Feel like a walking complaint

So now that my belly has grown in size & people can actually see that I'm pregnant (I'm 30 weeks right now) they ask me how I'm feeling.  Sometimes I answer with the 'polite' answer of, "I'm doing pretty good."  I really wish I could say like my Grandpa used to, "No complaints, no complaints." but that would be a LIE.  I hurt & ache all over & last night I had my first (of probably many) charlie horse around 4am.  Those things are awful.

I don't want to complain about all the aches & pains of carrying a baby but I was starting to feel like that's all I could think about.  And then I got an email about essentials to help a mom through pregnancy.  It had something for every complaint I have.  Now I've known & used each of the things they suggested but the difference was, it made me realize not every woman goes through pregnancy with sheer & complete joy without the aches & pains.  I may have them all at once but I'm still 'normal'....we sort of.  haha

Saturday I did my Baby Yoga DVD.  I don't agree with how they think about just because of being a woman, you have everything inside of you to do anything.  I know I don't have it all & I rely on God to carry me through the things I don't have the strength for.  But the video has great movement, stretches, breathing techniques, as well as some weight lifting for the upper arms & it felt good to accomplish the workout.  I plan to squeeze it in again today before bed. I believe it will help me not feel those aches & pains quite so much & get me closer to saying, no complaints, without being a liar.

Laundry is nearly finished. I plan to stay caught up for the week & I am getting excited to start prepping the fabric to make burp cloths as well as a few blankets for our little Sadie.

I think it has stopped snowing so now I'm off to try & get the snow blower started so I can clear the driveway & sidewalks.  Hope it works & is quick since I can't exactly zip my coat all the way anymore.

Be slow to anger

A boy and the nails on the fence

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.  His father was very concerned for his son’s future and thought hard about how he could explain to his son why relationships are so important and controlling his temper is a key factor in this.

After much thought his father gave him a bag full of nails and told him,  “Every time you lose your temper,  hammer a nail into the back of the fence.”  His son did not understand but knew that his father was wise so he agreed.

On the first day that the boy received his bag of nails he ended up driving about  37 nails into the fence.  Each day he learned little by little to control his temper.   He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all.

He was very proud of himself and went to share his good news with his father.  His Father was very proud of him and offered a challenge to his son.  “Why don’t you pull out a nail everyday that you are able to hold your temper?”

As there were many nails in the fence it took the boy sometime to finally remove the nails from the fence.  But eventually that joyous day arrived.  He was so pleased with himself and he wanted to share this with his father.

His father was so proud of his son, but he wanted him to understand that holding his temper was more than just being able to add or remove nails from a fence.  He took his son’s hand and showed him all the holes that were left from the nails.  “As you see my son, this fence will never be the same, the fence is scarred with holes from your temper.  Think of these holes as the words you have spoken in anger, the wounds you have left in people’s lives.  Words really are like weapons they leave a wound, that does not heal easily.  You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. Son, your family and friends will  make you smile and encourage you to succeed,  they will lend an ear,  share words of praise and they want to open their hearts to you.  Always remember the fence before you speak words of anger.”

In James, the Bible tells us that we are to be slow to anger, which is EXCELLENT advice.  I have to admit that I personally struggle with this at different times in my life.  It usually crops back up when life becomes stressful. And because I am not even close to perfect, I have passed this down to my children by them watching my actions of anger at times.  I have been working to teach my children, especially my son, that the words that he says can never be taken back. So I'm posting this not only to share with all of you but to encourage my readers to be slow to anger.  You can make a difference in your own life & in those around you & in turn, being slow to anger can spread to make this world a better place to live.  Being angry isn't what causes the problem....its your reaction to that anger that is usually the problem.  Now I must lead by example.

That's right.....I Quit with a capitol Q.

There aren't many things that I can say I've thrown in the towel over. It just isn't in my nature nor in my genes. I'm pretty stubborn for so many things.  Just look at my youngest daughter & you will probably see  many of my qualities.  Things that drive me crazy that I have to deal with her on each & every day.  She's strong willed & persistent.  Qualities that at her old age of 5 can be quite annoying to a parent but can be quite admirable in someone of an older age who knows how to use them correctly.  Well, I decided to take a lesson from my wonderful & spitfire of a child whom has been arguing with me for the last several weeks.  She seems to give me a break now & then with a few days where she'll do what is asked of her & then she's right back at making me earn my badges of motherhood.  She gave me an idea. Maybe I should just quit.  I can't quit being a mother but there is something that has been bothering me endlessly lately & maybe, just maybe if I used my persistence in a different way, perhaps I could accomplish something fabulous.  So I quit.....

I wanted to make this pregnancy different. I was at a different frame of mind when I found out I was pregnant. I was taking better care of myself & eating healthy & exercising.  Though I must say, I thought something was desperately wrong with me when I was having trouble completing my Turbo Fire workouts.  And then I discovered I was pregnant.  It started to make sense why I was so tired.  And then I had to quit the allergy medicine I was on because it was not safe to take for the baby.  I tried other kinds but one made me feel as though I had contracted Mono & the other did pretty much nothing except cost me money so I quit all allergy meds & tried to get along without them.  I was miserable because my allergies in the fall are horrendous.  I had little to no energy to complete my workouts let alone get my kids ready for school & be able to wash dishes or pick up things that were left laying around. I felt as though I was falling apart.  Unfortunately with 5 people in our family & months of this lack of energy, the cleanliness of our home fell FAR behind.  In fact, I'm still trying to catch it up & that was what, 6 months ago. haha  Sorry, I digress...I really thought since I was thinking about healthy habits that this pregnancy would be much different than the others.  I thought, just maybe I wouldn't gain an extraordinary amount of weight so it wouldn't take so long to get it off after the baby was born.  And then I did it, I let myself go. I let my old thinking take hold & I let my sugar desires & what's the use slip into my brain. I thought, what difference does it make if I have to take off so many pounds, I'm growing a baby.  Well, my body is crying at me right now for thinking that way.  I wish I would never have quit my healthy thinking & let old habits take over but I did & now its time to Quit that stinkin' thinkin' and get on with being healthier.  With my age (yep, I'm getting soooooooo old ROFL) being a factor in this pregnancy, I was concerned that maybe instead of eating so much sugary junk before the glucose test I took on Tuesday, that I might want to Quit the sugar so I wouldn't fail the test.  It's hard to bust a sugar habit but let me tell you, it feels OH SO GOOD to do it.  On Sunday I tried not to eat a ton of sugary stuff. I continued on Monday to make the same choices.  By Tuesday I thought I was home free & might have a little treat after the test but decided that since my mom had brought me some healthy wraps for lunch, I might as well keep it going.  So on Wed I passed up the sugary things, except a hot chocolate to warm me up, & skipped the candy bars & things lying around my kitchen.  Today was a little harder at night when I was feeling quite alone & thought I wanted something a little sweet but instead I just made myself a 2nd Shakeology drink to take care of the craving.  Much healthier, good for my digestive system & it will help fill the gaps of nutrients I'm lacking that are probably causing me to be tired.  By the time I was done with my shake I was happy that I had QUIT something.  Like I said, I'm not usually a quitter but this time, it was a great thing to quit the sugar.  Tomorrow I am planning to continue with healthy choices.  Perhaps down the road I might be able to have a small sweet treat.  By then, a small one will be all I need & I will actually enjoy it.  What drove me crazy the most about all this sweet eating I have done for the last few months was that no matter how much I seemed to crave it, no matter what sweets I chose to eat, it never really hit the spot.  I hated that.  I know why it didn't fill my need & even though I realized it at the time I was stuffing my face with those sweets, I never did a thing about it to change until I sat down in the word the other day & filled that need with God's love for me & his truths from the Bible.  I think that was the only reason I was able to get through these last several days of busting the sugar.  God's desire for me is good & making wise choices about my health are what is going to please him.  So instead of waiting until after I have this baby to make the next set of healthy changes, I've decided to quit the stinkin' thinkin' and do what I can with God's help to be healthy.  When I deliver this baby, I may not be in better shape than I was before I got pregnant but I sure won't be the same as I was even a month ago or in worse shape after leaving myself to go for 9 whole months.

I highly recommend that you quit doing things on your own & get some help.  Get some accountability in your life so that you can make it farther than you've ever made it before  If you'd like me to help with that accountability, I'd be happy to.  Now that its late, I must be heading to get some sweet sleep in order to make a healthy choice.  I've posted this before....the amount of sleep that a person gets can affect their weight loss & other issues with their health.  Be sure to make it a priority to get at least 7 good hours of sleep each night.  Some people require more.

I leave you with a few quotes.....

 "Change your thoughts and you change your world." -- Norman Vincent Peale

"If you don't do what's best for your body, you're the one who comes up on the short end." -Julius Erving

and finally....I talked about setting some new goals for the new year.  One of my goals is to make the last 3 months of my pregnancy with our sweet Sadie growing inside of me as healthy as I possibly can. Fitting some form of exercise in for 20 minutes, 4 times a week should be doable. (goals need to be measurable)  And I want to drink at least 1 L of water a day & work my way to at least 2L per day over the next few weeks.  And I will continue choosing less sugary foods to eat so that my body doesn't have to process so much that is not good for me.  What are your goals?  Are they measurable?

You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream. C.S. Lewis

New Year Goals & Resolutions?

That's the question this time of year right?  Do you make New Year Resolutions.  Well years ago I said no. Resolutions just got a bad name. People make them & break them & I wanted to be successful with mine so I'd say no, I've made some goals.  People would laugh & say, that's the same thing.  Well sort of.

This year I have not sat down to actually think of what my goals for the year will be & that's a problem.  I like to be organized & plan so I can be ahead of the game but things are changing on me.  Another of my best friends is moving at the end of the month.  My house is still out of order so much that it feels like it is creating chaos in my family & home.  I like chaos about as much as a plague or disease.  So my first goal was to get the decorations put away & to the basement. I even managed to go through a few things & pull old stuff out to make room for some of the newer stuff. I didn't want to add another tote to store for the year if I didn't have to. DONE!

Another goal was to get the main floor picked up & cleaned.  I'm still working on this one & sometimes I look at the mess & think, why on earth is it taking me so long to do this.  But then I remind myself of all the things I did accomplish for the day.  I got the dishes caught up. I swept & mopped the kitchen floor so we won't keep sticking to it anymore.  I took all the donations & dropped them off. I dropped off all the boxes to recycling as well as the 3 long fluorescent light bulbs that have been sitting in our basement for nearly 4 years because I wasn't sure where they were supposed to be disposed of.  I made dinner & helped with homework. I made sure that my oldest was able to play with her friend who is only in town for a few more days.  So glad that I didn't forget to call to set up a play time.  I also got the van vacuumed out so it looks new again & I reorganized some stuff in the basement so I could put all the decorations together as well as put the baby stuff together.  I've got a long way to go but I'm definitely making progress.  And that's what I think it is about.  Making progress and never letting go of ones goals.  I've got some big goals rolling around in my head that I'd like to achieve with my Beachbody Business as well as with the organization of my home, family, etc especially with a new baby coming in just a few months.  Oh, and there are a few things that I'd like to get made before our little Sadie arrives.  Another goal is to make regular posts on this blog & try to figure out how to get it fully functional for my personal needs as well as my business.  I love writing & find that when I make time for it, I'm a better person for it.  So that's gonna have to be a part of my goals too.

Sorry for the brainstorming on here.  Perhaps it will help someone else get the idea to make some goals & attain them.  I do like to encourage people & think it is pretty cool when someone is inspired from something I've done or said.  But I take little credit.  It has more to do with how God created me, the talents he gave to me, than anything I do on my own.  I'm off to relax a little & think about more goals.

The future is literally in our hands to mold as we like. But we cannot wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow is now. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt