Serve Successful Family Dinners

Having dinner together as a family is one of the most important things you can do. There are all sorts of studies showing the benefits of family dinner time. It improves your family's health- mentally, emotionally, and physically. Kids are less likely to be overweight, kids develop better vocabulary, parents are more in touch with their kids, all family members are happier... the list goes on and on!

It seems like dinner time used to be a priority. Nowadays, there are lot of competing activities. Sports, work, clubs, schedules... lots of things try to steal time away from dinner. Even if you can only sit down as a family 3 times a week- it is SO WORTH IT. Even if you didn't make dinner at home: drive thru and bring it home to the table; go into the restaurant and sit down to eat- it is SO WORTH IT.

I cannot stress enough how important this practice is to the health of your family.

In our house, we make it a priority to sit down together 6 nights a week. This doesn't mean I cook 6 nights a week. We might be having leftovers or takeout, but we sit down at the same time and everyone eats their meal together. Here are some of my tips for making family meal time a success:

1. Don't talk about food. Seems odd since you're eating, but this is a great time to talk about anything. Why bother discussing how fluffy the potatoes are? You will actually eat slower and eat less (aka: not overeat) if you are carrying on interesting not-food-related conversation.
2. Eat "family style". 4 out of the 6 nights we sit down together, I put all the food out on the table. This way no one has to get up for seconds, but it also encourages picky eaters to try new things because they are exposed to the foods more often.
3. Turn off technology. It only takes 20-30 minutes to eat a meal. Everyone can go without cell phones, tvs, tablets, and anything else that distracts from the conversation. This is a time to connect with family, not with wifi.
4. Don't get up until everyone is finished eating. Sometimes this is hard with kids who eat really slow. But, for the most part, everyone should be feeling full and finished eating after 20-30 minutes. Stay at the table and enjoy the company. Stick around, it sends the message that you really are interested in your family and not just going through the motions.

Family dinners are my favorite time of the day. I can hear all about what my kids are thinking and doing. Everyone slows down and sits semi-still. It's so enjoyable, I wouldn't trade it for anything!

What's your favorite thing about eating as a family? We'd love to hear from you!

My 40-minute Country Workout Playlist

My music taste is pretty eclectic- I'll listen to most anything (besides heavy metal. Lord help me if my children ever listen to that stuff!), but my heart lies with country music.

I have always found it so hard to workout to country music, though, and it was making me a little sad that I couldn't enjoy it while working out! My pop music workout playlist is great, but I wanted variety. I went on a mission to find some country tunes that had a good beat and motivated me in my workout, and I'm happy to report I have a 40-minute workout playlist that is pure country!

Here's to you, my country-music lovin' friends- approximately 40 minutes of country music to get you through that workout!

Work it: Country Style
Cruise- Florida Georgia Line (3:26)
Drunk Last Night- Eli Young Band (3:39)
Friday Night- Eric Paslay (2:47)
Runnin' Outta Moonlight- Randy Houser (3:13)
Done- The Band Perry (3:25)
Undo It- Carrie Underwood (2:58)
Small Town Kid- Eli Young Band (3:44)
Beer Money- Kip Moore (3:38)
Kerosene- Miranda Lambert (3:06)
Compass- Lady Antebellum (3:05)
Goodbye Town- Lady Antebellum (4:49)

What songs get you through your workout? I love to add to my playlists! :)

Fun Fall Bucket List: Minnesota Style

Oh, how I love fall. I seriously just love it. Boots, scarves, apple and pumpkin everything, the colors, sitting on my front porch sipping coffee on chilly mornings... who couldn't love fall?

Here in Minnesota the season is beautiful and abundant with vibrant colors, but we're never sure how long it will last. I don't like to let a weekend of this season go by without taking advantage of all the fun things it has to offer. It's not uncommon to see some snow fly in October, so I embrace it for all it's worth!

Earlier in the week, Lynnsey shared her family's fall bucket list, and today I'm going to share mine. I'll also link you to some of my favorite spots in Minnesota, in case you're ever in the area and want to check 'em out.

Jim's Apple Barn: If you are a Minnesotan and never visited Jim's... but this on your bucket list- now! Pumpkins, apples, fresh apple pies, nostalgic candy, unique root beers, and puzzles are just a few things you'll find at Jim's in Jordan, MN. It's definitely an eclectic mix of things, but it's one of my absolute favorite places to go every fall! Every time I go, I choose a different root beer- some day I'll have tried them all. Dream big, right? :)

Center Creek Orchard: I've never been, but know friends who have nothing but great things to say about this place. They hold a Fall Festival every weekend in September and October and hold other special events throughout the season. They also have a pumpkin patch and apple orchard.

A Maze'n Farmyard: This isn't on my list because we did this over Labor Day weekend, but wanted to share! It's located in Eden Valley, MN and is a super fun day trip for the kiddos. They have lots of farm animals that you can feed and touch, pony rides, a bounce barn that has 5 bounce houses (which my kids loved), and lots more. It's fun and reasonably priced!

What's your favorite thing to do in fall?

Fall Bucket List

 Happy Labor Day everyone! We hope that you are all enjoying a nice long weekend.

Since September is here, we are preparing for Fall. Yes, Fall. In Oklahoma, September is a transition month where we could have some super hot days, or we could start to see the milder Fall temperatures.

Either way, September means Fall is right around the corner.

To be properly prepared, Jess and I are sharing our families' Fall Bucket Lists! There are so many fun things to do in the Fall- it's nice to have them all written out to you can check them off as you go. With football, school commitments and holiday prep, weekends in the Fall can get away from me. I love having a "bucket list" to reference so I can be sure to make time for (read: not forget) everything we want to do.

Today, I'm posting the list for my family (Jess will share on Friday).  I tried to keep my bucket list simple. Nothing on my list requires a lot of prep or planning (even the football party will be super simple). That's the way I like it.

I have always wanted to make homemade applesauce. This year I plan on making a lot! We have a tradition of going to Oklahoma State University's Homecoming Celebration. It is the greatest in the nation so it made the list for sure. I've tried to keep our fall traditions and add in a few fun things for us to try out this year... with any luck, all of these will be checked off by mid-November!

Let's Go Fly A Kite... Or Whatever.

Jess and I have been sharing our frustration with the weather going from warm to cold to warm to cold... seriously, who gets snow in May? Minnesota! And who experiences a 40 degree temperature drop in May? Oklahoma!

Let's this hope this post is the welcome that Spring has been waiting for! We are inviting Spring to come on in and stay a while. We've got fun things to do!

We are both ready for Spring to be here and dreaming of days where we can send our kids out to play and get fresh air.

I don't know about you all, but I prefer to keep my kids busy outside whenever possible. I find that my house stays cleaner when no one is in it.

Fresh air also leads to better nap times and less arguing. Fresh air is magic. Did you know that?

On a good day, my kids are content to play on the plastic slide & in the cozy coupe, with a soccer ball & sidewalk chalk as second best.  I do love sitting back, sipping my iced mocha, and watching their little imaginations go crazy.

Sometimes, it is good to plan activities to break up the routine. Pinterest, once again, comes in handy when trying to liven up outside play time. Here are my 10 favorite outside-play-time pins:

**Click on the picture for the source**

How fun does this look?! I think this looks like to perfect spot for reading or eating a snack.

What an awesome idea! I love that you can change up the activities, too. So interactive and bound to keep toddlers and preschoolers happy for a while!

This link is a video on how to make these awesome sponge bombs! This will be way easier than filling up the kiddie pool everyday.

This idea comes from Parents magazine. Click on the pic for 19 other ideas! Personally, I love the thought of using pool noodles outside the pool! This is also an awesome way for kids to work on their coordination.

Speaking of pool noodles and coordination... Kid croquet! I'm going to go ahead and say this would entertain my little soccer players for hours!

This is such a great idea to keep kids interested on a family walk. I also like how there are a lot of "teachable moments" that come with this list.

The only thing that would make this better is if the pool was big enough for mommy... I think I can make that happen.

Click on the picture and then scroll down for the comment about how to make this outdoor tic-tac-toe frisbee game. Bonus: chasing run away frisbee's=burning off extra energy :)

This has been added to KC's "honey do" list. I can't wait!!

I have made one of these and they are awesome!! I laid on one end and the kids played on the other. If you close your eyes you almost feel like you are floating on the lake. This was the most requested "special thing" we did last summer. We will for sure be doing it again- soon!

For more fun ideas check out our Pinterest boards:

Fit Family

Play Your Way

Dear Spring,

Puh-leeeee-zuh come back and stay a while. Look at how much fun we could have!

Love,

Lynns & Jess

Don't forget to check out the giveaway we are a part of through May 4, 2013!

Fit Family: Get your Groove on

"Get your groove on." "Boogie down!" "Shake your boo-tay!" "Move it, move it!" "Get low." Whatever you want to call it, dancing is one of the easiest ways to get in some cardio- not only for yourself, but for the entire family! Everyone can do it, and it's so much fun!

It's so easy to crank up the volume on your radio iPhone and let yourself get completely silly with your kiddos. Time will pass and you'll have no idea you just did 30 minutes of cardio, burned off that cookie banana you ate for breakfast, and made memories with your kiddos.

My daughter absolutely LOVES to dance. She has moves I've never seen before, and sometimes I wonder where she learned them. Then I wonder if I should be worried. But I digress...  Her favorite songs to dance to are "Call Me Maybe" (I know, right? Carly Jasperson appeals to all ages, I guess!) and Taylor Swifts "Never Getting Back Together". She knows all the words to these songs, too. At 3 years old! I wonder if she'll remember them when she's a teenager. I'll have to give her a pop quiz when she's 13.

What songs make you want to get up and dance?