Keeping Up With...Family (Weekly Wrap 7/22 - 7/28)

Friday (7/22) started with some excitement on our way to my Zumba class.  We pulled into the parking lot & the sky opened up.  It was pouring rain as we tried to run from the car into the Y.  We had one umbrella which kept us sort of dry, but Zak & AJ got tired of walking so slow so they just ran thru the rain.  Thankfully the storm had ended by the time we were leaving an hour later.

We were supposed to go to COSI this afternoon but the boys' behavior was pretty rough in the morning and it continued when we got home from the gym.  I made an executive decision that I was not dealing with them in public and that we were staying home and relaxing.  I think all of the late nights from VBS caught up with them today.  We did have our last night of VBS tonight which included a family dinner.  It was a gorgeous night to be outside eating, playing on their playground and just chilling out.

Saturday (7/23) we spent most of the day split up.  I headed to Zumba and then to run a few errands.  Then I met up with some of my Zumba friends to practice some choreo.  It was so fun to see everyone & we spent as much time talking and laughing as dancing.  It was perfect!  Adrian took the boys and headed to AJ's Brain Balance appointment and then to Highbanks Park to play some Pokemon Go.  After a quick stop home for lunch, they headed downtown to COSI to see their current special exhibit about video games.  Everyone had a great time.  We got back together for dinner where Adrian & I enjoyed take out ribs from our favorite place at the Jazz & Rib Fest, Butch's.  And  then Daniel & I made brownies for dessert.  It was a pretty perfect day.

Sunday (7/24) was much like every Sunday this summer, church, relaxing and a little fun.  Adrian took the boys to the Y to swim for about an hour this afternoon.  He was really impressed with how well they are all swimming (it's been a few months since he's seen them).  Other than that we just chilled around the house, worked on our to do list and started to get ready for vacation.  And we gave everyone haircuts so they look sharp for vacation!

Monday (7/25) started with some more school shopping.  We got everyone a new book bag, lunch box and umbrella.  Then each kid had a play date with a friend.  AJ & Daniel went to play with friends who are also brothers and are the same age.  I dropped them off there and went with Zak to our friends' house.  We had a fun time, the boys played up stairs and us moms chatted downstairs.  Very good day with friends!!

Bookbags for the year - all 3 boys got the same one.  That should make our mornings run smooth!!

Tuesday (7/26) was another day at the pool.  The boys are in their last week of (twice weekly) swimming lessons.  We go for their lessons then stay to swim.  We only stayed about an hour after the lessons today, we were all a little tired.  And I'm a little preoccupied with getting ready for vacation.  We also had planned to hit one of our metro parks tonight but a rain storm changed those plans.

Wednesday (7/27) we didn't really have anything going on other than the fact that I had to teach 3 classes throughout the day.  We threw around a couple of ideas and ended up doing nothing.  We hung at home in between gyms and it was pretty nice.  I got a bunch of stuff done to get ready to leave on Saturday.  We also went thru all of our library items and returned like 25 books that we didn't want to read again.  We're going back tomorrow to restock.

Thursday (7/28) was our last day of swim lessons for this session.  The boys improved SO much this session, it has been amazing to watch.  I really think having them swim twice each week really helped develop their skills.  Too bad we can't keep that up during the school year.  We will switch to Sunday afternoons for our swim lessons and probably some family swim time.  Other than swim lessons, we ran a few errands, took AJ to the chiropractor and went to the library to get all the books Daniel needs to finish his summer reading project.

This week was the calm before the storm, so to speak.  We had a little fun but mostly started getting ready for our vacation next week.  I will do my best to update the blog while we're away but not sure that will happen.  If not, look for the recap when we get back.

Keeping Up With...Workouts (Recap of 7/20 - 7/26)

Last Saturday I hung out with these awesome people who also happen to be fellow Zumba Instructors.  We spent about 2 hours hanging out, laughing and of course dancing.  I loved getting together and just dancing with them.  We weren't worried about learning choreography.  We weren't worried about teaching a class.  It was great.  I'm looking forward to doing it again.

Today I celebrate my 3 year Zumba anniversary.  I'm beyond thankful to all who have been on this journey with me and will continue on this journey with me.  I still can't believe that I am a fitness instructor.  When I started on my own weight loss journey almost 5 years ago I never would have thought it would take me here.  Back then I was overweight and in horrible shape.  Now I'm in probably the best shape of my life, even though I'm not at the weight I want to be at.

But other than my health, being a Zumba instructor has given me so much more.  I have met a TON of amazing people, both other instructors and my students.  I love watching my current students on their journeys now and I'm so freaking proud of all of them!  I have a confidence I never had before.  Heck I shook everything in front of 70+ people teaching "Country Girl" a few months ago!  I have gotten 2 specialties within Zumba (Toning & Gold) and I also got licensed in Silver Sneakers (Classic & Circuit).  I have learned so much about exercise, both strength training and cardio work.

It's been an amazing three years and I can't wait to see where this all leads in the future.  I have big plans for the upcoming year or so.  In the next few months, I'm taking Basic 2 from Zumba where I will perfect some of the other dances we do and I'm also getting licensed in Barre.  I will also start teaching Zumba Gold at least once a week.  In the upcoming year I plan to teach more Zumba Gold, Silver Sneakers & start teaching Barre.  I'm also hoping to use my Muscle Conditioning license to teach a circuit class or a total body class.  It's going to be a great year & I hope you enjoy reading all about it!!

With the theme of this post, you won't be surprised that nearly all my exercise the past week was Zumba.  Look for some variety next week as we will be on vacation part of the week.  Also I won't be weighing in for a few weeks, I'm just going to enjoy vacation & the end of summer.  I'll get back to it when the kids start school.

Here's what the last week looked like:
Wednesday - Taught a one hour Zumba class
Thursday - Taught a one hour Zumba class, taught a one hour Zumba Gold class & went swimming with the boys for about 2 hours
Friday - Taught a one hour Zumba class
Saturday - Taught a one hour Zumba Toning class & danced with friends for about 2 hours
Sunday - Rest Day!  Practiced a new Zumba song for about 15 minutes just to keep the streak going
Monday - Taught a one hour Zumba Toning class
Tuesday - Taught a one hour Silver Sneakers class & went swimming with the boys for about 2 hours

I will try to stay on track and get this post up next week but no promises.  We'll be on vacation so if it's quiet around here, I'll be back online when we get back.  Have a great week!

Keeping Up With...Family (Weekly Wrap 7/15 - 7/21)

Friday (7/15) started with a trip to the doctor for me.  I was having some ear pain & not able to hear well out of one ear.  I thought it was swimmer's ear but turned out to be just a ball of wax, yuck!  After that and Zumba we decided to just chill at home for the day.  We had been going every day the past week so it was nice to take a day to just relax.  Friday night I got to sneak away for a few hours with my friends for a Tupperware party.  I had a great time laughing, chatting, eating and shopping.  This was our Tupperware lady:

Saturday (7/16) we started the day split up.  AJ started his 6 month long Brain Balance program so Adrian took him there.  Then they went to Blacklick Woods park to play some Pokemon Go.  I took Daniel and Zak to Zumba and then to a friend's birthday party.  We enjoyed lunch, cake & a water fight.  Then we all got back together at home where other friends came over to play for a while.  Finally after dinner we headed out to a local park for an ice cream social sponsored by our township.  We played at the park, ate ice cream & walked around for about an hour playing Pokemon Go.

Sunday (7/17) we were all exhausted after yesterday's full day so after church we just hung around the house, did some chores and got ready for the next week.

Monday (7/18) we had an awesome adventure downtown!  We decided to go into Adrian's office because some of his co-workers wanted to meet the boys.  And Adrian has been telling them about all the Pokemon Go things that are downtown.  We had to park near Columbus Commons so we started there collecting Pokemon as we walked back to the State House & Adrian's office.  We stopped for pizza for lunch before heading in to meet Adrian's co-workers.

After stopping in the office, we walked around the State House (Capitol building) to see the different monuments & collect Pokemon.  We decided to head inside to learn a little more about our state.  We saw the Governor's office (he wasn't in that day), looked at a bunch of interesting displays about the state and learned a lot as well.  After that we headed back over the the Commons to get Jeni's ice cream together.  Then Adrian took the boys to catch a few more Pokemon & I took Zak on the carousel.  Such a fun filled afternoon!!

 On our way home, we stopped at the library to restock our books & turn in our summer reading program logs since we were done.  Each boy got a magazine, book & coupon sheet.  I also got a coupon sheet and we were all entered into a raffle for some pretty cool prizes.  We ended our day with the boys starting their second VBS of the summer.  This one is Star Wars themed (Scar Force) & they loved day one!!

Tuesday (7/19) the boys had swimming lessons at the Y so we stayed after to swim.  They are doing SO well with their swimming.  Both AJ and Daniel have finally started putting their heads under water.  Daniel likes going under water so much that I have to tell him to stop for a few minutes to catch his breath.  AJ did it for the first time today & his teacher & I were SO excited!!  He also jumped into the deep end without assistance.  Yay!  They also all had the second night of VBS tonight.  It was a jam packed day.

Wednesday (7/20) we decided to stay home and catch our breath in the morning/afternoon.  We've been going like crazy and I'm trying to build in "stay home" days for the rest of the summer.  Then in the evening we all went out to dinner together at the "Rusty Bucket" and the boys headed to night three of VBS.  And Adrian & I had a date night!!  It was very romantic...we went to Costco, Giant Eagle & Kohl's.  But I got a bunch of stuff crossed off my to do list.  He really knows the way to my heart.

Thursday (7/21) was another awesome day at the pool for us.  The indoor pool at the Y was closed due to some maintenance issues so the boys had their lessons outside.  We stayed and swam with friends for like 2 hours after lessons.  Once again, the boys were all over the pool, diving under to catch squid & rings.  It was so much fun.  And I got a nice little tan being outside for over 3 hours.

 

Another great week in the books!!  I'm very sad that this week also marked the start of getting ready to head back to school.  We got everyone new sneakers and are working on our school supply list.  We're also trying to finish up our summer reading projects.  But we are still squeezing every bit of fun out of the last few weeks of summer!

Keeping Up With...Family (Weekly Wrap 7/8 - 7/14)

We did a little bit of everything this week.  It's interesting when I read back over the week how varied a week can be.  Sometimes I feel like we do the same thing over and over, but we really are able to do quite a bit.  Here's what we've been up to this week.

Friday (7/8) we were still struggling to find our groove after all the late nights last weekend & the holiday on Monday.  We decided to head to McDonald's (with a Play Place) for lunch after my Zumba class.  The boys had been asking to do this for weeks so it seemed like a good day to do it.  We had lunch there & they played for a while then we headed home to relax and regroup for the upcoming week.

Saturday (7/9) we had our plans derailed by a slight stomach bug that came thru the house.  We decided it was better to stay home and keep our germs to ourselves (and not risk spreading them to others).  Instead we hung out at home and got a bunch of stuff done.  The boys also were introduced to Pokemon Go! and have been having a blast catching Pokemon ever since.

Sunday (7/10) after church in the morning we decided to head to the zoo for the day.  Our plan was to do the rides at Jungle Jack's but no one really wanted to do that.  So instead we checked out the new 4D movie theater, new play area in The Shores & went to see our favorite animal, the polar bears.  It was pretty hot but was a very nice day together.

 Monday (7/11) we had a lot of commitments so we settled for just a quick stop at the park after the gym that morning.  We had fun playing on the equipment and then went on a nature walk for about 30 minutes, trying to catch more Pokemon.  I love that this game is helping us get out and go to places we normally wouldn't.

Tuesday (7/12) we headed back to the pool for swimming lessons.  We swam for over four hours between lessons and swimming with our friends who met us there.  We were both inside and outside.  It was such a great day and we had so much fun!  Of course we were all exhausted after all that time in the pool.  We all slept well that night!

Wednesday (7/13) we went to our friends' house for a play date.  They have an awesome backyard with a pool, trampoline, swing set, sand box and a ton of open space.  The boys enjoyed running around trying everything out while I sat in the shade and caught up with my friend.  It was nice to reconnect with them, it's hard during the school year to see friends with everyone's busy schedule.

Thursday (7/14) was another day at the Y pool for us.  The boys are having so much fun swimming this summer and we are certainly getting our money's worth from our membership there.  We didn't stay as long as we did Tuesday (because I forced them to leave) but we still had a fun day.

Other than the minor stomach bug that derailed some of our weekend plans, it was another pretty amazing week.  My boys are becoming fish with all the swimming we are doing and we are all loving every minute of that!!

Keeping Up With...Workouts (Recap of 7/12 - 7/19)

Not a lot has been going on in the workout world for me.  I'm just popping in quickly to share my recap, mostly so I have it written out.  I'm really just trying to keep up with my classes and will focus on working out myself again in August when everyone is back in school. 

I'm working on trying to figure out my fall schedule since I have to give up one of my classes due to a conflict with the kids' schedule.  For our finances, I would like to add another class.  But for my own working out, I'd actually like to keep my schedule without the class and focus on my own weight loss/strength building.  We'll see how it all turns out in the next few weeks.

Here's what I did last week:
Wednesday - Taught a one hour Zumba class
Thursday - Taught a one hour Zumba class, taught a 45 minute Zumba Toning class & went swimming with the boys for about 2 hours
Friday - Taught a one hour Zumba class
Saturday - Taught a one hour Zumba Toning class and went for an hour long nature walk with the family.
Sunday - Rest Day!  I did a 10 minute in home walk to keep the streak going.  I was highly unmotivated this day.
Monday - Taught a one hour Zumba Toning class, Taught a one hour Zumba Gold class and walked around downtown with the boys for about 3 hours.
Tuesday - Taught a one hour Silver Sneakers class and then swam with the boys for 2 hours

I weighed in this morning and I maintained from last week.  My eating hasn't been on point so I'm happy to see this.  I keep saying it (mostly to remind myself) but maintaining is my goal until I get back from Tennessee.  After that I will focus on losing again.  I did notice today that I hit 72 days of my exercise streak.  I'm getting close to my first goal of more than 112 days (when I had to stop last time).  I'm excited to hit that his fall and see how long I can keep it going!!

Keeping Up With...Family (Weekly Wrap 7/1 - 7/7)

What a fun week this was!!  It started with a bang (literally!) as we celebrated the 4th of July weekend.  Adrian had both Friday and Monday off so we got a 4 day weekend together.  Let's jump in so I can tell you how it went.

Friday (7/1) Adrian ended up with the day off since Columbus was having their fireworks that night.  They like the employees to head out early so they can use their parking spaces.  We met up with friends that afternoon for some free bowling and then headed over to Menchie's for some ice cream.  Then we headed home to recharge so we would be ready for fireworks that evening.  We went to the hospital down the street so we'd be able to see both Reynoldsburg and the downtown fireworks.  We had a great view of Reynoldsburg, not so great for the downtown ones.  But the boys had a blast so that's all that matters.

Saturday (7/2) we all slept in after a late night and then spent the day relaxing, watching TV, playing games and being together.  We haven't had many unscheduled days so we decided to take advantage of this one.  Adrian and I also got some stuff done around the house that needed to be done.  That night we headed to Pataskala to see their fireworks.  They had a nice show and one of the residents also did a pretty impressive show.  We were able to see both from where we were.  The boys also enjoyed playing with sparklers while we waited for the show.

Sunday (7/3) we planned to head to Zoombeezi Bay for the day, but no one really wanted to go.  We decided to have another day staying home after another late night.  We also planned to skip fireworks that night but then saw a bunch going off in our neighborhood so we decided to stay up and watch them. 

Monday (7/4) we got up and headed to Gahanna for their parade.  It was drizzling when we got there but thankfully it stopped a few minutes before the parade started.  We enjoyed watching the parade and the boys enjoyed gathering candy.  We headed home after to dry off and rest up for one more night of fireworks.  Adrian and I also finished everything on our to do lists for that weekend, yay!  It rained on and off all day but stopped before fireworks that night.  Unfortunately it was still very overcast and the fireworks were getting lost in the clouds.  We still had a great night.

Tuesday (7/5) we were so tired after being up super late four nights in a row and not really sleeping in much any of those mornings that we took the day off.  We also had a bit of a stomach bug come through the house so I had two boys with upset stomachs.  We hung out at home, played in the yard, watched TV and recovered.  It was awesome!

Wednesday (7/6) AJ had a long evaluation at Brain Balance Centers so he and I were there most of the day.  Daniel and Zak spent the day playing with Grandma. 

Thursday (7/7) we were finally able to get back to our fun summer.  We went to Glow Putt and played a round of mini golf in the dark.  The boys had been asking for almost a week to go play mini golf again.  Then we stopped at the library and stocked up on books for our summer reading projects.  And we ran a few other errands that afternoon.  It was a fun and productive day for us!

It was a weird week for us now that I look back at it with a few days with lots of activity and a few days of laziness.  I guess that's how the summer is supposed to be! 

Keeping Up With...Food (Menu Plan 7/18 - 7/24)

The past week has been super busy!  And we're not slowing down anytime soon.  Before I know it, we'll be starting with school and fall sports schedules.  I already signed the boys up for fall swimming lessons and my next item on my to do list is to sign them up for fall baseball.  My crockpot better be ready to go so I can keep up!

The last week I did a ton of home made cooking with all of the vegetables from our CSA.  I forgot to take pictures of most of it but I made homemade pesto sauce with spinach and basil, breakfast hash with Swiss Chard and purple potatoes and this delicious Hummus Crusted Chicken and Carrots with Cranberries that I managed to take a picture of before I devoured it.  The hummus is also homemade with beets and garlic scapes from the CSA.

I did get a little off our meal plan at the end of the week because I was exhausted most of the week.  I didn't sleep well for most of the week, not sure exactly what's going on.  I know some of it is because Daniel isn't sleeping well so he comes in during the night when he has bad dreams.  I got a great night of sleep last night and feel like a new person.  Hoping this continues for the week!!

Here's what we're eating this week (with some carry over from last week):
Monday - Shrimp with Gnocchi - I'll be adding either kale or chard to this dish (from last week)
Tuesday - Taco Tuesday
Wednesday - Slow Cooker Chili with a salad (from last week)

Thursday - Slow Cooker Pork Stew with Broccoli Salad
Friday - Date Night!  Going out for dinner
Saturday - Spicy Peanut Noodles - I'll use chard for this dish as I barely have any kale left
Sunday - Pasta with the pesto sauce I made last week (I froze it so I can pull it out as needed)

Water Flavor - Mango.  Yum.

Meal Prep - Not much this weekend, most of the weekend honestly got away from me.  I do have the food shopping done for most of the meals and I have snacks ready for the week.  I cut up the melons I bought last week and also have a bunch of cherries portioned out since they were on sale.  That's about all I did to prep.

As always, I'm linking up with Laura at Mommy, Run Fast.  Go check out the other blogs on the link up for some more yummy recipes!  This will be my last week menu planning for a few weeks.  Next week we'll be having leftovers and clearing out our fridge before vacation.  Then we'll be on vacation for a week.  I hope to be back the second week in Aug with a menu plan to get back to healthy eating after an awesome week of vacation food.  Have a great week!!