Fall/Winter Indoor Activities for the Family

While many parts of the country have already been experiencing fall weather, we are just now beginning to see the cooler temperatures where I live. Last night, we had a storm system move through as the cold front met the warm air that was still present, which has resulted in a lot of standing water and cool, fall temperatures. While the cooler weather is great, the wet conditions make it impossible to let the little ones go outside.

Therefore, today we are finding fun activities to do inside. I know that as fall pushes its way through and winter arrives, indoor activities are going to become a must. Therefore, I have put together a list of fun indoor activities to help your family get through the fall and winter months.

1.      Watch movies together. Today, the kids and I have been watching movies – something we rarely have time to do together. I have to say that it’s been pretty nice. So far, we have watched The Land Before Time, The Lorax and now my oldest is watching The Goonies for the very first time. Although the television has been entertaining us all morning, it has been some nice quality time together, made complete with popcorn and pizza!

2.      Bake some homemade goodies. If you have children around the age of 5, then they most likely enjoy helping in the kitchen. When I am making dinner, my 5 year old is constantly trying to bring his step stool in and help. While I am able to let him help sometimes, a lot of the time, I just don’t have the time to slow down and let him join in. Therefore, on days when going outside isn’t an option, I like to spend a little time with him in the kitchen while we bake homemade goodies. Usually, we will do homemade banana bread or sugar cookies where he can use the cookie cutters to shape his own cookies. Of course, the day isn’t complete until he has decorated his cookies once they’ve came out of the oven. And, baking homemade goodies and putting together gift baskets for the neighbors is always a great way to kick off the holiday season too!

3.      Decorate pumpkins. Decorating pumpkins is always a fun way to get the kids excited about fall (and Halloween). It doesn’t matter if you are painting or carving the pumpkins…it’s all fun and a great way to spend part of the afternoon as a family. With the help of the internet, you can easily find a lot of ideas for decorating non-carved pumpkins, as well as, the traditional carved pumpkins. Of course, if you carve pumpkins with the kids, make sure to save the seeds and roast them for a unique, yummy snack!

The above ideas are just a few of the many ways you can spend those cold fall and winter days together in the house. However, there are many more things you can do as well. What are some of the things you and the kids enjoy doing indoors when it’s too cold to go outside?

Halloween Food Fun

So, I know the most important issue surrounding Halloween is choosing the right costume. However, the second most important issue is what kinds of treats you’re going to whip up for the annual Halloween party that you’re either hosting or attending, right? After those two issues are resolved, it’s time to think about what kinds of candy you’ll hand out to the little trick-or-treaters and where you are going to take your kids to trick-or-treat.

I’ve always enjoyed Halloween for a number of reasons, but the one thing I look forward to the most (after trick-or-treating with the kids) is hosting our annual pumpkin carving party. This is something that just sort of happened about six years ago when a couple of friends came over to carve pumpkins with my husband and I. It has grown from there and is something we do every year. Everyone brings some food to share and we eat, drink and carve pumpkins. As I’m getting ready for this annual festivity, I’m collecting Halloween food recipes and thought I would share them with you guys! After all, what fun is Halloween without the festive food? So, here are some Halloween food that you and the entire family can enjoy!

1.      Chocolate Dipped Eyeballs: How yummy does this sound? Well, after reading the recipe, it sounds even yummier than I originally thought. This is one recipe that I’m going to have to give a try this year! You can find this Halloween delicacy here. 

2.      Side of Intestines: If you have a flair for the darker side of Halloween and enjoy serving foods that look like something out of a horror show, then these savory intestines will fit right in! For as gross as they look, they actually sound quite good!

3.      Mummy Dogs: Enjoy a new twist on an old favorite with this Pillsbury recipe. These Mummy Dogs looks amazing and are sure to “hit the spot” with all of your guests. While they are certainly filling, they are still a festive finger food!

4.      Monster Toes: Speaking of “finger” foods, why not add some monster toes to your Halloween menu? Guests are sure to find these to be delicious as they bite down and discover the secret to the toes! Best of all, this treat only has four ingredients so they’re going to be quick and easy to prepare!

5.      Spider Deviled Eggs: I’m a sucker for deviled eggs, but I’ve never thought about making them as Halloween party treats! Not only is the snack healthy, but it’s so cute and simple to make! These spider deviled eggs are definitely going to be making an appearance at our pumpkin carving party this year! (In addition to the spider eggs, you can scroll down to find nine more healthy Halloween treats for even more ideas!)

I hope you’ve found the recipes above inspiring for your Halloween festivities. If nothing else, these festive treats will give you something fun to do with the kids. Regardless of how you’re celebrating Halloween this year, I hope you have a blast and enjoy some spooky treats along the way!

Healthy Holiday Eats

Ready or not, the holidays are almost here! Until today, the weather had been pretty decent out. I think our lowest was in the upper 40s to low 50s, but last night we had what the weatherman called an “artic front” move in, which caused us to wake up this morning to temperatures in the 20s. While I know many of you live in northern states and this is normal…for those of us in the southern states, this is always a shock (yes…every year!).

With the cold weather here, I am getting even more excited about the upcoming holidays. However, I am not really looking forward to all of the fattening holiday foods that accompany the festivities. While I absolutely LOVE to snack on all of these holiday goodies, I detest the extra pounds that come with it – and I know I’m not the only one out there who feels this way.

Therefore, I thought I would share a few of my favorite recipes for the holidays and the cold months that follow. The great thing about these recipes is that they taste great, aren’t that bad for you and still provide that “comfort” we all seek in our holiday foods!

Black Bean Vegetable Soup: When the cold weather rolls in, I’m the girl that enjoys curling up on the couch with a hot bowl of soup. And, while I enjoy my meats, there are just some times when I’m looking for something that’s vegetarian friendly. So, here it is…my favorite black bean vegetable soup, provided My Whole Food Life.

Pumpkin Bread: Another one of my weaknesses is bread. There’s very few things that can cause an instant craving in me than a loaf of bread, straight out of the oven. It causes instant mouthwatering. That may be a little TMI, but it’s the truth. And, when the holidays roll around, I love to make fresh homemade breads…especially homemade pumpkin bread, especially since my husband and kids like it so much too! Here is a great healthy homemade pumpkin bread recipe that I recently found. Enjoy!

Lasagna: While lasagna is good all the time, it is especially satisfying at the end of a long, cold day too. I’ve always made good lasagna, but didn’t realize how unhealthy my version was until I started working out and watching my calorie intake. It was crazy just how unhealthy it was! So, here is an awesome healthier lasagna recipe that still has all of the flavor, just less calories. I’ve made it a few times so I know just how good it is!

Pumpkin Pie: What are the holidays without some pumpkin pie? Pumpkin pie is just something that must be present, at least at one holiday gathering! Again, while pumpkin pie is good, it just isn’t that healthy when made the traditional way (which is the way I was taught). So, for those of you who want to enjoy the pie without worrying about how bad it is for you, try this pumpkin pie recipe. The pie really is creamier than usual, giving it that “extra” little something that keeps you coming back for more!

I hope that you will give at least one of these recipes a try this year as you prepare for the holidays. They are all great recipes while being good for you!

What are some of your healthy holiday favorites?

Identity, What Identity?

I have a friend who recently had her first baby about a month before I had my second one. Since our little guys have been a few weeks old, my friend and I have been walking and working out together. During one of our weekly walks, she expressed to me that she felt like she had lost who she was before she became a mother.

I’m not sure about you, but I clearly remember feeling this way not long after my first child was born. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be a mom any more, I just didn’t feel like I was the same person I had been before he was born. Over the last five years, I’ve come to realize that almost every mom on the planet goes through this when they have children.

I think a lot of it is that our lives drastically change the moment we bring that first baby home from the hospital. We aren’t able to go out to dinner with friends at the drop of a hat…and sleep, well, it’s practically non-existent during that first year. This is a lot to swallow when you are used to being able to do the things you enjoy (that make you you) when you want to and then, all of a sudden, you can’t do those things as often.

Gradually, we begin to accept our new life as a mom and begin to stop doing these things altogether. Why? We chalk it up as a necessary sacrifice of being a parent. Soon thereafter, we’re so involved in our child’s life that we don’t remember who we were before the little one was born. So, what’s wrong with this? Well, in 18 short years, your “baby” will be off to college and you will be left alone. If you don’t know who you are apart from your child, you are going to be left feeling empty and it’s very likely that you will suffer from depression as a result.

This is why it is so important that we don’t let ourselves lose our pre-parent identities. So, how do we stop this from happening? Below are just a few tips for how you can take your identity back.

1. Schedule lunch with a friend. Make time to schedule lunch at least once a month with a close friend. Sure, you may need to get a babysitter for an hour, but that’s okay. You and your little one will both benefit from the adult time you’ll get from it.

2. Revisit an old hobby. You are just going to have to “bite the bullet” and make plans to do something you enjoyed before you had the baby. Maybe it was kickboxing or seeing a favorite band in concert or riding horses. Whatever it is, make time to do it again. If your kids are old enough, you could bring them along. Who knows, maybe they would even take an interest in it and you guys could do it together!

3. Make new friends. Finally, at some point we realize that our single “kid-less” friends slowly stop coming around. It’s not that they don’t like us anymore, it’s just that we’re all at different points in our lives. This is when it’s time to get out and make new friends…who are at the same place in their lives. Join groups where there are other moms. For instance, MOPS is a great place to start. Or, you could join a local Zumba class or a book club. Explore the options in your community and make a point to get out and make new “mom” friends.

Must-Have Items for Babies

As many of you already know, my husband and I welcomed our second child at the first of August. In fact, this coming Tuesday, our new little guy will be twelve weeks old. I’m finding it incredible at how fast time is flying by with this little one. When I had our first son, five years ago, it seemed like time moved by very slow because I was waiting for the next milestone to happen. This time is different because I’m actually enjoying the fact that he’s little!

Okay, all parents with more than one child will tell you that there is always going to be things different with each pregnancy…and child. Since our boys are almost exactly five years apart, we have noticed a few differences. One area where there have been noticeable differences is in the must-have items for babies. It doesn’t matter if you (or someone you know) are having your first, second or third child…you may find the list below helpful. It’s just our new must-have list for babies – things that we’ve found (over the past 5 years) that have made our lives easier as parents with babies.

·         Swing: This one has literally been a life saver for my husband and I. We spent a little extra money five years ago on a “fancy” swing (as our friends like to call it). Really, it isn’t that fancy. The only thing it does differently than a lot of other swings is the seat swivels so the child can swing from side to side or front to back. I didn’t realize how handy a swing really was with my first child, but now that I’ve got an active five year old and a newborn, the swing is one of my can’t-do-without items! 

·         Video Monitor: This is a new item for us. When we had our first son, we were in a much smaller house and his room was literally a few steps across the hall from ours, so we didn’t need a baby monitor at all. However, we have recently moved into a larger house where the kids’ rooms are at the opposite end of the house as ours. So, this time around I insisted on a baby monitor – and now they have those cool video monitors where you can actually see the baby! I’ve never been so excited about something because now I can watch my little guy and make sure he’s actually awake (instead of just moving in his sleep) before I get up at 3 a.m. and trek across the house.

·         Dresser/Chester Drawers: For me, I’ve found it a huge benefit to have a set of Chester drawers for each one of my infants. I’m not one of those people who can hang every article of clothing my child owns (especially a baby). So, for me, everything goes in the drawers except the babies’ formal clothing, which always needs to be hung up.

·         Bottle Mixer: Finally, the last item on my must-have list for babies is a bottle mixer. Regardless of whether you breast feed or use formula, there will be a time when you start adding cereal to your little one’s bottles to help sustain him/her longer between meals. Babies ‘R Us sells bottle mixers, which I LOVE. I’m unable to breast feed, so our bottle mixers really get a workout since we’re already adding cereal to his bottle. In my opinion, the bottle mixer mixes the formula and cereal up a lot better than the old-fashioned “shake” does. The best part is that this must-have is less than $5.00!