A Teachable Moment

After going through the drive-through at McDonalds yesterday for a couple of Happy Meals, I gave the food to the kids in the back of the van to have a "picnic in the car" on our way to Target. Sometimes the Happy Meals are in paper bags and sometimes in the traditional carboard boxes. Well this time they were in the boxes and Micah was insisting that he needed "help, help, help, momma, help me." I asked Josiah to open Micah's box for him and instead of doing it for him, he showed him how to push the little tabs through and had Micah do it himself. Then Josiah said to me, "Momma, wasn't that a great idea, showing Micah how to do it, so he can learn to do it himself." I told him what an excellent idea that was, realizing how much I enable my children to be too dependent on me, or others for that matter. Micah will be 3 in October and he can already do alot more for himself than my other two at that age, but I think that is soley due to the fact that he has Josiah to emulate. I should get no credit for that. It does such a disservice to my kids when I take the easy way out and just "do it myself." I want my kids to be capable, responsible adults, so I better get with it now and be more pro-active at teaching them how to become capable and responsible. Josiah used that moment in the van to teach Micah, but little did he know the effect that teachable moment had on me.

Breakfast, Anyone?

Who is better at cooking breakfast, you or your spouse? I am so very fortunate to have a husband who is a wonderful cook, much better than me, and not only is he good at it, he loves to do it, unlike me. But I have always heard that as far as cooking is concerned men excel at breakfast and grilling, of course. Is this true in your home? My poor kids get cereal, poptarts, toast, or the occasional scrambled eggs, mainly because of time constraints. And since Jacob goes to school year round, I am always getting someone (or two) ready for school, packing a lunch(es), and getting myself ready for work. But when Daddy happens to be home in the mornings, which doesn't happen often, they get french toast, bacon and eggs, blueberry pancakes, making me look really bad. All I can say is nobody gets their clothes cleaner than I do.

My Transformation

I'm feeling really good about the last couple of weeks. My outlook about losing weight is quite different this time around. It doesn't feel like such a chore and cutting back on the poor food choices hasn't saddened me like it has in the past. I went an entire week without a McDonalds sweet tea without thinking much of it and my "after the kids go to bed treat" hasn't been missed. I'm not sure what has made the difference, but I like the feeling because it gives me confidence to achieve my goal. Don't get me wrong, I still need to remind myself to be patient. Its only been 2 weeks and I already want that bikini bod. It'll be a while before I reach that milestone.

Its funny how when you improve your life in one area, it causes you to want to improve all around. I shaved my underarms two times this week (as opposed to one) and I flossed my teeth everyday instead of my usual 3-4 times a week. I'm even handling my money better, which gives me such a peace of mind. Extra weight really "weighs" you down in many areas of life. I'm only 4.5 lbs lighter than I was 2 weeks ago (btw, I lost 1.5 lbs this week, today was weigh-in), but my way of thinking has been completely transformed and I hope it stays that way.

More Than Just Summer Camp

Over the summer Josiah participated in a sibling program at Jacob's school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I was a little concerned at first about the cost of driving him back and forth (Jacob's school is about an hour away), but the program itself was free, so it balanced out.

Siblings of the autistic children, ages 3 and up, were invited to participate in the summer-camp style activity. Along with games, art projects, etc. the siblings are also given the opportunity to be in the classroom with his/her brother or sister and be very hands on (as much as they want to be) with the "teaching" process. Josiah LOVES this part of the day. I've always known how lucky Jacob is to have Josiah as his brother, but this summer has really given new meaning to that acknowlegment. Teachers and therapists have mentioned to me on numerous occasions how wonderful Josiah is with Jacob. He has such a desire to teach Jacob new things and be a comfort and support to him during difficult situations.

I overheard him speaking to Jacob the other day in a soft sweet voice, reassuring Jacob that he "knows its difficult to wait sometimes, but just be patient and we will get you some more french fries in just a few minutes." (you would have to hear the intonation in his voice to really appreciate it) And Jacob has been initiating play (mainly tickling and wrestling) with Josiah ALOT lately and I think its because they have spent alot of time together away from home. It so great to see a relationship developing between the two of them...may not be a typical relationship, but its a relationship. Can't wait for the period of time that this happens with Micah and Jacob. It may be a while, as Micah just really gets on his nerves right now, but it will happen.

I'm just really greatful for the program this summer as it has done so much more than just giving Josiah something to do.

Oh, How I've Changed

A friend of mine from high school, who I haven't seen in more than a decade, contacted me last week on facebook. It got me to thinkin. She and I had alot in common...we were somewhat consumed with our appearance. We would both go directly to the bathroom between each class period and primp. My purse would be filled with makeup and hairspray and I would completely give myself a do-over every hour. Consumed, I tell you. Of course, this was the late 80's, early 90's and makeup and hairspray were much more important back then. I mean, how could I get my hair to stand up like that all day without carrying around a bottle of hairspray? And hoping not to portray myself as a vain person, I was the kind who could not pass by a mirror without taking a glance. I desired perfection and never feeling anywhere near that, I put forth MUCH effort.

Boy, how things have changed. I know that becoming a mother and not having much time to spend on myself has caused me to change in that area, but I think its more than that. Maybe finding a husband who loves me for who I am has changed me as well. And no offense to New Englanders, but living here has given me the green light to be, shall I say, more natural. Its definitely different from the South. When I was a teenager I actually knew a guy who would fix his hair just to go mow the yard. Those who knew me in high school would be blown away by the way I look sometimes going to the grocery store. Maybe its just growing up and realizing there are more important things to spend my time on. Needless to say, I have changed so much in this particular area of my life since then...yes, maybe too much. I think its important to take care of oneself and that leads me to one other thing....I lost 3 pounds on my first week of our Biggest Loser contest. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing.
So, why don't you tell me how you have most changed since high school.

Quite a Work-Out

I was about 2 minutes into my George Foreman "Walk and Box" workout video when Josiah so sincerely informed me, "Momma, you ALREADY look thinner. " Now don't everybody trample over one another on his/her way to purchase this miracle workout!

And the next Biggest Loser is....

...me, at least I hope to be 12 weeks from now. No, I will not be going on national television and standing on an economy sized scale in spandex and a sports bra, but having my weight posted in the break room at work is bad enough. We are doing a "Biggest Loser" contest at work and I am really excited because I know I can do this. I have always thrived off of competition, but its more than that. Most of us (there are 5 of us involved) will be doing Weight Watchers so just being there for each other and encouraging one another will be extremely motivating. My goal is to lose 26 lbs in 12 weeks (although I think I can do better than that). And although everyone else at my office will have reached their final weight loss goals at that point, it will be a wonderful jump start for me on my way to losing 61 total pounds. So, you think I can do it?

He's Still the One

Alex and I celebrated our 12th anniversary on Sunday. It is so hard to believe its been that long, and what a 12 years it has been. Because I stress out so much about finding childcare, I didn't even attempt it this year and our three boys accompanied us to Outback Steakhouse. Not very romantic, but it was actually quite nice. After all, Jacob, Josiah, and Micah are the greatest result of our lives together as husband and wife. We are both so proud to have them as our children. And, yes, I would have really enjoyed some time alone with my husband on my anniversary, but, without sounding too corny or chiche, my boys will be grown up before I know it and I want to treasure every moment with them. I didn't really intend for this to be a post about my kids. I wanted to express how much I love my husband (hence the title) Kids always seem to "steal the show."

I posted the following lyrics from an old Shania Twain song on my myspace page last year on our anniversary, but I thought I would add it to my blog this year. I could have totally written this song myself...to Alex.

Looks like we made it
Look how far we've come my baby
We mighta took the long way
We knew we'd get there someday

Bridge: They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong

Chorus: You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're the one I want for life
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night

Ain't nothin' better
We beat the odds together
I'm glad we didn't listen
Look at what we would be missing

Bridge: They said, "I bet they'll never make it"
But just look at us holding on
We're still together still going strong

Chorus: You're still the one I run to
The one that I belong to
You're the one I want for life
You're still the one that I love
The only one I dream of
You're still the one I kiss good night

I'm so glad we made it
Look how far we've come my baby

A Precious Omission

As I was reading through some of my old posts, I came to the disturbing conclusion that I don't share many things at all about Micah. What's up with that? Well, it became quite obvious to me as I reflected on the reason for this omission. Micah is at that age (will be 3 in Oct) where he cracks me up on a daily basis, but the things I am referring to cannot be communicated in writing and would not compare in the slightest to actually seeing these things with your own eyes. ...like the way he counts to 13 but always omits 1 and 2, the way he tells a knock-knock joke, the way he uses phrases that I use (both good and not-so-good), the way he hides food in his mouth and pretends that he has swollowed, the way he gets angry, the way he "reads" a book, the way he imitates Kung-Fu-Panda, and just the vocabulary he uses that seems so advanced for a two-year old. All these things brings a smile to my face and I know it would yours too if you could see him. Printed words can do no justice to the joy that beautiful child brings to my life.

Beaming With Pride

So many things to blog about and so little time... It seems that what used to be my "blogging time" has now been replaced with sleep. I can't seem to make it much past my kids' bedtime lately, but I do want to mention an exciting milestone that Jacob reached on Friday afternoon. We got him a bike for his birthday, his first bike. He hasn't SEEMED to have the co-ordination or leg strength to actually pedal, but has recently been very interested in Josiah's bike. He gets on and wants us to push him around and he has a ball. Well, on Friday afternoon, on just the second day of trying to teach him, he did it (with training wheels), all by himself! He was so happy and was obviously proud of himself. Jacob's therapist, Josiah, two of Josiah's neighborhood friends, Alex, and I were cheering him on and he was eating it up. Josiah and his friends were offering up high-fives and it was a beautiful sight. Having an autistic child causes one to truly appreciate the small (yet big) accomplishments and it does make it even sweeter.