First Lady Obama want my kids to Get On The Move!

This morning on the way home from dropping Miss Missy off at Pre-K, I heard the First Lady's voice on the Steve Harvey show. Now, I seem to be awe struck by Mrs. Obama, and I think because for the first time, there is a First Lady that I can relate to so well. No, I'm not the professional that she was, but she's a mom like myself who has faced some of the same issues that I have and she is someone who seems completely down to Earth... much like myself! :-)

So my point is, this morning I turned to the Steve Harvey Show on the radio and she was speaking about her campaign "Let's Move" and I had to stop to listen. It's about beating the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Did you know that over the past 30 year obesity has tripled? Do you realize that that means that our children face shorter lifespans than we do?

So, she went on to talk about how in many poverty stricken neighborhoods throughout the United States there isn't even a grocery store for people to shop in. Only "convenience" stores where people are expected to find their meals. I don't know about you, but I haven't walked in any convenience stores in my neighborhood that carry FRESH fruits and vegetables or ANYTHING organic, much less healthy.

But I could be wrong.

She and Steve went on to discuss how important it is that the schools that are kids are attending are giving our children the adequate physical activity they need. All too often, the physical activity that kids are getting at school is the only activity they are receiving in the day. Many working parents and busy families get home and are happy to see the kids go and plop themselves in from of the TV or computer after a busy work day. And the meals that the schools are feeding our kids can often be the only nutritional meal that the kids are getting. Parents are busy and many times fast food places like McDonald's are just easier than fixing a home cooked meal.

So, when I got home, I started thinking about what I am putting into my kids' bodies. I know I haven't been feeding them the most healthy foods. And here is my shame:

Crazy, huh? Yes, these are the snack piled in the kids "snack pantry". As you can see, there are cookies, sugary cereals and drinks, salty crackers and CHIPS Wow do they love CHIPS!

These are the things that they go straight for when they get home from school. These are the snacks they ask for. It's never an apple, a cheese stick or celery. These are the bad things that constantly go into their bodies.

These are the things that I buy for them.

Now, my kids are no where near the obesity level. As a matter of fact, they are all borderline underweight according to their doctor. But that doesn't make it acceptable to feed them in such an unhealthy way.

So things are going to change. The constant access to all of these foods is really going to have to stop. Because although they are not obese, they are being taught unhealthy eating habits that could very well develop into obesity later in life.

Okay, so there is no way I'm gonna go in the cabinets and throw away all the sweets. Uhh, not gonna happen because well, I don't believe in wasting food. There are starving people in the world.

But starting with the next trip to the grocery store, there will be a considerably smaller amount of these types of snacks and a larger amount of the snacks that are so much better for them. I will buy more fruits and veggies. And while I know that I'm about to hear tons of complaining about there being NOTHING TO EAT, I know that eventually they will get use to a healthier lifestyle. They will feel better and I will feel like a better mother.

I hope that more people will start to think about what is going into their children's bodies and the effect it will have on them in the long run. I want my kids to live a long healthy life and knowing how to do that is going to start here and now.

To read more about this and to find out what YOU can do to give your child a healthier lifestyle, log on to LetsMove.org. Give your child a healthy future.

I will check back in a a few weeks to let you all know how the snacks situation is going. Wish me luck!

6 Months In, 6 Months To Go!

Have you ever had to endure a deployment?

Have you ever had to watch your loved one, your spouse, backbone leave for places unknown while you sit with the kids crying, consoling their fears and answering their difficult questions.

When is Daddy coming back?

How long is a year?

What is war?

Have you ever stayed up for 3 nights just wondering where your soldier is, waiting on that call that says

Yes, I made it okay.

Can't talk long.

I love you. Have you ever realized just how precious those words really are?

And, though it couldn't have been shorter, you appreciated every breath that was taken into the phone?

Have you ever been so relieved just to hear someone's voice?

Have you ever missed the things you thought you'd never miss?

The disagreements, the nagging, the dirty clothes. AND WHY ARE THOSE BOOTS IN THE FLOOR?

Everyday got easier. The first nights were filled with tears. The first weeks were filled with loneliness. The first months were filled with obstacles. Everyday is filled with fear.

I have fought to stay busy because I heard that if you keep yourself busy, the days will fly by. I heard that if you find something that you like to do, the days would get easier. I heard that if you just keep moving, he will be home in no time.

Everyday is still a challenge. No matter how busy I make sure I am. No matter how many meetings I volunteer to attend. No matter how many after school activities I put the kids in. I am STILL never too busy to remember that my Soldier in Iraq.

We are halfway through deployment today. 6 months in. 6 months to go, but 6 months closer till the days he comes home.

His first pair of glasses

I wanted to give everyone the chance to see the most HANDSOME 10 year old ever!

Last week, we took him to get his glasses. I think that they were much needed. It could be a part of why his grades were slipping. We shall see.

But he is very happy with them. Proud to wear them and I must say, they do him well.

Oh CRAP! Not the Carpet!

Okay, once was kinda funny. Twice is just plain stupid.

Remember the time I told you all about the bathroom flooding and me surfing across the floor trying to clean it up? It happened again.

Yep sure did. One of those once in a lifetime moments can happen twice only to me.

I asked CJ to turn on the water for Miss Missy's bath. Didn't think to tell her to get ready for her bath. Had I done this small step then I'm sure she would have turned the water off herself after getting her pajamas and underclothes together.

Nope, that step was left out and I got on my treadmill. After 20 minutes of huffin' and puffin', I was done and OF COURSE I plopped my rooty-toot in the chair in front of the computer and started reading blogs while my heart rate slowly descended.

Thinking that perhaps I could take a quick shower while the kids played the Wii in the living room, I head to the bathroom.

Okay, it wasn't exactly like last time. IT WAS WORSE! This time, the carpet in front of the bathroom door was SOAKED! About 3 feet out!

OMG! Hubs is gonna kill me is all I could think.

There was water out the ying yang.

CCCCCCCCCJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ! Of course it wasn't his fault. I asked him to run her bath water. That's it. I'd never asked him to turn the water off before. Why would he think to do it this time. But I needed some HELP!

OMG! How long is this gonna take to dry? OMG! Buying new carpet on a one income household is out, huh? He's probably wanna know what the huge purchase was for.

Okay, so now that all the water is out of the bathroom and most of the water is out of the carpet, I'd say it's time to ask this question. Does anyone know a good carpet cleaning company??

Okay, this is TWICE in the past 6 months. This couldn't possible happen again, could it?

Here one day... Gone the next.

The Winter Storm was absolutely WONDERFUL to us! I know that there are those of you that are buried in 2ft of snow that are reading this and calling me a few choice words for LOVING the fact that it snowed, but if you are a southerner then you understand my joy.

I've been living in the south for over half my life. I've been living in my current city for about 8 years total. And NEVER have I seen such a wonderful snow! I was beginning to think that my kids were never going to get to play in the cold white stuff.

On so many occasions, we've had "snow days" where schools would be cancelled or on a delay for a few flakes, but OMG, what we got was AMAZING!

Oh but it didn't last. So all we have are the memories.

Looky-see!

Sweet Valentine

Valentines Day has ended.

And look what showed up at my door from a very special Soldier!

I spent the day with three very special Valentines, who at the end of the day told me that this was the worse Valentines Day ever because we didn't go anywhere.

I guess the fact that I took them to the movies to see The Tooth Fairy last night (very funny, by the way) and to McDonald's Playland, then spent Valentine's Day actually preparing a meal rather than continuing this month's trend of kids' meals or toaster waffles meant nothing.

Luckily, they are so absolutely cute or I might have just locked them all outside!

Well I don't know about them, but my Valentine's Day was pretty cool. I mean, of course the roses made me smile. The real kicker was the card which read, "I Love You Like a Fat Kid Loves Cake. So It Must be a lot." Leave it to Hubs!

He also sent a box from Carol's Daughter. Inside was some Princess and the Frog bubble bath for the Princess and a Manicure set for me with some sweet smelling hand lotions and potions.

And... There was one more box. All I'm gonna say is it's from Victoria Secret. A little something for later I suppose. Well, I'm more than certain he's gonna be expecting some pictures of this little number while he's over there just WAITING to et back home. I'm just wondering which ONE of my thighs he's expecting to see fit in this little number!

(no picture. Some things should be kept private, right ;-) )

Sick for Valentine's Day

Feeling pretty bad today. It started last night. I'm guessing that standing outside in 30 degree weather talking with my neighbor WITHOUT a jacket was not the best of ideas. I'd be lucky not to have pneumonia!

Miss Missy was quiet upset with me today for not making it to her Valentine's Party today. I slept until 12:07. She was suppose to be picked up at 12.

I seriously had to DRAG myself out of the bed to get her.

I even dozed off of a second or two in the car after I came back from dropping her off this morning.

Luckily I was smart enough to turn the car off because if I had actually fallen asleep with the car running and the garage door down, I woulda been a goner!

I had fallen asleep in the sweater I'd worn to drop her off. So really, the only thing I had to do was jump up and grab my purse!

And of course, there is no rest for the weary, as I had to go to a parent-teacher conference today for the STRAIGHT-A child turned TEST-FAILING child!

I was actually able to wake up enough to concentrate on what they were all saying. I can't blame it all on him as I haven't been great at making sure that he is studying and completing homework. I've never had to before. Up till now, the boy has been very self-sufficient and has pretty much taken care of himself. Suddenly, in fourth grade, things are harder and he's having trouble. I'm at a lost of how to handle this. This is NOT my child!

Okay, so it's off to a basketball game. All I really wanna do is GO TO SLEEP, but the coach said that they REALLY need CJ to be there this game because there are a few kids out sick and a lot of people are taking advantage of this super-long winter break and going out of town.

Did I mention that Winter break is from Friday till Tuesday? Darn Furloughs!

Anywho, I'm about to pop a couple of Day-Quil and return the calls that have been blowing up my cell today while I was on my death bed and go be the SuperMom I was meant to be, with NO ONE knowing of my woes!

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Oh, I forgot to mention how wonderful the MWR is for putting together a little something for the spouse here at home. I got a letter in the mail the other day to come and pick up a special gift from my soldier today. They had a homemade one-of-a-kind card with a special note directly from Hubs. They also had balloons and Fudge. A fudge cupcake with my initial on it. I though that it was a wonderful guesture.

On top of that, Hubs sent a box Carol's Daughter! I love their stuff! He sent me a bottle of perfume for Christmas and it was a WONDERFUL scent. So this box had some bath stuff in it and I can't wait to (find the time to) try it. He also sent Miss Missy some Princess and the Frog Bubble Bath with she said she REALLY REALLY wanted! There should be no problem with getting her in the bath tonight!

There's also a box from VS. I'm assuming that's Victoria's Secret. That one he didn't say I could open yet. Like my birthday, I think he's making me wait until the actual day. That's okay. I'm just happy that I'm getting all of these great gifts'

Miss Missy: I know why daddy is sending us all of these gifts.

Me: Why is that, Mama?

Miss Missy: Because he really misses us.

Me: I think you're right, Miss Missy.

Doing the happy dance with my overweight self!

Today, for the first time, my Wii Fit checked my BMI and said.......

THAT'S OVERWEIGHT!

Whoo hooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Yeah I know it's crazy, but I did just celebrate and I am doing the happy dance because for the first time since I got the thing it didn't say.....

THAT'S OBESE!

So yes! I'm celebrating being overweight, because that's just a few fragments from obese, and as hard as I have been working this month I deserve to do the happy dance! LOL!

EDITED TO SAY: I forgot to mention that I got the best hug last night why CJ hugs me and says, "Mom, you feel smaller."

Whoooo Hoooo again!

No iPod... no Gym!

Balancing parenting and personal life isn't easy. Now that all 3 kids are in school during the day, it's a lot easier to find the time that I have always been searching for me for ME. But is it just me, or does that day go by WAY faster now that they are all in school?

Okay, I get so tired of people making it seem like I have NOTHING to do all day and that I can just go home and go to sleep until the kids get home. MAN! Do you realize that there is so much to get done.

Because I have been going to the gym, I have been slacking on my laundry. That's what I'm doing today. Playing laundry catch up. See, I had intentions of going to the gym, but I can't find my gym bag with my iPod in it so I can't go. YES I can let an iPod keep me from going to the gym because it keeps me motivated to keep moving on the elliptical.

There is NOTHING like listening to Beyonce Check Up On it to keep me going because I can just see myself looking back at my booty on the dance floor when it's all skinny again!

And you have no idea how being one of her Single Ladies and thinking about that "guy" who danced her part better than she did can get the adrinaline going to get down to HIS size.

On let's not forget how to Walk It Out to the beat. West side walk it out! South side walk it out! REMIIIIIX!

Okay so you have to understand just why I can't go to the gym unless my iPod is attached to me. I mean, sure. Seeing those old people doing 50 crunches while I'm still on #4 is some motivation, but between the missing iPod and the rain, I think I'd rather listen to that mean ol' Wii say Step On....... Oh!

It's Black History Month.... AND?

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a black chick. Okay, to some that may come as a surprise. But it's true.

Where my kids go to school, there is so little taught in the school about the the history of African Americans.... or Asians or Hispanics what mind you. There is just so little taught to the kids in this predominantly white school that at this time of year it bothers me.

Do you know that my oldest son's class did not speak of MLK last month?

Now, Cam's 2nd grade class did. His teacher actually asked me if CJ's 4th grade class had done anything and I told her no. I guess that the teachers feel that it is not a part of their curriculum. I find it a bit offensive as it is a part of our HISTORY and HISTORY is a part of the curriculum. On of the problems is, some teachers don't wanna go the extra mile to think outside of the box to get these important issues in.

As a PTO member, I wasn't going to initiate anything for Black History Month this year, as I and 1 or two other parents we the only ones who did anything last year. We went all out with a African Dance program and HUGE lunch for the teachers. This year I was going to step back and allow someone else to take the reigns and put something together.

I found out this morning that it just ain't happening.

SO I decided that although it will be nothing like last year, SOMETHING is better than nothing! I am going to AT LEAST get some Black History facts of the morning show, as ALL kids deserve to know about Black History!

Wii Fit.... OH!

Today is the first day this week that I am able to move my body without whining.

Yeeeaaaaa!

I can't believe how much strain I put on myself on Monday thinking I was some kinda superstar at the gym. An hour on the elliptical and another 30 on the machines. I was almost like I was in a zone where I could feel no pain or get tired, so I kept going.

Well, that wasn't smart because when I woke up the next morning, it felt like I had survived being squashed by an overweight elephant!

The pain literally lasted until I woke up this morning, because I found myself waking up throughout the night last night with trouble rolling over.

You know, thank goodness for Cam. This kid is gonna make some lucky woman pretty happy one day.

I was moving extremely slow throughout the day and Cam musta noticed. When we stepped in the door, Cam asked, "Mom, do you want me to help you take off your boots and give you a foot massage?"

How sweet is that kid? How could I pass that up???

Do you know the last time I had a foot massage? Uhhhhhhhhhhh NEVER! Well, that's wrong. Cam has done it for me before, and you know what? He has some magical fingers!

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Okay, so for those who wanna know how I like the Wii Fit.......

Do you realize how MEAN that thing is?

I mean, HOW DARE it call me OBESE?

How dare it say OH every time I step on it! I mean, I'm really not THAT bad!

So I have been killing myself at the gym because of what it keeps saying. In that way, it is truly motivating because I am determine to prove that thing wrong and get it to say something nice to me!

And do you know what happened when I stepped back on it?? I GAINED 2 pounds!!!

What kinda MESS????

So today I'm gonna get on after a vigorous workout with one of my exercise videos, Barry Boot Camp and hope that it doesn't feel the 2 plates of spaghetti I scarfed down last night!

On a good note, I went into the school office today and the principal's secretary asked me if I was losing weight. When I said NO (not according to that mean Wii Fit), she said that my face looks smaller. She hadn't seen me in a few weeks. So that made me feel that MAYBE, just maybe this working out stuff might just be doing something.