Saturday, May 28, 2011

Day three!

Today I got to sleep in as my daughter and husband left the house early to head to a hamfest. As in ham radio. Or something like that. So while I know she had some outdoor time, and we had loads of fresh air while driving around in the Jeep today - we also had a good dose of outside play tonight after hubby left to go catch a movie.

She wanted to jump rope, which I was up for, but then decided she couldn't decide what to do out there. It was around dusk, and the bugs were starting to come out, and bugs love me, so I knew I wasn't going to last very long. But we did make it a good 20+ minutes.


We started off with jump-roping, her - not me - I wasn't given a chance today. And then she was watering flowers randomly. Weeds are more like it. But we did go to ACE Hardware today to look at some chairs for the yard, and then some birdhouses, and also - GASP - vegetable plants. Because maybe, despite my black thumb when it comes to flowers, maybe I can actually plant a garden of some sort and see if we can create and grow our own food. It sounds doubtful, I know, but hubby seems to think he can affordably create an area that he can fence off and we can grow stuff like cucumbers and zucchini, or maybe even tomatoes. Mmmn. I may need to get my hands on a topsy turvy. And yes, I mean the "as seen on TV" kind!


We ended our outdoor semi-adventure playing ball. Basketball, and rolling a bouncy ball and soccer ball, and then some bouncing. And then she raced for one and landed hands-first into the mud, which was a perfect opportunity to close up shop and head inside for a nice, long, pre-bedtime bath.


And we'll see what tomorrow will bring, because Sundays = swimming around these parts, so our 15 minutes and then some might be indoors, and in the pool, but we'll see what else we can get ourselves into before the day ends.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Day two!

I am so proud of myself. I even took pictures (but hang tight, I'll try to post picture recaps on the weekends, if I can remember to do so!) today.

First, it's a crazy rainy day out there. But the child decided she wanted to get out. So we went out back for a bit, but the dog was flipping out. As he is likely to do when the winds are whipping and thunder is booming in the distance. So I decided it'd be better to go out front, shut the door behind us and enjoy the looming weather from our porch.


So we did, for a while, but every time a drip of rain came down, she ran for shelter. We had on rain boots (I still need a pair, and I covet these shown below - but for now I wore my husband's black ones), raincoat - her /windbreaker - me and I was armed with the camera.


And I took some cute shots of her in her coat, dress, leggings and boots. Mostly dry shots. Because of course, when we stepped back out later and the rain was streaming down in buckets (or in what would have filled buckets, had we had any) I left the camera inside. And it was then I was most proud of myself. Because I let my beautiful four-year-old-daughter stomp in mud puddles and get fully soaked to the bone. I let her pull back her hood and enjoy the fresh raindrops splashing onto her face. And I didn't even flinch when she stared straight up and caught the water on her tongue.

"Rain tastes like water!" she shouted.


"It is! It is water!" I shouted back, from my mostly dry spot on the porch.


This time I didn't prepare myself to come out. I left my windbreaker inside, sure that since she fled from the mini-shower a moment or two before, she wouldn't be interested and would come back in immediately. She proved me wrong! And it was fun. And yes, I did run off the porch and into the storm for a moment or two myself, because you know what? I love the rain!


And I hate umbrellas ... but I really want those rain boots!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Starting today!

Last night we went to Barnes and Noble and I came across this incredible book, at least it seemed really cool, so I decided to buy it, because who could ever have too many books, right?

Anyway, here is the book info: Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids, by Rebecca Cohen.

Something in this book triggered something in me, and I started today! So despite the crazy NC heat, I am going to get my child outside for at least fifteen minutes every day. And if that doesn't work then I am going to promise to commit to fifteen minutes of movement INSIDE every day, as best I can.

I started that last week with a workout on the Wii and reminded myself that my incredible doctor told me that fifteen minutes on that would be enough for me, every single day. Every day. And I have not been doing enough of it, so I start now.

Basically this blog is my entry into the world of fifteen minute increments, and a reminder to myself that quality is much more important than quantity! And if fifteen minutes is all you have to give, then that will have to be enough.

Today, Day 1:

We played outside in the backyard, drawing on the concrete of our "patio" area with sidewalk chalk. Then we played basketball for about twenty minutes or so. Then we went out front, drew some more artwork, rainbows and rainclouds, and then the kiddo taught me some ballet moves. We also got in a family walk after dinner, once the hubby got home, and took the dog with us, too.

So, there you have it. Day one of our fifteen minutes (and then some!) complete. See you tomorrow!