Back on Track... Mission Healthy Life with Rebs

The kids (well most of them!) and after a hiatus from my weight loss journey due to surgery and then the fun days of summer I've back on track.  Making lifestyle changes is never easy and even a few months off can equal slipping back into some of my old habits.  I decided to create a Facebook page to help keep me accountable and provide a place for me to share some of the tips and tricks that have worked for me along the way.  I'd love to have you join me!

Mission Healthy Life with Rebs - Facebook Page

Mission Healthy Mom - Turtle Power!

It's been over a year since I decided to change my lifestyle and become healthier.  I've made great progress but due to set backs (hernia surgery), life events and the typical plateaus of long term weight loss I sometimes get discouraged.  Recently, a friend posts a set of pictures on Facebook from Easter 2012 - which was several months before I started my journey.  Most of the pictures were of my cute little girl interacting with baby chicks. 

Isn't she cute??? 

Then, in the mix of the photos I caught a glimpse of myself.  I'm normally the one behind the camera and the more weight I had put on the less excited I was to get in any of the pictures.  

At first, I was drawn back to that place of not liking me in pictures but then I realized - that is the OLD me.  The unhealthy Mom, standing in the background, most likely tired and out of energy.  That is not who I am today. I don't have any "official" Easter pictures of me from 2012 but this year I was excited to be in the pictures with the kids.  After seeing the old and new me I realized how much progress I have made.  

Then I thought of a turtle.  

Ok, not that turtle.. but didn't my friend do an amazing job on her son's birthday cake? But I digress.  I'm talking about the famous turtle from the Tortoise and the Hare.  

A year later, I'm not finished, I'm still in progress, some days it feels like this journey (or me) is going as slow as a turtle.  Whether it is my surgery recovery taking months longer than expected or trying to fight through yet another plateau I'm reminding myself that in the end it is the turtle that wins.  Slow and steady really does win the race.  So whether it takes me six more months or another year to reach my healthiest weight in the end if I am moving forward, I'm winning the race. 

Are you a turtle?  How do you stay motivated?

Las Vegas Natural History Museum - A great kids Dinosaur Museum!

Dinosaurs seem to have a universal appeal with young children, especially little boys.  My 4 and 5 year old are no exception to this phenomenon.  We've had dinosaur birthday parties, dressed up as a paleontologist for Career Day at school and read more dinosaur books than I can count.  Yet, we had somehow not made it to the local Natural History Museum, or as my boys now refer to it - The Dinosaur Museum.  

Bank of America offers a great promotion for debit and credit card holders the first full weekend of each month, providing free admission to select museums across the country.  One of those museums is the Las Vegas Natural History Museum.  I finally took advantage of this special a few weeks ago and we had a lot of fun.  

First, I should say that I grew up in Washington DC so in some degree being raised with Smithsonian as your "local" museums has jaded me for life.  I do try to look at museums and attractions relative to the location and the age of my children. The Las Vegas Natural History Museum is a Smithsonian affiliated museum. It is small and definitely shows signs of age but for a town like Las Vegas and most children it is a great experience.  

The Museum is open 9am - 4pm daily which makes it convenient for families. The museum offers free interactive programs on the weekends on topics related to their exhibits, check out the Weekend Science page for current topics and times.  When we went the traveling exhibit was Sea Trek and the program we attended was about to Creature Camouflage.  The presenter did a good job of keeping it interactive and involving the participants (there were about 3-5 families with kids ranging in age from 2-12 would be my guess).  After the presentation there was a craft activity and then a chance to get up close with two smaller animals - a mouse and a lizard.  My four year son especially liked that part. 

In addition to a traveling exhibit the museum has wildlife, early Nevada, Egypt and of course Dinosaur exhibits. My kids favorite parts were the Dinosaur Area and the Young Scientist Area which is the interactive part of the museum for kids. They loved digging for fossils, creating rubbings and checking out the computer stations.  A fun little mini-aquarium let them "get inside" and find Nemo; big hit with my Disney loving children. The Dinosaur exhibit features a variety of different models including a large Triceratops and T-Rex that are animated by push of a button. 

We arrived about 10 am and stayed for a few hours, which included attending the presentation and animal interaction.  The museum was very quite when we arrived and got busier by the time we left about Noon but was by no means crowded.  There is a smaller playground located on the same property, just "behind" the museum.  We checked that out after our visit and the kids enjoyed being able to really run off some energy before getting back in the van.  Overall a great low key museum that provides interactive opportunities for the kids and is affordable, especially if take advantage of the Bank of American promotion, or the two for one coupon they generally have on their website.  

Las Vegas Natural History Museum

900 Las Vegas Blvd N (by Cashman)

Las Vegas NV 89101

702.384.3466

www.lvnhm.org 

Wetlands Nature Center and Park - Free Family and Kid Activities in Las Vegas

It is our first Tuesday of the Summer Game plan and that means its time for Take a Trip Tuesday.   I decided to take the kids to a new place we have never visited, the Clark County Wetlands Park and Nature Center.  I've been hearing good things about the Wetlands for a few years, had seen some friends photographs from the area but until we arrived I honestly didn't know there was a full scale nature center at the park.   Although the temperatures are pretty good today, only a high of 100 versus the end of the world 116 degrees that it was on Saturday, it was still a nice surprise to discover an indoor exhibit area to explore!

The Nature Center was fabulous and turned out to be my kids favorite part of the visit. The Nature Center building includes both an exhibit area, a theater (we didn't stay for the movie) and space for a cafe (not currently open).  According to the staff, the Nature Center opened this April so maybe that is why I didn't know about it!  The Nature Center is a well designed, green building and also includes restrooms and water fountains you can access without actually going into the exhibit area. As a mom of young kids, I love when they make those types of things easy to access. My five year old was fascinated with the cool sink in the family bathroom!

The design of the center is very appealing, especially to children.  The lobby area features a mural with over-sized plants and animals.  There are a number of very large insects that move on the ceiling of the lobby and two fun sculptures they can stand behind, my boys are checking them out in the photo to the left.

The exhibit area opens with another great area for kids with a large mural and more over-sized animals that the kids can touch.  The bull frog even rabbits and the large snake features his most recent meal inside his stomach - yum!
The exhibit space is not very large but has quite a few different displays related to desert life including the plants, animals, water and flooding and early settlers.  There are 8 hands on children's activity tables in addition to the interactive features of the various displays.  My boys were especially impressed with the display related to animal scat.  But then, what little boy doesn't love a scientific display of poop?!?

 The Nature Center and Wetlands Park are free of charge, so this makes it an awesome option for families and kids in Las Vegas to visit.  In addition to the exhibit area there is a movie that is available but we didn't check that out, although I plan to on the next visit. It is located on the east side of town at the end of Tropicana, a few minutes east of Boulder Hwy. The trails are open dusk to dawn and the center is open from 9am - 3pm daily.  The staff were all helpful and friendly.

By the time we finished checking out the exhibit area it was getting close to nap time and much hotter so we only explored a very small portion of the Wetlands trail area. The Wetlands Park covers over 2,900 acres and some areas are still under construction.  The trails are both dirt and paved and those that I observed from the nature center and the parking lot seemed pretty easily accessible with a stroller.  We used a small umbrella stroller on the portion we explored by the small pond and it worked fine.  The kids liked checking out the pond and we were able to see insects, butterflies and what I think were tadpoles from the edge of the pond. We also heard many different wildlife that we could not see and the kids thought that was really cool.

You can access the trails without visiting the Nature Center.  There is also a set of bathrooms in the parking lot.  The entire area, both Center and Trails had very few other guests while we were there (Tuesday between 10am - Noon).  When we were driving into park, there was a sign for a neighborhood park.  I decided to check that out as we were leaving and found a fun little play area that we will check out on our next visit.  It has play equipment that blends in with the Wetlands park including a small climbing wall and large animal play objects.  There is a picnic table and benches, perfect for after you explore the area.  Overall I highly recommend this as a free option for kids and families in Las Vegas.  My kids are 2, 4 and almost 6 but this would be a good option for all ages or if you have a broad range of ages in your family.  I also love that it introduces city kids like mine to nature!  If you are looking for things to do with your kids or family this summer in Vegas check out the Wetlands Park.

Playground Area with small climbing wall -
follow signs for neighborhood park

Clark County Wetlands Park
7050 Wetlands Park Lane, Las Vegas, NV 89122 
(East side by Tropicana & Boulder Hwy)
Open 7 days a week - Trails from Dusk to Dawn, 
Center from 9am - 3pm
Closed New Years Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas

Celebrating Random Acts of Kindness Week with Kids

This year our women's group at church has been encouraging us to plan for and celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week.  I love Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) because it helps me remember to be better. I'd love to say that I naturally think of others all the time but honestly I let life get in the way too much.  I've found that planning to do Random Acts of Kindness, especially around holidays, is a great way to help not only myself, but also my kids focus on being better.  Even the best of us can be kinder, more caring and considerate in our daily lives. The best part about kindness, it's contagious!  As we are kind to others it helps others pass that along in their lives.

Random Acts of Kindness Weeks is celebrated the week Valentine's Day. In 2013 that means it starts tomorrow, February 11th.  Today at church we were given cute little cards and heart stickers to track doing a RAK each day this week.

In the past we have incorporated RAK activities into our Christmas Activity Advent.  This past Christmas, we put on our best elf garb and put candy canes on people's cars and taped microwave popcorn to the redbox machines.  It was my teenage stepdaughter's idea to dress up and the little kid had so much fun with it (or course the photo below at the redbox my son doesn't look so happy!).

There are so many great ideas about how to do RAK activities out there.  A quick search on pinterest led to tons of great ideas.  The official website also has great ideas and even printables.  If you are an educator they have school based ideas you can implement.  I know my boys elementary school participates in the Be Kind program.


A few of the things we will be doing to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week -

Makes cards & a treat for the kids teachers - We are going to include the "specials" teachers like the Art, Music & PE teachers & aides in addition to the classroom teachers.  My sister is a Elementary Art Teacher so I try to remember to thank the specials teachers.  I know my kids love these other classes and the efforts of those teachers make a difference for my kids.  In addition to a card from the kids, I will also write a note.  Teachers often say that their favorite gifts are handwritten thank you notes.

Individual Kindness - I will be working with each of the kids to pick something they can do for another member of the family.  It will be their choice so I will have to report back on what they choose!

Microwave Popcorn on redbox - This is a repeat from Christmas but it is fast, easy and we are a redbox loving family so my kids think this is extra fun.

Trash Clean Up - Unfortunately we live in a neighborhood with lots of trash around.  We are going to go out and pick up trash and help make our neighborhood a little cleaner.

Bubbles on the Playground - A great pinterest find, we will be buying some bubbles at the dollar store, attaching a quick tag and leaving at the playground for kids to enjoy. Don't all kids love bubbles? Plus it's easy to do while also spending some time at the park.

Bring flowers to a friend - Surprise a friend or two with flowers.

Recognize Good Work - One other idea I love, although not necessarily child related, is to find a way to recognize people through their employers. This could be your child's teacher, a co-worker or even a favorite employee at the grocery store or gas station. As a former HR Manager, I know how much employees and volunteers love it when they are recognized for their efforts.  My kids school district has a Recognize a Valued Employee Award program and anyone including parents can submit an online recognition for a staff members efforts.  I did this for my son's wonderful preK teachers last year and they were so touched by it. Many companies have ways to submit recognition online, you can also post a compliment on Facebook or twitter.  I know one I am doing this week is submitting a compliment for an amazing manager at Target who helped me one day when my toddler was throwing the mother of all fits in his store.  I've needed to do it for weeks and will be submitting this week!


A few of my favorite ideas I found from other blogs include - 

Make them Wonder has a great free printable and lots creative RAK ideas. I found the bubble idea on pinterest and started exploring her site.  I love how she incorporates Random Acts of Kindness year round with her kids!

The Good Long Road shared ten ideas that are both free and kids friendly!

Loved this idea to make homemade coloring books and leave with crayons in hospital waiting rooms.

Toddler Approved's 100 Acts of Kindness series is a great resources with dozens of participating blogs that can help inspire you with ideas.  I wish I had discovered this earlier to participate for the whole four week project.  I hope to do it next year!

You have to check out the same sites 25 Acts of Kindness as a Mom.  This list is fabulous and I hope to incorporate more of these things daily.


Finally, some tips for celebrating Random Acts of Kindness with kids -

Plan - As someone with ADHD, sometimes planning is my nemesis and it does sound a little odd to plan a Random Act of Kindness but I find with busy family schedules that is the only way it will get done.

Be Flexible - Although planning is important you also have to be flexible. All mom's know there is a last minute appointment, a sick kids, an extra errand that needs to be done that can throw off your day.  When I make schedules of things like this I try to allow myself the ability to easily switch things out if I need to based on how the day is progressing.  I also avoid things that are time sensitive for the reasons I already listed!

Involve the Kids - Depending on the age of your kids you can include them in making cards or crafts, choosing what to do or who to do it for (you would be amazed at the ideas that even my 3 year old has come up with).  Kids will get more out of participating if they are involved in multiple parts of the process. My kids are also more excited about doing giving away something they help create, even if its as simple as helping cut out a printable you found on the internet.

Make it Personal - Although I think its good to include opportunities to RAK strangers for kids, especially small ones, including service to people you know can often make it more meaningful.  You could do a RAK week that was entirely limited to your family!

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Do you do RAK activities with your kids?  Have ideas or a post? I would love to hear or see. 

10 Things to Smile About: April

After a comment on my blog I discovered this meme and it sounded like something I wanted to do!  One of my recent goals regarding blogging to is to forget the "rules" (one of the main reasons I don't blog very often) and just start writing and recording our life.

One of the best parts of motherhood are the smiles! Those everyday moments that I love, but all to often forget.  

So here is my list for April. 

1 - Signing Student Loan papers!  Doesn't sound exciting but it means that my husband is back in school full time as of today, which is important for our family. 

2 - Amazing time learning, growing and laughing at the Power of Moms Premium Retreat in Vegas. 

3 - My little Lucy girl - trying on her outfit for her "I Love Lucy" first birthday party in two weeks. 

4 - Winning a 42" plasma TV during a family outing to the 51s Game.  And my brave stepdaughter sang Take Me Out to the Ball Game in the 7th Inning Stretch!

5 - Dying Easter Eggs with the Kids

My stepdaughter's Humpty Dumpty Egg - notice the crack and suspenders!

6 - My boys having fun! They always make me smile.

7 - Spring Break Family Home Evening.  It wasn't anything crazy or elaborate. We had ate dinner, had a short lesson and popped popcorn while we watched Dolphin Tale together as a family.  The part that made me smile was the spirit in our home.  That night we were bonding as a family and that ALWAYS makes me smile!

Not the popcorn from that night but I took this last night and had  to share.
I love popcorn!

8 - Black Eyed Susan's at the Springs Preserve. I took the kids to the Springs Preserve during Spring Break and saw these black eyed susans.  These always bring back my memories of growing up in Maryland (it's the state flower) and a family vacation incident of my mom picking them on the side of the road and getting a ticket from a State Trooper!

9 - Science experiments with the kids during a playdate.  3 little boys playing with vinegar, food coloring and baking soda - I got serious cool mom points for something so simple (thanks Pinterest)!

10 - My kids in their Easter best!  I love seeing them all dressed up:)  Twice a year they all match in new clothes (Christmas & Easter)... 

Of course they decided they didn't want their picture taken so this was the best out of about 20 tries!

I'm linking up over at Emmy Mom.

Rebecca

Lessons learned from my kids: Prayer

I keep thinking of Noah, my 4 year old, prayer at Easter dinner.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for Kat and Sally (our guests), Papa, Big Sissy, Sam, Baby Girl, Mama, me and for my powers and that I'm Electric Company Dinosaur and Jesus loves me.  Amen. 

As you can imagine there were several snickers, especially when he thanked Heavenly Father for his powers...

But in my heart I was happy.  Why?  Because Noah wasn't worrying about what anyone else thought. He was talking to God and thanking him for what was important to Noah.

There is a lesson in that for us all.  Prayer at it's most basic level is a conversation with God.  I want my children to learn reverence and respect. But I never want them to forget that through prayer they can build a personal relationship with their Heavenly Father.  I want them to know that he loves them and will always listen to them even if its about something someone else may consider silly.

It has also made me think about my prayers.  Do I really share what matters to me or do I say what I think I'm supposed to say or do.

My gratitude for Poopy Diapers

I guess the fact that spell check doesn't recognize "poopy" should convince me not to use it in a title but if you read on you will understand {hopefully}.

The other day was one of those days as a mom where finding the joy in motherhood didn't seem very easy.  In fact it felt more like my children were finding their joy in driving me nuts.

Now I should back up a bit.  I have 3 kids ages 4 and under and then a 17 year old stepdaughter that lives with us full time and all this happened in the last 6 years.  I continued to work full time for the first two years and then part-time as a Non-Profit Manager for several more until I recently chose to be home full time.  I've officially hit the 6 month mark as a work at home mom and most days there is at least one, if not many more, moments I long to go back to my office for even just a few minutes!  A few hours of adult interaction, using my professional skills, heck I'd even do budgets again, just for a moment of not having a small child attached to my hip and another one or two begging for my attention.

So this was where I was at the other day... and where the "poop" enters the story.

My 4 year old who is completely potty trained had an accident for the first time in months!  My 3 year old who is about 90% potty trained had to have used the floor instead of the potty at least twice and my infant daughter needed to be changed at least every 30 minutes {or that is how I felt}.   It was reaching dinner time, I was frazzled, my husband had just gotten home and was headed upstairs with the boys.  I grabbed my daughter to put her in her high chair and discovered she needed to be changed, again!

"You have got to be kidding me!" I cried out {and I'm only partially exaggerating here}...

I walked to the changing table and began the process of changing my daughter and then suddenly it hit me.

In the midst of feeling sorry for myself and annoyed at having to change another poopy diaper I looked down at my little girl's face.  

In that moment I realized I had this all wrong. Suddenly I stopped thinking about the diaper and really looked at this little baby.  

I thought for a minute how fast she is growing.  She was just 5 lbs when we she was born, so unexpectedly tiny I had to borrow premie clothing for her and yet almost 11 months later, on this day, she was just a few steps away from walking {she's now a few steps away from running!}.  I thought of my sons who every day amaze me with how big and grown up they are becoming.  I thought of my teenager who is just over a year away from going to college.  In that brief moment it suddenly hit me, that if in fact I got my wish for no more diapers, I would also no longer have a baby girl.  My gorgeous little Lucy Luc would be on to the next stage and my precious time with her as an infant would be gone.  

Maybe this doesn't make sense to anyone else but that realization, on that day, while changing what felt like the one millionth diaper of my life, has made me look at what used to feel like annoying or useless tasks just a little bit differently.  Because although some days it drives me crazy to hear "mommy, mommy, mommy..." all day long, I know there will be a day when they are much older where I will hope that just one time in a day they will need me and call "Mom".  In my six short years as a mom I have become to finally appreciate how fast these early years go and so for today I say... give me one more poopy diaper because that means I still have a sweet faced little baby.  A baby girl that I can snuggle, kiss and love on all I want. A baby with bright eyes and giggles that warm this mom's heart even in the dark hours of the night when I would rather be asleep.

So for today I am trying to remember this... the good always comes with the bad.  I may not like the diapers or the tantrums or the fighting between my little boys but I love the learning, growing, giggling, snuggles and those simple moments when one of them cuddles next to me and says, "Momma, I love you."

So because of the sweetness of those good moments, I'm learning day by day to accept the moments that aren't my favorite and remember that its my choice if I focus on the poopy diaper or instead focus on my daughter's sweet face.  It's my choice to show love even when I am tired because in the end I chose to be a mom and it is the best job in the world.

After all, how could looking at this face not be the better choice? {and yes those kicking feet are exactly what I get each and ever time, I thought I would share an authentic photo}