Friday 29 January 2016

Fit and Healthy Friday's #9


Walking on Granite Island this week


 Welcome to fit and healthy Friday's!
Keeping up writing these has really been helping me stay on track with all my goals. I don't want pregnancy to be an excuse for me to overeat and become stuck on the couch. When I get a little exercise done I feel so much better and I find I have much more energy to care for all my family's needs. 

I am 28 weeks pregnant now which I think is the beginning of the third trimester! I had the glucose tolerance test done this week and I find out my results soon. I decided that I would do it this time to give me piece of mind about whether or not I have gestational diabetes. I was naughty last pregnancy and refused to take the test. I'm one of the annoying patients that has to question everything the doctor wants to do. The sugary drink was awful and I felt little nauseous and extreemly tired for the rest of the day afterwards. It was 75 grams of sugar after all (and three blood tests within 2 hours!) 

 Here is my fit and healthy journal from the past week:

Exercise completed: I went on many walks this week! I even got up at 5:30am one morning just so I could walk the dog before Luke went to a morning shift at work.
Exercise goals: Continue walking on at least 5 days this week



Total weight gained so far this pregnancy: 10.8kg

A few sample days menus of exactly what I ate:
*Keep in mind I'm pregnant, so in no way am I restricting calories, I eat until I'm full. I'm focusing on nourishing my baby, keeping my blood sugar levels stable (sugars low, adding protein with every main meal) and keeping my weight gain steady. 
At the mall: This is what I ate while everyone else ate Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - A cranberry protien ball and chia seed drink. And for lunch that day I had Sumo Salad next to my family who were downing Mcdonalds. My hubby finds me amusing haha
Day one.
B: Almond meal pancakes with apricot jam or maple syrup
MT: 1 Peach (E)
L: Chicken with pumpkin and chick pea salad and greens, a few leftover pancakes for dessert 
AT: Peanut butter and celery (S)
T: Zucchini and potato fritters (E)
S: Pop corn with olive oil and sea salt (XO)   


Day Two:
B: Muesli, banana and almond milk (E)
MT: 2 squares of dark choc, 1 corn thin with peanut butter and jam (XO)
L: 3 eggs fried in coconut oil over a bed of baby spinach, kale and vitamin greens with a few tomatoes. 2x pieces gluten free toast with apricot jam (jam that my mum made...it's SO good and I'm fully addicted) and peanut butter. 1 banana (XO)
AT: a few nuts and 2xsquares 85% dark choc (S)
T: Homemade chicken rice paper rolls (E)
S: Mulberries and boysenberries with almond yoghurt (FP)   

*The letters S, E and XO are types of meals from the health book "Trim Healthy Mama Plan" by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison. 
*B = Breakfast, MT = Morning Tea, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon tea, T = Tea (our main meal), S = Supper
 
Homemade falafels


Food goals: To make my own protien balls and eat more green vegetables. 


See you next Friday! 

Blessings, Peta 

How about you
What kinds of food do you like to eat when you go out with your family?












Friday 22 January 2016

Fit and Healthy Friday's #8










































 I'm checking in for my weekly fit and healthy update. I missed last week as we were visiting my parents on their farm and had a lovely few days catching up with some family and friends and eating lots of apricots and plums from dad's orchard. 

I am 27 weeks pregnant and am having little pregnancy symptoms! (besides getting bigger!) I have had a very cruisy second trimester and my baby is getting stronger. I adore feeling her kicking and wiggling around. 

 Here is my fit and healthy journal from the past week:

Exercise completed: ...umm...nope
Exercise goals: It's been sooooo hot here lately! But that's just an excuse right?? I am going to try to get up earlier and walk while it's still cool. Of course this will mean I will need to discipline myself to go to bed earlier, something I am not so great at. I enjoy the quiet house so much after the children are all asleep that I'm always in denial that it's my bedtime. Hmm is this where one of my boys gets this from??? 


Total weight gained so far this pregnancy: 10kg. 

A few sample days menus of exactly what I ate:
*Keep in mind I'm pregnant, so in no way am I restricting calories, I eat until I'm full. I'm focusing on nourishing my baby, keeping my blood sugar levels stable (sugars low, adding protein with every main meal) and keeping my weight gain steady. 

Day one.
B: Bacon and eggs and tomato (S)
MT: Plums and apricots (E)
L: Chicken and salad (S)
AT: Dried mulberry leather, rice crackers (XO)
T: Bolognese with quinoa and spinach and vitamin greens (S help)
S: Berries with homemade chocolate frozen moose (S)  



Slow cooked lemon chicken with pumpkin and chickpea salad and tomato and cucumber salad


Day 2:
B: Muesli, almond yoghurt and a banana (X0)
MT: GF Muesli bar (E)
L: 2 sushi rolls, 1 peach with grapes and almond yoghurt (XO)
AT: Corn thins with apricot jam and peanut butter (XO)
T: Chicken with pumpkin and chickpea salad and tomato and cucumber salad and kale. 1 row of dark choc and dried paw paw (XO)
S:  Rock melon with almond yoghurt (XO) 

*The letters S, E and XO are types of meals from the health book "Trim Healthy Mama Plan" by Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison. 
*B = Breakfast, MT = Morning Tea, L = Lunch, AT = Afternoon tea, T = Tea (our main meal), S = Supper
 

Food goals:  Continue to eat lots of dark leafy and other types of green vegetables with my meals.


See you next Friday! 

Blessings, Peta 

How about you
Are you good at going to bed/getting up early?











Monday 18 January 2016

Homeschooling - what I love and what I really don't

My husband Luke and I have been home educating our first born son for the past three terms of Reception (his first year of official school). Luke works casually and is studying nursing so we juggled the home schooling between each other. I would do school while he was working or studying and he would home school on his days off while I would go and do my grocery shopping or get some jobs done around the house. We are very much a team so it only came naturally that we home schooled together. We work as a team with many areas in the home and with our children's care too. I am the main cook and he is the main dishwasher. I take care of the children while he's at work and he mostly takes care of the children's baths and bedtime routines. I do all the laundry and he takes care of all the electronic and house maintenance jobs. We both sweep and vacuum. 

Anyway - back to homeschooling. Our first son 
Francis will be doing grade one at school this year - it was a hard decision but we thought it would be best as we welcome another baby into the house this year. While our second son Arrow will be home schooled

For anyone considering home educating their children either for one year, just primary school or for their whole education this is - from my small experience so far- what I LOVE and what I ...well...don't love...about homeschooling.  

I'll start with what I love:
  1. Being the main influence over my children's lives as opposed to their peers
  2.  Having my children around to commit more time to developing character and being able to notice and correct any bad behaviour immediately
  3. Having time to linger in the mornings and do a children's devotion with them, we call it our 'Discipleship' lesson. 
  4. Being available to them almost 24-7 to answer any questions that may arise about God, Jesus, creation, heaven, hell or the world in general. We have on going conversations which can last for days. Our 6 year old is bubbling over with questions at the moment! 
  5. Lessons are completed quicker than in the classroom situation because there is no commuting, shuffling from rooms and calming down a class of 30 students. Which means more time can be focused on a topic of my children's interest. For my 6 year old this meant practicing piano, building LEGO, drawing building diagrams (he wants to be an architect) and reading books and LEGO instructions. Many athlete and actor children do home school lessons with a parent or personal tutor so they can spend the majority of their day developing and practicing their skills and talents. 
  6. I love having my children around me, watching them grow and learn
  7. Not having to worry about packing lunches, uniforms, and school drop off and pick up. 
  8. Being able to be selective with whom the children socialise with. - Yes we do socialise. We choose a few groups we would like to be involved. We used to live out on a farm so it was hard to get to many social activities but now we live in a town, 15 minutes from a small city and an hour from our capital city so we have many options. 
  9.  It has been a much cheaper option for us than paying for a private Christian school. 
  10. You can tailor their education to what your children want to learn and are interested in - it accelerates a love for learning.
  11. My little boy does not get as tired home schooling than he did when attending a classroom so he can concentrate and learn while he's at his peak. 
  12. No homework! - (well technically it's all home work but we can choose the time of the day it gets done)
  13. I can make up my own schedules and school terms and work school around our lives instead of the other way around; and take days off whenever we want 
  14. There is no bullying on an everyday basis (putting other people down is not tolerated in our house), the children have the freedom to be themselves. 
What I don't love about home schooling:
  1. The constant ruckus and noise levels of the house of being around the children 24/7 with little breaks and time to breathe. Homeschooling is kind of like 'school holidays' that go for 24 hours a day and 365 days a year because the children are always around me. (this is good - but it can also have a negative effect on my sanity levels.    
  2.  Having to figure out a curriculum to use. I find it really stressful trying to work out the curriculum - there are actually almost too many options for home schoolers and I find it overwhelming at times. We are currently researching 'distance education' through the Australian Christian College. This may be a good option for us in the future. They offer schooling online with qualified christian teachers. This would take the curriculum worry away from us plus add a more structured approach to school at home which is what our eldest son really needs. Here is a link if you want to have a look: //www.acc.edu.au
  3. Being isolated was becoming a huge problem for me as we were living on a farm and trips into town were limited as we only had a certain amount of money to spend on petrol, plus getting out the house with 4 small children is an event in itself that requires lots of motivation, and takes about 2 days to recover from. We are now living in a town and there are home schooling meet up groups near by so it  shouldn't a problem in the future to get out and about.
  4. I find it hard at times being consistent and some days I felt like I was just going around cleaning up one mess after another and breaking up one fight after another by the children. But I think a lot of this has to do with having 4 children under the age of 6, this is life with little children and it's often...always...messy. 
  5. The feeling of being responsible for our children's education is at times, almost too much to bear.  
  6. Homeschooling is time consuming and I keep finding there is little time left to do anything else inside or outside the home. 
Even after saying all those negatives I still really love home educating my children! Home schooling is a calling on one's life and I believe that it is one of those hard things in my life that is still worth pursuing even though it is hard. 

Most things that are worthwhile are actually hard. (think, having a baby for instance, getting a medical degree, being a pastor etc.) When you know what God is calling you to do you just do it. It doesn't mean it's going to be easy 

Blessings, Peta