Day 43 - Give My Children The Gift Of Good Health

In my quest to become a healthier me, I realized that I need to make sure that my children learn the importance of health and fitness now. I picture my future with them as adults. We are close now, I imagine that as they grow older, we will only become closer. I want to be around as long as possible. At the same time, more than wanting myself to be healthy, I want them to be healthy. Their childhood is the time to teach them how to eat well and exercise regularly.

My son is already very active. He plays soccer and snowboards. He is running around more than sitting, so I am not worried about him. I am also not worried about my youngest. She also plays soccer. She is also still in elementary school, so she still has recess. But, my middle daughter, Hannah does not enjoy exercise. She never has, with the exception of volleyball. Today she started to go to our gym and she is taking a class for tweens and teens to teach nutrition and to teach them how to use the workout equipment and strength training. She went willingly and enjoyed herself. She claims that she would like to start working out on the equipment. She really liked the weights, which makes me very happy. All girls need to learn that a little strength is not a bad thing.

It is my hope that by working out regularly with her, she will see how important regular exercise is to good health. I want to instill in her the habit of daily exercise before she moves out. That when she is an adult on her own exercise will just be something that she does everyday without giving it a second thought.

Day 42 - Buy New Pillows

Today I bought my husband and I new pillows. I don't need to get into the details of what lives in an old pillow. We all know that what lurks within a pillow is gross. Therefore replacing them on a regular basis is advised. It has been several years since I replaced our pillows and figured today was as good a day any to make such an investment.

I am really looking forward to crawling into bed tonight and laying my head on my nice new fluffy pillows. I am sure I will be dust mite free in the morning as well as well rested.

Day 41 - Have Blood Work Done

Today I finally had my blood drawn and will be having routine tests done to make sure that everything is fine. I have been putting this off for years. The reasons were endless. I was too busy, or I didn't want to fast or the time the clinic was open was not convenient for me. The real reason I was putting it off is my fear of needles. That is right, I was putting off having crucial blood work done because I am a big baby.

I have very small veins, so having something as simple as a blood draw can take several tries before the needle is painfully inserted. Juvenile needles are the only needles small enough to fit in my tiny veins and I often have to be laying down for any success. It is painful and a pain in the ass for the person taking the blood. Today was okay though. I got a person who knew how to approach my situation, it took awhile to a get a vein to pop, but it did happen. Best of all, I am done for awhile now. I am hoping that all the tests I am having done will come back normal, but if they don't, I will do whatever I need to do to get healthy.

I need to approach my new outlook on life without fear of these little annoyances that we can encounter. Yes, it hurts to have blood drawn, but if something is wrong and I avoid it due to fear, the outcome could be worse than the initial fear.

Day 40 - Eat A Salad Everyday

Today I am going to really try to start eating a salad everyday. Salads are the perfect way to get more vegetables into my diet. I tend to go in spurts when in come to salads. I might go several weeks eating one every day and then go several weeks without touching one. It makes so sense, I really like them and they make vegetable consumption easier.

I work today, so my plan is to take a moment during my lunch and go to Panera to pick up the healthiest salad that they have. It will give my vitamins, minerals and fiber. All things that we can all use more of in our daily diets.

Day 39 - Go To The Doctor

Today I went to my ob/gyn for the dreaded yearly visit every woman has to endure. Oh how I hate that visit. But, I go every year because I know that it is good for me and it is really a very short appointment. I wanted to put this appointment off, I have never had a strange PAP result, so it sometimes seems useless. But I am starting to have some changes occurring so I thought it would be best to get to the bottom of it. I was told what I had already assumed. Everything that is happening is normal, I am getting older and things are starting to change. These changes could be going on for the next 10 years and I should just monitor everything so that I know if something is really out of the ordinary.

My others results today were as I hoped. I don't have any strange lumps or bumps anywhere. All seemed normal. The best news was that my blood pressure was "perfect", my doctor's words, not mine. She told me that my pressure last year was "terrible". But, that always happens to me before these visits, they know that and take it into consideration. This was the first time it was not at all elevated, so we know that my blood pressure is normal to begin with. That is a big relief.

Thursday I go in for a baseline blood test. I will get my glucose, cholesterol, thyroid and iron checked. That will be the first time since I had my third baby. When I had those tests done 9 years ago they were all fine. It would be hard to imagine that a lot would change in 9 short years, but you never know. I think that everything will be normal, if not, I deal with it. I was also told that I will need a mammogram this year. I plan on having that done over the summer after my dreaded 40th birthday.

So, I can mark another thing off of my list of things to do in 2011 to help in the creation of a healthier and happier me.

Day 38 - Be A Mom, Not A Friend

My 12 year old daughter has been acting her age lately. For those who know 12 year olds, you know that is not good. I have always had a good relationship with her. We enjoy doing things together, talking, shopping, etc. Typical mother/daughter stuff. But lately, she has been difficult and moody. Her attitude, for lack of a better word sucks and she is letting her school work suffer. All normal stuff, the kind of stuff that I would probably be worried about if she wasn't doing it. On the flip side, I would probably be worrying that she is socially acceptable or having problems with peers. Those are not her issues, in fact she has a lot of good friendships.

This last week has proven to be a real trial. I will not get into the details, while I blog my life, some things are private. She is entitled to a little privacy. But without getting into the details of life with a 12 year old, I can say that she has been grounded to the full extent we can give her. No TV, computer, Ipod, friends, phone, life! She has lost everything and will earn things back one step at a time. This week her small treat will be to watch Glee if she is able to fulfill a few simple requirements. She of course believes her world is coming to an end, I think that she is just getting a healthy dose of reality.

There was a time when I would have given in to this behavior, and she knows it. She is trying to manipulate me every which way she can. She has not failed to pull out every trick in her book to try to get her way. It has not worked and it will not work. Slowly, she is coming around and her behavior is improving. In time, she might be fit for humans again (just kidding). I don't like it when my kids are mad at me. In the past, in order to avoid that I would give in and let her off the hook. Not this time. Things have gotten to the point to where I need to stop being her friend, I need to be her mom now. That is exactly what I am doing, she doesn't like it, but I think she understands it and wants to start working with it.

I realized that part of the change I want to make this year involves me becoming a better parent to all my kids. They have enough friends, they don't need a 39 year old woman to be their friend. All they need from me is a mother who will love and protect them. To teach them right from wrong and to lead them down the right path. If I can get this behavior under control, which I believe we are doing, I think that we will be happy with the results. We will have 3 kids who will see that we don't give in and who are willing to sacrifice them liking us in order to raise decent human beings.

Day 37 - Watch The Superbowl With The Family

There is a little game on tonight. That game would of course be the Superbowl! The Packers are in it, yeah! My husband and I are not huge football fans. We tend to do other things during the games. But, tonight is different. We are both from Green Bay, WI, so the Packers playing tonight is a big deal for us. While we don't necessarily follow football, it is hard not to get caught up in the excitement of our hometown team being in the Superbowl. We now live in Milwaukee and find that the entire state is rallying behind the team. All of Wisconsin has Superbowl fever, I love feeling like I am part of it.

So, tonight we are going to watch the game as a family. I made a batch of chili, I bought a puzzle to do with my daughter while watching and we are going to be a part of the excitement that our entire state seems to be feeling. I really hope that they win tonight, because Packer fans are rabid. A loss tonight would be devastating to our entire state. Tonight, I find I am very proud to be from Wisconsin, even if I know that there will be many Packer fans on National TV tonight wearing cheeseheads. GO PACK GO!!