By His Grace I Can.

I have to be in the right mental space to make exercise a priority.  There are so many other things I'd rather do with my time.  Unlike in high school, at 38, I don't mind my curves, but "the pooch" gets in the way.  Maybe it should be called a pouch.  It looks like I'm saving space for my baby kangaroo to come back. After a LONG time of not exercising, last Fall, my cute 7 year old asked if we could go jogging before school.  Jogging? This body hasn't done more than a hustled supermarket sweep before school pick up.  But we went and we punctuated our walk with 10 second bursts of labored "jogging". Afterwards I was doing some "sit ups" ( Malorie's doing the modified ) because I'm sick of this pooch getting in the way.   It gets in the way of wearing my favorite pants and skirts.  It makes bending down difficult.  I don't mind the reminder that my body carried and birthed 6 beautiful human beings.  I just don't want to wear ...

My sister-in-law recently asked for advice on how to stay calm with her young kids. I am no expert and still have a ways to go, but I've come a long way. So I'll share what tips work for me in case they come in handy for you. This morning reminded me of where I try to start with creating calm in my home. My son has sensory processing issues. As I've seen what textures, temperatures, sounds, and tastes affect him, I've been increasingly aware of what affects me. I've come to realize how little seemingly insignificant inputs can add up to disrupt my day. Take this morning for instance. My kids all seemed particularly grumpy about getting ready for school but I noticed I was more irritable than the situation would typically merit. So I took a self assessment. How did I feel? I quickly realized that... My cuddly PJs were great for sleeping but were now making me hot. Feeling too warm instantly invites irritability for me! (As a side note, I have foun...