Valentines 2015

Valentines 2015

Saturday, January 26, 2013

One of our new favorite things

The girls got a ton of stuff for Christmas. 

WAY more than they needed.  I was seriously considering donating some of the gifts I had bought them to the Open Door Mission or one of the children's homes in town....they got that much...

Their "big" present this year was a kitchenette, which they love, and the grandparents got the girls some really nice fake food items/sets to go along with it. It's pretty sweet.  Way cooler than anything I ever had when I was a kid, that's for sure!  They also got shopping carts and cash registers. And puzzles, tea sets, coloring books, markers, and crayons.  So much STUFF!  

One of the least noteworthy things that they received (or so I thought) were these bath tablets, made by Crayola, which were nestled in their stockings on Christmas morning.

Ladies, let me tell you...I bought these at Target...I needed something to stick in the girls stockings and they were like $3....I thought, why not?

Major score! The girls LOVE them! They love getting to choose which color their bath water is at night, and they love playing tea party in the bath with the colored water! Totally worth the $3! It's definitely one of the girls new favorite things!  And, it's a great way to kill an hour on a cold morning when we can't go outside and play....take a nice warm bath and play tea party at the same time!


Both of these pictures were taken with the blue tablets (I think the blue is the best!), but the girls like the yellow and the red equally as well.

So there! What I least expected turned out to be a big hit =).  

Do you guys have a favorite item that your kiddos got for Christmas?  If so, share it here! I'd love to get some more great ideas!  

Hope you all are well!

Megan

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Guest Post: Type 2 Diabetes Prevention in the New Year


The New Year is often a time of resolutions. Many of us resolve to eat better or to exercise more. Others resolve to attend church more regularly or to volunteer more often. My guest blogger today encourages us to think about how we can be proactive and prevent Type 2 Diabetes in our children in the New Year.  Thanks so much for bringing up a very important subject and sharing your insight with us Carolyn!  


Type 2 Diabetes Prevention in the New Year 
Preventing Type 2 Diabetes became a mission last year, and it's the same resolution for my family in 2013. My little cousin has had weight issues for some time, and was recently diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. Last November, during American Diabetes Month, it became clear that more than just adults are susceptible to this chronic illness. In fact, according to information from St. Joseph’s Hospital Cardiac Center, 1 in 3 kids is diagnosed with obesity, with a large majority of them also carrying a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis! For my other cousins and family, this was a big wake up call (and honestly, to me as well!). We needed to eat better, exercise more and do things as a family to really help pull my young cousin out of a dangerous unhealthy path.


The Diabetes Diet: Don't Call It That 
Well it's not necessarily so much as a diet as it is not eating bad food and replacing what you used to eat with tons of healthy vegetables and protein. My family realized it was important to set an example of healthy eating for all the little ones in the family, so we started by cooking and eating healthy meals together.


My little cousin doesn't respond well to broccoli, but there are creative ways to cook things that make it delicious. For example, cauliflower puree looks like mashed potatoes and you can make it taste just as great with a little butter and garlic. In moderation, this is a great recipe for finicky children who love starches and sugar. It’s also really important to incorporate lots of non-starchy vegetables into the meal, such as spinach, mushrooms and peppers. In addition, lean protein is also great for preventing or managing diabetes. Meat needs to be grilled, but you should also look at vegan and vegetarian sources of protein as too much meat isn't necessarily good for kids either because of the fat content. Stick to lean sirloin meats, tofu, tempeh, soy or other protein sources that will excite your kid and that you want to try as a family.

"Mashed Cauliflower"


Exercising with Little Ones 
Kids shouldn't have trouble burning energy, but some do. That's totally okay if they love the indoors and they're whizzes with computers or love video games. However, they need to get active in some way. Knowing where to start is key.

For some kids, it's as easy as buying a game like Dance Dance Revolution or any of the Wii Fit games. For others, you need to do things again as a family. Sports games, scavenger hunts, musical chairs, tag and other fun things with family can make exercise not seem like exercise. For those kids who are already overweight, you may need low impact exercises like stretching, yoga, weight lifting and light movement activities such as swimming!

These are great ideas Carolyn! It seems to me like making some small changes can make some big differences in our children.  Thank you so much for taking time to share your personal experience with Type 2 Diabetes with us! 


Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well-being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and has been known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. Check out Carolyn’s blog at http://fullonfit.blogspot.com/!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

6 months old!

Having a singleton in our household is so very different than having twins.  Or maybe we are so busy now with the twins being 2 and crazy that it seems more difficult having an infant! I'm not sure.  But what I do know is that although we were exhausted with the twins at this point, they were sleeping through the night on a regular basis.  They would take a bottle without question. They liked to try new foods (okay, or they would at least eat real foods). They had a routine.

Hudson does none of these things! 

I'm pretty darn sure I would be a better blogger if Mr. Hudson would start sleeping through the night.  At this point the girls go down for the night, then Hudson gets in the bath and nurses to sleep, then I prep my lunch and clothes for work for the next day and watch the news. 9 times out of 10 Hudson is awake again and wanting to nurse and snuggle by the end up the newscast. Really kiddo?! Then he's up, on average, again at 12:30 AM and 4:30 AM. Oye vey!  I love him to death, and I know that this lasts for such a short period of time, but I'm literally exhausted constantly!  And as it relates to my blog posting, previously 95% of my blog posts were written between 9:30-11:30 PM, so this has taken any blog writing time that I once had and thrown it out the window.  So, my loyal readers, I apologize for the lack of updates. If someone wants to take my youngest child one night a week so I can sleep I promise to update my blog weekly as well  =).

But I digress! Back to the purpose for this post - Hudson is 6 months old - and such a chunkaroosky! Look at these rolls! I LOVE them!
Here are his 6 month stats:
Weight: 23 lbs 11 oz (99.9%)
Height: 27.2 " (78%)
Head Circumference: 17.7" (83%)

He is thriving to say the least!  He is currently in size 4 diapers (I KNOW!!!), and size 12 and 12-18 month clothing.  I have got some of the cutest outfits, and he never even made it into them!

He loves to be outside, so the cold weather has not made him very happy.  Good thing he doesn't mind dressing warmly so he can still stroll around the neighborhood in his stroller!


Okay, well, my nap time blogging time is up! Baby H is awake and trying to squirm out of his swing - Gotta go!

Until next time!
Megan