My kids are alright. They are probably better than that, but for the
sake of sticking with a theme, they are completely fine. At their
current very needy age, their needs are met unless they are capable of
meeting their own needs. In that instance, we work together on
accomplishing new skills. They are fed, they sleep soundly (eventually)
and they are happy little people.
I'm sure a lot of people saw the "world's toughest job"
viral video that was rolling around last week. It was close to the truth
without mentioning that the ways you get paid for the toughest job in
the world are really immeasurable. Sometimes you really don't sit down
ALL DAY. You know the number one reason I would like the have the house
all to myself? TO CLEAN IT without being interrupted. I turned on
Frozen for an hour yesterday and ironed. IRONED. and I was like "YES!
Finally... the ironing." This is glamorous stuff. And when the day comes
to a close and I am cleaning up little clothes and little closets and
making sure little rooms are straight, I walk into my room and it's like
the dirty side of a hurricane. Too many piles of clean clothes that are
now wrinkled because they have been sitting in the dryer continuously
being tossed as I continuously forget to fold them when they are done
tossing.
Every day I feel like a maid, a mediator, a teacher,
a therapist, a chef, a personal assistant, a nurse, a magician, a
clown, a singer, an actress, an architect, a trash man, a gardener, a
handyman, a tea party guest, a janitor, and a chauffeur. I also feel loved beyond
measure by these two little people because I am able to be all of that
for them. My kids are alright... but how am I?
As people we constantly change and evolve, we learn
and we grow. As I handle how having two children has changed my life, I
have been looking inward to see how I can overcome certain obstacles.
The end result of all of this thought is that if I REALLY want to take
care of my children I need to take care of myself. If I am teaching a
three year old how to do the things for herself that she is able to, I
should probably be modeling that behavior. This doesn't have to just do with parents though. Taking good enough care of yourself is an issue with many people.
Here is a nice confession... I am a sugar addict. When
you see my daughter having local, pasture raised eggs with organic
butter and organic strawberries for breakfast, what you don't see is
the bowl of organic chocolate krispies that I am having. Just because it's organic, doesn't mean it's not sugar and junk. When I'm not eating organic junk chocolate sugar, I'm grabbing a Kind Bar to eat in the car. No, not the fruit, nut and protein Kind Bar, the dark chocolate and peanut butter Kind Bar. More sugar. And while my lunch and dinner meals are usually very healthy and veggie filled, about ten minutes after dinner I go for the chocolate ice cream... This, and the possible cookies, lunch desserts, or chewy candy, that you don't see is my real life.
These realizations came about as I
began documenting our meals on the Raising Texas Instagram feed. I was
seeing so many instances where my daughter was eating things I should be
making for both of us. Instead I was making a poor decision for myself
and the right decision for her. So why shouldn't I be making the right decisions for all of us. It sure would save me a lot of hiding cookie eating from my kids.
I'm on a bit of a journey to take better care of myself, and by doing so, be a better wife, mother, daughter and friend. I clearly have an issue with sugar, so I made a T chart. You remember those, right? It wasn't pretty (literally and figuratively).
So here we are. Sugar, for me, is not really a positive thing. I think it has a place in my diet, but I clearly have an issue with eating way too much right now. For the month of May I am giving up non naturally occurring sugars. I'm still going to eat plenty of fruit to try and get through this, but I am not having ice cream, or candy, or cereal, or cookies, or chocolate, or margaritas (GASP!), but I'm going to have wine because I feel like I will sometimes really need a glass... especially when I can't have dessert on Mother's Day. Also, I've already given up wine for two extended periods of time called pregnancy. Wine and I are cool.
So here's where I wait for the crickets... Does anyone want to do this together? I have recruited my sister in law and my mom to join me, although they could have just been being nice. Frankly, I might need the support and misery loves company. Is that a joke? Hmmm... Let's just say that no one is excited about my withdrawal period, especially my husband. That's why we're calling it #notsosweetmay. Because my diet will not be so sweet, and for a period of time, neither will I. Fair warning.
The countdown begins... I bought a new blender and I'm going to replace my morning sugar surge with smoothies. I'm not sure what I'm going to replace chocolate ice cream with. I'm honestly nervous about this one.
Here's to treating ourselves as well as we treat our kids. Guess it's time to clean my room.
RT
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