It’s hard to believe that in just one month, school will be out of session for us. All winter long I’ve been counting down the days until I get to spend more time with the kids in weather that makes it possible to actually do things outside!

But every year, summer seems to creep up on me far too fast and I never seem to have a good plan in place for all the things we want to do. Except for this year! I took some time this week to make a “Summer Bucket List” with my family.

One night at the dinner table, I pulled out a blank piece of paper and I told everyone they had “3 wishes.” They could each pick three things that they’d like to do over the summer. Since we aren’t taking a “big vacation” this year, I didn’t put any limits on their ideas. My kids are still fairly young and still fulfilled by the “little things” in life.

Once everyone had picked their three things, we started brainstorming ideas of activities that we could do for free, on rainy days or just special little outings. The more we talked, the more excited the kids were getting. At one point, they got up from the dinner table and chanted, “I can’t wait for summer!” I have to say, it was one of the best mealtimes I’ve had in awhile.

Next came the work for me. I wanted to create a master list that was fun, but organized, so I created a document in Microsoft Word. In the middle, I added a clip-art of a giant bucket. Inside, I made what looked like pieces of paper with the 3 wishes of each family member. Those are the things that we are definitely going to get done by the end of the summer! On each side of the bucket, I added our ideas for rainy days and free things to do. I also added a small box filled with special outing ideas in case we had extra money to do those things. You can see what it ended up looking like in the pic above.

I made a copy to hang on our fridge and we’ll take turns crossing the things off when they are completed. It will be a fun to watch our summer wishes being fulfilled!

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the few years that I’ve been a parent it’s that time flies by far too fast. You only get so many years to make memories with your kids when they are at home so you have to make the most of each moment.

I’m hoping if you haven’t already that you’ll take time to make some summer plans with your family!

Note: For those of you wanting to make your own bucket, I’ve attached a PDF of the one I made. You’ll see it listed below. I kept it fairly generic so it could possibly apply to everyone and I left the tags empty in the bucket so you could write in your family’s wishes. (The “rainy day bucket” listing refers to a container we keep with some crafts/toys/books that I pick up on a deal so the kids can choose one new item on the really dreary rainy/stormy days. You could even add a special non-perishable snack in yours.)

summer-bucket-list-public-pdf

Disclaimer: Summer Bucket List PDF is copyrighted material of Glowing Gazelles. Readers can download it for free for personal use only. Content is not to be shared without written permission from Glowing Gazelles.

Some people may think that if kids are left to their own to pick out their food choices that they’d have a plateful of unhealthy food. But I don’t believe that to be true. While there’s a chance they may try to sneak in a candy or a cookie I think that given healthy options and the right knowledge to go with it, kids will pick what’s best for them.

I saw this many times with my own kids but it wasn’t until I volunteered to host a preschool Valentine’s party that I saw it was fairly common with most of the 3-5 years old there, too. My menu plan for the event was blueberries, strawberries, grapes, cheese cubes and some Valentine’s-related cookies. While my heart was hopeful for a good outcome, I couldn’t believe what happened. By the time the party was over, I had to throw away several cookies and was asked numerous times for “seconds” and “thirds” on all the fruit and cheese.

I see this happen a lot at birthday parties, too. Kids tend to migrate towards the fruit and veggie platters–especially if there’s dip involved! Now, I’m not saying I’ve done extensive scientific research here but what I am saying is why not give it a try? Why not provide kids with healthy options and an education to go along with it on why they are important?

So with that in mind, I wanted to do a series on “How to Get Kids to Eat Healthier” and share some things that have worked for me. Since there’s quite a bit involved, I’m going to break it into a mini-series of shorter segments.

The first thing that I think is important is to teach kids about balance. To be honest, some of us adults are still learning about this, too! If your original plan is to shove a bunch of veggies in front of kids and hope they’ll consume them because you’ve said, “You can’t eat junk! You need to eat healthy!” then you might be setting yourself up for failure. Kids want to understand the “whys” of everything. And if we trust in them and explain things in a way they’ll understand, they might just surprise you and eat some of those veggies without having to be forced.

While there are several interpretations on what we should and shouldn’t eat, I thought I’d go with a simple approach. Start off simple and add more knowledge as you go along. So the first thing I recommend is the “MyPlate” set up as a guideline for foods. And instead of making the knowledge of learning what categories food fall into a boring school-type lesson, how about making it a fun game?

I had found the “Healthy Helpings” game online and picked that up for my kids as they love board games. But honestly, you can probably make your own version if you don’t have the money. What the game does is gives each player a plate divided into the MyPlate food categories and the goal is to fill your plate with a game piece for each section. The game pieces are pictures of foods that you must figure out where they go. Is a carrot a vegetable or a fruit? And of course, with all games, there are ways to steal or earn extra game pieces or lose a turn.

My kids played this and had so much fun picking out their healthy plate options–and learning as they went along. Now I must warn you, once you start playing this with them, you’ll have to be careful of the dinners you cook for them going forward or you’ll hear things like, “Um, Mommy, you forgot our dairy option tonight!” I actually found myself making healthier and more balanced meals due to this!

And if there’s one thing I’ve learned is this–let kids make their own choices. Try mixing things up each week at the grocery store by saying, “OK, this week, you can pick out any vegetable for a meal that you’d like.” Or go to the extreme and let them pick out an entire meal that has to include the MyPlate categories. If they are old enough, let them help you cook that meal and see how it transforms from ingredients into a meal. And if they aren’t old enough, let them (safely) watch you as you prepare them and have a good chat in the kitchen while you are at it!

This is just the beginning of teaching them about balance. About teaching them about plate portions. And about teaching them that they are in control of what food goes into their bodies.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

Note: If you want to get more complex in the learning, you can use the “Healthy Eating Plate” created by Harvard – School of Public Health.

Here are the two winners of the $25 Amazon Gift Card giveaway:

sheryl@g….

elena15….@…..

The winners have been sent an email and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. (Be sure to check your spam/junk folder for the email as it may have been blocked.)

Thank you to everyone that commented, followed and shared the giveaway for entries.

More giveaways coming soon! Thank you for your patience!

With all I have going on I find it very difficult to make it to a gym. But this doesn’t mean that I don’t fit in some exercise into my week. There are so many great exercise DVDs available now and workouts through game systems such as the XBOX360 or Wii and of course the ever simple exercise of just walking outside. While I love to run my knees don’t so I don’t push myself too much with that these days.

But the best way I’ve found to convince myself to take time out of my day to exercise is if I find something fun that I enjoy–or something that brings me the calmness that I need in my ever busy day!

This last week I started using a Tai Chi DVD and I love it so far. I’ll tell you more about it in next week’s re-cap. In the past I’ve had fun with the Zumba Fitness for Wii. That one can be easy to fit in because the kids enjoy dancing and jumping around with me, even if they aren’t doing the moves properly. Since I’m not spending money on a monthly gym membership, I allow myself to choose a new fitness dvd/game every so often.

I’d love for a few of my readers to be able to do this, too, so I’m hosting this $25 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway with that hope that the two winners will use it to find something that they enjoy that can bring some exercise into their week.

HERE’S HOW TO ENTER:

NOTE: Beneath this posting is the word “Comments.” This is where you’ll put your entries. Only entries on this posting will be counted.

1) To enter the giveaway, leave me a comment on this posting letting me know what is your favorite way to get in some exercise throughout the week?

After that, here are other ways to enter: (Please, make sure that you submit extra comments if you do these.)

2) “Like” Glowing Gazelles on Facebook. If you are already following, thank you and make sure you leave a 2nd comment letting me know.

3) Subscribe to my email newsletter or RSS Feed and leave a separate comment letting me know you have done this. If you are already subscribed, thank you and make sure you leave a 3rd comment letting me know.

4) Blog, Tweet or Share on Facebook about the giveaway. Make sure you come back and leave a separate extra comment letting me know that you’ve done this.

Entry is open to US residents only through 11:59PM CST on Thursday, April 11, 2013. There is a total of four entries allowed per person. Winner will be chosen using a giveaway service and contacted by email. If you’re the winner, you’ll have only 48 hours to respond or an alternate will be chosen.

Good luck to all of you who enter!

This giveaway is provided solely by Glowing Gazelles as a way to encourage readers to try to get more exercise into their week!

Important Note: All comments are moderated so there will be a delay from when you post your comment until it’s visible under the giveaway. If you are reading this via Email Newsletter, you’ll need to come to the site in order to be able to enter as that’s where the comments field is located and hosted

Well, it’s no longer March but I plan on finishing what I started! If there’s one thing I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older it’s that you have to adapt in life. You can plan things all you want but sometimes it doesn’t quite work out how you expected!

Unless something comes up, I’ve finished filling in as a teacher’s aide now and have time to write again. So I’m just going to pick-up where I left off.

First I wanted to share my progress of that Week 1. My goals were to try to carve out time for fitness and to get in more water throughout my day. I’m happy to say I accomplished both!

I started off using the heavier housework as the exercise time–even doing things like shoveling snow one day! You gotta love when you can get in some exercise, fresh air and playtime with the kids all in one. But I’m learning to carve out that exercise time because it’s so important! The great thing about exercise is that it gives you the energy you need to do other things. So while it may take up 20-30 minutes of that particular day, it might give you a boost of energy to get other things done faster!

As far as the water, here’s how I was successful at getting it in. I found a glass that held 2 cups of water and tried to remember to fill it up 4 times daily. I used meal times as my gauge. Each time I’d sit down for a meal, I’d finish off the water I had left and refill it again. The fourth glass I’d squeeze in between a little before bedtime and first waking up. It’s kind of an easy way to keep track of how much you are drinking, too.

So moving on to Week 2:

FITNESS GOAL – My goal for this week is to find a new exercise that I actually find fun and work it into my day. I’ve had luck in the past with dance DVDs or the Zumba Fitness for Wii but I know that the only way I’ll stick to exercise is to keep switching things up. So now I’m moving on to Tai Chi. I’ve only done the warm-up and first segment of this one so far. I love that it’s filmed by the water and the whole DVD just has this calming feel to it. That’s exactly what I need right now! We’ll see how the rest of the week goes!

HEALTH/FOOD GOAL – Over the last year, I’ve been doing my best to teach my kids, now 4 and 6, about eating healthy. We’ve found some fun ways to learn, that I’ll share with you, and I’m continually thinking of more ways. This week, I want to sit down with them and get a list of their favorite healthier food options and make us an “available snack chart” for our wall. I think this will come in handy when they ask what they can have for a snack throughout the day. I think it will also teach them about making healthier choices.

So that’s the round-up of what I’ve accomplished so far and my plans for Week 2. Again, I’m sorry for the delay but we’ll just keep moving forward!

Here are the winners of the $10 Bed Bath & Beyond Gift Card from the giveaway that I hosted:

stefecuyer…@…
Samsamblue4u…@…
harmony2all…@…
dani.brianbell…@…

Winners have been sent an email and will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Thank you to everyone that entered the giveaway!

Marching Into Fitness Update

Some of you may be wondering why I’ve only hosted one giveaway and had limited postings for the Marching Into Fitness month. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I fill-in as a teacher’s aide at my kids’ school. Once again, I was called in for a few weeks as one of the aides had an emergency that left her unable to work. While I wish I was some kind of super-woman, I am just an ordinary Mom and blogger. I haven’t been able to keep up with blogging at Coupon Geek, taking care of the kids, keeping Glowing Gazelles updated and doing the teacher’s aide job. A person only has so much energy throughout the day. lol. So I extend my apologies on the delayed Marching Into Fitness month and I hope to catch up here real soon. I am indeed going to be posting every giveaway I promised and some great articles to go with–and they will be extended into April. I thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. And I’m hoping that when life gives you a chance to help out a person in need that you will also take the opportunity to help them.

Earlier in the week I mentioned the importance of water to our bodies. While most of us understand this importance, it can still be hard to try to figure out how to get water into our daily routine. I am going to share a few additional ways with you later this week but here is just one of the ways I’ve found to get more water into my day and that’s having a great water cup on hand.

I’ve tried several different cups to carry with me around the house or when I’m working and I keep going back to the ones made by Tervis. I love all the various designs that they have to choose from and I like that you can even switch out the lid and straws to other colors. It’s a great way to change up one water cup for a few different looks. I’ve found that the ease of drinking through the straw also helps me drink more water in one sitting.

My favorite cup so far? It would have to be the one that looks like a goldfish tank. I’ve received so many compliments on it. I often joke that if the fish begin to look like they are swimming then I know I’ve been online too much.

One of the stores that carries quite a nice selection of the Tervis cups is Bed Bath & Beyond. What I love about their store, too, is that they often offer a coupon for $$ off a certain amount spent or for a % off a single item purchase. If you sign-up for their newsletter and/or get on their mailing list you should receive those coupons quite frequently. And pairing one of their coupons with a $10 gift card, if you win one, should get you one of those Tervis cups for nearly free.

I’m hoping that you’ll take a minute to try to win this giveaway so that you can buy your very own cup that shows off your style and helps you get more water into your day.

HERE’S HOW TO ENTER:

NOTE: Beneath this posting is the word “Comments.” This is where you’ll put your entries. Only entries on this posting will be counted.

1) To enter the giveaway, leave me a comment on this posting letting me know what are your tips for getting more water into your daily routine?

After that, here are other ways to enter: (Please, make sure that you submit extra comments if you do these.)

2) “Like” Glowing Gazelles on Facebook. If you are already following, thank you and make sure you leave a 2nd comment letting me know.

3) Subscribe to my email newsletter or RSS Feed and leave a separate comment letting me know you have done this. If you are already subscribed, thank you and make sure you leave a 3rd comment letting me know.

4) Blog, Tweet or Share on Facebook about the giveaway. Make sure you come back and leave a separate extra comment letting me know that you’ve done this.

Entry is open to US residents only through 11:59PM CST on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. There is a total of four entries allowed per person. Winner will be chosen using a giveaway service and contacted by email. If you’re the winner, you’ll have only 48 hours to respond or an alternate will be chosen.

Good luck to all of you who enter!

This giveaway is provided solely by Glowing Gazelles as a way to encourage readers to try to get more water into their daily routine.

Important Note: All comments are moderated so there will be a delay from when you post your comment until it’s visible under the giveaway. If you are reading this via Email Newsletter, you’ll need to come to the site in order to be able to enter as that’s where the comments field is located and hosted

It’s March which means it’s time for the annual “Marching Into Fitness” theme that I’ve typically posted in past years on Coupon Geek. A common resolution for the year is to exercise more or eat healthier and most people’s resolutions tend to drop off by the end of January or mid-February. This is why I like to focus on fitness in March–to try to help my readers keep moving forward with their goals.

I really feel that taking on goals should be done in small steps so that we don’t burn out too quickly. As the saying goes, “Slow and steady wins the race.” I try to remind myself to apply this to most things in my life.

So for each week in March, I’m setting some small goals and I’ll be sharing them with you each week. Here’s what I am starting with for Week 1:

FITNESS GOAL:

Focus on carving out some set time throughout the week for exercise. My goal is to take on 30 minutes a day at least 3 times a week. For now, I’m going to focus on just getting into the habit of setting aside the 30 minutes for it. This week, my “exercise” will be solely compromised of cleaning with these things in mind:

~Scrubbing all the hard-surface floors (great workout for the arms!)
~Extensive Vacuuming – pulling out furniture/fridge/stove and getting every nook and cranny cleaned
~Dusting – While this one doesn’t burn as many calories as the other two, it needs to get done!

Three times this week, I’ll set the timer for 30 minutes and work on getting my house clean! Next week, I’ll move on to a new form of exercise but this week, I’m focusing on just getting in the habit of setting aside the time for myself.

You can read my post on “Carving Out Time for Exercise” in case you missed it.

HEALTH/FOOD GOAL:

I discussed the importance of water for our bodies and this week, I’m going to make sure I get in my 8 cups of water each day. I’ll be keeping track of the little tricks and tips I find to make sure I reach the goal.

So this is Week 1. And of course, as in the past, I’ll be offering a weekly giveaway. So make sure you keep your eyes open for it!

What are your goals for this week?

Exercise. Did you just almost feel yourself groan at that word? Most of us do. I’m sure after awhile, we can all come up with a million other things that we’d rather do with our 24 hours in a day than make time for exercise. Here are a few of the reasons you may have thought of:

~I don’t have any time for it.
~I’m too tired at the end of the day.
~I can’t find any exercise that I like.
~I don’t like to exercise as it’s not fun.

Any of those sound familiar? I’m sure at some point, I’ve used every one of those excuses to convince myself why it’s OK to not find time to exercise. And yet, I know exercise is so important to our health. And what I’ve found from exercising is this–after I exercise, I feel great. I get more energy to do the things I need to do.  And I’m gradually finding more types of exercise that I like just by continually trying new things.

But how do we make the time for exercise? Well here’s the plan I am going to take and going to share with you. Like everything we need to learn and/or teach ourselves it’s called “baby steps.” The quickest way to burn out our ambition and desire to achieve a goal is to go full force without a plan. A person training for a marathon doesn’t just open the front door and run 26 miles. No, they start off with a short run and gradually add more distance each week and create a plan for building up to those 26 miles.

So if you are wanting to get in some exercise into your week, set a small goal and work on it for the week. Start off with even just 10 minutes. Set a timer and find something quick and easy to get in that time a few times a week. You could consider:

~Dancing to a song (carefully!) when you are waiting for dinner to finish cooking
~Play a game of tag with the kids
~Try some “lightning cleaning” where you clean as much as you can, as fast as you can for 10 minutes

Maybe the week or two after, set your timer for 15 minutes instead. And then 20. Gradually working up to 30 minutes, if that’s your goal. The first important step is to get into a routine of any amount of time each week. Maybe try a M/W/F 10 minute routine and try to make sure that you get in that time before you go to bed each night.

And did you know that cleaning can be exercise, too? Yup, here are some great ways to burn some calories:

~Vacuuming
~Scrubbing Floors
~Re-arranging Furniture
~Yarkwork/Gardening
~Washing the Car
~Sweeping
~Dusting

Imagine your house getting cleaner while you are working on building up a routine to fit in exercise–what a win-win situation!

I’ll be sharing some exercise tips and some recommendations for some of my favorite exercise dvds/equipment/routines, etc. throughout the month of March so keep looking for them.

In what ways have you found to squeeze exercise into your week?

When it comes to fitness, the first thing we may think of is exercise or eating healthy. But before we jump ahead to both those important things, I think we need to stop and take a look at the importance of water for our bodies.

We’ve heard it over and over again – drink more water or water is important. It’s almost like when we hear things repeatedly that we can start to tune them out. But there’s a reason why water is stressed as important and that’s because it can have so many benefits to us and it can also create several issues if we are low on it.

First, let’s start with what water does for us. Our bodies range from 60-75% water, depending on age, health, etc. and our blood is also around 90% water. Water is in our bones, teeth, brain and muscles, too. Here are all the things that water is necessary for:

~Aides in digestion and flushes out toxins
~Helps regulate our temperature
~Protects vital organs
~Helps avoid dehydration, which can affect our motor function and cognitive skills
~Helps delivery oxygen to cells and aides in the absorption of nutrients

Amazing how much water does for us, isn’t it? Now if we are low on water, the body will still need it and might start pulling it from other areas, such as our blood. It is often said that those of us that suffer from a headache and feel fairly instant relief after taking a med for it may have just been low on water and feel relief from the water taken with those meds. (So before you swallow some Tylenol, you may want to try drinking a glass of water first to see if that helps!)

And as if those things weren’t enough reason to drink more water, here are a few more:

~Healthier skin and hair
~Possible weight loss, as it can be an appetite suppressant and it helps flush out extra toxins
~Helping in staying healthier and a sense of overall feeling good
~Aides in staying “regular”

But how can you tell if you are getting enough water? They often say 8 cups of 8 oz of fluids a day, but that can vary for each person depending on age, health and their activity level. Some may need more or less than that original formula. Here are a few signs to watch for that may be symptoms of dehydration:

~Dark urine
~Dry skin
~Thirsty and/or Dry Mouth
~Feeling hungry, often we may just need water!
~Fatigue

Throughout this week, I’ll be sharing some ways to try to get more water into your week. Until then, your task is to make a conscious effort of keeping track of how much water you truly intake each day. You may be surprised and find out that you may not be getting enough.