Caroline Meets Mollie

If you have a 5-12 year old daughter, you probably have at least heard of American Girl dolls. Chances are good, you have at least one residing in your home. I think American Girls are awesome, and am only bummed because they weren't around when I was little. What's not to love about girls who have cool clothes, determined and faithful personalities, from all different timeperiods of American history with their own books that allow you a glimpse into their times and lives.

Caroline received her first American Girl doll when she was six. Her first doll, Nellie, is from the 1900's and is an orphan from Ireland that is now living in America. Caroline loves her because she is Irish and even knows how to do Irish Dancing (much like Caroline).

She received her second doll about a year later. Emily is from the WWII era and is from England, but living in America to escape the bombing of London. Caroline loves her because she looks so much like Caroline with pretty red hair.

Today, Caroline and I made the trek to the American Girl Store north of Atlanta. It was quite a drive, but was really worth it. The store was amazing. Caroline brought her Emily doll to have her hair done in a brand new hairstyle at their Doll Salon. She also had money from my parents to buy a new doll for her birthday. She went into the store thinking she was going to get one doll from the Depression Era. But as we walked through the store her eyes got bigger and bigger. It truly was a magical, wonderful store. The perfect place for a daughter and her mom to hang out together creating memories.

As we went through the store, reading about the different dolls, admiring their clothing and discussing the different time periods they lived in, it became more and more difficult for Caroline to decide which doll to pick. Finally, she settled on Molly. Molly is a part of the family that takes Emily in during the bombing of London in WWII. Caroline loves her patriotism and the fact that she wears glasses (Caroline has an appointment with the eye doctor for possible glasses in a couple of weeks) and she dances. I think it is so neat that each doll was chosen with a specific reason in mind ~ because of a commonality with her. Each one cherished. I asked her while we were eating lunch today, what she will do with the dolls when she gets older, (too old to play with them) and she said she will keep them for her daughter to have one day. As she is such a 'grown-up', her words went along the lines of "well, seeing as how they are collectibles, it would be a good thing for me to keep them and take care of them and let my daughter have them someday.". I'm pretty sure she isn't going to be nine this week - more like 19.

After meeting Molly, we of course spent the rest of the day shopping for clothes. What mother/daughter trip to the mall would be complete without that????? As we made our way home, she made my day when she told me that this was such a great day, even better than a birthday party. She said partly it was because she got a new doll - but mainly because she got to spend the whole day with just me. How did I get so lucky to have such an awesome daughter?

Living in a House Divided

On 365 days out of the year....most years, we live in a fairly harmonious home. But once every few years, we become a house divided. What can I say...it is SEC Football time ~ that and of course WAR EAGLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

So in honor of the game, we chose sides... It was pretty much girls against the boys. Except Jack couldn't totally make up his mind, so he did have to put on an Auburn hat to go with his Tennessee shirt.

While dressed in our college garb, we decided to enjoy some time at the park before we had to head to Jack's soccer game. So much fun on a beautiful fall (AUBURN WINNING) football day!

*since the writer of this blog is an Auburn grad - obvious bias is allowed!

Family FUN Nights!!!

Living the crazy, hectic life we live (like all of you as well), it is sometimes difficult to make the time to truly connect with our children. We do work hard to eat most dinner meals together, but even that doesn't always happen it seems (this week I think we made it 4 nights out of the week). During the week it is also hard to spend much time together. James doesn't get home until after 6:15, so by the time dinner is done, bed time soon approaches.

So Friday night is our Family FUN Night! Our children truly look forward to it as it is their time to have us all together as our family unit engaging in activities together. Sometimes it is simply eating out and watching a DVD at home. Other times it is planned activities like bowling, miniature golf, going to the movies, etc. But we also try to do things that don't cost a lot of extra money, but are still fun.

Last night we decided we were going to roast hotdogs and marshmallows and have a "campfire cookout". The best laid plans...... No gas in the grill. NO PROBLEM! James started the charcoal in the smoker and we figured we would go that route. No good fire, just lots of good smoke. Smoked marshmallows...not a good or tasty thing.

Finally, I ended up bringing everything inside to cook. Tasted good. We did eat outside so that was fun.

What is a family fun night without jumping on Daddy and riding him like a horse!

After the kids got their romping out, we played a round of Sorry! This is a great game for all of our family's ages. Jack can play with little help so he is not left out, and Caroline isn't bored playing Candyland or the like. Jack actually ended up winning last night.

Finally we settled in to watch a movie. (no set bedtimes on Friday nights - the kids favorite part, I am sure!) Unfortunately, I think Jack and I fell out about 25 minutes into the movie. James and Caroline said they made it about half way through. Around midnight I woke up and we were all in various places in the living room, sacked out. James carried the kids to bed and we all fell back asleep for the rest of the night. A FUN night and I loved that we just continued to make those memories with our kids!

What are some of your favorite ways to spend time as a family! I'm always looking for new ideas!

Beautiful Music?????

Caroline has embarked on a new adventure. One that might require ear plugs for the rest of us for a while!!!! She has started taking violin lessons at her school. (side note - I love her school ~ free violin lessons after school - can't beat that!).

My mom has said she has always pictured Caroline playing the violin. Well now her dream has come true. Today was the first day of violin lessons at school. Caroline is learning to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Little Bunny Foo Foo. At least that is what Caroline says she is playing. I am sure we will be able to recognize it soon enough. At least I hope so.

So for now, we'll listen to the screeches and squeals of the violin. Hoping soon to hear beautiful music. But it the mean time, she is having a ball doing it!!!!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Things are crazy as they always seem to be this time of the year. Never seem to have time to update things or keep up, but here is quick list of what is going on with us.

The Good
Always good to focus on the positive stuff first. Philippians 4:8 ~ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

1 ~ Beginning of the school year is off to a great start. I have a fantastic class. With much of my class on the older side of things, it is shaping up to be a great year in the classroom.

2~ Caroline loves Trinity and is thriving with the challenging curriculum of private school. She is doing much harder work and it is great to see that this will really help her down the road. She is managing to maintain 95 - 100 averages in all her classes and just finished a two week cursive writing class and really has pretty handwriting now.

3~ Jack is doing so well in kindergarten. His teacher is excellent and he is learning more than I ever imagined he would at this point. His behavior is also much improved. He hasn't had to move his clip in TWO WEEKS! He is so proud of himself and so are we!

4~ James had a great annual review and received a raise!

5~ I was chosen by Georgia's early childhood education department to be a State Mentor teacher for the state to help new teachers to our state Pre-K program. Along with helping new teachers, I also have started leading workshops, which I love to do!

6~We found out this week that the Pre-K program at our school is one of only 2 schools in our system (one of the largest in Georgia) to receive all exceeds on our annual review.

7~ Caroline started back with her Irish dancing and is loving it. She also has a friend in her class that went to school with her last year.

8~ Jack is doing well with soccer this year. He loves it and it is amazing how much he has matured since last year.

9~ All my clothes from fall/winter are too big on me.

10~ James is taking part of a special mentoring program for men at our church and he says it has been really great, motivating and challenging so far.

11~ Caroline found out that one of her good friends from church and her school last year will be starting Trinity this Monday and will be in HER class!

12~ We finally sold (or gave away) all the extra stuff in our garage, closets and attic and we can now park in the garage again!

13~ Fall weather is on its way. I love these cooler days! (makes exercising much easier and more motivating)

14~Several fun things coming up in the next 5 weeks - Caroline's 9th birthday and a special trip to the American Girl Store; Caroline and I will be going to see Wicked for our birthdays; my birthday; James and I will be taking an small anniversary trip for our 10th anniversary.

15~Finding so many old friends on Facebook. So much fun to reconnect with people I haven't heard from in 20 or more years!

16~ It is football season! WAR EAGLE!!!!

17~ My sister's family didn't sustain any permanent damage from Hurricane Ike.

18~ I made it through this crazy week with all my presentations, workshops and health fairs. All went well too!!!

The Bad
1~ Too busy at times. Sometimes it feels like I can't possibly get it all done. Thank goodness I can be quite hyperactive when needed, but when the exhaustion hits, it hits hard!

2~ These crazy gas prices. Scary to think we might not have enough gas to get to work. Waiting in line for way too long to fill up. I've been driving the Honda Civic to work - much better gas mileage than my van. I don't like it as well. But it serves its purpose.

3~ I have several friends who are suffering from cancer or whose children are suffering from cancer. Many prayers for healing.

4~ Speaking of crazy prices. Holy cow... is it hard to get out of the grocery store without spending a couple hundred dollars!

5~ No fall clothes in my closet. Not one long sleeved shirt to my name (see post in 'The Good')! Thankfully truly cool weather is pretty late around here!

6 ~ Our crazy cat who keeps moaning and wailing at other cats that are outside the house, while she is inside the house! Enough already.

How cool is that.... my good outweighs my bad by 3 to 1. God truly is a good God. Why don't you take a moment and write down your Good, Bad and Ugly list. It might shock you that thinks aren't as bad as they sometimes feel!

The Ugly
1~ My kitchen floors
2~My bathrooms
3~My stairs
4~My living room floors

I guess I best go work on this ugly stuff....off to clean!!!!!

My Journey

I've been wanting to write about this for quite some time. The last eight months have been very challenging and motivating for me. March of this year, my principal approached me about spearheading a new wellness initiative at my school. Our group of schools (2 high schools and all the middle and elementary schools that feed into that high school) had been asked to participate in a program called the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. This group has taken on the task of helping schools become healthier in an effort to combat childhood obesity and the problems that it incurs (type 2 diabetes, heart disease, etc. in children). I was told by my principal that it would be a good leadership opportunity for me and that I would get to go to Little Rock, Arkansas for training (the program is funded in part by the Bill Clinton Foundation - thus the Little Rock connection).

I said sure, why not. Wow! Who knew that was going to be the start of an incredible journey that I have been on since then. When I went to the training in early March I was like a complete fish out of water. I was one of only a few classroom teachers. There were hundreds of people at the conference from states all of the nation. (most were P.E. teachers, cafeteria managers and school nurses). I was also by far one the heaviest. That was hard for me. I was self conscious about the fact that this was a "wellness" conference, and I was far from being fit and 'well'. But man, was that conference inspiring for me. I got to hear great speakers including Sanjay Gupta, CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent. The things I heard, I had heard before, but it was like I was listening with different ears and a different heart. As I sat there and took all the information in, I realized that I wanted to fight for myself, for my health, for my kid's health and for my student's health. I realized that if I wanted to grow to be an old woman who had not only enjoyed a good life, but got to see her kids and grand kids grow up, I needed to quit making excuses and justifications, and get busy.

After the conference, I still didn't really do anything, but began to think about how I was going to get healthy. I had done Weight Watchers off and on for years, but never kept it off. I got tired of measuring and counting points. But it was always there in the back of my mind. The first of April I was invited to a Principal's meeting to get to hear Dr. Yvonne Sanders-Butler speak about her school in Dekalb County, Georgia. Her school was the first in the nation that has gone completely sugar-free. She told about how she almost died due to complications from being overweight and how she after that she faced her issues with food and lost the weight. Once again, I was inspired and convicted. One week later I started the South Beach eating program.

Learning to eat in a healthy way that I can do for the rest of my life has been a bit of challenge, but also not as hard as I thought it would be. I even started exercising (which I am still not crazy about). As our school year last year was coming to a close, the schools that had decided to do the Alliance for a Healthier Generation had now decided to take it one step further and become the first cluster of schools in the nation to be sugar-free. And I was supposed to head this up for my school? I was so proud to be a part of this whole movement, but at the same time, I was totally convicted. How could I possibly lead a wellness team, be the school's point man on this, roll out a staff wellness plan and activity programs for students and be one of the 'fat' ones in the school? I knew that all eyes would be on me, and if I didn't do all that I could to get myself healthy, I had no business leading others.

So I kept at the South Beach stuff. Started writing and reworking recipes to make tasty food that is low in carbs, high in fiber, trans-fat free and sugar-free. I decided to start my own recipe blog to keep track of the recipes and have a place to share them with others who were interested in some new healthy recipes. My family got behind me. Didn't complain about the whole grains and the 101 ways to eat chicken breasts.

When school went back in session, I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Butler two more times. She continues to inspire and motivate me. Our wellness team started making plans for the school year. Letters were sent out from our principal to tell about the new sugar-free school environment. The response has been overwhelming. Children are bringing snacks to school that are healthy ~ baked chips, fruit, cheese, pretzels and the like. Many carry water bottles that the school gave them to drink more water each day. Every day, every class takes two Stop Everything and Dance breaks. The school is tracking the number of miles we walk each day during recess. We are starting this week to sell smoothies to our staff members as a healthy breakfast alternative to the fast food sausage biscuits.

I cannot begin to tell you what this has meant to me. Being the Wellness Coordinator for the school, I often feel like all eyes are on me and what I do. Talk about some serious accountability. It is really good for me and I am very grateful for it. It keeps me on target and on the plan.

One of the best benefits of this all is seeing how it is affecting Caroline and Jack. Being overweight my whole life and knowing just how much I have struggled with it and how difficult it has been during my 40 years, I do not ever want my kids to go through the same thing. They are each starting to make their own healthy choices. They prefer brown rice, whole wheat bread and whole wheat pastas to their white processed counterparts. Both would rather have fruit for dessert. Jack was with me at a party recently and asked to eat some pretzels and peanuts over cake. The other day Caroline and I were at a Arts and Crafts festival, I promised them a treat. She chose a candy apple over cotton candy and even then shared one with her brother instead of each eating their own (a bit of sweets now and then, isn't always bad!). They love to go walking with me and get exercise. I am so grateful and hoping that this will carry over to their own lifestyle of healthy eating and habits.

God is a good God, who when I asked Him back in January to please help me be motivated to lose weight and help me end a lifetime and wicked cycle of losing and gaining weight, He was faithful to do that. He put me in charge of a program that daily, hourly, moment-by-moment motivates me and supports me. I am learning to give it my best effort, try my hardest and leave the results to God. And as far as the results go - I know it will be a long and slow process. I am not doing this for the fast and quick fix. It took a long time to get unhealthy, it will take a long time to get healthy. But I am getting there. To date I have lost 30 pounds and 46 inches. I am down 3 sizes in my clothes. In another 12 pounds, I'll be at my pre-Caroline/wedding weight. From there - we have another 40 to go. But for the first time, I can see me making the goal. I am no less motivated today then when I started. And for me that is huge!

Thank you for letting me share. Here is an article about my school cluster's healthy program. It is such an honor and privilege to be a part of it!

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Today was Jack's first soccer game of this season. He played last year as well, and he was very unfocused, undisciplined and we weren't sure he even really liked it. Chalking it up to "well at least we gave it a try."

Every Sunday we drive by the soccer fields on our way to church and starting in May, Jack started saying, "My coach needs me to come back and play soccer." "I think my coach isn't happy that I haven't been showing up for my games." etc. He became quite determined about playing soccer again, even though we kept talking about how he didn't seem to like it too much last year. I guess when Jack wants something, he is going to get it! Bugged me to death to sign him up! He was so excited when I finally did.

Earlier this week, he took everything out of his closet looking for his cleats and shin guards from last year. His uniform has been sitting out in his room since Thursday in anticipation of his game today. This morning he was completely dressed and ready to go to his game at 7am, even though it didn't start until 9am.

He was so excited to find out his best friend, Sarah, was on his team. (We had saved that little bit of info as a special surprise until this morning).
He was very focused today. He went after the ball and didn't give up at all. I was so proud of him. Not one time did he play in the net (his favorite place to hang out last year). Didn't pull anyone by their jersey, didn't fall on top of the other players or run around the field without direction or purpose. He did pick the ball up with his hands a few times, but we can work with that.
He was so proud of himself when he scored not one but two goals! And they weren't accidental goals, but ones where he actually dribbled the ball down field, aimed and took the shot.
Looking forward to a great season!