Wednesday, May 25, 2011

The Warrior Dash

Ok, since I have started becoming more physically fit. I feel more comfortable about taking on things. So I started my blog and opened my Etsy shop, signed up for a couple 5k's and now The Warrior Dash. This is the layout. It 3.20 miles of obstacles. First you speed step through hundreds of tires, then you go over a wooden barricade, then crawl through black tunnels. Then after that are forests and murky waters to run through. Then you walk across wooden planks and cross a wooden bridge. Then you dash down river and cross cargo nets. You scale a slate wall and slide down a muddy slope. Then this is the fun part, you hurdle over fire. Yes, I said FIRE. Then you have to crawl under barbed wire to the finish line. Doesn't that sound great??? Check it out!!  http://www.warriordash.com/

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Time well spent.

How do you Spend your time? Have you ever sat down and actually calculated how your spending your time? The older my children have become, the more I've had to learn to better manage my time. Between dance class, basketball games, football, Awanas and list can go on and on. Then there's all the other things. Like commitments that I have taken on with my church, homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, and sewing and whatever else I'm leaving out. These things all require my time. I say I don't have time to exercise or I don't have time to volunteer at church or play a game with the kids. Is that the truth? I've found in my own experience that the time for those things can be found. It's just a matter of sitting down and figuring out where I'm waisting my time. So here are some ideas that might help you if your having trouble in this area too.

1. Sit down and write out all things that you want to be able to accomplish for the day. sometimes is helps to see it all down on paper. I like visuals.

2. Make a schedule for yourself. I'm not a live by the book kinda of person but I do find that having some type of schedule is helpful. It doesn't have to be a by the hour kind of schedule. Mine is more like a list of things to do. I put things in order of their priority. For example: I need to teach my kids before I can sit down and sew something. Both are important to me but the one is more important than the other. I'll put a time on it but I don't always stick to it. I also added things that would make my day go smoother the following day. Like for example: I set my kids clothes out for the following day the night before or I pack there swim bag on Monday night for Tuesday morning. It just helps my day go by a little smoother.

3. Limit your time spent doing less important things. I know this is like one of those dah.. things but I had to force myself to be more aware of the time I was spending on these things. My biggest time sucker upper is the computer. I would find myself getting on to check my email and then an hour and a half later I'm looking at the time in shock. So I gave myself a certain amount of time to work with. Even if you have to set a timer. It sounds funny but it works. I use a timer for my son when he plays the Wii for the same purpose.

4. Make a cleaning list. This might be a bit much for some of you, but it helps me. Go through each room of your house with a pencil and paper and write down everything that needs to be cleaned or straightened up in each room. Not just the daily things. Write down the things that you might only do once a year too. After you've done every room in the house, go through the list and put a D next to the things you want done daily, W for weekly, M for monthly, Y for yearly, you can even do BW for bi-weekly or BM for bi-monthly. Depending on how much time you want to spend on this. When your done with that, make yourself a daily chore list or add the daily chores to your daily schedule. You can then make a monthly cleaning list and a yearly list an so on. Then pick things from those lists that you want to do every day. For instance If you have 20 things on your monthly list and pick one thing each day to do, you'll complete the list in 20 days. I write the date that I did it in pencil next to the chore so that I can keep track of which things I did and when it was done last.

5. Make a weekly menu. This will eliminate the guess work out of making dinner every night and make grocery shopping go smoother. I also post my menu where the kids and my hubby can see it. That way they're not asking me what's for dinner every night. 

I'm not always consistent with these things, but I have found that when I am my life goes a lot smoother and my family is happier. I'm not screaming at my kids to hurry up and get dressed to walk out the door because I decided to waist too much time on the computer instead of getting them ready. After all if Mamma's happy everyone is happy. :)

Monday, May 23, 2011

These precious moments

Yesterday we celebrated my son's 6th birthday. It's hard to believe that he's six already. When people tell you not to blink while your children are growing, it's so true. They grow up so quick. I'm one of those detail  oriented people. I watch every little detail in a persons appearance and actions. I love to sit back and watch my children play and interact with people. It says so much about the character they're developing. I was watching my son opening his gifts with his cousins and friends. I loved the way they worked as a team to read the cards and open the gifts. I loved watching their little faces light up with every rip of the paper. I glanced over at my dad a couple times and just grinned at him, because I knew that he was thinking the same thing. We're a lot alike in that way. We take so much delight in those little moments. I found myself just standing there and enjoying the time with my family and friends and thought for a brief moment, I should be cleaning something. Then I thought no, I'm doing just what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm enjoying my blessings. I love being a mom and thank God for each one my little blessings.

These are the instructions that he gave me to make his cake:


Friday, May 20, 2011

The Homeschooling Mamma

Homeschooling is one of those things that you either really believe in or you don't. If you do it, you have to WANT to do it. Some people start out from the beginning homeschooling and some pull there children out  after a few years being in the school system. Everyone has different reasons and it's not always a religious thing. There's no right way or wrong way to do it as long as you "Do" it. There are some families out there who say that they're teaching there children at home and in fact they are not. Those kind of people ruin it for the rest of us who have good intentions. Many laws are now set in place because of it. I wont get into that right now.

 It can be done in many ways. My idea homeschooling looks like this:





If it's done in the wrong way it can look a bit like this:

or this:

 

or this:



If it's something you really want to do first thing to do is pray about it! Then write a letter of intent to your child's school and they will send a list of what they need from you.This letter should include your child's full name,age and grade that they'll be going into. They don't need your reasons why. They just need to know that it's your intentions. As I mentioned early there are laws set in place regarding home scooling.
 Laws change by state and by school district. This is a link to a site that will give you info on laws by state:    //www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp . Then your going to want to get an idea of what your going to use. I use a curriculum that is already made up for me. Some people like to make there own up. We use Abeka book. It's a christian curriculum and it's great for younger children. If you want to take a look this is the link to there site: http://www.abeka.com/?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

If done right homeschooling can be an awesome experience for everyone in the family. My children are well balanced, fully socialized children. We are active in many activities outside our home. We go on field trips with other home school families, we go to the library regularly and we are always doing some kind of sport through out the year. If you have any ?? I would love to try to help you out. Just ask.

In conclusion I want to share this cartoon that I found online that I just love. If you decide on homeschooling it will make complete sense to you.


Thursday, May 19, 2011

A Smooth run.

When running, there's nothing better then a newly paved, smooth road. There's no loose gravel to roll an ankle and you can keep a good pace. But where I live the roads are very old. Some sections are freshly paved and some aren't. Some are just dirt and gravel. There are potholes that you have to work yourself around. Sometimes you even slip off the road a bit onto the dirt. I think life is a lot like that old country road. Your running on smooth pavement for a while then you come to a section where there are potholes and loose gravel. The pavement has become old and brittle and forms a hole. It's just enough to keep things from getting boring. Someone once said to me "If you want hear God laugh, tell him your plans." I try to remind myself when things get tough that God never gives us more then we can handle. He gives us angels hear on earth. Like good friends and family. Thankfully I have my husband coming from behind me with his big steam roller smoothing the path behind me. That way my next lap around will be smooth running. Thanks for keeping my run smooth Doug. And a big thank you to all my soul sistas! Luv you all!!!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

For those about to Rock. We salute you!

  What do you listen to on the radio? Does what you listen to define you at all? I would say 99% of the time I listen to a Christian radio station. Usually Air 1. But ever once in a while I'll flip through the stations to find something else. Maybe to keep up with the world. I don't know why. For some reason an AC/DC song will always stop me from scanning. I know all the words and every change. I think I just like all types of music. Growing up in the late 80's and 90's, big hair and electric guitars were all the rage. So I was wondering, what does that says about me and my character. Plenty of my friends listen to all sorts of music. My husband listens to country music. The conclusion that I've come to is this... It's not what your listening to. It's the way it makes you feel. If it feels dishonoring to God then you probably shouldn't be listening to it. If you would be embarrassed listening to it in front of your kids, then it's probably not the best choice. The biggest reason why I listen to Christian music is because I like the way it lifts me up. I love listening to kids praising God in the back seat. So for those about to rock, I salute you. FIRE!!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

My newest hobby

In my attempt to lose weight once and for all, I've taken up running. It's something that I have always wanted to do and with the help of inspiring family and friends I have come pretty far. I'm not at the point where I'm going to be winning any marathons any time soon. But I can complete a 5k without problem. The thought of running 3-4 miles without stopping a few months ago looked very scary. Now I can do it a few times a week. As long as my husband and children allow me to. So if you want to give it a shot, here is some knowledge that I can pass on to you. Keep in mind that I am very new to this.
  
1. This is probably the most important tip: Invest in some good running shoes. There are all sorts of places online to buy from. Your going to want to figure out what kind of foot you have before you purchase them. This is very important because if you wear the wrong type of shoe you'll know it. Your feet will hurt and it can cause injuries. I recommend Asics. They were recommended to me by my brother in law (a seasoned runner). This is link to help you figure out your foot type http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0%2C7120%2Cs6-240-319-326-7152-0%2C00.html

2. Try to be prepared. Go to the bathroom before you start out, wear comfy clothes, have your song list ready on your ipod if you use one. If you use a Garmin watch turn it on so it finds it's satellite before start out. Bring a water bottle. If you don't want to run with one and your going to run by a convenient store put a dollar or two in your shoe.

3. Take is slow. Your not going to be able to run a 5k your first time out. It takes time for your body to get into shape. You would think that running would be a natural function for your body but it needs to be conditioned for it. I recommend training in intervals. Walk 3 minutes run 2min do this for 30min. Do that for 3-4 days for a week. Then the next week walk 3 minutes then run for 3min. Each week keep upping your minutes that you run and then as you get more comfortable decrease the amount of minutes that you walk until you get to the point where you can run steady for 30-40 min. Your body will only keep getting stronger.

4. Learn to steady your breathing. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Find a place in your mind that relaxing and stay there. I do some serious thought processing when I run. I can be an awesome outlet for a busy mom. You can use it for prayer time as well.

5. Have a goal. Start with a small one. Mine was to run a 5k. My goal now is to do a half marathon and maybe by next summer I'll be able to do a full marathon.

Good luck!!

Monday, May 16, 2011

What's LOVE got to do with it?

What's your definition of Love? I think that there are so many different outlooks on love and they all come back to how a person is treated by someone who "loves" them or doesn't love them in some cases. In character training it teaches this: Love is giving to the needs of others without expecting a reward. Scripture teaches us is in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.
  I don't know about you, but that's how I would want to be loved . It's a tough act to follow. Is that how we love others? Others being our family members, our friends, our neighbors. It's tough enough trying to love all of those people but then God says we should love those who we don't even like. Wow, even tougher!!
  I'm in no way saying that I'm in complete compliance with this. Like my friend Wendy would say "there's cheese falling off my crackers too".  So I'm challenging myself and all of you... to sit back and reflect on your definition of love and how your showing it to others. Peace out!!!

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Living The Good Life

While on my run yesterday morning. I realized how truly blessed I am to live in the middle of the sticks. I love the smell of farms and wood stoves burning. I ran by a family of ducks swimming in a marsh. The ducklings looked as though they had just hatched. I started thinking about my kids and I wondered.. will  they appreciate it as much as I do when they're older or will they want to run as far away as they can?
  When I was a kid I ran around in bare feet all day long. I climbed trees and skipped rocks daily. We lived 20 minutes from the nearest store. The mall was an all day trip. As I got older all I could think about was moving to the city and joining the Air force. Yes, the Air Force. I'm not sure why. Maybe it had to do with Top Gun. I thought that It would be so much better then the life that I was living. I wanted to visit  as many places as I could. Then life happened and I had my first child at the ripe old age of 17. My whole life changed. I finished high school and got a job at a convenient store. After that I met my husband and again my world changed. I became a Christian and realized that life wasn't about me. Shortly after I got married I had another child, and another, and another. My life became consumed by my children and being a good Christian wife and mother. We bought an old run down farm house on 11 acres of land. I realized that this is where I want to be and this is where I can give my children the best upbringing. My children can run around our property bare footed and climb as many trees as they want. There are many days that I curse the broken pipes and walls. But at the end of the day, this is HOME!

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Hanging with my teens.

Today I went to play paintball for the first time. We took a bunch of teens from our church youth group out in the woods and shot them as many times as possible. Now if that doesn't say Jesus loves you, I don't know what does. I love being a part of these kids lives. I feel so blessed to get to know them a little better each time I spend time with them. It was totally worth the seven new red and purple spots that I now have on my body.