Total Health Tuesday- Numbers Update

Well its been about a month since I have weighed in, and I have my follow-up with the nutritionist and the DR this week so I'm sure they will have more info for me to share next week.
Since the last time I weighed in I have lost 5 lbs!
Yippee!!
I also taped myself off a month ago and based off my new measurements I have lost a total of 3 inches overall!
Double Yippee!!
So here's how the past month has been...

What's working:
Working out. I run/walk 4-5 times a week traveling about 12-15 miles per week.
Menu Planning. By making sure I have the meals planned I have avoided calling my favorite pizza place for delivery for a month! Yay!
Rising early. Getting up before the kids means I wake up on my terms and no one else's. I'm thinking about implementing this on the weekends as well to set a better tone.
Being conscious. During my shower or clothes folding time I take the moment to focus on areas of our day that I would like to work on (ie: getting dressed time in the morning with Hazel, everyone speaking kindly and softly, and mealtimes where I know there will be a little resistance from some on trying new dishes). By recognizing these parts of my day before they happen I am able to mentally prepare myself for these times and possibly think of ways to better deal with them.

What's not working:

Food Tracking. For some reason I'm having a hard time being consistent with my tracking. I think its because I'm worn out by the menu planning, working out, and other stuff.
Feeling overwhelmed: I recognize that I'm in a tough spot with moving, schooling, and a hubby that has a non-existent schedule. While I try to take a moment to collect myself and breathe, I am constantly bombarded with thoughts of what I still need to get done and the basic fact that I plain ole' miss my partner in crime.
My face: Ugh the acne's back. It was gone for about a week or two and then it's back. This is definitely on my list of things to talk about with the Dr.

What I'm hoping to work on:
Honestly I don't think that I can add anything new to my plate right now without signing my own commitment to the looney bin. My goal for the next month will be to continue with positive progress and try to work a little more on food tracking.

What are your successes this month? Any areas you recognize you would like to focus on? Battle plan for those areas?

Homeschool Goals For November

And here it is a new month. Wow where did October go?
*Sigh*
Ok last month I posted what I wanted to accomplish with Jakob and that was SOOO helpful, and I am happy to report that we accomplished it all. So here is what I have in mind for this month.

Science- Actually begin our study on trees focusing on identifying them, their importance in our community and ecosystem, the parts of a tree, and other activities that satisfy Scouts.
Scientists and Inventors- Jakob's dream is to be an inventor so I *had* to sign him up for the inventor's class at the Museum of Natural History in Providence. They have an afternoon class on Tuesdays for an hour and they will learn about historic inventors and their machines. In case that sparks more interest I have lined up a few other activities and Scientists to explore as well....

Alexander Grahm Bell- Make a soup can phone

Archimedes- Make an Archimedes screw

Benjamin Bannakeer- predictor of an eclipse

John Muir- naturalist, environmentalists

Mae Jemison- first African American woman in space

Reading/ Spelling- Continue to work through Progressive Phonics and use the words featured there as our spelling words

History- Native Americans-

Read Different Stories from Native Americans

Learn about Daily Life, Different Tribes, Clothing, Tools, etc.

Colonial Times-Learn about the Mayflower,

Use- Pilgrims coming to America, How they lived

Magic Tree House Thanksgiving on Thursday and Companion guide.

Geography- Continue with 50 States

Literature- We will use our other subjects as inspiration for our reading as well as continuing our read in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. I am on the lookout for the perfect November poem for him to memorize as well.

Art- This month I have stacked myself full of playdates with our Meetup group that I have sorely missed, so our purposeful art will be basically the crafts we make there and the kids finishing up their gifts to their grandparents.

Math- We are using books by Marylin Burns that we have gotten from the library and will continue to use them as our math inspiration as well as a few well place worksheets. I cannot tell you how much I am loving her inspiration!

Handwork- The kids will make their gifts as well has help out with Thanksgiving Dinner. Daily handwork always includes their chores such as sweeping, folding clothes, and scrubbing based on the chore of the day.

Calendar Time- More fingerplays and songs are being incorporated for Hazel's sake and we are now counting at least up to 10 in Spanish. We may go higher.

Bible- We will continue the first two weeks with the themes from a book I use and then the last two weeks we will utilize this site for Thankful lessons.

Hazel is still playing along as she sees fit. Last week I was ALMOST ready to say, "That's it girl you are getting some work." But then she wrote her name...in a line...not all over the page. I was impressed. She has also been coloring a lot here lately another skill I was beginning to wonder if it would ever emerge. Silly mommy.

I believe that is sufficient. It looks like a lot for us as we often get sidetracked with the "thought of the day" that usually has us exploring new information and mommy scrambling for resources on subjects I never knew existed. But I like it this way. We are learning what he loves with a little "standards" thrown in for good measure.