Family Hike

You make the announcement on a sunny Saturday morning, “Let’s go for a Family Hike!”  The support pours in immediately, ‘do we have to’, ‘it’s cold out there’, ‘how long will we be gone?’  Kids! 

Thankfully I get to play my Mom card and today I have decided we are going on a Family Hike so that is what we shall do!  Coats, hats, mitts, boots, splash pants on and the whole family is in the car for the 5 minute drive to the trails.  I know they will love this.  ‘How long is the drive?’, ‘where are we going?’,  ‘why do we have to go?’, 'are we there yet?'  They are really looking forward to this.

Funny thing is, they have a blast.  The day is gorgeous and surprise, surprise, Mom is right.  A Family Hike is just what we all needed.  The trail was a new one for us and the kids loved exploring.  We found ice on the path into the trails, a bridge across a small creek, boulders to climb, a ladder to get up a huge embankment, a stump to sit on, a log to climb on and sunlight bouncing off the snow at the top of our climb.  The kids collected sticks, threw makeshift snowballs, chased each other, chased us, climbed, slid and laughed.

Sometimes, you need to nudge everyone out of the house to get some exercise in the crisp winter air but I'm pretty confident once you let them loose on the trails, they will be happy they were so eager to go! I say when it comes to Family Hikes, Mom knows best.  Get outside and have some fun.

     

Easter Bunnies Last Hop!

It happened in an instant, I had no more than a 2 second warning but I saw it coming . . .for those 2 seconds you could see me in super slow motion shouting “Nooooo” and reaching out to cover my kids' ears. Right there, hands in our popcorn bowl, giggling at a silly movie, right before my very eyes, the Easter Bunny vanished. I couldn’t prevent it, I couldn’t take it back, I couldn’t explain it away. I couldn’t lie to my 9 year old anymore. It’s been a big couple of months for her. The tooth fairy had recently had her last flight and there were tears and a pinky promise to not tell her sisters . . . I blogged about it. I was holding out hope for the Easter Bunny, at least until after Easter.

The evening started out like many other family nights. Our kids school does a monthly movie night and we all wear our pj’s, take pillows, blankets and loads of quarters for the .50 cent bowls of popcorn. We lay on the gym floor for an hour and a half and watch a movie with 150 of our closest school friends (yes I am an awesome mom!) while volunteer parents run the show. Tonight’s movie was Mega Minds . . . a futuristic cartoon battle of good vs. evil where good gets the girl in the end – who knew the Easer Bunny would bite the dust! Evil guy was taunting the girl who believed against all odds (you know the story) that good would prevail and Evil guy uttered the words . . .”Oh, and you probably still believe in the Tooth Fairy and the . . . . (noooooooo don’t say it!! where is the remote? mute the volume . . .noooooo) . . . EASTER BUNNY.”

My 9 year olds head swung around so fast to glare at me, I thought she might just shout out her obvious question for the whole gym to hear. I ignored the glare, secretly squeezed my husband’s hand and hoped she would forget what she had just heard . . . but I knew in my heart the Easter Bunny was done. The movie ended 30 minutes later, and the second those lights went on that head swung around again, “Mommy, is the Easter Bunny real AND DON’T LIE TO ME.”

I told her we could talk at home to avoid bursting the fairytale for the other 149 kids in the gym and get distance from her younger sisters listening ears. We had another talk similar to the tooth fairy talk (its mom, I do it to make fun happy memories for you, I promise I will hide chocolate for you when you are 76 and, the best part . .now that YOU are in the Easter Bunny club you can help mom hide eggs for your sisters!! insert over exaggerated happy mom face). She had another cry, and she slowly raised her pinky to once again bear the burden of a pinky promise to not tell her sisters.

Why would a movie geared to children sell out the Easter Bunny? My other two kids are 7 and 5 and neither of them noticed a thing cause they still firmly believe, but my daughter was wavering as kids do around the age of 8 & 9. She couldn’t have been the only one who’s dreams of big furry 6 foot tall Easter Bunny hoping through our house hiding jelly beans were dashed because of that movie? Maybe these movies could carry a warning . . .”PG – Some scenes may crush young girls belief in Easter Bunnies!” I would have at least waited until after Easter to let her watch it.

She's cool with it now and excited to "know" as we prepare for Easter this weekend, but still . .this wasn't how I envisioned the Easter Bunny going down! How did your kids figure it out?

Walking Home . . .ALONE!

I love that I get to take my kids to school everyday and I can be there to pick them up after school. When they were little I would carry or push one, pull one on a bike and the oldest would walk. Now on nice days we walk through the forest looking for squirrels and flowers instead of taking the long sidewalk home. On cold days we all pile in the van and we battle car seats & snowsuits, seat belts and winter gloves. Over the years it has gotten more fun on the warm days as we walk and stop to catch fish in the creek and easier now on the winter days as the kids can all buckle into their boosters on their own.

Isn’t it great when the kids get older? You breathe, you can think, you sleep. You get that secure feeling of . . ahhhh . . .I made it.

And then one day your oldest will announce, “I’m walking home . . . .ALONE.”

Ha Ha Ha. Good one. In my head I'm saying “oh no you're not!” but to her I just smiled. She has done this before, usually by the time we get to the van, she jumps in. But today her determination was stronger, she kept saying it, “I mean it. I’m walking” and looking at me . . . challenging me to stop her. She walked faster, to show me she was serious. She passed our van parked at the side of the road and kept walking.

My middle daughter contemplated walking with her, but jumped in the van as she passed. My youngest cried, thinking her sister was gone from our family forever.

I still didn’t say anything. I smiled. Part of me was super proud of my 9 year old for her independence and wanting to forge out on her own, she still cries often in new situations so this new found bravery looks good on her! Part of me was super scared that I was already facing the fact that my little girl wanted to grow up and forge out on her own! There is no way I want her walking that long stretch of open road on her own. It’s not as safe out there for young girls walking alone. Her sisters are too young to protect her. She’s not ready yet. I’m not ready yet! But today I didn’t stop her. I couldn’t. She was so insistent. She was so proud. She was walking home . . . .ALONE.

So I did what any awesome mom would do. I got in the van with my other 2 children and we drove home doing 3km an hour staying right behind my little girl and shouting encouragements out the window as she walked home . . . ALONE!!

When did your kids walk home alone from school for the first time? Would you have done anything differently?

Kids in the Kitchen!

I'm a Mom who believes there will be rewards if I teach my kids to cook at an early age. I have the same belief about sleep training, feeding themselves, getting dressed, packing their own stuff and putting away laundry. My theory is if I give them the tools and the lessons now, I can kick back and finally enjoy that coffee one day in the near future (a girl can dream!).

However, sometimes the thought of cooking with my three kids is way more fun than the actual cooking with my kids!!! The extra patience required, the equal dividing into 3 of all the tasks, the extra mess (flour flies!) and the extra time . . .and somehow there is no extra help with the dishes !!!

No matter what the cost in time and patience, I still think it is important to cook with our kids, for so many reasons. The kids love the time with Mom, and for Mom its a chance to teach them about so much more than just cooking. The measuring that is involved in baking is a giant math lesson. . .finding 1/2 and adding 1/4 is big stuff! The mixing of different ingredients and how they change shape & texture in the oven is science at a level they can relate to, and teaching them the difference between folding, stirring, and whipping is like a gym workout for little arms !

Then there is cracking eggs, how much fun is that . . . who doesn't enjoy a crunchy scrambled egg!! That got me thinking of a few tips that make Kids in the Kitchen a little more fun . . .

Tip #1 Crack eggs into a little dish on its own . . makes getting the shells out a whole lot easier!

Tip #2 One hand on the bowl! Especially stainless steel bowls, they spin right off the counter!

Tip #3 Wash their hands . . .obvious I know, but forgetting is yucky!

Tip #4 Teach the difference between stirring liquid (small circles) and stirring dry ingredients (big circles) . . .and have towels and a vacuum nearby!

Tip #5 Let 'em make a mess!! They will learn eventually, but expect messes!

Tip #6 Make it FUN! Anyone can stir chocolate chips into the batter, how about using the chips to decorate the top of the muffins? Make smiley faces, add a circle, or practice counting 1,2,3 chips on each cookie.

Tip #7 No sharp knives or hot ovens for little cooks . . but you knew that!

Tip #8 Get them their own supplies - mini rollers, hot pink PLASTIC measuring cups and a personalize apron all makes it more FUN!

Tip #9 Take lots of pictures - nothing is as cute as kids at the kitchen counter!

The pride the kids feel when the family sits down to a meal they helped make is immeasurable. My 4 year old recently made an entire chicken & veggie lasagna. I cooked the noodles and the meat and shredded cheese while she did all the stirring and assembly. Look at all the vegetables! She was so proud at dinner!

A little extra effort from us to include the kids in doing what we consider 'chores' can create valuable lessons for them. The kids are far more capable then we sometimes think and who knows, a couple lessons in the kitchen, might just turn into breakfast in bed!! I am such a dreamer!

What gerat things do your kids make at home?

My friend . . The Chocolate Chip

I have become friends with the chocolate chip! It seems that a well placed chocolate chip can get my children to eat zucchini muffins, squash cookies and spinach brownies . . . really!!

I have learned that if I mix in a cup of chocolate chips into the batter they see only zucchini muffins and may get more chips then zucchini, but if I place the chocolate chips on TOP before baking then all they see is chocolate chips and they think I am the best mom evah!! Look at the finished product below . . would you believe I made these with 2 zucchini's, 2 banana's, a cup of apple sauce, whole wheat flour, and ground flax seed!

I do the same with cookies - I start with oatmeal because its good for them and they like it, then add flax, veggies, apples, pineapples and maybe I'll put 3 smarties on top of each cookie! They get so excited by the smarties they dig in!! Now granted if the cookie doesn't taste any good the kids wise up and the smartie gets eaten and the cookie gets tossed, so there is some skill in making a healthy great tasting cookie. But I tell ya, tossing in a few chocolate chips can go a long way to helping them enjoy healthy food !!

I have also started to tell my kids that I put all these crazy vegetables in their school snacks . . I want them to know healthy can taste good (and besides, they are catching on to my tricks!). I've also learned I have to change it up a lot . . squash cookies might work this week, but they need something more enticing next week. I am curious too see what happens when they get older. Now they eat what I pack them for school mostly because I tell them they have too!! Hoping these good habits I am instilling in them now carry over to their tween years?? Will let you know!!

What works at your house to get the kids eating healthy snacks?

Focus Lost . . . Reward if Found!!

I used to be so efficient! A time management professional. I could squeeze a million things into a day and get everything crossed off my list! My house was in order and my day was a well executed plan. THEN I HAD KIDS.

The first child was a blur as we moved when she was 7 months old. Enough said. Second child born not long after and the crazy that is my new normal began. Staying home & having three babies in three years and I totally lost the ability to Focus. I began Managing . . .going from fire to fire . . diapers, bottles, dressing, feeding, story reading, driving, shopping, doctors, cleaning up puke - never actually completing anything. THEN I DISCOVERED the iPHONE.

Fast forward 5 years and now I have mostly self sufficient kids but I have fallen victim to the iPhone, and twitter, and Facebook, and my never ending email. I can't circle the grocery store without "checking" my iPhone for something, anything, from anyone, that must be responded to STAT. Can't finish making dinner without picking up stuff on the stairs, organizing the mail, recycling the paper, Tweeting something hilarious, putting in a load of laundry, checking Facebook again, helping a kid with homework, getting a snack, getting a drink, paying a bill, breaking up an argument, putting in a DVD. Dinner used to take 20 minutes . . now I start at 4pm and we eat at 7pm . . .and its Spaghetti!!

Where did my Focus go? I need it back. I am getting dizzy. I literally stand in my house sometimes and am overwhelmed by the 300 unfinished projects that face me and I don't know where to start. So how do I cope? I check Twitter. See my problem!!

How do you Focus and ignore tempting distraction? Looking for useful tools to get my groove back!

Self Serve Always Open!

I quickly learned that to be a stay at home mom of 3 small children I would need some help . . but with a husband that travelled and grandparents that worked, that help was going to have to come from the kids themselves!! Inspired by how smart my cheeky 3 year old was at the time, I wondered if I gave them the tools (and cupboard space) to help themselves would it cause mayhem or create self serve kids?

Have a peak inside my pantry. Sturdy easy pour Ikea containers full of cereal, big & small bowls for cereal, soup, ice cream, apple slices or as many grapes as they can fit. There are milk cups, straw cups, travel cups, hot chocolate mugs and a supply of fun straws for their drinking pleasure. There is also their very own set of kids size spoons, forks and little spreaders for that morning peanut butter & toast or icing a cupcake. My kids have everything within their reach that they need to set the table, help them selves to a glass of milk, bowl of crackers or make their breakfast all on their own!

It is not only a time saver for me, but my kids learned early how to be self sufficient. . . from the age of 3 they are not only setting tables and pouring their own drink, but since it is "their" cupboard and "their" dishes, they even empty the dishwasher and put all their dishes away! The benefits just keep on coming !!

Now that the girls are older (4, 7 & 8), I can say that raising self serve kids has been a positive - even the milk poured on the floor instead of the hitting the cup has been a good learning experience for them. Next on this moms agenda is teaching them how to bake & make their own school lunches ! Any tips for me???

Baking vs. Buying !!

Welcome to my Blog !!! It's finally here !! So thrilled to be writing about what I love . . .my kids and our families journey to be healthy while still getting to indulge in chips & ice cream !!

Join me as we all learn what vitamins we really need and how much, why its OK to say yes to dessert for breakfast (sometimes), and why we should cut out those packaged foods . . .eventually!!

I will put it out there, when I had 3 kids in 3 years my favorite person in the WHOLE world was Mr. Presidents Choice !! He made everything my family would eat, conveniently froze it for me and put it on sale every week! For almost 2 years my family ate exclusively out of cardboard boxes . . . . and it was OK ! We all survived! However, I knew that was only temporary to get me through that stage.

Now that my girls are 4, 6 and 8 I have no more excuses! I made a vow last September, before school started, that I would "try" to not buy packaged granola bars or soft cookie bars . . . I would MAKE them. Hah ! I wasn't convinced I could do it for the whole school year - but you know what ? I DID IT !! I made batches of mini muffins and kept them in the freezer, I made awesome brownies with spinach in them and kept them in the freezer and I made soft oatmeal cookies with apples or zucchini in them. Kids loved them all (well, a bit of baking trial & error !!). Then I'd I pull 2 treats out of the freezer every morning for their lunches. I had to bake once every 3 weeks to keep the stock up . . .but I did it!!! Now, we still eat the odd boxed lasagna (and I take granola bars to the beach this summer . . .what? I needed a baking break & its hot!!!) but my kids go to school with no packaged snack food and I couldn't be prouder of my mommy victory!!

Whats your mommy victory? No matter how big or small, everyday we all try our best and we do have those moments when we think we can actually do this !!! Celebrate with us and share your mommy victory!

And for the record, this September, my kids are learning to bake !!!!!!