Losing Weight

Isn't everyone you know at some point trying to lose weight?  If you are female, I think it is a fore gone conclusion that at some point in your life you will try to lose weight.  I think it must be in our DNA!

What is the first thing that we ask someone who has lost weight?....."How did you do it?" as if they discovered some magical way that is unknown to the rest of mankind.  The simple response is, "watching what I eat and exercise."

I haven't really struggled with my weight until after having children (My choir dress from my senior year in high school was a size 2 and we had to still take it in a bit!).  Now, mind you, I measure 5' tall with shoes on.  I'm somewhere in the 4 feet 11-some odd inches in bare feet..so size 2 in high school was healthy.

Once I started having kids my battle with weight began.  I have gone up and down, up and down, up and down over the last 11 years.  I am currently on the "up" side of my weight.  I have plenty excuses that maybe you share as well.

"I don't have the time, what with the kids around all the time" ("um..except for summer break they were in school all day and you didn't so a thing!")

"I'm too tired" (stop going to bed at 1:00 in the morning...that might help!)

"I don't want to get up early" (you don't have to, you are home ALL DAY!)

"I don't feel like it" (I can't argue that point!)

"The holidays are coming, why try now when it will be so hard?" (give me a break, you can still have treats, just don't eat the whole plate of cookies by yourself!)

"Dieting can be so overwhelming and frustrating" (this is true, so stop doing it!)

"If I wasn't home all day, it would be so much easier to not eat so much" (maybe, but you are, so set up snacky stuff that isn't going to kill your figure!)

"I'll start next Monday" (what is so magical about Monday?)

So the fact of the matter is, I eat like crap and I would much prefer to curl up with a book than hop on the eliptical machine (which is conviently located downstairs in the family room).

It's time for a change and I'm hoping that sending this out to everyone in the known universe will help me stay committed.  I am a firm believer in simply sticking to smaller serving sizes and adding exercise to your daily routine (firm believer in theory...as I haven't implemented any of this as of yet!)

I have some small goals that I've set for myself to measure my progress:

I want to wear my wedding ring again.
I want to be able to tie my shoes without struggle.
I want to be able to keep up with my family when we go on hikes.
I would like to be into a size 5/6 jeans.
Only weigh myself once a month..remember that weight means nothing, how the clothes fit is the goal!
I want to set a good example for my kids.

That last one is probably the most important one for me.  I want my daughters to have healthy attitudes toward food and exercise.  My husband and I have alway tried to correct any of the children if they say something like "I need to exercise so I can stay skinny." with, "No, you need to exercise to be healthy."

So, here's to my first step in exercise. 

Charlie, Buster, and Harold

I was first introduced to the wonder and fun of silent films when I took a film appreciation class in college (yes, I was looking for an easy class to fill my general ed credit requirement).  

The professor played "Gold Rush" starring Charlie Chaplin....and I fell in love!


Charlie Chaplin is one of the most talented actors I have watched.  He has great comedic timing and can express so many emotions through his facial expressions, he is a joy to watch.  Here is the clip from the gold rush that I love:

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies channel, I have been able to introduce my children to the joy of silent movies and I have been exposed to some of the other great silent comedians of the time like Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton.

The first silent movie my children watched was called "Go West" with Buster Keaton.  They were not thrilled when I first sat them down and they saw it was in black and white, and then I almost had a revolt on my hand when they realized there wasn't any sound, and you actually had to READ during the movie.  Once they adapted, they loved it!  

They wanted more, so I hunted down "The Gold Rush" at the library and recorded as many as I could find on TCM. 

We have watched quite a few:

The Gold Rush - starring Charlie Chaplin
Go West - starring Buster Keaton
Modern Times - starring Charlie Chaplin
Haunted Spooks - starring Harold Lloyd
The Kid - starring Charlie Chaplin
The Circus - starring Charlie Chaplin
City Lights - starring Charlie Chaplin

There are more currently on the DVR and we'll be watching them shortly.  If you haven't ever seen a silent film, you are missing out.  Any of the ones listed above would be worth your time.

Summer School

Every year, since the twins (K & C) were in preschool, I have done summer school/ off-track school with my children.  Each year I will get a grade level workbook that covers all subjects and have them do about 4 pages a day in addition to reading. 

This year will be no different.  They are on a traditional school schedule and school was let out on Friday.   I have made summer chore charts using one of my favorite websites (http://www.dltk-kids.com/).

The twins', who just finished 5th grade, summer chores are:

30 minutes of reading
Math page
Handwriting
Times tables
Clean up

My daughter has been dying to read The Hunger Games as apparently all of her friends have read the series and have told her how great it is.  After talking it over with my husband (we both have read the books) I reluctantly agreed.  We shall see what her impression is and if she can really understand all the nuances of the books.

My son is going to continue reading The Warriors series, he's almost done with the first book and we'll be getting him the second book today.  He has loved the first book and gives me an update of what is happening each day he reads (I've never read the books, so some of the information is lost on me)



I have chosen to focus primarily on math this summer for them as they have both struggled over the past two years (they must be my children!).   I found dedicated math work books for their grade level at Staples.  I had no idea they would have anything like that and I just happened upon them while we were there shopping for something else.

Handwriting is a more general description.  My son has horrible handwriting (and this is not an over statement), it really resembles preschool handwriting in many ways.  He still struggles with squishing letters together in a word, and making spaces between words.  He, also, struggles with cursive.  I know most of his problem is being willing to take the time to make it nice.  Hopefully, by the end of summer he will have made some improvements.  He loves to draw and has talked about taking art lessons, I told that if he improves his handwriting he will improve his drawing.  I'm hoping that will give him some incentive.

Handwriting for my daughter is fine, so her handwriting chore will be more on the creative side.  I bought writing journals that they use in school and this will be where she will write her stories.  I have found story starters that will give her something to start with.  I plan on all three of my children using the journals for creative writing.  

Times tables is another area that my son struggles but my daughter has mastered.  As I figured it won't hurt her to review them and because I didn't want my son to feel bad that he had more work than his sister, I put it on both lists.  This will be simple drills with flash cards, starting with 1 and adding the next set as the first one is mastered.

The clean up chore is just that.  I will pick one area of the house that we will all work on each day.

My daughter (M),who has just finished 1st grade, has a somewhat different summer chore list:

10 minutes of reading
Math page
Handwriting
Workbook page
Clean up

The school that my children go to use the guided reading levels to level the children.  She is on a level I.  I was able to find what books are on this level by looking up the teacher book wizard on http://www.scholastic.com/.  I would recommend this site to anyone that wants to make sure the books their children are reading are on level for them.  You can pick between guided reading levels, lexile levels, and  DRA levels when you do your search.  It has been such a useful tool over the years!

She will also do a math page, and work on her handwriting.  But she differs from the twins in that she will be doing workbook pages out of her Comprehensive Curriculum work book.
                                                 


I have found a great website to help me with extra worksheets and activities. http://www.education.com/ will be my go-to website this summer.

I plan on only spending about 2 hours each morning doing school and then the rest of the day will be theirs to do whatever they choose.  I have found doing a little bit of school each day also helps with the boredom they suffer as summer wanes on.

Here's hoping for a great, successful summer!