Where Have We Been?

Wow, it has been 4 months since I last wrote on my blog.  Why?  Oh so many reasons.

Did you know that I have a seasonal job?  If you've followed me closely, or are close to me for real - you certainly have seen it.  I am the program director at an amazing camp in northern Indiana.  We moved back to camp at the start of April and spent our summer living on campus full time.  The boys LOVE it there.  I have loved it since I was a child and am so blessed to be back at the camp.  More about the camp another day - I have plenty to share.

We came home to Fort Wayne officially on September 11.  Why this date?  It was the first night of Awana and the boys couldn't miss it.  We love Awana for so many reasons.  Poor Azariah can hardly wait until it's his turn to stay for the evening. 

 

We started kindergarten this fall.  Manasseh loves learning.  He really likes worksheets.  I love it that when we do school at home we have such a great wealth of resources and can do tons of outdoor education that can't happen in a public school. We have already had tons of fun, hands on learning experiences as a family.

We're keeping busy - on top of these things I am auditing a discipleship class at Anderson University School of Theology.  This is rocking my brain with ideas about how to improve the camp ministry.  I can hardly wait to start putting some of these new ideas into practice.

I have also begun a little bit of volunteer work with Silent Blessings, a ministry to deaf and hard of hearing individuals, bringing the gospel to life in a new way.  Their television show, Dr. Wonder's Workshop, is going to be the base for a new Vacation Bible School curriculum - Dr. Wonder's Sign Lab.  I get to do a little bit of behind the scenes helping with some things.  How fun!

The boys go to daycare on Thursday mornings while I'm in class, they absolutely love spending time with new friends - the oldest 2 are especially little socialites.  Since they're going to the daycare, I get to help with some things around there on Thursday afternoons.

Whew.  That's where we are, and where we've been in a nutshell.  I'll share about a few of these things in some more detail over the next few days.

I know I'm not the only one #mamavation

It's 12:50 am in Indiana.  I'm awake.  I have a VERY full time job and 3 VERY full time children.  I want a sweet, yummy snack but I have mostly health food in my house.  I'm a little irritated about my lack of junk.

I know I'm not alone.  Thank you to the ladies who are part of Mamavation and remind me I'm "normal".

More than my midnight snack desires, I really appreciate knowing that I am not alone in my struggle to improve my health and the health of my family.  You may know that we've been on a LONG journey to healing for things like diabetes, arthritis, and allergies.  We are still working on it and some times the process seems so very slow.  We're not good at making fast changes in behavior at our house - but we continue to make steps in the right direction.

I would love some feedback, advice, encouragement, etc from others who have been there, made it through, and are living healthier, stronger lives.

Here's my story:
I have been a type 2 diabetic for AT LEAST 8 years (longer than that, but not diagnosed earlier).  I am overweight.  I struggle to find time in my schedule to really exercise.  Here's why:  as I said, I work VERY full time in the summer as a camp program director - in fact, I live at work.  I work from sun up to well, it's after midnight and I've still been doing some work.  I am also a "stay at home" mom to my boys who are 1, 3, and 4.  We eat simple foods, mostly vegetarian, mostly plant based - but not entirely either of those.. sometimes we cheat on that and I'm pretty much okay with it.  I mean - my kids have been asking me for salad at breakfast this week, I think we're doing pretty well on the diet thing.

I have had 2 miscarriage in the last 8 months or so, after miscarriage number 1 I gained 20 pounds - in a month!  I didn't change my diet at all, just had crazy hormones or something ridiculous like that - also had a switch in meds.

I want to be healthy, I want to kick diabetes in the butt.  I want to be able to run and play with my boys for the next 30 years - my grandchildren too by then.


HELP!  How can I get my crazy schedule in order and find a way that I can get good exercise and nutrition when I am insanely ridiculously busy most of the time?/??

Is anyone else in my shoes?  What do you do?  What have you done?

Chilly Chili Run #mamavation

I did it!  

Well, kind of...

I have been working on the Couch to 5K training program, and honestly I've been stuck on week 1.  It is hard for me to really get much beyond that while I'm stuck trying to do it inside.  Also, I just feel old, overweight, and out of breath so much of the time.  Still, I am pushing myself at home and at the gym to at least get okay with the first week of this program (it's been at least a month of week 1).

This weekend, Mr. Crum and I put on our running shoes and sweats and headed to a neighboring city for their first ever "Chilly Chili Run".  It was not officially a 5k, it was closer to 3.5 miles - good enough, right?  I loved it that we did this together.  He was kind enough to stick with me on the icy/muddy trails for the entire thing.  We loved our adventure through the state park together!

We started out at a jog.  That lasted a minute or two - the real actual ground hurts my legs a WHOLE LOT more than the treadmill or the trampoline.  I'll keep working on that.  We walked at a brisk pace for the rest of the "run".  Then we enjoyed a bowl of chili and a corn muffin together before heading to pick up our boys.

My thoughts about it?  I had a great time.  I wish I had the stamina to actually RUN in this event.  Maybe it was the cold weather (after all, it is February in northern Indiana); maybe it was my need for more conditioning.  I don't feel bad about the fact that we did not run.  I will continue to work on it.  I am already making plans for a women's run this fall with my sister and mother.  (We maybe haven't told my mom that she's planning to run a 5k with us yet).

We are getting fitter and continue to work toward health goals.

What new things have you tried this week to point you in the direction of better health?  What tips do you have for new runners?  I never thought I would WANT to run - that's another story though.

A Valentine Gift for Active Mamas: ibitz Unity

Tomorrow is my first 5K.  I am nervous!  I have been working on improving my body strength, stamina and health for the last several months - still, I wonder how this will go.  One thing that I have been really fond of is my pedometer.  I use a GeoPalz Pedometer (yes, I know they are made for kids - but I think they're cute and I like it that I can track my steps online).

I know I am not the only mam that is working on improving health and likes to track movement.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that GeoPalz was developing a new fitness tracker: ibitz.  I love the colors, I think red or pink or purple would be excellent for a Valentine gift (purple is my personal favorite).

This is what the company says about the ibitz Unity for Parents:

"The ibitz Unity for parents allows users to monitor family health wirelessly, all in one place. The adult app tracks steps, distance, weight, height, overall physical activity and body mass index (BMI) for the entire family. Unity users can also create groups outside of the family, such as a running group, for extra motivation
and streamline progress reporting. The app allows users to sync with other wireless devices including select scales, heart rate monitors and other social fitness apps."


I love it that I could use it with a group as a way to help support and encourage each other!  I also love it that it's a fitness tracker, not just a pedometer.  The ibitz Unity is currently available at Indiegogo and at ibitz.com for just $49.99, that is remarkably less than many of the other fitness trackers on the market right now!

Consider making ibitz a part of your Valentine gift to a favorite mama this month!

** This is not a sponsored post.**

Diastasis Recti and Me #Mamavation

Baby #3 and my post-baby body

Diastasis.  I feel like I have seen this word all over the place in the last couple of weeks.  Maybe it's a new trend, maybe I'm just learning more about myself and my body.  Regardless, I had to spend some time this last week reading about it.

What is it?  It is a condition in which the abdominal muscles separate, left to right, allowing belly fat to protrude from between the muscles and distorting the shape of the belly.  This seems to most commonly happen to women who have had babies.  Many times the muscles repair themselves, but not always.

How do you know you have it?  From my reading, I've found that you lay on your back, knees bent, feet on the floor, fingers from one hand on your belly button - and do a partial sit up.  If you feel a gap between your muscles (some say 2.5 fingers wide or more), you most likely suffer from diastasis.

What do you do about diastasis?  There are a number of websites suggesting a variety of exercises.  Several of these sites warn that if you do them wrong you are likely to teach the muscles bad form and not help yourself in the end.  That is not so encouraging to me.  Some websites suggest a wrap.  There are a variety of conflicting views about the best way to fix diastasis.  The important thing is: it can be fixed.

Diastasis, or just belly fat?

What does this have to do with me?  Well - I've had 3 babies, 4 pregnancies, and I have to admit - my belly is kind of "bulgy" and roundish.  It does not look like it did 5 years ago.  So, I had to check it out, to see if I might have problems with diastasis.  Great news: I appear to have nicely put together abs!  The bad news is, I need to work on toning those muscles.

Why am I sharing? I had not heard of this problem until a couple of weeks ago.  I'm certain there are others who are new to the topic and may benefit from learning a little bit about it.  I don't want to try and hash out all of the information available here.  Search Google, or Pinterest for "diastasis".  You will be amazed what you find!

Have you struggled with belly fat?  What is your best tip to reduce ab flab?

Health Update #Mamavation

It's a good news/bad news sort of week.  Did you ever write those stories in school?  Somewhere in my parent's basement, I have a story from early elementary about a couple of girls that bought ice cream and it fell off of the cones... it went on and one - who let me write that?

The good news:  This week is that I went to the doctor.  Yep. I did it.  I went in for a consultation about my diabetes.  It had been a while and I needed to address a medication issue that I was having.  She did an A1C and it came back as 7.  A few months ago, when I went for the first time since last October, it was 11.5!  Yikes.  The doctor was very pleased at my blood sugars which have become almost "normal" over the last few months!  I would like to say it is all due to my hard work - but I think my body is finally balancing itself out again.

The bad news:  I did not meet my goal of tracking all of my foods and I did not get to the gym all 3 days I was scheduled to go. 

More good news:  As of this morning I have lost 1.8 pounds in the last week!

My plan: Get back on the wagon.  This week I'm back to tracking my foods and back to the gym 3 days.  It's slow, but coming along.  I'm also going to continue my increased water consumption.

I know already that the end of the week will be a struggle because I've got a quick trip out of town - I'll be working on a plan before I head out so I am ready for that day!

My first week with MyFitnessPal #mamavation

Photo by MyFitnessPal

 This week I started using MyFitnessPal.  I love the ease of entering my meals and instantly having calorie counts.  I hardly have to do any work to figure it out.  I also love that I can set goals for myself and it helps me figure what I need to do in order to achieve my goals.  How fantastic.

I did a great job keeping track and getting my exercises done Monday through Wednesday.  Thursday I did a great job keeping track of calories - although I was hesitant because we chose a high cal junky dinner.  Friday I was lazy, Saturday out of town, and Sunday.. well.. I blew it.

My goal this week is to track consistently all week long, even when I am afraid to know my calorie counts.

What are your goals for the week?

How I lost 6 pounds OVERNIGHT #Mamavation

Wow.  I wish I was exaggerating.  Yesterday morning I was 6 pounds heavier than this morning.  I was stunned today when I stepped on the scale and noted the difference.  I plan to continue doing the same things today that I did yesterday, but I cannot imagine it will make that great a difference today.

What did I do to lost 6 pounds overnight?  I think the key was my increased consumption of water - not flavored, not coffeed, not changed in any way.  I had about 11 cups of regular, cold tap water.  That's approximately 88 ounces of water.  For the purpose of weight loss, my ultimate goal is 12 cups a day right now, maybe I'll make it today.

Water is not the only thing I changed.  I started using MyFitnessPal for counting calories.  I am curious about what I'm consuming, I'll tell you what - if you've never counted calories - it's enlightening.  I also worked toward exercise goals yesterday.  I walked and biked for a combined total or 40 minutes cardio work.  I hope to get to the gym tonight to do more strength training.

That's it - I drank a lot of water, tracked my calories, and exercised. 

Oh, and snacked a lot on carrots and celery because, well, they're tasty.

What are your best weight loss tips?