We have been busy, busy bees over here!! Soooooo much going on. As you know I can be long winded about one thing going on in my life :-) I shall try to break things up so I don't dump a novel on you all!
After a long winter filled with one sickness after another, too much computer time, and too much nutrient poor foods, it is time to pull up the boot straps! I talked it over with everyone and everyone is on board with making some big changes. We are all struggling with our fitness levels, energy levels, overall health, and for some of us....our weight. I hit a number on the scale that I don't even think I hit when I was 9 months pregnant....and for some pregnancies I had gained 50 to 60 pounds! I am having a hard time going up and down the stairs, and forget about trying to get off the floor without wondering if I need backup.
I got away to the library to make some plans. Things are pretty crazy in the house right now, and I wasn't even sure where to start. So I made a list of ideas. I had to go back another evening to iron some things out and mark out our first steps. So far this is what we've been doing:
1. Getting outside more! Right now there is a lot to do on our property, so I am starting there for a good reason to get out and active. We've cleaned up most of the 'yards'. We have various fenced off 'yards'. There's the dog area, the horse area, the middle area (where the swing and trampoline are), then we have two front areas (one with the fruit trees, the other just a yard), then there's the rock garden, and two more fenced in goat areas. On top of that we have the bike trail, and creek area. We only have 2.5 acres, but these are the areas that we've 'named', if you can call it that. The boys, Merida and I got out and pick up the middle area, horse area, rock garden, and the two front yards. So we still have some places left to clean up.
We also tackled the baby trees and brambles growing along side our dirt road. They've been increasingly creeping closer to the road each year. So some gloves, clippers, and a saw and we have that area free of those intruders. I think I should plant some shade loving plants/shrubs in that area to hopefully fill it in so the other things don't grow.
Jeremiah and the boys did a lot of work on the shed/barn. We needed to switch original plans since the pony kept getting out. This will help when we get goats in the future. There is still quite a bit of work to do for the chicken barn. Moira took a day to knock off the walls. The barn had some mold damage, and a rotting floor. We've made some plans to change that area as well.
On top of all that work, Jeremiah and the boys are starting to make 3 or 4 raised garden beds for the front. So lots of outside time!
2. Organize the kitchen. I know, seems odd. How does that play into getting fit? Well, I have like no energy. I need to go back to eating all plant based. The problem the past 9 months or so has been I want to eat plant based, but no one else does. So I have been making multiple dishes for meals. I. Am. Burnt. Out. We have resorted to eating junky foods (box mac and cheese, pb and j's, Ramen....ugh). It has to stop! So I told everyone I am only making ONE meal for each mealtime. And it will be plant based. I HAVE to, for my sanity, and for my energy and health.
The problem is that my kitchen was a mess, and cooking is hard enough when things go right. But when you have no energy to begin with, and you have to search for the foods you need to prepare...well, for me it is too much. So the past few days have been pulling everything out of each space and organizing it. Jonah has been my right hand man. He loves doing projects. He was watching the youtube inspiration videos with me!
3. Making an investment. We already have a Y membership, though we haven't been good about using it. So we have plans to make certain days Y days. Then I went online and bought some jump ropes and bouncy balls (the ones they sit on and bounce around on). Last week I bought two playground balls and a huge box of chalk. Next week I plan on buying a few more playground balls. I have plans on trying to put together a gym day for them to play group games.
We are also pretty excited to have a Greenway Challenge. We will print out the greenways around our area and we will walk/run, bike, skip the trails. The challenge will be to color in all the trails!
There is more to my plan, but this is where we are starting. I am excited to share this adventure! There are other things going on, some big changes, others not as big. I'll write about those another time!
Merida was there for moral support. Ha, ha! She did help to transfer the cuttings to the other side of the road.
After a long winter filled with one sickness after another, too much computer time, and too much nutrient poor foods, it is time to pull up the boot straps! I talked it over with everyone and everyone is on board with making some big changes. We are all struggling with our fitness levels, energy levels, overall health, and for some of us....our weight. I hit a number on the scale that I don't even think I hit when I was 9 months pregnant....and for some pregnancies I had gained 50 to 60 pounds! I am having a hard time going up and down the stairs, and forget about trying to get off the floor without wondering if I need backup.
I got away to the library to make some plans. Things are pretty crazy in the house right now, and I wasn't even sure where to start. So I made a list of ideas. I had to go back another evening to iron some things out and mark out our first steps. So far this is what we've been doing:
1. Getting outside more! Right now there is a lot to do on our property, so I am starting there for a good reason to get out and active. We've cleaned up most of the 'yards'. We have various fenced off 'yards'. There's the dog area, the horse area, the middle area (where the swing and trampoline are), then we have two front areas (one with the fruit trees, the other just a yard), then there's the rock garden, and two more fenced in goat areas. On top of that we have the bike trail, and creek area. We only have 2.5 acres, but these are the areas that we've 'named', if you can call it that. The boys, Merida and I got out and pick up the middle area, horse area, rock garden, and the two front yards. So we still have some places left to clean up.
We also tackled the baby trees and brambles growing along side our dirt road. They've been increasingly creeping closer to the road each year. So some gloves, clippers, and a saw and we have that area free of those intruders. I think I should plant some shade loving plants/shrubs in that area to hopefully fill it in so the other things don't grow.
Jeremiah and the boys did a lot of work on the shed/barn. We needed to switch original plans since the pony kept getting out. This will help when we get goats in the future. There is still quite a bit of work to do for the chicken barn. Moira took a day to knock off the walls. The barn had some mold damage, and a rotting floor. We've made some plans to change that area as well.
On top of all that work, Jeremiah and the boys are starting to make 3 or 4 raised garden beds for the front. So lots of outside time!
2. Organize the kitchen. I know, seems odd. How does that play into getting fit? Well, I have like no energy. I need to go back to eating all plant based. The problem the past 9 months or so has been I want to eat plant based, but no one else does. So I have been making multiple dishes for meals. I. Am. Burnt. Out. We have resorted to eating junky foods (box mac and cheese, pb and j's, Ramen....ugh). It has to stop! So I told everyone I am only making ONE meal for each mealtime. And it will be plant based. I HAVE to, for my sanity, and for my energy and health.
The problem is that my kitchen was a mess, and cooking is hard enough when things go right. But when you have no energy to begin with, and you have to search for the foods you need to prepare...well, for me it is too much. So the past few days have been pulling everything out of each space and organizing it. Jonah has been my right hand man. He loves doing projects. He was watching the youtube inspiration videos with me!
3. Making an investment. We already have a Y membership, though we haven't been good about using it. So we have plans to make certain days Y days. Then I went online and bought some jump ropes and bouncy balls (the ones they sit on and bounce around on). Last week I bought two playground balls and a huge box of chalk. Next week I plan on buying a few more playground balls. I have plans on trying to put together a gym day for them to play group games.
We are also pretty excited to have a Greenway Challenge. We will print out the greenways around our area and we will walk/run, bike, skip the trails. The challenge will be to color in all the trails!
There is more to my plan, but this is where we are starting. I am excited to share this adventure! There are other things going on, some big changes, others not as big. I'll write about those another time!
Jonah working on the side of our dirt road. I tried looking for a before picture, but couldn't find a good one. Maybe I'll take a picture of the pile of stuff they cut down!
Aubrey working hard. There were many battles over who got the cutters! They were afraid they wouldn't each get a turn cutting down the small trees and brambles. Not to worry, there was plenty to go around!!!
Merida was there for moral support. Ha, ha! She did help to transfer the cuttings to the other side of the road.
