Because of the ProBlogger/SITS 31 DBBB challenge, I have been exposed to a bunch of fun new blogs.Others listed her are ones that I learned about from Twitter. Either way, they are all funny and you should add them to you reader. Now.
This week's stalkees include:
Mama's Losin' It - Home of the famous Mama Kat's Writing Workshop, which I may partake in soon...
I'll stalk some new peeps next week. Enjoy the weekend all!!!
Does your family sit down to the dinner
table each night? Several nights a week? Never?
Family dinners are one of the most important factors to a kid's success in school and in life (Time Magazine even says so!). However, if you arent used to sitting down to the dinner table each night, that can be a daunting prospect. Here are a few tips to ease the stress and increase the fun.
Aim for at least 4-5 family dinners a week.
Even if you are busy with work and sports practices, find a way for everyone to eat at the table more often than not. You may have to adjust your diner time (when I was growing up, my brother had football practice in the evenings, so we ate dinner at 4 and then had a snack after practice). Be willing to do things a little differently to make it work.
Conversation is key.
Depending on the age of your kids, this may be tougher than getting everyone to the table. It is vital that families communicate with each other. This is the perfect opportunity to ask how things are at school, how friends are doing and getting a recap of the day.
Tell me three.
Have everyone at the table share three things about their day. This prevents the “How was your day?” “Fine.” conversation. Even toddlers can tell what they did over the day with a little prompting. If you have older kids (read: teens), remember not to judge what they say. If they say something that needs to be discussed further, do it later. If you question it at the table, they may see it as a challenge or harassment and then shut down.
Tell a joke.
Another way to encourage conversation is to tell a joke. It doesn't have to be great (my seven year old insists on telling made up knock knock jokes), but if it even gets a groan, that's ok. If you have younger kids, help them out by looking up and then teaching them a joke that they can tell at the table.
Everyone's stuck with cleanup duty.
I hate cleaning up after dinner. It's one of those tasks that ranks up there with hand washing dishes. To make this task less painful, we assign everyone a job to make it go quicker and you can do the same. Toddlers can clear silverwear and throw napkins away. Older kids can load the dishwasher and clean counters. In fact, dads can even do this!
Family dinners are an important way for familes to slow down and reconnect in a crazy, too fast, technologically overloaded world. Be willing to find ways to make the family dinner work for you.
What challenges do you face when trying to get everyone to the table? What tricks work for you?
So, about the past week. I don't even know how to explain it. I had a really rough week (more mentally than physically) and of course, the first thing I skipped was my gym time.
Despite this fact, I lost 2 pounds over the course of the week. In this time, I went camping (where I ate smores), and skipped the gym both Monday and Tuesday. And Tuesday for dinner, I had an entire gyro sandwich...and fries....and fries at lunch. (Notice the pattern - stress = fatty foods).
So, what does this tell me?
Honestly, I have no idea. That if I work out too much the night before that I may gain weight from day to day? That if I eat too much for dinner I will show a gain the next day?
My husband (the mother of all wt loss success stories) suggested I weigh myself daily to see what works and what doesn't. I tried it three days and the results made no sense. I gained after a hard workout/light dinner night and then lost after a skipped workout night.
In fact, I even considered giving up. It would be sooooo much easier. But I can't do that, because I will be damned if my husband will be the only one to lose weight. We'll see what happens...
"It's the most wonderful time of the year!!!"
Remember that Staples commercial, where the Dad is gliding through the store on a shopping cart and his despondent kids are shuffling after him? I LOVE that commercial. I LOVE back to school. I think even if I weren't a teacher, I would love this time of year. Getting to buy new supplies, new clothes, the promise of new friends and teachers.
This year it means even more as my kids prepare to start school not only in a new school, but a new state.
Next week's post will deal with more of the nitty gritty of back to school time, including lists galore. This week, I am focusing on getting ready to get ready.
It seems silly to phrase it that way, but now is the time to think about systems that will help the school year go more smoothly.
1. Set up your calendar now.
If you don't already, set up one central calendar for everyone. Every family activity needs to go on this calendar. If you have recurring activities (such as sports practices or family activities) put those on there now.
Many schools have the school calendar online- check your school district's website to see if yours is posted. If so, go ahead and enter in the half days and days off. This can help prevent issues later on.
2. Take Inventory
Take inventory of the supplies and clothes your kids already have on hand and what they will need. Next week, I will post a downloadable list to take to the store. For now, see what fits and what doesn't.
Once you know what your kids need, start paying attention to end of season sales. For example, I shopped at The Children's Place and bought 8 pairs of jeans and a few other items for under $95. That, my friends, is a deal.
3. Check Medical Records
Will your child need any shots or sports physicals? If so, make an appointment now, instead of waiting until school starts and to battle with everyone else. If you have a kid on meds, make sure you have a prescription ready to go to school, if necessary.
4. Confirm or Set Up Childcare Arrangements
If your kids will be attending a before or after school program, enroll them now. Research any fees and possible discounts you may be eligible for. If you are making other arrangements, make sure you confirm the details so that, just in case you need to make a change, you have plenty of time to do so.
5. Start Changing Their Schedules
If your house is anything like mine, your schedule has been a little...off. Start working now to get your kids on a closer to school schedule. I'm not suggesting you get them ready to wake up at 6 (unless that works for you), but maybe start working their bedtimes a little closer to a school appropriate one.
Next week we will tackle shopping for the school year and the following week I will address getting your homework systems into place. Have a suggestion or question? Leave it in the comments!
So, last week's Menu Plan Monday went pretty good. Not perfect, but good.
This week will take some work to get back on track, since we were out of town and didn't grocery shop yesterday.
Here's the plan:
Bratwurst
Turkey Burgers - if you also eat these, make sure you are getting the lean ones
Spaghetti - didn't get to this one last week
Steak
We have been steaming a lot of veggies lately for our dinner and I am finding out that I really need to limit the size of my evening meal - easily done during the school year, not so much during break.
So, what's your plan for the week? Any faves? Mine, again, is the spaghetti - leftovers are the best!
You know those times in your parenting life when there isn't quite the right word to describe what you are going through? You know, like Toyphoon, which is when "Recreational activities by kids that leave playroom looking like it was decimated by hurricane" or Macoustics, which is the "frequency of a mother’s voice that her children find so easy to ignore."
Well friends, now you have a word for that and so much more.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Eric Ruhalter, author of The KidDictionary: The Book of Words Parents Need to Describe Their Kids. I first came across Eric on Twitter, when I was some of his definitions. In fact, I'm pretty sure one of them is responsible for the Pepsi on my keyboard, but I digress.
Eric was kind enough to take a few minutes of his day to answer some questions for my Domestically Challenged readers.
1. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO WRITE THE
KIDDICTIONARY?
I decided to write The KidDictionary: Words
Parents Need To Describe Their Kids, when it became apparent that the
English vocabulary severely lacked the terminology needed to put into
words the many and varied unusual behaviors that children exhibit.
Parents arent like normal people so the normal words just arent
enough. (see videos with examples of many words at www.TheKidDictionary.com)
The first time
that the need for The KidDictionary really struck me was one mornining
when I was watching my son. He was looking in the mirror at the space
where one of his teeth used to be. It was the morning after his visit
from the tooth fairy so he had a dollar bill in one hand, and I asked
him, So what do you think? And he replied, I think if I knock out all
my teeth, Ill be rich! And I thought to
myself, there ought to be a word for that, and its probably a
combination of the words Orthodontics and Entrepreneur. And I came
up with Orthodontrepreneur (ORTH-o-dahn-truh-prenn-orr) A child who
wants to knock all of his own teeth out in the interest of a hefty
payday from the tooth fairy.
From there I came up with many many other words. And after
people heard about what I was doing and saw the first volume of The
KidDictionary, they all had situations that they wanted words to
describe. So since then theres been no shortage of inspiration.
Originally I wrote this solely to amuse people, but what I found was that people found it funny, but ALSO gained a sense of connectedness with other parents. It was sort of a reminder that a lot of what theyre going through as parents, were ALL going through as parents. And I was really happy to hear that from people.
2. HOW DOES YOUR WIFE FEEL ABOUT THE
DICTIONARY? I MEAN, DO YOU WALK AROUND YOUR HOUSE MAKING UP WORDS ALL
THE TIME? DO YOUR KIDS TRY TO HELP TOO?
My wife is a fan of The KidDictionary. Shes
been super supportive of all the work and time I put into The
KidDicitonary and all the other creative endeavors I undertake She always has and I feel really lucky for it. And I dont think Im obnoxious about the words. Im
definitely frequently thinking about them and coming up with ideas but
its all inside my head. Im not one of those guys whos really
demonstrative with his humor and always going for the laugh. I think by and large Im pretty quiet.
The kids like
it, too. They enjoy being the models in the quaint black and white
photos that accompany each KidDictionary word and KiDefinition. My
oldest son is even starting to make up words of his own. He had a
section in his classroom newspaper called The KidDictionary Corner.
Which reminds me, I need to call my attorney
and have him shut down.
3. WHAT
ARE A COUPLE OF YOUR FAVES?
I love
them all because theyre all little pieces of various stages in my kids
lives. But some Im particularly fond of are:
WISHJACK (v.) To blow out
the candles on another childs birthday cake.
STOCKTEASE (n.): A child who lets you buy large quantities of their
favorite food at the grocery store and then immediately decides that
they dont like it anymore.
TOYPHOON (n.): Routine
recreational activities of children that leave their playroom looking
like it was decimated by a hurricane.
TWIRPLE
(v.): When a child playing baseball gets to
third base on a hit that didnt make it out of the infield.
SHITISTICS (n.): The wildly
inaccurate stats spouted by an 8 year old at a sporting event. (I think this can apply to some of the grown ups in the stands too~Alana).
GARBOFLAGE (v.): To hide a
piece of your childs artwork under other trash in the waste basket so
they dont catch you throwing it away.
4. WHAT'S THE FUNNIEST/CRAZIEST THING YOU HAVE HAD HAPPEN TO YOU
AS A PARENT?
Since Ive become a parent, the craziness has
been nonstop. I dont know which moment would be the most extreme
Possibly the 8 hour car ride home from my
in-laws with a 2 year old with a stomach bug whose vomit was so
voluminous that by time we arrived home it had taken every stitch of
clothing we had in all of our suitcases to sop it all up.
Or maybe
the times we brought each of our
children when they were about a year old to The Running of the Bulls in
Pamplona, Spain based on our theory that theres no more effective way
to prompt a child to get up and walk than by putting them in the path of
a pissed-off charging bull.
Or perhaps the time when we only had enough money for 4 of the 5
of us to go on vacation so we had to have a competition to see who
could go and I dictated that we decide with a single elimination Tug of
War Tournament, and I beat the pants off each of them. Granted some were
under 50 pounds at the time. But whose problem is that?
Two of those 3 things are lies, by the way. I will leave you to speculate.
**
See what I mean? Funny and the kind of things that parents find funny.
You can get The KidDictionary on Amazon or from Eric's website. Also, if there is a word you want created, feel free to email Eric or hit him up on Twitter or his Facebook page.
I debated whether or not I should even do this post. My husband, since moving to Colorado, has lost 50 pounds. Fifty! And that pisses me off.
Why is it so damn easy for guys to lose weight? Isn't the battle of the sexes balance off enough? I mean, we have periods, childbirth...and yet we get screwed again with the whole weight loss thing.
I have to preface this: when he lost his weight, he was up here by himself (the fam and I were still in AZ), so really, what else did he have to do besides work and work out?
Nevertheless, I am frustrated. Spurned by this and by living in a state where 8/10 people are in shape, I am working out to lose weight. I have been working out since January, but just walking. Now I am stepping it up and I am pissed again.
Last week I did something I hadn't done literally in years. I stepped on a scale.
You have to understand. Without going into too many of the details, I grew up with a part time anorexic/bulimic mother who used to try and teach me the way of 300 calorie days. I am not going to be skinny - and I'm ok with that. I just want there to be less of me.
So, last week I stepped it up, both figuratively and literally. I started tracking everything I ate on SparkPeople (GREAT website for fitness tracking and it's free!!). I began walking 3 miles instead of 2.5 AND I added in hills and other things to make me burn more calories. There were a few days I worked out twice in one day.
I weighed in this morning and I had lost.....1 pound. O. N. E.
Needless to say, I wanted to throw the mother of all hissy fits. I wanted to cry and throw things. But I didn't. Instead, I went and got my water and fixed my morning oatmeal.
Hopefully next week will be better. Either way, I know I am improving my health. We'll see what next week brings.
Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing) is a worldwide game of hiding and seeking treasure. A geocacher can place a geocache in the world, pinpoint its location using GPS technology and then share the geocache's existence and location online. Anyone with a GPS device can then try to locate the geocache." ~according to Geocaching.com
OK, so to sum it up - you use a GPS to go find a little treasure. Sounds like something my kids would like.
After poking around the website for a bit, I realized what this could do. It could help eliminate childhood boredom. It could somehow align the cosmos and prevent sibling fights. It could...nevermind. It really could be a fun for the kids and I and since I'm working on getting more active, it seems like it would be a good fit.
When I looked at the
database (again, on Geocaching.com) there were over 13,000 caches
(potential treasures) within 100 miles. Yup, that could keep us busy for
a while. Caches are hidden all over the place - parks, outside malls,
basically anywhere you can hide something in plain site.
After posing it to the kids as a local treasure hunt, I loaded my phone with geocaching software, grabbed our CamelBak's and we rode off in search of our first treasure.
One of the main reasons I like this activity is the skills it reinforces. You have to be able to read a map, radar or GPS unit effectively. Since I can't, it made our outing a bit more...interesting. Many of the cache's have codes to decipher, which kids enjoy.
Once you find the area to explore, you have to look for a cache, which is the treasure. They range in size from the size of a shoebox all the way down to a film canister. The difficulty also ranges - if you are going to be geocaching with kids, don't go over a two and definitely start with a 1 in both terrain and difficulty. We didn't and the weeds in our area were so overgrown that we didn't find the cache.
Despite not finding the treasure, we had fun. We got to ride our bikes, run around outside a school using a compass to find the general location of the treasure and then spend time in nature looking for the cache. We went home empty handed, but had fun in the meantime.
Benefits include:
- getting outside and getting active
- develop map reading skills
- ways to be together as a family
Our fist geocache didn't go as well as I would have liked, but we plan on doing more over the rest of summer.
Have you been geocaching? Would you try it? Let me know if the comments! :)
With how much I have been working out, I know in advance that I need to make sure I have our meals planned out fully. Between my food allergies and my low blood sugar issues, I have to make sure I have things planned and the ingredients on hand.
Here's the plan:
Turkey Burgers and steamed veggies
Spaghetti (homemade - the key is non-bottled spices and cooking the meat in olive oil)
Steak and Shrimp Kabobs
Turkey Sausage with rice
We also made up a large fruit salad for snacking, though I doubt it will last past Wednesday.
How about you? Have you made your life easier by planning your meals this week? What's your fave from the week? Mine is a tie between the kabobs and the spaghetti! Leave your fave below! :)
*For more info about Menu Plan Monday, please click here to read a TON of hints and tips from a great blogger!
