Storytelling
January 21, 2012 
My kids LOVE to hear stories. About themselves… Boomer asks me all the time to tell me his stories. He loves to hear about the day we met, about the first day he came home and made Supergirl pee her pants, about his antics as a baby, and about why I love him so much. Supergirl always gets interested and wants to know about her stories. Which I am also happy to share. I love telling them these stories. It is a gift I can give them every day. I love that Boomer remembers them and asks for specific ones all the time. And I LOVE that every now and then he asks for a new one.
Tonight he asked me “Mom, when did you first know I was crazy?” I knew the answer to that right away. “The very first day I met you!” “How did you know?”
“Well, let’s see… The first sign came when we tried to feed you. You started screaming the instant you saw the spoon and the only time you didn’t scream was when the spoon was in your mouth. We couldn’t feed you fast enough!!! You wanted me to feed you with lightning speed. THEN you started screaming when we weren’t feeding you. You screamed and screamed until I finally laid you on the floor. And you immediately rolled all the way across the room, happy as could be. You rolled everywhere–with lightning speed–laughing the entire time. It was amazing! And THEN I tried to give you a bath. The bathtub drain didn’t have a plug so I filled the sink with water. However, the moment I put you in it the water magically went from being in the sink to being ALL OVER THE ENTIRE BATHROOM!!! You had splashed it all out the very moment your skin touched the water! I couldn’t believe it. I had to run the water 3-4 times just to get you rinsed off!”
Meal Plan (& Progress)
This week (tentatively–haven’t been to the store yet)
Monday–Shake & Bake Chicken, mashed red potatoes
Tuesday–Tacos, Pink Dip
Wednesday–Pizza Puffs (new recipe), salad
Thursday–Corn Dogs (for kids), Fish (for me)
Friday–Pizza (for kids), Fish (for me)
Saturday–Ham, Egg Noodles
Sunday–Mexican Chicken (one of my favorites!)
Today I checked progress for Insanity. Results=not good… Two weeks and I have gained .1 pounds! And lost NOTHING in terms of inches. I did improve on the fit test, so I’m stronger/in better shape. But not skinnier 
I must eat healthier. I know that. But knowing that and doing that are two very different things. I need to increase my veggie intake. But I hate them. Woe is me 
Passion vs Practicality
A few years ago I wrote down some goals for myself. What I wanted in life, how I felt I could contribute, where I fit in the grand scheme of things…
Just a few weeks ago I found the tiny paper I had used to write all of those big dreams. And I was disappointed with myself. I am no closer to my passion than I was when I wrote it. I have not taken any steps (even baby ones) in that direction.
My work goal is to specialize in grief work. This is where my heart is, where I see that I have something to give.
I had written steps and dreams, such as take classes, get training, someday volunteer internationally to work with grieving children.
Over 5 years have gone by and I have not so much as been to even one workshop on grief. Nothing.
I like my job. I get to help kids who are having a lot of problems. I get to try to help a system that I feel has a lot of problems. But the biggest benefit is that I get to spend a lot of time being a parent.
In the end that is my most important job. It trumps everything else. So when I consider how I could work closer to my passion I find that it often includes a sacrifice in my parenting time. And I don’t think I can do that. Not right now.
Meal Plan–A little Late
Monday–Did not have time to get to the grocery store this weekend, so we had to make a quick stop on the way home. We picked up lunch for the kids the next day along with dinner for me (Gorton’s lemon pepper fish and steamfresh broccoli). Then a quick stop at McDonalds for Boomer, and a pb&j at home for Supergirl.
Tuesday–Grilled Ham & Cheese & Strawberries (I didn’t actually have a plan for this meal as I was unsure when Daddy-O would make it to the store)
Wednesday–Chicken w/Black Beans & Corn (crock pot)
Thursday–(our very short on time night) Taquitos & Cheese Dip
Friday–Pizza night!!!
Saturday–White Chicken Enchiladas (new recipe from Pinterest)
Sunday–Jumbalaya
Insanity–making it work
After my workout today (which I WILL do) I will have officially completed an entire week of insanity. I am very happy about this. It is NOT an easy workout. But I like it. The best thing I did was to join the online message board with a group that started the same day as I did. Every time someone posts I get an email. So reading everyone’s progress all day helps me know I HAVE to get mine done. The biggest problem is finding time, but I am making it work.
It has cut into my cooking time, so I had to switch meals around this week-moving the quickest cooking dinners up to the weekdays. I will be making two new recipes this weekend.
I already have my meal plan ready to go for next week. That feels good! Now I just need to make a grocery list this weekend.
I have struggled with headaches this week. As in, a migraine nearly every day. Not good! I think I am getting dehydrated. So I will be working on that this week. In the meantime it is time to get the laundry done and house clean. Oh yippy! BUT… I have finally earned enough money through my stickk contract to find someone to help with cleaning. That is also my mission today
Time to meal plan
I finally figured out my savingdinner.com subscription. I am happy to report I now have 3 different weekly menus, low-carb, heart-healthy, and regular. Because the kids are so picky and freak out about new food I decided to take it a little slow with all the new recipes I did choose a few and chose a few of our regular (easy) favorites. HERE is our menu for the week:
Monday–Steak, Asparagus, Red Potatoes
Tuesday–Adobe Pork Tenderloin (new recipe), baked butternut squash, salad
Wednesday–Easy Cheesy Peasy Chicken Casserole (new recipe), broccoli (most nervous about this night-I am anticipating much complaining from the children…)
Thursday–Tacos, corn, chips & dip
Friday–Pizza
Saturday–Chicken Pasta Italiano (new), salad
Sunday–Ham, mac & cheese
I would like to say I am eating super healthy, but that would be a lie. I am aiming to at least eat one vegetable with each meal. Sadly, that would be an improvement over our current situation…
2012
Last year I posted a few goals for the year. You can find them here.
I thought it would be interesting to see how I did. Here is what I had to say:
It’s January, time to regroup and recommit. I can’t believe how fast this school year is flying by!
Regroup: The kids and I are all at school everyday (btw the kids both absolutely LOVE their school, but I’ll save that for another post). Then flag football was on Tuesday, soccer practice on Wednesday, dance on Thursday, soccer and birthday parties every weekend. I find myself working hard to make sure we all have some balance. That the kids have ample quiet family time. That their dad and I have some ‘us’ time. That I have some quiet alone time (that’s often the hardest). That we eat dinner at the table each night and talk about nothing and everything. I never planned to be a soccer mom, but here I am—I don’t want our family to be defined by their activities. I don’t my children to feel they are defined by their activities. They are more than that, we are more than that. But I also want them to learn about teamwork, about winning AND losing, about commitment, and to have a lot of fun with friends in the process. Time to take a deep breath and start the road to summer![I posted about this issue not too long ago. It is something I find I still struggle with, although it varies with the season. This year we had 2 kids in soccer, plus dance---but no flag football. So all in all, it was probably just as busy as last year. Although for the last month we have had NO sports, and only ONE dance class. So we have had quite a bit of breathing room. I do feel we do a good job of having dinner together at the table every night. At least 90% of the time. I do not foresee that changing over the next year
Recommit: I actually enjoyed running. I was so proud of my progress. I enjoyed the outside runs, I had time to think. And I enjoyed the energy and weightloss. But, then winter happened. I DON’T enjoy being cold, so outside runs have ended. And I’m not crazy about the treadmill, so running has ended. I signed up for a stairclimb (again, crazy impulsive idea) and started a workout that included stairs and weights, did very well during November and early December, but then Christmas happened. And I did nothing but eat. So now it’s time to recommit. I want to keep doing my stair workout but also feel like I really NEED to start running again. So I’m officially starting my motivation/punishment system again. No workout=no itouch the next day. Workout for 2 weeks=someone to clean my house… I am still trying to figure out that last part but hope to have it all figured out this week. I want to do a decent job on the stair climb and I am CONSIDERING a mud run in May… I also need to recommit to eating better. I was doing a great job on the kids lunches at the beginning of the year, but have fallen back on lunchables and uncrustables. Time to go back to my weekly menu and better preparation. Same goes for my own lunches (and breakfast and dinner). I will be making a grocery list today along with a menu.
[Stair climb was completed successfully, and with friends! I definitely plan to do that again this year. No mud runs, but maybe it will happen this year. Honestly it is not high on my priority list but it would be fun to do. I did manage to stick with running. Sort of. I am definitely not addicted to running, or a consistent runner. But I haven't quit. I completed my first 5k with no walking just this summer. I completed my first ever half marathon this fall (although that was with a LOT of walking). Overall I can say I do enjoy running... sometimes. Specifically outside, and if the weather is nice.
My reward/punishment idea did not last very long. I have still NEVER had someone clean my house. Even when I earned it. I am too worried about them seeing how messy my house really is. Stupid, yes. I am trying my new reward/punishment idea with stickk.com this year. I am on week 3 and had 2 successful weeks followed by a failure week. However, I have a lot of excuses about this last week (more on that later) but in the end they are only excuses.
Eating healthy. Ha. I really don't have much to say on that topic. I suck at it. I don't like healthy food. I am very good at sabotaging any effort I make at making better food choices.
Meal planning. This is something I think really helps. And is do-able. IF I would just do it. I was never consistent. I simply just didn't do it. Must be better!]So here’s to the new year. Time to go to the grocery store followed by a run
So that was last year. Here I am, one year older and wiser. So what now?
Regroup: I would like to get a better handle on the domestic side of life. Mostly my organization. Number one–meal planning. Ideally, I would make a weekly plan and grocery list on the weekend. Shopping would get done on Sunday or Monday and dinners would be a snap because I would already know what we are having. Super-ideally these meals would be incredibly healthy with less processed food. Baby steps. I did try to sign up for the menu-mailer at savingdinner.com. However, I can honestly say I have no idea how it works. I only signed up for it today. I don’t know what day I should expect the menu, but as of right now I have nothing. Which doesn’t help much… Hopefully something useful happens with that.
Number two–cleaning. I would like to get back in the swing of flylady. She revamped her website and I like it much better. I must simply make it a habit. I would also like to get someone to clean our house. The dusting, mopping, window-cleaning sort of jobs. I currently have $40 saved up from my workout deal with myself (after 2 successful weeks). I consider this the housecleaner fund. My first priority is to actually find someone willing to clean my house, find out What they will do and how much it will COST…
Recommit: To being healthy. And skinny. And fabulous. I would love to change my diet, but I am taking one step at a time… Step one will be drink more water and tea and less soda. Or at least less regular soda. My problem with cutting out soda (other than the ridiculous love I have for Dr. Pepper) is that I get headaches without caffeine. And I hate coffee, so can’t use that as a replacement…
Working out is forever a challenge. Starting tomorrow I am going to do Insanity. I am a nervous wreck. This last month I have done the fit test and the first two work outs just to see what they are like. They are definitely hard. But do-able… I am mostly nervous about the 6 days a week for 2 months part of the commitment. That’s a big commitment for me. But it will be worth it… Because I will look amazing in March… Right?!?!?!
This time next year I am sure I will read this (15 pounds lighter) and feel SO proud of myself and the year I have had
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 7,400 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.
Prayer
I am a Christian. I grew up going to a Methodist Church and have attended off and on as an adult. Daddy-O does not really consider himself religious and does not go to church. Sometimes I struggle with getting myself and the kids to church, and have really not been doing a good job of it at all lately. However, I obviously do not think that is the end-all-be-all of their moral or religious upbringing. I do find, though, that it helps me stay grounded.
Tonight I brought up the subject of prayer with the kids at dinner. More out of curiosity than any sort of teachable moment. I simply asked if they ever pray. I pray, but I never do it in front of them, so it is not something I would say I am very good at modeling. Honestly, it is not something I would say I am good at period, but I do feel it is important.
So Supergirl said yes, that she sometimes talks to God and asks him to please take good care of our 3 dogs that have died. I said that is a very good prayer and I am sure that he is, and it is very nice that she is still thinking about them.
Boomer then says he also prays. When I asked him what about he told me he tells God thank you that he has a sister and a mom and a dad and dogs. He is thankful that he has a family.
I was very much caught off guard. I was truly expecting something much more shallow, a ‘thank you for my bicycle but can I please have a bigger one’ kind of thing, if anything at all. But I guess I forgot just how huge this kid’s heart is. Both of their hearts… They truly are good people.
I am thankful!!!
Gift Giving
It all started last weekend. I was out with two friends and one asked if I buy gifts for my kid’s specialist teachers (PE, Art, etc). I was forced to admit that I am not good at even buying my kids’ teachers gifts. I have done it at least once in the past, but have not for at least the past two years. She, on the other hand, bought gifts for her kids’ teachers, their specialists teachers, and even the after-care workers. I felt like a failure.
So I bought a small gift for each of my kids teachers. Something based purely on what my kids have said about their teachers. A hockey team ornament for Boomer’s teacher’s favorite team. And a ‘naturalist’ snowman for Supergirl’s teacher, because she LOVES nature.
I did not buy gifts for the specialists.
However, this did get me thinking.
One gift I have considered getting for the last few years is something for our mailman. I love our mailman! He always has a box of dog treats and our dogs truly look forward to his visit each day. That is something he doesn’t have to do. It’s not like he has to win them over because he must walk to our door. He drives by and drops our mail in the mailbox. The dogs can’t get near him. So the treat is just for them.
I have never bought gifts (or even a card) for the mailman, or any other service worker for that matter. I started this year by buying a box of dog treats for the mailman. Then I was thinking I wanted to get a small gift card for him, along with the garbage man. When I mentioned this to Daddy-O he gave me a hard time. He pointed out I forgot about the man who picks up our recycling. And he thought my gift card was too small… So he bought gift cards, bigger than I would have, but ones I am sure will be appreciated
Supergirl and I went to work writing on Christmas cards, and getting all gifts prepared.
First for the mailman:
Then for the garbage man (I’m hoping that taping this to the lid of our trash can will be enough for him to notice it):
And finally for our ‘recycle guy.’ (The recycle bin has no lid so we had to make something a little more noticeable—I REALLY hope he sees it and doesn’t just throw it in the truck!!!)
Of course now my dilemma is leaving these cards out in the open. Mailman’s will be in the mailbox, but the other two must be noticeable in order for them to be seen. Hopefully, no evil person sees them and takes them. I hate that I even had that thought, but I did. Surely that will not happen.
I must say that this activity, more than all others, has put me in the Christmas spirit. Yay Christmas!!!
