So a friend recently posted about why she is choosing to homeschool and I wanted to respond here, just to get my thoughts out. It was a great post with good points brought up as to why homeschooling could be better for some people. First let it be said that I seriously considered doing it. I tried to do my own preschool for Sweetcakes last year but I did not do well at all. At first I was excited about the idea and looked up projects, crafts, etc. I printed stuff with great visions of my own little school dancing in my head.
But reality hit. It was just not for me. I had no motivation to keep it up. I still did crafts and teaching moments with my kids, don't get me wrong, but to follow some kind of curriculum? Nah. Now she is in a real preschool that is just amazing with the most fabulous teacher. I can see that there's no way I could provide that kind of environment and opportunity for her. My friend brought up the point that parents are excited to see summer break come to an end, complain that vacations are too long etc and are looking forward to leaving their child in someone else's care for 8 hours a day. While that is a valid point, I feel that if a school/teacher is well researched, observed, and chosen, the 8 hours a day spent away from the parent is more productive/educational/stimulating than the 8 hours with a parent who doesn't have the same capabilities.
That's all really. If it ever came down to a necessity that my child(ren) needed to be homeschooled, I would definitely do it for them. I don't have concerns with socialization, my abilities to impart knowledge, etc. I did enough research on the subject to know that homeschooled kids are provided with many opportunities for socialization and other resources. It's just not for me. And someday if you find me doing it, feel free to remind me about this post and I'll gladly eat my words!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
I love shrinking
Progress so far: Down a total of 9-10lbs, lost 3 inches around my belly and 1 inch around my hips. I am wearing the next size down in jeans.
Now that I finally am seeing success in the weight loss department I am reminded how exciting it is to see your body shrink. I am in week 4 of the six week plan which is vegetables (1lb raw, 1lb cooked per day), fruit (unlimited), whole grains (limited), legumes, nuts and seeds. It was hard-ish until I got past the first two weeks. It always takes 2 weeks to get over the sugar cravings. Now I have no desire whatsoever for junk food. I do have occasional fleeting moments of longing when I am in close proximity to junk (like if I'm giving m&ms to the potty-trainee or cutting the crust off a grilled cheese sandwich for the kiddos) but they are short and my desire to eat healthy is way stronger. I LOVE it.
It's been interesting, eating mostly vegetables and fruit all day. For one thing, I am drinking a ton more water. I drink about a gallon a day now to keep up my milk supply. I think it's because my body used to send hunger signals when the thirst signals weren't being acknowledged so it would at least get SOME moisture from the food. I am eating so many less calories now that my body needs real water instead of gleaning moisture from other sources. I have recognized the difference between real hunger and boredom snacking urges. It helps if I eat then get out of the kitchen. If I'm hanging around the kitchen I just feel like eating when I'm not truly hungry.
Another thing I've noticed and enjoyed is the lack of guilt that normally accompanies eating. A typical day of eating used to involve LOTS of guilt over eating too much sugar, too much food in general, not eating enough vegetables, etc. Now I blissfully sail through each day knowing that I'm putting awesome nutrition into my body and I feel guilt free. Such a relief!
Are you wondering what I eat each day? Well I'll tell ya.
Breakfast: a bowl of steel-cut oats with a packet of stevia, generous sprinkling of cinnamon, bit of coconut milk, half a banana, and a Tb of ground flaxseed. Delicious!
Morning snack: some fruit. An apple, box of raisins, some grapes, tc.
Lunch: a salad and fruit.
Afternoon snack: carrots with hummus or sugar snap peas. Sometimes I'll eat leftover cooked veggies from the night before.
Dinner: beans of some sort or a plate full of veggies. A salad, broccoli, peas, raw red pepper, beets, etc.
Bedtime snack: snap peas or fruit or raisins.
And I'm totally not hungry. Can you believe it? I LOVE this plan and I feel so free. I love not having to purchase, prepare, cook, and eat meat. I already never use red meat (it just grosses me out) but now I don't have to worry about chicken and turkey, ham, etc. I don't miss it at all. Hubs is ok with this type of eating, and I usually serve some yummy thing for him and the kids along with all the veggies.
Speaking of the kids, now that we have such an abundance of fruit and veggies available and they always see me eating them, they are more likely to choose those kinds of snacks themselves. Snacks are carrot sticks, apple slices, raisins, celery and pb, grapes, watermelon, etc. Yes they still eat processed food but they are eating a lot more natural stuff. And get this: they never ask for candy anymore! They used to always ask for a piece at least once a day. It was getting on my nerves but now we don't worry about it anymore. I gave m&ms to Honeybuns here and there when she used the toilet but she quit asking so I stopped offering. The other night I made waffles per Sweetcakes' request. I made myself a salad and had bowls of broccoli and peas on the table for when I emptied my plate of the salad. The kids each took a few bites of waffle then asked for broccoli and peas and gobbled them up! I was astonished but pleased. :-)
Here's to a heart healthy future for our family!
Now that I finally am seeing success in the weight loss department I am reminded how exciting it is to see your body shrink. I am in week 4 of the six week plan which is vegetables (1lb raw, 1lb cooked per day), fruit (unlimited), whole grains (limited), legumes, nuts and seeds. It was hard-ish until I got past the first two weeks. It always takes 2 weeks to get over the sugar cravings. Now I have no desire whatsoever for junk food. I do have occasional fleeting moments of longing when I am in close proximity to junk (like if I'm giving m&ms to the potty-trainee or cutting the crust off a grilled cheese sandwich for the kiddos) but they are short and my desire to eat healthy is way stronger. I LOVE it.
It's been interesting, eating mostly vegetables and fruit all day. For one thing, I am drinking a ton more water. I drink about a gallon a day now to keep up my milk supply. I think it's because my body used to send hunger signals when the thirst signals weren't being acknowledged so it would at least get SOME moisture from the food. I am eating so many less calories now that my body needs real water instead of gleaning moisture from other sources. I have recognized the difference between real hunger and boredom snacking urges. It helps if I eat then get out of the kitchen. If I'm hanging around the kitchen I just feel like eating when I'm not truly hungry.
Another thing I've noticed and enjoyed is the lack of guilt that normally accompanies eating. A typical day of eating used to involve LOTS of guilt over eating too much sugar, too much food in general, not eating enough vegetables, etc. Now I blissfully sail through each day knowing that I'm putting awesome nutrition into my body and I feel guilt free. Such a relief!
Are you wondering what I eat each day? Well I'll tell ya.
Breakfast: a bowl of steel-cut oats with a packet of stevia, generous sprinkling of cinnamon, bit of coconut milk, half a banana, and a Tb of ground flaxseed. Delicious!
Morning snack: some fruit. An apple, box of raisins, some grapes, tc.
Lunch: a salad and fruit.
Afternoon snack: carrots with hummus or sugar snap peas. Sometimes I'll eat leftover cooked veggies from the night before.
Dinner: beans of some sort or a plate full of veggies. A salad, broccoli, peas, raw red pepper, beets, etc.
Bedtime snack: snap peas or fruit or raisins.
And I'm totally not hungry. Can you believe it? I LOVE this plan and I feel so free. I love not having to purchase, prepare, cook, and eat meat. I already never use red meat (it just grosses me out) but now I don't have to worry about chicken and turkey, ham, etc. I don't miss it at all. Hubs is ok with this type of eating, and I usually serve some yummy thing for him and the kids along with all the veggies.
Speaking of the kids, now that we have such an abundance of fruit and veggies available and they always see me eating them, they are more likely to choose those kinds of snacks themselves. Snacks are carrot sticks, apple slices, raisins, celery and pb, grapes, watermelon, etc. Yes they still eat processed food but they are eating a lot more natural stuff. And get this: they never ask for candy anymore! They used to always ask for a piece at least once a day. It was getting on my nerves but now we don't worry about it anymore. I gave m&ms to Honeybuns here and there when she used the toilet but she quit asking so I stopped offering. The other night I made waffles per Sweetcakes' request. I made myself a salad and had bowls of broccoli and peas on the table for when I emptied my plate of the salad. The kids each took a few bites of waffle then asked for broccoli and peas and gobbled them up! I was astonished but pleased. :-)
Here's to a heart healthy future for our family!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Day 1
You know those people who seem to drop all their baby weight within a few months of the baby's birth with seemingly no effort? Yeah, well I'm not one of those. It has taken a lot of hard work between each kid to lose those last 15lbs to prepregnancy weight. Between Sweetcakes and Honeybuns I cut out treats and exercised for 6 months and lost 15lbs. Between Honeybuns and Little Peach I cut out sugar (not just treats) and exercised and lost the 15lbs. Here I am again needing to lose it and I have tried both of those strategies with no success. First of all, I have no energy to exercise. I am up multiple times a night and I stay up late enjoying my alone time, then wake up early with the kiddos. No nap for me usually. Whenever I try to work out, I wimp out on the DVD or someone needs a drink of milk or to be put down for a nap. I ain't gonna lie, it is difficult to get regular exercise.
Enter this book I just read, "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman, MD. He has observed in his twenty years of being a doctor that his patients with diseases and obesity can reverse their health problems by following an eating plan that is high in nutrient rich plant based foods and whole grains and low in animal products. Sound familiar? Yes, it is basically the Word of Wisdom. He recites statistic after statistic where people who eat a diet high in animal products (the "Standard American Diet") have the higher rate of obesity and obesity related diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Also many types of cancer are found more frequently in this group of people than in the plant eating people.
So I was convinced after reading the recipe section. Sure you can talk all day about how bad my processed food is, but if it's not something I can incorporate into my daily routine or get my kids to like it's just not gonna work. Well, the recipes are totally stuff I already fix! Lentil soup, salads, smoothies, etc. It was awesome. Dr Fuhrman notes that once your body starts receiving the nutrients it needs, it detoxifies and the extra weight falls off. Cravings for junk food are erased, energy is restored, and a plethora of health problems are resolved.
Today I ate cereal for breakfast (only cuz I needed to obtain said fruits and vegetables at the store), grapes, carrots, cherries, and a banana for lunch, and lentil soup and broccoli for dinner. All was delicious and it was so amazing to not have that feeling of guilt that normally accompanies my eating. You can eat as many vegetables as you want, lots of fruit, and whole grains. Nuts and seeds are also in the plan. For the first six weeks you shouldn't eat any animal based products (meats, milk, eggs, dairy) but you can incorporate them back into your diet in small amounts after the initial six weeks. I was a little worried about my milk supply since I still have an exclusively breastfed infant, but it was fine today. I actually did not even experience any cravings for unhealthy food!
I'm gonna try to track my progress on this here blog and pretend that people actually care to know. :-) Six weeks away is September 20th. I can totally do it. Bring on better health! And good bye, extra 15lbs!!
Enter this book I just read, "Eat to Live" by Joel Fuhrman, MD. He has observed in his twenty years of being a doctor that his patients with diseases and obesity can reverse their health problems by following an eating plan that is high in nutrient rich plant based foods and whole grains and low in animal products. Sound familiar? Yes, it is basically the Word of Wisdom. He recites statistic after statistic where people who eat a diet high in animal products (the "Standard American Diet") have the higher rate of obesity and obesity related diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc. Also many types of cancer are found more frequently in this group of people than in the plant eating people.
So I was convinced after reading the recipe section. Sure you can talk all day about how bad my processed food is, but if it's not something I can incorporate into my daily routine or get my kids to like it's just not gonna work. Well, the recipes are totally stuff I already fix! Lentil soup, salads, smoothies, etc. It was awesome. Dr Fuhrman notes that once your body starts receiving the nutrients it needs, it detoxifies and the extra weight falls off. Cravings for junk food are erased, energy is restored, and a plethora of health problems are resolved.
Today I ate cereal for breakfast (only cuz I needed to obtain said fruits and vegetables at the store), grapes, carrots, cherries, and a banana for lunch, and lentil soup and broccoli for dinner. All was delicious and it was so amazing to not have that feeling of guilt that normally accompanies my eating. You can eat as many vegetables as you want, lots of fruit, and whole grains. Nuts and seeds are also in the plan. For the first six weeks you shouldn't eat any animal based products (meats, milk, eggs, dairy) but you can incorporate them back into your diet in small amounts after the initial six weeks. I was a little worried about my milk supply since I still have an exclusively breastfed infant, but it was fine today. I actually did not even experience any cravings for unhealthy food!
I'm gonna try to track my progress on this here blog and pretend that people actually care to know. :-) Six weeks away is September 20th. I can totally do it. Bring on better health! And good bye, extra 15lbs!!
Still fluttering
So newbies at FlyLady are said to be "fluttering" and eventually "flying" once they have their lives/homes under control. I have been doing this for one week and I am happy to say that things are still clean! My kitchen is shiny and neat and my upstairs bathroom is clean as a whistle. It takes about 10 seconds to do the swish n swipe (wipe the counters and swish out the toilet bowl) every morning and it is so awesome and encouraging to walk in there during the day and be greeted by cleanliness. A suggestion was made to me to clean my shower a little each day while I am in it, so I have been doing that this past week as well. This morning I finished! It only took an extra minute attached to each shower and now it is sparkly clean. Usually I wait until it is super grimy then set aside an afternoon, bring all my cleaning supplies into the bathroom, roll up my pants, and spend an hour scrubbing. Hard to do as a mom of young kids whose naps and appetites are unpredictable at times. There are other areas in my house that still need work but I am very proud of my progress so far.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
FlyLady
Have you ever heard of FlyLady? Well, I just signed up. My mom was involved years ago when I still lived at home and I am now finding myself in need of her services, motivation, and encouragement.
FlyLady is a website that helps people get their homes and lives organized. I am not an organized person. I married one, though. Since getting married, I have learned a lot about being organized and maintaining cleanliness, not only from my husband but also from my MIL. She is really good about putting stuff away right after she is done using it. It's amazing-- at her house the kids know that when they want to play with a new toy, they have to put away the one they're using. No matter how I try, I cannot get my kids to do that at home. But practice makes better, right?
So every few days I clean my house. Not like scrubbing, but putting clutter away. Once it's straightened, I breathe a sigh of relief and walk through the house gazing at all the clean surfaces. I do snow angels on the living room carpet and bask in the lack of toys on it. I rub my hands and arms and occasionally my cheek all over my counters and ponder on the smoothness thereof. Then I resume normal life. I don't really do anything to keep it clean and suddenly a few days later, it's messy again! I look around and say to myself, "how did this HAPPEN?!" The cycle repeats over and over.
You know those people who always have a clean house? You go over to their house and as you walk in the door they say, "my house is a mess, but come on in." Then you see one toy on the floor and one cup on the counter. Um, please don't ever come to my house, k? You might just wither away. There must be a secret. What do they know that I don't? Do they clean all day? Do they spend their kid-free time scrubbing toilets? Are their kids perfectly trained little custodians?
So I signed up for FlyLady. She's all about baby steps, taking it a little at a time. So the first two things I have incorporated into my routine are shining my kitchen sink, and the swish n swipe. Every night before you go to bed you're supposed to shine your kitchen sink, no matter the state of the rest of your house. I have done that now for three nights and it's a nice thing to wake up to. I also have maintained a clean kitchen which also makes me feel like I've given myself a present when I wake up.
The swish n swipe is right after you finish getting ready in the morning. You wipe your counters down and give your toilet bowl a quick swish. It takes under a minute and the goal is to always have a clean bathroom. Then you never have to "clean the bathroom." It's always looking sparkly. Oh, and you wipe the mirror too. I did this this morning for the first time and it was nice to have a good looking bathroom all day. I will see if this will stick.
Another FLyLady thing is to get dressed and do your hair and makeup every day. I already do this so I won't worry about it. I simply cannot function if I haven't showered and gotten ready. Ick. Even if I'm super productive for half the day and then take a shower, I feel like I haven't gotten anything done.
I'll let you know how it goes. So far so good. My goal is to avoid CHAOS ("Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome"). Go me!
FlyLady is a website that helps people get their homes and lives organized. I am not an organized person. I married one, though. Since getting married, I have learned a lot about being organized and maintaining cleanliness, not only from my husband but also from my MIL. She is really good about putting stuff away right after she is done using it. It's amazing-- at her house the kids know that when they want to play with a new toy, they have to put away the one they're using. No matter how I try, I cannot get my kids to do that at home. But practice makes better, right?
So every few days I clean my house. Not like scrubbing, but putting clutter away. Once it's straightened, I breathe a sigh of relief and walk through the house gazing at all the clean surfaces. I do snow angels on the living room carpet and bask in the lack of toys on it. I rub my hands and arms and occasionally my cheek all over my counters and ponder on the smoothness thereof. Then I resume normal life. I don't really do anything to keep it clean and suddenly a few days later, it's messy again! I look around and say to myself, "how did this HAPPEN?!" The cycle repeats over and over.
You know those people who always have a clean house? You go over to their house and as you walk in the door they say, "my house is a mess, but come on in." Then you see one toy on the floor and one cup on the counter. Um, please don't ever come to my house, k? You might just wither away. There must be a secret. What do they know that I don't? Do they clean all day? Do they spend their kid-free time scrubbing toilets? Are their kids perfectly trained little custodians?
So I signed up for FlyLady. She's all about baby steps, taking it a little at a time. So the first two things I have incorporated into my routine are shining my kitchen sink, and the swish n swipe. Every night before you go to bed you're supposed to shine your kitchen sink, no matter the state of the rest of your house. I have done that now for three nights and it's a nice thing to wake up to. I also have maintained a clean kitchen which also makes me feel like I've given myself a present when I wake up.
The swish n swipe is right after you finish getting ready in the morning. You wipe your counters down and give your toilet bowl a quick swish. It takes under a minute and the goal is to always have a clean bathroom. Then you never have to "clean the bathroom." It's always looking sparkly. Oh, and you wipe the mirror too. I did this this morning for the first time and it was nice to have a good looking bathroom all day. I will see if this will stick.
Another FLyLady thing is to get dressed and do your hair and makeup every day. I already do this so I won't worry about it. I simply cannot function if I haven't showered and gotten ready. Ick. Even if I'm super productive for half the day and then take a shower, I feel like I haven't gotten anything done.
I'll let you know how it goes. So far so good. My goal is to avoid CHAOS ("Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome"). Go me!
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