Wednesday, April 13, 2011

AND SO IT BEGINS . . . . .

I am amazed that at such a young age (kindergarten) girls are talking about being "fat". I understand where it comes from . . . the mom. But what do you tell your little kindergartner when she comes home from school and asks you if she can drink diet drinks?! Of course you ask why in the heck???? Because a friend told her that if she drinks diet drinks she will be skinnier. Then Sam tells me that this same little girl told her that she would be her friend if she were skinnier and that 2 other boys don't like her because she is fat. SERIOUSLY, REALLY ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?


This isn't the first time that this little girl has said these things to Sam, but really I just think it is sad. Awesome for me that it is a teaching moment, but it is just sad that she is already talking about that kind of crap. I know that as adults were talk about or rather obsess about our size, what we eat, what others look like, the whole 9 yards. I am totally guilty, hands down. This just makes me so much more aware of the things that I say and the way I treat and act about food and my body around my girls. I have such a huge responsibility to make sure that my girls see that I have a healthy relationship with food and that I love my body no matter what (even 9 months pregnant and 40 lbs heavier than normal). I tried to tell Sam about moderation. How do you explain that to a 5 year old? Well, I told her that we eat our fruits and veggies and healthy foods and if after that we want a snack or treat then we have a little one and we don't over eat. I personally know people, good friends, who have had eating disorders because of bad body image. After watching them go through that I would never want that for my girls.

I just hope that I can teach them, especially through example that we try to be our very best but we don't go overboard or obsess. Easier said than done. I am just at awe that my sweet little girl asks me about being fat. When a mother has to explain to her little girl that she is perfect the way she is, that this is how Heavenly Father created her and try to make it so she will understand what she is saying without saying too much. That is a tricky task. We all come in different shapes and sizes but does that really matter? Are we not going to talk to or be friends with someone who doesn't look exactly the same as us? If that were the case then I might not have any friends. I look like a giant next to most of the girls I hang out with, and my body is made just a little bigger. Not to say I am fat, but my bones are just bigger. So what, who really cares. I just hope that Sam and Luella will grow up with good body images in a world where sometimes it seems the only thing that matters is our body image. How small we are, or what size clothes we wear, where we work out and how long, what diet we are on, what brand of clothes we wear. It is exhausting, and I hope that I can portray the right image for my girls.
This isn't a rant post, but I just couldn't believe it, and had to get it out there and out of my head.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

WHY DO I THINK I CAN DO THESE THINGS?!

I like to think that I can attempt everything, but sometimes it's a definite reality check for me. We signed the kids up for swim lessons and their first lesson was today. So I got Sam and Mason ready in their suits and loaded all 3 in the car. We got there and they were bouncing off the wall excited to get started. I thought it would be a good thing to sign them up and have their lessons be at the same time. Good and Bad. Trying to get both of their shoes and clothes off and get them into the pool . . . . tricky. Samantha was awesome, I didn't even need to really be over there watching. She loved it and paid such great attention to her teacher (she told me her teacher looks like aunt Hilary). I tried to watch her as much as I could, but let's face it, Mason and Luella had my full attention. Oh yea, I've been holding Luella in my pregnant arms this whole time. Mason was not paying attention or doing what his teacher said as much as he should have been. He mainly just wanted to play around. I had to kinda yell at him (it was really loud in there with all the fountains), and ask and re ask him to pay attention. But he did it. So then, after their lessons were over, it was tricky to get both of the kids dried off, get their shoes on and get them on their way to the car, with Lu in my arms. Oh and Sam had a major melt down while we were leaving because she didn't want to carry her sandles. So when I finally convinced her to just put her shoes on, and I grabbed the towels with Luella in my arms, have I already mentioned that? I had about had it. Being 4 weeks away from having this baby, carrying Luella on my fat hip, and trying to do something nice for the kids by taking them to swim lessons might have been more than I can handle right now. I'm not complaining, but I am. It's just that if I weren't pregnant, or didn't have Luella attached to my hip it would have been a lot easier. So I texted Ben and let him know that as of now until the end of swim lessons he needs to be off early enough so that he can come and help me with the kids, or I could just hire a sitter 3 times a week. Either way, I really want this to be fun for Sam and Mason, and as much as I would like to be super mom, I just can't.


I'm just trying to figure out how in the world I am going to take care of 4 precious kids and still be a sain mommy. Not to mention that I have 2 toddlers and 1 baby already, and adding 1 more baby. This is going to be a real trick, but I am trying to figure out some solutions to make things run better and help everyone be happier. Because it is true, a happy mom is a happy home!
(I hope this didn't sound like a bunch of complaining. I love being a mom, and this is the road I chose and I wouldn't ever trade it, just lots of craziness going on right now and talking myself through it.)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

MASON'S HUGE SUCCESS

This past week has been so dang exhausting! Who would have thought that teaching someone to go potty on the toilet would be so tiring. Mason turned 4 last month and I figure it would be in my best interest (not to have 3 kids in diapers) and in Mason's best interest (so he can go to pre school next fall) to get the potty training done before the new baby comes. We are kind of on a time line. This little boy will be here in a short 4 1/2 weeks.

So right after we got home from St George Mason told me he wanted to wear unders. I had the intention of taking this weekend and just letting him run around naked and getting it done. We were already going to be home anyways because of conference and Ben would be home Sunday to help. But he just really wanted to wear his big boy unders. So we put them on and the first day we had some little accidents, and not really any success of peeing or pooping in the potty. Then come Wednesday we wore the unders and by the time we came home from Grandma B's house and there had been a couple more accidents I was about ready to give up. THEN IT CLICKED!!!
I knew that if he could just pee in the potty, it would click and he would understand how it all works. And that is exactly what happened. When he pee'd in the potty I almost wanted to cry I was so happy, and he looked so happy because he could see that Mom was so happy. It's amazing how mom's attitude affects and changes how the kids act. After he did it, and saw how happy I was it was all high 5's, hugs, kisses, and I love you's!!!! It was such a huge success, and he has done so awesome since. The next day he woke up and right after he went potty in the morning he asked if he could go to school now. He wanted to go to school that very day. He knew that was one of the things that would happen when he was potty trained. He was sad when I tried to explain to him that he couldn't go to school til the fall, but there have been so many prizes and treats to reward him that I think he is ok with not going to school right now.

Who knew that potty training one of your kids could bring so much happiness!!!!