I don't remember the first time that I listened to the Kidd Kraddick morning show. I do, however, remember listening to his show on and off since I was in middle school. It was almost always on when we were driving to school in the morning and we even listened to his show during the summer.
He has one of the few radio shows that has been able to have me rolling on the floor laughing one day and crying my eyes out the next day. Even though I never personally met any of the members of this morning show, I know them. They have been a part of my life since as far back as I can remember. I remember rejoicing with Kelly when she told people that she was pregnant. I remember every year as the year comes to an end starting to get anxious for the time(s) when they started playing the "Kissmas Wishes" on the radio - I mean, really.. if you don't get choked up listening to those then you need your soul checked.
I rarely get rocked by 'celebrities' passing away, but this is different. On top of being a part of our lives for more than 10 years, he was an awesome giver. His numerous foundations and charities that he gave money, time, gifts, and attention to are too numerous to name here. He was an incredible lover of children, especially disadvantaged or disabled children. His unwavering devotion to giving to charity was admirable and will be sorely missed.
I am saddened for all of the people that he leaves behind. On top of his co-workers who have been with him for longer than most people are married, he leaves behind a beautiful 23 year old daughter Caroline, who was often mentioned on the show. We, as listeners, have grown up with her. I still think of her as the little 6 year old girl that Kidd spoke about often on his show. My heart breaks for her and the pain that I know that she is going through. I can only hope that she gets some sort of happiness in knowing how many people her father touched during his years on the radio. Almost everyone that you talk to has something to say about him.
The DFW area has an enormous hole in it's heart after this weekend. RIP Kidd Kraddick.
'Keep looking up, because that's where it all is."
-Sara
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Top 10 favorite toddler toys
Before I had children I wondered how parents acquired millions of toys. I knew that you would buy them one at a time and over time end up with some through birthday parties and things like that but I never really thought about where all these toys would go, if my children would play with them or how much I would want to get rid of 99% of them. Here is a list of the top ten things that I find them reaching for the most. There are other items that are being left off, like books and random stuffed animals that I will cover in another post. I have listed a price from a certain store with each item. This isn’t necessarily the cheapest price or the price that we paid or even the store that we purchased from. A lot of these toys were either gifts or we have had them for some time or I can’t recall the exact place we buy our toys from. I am only listing one place – you can use http://www.google.com for other places that you could buy the item.
1. The first item is the Little People Disney Princess Songs Palace. You can buy this for $38.99 from Target. My sister got this for Isabella for Christmas and she absolutely loves it! It comes disassembled with clear instructions and was relatively easy to put together. It comes with batteries, stickers and 2 princesses (Cinderella and Snow White). You can also buy separate princesses that work with the palace. That link is a common set of them that you can purchase that she also got for Isabella. Once put together, this toy is very sturdy. We regularly keep it on a table in the middle of the toy room so the younger babies can stand around it and still play with it. Silas will usually attempt to pull it off the table onto the floor and several times it has fallen and remained intact. The flags on the top of the castle are attached to larger pieces and so are not in jeopardy of being swallowed, but they do regularly come off of the castle. Isabella uses them as a cup for her play kitchen. They love the elevator and the different pieces that move around. If you put in the batteries there is a noise that is played when the doors open and there are specific noises per each Princess that are made. There don’t appear to be any small parts once assembled that could be presented as a choking hazard. If any pieces come loose, I could see potential for choking but we haven’t had any issues. As usual use caution when small children play with any toys.
2. The next toy is made by Circo from Target and is their Medical Care Kit. It is $15.49 at our local Target store. Isabella is enamored with a show on Disney Jr called Doc McStuffins. She is an animated child that plays doctor on her toys and stuffed animals. I saw this kit and knew that it would be perfect for her. It comes in a sturdy clear plastic case. I say that because it can support Silas’s weight of about 23-24lbs. He regularly uses it as a step stool to climb onto the couch. It is a 10 piece set of doctor’s tools including stethoscope, 2 hard casts, 2 soft bandages, syringe, tweezers, blood pressure cuff, thermometer, and a modified otoscope (that thing doctor’s look in your eyes and ears with.) Isabella loves these items and now plays doctor on all of her dolls and stuffed animals. I have to issue a warning on this toy though that with very little force my husband was able to remove the ‘pump’ part from the blood pressure cuff. A small amount of super glue though was able to keep the pump in place and served as a small modification that makes the toy useable by all children in my house. Also, be advised that the thermometer includes a small battery (you can’t easily access so there shouldn’t be any cause for concern that it would be swallowed without removing several screws.) I say that because the battery helps the thermometer make this SUPER annoying beeping sound that happens anytime the child pushes the button on the outside. You might want to consider removing that battery in case you like being driven insane by beeping children’s toys. Also, the tweezers could potentially be seen as a choking hazard if your child puts items into their mouth. Silas regularly does and he could easily swallow those if unsupervised.
3. Any parent who has a little girl can vouch for me when I say that we have too many babies around our house. There are naked baby dolls all over our house. We have several Circo brand baby dolls. They are from Target and are less than $10 I think. They come with a single outfit which is a one piece outfit and a shirt. They are easy to remove and put back on for kids. Some of them come with a hat as well. You can also buy separate outfits and accessories for these dolls. We also have an American Girl Bitty Baby. This is a more expensive version of those same dolls. The arms and legs are still a harder plastic type material with a cloth body. It comes with an outfit, a tiny bear and a book for $55. We ordered ours through the actual American Girl website where we also bought another outfit as an accessory as it was on clearance. I would recommend this doll for older children because the doll and accessories are rather expensive. All in all she loves these babies. She sleeps in her crib with most of these babies every night. Like most toddlers, she prefers the cheap version over the expensive one, so keep that in mind when buying toys, especially dolls. They will be more interested in the box or the wrapping than the actual toy.
5. Meemaw bought Silas this next toy for his first birthday. It is the Little Tykes Handle Haulers Deluxe Farm Truck. You can buy this from Walmart for $14.99. This is a super neat toy that looks like a big farm truck. The back end of the truck can be let down so the animals can get out. It comes with a cow and a pig. There is a handle in the back of the truck that has a button that, when pressed, plays music and farm sounds. All the kids play with this truck a lot. Silas loves the music that it plays and he runs that truck all over the house. It is durable as well – it has fallen off shelves numerous times and never broken.
6. One of our most used toys is the B. Wheeee-ls! Soft Cars. These are $15.99 from Target. We have two of these cars in our camper and they are super durable. My son plays with these anytime that we go camping. You can easily wipe down or rinse off the outside. They have been stepped on, kicked around, thrown down, etc. These four cars are made of a super soft plastic material that is easy for little hands to grab on to. These are the kind of cars that you can pull back and release and they roll forward on their own. My son absolutely loves these cars and we would definitely repurchase if they carried more of them at our local Target.
7. Next is the Choo Choo Wagon by Step2. This is single-handedly the coolest toy that my parents have. It’s a wagon that has several different compartments for the children to sit in instead of one big area like a normal wagon. You can connect ‘trailers’ to the back for extra seating. The wagon itself can be bought here for $99.99 + shipping with just two separate cars. Each car comes with a built in cup holder, and a bench with a seat belt. The cars are tall enough so the kids are up off the ground but short enough where the kids can easily climb in and out themselves. Each car can hold a max of 50lbs. My kids absolutely love this toy. If we could stand to pull them around for hours at a time they would gladly ride in this the entire time. We take this wagon every time that we go camping and they love being pulled around all day. We get a lot of compliments on this wagon. We have seen several around town with different families and it seems to be very durable.
8. Earlier this year, my mom purchased a plastic rocking dog for her house and after seeing how well both of the kids loved it we decided that we needed to get one for our house. Corry found the Little Tykes Rocking Horse in blue. You can buy it from Walmart for $29.99. My kids absolutely love this rocking horse. It’s low to the ground so they can easily get on and off of it. I would imagine that if they rock too far back that they would be able to flip this over while they were on it, but it would take some effort and with proper supervision you should be able to see this happening. There is a lip on the front and the back that seems to act as a deterrent to being able to flip the horse over. Another warning – both of my kids use the seat as a step to get up on the couch, try to climb on different items around our house, or just to stand up on the horse itself. This can be dangerous if your children are unsteady and they can easily fall and potentially hurt themselves. We have also used this toy both indoors and out and it works just as well on grass as it does on carpet. It’s super lightweight and provides hours of entertainment for any age group.
9. The next item is the Graco Room Full of Fun Baby Doll Playset in the multi dot pattern. We got this as a gift for Isabella for Christmas to use with her millions of dolls in our house. It comes with a pack-n-play, stroller, high chair, pacifier, teether and toy. You can still buy the same set for $34.99 from Toys R Us. It comes disassembled and requires a bit of finesse to get it assembled, but that seems to be the same with any child’s toy. The pack-n-play is the perfect size for several dolls – ours is now currently being used as storage for the other baby products. Several things that I dislike about this toy – one is that it is very difficult for my children to put Isabella’s dolls into the stroller and the high chair. The holes for the doll’s legs are small and they can’t always get the dolls out once they get them in. The second thing that I dislike is that the high chair will not stay together. The legs are forever coming out of their places and my husband had to end up super gluing them all in place. Same thing with the high chair tray – it comes off super easy and is very difficult for kids to put it back on. This isn’t a gripe, but just a warning – the teether, pacifier and toy are on the smaller side and we had to put them up because they were too small for our other children to play with. With all that being said, my kids love this set. I think that Silas likes it more than Isabella does. He walks the stroller around the house collecting all of his toys in it. They have touched this toy at least once per day every day since we got it for them. This toy is cheaply made but it is definitely worth it for how much they play with it.
10. Last but certainly not least are the various components associated with household items, like a kitchen, vacuum, etc. Who would have known that children love toys that are affiliated with chores so much? My mother made the kids a kitchen (picture on left) from a cabinet that we bought from someone on Craigslist. It was a hit and she did an excellent job! There are a multitude of posts on how to do this on Pinterest as well. With that kitchen, we have had numerous people buy the kids play food, and dishes, and pots and pans for this kitchen. It is awesome and they absolutely love playing with this kitchen. We have since acquired another plastic kitchen that has some different features than the one that my mother made, and they love it. I am not sure of the make or the model of the second kitchen because it was purchased from Craigslist and I don’t want to speculate. We noticed more than a year ago that anytime we vacuumed Isabella would freak out and scream and cry until we were done. We bought her a toy vacuum to hopefully make her more comfortable with the process. She didn’t necessarily care for it when we first brought it home, but now it is a favorite toy of both kids. Silas drags it around all over the house. We bought ours from a toy outlet store for about $30. You can buy one like it here: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3142104 Our kids like this toy because it actually turns on and runs. This was not documented as a feature but it does actually suck dust and small fine items off the floor. Luckily the bucket comes off the front easily and you can fully empty it without an issue. Our last household chore toy that the kids absolutely love is the washer and dryer. This is an older model toy that we bought from Craigslist that comes with an attached washer, dryer and ironing board. The washer and the dryer both have a lid that fully closes and both tubs spin. It is made of a tough plastic material that seems to resist wearing. (insert picture) The kids love that toy and love it especially as a hiding spot for other toys. One of the bonuses is that older kids who come over can play with this group of toys and not feel like they are playing with baby toys.
1. The first item is the Little People Disney Princess Songs Palace. You can buy this for $38.99 from Target. My sister got this for Isabella for Christmas and she absolutely loves it! It comes disassembled with clear instructions and was relatively easy to put together. It comes with batteries, stickers and 2 princesses (Cinderella and Snow White). You can also buy separate princesses that work with the palace. That link is a common set of them that you can purchase that she also got for Isabella. Once put together, this toy is very sturdy. We regularly keep it on a table in the middle of the toy room so the younger babies can stand around it and still play with it. Silas will usually attempt to pull it off the table onto the floor and several times it has fallen and remained intact. The flags on the top of the castle are attached to larger pieces and so are not in jeopardy of being swallowed, but they do regularly come off of the castle. Isabella uses them as a cup for her play kitchen. They love the elevator and the different pieces that move around. If you put in the batteries there is a noise that is played when the doors open and there are specific noises per each Princess that are made. There don’t appear to be any small parts once assembled that could be presented as a choking hazard. If any pieces come loose, I could see potential for choking but we haven’t had any issues. As usual use caution when small children play with any toys. 2. The next toy is made by Circo from Target and is their Medical Care Kit. It is $15.49 at our local Target store. Isabella is enamored with a show on Disney Jr called Doc McStuffins. She is an animated child that plays doctor on her toys and stuffed animals. I saw this kit and knew that it would be perfect for her. It comes in a sturdy clear plastic case. I say that because it can support Silas’s weight of about 23-24lbs. He regularly uses it as a step stool to climb onto the couch. It is a 10 piece set of doctor’s tools including stethoscope, 2 hard casts, 2 soft bandages, syringe, tweezers, blood pressure cuff, thermometer, and a modified otoscope (that thing doctor’s look in your eyes and ears with.) Isabella loves these items and now plays doctor on all of her dolls and stuffed animals. I have to issue a warning on this toy though that with very little force my husband was able to remove the ‘pump’ part from the blood pressure cuff. A small amount of super glue though was able to keep the pump in place and served as a small modification that makes the toy useable by all children in my house. Also, be advised that the thermometer includes a small battery (you can’t easily access so there shouldn’t be any cause for concern that it would be swallowed without removing several screws.) I say that because the battery helps the thermometer make this SUPER annoying beeping sound that happens anytime the child pushes the button on the outside. You might want to consider removing that battery in case you like being driven insane by beeping children’s toys. Also, the tweezers could potentially be seen as a choking hazard if your child puts items into their mouth. Silas regularly does and he could easily swallow those if unsupervised. 3. Any parent who has a little girl can vouch for me when I say that we have too many babies around our house. There are naked baby dolls all over our house. We have several Circo brand baby dolls. They are from Target and are less than $10 I think. They come with a single outfit which is a one piece outfit and a shirt. They are easy to remove and put back on for kids. Some of them come with a hat as well. You can also buy separate outfits and accessories for these dolls. We also have an American Girl Bitty Baby. This is a more expensive version of those same dolls. The arms and legs are still a harder plastic type material with a cloth body. It comes with an outfit, a tiny bear and a book for $55. We ordered ours through the actual American Girl website where we also bought another outfit as an accessory as it was on clearance. I would recommend this doll for older children because the doll and accessories are rather expensive. All in all she loves these babies. She sleeps in her crib with most of these babies every night. Like most toddlers, she prefers the cheap version over the expensive one, so keep that in mind when buying toys, especially dolls. They will be more interested in the box or the wrapping than the actual toy.
4. Our next toy on the list is the Fisher-Price Soothe & Glow Seahorse. You can literally almost buy this toy anywhere. It retails for $14.97 at Walmart. I heard many good reviews about this toy before I had children and so it seemed like a no-brainer when I was pregnant. This seahorse was amusing when she was born and younger baby, but she wasn’t necessarily attached to it. She didn’t really care for it until she moved into her own room. Then it became a part of her night-time comfort routine. We bought a second one for Silas when he was born and he doesn’t care for it. It eventually migrated into Isabella’s crib and it remains there even today. If she doesn’t have both seahorses available to her at all times while sleeping she freaks out. For anyone who is unfamiliar, this is about a foot long plush seahorse that upon pressing the belly plays music and lights up for five minutes. It plays soft music and lullabies. This is an inexpensive toy that lasts a long time that most babies love. I would recommend this to any new parents.
5. Meemaw bought Silas this next toy for his first birthday. It is the Little Tykes Handle Haulers Deluxe Farm Truck. You can buy this from Walmart for $14.99. This is a super neat toy that looks like a big farm truck. The back end of the truck can be let down so the animals can get out. It comes with a cow and a pig. There is a handle in the back of the truck that has a button that, when pressed, plays music and farm sounds. All the kids play with this truck a lot. Silas loves the music that it plays and he runs that truck all over the house. It is durable as well – it has fallen off shelves numerous times and never broken. 6. One of our most used toys is the B. Wheeee-ls! Soft Cars. These are $15.99 from Target. We have two of these cars in our camper and they are super durable. My son plays with these anytime that we go camping. You can easily wipe down or rinse off the outside. They have been stepped on, kicked around, thrown down, etc. These four cars are made of a super soft plastic material that is easy for little hands to grab on to. These are the kind of cars that you can pull back and release and they roll forward on their own. My son absolutely loves these cars and we would definitely repurchase if they carried more of them at our local Target. 7. Next is the Choo Choo Wagon by Step2. This is single-handedly the coolest toy that my parents have. It’s a wagon that has several different compartments for the children to sit in instead of one big area like a normal wagon. You can connect ‘trailers’ to the back for extra seating. The wagon itself can be bought here for $99.99 + shipping with just two separate cars. Each car comes with a built in cup holder, and a bench with a seat belt. The cars are tall enough so the kids are up off the ground but short enough where the kids can easily climb in and out themselves. Each car can hold a max of 50lbs. My kids absolutely love this toy. If we could stand to pull them around for hours at a time they would gladly ride in this the entire time. We take this wagon every time that we go camping and they love being pulled around all day. We get a lot of compliments on this wagon. We have seen several around town with different families and it seems to be very durable. 8. Earlier this year, my mom purchased a plastic rocking dog for her house and after seeing how well both of the kids loved it we decided that we needed to get one for our house. Corry found the Little Tykes Rocking Horse in blue. You can buy it from Walmart for $29.99. My kids absolutely love this rocking horse. It’s low to the ground so they can easily get on and off of it. I would imagine that if they rock too far back that they would be able to flip this over while they were on it, but it would take some effort and with proper supervision you should be able to see this happening. There is a lip on the front and the back that seems to act as a deterrent to being able to flip the horse over. Another warning – both of my kids use the seat as a step to get up on the couch, try to climb on different items around our house, or just to stand up on the horse itself. This can be dangerous if your children are unsteady and they can easily fall and potentially hurt themselves. We have also used this toy both indoors and out and it works just as well on grass as it does on carpet. It’s super lightweight and provides hours of entertainment for any age group. 9. The next item is the Graco Room Full of Fun Baby Doll Playset in the multi dot pattern. We got this as a gift for Isabella for Christmas to use with her millions of dolls in our house. It comes with a pack-n-play, stroller, high chair, pacifier, teether and toy. You can still buy the same set for $34.99 from Toys R Us. It comes disassembled and requires a bit of finesse to get it assembled, but that seems to be the same with any child’s toy. The pack-n-play is the perfect size for several dolls – ours is now currently being used as storage for the other baby products. Several things that I dislike about this toy – one is that it is very difficult for my children to put Isabella’s dolls into the stroller and the high chair. The holes for the doll’s legs are small and they can’t always get the dolls out once they get them in. The second thing that I dislike is that the high chair will not stay together. The legs are forever coming out of their places and my husband had to end up super gluing them all in place. Same thing with the high chair tray – it comes off super easy and is very difficult for kids to put it back on. This isn’t a gripe, but just a warning – the teether, pacifier and toy are on the smaller side and we had to put them up because they were too small for our other children to play with. With all that being said, my kids love this set. I think that Silas likes it more than Isabella does. He walks the stroller around the house collecting all of his toys in it. They have touched this toy at least once per day every day since we got it for them. This toy is cheaply made but it is definitely worth it for how much they play with it. 10. Last but certainly not least are the various components associated with household items, like a kitchen, vacuum, etc. Who would have known that children love toys that are affiliated with chores so much? My mother made the kids a kitchen (picture on left) from a cabinet that we bought from someone on Craigslist. It was a hit and she did an excellent job! There are a multitude of posts on how to do this on Pinterest as well. With that kitchen, we have had numerous people buy the kids play food, and dishes, and pots and pans for this kitchen. It is awesome and they absolutely love playing with this kitchen. We have since acquired another plastic kitchen that has some different features than the one that my mother made, and they love it. I am not sure of the make or the model of the second kitchen because it was purchased from Craigslist and I don’t want to speculate. We noticed more than a year ago that anytime we vacuumed Isabella would freak out and scream and cry until we were done. We bought her a toy vacuum to hopefully make her more comfortable with the process. She didn’t necessarily care for it when we first brought it home, but now it is a favorite toy of both kids. Silas drags it around all over the house. We bought ours from a toy outlet store for about $30. You can buy one like it here: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3142104 Our kids like this toy because it actually turns on and runs. This was not documented as a feature but it does actually suck dust and small fine items off the floor. Luckily the bucket comes off the front easily and you can fully empty it without an issue. Our last household chore toy that the kids absolutely love is the washer and dryer. This is an older model toy that we bought from Craigslist that comes with an attached washer, dryer and ironing board. The washer and the dryer both have a lid that fully closes and both tubs spin. It is made of a tough plastic material that seems to resist wearing. (insert picture) The kids love that toy and love it especially as a hiding spot for other toys. One of the bonuses is that older kids who come over can play with this group of toys and not feel like they are playing with baby toys.
Hopefully this list is helpful to someone who doesn't have a lot of toys or is a relatively new mom trying to decide what to buy for their child. I am more than happy to post more in depth reviews on any and/or all of these items.
What are your child's favorite toys?
-Sara
Friday, July 26, 2013
The paci – a love story come to an end.
Before I had children and even while I was pregnant with Isabella, I never wanted to give my child a pacifier. I always heard from other people how difficult of a habit it was to break and I never really wanted to start that if I could avoid it. However, when Isabella came into the world, it seemed everyone was interested in her having one as a soother and so it came to be. And she loved it. She took to it almost immediately and was in love with it for over 18 months.
Once I gave her the pacifier, I never really had an issue with it. If she wanted it, I gave it to her because I figured that she was only a baby for such a short time and eventually she would break the habit. We actually decided to break that habit sooner than I thought because she started to use it as a teether and not so much a soother anymore and bit the end off of one of them. We gave her another and she did the same thing shortly after that. At that time we decided that she was done. We were not going to keep buying pacifiers so she could destroy them. We decided that we would cut that one and just see what happened. My husband cut the tip off of one of them because we didn’t want her to choke if she kept biting that hanging piece of it off and we gave it to her like it was normal. She hated it, but she still held onto it. She would stick her pointer finger through the end of it and still suck on it. I am not going to lie but at that point I had a lot of anxiety that we were creating a ‘finger sucker’ child in this process. For over a week she still slept with it but she always had it on one of her fingers for the entire night. Then after a week, one night while she was sleeping it fell under the bed and she didn’t realize. The next morning we put it in her dresser and it has been there ever since. I can’t bring myself to get rid of it and will probably have it as a keepsake. It’s one of the last real reminders that I have of her as a baby and not as the ‘big girl’ that she is now.
Unfortunately, my son is now in this same boat. Isabella was never a bad teether. We really didn’t even know when she was cutting teeth ever. She didn’t really cry more or have any outward signs at all. He, on the other hand, is an awful teether and has been since his first tooth. He chews on everything, slobbers buckets before he cuts a tooth, runs a fever with each one and is just miserable. As of late, that chewing has been on his paci, and last night he chewed a hole in his second paci. In an effort to be fair and realize that he is a big boy now (he is 18 months now) we have decided that we will treat him like Isabella when it comes to the paci and my husband cut the tip off and gave it back to him. He was heartbroken. He cried. Like, for real crying. And because he was crying like that I started crying. My husband justified it that he doesn’t use it at night normally and really only wants it when he wakes up so it shouldn’t impact his sleeping. I am hoping that this will be as easy of an ordeal as it was for Isabella but he is usually more of a fighter so I am not going to hold my breath.
I will keep everyone posted on his progress to becoming a big boy.
-Sara
Thursday, July 25, 2013
"Diet" update
So, sometime in late March my husband and I got back on the diet that we were on when I was pregnant with Silas. Before I get chastised for dieting while pregnant, I wasn't technically dieting; more so just eating better and significantly less calories, but still more than enough to grow a baby. More than enough to grow a huge baby, actually. I mean, he was 10lbs for goodness sakes! Anyway, in the beginning of my pregnancy, while monitored by my OBGYN I lost 25lbs and Corry lost almost 65lbs. Then I got to the point where I was 9 months pregnant and said 'screw a diet' and gave up.
In March I convinced myself that I wanted back on the diet, but mostly because I knew that I had to go to my endocrinologist and he always has an issue with my weight. Overall, even at my weight, and except for the thyroid cancer 10 years ago, I am a healthier person. I have a good heart rate. I have a good/low blood pressure. I have excellent blood sugar. I have no real problems due to weight (yet). I know that odds are good in the future I will develop some issues, especially since I have a family history of diabetes and heart issues, so that is one of the reasons why I want to get this weight off.
Back to March - I wasn't ready to be on a diet. Well, I was ready to be on a diet but I didn't have the support that I needed from friends/family so it wasn't happening. I don't think that the general public really understands what a difference it can make for someone who wants to be on a 'weight loss' program to have a strong support system. For me, it's all the difference in the world. I was not able to stick with it for more than a few days without my husband totally on board with me and without my family support system there.
Since we now have Grace living with us, it became even more apparent that the time to get back on the better eating plan was now back upon us. It is so important that we teach all of our children how a positive relationship with food looks, steps to avoid being an emotional eater and how to have a good body image. We are working on it.
Fast forward to 7/16/2013 - the first day of the rest of our lives. We are 100% dedicated to this and we have been rockin' this new life. We don't really have a caloric goal for every day, per se. Corry figured out our BMR (basal metabolic rate) and thus the number of calories that your body should burn daily while not performing normal activities. We are really striving to get around 1200-1300 calories per day, but not really putting a number to it. If I get more than that, I am not going to go out and do anything crazy, but I will go and work out that night to ensure that I get some positive-ness into that day. We are having some cheats and we are still eating 'real' food, so we don't feel like we are starving ourselves, but we are very strict on portions. We learned this the first go-round. You have to measure everything that you eat. If you don't, you will grossly overestimate the amount of a true portion. We look up all calories and track them daily in a journal that we fill out together so we keep each other honest. We weigh in on Sundays (who am I kidding - I weigh myself like 9 times per day - but I only track the weight that I see on Sundays). I use www.myfitnesspal.com to track my foods during the day since I would definitely forget something and that most certainly keeps me honest.
It is definitely not easy. My company announced our second quarter earnings this week and so our department is celebrating an awesome second quarter by providing snacks and drinks everyday to all folks in our department. This is both awesome and a trick at the same time. The good news is there is always diet soda - which I know is not the best because of the artificial sweetener, but it's better than regular soda with the calories and the sugar. However, there are barely appropriate snacks on that cart. Luckily, during this second week my stomach is starting to adjust to the lesser amount of food and I am finding myself less hungry than I was during the first few days. Really for me, that's the kicker - if I can get through those first couple of days then I am golden usually.
I will say that this week has been more difficult than normal. I am dealing with the surge of hormones because of PMS (TMI, I know, but we are being honest here...) and wanting to eat everything within a 100 mile radius. I am finding it more important to be drinking a ton of water during this week not only to keep the bloating at bay from the aforementioned condition, but also to keep those cravings under control. The majority of time, at least for me, if I think that I am hungry, I am really either bored or thirsty. I have been trying to keep at least one bottle of water on my desk at work and any time that I am bored, thirsty, or hungry, I try to challenge myself to drink the entire thing. Unfortunately, for most of the day that means I am running to the restroom like 9 times in 3 hours, but it is well worth it for the health benefits associated with getting enough water.
Other than wanting to eat cheese enchiladas with dessert and a margarita blamed on PMS, I am doing excellent. I feel amazing. We are starting to walk at this middle school track by our house. I spent over an hour outside today with my husband using a lawn mower (which sucks) and weeding my garden. *sigh* My garden is in such a state of disorder right now it is sad. I am working on it though. I feel amazing. I am starting to be able to see the lost weight in parts of my body and that is making it easy to keep going.
I hesitate to tell the amount of lbs that have been lost this time because 1) it seems unbelievable since the number is rather large, and 2) I know that I will get some flack because most of the time you see this amount in one of those fad diet programs and I definitely don't think this is that. I think that I could see myself living this life for the rest of my life because I am not depriving myself; just sensibly limiting what I should not be eating to an absolute minimum.
I will share the amount even though I am scared to because I am proud of what I have accomplished and it has been some work over the last few days. As of this morning, I am down 18.6 lbs in 9 days. I have 3 more days until my official 'weigh-in' for the week so that still gives me a bit of time. The weight loss is slowing down a bit which I expected. I know from the last time that the first week you lose a tremendous amount of weight and it's basically a jump start. I am not taking any supplements, drugs, or on any type of special programs. I am definitely in this for the long haul, because ideally I have over 100 lbs to lose.
I would like to keep blogging this journey, even if no one reads these because I would like to have a history of this to look back on when I accomplish my goals (that I have yet to set) in this new life that I am setting up for myself. If you have any weight to lose, I encourage you to join us. Corry and Grace are both doing excellent with this as well - we are all losing similar amounts and even my mom has joined in and is making 'skinny' meals and snacks while over here. I appreciate all of the support that I am receiving during this time because this is definitely one of the hardest but also one of the best things that I can do for myself.
Until next time...
-Sara
In March I convinced myself that I wanted back on the diet, but mostly because I knew that I had to go to my endocrinologist and he always has an issue with my weight. Overall, even at my weight, and except for the thyroid cancer 10 years ago, I am a healthier person. I have a good heart rate. I have a good/low blood pressure. I have excellent blood sugar. I have no real problems due to weight (yet). I know that odds are good in the future I will develop some issues, especially since I have a family history of diabetes and heart issues, so that is one of the reasons why I want to get this weight off.
Back to March - I wasn't ready to be on a diet. Well, I was ready to be on a diet but I didn't have the support that I needed from friends/family so it wasn't happening. I don't think that the general public really understands what a difference it can make for someone who wants to be on a 'weight loss' program to have a strong support system. For me, it's all the difference in the world. I was not able to stick with it for more than a few days without my husband totally on board with me and without my family support system there.
Since we now have Grace living with us, it became even more apparent that the time to get back on the better eating plan was now back upon us. It is so important that we teach all of our children how a positive relationship with food looks, steps to avoid being an emotional eater and how to have a good body image. We are working on it.
Fast forward to 7/16/2013 - the first day of the rest of our lives. We are 100% dedicated to this and we have been rockin' this new life. We don't really have a caloric goal for every day, per se. Corry figured out our BMR (basal metabolic rate) and thus the number of calories that your body should burn daily while not performing normal activities. We are really striving to get around 1200-1300 calories per day, but not really putting a number to it. If I get more than that, I am not going to go out and do anything crazy, but I will go and work out that night to ensure that I get some positive-ness into that day. We are having some cheats and we are still eating 'real' food, so we don't feel like we are starving ourselves, but we are very strict on portions. We learned this the first go-round. You have to measure everything that you eat. If you don't, you will grossly overestimate the amount of a true portion. We look up all calories and track them daily in a journal that we fill out together so we keep each other honest. We weigh in on Sundays (who am I kidding - I weigh myself like 9 times per day - but I only track the weight that I see on Sundays). I use www.myfitnesspal.com to track my foods during the day since I would definitely forget something and that most certainly keeps me honest.
It is definitely not easy. My company announced our second quarter earnings this week and so our department is celebrating an awesome second quarter by providing snacks and drinks everyday to all folks in our department. This is both awesome and a trick at the same time. The good news is there is always diet soda - which I know is not the best because of the artificial sweetener, but it's better than regular soda with the calories and the sugar. However, there are barely appropriate snacks on that cart. Luckily, during this second week my stomach is starting to adjust to the lesser amount of food and I am finding myself less hungry than I was during the first few days. Really for me, that's the kicker - if I can get through those first couple of days then I am golden usually.
I will say that this week has been more difficult than normal. I am dealing with the surge of hormones because of PMS (TMI, I know, but we are being honest here...) and wanting to eat everything within a 100 mile radius. I am finding it more important to be drinking a ton of water during this week not only to keep the bloating at bay from the aforementioned condition, but also to keep those cravings under control. The majority of time, at least for me, if I think that I am hungry, I am really either bored or thirsty. I have been trying to keep at least one bottle of water on my desk at work and any time that I am bored, thirsty, or hungry, I try to challenge myself to drink the entire thing. Unfortunately, for most of the day that means I am running to the restroom like 9 times in 3 hours, but it is well worth it for the health benefits associated with getting enough water.
Other than wanting to eat cheese enchiladas with dessert and a margarita blamed on PMS, I am doing excellent. I feel amazing. We are starting to walk at this middle school track by our house. I spent over an hour outside today with my husband using a lawn mower (which sucks) and weeding my garden. *sigh* My garden is in such a state of disorder right now it is sad. I am working on it though. I feel amazing. I am starting to be able to see the lost weight in parts of my body and that is making it easy to keep going.
I hesitate to tell the amount of lbs that have been lost this time because 1) it seems unbelievable since the number is rather large, and 2) I know that I will get some flack because most of the time you see this amount in one of those fad diet programs and I definitely don't think this is that. I think that I could see myself living this life for the rest of my life because I am not depriving myself; just sensibly limiting what I should not be eating to an absolute minimum.
I will share the amount even though I am scared to because I am proud of what I have accomplished and it has been some work over the last few days. As of this morning, I am down 18.6 lbs in 9 days. I have 3 more days until my official 'weigh-in' for the week so that still gives me a bit of time. The weight loss is slowing down a bit which I expected. I know from the last time that the first week you lose a tremendous amount of weight and it's basically a jump start. I am not taking any supplements, drugs, or on any type of special programs. I am definitely in this for the long haul, because ideally I have over 100 lbs to lose.
I would like to keep blogging this journey, even if no one reads these because I would like to have a history of this to look back on when I accomplish my goals (that I have yet to set) in this new life that I am setting up for myself. If you have any weight to lose, I encourage you to join us. Corry and Grace are both doing excellent with this as well - we are all losing similar amounts and even my mom has joined in and is making 'skinny' meals and snacks while over here. I appreciate all of the support that I am receiving during this time because this is definitely one of the hardest but also one of the best things that I can do for myself.
Until next time...
-Sara
Monday, July 15, 2013
Jalapeno juice is not an acceptable substitute for eye drops.
So on the menu for tonight's dinner was:
stuffed chicken breasts with broccoli & cheese
twice baked potato casserole (Thanks Jim and Traci for the inspiration!)
corn muffins
We were rockin' and rollin' with the cooking in the kitchen. The times to cook things were lining up, and all of the dishes were coming together really well. I had not originally planned on cooking corn muffins but they looked good when I was reviewing our items from the pantry. As I was scooping the corn muffin mix into the muffin tins I was like holy jeez I should add some of our freshly picked jalapenos to some of this batter for mine and Corry's muffins.
I quickly scooped out the seeds and chopped them up into small bits, scraped them into the bowl and scooped the remaining muffins into the tin. I was moving the tin over by the oven to get in line to be cooked in roughly 10 minutes and something in my eye started itching. Without even thinking about the fact that I had not yet washed my hands I moved my fingers up and itched the corner of my eyelid.
HOLY JEEZ!!! I have had a lot of bad ideas in my life, but they all suddenly pale in comparison to the utter horror and stabbing red hot poker-like pain that was radiating from my right eye. I instantly freak out because I am wearing contacts and I know from a million years in science class that all a contact lens does is hold the offensive liquid closer to your eyeball. I'm screaming for my husband (where is the camera to be recording this for YouTube when you need it?) and luckily he comes to help me. I get my contact out, rinse out my eye for what seems like years, and changed into my glasses. I had always heard don't go to the bathroom or rub your face until you wash your hands after cutting hot peppers like that but have never experienced it until tonight.
It has been more than 30 minutes since I stopped rinsing my eye and it still feels like I have an awful sunburn on the outside and inside of my eye. Please God tell me this is going to get better...
On the bright side, we had an excellent meal despite the burned eye situation.
stuffed chicken breasts with broccoli & cheese
twice baked potato casserole (Thanks Jim and Traci for the inspiration!)
corn muffins
We were rockin' and rollin' with the cooking in the kitchen. The times to cook things were lining up, and all of the dishes were coming together really well. I had not originally planned on cooking corn muffins but they looked good when I was reviewing our items from the pantry. As I was scooping the corn muffin mix into the muffin tins I was like holy jeez I should add some of our freshly picked jalapenos to some of this batter for mine and Corry's muffins.
I quickly scooped out the seeds and chopped them up into small bits, scraped them into the bowl and scooped the remaining muffins into the tin. I was moving the tin over by the oven to get in line to be cooked in roughly 10 minutes and something in my eye started itching. Without even thinking about the fact that I had not yet washed my hands I moved my fingers up and itched the corner of my eyelid.
HOLY JEEZ!!! I have had a lot of bad ideas in my life, but they all suddenly pale in comparison to the utter horror and stabbing red hot poker-like pain that was radiating from my right eye. I instantly freak out because I am wearing contacts and I know from a million years in science class that all a contact lens does is hold the offensive liquid closer to your eyeball. I'm screaming for my husband (where is the camera to be recording this for YouTube when you need it?) and luckily he comes to help me. I get my contact out, rinse out my eye for what seems like years, and changed into my glasses. I had always heard don't go to the bathroom or rub your face until you wash your hands after cutting hot peppers like that but have never experienced it until tonight.
It has been more than 30 minutes since I stopped rinsing my eye and it still feels like I have an awful sunburn on the outside and inside of my eye. Please God tell me this is going to get better...
On the bright side, we had an excellent meal despite the burned eye situation.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Isabella’s Third Birthday party preparation: Background and Invitations
Why is there so much pressure to put on a ridiculously awesome birthday party for the child who isn’t even old enough to remember? In 10 years, my daughter isn’t going to remember that I spent HOURS putting together a ‘Happy Birthday Isabella’ banner out of Minnie Mouse heads and hand cut out letters. But I feel like I must do it. I don’t know why – it’s just something that I feel like I need to do it. And based on all of the over the top parties that I have seen on Pinterest, I definitely am not the only one.
Which brings us to this year. Isabella will be 3. Uhh when did that happen? Wasn’t she just born yesterday? I am going to avoid getting all sentimental because it’s too late in the day to start crying, but let’s just say that I remember bringing her home from the hospital like it was yesterday and now she talks more than I ever expected at 2.5 and is one of the lights of my life. I digress… She will be 3 on October 15th. When asked what kind of birthday party she wanted this year she said Hello Kitty. I think that I am the only one on Earth who hates Hello Kitty based on how much merchandise is currently on the market. I asked her what colors, because there are like 9 million different variations of Hello Kitty and she said rainbow. Awesome.
This actually has worked out better for me because I can now make it a rainbow birthday party with Hello Kitty as a side note. I decided to borrow a similar color scheme from one of the Hello Kitty birthday sets out on the market and replace the red in a standard rainbow with a hot pink and I think that it came out great. One of my secret excitements is using Paint to design things that I would like, i.e. invitations, thank you cards, banners, etc. I have been doing this for years and it really helps me to decide what I want beforehand so I know that I will be happy with the finished product. I scoured http://www.etsy.com for inspiration with other people’s invitations and party sets and found a few that I thought were neat but nothing that really struck my fancy. I did end up taking a few items from several of them and combining them all together into one invitation that looks like this:
I will add some cute wording and a picture of Isabella that will be taken sometime over the next few weeks, but on the whole the product is pretty much complete. I have plans for multiple posts re: preparations for the party, pictures of the party, etc. Any inspiration for Silas’s birthday would be greatly appreciated. I haven’t found a lot of cute boy stuff but I would like to have an idea about what I would like to focus on.
-Sara
Which brings us to this year. Isabella will be 3. Uhh when did that happen? Wasn’t she just born yesterday? I am going to avoid getting all sentimental because it’s too late in the day to start crying, but let’s just say that I remember bringing her home from the hospital like it was yesterday and now she talks more than I ever expected at 2.5 and is one of the lights of my life. I digress… She will be 3 on October 15th. When asked what kind of birthday party she wanted this year she said Hello Kitty. I think that I am the only one on Earth who hates Hello Kitty based on how much merchandise is currently on the market. I asked her what colors, because there are like 9 million different variations of Hello Kitty and she said rainbow. Awesome.
This actually has worked out better for me because I can now make it a rainbow birthday party with Hello Kitty as a side note. I decided to borrow a similar color scheme from one of the Hello Kitty birthday sets out on the market and replace the red in a standard rainbow with a hot pink and I think that it came out great. One of my secret excitements is using Paint to design things that I would like, i.e. invitations, thank you cards, banners, etc. I have been doing this for years and it really helps me to decide what I want beforehand so I know that I will be happy with the finished product. I scoured http://www.etsy.com for inspiration with other people’s invitations and party sets and found a few that I thought were neat but nothing that really struck my fancy. I did end up taking a few items from several of them and combining them all together into one invitation that looks like this:
I will add some cute wording and a picture of Isabella that will be taken sometime over the next few weeks, but on the whole the product is pretty much complete. I have plans for multiple posts re: preparations for the party, pictures of the party, etc. Any inspiration for Silas’s birthday would be greatly appreciated. I haven’t found a lot of cute boy stuff but I would like to have an idea about what I would like to focus on.
-Sara
Friday, July 12, 2013
Toddler camping food and activity hints
Let me start off by saying that I am not the biggest fan of camping. When Corry and I first met I remember telling him that if he wanted to camp then he could go without me. I camped a lot when I was younger in Girl Scouts and I think that it just burned me out on it. Plus I don’t love the heat or the bugs. I end up having fun while I am there but I dread going.
With that being said, I never imagined that Corry and I would be a camping family, especially with our small children. My children are completely the opposite – they love camping. L-O-V-E it. They love it so much that we can not even mention that we are going camping until the day that we go or else Isabella will bug you every 5 minutes about when are we going, when are we leaving, what are we taking, etc. They love being outside and they love spending time with their Nana and Pawpaw, Gecca (Jessica), and Null (Neal).
Now that we have camped for over a year with toddlers, allow me to share these three pieces of advice:
Toddlers need routine, especially with their food.
As I will cover in my camping meal planning blog I tailor a lot of my meal ideas for camping around what my kids are guaranteed to eat. Thus we end up having hot dogs, chips, breakfast burritos, ranch dip and veggies, fruit, cereal, and cereal bars a lot while we are camping. My children tend to be decent eaters at home. Usually they are willing to at least try new foods. This is less likely to happen when we are out, either out to eat or camping. I also know that they are burning more calories while we are camping because they are go go go the entire time that we are there, so they definitely need to eat well while we are camping.
KISS (keep it simple, stupid) applies to feeding kids while camping as well.
If you know that your children will not eat brussell sprouts, don’t pack them and expect any different results. While shopping for our trip, I include various healthy (or healthier) snack options for those times when they are whiney and need something to snack on. I normally take an entire Tuperware-like container full of fruit like mandarin oranges, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, etc all mixed together. I cut everything up ahead of time and mix it all together. That way, when they are melting, I can pull this container out and it’s easy, quick, and ready for them when they want it. They love this mix, no matter what is in it, because it is cold and sweet when they are extra hot from playing all day outside. I also buy cereal bars, like Nutri-Grain bars before we go. Silas LOVES these. I think that he is single-handedly keeping this company in business right now. These are easy to grab and eat on the go and they like them because they are a bit sweet and filling. Keeping your toddler entertained, even while camping, is a full time job.
Camping with toddlers does take more planning than going only with adults, but if you just remember a few simple hints, it can be significantly less stressful.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
52 in 52 #8 Jalapeno Popper Dip
I'm going to start off by saying that I am going to have to work very diligently to finish this 52 in 52 challenge that I am working on this year. Luckily, I have BIG plans coming for the kid's birthday parties so I will definitely have the opportunity.
With that being said, I have been eyeing this recipe for a long time on Pinterest. I love all things to do with Jalapeno Poppers, so I figured who wouldn't love the dip. For real, I mean it looks like this picture, except more awesome when you make it for yourself. I didn't care for something about almost every recipe that I saw, so I just winged it. I mean, really how hard could it be?
And not to toot my own horn or anything but I am still snacking on leftovers. This will definitely be made in a smaller more controlled portion size later. I actually think that it is better after the first day. Luckily, we are getting a fairly sizeable crop of jalapenos from our garden, so we were able to use fresh, which I think made it better. I like this dish because you are totally in control of the spice level and can make it as tame or as hot as you prefer. It's also very flexible with the kind and amount of cheese that you add and any additional spices. Let me know if you try anything different because I would definitely be willing to try some variations.
Jalapeno Popper Dip
Yields 1 8x8 pan roughly 1.5 inches thick
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4-6 jalapenos, finely chopped without seeds and ribs
6 pieces bacon, fully cooked and finely chopped
1 tsp Cumin
8 oz cheddar cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs
4 oz butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Smoked paprika
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix cream cheese, mayo, jalapenos, bacon, cumin, 1/2 cup Parm and cheddar cheese together completely. Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray lightly. Press mixture into pan.
- Melt butter in microwave. Stir in remaining Parm cheese and breadcrumbs until fully combined. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over mixture and top lightly with smoked paprika. .
- Place in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until topping is toasted and mixture is bubbly and awesome.
Let me know some of your favorite dip recipes - I am always looking for a new one!
-Sara
With that being said, I have been eyeing this recipe for a long time on Pinterest. I love all things to do with Jalapeno Poppers, so I figured who wouldn't love the dip. For real, I mean it looks like this picture, except more awesome when you make it for yourself. I didn't care for something about almost every recipe that I saw, so I just winged it. I mean, really how hard could it be?
And not to toot my own horn or anything but I am still snacking on leftovers. This will definitely be made in a smaller more controlled portion size later. I actually think that it is better after the first day. Luckily, we are getting a fairly sizeable crop of jalapenos from our garden, so we were able to use fresh, which I think made it better. I like this dish because you are totally in control of the spice level and can make it as tame or as hot as you prefer. It's also very flexible with the kind and amount of cheese that you add and any additional spices. Let me know if you try anything different because I would definitely be willing to try some variations.
Jalapeno Popper Dip
Yields 1 8x8 pan roughly 1.5 inches thick
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
2 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4-6 jalapenos, finely chopped without seeds and ribs
6 pieces bacon, fully cooked and finely chopped
1 tsp Cumin
8 oz cheddar cheese
1 cup breadcrumbs
4 oz butter
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Smoked paprika
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix cream cheese, mayo, jalapenos, bacon, cumin, 1/2 cup Parm and cheddar cheese together completely. Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray lightly. Press mixture into pan.
- Melt butter in microwave. Stir in remaining Parm cheese and breadcrumbs until fully combined. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over mixture and top lightly with smoked paprika. .
- Place in preheated oven for 40-45 minutes or until topping is toasted and mixture is bubbly and awesome.
Let me know some of your favorite dip recipes - I am always looking for a new one!
-Sara
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Change
Change. We, as humans, are all in a constant state of change. Well, not all of us... but anyone who is not 'stuck in a rut' can admit that something about us is always changing, even if it is just the brand of shampoo that we wear or the color of the shirt that we put on in the morning. Some changes are larger and more important than others. Often, whether we know it or not at the time, some of the changes that we make affect us for the remainder of our lives.
Our family is going through some major life changes over the next few months. I will definitely share more when I can but just know that we are all fine and this is definitely nothing horrible.
In all of this change going on with our family, it has caused me to evaluate my relationship(s) with my children. Before I had children, I wondered how a person could love someone the way that people always talked about loving their children. When I met my husband's kids from a previous marriage, I loved them and, of course, I never wanted anything bad to happen to them. It was a different kind of love than I expected it to be, but it was real and true. Unfortunately, as anyone can attest who has step-parents or step-children, that transition is always hard and bumpy in the beginning. Well, and in the middle, and in the end.
When I was pregnant with Isabella, I worried that I would love my biological children more than my other kids. When she was born, I realized that was not true. It was a different love. It wasn't more, or less, or even the same. It was different and that different was all right. Silas being born reinforced that you don't love all your children the same. I love all of my children differently and that is ok and expected. Each one of the four of them is special in their own way, irreplaceable and each one of them has a special piece of my heart.
I am certainly not advocating that you play favorites between your children or that you would choose one child over the others in any situation ever. I had a person explain it to me like this in the past: your love for your children isn't a percentage out of one bucket. All the love for your children isn't shared; it increases with the addition of each one. And I feel like this is totally true.
So, the re-evaluation... I am resolving to be nicer. I am not proud of it but there are days when I yell. There are days when I tell my children to sit down because they are wanting to tell me something for the 85th time. There are days when I want my children to nap at the same time so I can have five minutes to myself to listen to the silence. I don't want there to be a day that goes by that any of my children think that I don't love them or care about them with all of my heart.
I want to listen when they talk. No matter how much they talk or how often they talk. I want to be fully present in the moment with them watching them learn, grow and thrive. I am super excited to see my eldest daughter start high school (what?!) and youngest son learn to talk this year.
This was not one of my resolutions for this year but it has suddenly become one of the most important things in my life. I will keep you all updated on our progress through our change and also on our happiness as a family for this year. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for us.
Our family is going through some major life changes over the next few months. I will definitely share more when I can but just know that we are all fine and this is definitely nothing horrible.
In all of this change going on with our family, it has caused me to evaluate my relationship(s) with my children. Before I had children, I wondered how a person could love someone the way that people always talked about loving their children. When I met my husband's kids from a previous marriage, I loved them and, of course, I never wanted anything bad to happen to them. It was a different kind of love than I expected it to be, but it was real and true. Unfortunately, as anyone can attest who has step-parents or step-children, that transition is always hard and bumpy in the beginning. Well, and in the middle, and in the end.
When I was pregnant with Isabella, I worried that I would love my biological children more than my other kids. When she was born, I realized that was not true. It was a different love. It wasn't more, or less, or even the same. It was different and that different was all right. Silas being born reinforced that you don't love all your children the same. I love all of my children differently and that is ok and expected. Each one of the four of them is special in their own way, irreplaceable and each one of them has a special piece of my heart.
I am certainly not advocating that you play favorites between your children or that you would choose one child over the others in any situation ever. I had a person explain it to me like this in the past: your love for your children isn't a percentage out of one bucket. All the love for your children isn't shared; it increases with the addition of each one. And I feel like this is totally true.
So, the re-evaluation... I am resolving to be nicer. I am not proud of it but there are days when I yell. There are days when I tell my children to sit down because they are wanting to tell me something for the 85th time. There are days when I want my children to nap at the same time so I can have five minutes to myself to listen to the silence. I don't want there to be a day that goes by that any of my children think that I don't love them or care about them with all of my heart.
I want to listen when they talk. No matter how much they talk or how often they talk. I want to be fully present in the moment with them watching them learn, grow and thrive. I am super excited to see my eldest daughter start high school (what?!) and youngest son learn to talk this year.
This was not one of my resolutions for this year but it has suddenly become one of the most important things in my life. I will keep you all updated on our progress through our change and also on our happiness as a family for this year. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts for us.