Saturday, August 25, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Aug 26 - Sept 1)

We did pretty good last week getting back to our schedule and following our meal plan.  We had lots of stuff going on but we managed to make everything work out.  This week is slightly less busy and then we have a long holiday weekend.  And that is the calm before the storm around here.  Then we will kick up into high gear during Sept.  We will have more soccer, more work for me, Scouts for Zak and church youth group for AJ.  We are confident we can make it all work but we will need to be super smart about meal planning to avoid the drive thru.

We ended up having a date night Friday night so we went out to dinner and I bumped that planned fish dinner to this week.  Other than that we stuck to our plan even though there were multiple nights that I didn't feel like cooking.  This week I'm going back to having one leftovers night each week.  It gives me a break from cooking and helps empty the fridge.  We didn't have it last week because the fridge didn't have much in it.  Most weeks it will be Wednesday because Adrian doesn't usually come home between work and his Bible study group.

Other than that this week will look much like last week.  I'm focusing on easy healthy meals with lots of variety.  My goal is to have one dinner each week with chicken, pork, beef and fish/seafood.  Then I also want to have one soup and one pasta.  That's six different meals and the last one will be either leftovers or a quick meal of salads or sandwiches.  For me it's easier to plan that way, at least for now.  It helps me narrow down my recipe options.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Pulled Pork Tacos
Monday - Sloppy Jane Stir Fry
Tuesday - Jerk Chicken Tacos
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Fish with Parmesan Sour Cream Sauce
Friday - Pepperoni Pizza Soup
Saturday - Kale and Red Pepper Frittata

Water Flavor - Apple again until they are all used up

Overnight Oats - We are back in the habit of eating these every morning.  I used up all of my flavored yogurts last week so this week I'll make a few double batches using my normal recipe and add some flavors to it.  I'll do one plain, one with peanut butter & chocolate chips and one with cocoa.  That should be enough for the week.

Use It Up - I bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables last week so I will be using those as sides all week.  I'm also using up some of the meat in the freezer for the dinners and the Greek yogurt that I have for the oats.  And I'm going to bake cookies from the freezer for the boys one day this week to use those up.  I have three packs in the freezer so I'll be trying to use those up over the next few weeks. 

Friday, August 24, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 8/17 - 8/23)

Friday (8/17) I woke up still not feeling well today but I managed to help Adrian get AJ on the bus and then get the other two kids to school.  I cancelled my whole day and stayed home and rested.  I played a lot of Candy Crush, watched a lot of Housewives and Beverly Hills 90210 reruns and slept some more.  By the time it was time to get the kids from school I was feeling a little bit better so I'm hoping I'm on the upswing and will be fine after another good night of sleep.  The boys had another great day at school and the year seems to be off to a great start!  AJ got his trombone today at school and brought his music stand home so he can use it to practice.  Thankfully no one has homework this weekend so we can enjoy a little more free time before things pick up a little next week.

After the boys told me about their days, they headed upstairs to play video games for a while.  I rested some more, caught up on some emails and made the meatball subs we were supposed to have yesterday for dinner.  After enjoying dinner, we cleaned up and settled in for AJ's movie pick for the week "How to Train Your Dragon 2."  It was a little slow getting started but the end was really good.  Zak got sad at the end and he curled up in my lap which was super cute!  After the movie was over, we put the boys to bed and then watched a little TV before heading to bed ourselves.  I'm still not 100% and am really hoping for a good night of sleep tonight so I wake up feeling better in the morning!
Saturday (8/18) We had a very rare Saturday with nothing going on in the morning so we took advantage and slept in.  We had a lazy start with lots of TV, donuts and relaxing before we finally got ready to head out to our afternoon event.  We decided to try to keep some of the fun going during the school year and still pick activities.  Instead of everyone picking something every week, we are doing one person per weekend.  That person will pick our Friday night movie and our weekend activity.  This week was AJ's pick and he picked to see Madagascar Jr at the local children's theater.  We had free tickets from our library reading program and had one extra so AJ invited his buddy David to join us.  We all enjoyed the show, it was cute and funny and all of the kids in the show did a great job!
The show was short (about an hour) so since we had a lot of the afternoon left, David came over to "hang" with my boys for a while in the afternoon.  Adrian and I spent the afternoon trying to get some stuff done around the house to catch up after vacation and school starting.  The afternoon passed quickly and after David left, we made homemade pizza for dinner and had a nice family dinner.  We talked about our plans for the upcoming weekends and made some decisions as a family about what we're doing.  After dinner the boys played a little and we started watching the Cowboys game while we digested way too much pizza.  Then we did some clean up, got the boys to bed and headed to bed ourselves.  We were all exhausted tonight!
Sunday (8/19) Daniel and Zak were up early this morning and wanted an adult downstairs with them so they woke me up too.  I'm glad AJ and Adrian got some extra sleep because they both needed it.  We had a lazy morning watching TV and drinking coffee before getting ready and heading to second service of church.  I served in childcare while Adrian went to service and they boys went to their classes.  We all had a nice morning worshiping and learning with our church family!  After service, we ran home for a quick lunch of leftover pizza and then I headed back to the church to work for the afternoon as a facilities rep.

It was a busy afternoon at the church and I worked hard getting things settled there.  While I was there Adrian and the boys worked and played around the house.  I got home just in time to help them head out to Martial Arts class.  Adrian took them there while I stayed home and got a few things done and got dinner ready.  The boys were excited to be back to Martial Arts after a few weeks off and super excited to get shirts to wear for classes instead of only wearing their uniform.  After class, we had dinner, talked about our week and finished up a few things.  Adrian went on a bike ride with the boys and helped Zak learn to ride a two wheeler.  We played a quick game of Machi Koro while AJ watched a show before the boys all headed to bed for the night.  Adrian and I finished up what we needed to do and then watched the end of the Cowboys preseason game.  Ready for our first full week of school!


Monday (8/20) It was an early start for us but it will be like that for the whole school year.  Adrian and I got AJ up and on the bus before he headed to work.  Then I got the other boys up and ready for school.  I volunteered this morning so I went in with them for the first hour of the day to help kids find their classrooms.  When I was done there, I got started on my giant shopping list to restock the house since I didn't shop much this summer.  I went to Costco, Kroger, Giant Eagle, Dollar Tree and Aldi before I decided I was exhausted and needed to come home and unload what I had and get my lunch.  Before I knew it, it was time to pick up the boys from school and get ready for our evening.

I got them started on their homework and then headed out to teach my afternoon Zumba class.  It's been a while since I taught and I struggled a little but we still had fun and were moving.  When I got home, I helped Adrian and AJ head out to Boy Scouts and then put away the rest of the groceries while they were there.  When they got home, we got the boys down to bed and then made snacks and started watching the "Psych" movie from Christmas.  It will take us a few nights to get thru the whole movie because we were exhausted so it was an early bedtime for us too! 

Tuesday (8/21) Another early morning made even earlier by Zak waking up around 5am, just a few minutes before our alarms go off anyway.  Adrian got up and hung out with him and then we both got AJ ready for the bus.  After AJ and Adrian were off for the day, I got the other three of us ready and dropped the boys off at school.  Then I headed to Harcum to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  We had fun and worked hard and are all excited for some new schedule changes starting next month.  When class was over, I ran the last two errands I had to run and then headed home to get ready for a busy night.

I picked everyone up from school and then made dinner so everyone could eat whenever they had time.  Then I got Daniel ready for soccer and Adrian took him there for his first practice which he said was great.  I headed to the church to work as a facilities rep for the evening.  I enjoyed seeing some friends there and also getting a little time to myself to finish up a few things.  When we all got home, we did clean up and got the boys down for bed.  Then we watched another segment of the "Psych" movie and headed to bed too.

Wednesday (8/22) We all got a good night of sleep and got up and moving quickly this morning.  Adrian and I got AJ on the bus and then he headed to work.  I got the other two boys ready for school and then we decided to walk up to school since it was so nice outside this morning.  After I got them there, I headed to the church for a few meetings about taking over some more responsibilities there.  I will be teaching Zumba classes and helping out with the facilities rep scheduling starting in Sept and while I'm a little overwhelmed, I could not be happier to take these things on!  I also got an application to be a sub in the preschool there.  I won't have a lot of times that I can help but I am happy to help out when I can.

After all of those meetings, I headed home and got a few things done around the house including cooking dinner since we have such a busy night ahead of us.  Then I headed into Zak's class to volunteer for about an hour at the end of the day.  I did sight words with most of the kids in his class.  It was so fun to be back in as a volunteer!  When school was over, I picked up the boys and we headed home to meet AJ.  Then I got ready and headed to the Y for my Zumba class while they stayed home and worked on their homework and then played video games.
After my class, I ran home and changed again to get ready for a pool party with AJ.  It was for the youth group at our church and was his first activity with them.  He enjoyed playing the pool and jumping on the trampoline with the other kids.  We also had fun sitting around the bonfire chatting and enjoying roasted hot dogs and marshmallows.  AJ said it was a great time and he can't wait to do more with the youth group starting this fall.  While we were there, Adrian hung out at home with the other boys playing games and riding bikes.  When we all got back home, we got the boys to bed, finished the "Psych" movie and headed to bed too.  The movie was just OK, not as good as we were hoping it would be.  But still nice to see the characters that we know and love.
Thursday (8/23) The day started a little earlier than I would like when Daniel had a bad dream and woke me up.  Thankfully we were able to go back to sleep for a bit before I had to get up to help get AJ out to school.  Adrian and I got AJ on the bus then he headed to work and I got the other boys ready for school.  Then I walked them up and headed in to the Harcum Center to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  We had two great classes and lots of feedback about the upcoming changes to the schedule.  We are all excited about the new classes I'll be adding in September!

After I got home from work, I worked around the house for a while and before I knew it, it was time to pick up the boys from school.  We finished our homework while I made dinner and got everyone ready for a busy night.  Adrian got home and had a quick dinner before heading out with Daniel and Zak for soccer practice.  They are at different fields so he ran them back and forth while I went to work at the church for a few hours as a facility rep.  I worked on the schedule for next month while I was there and enjoyed catching up with a few friends as well.  AJ stayed home and relaxed and watched YouTube videos while we were all running around.  When we all got home, we got the boys to bed, finished cleaning up from dinner and watched this week's episode of "Younger."  We are officially all caught up on everything on both DVRs so I'm not sure what we'll watch each night going forward, probably something on Netflix.  We headed to bed early because these early mornings are rough if we don't!

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 8/10 - 8/16)

Friday (8/10) Our last full day in the Outerbanks and it started early.  We had an early reservation to go on the jet skis since we couldn't get out yesterday.  Only AJ and Zak wanted to go on them, Daniel did not want to join us.  So the four of us set out with Jon, Carl, Sarah, Luci, Isabelle and Alexandra for an early morning ride on the bay.  Daniel stayed home with the rest of the group for some pool time and also went and helped walk my aunt's dog Barney.  We had a blast on the jet skis!  I was with Zak and the number one thing I wanted to do was not fall over - and we didn't!  We didn't go very fast, but he was fine with it and had a great time.  AJ and Adrian went a lot faster than we did and also had a great time.  Our hour passed quickly and we reluctantly pulled back into the dock and headed home.
After some pool time, we all headed to the beach for the last time.  Our whole house went and we had a great time playing out really far on a sand bar that had formed.  Daniel didn't want to go out that far at first, but once I got him out there, we loved it!  We spent over two hours playing in the water and watching the kids play in the sand.  My mom also took them on a walk to collect some shells to bring back home with them.  It was a perfect beach afternoon and none of us wanted to leave!  But soon it was time to head back to the house for a little relaxing and pool time before we started to pack up to head home.
 
 

The rest of the day passed quickly with pool time, volleyball, packing and eating all of the delicious food left in the refrigerator.  We took a short break from packing to bring the boys down the street to get some souvenirs - they got new plushies and Adrian and I got tee shirts.  On our way home from the store, we stopped by for a short visit to my Aunt and Uncle's house.  AJ and Daniel enjoyed playing video games with Matteo while Zak talked my cousin Lisa's ear off about everything we did on vacation and all he would do when we got back to OH.  I enjoyed some time with my aunts and cousins as well.  It was nice to have some time with them, wish we had a little more.  Then we headed back home to finish up packing and get everyone to bed so we could start out early the next morning.  It stinks when vacation ends but it's been a great week and now it's time to return to real life.
 
Saturday (8/11) We were up early today and all a little sad since we had to say goodbye to both vacation and our family members who don't live near us.  Adrian and I were up and moving early and had the car ready to go by 8am.  The boys played one last quick game of basketball with Alexandra and then we said our "see you laters" and hit the road.  The traffic was slow getting off the island but not nearly as bad as last week getting to the house.  We did pretty well and crossed into Virginia about 2 hours after we left and immediately stopped at a Wawa for breakfast, coffee and subs for later.
 
After that stop, we made really great time the whole trip.  We had a few more bathrooms stops than we would have liked, but we had some stomach issues and no accidents so I'll call it a win for our family.  The boys did great traveling, mostly playing on their devices or watching movies in the car.  Adrian drove most of the way except for a brief two and a half hour stint in Virginia for me.  I slept and read and navigated using my new favorite app Waize.  We got home just after 9pm, just about 13 hours door to door.  We were thrilled to make the trip in one day and not get home at a crazy hour!  The boys were excited to be home as well, commenting how clean the house looked and smelled.  They hung out for a while, watched a show and headed to bed.  Adrian and I pretty much did the same.  It was a great week and a long drive and we were exhausted!

Sunday (8/12) We all slept in a little this morning to try to recover from our vacation.  We had a very lazy start including lots of TV and coffee.  Then we finally had to start the process of unpacking all of our stuff from vacation.  Adrian and I worked on and off all day to get unpacked and ready for the week while the boys played together and watched some video games.  We did take a mid-day break from working to go to the movies to see "How to Train Your Dragon" as the last movie of the free movies series we've been going to all summer.  We all really enjoyed it!!  I read the book yesterday and the movie was totally different, but still so good.  We can't wait to see the next ones!
After we got home from the movie, we went back to working on getting settled.  Adrian ran out and grabbed us Bibibop for dinner so we didn't have to worry about cooking for one more day.  The boys played in the yard for a little bit after dinner and then we got them to bed early since we are trying to get back to the school routine.  After they were down, Adrian and I watched a few comedies and then headed to bed too.  We're still very tired from the vacation!  It's going to be a long week!

Monday (8/13) Today was another day of sleeping in, at least for some of us.  AJ and Zak were up early which is good because AJ needs to be ready to get up early for the bus on Wednesday.  The rest of us slept in.  Adrian finally got up and moving and headed into work while the rest of us had a lazy morning watching TV, playing and doing an inventory of what we still need to pick up for school.  We had a quick lunch and headed out to start running our errands.  We started with haircuts for everyone before school and then went to pick up Krispy Kreme donuts for the first week of school.  We finished with a quick trip to Meijer for shoes, shirts and a few other necessities for the next few days.
After we ran those errands, we headed to Central to meet AJ's guidance counselor for a meeting about AJ's transition to 6th grade.  We picked up his schedule, walked the halls, saw where all of his classes are and practiced on his locker.  We also reviewed his accommodations for the year and she answered all of our questions.  Both of us feel much better about the upcoming school year after our meeting!  When we finished up at school, we headed home and I sorted thru everything we got while we were out while the boys played video games.
After a quick pasta dinner, Adrian and AJ headed to his Boy Scout meeting while I hung out at home with the other boys.  I got all of our school supplies sorted and ready to go for meet the teacher tomorrow.  Then the boys watched a few shows, including a new "Teen Titans Go!" that they were super excited about.  We got them to bed early again, trying to get back in that habit for the school year, and then came down and finished a few things up before watching a few comedies and heading to bed.  Only one more day of summer vacation left for us!

Tuesday (8/14) Today was even harder to get up and moving but we did it.  We got the boys up a little earlier than usual so we can have an earlier bedtime tonight.  Adrian headed off to work and then I got the boys ready for the day and then headed off to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes at Harcum.  I was a little rusty but it was fun to get back to it.  I missed my students!!  We had two great classes and then I ran home to grab a quick lunch, feed the boys and head up to West for Daniel and Zak's Meet the Teacher day.

We started the afternoon volunteering at the Scouts table recruiting new members for the year.  Then after the other volunteer came to relieve me, we headed out to "meet" out teachers for the year.  There wasn't much meeting since we know both of them already, we've had both of them in previous years.  But it was nice to catch up with them, see the new rooms and get our supplies dropped off.  Both boys are very comfortable and ready to start the new school year!!  I think it's going to be a great year for all of us!!
After we helped clean up the Scouts table, we headed home for the evening.  The boys played a little more video games before being done until Friday since it's a school night.  Then we had a delicious taco Tuesday dinner, watched some TV, got as much ready for tomorrow as possible and headed upstairs for an early bedtime.  Everyone read and they were in bed before 9pm.  Daniel decided to have a sleepover in the room with the other boys "since it was a special night."  Adrian and I came back downstairs, did a few things, watched an episode of Grown-ish and headed to bed too.  We have a very early wake up call tomorrow!

Wednesday (8/15) First day of school!!  Unfortunately the day started way earlier than we were expecting it to.  AJ was up with a super nervous stomach at 4am and Daniel was up super excited to start school soon after that.  Adrian helped AJ get back to sleep and Daniel and I rested in the other bed.  We finally got up when the alarm went off and started getting ready for school.  Adrian and I got AJ out to the bus stop early and even though he was super nervous, he was brave and headed out when the bus got there.  Then I got the other boys ready and headed in to help in their school for a bit before I headed home to enjoy my first day of freedom!
My day passed quickly getting caught up on everything I need to do around the house.  Before I knew it, it was time to head out to pick up Daniel and Zak.  They both had a great first day and are super excited about the upcoming year.  Zak said it was "the best day ever! at school" which is high praise from him.  Daniel is super excited about all he is going to learn this year and that all of his friends from last year are in his class again this year.  When we got home, AJ was finally home and he also had a great day!  He said he found his way around fine, had a little trouble finding the cafeteria but still found it and had plenty of time to eat his lunch.  He also struggled a little with his locker but eventually got it just fine.  He made it to all of his classes "before his teachers" so he got everywhere he needed to be on time.  He seems to be crossing from nervous to excited for the year.  I know all three of them are going to do great things!!
 
When they got home, they were all pretty tired.  They watched some TV, played with their plush toys and relaxed a lot.  Zak and I played a quick game of "Dino World" before we all had dinner together.  Adrian was supposed to go to Bible study tonight but I asked him to stay home and help me with the kids.  He got to hear all about how great their days were as well, and I got some new information too.  We finished up a night with our new favorite show "How to Train Your Dragon" on Netflix and then got everyone to bed early.  Adrian and I came down and had a snack and watched last night's "Younger" before we also headed to bed.  Hoping for a longer night of sleep tonight!

Thursday (8/16) The second day of school thankfully started much later than the first day and everyone slept until they were supposed to.  Unfortunately I woke up not feeling well today but decided to push thru my day anyway since it was a busy one.  Adrian and I got AJ on the bus and then I got the other two boys ready and dropped off at school.  Then I headed to Harcum to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes and show everyone my pictures from vacation.  I struggled thru the classes but I made it.

After the two classes, I had two meetings about my fall group exercise schedule.  I met with my boss at Harcum to discuss adding two new classes to my schedule there.  Then I met with two other Zumba instructors to figure out the Saturday rotation and a few subbing opportunities.  It was a productive day and I feel ready to start with all of these new classes over the next two weeks!  Then I ran a quick errand to Aldi to pick up dinner and then headed to the school to help with pick up for the first day of kindergarten.

When I got home from all of that, I felt awful!  I hung out with the boys for a little bit but then I had to go lay down.  I passed out and slept for like 3 hours.  I woke up, said good night to the boys, had some toast and water and went back to bed for the night.  Thankfully Adrian got the boys thru the night routine and got everything cleaned up.  He didn't cook the dinner I planned, but there was enough leftovers so the guys had that.  I'm hoping I feel better when I wake up tomorrow!!

Saturday, August 18, 2018

Keeping Up With...Food (Meal Plan for Aug 19 - Aug 25)

After a few weeks off, I am back to meal planning!  We ate a ton of leftovers the week before we left for vacation, a ton of great food while we were on vacation and a bunch of random stuff this past week.  We got home late last Saturday night and I didn't get a plan together last weekend.  This week between the first day of school, a stomach bug and the vacation hangover cooking was easy and quick stuff.  We had pasta, tacos, meatball subs, take out and homemade pizza.

This week we are going to try to get back to our normal routine and definitely back to healthy eating.  While I enjoyed the little break, I know not eating well affects my mood and my energy levels.  I'm getting back to cooking every night and varying the kinds of food we eat.  We get a little bit of a break this week since we don't have soccer yet, at least not as far as I know.  And we also seem to have less homework than we will as the year goes on.  Although I do get back to teaching Zumba and working at the church this week so I will be out every night this week at something.

We are also still trying to empty out our freezer so we're using up all of the meat we have down there before I restock.  We are nearly out so probably this week and next will be using up what we have and then I will do a restocking trip.  Emptying the freezer has helped keep our grocery shopping to a minimum this summer which helped both financially and saved me time at the stores.  I will try to remember that for next summer, make sure we are stocked up in May and then shop less while the boys are out of school.

Here's what we're eating this week:
Sunday - Frozen Appetizers (emptying the freezer)
Monday - Kielbasa Chili with green beans
Tuesday - Chicken Fajita Rice Bowls for us, Tacos for the boys
Wednesday - Cheesy Summer Corn Soup with salads
Thursday - Taco Pasta
Friday - Fish with Parmesan Sour Cream Sauce with roasted potatoes and zucchini
Saturday - Steaks on the grill with green beans

Water Flavor - Apple again until they are all used up

Overnight Oats - I did set some of these up last week because I wanted them for breakfast, especially on the days that I was teaching.  We also had donuts and some mornings that I didn't eat so we have some leftover for this week.  I'll start with those and then set up a few batches using my normal recipe and some flavored yogurt.  If we need more, I'll do some peanut butter chocolate chip or chocolate chocolate chip flavors.

Use It Up - I'm doing a bunch of that this week again, although really all I have is stuff in the freezer.  I'm using appetizers, kielbasa, chicken, steaks that are all in the freezer.  I'm also eating a peach every day since we have a bunch that we picked before vacation.  I'm trying to make sure to eat them before they go bad.  I'm using the apples that no one likes in my water, I'm almost done with them.  And finally I'm using up flavored yogurts that I get for free in my oats for the week.

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Keeping Up With...2018 Goals (July Recap & Aug Goals)

The past month has been awesome spending so much time with the boys.  We have really enjoyed our summer to the fullest and are excited to have two more weeks to enjoy.  I'm trying to think of a way to keep the fun going during the school year but I know it's going to be hard once we're back to our regular schedule.  I'll be thinking about that over the next two weeks.  Some of my other goals have suffered while I focused on enjoying time with the boys but I am totally fine with that.

August is going to be a weird month for me.  It's almost like a split month.  We are going on vacation in the first half of the month, then we come home and the boys go back to school.  So the second half of the month will be more structured and on our normal schedule.  I'm looking at this month as a transition month.  I'll finish up the fun of the summer and then start to get used to the busy schedule of fall.  I'm happy with where I am so far this year and plan to finish this year strong!  Same as I did last month, I will talk a little about how I did with each of the 10 goals last month and then talk about my plans for August to stay on track. 

1. Lose 50 pounds (Lost 10 pounds this year, Grade for July: A)
  • Meal plan each Sunday - I did this every week and wrote 4 posts
  • Count calories for 15 days this month - I was actually able to do this 16 days this month!  The other half of the month wasn't great but it wasn't as bad as it could have been either. 
  • Go to one class each week that I am not teaching - I went to a Zumba jam, Katherine's Zumba class, and I taught 2 barre classes.  I didn't get to as many classes as I hoped but I also taught a lot more this month than I realized I was when I set this goal.
  • Maintain my current weight - I was able to do this for the month!  I am super excited that I didn't gain any weight this month and I don't have anything to undo next month!
2. Read 20 books again (Read 11 books this year, Grade for July: A+)
  • Finish 1 book - I read "North Haven" this month.  It was just OK, not one of my favorites.  It had a good story and characters but it just never went anywhere.
  • Read 10% of  "The Beauty Myth" - Done!
3. Watch 25 movies (Watched 30 movies this year, Grade for July: A+)
  • Watch 4 movies -  We have blown this goal out of the water watching six movies this month and hitting 30 movies for the year!  I'm so glad the boys are enjoying movies and we are able to watch some more.  The ones we watched this month are "Incredibles," "Incredibles 2," "Jumanji," "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," "Elf" and "Teen Titans Go!"
4. Go on 12 dates with Adrian (5 dates this year, Grade for July: F)
  • Book our babysitter for a night so we can go out - We didn't do this again this month.  We've been really busy and enjoying our family time but we also know our relationship is important.  Hoping to get back to this in August!
5. Pay off 1 credit card and my student loans (Grade for July: C)
  • Help Adrian work at least 3 hours of OT each week - Adrian worked 6 hours of overtime this month.  He was sick one week and he took some time off this month so he didn't get as much overtime as we normally do.  But we made the decision that family time was more important.
  • Spend as little as possible - We did pretty good with not spending too much but we did buy all of the back to school stuff this month.  And there was Prime Day.
6. Finish my CEUs for my YMCA certification new requirements for Silver Sneakers training for water aerobics
  • I'm taking the summer off from this goal, it will be back on in September
7. Clean out the house (Grade for July: A+)
  • Clean out the boys' art supplies - done!
  • Clean out the front closet - done!
  • Clean out the play room with the boys (10 minutes per day) - done!
  • Started working on turning the spare room into Daniel's room - Since we finished everything else this month, we started on our fall goal which is cleaning out the spare room and turning it into Daniel's room.  He is so excited!
8. Keep up an active blog (Grade for July: A+)
  • Meal plan posts every Sunday - 4 posts
  • Week in review posts every Friday - 4 posts
  • Monthly goal posts the last day of the month - done!
9. Play more board game (Grade for July: A+)
  • Have one family board game night - We blew this goal out of the water again with 5 game nights this month & many games of "Machi Koro" that were not during game nights.  We played a lot of board games in July for sure!
10. Improve my classes (Grade for July: A+)
  • Attend one Zumba jam session - done!  It wasn't one of my favorites and I probably won't use any of the choreo from it but I went and made the best of it and got a great workout.
  • Switch out the band portion of my Silver Sneakers class - done!
11.  Have an amazing summer! (Grade for July: A+)
  • Do one activity each week that each person picks (5 activities per week) - We did this every week and then some!  We have done a ton of things and enjoyed them all.  Check out my weekly blogs for more details.
  • Have an awesome Fourth of July - done!
  • Get ready for our family vacation in August - done!
And here are my goals for this month:

1. Lose 50 pounds
  • Meal plan each Sunday starting on 8/19
  • Count calories for 15 days this month
  • Go to three classes this month that I am not teaching
  • Maintain my current weight
2. Read 20 books again
  • Finish 1 book
  • Read 10% of  "The Beauty Myth"
3. Watch 25 50 movies
  • Watch 4 movies
4. Go on 12 dates with Adrian
  • Book our babysitter for a night so we can go out
5. Pay off 1 credit card and my student loans
  • Help Adrian work at least 3 hours of OT each week
  • Start subbing after the first three days of school, sub at least two full days this month
  • Spend as little as possible - We did pretty good with not spending too much but we did buy all of the back to school stuff this month.  And there was Prime Day.
6. Finish my CEUs for my YMCA certification new requirements for Silver Sneakers training for water aerobics
  • I'm taking the summer off from this goal, it will be back on in September
7. Clean out the house
  • Clean out the spare room and turn it into Daniel's room
8. Keep up an active blog
  • Meal plan posts every Sunday
  • Week in review posts every Friday
  • Monthly goal posts the last day of the month
9. Play more board game
  • Have one family board game night
10. Improve my classes
  • Attend one Zumba jam session
  • Research Aqua Zumba training
11.  Have an amazing summer!
  • Have an awesome vacation in the Outerbanks!
  • Finish up the few activities we want to do here in Columbus
  • Have a smooth transition back to school in mid-August
     

Friday, August 3, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 7/27 - 8/2)

Friday (7/27) Today was another slow start for all of us.  Adrian finally got up and moving, although he wasn't feeling very well.  He headed out to work while I got the boys ready for the day and then headed out to the Garver Y to sub a Zumba Gold class for another friend who is out of town this week.  After my class, I had fun staying for a Zumba class.  It was my friend's first time teaching a class and I was so glad I was there to support her!  Unfortunately I couldn't stay for the whole class because I had to leave to get home to feed everyone lunch and head out with AJ to his pediatrician appointment.

AJ had a great appointment with the doctor.  He has grown and gained weight in the past 3 months.  He's doing great on his ADHD meds so we'll keep using them.  And he got two booster shots like a champ.  When his appointment was over, we headed back home to pack up and head out to Zoombeezi Bay for the night.  We started in Jungle Jack's landing riding the Sea Dragon roller coaster, Safari Stampede, Dust Devil (the scrambler) and the swings.  We had a fun time and spent more time than we were planning in that area.
 
 
We finally headed into Zoombeezi Bay and went right to the wave pool to cool off after all of the rides.  We played for a while then stopped to have dinner and then went back in to ride the lazy river for a while.  I took Zak to the tipping bucket while the other guys played in the lazy river and wave pool.  We all met up about 8:30 to get tubes and get settled for the movie, Elf.  The boys spent most of the movie in the water, but Adrian and I stayed on dry land because it was chilly.  Zak got bored so he and Adrian left a little early and I stayed until the end with the other boys.  It was a very fun family night!
 
Saturday (7/28) We all slept in after the long day yesterday.  Adrian got up and moving first and headed out to get an oil change in the van before our trip.  I got the boys thru their morning routine and got a few things done around the house.  Then after lunch we headed up to Polaris to meet Carl and Isabelle to watch the Teen Titans movie.  The kids have been waiting for this for months!  Unfortunately Adrian still wasn't feeling well so he stayed home to rest while we went.
We all enjoyed the movie.  It was a very silly story and basically a long version of their show.  But the kids loved it and there were some jokes for the parents in there as well which always makes a kids' movie better to me.  After the movie, we headed back home to get some stuff done and get ready for our vacation.  The boys played video games while I worked and Adrian rested so he can feel better.  The rest of the day passed quickly and soon it was time for the boys to go to bed.  After we put them to bed, we did a little planning for the OBX trip, watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.

Sunday (7/29) Everyone got a good night of sleep and slept in this morning.  Adrian was still not feeling well so he stayed home from church with the boys this morning and I went to second service.  I served in childcare and had a good time with some of my favorite kids.  Then I chatted with a few friends before heading home for lunch with the guys.  After lunch, we pretty much just worked around the house for the rest of the day.  We worked on getting ready for vacation, finishing up a few things and doing our monthly chores so we are ready to go when we come back from vacation.  It wasn't an exciting day but it was very productive!  Adrian also rested a lot but he's still not feeling well.  I'm really hoping he feels better tomorrow as I need his help to get ready to leave and we have a busy and fun two weeks ahead.  After we got the boys to bed, we finished our night with our last two shows on our DVR and are officially cleared off and ready to start the fall season in Sept.  We'll spend the rest of the summer watching a few movies and watching a few shows on Netflix.

Monday (7/30) Today started late after a rough night of sleep because Daniel had a bad dream and came in to sleep with me but then couldn't fall back asleep.  Thankfully I didn't have to go anywhere early so I slept in a little bit.  Unfortunately Adrian still wasn't feeling well so he stayed home from work for the day.  When Daniel finally woke up he said he also wasn't feeling well.  We are hoping this ends today and no one else gets it!  After getting everyone thru their morning routine, I headed to the Y to sub a Silver Sneakers class for a friend who was out of town.  It was nice to see my old Monday morning crew!

When I got home, we had a quick lunch and then I headed downtown to the fountains with AJ and Zak.  It was fun to have some time with just the two of them, it doesn't happen often.  They had a blast running around in the water together.  Since the weather wasn't great there were very few kids there so they were able to run around and do whatever they wanted.  We stayed for two hours and only left because we were out of time on our meter.
We stopped at Taco Bell on our way home to pick up dinner for AJ since he had coupons for free tacos to use.  Then we came home, had a quick dinner and turned around and went back out to Game On! VBS.  All three boys are going this week, but only AJ and Zak went today.  After I dropped them off, I went and did the last bit of grocery shopping that I need to do before we leave for vacation.  Then I picked them up and heard all about the awesome time they had.  When we got home we were thrilled to hear that everyone was feeling better after a day of rest so hopefully we'll be back to our regular schedule tomorrow.  We got the boys down to bed, finished cleaning up and putting away groceries, watched an episode of Grown-ish and headed to bed.


Tuesday (7/31) Everyone got a great night of sleep and slept in this morning.  I got up and ready to head to Harcum before most of the guys were up.  Adrian eventually got up and headed to work and I left to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  After class, I ran to get a quick eyebrow wax and then stopped at Cane's to pick up lunch since we had coupons for free combo meals.  When I got home, we had a nice lunch together and then since it was raining we cancelled our plan to go to the park and headed out to run a few errands instead.  We went to the library and Half Price Books to pick up summer reading program prizes and also to the dollar store to pick up road trip snacks.
When the boys couldn't take any more errands, we headed home.  They played video games while I got dinner together for us and for a friend who is going thru a rough time.  I ran dinner to them and then we all ate a quick dinner and Adrian headed out to take all three boys to Game On! VBS.  We did a little cleaning and a little vacation prep while they were at VBS and then he went back to pick them up.  They had a fun time again tonight and are looking forward to the rest of the week.  We got them down to bed, had snacks and then headed to bed for the night too.  This week is flying by!!

Wednesday (8/1) Fair day!!  Unfortunately I got a horrible night of sleep last night but thankfully I was able to sleep in a little this morning, as did everyone else.  We had a slow morning and then got ready and headed out to the Ohio State Fair.  It was rainy and overcast when we got there but we still managed to have an awesome time.  We started in Kiddieland riding a ton of rides there with Zak leading the charge.  We rode the caterpillar coaster, giant slide, flying elephants, music express jr, and a bunch of other little ones. Then we headed over to the midway to ride the bigger rides like the Crazy Mouse, Tilt a Whirl, Pharoah's Revenge, Music Express and a ton of fun houses.  We also enjoyed fried Oreos, cheese fries, funnel cake, pizza and sausage.
 
 
 
 
After a few hours, I was exhausted and a little motion sick but the boys were still going strong, especially Zak.  Thankfully Adrian came and met us after work and helped out with the boys.  He rode a few rides with them and then I got a second wind and rode a few more with them too.  Then AJ and Daniel were ready to leave so I grabbed some deep fried Buckeyes and took them home.  Adrian stayed for two more hours letting Zak ride all of the rides in Kiddieland.  They had a blast!!  When they finally got home at close to 10am, the boys finished up a show and then we got them to bed and Adrian and I followed close behind.  Fun filled day!!
 
Thursday (8/2) The alarm went off way too early this morning after the long day yesterday!  But I had to get up and moving for my last day of work before vacation, as did Adrian.  He headed out early while I got a few things done around here and then headed to Harcum to teach my two Silver Sneakers classes.  I was dragging but thankfully my amazing students helped pull me thru!  Then I ran a few errands on my way home, came home and had a quick lunch and we turned around and headed back out for the afternoon.

Our first stop was up to Utica to pick some fresh peaches.  It is one of my favorite fruits and I love going up to pick them and knew they would be gone when we got back.  The boys made quick work of filling two boxes and I didn't even have a chance to take any pictures.  When we finished picking, we headed to Easton for a few things.  We stopped at Barnes and Noble to pick up AJ's free book from the summer reading program.  Then we headed over to Build a Bear to use our vouchers for $15 off each bear.  The boys had a great time picking and stuffing their own bears!  We left with Groot (AJ), Dragon (Daniel's new name for Toothless) and Fire Popcorn Squirtel (Zak's new name for Squirtel).
 
After we made our new stuffies, we headed out to the splash pads for some fun.  The boys played in the water for a while and also played the games that were set up around the splash pads.  They had a great time and probably would have kept playing but we needed to get home to start getting ready for vacation.  We had a "clean out the fridge" dinner and then the boys played while Adrian and I worked around the house to get ready to leave.  We were both super tired though so we did what we could and decided that to get a good night of rest and do the rest in the morning.  So we watched a show, had a snack and headed to bed.  We hit the road whenever we're ready tomorrow!!