Making time for Family Time and your pets

I’m sharing our top Family Time tips thanks to The Nutro™ Company as part of a sponsored series with Socialstars. #HonestToDog

Autumn is in full force. The kids are back in school, homework is abounding, and our schedule is stretched thin already. That often means our week is full of stress and pressure. So for the weekends we take special family time. The computer gets shut off, and work gets put aside. I outlaw homework (warning to any teacher who sends home homework or school projects over the weekend…it will come back unfinished because the weekend is MY time with my family). And we make sure we get in some quality family time.

Family Time Ideas

For us family time is important. And we make it a priority. I don’t allow myself to work over the weekends. Which is sometimes a battle as I work at home and there is always work to be done.

We also don’t allow homework to be done. They kids have all week to do homework, and teachers get my kid’s attention and priority all week long. But the weekend is mine. Homework becomes last priority.

And we make sure we do something fun as a family. Now you may be thinking, “we just don’t have a lot of money to do something every weekend” and you know what? We don’t either. So here are some great family time ideas for the weekends.

• plan a movie afternoon – pick your favorite movies to watch at home with the family. Pop some popcorn and enjoy a special treat.
• bake with the family- goes great to start off the family movie afternoon- bake a fun dessert together.
• go for a bike ride
• go for a walk
• plan a picnic
• take a day at the museum or local city buildings with history
• plan a day at the zoo
• go for a hike
• plan a day full of board/card games. We recently purchased 6 new board games for my last birthday and we have been taking time each weekend to play a new game as a family, and the kids have been loving this.
• host a mini carnival (small game stations around your living room with small treats as rewards)
• plan a popcorn party. You can make all kinds of popcorn from Kettle corn, Caramel Apple Popcorn Balls, S’mores Popcorn Balls, to old fashioned stove top popcorn. The kids love it.
• Go out for an ice cream cone (we have a few places where cones are $0.59-$0.79 each. That does’t damage the bank much, but the kids love it.
• spend a day at the park.

Since our new little baby joined our family, we have been spending all our time indoors. Because I haven’t wanted to take her out just yet. That and I haven’t felt up to going out much yet either. But we were beginning to feel shut in. We needed some family time outside.

So we went to the park. The great thing about going to the park is that the entire family can participate. And I do mean the entire family. Including our pets!

Our local park just got new playground equipment and even better they allow dogs at the park. Win- Win for all of us! So off we went for a fun day at the park.

The kids had a great time playing on the new playground. And I must admit I am very impressed with all the new ways they can be active. Including a fun electronic game that makes you run around tagging the lights.

A day at the park allows us as parents to connect with our kids. To play with them. And build memories.

And at the same time we all get fresh air. And it also provides a bonding experience with us and our pets. Odin absolutely loves our Park days. He loves being outside with us. And he loves to just hang out in the fresh air.

Then after we have tired of the playground we take the time to play with Odin. Usually this means some form of catch with a Frisbee or ball.

And the great thing is that everyone can be involved. The kids love to take turns throwing the ball for Odin. And Odin just loves to chase it down.

Then we finish up the day with a little walk around the park to get any excess energy out.

Then we come home and everyone gets a fun lunch and treat. For us that usually means an easy lunch like grilled hamburgers and chips.

For Odin that means a dish of his favorite  NUTRO™ ROTATIONS™ natural dog food. NUTRO™ ROTATIONS™ is made with real fish, poultry and meat as the first ingredient. Plus it uses whole grains and the finest fruits and vegetables.

It also contains zero GMO products, corn, wheat, chicken by-product meal or soy protein. Which is important to us as we watch closely what we feed Odin to keep him in optimal shape so he can continue to be active and with us for a long while yet.

Odin truly loves the NUTRO™ ROTATIONS™ because we can keep his meals from becoming board. We can easily switch from one bag to the next without any transition. And Odin can enjoy chicken one meal and Salmon the next. He really likes both but I think the chicken is his favorite.

For more great information be sure to follow the Nutro Company on Facebook and Twitter.

What are your top Family time Tips to include with your pets?

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