Restore: My health week 1 update

Okay, so I'm working on restoring my health, eating better, exercising more...

Not the best start.  We are eating better, more "home" cooked meals (meaning some were store-bought and reheated, some were homemade cooked elsewhere, and some completely home cooked).  We had a quick snack at McDonalds the other day after we went to the zoo.  Monday was the big "Zoo-Loo-Au", and we were served hot dogs, orange drink, potato chips, and ice cream.  We ate at 4:00, so the boys were pretty hungry by the time we left at 6:30.  We also had a milk shake from Steak N Shake on a short family date yesterday.  (Monkey thought the green ice cream was amazing).

We're working on it, slowly doing better.  In times we might usually decide to eat out, we've opted for quick "pick it up at the grocery and throw it in the oven" meals - still not incredibly healthy, but more so than fast food, and much cheaper.  We'll get there.

We've taken a couple of good walks this week.  On Monday we spend a couple of hours walking at the zoo. Obviously there was a lot of stopping and starting, I hurt by the end but kept pushing.

Today we went for a good hike in one of the local parks.  We're working with Monkey on not needing to be carried while we hike - Crackers still rides on my back in the Ergo Carrier that I won from Tight Wad in Utah!  Monkey's getting there, he just needs a lot of prompting - can you run to the bridge, look at that catepillar...

So my IDEAL life with eating healthy home cooked meals every day and getting lots of family exercise isn't here yet - but we're moving in the right direction.. we just have to keep moving that way.

What motivation do you have to live a healthier life?  How do you work with your family on satisfying cravings for junk food?  How do you push your little ones into healthy behaviors?  (My little ones are very active, but when it comes to hiking, for some reason it's tough).

Refresh: Thanks ladies

Ah, being a (mostly) stay at home mom is great.  Mostly.  I miss time out with the girls, I live in kid world most of the time.  It's so nice to have the opportunity to spend time "out" with other women - even if our kids are in the next room ... or in and out of the next room.

Today was a "Mom Time" day.  I had the opportunity to get together with several other women for a couple of hours and refresh.  I am so thankful for the relationships that are still being formed as a result of some hard work by a couple of fantastic women.

Thank you Christine and KeriJo for deciding that we needed a fellowship group and taking action.  Thank you Jessica for opening your home to us today.

Refresh: My home, Restore: My sanity

When I was a kid my room was always a mess - a BIG mess.  I greatly lacked in organization or motivation to clean.  In fact, I kind of enjoyed it when I was sent to my room to clean.  Generally I played with everything I found, then fell asleep halfway under the bed - why under the bed, I have no idea - but that's how it went.

As a young adult I learned to keep things a bit neater and more organized.  I recognized while I was in college that when my house or room was messy, it was a reflection of what was going on in my mind and heart.  Now, I'm not saying that solution to feeling crazy and out of control is to clean my house - that's silly - but it absolutely does have an effect on how I think and feel.

When I moved into my own apartment, then my own house - I liked to keep things neat.  Now, truthfully - sometimes things got a bit out of place, even a little messy... but for the most part it was easy to clean and I liked the feeling of keeping things neat.  It felt good to my mind and my body - it was a good life.

Now, I'm happily married with 2.5 fantastic children.  Somehow over the last 4 years and 4.5 children (we had a couple of foster children for a while) - I lost the organization.  I lost the ability to keep things clean.  It feels messy in my house, and I don't like it.  When my house feels messy I get angry, frustrated, tired... messy!  I want things to be clean.  I feel like I'm in a constant battle to keep things loosely organized.  I told Mr. Crum last night - I just can't figure out how it is that we have more dirty dishes after every meal!  (he laughed).  

So here I am, working on ways to "renew, refresh, restore" and I find the condition of my house to be a hindrance.  How will I work on it?  Slowly.  We're still fighting the stuff battle - I take things to Salvation Army as frequently as possible.  This morning I felt energized - I got up, started laundry, cleaned the living room, did the dishes, prepared dinner... now it's time for a quick "blog break"... next I'm back to cleaning.  After "the Roamer" arrives to be babysat, we'll be heading upstairs to get the boys' room back in order and prepare our "classroom" area for the start of home preschool in a couple of weeks.

Do you have any great tips to share about keeping your home organized?

Renew: A commitment, Restore: Health

It's no secret that I'm a type 2 diabetic.  I've actually had a couple of doctors that were surprised by this diagnosis because "I'm too young".  I was officially diagnosed at about 25 yrs old - I already knew that I was diabetic, I had been testing my blood sugars for over a year and was "borderline" before I turned 20.

I am overweight.  I don't always eat well, I certainly don't exercise like I should.  I have a strong family history of diabetes.  All of these things together make for messy blood sugars.

My current doctor wants me to "take a brisk walk for 20 minutes after every meal".  What she doesn't realize, I guess, is that it's REALLY hot outside, I'm 6 months pregnant, and I have a toddler and a preschooler (who both happen to nap immediately after lunch every day).  Am I making excuses for not walking after meals?  Maybe.  The real truth is that it hurts right now.  My body is in a state of stretching and changing in ways that make it very uncomfortable to walk "briskly" for 5 minutes - I cannot physically walk "briskly" for 20 minutes - even if my boys are in the double jogging stroller.

I can control my food intake.  However, I lack greatly in self-control when it comes to food.  Especially on the 3 days a week that I am home-bound because I'm babysitting.  We are working on this - our grocery trip last week included "healthy snacks" - nuts, granola, cheese, carb-master yogurt, etc.  We also loaded up on veggies for salads.  We got a bit of fruit too, but it is not a big temptation for me - I'm not a big fan of fruit in general.

Why am I sharing this?  It's a step toward renewing my commitment to live healthy by eating well.  I don't know yet what I am going to do about getting more exercise right now.  We ARE working on it.  Last night we exercised by walking at the zoo for 2 hours (not a fast pace at all, and with several short breaks).

I want to have a healthy body so I can enjoy my family more.  I want to slow this disease.  I want my boys to grow up knowing how to live well so they can begin to defeat this disease before they have to think about it.  Yes, it's genetic - but that doesn't mean they will get it, and I can help them avoid problems with diabetes by getting them active right now.

How do you exercise when it's too hot or your body hurts too much?  How do you eat well when tempted by foods?

Refresh: My Mind

I am a busy lady sometimes.  I like being busy, and I'm not complaining about that.

Right now I'm a "stay at home" mom with a toddler and a preschooler - baby #3 will be here in a few more months.  3 days a week, I babysit for a sweet toddler boy.  I also work part time with the children's ministry at my church.  So basically - I stay at home and work 2 part time jobs.

Some days I run myself ragged.  I forget to give myself time to rest.  I don't relax my mind.  I frequently don't let myself refresh, even when I take advantage of "nap time" with my boys.

So what is this busy mama going to do in order to daily refresh herself?
1) Spend time reading my Bible daily - while I put the boys down for a nap.
2) Work on at least 1 craft project a week.
3) Create a prayer to say regularly that helps me remember who I am and who I want to be.
4) Remind myself that my health is important as I teach my children.

Renew, Restore, Refresh

It's that time again.  I feel like I have this constant struggle with my commitment to health and I'm just not sure how to rectify it.  It's really been a struggle recently, and being pregnant hasn't been helpful for that.  In fact, a lot of days I just want to snack all day long.

Did I mention it's HOT?  Not just outside either, we have AC in our bedroom and the boy's bedroom - the rest of the house currently ranges from 82-90 degrees depending on the time of day.  YUCK!  The heat makes me not want to do ANYTHING at all.

Anyway, I'm writing about "Renew, Restore, Refresh"...

The basics: I'm working on changing the way we live - not just me, the whole family.  This includes our commitment to physical health, relationships outside the house, order within the house, the way we use our money, and consistency of scheduling.

I intend to blog about this very regularly over the next several months as we make some positive family changes.  I would love to have people share their ideas, stories, and encouragement with me.  I'd also really love it if people who know me - I mean for real know me - would check in... heck, even offer help if you've got some to offer!

This week I'll be focusing more specifically on what things I am going to be working on "renew, refresh, and restore" with.

Thanks to all for your support as I work on bettering my family.