My Big Life Change!

Picture taken by Abby Austin of 1000 Miles on my own two feet.



MY GOALS FOR LIFE!

To transform my life, with God's help of course, one step at a time.

1. Get healthy & honor God with my body

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter


2.Become at least 50% sustainable with emphasis on doing our part to take care of God's planet.


3. Live life as an adventure, experiencing new places, things & people.
18 out of 150 bucket list goals accomplished


4. Become debt free & build security for my family, so we can then bless others financially also.

5. Continue to grow closer to God, building My family's faith & sharing the Gospel with those we meet, by using the talents and gifts God has provided us.

6.Continue to make money by creating and sharing my thoughts and beliefs through artistic expression: all the while hoping that my art will impact others. "Holly Kennedy

: All I know is, if you don't figure out this something, you'll just stay ordinary, and it doesn't matter if it's a work of art, or a taco, or a pair of socks! Just create something... new, and there it is, and it's you, out in the world, outside of you, and you can look at it, or hear it, or read it, or feel it... and you know a little more about... you. A little bit more than anyone else does... Does that make any sense at all?" Quote from PS I LOVE YOU

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Dealing with changes

Obviously life has been full of changes since Joslyn has entered our lives. And we anticipate many new changes with baby Jax coming into the household. But the changes I am having trouble getting used to is the unexpected changes. Like a shift change for my hubby. And a necessary nutrition change for our daughter and us.

When I was on the job, changes came frequently and usually I was on board and probably the least likely to complain. Now I'm not saying that I didn't complain, but I tend to take changes at work or church as an exciting adventure. But, at home? Heck no. I whine and complain and wonder why this has happened to me. I know drama queen right? So when my hubby came home a few weeks ago and said "I am now working nights." You know I took it in stride. Right? Right!!!

Nope. I said "WHAT???"
"NO, NO this won't do!!!"
After all, I have planned a schedule for my daughter and me according to daddy's schedule. We have things to do during the day that help us stay busy and then we try to be home as much as possible during the evening. Of course we have CR two nights a week but otherwise we are home. A truthfully when I get home I would pretty much crash. I loved how I had daddy to help me with Joslyn at the end of the day when I was so exhausted from the day. Now everything has changed and I have to admit I have not been a good sport about it. I don't like being at home at night alone. I don't like being the only one that can get up with Joslyn and I know this will get worse when baby two arrives. I also have awful memories of growing up in a household were we had to be quiet all the time. I don't want Joslyn to have to stifle who she is so daddy can sleep.  I also hate that I have to choose to skip a nap so I get some Joslyn free time with him. And I really hate having to walk the dogs at night with Joslyn. So now I am done whining, I will start looking at the positives. John swears that he gets more time with us. He is very happy with his route. We are making new memories on our time together and now that the weather is nice we get to spend outdoor time with daddy. Joslyn despite my complaints is doing pretty good with the changes. I know could add another church night to my repertoire if I wanted without feeling guilty. I also know that God has a reason for this change in our lives and if I choose to see the good side of it, He might reveal His plan to me.

We also went to our WIC appointment and Joslyn weighed over their desired amount. This was not surprising  since she has always been heavy. She is not overweight though. Joslyn has big bones like me and will always weigh more than she should. But they suggest a diet change and I must go along with it. WE have wanted to change our food habits around the house. More veggies, less hotdogs. More fruit, less cookies. But we have on purposely waited to make too many changes because of potty training. All the smart books suggest not making too many changes to a child's routine at once. In otherwords pick your battles. Potty training was such a battle I couldn't fathom handling another one at that time. So for the most part Joslyn got to pick what she wanted to eat. Now if she chose cookies, we denied it. But most of the time she ate hotdogs or chicken nuggets for lunch or dinner. Now it's time to crack down and start making her eat what we eat. Today for example we are going to have oven baked chicken and rice pilaf for lunch. If she doesn't eat it, then she won't get anything else. This is a battle I do not want to go through, but need to. Joslyn wont try anything new. And for her to try new things she needs to kind of be hungry. The nutritionist suggests that we don't entice her to eat, but just plainly tell her that this is what is for lunch and if she doesn't eat it then she gets nothing else. Simple and to the point. Before we would try and bribe her with dessert, but this is wrong. It makes her covet dessert and I don't want her to have the sugar craving. With a sugar-a-holic daddy and a food addict momma, we are going to do all we can to keep from giving her our food baggage.

So these are just some of the changes I am dealing with right now and my biggest goal is to handle these changes with grace and understanding. I covet your prayers.

6 comments:

  1. If there was a magic word I'd say it right now!! But I will say BRAVO to you for your efforts in this. You are an extremely AWESOME mom and wife. I am praying for you to have the courage, strength, patience, endurance that only our Father can give. God Bless you.

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  2. Wow you have a lot going on right now! GOd will give you the strength you need to endure the new journey ahead. He will!!

    I was a nanny for a while and one of the boys was super picky about food. So the parents said "Ok, if you don't want to eat this tilapia for dinner that is fine. But you won't get anything else until you eat it (or eat x amount)."

    So. . . several mornings I would get there and said boy would be eating tilapia for breakfast!! Ha. And if he refused, then that is what he got at lunch. A few times of this and eventually he thought tilapia at dinner wasn't so bad!! :)

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    1. He will help me through this. I know he has too!!! I can't do it without him!

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  3. You are a strong person and will do great with the changes. You will find what works best for you and for your family.

    Toddlers eating habits can be quite stressful. My daughter wont' eat except at breakfast most days. I always give her what I eat and try to give her new foods. I also try to be sure there is at least one thing on her plate that I know she likes. Then I know if she doesn't eat anything, then she just wasn't hungry. Good luck.

    Maggie is a snack addict, so I have taken to only offering her fruit or veggies or something pretty healthy for snack. If she eats it, she was really hungry for a snack. If not, she just wanted to eat for the sake of eating. I didn't give her junk anyways, even if it was crackers, it was whole wheat or peanut butter crackers. I have to always remember that as toddlers, they don't have control over too many things, but how much they eat is something they do have control over. I also try to let her pick her fruits and veggies at least once a day so she feels like it really is her choice.

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    1. Thanks friend! Sticking to my guns is the hardest part.

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