One Year Ago Today

One year ago today, BabyK was born at 9:30pm in Lubbock Texas, weighing 7lbs 10oz.

Since that date, he has learned to lift his head, roll over, push up, clap, drag himself across the floor, sit up, crawl, stand up, walk along a table/wall. He has learned to say mama, dada, mimi, night night (ni-ni), ball, no, no-no (more emphatic), nose (while pointing to the appropriate part). He has learned to sign "more" (also "mas" in Spanish), "all done," and "milk" and to give hugs. He has learned to find his baby, his hair, and his shoes. He has learned about gravity, tickles, pain, books, love, kisses, and falls.

I have learned all over again how much God loves me.

I am in love with my beautiful baby boy, and I am so thankful to have had this last year getting to know him. He loves to pull hair while sucking his thumb or nursing, so we gave him a baby doll with hair to save mine. Now he is hooked! He is a light in our home. He is so sweet and snuggly and loves to laugh. He is the hardest teether I have ever seen and has never consistently slept through the night. I love him and my life, our home, our family is better because of him.

Discipline: A Very Good Thing.

So BoyD got disciplined today. He does everyday to an extent, but today it was a little harder.

Today, after getting BabyK up from his afternoon nap, I asked BoyD to pick up his toys off of the floor so that I could put the baby down. He had out some magnetic stick/ball things and legos. Total choking hazard. I told him twice. I then proceeded to chit chat w/ my hubby while waiting for him to do what I had asked him. 10 minutes later, nothing was picked up and he had continued playing with them. Obviously, we had not enforced the rule that he obeys me 1st time when I ask him to pick up his things. When should I have enforced this? At the beginning. I have been very inconsistent w/ this, giving him 2,3 even 5 warnings before a consequence. I realize that this is not fair to him. How can he know if I mean it the 1st time or even the second if one time I enforce on the 4th or 5th?

That has changed. So after he hadn't picked them up, we took away the magnetic things (the first thing I had said to pick up). We then said that if he didn't have the legos picked up by the time that Brandon got back from putting the other toy away, that we would also take away the legos. He played some more, and got the legos taken away. So...the teaching has begun.

He then throws a fit and says "If you take these things away from me...you can just give them away! I don't want them!"

I have noticed lately that he has been saying things that he obviously doesn't mean when he's mad. And for the most part, we threaten to do what it is he says ("I will never play w/ that again!" kind of things) but as soon as the threat leaves our mouth, he changes his tune.

He keeps saying them b/c there are no real consequences for his actions. For his words. So Brandon talks to him about how his words matter, and we give the magnetic things to GirlM. They now belong to her. We weren't mad or yelling. We feel very bad for him and we told him so. We said how sad we were that he had said those things. After a lot of mad crying and stomping around and hiding in our closet from us, he creeps around the corner with puffy red eyes and comes over and climbs in my lap. He cries and cries. Consequences suck some times.

This is a good day. A good day for us...relearning to be consistent. A good day for BoyD. How many people have you known that say all kinds of things they don't mean when they are mad? No one ever taught them the consequences of that. BoyD has learned (probably not for the last time) that once words leave your mouth, you can't get them back in. The person you said them to can't un-hear them.

Discipline is a very good thing.

BabyK's 1st Birthday Invite

Body AFter Baby: 30 day challenge update

For all those mamas who are struggling with their weight/self image...for all of those mamas who desire beauty...listen to this:


(if you don't see a youtube video to click, please go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv2DUEsoKUA)

Ok...I have officially finished 2 weeks of my 30 day challenge. I am proud to say that I worked out every single day! Yeah, me! I was never short on my water intake! Yeah, me! And I was intensely controlled with my eating. I basically didn't eat any sugar (except for my chocolate and cake at a party) and I only overate once! That was huge for me. I cut out evening snacks and had a TON of energy! Even getting less than 7 hrs sleep every night, I managed to make it through each day w/o dragging. That has been the biggest thing that I have noticed. I feel great. I feel fitter and healthier.

My struggle: Ok...I know I'm only supposed to weigh once a week. I weighed last Friday (my update day) and I had gained a pound. I measured myself (with a different tape b/c I lost mine) and I had gotten bigger! I was so discouraged. I mean, I don't really want to put forth all this effort for nothing. Now...I know that weight can fluctuate from day to day. I get that. And I know that I switched tapes and I was consistently 1/4 inch bigger so it could really be my measuring or the tape. So...to feel better, I weighed myself again on Monday (after really not dieting at all on Sunday) and I was down 4 lbs from Friday. Makes no sense. So if I only weigh once a week, how do I really know if that weight is accurate or not????

This week my weight is the same. As far as measurements: I think I actually shrunk a couple of cm. (I am not using inches b/c I will loose cm faster b/c they are smaller! LOL!) Not exactly sure the details, but I feel good.

The final thing...I think my milk supply is on the decrease. I may have been cutting too many calories too quickly. I am going to go back to the way I was eating before (not trying to limit portions too much...eating slow and eating until full, etc) except I will keep out the sweets.

And I still love Workouts on Demand...it is not for the fitness guru. I mean, I haven't tried all of the videos, yet, but they aren't super hard, but they do get me moving and a couple of them have really made me sore the next day! Always a good sign. Check it out if you can.

Are my kids really a mirror?

I've been watching my kiddos lately. I mean, I always watch them...but I've been watching them in the context of how they behave in relation to how I behave.

The other day BoyD and I were carrying his leggos into his bedroom while picking up the playroom. I was carrying a plane that he had been working very hard on. Well, I dropped the plane and it fell to the ground and broke apart into quite a few pieces. I said "Oh, BoyD, I am so sorry!" and he said, "Its no problem, mommy. Don't worry about it!" Wow. At that moment I thought that maybe Brandon and I maybe did something right. Maybe he learned that attitude from me!

Then, later that same day, BoyD was frustrated with GirlM about something and I see him with clenched fists yell at her through clenched jaws, "GirlM...get over here now" It was like looking in the mirror when I get mad at him. Of course he isn't allowed to talk to her that way (or to us either), but then why am I allowed to be so disrespectful to him? So...he learned that one from me as well! Ha-ha!

So...when you look at your kids, do you like what you see? Do you like your kids? Do they have cheerful attitudes. Are they grouchy, kind, angry, peacemakers? Do you think that this is really a reflection on you as a parent or just a personality quirk, or a combination?

I think I'm a bad missionary

Let me explain. This is not to beat on myself. I have been so blessed to be a part of a team of missionaries here in Guatemala. We are a discipleship team and we get together once a month and meet. We share our lives, our challenges, we pray for each other, and we eat together. It is my favorite time each month.

Well, one of the couples works primarily with Indigenous Mayans in a village context. (No shopping malls, no grocery stores, no pizza delivery, etc) They have been truly immersed in the Mayan culture and have been forced to be learners. They have been humbled, taught, corrected, abused, neglected, loved. The following came from a conversation that we had with them at our last team meeting.

Before coming to the field, Brandon and I had a total of 7 weeks of intensive training. We learned about entering into a new culture. We learned about how to seek out and be learners, how to NOT be that missionary that comes in and tells all these people what they need to know. It is a lot more complicated than that sounds, but it basically entails dying to your own culture and accepting the people for who they are. It means that you try as best you can to forget the American way of doing things and to keep an entirely open mind. It means not criticizing the bizarre things of the new culture just because your intellectual, enlightened western mind knows better. It is about judging right and wrong solely based on scripture, and not how you were taught before you arrived.

That is where I have failed. Essentially, I have done it all wrong. I have been so arrogant in "my" way of doing things. I have told people how silly it is that they think that you can get air out of your tummy by putting a lit candle on coin placed on your abdomen and then covering it with a glass. I have told them how you can't really get sick from the cold. I have told them that it is impossible for cold to seep up through your feet and enter your lungs and make you sick. I have told them that walking over a hose won't cause your baby's umbilical cord to strangle them. I have told them...informed them...educated them. Why, might you ask? Basically, because I know better. So, so foolish. Do I really? It just seemed so natural at the time.

I may have alienated people because of my arrogance. I hope not. I hope that God can use my contrite apologies to humble me in their eyes.

I repent. I repent of my "know it all because I'm an educated American" attitude. I want to be a better listener, a better learner. Why? So that I can reveal Christ. So that they can see in me something that they desire, not despise.

Pray for me as I live this out with the help and grace of Jesus Christ. It is not by my own efforts that God will bring people to himself, but, Lord willing, by my humility and the work of Christ in me.

Body After Baby: 30 day challenge

Another Body After Baby Post: I don't have much to post regarding my progress because I haven't checked my weight or my measurements since last Friday morning. I will check again this Friday morning. I normally weigh myself every day (or thereabouts) but I am resisting the urge.

I can say that I have had 64+ oz. of water every day. I have worked out every day but Saturday. I am really liking the Workouts on Demand website. I have done 2 different salsa dance videos (not hard but a fun way to get active) and part of a kick boxing one. Tomorrow morning I will be doing a total body toning one with hand weights. I slept late (until 6am) this morning, so I only had like 20 minutes and I didn't get much done.

The other mornings I did some interval training up and down my street (sprinting, lunges, sprinting, calf raises, sprinting, stretches). I have been watching my portion sizes and have cut down drastically (except dinner last night and lunch today) I lost a little motivation today, so this blog could not have come at a better time.

I really just need to get more time in for exercise. Every day I have to be a mom, be a wife, get time in the Word (usually only happens b/c I have my Bible in the bathroom! TMI, right?), practice my guitar, manage my home, teach my kids, sew, and on occasion, bathe. LOL! That means 5:30am wake up times or it just doesn't all get done.

So tomorrow I am going to get up at 5:30 and be on my street by 6am. I really want to try to get in another 20min. or so of the strength training on Workouts on Demand. We'll see what time the kids get up.

I will post on Friday for anyone that might care regarding my specific progress.

Body After Baby Challenge Week 6 (I think)

I have not moved one bit since my last post a few days ago. I have also not worked out once (well...I went to the park but I mostly just stood there) since my last post. I have eaten ok. I did drink a lot of water yesterday. So there is really nothing to post, except that Samantha over at Mama Notes is adding to her Body After Baby Challenge. She is making a 30 day challenge.

She is going to be using The Shred DVD by Jillian Michaels as her first 30 day challenge. Well, I don't have that DVD and can't get it, so I am going to commit to join her in this challenge, but a bit differently.

I will be using Workouts On Demand which is basically an on-line workout class. I paid $3.25 for a month (it is more after the first month b/c there is a 75% discount for the first month) and I have access to a bunch of streaming or downloadable workout videos, a fitness journal, and a food tracker. Also, I will be using a yoga video that I have, as well as a pilates video. I may even venture out to the garage to use the treadmill. I am going to ask Brandon to give me 30minutes (from 6am to 6:30am) 5 days a week to work out.

I am also going to cut out white sugar for the following 30 days w/ a couple of exceptions. I will still eat my 1oz. of chocolate a day (if I want it) and I will eat birthday cake on my kids birthdays. I will still put honey in my tea, natural fruit jelly on my toast, etc. I am also going to try my best to avoid while flours. I can't get all whole wheat things like in the states, but I can decrease my white flour intake somewhat.

Here is the thing...I weigh between 132.5 and 135 (depending on the day) and am 5'6". I am not fat. I am not even really overweight. Yes, I would like to get down to 125 or so so that I can start my later portion of life skinny. But if I lose some loose flab and replace it with muscle then I may not can get that low. All that to say, the number on the scale is less important that the following: toned arms and legs, flatter tummy, more energy, and keeping my body in peak condition (my mom has arthritis so bad that it is hard for her to get up and down from the floor, do any workouts other than walking and swimming, and her body just generally doesn't work that well). When I'm 60, I want to be almost as active as I am now.

I may take some measurements and track my progress in inches instead of lbs. Or maybe both. Not sure.

Ok, I could use your encouragement and your prayers. This is going to be hard with 3 kids 5 and under.

Body After Baby Challenge Week something

Ok...so I'm way behind on my body after baby challenge from over at mama notes. It has been crazy and I definitely took time off for Christmas. So that being said, I had lost a total of 3lbs before Christmas, I gained it all back +1lb over the 2 weeks around Christmas (my mom was in town and I baked a lot) and have since lost 1.5lbs. So...I am over all down .5lbs from where I started. Oh well.

I will say that while my wonderful, precious, funny, sweet mom was here, I overdid it at every meal. I over ate, ate too many sweets, stayed up too late, and was generally unhealthy. But I was having fun. That counts for something, right? Well...I also noticed that I had a general feeling of unwell. I was full, bloated, tired, and had indigestion. So, when I said goodbye to my mom very early at the hotel in Guatemala City, I decided that I was so sad, and to not feel worse, I would try to feel good physically. Since then (Sat. early morning), I have eaten better (not over eating), drank more water, gone to bed earlier (but I still have a waking teething baby and a 5 yr old with leg cramps), and eaten a lot fewer sweets.

I am still eating my token piece of peppermint bark, but I'm not doing it at 10pm after a piece of pecan pie and a huge dinner. I am feeling a lot better, and back on track.

As far as exercise: I don't get any. I'm too tired to cut out any sleep, and I just can't figure out how to work it into my routine right now. Brandon's parents are in the country for the next two weeks, so maybe I can use them to take care of kids while I exercise. I did take the dog and the kids to the park today and ran around with them a bit.

So...new goals...keep up my water intake, try to find a chance to exercise, and no sweets late at night.

Oh, and since the last BAB post, my mom got a stomach bug, Brandon got strep throat, I got the stomach bug (or maybe it was just junk food and exhaustion b/c I got over it quickly), my kids had a school program, we had Christmas celebrations, and we traveled to and from Guatemala City. I've been a little busy!

Thanks for reading...for those other Body After Baby participants, I'm sorry I've been out of the loop, but I'm back in with a vengeance.