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6 Ways to Become a Better Parent

January 31, 2019 by Chris Leave a Comment

I’ve mentioned it before, but one of the reasons Karen and I started a blog is to have a place to reference and share our favorite articles, workouts, and recipes. The NY Times recently included some extremely helpful tips. Actually, it includes links to 6 articles, each with examples you can put into practice.

My two favorites:

Which Is Better, Rewards or Punishments? NeitherBy Heather Turgeon

Why You Should Stop Yelling at Your KidsBy Stephen Marche

If you want to take it a step further I recommend checking out this highly rated course on Everyday Parenting: The ABCs of Child Rearing

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Eggs – It’s What’s for Dinner

January 19, 2018 by Chris Leave a Comment

Dinner Eggs Recipes

Most families have pizza night or taco night, but no body has egg night. Recently I was at a farm to table restaurant and saw they have an Omelette of the day on the lunch menu.  That day it was made with potatoes and chorizo and it looked beautiful.  I make omelets everyday by 6 am but omelets would even be better at 6pm.  The image of that beautiful omelet inspired me.

Eggs are cheap, easy and filling.  They are digested slower than most foods you normally eat at night so you may make it to bed without pangs of hunger.  Best of all it feels like you’re eating carbs

In the morning I tend to go with a simple, four-ingredient omelet with 5 whites and 2 whole; it takes all of 7 minutes and there’s no cleanup.  At night when your taste buds are searching for more flavor, you can spice it up, dump some leftovers or go veggie crazy.  There are no wrong answers.

Here are five eggcellent recipes to eggspire you.  The best part is eggs will love you no matter how you vary the recipe.


All you need for survival is peppers and eggs.
CDinner Eggs Recipesreamy Scrambled Egg Stuffed Bell Pepper with Veggies -Via FitMenCook

 


Easy Mediterranean Style Egg Casserole Recipe – via The Mediterranean DishEgg Casserole Recipe for Brunch


Meal planning is a cinch.  These taste decent cold so you can eat them on the go.

Mini Quiche with Sweet Potato Crust via Eating Well.

Mini Quiches with Sweet Potato Crust


This one is not as healthy as the others but your taste buds will thank you.

Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Has – via Tasty


Tolkien said the most beautiful sounding phrase is cellar door, but I think it’s Huevos Rancheros.  Via Serious EatsQuick and Easy Huevos Rancheros With Tomato-Chili Salsa Recipe

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Review – Online Reading and Math program ABCmouse

December 23, 2016 by Chris 1 Comment

Our kids are avid PBS viewers.  They’ve never grown tired of Curious George in five years and relative newcomer Odd Squad is so entertaining I’m a huge fan. The brilliant thing about PBS is obviously is the absence of commercials. Hanging out at grandma’s for a week where Disney Junior and Disney XD are available is a real eye opener for both parents and kids. I thought a review of ABCmouse may at least help bring some awareness to another option to the heavy dose of children’s programming.

On PBS, the sponsor ads betweens shows are geared to the parents. One of those spots we’ve seen thousands of times was for ABCmouse.com. I’ve watched it a thousand times but never checked it out. It wasn’t until we were in search for productive games online that we learned ABCmouse.com was a leader in the industry.

PBS Kids has their own online games and they’re very hit or miss.  The PBS kids site is free and they offer some very entertaining games, but the odd thing is there is very little learning value to them.

We’ve tried many learning apps and some are good for a while but the lose interest fast.  It’s only been recently we been allowing a little more screen time.  So that brings us to ABCmouse.

To set the scene, it was Thanksgiving weekend – cousin time. It gets wild fast with the twins by themselves, then add in cousins the same age it’s a mess.  Screen time is a four-year old’s wine.

Downloading the ABCmouse app was fine. Setting up was time-consuming. I was looking for a quick fix and ended up dropping it until later. Setup almost seems like a trap, but thankfully they like it so apparently it’s not. When I returned to it I was on a laptop. There is a 30-day free trial then it’s $7.95 a month. I fully expected to do month and cancel but it’s been a pleasant surprise

abcmouse-classroomThe parent and child both set up accounts.  You can let the kids pick their avatar. He purposely chose one who looked like Harry Potter. Once you’ve established your account you have several choices how to proceed.  There’s a learning path which tailors the experience but the kids hit the classroom where you pick what you want to do. There are dozens if not hundreds of books they can read or have read to them. They’ve gone through a bunch of those and have enjoyed them.

Mostly, though, they like the games. Reading comprehension is a key at this age and they have plenty to help them improve. There’s maybe a hundred games, plus puzzles and art. They’ve only explored a dozen or so games so far but they’ve enjoyed what they’ve played so far.

As you play you collect tickets that can be used on various in-game upgrades and even keep a pet hamster within the game. Some games play better on the phone, while others, like the books, are better on the laptop or bigger screens.

We’ve limited the time they have played but we’ll be going to the pay side very soon. We will go month-to-month to give the boys time to explore it a bit.  It’s worth the $7.95, which is as positive a review I can give.

 

 

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Kid’s Who Say, “I can’t”.

August 25, 2016 by Karen 3 Comments

Book Review,  The Dot by Peter Reynolds: I wanted to share this book review with parents who are faced with the concern they feel when their child tells them, “I can’t.” We want to be encouraging without being too overbearing. It gets trickier as they get older and more sophisticated in their “mind-reading” skills. They seem to know when we’re concerned and in turn become increasingly averse to our guidance. It’s a finicky line to walk, and I am grateful to have found this gem from the local library. It’s called, The Dot by Peter H.Reynolds.Book Review, The Dot by Peter Reynolds

Reynolds tells the tale of a little girl who adamantly claims that she can’t draw. It’s a clean and simple tale with a big message. That one little dot marks the beginning if a little girl’s journey of surprise and self-discovery. This book is inspiring to kids and should give young audiences a boost of confidence. It was comforting to see my “I can’t” child intrinsically is drawn to the dot.

 

As a parent the recognition of the life-changing influence books can have for a child is validated by a phenomenal read from brainpickings.org. Maria Popova shares the wisdom of Neil Gaiman on Why We Read and What Books Do for the Human Experience. Popova also shares Gaiman’s piece titled “Why Our Future Depends on Libraries, Reading, and Daydreaming.” I couldn’t agree more and have been most grateful for the local librarians and their relationships with my children.

So if you have a child who is struggling with something, a message from a book can help open the doors of opportunity. Regardless of whether your child can read or not, reading to your child is just as important. Deliver the messages and support your local library by granting your child with regular attendance and fostering their relationship with the librarians. I’ll leave you with a quote from Gaiman,

“We all-adults and children, writers and readers- have an obligation to daydream. We have an obligation to imagine. It is easy to pretend that nobody can change anything, that we are in a world in which society is huge and the individual if less than nothing: an atom in a wall, a grain of rice in a rice field. But the truth is, individuals change their world over and over, individuals make the future, and they do it by imagining that things can be different.”

 

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The Evolution of Resolutions. Apps that get you Jacked.

January 4, 2016 by Karen Leave a Comment

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My Future Silhouette

With resolution season starting on a weekend this year, the gym was pretty quiet this Jan 2 & 3.  Who wants to get up early on a Saturday?

If you made it to Jan 4th congrats.  Seeing how this is a leap year you still have 362 days and you’re going to need all the help you can to make it 2017.

It can go without saying, but if you can afford a trainer, get one.  If you have a good one, congrats.  There’s a great chance you’ll graduate to a new resolution next year.  If you can’t afford a trainer, like most people, there’s still hope and it’s likely in your hand or your pocket right now. You know all about the apps that count calories if you already use them then you’re already on the road to get fit.

But do you know the apps that track your workout?  They’ve been around awhile, but in the past they’ve been cumbersome and make you wonder if anyone is tech world even lifts.  Apparently they do.  Bodybuilding.com’s BodySpace app is a huge step forward. They have hundreds, if not thousands of routines for every goal.  Why you would pick one that doesn’t make you look like comic book character as goal is beyond me, but all you need to do is create a profile, put in some simple goals and search. From there you just need to listen to what phone.

We created bodyspace profiles years ago, before the iphone was even a thing and back then we had to write down in a notebook our routine and then transfer them via a computer when we returned home.  It was a pain and just not something we’d do with kids.  Now, with the app you just add the weights and reps as you go.  You’ll accumulate workouts and see how much progress you’ve made.

Karen and I are currently following Cory Gregory’s Get Swole Routine although we’re not following the exact schedule.

Create your own profile and lets compare notes!  Find us here….Chris and Karen.

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About Us

All our Boys

Karen Rodgers is a mother of twin boys, wife, and speech language pathologist for the Champlain Valley School District in Vermont and New England Speech & Feeding. She knows her way around a weight room and here on the GoodFitFam blog Karen and her husband Chris will share their wisdom, experience and contagious passion for kids, fun and fitness.

Speech + Feeding

Why Picky Eaters LOVE McDonalds

Kid’s Who Say, “I can’t”.

Be flexible and other Social Dynamics

Address the Social and Emotional Impact of Food for you and your Kids

Getting Your Kids to Eat New Foods.

Workouts

Hammering my hamstrings, quick and not so easy

30-Minutes to Muscle – Chest Routine

What Fitness Pros Wish They Knew When They Started

Getting Stronger and Meeting Goals

Arm Blast

Parenting

7 Forgotten Shows of Christmas and Dwight

Our Two Jakes

Thirty Six Words for Butt – Lessons in Storytelling.

Dying Eggs – What do These Sparkles Taste Like?

 Dee Dee McGee and Her Musical Knee

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