The first day of the meme will be Tuesday, December 6.  Pick a day this week to blog about and have the post ready to add to the linky that day.  I will be posting a banner for participants to snag and place on their posts.  I hope that this meme will be fun for everyone.  This will just be another way for us to see that we aren’t the only secular homeschoolers in the world.  I’m excited for this to begin next week!

1.  My sisters and I really need to get our families together more often.  It was nice getting caught up with each other.  The kiddos all had fun playing together.  We really need to make an effort to have more playdates.
2. Some people do not stop to think before they speak.  There were things said that were hurtful to me.  The sad thing is that the offending person probably didn’t even realize how rude they were.
3. I have come to the realization that I will never be fully accepted by a particular person.  It is time to just move on…
4. My kiddos are pretty dang wonderful.  When with other children in the family, my “unsocialized” homeschoolers shine.
5. My little family is perfect the way it is.  We might not do things as others in our extended family would, but that is what makes us special.  I wouldn’t change our family at all.

To make you chuckle this Thanksgiving Day, I present Adam Sandler’s Turkey Song…

I have started this journey many times before.  I swear I have gained and lost the same pounds many times over the years.  This time will be different…it has to be.  I no longer have the luxury of believing I have plenty of time to lose the weight.  I first found out that I had PKD when I was pregnant with my oldest child.  I have watched my kidney function decline over the years since then.  I am to a point where I must lose weight so that I can be a better transplant candidate.

My doctor made a comment about my weight during a recent visit.  He told me that it was good to see my weight heading in the right direction and he hoped that I had enough time to get it to my goal before I reach end-stage renal failure.  That is when it hit me…we are to a point where we are discussing what will happen WHEN my kidneys fail.  It is no longer a theoretical, “if my kidneys fail like Daddy’s did”.

Why am I mentioning this on my blog?  The reason is actually quite simple –

Making positive lifestyle changes will benefit your even if you are not dealing with a chronic illness.  I’m going to occasionally write posts about living healthy.  The posts will help me stay on track and will allow my family to try new things.  I hope you will try some of the ideas with your family as well.

I was given a copy of Coursing Around to review earlier this month. This sidewalk chalk activity book is a great way to encourage physical fitness in children and even parents.  The book contains fifteen fun-filled workouts designed for children. Each workout, called a “course” has its own drawing to show you how to draw it on your driveway (using sidewalk chalk). My children had a ball drawing the courses before we began working out. We decided to draw more than one course on our driveway which allowed for extended fun. Included in the book are illustrated instructions for the exercises used on the courses.

Overall I think this book is a good resource. I have made obstacle courses using sidewalk chalk in the past, but my children had a lot of fun looking through the book to pick which ones they wanted to create. The course plans make it easy to add more physical activity to your day in a fun way.  The courses are designed to be a child-size workout and are good for parents as well. I would suggest checking this out if you are looking for a good way to add some fun physical activity to your homeschool routine.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book to review. No additional compensation was received for this review. The opinions stated in the post are my own.

Tell me how you have done in the last couple of days.  For those of us who haven’t penciled some self care time in the schedule, we still have time to do it before our check in next week.  We have to remember that a happy homeschool mom results in a happier family.

I am guilty of letting my “me time” slip through the cracks when something in the schedule has to budge.  Take for tonight for example – I should be at a yoga class right now, but you will notice that I’m typing this post at home instead.  My husband is a little behind on his schoolwork and needs to complete a presentation for his class tomorrow.  I changed my plans so he could stay at his office to have the peace and quiet he needs to complete his schoolwork.  I had been looking forward to starting yoga classes again, but I was quick to change my plans to accommodate my family’s needs.  I think moms often consider their desires as secondary to those of their family.  It must be in the job description for motherhood.

I am going to try to give myself a little more time to pursue my interests this week.  I will write about how I do next week.  I challenge you to do the same – take a few moments to do something that you want to do – something that is just for you.  We owe it to our families to take care of ourselves.  What are you going to do for yourself this week?