CHORES!

     This week I decided to make the girls do chores.  I know, late start but what can you do?  I felt that if I have a strict schedule of how we spend our days, they will go a little bit smoother.

     On the chore chart I included everything so that it can become a habit for their life. 

I included the first letter in each of their names for each day of the week so I know who did what chore. At the end of the week (today) I will add up the totals in each line and pay them in chore bucks and school bucks.  Check out this link for free printable behavior charts.com  http://www.freeprintablebehaviorcharts.com/behavior_bucks.htm

This is where I got the bucks to pay them for their chores and school work.

Here we see the room of the day chart. 

 I have all of the girls help me clean 1 room each day really well. I do a general clean of the rest of the house. The purpose of this is to teach the girls how to maintain a home. They are learning how to cook, clean, sew, bake, craft, shop for a household, maintain excellent hygiene, and many more life skills. 

For every chore completed at the end of the week they will receive 1 chore buck, and for every assignment completed 1 homework buck.  My husband and I have decided to assign a value of 10 cents per buck earned, and at the end of the month they will have the option to exchange chore bucks in for real money at 10 cents on the dollar.  At this point we will teach them how to handle their money.  maybe instituting a 20% saving, 80% doing whatever they want to policy. We haven't thought that far ahead yet.

It is taking longer to get the house clean each day having the girls help me, because I am teaching them how to do each item on the list.  They will argue over who gets to vacuum or wash the TV with Windex.  The day we did the living room as a family I gave my two youngest (3 and 5) a microfiber cloth and set them loose on the living room.  They dusted everything, including the bottom of the leather sofa cushions! My oldest two (10 and 11) decided there wasn't enough on my list and included washing the windows and even tried to move on to the kitchen too.

They all run to check the chore chart to see if there is anything else they can do for the day.  I keep a copy hanging on the fridge for them to mark off each chore as they do it so the above photo isn't correct.  I have had the girls ask me if they can take the garbage out, and offering to help me with dinner.  They no longer groan when I ask them to help clean my youngest's bedroom because they get to check off the "picked up toys" box.

So although chores are causing more work for me, I am teaching the girls valuable lessons and eventually I won't have to directly supervise everything they are doing.



A New Year a New life

         We have been living in San Antonio for about 2 months now. Life here is much different than it was in the sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere Oklahoma.  In fact, there is more shopping opportunities just outside of our new neighborhood than there was in the entire town we came from.
         Our first month here trying to get into a house was the worst on me physically. Living in a hotel means a lot of eating out.  Oh, and the day we moved into our house I got my toe run over by our big screen t.v. and broke it! I gained 10 pounds! So about a week ago I joined the gym just outside of my neighborhood. (See I told you we had everything)
        I have a few physical limitations, but I am refusing to let them keep me from getting in to the best physical shape possible.  While I was in college many many years ago, I developed two conditions that doctors just could not figure out or explain.  They said that I was young and whatever it was wouldn't kill me.  Great answer doc thanks.  I felt like it was going to kill me!  My biggest issue was with my heart.  No matter my physical condition through the years (super fit, out of shape, or pregnant) my heart rate always beat too fast for what I was doing. I'll give you an example, walking on the treadmill at 3.5 setting with 0 incline heart rate around 150.  If I bumped it up to 5 and jogged my heart rate shot up to 200-230 depending on the day. High right!  So just walking slow wasn't very good exercise. I could lift weights fine, but we all know you need cardio in there too.        
       Well just last year I finally saw someone that knew exactly what was wrong with me. Relief! Now even sprinting at a 9.5 or 10 on the treadmill the highest my heart will beat is 160. :)  For all of you wondering, the condition is known as Inappropriate Sinus Tachycardia (IST)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inappropriate_sinus_tachycardia 2 pills a day and it is kept under control, and they also keep my tremors at bay. 
          Imagine someone with the shakes going on with a fast heart rate.  I see a hairless chihuahua shaking all over the place, grey with black hair on the end of her tail and black mo hawk! (see very visual)
         My second problem was finally diagnosed while we were living overseas in Misawa Japan.  I saw a rheumatologist that specialized in Fibromyalgia.  She touched a pressure point on my back and i jumped off the exam table because it hurt so bad.  She should have warned me first I guess. So I had all the symptoms and she said Yes you have it.  I wasn't happy with the diagnosis, or their "solution" so I saw several other doctors and they all gave me the same answers.  So I have come to accept that yes I do have Fibromyalgia. Living with the Fibromyalgia pain has made my pain tolerance high and low at the same time.  When I broke my toe, yes it hurt, but I didn't think it was broken.  In fact I didn't go to the doctor for 2 weeks because I thought it was just sprained.
         So how does that affect my workout you may ask?  Well, if I lift enough weight to fatigue myself at the gym, my recovery time is much longer than your average person. Instead of a 1 day recovery time I require 3-5 days. In the past I have allowed both of these conditions to hold me back. I am an all or nothing kind of person. I can't just lift 5 pounds because I know I won't hurt tomorrow. I have to push myself to fatigue. But I used to take 3-4 days off between going to the gym. so 1 day on 3 days off.  Now I am forcing myself to work through it. 3-4 days on 1 day off.  Even though I am hurting and can hardly walk I make myself go to the gym and guess what?  As soon as that blood starts flowing the pain isn't so bad!  I do not take medicine for my Fibromyalgia because the "May cause weight gain" side effect makes me gain weight rapidly.  I don't like that side effect as I'm trying to lose the weight. As far as the toe is concerned, it has been long enough to be all better but it still gets to be an inconvenience. It gives me trouble when I run and do exercises that require jumping around (burpees don't feel pleasant).
         So this past week I have been working out with my husband.  We both do our own thing first, I usually alternate running and walking for about 30 min on the treadmill while he lifts free weights then we get together and do an intense workout together.  Facing each other, we encourage and challenge each other to finish the reps.  We have done an intense timed 300 kettle bell workout two times.  The first time it took us nearly 20 min to complete, the second time it only took 17 min.  I started following several fitness sites that have given me great tips and the motivation to push myself.  I am the type of person that no matter how little I weigh I have a very hard time getting muscle definition. (114 at 5'6" and my stomach was just flat, no line or anything) I am determined to get some muscle tone!
      The silver lining to all of this?  My husband and I are spending some quality time together doing something that we both truly enjoy.  We are encouraging each other to do our very best, to look our best, and to make healthy choices.  Our girls are learning the healthy lifestyle that will hopefully follow them into their future.  They really enjoy going to the gym and ask every day when we are going.  Oh and the pain, it will be reduced by weight loss. I forgot to mention, when I was 2 I was in a car accident that injured my back and resulted in arthritis. I am truly a youngster in an old persons body!  So all of this exercise will, hopefully, make the outside match the inside.
      Once a week I will try to remember to update my weight loss and progress in the gym. And maybe some day I will be brave enough to post a picture. 
     Starting weight Jan 27 : 141  according to my bathroom scale 31% body fat, I really hope that isn't right!   Weight today, still 141 body fat 30%.
               Here's to a happy healthy body toning year in San Antonio!

My first ice cream cake

My daughter turned 10 on Tuesday and to celebrate I made her an Ice Cream cake. It was a big hit even though I didn't use a recipe.  Because this was my first attempt at an ice cream cake, I took pictures to document my success or failure.  Choose the flavors you like, although this combination was delicious!

Bake brownies from a box mix in two 9" cake pans

Transfer first brownie "cake" into a 9' spring form pan

This is the Ice Cream I used, Strawberry Cheesecake and Vanilla Bean

Allow ice cream to soften

 (or if you are impatient like me put it in the microwave for 30 seconds)

Spread first layer of ice cream. (Strawberry cheesecake)

Add second brownie "cake" on top of ice cream

Add second layer of ice cream (Vanilla Bean)

Wrap in foil and freeze for at least 3 hours

 (I did all the steps above the night before her birthday and froze over night)

Now it's time to make the frosting

Mix softened cream cheese, Vanilla and almond extract to taste

1 cup sugar and 2 cups heavy cream

This is a firm whipped frosting that will hold it's shape and not "melt off"

Remove the frozen cake from it's pan.

If it is frozen closed, place entire thing in the sink in hot water for about 10 seconds, the edges will release from the pan and the latch will easily open.

(don't submerge the entire cake, just the metal part. I know you knew that but just in case)

I put the cake on a cake board because the icing and decorations will be further out than the spring form pan

( I just left it there, it made the cake board stronger)

Place cake back in the freezer so it can firm back up again.

Use the next 10 or so minutes to smash a few Oreos

use your hands to smoosh the Oreos around the side of the cake.

I used my Pampered Chef  Easy accent decorator to decorate the top and bottom

Any day that I get to use my Kitchen Aid and decorator is a good day!

Drizzle with caramel and chocolate sauce.

I used the caramel that came with the box of brownies. It was a turtle brownie

And the shell chocolate so it was hard on the cake not dripping

 

                                       add a cookie and maraschino cherry in the middle

freeze until 15 min before you are ready to blow out the candles

Inside

Make sure to cut the pieces small! This is a very rich cake.

It easily serves 12-18 people

Enjoy!