Sunday, December 13, 2015

Colton Antics Take 2

June 10th, 2015-4.5 years old

We often go out for frozen yogurt after church on Wednesday nights. This night we went to Menchie's. I have to clarify that this yogurt place has those sidewalk signs out from. This one was tall enough that if one of the kids crouched down they could walk underneath. Well, coming out of the shop, Colton was full speed ahead and crouched down--getting ready to run through the sign. However, he miscalculated the distance to the sign and tried to stand up right as he was underneath it, catching his head on one of the bolts holding the sign together. This marks gash number 4. Since it was directly on top of his head we opted for the super glue instead of stitches this time....and daddy did the patchwork himself. WARNING! Gruesome picture to follow:

 
 
September 12th
 
We are driving to a military BBQ and a not so good looking SUV pulls up next to us at a stop light where a few not so good looking people were housed inside. Colton looks out his window and yells "Hi ya-BUMS!". Good thing for rolled up windows!
 
September 15th
Colton and Makenzie each have the chore of folding their own laundry. Every morning after breakfast they get dressed, then go into the laundry room and check their laundry basket for clothes to fold. Some mornings they have just a little. On this particular morning, Colton had A LOT. He does not enjoy folding laundry. A little while later I hear Colton in his room saying "Good Job!" and "I love how you folded those pants". I went in to see what was going on and Colton informed me him and Kenzie were playing house. He was the Daddy and Kenzie was the girl who's chore it was to fold laundry. He had her folding his laundry but offering words of encouragement to her while she did it. I wasn't sure to reprimand for manipulating his sister in doing his chores or to be proud of him for learning how to delegate as a leader and offer words of positive reinforcement.
 
September 16th
I was just coming out of the plasma donation place with all three kids in tow. As I was buckling them into the car, Colton proceeds to tell me he has to go potty. After inquiring if he can wait till we get home (and denied) we rushed back inside. By that time, Kenzie announced she had to go potty too. So I instructed Colton to go into the men's bathroom and then wait right outside the door for me when he was done. Got it. Right outside the door (which happens to be the hallway where everyone in the facility is standing. Anyways, as Kenzie and I are taking care of business I hear a knock on the door followed by a "mom, I need you". The first attempt I ignored him. After hearing "mom, I need you" again. I tried to yell through the door (quietly of course), "Colton I am almost done". After the third "mom, I need you" I heard the door open and Colton step into the bathroom (where a woman was waiting in the line for a stall). I quickly hurry up and as I am walking out of the stall there is my boy waiting for me. I was in complete horrific mode when I realize he had been standing in the hallways earlier and now in the bathroom with a very uncomfortable lady with his pants (and chonies) down by his ankle and what we call, his "wi wi" out for the whole world to see. Apparently, he didn't make it to the toilet and accidently peed on himself and didn't know what to do. Poor Boy. Hopefully he doesn't remember this incident.
 
October
Colton spent the afternoon at his Nonna's house and she was helping him get ready for church. He mentioned something about his wii wii (our cute name for the male body part) and Nonna took the opportunity to explain the difference between girls and guys and how girls don't have wii wii's like he does. He pondered this for a second and then replied with "Oh yah, Kenzie told me that girls' wii wii's were flat......ummmm....sure. ;)
 
Colton has decided that he no longer wants to be called Colton, he instead wants to be called Colt. He has even changed how he writes his name on his school papers. This is with no prompting for me. He just up and decided one morning "Momma, my name is no longer Colton. I want to be Colt now". Alright Colt it is. :)
 
One day during our school time I was trying to help Colt with pronouncing his "L" sound. He was getting so frustrated that he put his head in between his hands and exclaimed "I know it, but I've lost my mind." ;)
 
Matt has been working 7 days a week while working on getting through the Fire Academy. So, his time at home is precious. One of the rare nights that Matt was able to sit down and veg with us in the evening, Colt climbs up onto his lap, wraps his arms around Matt's head and states "You're very special to my heart". (Ummm, tear jerker!)

We were at Matt's parents house and the kiddos had seen Matt very sparingly. Currently the kids were using Daddy as their personal jungle gym but it was Matt's time to go home and get to bed so he could be up for work the next day. Matt looked at Colton and told him he didn't want to leave alone but he had to go so he could get ready for bed. Colton took Matt's face in his hands and said "I'll tell you what Daddy, I'll go with you". AWW! Of course Daddy couldn't turn him down. :)
 
Colton recently got an eye infection where I had to put eye cream in his eyes twice a day. One of these times as I was bending down to put it in I heard him whispering "Don't be scared, Don't be scared".


Monday, August 3, 2015

How To Create A Preschool Curriculum


1.   What is your philosophy?

·   Do you believe that education is one of the most important aspects for your child? Do you want your child to be “advanced” or move ahead of the “norm”?

·  Do you believe that education in today’s society is highly overrated and view learning as experiencing life?

·  Do you find you are somewhere in the middle or along the spectrum between the two ideals?

      -I, personally, find myself somewhere in the middle. I think education is very important but I believe it is over-rated in our society today and stealing our kids’ childhood from them. Thus, I take the laid back teaching/learning style in educating my kiddos. At this age I view experiencing life just as important as actually sitting down and learning their colors, numbers, letters…etc. However, I do structure activities that will help them experience life, have fun and learn at the same time.

2. What do you teach?

· I started with the basics: Colors Recognition, Shape Recognition, Letter Recognition, Letter Sounds, and Counting 1-10 or 1-20.

·    I found a wonderful preschool blog that had an actual sheet you could keep track of things they need to know: http://www.lovelycommotion.com/preschool-assessments/

·         Here is the Idaho Common Core Standards website which will list standards for each grade and content area: https://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/common/

3.   Where do you start?

· The first thing I do is to pre-test a certain unit (letter recognition, shapes….). It’s hard to know where you want your child to be if you don’t know where they are. Plus, why spend time on information they already know?

· It doesn’t have to be a boring: you point, and they tell you what the letter is. Make it fun, create a game. Anything to show you what they have learned.

· KEEP TRACK! And check back 1-3 a year.

4.   Decide HOW you want to teach.

·Do you want to teach one content area at a time? Or include multiple ones each week/day?---For instance, last year if I created a week unit on the letter “T”, I didn't include numbers or shapes or colors in the week. This year, I have decided to have a main purpose (for instance the letter G) but still have some surrounding activities that might include other concepts. This way they are still getting the main point but I am not neglecting the others.

·  What kinds of activities/learning centers do you want for your children?

·Here is a list of what I include when planning my curriculum:

o   Morning Activities-quick, independent activities regarding the content area

o   Bible- For instance: The story of creation for the letter “C”

o   Circle Time- It includes a prayer, the pledge, a song, and then a reading of a book that discusses the main theme for that week.

o   Worksheets-

o   Outside Activities-

o   Games or a Project-

o   Artwork-

o   Computer/IPad-

o   Reading- I use the books I already have plus get ones from the library. I use Pinterest and google to search for relevant books that are age appropriate and FUN!

o   Toys-I give them a playtime with some of his toys that have to do with that content area.

o   Movies-I find movies, use Netflix and google relevant, EDUCATIONAL kids shows or movies for that content area.

*I don’t do EVERY activity, EVERY day. I will either rotate or pick and choose based on the day.

o    Take into consideration your child’s learning style: Are they a wiggly Willy and need to move A LOT. Are they social and need to have lots of interactions? Do they thrive on sitting still and doing worksheets? Are they an audio, visual, kinesthetic learner, or a combination of all of them?

o    Take into consideration YOUR teaching style? Do you prefer them to be sitting quietly why you do housework, do you like to do hands on projects? Or are you somewhere in between?

5.   Make a plan

·         AFTER you know what you want to teach and how you can start researching online, in workbooks, and Pinterest for specific activities to include. Don’t just pick something because it looked cool on Pinterest….actually know that the activity you are planning for your child is what they need and will benefit from. Why waste your and their time? There are also LOTS of blogs with full preschool curriculums available for free. I don’t use them cause I like my tailored version and most of it is worksheets, but if that’s you, USE THEM!

·         I then keep all my resources I found in a divided binder so when I am planning again for the next go around I have to do less work.


3.   Have Fun!

·         Every once in awhile I create a “fun” unit that encompass many different content area. Some examples of ones I have done are: Thanksgiving/Fall Day, Candy, Christmas Month, Forest Animals, Easter/Spring Day, and If You Give A… literacy unit.
 

Feel Free to Ask Any Questions You Have! I love questions!

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Colton Antics Take 1

April 6, 2015--4 years old

I wanted to give a little thank you to whoever told Colton on Easter that the little turtle head candy pieces were actually "turtle power". This morning I found a piece and offered it to him (normally I would just throw candy away). I started with "Colton, do you want this turtle head?". He replied with the following "Yes, but no momma; these are turtle powers".
I laughed to myself as I went back into the kitchen to continue my morning cleaning. A few minutes later Colton proceeded to demonstrate how he was now a "ninja Colton". :)

April 8, 2015 1:30pm

Cut his sister's hair--Round #2 (good thing it was only a little bit this time).

April 8, 2015 2:00pm

Want to hear about how my day continued?
Colton had just gotten in trouble for cutting his sisters hair (yes, again), so I was having him clean up the mess in the playroom. Of course my ninja loving, superman wishing, hulk smashing, captain America wanna be couldn't just step down off the table. No, he had to leap off the table...right into the chandelier. I sure hope his future wife thinks all these scars are sexy!

 
April 11, 2015
 
When Colton first was potty training we allowed him to pee in our backyard. As he got older and he got little sisters we changed that rule on him, which has been hard for him to handle. Sometimes I will explain myself and discuss modesty and not peeing around his sisters. Well, this morning I just walked out of the house and found my son relieving himself behind a tree. I will give him a little credit and explain that no one was around and both of his sisters were in the house....but I will also explain that he was in the front yard and "behind" the tree was right next to the street. What am I gonna do with this kid? Hehehe!
 
April 14, 2015
 
Colton had a rough day today and was in trouble more than usual. Many times I will tell him afterwards "I will always love you". Tonight we were spending some time coloring together and he accidently hit me in the head with a marker. He quickly grasped my head in a hug and exclaimed "I will always not stop loving you". *heart swell*
 
April 17, 2015
 
I have been taking my block of time after lunch to devote entirely to the kiddos. I rotate who gets to pick what we do. Normally its a game, some type of craft or jumping on the trampoline. Today is Makenzie's turn to choose. While I was cleaning breakfast dishes I hear Colton in the playroom with Kenzie...."Hey, go ask momma that you want to jump on the trampoline with her today"....so as the good little sister does, she walks into the kitchen and requests the trampoline for the special time today. I laugh inside as I agree but then my laugh bubbles to the outside when Colton comes in after her and says "that's a good idea Kenzie"...sure, like she thought of it.
 
April 30th, 2015--Thursday
 
Matt has just recently switched to a four day work week in an attempt to be able to actually see us sometimes. He currently has Fridays off. However, despite the fact that its Thursday night he was explaining to Colton that he needed to go into work for a few hours. Colton asked why and Matt explained that he had a deadline to meet. Colton looked at him quizzically and asked him "What's a dead lion?" :)
 
May 12th
 
This is for those of you that know the song "I may never take a trip to Mexico..." (to the tune of: I may never march in the infantry). Out of the blue Colton comes up to me and asks me "Have you ever taken a trip to Mexico?". I proceeded to tell him all about a missions trip I took back in high school. It seemed as if he was listening very intently but once I was done he asked a follow up question. "Have you ever eaten a cheesy taco?". OH GOSH! I about died...and then of course we had to sing the song.
 
May 21st
 
The things you talk about with your kids while folding laundry: Somehow Colton and I got on the subject of marriage and I was explaining that one day he would find a lovely girl to marry and live with her forever. After my little spiel was over he replied with "I'm going to marry Isaacs and Leah's mommy". I chuckled a little and explained further that he couldn't  marry Ms. Melissa because she was already married and it would be wiser to marry someone his own age. He thinks for a minute out loud "ummmm, who's four like me? ....Josie! Josie is four, she is the girl I am going to marry". How simple a child's mind is. If only it was that easy to pick. 


May 31st

I have to start out explaining that the last time my parents sent a package in the mail they used their old wood pile box and a black widow was one of the "presents" we opened.
Anyways, my mother recently called to tell me a package was on its way. So, today I was telling Colton that his Grandma and Grandpa sent him a package. He first asked why and I explained it was because they loved him very much. After that his face showed some concern and he stated "I hope there isn't a snake in this one!" ;)

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

My Kenzie Girl

April 8, 2015--almost three years old

Every time we run errands, the kids always ask me "what's next momma?" As we were leaving Wal-Mart I told them I needed to run to the bank. I piled them all into the car and proceeded to my bank. I never even got them out of the car, just went through the ATM line, but as I am pulling away, Kenzie asks me "was that your piggy bank momma?". --Yep! Yes, it was. ;)

April 11, 2015

It was nap time and I was explaining to Colton that he had to take a nap today (he doesn't most days) because he needed energy to go someplace fun afterwards (jumptime). Kenzie turned to me and asked "momma, I want pink energy...oh and purple energy". ALL GIRL!

April 16, 2015
8pm

It's bath time and she is enjoying the warm water. All of a sudden I hear her bust out in song "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho to Nonna and Pop's we go, Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho to Nonna and Pop's we go." I asked her who taught her that song and she replied with "Aunt Meggie".

10pm

Matt had gotten home from work and she was the only one awake. They sat down on the kitchen floor together to eat a yogurt cup. Matt let one rip and Kenzie turned to him with sweet innocence and asked "did you fart?". He replied with "No, you did". She laughed and whispered back "No, I farted last night"....

April 17th

We took the kiddos on a much needed family date to The Blaze in Meridian (can I just say YUM!) and then to the park afterwards. They have a climbing rock that is over Matt's head so I am assuming over 6 feet tall. Colton (my little daredevil) was having a hard time climbing to the top and standing up. He was just a little scared. Kenzie on the other hand, no fear of danger, climbed to the top and leaped into Daddy's arms. As a result, Matt tried to "nudge" brother in the right direction by asking sis to show brother how to jump. She confidently climbed to the top, looked over at brother and shared with him "first, you jump, then you flap your arms like this (insert flapping of the arms like a bird) just like a bird!". Too cute for words!

April 23rd

We have a pond in our backyard. Well, it is supposed to be a pond. Instead it is just the insert for a pond that has filled up with rain water (and stinks to high heaven). It has a piece of plywood with a cement brick over it but I still forbid the kiddos to play in/around it. On this day though Colton was inside resting inside and Kenzie was in the backyard playing by herself. I noticed she was playing in the rock pile (right next to the pond) and instructed her not to throw any rocks in the pond. She replied back with "I not!". I then tried to think of every scenario that would prompt her to play in the pond (cause that's what mommies do) and again instructed her "and don't fish anything out of the pond either." With that comment she looked back at me with a quizzical look on her face and replied "Momma, there are no fish in this pond"....

May 3rd, 2pm

Matt is leaving for a couple of weeks and will be gone for Kenzie's actual birthday so we decided to spend today celebrating. We went over to Matt's parents house and had pizza and a Cinderella cake (per Kenzie's request). While we were eating Kenzie runs up to me and asks if she can open her presents yet. I tell her as soon as I finish my pizza we can. After I finish Matt and I head into the room where the presents are and find Makenzie and Colton with all of the presents already unwrapped!

May 3rd, 8pm

We had gotten home from Matt's parents house and I was in the house getting dinner ready and Matt was unloading the car. I needed to ask Matt a question but wasn't quite sure where he was outside so I peeked my head out the door and yelled "Marco!". Kenzie followed me out there and upon finding her Daddy looked up at him and said "you not Marco!".

May 27th

I was getting a kick out of Kenzie asking me where my cape was and why I didn't have it on. I was thinking maybe she thought I was a super hero or something. However, after a few minutes I realized she was just referring to my apron. ;)

In our devotions right now we are discussing the Ten Commandments. Today we talked about "Do not commit adultery". I was trying to bring the concept down to their level and explaining that God intends for us to have one husband or wife forever. I used Matt and I as an example. Kenzie pipes up and says "Yep, God made you a princess and Daddy got to be there". It took me a minute but she was referring to our wedding day and the pictures hanging in our hallway. I thought it was too cute!






Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Losing Weight With Clean Eating

My disclaimer: I am writing this post to answer some questions that a few friends of mine have asked. I get these same questions routinely and this is my area to put those thoughts into words that I can reference them later. I am not a trainer (yet) or a nutritionist. I am simply a girl who has a passion for fitness and clean eating along with helping out her friends. Feel free to ask any questions. I will do my best to locate the answer if I do not already know it.

This is not a post for the "absolute beginner" nor is it a post for the "advanced". This is a post for those of you who already know the basics of clean eating and working out and just need a few "reminders" to get back on track. This is also not a be all, end all list of information. I am a strong believer that if it is important to you, you will research it for yourself. Hopefully these tips will give you a starting point to be able to jump from. So, here we go...

First and Foremost (despite what the title says),

ITS NOT ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT---ITS ABOUT TURNING YOUR BODY INTO A FAT BURNING MACHINE!

Take a look at these tips and take note on areas you could improve on to help increase your metabolism and burn that fat AWAY (for good)!

Eating Tips:
  • Eat within one hour of waking-this will start your metabolism for the rest of the day.
  • Eat every 2-3 hours (roughly 5-6 small meals a day)-this will keep your metabolism going throughout the day.
  • Eat as close to natural (God made and not man made) as possible
  • Have protein at every meal--keeps you fuller longer and your body has to work to digest (more calories burned)
  • Have the majority of your carbs in the first 1/2 or 2/3 of your day
  • Drink 1 gallon of water daily-keeps your system clean and flushed out.
  • Incorporate metabolism increasing foods into your diet-ginger, cinnamon, grapefruit, hot sauces (research first)...you can Google more.
  • Cheat one meal a week-to much will ruin your hard earned work but a cheat meal has been proven to rev your metabolism IF you follow the other tips.
Timing is essential when training your body to increase its burning. If your body knows when it is going to eat again, it will be more likely to quickly burn off what you just ate. I eat roughly at the same times every day.

Workout Tips:
  • Workout 4-6 times a week-keeps your metabolism high
  • Never take more than 2 days off at a time-keeps your metabolism going.
  • Take preworkout and post workout supplements-helps increase your metabolism (stopping the drag that may happen), burn fat instead of muscle, build muscle and recover from your workouts better.
  • Drink a protein shake within 30 minutes of working out-protein is necessary to repair the muscle breakdown created in a workout, which in turn builds more muscle.
  • Incorporate BOTH strength training (weights) with cardio-cardio will burn calories but weight training will increase your metabolism (by building more muscle which burns more calories than fat)--thus you lose more in the long run with weight training. I bolded this because SO SO many get this part wrong. If you only have time for one in a day pick weight training over cardio. I currently rotate them each day.
Other Things to Consider:
  • Sleep-know your body. Get what you need but it should be between 7-9 hours of sleep.
It may seem like a lot of work (and it may be at first) but it is so worth it. To help alleviate some of the work to begin with I would recommend "stealing" from others. Utilize the workout programs that have already been created and are free. Follow the food samples that have already been created.

Here are some links to programs that give you a food plan:
Here are some links to workout programs you can follow if you don't know where to begin:
Can you tell I like bodybuilding? ;)

A quick word about calories: Many get stuck on the concept of "calories". Personally, I think you should have a ballpark figure but as long as you are eating clean, no calorie counting is necessary. That being said. If you want to figure your ballpark numbers, simply take your goal weight, multiply that by 100. Add 200-500 calories to your answer and that's your ballpark range. KNOW YOUR BODY though. Once your metabolism increases you may need to raise what you eat in order to maintain your body.

Example: 125 x 100 = 1250 + 200 = 1450........1250 + 500 = 1750. So my calorie range is 1450-1750.

One more quick note and then I am done. To build the best fat burning machine possible. EVERYTHING has to be in sync. You are not able to slack on workouts, or slack on food, or even slack on sleep and still see the results you could. What you put into it is what you will get out.

That's enough for now. I will leave you with my before and after picture to prove that what I have listed above actually works.
This is my before and after picture. The picture on the left I took just a couple months after my first child was born. The picture on the right was the last day of the Clutch Cut Workout program (after my second pregnancy). Thirty pound difference!
I am currently following the clean lifestyle in order to get back to that after picture (pound wise I am about 4lbs away).
 
As always, feel free to share any comments or post any questions!