Don't Drown In Halloween Candy!

In honor up upcoming Halloween, I'm changing the color of my font to orange and black. Exciting for me! Yep, I'm really that lame of a mom that I can get excited about the color of a font!

As Halloween quickly approaches, I see lots of mommies scrambling to get costumes put together for their kids (which can be hard with multiple kids!). I would like to put out there for families that do coordinated family costumes, you are heroes in my book! I find costumes that fit my kids and then am done with it! 

So this blog is not to advise you on costumes. This is about the trick-or-treating night. Whether you are taking your kids trick-or-treating or just to a harvest party, think on safety. 

Helpful tips: 

Buy a strip of reflective tape at a sewing/craft store and cut off some decent strips and put it on the kid's costumes. Most tapes are iron-on adhesives so you don't actually have to sew. 

Before you head out, write your cell phone number on your kids in Sharpie on their arm or the back of their necks. Anywhere where an adult might look. Tell your kids that if you do get separated, find an adult that has other children with them and to show them the spot of the phone number. 

The day of Halloween, my kids and I sit down and talk about what the best part of Halloween is. I'm hammering it into them at a young age that trick-or-treating is a tradition that our family has been doing since Grandma and Grandpa were little kids and we go to show off the costumes and give other people joy from seeing wonderful costumes. I really try to draw the attention off of the candy. Then I tell them when we go trick-or-treating they can have 2 pieces of candy while we trick-or-treat. 

Our Family Rules with the Sacred Candy Collected:

Every kid gets their own bucket to put candy in, but Joe and I then carry a backpack that has extra supplies in it like water and diapers. Every 10 or so houses, we have all the kids dump their buckets of candy into the backpack and then continue on. 

At the end of the evening when we get home, we allow the kids to pick out one piece of candy for how old they are (i.e. Serenity is 6 years old, so she gets 6 pieces of candy). Then we talk about how important it is to give (like we do around Christmas) to the less fortunate who weren't able to go out trick-or-treating and we donate the rest of the candy. I know there are dentists out there that have programs or programs that send candy overseas to our troops. Check in your area for these programs.

Our kids don't cry and whine over this. They are used to it. I don't let them have that much candy any other time of the year, so why would I let this be an exemption to the family rules?

I know I've gotten both positive and negative feedback on our family's method of candy distribution, but let me ask you: Between school Halloween Parties, church parties, trick-or-treating and the slew of other treats that are right around the corner for Thanksgiving, do our kids really need that much junk???

Have fun and Safe Candy Collecting! :D

Moms Need a Break or They will Break

I'm pretty darn lucky that Joe learned really early in our parenting years that it was/is better for me to take time for myself than to have a clean house. Ideally, it would be nice if we could have both. 

Day in and day out, I constantly feel as if my wheels are spinning. You've all seen a car stuck in the snow, where the tires keep spinning and spinning and never seem to get anywhere. Being the only adult in the car, you hope if you keep giving it enough gas, you'll magically just get out of the rut you're in.

 Oh, mothering is so much like this analogy! 

Most days we just keep going through the motions and eventually we hit that rut and we just tell ourselves that we can make it through-- if we just hit that gas peddle a bit harder. However, when I do just that, crazy psycho mom comes out. I'm thinking I should give a name to that side of my split personality. ;)

I just saw in the news where a young mom glued her toddler's hands to the wall and kicked her until she landed in a coma! Initially I am just shocked, but as I think, and if I am truly honest with myself, I see a tiny bit of that crazy mom in myself. Of course I would never harm my children, but sometimes I can just feel my the grasp on my emotions just slip away. Those are the moments when my children will get an extra spanking, extra time-out, etc when maybe they just needed more mommy compassion. I think if we all could just take a step backwards sometimes and put the laundry, dishes, floors, cupboards; everything on hold, we could be better mothers. 

Well, I'm resolving to take a little bit more time for myself in the winter months to come. I'm going to squeeze any moment of me-time into my family's schedule that I can. I know it will be mostly done during nap time or after the kids go to bed, but so be it. I have also spent years grooming my kids to have quiet time in their bedroom so I can even have 10 minutes of sanity. That comes especially handy in the evening when everybody seems to have such a difficult time.

If you have young kids, start practicing putting them in their rooms for a few minutes and every day just add a few more minutes until you get up to 20-30 minutes. Start by explaining that every day after morning playtime or after lunch will be quiet time. The rules are, everybody gets to have quiet time-- including mama! Of course, make sure their room or playing area is safe and free of hazards. Pretty soon, you could add a few breaks into your day and everybody will be happier for it in the end! 

So what are some ways that you can save take a break? Breaks that are productive in furthering myself seem to replenish me the most because it makes me feel like somebody other than just a mother.

*Read a chapter in a book ( I like the Kindle on my iPhone because my kids know it's off limits)
*Take a bath
*Take a nap
*Get on the computer to socialize, educate yourself, or just play a game
*exercise (get a few DVD's that have 10-20 minutes segments so they're quick and in the winter time it's a great way to warm up if the house is a little chilly)
*Call a friend
*Start a devotional
*Journal or blog
* Enjoy a cup of tea, cocoa, or coffee
*Write somebody a hand-written letter
*Do a craft off Pintrest
*Pick a subject and learn a little each day (i.e.,  countries, math, science, etc)

I created a jar to pick one out. 

Mom's Time-Out Jar

As I tell my child mommy is picking her time-out task, they can pick something from the Fun Cup and I will do it with them after the time is up. The red sticks are for things that will take approximately 30 minutes or more and the green one is things that will take 10-20 minutes. So you can say, "We're going to pick a green stick today." 

The Fun Cup

Hope you find some mommy inspiration! Blogging is what I chose today. :D

The Portland Half Marathon

Yesterday I ran the 2012 Portland Half Marathon. Let me tell you, I surprised even myself! Think back to my earlier posts... I had surgery (4 of them!) eight weeks ago that took the full 6 weeks of recovery. Then I had a week and a half of training completed. I was able to run 4 miles around my house, which I was thinking: if I am running in a flat race maybe I can double my distance and run 8 miles of the race. I know, wishful thinking, right? 

Joe and I got down to Portland area Friday night and we walked up the the Multnomah Falls. It was beautiful since we got there right before sunset. Well, the bad news is I twisted my ankle coming down on the trail. It swelled a teeny bit but not too bad. The photos below are from our little hike.

Arriving at sunset

Multnomah Falls

Wasn't the trail beautiful?!

Joe and I at the top of the falls

So on race day, I am the second to last wave of runners set loose on the course. Of course I make sure I take my plethora of pain killers within an hour before I start. Just seconds after starting the race, I start feeling the pain in my ankle and I thought, "I'm going to be lucky if I can run two miles of this race!" However, I kept plugging along because I am passing people and you never want to stop when you're passing other runners! It's the best feeling of the race!!!

My Portland Marathon Race Bib

So my ankle keeps bothering me. From mile 2-4 it's a gradual uphill and I rock it! Going from mile 4-5 is a gradual downhill and I stop noticing my ankle bothering me. At this point, I'm still blowing by people which is kind of surprising because I wasn't really going that fast. I'm even catching up to the groups that were released before mine! I was feeling really good! The rest of the race from this point on is just flat. However, at mile 5 my knee catches up to me. However, I'm still passing people and I'm actually feeling really good so I'm able to pick up my pace for a few miles. I was able to down one of my cliff bars at this point in hopes I don't get as sick as I did after the Coeur 'd Alene half marathon. 

Starting at around 8 miles, my left quad and hamstring start pulling. It started pulling so hard I had visions of me walking through the finish line with my legs all locked up, so I just kind of put myself on cruise. At mile 10, I felt so committed to my pace I started thinking, "I can run this whole thing!" So I made the decision to keep cruising until I got to mile 12 and then I would try to pick up my pace as much as I could. At mile 12, my iphone goes off telling me my average pace and my overall time. I knew I was so close that I may actually come close to my Coeur 'd Alene half marathon time of 2 hour 2minutes. So for the last 1 point 1 mile, I kick it in with all the extra strength I have, which probably isn't saying a lot as my left quad was so locked up at that point! I rounded the finish line area and was able to give a good kick at the end and I finished with a time of 2 hours and 8 minutes! 6 minutes behind my best half marathon time just 8 weeks after surgery?!? I was blown away with myself! Below is the picture Joe's aunt took of me just before I crossed the finish. 

After finishing, my legs just locked. They pulled me over to the medical tent where I had my first full blown asthma attack. I mean I was sucking for air! I am grateful it only lasted a few minutes. I was able to go on and get my goodies, got my awesome medal. 

Joe and I after we both finished

These photos below are taken at a running store in downtown Portland. I must say, I think if Steve Prefontaine ever saw this, he would roll over in his grave! lol

Why I don't always post...

I was thinking today, it has been a long while since I posted anything.... Then I was thinking it is because most of the time I think nobody will be interested in the same 'ol mommy life that is always going on. 

As a family unit, not too much is going on as far as actions. We have the normal daily grind: school, housework, work, more of the before mentioned. Exciting, huh? 

The only thing really worth mentioning these days is Joe and I are driving down to Portland tomorrow for the Portland Marathon. This will be the first time we've been away together from our kids for more than 18 hours! The excitement is almost more than I can bare! :D  Although in some regards, this is an annual trip for us and our schedule is already set and we can't even enjoy whatever food we want until Sunday because I know for me, eating unhealthy food gives me cramps when I run. Out of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we really only have a few hours free on Saturday to do whatever we want. The rest of the time is spent traveling, picking up race packets, etc. 

On another high note (and news worthy for our lives!) is Joe will no longer be working swing-shift. He's been working for nearly 9 years and all has either been grave-yard or swing-shift. I can't tell you in mommy world how exciting that is for me! Because of his typical schedule, he doesn't get to see our school aged children much (just the hour and a half in the morning before they go to school). Before we had kids in school, it worked out fine. I made a family dinner for lunch then when he was gone, I served lunch for dinner. That worked out pretty well. However, after the older two went to school, I battled with deciding if we should keep that routine or if I should have a family dinner every night just without Joe? We've done a combination of the two and I've really hated it. Also, in the evening, I'm normally pretty bored and desire company, but all my mommy friends don't want to get together because they're husbands are home from work at that time. So, with him going to day shift, we can have a more "normal" functional family life-style and Joe can help me with the horrific evenings where I've normally been the one to deal with: cranky kids, homework, dinner, bath time, and bedtime. The last month since school has started has been a real struggle for me to get Serenity and Ila's homework done since both are designed to have parents standing right beside the student helping. 

So, other than that, I have been going through the daily grind, feeling that nothing of interest to the general public has really happened. Let the grind go on....