Author: Michelle

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Home Run Inn pizza.

This winter the Kahuna Kids are trying new things, and Leilan and I are too. The kids have signed up for sports, and we are their transportation. Suddenly our evenings are full, our Saturdays are booked, and there’s more laundry than ever. Don’t get me wrong- we are loving it, and it’s a welcome change to just hanging out at home. I can’t imagine surviving the Polar Vortex without some standing things to look forward to on a weekly basis.

The girl is playing basketball. This is her first team sport, and her skills are improving every week. She’s learning all of the rules, and the importance of keeping her eye on the ball. Her coaches are patient and supportive, and the refs teach the kids as they blow their whistles. Saturday games come complete with a concession stand and activities for siblings.

The boy is in a wrestling club. We haven’t purchased the gear yet, and a singlet isn’t required, but it’s still super cute. he goes twice a week to roll around with other kids his age, Eventually he’ll go to meets, but this season he’s just going to club practice.

All of these practices have taken a toll on my meal planning/after school routines. Everything else still needs to be done, but the shuttling to practice (and staying there for an hour)  has to be factored in as well.

Here are three things that are making our lives a little easier this season:

1) Sports clothes go on the washer instead of in the hamper. I stole this one from JustHeather. Here’s the deal: put your sports clothes on the washer, and they get washed quickly. I will hang them next to the dryer, so they will be ready when you need them next.

2) Catch up on non-sports nights. Meg has daily homework and weekly reading log. On the nights the boy goes to wrestling, the house is quiet, and she can read more pages- this is great, because she doesn’t always have the time on her practice night. It’s all about time management (and teaching the kids this). We go to the gym (I exercise, they play) after school on practice days, because that is actually less exhausting than a grocery store or other errands with both kids. The nights we have nothing, we may runs errands after school.

3) Make dinner simple on practice nights. When I menu plan, I make sure more involved meals are left for non-practice nights.

 

Here’s my meal planner- a piece of construction paper and some sticky notes. I’ve written the standard weekly commitments on the base page, and then jot down specifics on each day’s note. Very easy to update as the week goes on, very easy to see what’s for dinner. Last week I started writing down what time we needed to eat so that we’d have enough time to get where we were going when we were done.

We do a lot of quesadillas and pizza on practice nights. It’s a trick to balance quick and easy with natural and no preservatives, but that’s where Home Run Inn Pizza comes in.

Home Run Inn Pizza is now available in Meijer, Kroger, and Marsh- which is much  closer to my house than Chicago (where it all started, and where we like to go for  pizza). It’s all natural, has no preservatives and has the best cheese I’ve ever  tasted on a frozen pizza. (I’m not the only one who thinks this- my whole family  inhales this pie when it comes out of the oven.) The ingredients label puts my mind  at ease, and the taste makes my family happy. Also, they offer a Sausage and  Mushroom combination, which is my absolute favorite combination. Win-Win-Win

What are your sport season sanity savers? Favorite quick meal or pizza flavors?  Tell me about them. We are just getting started in this phase, and need all the help  we can get!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Home Run Inn pizza.

 

 

January has been relentless. It has been cold, it has been snowy. Colder, and snowier than any winter in recent history. It’s a white-washed kind of Groundhog Day. What’s funny is that it’s not just me unsettled by the this weather. My born & raised Chicago husband came in the other day from shoveling for the 200th time and said, “It’s cold out,” which is not something he usually notices. It’s January 25 and the kids have been to school nine days this month. Four (?) of those days started late, one of those days ended early. The kids are over it. Here’s how I know:

1.) Me: ” It’s snowed last night! Do you want to go out and play in it?”  Them:”Meh. Where are my slippers?”

2.) See number one. Both children are wearing slippers. By choice. In the house. Their feet have been so cold, they’ve actually noticed.

3.) If I can’t find them, I look next to our new space heater.

4.) The five year old continually asks when it will be summer.

5.) The eight year old says, “I just want to go to school on time, for the whole day.”

 

So we’re wearing our long underwear, drinking hot chocolate and watching the snow. Is anyone at your house NOT over winter yet?

This is a logical question when you’re five and you see that giant Polar Vortex graphic take over your television screen. (Alternate Title: Will Winter Break Ever End?) We’ve been inside since Sunday afternoon, after a few rounds of playing in the magnificent snowfall. Since then, we’ve been biding our time with electronics, board games, new apps, our new-to-us mini trampoline, craft kits  and taking down the Christmas decor.

We got about a foot of snow on Sunday afternoon, and then the temperatures took a plunge. So we’ve hung blankets on the windows, gotten a dynamite space heater and have been drinking our fill of hot cocoa. You know there’s a problem when Indianapolis not only colder than Chicago…it’s colder than Anchorage, Alaska, and even the South Pole. Crazy town I tell ya!

Anyway, I’ve done my best to keep the kids busy in between mind-numbing sessions of Wii and Netflix (Leilan and I are both working from home- it’s a blessing, but also takes some turning a blind eye!).

Craft kits make a great gift, and I always try to have a couple on hand for days (weeks) like this when we’ve got the time to have some fun. We’ve also had time with play dough, and a lot bouncing on our mini- trampoline.

 

My kids love to build things- this marble maze was a GREAT addition to their toy collection! We’ve also built with Legos, and gotten busy with Hot Wheels tracks and train sets.

 

 

 

We have three kings for our Christmas tree. This little Epiphany joke was a hit on Facebook. I left the snowman decor up for a few more weeks, but our tree is put away for another year.

I’ve also surprised them with a couple of new apps, including Tic-Tac Bananas. This early reading app combines monkey antics (some of my favorite kind of antics), tic tac toe, and begining reading skills. It’s a one or two player game, where in order to make your move on the tic tac toe board, you first have to identify the first sound of the picture (which could be a monkey in a Wig, or a monkey tasting something Sour, or a monkey wearing a Gold medal….you get the idea). The kids thought it was hilarious, and it was a good review for Andrew. I asked Meg (the 3rd grader) her thoughts, and she said, “It’s a great app for kindergarteners. They can learn while they play. And the monkeys are funny.” Well if that’s not a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what it is! Tic Tac Bananas is available in the app store for $1.99 and there’s an Android version as well.

Tomorrow I think we are going to venture out after rush hour and things have started to thaw a little bit. It should also be warm enough to play outside for a little bit.

What have you been doing to keep busy during this forced vacation???

Disclosure: I was provided a copy of Tic Tac Bananas for the purpose of this review. Opinions are all mine, the third grader’s and the kindergartener’s.