5 Great Activities When Stuck Inside!

Oh man, you know when it is pouring rain, really cold, or snowy and you are just stuck inside?! I know that feeling, we have had plenty of it over here...mostly rain though so it really isn't very pretty to look at; oh, and please, don't get me started on the wind! It is making it quite impossible to even ride our bikes. I mean look at this...

So, to keep you entertained this winter I will share with you a few of our favorite ways to keep busy as a family when we are stuck inside!

Cabin fever can get all of us. For me it really strikes about halfway through January. So, to keep it away we try not to just lay around all day, we want to interact and bond as a family, so here are five ways we stay active and have fun inside at home!

One of our favorite activities is playing a game. Any game. Board game, card game, Wii game, etc. Anything that gets us together as a family and interacting is where it's at...if you need some suggestions on great games check out this post.

 2. Bat Around Balloons

This can be done the old fashioned way by just tapping it around with a partner using your hands or, if you want to get real fancy and stuff you can make paddles out of wire coat hangers and old tights.

3. Make a catching game

Above you see we recycled two old milk jugs and used something we had as a "ball" (ours was a duck lol) and we would just toss it around catching the "ball".

4. Have a dance party

5. Build a Fort

Contrary to popular belief you are NEVER too old for this ;)

These are some fun ways we like to get active when it is too cold to go outside. What sort of fun things does your family do when it is too cold to go outside?

September Blogging Challenge: Favourite Outdoor Activity

Hello! Happy Sunday! Lots of posts have gone up lately, make sure you go over to the homepage and check them out if you are joining me from a direct link!

Today's prompt is my favourite outdoor activity. This is a tough one because I love a lot of outdoor things: swimming, going to the beach, walking, running, hiking, going to the park and playing with my kiddo, and al fresco dining. My favourite, if I have to pick just one would be going to the beach. I will tell you why, it's because going to the beach can incorporate several, if not all of the other outdoor activities I love! 

• Usually I have to walk to get to the beach
• Sometimes, depending on the beach it could be a hike to get there (lol)
• I usually take a picnic lunch with me because I rarely stay for just a short amount of time
• I can swim in the water (well, I don't really here in Canada lol)
• When I go with a friend or my family we can toss the frisbee, fly a kite, or build a sand castle
• Take a walk and collect shells

So, there you have it, my favourite outdoor activity that includes all of my other favourite outdoor activities!

How many times can you use the phrase "favourite outdoor activity" in one sentence?! Seriously, what is your fave activity for the outdoors, anything new and fun I should get into?

Water & Workouts

Water is defined as:

Noun A colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of...

Verb Pour or sprinkle water over (a plant or an area of ground), typically in order to encourage plant growth.

Water is essential for our body to function correctly. Approximately 60% of our body is comprised of water. Years ago I switched from drinking sugary sweetened drinks to all water. I literally don't drink anything but water anymore (well, ok I do have the occasional wine or martini, but for my everyday drinking it's all water!).

So, here lately though I have been getting a bit bored with drinking water. I drink a lot of it everyday at minimum 64 oz (on my rest day) to up to 120 oz. Needless to say after a few years of this one gets a bit tired. So, after browsing Pinterest I saw that people were making aqua fresca. Many of these though were sweetened with honey or agave, which if you are going to have a sweetened drink those would be my first two sweeteners to use! But, I am trying to watch how much sugar I consume so I wondered why I couldn't just put fruit in & let it steep. In '08 when my family & I resided with my parents for a bit my mom made some water to help with digestion that she found in a magazine so I just adopted the same concept. Here are a few of my faves:

The one on the left is 8 oz water, a mint green tea bag, a handful of frozen strawberries, and one half of a sliced lemon. I let it sit over night & then squeeze the tea bag out when I am ready to drink & then I use a fork to muddle the lemon & strawberries. After I drink it throughout the day I just refill the cup! I do discard the fruit at the end of the day/

The one on the right is what I love to call "sunshine" water. It's so yellow and happy isn't it?! It's just 8 oz of water, one half of a lemon and a handful of frozen peaches. When I am ready to drink I muddle this as well & just keep refilling throughout the day! I do discard the fruit at the end of the day. :)

This is the water my mom used to make. The original recipe calls for mint & to peel the cucumber but I am too lazy to peel the cucumber & I didn't have any mint so those two things didn't happen. I prefer it this way so this is the recipe I"ll give. One whole lemon, one small cucumber (or half of an English Cucumber which is what I used), and one teaspoon of grated fresh ginger. I drank an entire pitcher of this yesterday. It is very refreshing. I refilled the pitcher last night & just added a bit more ginger. I only reuse the same fruits in this one 3 times. :)

Some other fun things I've been eating lately:

From the top left: Bacon & veggie saute with half a sweet potato,  oatmeal from our local grocery cafe (it's amazing), homemade granola, fruit, and yogurt parfait, veggie tacos with homemade shells, and hubby's fave dinner steak, cheese fries, and corn! Totally decadent but so worth it ;)

The final thing I want to talk about are my workouts. Last week was my last week of month one of Insanity. This program is so amazing. Seriously, if you want something to whip you into shape fast  & make you crave fruits, veggies, and healthy proteins this is it! So, Sunday I started my recover week. I had to make up for our cheerleading carpool so I had to take the kids on Sunday to cheer practice & it's three hours so I spent an hour & half doing a great 80 min walking workout where every 5 minutes you stopped & did some sort of full body exercise. I then came home & participated in a weekend tabata challenge. I was so sore on Monday, talk about a way to start your "rest" week! It's very much been an active rest. Monday I did Insanity Core Cardio & Balance DVD. Then yesterday I did the P90X X-Stretch DVD along with a nice long walk along the sea wall to the part with my daughter & some serious swinging. I woke up feeling like a new woman this morning! Then, I was back to Core Cardio & Balance today. Thursday (tomorrow) will be Core Cardio & Balance along with X-Stretch. Friday will be just Core Cardio & Balance. Saturday will be just X-Stretch, then Sunday I will walk up to our local Lulu Lemon & participate in their free Sunday morning yoga. If you have a Lulu Lemon near you look into this it's an amazing way to start your Sunday and get in touch with your community. My 13 year old even loves to go with me! ;)

What have your food & workout's looked like this week? Are you eating delicious things that make you feel good?

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