Getting back...On Track

My life can be pretty unpredictable when the kids are off track.   I feel like my much needed routine can take a tailspin dive real quick.  Sometimes I let them sit far too long doing this:

When I should be taking them to do things like this

But not all days can be fun, and those are the days when we all go a little nuts!

So today I'm glad that this week they started back school.  I feel so much better having my routine back. 

I've been trying hard to improve on things that help keep me insane

Like, my health

This week I've started getting up at 5:00 to 5:30 and doing my 45 minutes of cardio and making sure I walk 2.5 miles.  I've been doing it every day this week, and it sure does help me feel "awake" to start the day. Besides the needed pounds I'm hoping will just miraculously fall off. 

But Wait....

You may have noticed

That there is a treadmill in my living room area right now.  

What in the world?  Who in their right mind would do this? 

Up goes my hand!  But ...

Yes, there is a reason too.  

Not just the coldness factor in the garage either!  A good worthy project that is totally fine of taking up my garage space.  

Not going to tell you yet, it's a family surprise!

I'm going to pretend I have thousands of fans waiting to see the final reveal, like all HGTV or something.haha

What is it with me watching HGTV lately?  I guess the more projects we get in our brains, the more obsessed we get with seeing what others are doing.  

But enough focusing on what we women need.  That list could go on and on.  Lets focus on the kids.

 I've been working extra hard to make sure the kids get good meals in them for breakfast.  

Believe it or not, a resturant menu has helped change my way of thinking and gave me some more creative ideas for cooking more interesting and fun!

So you'll see many hearty breakfasts at my house lately like this

which in turn, end up like this:

Thats a great feeling up above :)

Ok, that's a pretty basic layout breakfast, but mine and hubbys breakfast is more spruced up with flavor.  I'll break them kids in if it's the last thing I do to peppers, onions, etc..

Speaking of planning better food, I needed a better tool to prepare my weekly dinners for as well.  

Check it out!

This has been my new food menu plan for the week.  

I gotta say, it is working very well.  I love it!  

More than chocolate, well almost!

Pay close attention and notice

I don't label the days either, I just plan out different meals.  

That helps me tremendously because on my old meal planner, I would forget the whole thing in an instant when I didn't feel like cooking what I was suppose to for that day.  It would mess up the whole week!

This helps give me more freedom to cook what I want, for whichever day, and then just cross it off the list when I'm done with that particular meal.

 If I cook 4 meals from my list instead of last minute preparing dinner, 

then I consider it a hit!

Sometimes instead of hard core planning, we need a little bit more freedom instead

Just a FYI

 I color coded everything, so I know which is produce, meats, etc..

So... that's a little bit of how I'm striving to improve poor habits and excuses of 2012.  

I'm thinking 2013 is going to be all about focusing on my family:)  

January was all sickness with me and the kids, but February is starting to shine!

I can see the spring rainbow peeking through the dark rain cloud, and it feels good!

Take a moment to look around at your family and enjoy your rainbow too :)