"Mom....what are you eating?"

I am asked this question on a daily basis. I have two active and hungry boys so of course, they will want to eat quite frequently and are always curious as to what I am eating. Why not...most of the time it is something I am willing to share. Lately, I have been off my usual "diet" and eating foods I would not be willing to share with my boys. Is it worth it? NO! But the lovely sugar monster has reared its head and I answered the call. Lack of sleep? Yes! Stress? Yes! Not drinking enough water? Yes! Lack of concern? Yes!

The truth is I have chosen to not care enough to opt for the healthier option. And better yet, since there are foods in the house that are....well, plain-out junk food, I have decided to "treat" myself to the junk food. Well, one treat lead to another and another and I am now on a 12 step program to get myself off the "stuff". As I go through this process (and set an example for my children), I find myself thinking about diets all together.

I left my good nutrition plan for a "decided" quick trott to the candy store and I can see how people get derailed from their plans or even develop unhealthy haits when it come to how they eat or how their family eats. So the equation is......if I won't give it to my kids, then why am I eating it? The other side of the equation is, "If I feed it to my kids, but I won't eat it, what message am I sending to my kids?" Would I buy my kids the "treats" and snacks that are full of stuff I wouldn't want to eat? What it is doing to their little bodies that I don't want it doing to mine? Would I bring "treats" into the house that I think I will only have on occasion and stash it somewhere out of reach of children so I can enjoy it after they go to bed? Why would I need to sneak around with a treat for myself? Why am I hourding food off to myself to not share or share grudgingly with others? It just sounds like a vicious cycle of eating alone and to yourself and differently from the rest of your family whether you are in "treat" mode or in "diet" mode.

My question is, why not just stick to a healthy nutrition plan that when my kids ask me what I am eating, I can (a) tell them what it is, (b) share some of what I am eating with them, knowing it is good for them and good for me, and (c) model good and healthy behaviours and attititudes towards eating, sharing, nutrition and, food.

Now to go and chew on some of these thoughts (and get a big glass of water).

WOOHOO! Love what you find when renovating!

Time has come to update the main floor and my task was to remove the faux wood panelling from the front door and prepare the wall for a coat of paint. I removed the corner moulding and then began to pry the panelling away from the wall and I discover some FUNKY red wallpaper with seashells and stuff strung together. I HAD to remove all the panelling and fully expose this gem of a find for my husband to see when he got home. As we finished pulling the nails out of the wall (my sister-in-law and I), my husband walks through the door and says "UGH! Put the panelling back on!" HAHAHA What a priceless moment. I just love this surprise that was left for us (some other surprises, I have not enjoyed so much) and if anyone wants to buy a salvaged piece of the paper let me know ;D. I'll keep you updated on the other exciting moments we experience during this renovation.

Son-rise

 Good morning! Up with the rising of the sun (and my son)...off to make breakfast and start another beautiful and productive day!

The BUSINESS of being me

At this moment I am in the process of learning more in all the areas that I have become involved in. Real estate investment, weight loss, spirituality, wealth building, being on the internet, and making the most of what I am learning so I can share it with others. There are many things in my life that overlap in the time schedule of attending to my self-care and self-improvement and that includes taking care of the needs of the children in my care and of course, meeting the needs of my family as a whole. I have goals and dreams and currently I am aiming at having them stay within the time line I have set out. I spent a lot of time in the past "delaying" my needs, and dreams to "meet" the needs of others. In the end, no one was served from what I thought was giving of myself, and the product was not as fruitful as intended. Much was learned from the experience, and the feedback that I gained was that people are better served by those that make sure to serve their needs in conjunction with meeting the needs of others. Boundaries is the common expression used, but the word doesn't click well in my mind, even though I understand it's meaning. I have found that I need to choose to being loving and respectful to myself in order for it to grow and spread to others.

This morning the competition is that I am the only adult that wakes before the sun rises and I aim to use that time to get stuff done to take care of my needs (hygiene, feeding myself, praying, and taking care of a few chores as well). My boys have finally adjusted back to their "on the edge of dawn" awakening and with renovations on the go, stuff still packed and not quite accessible, and things coming up and breaking down all over the place, I am letting my personal business suffer. I am eager in delegation and lacking in cooperation. My profits are minimal, because I have not invested the time to maintain the productivity of my business. In short, if I (meaning me as the business) want to see it to the next quarter without having to close my doors and shut down, I need to put the focus back into making my business succeed. The recession should not affect how I brush my teeth in the morning and providing myself with a healthy breakfast or even proper food to eat throughout the day. I am able to stay active physically, but in other areas the investment has not been that strong and I need to reevaluate and diversify in order to sustain a complete, thriving system. It is my choice to have a successful business and have the respect of others around me to have it succeed as well. I am always on my "to do" list as I am the one performing the tasks, so neglecting my needs is not beneficial or helpful to anyone else. I need to remember to love and respect myself daily as I do for my family (or so that I think I am doing) so that I can love them more in the way that works for us all.

Off to take care of business.

Are you an independent eater?

Yesterday I was informed that my son had decided that he would eat the same as the rest of his classmates during snack time. I can understand wanting to share socially in a meal with those you are with. I have seen how even those who have just eaten and declared they are full, would gladly sit down and put more food in to share in the company of family and friends.

This has recently been a learning process in our household with 3 boys who do not all eat the same. My 2 boys have inherited food intolerances/allergies and it has expanded our culinary knowledge and palette in order to meet their nutritional needs. Not that I was not already eating a gluten-free diet and have cut most all refined sugar (chocolate is still my vice.....and yes I can get some made without refined sugar) and preservatives from my diet, but to see how doing the same for the way my children eat and how DRASTICALLY different their moods, sleeping patterns, behaviours, and bowel movements have changed because of it has convinced me that I will do for my kids as I do for me. I will look to meet their needs nutritionally as best I can and help them to develop the habits of healthy and mindful eating in the process. That also includes making social choices that are still beneficial when it comes to eating.

As I arrived at my son's class to pick him up I was informed that he had some of the snack that was on his allergy list. He seemed relatively okay for the rest and the other affects involve the change in bowel movements and his stomach being upset for the next day or so. I will aim to balance that out with foods that support his body to function well and helps his body to get rid of what is not beneficial. My other son is pretty good about accepting what it is that he can't eat, but I think it is because his symptoms come on a lot stronger and quicker with higher intensity of pain and immediate consequences. He is quite happy with eating similar to what others are eating instead of having the same as everyone else. And for the most part he is not so eager to join in and eat when and how others are eating just because they are. It's more because he is hungry and sees food available that he would join in and it has really helped me to be more independent when it comes to eating.

DO you find that you are compromising your nutritional plan or intentions due to social gathering or influence? With the summer season upon us with all the outdoor activities, and social gatherings, how are you going to choose to maintain a healthy approach to eating and still encourage your friends and family. Engage in conversation more (and not while standing next to the snack table or at the bar), carry a bottle of water with you when you head to a barbeque, or even bring a healthy option with you to a picnic so you have it available when the other dishes may not be so supportive to how you eat. I am going to pack more than one snack option in my son's school bag today so that he will be more encouraged to go for the healthy option instead of choosing to compromise and eating food that is not beneficial to his growing needs. I want to encourage his healthy choices and help him to make those choices the best he can. I can't always be there to stand over him and say "don't eat this or that" and I don't want to. I want him to feel the encouragement of making a good choice for himself. And that, for me, is socially acceptable, responsible, and on the road to independent eating.

I have found the missing link! ME!

As I am up early in the morning, before the break of dawn, listening to the birds sing and answeing the questions I have on my mind, I have come to realize something. There has been a breakdown in communication between me and my husband.

Currently, as we are engaged in renovating in a new capacity (bigger job than our condo was), I have been requested to find out information regarding many things. Electrical, plumbing, window size requirements, differences between certain materials used in insulation, flooring, sound barrier, etc. I then relay the information back to my husband. It has taken many attempts at trying to "pass on" the information I gained and came to understand to my husband. Now it's not that he is slow in learning. He is quite the opposite, having taught himself many things from computers to construction, but there was something in the way that I was passing on the information that wasn't working for him. It's not that he wasn't getting it, it was that I wasn't really giving the information to him.

As his wife, friend, partner-in-life, I have been given a special toolbox. And the toolbox was being equipped from our first encounter. He communicates to me in a different way than he does with others. He has provided information about how he thinks, and what things he is interested in and in those interests are the links for me to use to relay information about almost anything to him. Many people may not understand the flow of a conversation between the two of us, but in the end, we can both learn from a simple conversation spoken in our special language. Even better still, I can use those tools (wisely) to help him to better understand me. How can I describe my passions and interests in a way that links it to his own?

We don't have to live seperately or have interests that are not shared with one another. If we can relate and learn about each other in a way that connects what we know and are passionate about to the interests and passion of the other, than we can grow joyfully together in our knowledge and experiences. Now to go and sort through the toolbox.

Be relational

 Good morning! I am creating many relationships this week, and nurturing the ones I have already started

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ROAD TRIP!! Reflections on encouragement and success.

This is the morning after our road trip to Hinton, Alberta which sits on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Not a whole lot of attractions were seen as it's not a big town and we were in a bit of a rush, but the experience was great. We drove out with the full family (2 cars, 3 kids and 4 adults) and made our way there through many bathroom breaks and breaks in communication (we were using radios to communicate between the 2 cars.) The forecast called for rain and snow and since my hubby was going to be riding the bike home, we tried our best to beat the clouds and their release of precipitation (HAHA but he still got rained on). I packed a bag of healthy snacks (so much easier to grab and go) and we made a stop for lunch as well. I learned a lot about perspective and I got to see how our lives (that of myself, my hubby and my children) really help to change how others view the things around them. I am grateful for such a gift of influence in just the way God had made us different and unique. I celebrated in the joy that my hubby got to experience on the ride back home with his new bike and got to spend some time with my sister-in-law as well.

Now the question that popped up many times...."why Hinton?" Well, my hubby saw a motorbike posted online for sale, one that he has been interested in for some time and it was at a good price. But of course, the bike was in Hinton. His current motorbike is a cruiser and requires some serious TLC and probably would not survive a road trip through the mountains that he has wanted to go on since last year. SO he needed a new bike.

Now for the other question...."Why is he buying a motorbike?" Now after what I just explained it may be obvious, but at the current moment, after buying a house and being in the midst of renovations, it seems like a bit of a stretch. Even my hubby was asking why (especially since I am pushing for new cabinets in the kitchen) and I said to him, that when he is happy and he fuels his passion, more stuff comes his way, his focus is where it needs to be, and stuff gets done. I am not a fan of doing anything grudgingly and with half-effort, and so I find encouragement very important. Nothing worse than having a longing for something and not meeting it. Nothing like knowing that if you could just hop on a bike and go for a ride to think and clear your head and get encouraged that you could feel much better. I have seen that in him last summer and I wasn't going to through this summer without seeing that encouragement in him again. There are a LOT of things on our plate right now as the renovations have taken a bit of a turn and we are gutting more than we intended, but in the end we will know that our house is in good standing and condition and will be a good home for our family to live in.

Finances get tight from time to time and this is one of those times, but we are resourceful and I have seen how my hubby has found a way to get what he wants no matter what it is. If we can stay positive and take action in the direction that we want to go, then that is the road I want to be on as long as it is right with God. We are called to have faith and if we don't act faithfully, then how will we know what it is that we can achieve? I am excited for my husband and us to see what lies ahead as we continue on in the work we are doing and how we will be blessed as we continue to have faith in the God that provides for our needs.

Life happens!! ....my interview with Holly Rigsby

This morning I woke up early and got to work. I organized the garage and made it back inside in time for my boys to wake up, requesting breakfast. The plan for today....hit the grocery store for 15% off Tuesday, get a spare key cut, and make it back in time to pick up my son from school, and be on a call with Holly Rigsby.
Breakfast was served and eaten, boys were dressed, and bags were collected and we were out the door with time to spare. We made it to the grocery store and got what we needed. As we arrived back at the house to unload the groceries, I noticed something a little out of sorts. It lead to an awkward moment and left me disjointed and late for picking up my son from school. As I arrived, I was glad to see that one of the other moms was looking out for him and was going to keep an eye on him for me. I had 20 minutes until the interview was to start and I made my way over to the splash pad park where my other son, nephew and sister-in-law were waiting. My sister-in-law was not looking so well, so I sent her home, leaving me with 3 boys 5 minutes before my interview. Also my youngest son wet himself as I arrived and wanted to go home and change his clothes. He started whining and I started dialing.....the number to connect with Holly on the call. I had it all planned out and I can say, that how things were playing out were not as I imagined hehe. The call went pretty well considering I was watching 3 boys and my youngest was pulling his pants down the whole time.
The key to making it all work out was to stay positive, not to get discouraged, and pick my battles. The kids were having their challenges right along side mine and in the end we had a good time and accomplished both a successful and messy time at the park, but also a completed call with Holly.
Here is a link to the replay.


http://instantteleseminar.com/?eventid=7717845