Lil Ballerina

Maggie had her ballet performance this weekend. She's been on the company dance team this year. I've debated off and on if she should do it next year. She complains almost every day she has to go and I'm tired of the fight. But when I watch the performance I am always thrilled she's a part of it. She is so proud of herself as she's performing and I love to see the expressions on her face.  Last Thursday as we were leaving the performance she was on cloud 9. She was so happy and excited. She started explaining how the kids in her class were so envious that she could do her own make-up. I didn't realize I let her do her own make-up. Here is the rest of the conversation..

Maggie: I was putting a little blush by my lips and a girl looked over at me and said 'nice make-up'. Then I realized......she was making fun of me!!! I could tell she was teasing me. (Then in a diva tone) She will pay for making fun of me!!

I could only laugh at her remark. Maggie is so different than me when I was kid. If I thought someone was teasing me, I'd start having a victimized pity party and eat some worms. Not Maggie, she just keeps going, keeps singing, keeps skipping. I love her spunk.

The Shoe Saga

Oh, when was it, about two months ago? Maybe 6 weeks ago? Maggie called me from the school. "Mom", she said, " I need you to bring me a pair of shoes. I lost my shoe in the snow." I replied,"What? You lost your shoe in the snow? Maggie, how do you lose your shoe in the snow? You really need me to bring you shoes?" I was baffled, how does one lose their shoe in the snow? Let's say one is playing in the snow (which I never do). She takes a step, lifts up her foot, then notices her shoe is off. Turns around and takes her shoe out of the snow. I guess it isn't as logical as I think everything should be. The thing is about Maggie is that she didn't have a great pair of shoes until this pair. Her shoes would last, maybe, two days. I would never think to spend money on a Nike shoe, Santa brought it to her. Just that morning, no joke, I thought to myself, "these are awesome shoes. Maggie knows how to tie her shoes. These shoes have lasted more than one day." So I was a little ticked that her shoes was missing. That afternoon I went back to the school, with a snow shovel, determined to find the shoe. Wasn't as easy as I thought, she couldn't remember where she lost it. She kept going from place to place as I followed her with the shovel. It was useless. In order to get the shoe back before Spring, I bribed her class to find her shoe. I told them I'd give them a pizza party. About a week later, Maggie found the shoe. Fortunately, I saved myself money by buying the class suckers. Now we can't find the other shoe....... I'm done!

Meeting Invite

I've decided to start blogging about my addiction journey on this blog. Although, it's a very sensitive subject for many (including myself), I believe the addiction to food is real and one that we can overcome. Here is a letter I emailed my friends yesterday. I am inviting everyone to attend this meeting to hear success stories from people who have fought to overcome their addiction. Hope you can come. You aren't committed once you come, I am only providing a path to help us overcome a struggle that many of us deal with.

 Hello Friends!

As many of you know, I have recently lost 40 lbs. I thought I would share with you a bit about my journey. First of all, I am not trying to get you on a diet. I am not saying that I think you are fat. This isn't a way for me to earn money. My hope is that if you know anyone who has struggled with weight, you might share this with them. I only send this to you because we have talked about my weight or we know someone who struggles. About 8 months ago I hit "rock bottom". You've seen me go up and down with weight. I had tried so many ways to lose weight, I was hopeless. To make a long story short, I ran into a woman who I saw on TV about the LDS Recovery Program, Nanette Wiggins. She has a food addiction. I know that meeting her was answer to a prayer, which was for me to seek peace of mind with the battle I have had for most of my life. Nanette introduced me to a program. This program is a sister-program to organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous. The difference with this program is that there is a specific meal plan to help one overcome addiction to food. It encourages people to abstain from eating flour and sugar which are foods that lead us to overeat and binge on food. It is not a specific religious base but does encourage us to turn to a Higher Power to relieve our burdens. This has been a spiritual journey for me more than anything. I have turned this addiction over to God and asked Him to help me through this. One might think that abstaining from flour and sugar is deprivation at it's finest (especially with the holidays upon us). I feel otherwise, I feel amazing. My mind is clear, I don't carry the burden of guilt from roller coaster dieting, I feel an overall sense of health that I have never felt before. The purpose of this email is to tell you that I am looking for people to be a part of this support group. There are no fees. We don't weigh in. Our group in Bountiful is quite small. Utah county has a large following. I'd love to get a bigger support group here. On Wednesday, November 14, there will be 4 women from Utah County who will come and speak to us about their journey and success with this program. I would love to have you come learn about it. If not for yourself, for a friend or family member that struggles with weight or if you don't quite understand why I eat the way I eat. These women are amazing. I feel like you will be inspired by their stories. This is not limited to women, there are plenty of men in the program as well.

The meeting will be held at this Wednesday at 7:15 PM

GPP Fitness 

 40 E Pages Lane

 Centerville, UT 

Please pass this on to anyone who your think is interested. Like I said, I am not picking on you, I am asking to spread the word.

I also want to thank Neil and my friends at GPP who are allowing the group to use the building for our meetings.

Much Thanks,

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=296&sid=19827401
http://lds12stepreflections.wordpress.com
http://www.ceahow.org
http://gppfitness.com/

Halloween Part 1

Halloween was eventful this year....

First it started with this pumpkin carving contest I did for work. I named him Mista P. (if you would like details on how I carved such a masterpiece, you can ask me in person). He weighed over 30 lbs. Here's a couple of pics of the fellow. My favorite picture is when he is driving with me in the car.

 

Mista P stole the show. He won the most votes in the restaurant and he won on Facebook. He was a great friend during Halloween.

Fall Update

Look at these 3 kids! Max is 13 and not quite giving me the teenager attitude. Michael is 11 and as ambitious as ever. Maggie is almost 8 and loves life!

Kate and Claire are both 4 and starting their second year of preschool with the school district. Kate is a sweetie. Claire is a bit of a spitfire.


Everyone is fighting with each other more. Lots of picking on each other. It drives me crazy. I often wonder how this can happen when my sister and I never fought. I love all the different personalities my kids bring to the family. I am laughing at them all the time. 

Birdie

I can't help but share this photo of Claire. Her sore finger, which she slammed in the door, has been the topic of conversation in our house. I finally took a picture of her because I laugh every time she shows it to me and to everyone she sees. She rarely gets hurt like this so it's a pretty serious thing for her. My favorite thing about this pic is that she looks as though she is trying pretty hard to keep that finger up.

Fishies

We bought a membership to North Canyon Pool and absolutely love it! This compensates for a pool that we don't have in our backyard. I put the kids in swim lessons and I enjoy watching the fishes. We've always called Maggie a Fishy Princess. Claire is catching up to her.