06 Saturday Apr 2013
Posted in Food, Uncategorized
The other day I decided to combine a few of my favorites and see what happened. I cooked Baby Spinach, Garlic and Tomatoes together and loved it!!! It was so wonderful I decided to try it on a few things. I put it on pasta with shrimp and on my turkey and cheese sandwhich. It was sooooo yummy! I am pretty sure it is going on pizza next. Try it out and let me know how you like it!!
23 Saturday Mar 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
Asphergers, Bronchitis, Cleaning, diet, Eating, homeschool, Insulin, latter day saint, lds, love, parenting, Pink Eye, tourrettes
This week has been unorganized and crazy. Poor hubs had pink eye and bronchitis. It was bad! I spent alot of time disinfecting, keeping the kids busy and quiet and my nights were spent on the couch. You would have been on the couch too if you would have seen my hubs eyeballs. Yikes! I felt so bad for him!
Home school was put on the back burner and I got some spring cleaning done. Cleaned out the pantry, all the cabinets in my kitchen, went through all the clothes in my closet and got rid of things I really don’t wear. I love to get rid of stuff! I like clear clean spaces and if you want to keep something in my house you better let me know because most likely if I see you haven’t used it in a while its going.
Bens Tourrettes is going well. His last tick was jaw clenching. That one hurt us both because every time he did it, I wanted to do it to. I am bad about clenching my jaw in my sleep. So we increased his dosage and that went away and we are tick free at the moment. Yay!
Jackson has had a few unexpected meltdowns this week. It is really hard when these happen because its like he can’t even hear you. He just cries and screams like his little heart is broken, sometimes punching himself in the leg or locking himself screaming in a closet. He gets even more frustrated because he doesn’t like feeling like that and can’t make it stop. It breaks my heart. I just try to be patient and be there to hold him in my arms once he can focus again. Really, without that and his sensitivity to sounds, touch and strangers you would never know that Jackson has Asbhergers. He is hilarious, super smart, wrestles constantly with his brother and makes messes just like any other kid. I love my kiddos so much and feel blessed that I can be at home and give them the space that they need to learn and grow.
The diet this week didn’t go so well. I cheated……..alot. Sigh……I will say that I learned how awful it makes me feel to eat poorly after eating so well. I get tired sooooooo easily and I feel like there is poison in my body. Probably from my body being overloaded with insulin. So back on the diet!
So that is what is going on over at my house. What about yours?
15 Friday Mar 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
diet, exercise, insulin resistance, latterdaysaint, lds, support
Well, the battle really began last Friday after my Dr. visit. I had gone in to discuss my Insulin Resistance problems and turns out my Dr. has the same thing. He explained to me what this was doing to my body and what it will do in the future should I not do something about it. He told me my previous Dr. should have had my dosage of medicine much higher by now. So we are starting 3 tablets of metformin this week and bumping it up to 4 next week. Unfortunately this is not always easy for me and tends to make me sick until I get used to the medicine.
I told my Dr. that I would eventually like to get off the medicine and have another baby. He explained that diet will be a huge factor in this. That I need to stay away from carbs because they turn to sugar immediately and all that happens is my pancreas goes into overdrive producing way more insulin than my body needs and that my cells will not accept it therefore storing it instead as fat. Should I continue eating carbs on a regular basis by the time I am 50 my pancreas will no longer work and I will be officially Type 2 Diabetic and have to do insulin injections. That opened my eyes a lot. No one has ever explained it to me like that. I really had no idea what I had been doing to my body.
So last Friday I started my diet. Luckily I love veggies and get one cheat meal a week. After 7 days of dieting and one cheat meal at Pluckers I have lost a total of 4 pounds. My face doesn’t seem as puffy and my clothes fit just a little bit better.
The first 4 days I was pretty tired. The Dr. told me this would happen. By day 5 I started having a little more energy. I was impressed with myself though. I stayed full and never once craved a carb. I haven’t started working out yet. The Dr. said I should give my body about 3 weeks to get used to the diet. I am looking forward to it though.
I am about to kick Insulin Resistance to the curb!
09 Saturday Mar 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
change, children, community, home, husband, latter day saint, lds, life, lifestyle, love, motherhood, opinion, parent, parenting
I try to think back to my life without children. It is surprisingly difficult. Before my children I thought about myself. My education, my job, my health, my apartment, me, me, me. As soon as I had my first son thinking about myself was removed drastically from the equation. Also around the same time my husband had reconstructive jaw surgery so my thoughts were on him as well. It was a trying time for me but I grew so much. I found that I am much stronger than I thought. That family is more important than what people think about you. My husband was not able to work for a year due to the surgery so I did. My boss always made comments about how husbands are supposed to support the wives not the other way around. Needless to say I was not a fan of my boss and I could have cared less what she thought. My husband and son came and visited me everyday on my lunch break and were waiting for me with hugs and kisses when I came home. I could never have a bad day with that waiting for me.
As my boys have gotten older and their disabilities clearer I have grown a thicker skin. People are always going to give their opinions about your child or the way you raise them. What is important is how you react to it. I honestly could care less what people think about the way I do things. I just take their comments in with a sense of humor. I know that sounds a little harsh and I don’t mean it to be. I just know that every decision I make is not made lightly. I discuss with my husband, ponder and pray about everything so that I can be confident always that I have done what is right. So when someone says something that might seem insensitive I try to remember that they are coming from a place of caring when saying it and are not trying to be hurtful. A lot of times people are just curious.
My children and my husband are my greatest gift. They make me want to strive to do better every day. They deserve a loving mother and wife because they give me so much of themselves. I hope I never have to live my life without them, but take comfort that if they do leave this world before I do that I will see them again someday. What a blessing and comfort that is.
06 Wednesday Mar 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Well here it is March and I am proud to say that with some help I have allready reached some of my goals I set for myself in January!!!! Here is an update:
DIY Goals
Outdoors
Homeschool
Faith
Self
What are some of your goals that you have accomplished?
21 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
baby number, being a good wife, children, good mother, home, Inspire, latter day saint, lds, moms, motherhood, parents, stake conference
At our Stake Conference last weekend I listened to a talk that really inspired me as a mother. The women that was giving the talk had kids that were now grown and out of the nest. Her experiences very comforting.
She started out by telling us how when she first had her children she was not a very good mother. That she had no idea at all what she was doing. She finally sat down one day and thought about motherhood. She said to her it was a job and she could either choose to do a good job at it or a bad job at it. She chose to be good at it. She said she got really good at cooking and cleaning and organizing things. For a while this made her happy, until one day she realized that while her kids were having fun, she was always cleaning or organizing instead of participating. She decided right then and there that she was going to make a change and went outside to play with her kids. The dishes would always be there but her kids would not.
As she was sharing her story of motherhood I couldn’t help but think of mine. When I started out I was so unprepared. My parents were a pretty poor example of what being a parent and taking care of a home should be. So I pretty much had to start from square one. Luckily we lived with my husbands parents for a few years at the beginning of our marriage and I was able to learn how to keep a home nice and tidy and what being a good wife and mother were really about.
With my first child everything had to be tidy and organized. I even had a cleaning schedule where the floors were mopped and vacuumed every week on Saturday morning. Then baby number two came along and boy did that schedule go out the window with a quickness. At first it stressed me out because I wanted my house to be perfect for my husband and children. What baby number two taught me though was to relax a little and just enjoy the moments with my family. Even tonight as I am typing this there are dishes in my sink and clothes in the dryer that need to be folded but dang it I just bought a Price Is Right Wii game and I would much rather play that with my family then do dishes and fold clothes. I think it is time well spent don’t you?
Being a mom is hard work. Do your best and cut yourself some slack. Enjoy your life and your children and your spouse. You never know when they might not be around anymore. One day your kids are going to grow up and leave. What do you want them to look back and remember? Mom in the kitchen doing dishes or mom taking the time to read to them.
13 Wednesday Feb 2013
Tags
7 things about me:
15 blogs I nominate: This will take a while…….
07 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
kids, latter day saint, lds, les miserables, movies, parents, plays
My sweet friend Suzanne treated me and some of the girls to see Les Misarables. I will be honest, going into it I wasn’t hugely excited. Musicals don’t really interest me but she had seen this movie twice allready and that means it must be good so I was there! I am so happy that I went. It was such a good movie!
What really touched me was the change in the character Jon Valjean. How even after serving 19 years for stealing bread for his sisters son so that he wouldn’t starve he was able to turn his life around and how he used it to help others in need.
I find that when times are tough, serving others makes your problems seem alot smaller. I highly reccommend it. Watching Les Mis reminded me of that. Even the smallest act of kindness could change a life forever.
When I was little I lived with my grandmother for less than a year. That small amount of time that I was with her changed my life forever. It showed me what normal looked like and that if I worked hard I could accomplish alot. I have carried that lesson with me my entire life. Even when I went back to living with crazy.
So take a lesson from Les Miserables and reach out and help someone. It doesn’t have to be big. Even a smile goes a long way.
04 Monday Feb 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
color run, downton abbey, gardening, kids, latter day saints, lds, parents, pictures, super bowl
Happy Monday everyone! Boy do I have a ton to do this week. But before I get into that I will fill you in on what I got done over the weekend.
Saturday morning I got up and started my garden!!!! I am so excited! My father in law has been encouraging me to do this for a few years now and even brought me two tires, a raised bed and some chicken manure to do so.
I know, tires? Yep! Last summer my father in law grew cantaloupes and watermelons in tires filled with soil and it was the best they have ever grown. I was told that it was because when you water them it is contained better in the tire so they absorb more. Who knew? So I am giving it a try.
Now the chicken manure, which my kids thought was disgusting, was to mix with the horrible clay soil I have in my back yard. Thank goodness it had rained a few days before or I would have never been able to dig into it.
So garden is planted and done. In tire 1 we have carrots, tire 2 is onions and in the raised bed we have broccoli and lettuce. Wish me luck!
After all of the planting we took Jackson to a Mardi Gras parade. I was a little worried about how he would handle all of the noise with his sensory issues, but he did just fine. Actually he was so incredibly happy. Every bead he caught was such a victory for him. He treasured them so much he wore some of the to church Sunday. I couldn’t say no.
Sunday was great. It was fast and testimony Sunday at our church which is my favorite. I always get super shy and talk myself out of doing it but Jackson looked at me and said he wanted to so there ya go! He was so precious bearing his testimony of Jesus Christ and how he knows that he loves us and how much he loves him. When he was done he unexpectadly jumped into my arms to be held while I bore my testimony. Keep in mind he is 6 and very tall. When I got back to my seat my husband was laughing and saying, “he covered almost all of you!”
Sunday night a group of our friends got together to have a Super Bowl party! It was so much fun! The kids were great and had such a good time playing with their friends. The guys watched the game and us girls talked about how we were missing Downton Abbey and were making plans to get together and watch it later that week.
So all in all it was a great weekend! Now this week, I am going to start cleaning out my house. See, I cannot stand clutter. It makes me itch. When I watch the show horders I immediatly have to clean something after. Does this mean my house is spotless all the time? No. My second son cured me of that. We used to call him the destroyer. But I am finding that I have alot of things sitting around that I haven’t used in awhile so I want to get rid of it. It makes keeping my house clean alot easier when there is less to clean up. Also, I am mentally preparing myself for the Color Run this weekend!!!! Actually on my end there will not be alot of running, but I am finding out that I am not the only one, so there! Basically it is just another excuse to hang out with my friends. Oh and the hubs is coming to take pictures!!! I am so excited!
How did your weekend go? Whats your plans for this week?
01 Friday Feb 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Tags
friends, girlfriends, girls night, home, kiddos, latter day saint, lds, lifestyle, momma, moms, motherhood, parents, wonderful night
I just got home from a wonderful night out with the ladies and I am so glad I did! Don’t get me wrong, I love taking care of my husband and my kiddos but sometimes momma needs a break to just be silly.
Being around my girlfriends helps me to know that I am not alone on this journey of motherhood. We trade recipes, swap, “you think your kid is crazy, check out mine,” stories, and encourage one another to do a little better.
I had seriously given up running the color run in a few weeks because of everything we had going on. I had not trained once since I signed up. After speaking to my girlfriends tonight I am excited to go because alot of them will be walking right along with me.
I feel refreshed after tonight and vow to go out with my girlfriends more often because if momma isn’t happy then no one is. Right?!?
