Making Progress

Last week was one of the most stressful I've had in a long time.  I decided it might be time to take a look at some of the positive things going on right now to keep life in perspective.

Our summer is now over and we are slowly getting back to a routine.  Brad went back to school today and Micah starts on Wednesday.  Caleb will go back next week.  We are easing into the school year.  I'm actually mostly sad that it's back to school time already.  I feel like summer has been too short and we need more time for fun!  I also feel excited to start the new school year and change things up a bit. 

Some good things have been happening around here over the summer though.  Mason Alexander is now 11 months old!  How is it possible that I have to start thinking about my baby's first birthday?  He is getting more experienced in his crawling and now moves around more often with his belly off the floor.  When he really wants to get somewhere quickly though he drops back down to his army crawl and takes off!  He has also discovered pulling himself up on things.  He enjoys standing at the couch or train table but hasn't quite figured out how to move once he's up.  He gets very excited to see his brother and his daddy.  He still rattles off "dada" and "mama" quite well but has also included a "nana" which sometimes sounds more like "nono".  For this reason I sometimes refer to him as "baby nono" because it often sounds like he's telling us no.  He very well could be since he is hearing us say it to him more and more!  It doesn't matter that we have a house full of toys, he would much rather go into the kitchen and check out the trash can or oven.  He loves to push the buttons on the stereo.  Basically, all of our time and attention goes to him while he's awake!

In other news...we've been trying to get our house in order this summer.  We know we are planning to put in on the market next spring so we've been trying to get as prepared as possible.  It seems we still have a long ways to go but we did get the majority of our painting done!  A couple of years after we moved here we painted our living room blue.  I loved the color but I also love painting.  It can make a room feel fresh and new.  We knew that the blue might not be to everyone's taste so we opted to go for a more neutral tone throughout our home. 
                        

This color flows through our living room, hallway, and into the dining room/kitchen area.  The kitchen is also painted red and we are not going to paint over that but adding this color with it seemed to brighten it up even more.  We need to do some touch ups on the red paint and also we plan to paint our bathroom with the neutral color.  I was hoping that would get done before Brad went back to work but when you have three kids and only one bathroom, it gets pretty difficult to find a good time to paint.







A little personal progress here....about five weeks ago I began following the Trim Healthy Mama plan to try and shed some unwanted pounds.  I was very skeptical about it in the beginning and not sure what to expect but after five weeks I'm feeling good about it!  The positive things I like include:

• No more sugar cravings
• Increased energy (I no longer need coffee or a nap late in the afternoon)
• I feel like I don't need to eat as much to be full
• I can still enjoy many foods I used to eat with only few modifications
• I've lost ten pounds!!!

The first week I started was a bit rough but it's been much better since then.  I am really only about 80% "on plan" and usually it's my dinner that is not part of it.  I don't feel too bad about that though since the dinners I eat are generally healthy but some have ingredients that would not be approved or the meal itself might be considered what's called a crossover.  Either way I figure that if this is going to be a lifestyle change then I have to make it work with my lifestyle or I'm not going to stick with it.  There are a few negatives or things I'm still trying to navigate through the plan though.  The biggest one is that I can't stand the taste of stevia.  This plan promotes stevia as the only natural sweetener that's acceptable.  To me it tastes just like artificial ones and I hate those too.  I have bought a couple of different brands with no luck yet finding one I like.  I have kind of stopped trying for a while.  I'm afraid to spend the time and energy make dessert only to find it has a horrid aftertaste.  It's been very limiting because there are many dessert recipes, breakfasts or other baked goodies that I would love to eat but I just don't want to keep spending money or time on something I won't enjoy.  So when I want dessert I've been indulging in the regular things.  I just now have to be careful because my body can't seem to handle sugar like it used to and if I have too much I feel sick.  That's probably a good thing!  It makes breakfast kind of limited also.  I really enjoy eggs for breakfast but since I've been eating them so much sometimes I'd like something else.  They (the authors) also don't advocate the use of honey as a sweetener (mostly if you are trying to lose weight) but I have gone back to using it in my tea in the morning and am still losing weight so I guess it's okay.  I feel like it's all trial and error!  I am pleased with my progress though and feel like this is a pretty sustainable and enjoyable way to live.  I'm happy with the progress I've made so I'll keep pressing on and navigating the rough patches!

We have many positive things that have happened this summer and I'm sad to see it end but excited for what the school year will bring!  God has been good and faithful and I know this is just the beginning!