Share the strep... or not!

Poor little lover girl has strep throat. We had a birthday party at our house for Grayson a couple of weeks ago and I'm thinking some little first grader shared strep with us. I got it first, then Luca, now Bella. That's the joy of having kids, they share mostly when you don't want them too!

Luckily for me, I have a great job with more flexibility than I've ever had. I don't teach a class on Monday's and I work from home on Mondays, which allows me to balance the day with laundry, the gym, emails, changing my course and yesterday, taking care of a sick kiddo. When people are sick, I tend to do more laundry, even if its not a puke bug... blankets get washed, sheets get changed, new toothbrushes for everyone!

Luckier for all of us is that we have some fabulous neighbors who help out more than I can mention. Seriously, from getting kids on and off the bus, to offering to take my sick kid for the day. They are like a second set of parents to our kids. I honestly don't know what we would do without them. When they say it takes a village, they truly mean it! I can't tell you how thankful I am to have found our village here!

Healthier me

I shared on Facebook that I'm down over 11 pounds and I can now pull my jeans off without unbuttoning them... an overshare? Maybe... but here's the thing, I wanted to be accountable to me and posting allows me to keep my accountability. I've tried other things, diets, personal trainers, supplements, weighing my food, measuring portions, some of them have worked, some not so much. I've lost weight before but I've never maintained it since having kids.

I can tell you what's working this time. Making ME a priority is working. Putting ME first is working. Loving ME is working. Pushing myself to be the best ME is working. Having accountability to others is working. That's what's different this time. I really want this to work for once and for all. Not just for the weight loss, for the energy, for the stamina, for quality of sleep, for the ability to go up and down a hill chasing my kids without stopping to get winded and needing to take a break. I want to bike with them and be active with them. I want to hike through the forest, up hills, in valleys and not struggle. Building memories is important and I don't want their memories of mama to be complaining about tired joints and being winded when playing.

What am I doing? I'm doing Weight Watchers. Why am I sharing? Because people on Facebook asked and clearly other people struggle as well. Lots of people are trying to find the perfect fit for them. For me, this is the perfect fit, it's teaching me balance and accountability. My mom raved about weight watchers in the passed and it's worked for her before. This time, we are doing this together. Along with her, some other people near and dear to my heart are also doing it too. It's their journey to share so I'll leave it at that. It's the accountability of people reaching out asking how I'm doing and me reaching out saying "what's for lunch?" It's connecting us in ways other than being related or our kids, it's helping us mamas find balance in our lives. Balance that ever eludes most of us. Balance that I still struggle with. Balance that I'm working hard towards each and every day.

I'll be sharing from time to time what I'm eating, what I'm doing, how things are going. This blog was started to educate and if this helps just one person, it's worth it. If it's educating you in some way that you didn't already know, it's worth it. Sharing my struggle and my journey also makes me vulnerable but it also holds me accountable.

And if you are wondering, we aren't talking about weight loss at our house. We're talking about being healthy and making better choices. My daughter picked salad because she watched me pick salad. She picked a little less dressing than normal because she watched my choices. She's eating more veggies and picking healthier snacks. I'm teaching her health. I'm teaching her strength. Those are qualities that are important. I'm teaching her that I'm working out to be strong not because I want to look good in a swim suit. I'm teaching her that I want to run faster and lift stronger weights because being strong makes me feel good. Pick your words wisely especially in front of those little loves! 

Shhh... don't tell my husband

My handsome husband doesn't read the blog or write the blog. I can't tell you the last time he even looked at anything on here! So let's not tell him about this one :) He doesn't need to get a big head!

We just celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. Did you know 46% of marriages end in the first 10 years? Sad, but true! Why am I telling you this? I feel like we've passed a small milestone. Our marriage isn't "hard work" but it's not always easy either. It means giving 100% of yourself 100% of the time. It means compromising when you feel like screaming. It means knowing someone's faults and loving them just the same.

In our 10 years here are some things we've done: got married on a beach, moved across the ocean to the midwest (from Hawaii to Wisconsin), gone through my mom having cancer, living with my mother-in-law, house hunting, opening a business, buying a house while 8 months pregnant, the birth of Bella, a super fussy baby (did I mention how she cried for HOURS on end!), a new puppy, a miscarriage, the sudden death of my dad, my emotional struggles surrounding being pregnant and giving birth while trying to grieve, the birth of Grayson, selling a condo, the birth of Luca, we've gone through having 3 toddlers and survived, chickens (four of them from baby chicks to big chicks and now eggs) job changes, grad school, more job changes, vacations, many trips to the cottage, student loans, we've gone through co-sleeping, breastfeeding, hunting, girls trips, closing a business, a work conference out of state, lots of camping, being rained out as a family of 5 in a tent, a mom/daughter trip, more hunting, new career paths for me, bathroom renovation, new career paths for Ryan, multiple cars, buying an RV, my need to constantly purge.. the list goes on. We've seen each other at their best and at their worst.

There's one thing I know for sure, in the past ten years, there is no one on the planet that I would rather share this love with. He's my one and only. He loves me when I'm at my highest, he lifts me up when I'm at my weakest, he encourages me every step of the way. I'm lucky to have this man in my life. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years of our marriage will be like. I'm excited for our challenges, our adventures and the memories we will share together.

What I'm telling you is it's not always easy but it will always be worth it!