Semi-Dieting

I've done pretty well so far this week with eating healthfully.  All of my meals have been balanced and healthy.  During the day, I haven't snacked on anything other than fruit, hummus, and crackers.  The only problem is that with my throat being so sore, I have had some ice cream at night.  But even with that, my eating has been a lot better than my 'usual'.

I'm looking for new ideas for lunches, though.  Lunch is my hardest meal to plan and to stick to.  It's always rushed and I never want to spend a lot of time preparing my food.  This week I had Doug cook up some chicken for me and I topped salads with it, but I'm really not a salad girl.  I may have him grill some chicken this weekend and then roast some yellow squash, zucchini, and onions to eat next week.  But as delicious as that is, it'll get old after a week, too.  I did find two good recipes:  a buffalo chicken wrap and a southwestern cheese panini.  I'll probably need to do veggie prep all at once Sunday night, 'cause if I have to cut up veggies at noon time, I'll end up having something unhealthy instead.

Besides cutting out the ice cream, which will hopefully be as soon as my throat becomes tolerable, I also need to work on the exercise piece.  There's really no excuse for not taking some nice long walks around the block - unless miserable colds count (they do, right?).  It's cool out, the kids love riding their bikes and I have a stroller for the baby, so I just need to make it a part of our routine.  Doug and I would also like to do some strength training together in the evenings after the kids are in bed.  He had been swimming at night, but it's way too cold for that now.

Disney Night, Crafting, and Engineering

Are you ready for a picture-filled post?  I sure hope so.

Every Saturday, we do Disney Family Fun Night.  This is partly to prep for our big vacation in January.. making sure everyone has seen the movies that we'll see represented in the parks.  But it's also a way to deal with the interminable wait until January.  We've done several so far, but this past Saturday, I finally remembered to take pictures.  The theme was Pirates of the Caribbean.

We all dressed up, and even Mickey got in on the fun!  The kids pirate gear was from the dollar store, and we did a treasure hunt to find the goodies.





We decorated the table with some mardi gras beads and a skull from the dollar store, and some chocolate coins.  The kids also had a few pirate toys we set out.  For dinner, we had chicken wings, chicken nuggets, carrots/celery, and fruit 'swords'. 

Dessert was 'Black Pearl' cookies - sugar cookies with a Whopper and some chocolate frosting to hold it together.

In other news, we've started a new class with our homeschool group called Road Trip USA.  Basically, it's learning a little geography and history about the US.  This week we did Connecticut and Delware, and the kids built a suspension bridge to model the Delaware Memorial Bridge.  Lots of fun!

Oh!  One more thing.  I have a new design available in my Etsy Store.  How do you like it?  I've got to get started on some Christmas designs soon..

After A Long Break...

So much for that!  Life just loves to laugh at my plans, I guess.  We've been out of town for the past couple weeks because of a death in the family, which obviously made it hard to work on the Beck Diet Solution, or any real self-help stuff, or blog, or craft, or do anything 'normal' really.  Thankfully we're back home now and trying to get back into our routine - though we're all suffering from colds at the moment.

The trip went well overall, despite the difficult parts.  I was amazed that our kids did so well in the car - driving from Boston to Fort Myers was really intimidating, but they were awesome!

We stopped every two or three hours at rest areas or welcome centers to let the kids run around and use the bathroom.  The harness I made for Niall came in really handy.

In Ft Myers, we spent a considerable amount of time attending to family matters.  Doug's grandmother, who passed, wasn't like the hoarders that you see on TV, but close.  Her house looked neat and tidy on the surface, but every possible drawer, closet, nook, and cranny was filled with the oddest assortment of things.  To make matters worse, none of it was organized, so you couldn't just take what appeared to be a pile of coupons from 1992 and throw them out, because mixed in would be old family pictures, sentimental correspondence, or financial documents.

On the upside, it was wonderful to get to see family we almost never have a chance to visit with.  We hadn't seen Doug's sister since our wedding, so it was great to catch up.  Her children are older than ours, but absolutely fantastic and happily played with our kids.

After wrapping up a lot of business in Ft Myers, we headed over to West Palm Beach to visit with my side of the family - again, people we really don't get to see that often.  My cousins were adorable, and I got to spend some quality time with my grandmother.

To cap the trip, we surprised the children with a very short trip to Disney to attend Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  We didn't really need to go as we're planning a much longer trip to Disney in January, but it felt wrong to pass within an hour's distance and not stop.  We all had a fabulous time and took advantage of all the extra special events at the party.

We also got a lot of compliments on our Mickey tie-dye shirts, which always makes me feel great.  But the really interesting thing is that our quick jaunt to Disney has really given me a kick in the pants as far as getting into shape is concerned.  I was able to do all the walking I needed to, but boy, was I sore the next day (and the day after!).  There's no way I can handle two weeks of Disney in the shape I'm in now.  I'd remembered how much walking there was from when we went in 2011, but time had sort of dulled the pain, I guess.  It's very fresh in my mind now, though!

So, all in all.. it's been a crazy couple of weeks, but I'm so glad to be back home and back into my routine.  I'm redoubling my efforts on both my health and my Etsy store, so look out for lots of fun posts!

Beck Diet Solution: Day Six

Today I talked with my diet coach.  Normally, I'd try to find someone other than my husband to be my coach, but I think this will be a good exercise for us.  We've had some marital issues and as we work to rebuild our intimacy, this will be another way to stay connected and interested in each other's lives.  We've planned to do a weekly check-in every Saturday, so I can hear what he's been working on, and he can hear what I've been working on.

I also think that having a 'live-in' diet coach will help me stay on track more with the actual diet part (which I'm excited to start in a week!) and he'll be able to help me prepare healthy foods that actually taste good.  I pretty much suck at cooking, so I can use all the help I can get. 

Today I ate breakfast and dinner mindfully at the table.

I read my Advantages List and I listened to my guided meditation.

I gave myself credit for all of the above!

Evolution of a Parent

It's funny how we change so much when we raise kids, isn't it?

For instance, before I had children, I totally looked down on people who used toddler leashes.  I thought it was cruel and demeaning to the kids, and wondered why they wouldn't find a better solution.  I'm pretty sure I thought at one point that maybe they just shouldn't go out at all.

Then I had kids, and I realized that those people weren't bad at all.  It's not cruel or demeaning to keep your child safe, it's your job.  If you need to use a toddler leash to prevent your kid from bolting, then do it!

But, I also kind of thought.. well, maybe that's alright for them, but I've taught my children to stay by myself.  I'd never need one of those, because I know the trick to getting kids to behave.

Then my fourth child came along and turned everything on its head, including my thoughts on todder leashes.  Despite all my best efforts to teach him, he is a total runner.  Normally it's not a big deal because I watch him like a hawk, but when we go to places like, say, the New England Aquarium.. well.  I've never actually lost him, but places like that are stressful.

We have two trips to Disney coming up, as well as a season of Aquarium trips and other fun things like that.  I know they sell those stuffed animal harnesses, but they look way too hot for September in Orlando.

So I made him one.

It took forever because I didn't have a pattern and just winged it.  As I usually do.  But it came out really nice, and the chest piece (bodice?  smock?  what would you call that?) can be interchangeable - in other words, I don't always have to use a Mickey one, and in fact, I got some great airplane fabric so I can make another.

As a side note, it's totally adjustable - Niall's wearing it on the smallest setting, and when I put it on Fiona (she asked, I swear), I didn't have to adjust it at all.  She weighs the same as Niall but is about 4-6 inches taller.

My bigger kids wanted to get in on the fun, too.  I did have to adjust it for Lachlann (who's 7), but only the shoulder straps - it still fit him fine around the waist - though I could have added several inches to those straps if I'd needed to.

My husband thinks I should sell them on Etsy, and I'm toying with the thought.  We'll see if I get any feedback about them.

Beck Diet Solution: Day Five

I really did not want to do the task for Day Five.  My task was to sit alone at my dining room table, with no distractions, and eat both breakfast and lunch this way.  I was supposed to take small bites and chew slowly, swallow each bite before putting more food on my fork, put down my utensils frequently, and take a sip of water every minute or two.

For one, it's almost impossible to eat a meal without distractions because I have four little kids running around.  Plus, that just sounds so boring, doesn't it?

Well, I did it anyway, and you know what I found?  It was really boring.  Like.. mind-numbingly boring.  But I noticed that I was full way sooner than I would have otherwise and ate less (while still a healthy amount).  And because I was bored and eager to leave the table, I didn't eat just to eat.

Dinner obviously had more distractions as I was actively talking with my family, rather than trying to ignore them, but once again, I made sure to really take my time, put my fork down after every other bite, and drink lots of water.

I still don't really want to have to eat this way, as it is pretty boring, but clearly it's a good way to prevent me from eating mindlessly.  So I'll keep it up!

I read my Advantages List twice today, and listened to my guided meditation.

I didn't eat everything sitting down, but I did eat each meal at the table.

I gave myself credit for all the good decisions I made.

Beck Diet Solution: Day Four

Day Four is about building your confidence by learning to give yourself credit every time you make a good choice.  Seems easy enough.

I tore out the 'Give Myself Credit' response card and put it on my computer monitor.  I'll read it the most this way, vs. carrying it around in my purse.

If I eat something I shouldn't, instead of beating myself up about it, I plan to say, "Oh well, that was a bad choice.  I'll get back on track right now and do better next time."

When I was at the store today, I congratulated myself for not buying an ice cream.  I gave myself credit for not eating as much at breakfast as I would have normally - stopping when I was full vs. eating the full serving.  I also congratulated myself for doing all of my steps on Day Four.

I'm not having any sabotaging thoughts about this day's work.

I read my Advantages List twice today.

While I planned to eat all of my meals at the table today, I actually didn't eat anything at the table.  I need to work harder on this tomorrow.

I listened to my guided meditation today.