I know exercise is a priority in my life. For Christmas I asked for a reflective safety vest, a flashlight and a sparkpeople exercise set! I was fortunate to receive the vest and exercise set. I love them both. I did buy the flashlight for myself and feel so much safer walking in the dark. It's gotten colder now, temps are dropping especially in the mornings. Challenged again! I considered joining the Y for the winter months. After much deliberation, hubby suggested we purchase a gently used treadmill. Wow, I was surprised. I did some research and we found one we really liked for a good price. This is a great site for Treadmill and Elliptical reviews. The bonus was I got some things organized to make room for the treadmill and hubby helped. =)
Now I just get up in the mornings and get on the treadmill. I am really enjoying this purchase. There is no drive to the gym, no waiting for exercise equipment, and I can even walk in my Pajama pants if I want! I did today. I am always challenged fitting exercise into my schedule as I have 2 children....I didn't want to rush to the gym and rush back. I had very limited time available. Now those are no longer concerns. This may not work for others but I am very pleased with the results! I think it really helped as I already had a walking plan for this entire last year. So it wasn't much trouble to get up and get on the treadmill in the mornings. The kids have enjoyed watching what I am doing too. It's good for them to see Mom making exercise and fitness a priority. My own Dad did that for me. I hope I will be a positive fitness role model for my children as well.

"Playing" Church

My kids are playing creatively this morning....using their imaginations and playing well together. I love watching and listening to them during these times. I try to stay in the background and just observe quietly. I do not like to interrupt this special time they have together. Usually we do our chores in the morning, then work on reading and writing skills. I will not interrupt this creative play on these special mornings though. Today they are "playing" church. They went and got dressed in their "dressy" clothes. My son is in dress pants, a button down white dress shirt and a vest. One of them did the children's sermon and now they are working on a craft together. I love being a quiet observer in their play.

How We Simplified Our Candy..............

We did it! I had a plan for our candy and we did it! This post is a follow up to Simlifying Candy. I offered the kids each to choose 10 pieces of candy from their loot and we put the rest away. The 10 pieces of their choosing went into a small brown lunch bag and they placed their names on it. The bags got tucked in the pantry for safe keeping....and it helped keep the candy out of sight and hopefully off their minds. I offered each child $10 to spend at Target in exchange for their candy. We also particpated in a candy buy back program sponsored by a local orthodontist. I talked to the kids about it before hand. For every pound of candy received, the orthodontist gives the child a dollar. Then he sends the candy overseas to the soldiers. It is really a win-win situation for everyone. We went on Monday to the candy buy back. It was the first day. He had his office all set up nicely for this event. There was a separate table over to the side in the office. It was set up with a scale and petty cash box next to it and a huge plastic tub to pour the candy in underneath the table. The kids actually seemed excited about it. When we arrived there was another little boy my son knows just ahead of us. After we were in line, there was someone already coming in behind us. We had just under 4 lbs and they rounded up to 4 and gave us $4. The kids split the money $2 each in addition to their $10. They realized they each had $12 now to spend at Target. We went specifically for that purpose, just for them. They took their time, looked at all of the items and prices. They asked me questions about taxes. They each did a wonderful job. They were both able to choose a larger item and a smaller item. We went to the register and they each rung up separately, paid with their own money and received the change, receipt and bag. They were excited and proud! Amazingly they were both able to stay under the $12 and got a few cents change. I was so happy! I have lost weight this year and gotten my body back in shape. I did not want to be tempted by all of this Halloween candy. I was thrilled to release it and let it all go.....and to a good cause. What do you do with your Halloween candy?