Favorite Apps

Now that I am the proud owner of many many Apple "i" products, I have to populate these products with Apps from the App Store.

Not just for Productivity. Clearly.
But also for entertainment.

Not just for me. But for those around me.

Today, I will be talking about Kid Apps that I am enjoying letting my kids use in a few spare moments.

I am not a big fan of "Screen Time" for my kids. We have pretty strict rules about television and video games around here. And the ipad and iphone are not different.

But, like a lot of parents there are times when it is simply convenient to hand over the device and let the kids have some downtime playing a game or two. That I have selected for them.

On the ipad we love:
Albert
http://itunes.com/apps/alberthd



It is a really cool game that literally our whole family LOVES. It is challenging. And it is NOT Angry Birds.

Another one that I like to use is:
My Spelling Test

Asher doesn't "LOVE" this one but I like to let him build his spelling tests of the week in the app. He records his voice saying the word. Then he types in the word. And once the test construction is complete, he takes the test.
I think it really helps him to "get" the concept of spelling on a variety of levels and instead of just rote writing words on a piece of paper in engages him. And he gets to use the iPad. Which he likes. Bribery. Use it wisely my friends.

Spell Free

My final app suggestion today is one called Happly
It is almost a platform for kids and family.
You sign your kids in. And then suggestions are preselected based on their age that are appropriate to link to information all over the internet from YouTube, video games, and informational sites that kids that age would like.
The catch is, your kids can't navigate from looking up something about dinosaurs. To then finding out what adults think dinosaur sized "body parts" are. If you catch my drift. I hate handing over my iPad or iPhone and thinking that my kids are just two clicks away from things that I would NEVER lets them see or know about otherwise.

The app developer came to create the app because his kids learned the f-word after watching some videos on YouTube and kept clicking on the right hand side. Next thing you know...

This site is really fun because you as an adult can navigate it and leave "messages" for your kids on sections that you think they would particularly like. Also, they have fantastic photography from National Geographic throughout.

Here's another review if you don't believe me:
Tech Crunch

To Celebrate the Return to Blogging

My children did what they do best. They danced. 

One Month

Welcome back! I don't know if you ever left or even check this anymore...

But we are one month away from an amazing month in the Colorado Rocky Mountains and I know if I expect anyone to give a whit about what we are doing out there, I ought to catch them up on the last 5 months or so.

Here we go.
This is the truth.

Matt was in a weight loss contest. He lost nearly 50 pounds (47 to be exact). I lost 12. It took a toll on the old "blog energy". In addition, my sweet grandmother died. My work load increased. I decided to become a Young Life leader again and was in charge of Work Crew training in our area. And we have two children. One who is about to go to kindergarten.

It hasn't been a slow Spring.

So, I will catch you up in the best way I know how.
Pictures.

One of my last letters from my Grandmother.

The landscape plan for the property she and my grandfather lived on. 

My whole family wears a "Buckle Ring" that my grandmother wore my entire life. We had copies made when she fell ill. We all wore them at her funeral. I miss her dearly. 

We took the kids to Disney World in January following the All Staff Conference with Matt's sister Buffy and her family. It was a most fantastic trip.

Matt and I got away to Universal Studios.

Our team won the chili cookoff. Again. 

The key to the diet. Breakfast smoothies. 

The other key to the diet.

My sweet wiener dog Slappy had to be put to sleep in late February. 

My last picture with her. 

My kids were Cat in the Hat on my birthday. All Dr. Seuss' birthday. Just a little cute. 

My big gift for my birthday. A Juicer.
I'm one of "those" people now. 

It's true. Lucy is ready for kindergarten. 4 short months away. 

I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run! Super fast I might add. 47 minutes for 6.2 miles.
I was shooting for 45 minutes. But I'll take it.  :)

My sweet girl friends ran it with me.
I love having friends that love being active. It totally keeps you motivated.

Look at these beautiful girls! I love being around high school kids again.

Consider yourself caught up? 

Good. 

Let's get this thing started again!

Truth

I've had the "I tasted the chicken, it's slimy" conversation before. Talk about freak out....

I've Got the Mondays

I'm in the middle of a pretty long week around here.

I tried to get up a little early this morning to spend a little time to "myself." That was interfered with by a dog (I don't know which one) making a throw up sound in our room. No throwing up. But that behavior was supplanted when one of the dogs began licking its butthole. Repeatedly.

So that was a sweet alarm clock.

I got myself up, let the dog out. And took care of my "personal business."
When I came back to the door, Ranger had very kindly covered himself in turkey poop.
At 6:30am.
Awesome.

Time for a bath.
In my nicely cleaned bathroom.
With a dog that has dark, black hair. YAY!
After I bathed my dog, I got to clean the bathroom and wake my children up.

One child got up and decided he didn't really like any of the options for breakfast or anything I was making for lunch.
Too bad.
Then, dragged his feet through all the rest of his morning chores, brushing his teeth, putting on his shoes and then decided a light little jacket in the middle of February when it was 18 degrees outside was good enough. We had to go through 3 jacket changes, do his hair and blow his nose before also taking our neighbor to school.

Got them off, took Lucy to school but not before realizing that my laptop was at Matt's office and were I to do anything related to my job today, I needed to go get it.

I managed to grab it and return home by 9:30 to get my day under way.

But I am worn out and a bit cranky and I want so badly to be joyful in the midst of my day and serving my family. How does one do this when everything seems like an uphill battle?
It felt like an attack this morning telling me "You can't do it all and you shouldn't even try" and to "give up." Truthfully, I totally failed.
I yelled at Asher.
I yelled at Matt.
I grabbed Ranger by the ear and yanked him back in the house.
It was no fun to be at my house today.

But a little space.  A little quiet.
A little renewal and the truth can settle into your bones that nothing has been done that can't be undone.
And I am a work in progress too.
I need grace and mercy every bit as much as my husband and my children do.
It is hard to apply it to yourself.
Especially when I am so intense and want everything to go right.

And all I wanted was a little quiet time this morning. To get my day started right.
I think its more important sometimes for it to end well. Right?

Let's hope so. And let's all hope for Tuesday.

Living House

This Chubbiest Loser contest has brought into question so many areas of our lives that were totally unexpected.

When you start focusing on your diet and how you use food to compensate for your emotions; then you realize other ways that you do this as well. Finances, anger, even coming up with little "plans" to fix these things is a way to cope with and compensate for your emotional downfall. Rather than going to the source of all the questions and answers in our lives.

I am leading our areas work crew training right now and we have been doing a Bible study from Discipleship Journal called "Becoming More Like Jesus" and this week ended with a paragraph from CS Lewis that I wanted to share:

"Imagine yourself a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building a quite different house from the one you thought of-throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself."

My vision is completely quaint for my life. I have become the kind of person that has decided the safe, secure little cute cottage is a good idea instead of the wild ride that God promised me at the beginning.

But for sure over the last few years He has knocked out a few walls and installed rooms and towers where I would rather He didn't. It's good to have a vision of what is happening in my life so that I can take part in the joy that He has for me.

"God has set before us the ultimate prize of Christlikeness, and anything that moves us closer to that prize-including the lessons we learn through failure-bring Him pleasure and glory."
-Traci Mullins

Buckets of Love

My Grandmother Mimi died late last night. Hardly any of you knew her. But she was one of the single greatest influences on my life.
Whenever you hear someone says "my grandmother/grandfather just died" my tendency is to react to them as if they just said "my bunny just died." In a that's sweet but we all knew that was going to happen-way. Until it happens to you.
Then, it feels as if a light has gone out of your life.
Mimi was the kind of person who believed I could do anything I ever wanted to do. I think this is because Mimi did nearly everything she wanted to do. She was a became pilot at the age of 16. She flew planes during WWII WITH my grandfather who was Navy Pilot. Her curiosity knew no bounds and she explored it with fervor.
This made their home a place of vast imagination and exploration for me as a child. It always felt like Narnia when we would drive down their long spanish moss and oak covered driveway.
We would play a game where would try to navigate through their kitchen without letting our feet touch the floor. Which Mimi encouraged. Children sitting on top of her refrigerator was common.

We would stay at their home whenever we moved or were home for a season and I know that Mimi got more done before 8am than I will ever get done in a single day of my life. I can still hear her whistling "Onward Christian Soldiers" as she washed the pounds of blueberries she had picked all morning while I slept.

When I was in the fifth grade, Mimi and Bob flew to Korea, where we lived. They stayed for an extended visit since it was such a long trip. When they left, I returned to school and I was sitting in my classroom and I swear, I heard her voice. Mimi had a very distinctive voice due to a loss of part of her vocal cord. I heard her voice calling to me. I ran out of my classroom to go find her. I didn't ask my teacher or anything. I just ran. But she wasn't there. I just wanted her to be there so badly.

We didn't live near grandparents any part of my life and when we had Mimi and Bob nearby, I felt like a million dollars. I think because they made me think I could be a sky writer if I wanted to.
I know I'm not unusual in this feeling. Mimi made everyone in our family feel as though they were her favorites. But is am sure of this. I was her favorite. :) She told me I was just like her. I had a widows peak just like her. I had the same sense of adventure. And I always wanted to laugh and enjoy life like her.

Now, I simply want to love like she did. I want to make people feel as though they are "my favorite". It is really hard to lose someone who thinks that you are obviously the president of whatever it is that you are involved in. Or that you can do no wrong-ever. That is the role of a grandparent. No one else in your life ever feels that way about you. Certainly not your spouse, siblings or parent. Only your grandmother reserves the right to see past all your flaws and thinks "Owner and principle in chief" is not too lofty of a goal.

I will never be that same for the influence of my grandmother Muriel Pace Newcomb. She always signed her letters "Buckets of Love" which is exactly what she poured into my life.

Almost One Week In

We are almost one week into the "Chubbiest Loser" and I am not going to lie, it's been tough.

It is always hard to take a look at your "food addictions" or let's just call them "habits" that have turned into a "lifestyle" that had creeped all over us. Without a major change, you never notice that every night you just sit down and watch TV for HOURS.

Or how often you reach for mindless snacks when you get stressed, hurt or frustrated. Instead of reaching for food, we now have to reach resolution. This is better in the long run, but sometimes a bit exhausting. :)

But the payoff?
Matt is down nearly 10 pounds.
I have lost 5.

WHAT?

In one week?
That seems crazy.

We have changed a lot around here.
But none of it has been terrible. Well, there was one terribly cranky day (Thanks Diet Coke for that addiction) but other than that. We are full, happy and have lots more energy. And are sleeping better at night. Matt isn't snoring anymore! YAY!

What have we been eating?
It has been a hybrid: Biggest Loser/Weight Watchers/Mediterranean Diet that I call: The Pinterest Diet.

If a recipe looks appetizing on Pinterest and is low in calories, carbs and high in fiber, I make it.
It has worked out fabulously.

Here are some of the recipes I have made:

Dijon Mustard Chicken Packs with Zucchini and Tomatoes

Source: eatingwell.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Grilled Feta Stuffed Turkey Burgers. These were amazing. 

Source: pink-parsley.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Biggest Loser Oatmeal Pancakes. The kids and Matt loved these. 

Source: biggest-loser-recipes.com via Leslie on Pinterest

Biggest Loser Turkey Chili. Winner All Around. 

Source: weightwatchers-recipes.net via Leslie on Pinterest

Lemon Water. All Day. Love it. 

Source: amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com via Leslie on Pinterest

It hasn't been killer to make these changes.
Here has been the biggest change. Our mindset. If I am going to buy all this produce, then we are going to eat that food that is sitting on the counter or in the fridge OR ELSE. It is too expensive and time consuming to cut up fruit and have it rot out in the fridge. So, we have to eat it or it goes bad.

This is honestly, a big deal for us.
We are on the go a lot and we eat out more than most people.
This is taking serious discipline to plan and eat around being at home and going to the gym or the park.

The payoff is already rolling in. So that is more incentive to keep going! 

Around Here

Matt and around 60/70 Young Life associate men began today what is being called "Chubbiest Loser". These boys are all vying for the rights of chubbiest loser in the next three and half months.

I am not permitted to post the before picture nor the before weight.
But let's just say it looked something like this:

I kid. I kid.

He is not nearly that big.
But like most people who "meet" with people for a living, nearly every meeting is over a meal or has food somehow involved in it.
So he has a little extra "padding" these days. Who doesn't?

So he, and by he, I mean WE are doing this chubbiest loser project.
It should be something worth reporting on. If nothing else, to share the highs and lows of detoxing from the extra 3500 calories a day that we have been consuming over Christmas.

Already, its only Day 1 and we are STARVING and we have been eating all day long.
Just none of the food involves butter, peanut butter, chocolate chips, powdered sugar or icing. It has been a sad day. Except that we have worked out, eaten a healthy breakfast, vegetables, almonds, hummus, cottage cheese and WATER.

So this is the plan:
Drop soda.
Add exercise. Daily.
Walk Ranger. Daily.
Drink lots of water. Daily.
No more chips. Maybe pretzels if we are desperate. (potatoes make you  more hungry after you eat them and leave you feeling less full. Drop the chips!)
If hungry, grab a handful of nuts or baggie of veggies.
Eat at home. No more eating out for dinner.

First weigh in is in two weeks.
The best part about doing this? You don't really want to sit around if you have nothing to eat.
We are getting stuff done!
Cleaned out the garage.
Laundry is done.
Met some people for work.
Dog is walked.
We have lots of more energy! Who knows how long this is going to last? PRAY FOR US! Join us.

I have started a pin board on pinterest with lots of recipes and inspiration to get you started:
Biggest Loser on Pinterest

Resolutions

I told Asher and Lucy about the concept of New Year's Resolutions yesterday and unprompted, this is what they came up with:

Asher:
Eat healthier. "like more apples, bananas, and lemon glazed pound cake."
Ride my bike more.
I want to write better//more clearly. (this is always on his report card!)
Play with my friends more.
Shoot my BB gun more. (for the record, he does not have a bb gun. Clearly he is working the system.)

Lucy:
Do more crafts.
Recycle more. (completely hilarious)
Help mommy and daddy more. (yes please)
Hug and kiss mom and dad more.

I don't know that I could do ANY better crafting my own resolutions than they did.
In fact, if we all worked at these...our family might be a smooth running machine!

They really made me laugh at how "adult like" these resolutions are for a 6 and 5 year old. But I'll take it! And I'll help them achieve them.

This is going to be a good year.