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A "Self" Spring Cleaning

It's that time of year again...Spring, and with it comes a little (or a lot of) cleaning.  I have to say that this year, though I have done some major cleaning within my house, I have come to realize that I am the one that needs a new start.  As I mentioned before, I am mom to 5 amazing boys all under the age of five.  Before this year, I was pregnant every year since 2009 and it took a toll on my body.  I never had a chance to shed that "baby" weight and every pregnancy brought on more pounds.  Needless to say, I am not happy with my weight and they way I look.  Since my husband and I have made the decision that we are fulfilled with out family's size, this has been the first time that I can start focusing a little more on myself.  First on my list...LOSING WEIGHT.  I am realistic and know that I might never get back my pre-pregnancy body, but I need and want to become healthy again.

My weapon...my Spiralizer! I purchased my spiralizer a few weeks ago with the hope that I could be creative in how I prepared veggies for my picky husband and kids.  The more I incorporated this new found kitchen tool, I started to see that I was starting to lose weight.  Tonight I made a new recipe from my go to place for the best spiralizer recipes...the Inspiralized website.  I made Pasta Arrabiata with Carrot Noodles and it was a hit!

It's hard to believe that I am eating something delicious and at the same time I am looking out for my (and my family's) health and losing weight in the process. I have been so impressed with my progress (9 pounds so far), that I have now decided to incorporate these recipes for lunch and dinner with the hope that my weight loss will continue.  Best of all, I know that we are all eating something that is good for us. It's a win-win for our household and a new start for me in my journey to become a better, healthier self.

A "Hands-On" Spring Break

Next week is Spring Break for our household and we couldn't be happier! We have tons of exciting plans for the boys. One of these plans is to continue with some fun (and educational) work at home.  I was struggling with this a little because I wanted the boys to do educational activities that were different than what we do on a regular basis.  Well...My answer arrived in the mail today!

I recently had ordered several books from The Bag Ladies (I ordered mine from Amazon) and they were waiting for me at my doorstep today. These books are filled with tons of fun, "hands-on" activities that you can create with everyday materials that you find in your house and pretty much apply it to any educational content that you want to teach. I am excited to get to work and pick out what we will be working on this Spring Break!

Mission Impossible: Veggies

"Veggies...yuck!" I know that I'm not the only mom who's ever heard their kids (or husband) say that.  In my house, it's a chore to try to get everyone to eat their veggies. As a matter of fact, it's difficult to get all of my boys (husband included) to start eating healthier.  My husband is a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy and my 5 boys take after their dad when it comes to eating.

This mom is on a mission...veggies will become a big part of our diet and I have a secret weapon...the SPIRALIZER.

Prep was easy. Just wash and cut of the ends off the squash and zucchini...voila! I also strategically sent my husband outside with the kids.

This is what the veggies looked like after being "spiralized".

My plan is to sauté what I am calling "pasta" with a little butter, garlic, and salt & pepper and adding some grated parmesan cheese on the top. I have my fingers crossed that it will be a win for mom!

A Productive Weekend

Weekends at my household can be summed up in one word...BUSY.  Between grocery shopping, laundry, soccer with my oldest, keeping up with the house and spending quality time with the kids and husband, I rarely have time to do anything for myself.  This weekend was different. I found a little extra time (don't ask me how I got it, but I think it might have been help from above). I decided to take on a project that I've been talking about for weeks, but have never had the time to do it. 

A couple of weeks ago, a friend asked me if I wanted a chalk/dry erase board.  It was a little beat up, but I knew that if I ever got some time, I would be able to turn it into something special for my kids. Today was the day! And though I'm not 100% done, I made such progress.  

Getting Creative

As I mentioned before, I am a mom to five boys. My two oldest are five and three.  I always find myself trying to manage how I'm going to work with them at the same time and still be effective.  My five year old is an emergent reader and he is working on reading sight words and word families nightly.  My three year old is working on letter formation, letter recognition and letter sounds, BUT must of the time he just wants to do what his big brother is doing. You can probably imagine that it sometimes becomes a challenge to work with both of them at the same time.

I recently created sight word readers for my oldest that include sight words and CVC words.  And though my initial purpose was for my oldest to practice reading and gain fluency, I also wanted him to practice writing his sight words. Each mini book focuses on a particular sight word and has two versions...one where you trace the sight word and one where you write the sight word in the blank. This had become great for getting the reading and writing practice that I was looking for.

Tonight while we were working with our "look" mini reader, it clicked...aha...I can use the tracing version with my three year old, while I use the more independent version where you write the sight word with my oldest.

IT WAS A HIT!!! My three year old was thrilled that we was working on the same thing that his older brother was working on.  He was so happy to be tracing his letters.  I took it a step further by asking him to say the name of each letter as he was tracing it. My oldest was happy writing and spelling aloud the sight word and then reading his mini book to me...and dad and his younger brothers.  It was a very effective lesson for everyone!

Sneaking In Work

Every time I ask my oldest to sit down and work, he comes up with every excuse in the book to delay the inevitable.  Today, I printed out some sorting printables that I had created and gave them to my second oldest.  He was was having so much fun just scribbling over the pages that it sparked the curiosity of my oldest.  Before I knew it, he wanted some "fun papers" of his own.  I love when learning becomes so much fun that they don't realize that they are working!