Getting in Shape

The youngest finished nursing about 8 months ago.  Ever since then, I’ve been putting on a few pounds.  At first I wasn’t sure why I was gaining weight because I hadn’t changed anything about the way I was eating.  A friend pointed out to me that I wasn’t nursing anymore and it was like a light bulb moment.  DUH!  Of course that’s why!  For the last 11 years, my body has been used to needing those extra calories for the baby growing inside of me of because a baby was nursing.  Plus, I was over 35 now, so I bet my metabolism has changed.

In the last few weeks I have started watching what I ate more closely and also started doing a half hour of exercising each day, courtesy of YouTube.  I wish I could devote more time, but with a little something called ‘life in a big family’ going on, that’s about all I have.   Not much was changing, but then several days ago I started drinking a gallon of water a day.  Ever since I started doing that, I have noticed changes!  I really think the extra water in combination with the better diet and exercise has made a real difference.  I still allow myself a little bit of ice cream some nights because I believe in the saying “everything in moderation.”  I feel that if I was to completely deprive myself of the fun things to eat then one day I am going to have a bad day of pigging out and then forget it.  I don’t want that to happen, so I hope that as long as I allow myself some good, not-so-healthy foods now and then, then I will have an easier time sticking to my plan and I will feel more comfortable in my own skin when I have to wear a bathing suit this summer.

What tips and tricks do you have to get in/stay in shape?

Catching Up…

Life is always busy.  Some times of the year are worse than others for my family.  The months of September- February are a blur each year.  The boys all have birthdays in September, my oldest in October, November is Thanksgiving, we all know the craziness that December is and the youngest also has a birthday right after Christmas.  Right after those holidays is my birthday which usually gets lost in the mix, and then finally before Valentine’s Day is Mommia.  Finally, after all of that I can have a little break because things slow down and there isn’t anything on the agenda that needs planning.

For some reason, that’s always when I start planning our summer vacation because I guess I just can’t leave well enough alone and I need to always be planning something!  This year, we planned a cruise (our first!!, I’m so excited!!) and also a trip to Tennessee using the timeshare.  When I put the dates in my schedule for TN, I saw it was immediately after we are going to Washington DC for a few days with Squeazel’s cub scout patrol.  As in, we are supposed to leave the day after we get back. Craziness. Since we would already be a few hours in the right direction, we decided to just keep going that way and not bother coming back home for just a few hours.  Our cruise isn’t until November.  I was able to find an awesome deal of only $140 a person.  I’m always on the lookout for a bargain!  Meanwhile, I’m scouring Pinterest to learn as much as I can about TN and cruising and taking kids along in tow.  For me, planning and researching the trip is part of the fun!

For now, life is just continuing on in our busy schedule of karate, dance class, gymnastics, school and everything that goes along with that like band and chorus.  The clubs for the ones in elementary school are now over for the year so the before and after school trips for drama, science club, math club, and technology club are no longer.  Thank goodness!  I love that my kids enjoy being involved, but it really takes coordination on behalf of my husband and I.  I can only imagine how much crazier it will be when the younger ones start getting involved with more school and extracurricular activities!  By then, my oldest will be driving and I have a feeling will be helping out with that.  (So thankful for her and all of her help!)

During spring break I made a point to not schedule much so that way the kids and I were able to enjoy a few days at home doing absolutely nothing.  Enforcing screen time was more challenging, but I love when my kids have off from school so I can be around all of them all day long!  Don’t get me wrong, I love that they go to school also so I can get the mental break I need for some much needed sanity, but I do also love time with my kids.  By the end of break I was ready for days at home with just the two youngest. If nothing else, just to be able to clean the house and have it stay somewhat clean for more than an hour!

So now, life is just surviving the day without forgetting anyone or anything and then going to sleep only to do it all again the next day. I try to take a little bit of time here and there to spend individual time with each of my kids so they know that each of them is very special to me.  Sometimes it’s taking one to a birthday party for a friend, just sitting next to them on the couch watching a tv show or just plopping down on their bed and chatting for a few minutes and what’s going on in their lives.  I feel taking that time is important so they each know that they mean something to me.  It’s easy to get caught up in the every day hustle and bustle, especially in a family with as many kids as mine has. Those times are important for creating the building blocks of a lasting relationship of open communication with them.  Before I know it, the younger ones will be in high school also, going in all different directions all on their own. The expression really is so true:  The days are long but the years are short.

Can Moms Get Sick Days, Please?

Why do so many thing that a mom does on an everyday basis involve bending over?  Pulling the sheets off of a lower bunk bed, filling the lower rack of the dishwasher, getting clothes from the dryer, general picking up of toys and other random items that are on the floor.  The constant bending over is putting unnecessary pressure on my already sore head.

Earlier this week I felt a UTI coming on.  I usually try homeopathic remedies first before going to a doctor so I was drinking cranberry juice.  I haven’t had one in years but the last time I did, the cranberry juice helped right away.  The time before that, I was pregnant with my first son and I skipped the UTI part and went right to a kidney infection.  THAT was not fun.  Overnight in a hospital with an IV and other meds because I had a few contractions while hooked up to machines.  (Little did I know then, that contractions that early on are normal for me.)

Anyway, I’m drinking the cranberry juice off and on not thinking much of it because I was feeling fine.  Then, on Wednesday night, I was taking my oldest to a concert in Philly (little over an hour away) and suddenly my symptoms were much worse.  Chills, my eyes were hot and watery and I had a low fever.  The drive to the concert was not fun at all because I also had to stop at every Wawa on the way to use their bathrooms.  Thankfully, they are pretty clean.  Drinking more cranberry juice the whole way there in hopes it will help the symptoms subside a little.  It helped and I was able to enjoy the concert.

When I made it home, I went right to sleep.  I woke up about 5am to go to the bathroom and had major back pain.  The first thing I thought was that the infection went to my kidneys.  I tried going back to sleep, but it wasn’t very restful.  When I woke up to start my day a little later, the pain wasn’t as bad.  As I went about my day I felt better which was a good thing because the day was already busy with plans.  On our way to gymnastics, the pain came back a little bit.  To play it safe I went to the Urgent Care in town when Mommia’s gymnastics were over.  The pain was getting worse. I got an antibiotic and by the evening I felt much better.  Good thing, because Squeazel had his chorus concert.

Today I have a headache that I can’t seem to shake and an odd taste in my mouth.  I’m sure they are side effects of the antibiotic, but it could be worse.  It’s better than another kidney infection.  I did a few loads of laundry just to keep up and other small things, but I plan on spending much of the day on the couch eating the home made mac and cheese I made (comfort food!) and watching Christmas shows with the girls.  The sweeping, mopping and picking up of Hulabaloo pieces can wait until tomorrow.  They have been on the floor since yesterday anyway.

It’s good to take a down day now and then

Ever take a day to just do nothing?  OK, I showered and I’m dressed in jeans and a Giants tee (they won again yesterday, I have to support my team). The girls are still in pj’s though and I’m eating cheese puffs as a breakfast. I’m just feeling lazy today.  I was putting away a few loads of laundry and doing dishes, so the proper time for breakfast passed by, but I was hungry.  So at 11am, I decided to eat a few cheese puffs to hold me over until lunch.  Someone’s gotta eat them, right?

The reason we actually have cheese puffs in the house is because we had a birthday party for my younger 2 boys this past weekend.  Something I spent all of last week planning and getting stuff for, so cleaning the house was just a quick pick up and sweep here and there.  The party went well!  It was a glow party which I would have thought was really cool as a 6 or 8 year old.  The kids said they loved it!  I took a few pictures, but not nearly enough as I wanted to.  Believe me, everything looked awesome.  I was so busy playing hostess and making sure every kid had a glow necklace, bracelet and flashing rings on. I was also refilling the candy bar which was meant to be for goody bags, but the kids were eating it throughout the party so by the time they party was over, there wasn’t a lot left.  Note to self- put the candy out towards the end next time.  Everything was either neon and/ or it glowed in the black lights I had scattered around the room.  I had found a ring toss kit made from glow sticks, got a neon ball for bowling with water bottles with a glow stick in each bottle.  There was a ball toss, too.  I also got glow in the dark face paint and tattoos the kids could put on.  We had the party at our church in the basement and I moved all the chairs to the side for parents to sit and left the large space open for kids to run around and bounce balloons in.  Hubby had also rigged a projector to display and interactive image on the floor so if the kids stepped on it, the image moved around.  We had pizza and chips and cheese puffs to snack on, and I made a bunch of brightly colored cupcakes and that was pretty much it. I completely forgot about the veggie and fruit tray in the extra fridge at home, duh.  Oh well, it was still a lot of fun.

Last week I made about 4 trips to Walmart for things I kept forgetting, Toys R Us for gifts for the boys, a trip to the party store and 2 trips (one yesterday after the game) to the mall to look for a homecoming dress for Quail.  We finally found one yesterday, yay!  Last week we also had 2 of the boys’ birthdays so after dancing we all went out to dinner. All of this in addition to the regular driving we have for activities like volleyball, gymnastics, dancing, scouts and karate.  Thankfully soccer was cancelled because of the weather. We also had a nice surprise one day- my stepson, I guess you could say the real #1 of the bunch, stopped by for a visit.  We hadn’t seen him in a while so it was a wonderful surprise!  (Yes, a grand total is 7 kids.)

But now that that party is done, I can start planning the next one at the end of the month for my oldest and also get the kids some Halloween costumes.  There’s always something to plan!  Today I feel like just vegging out though.  I did do a little house work, so it’s not like I did nothing at all.  I will end up folding another load of laundry for my oldest son to put away also, but that’s probably about it.  We all deserve a day (or 2, or 3) here and there to relax and get some air.  I know once the kids get home from school, the mom taxi will be starting up and the rest of the week from there on out will be busy.  So here I sit, on the couch, eating cheese puffs and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  That’s good enough for now.

Getting in a Routine

So, as you can imagine, back to school is a bit hectic with 6 kids.  Getting into the swing of homework, packing lunches, extra activities and just having to get up earlier every day took some transitioning.  I’m happy to report that the kids are pretty much settled into the routine and seem to be doing well.

I had gotten a call last week about Gubba because every year he seems to just need an extra talk about how teachers are in charge when mom or dad isn’t around.  He is my spunkiest boy, so I guess he is trying to keep me on my toes.  After a quick talk about how he needs to do what the teachers tell him to do right away and not be bratty, I have gotten a note saying he was doing much better.  If this was our only hiccup then I’ll take it!

Activities for each kid have started.  Quail joined the freshman volleyball team and if there isn’t a game then she has practice to go to every day, including Saturdays.  We haven’t jumped into Girl Scouts yet because of the busy schedule, but our first meeting will be next week.  Squeazel and Gubba have started Cub Scouts and Jim is even the leader for Gubs’ den this year.  Squeazel also signed up for every club in school except for one since he is a 4th grader this year.  He chose to play the snare drum in band.  Since I played the bass drum for a year when I was in HS marching band I’m happy because I can help him with reading music, but as a mom with multiple children I am not looking forward to hearing the banging and having to lug it back and forth to the school. The other clubs he wanted to join this year are: math club, drama, chorus, technology club, science club.  Pretty sure that’s it. He just started enrichment also.  He missed qualifying for the G&T program this year by 2 points and was pretty upset about it since he qualified last year and was really hoping to be in it this year.  I think it’s a blessing in disguise because of all the other activities he wants to do.  Bisque is playing soccer on Saturday mornings.  All 3 boys have started karate at our local church.  Jim also helps teach that since he has a background in martial arts.  Mommia has started gymnastics like last year and still loves it.  This year we also added dancing and she is really enjoying that also.  It’s a half hour of ballet and half hour of tap.  She loves being able to make lots of noise with her feet.  She is signed up for a preschool class but it doesn’t start until January.  Also this year the karate program is starting a play class for kids her age so she will be going to that also.  I don’t know exactly what it will be like, but Jim thinks it will be more focused on play with teaching them a few fundamentals.  Anything that helps this chick burn some energy is good with me!  Snip is the only one with no activities but she usually goes along with all the other kids to their things, so she’s plenty busy also.

For me, (yes I am involved in activities also) MOPS has started.  I totally recommend MOPS to any mother with young children at home.  It has been such a great outlet for finding support, friendship and sanity! Go to the MOPS website to search for a chapter close to you!  Some of my closest friends have been found through MOPS, along with my kids.  Go check it out for a meeting to see if it’s for you! I am a DGL (discussion group leader) which means I basically try to keep discussions in my little group close to topic and try to steer away from tangents (tangents and I go way back so this is a fun challenge for me).  I also volunteer with the PTA by being the Box Top and Labels for Education Coordinator for the elementary school the boys go to.  I also do the Labels for the intermediate school in town ever since my oldest went through there.  I currently don’t have any children in that school, but I will net year and for the next 10 years or so after that, so I figured I’d stay on in that position.  I like being involved in the school so I can get to know the other parents and also the teachers and also that they can get to know me.  I have so many kids that I’m sure one of my kids will be in class with this teacher or that person’s kid.  I think it’s important for my kids to know that I know the parents of their friends and also their teachers and that I am in communication with them on a fairly regular basis.

With back to school also comes the oh, so lovely spreading of germs.  Bisque missed a day of school last week because the Sunday before he had a fever for a few hours and for the last 2 days I have been dealing with the same thing with the baby.  Thankfully this morning she woke up acting like her normal self.  Who knows, maybe it was teething.

This time of year is also nutty for me because all 3 boys have their birthdays in September.  We usually do all 3 together in one big party.  For the last 2 years it was Minecraft themed and we had a video game truck come. The oldest wanted a party by himself this year so we had something small at Bounce-U which is a local place that has a bunch of giant inflatable things for the kids to jump on.  Now I am full blown planning mode for the party for the other 2 boys.  We are having a Glow party!  Should be a ton of fun.  Next month is my oldest’s birthday and then Halloween immediately after and then the craziness of the holidays sets in.

Since we are pretty settled in, I will hopefully be able to write a bit more.  I do plan on writing a post about our camping trip that we took to Hershey Park at the end of summer break, meal planning, and the birthday parties.  Be on the lookout for a bunch coming from me in the coming days!  Hope everyone had a great back to school!

Back to school craziness!

Going back to school comes with the start of the crazy schedules that go along with the school year.  Yesterday was orientation for Bisque to start kindergarten and in the evening was another orientation for Quail for high school. After the HS one, we picked up the Chromebook each student gets, a new thing this year!  Many text books will be available through the computer meaning less books she has to carry around.

The other day at the store, we ran into a friend who has a daughter the same grade as Quail.  The girls are old friends.  She is on the volleyball team and Quail has been wanting to do something so we checked to see if she could join and she can!  Today I got her knee pads and tomorrow is running to the doctor’s office for paperwork for the physical.  She has missed a few practices, but I’m just thankful she was able to join last minute like this.  Hopefully she will enjoy it.  She stopped playing softball 2 years ago and has been looking for something to do ever since.

I also got shin guards for Bisque at the store today because he is signed up for soccer this season.  It’s his first time playing besides a short little program last year through the local recreation department.  Most of those ended up getting canceled anyway because it ran each week when they held practice.  He has been wanting to play for a while now.  Soon practice for that will be starting.

Mommia is signed up for dancing and gymnastics.  We picked up tap and ballet shoes for her the other day.  This will be her first experience with dancing lessons.  I had taken dance from the time I was 5 until I graduated high school so I’m glad she will be taking lessons.  Quail took lessons for only 5 years.  Broke my heart when she decided to quit dance for softball.  I hope Mommia stays with it for longer, but if not, then at least she tried it.  She took gymnastics last year and loves that.  She’s a very active little girl with TONS of energy so I needed to find a creative outlet for fer as soon as possible.  What is really cute is that she keeps putting on the tap shoes (what I did for 12 years!) and tapping around the house.  She can’t wait for classes to start!

The older 2 boys have cub scouts starting soon.  Squeezel is a Weblos this year and Gubs is a Wolf.  Hubby is actually going to be the leader for Gubba, too.  I have a feeling that I will be doing a lot of the planning for meetings since he works a lot and also because I have the experience since I have been Quail’s girl scout leader since she was in kindergarten.  I need to get on that planning!

I have also been to a few PTA planning meetings lately.  I collect the Box Tops and Labels for Education for the elementary school my kids go to and also do the Labels for the intermediate school in town.  I like to be involved but with 6 kids, it’s difficult to do.  I do the tops and labels because it’s a way to be involved that doesn’t take up too much time.  It’s also fairly simple.

To make things even more fun, I also have to do some planning for our mini vacation this coming weekend to Hershey, PA!  We are camping in a tent at the Hershey Campground.  We haven’t been since Bisque was a baby so about 6 years now.  In my teeny bit of free time, I am scouring Pinterest to find any and all tips on camping with kids.  We won’t be at the campground for too long, but if it goes fairly well, we might make it a part of something our family does for bonding.

On top of all this business, all 3 boys have their birthdays in September.  The oldest wanted to have a party all his own since I usually combine all 3 to save time and money.  We have just had a bounce house or a game truck come to the house in the past.  This year, he wants to do Bounce-U with his own small group of buddies.  I plan to do a glow party at the end of the month for the younger 2.  As soon as we get back from our trip this weekend, I plan on putting whatever extra free time I have into planning that.

There’s always something!!

Summer is almost over!

I LOVE summertime!  I love the warm weather, being able to go to the beach or lake, less clothing (no coats to put the kids in before going outside meaning quicker to leave), a less defined schedule, etc.  I try not to plan too many things during the summer just so we can kinda wake up in the morning and say, “What do you want to do today?”  The only things we had planned really were that the 2 oldest boys went to cub scout camp for a week.  And then we have our weekend away, our mini-vacation, next weekend to Hershey, PA.  The school year is pretty busy with everyone’s activities so I try to keep the summers low-key.  It’s the time of year when everyone can be a litle lazy.

I think, however, the kids are getting bored.  School starts in about 2 weeks and I am starting to hear, “What can I do now?”  It’s been pretty humid out lately also so I don’t want them outside too long in the heat.  School notices have started coming about orientation for the oldest into high school and my youngest son into kindergarten.  They are getting excited, and so am I.

The other day Quail had a dentist appointment and I had books for Squeazel and Gubba to read.  They were occupied.  Mommia was in need of a nap because she had been playing outside so I was hoping she would be chill.  NOPE.  She decided to take the time we were waiting for Quail to get her teeth cleaned to get out the last of her energy before nap.  And for a kid who is normally high-energy, this was a lot for her to get out.  Once she decided to not listen to me after I told her to calm down for the third time, she got strapped in the double stroller.  Of course this made her yell, scream and whine.  Then Bisque decided to start to chase around Snip.  I told him several times to stop also.  Soon after I started thinking about waiting in the car, someone came to the window in the area and said to the kids, “Hey guys, can you quiet down?”  That was pretty much it- I was tired, they were rowdy and we all needed a change of scenery.  Not to mention I was embarrassed!  I was slightly annoyed at both the kids and the dentists’ office.  They are kids;z kids make noise.  With a bunch as big as mine, it’s usually a lot of noise, even when a few are just sitting and reading.  Mommia has a good set of lungs on her, and when she wants to use them- watch out!  But I was also frustrated with the kids.  B knew better than to chase the baby when we are out somehwere, especially in the waiting room for a dentist. And he also knew better to stop when I told him to instead of not listen.

That day was very frustrating.  Thankfully the next day was a lot better.  It’s proven that kids really do crave schedules and routine.  They just need to know what happens next.  I’m pretty sure any person works best in that environment.  Even if you aren’t on a strict schedule with a new baby, you can see that they will make their own by taking naps around the same time every day, wanting to eat about the same time each day, etc.  It’s just how we are wired as human beings.  So while I say with a sad face that summer is almost over, I then say again- summer is almost over.  This time with a much more hopefully, happy expression on my face.

Avoiding the Summer Slide With Camp Google

The other day I saw something shared on Facebook about Camp Google. So Google teamed up with National Geographic and Khan Academy to create some videos and experiments the kids can enjoy to help them to keep learning even during summer break. Didn’t really think much of it, but I decided to finally check it out.  OMG!!  It’s really cool!  They have different themes such a Nature Week, Space week, Ocean Week, and Music Week.  Each theme has different 3 different videos explaining concepts related to that particular theme and also shows experiments you can do with your kids.  I watched one of the videos from Ocean Week tonight with my oldest son explaining why we float and he was really intrigued.  He wanted to do the experiment about buoyancy right away but it was bed time so I told him we will watch it again with his brothers and do the experiment tomorrow.  The experiments require supplies that are usually found around the home or won’t cost much if you do need to go out and buy them. After you do the activity, or experiment, you can get badges.  Just print and cut out each badge and attach it to a Badge Tracker that can also be printed out. Best part is it’s all FREE! FAQ’s can be found here.

I love how the kids will be learning without really realizing it.  Stuff like that makes me feel like I’m doing this mom thing the right way.  I’ll be teaching my kids stuff and they will be loving it!  Win, win!  I can’t wait to do our first activity tomorrow!  What activity will you try first?

Summertime Freezer Meals

I’m big on meal planning and making freezer meals.  They help me plan for the month what we are going to eat and also when it comes time for shopping.  That way I’m not buying extra things we don’t need spending money that we don’t have.  I plan on writing another post about the in a few days when I do my meal plan for the next few weeks.

But anyway, I love freezer meals because they are such a time saver.  This week the boys have VBS in the evening.  That means that I need to make dinner earlier than I usually do, or give them enough snacks to hold them over until they are picked up and then they can eat.  A huge timesaver on meal prep is the freezer meal.  I found on Facebook the other day this post about making freezer meals for the summer.  Usually when I do freezer meals, I am using my crock pot.  Not a bad option for summer either because it means not using the oven and heating up the house amking it hotter than it already is.  This article basically had different marinade options for chicken that you can freeze and then thaw and grill.  For some reason, I never thought of that!  We love grilling, also!  Well, I love when hubby grills because that’s basically him making dinner instead of me.  😉

So, the other day when I was placing my order from the butcher of meat for the next 2 weeks, I also ordered some chicken butterflied.  I took my gallon freezer bags, put in 1/4 cup olive oil in each and then different spices and seasonings.  The variations I tried were lemon pepper (zest of a lemon and 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper), spices (1 tsp each of chili powder, paprika and cinnamon), and honey garlic (3 cloves fresh crushed garlic cloves, 1 Tbsp honey and a pinch of salt and pepper).

The article that inspired me can be found here.  I am looking forward to trying different variations next month!  The only thing I did differently is that I used 1 gallon sized bags and 1 1/2 lbs of chicken.  I plan on pairing the chicken with sides such as salad, veggies, pasta or biscuits.  Meals like these usually feed all of us with no leftovers.  Since the boys are getting bigger, I’m going to have to bump the meat portion up to 2 lbs soon.

Please let me know if anyone tries these marinades and what the verdict is!

Zoo Day!

Yesterday, I took the 3 younger kids to a local zoo while the older ones were at camp.

They don’t look happy here, but I promise you they were.  Well, except Mommia who was whining about taking a picture at this exact moment when there was a bird she just *had* to look at.

I had a coupon  (I usually always have a coupon for something) so it only cost us all $14 to get in, including popcorn to feed the animals for the 2 old enough to understand what to do.

We saw lions, tigers and bears (oh my)!  Sorry, I had to. 😉 We also saw a monkey, turtles, peacocks, goats, deer, sheep, a vulture, pigs, a horse, a llama, parakeets, and this little guy.

Not too sure what he is.  A muntjac, maybe?

We met with one of my friends from MOPS and her girls and together the kids had a blast!  I had forgotten to charge my phone the night before so I only had 10% battery left so I wasn’t able to get as many pictures as I wanted to.  The weather was perfect for a nice little trip.  This zoo has been around since I was a little kid.  I recommed it to everyone for a quick little outing to see some animals.  Link to Popcorn Park Zoo.

Of course, when I picked up the older ones from camp, they said we have to go back so they can go, too.  So I can’t officially cross it off our Summer Bucket List (see post here). This trip was nice because it’s only about 15 minutes away from our home and doesn’t require a lot of packing or planning.  I just put the baby in the small stroller and threw the diaper bag on the back.  I had my carrier just in case I had to put Mommia in the stroller.  Gotta love quick, easy trips that the kids love and are easy on Moms.