Week 3- Family Fit Challenge!

This week we wrapped up week 3 of our family fit challenge!! We started out or week meeting with our Soul Coach Mindy Elias from the Chandler Boys and Girls Club. We met her at our new family’s favorite retaurant “Sweet Tomatoes”! Our kids had so much fun at Sweet Tomatoes picking out all the colorful vegetables to make their own individual salads! We went over the week 3 challenges and activities, and prepared for the end of phase one.

When we sat down to make out or meal list for the week we decided we were going to try new things for dinner this week. One of the meals we had as our one vegetarian meal was a ravioli filled with spinach. Our oldest, our 11 year old daughter was in charge of this meal. (with my help) She chose fresh mushrooms, onions and tomatoes and garlic to put on the ravioli, we decided to sauté it in a little olive oil and it was delicious!! The entire family raved about it, and it was the first time during the challenge they wanted to bend the rules about portion control. So we allowed them to eat more salad instead :)

Another great meal we tried this week that our 7 year old son helped to prepare this meal. I allowed him to pick out vegetables he would like to make in a soup! We used low sodium V8 juice as a broth and he put all sorts of colorful vegetables in the pot, zucchini, squash, corn, carrots, celery, onions, green beans, and potatoes. He had so much fun creating a big pot of soup with an assortment of colorful vegetables!

For our family outing we went to watch a football as a family. Again, it was so nice to enjoy time with the kids and be doing something as a family outside. We continued to take nightly walks after dinner, which always is very provoking in good conversation.

What a wonderful experience this has been for our family! At the end of week 2's challenge it mentioned finding a walk to participate in. We found the Chandler Fun walk which we signed up for that is on December 8th, the exciting part is, it benefits our Boys and Girls Club! We also as a family decided our family activity for this week (we are going to continue with weekly family activities despite the end of Phase 1) we are signed up to volunteer at our Boys and Girls Clubs Thanksgiving dinner, they expect over 900 guests and we are going to help seat the guests and bus the tables. We are so excited to be able to do an activity that will be giving back as well!!

 

Week 2- Family Fit Challenge

Week 2 was off to a great start for our family! We celebrated halloween as a family in a family costume, and decided that would be a family tradition because it was so much fun!

This was voting week, so we tied a few activities into voting and explaining the election.

 

Tuesday, we took our family walk to the polling place so the kids could watch us vote first hand, then that night we ate dinner and then watched as results rolled in and had the kids color a map as the states were called.

We also let the kids pick the menu each night. They had to create a dinner that matched the myplate model. It was a great opportunity for the kids to have to create a balanced meal on their own and then help prepare it!

We signed the kids up for basketball at the Boys and Girls Club and they are very excited to start doing an organized physical activity. We decided that Cory (the dad) will coach basketball so he can participate with the kids as well.

This week the kids tried new breakfast items each morning, surprisingly they loved the variety and comment how they weren't starved by lunch time.

Thursday night was our family fun night and we decided we would eat out. We went to Subway and ordered sandwiches and went to have a picnic. We had so much fun!

Family Fit Challenge week 1

We are participating in a really fun event "Family Fit Challenge" through the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

We will be chronicling our journey and our family transformations as we go.

Week1:

We started our challenge early, by participating in our city's family day of play. We were educated on healthy snacks and activities.  From there we went shopping as a family to help make our family dinner list for the next two weeks. We chose healthy snacks and made sure we incorporated fruits and vegetables into every meal.

Once we were home we took time measuring out serving sizes so we know what it looks like with our eyes, so we are able to make decisions correctly instead of serving with our tummy... 

We had received water bottles from a booth at the day of play event, so we measured how many 8oz cups fit in the bottle. We learned it holds 2.5 cups every time its filled. We keep a tally on the refrigerator. It has become a friendly competition amongst the family, who drank the most each day. As well as a good way to spend some time on math with the kids counting up how many times we filled the bottle and converting it to ounces.

When making our dinner list we decided we would substitute 2 meals a week for vegetarian meals. One night we had a vegetable paella served with baked tofu as our protein and last night we had talapia as our protein. So far 2 new meal choices and they were a hit with the entire family!

We also started taking a family walk together each night after dinner. We pick something to discuss, the first night we asked "what did you do today that helped someone else?" It invoked a great conversation about being selfless. Last night we talked about our best Halloween memories,  we sure did have some fun laughs!

Thursday night we designated our family fun night! We went to Makutu's Island which is an indoor play place. We were there with only 1 other family, so Cory and I were able to play and run right along with the kids. We were on the go for 2 hours straight! We had so much fun!!!

Some great choices we have made as a family is we no longer drink any soda pop. We rarely did before, but we completely made a choice to cut it out. Cory and I also decided to cut 2 days a week out of coffee, because of the caffeine. I also made the decision to switch my coffee creamer to sugar free. Every little choice we make helps us to be healthier in the long run!

This week has been a great experience for our family. Besides becoming aware of the proper things to eat, portion sizes, we have been able to integrate other aspects, working on math, great discussions as a family, and all around family fun.

Although no one has any weight to lose in our family except for me because I am still carrying this baby weight :) After 1 week of making positive choices and doing a physical activity every night, I am happy to say I am down 2 pounds!!

We can't wait for week 2!

Our little one turned 1 this month!!

 

His wonderful cake and the letters Bethany and I made!




Centerpieces and confetti we made!

 



On August 1st our little guy turned 1 year old!! That morning he and I had breakfast and then got ready. His Auntie Mindy and his Nina and I went to lunch at Olive Garden. We picked that place because he LOVES spaghetti and breadsticks!!



All the cousins!! So lucky to have cousins so close in age!!



After lunch we went to creative hands pottery place and made imprints of his hands and feet!! It was so much fun we had a great laugh out of that! Then we went home for a nap and after our nap all of the family came over (except Sito and Papa they were in California still). We had a family dinner and he got to dive into his birthday cake! He loved it!! He had so much fun and played and played with his toys from his Nina and Nino.

Party hats we made!

  Then on Saturday the 3rd, we had a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse celebration! We had so much fun!! Bethany and I made all the decorations. Papa and Sito came back into town that day and Papa David from Oklahoma came for the party as well!!





Party favors!

Gift table and the banner we made!

 

Article about my sister and father!!!

EAST VALLEY Father and daughter Live a life of community service
Boys and Girls Club Leaders Make Lasting Impact on the Community

TEMPE, Ariz– September 17, 2009 – Ramon Elias has been a staple in the non-profit community for over 37 years. He has served as the President and CEO of the East Valley Boys and Girls club for 13 of those years. During this time he and his wife, Mima has raised a family of 4 daughters, instilling an attitude of service in all of them. Eldest daughter Mindy Elias has followed in her fathers footsteps, she is the Branch Executive for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley’s Compadre Branch. Both father and daughter will be honored for their commitment to the community at two separate events.

Mindy Elias has been chosen as one of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Top 40 Under 40. The Top 40 Hispanic Leaders Under 40 Luncheon will be held Wednesday, September 23 at the Arizona Biltmore Resort. The Chamber selected the top 40 key Hispanic business and community leaders for making significant contributions to the greater good of the community. These individuals best exemplify the integration of their best practices and support the community by contributing to society in ways that are an inspiration to others and use resources and creativity to enrich our community.

Elias, a former club member herself, has taken the reins at the East Valley’s largest Boys and Girls Club.

“My parents instilled a sense of service in all of us, it feels so good to work with these kids everyday and to know I’m making an impact in another person’s life. To be recognized by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber is such an honor it also gives me the opportunity to take some of the kids to the event to show them what other successful Hispanic leaders are doing in their communities”, said Elias. In addition to working in the non-profit sector, Mindy is involved with Arizona Cactus Pine Girl Scouts. She has volunteered with the House of Refuge East, Polytechnic Elementary School and Willis Junior High in Chandler and is a Young Life supporter.

Ramon Elias, President and CEO of the East Valley Boys and Girls Club be honored as Man of the Year by Fresh Start Women’s Resource Center on October 1 at 6:30 p.m. Villa Siena, 890 W. Elliot Rd. Gilbert.

Ramon was instrumental in helping Fresh Start Women’s services establish their East Valley presence. The organization is currently using the Gilbert branch of the Boys and Girls club as well as Gilbert Elementary School. The model is working well and could be expanded to include other East Valley Boys and Girls clubs. The Boys and Girls clubs are a natural fit as they are serving youth while Fresh Start Women’s Resource Center serves the mothers of those children as well as other mothers.

Ramon is also a lifetime member of the Chandler Compadres. “I am so honored to have been selected by the Fresh Start Women’s Center for their first annual award. I am also very proud of Mindy and her dedication to the youth of Chandler and her recognition from the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.”


About the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley
The Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley (www.clubzona.org) serves more than 30,000 children and teens annually, and continues to grow to meet the needs of today’s youth, providing a positive place for all kids and teens. Serving members in Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Guadalupe, Mesa, Tempe, Queen Creek, and the Gila River Indian Community, programs are offered after school and during the summer and provide youth and teens, ages 6 – 18, with fun and educational activities, supervised by professional staff. The organization also runs Mesa Arts Academy, a K-8 charter school. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley’s annual membership fee is only $20 dollars a year and financial assistance is available. No child is ever turned away if they are unable to pay the fee. www.clubzona.org

About Fresh Start
Fresh Start is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women help themselves. We do that through the work of the Jewell McFarland Lewis-Fresh Start Women’s Resource Center, the first comprehensive Center offering quality services to women seeking self-improvement.

Oh heavens……..

I am so behind on blogging….. I missed Thankful Thursdays last week, Memory Monday this week, Trading Tuesday and now it’s time for Thankful Thursday again…………….

Well……… Some day I will get to all of those…. Here is what is new.. We went to Nogales for Meches funeral it was nice, what was really neat to see was all the special need adults that she took care of that were once special needs children. How wonderful that these adults had a better life because she cared for them!

I had a great time with my sister, we literally laughed ourselves silly the entire way there and back… I actually can not wait until her and I get to take another road trip together!!

It was fun to be there alone with our parents, we never do things the 4 of us, so that was a nice change of pace. Here is a picture of me with my mom and uncle! Isn’t my mom hot? You would never guess she was the mother of a 34 year old now would you?

After our trip I worked a lot of the week. Nothing too exciting though! I had a great week with some great patients though! I love my job, I am so lucky to do what I do! I have met a lot of new friends through my job, friends that started out as patients that are now friends.

Soo, 32 year ago my mom gave birth to me at the SAME hospital I work at now! How cool is that? Today I spent the day in a NRP instructor course because I’m going to begin teaching NRP! After class my parents and I went out to dinner, we had a nice time!

In just 2 more days, it is ASU Kick off time… That deserves a whole post of it’s own… :)

Saturday will be spent doing ASU festivities and celebrating my birthday! Then on Monday we are going to celebrate with the rest of the family….

Can I mention AGAIN how excited I am that it’s almost game time?!?!?! WOOOOOOOOO