. They are happier when they have structure, somewhere to go and something to look forward to. I can't blame them, I was the same way when I was younger, I would get annoyed when I was bored. Of course, with working full-time and parenting two young boys that rarely happens anymore! But I totally get it still. And, there's nothing like getting the kids tired out so that they get a good night's sleep. They are growing boys after all!

Goodbye Summer!

Describes my summer perfectly

 Back to school! Our family enjoyed a fabulous summer. We used our pool a lot, had friends and family over to barbecue, and accomplished small projects around the house. As I mentioned before, it was very busy, which unfortunately seemed to make it fly by. But realistically, it seems these days summers just keep getting shorter! With the kids starting school in mid-August, summer is only 2 months long. It's not like when I was a kid and summer seemed to go on forever, and school didn't start til after Labor Day. Buddha's preschool doesn't start until then, and I am glad although it will be nice when both boys are at the same school and are on the same schedule.

Monkey turned 6 this summer, and we had a small birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese with a few of his school and baseball friends. Buddha really enjoyed the birthday party, I think Chuck E. Cheese is his favorite place to go! Even though our kids really love it there,  Chip and I hate it. The things we do for our kids!

Kick-ass Ninjago cake!

 Our summer highlight - besides my sister's wedding -  was a week of camping. First, a few days on our annual group trip to Lake Don Pedro. It was close to 100*, but we managed to stay cool by boating, jet-skiing and floating in the lake. We stayed on the water as long as possible, since once we were off it was back to the baking camp site. Fortunately we have a trailer, and even better, a generator, so we were able to run our A/C. But in order to hang out with all our friends who could not fit in our trailer, we had to be out in the heat. Really roughing it, I know. It was a wonderful time!

Buddha driving the boat

Monkey getting hauled in a tube. He loved that!

We finished out the rest of the week by taking our first family trip to Yosemite National Park. It was absolutely amazing and we cannot wait to go back! From the enormous trees to the gorgeous waterfalls, there is nothing not to like (unless you have an aversion to dirt). We had a huge camp site there, with plenty of room to run around for the boys. Tons of kids were all over the place riding their bikes. It was like a huge family summer camp. SO FUN. We went on an open air bus tour around the park to see all the sights, went horseback riding, did small walks/hikes, and played in a wide river that bordered our camp. The boys walked across huge logs that had fallen over the river, skipped rocks (their favorite), played hide-and-seek,  got very filthy, and just had good ol' fashioned boy-fun.

Loving his first horseback ride!

The boys played here every afternoon!

S'more please!

Hope to see you soon Yosemite!

We also spent two weekends at different beaches. One weekend we went to Capitola where we met up with friends who also were there for the weekend. We spent time on the beach, had some cocktails and delicious dinners. The kids enjoyed each other's company just as much as the adults. The other weekend we at Sunset State Beach which was absolutely gorgeous. We were all very relaxed and things went smoothly. Our kids LOVE the beach, truly, and they could - and did - stay all day! We ate some great meals, and played Go Fish with our competitive 6 year old card shark each night.

Breathtaking, right?

So while it is so sad that our summer has come to an end, we can honestly say we made the most of it.

Happy Hump Day Friends! Hope your transition "back to school" is a smooth one!

On Fire This Week!

The Boys and their late-night light saber shenanigans

I start my new job tomorrow. I am beyond excited. I was very fortunate to have a week + off between jobs, and I really took advantage of it. I am always seeing small projects around my house that need to be done but never get to them with the hustle and bustle of every day life. Whenever I take time off from work, its usually because we have something planned and there is no time for getting around to projects then either. Holidays here and there are days I fully cherish and look forward to, so no catching up on any nagging items then. Of course, that's my choice. Instead of enjoying myself on the weekend I could commit to...cleaning out my closet or something of that nature but, nope. I'd rather not.

Well, I didn't make it to cleaning my closet this time around either, but I did take time to think about what kind of accessories I need. I am trying to get rid of a large dresser in my room so that I can put a small writing desk in its place, and need to make room in my closet to incorporate the clothes in the dresser. Part of that means cleaning out the top drawer which is filled with a combination of jewelry and important papers. That type of project would probably take me a full day because I'd have to go through each and every paper and item of jewelry to determine what I can get rid of. When I stop by Target this week and get the items I need for my closet, I'll empty out the dresser (easy) and put the contents of the top drawer in a box which will some how make the task seem smaller.

Let's hear about all the great things I accomplished:

Found a place to donate my business suits. I have been saying for a while now I was hoping to find a good place to send my business clothes that I hope I will never have to wear again. I found a great charity called Dress For Success that is exactly what I'm looking for. Really easy, quick search on the internet, but for some reason just never go to it!

Worked out hard every day. No lie. This is how I would live if I didn't work. I was in pure heaven. I did a fitness center/circuit training/treadmill work out, a Body Pump class, a Body Sculpt class, yoga, and TRX. I also managed to get a couple outdoor runs in as well. I am totally sore but I feel amazing.

On a machine at the gym, workin' it!

Had fun with the kids. I got to pick them up from school each day. We went fun places for lunch, I took them to the indoor pool at the Y that has an indoor water slide, we had ice cream, we saw The Lorax, I took Buddha to an open play session at a gymnastics academy while Monkey was in school. We had play dates, we played outside in the court and they rode their scooters, skateboard, rollerblades. I know typically the kids don't get to do these things during the week as their caregivers are more comfortable keeping the kids confined to the house and backyard. So to the boys, this was definitely special!

Lunch time smiles!

Finished The Hunger Games Series. For some reason, I struggled with the last book. But I finally finished. I really enjoyed the first two and tore right through them, and had a hard time getting into the last one until towards the end. The funny thing is I usually read at night in bed and with all this extra working out I've been doing I kept falling asleep when I would attempt to read.

This book was awesome. Couldn't put it down.

Ate well with no regrets. Ok, I usually do this anyway. But this time around I honestly felt I earned everything I ate. We had a great dinner out with our neighborhood friends at a fabulous Vietnamese restaurant  here in town and indulged in dessert too. We took the kids out to a sushi feast at our favorite local joint. I ate ice cream with the kids. I drank some wine. I had a Skinnygirl Margarita or two in the evenings. We had some great meals at home as well - salmon, asparagus and roasted potatoes...pork chops another night...pasta a few times I was alone with the kids....I fit in my requisite green smoothies a few times of course to balance it all out. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but I can assure you it was good!

Nothing Bundt Cakes, mmmmmmmmm!

Filled a photo album with a backlog of pictures. That's right. All of 2011, with the exception of our Disneyland trip in December, fit into one album. So now I'm just going to get one small album just for the Disneyland photos...not nearly as daunting as having a box full of Snapfish envelopes staring at me for months on end.

This bad boy holds 500 photos. It's now full.

Took my baby gear to a new consignment store here in town.  I have been giving away the baby and toddler clothes over time as the kids grow out of things. I kept hanging on to the bigger things: Pack n' Play, co-sleeper, double stroller, and various others *just in case*. Well, I think that ship has sailed. Part of me really wants another child, but I am kind of starting to enjoy the phase my boys are in right now and can't fathom starting over with another baby. If only I was younger and could afford to wait a few years. You know, rest, recover, otherwise known as forgetting how friggin' hard it is to have a baby. But I'm over 4-0 (just a little) and I guess its time to move on.

Reduced a large pile of "important" papers to nearly nothing. I swear, the longer I hang on to stuff that I think I need, the funnier it is when I go through the stack and realize I can now throw it away because its irrelevant. I have the hardest time with the art work the kids bring home. I've started taking photos of most of it because you just can't keep it all.

Picked out new bedding. I've really been needing something new. Something to brighten up my room especially since spring, and eventually summer, are coming. Everything in our room is brown. The walls, our bed frame is black but has a brown suede headboard, our current duvet is white with a dense brown paisley pattern, and our sheets are solid brown. West Elm sent me an email about one of their sales, and I got suckered a great deal on a duvet and sham set that I had been eyeing. Its totally different than what we have and is just the change we need. Now I just need to get new sheets, but that's the easy part.

Dreamy isn't it? Adds some color to our brown room.

Pampered myself. I went with a friend to get pedis and also got my very first shellac on my nails. This is fantastic. It lasts until it grows out and doesn't need to be drilled or filled. I can see myself doing this again for sure! I usually don't get polish on my nails because with small kids my hands constantly seem to be in water and regular polish seems pointless.

Love this!

And lastly, I had my blog header re-done.  What do you think? My fabulous friend Tracey did it. I love it.

So I feel like I made the most of my time off. I am thrilled that I managed to accomplish things I've needed to do, as well as enjoy myself and my family. I am totally ready for my first day at my new job tomorrow. BRING IT!

Bring On The Holidays!

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 Aaah, the days of summer have officially passed.  The cold weather has arrived and is here to stay...which means, no more coming down to breakfast in short sleeve pj's to eat fruit and read my email with the sun streaming through the window. No, when the weather turns, it means the holidays are nearly upon us and my mindset totally changes. There are so many things that I look forward to when Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the horizon. After the Halloween decorations are packed away, I start getting really....nesty. Nesty to me means, wanting to be home all the time. Wanting to be warm. Wanting to eat delicious, heavier foods in the company of my family and loved ones. How do I settle in at this time of year?


First of all, I have to admit I am a sucker for the RED CUP. What red cup might you ask? The red cup which may contain an eggnog latte, or a white chocolate peppermint mocha depending on my mood. You know the one...

That's right. Starbucks has totally made me a sucker.

I am not one of those people that is cold all the time. But around this time of year, I find myself starting my day and ending my evening with a nice fire. We have a gas fireplace, which doesn't have the nice smell or give off quite the heat of a wood-burning fire. It sure does have a lot of the charm, and less of the mess. I just want to sink into my couch and never get up. Wouldn't you??

During the winter, I get super excited about cooking for the holidays. Fortunately my family helps out a lot. We don't always have the same thing every year, but there are things I surely look forward to consuming on either Thanksgiving or Christmas. My favorites are: Honeybaked Ham, Mom's mashed potatoes, Mom's yams, my green bean casserole (no creamed soups are harmed during the making of this casserole) and my Grandpa's tamales. The years we have tamales are fun. Because they are so much work, we all get together to help. And, we enjoy them like we won't have them again any time soon, because, well...we won't. 

They look so harmless, but so bloody time-consuming

Beyond special holiday meals, I just get really into cooking and domesticity in general. Out comes the crock pot this time of year! I love making hearty stews, soups and do a lot of baking. We deck out our house in lights outside, and the inside of our home is a winter wonderland.

Probably the thing I love the MOST about the holidays is the extra time off I get to spend with my family, especially with my boys. They are growing up so incredibly fast, and nothing makes me happier than enjoying lazy, cozy days with them. 

They look so innocent but they are a handful!

My kids have 4 full days off in November, and a slew of minimum days. December has about 2 weeks off from school...and in between all that this year we are doing a 3 day trip to Disneyland. Have you ever been to Disneyland around Christmas time? My family just loves all the decorations, and they have the best parade. We realize we are fortunate to live in the same state and its more convenient for us to go than for others. It's still a big trip for us but with kids our age, its so worth seeing their eyes light up. 

The Castle At Night

What holiday comforts do you enjoy most? Do you get really into it and go all out with decorations and cooking or are you ho hum about it and content to enjoy those things in other people's homes where you don't have to unpack, put up, and take down decorations?
 

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