It's Been a While (Again)

I know it's been a while. Things are going okay here. I've been taking care of my MIL for the last few weeks. She is almost done with therapy, so I will be getting to blog more (hopefully). I am also hoping to get into a more regular routine soon with my bible study time.

I have been working on my Sunday School material and have been learing so much about being the wife God has called me to be. He has definitely been moving me out of my comfort zone. The thought that has ministered to me so much recently has been that "the Lord is responsible for the outcome. I have only to be obedient to Him, and He will handle waht concerns me." How powerful!!!!!! Lord Help me to be more obedient to you and depend on You to handle all that concerns me.

The girls had a great Halloween and enjoyed getting dressed up. We also just had their Christmas pictures made. It's just crazy that we are so quickly approaching the holiday season. Please be praying for our family that the girls will get healthy (NASTY ear infections) so they can enjoy the holiday season and all it brings, and that Charlie will stay healthy as he is working so many hours at work throughout the month of November.

Thanks to all who have been concerned for us. We appreciate all your thoughts and prayers.

Best Laid Plans

Well my goal 20 days ago was to write twice a week. As you can see that hasn't happened yet.

School has been going well for both girls. Kacie has even surprised me and hasn't cried when I drop her off. She isn't eating her lunch though, so that is a little of a concern for me. Charlie keeps reminding me that she isn't a regular eater anyway, so it doesn't surprise him she won't eat at school. Stephanie is doing great, of course. She has started her computer class up again and is so excited about going. She even worked hard these last few weeks and "earned" her money for a "laptop" (it's a v-tech one that plays letter and number recognition games and mouse control). She was so EXCITED tonight when she paid the lady for it.

Things have been going well for me. I have officially lost 25 lbs. I was planning on going to the gym after I dropped the girls off for school, but I've only been able to do that once since school started. I've been having to take my MIL to the dr. on those days. I'm hoping to get back into a routine soon.

I've also started teaching our Sunday School Class. It is a class focusing on marriage. Boy do I feel unqualified at times to teach that!! We are the youngest couple in the class and the ones married the least amount of time. God has really had to stretch me these last few weeks so I can teach. The book we are using is called Love & Respect: The Love She Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. The focus of the book is on Ephesians 5:33: However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. I will tell you God has really begun to reveal this to me. It is a GREAT book and I recommend it to all women. As one lady in our class said, "I really wish God would stop hitting me between the eyes!"

Please be praying for me and my attittude in the coming months. As most of you know my MIL is going to have knee replacement surgery on Oct. 8th. I will be taking her to her rehab when she gets home. If I've talked to you at all, you know my frustrations and concerns. However, many of the ladies in my SS class have reminded me that to respect my husband is to love his mother. Not easy. (Like I said, God keeps hitting me between the eyes, and now He's stepping on my toes!)

It's Been A While

I know it's been a while since my last post (over a month I think). Things have been going well here, just busy getting the girls ready to start "school" (MDO). That's right I said girls. Stephanie and Kacie started school this past Wednesday. Both did very well. Steph's been ready to start school since it got out in May. Kacie was the one I was worried about. She's not been away from us since she was born. I'm happy to say that both Mom and Kacie did exceptionally well.

My WW has been going well. I have some of the BEST accountablilty partners. I have lost 23 pounds since April 12. It's slow going, but I know I didn't put it on over night and it's not going to come off overnight either. I've been going to the gym at least twice a week, and with the girls in school now I'll be going on M/W mornings to do Muscle Works and then T/Th afternoons to do pilates.

My friend and I have our first show for our dresses on Sept. 15th. I'm sort of excited, but I have a lot of work to do to get ready for it. She and I both bought a new sewing machine that does buttonholes automatically. It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO wonderful! In fact I've got to get back to work so I'll be ready.

Hopefully I'll be better about writing at least twice a week now.

Frustrated

Well today was my 3rd week of WW meetings, and this week I GAINED 2.9 pounds. I know, wrong direction right. I am so frustrated!!!!!!!! I followed the "plan" to the letter and this week even used my extra points, since I only lost a little last week and didn't use any. When I was on the program before when I stayed at the top of my limit, I tended to lose more weight. Well not this time. I know I'm about to start my period and all of my cheerleaders are saying that's the reason I gained weight this week, but it's still so darn frustrating.

I know my exercise is lacking so I guess I'm going to have to step it up (or actually start doing it again) and see if that makes a difference. I am so ready to get into the gym on a regular basis. I know I can exercise at home. Charlie says if I'd just spend more time working on the house than I do on the computer and sewing, I'd be exercising. I know he's just trying to help.

On a happier note a friend and I are going to start making little girls' dresses and girls' shirts out of bandanas and selling them. And we're making bows that match. If anyone's interested, I'm taking orders (:D). I'm sort of excited, but sort of reserved too. It's a big step of faith doing this and at least I know she's got my kind of faith behind us too.

Well, here's to a better week next week. Please be praying for me. I'm really struggling.

Latest and Greatest

This week has been okay for me. I'm so tired of the rain!!!!! I did join WW this week with 2 of my friends. I've been doing it on my own for the last 3 months, but I agreed to go to the meetings with them as moral support (and they won't hurt me either).

Tuesday I spent the whole day without my girls. Shocker, I know. It was fun but at times was pure torture. I went to breakfast with a friend to celebrate my birthday, then I went to a substitute meeting, then I got my hair cut (my reward for 20 lbs.), then I went to WW and learned I wasn't eating enough (torture for me, because I feel full most of the time), then Charlie, the girls and I went out to dinner to celebrate ( and use up the rest of the points I had to eat for the day). It was a really good day; refreshing, but not something I can do very often. I miss the girls too much.

Our Christian book club is about to start the book The Power of a Praying Parent. I am so looking forward to learning how to effectively pray for my girls and their development into Godly women. We just finished Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God. That book really challenged me to depend more on God so that I can become an even better Mom. I have so enjoyed these last 2 months getting to know this group of women better. This month's meeting was so wonderful as we were able to be vulnerable with each other. I know God has great things in store for us as women and moms.

Keep praying for me. God's doing some great things in my life,and I can't wait to see what else he has in store for me.

Another Year

Well today's my birthday, so I'm another year older, and I hope another year wiser. I know this coming year will be filled with continuing on my new goals, and striving to be the woman, wife, and mother God has called me to be.

Things have been going well here. We've been busy with the girls and our garden. Charlie bought us a swimming pool, so when it's not raining we've been in there, but as most of you know there hasn't been too much swimming.

Yesterday we went to my new friend Dena's house to make cow costumes so we could go to Chick-fil-A today and get a free combo meal. I made the girls cow dresses but I only put some felt on a black shirt for me. We had so much fun despite all the funny looks we got.

I'm starting back on Weight Watchers with some friends next week. I've been doing well on my own, but I'm going to get some new info and be a support system as they get started. I'm one pound away from getting my hair done and I'm so excited. I'm really enjoying trying to be creative with my rewards so that they don't include food. Now I'm going to start thinking about what I want after I lose my next 5 pounds.

Thanks to all for the support. It's getting better by the day.

Vacation

We just got back from our vacation to my grandparents. We left last Wednesday and came back late Saturday night. I would love to tell you all that it was very relaxing and stress free, but that would be a BIG lie. First off it rained the entire time we were gone. Two kids cooped up inside a strange place without their toys....you know we were having fun. The girls did very well the first day and a half. The last full day we were there was very stressful for everyone. The girls were tired of being inside and my grandmother doesn't handle children well.

I will say at first I was concerned as to whether or not I would be able to keep to my plan. It's hard to do when most of my family isn't as concerned about their health as I am right now. I did make it a point to eat smaller portions and only eat until I was full. At our family reunion I took desserts I could eat so I would be less inclined to eat the ones I shouldn't.

While I was there I also spent quite a bit of time writing down some of hte important ideas I learned while reading my two Joyce Meyer books. I will say that today I finished typing it and it was 11 pages long. It felt so good to get it on paper so I have something to refer to in the future. Like I said in an earlier post, she never said anything I didn't already know, she just put it in terms I could really grasp. I'm going to start focusing on one concept a week (at least a week) next week. I'm going to spend the rest of this week reviewing what I wrote and praying about where I need to start.

I am excited to say that I am now almost 3 months into this and I have lost 17 pounds!!!!! I am so excited. I'm looking forward to reaching that 20 lb. mark. I'm trying to decide what my reward will be (not food). I'm trying not to buy any new clothes until closer to the fall, but I'm not sure if I'll make it until then or not. What a problem to have.

Hope everyone has a great holiday!

God is Good!!!!!!

Well, today I've officially had my first experience with complete fright where my children are concerned. We were all outside in the garage visiting with some friends. Kacie was sitting by the door to the house playing with our shoes; Stephanie was playing with her table and chair set by her daddy's workbench (also by the door to the house). My friend looks over toward the door and says (calmly I might add), "Ummm, there's a snake over there." Now mind you my baby is sitting right by where I now see this black snake slither by. I, not as calmly, pick Kacie up and grab Stephanie's hand and move them back away from the area.

Now my husband and my friend's husband, armed with shovels, attempt to remove the snake from the garage. However, the cunning snake hides underneath the shelving unit containing all of our outdoor chemicals (not a shelf you want to tump over). They start moving the shelf very carefully and the snake only moves further away from them. Charlie gets a piece of PVC pipe to "push the snake out" so that our friend's husband can kill it. Yeah!!! Mom's REAL happy right now.

Needless to say they did finally kill the snake. It was about a foot long, and Charlie thinks it was a water moccasin (nice huh?). Now, to why God is so good. Kacie had been sitting there the whole time and never bothered the snake and the snake never bothered her. I know God was watching over my baby today. And someone else was there who could help Charlie take care of the snake without it having to be me.

Thank you God for watching over us today!

It's Been A While

Yes, I know it's been a while...two weeks to be exact. However, God has been dealing with me a lot lately, and I've been doing some reading on how to master the goals I have set for my life. I've been reading two books by Joyce Meyer, my new favorite person. The first one was Eat and Stay Thin (that's exactly what I want to be able to do) and the second was Look Great, Feel Great: 12 Keys to Living a Healthy Life Now (I think that's the title). They really didn't tell me anything I didn't truly already know, BUT she put the thoughts in ways that really ministered to me and gave me no more excuses for my behavior. I'm going to be outlining all of my learning while I'm on vacation this week. Please pray that I will stick with what I've been doing while I'm gone. I will begin implementing some of them as soon as I get back, so you will be seeing what I've learned soon. I'm not sure I'll be posting daily, but I am going to shoot for at least every other day.

I hope everyone has a safe and restful holiday.

Eventful Week

This week has been an eventful one. We had VBS all week long in the evening, so our days were spent recovering from the night before. Stephanie had such a great time; every night she got in the car and said she had a "blast"!.

Here is a recap of my week.

Food
I did very well on my food intake this week. However my new problem is that I'm not hungry during the day and as a result I'm having a hard time getting the right amount of food for my body IN my body each day. I'm glad I'm having this problem, but I also hate this problem b/c often I don't realize it until late in the afternoon and then I have to make sure I get it in before bedtime. I'm going to have to start planning better.

Exercise
I haven't done much excercise (except for dancing with the kids at church) this week with VBS. I did go to the library and check out a few workout videos to use at home now that it's a million degrees outside. I'm looking forward to using them this week.

Cooking and Cleaning
I did cook most nights this week, and the others we ate leftovers. Last night we took my dad out for an early Father's Day and I think that's the only night we ate out.

Devotionals
I'm still having trouble in this area. I am reading my Christian fiction books, so I'm getting some faith based time in there. I hope I can get back on schedule soon. I know I'm needing the time.

The great news on this post is that I'm down 15 lbs since I started this and it's been mostly done by changing my eating habits. It's amazing what small changes can do to help our bodies. Now I just need to keep working on getting the water into my body.

Are we Ducks?

Today was Memorial Day. A day for bar-b-queing and playing outside; Except for the constant rain. At least it stopped long enough for the girls and I to have a picnic on the porch.

I've been doing great on my food intake, but my weight's not changing. Mostly because I haven't been walking like I should. I was going to walk today, but the rain had other plans. I'll be glad when I can finally get back to the gym with the girls.

Today we did get 2 of our bathrooms clean. Stephanie was a big help; Kacie, not so much. Never again will I attempt to clean a bathroom when she's awake.

I did cook today, but then we decided to go to the inlaws and have bbq sanwiches. I'm just going to save it for another day this week.

My devotional time is still lacking, but I hope to get back into the swing of things soon (probably after VBS next week.)

It's been a while

Things have been going well, but we have been busy. It is so hard to get on here after the kids go to bed because I'm so tired.

My weight has been steady for the last few days. While it isn't going down, I'm happy it isn't going up either.

My walking has faltered some this week. I guess I'm going to have to start doing it in the morning. I find too many excuses not to do it in the evening. The girls aren't helping either (well Steph is, but Kacie isn't).

I have been doing better cooking at home. We still have our moments, but I'm trying to get things decided before he heads home so I can be ready to cook.

Cleaning has been going okay. We havent' been following our plan as far as cleaning goes, but the rooms we've already worked on have stayed clean. Now we just need to get back to work and finish up the rest of the things.

Devotionals have been come and go. I have been reading some Christian fiction lately to catch up on the series I accidentally started in the middle and now her new book just came out. I also started a new book club that will focus on Christian literature. I'm excited about that. I know I need to get back into my devotionals. I guess I'm gonna have to work on them earlier too.

We have been spending a lot of time in our garden. Stephanie is so excited. We have been able to eat some of our green beans. We picked Stephanie's first tomato (she's been bugging us for weeks about whether or not it was ready to pick), and she'll have lots more in the coming weeks. We also picked our first cucumber, but we gave it away. There's lots more where that came from. I've been getting out early in the morning to polinate my mother's squash. It's hard to do that now each morning since she told me I was having "squash sex". Who woulda thunk it?

Now that summer's here, I know I'll be busy. Stephanie is constantly wanting to play school and work on her writing. Today she drew a picture of a "mommy". I knew exactly what it was, but no one else did. Guess you'd have to be a teacher. We are going to be doing the summer reading program and working on letter and number recognition.

Hope everyone else has a great summer!

Monday, Monday

Today was a good day overall, but I had to make some difficult choices. We had a group of friends get together this morning, and they all brought something DELICIOUS to eat. I just had to try everything; somethings more than once. All of this was also after having a donut for breakfast. It's a good thing I wasn't hungry after the meeting because I had to go really light on lunch. I guess the good thing is I'm learning I have to make sacrifices and choices if I want to be successful in my goals.

Food
Well you know how that went. Thank goodness tomorow's another day.

Exercise
I did go on my walk this evening at the mall. Charlie took the girls upstairs to play while I walked. I'm not sure exactly how far I walked but I'm pretty sure it was close to a mile.

Housework
We didn't do too much on the house today, just 1 load of laundry. Charlie's staying up for nights tonight so I'm going to see if he'll help. We did go out in our garden again today and get some more green beans. It's a good thing I like them. I think we're going to have plenty this year.

Cooking
Not tonight, but I do have things set out for tomorrow night.

Devotional
I'll post tomorrow. I just haven't gotten around to it today.

Mother's Day

I've had the best Mother's Day weekend. Saturday, Stephanie and I took our nap outside on our porch swing. The weather was so nice; not too hot, the breeze was blowing. We picked green beans and peas from our garden. Then they took me out to eat Mexican food. Today, my mom and step-dad came for lunch. We ate chicken roll-ups and fresh green beans from our garden. They were SOOOO wonderful.

Eating
My eating has been going well. I've stayed within my program limits, except for yesterday. I'm still trying to work on drinking water, but I know it will come with time. Some days I do better than others.


Exercise
I've let this slip this past week, so I'll have to do it this coming week. It's amazing how easily we let ourselves believe we're too busy to exercies.

Devotionals
I've really learned a lot this week in my devotionals. It still amazes me how well God knows me. I don't know why since He's the one who created me. Every devotional this week really ministered to me, but they are all something that I'm going to have to deal with daily. I think I'm going to put them on my mirror in my bathroom so I can see them daily.

Housework
We've let this slide a little these past few weeks. Luckily for us our focus was on rooms we don't struggle keeping clean. We have kept the rooms we've already worked on clean for the last 2 weeks, so I'm really excited about that.

Now to the good news. When I weighed on Thursday, I had lost more weight!!!! I've lost a total of 10 lbs. since I started April 12th (and that was without walking this week. Imagine how much more if I'd done what I was supposed to do!!!!)

Thanks to all for your support and prayers. Keep them up. They're working.

3 Miles

Tonight I am EXTREMELY tired so this post will be short. I walked 3 miles today at the Houston NAMI Walk. I felt really good during the walk and have done very well this afternoon (except for not getting a nap). My mom, step-mom, and I walked it in 1 hour 10 min. Afterward, the three of us went to get manicures and pedicures. We were supposed to get lunch too, but I was needed with my girls (they were missing Mommy). It was great fun, but I'm really looking forward to laying down.

Have a great weekend!

WOOHOO!!!

I'm so excited today!!! I went shopping today at the Avenue. I got the cutest denim skirt. Not only did I get a $40 skirt for $10, but I also had to get a smaller size!!!!!!! YEA ME!! Can you tell I'm pumped.

Food
1 c. Crispix, 1 c. Milk
Pizza at Cici's
3 tacos from Taco Bell

Not my best day food wise, but I had some wiggle room and I used it.

Exercise
I was supposed to do 1/2 mile in 10 minutes. Well, I did 1/2 mile for sure and it was probably in 10 minutes. "Why the uncertainty?" you ask. Let me tell you. Kacie decided about 2 minutes into my walk to throw a huge fit. Flailing arms, sreaming at the top of her lungs, laying over the side of the stroller, turning around in her seat, getting out of the seat belt......you get the picture. Needless to say, we turned around early and headed home. Today's exercise certainly did nothing to relieve any stress. There's always tomorrow's walk.

Cooking
I didn't have to cook tonight for Charlie, so I just didn't cook. I'm going to have to work on this. I hope it will get easier as the girls get older and will help me eat what I cook.

House
I didn't do anything major on the house today. However, Stephanie and I worked on cleaning up her toys tonight before going to bed. Her favorite line is "Is that enough Mommy?" We are working on no toys on the floor in her room and in the living room. We're not quite there, but she's really working on it. I also did 2 loads of dishes and 2 loads of clothes.

Devotional
Last nights devotional was totally for me. The title was "How do you do what you do?" It was about looking at other mom's and judging myself based on what they do and how much they get done. One of the topics was about having a plan and learning to say NO! I sure do need to learn that word. I often find myself overextended because I'm a helper by nature. How can a small word be so hard to say??

Another topic was about delegating; another area I have difficulty with. I want it done "right" so I just do it myself instead of letting others help me and do it their way. Their way's not right, right??? Lord please help me. She listed 3 questions to ask yourself: 1) Is this something only I can do? 2) Is this something someone else can do with a little guidance? 3) Is this something I should let someone else do?

The final topic was learning the difference between my calling as a mother and my responsibilties. It was about not looking around for validation as a mother and a wife and instead looking to God for that validation. Lysa says very clearly that no on knows my family better than God does, so why not start asking Him to guide my footsteps and pathways to meet each of them where they are?

Lord, please help me depend on You and look to You for reassurance.

Monday

Today was a good day. I felt somewhat productive (I didn't get as much done as I liked, but there's always tomorrow). I got my stuff done at church after getting Stephanie off to school. I actually made storytime at the library with Kacie and ran into an old friend. Then I had lunch with another friend. I really had a good time today. I know the nice weather helped too.

Food
1 c. Crispix, 1c. milk (4pts)
Large Chef's salad (5 pts.)
Oreo 100 Calorie pack (2 pts)
Hb Helper Cheesy Hashbrowns, greenbeans (10 pts)
Banana Smoothie (4 pts)
Water -- Not enough....why do I have such a hard time with this?????

Exercise
I started Week 2 of the UWC over this week. I was supposed to make 1/2 mile in 12 minutes. Well I did that in 9 minutes so I thought I would push myself for the 3/4 mile and the 1 mile. Well I did the 3/4 mile in 15.5 minutes and the 1 mile in 20 minutes. I'm going to have to work on the 1 mile, but I think it was because of all the singing I was doing while walking. Stephanie insisted on singing EVERY song she knew while we were walking. Boy was I out of breath and songs by the end of our walk.

Cooking
I didn't get to cook for Charlie tonight, but I did cook for us girls. He'll get left overs tomorrow night. It wasn't anything exciting: Hamburger Helper and green beans.

House
Well after this weekend's cleaning I really didn't want to do anything with house cleaning today. However, I did work on finishing last weeks chores that I didn't get done. Luckily since this weeks chores focus on the living room, it will be a light week for house work.

Devotional
I haven't done one in a while, so I'm looking forward to getting back into the groove of things tonight. It's amazing to me how easily I let this slip from my daily routine. I'll post 2 of them tomorrow night (or I might just start posting the one from the night before each day).

Throughout these last few weeks I have been learning about myself and how easily I get distracted from my goals by life. I'm trying to use this knowledge each day to make better choices for tomorrow.

Starting Again

Last week was a crazy week. My grandmother came in on Wednesday, so I spent the rest of the week enjoying family time. My walking seemed to suffer since I didn't want to leave her here by herself (just an excuse, not a reason), so I'm going to repeat last weeks UWC schedule. I just don't feel ready to move on yet. I weighed this morning and I'm happy to say while I didn't lose any weight this week, I didn't gain any either.

I've really slacked in all my resolutions this past week, except for cleaning (I did it all in one day instead of spreading it out. Hopefully won't do that again!). I am looking forward to getting back on track.

Look for my regular blogs starting tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you for your constant support and prayers.

Update

Some of my accountability partners have been on me today to post since I haven't since last Thursday. This will be short as the weather is getting bad here.

Things have been going well. I have been sticking to my diet. I have been walking every day. Steph even wants me to walk on my 1 day off. I got me a better scale so I can weigh more accurately.

I weighed yesterday and I had lost almost 6 pounds since April 12th. I'm so excited.

I'll talk to everyone soon.

Thanks Sarah and Jenn for the reminders and for caring enough to check on me.

Not a Good Day

Yesterday was a difficult day, but today was even worse. Yesterday I had to constantly tell myself I wasn't hungry so I wouldn't eat anything extra. Today I totally got off my goal. Thank goodness there's always tomorrow. Back to the grindstone.

Food
I really don't want to talk about it.
4/18
2 slices cinnamon raisin bread, 1 c. milk (6pts)
1 cheese enchilada, 1 bean tostada, rice, beans, tea (15 pts)
Cheese burger deluxe casserole w/ground turkey (7pts)
100 calorie pack chips ahoy cookies (2 pts)

4/19
Frosted mini wheats, 1 c. milk (5 pts)
Turkey sandwich on wheat, broccoli cheese soup, tea (stopped counting here)
2 1/2 slices pizza
3/4 dreamcicle ice cream bar


Exercise
4/18--Charlie, the girls and I did UWC 3/4 mile in 15 minutes. TWT--23 minutes. I also never stopped moving while cleaning around the house all day.

4/19--Well I never stopped moving today, but only because the wheels on my car were moving. We are going to do today's walk early in the morning.

House
Well yesterday's housework was bittersweet. We took alot of things to the Crisis Pregnancy Center. It was so nice to get the baby things out of Kacie's room, but so sad to think how fast she's growing up. We also took some other things to the Battered Women's Thrift Shop. Clutter is moving away!!!! I spent the afternoon cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting both girls' rooms. They sure look good now. I can't wait until they do this on their own.

Today, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, but wasn't home the rest of the day to work on the house. I'm going to finish "Flying" tomorrow. I just have the girls' bathroom to clean and I'll be done for the week.

Cooking
4/18--Cheeseburger Deluxe Casserole
4/19--Pizza thanks to the in-laws

Devotional
It's too ironic that I did so much house cleaning yesterday because the devotional last night was about "bringing in the recruits"--making your children responsible for chores around the house. Steph helps out with the dishes (plastics and silverware) and sometimes helps with the laundry. I really liked her ideas/strategies for getting children to do chores. I think this summer I'm going to work on teaching Stephanie to be more responsible for her things and start working on chores. Boy, won't THAT be FUN!!!

I sure am glad that each day is a new day. I need a new, refreshing start tomorrow!

Better Late than Never

My posting is late today, because I was so tired after trying to get Stephanie to bed, I just couldn't sit down and type.

Food
1 1/2 c. Golden Grahams, 1 c. milk (5 pts)
WW Roasted Turkey breast dinner, Quaker Mini Delights (6 pts)
Turkey Combo w/ salad from Chilis, corn on the cob, french fries (20 pts)
1 c. grapes (1 pt)

I had to dip into the extra points for the week today. Thank goodness they are there.

House
I put away most of the clothes I folded last night and worked on the dishes. I really didn't follow Fly Lady today. I just couldn't get into it.

Cooking
As you can tell, I didn't cook today. At least my kitchen was clean after dinner!!!!

Devotional
Today was NO MORE MOMMY GUILT! Lysa's beginning quote today was "Pease is not the absence of conflict but the persence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict." by Dorothy Thompson. How very true. We all need to be creative coming up with conflict resolution since no two situations are the same, and no two children are the same. But the real lesson I learned was in Lysa's rules for "No More Mommy Guilt!"

1. I will no longer be fooled into thinking that my kids came to me good and anything bad they do is a reflection of my poor mothering. My children are going to do things that make us cringe, but that does not make me a bad mother. They are not perfect and neither am I.

2. I will have the courage to let them live with the consequences of thier bad choices. This one is so hard. We want to do everything we can to make their life wonderful, but sometimes we have to let them learn. They can't always learn from our mistakes; sometimes they have to make their own, as hard as that is on us. I sure would rather my girls learn from my mistakes than to live with the hurt making those mistakes will cause them.

3. I'm going to stop feeling guilty over telling my kids no. And for me I'm going to stop letting others get me to that point. I see other mom's letting their kids do what I've told my kids no, and think to myself my poor kids are missing out! I get upset when others say that I should let them do something after I've already told them no. Or better yet, they let them do it after I've said no. Lord, please help me here.

4. I will not compare myself to the seemingly perfect moms I know. Help me to remember that none of us are perfect, just being perfected through You!

Satan, you are not going to cripple me with guilt any longer! NO MORE MOMMY GUILT!!!!!!

Flying High

Today started off so wonderful. I was able to go eat breakfast with some of my mommy friends. It was so nice to be able to visit with other mommies. Then I came home and had some "me" time, went to pick up Steph and we had some family time, then after Charlie went to work, I had some girl time. I got a little bit of everything good today. I also added 2 new components to my program: cooking dinner for my family (if you know me, you know this will be VERY difficult at first) and working on the house daily (again, if you know me........).

Food
3 pancakes, 1 egg, 1 bacon, iced tea (8pts)
Quaker Mini Delights, 1 c. milk (4 pts)
Beans and rice (10 pts)
Ceral & Milk (6 pts)

Exercise
UWC--Week 1, Day 1: 1/2 mi in 10 min. I actually walked it in 9 minutes, but I could tell that I had pushed myself too hard in the beginning. I'm going to try harder to pace myself better tomorrow. The girls went with me again. I'm really enjoying this time with Stephanie. She loves being outside.

Cooking
I did cook dinner tonight. We had red beans and rice with some leftover ham in it.

House
I know God gave me this house, and just like I need to take care of my body, I also know that I need to take better care of my house. I want everyone to be comfortable here, most of all my family. I also want to know that I can have company over at the last minute without feeling rushed to get it presentable. This is where the Fly Lady comes in. I've done this program before, but got out of the habit of doing it after I had Kacie. Well, I'm going to start "flying" again.

Tonight I washed 4 loads of laundry and folded even more ( I don't even want to think about how many loads, they've been sitting in the basket for a few days). I also cleaned the kitchen after dinner. Then I moved to the hallway coming from the garage (the catch-all area) and straightened it up; put extra shoes away. Now Charlie just has to move his stuff, but that's another day.

Devotional
Boy this was totally for me today. It was on boundaries. This has always been difficult for me, but I'm still working at it. It was talking about what children need to become emotionally stable: love, acceptance, and stabilty, not a friend or slave. It was talking about how important it is to set boundaries for yourself and for your kids, and enforce those boundaries. They will help build strong and successful children. Isn't that what we all want?

I really can't wait for tomorrow's: NO MORE MOMMY GUILT!!!!!!

Day of Rest

The sermon today was about dealing with Sensory Overload in our lives. Pastor talked about how resting was important to God for our rejuvenation. So that's what our family did today: came home and rested. Then tonight we took the girls to the church for babysitting while Charlie and I went out to dinner and bowling with our friends from Sunday School. It was so nice to be out with friends with no girls. I love the girls, but I sure love "Grown Up" time. It was very restful.

Tomorrow is my official start day for the UWC. For the next 8 weeks, I'll be walking Monday through Saturday with Sunday for a day of rest for my body. I'm so excited about this because I have such a WONDERFUL support system of family and friends behind me. Thanks so much.

Food
1 c. Total Raisin Bran, 1c. milk (5 pts)
1 Sausage Kolache (5 pts)
1 c sugar free/fat free jello (0 pts.)
Chicken Fajitas (18 pts)

Exercise
Today was my day off from walking, but I did go bowling tonight.

Devotional
Again, I haven't done it before typing this, but the one thing that stuck out for me today was James 1:19--Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. How important this is to remember with everyone, but especially our children. Even our spouses. How often do we jump to conclusions without all the information or begin formulating a response while they are still talking. We need to be sure we are truly listening and not just hearing. I pray that this verse gets deep in my soul and that it comes to mind in difficult situations.

Mommy Insights

Today wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The weather was cold and dreary to start off and I didn't get much sleep due to the weather last night. But once I finally got up and got moving, I did pretty well. I'm going to have to work on getting up and getting motivated earlier so I can get more done in a day (or maybe have more "ME" time).

Food
Blueberry Bagel, 8 oz milk (8pts)
Hot dog w/mustard, diet dr. pepper (6 pts)
Spaghetti w/ meatsauce, bread (14 pts)
1 c Grapes (1 pt)

Exercise
Well the weather here was not really good for walking outdoors, so I thought I was going to get out of walking today. However, my good friend suggested walking at the mall. We walked 2 laps around the mall, dodging every teenager in Baytown while pushing my girls in the double stroller. Let's just say "Obstacle Course".

Devotional
I was able to do my devotional for last night and the one for today before posting tonight, so I'm writing about both.

Yesterday: "I Love Smelly Shoes"--Thankfulness. I have worked so hard with Stephanie teaching her to say thank you to others, but sometimes I forget how much I have to be thankful for that never gets recognized. Lysa says in this chapter that she often becomes distracted by her blessings and forgets to thank God for each of them. "Do I see the loving husband I've been blessed with, or do I just grumble about his faults?" How often do I do that???? "Do I see the home I am blessed with, or do I just grumble about the constant chores to keep it clean?" Lord, please forgive me! The best part of this was when she says to "pull back the veil and peek behind the messes, chores and faults of others" and "see the treasure of what these things represent. I'm a wife! I'm a mom! I have the privilege to fulfills these eternally significant roles for some pretty amazing people.....my family!" I pray that I can be truly thankful for each of the blessings in my life, and pray for all the smelly shoes I come in contact with, trip over, pick up throughout the day and the blessings they represent to me.

Today: Super Mom vs. Slacker Mom. Two things really stuck out to me today: "a hat should fully express who I am, not just what role I am playing at the time" and "Children cannot believe in themselves if the most important people in their lives don't believe in them." This devotional really got me to thinking about my role as Mom. Do I want to be the overbearing Mom who has their child doing things for their "experiences" (or maybe mine), or the Mom who doesn't put them in anything so we can just stay home. I pray that I will be able to find the happy medium. I feel right now I'm a little too close to the Super Mom side of things. I try so hard to do all the right things, that I miss out on all the joys of the girls

Day One

Well, I started parts of my new routine today. I am going to use Weight Watchers (WW) as a food guide and the WW Ultimate Walking Challenge (WW UWC) as my exercise guide.

Stephanie and I talked about how I was going to get rid of my tummy to which she responded "Then where's your food going to go?" She also MADE me go for my walk today. I had tons of excuses for not going: the stroller was dirty, the weather was nasty, we had a playdate scheduled. I asked her if she was ready to go to the park to play with her friends, but she told me, "No. We haven't gone for your walk yet." So needless to say, we got ready and went for our walk.

Food
2 Eggo Multigrain waffles w/butter and syrup, 1 c. milk (5 pts)
Ham, turkey, cheese sandwich on wheat, 1 c. grapes, 1/2 c. baked beans, water (7 pts)
Gravy steak, mashed potatoes, corn, dreamcicle bar, diet dr. pepper (probably way more points than I had left, but it sure was good)
Water--8 glasses

Exercise
WW UWC--Week 1 Day 1: 1/2 mile in 10 min. I actually walked about 1.25 miles because once I walked my 1/2 mile I had to turn around and come home. I took the girls with me so I was pushing an extra 45 pounds for resistance. Total Walking Time: 25minutes

Devotion Time
Well I haven't done mine yet today. I usually do it before I go to bed each night, but my goal is to try and do it earlier in the day. Maybe I'll do better tomorrow.

The beginning!

Well everyone went to the dr. today for a check up. The girls are doing great; it's really hard to believe it's been over a year since I had Kacie. I also got a good report except the dr. was very unhappy with my weight. Well DUH!!!! So am I. After I left the drs. office I decided I had to do something for myself. I'm going to start the Weight Watchers Ultimate Walking Challenge officially on Monday (but I'm going to walk some tomorrow and Sat). You will probably be seeing a LOT of posts on here about my progress. Mostly they will be for journaling, but please hold me accountable to this. I am not a strong person when it comes to taking care of myself, but I know I need to be if I want to be around for my girls. I am also doing some of my blogging at www.myspace.com/debbiereynolds. These may be less detailed, but will help me stay focused on my goal.