InstaFriday

Love, love, love my new iPhone and the Instagram app!

Now I found a place to share them with other cool people... wooohoo!

Do you use Instagram? You should link up!

(Jaelyn playing trains at my brother's house. So cool that a girl at work just gave us almost the exact same train set (Thomas!), she was cleaning out her toys and brought them in to me. The girls will love it!)

(Play-Doh fun with the cousins. Can't you smell it from where you are?

(Bath time with Abbie is always so fun!)

(LUNCH!!!!!!)

(Watch out Bella, these vampire girls might give you a run for your money! They vant to svuck ya blvoooood. haha!)

Come join in the fun!!!

Happy Birthday, Honey.

Today we celebrate my wonderful husband. He turns 41 years old.. whoa, how did he get to be so old? (haha ♥). I've known Chris for 18 years of my life. That is a pretty long time. I can't even begin to name everything we've been through, but it's been one hell of a ride so far and I hope there are many, many more memories ahead of us.

Chris is one of the good guys. He is a great father & he spoils me (I spoil him right back!). Jaelyn & Abbie are blessed to have them in their lives. I think initially the thought of fatherhood scared him straight out of his mind but he has adjusted well and now both of his daughters are the apple of this eye.

He's an excellent cook.

(He even made ME breakfast this morning, on his birthday... seriously sweet!).

He loves sports, which is ok because I like them, too. He's a diehard Cowboys fan and they play the local team this weekend, the Eagles. He's a hunter, although he really has done much of that since the girls came along but I know he misses it and I do hope he gets to go very soon believe it or not!

He's optimistic. Once he puts his mind to something, it usually gets done and gets done the right way. He might be a bit of a procrastinator, too so it might take a while for that thing to get done but like I said, it usually does work out in the end.

He loves his friends, loves his family and most importantly loves me. He lends me his shoulder to cry on when I've had a rough day. He tells me to suck it up when I'm being a baby. He let's me yell when I need to get anger out. I really can't imagine sharing the life we have built together with anyone else. He's my true love.

Happy Birthday Babe, I love you!

Fun Fall Activities for the Family

Fun Fall Activities for the Family

Article submitted by Kathleen Thomas on

behalf of Primrose Educational Day Care Schools

Children need to stay active throughout the day and throughout the year. Many experts agree that the average child needs to be active for at least 60 minutes if not for several hours each and every day. As the weather turns to the fall, however, many children stop playing because the weather gets colder and school is back in session.

Did you know?

According to the Trust for America’s Health, 30 states have 30% or more adolescents who are classified as overweight or obese.

The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry estimate that 16 to 33% of children are obese across the nation.

These statistics can be reversed but they are going to take some help. Kids look to their parents and other adults as role models for everything. That means that the whole family needs to stay active throughout the entire year so that the ultimate level of health can be achieved.

Kids are already engaging in a poor diet most of the time. The school lunches aren’t thought to be the healthiest and fast food restaurants can leave children feeling sluggish and bloated. Combine this with a lack of physical inactivity and the United States has been steadily increasing in childhood obesity for the past twenty years.

The children who develop motor skills early are going to grow into more healthy active adults. These include:

- Throwing

- Catching

- Jumping

- Kicking

The addition of physical activity helps kids in school, too. They have a better focus on the academics and perform better. As a result, the basic physical skills are crucial for children to grow and develop properly.

Physical activity is just like academics, though. They must be taught. No child comes out of the womb knowing their alphabet or how to do math – they must learn these things.

Children need to increase their level of physical activity and the fall weather is the perfect time to engage them in this type of activity. The weather isn’t hot anymore and they can get out and explore all of what the great outdoors has to offer.

If you live in the north, just make sure to invest in a warm jacket that allows your child to move around comfortably. Then make sure there is plenty of recreational equipment available. Balls, hoops, bats and much more can help your child be more active.

Use the fall weather to your advantage, such as:

- Rake up leaves (and have your child make a business out of it – off services to the neighbors, too)

- Go ice skating

- Enjoy a game of flag football in the park

- Sign up for ice hockey lessons

Group sports can go a long way in helping your child to get motivated with sports and physical activity. When he or she sees other kids engaging in the activity, they’ll be more inclined to give it a try. You can sing your child up for a wide range of different sports this fall so that they can get used to a team environment. This is especially helpful because a coach will keep the children motivated and provide feedback to their performance so that they know that they are doing a good job.

When you are at home and the weather is too cold to go outside, physical activity is still important. There are plenty of things you can do indoors that will keep the kids active, too.

- Set up relay events for the chores in the house

- Play a game of hide and seek

- Put some music on and dance

- Buy video games that are focused on fitness and staying active

Children need a way to play and get physically fit and you can be a part of their journey. Offer words of encouragement to keep them excited and pick up a ball or bat and play with them. Regardless of the season, indoors or out, physical activity is important for the whole family.

Thank you to Kathleen for contacting me & submitting this great article!

If you have any interest in writing something or would like to contribute to my blog, please feel free to contact me. I'd love to hear from you!

tammy.schaper@gmail.com

Wordish Wednesday - Jaelyn

I haven't really had my camera out much, ugh.

I don't know why... need some inspiration maybe?

Well, I did get it out last night... went into the backyard with Jaelyn...

She did a little smiling here & there for me...

Maybe I need to just go buy Abbie a funky outfit for her birthday & steal her away for the day to do a birthday session. I know it would be lots of fun!

I'm jealous of all of you that make doing hair, baking, and simple things look so great with your pictures...

I thought the sun was pretty coming through the trees.... so I snapped it. Eh... lol.

Check out some other cool Wordish Wednesday pictures:

Project Alicia

The Paper Mama

Live and Love Outloud

and then, she {snapped}

Naptime Momtog

Supermom

Jenni from the Blog