Summer still?

This summer I was a horrible mom. I thought since I would be staying home with the kids that I'd be the perfect mom that would take her kids to the park all the time and other fun activities. I even bought season passes to Six Flags amusement park. Then reality happened. It was hot. I don't do well in the heat, my daughter has VERY fair skin, and I had a newborn who wasn't old enough for sunscreen. Basically...I made excuses. :-(

I soon realized that I couldn't handle both kids at the amusement park by myself. The baby couldn't be left alone, and my daughter needed someone to ride the rides with. That ended up being a huge waste of money. Lesson learned. 

I did eventually discover a pool close by and made a commitment to take them swimming in the afternoon (after the sun started going down slightly) at least once a week. A few times we even made it twice a week!

My daughter needs to be more active. When she plays soccer, she struggles with running and balance because she doesn't do it much. Yesterday, I made a commitment to her. I committed to playing outside (or going somewhere inside if it's raining) WITH her. Not just taking her to the park and sitting with the baby while she plays, but actively playing with her. So yesterday, we went to the soccer field and played soccer together, and then went to the park afterwards. Of course, it had to be hot as hell yesterday. 95 degrees in...mid September...in the Midwest!  Can't we just be done with summer already?  It's my least favorite season.

It was hot, but I had made a commitment, so we just took ice water and parked the baby in the shade. As hot as it was, and as sweaty as we got, I had so much fun playing with her!!  I can't wait to do it again!

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I also decided to make homemade chicken pot pie last night. REAL homemade, from scratch...peeling and chopping my own vegetables, making my own roux, and making my own pie crust. While I appreciated that I could have a large portion for around 350 calories, and that it was delicious...I will NEVER make this again. It took me forever. I started at 4:30 and dinner wasn't ready until 7:10. That's almost 3 hours!  It wasn't worth it. I can make so many better meals in 20 minutes or less. I hope the family enjoyed it (and the neighbor-girl who often eats dinner with us), because I will not be making it again. 

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I did well today. I stayed within my allowed calories, and felt pretty satisfied most of the day. I did notice that my urine was dark last night, so I'm going to try and up my water intake today. I've learned that being thirsty can lead me to over eat, so I'm going to try to get my 8 glasses of water today. 

Here's my log summary:

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What kind of active play do you do with your kids?  Have you ever made a meal that was delicious but you decided was too much work to ever make again?