Mind Games

Is time speeding up for anyone else??? I feel like I've been robbed of at least 18 months of my life. Things are looking really good for Molly so far, which is really helping with my stress levels. She's obsessed with food, so we're charting her transit time for each new thing to try and find out what we need to avoid. I think at this point I'm the one holding her back because I'm so paranoid food isn't going to work.

My big baby is sprouting allergies out of nowhere. We have an appointment next week to do a ton of testing to find out what's going. So far I have a list of about 10 things that she for sure needs to have tested. It's not going to be fun.

As for me, things are getting better. Paul is starting to stretch out my appointments-that must mean that I'm figuring things out, right??? I hope so. This week we spoke about frustrations with my oldest and her sense of entitlement that drives me CRAZY!!!! It was interesting to hear his suggestions and experience he's had with it. Basically he said to start by sitting her down and discussing the differences between entitlement and empowerment/empathy. Then have her teach it back to us. Once she has another meltdown, go for shock value to show her life doesn't work the way you want just because you whine. His suggestion was to eliminate EVERYTHING but the bed from her room and have her earn things back over time. I'm kind of tempted to do it....is that bad???

We also talked about things I need to do better. My sleep has been AWFUL the past few weeks, and when I described it to him he said it's my body's way of telling me to SLOW DOWN and get some things off my plate. The only problem with that is what do I take off? My children need to eat, they need clothing, they need my time, and the other projects we're in the middle of are time sensitive and can't just be dropped. And what mom isn't doing an intricate balancing act???

He suggested going a different route. What he recommended was sitting down with Adam and each of us discussing 5 things that we do for each other that show caring/loving. Once that is verbalized and out there, be sure to validate any good thing we do for each other that we notice. That way instead of focusing on what isn't being done, we're focusing on the positive. I'm hoping to do this over the weekend. Can't hurt right?

Overall, I think this has been a good month. I'm feeling in control of the sugar addiction (sort of), and my exercise routine is feeling the grove, and I'm starting to pull some of my bigger normal clothes down and they are fitting!!! The scale likes to play jedi mind tricks on me, but I'm starting to not care what it says. I also discovered a new trick. With Molly's pregnancy, I have lost ALL elasticity in my skin. My stomach is now totally moldable. It doesn't bounce back. Gross, yet fascinating at the same time.

In case anyone is interested, I have a blog that I write down my runs and stuff. It's http://richgirl97.fastrunningblog.com/. I've been keeping it since January 2009. It's a great way to track your activity, no matter where you are.

Our morning walks are starting to make a difference. Two of my kids are now talking about wanting to be runners, and join a running club at school. Yeah for physical activity!!!