1 Month Down

 I am nearly a month into my new, healthier lifestyle, and I'm feeling great!  I have more energy to play football and basketball with my oldest, and find that it's not as uncomfortable to sit on the floor and play Playmobil with my youngest :)  Last blog I had decided to lock the scale in our safe to keep me from being tempted to think about weighing myself constantly, because let's be honest, that's not healthy on any level.  That lasted about a week, and then I left it out one morning, and have found that when I weigh myself daily, although weight can fluctuate from day to day, I am able to stay on track better and see how what I am eating affects me.  Surprisingly enough, I haven't felt like a slave to the scale, which has been nice.  Another thing I have found helpful has been to keep a food diary, for much the same reason that I weigh daily.  It helps to keep me accountable to myself, as well as lending insight if I'm having a stall in weight loss.

In fact, I feel less and less that food the same control over me that it used to, and that goes for drinking anything other than water, as well.  I'm also finding that my complexion has really cleared up once my diet did.  I think I have drank more water in the past month than in the last 5 years, which is really embarrassing to admit, but I was a big pop drinker and when I was thirsty that is what I typically reached for. 

So, at this point, almost a month in to the Trim Healthy Mama (THM) lifestyle, I am down almost 13 pounds. I know the weight loss will slow as my metabolism adjusts and such, but it is a good motivator to keep pushing, especially as those clothes that haven't fit well for quite some time begin to loosen a bit :)

My Wake-Up Call

It has been so long since I last wrote that I had forgotten my login creds!  I recently had a wake-up call in regards to my health, and this is my attempt to chronicle it.  I hope to be more consistent than I have been in the past, but make no promises :)  Also, fair warning, this could get lengthy as I like to be able to look back and have details, so if you make it to the end, I will be impressed!

I officially started on my journey to health a week ago on August 17th.  My starting weight was 193.4 lb, which is nearly the my heaviest weight ever (down a few pounds unbeknownst to me from May, so technically my heaviest is probably about 198.)  I found out a few years ago that my A1C was at a 5.9 and in the prediabetes range, but at that time, though I was discouraged, I didn’t feel the urgent need to get my act together.  About a week ago I went to the eye doctor, and the vision in my right eye had gone from a -1 script to a -.50, which means that my eye needed but half of the strength prescription from a year ago.  My eye doctor was concerned as she told me that at my age they wouldn’t expect my eyes to improve like that, and proceeded to ask me if I had had any health changes…any thyroid changes? Diabetes? Etc, and it got me thinking.

After reading up a bit on type 2 diabetes I became concerned that I had possibly progressed from prediabetes to full blown diabetes.  It had been almost 3 years from the last time my A1C was checked and it is typically thought that if a person has prediabetes that they will progress to type 2 within 5 years if they don’t make lifestyle changes, so I was understandably worried.  So on Friday the 20th I went to see my doctor for a physical and to get a full work up done.  I prayed and asked God to give me the opportunity to become a healthier mom and wife once more, without the diagnoses of diabetes.  I had known for a few years I was in the prediabetes level, but now I knew that I was ready and willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary if He would just give me the opportunity.  

When I woke up Saturday morning I saw that I had a new test result in my portal from the doctor, and you cannot imagine the relief I felt when I saw that my A1C was 5.8!  Yes, still in the prediabetic range, but better than three years ago by a tenth of a point.  God had answered my prayer and I was so thankful!  So, I began to research some groups on Facebook and found out about Trim Healthy Mama and saw that it is a sustainable way of eating and cooking for myself and my family, so I decided to give it a go.  As of today I have not had any soda in 5 days (not a long time, but when considering I was drinking upwards of 3 cans of Mtn. Dew per day, a pretty big deal for me!) and I have been eating healthier and more balanced meals for lunch, and healthier options at dinner and snacking.  

This past week I weighed myself daily and was thrilled to step on the scale this morning at 189.6.  I realized that this is mostly water weight and such that I am losing, but I am moving in the right direction and I don’t feel deprived or so restricted that I should not be successful.  So this afternoon I took the first round of photos of myself to compare against another set a month from now.  I chose a shirt and a dress that both fit snugly that I should be able to see results in as I continue on my path to health.  These pictures are hard to look at for me, and I’m trying to work up the courage to share them, but I’m not there yet.  I am embarrassed at how I have let myself go, and at the role model I have failed to be for my girls.  I don’t typically wear tight fitting clothing, for obvious reasons, and seeing myself looking 9 months pregnant in one of my favorite dresses was a wake up call.  As was the photo of my face with no visible definition from the side, and little from the front.  I believe it’s important to be kind to yourself and give yourself grace, but man, it’s hard when facing  the photos and the truth that I have not taken care of myself and hoping that I haven’t hurt my daughters in the process.

Today at lunch my youngest, 8, looked at my salad, grapes, and protein that I was having instead of sharing in the mac and cheese and hamburgers with them (not the healthiest, but I am working on changing their taste buds!), and she so innocently said, “Mom, I’m glad to see you eating healthy food.” Now if that’s not motivation to do my best everyday, then nothing is!  

Also, I have decided to put my scale away in our locked safe that way I’m not tempted to use it daily.  I’m shooting for twice a week, that way I can see if I am staying on track, and make corrections if needed :)  So, if you know me and see me out and about and I’m holding a pop or eating junk food (except for Tuesday, those are our dance/eat out nights! ) please remind me why I’m doing what I’m doing and encourage me to do better :)

A few pics so I can look back in a few months and see where I began and how things have changed.

Cooperation....not Competition

It's not often that I come across a product that I love so much that I feel a need to share with others, but that is what I am doing here today!  Recently I applied with Tryazon to try out three new board games that encourage cooperative play rather than competitive play.  In our house we are big board game players, especially in the winter and at family gatherings, so the timing of it was actually impeccable!  The three games we were provided were Hoot Owl Hoot, Race to the Treasure!, and Sunny and Stormy Day.  Sunny and Stormy Day was a matching/memory type game that included a charming little book to read before playing to introduce players to the idea of high and low points during a day, and how you can always turn it around.  This was the game that Olivia was able to participate in most fully and really enjoyed playing with the little bag of "coins!"

Hoot Owl Hoot was an innovative new game where you're attempting to help little owls make it around the board and bag into their nest before the sun rises completely.  Each player starts with 3 cards which can have either a color on it (similar to Candyland) or a sun.  A color allows them to move to the next color on the card, whereas a sun card advances the sun a space, moving it closer to sunrise.  What was unique was the cooperative aspect where you were encouraged to move different owls each turn to help each other out in getting them back in the nest in time, instead of the typical scene where everyone has just one owl and is competing against each other to see whose can get to the finish first.  Emma and Olivia loved the anticipation of getting a new card and turning it over to reveal a color or the (GASP!) sun!

The third and final game was called Race to the Treasure!, and while Emma really was able to engage fully, Olivia was a little more of an observer rather than a player for this one because of the abstract and critical thinking that it required to manipulate the tiles into a path that would lead to three keys that were needing to be collected before the Ogre reached the finish line.  However, Olivia did contribute in an insanely cute way by calling the villain an "Ogurt" (i.e. yogurt!) which we all got a kick out of!  This game the board won on, as we were just one square away from the end, but I found it to be a good teaching moment for both girls.

Competitiveness is something that I think is healthy in older kids, but when you're 4 and 7 learning to cooperate and work together to solve problems is going to serve you much better than competing against each other.  These three games did a wonderful job in fostering that cooperation that I so desire for the girls to obtain and exercise throughout their lives.

Sunny and Stormy Day

Time for a tat!!!

More inking going on :)

Introducing Sunny and Stormy Day

Hoot Owl Hoot was a hoot to play!

The darn "Ogurt" just beat us in Race to the Treasure!

The Big 4

So I normally try to be more timely with these particular posts, but alas, time got away from me and I am 5 days late for my birthday post to Olivia. Not that she can read yet, so it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things :) Yet again we have been blessed with another year with our little lady, for which I am eternally grateful. The longer we know her, the more we can't help but love her and all of her little idiosyncrasies including: laughing at the silliest things, playing make believe with anything and everything (i.e. spoons and books), asking to "nuddle" (snuggle) when she's tired, and so many other cute things. This year in lieu of a lengthy post, I have decided to post some pictures chronicling her life this past year :) Enjoy!

Cujo Control Dog Training Collar Review

When Nick and I first got married we got a puppy pretty much right away.  He was a ten week old Siberian Husky we named Akiba, and was quite the handful :)  We still lived in the condo in Omaha, which was tiny, and Huskies can grow quite large.  Here's a visual:

After being married for 6 months we decided to start a family, and at this time, really decided that our home was going to be incredibly crowded with 3 humans and a dog, so we found him a good new home with a yard and room to run.  I was also working full time and didn't feel like it was fair for him to be kenneled all day, so as hard as it was, it was the right decision. 

When Emma turned 2 we decided we wanted to try the pet route again, but decided this time, as we were still living in the tiny condo, that we would get a cat.  Enter Jax.

He really was a great cat and all was going great with him, however, he began consistently urinating around the house, outside the litter box, the last time being while sitting on the couch right beside me.  As we had just found out that we were expecting baby number two, we once again had to make the hard decision to rehome him because of health risks associated with pregnant women and litter boxes. 

So, our history with pets is a less than stellar one to say the least.  However, last September we bought a house in northwest Missouri with an extremely expansive backyard, and much more indoor space, and after some mouse problems to begin with, Nick said that he thought having a cat around would be good.  So, we adopted a pair of brothers which I named Smokey, and Emma affectionately named the other Pom Pom (it was unknown at the time that Pom Poms favorite toys would actually be pom poms!!!) 

We were heartbroken when Smokey (the black one), met an untimely end with a car, but Pom Pom is still with us 11 months later, and we love him to pieces.  This is the longest that it has worked out for us with a pet, and it is a great feeling.  Now for more exciting news, we have a new addition to our family.....

Isn't he handsome?!  A blue merle Miniature Australian Shepherd.  We decided that since we have a large yard and I stay home with the girls because of homeschooling, that this is the right time for us to add a puppy to our family.  However, I didn't want to build a fence out back because I love the view of the treeline at the back of our property, and didn't want to lose that.  Therefore, I began researching wireless fences, but every one I found would only emit the signal in a round shape, which meant that there was less of the back yard to be used because the signal would run right through the middle.  My Dad mentioned training collars, which are more convenient and you can use them and take them anywhere, so you aren't limited to just having the control at home, but can take it anywhere.  I found one such collar called the Cujo Control Dog Training Collar, and was thrilled when given the opportunity to offer an honest review in exchange for a free product. 

So, now about the collar.  It is extremely convenient as the collar is fully adjustable and has two size prongs to use with it, which we use the small ones.  Another feature that I love is that it isn't just a static collar, but rather, offers the option to use vibration or sound in order to correct the dog's behavior.  I plan to use the static feature as a last resort, as tone and vibration is much preferred to me.  The collar/receiver works up to 300 yards apart, which is more than enough to give him free range of the back yard without me having to worry.  I think that one of my favorite features so far is the fact that I can take it with us so that when we are traveling to see our family and taking the pup with us, we can still let him go outside with us, off leash, but he's learning that when he hears to beep or feels the vibration, that he's wandering too far and needs to return.  I am anxious to see as he ages, how he remembers the boundaries of the yard, and am hopeful that eventually we only need it on special occasions.  I am so glad not to have had to build a fence in order to make our dreams of successful dog ownership a possibility, and it's all thanks to Cujo!  You can check them out: http://Go2Azon.com/g/B01JS4AJAO-DTC   #cujocontrol

Big Decision

There is something that Nick and I have talked about before. Something that would be life altering for us. It would take a lot of hard work, dedication, and self-sacrifice to accomplish. It's something that many people won't agree with, but that's only because they aren't aware of the resources and support out there for it. So, what am I talking about? Homeschooling. One word which has many negative connotations attached to it. "Weird." "Anti-social." "Neglect." However, those misconceptions overshadow the positive aspects to is, such as, individualized attention, spiritual growth, and great support communities.

Homeschooling is and idea that Nick and I have toyed with in the past, but never seriously considered until now because Emma is preparing to start Kindergarten, and when she attended their Summer School program here, we saw and heard some thing that we were not happy about, and thought that if we could afford to lose my income so that I could homeschool, then it would be selfish and greedy not to, especially since I have a teaching certificate and feel as though this is why God pushed me to get it in the first place.  Our school year will be starting October 3rd, instead of mid August, because we need my job for a few more months in order to save the money needed for a building here at our house for storage.  Our finished basement will be our school room/canvas, and I have begun acquiring the supplies necessary, including a curriculum from the accredited school Our Lady of Victory.  It is a predominately Catholic curriculum that covers every area done in a public school setting, which I will be supplementing with my own art, music, library, and technology classes once a week, along with daily physical education time, and a time each day where I teach the girls how to perform a new thing around the house including dusting, loading/unloading a dishwasher, feeding the cat, etc. 

I am fortunate to have a great support community here in Plattsburg and north Kansas City, called Saint Margaret's.  I have recently learned that most of the families in our parish homeschool and the church is having a "Back to School Night" on August 27th with a special mass, as well as a potluck dinner afterwards, which will allow us to meet all of the other families we have been conversing with via email.  Something else exciting that we learned was that this school year many activities and parties and such will take place here at our church, St. Ann's!  This co-op group gets together for holiday parties, field days, and other times throughout the year, which I think is really going to benefit us.

I know that we will face criticism, questions, and negativity in this endeavor.  However, we know that it is the right thing for our family, and by keeping that at the forefront of our thought, we will be able to focus on all of the positive aspects!  I also know that there will be days that are H.A.R.D., but isn't that the way it is with any job?  Speaking of jobs...I think I am going to find it hard to leave the preschool scene that I have been a part of for the past four years.  This group that I am teaching now is especially dear to me, as I have been with them for quite a while.  It will also be hard leaving my coworkers, especially the woman that I work with 10 hours a day, 4 days a week!  We have really developed a great friendship and it will be strange not seeing and talking with her on a daily basis.  Therefore, I think a few lunch dates each month will be in order!  Overall,  I am extremely excited to begin this new chapter in my life!  Prayers for us (and my sanity!) are much appreciated :)

Not a Toddler Anymore!

How is it that three year's time can go by so quickly, but so slowly at the same time? As I sit here looking at my "not quite a baby anymore, but still a baby to me," Olivia, I can't begin to fathom that as of 7:00 a.m. she was no longer an ornery 2 year old toddler, but an ornery 3 year old child. T.H.R.E.E. It almost makes me sick to my stomach to know that she is already this old, but then again I am glad as well because that means that God has given me three amazing years with this little girl, and hopefully a lifetime more! Now, enough of the sappy stuff. Here's what has been going on with her over the last year, since keeping up the blog has more than been put on the back-burner. I believe that it wasn't too long after her second birthday that she was diagnosed with epilepsy. We had been noticing some strange things with her such as muscle jerks and eye fluttering, and upon having an EEG, I was devastated to get the phone call saying that she has generalized epilepsy. She currently takes two medications, Keppra and Topomax, which seem to be managing the seizures well, and we have only noticed breakthrough seizures once or twice since adding the second medicine about four months ago. One of my main concerns with the epilepsy is whether or not it has caused any delays or such, since we don't know how long the seizures had been going on for, but know that it had at least been 6 months at the time of diagnosis. We hope that she can live as "normal" of a life as possibly with minimal interference from this disease, and have faith in God to help her through it. Potty training. The most dreaded two words in our vocabulary right now. Or should I say, a lack of potty training. And let me make it clear, that it's not for lack of trying. She sits on the toilet every 1.5-2 hours at school and, for the most part, the same here at home; however, some times she wants to sit on it and other time she doesn't. When she doesn't I don't press the issue, but am ready for this diaper phase to be over. If I can get her to sit on it first thing in the morning right after she wakes up she will usually go, but then throughout the day, she won't tell me if she has to go. When I take her to the potty sometimes her pullup/diaper is wet and sometimes dry. We rehearse the "where do we go potty?" phrase and I emphasize keeping her pull-up dry, and she seems to understand the concept that she is supposed to do her stuff in the toilet, but she doesn't initiate it ever. Although I know that all kids do this at their own speed, it does make it difficult knowing that there are two kids who are younger than her in her class at school who are already trained and have transitioned up to my room, and that she seems to be lagging behind. She also struggles with pulling her pants up and down by herself. Maybe this is just Olivia and she needs some extra time to get there, but I instinctually wonder if any of this could be epilepsy-related, as in if there has been a delay that is prolonging the diaper phase. There are many things that Olivia does and does not love right now and here are just the ones I can think of... Olivia LOVES: * Swinging! Almost every time we go outside this is the first thing she wants to do! * Baby dolls. Holding them, rocking them, putting them to bed..... * Looking at books. One of her current favorites is our Disney World Planning 2016 book! She loves to look at all of the characters and rides! * EMMA!!!! Olivia loves to copy Emma and do whatever big sis is doing, which is sometimes good and sometimes not-so-good. * Nutrigrain breakfast bars :P Every morning for breakfast she asks for a "bar." I seriously think she has an obsession! Olivia Dislikes: * Having her hair brushed. Nearly 9 times out of 10 she throws a hissy fit when I brush her hair, even though she still has so little that it only takes about 4 pass-throughs of the brush to get it all! * Having her hair washed. Are we noticing a theme when it comes to her hair?! Washing, similarly to brushing takes about 15 seconds from start to finish, but she fights me every second of it! * Riding in the car. She has gotten really tough to travel with the past few months. I think it is due in part to her new found independence. Every day she is teaching me more about patience, love, and what it means to be a mother. I hope I can raise her to love God, family, and the importance of being herself.