Who Moved My Cheese?

Each day we snip a bit off of Stafford's binkie. We are wondering if her will notice that bit by bit we are moving his cheese.  It is already half gone and he still wants the thing. We're hoping that when it is a small stump it will be more trouble to keep in than it is worth. Wish us luck.

Birthday Boy

This kid runs around enjoying life.  When you watch him join in with his brothers you can see sheer joy on his face.  He doesn't know, yet, that having a bunch of boys around to play with isn't how everyone lives.  He seems happy for each day and excited to see what his "bruvers" are doing.  He looks for them in the morning and really relies on them for so many things.

He loves horses and has for years.  If a show has a horse in it he will watch it, even if it is a boring black and white western that I can't even bear to watch. 

He loves to be tickles and will say, "Tickle me!" with his arm in the air. 

He says "Searole" for cereal.

He calls girls, "Kia". (I have know explanation on that one.)

If it isn't his idea then he can hold his own quite well, but if you say please he will usually say, "Awight." and do what you asked him to do.

"Mom, wan play mit me?" is one that is hard to resist.

He goes right into nursery and has lots of tales to tell when he comes out.  The thing is that we have no idea as to what he is saying when he gets going so quickly.  I'm sure it was a riveting tale, though.

He likes books, dancing, being twirled in a circle, riding people as horses and putting saddles on them too.  He is great with knots and a goodl time involves tieing his toys with ropes.  He loves "ropes" and will spend lots of time playing with the cat and getting her to chase the cord or belt that he has.

The other day I tried to sit him on the couch next to me and he stopped me and explained that he had spicey poo.  Boy did he!  Anyone who has kids knows what I'm talking about.

Day 8 - 40 Day Challenge

I'm feeling pretty bad right now. I ate so much junk today. When I eat right I feel right. I have more energy and more optimism. This is not the case today. I didn't live true to my body. It was my youngest son's birthday and I went to town with the junk. Plus, a lady at church gave me some of her favorite Canadian candy bars to try. They were good and I ate a lot of them. One alone was 300 calories. That was my favorite, Mr. Big. Yum. For my son's cake, my husband made my favorite homemade cake, carrot cake. It was so good. I feel so stuffed. It is uncomfortable. My perception of my thighs is that they must be two inches bigger from today and my birthday three days ago, but I'm logic tells me they are not. Even if they were, I'm still getting back to my plan. I fell. It hurts. I'm a bit sad. When I eat this way I fee down on my ability to lose weight. When I eat right, I know it will come off if I'm patient and just follow the plan. We will be traveling for the next three days, but I feel like I can do it. It is easier to stay 100% true to the plan than to stay 98% true because then you start slipping.

So right now I'm getting back up because I'm a fighter and fighters always get up. It doesn't matter how badly they're hurt, they get up and that is what I'm doing.

Ding the bell, I'm back in the ring. Ready to Fight.

Current Daily Schedule

6:00 - Internet Time (I rarely actually wake up for this.)
7:00 - Breakfast
8:00 - To Do
9:00 - Email, Sparkpeople, Passions, Goals, Blog (Errands)
10:00 - Cardio, Dance, Yoga, Play with kids (Any "To Do" that I need to finish)

12:00 - Kids: Lunch
1:00 - T/F - Laundry, free time - Yoga or Read
2:30 - Tidy Kitchen
3:00 - Kids: eat snack, Homework, Tidy, Free Time
4:00 - Make Dinner, Ready
5:30 - Dinner
Clean-up
Family Time or Any errands that I need to make.
7:00 - Family Prayer, brush teeth, time to talk
7:30 - Blog, Menu, Yoga
8:15 - Ready for Bed
8:30 - Scriptures, Journal, Spiritual Read, Yoga Read

Birthday Eve

Tomorrow is my birthday.  I'm going to be 34.  It seems like a good age.  Not too intimidating.  I'm still in my early, or maybe mid thrities.  At least I'm still closer to 30 than 40, even using correct rounding principles.  I'm excited.  I'm excited for this coming year.  I see good things.  I've had a lot of change in my life over the past 6 months and I'm at a good place.  I'm excited for life.  I'm setting goals and I'm acheiving them.  There are new things on the horizon.  Great things are coming and I'm excited to see them.

I have learned that happiness is linked with expectations.  I've had birthdays where I have expected too much, especially since becoming a mom.  I expected to be pampered.  A one year old doesn't care that it is your birthday.  He will still want to be served, taken care of and will most definately still poop a lot.  I have ended the day of my birth feeling sad and under appreciated because I expected too much.  Maybe this seems sad to some of you, but really it shouldn't be. 

I tell my husband exactly what I expect.  This year it was the cake of my choice.  This year I asked him to make a Double Chocolate Mouse Cake.  That's it.  That's all I want.  He is a good cook so I know it will be good and I've been drooling over the picture for weeks waiting for this moment.  I also will buy me something.  I like to do that because then I get exactly what I want.  Unromantic, but perferred.  Then I will go to the store and buy myself those Lofthouse sugar cookies and maybe cupcakes too.  I love them both and don't eat them except once a year.  So excited.  I'm going to a potluck/play group tomorrow so I can bring the left overs, if there is any.

I'm noticing how much revolves around food.  Junk food.  Oh well.  I try to eat healthy most of the time.  Sometimes I don't want to.  On my birthday, I don't want to, but I will still get my fruits and veggies in and maybe a healthy fat and protein here or there too.

I will still clean and I will still cook for my family and I will still change poopy diapers.  And I'll be happy because I expected to do those things.  If someone gives a little extra help, I'll be grateful, but I don't expect it.  My boys are getting older so they do TRY to help out.  They are sweet and I appreciate any effort they exert. 

I'm excited for my birthday.  It's going to be a great day and it's going to be a great year.

Speaking of Cakes. Two of my boys had a joint Lord of the Rings Party. (Even though the younger one had never seen the movie, my oldest son tried to fill him in on how cool it is.) One is the ring and the other is of a Hobbit home in Bag End.

Goals

In 4 months (July 13th)
I weigh 138 pounds.
I have a habit of only eating one serving.
I eat every two hours during the day.
I do yoga/weights 4hrs and 40 mins a week.
I do cardio 4 hrs and 40 minutes a week.
I am productive and stick to my schedule.
I go on a date with Glenn every week.
I go to the temple every month.
I have my yoga certification.
In 1 year (March 13th, 2012)
I maintain my weight.
I run, cross-country ski, ice skate or snow shoe 3-4xs a week.
I eat organic produce.
I eat healthy meat.
I eat fish every week.
I eat raw dairy, milk, kefir, yogurt, cheese.
I eat farm eggs.
I eat sweets and savor it.
I play the cello.
I couple dance with Glenn twice a month.
I am good at yoga and practice daily.
I swim 2xs a week in a saline pool.
I have great friends and socialize with them weekly.
I support my my oldest two kids in 2 activities each.
Glenn and I go on a date every week.

Attitudes

Attitudes are contagious. I want to share happiness, enthusiasm, and optimism!

I have children. I want them to be excited about life. I need to stop feeling the drudgery of daily living and instead focus on the fact that it is a small step to get through to get to all the fun things in life.

This does not mean that I don't think I should share my feelings, but I do feel that I need to focus on these three things.

My children don't like living here. It feels so temporary to them. I need to make our home feel like a home.

Nothing is guaranteed in life, so make the most of each day and persevere.

This is something I try to remember. It encourages us to not sweat the small stuff. And reminds us that its all small stuff.

I used to be really good at this, but I have stopped. I stress about little things. I let little things get me frazzled.

This is my goal. Perspective and perserverence.