My husband started “training” with the kids in 2018 before we went to Disney World. While we still brought the stroller, they didn’t use it as much. We went back in 2019 for a day and didn’t even bring the stroller.

Since there no traveling for us 2020, we probably already walked over 200 miles with the kids, since we explored a lot of hiking trails and walking in our neighborhood a few times a week anyways. We figured setting a goal of 250 miles for 2020 was achievable and it would give them a start at setting annual goals. Here’s our plan to get there.

2021 Family Walking Plan

First, I talked to the kids about breaking down 250 miles into a weekly goal. I asked my second grader, “Let’s plan for walking 50 weeks out of the year. How many miles do we need to walk each week to get to 250 miles?” He did the math in his head and said “5 miles.”

Since we usually take a longer walk on the weekends, our plan is to walking 3 times a week for at least 1 mile and then do a longer walk (at least 2 miles) on the weekend. If we get behind during the week, we can take a longer walk on the weekend to make up for it. I’m sure it’ll happen at some point and that will give me an opportunity to talk with the kids about what to do if you get behind on something.

Keeping Kids Motivated

I’m using two things to keep them motivated. First, are toe tokens. Alex’s school (when it was in person) would give out these cute plastic feet for every 5 miles you logged at school and/or at home. Since school is virtual now, I bought a bag of these feet from the school directly to keep their motivation going. You can use this link to buy toe tokens and you’ll get 15% off your purchase!

I also found this cool 50- and 100-Mile Challenge tracker online and I’ll print out to use throughout the year. I love the idea of having them cross off the number of miles they walked and to visually see their progress.

Are you making any 2021 goals with your family? How about for yourself? Let me know in the comments!

Last year, my sister bought me an Instant Pot for Christmas.  I read a few blogs and articles online about how great it was at saving time while cooking, so I wanted to give it a try.  It was definitely the best gift I have ever gotten!  Thanks, sis!

Reason #1: Set It and Forget It

One of my favorite things about the Instant Pot is that I can set it and forget it.  Usually that means that I’m throwing all of the ingredients in the Instant Pot, turning it on, and then leaving to pick up the kids from daycare.  When we get home, it smells delicious and dinner is ready!  Or, I can put all of the ingredients in and then give the kids a bath while it is cooking without having to stand in front of the stove or worry about turning off the oven.  I LOVE IT!

Reason #2: Assembling Ingredients vs Cooking

I would consider myself a “cook by necessity” not by preference.  I mainly cook dinner during the weekday because I’m usually working from home in the afternoon, while my husband is working at his office.  However, if guests are coming over, my husband is the one that cooks EVERYTIME.  I would not subject any of my friends or family to my cooking!

The Instant Pot allows me to pretty much throw in all the ingredients.  Sometimes I don’t even stir the ingredient together and it still comes out amazing!  Now, there are definitely some amazing Instant Pot cooks out there making cheesecakes and other amazing dishes, but as a busy mom, that’s just not me (right now, atleast).  I try to find recipes that have 5 ingredients or less and just throw it all in there.

Reason #3: It Cooks Faster (Most of the Time)

One of the main reasons I got the Instant Pot was because our family has a traditional rice cooker that just took FOREVER to make rice.  When I first got the Instant Pot, we were eating rice almost everyday and I could never get my act together to remember to make rice in the morning.  (Who has time to make rice when you are trying to get the kids out the door?!) So I originally found out about the Instant Pot in order to make rice faster.  It does and it is husband approved, so I’m happy!

The main thing to remember though is that most Instant Pot recipes don’t take into account the time it takes to make it come to pressure, so remember to add about 10-15 minutes on to the cooking time for any recipe.  Again, in most cases, it is still faster and less hassle than any other way of cooking, but sometimes it can take longer.

Reason #4: Virtually Unlimited Instant Pot Recipes

The Instant Pot community is alive and well with so many recipes to try.  Usually, if I’m interested in making a dish in the Instant Pot, someone has most likely already developed an InstantPot version of it already.  So, I just Google the dish I want to make and add “Instant Pot” to it (e.g., “Mac and Cheese Insant Pot”) and get the Instant Pot version!

So if you are a busy mom and/or a horrible cook, I’d definitely recommend trying out the Instant Pot!  I have a 5 Quart, which is fine for my family of 4, but there are various sizes that you can get. Do you have an InstantPot?  What are your favorite recipes to make for your family?

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