fat butt friday (late again...on sunday): staying hydrated + body measurements

one of the hardest things for me is making sure i get enough fluids during the day. i have always been one to do all my drinking while i eat and in between meals, i don't really get thirsty unless i have just been working out or doing something strenuous. unfortunately, the number one side affect from this for me is usually a huge headache at the end of the day. if i have a headache, the first question i ask myself is whether i have had anything to drink all day. i have literally gone all day without drinking something, which is definitely not good for your body. since i have been working out, i have tried to keep it in mind so that my workout performance is at its best. it's important to me that i get the most out of my workouts, and in order to do that, i have to make sure i am taking care of myself before and after those workouts.

so i got to googling about hydration and have been reading about all the aspects of staying hydrated over at runner's world. from, how much i should drink, to certain foods that will help to keep you hydrated, plus tons of other information. be sure to hop over to begin educating yourself about the importance of keeping your body hydrated. there's so much more to it that simply quenching your thirst.

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update: 

although i haven't really lost any weight in the last month, i finally got around to doing my measurements for the month. i was so happy to see that even though i hadn't lost any weight, my body was still changing and losing inches. i have been doing more to tone my body lately and cut back on the running a little, just in the past week. basically, i have been super busy and running wasn't an option, plus it has done nothing but rain this weekend (when i do most of my running). 

here are my measurements for the month, so be sure to go back to last month and check out the differences. 

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: sixcherries

summer learning fun: water

i don't know if it's because they are still in the first stages of school, but phoenix and tyler hated to see school end this year. most kids are so excited for summer fun, but they would rather have just stayed in school and learn...especially phoenix. she nearly had a panic attack the last day of school.

so, since we are on a super tight budget this year, and our summer fun will consist of a whole lot of at home time, or activities we can find around our area, i decided to bring school to them...in a sense.

at least once a day they will have an opportunity to do some practice work (think worksheets..oh fun!) to keep their brain fine tuned over the summer so they don't forget any of the stuff they learned. not quite my idea of fun but they LOVE it!

on top of all those super fun worksheets, there will be a "theme" of the week and lots of activities that go along with that theme. and plus also, there will be craft activities, trips to the library, and whatever else i can think of.

the themes are pretty simple because i want elijah to be able to participate as much as he can as well. this week's theme is WATER. and although water play will definitely be a big part of our summer, we started off our theme with water table play.

wanna know something science-y you can teach children about water without getting all hydrology nerdish?

another way to say water is... H2O!

HA! how easy is that? 

okay, so back to the water table...

i decided against a kiddie pool this year because they are a lot to maintain. the water gets gross after one day, they are hard to dump, and they last about one season. this water table has been a big hit for us so i am happy to stick with this instead. and besides, if they really want to get wet, we will be going swimming at a local pool from time to time.

what are you doing this summer to keep your kids learning while still having fun?

joni - sixcherriesontop (at) gmail (dot) com | twitter | facebook | pinterest | instagram: mamacherry

settling into summer

none of us really wanted to trade our yearly trip for a new A/C unit, but that's what grown ups do right?

making responsible decisions stinks!

now that we have had to cancel our summer vacation for something much "cooler", we have begun to accept that just because we won't be going away doesn't mean we can't have fun right here at home.

already, we have been spending a lot of time on our back porch and in the kiddie pool. a whole summer of fun for just $19.95 and 2 hours of lung power to blow it up. actually, i cheated, so it was more like 30 minutes of huffing and puffing, 5 minutes of thinking, and another 10 minutes of my hair dryer on the cool setting.

elijah is the splasher, phoenix is the relaxer, and tyler...good gosh, the child thinks she's a deep sea diver in the middle of the atlantic ocean. she is definitely my little ramona quimby.

summer is the season of birthdays around here as well. just yesterday was mackenzie's birthday and then in august comes elijah and tyler. i can hardly believe elijah is nearly two. how quickly he has grown from a dependent newborn to a little person.

his latest loves...trains, blueberries, and being naked.

 

he loves these awesome snacks from crispy green too. 100% fruit...freeze-dried fruit. no sugars, preservatives, or anything fake added. great for on the go (or hanging out by the pool)!

as long as he has these he will eat any fruit. on most days he won't eat any kind of fruit except blueberries, bananas, and cantaloupe. with these, he will eat them all. you seriously need to run out and get crispy green snacks for your little picky eater!

while jason is still away working out of town, we have enjoyed sleeping curled up together in our living room floor and have even knocked out a few bucket list items including a wizard of oz slumber party. we are already planning our christmas in july for next month and are really looking forward to it.

we won't make it far this summer, but together we will make it fun!

what do you do around your house or in your town that doesn't cost a lot of money and keeps your family active during the summer?

 *all photos taken with my point and shoot.

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