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What a Weekend!

Friday morning as I was so excited to bring the Beach to school, J woke up coughing and hasn’t stopped.  To make things worse in addition to the cough he had a fever, again.  Since school started he has now had three colds.  One a few days before Christmas holidays, the second over the long Family Day weekend and now this third one, at the start of March Break.   Now, I will need a break!

Poor guy, his fever got so high on Friday night that I slept beside him worried that I was going to have to bring him to the hospital.  Thankfully the medication kicked in and it started to come down. He was so hot his hands were like mini hot water bottles, which really made me nervous. This was his highest fever yet at 39.9C (103.8F).

Thankfully, the weather was fabulous this weekend so Saturday afternoon we put the kids in their jackets and headed outside in the backyard.  Despite being 10C (50F) both kids had their Winter jackets on, just in case.  Here are a few photos of the fun.

Apple and J were getting ready to play soccer, with the basketball that somehow got left out all winter long.  I was amazed to find what J and the neighbour’s boy dumped out of the storage bin beside the house before the snow fell.  I should say not impressed instead of amazed.  Next year the bin will have to go into the garage again.

 Here the kids are playing soccer with Hubby.  Apple kept picking it up to bring it back to them, but she was totally loving being included for once.

 J asked me if he needed to shave, I happened to catch the photo?  Not sure where that came from, he asks the funniest questions sometimes.  He actually got out of his pj’s today! I mean, I made him put clean ones on every day, but he actually wore pants and a sweater today, so I knew he was feeling better.  That and his fever broke last night before i went to bed so now we are contending with the cough.

And sweet little Apple.  She is so happy to finally be allowed to run around the backyard.  She was able to a little last fall before the snow came, but all Winter long she had to watch the kids have fun because the snow was too deep.  She is in all her glory.  And I found her a pair of splash pants on Sunday so she wouldn’t get any more of her pants dirty.

And this is what I have been working on this past weekend.  These cute little birds are going to be part of Cooper’s Flock.  I first heard of Cooper through Susan B. Anderson’s blog.  I thought they were cute birds and clicked over to Lucinda’s page to hear the story of Cooper and his flock.  If you are interested in helping out please click over to Lucinda’s blog, but be warned to bring a tissue or two.

Categories: Craftiness, Spring, Things that Kids do
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The School Raffle Tomorrow.

 I think I mentioned in my post the other day that J saw this Beach Cake at my Aunt’s last summer.  I asked my Aunt so nicely if I could have the magazine and she graciously let me take it home.  When the notes started coming home about the Cake Raffle at school J didn’t even hesitate to ask demand that I make Aunty J’s cake for the raffle.

I started it two days ago and it is now finished.  Only one major mishap in that I think the Jello could have been a bit thicker before I poured it into the scooped out area as it started leaking through the wall of the cake.  I began to panic, took a photo…

 .. then grabbed the plastic wrap.  I was able to stabilize it long enough for it to set.  However, I did have to get some more icing re-tint it and carefully reapply it over the icing without destroying the sand.

This cake was surprisingly easy to make and if it weren’t for the fact that everything had to be peanut-free I would have had a few more decorations on it.

It came from the June 19th, 2007 issue of Woman’s Day.  I would be happy to share all the details with anyone who may want to make it in the future.

Categories: Food, Fun Stuff to do with Kids, Recipes, The Beach
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I cannot believe it is Wednesday already!  That and the fact that today has not been my favourite Wednesday in a while as Apple decided that she did not want to nap.  Only to fall asleep at 3:15pm so I had to wake her up by 4:30pm in order to hopefully get her to bed tonight.  Well, after an hour and a half of on and off screaming and crying, something I do not like to promote she is finally asleep.

Needless to say I did not get my third workout in today, I may make it downstairs after posting, will let you know tomorrow for sure.

This weeks recap: Two full weight training workouts, and two 3k walks in addition to my twice daily school walks.  I also did my Jumping Jack commercials for a few nights (see below).

This brings me to this weeks tip, Jumping Jacks.  And I do not have photos for you because I am hoping we all know how to do a proper jumping jack.  (Standing tall, feet together arms down at the sides.  Jump feet out to the sides, no farther than shoulder width while keeping your abs strong and your hips tucked in and bringing your arms up over your head).

My trainer had me do a minute of Jumping Jacks as part of my warm up before starting my weight training.  I love this and often get J to do 10 Jumping Jacks out of the blue if I find he has been lounging around too long.  This usually gets Apple going and we all have a little pick me up of Jumping Jacks.

And here is where I admit to watching The Biggest Loser.  The first season it was on, I didn’t watch it and it broke my heart to think that they were calling these contestants losers.  Then, the second season, I caught a couple of shows and realized how inspiring the show can truly be.  I am usually doing something while it is on, but I like having it in the background.  I like watching these people transform their lives and I will admit to shedding a tear or two throughout the season. 

Jillian Michaels had a trainer tip (during season 6, I believe) which was to do jumping jacks for two minutes during commercials.  I cannot remember how many calories you can burn if you did jumping jacks for the commercials while watching The Biggest Loser, but I am thinking it was around 500 or so.  Now, I don’t do this every night, but if I haven’t had a good workout that day, and I am busy on my computer at night, I try to take a commercial break and do some Jumping Jacks.

Try it if you are so inclined, you will find yourself refreshed, burning calories and working your shoulders, back, thighs and calves.  Talk about a one hit wonder!

Oh yes, and don’t forget to stretch after any workout.  Muscles naturally contract when you workout and stretching them out releases them and helps avoid injury from over tightening.  Stretching also increases your flexibility, which helps with posture and other exercises.

**disclaimer: I am in no way a Doctor or Physical Trainer.  I am going to share with you my thoughts and ideas about how to get into shape again.  I strongly advise consulting a medical professional prior to starting any workout routine as well as a professional trainer.  I am in no way responsible for any injury you may sustain from trying any of my suggestions.

Categories: Exercise, Workout Wednesday
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