Tag Archives: Walk

I want it to be summer all year, and live at the beach

Posted on by

4

I am getting better at noticing the sunsets and sunrises outside our window (we had a stunning orange sunrise and pink sunset today)….now I just have train myself to sit a little bit longer, really enjoy the moment, and just linger, instead of scurrying off quickly to the next thing. (Can you tell I’m talking about motherhood as well!)

Had no real deadlines except for the school pick up, so we just chilled out today.

I took my 3 year old and her 3 year old second cousin to the Duncan Park Play Area in Linden for a picnic and a play. (My older children named this play area “Friendship Park” because they always seem to make friends whenever they come here. :) )

I got a kick out of watching my budding 3 year old climbers master some of the trickier climbing equipment and hear them exclaim, “Yay! I did it!!” (If you look really carefully at the above picture, you’ll see them climbing solo. At the beginning they needed me to tell them where to put their feet. Now look at them!)

Then we drove over to Island Bay.

They have great rock pools near the orange “bait house”. We went searching for crabs, and found a few in all different shapes and sizes. This little one has one big claw!

We found a neat little rock pool that housed a couple of crabs. As we spent more time there, we noticed the shells started moving around. That was really neat!

Wouldn’t it be great if there was no homework, no meals to prepare, and no chores to be done, and we could just hang out at rock pools all day.*bliss*

Fun Kids Activity: Going to the Bush

Posted on by

2

Yesterday “Windy Wellington” lived up to its name, and served up a blustery summers day. The wind can be a bit annoying when you have children (and adults) with ants in their pants and cabin fever. Thankfully Wellington boasts numerous sheltered walkways and tracks that even a suburban mama like myself can tackle.

The walkway I chose is one of my favourites. When we first stumbled across it I just felt like I was in the Lord of the Rings….it felt magical. (Yes, I had hobbits on my brain, it was around the time of the world premire in Wellington after all!)

We only attempted a short portion of it last time, this time the kids and I got so high we could look over Johnsonville. (If you look really closely to the picture below, you can see the red roof of “The Warehouse”.)

I was so proud of the kids! They all did so well! (How is it that they have more energy than me?)

Reasons I love the bush:

  1. It is contained. The kids can’t run out onto the road! I just have to get the older kids to slow down every now and then.
  2. It is sheltered. We could hardly feel the wind, and the canopies sheltered us from the harsh sun.
  3. The kids are in their element. They just love it so much.
  4. It gives my kids super powers. I am not kidding you, my kids don’t seem to notice how far we have walked or how steep the incline is when we are in the bush.
  5. It feels good. Being in the outdoors, being close to nature, breathing the fresh air, feeling your muscles working seems to give you a natural high.
  6. It is flexible. There is no real destination, no real deadline. You can stop and rest, you can even turn around whenever you want.
  7. It doesn’t cost any money! Gotta love that.

Valuing what we have: Day 6

Posted on by

0

Yeah! Saturday! We were blessed with another sunny day!

DD8 and I took part in the Heart Foundation Heart Walkers Wellington 2009. It was really great! My mum and I did it  last year, and this year I was lucky enough to participate with my daughter.

http://www.heha.org.nz/assets/resized/sm/Event5468/images/hvek99x4hz/Heart%20Walker%20A3%20Poster-278-278-268-368.jpg

CELEBRATIONS:

  • Taking pride in our home: We were able to reap the benefits of keeping on top of the housework this week and had a rest from any cleaning! This doesn’t mean that our house was spotlessly clean, we just didn’t need to catch up on a week’s worth of housecleaning (like we sometimes have to do on a Saturday).
  • Taking pride in our car: Kids all took their bits and pieces out of the car when we got home.
  • We were able to find all the things we needed for our outing easily. Sunscreen, picnic blanket, pinic bag and water bottles were all in their “homes”.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:

  • I still have some things that we used on our outing that need to be returned to their “homes”.
  • 2 Loads of laundry needs to be put away now!

How do we let go of what we don’t need and value what we have?

Valuing what we have: Day 1

Valuing what we have: Day 2

Valuing what we have: Day 3

Valuing what we have: Day 4

Valuing what we have: Day 5

Valuing what we have: Day 7

Sticking to a schedule: Day 4

Posted on by

0

The sky was so unusual that I decided to take a photo using my cellphone while I was on my walk.

The sky was so unusual that I decided to take a photo using my cellphone while I was on my walk.

CELEBRATIONS:

  • The weather wasn’t so cold today, so I had a lovely walk early this morning.
  • I got called this morning to fill in for someone at Playcentre, and it wasn’t stressful getting everyone ready, thanks to the routines.
  • The car didn’t start this morning, so we quickly carried 2 carseats and backpacks over to my mum’s place next door and used her car to go to school and Playcentre. Kids were dropped off 15mins before school started and I got to Playcentre at 9am – not bad!
  • Another notice was sent back to school without the usual delay.
  • Done some things off my to-do list.
  • The planner came in handy to tell me that tonight was going to be only free night to get birthday presents and craft things.
  • Bumped into some friends while I was out shopping, that was nice!
  • Spent some time planning for tomorrow, since I have a few things to remember.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:

  • Forgot to arrange for someone to look at the car yesterday when I had some trouble starting the car. This morning we got into the car to leave and it didn’t go!
  • I think I want to start dinner during the day. After I do afternoon tea it’s nearly time to cook dinner, and I find at that time of the day, I am craving down time to myself.

Sticking to a schedule: Day 2

Posted on by

2

CELEBRATIONS:

  • Woke up early again, and had a nice walk.
  • Made a simple A4 planner for the week. It was very handy having it close by to write on as I remembered things I needed to do as I was in bed at night (as you do)
  • In the morning I referred to my planner and then put it on the fridge. I actually remembered to do stuff straight away (like sending money with girls to school the day AFTER the notice…ooooooo!!)
  • The meal planner I did for the week, meant I didn’t have to start thinking about what to defrost when dinner was just around the corner (even if the kids didn’t like what I made).
  • When I had something on my to-do list for the day, I added it to my routine along with an approximate time that I was going to do it. This helped me schedule the best time to do it.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:

  • I forgot to set my alarm to wake up the morning! doh! Luckily hubby woke me up. I decided to add “set alarm” to my evening routine, until I get back into the habit.
  • Need to add “drink water” to my routines, or link it with an activity eg always drink water when I go past the fridge.
  • I need to make a contingency plan for when I go out in the evening, because I end up not being able to do everything on my evening routine when I get back.
  • Went to bed late.

Sticking to a schedule: Day 1

Posted on by

2

CELEBRATIONS:

  • Woke up on time, WAY before the kids got up.
  • Went for a walk in the morning. Refreshing!
  • Had a copy of my morning routine by my bed and in the kitchen which was helpful.
  • Smooth morning!
  • Started participating in the General Conference On-Line Book Club
  • Able to keep focused during the day, so time didn’t get sucked up on unimportant stuff.
  • Laid out my clothes for next day.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT:

  • Need to find a better way view my schedule. I kept on leaving my diary all around the house. So it wasn’t with me when I needed it.
  • Will try putting a planner on the fridge, so I can refer to it often.
  • The morning routine worked better than the day and evening routine because I had allocated times to each task, rather than a list of “to-dos”. This helped me easily see what needed to be done next, and kept me on task.

Most important investment

Posted on by

0

“Meditation, walking, gardening, inspirational reading, listening to quiet music, or just sitting and taking in the present moment are soul choices that restore us to ‘ourselves’. They bring our scattered sense of self back to the centre where it belongs.

Looked at that way, the time you give to ‘being’ could be the most important investment you make each day.”

STEPHANIE DOWRICK

From her book “Choosing Happiness: life & soul essentials”