Love These Feet

Snowman Saga

So the kids got extremely creative building their snowman last week! He had gold eyes, pipecleaner hair, a crayon for the nose, and a foam tongue. Then the ice storm came through on Christmas day....I kind of like him that way! Now he's buried under 11 more inches of snow that came through in a huge storm on Saturday. The guy can't win!

Oh Christmas Tree

Looking For the Pickle

So once again we kept the german tradition of hiding a pickle (ornament) on our Christmas Tree. The kids look for it and the person who finds it gets to open an early gift for the family. Can you guess who found it?

Brrrr.....

I took this a couple of days ago on the morning after the day it had been -22 degrees out. Funny how warm the sunrise looks.

Incentive to Read!

Tyler and Savannah have to log reading minutes for school every day. This gets to be a little bit of a "chore" for them sometime. I try to make it fun and try come up with really fun incentives. This week they decided they were going to read to Sophie! Every night they would read to her without even being asked. Sophie would even pay attention for a while before going to sleep. (We'll see how long this lasts!)

Santa Came Early

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Thanksgiving 2009

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Gotta Love this Kind of Homework!

Nathan had a great homework assignment this weekend for Spanish class. He had to go to an authentic Mexican Restaurant to eat so he could write a paper on how that experience compared to Taco Bell. I wish all my homework had been that fun! The owner waited on us and since Nate had to have a picture of himself with his meal the owner insisted on having him wear a sombrero off the wall. (I had to keep my mind busy so I wouldn't think of who or what else had worn that thing before us!) We had so much fun and it even got me out of cooking a meal!!! Love that teacher!

The Incredible Talking Pumpkin

I had a little fun a week ago and snuck up on Savannah while she was in the backyard talking to her pumpkin. She had just been on a field trip to the pumpkin patch and just adored her little pumpkin.

Two Mondays in a Row!!!

So I know I haven't done an exercise post in 2 Mondays, but rest assured...I have been testing out a new workout! I really like one of the newest videos. It's called "Make Me Over in 40 Minutes". Now it doesn't seem too challenging so I used a little bit too heavy of a weight for the 1st time. Well, I paid for that for about 4 days...Yes, 4 days. I was so sore. So I took it down a couple of pounds and was fine. You can even try it with no weight. Why I like this? Because I always seem too short on time to fit in cardio and resistance training. This does both at the same time. Hey...I even added a little Exercise T.V. widget to my sidebar so you can click right on it from my blog and get their quick! Just look under newsest in the free videos section and you will find the one I'm talking about! Have fun and don't go heavy! (If you do...don't come e-mailing me later with tears in your eyes!)

Turning Our Tents Toward the Tower..I Mean T.V.

Every General Conference we debate whether to go to the church to watch it or sit in the comfort of our living room and watch it. Our debate centers around where we think we can actually get our kids to pay attention. So far neither place has worked out so well. This year we had a family home evening the Monday before on the story of King Benjamin. We've had this one before, but this time we were likening it to us watching General Conference. After the lesson we decided that we would build a tent (really a fort) in the living room with the opening towards the T.V.(a.k.a. the tower.) The kids loved it. They had crayons in their tent and a sheet where they colored the ties of all the speakers. (Okay..they also had popcorn!) I think we will do this next year!

"Roger That!"

I spent a large part of the afternoon yesterday trying to sort through the kids toys. You know...get rid of the ones that don't get used anymore. I came across these little Fisher Price walkie talkies that we've had for about 7 years. I don't even remember the last time anyone played with these. Well, Tyler and Savannah saw them in the pile to go to others in need and quickly took them out. (Never, ever try to clean out their toys when they are home!!) So I spent the rest of the night listening to things like Tyler:"There are people being hurt...come help us save them." Savannah: "Roger that." Savannah:"Mom says it's time to do our homework." Tyler:"Roger that." Tyler:"Come see if you can find where I'm hiding!" Savannah: "Roger that." Then I hear....Tyler: "Savannah, I love you." Savannah:"I love you too!"...Tyler:"Roger that!"
Now no one could pay me to get rid of these!;)

The Best Leaves to Rake...I Mean Eat!!!

It was a little too wet to rake leaves this weekend so we decided to eat some instead! (Way more fun than raking anyways!) We've made these for 3 years now and Savannah just loves to make these! I love making them because they look great without having to frost them! I stink at frosting cookies! They are very easy to make. You just take your favorite sugar cookie dough recipe (the one we use for this has just a little nutmeg and cinnamon in it.) divide it into as many portions as you want colors, and then you add food coloring to each portion. We usually stick with Red, Yellow, Orange, and Green for fall. Then you roll them together, cut-out, and then bake as usual. Easy! No wheel barrel required!
(Okay...if that all made no sense at all to you, check out the pictures below and you'll get it;))

Savannah loves having her own little SilPan roller! They are the best!

Savannah strategically placing the colored balls of dough!

Rolling along!


Cut out and ready to go in the oven!

I had all but finished the last of my interval training for the morning, so I zipped up my little camera and took off on the nearest trail that led back to my car. All of a sudden I see this guy hiding in the golden rod and begging for his picture to be taken! He even posed for me!(click on his picture and you can see his smile!) See what I mean...ratios are sooo not my thing!

This little bridge is an obstacle course of overgrown cat-tails and piles of acorns right now. It honestly sounds like it is hailing with all the acorns falling.

This stump is on one of my favorite parts in my trail run. I see it coming...(see it off to the right on my trail?) and I feel this need to be like a kid. So as I come up to it I always leap onto it and then off as I continue my run! (It is a very good thing that this part is so overgrown so no one sees me do this;))

Interval Training at it's Best!!

So this Monday I took it outdoors! I've been training for a 10K that is at the end of October. It's a trail endurance run up in Madison, WI. All the training programs that I've looked at that are designed to help you get ready for these sorts of things call for a day of interval training each week. Interval training involves ratios...3:1 for example is 3 min of running then 1 of walking. Repeat again and again for my 1 hour. Okay...math/science + running = no fun!!! So I've found a different way to interval train;) I brought my camera along for my run today. I stop and take a picture when I want to and then kick it back in to run until I find something else awesome to catch with my little camera! FUN! I'm not talking about lugging your big old fancy pants camera while you run...just a nice little point and shoot. (Bringing the fancy pants one turns it into weightlifting, and I didn't say anything about that in this workout!) I did make some rules for myself...if I did this I had to run all the hills unless there was a really great picture to take. Try as I might...(and I really did try) I couldn't find one to take on the up hill. The cool ones were always on the downhill...go figure! It was fun capturing the fall colors just beginning to peek through. So forget the ratios (unless you are really into those dreaded things!) and snap away!

On the Run

I love this time of year for just a ton of things! One of my most favorite things is that it is Cross-Country season!!! Nate trained all summer up with the "big" high schoolers. That meant being up at 5:30am and being there for 2 hours. (So that meant me being up at 5am to get him ready...who's silly idea was that anyways?;)) He had his first meet last Wednesday at one of my favorite courses...Vet's Acres! It's just so beautiful there! He did really well and we got to enjoy watching the race with quite a few friends from church that also have kids in Cross Country. It was exciting to see him actually get competative this year. He ended up being neck and neck with a boy going into the shoot. Ahhhhh...the adrenaline rush that gave me! He's at that point where we don't even ask him to go out for a run on the weekends, he WANTS to!!! He is my favorite running partner.



THE STARTING LINE

Yeah!!! Monday...I'm feeling it!

Finally...a fun new exercise for Monday. I figured I'd give this one a whirl since I love walking! Anyone can do it! Anyone! That's right...don't even try to argue with me on this one! Here are several to pick from. Some are longer. She combines arm movements with the walking to burn more calories. She's so upbeat and positive. I so want to try some of these fun walking moves while I'm out on the trails walking...but I don't think I'm crazy, Um...I mean courageous enough to do that yet! Have some fun with this one! Tell me which of her's you like the best! P.S. You don't need a huge amount of space for this one, but it does make it more fun!

http://www.exercisetv.tv/StartWalking/

All The Motivation You Need!

So as a couple of you have noticed and been very nice to point out... I have not posted a Monday exercise routine in a couple of Mondays! Well, there's a decent reason...I promise;) Last Monday I woke up with a soar throat and it went downhill from there! (I swear!!) Every morning I would wake up with hopes of feeling better and being able to do any form of exercise and I still felt crummy! So by Saturday I was so happy to even be out for a nice stroll! As I was out walking and feeling kind of frustrated about taking the whole week off of exercising, it dawned on me! Sometimes you have to be sick to really appreciate how good it feels to be healthy! Sometimes that thought is all the motivation you need!

As for this past Monday...Labor Day...we went out rowing on Lake Defiance...(here's a little snapshot of that fun!) I promise next Monday I'll post a fun new exercise clip!

Can you tell what day THIS is???

Any guesses as to what day this picture is from??? The 2nd day of school!!! I love this picture! I had barely been able to get Sleeping Beauty up, and had sat her down in front of her favorite breakfast, and this is how she looked for at least 5 min. Hmmmm...reality set in! The 2nd day of first grade. Her 1st full day of school ever...in her whole long life of 6 years. Tough huh! I LOVE THIS PICTURE!

1st day!

So as usual...here are pictures of the kids's first day of school! They are quite different this year! I actually got a ton of Nate...no small feat given he's an 8th grader now! And I have only one of Tyler (3rd grade) and Savannah (1st grade) and it's together! I was prepared to take my normal SD card full...but the bus came about 10 min. early!!!!!! Crazy! Especially when you consider that Savannah had requested her nails be painted and her hair curled! We were only 1/2 way around her head curling when I hear the bus pull up!! Panic!!! No time to finish curling. So we hurried with the shoes and Tyler and Savannah went out running to the bus with me trying to capture just one picture before they got on and left! The only good thing to this is my adrenaline overpowered the tears that I knew wanted to come pouring out as my last little one left for her 1st full day of school! So this all explains the 1/2 head of curls you see on Savannah's head! I knew in the back of my mind that it didn't matter anyways... those curls fall so easily out of her hair that they wouldn't even be there by the time she got to school! Hope everyone had some good 1st days this week!!!

Better Late Than Never!

So NO...I didn't workout this Monday. Before you get all over me...let me just tell you it was not from lack of motivation! It was the day before school started...need I say more! Way to busy! So with the kids off for school today I went for a run and then I did this very cool yoga workout. I've only done yoga once before so this was a little challenging for me, but I liked it! I may even do it on Thursday! (I'm really breaking all the rules this week..first I skip Monday and then I'm doing this on Thursday!) Hope you like it!

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/cardio/yoga-fitness-fusion-9684

So Far So Good!

Yes...it is Monday! And for the first Monday in a long time I was actually excited to get up and exercise! One problem...Nathan got up early and asked me to go for a run with him. I couldn't turn that down. How much longer is my 13 year old going to ask me to run with him???? (or even be seen with him???) I still wanted to keep up with my Monday post, so when I came back I decided to try a workout that was geared more towards core strengthening. So I picked a short but very great workout called "Cardio Core". It was ,I think, right around 10min. It used a small medicine ball, which I had, but if you don't I think you could safely use a hand weight. You wouldn't even need a thing if you are just beginning. Have fun! I had so much fun hearing through e-mail or in person that many of you actually tried this or another workout on there! I failed to mention that if you have On-Demand from Comcast that you can actually get these on your TV as well! Let me know of any you try that you think I would like!!! Mondays will never be the same again!

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/cardio/cardio-core-5621

Iron Chef

Tyler is already a very big helper around the house...but now he has earned the title of Iron Chef! (at least in this house!) He asked me the other day if he could cook dinner. I told him yes, but it really was one of those days where I wasn't even sure what I had to make. So I told him I was going to find one main ingredient (his secret ingredient) and then he would have to decide what to do with it! He told me he was up to the challenge. The secret ingredient was pork chops. So he dug through my recipe books and came up with crockery BBQ spare ribs...obviously he modified for pork chops! He measured everything himself. The best part was when the recipe called for 1/4 tsp hot sauce and I caught this picture as he was measuring 1/4 CUP!!!! (once I took the picture I hinted at the tsp. part!) It turned out very yummy!!! Savannah even ate the whole thing and asked for seconds! Now Nate and Savannah want to have their Iron Chef day. I think we will keep this up! Gets me out of a night of cooking anyways! (He wanted me to take a picture of all his ingredients that he had lined up!!! He even has the recipe memorized now!)

The Chicago Air and Water Show

A summer here in Chicago cannot be a summer until we've gone to the Air and Water Show. It is the biggest in the world! And of course the show can't be a show without it being really hot out on the scheduled day! We were roasting! And since Nathan is really into photography, we had to be their early so we wouldn't miss anything. We also had to be right down on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan without a shade tree in sight! We had a lot of fun and Nate got a lot of cool pictures. I on the other hand ran out of batteries by noon and thought I had a set of back-ups....nope! So maybe I'll get a chance to post some of Nates! Next year I'll be set with those batteries!

Mondays are SOOOOO hard!

Okay...so I usually do okay Tuesday through Saturday at getting out for a run or doing some other workout. When it comes to Mondays...I just drag my feet! I need some serious motivation! It's like that whole "Sundays are for resting" idea just wants to carry on over into Monday! I've come up with a plan that will hopefully get me up and going on Mondays! I've been using the site exercisetv.tv for a year now and love it! Tons of free workout videos you can do right in your own bedroom, kitchen, or wherever you keep your computer. So I decided every Monday to try a new one and post the link here so you can all get a little motivation on Mondays! Why post it???? Well that just keeps me an honest girl with myself!!! Then I have some sort of obligation! Yes...I could just cheat the system and post one I haven't done...but then what if it was a horrible video???? You would all be on to me...the shame of it all! So here is the one I just got done with doing. Hope you feel as motivated as I'm trying to be;) Oh, and if you love the site, try some of the other ones and leave a comment here so I know what to do next Monday!

http://www.exercisetv.tv/workout-videos/cardio/bootcamp-calorie-burn-1434

One of 700

I know I haven't made a post in quite some time!!! We've been on vacation in Washington state visiting our families! And YES...this is only one of 700 pictures taken there! If I only get around to only posting one this sums up the trip...we are a happy family! We were so blessed to be able to spend time with both my parents and Gary's parents (and his brothers) in one trip. We wish we didn't have to leave! Miss you!!!

Best Friends

We have always been very lucky that our kids get along pretty well. (Don't get me wrong...they do have their moments like we all do!) But when it comes to Tyler and Savannah...they are really the best of friends. They always have been. If given a choice between playing with their best "school" friends or each other, they always pick each other. With Nathan gone at Scout Camp all this week, I've seen that bond grow even stronger. This was taken down at our lake yesterday as we tried to keep cool from the 100 degree heat index! Sure they had about 10 other friends there, but they hung out with each other the whole time! I could've snapped up a 100 pictures just like this....ahhhh mommy heaven!
(If you click on the top pic and scroll down you can see my absolute favorite part...them holding hands...they've been doing this ever since Savannah was a baby!)

Father's Day and Gary's Babies

Ha ha ha! I bet you thought by the title of this entry that our kids would be in this picture!!! Well...they are his babies...but Asiatic Lillies are his "other" babies. He loves these things and takes great pride in his different colors and careful placement of them. I just thought this past weekend how ironic it is that they bloom every year during Father's Day week. (much like my favorite flowering trees do for Mother's Day!) Don't you just love how Mother Nature "plans" those things!

More fun!

Night out at the Velodrome

We are so lucky to have my Uncle Doc and Cousin Tristan living nearby. ( and lucky to have Megan up for a visit.) Tristan is really into biking and by now you know that Tyler loves to bike! So when we found out that Tristan was going to be racing down at the velodrome in Northbrook last night...there was no questioning that we would be there! I've never seen Tyler watch a sport with such enthusiasm. We were there for about 3 hours and loved every minute of it! Nice night out with family!