Progress...

I feel like I am finally on the upswing!  I have managed to be eat better this week, and gotten a little exercise.  Yesterday, we walked home from my parents house, instead of driving.  It may seem like a small thing, but it makes me feel good!

I tackled the office, girls' room, and master bedroom today.  I am starting to feel like an organized house is within my grasp.  It seems like my drive and ambition follows the laws of motion.  Once I start cleaning and organizing, I don't want to stop.  Getting over the inertia and getting started is the problem.  The key is to keep on top of everything each day, because I struggle with the day to day stuff that keeps my house from becoming overwhelming.

I had a great afternoon with my hubby and the girls today.  We went on a long nature "treasure" hunt and collected lots of great "treasures,"  and got some exercise.  While I am not an outdoorsy person, I don't dislike the outdoors.  I have OCD tendencies and issues with dirt, so it is a struggle to accept that my children like to dig in the dirt and pick things up off the ground.  I try really hard not to let my OCDness rub off on my children, but every once in a while I catch myself saying "ew, don't touch that!"  I did a good job of letting go today, and letting Dinah pick up all kinds of dirt!

Getting ready to go:

The "Treasures"

Tomorrow,

March Free Stuff

I just got around to uploading my free stuff pics from March.

The best part about this picture, is that I got paid about 2.26 to purchase these items.  The Gain was 1.87 at Walmart and the coupon I had was for $3.00 off one.  The new Walmart coupon policy allows you to apply the overage to your other purchases, or get cash back when a product costs less than the coupon!

31: A Manifesto

A few weeks ago, I caught myself replying to the age question by saying "I just turned 30."  As if "just turning 30" somehow meant that I wasn't quite 30.  As my latest birthday approached, I found myself dreading the number 31.  It means accepting that I am in my 30s.  Rationally, I know that age shouldn't matter, and I have accomplished all the goals I wanted to achieve by this age (husband, kids, house, minivan).  So why am I having such a hard time coming to terms with my age????

My house is a mess and I can't seem to keep it under control, I am overweight and on the verge of becoming diabetic, my husband's job situation is out of my control, our financial situation is uncertain,   my grandmother is having some serious health issues, and my baby is getting ready to turn 1 and I am struggling to come to terms with the fact that I wont have any more babies.  I am having a hard time dealing with all the stress and uncertainty, which causes my relationships with my family to be less than stellar.  Shouldn't a person in their 30's have better control over their life, and be more content and settled?

I don't intend to be a complainer, or whine about my life.  Some of these things are completely within my control, and it is just up to me to get the motivation to change them.  The other things are just things I need to learn to deal with.   I am actually hoping that when I look at this in a year, I will feel like a totally different person.

I intended for this blog to be a part of my journey to making my life better, but have avoided the blog as much as I have avoided expending any effort to make my life better.  Five months later, I am ready to give it another go.

So here is to the next year.

Challenge Day 1 - Rocky Start

I had a moderately successful day.  I ate well, spent quality time with the kids, and cleaned up my downstairs.  I didn't exercise or do anything extraordinarily productive, but it's a start.

I feel like my life is an overwhelming emotional roller coaster right now.  I feel like I am behind and can't catch up.  I have a list of stuff a mile long, but none of it seems to get done, and the list keeps getting longer.  I am struggling to keep the house clean, because it gets messy so quickly.  I feel like all of the things that I enjoy are getting put on hold because I cannot tackle the things I need to do.

On a happier note, the girl had fun doing a bead craft today....

And playing a game of "big bad wolf looking for the little girls sleeping in their secret house."  With H and I playing the Wolves.

H is turning into a monster!  He decided that crawling around the living room and playing with his toys isn't fun anymore.  I keep having to chase him through the house and hide all the consumer electronics!

"hahaha...I am getting into stuff!"

Free Stuff!

For those of you that think couponing is crazy....

I have told about a million people about my new found love of couponing.  I regularly buy entire carts of groceries for under $20.  I am not an extreme couponer, I spend maybe 10-30 minutes a day on "couponing."  I follow a few blogs that highlight the best deals of the week and let me know when free coupons and samples are available.  I also regularly write to companies of products that I purchase and thank them and many of them send generous coupons in return.

This weekend I decided to go Free Shopping and use all my freebie coupons.

Here is what I got:

Total cost = $0

 (value approximately $88.87)

This is actually untrue, Price Chopper actually refunded me $.01 because my coupon for an item was $1 off and the item was .99 cents.  The girls rings up all my stuff and says "oh, I owe you a penny!"

**additional notes: Mike just came home with three more boxes of fruit snacks, a bottle of Gain, a Secret Deoderant, and another travel Tide.  Free and NOT PICTURED!!!

This doesn't even touch on the stuff I get very cheap by couponing and finding sales or the free sample I get through the mail. 

Here are a few of the blogs I follow:

So, happy couponing!!!!

A Rough Week and a New Beginning!

There is nothing quite like getting woken up to a 4 year old throwing up in your face...

That pretty much sums up my week. my month.  my year.  I have completely fallen off the quest to be a better mommy wagon.  I am officially getting back on, effective immediately.

Goals for the week:
- start over on my couch to 5K program
- starting eating right again
- get my house back in reasonable shape
- restart my 30 day challenge
- get myself together!
and
- blog, blog. blog

A 30 day Quality Time Challenge

As one whose identity is completely wrapped up in being a mom, my quest to be a better person means being a better mommy.  I know that I will never be a perfect mommy, and I doubt that any mom can honestly say they did a perfect job, but I also don't want to go to bed at night and realize that an entire day/week/month has gone by without any meaningful interactions with my child.  

I often have days when I am so overwhelmed with daily tasks (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc) that I forget my kids need some undivided attention.  I am blessed with children that play very well on their own, and usually play well together, and a baby that is laid back and easy.  I do not want to take advantage of this blessing, and spend their entire childhood reorganizing the file cabinet and tagging JBF merchandise.  (Note:  As soon as my husband's new career path is more stable and lucrative, I vow to NEVER EVER under any circumstance sell clothes at a consignment sale again.  The sorting, hanging, tagging, organizing, dropping off of resale clothing is the bane of my existence. )

As a small step to becoming a better mommy, I am embarking on a 30 day challenge, starting Monday, to do something special with my kids each day.  I have a whole book of crafts/games/recipes that I have every intention of doing with my girls, but don't ever seem to accomplish.  It is time to open my book and do a fun activity with the kids and blog about it for accountability and to share some fun ideas.

Please feel free to join me in my quest.  I would love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

- 

a1c and Returning to the Wagon

This is a very hard post for me and the main reason that I stopped blogging.  I am a very private person when it comes to serious issues, but I vowed to be honest on here.  I am just now at the point in which I feel ready to share what has been going through my head.  I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors, but I am going to post this without proofreading, as I know I will edit out anything emotional.

My last pregnancy was extremely rough on me.  I have never had thyroid issues or blood sugar issues until I got pregnant with H.  I blame it on him being a boy.  I still struggle with my thyroid, and have to change my medications every couple of months.  At my last endocrinologist appointment, my doctor also checked my a1c.  For those of you that don't know what it is, it is basically a average reading of blood sugar over the last few months.  My a1c was surprisingly high, putting me in the pre-diabetes range.

So what does that mean?  It means that I am overweight, eat like crap, and don't exercise, in combination with a family history of type 2 diabetes.  It also means that without some serious life changes or some prescription drugs, I will probably develop diabetes.

This news was extremely upsetting to me for a variety of reasons. First of all, I don't want to be diabetic.  Secondly, I have seen first hand the horrific health issues associated with diabetes,  Thirdly, how can someone let themselves get so unhealthy?

I have spent the last few months going though the stages of grief.

Denial - Clearly my doctor got the tests results wrong and this isn't right.  I have never had a problem before

Anger - My doctor sucks and I need to get referred to a new endocrinologist

Bargaining - Maybe if I lose weight really quickly it will all go away...

Depression - what kind of pathetic person lets themselves go and gets so fat and gross and eats like this and etc etc etc.  I am going to have diabetes, so it isn't even worth trying to do anything about.  I am doomed.


And finally, I think I have reached Acceptance.  I have a hereditary predisposition to type 2 diabetes, and I have made poor choices in the past several years that have increased my risk.  It is time to do something about it.  Since I do not see medication as the answer, that means exercise, diet, and an overall healthier lifestyle.

So, I am jumping back on the wagon.  I know it is a long process, but I have made it one week.  I managed to eat reasonable portions and make healthier choices, as well as work out 4 days.

I want to set a healthy example for my children and be around to see my grandchildren.  I will not let my children develop my eating habits and be in this situation at the age of 30.

The two things that I need the most help with are accountability and accepting imperfection.  I have made a step to be more accountable by working on a couch to 5K program with some friends and blogging again.  I still need to learn to deal with not being perfect.  If I cannot exercise for one day or I make bad eating choices for one meal, that does not mean that I need to give up.

Glad to be back!

A moment to breathe...

I have been slacking in the blog department for some time now.  I keep "meaning" to post, but never get around to it.  Things have drastically changed in my life in the last month, and I have so much to share.

Honestly, I am not doing so good on the healthy goal.  I fell off the bandwagon when things got busy and despite good intentions, I haven't climbed back on.


The main change in my life is in my husband's employment.  Due to some changes at his office, he is starting his own firm.  I am excited, petrified, proud, and reluctant all at once.  Needless to say, getting a business up and running makes a tight budget a necessity.

Trying to get a brand new company up and running has completely occupied my time in the last few weeks.  I designed a temporary website for The Hodgson Law Firm, L.L.C.

http://thehodgsonlawfirm.com/

Pretty darn good for a non-computer person, if I do say so myself.  I have also been dealing with setting up accounting, insurance, and not losing my mind!

The one great thing about my husband's new career path, is that he can take off a few hours during the week and make up the time late at night, or on the weekends.  So he is able to enjoy some special moments with the kiddos, like:

Goals & Priorities Diary 2011: Get Your Free Copy! | Get Organized Wizard

Goals & Priorities Diary 2011: Get Your Free Copy! | Get Organized Wizard

Get Organized For 2011: 6 Dos And Don’ts For A Calm & Ordered Year | Get Organized Wizard

I enjoyed the article and think these are great tips, so I wanted to share.

Get Organized For 2011: 6 Dos And Don’ts For A Calm & Ordered Year | Get Organized Wizard