Nutrition

Nutrition has always been a fascinating subject for me. I want to feed my children so that they are getting all the nutrients they need and have a healthy balanced diet. I want to be a good example for them, and I want my husband to look and feel healthy too. But how do you accomplish this balance with one person who’s trying to lose weight, another who’s trying to put weight on plus little growing bodies?

Proper nutrition is one thing many of us struggle with, and as the mother; you are generally the designated family nutritionist. You are the one required to decide all of the meals for the family. That is a big responsibility.

And it’s not always easy to prepare meals that everyone likes and is healthy. When I started cooking for my husband it was a huge transition for both of us. He was used to living off of cereal and peanut butter sandwiches and I didn’t eat meat. We’ve had to find a happy middle, although he still will not touch a salad unless it’s drenched in ranch dressing.

We’ve all heard how to divide up the dinner plate, half the plate of veggies a quarter with meat and the remaining quarter with your starch or grains, but how many of us know why? And if we follow this rule of thumb with dinner, why do we not hold to it for the other meals in the day?

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty, in every meal our bodies require carbohydrates and protein. (What? You thought you needed to eliminate carbs from your daily diet!?… umm… no.) Our brain requires glucose to function, but it only needs a certain amount every 4 hours, not just any carbs, however, our body craves complex carbs. Our body also requires amino acids to help slow the absorption of glucose. The key to good nutrition and a fast metabolism is stable blood sugar. Stable blood sugar is achieved through the proper combination of glucose and amino acids that is delivered to our body when it needs it- which is every 4 hours.

What is the proper combination?... well that brings us back to the dinner plate. The guidelines set forth by the USDA have switched from the food pyramid to the food plate. Although this set-up is a good way of regulating your plate proportions, plates come in all shapes and sizes (I have rectangular plates), but certainly my children don’t require the same amount of protein and veggies and whole grains that I require? So here I offer you an additional method of portion control-

Look at the palm of your hand- that’s the amount of lean protein you require. Now, make a fist and take your other hand and place it over the closed fist- that’s the amount of carbohydrates you require- roughly twice the amount of protein.  Side note- whole grains= brown rice, not white. So in your meal’s calorie composition, you should see about 25% of your calories as protein and 55% your carbohydrates plus 15-20% fats. Your veggies that are carb packed would fall under carbs, but those low in carbohydrates would fall on your second half of the plate- your veggies, and are so low in calories we needn’t put it in the basic equation (unless you’re cooking your veggies with tons of fat, which I do not recommend, then it would take up those calories). Does that make sense?

I know this is a lot of information for a short post, but hopefully this will at least get you thinking a little about what exactly you’re putting into your body. I’m not professing to know everything on this subject, because I don’t, but I am constantly learning and have read a few great books on nutrition that has developed my understanding as to what is healthy and what isn’t. Obviously I can’t write a book about it in one blog post, so I’ll just try to throw out a few tips here and there. I can also direct you to some great sources of information. Here are a few of my favorites: choosemyplate.gov, eatright.org, and a book called Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads by Christine Avanti- She singlehandedly reshaped my view on food (a few tips posted here are also borrowed from her guidelines.)

So good luck Moms! Let's feed the family what they need to stay healthy!

I'm Back!

You didn't realize I was gone, did you? Well, I moved out of the hotel and into my new apartment in the middle of August and called to have Internet installed. The problem was that I couldn't get an appointment for 3 weeks! So I've been practically cut-off from the outside world for 4 weeks now- because I didn't even call to get the Internet ordered until after I had spent a week unpacking boxes and what-not. Then, once I had Internet, I was so overwhelmed with the ability to use it again, I've spent the past few days just trying to get caught up in different areas. Thus it is finally blog time!
I did use my lack of Internet time wisely, however, I have read two and a half books (still working on one) and I have reorganized my kitchen, done plenty of cooking, writing, exercising, arranging and cleaning. One of the big things I have spent a concerted amount of time learning about is nutrition. My next blog post will give you insight into my new attitude towards nutrition. I will also have a couple other posts sharing some other things I have implemented in my new office/home. hehe...

It's good to be back!

A New Perspective!

Today I'm again sitting in the hotel room, but this time with a new perspective. I spent a little time reflecting on my previous post, (the Not in Arizona Anymore post), and suddenly came to the realization that sometimes I need a mentality adjustment.
Here I am with this beautiful baby boy who is all mine and makes the cutest noises and funniest facial expressions, AND I don't have to miss a single one! I'm here for them all! I have no need to try to leave or have take him anywhere or drop him off while I go to work. I can just sit back and relax and enjoy his company while ordering food that's delivered to my door and I don't have to wash dishes or clean house!
What was I thinking!? Life's great!

Now, I'm not saying this at all to gloat, but to share how there's two ways to look at life. There's focusing on the negative or focusing on the positive, its optimism verses pessimism. Its so easy to spiral downwards and throw yourself a "pity party" (as my husband calls it), but its just as easy to turn around and look at all the blessings in your life. Its entirely up to you.
I read a short article in this month's American Baby Magazine entitled, "Lighten Up, Mama!" the point of the article was to avoid anxiety-eating for new mom's, but it got me thinking about more than just my eating habits. The author writes: "Focus on the good. To break a nerve-addled thought pattern, jot down what's going well in your life, or a highlight in your day. Realize you can choose what to think about- you'll herald happy thoughts."
It was the eye opener I needed. Life is all about choices, we make decisions that dictate our lives everyday. We make decisions that influence the lives of others everyday. Whether we're working inside the home, caring for children and a husband, or we're leaving our homes each morning and surrounding ourselves with others, either way we touch other's lives and can either help raise them up or drag them down.

This is an important lesson, I want my home to be a home of peace, a home of happiness, and a home of love. The mother is the heart of the home, she needs to be the one to harness these characteristics everyday. This is on of my core focuses on my path to becoming a Molly Mormon... And I'll need to tackle it one day at a time :)

Living Wisely

I'd like to address a new issue today, a topic that has been weighing heavily on my mind, Provident Living.

One aspect of provident living that has been a huge topic in recent political discussions, and is something we should all be concerned about within our own homes is finances. Our individual financial situations are of great significance, it is of utmost importance for us to avoid debt and learn the principles of frugality and savings.

With today's economy and with the newest struggles that this country now faces, it is even more important for our citizens to understand the fundamentals that this country was based upon and even more important is understanding what responsibilities we hold as citizens and as humans on this earth. I feel that too many people have misconstrued the basic principles of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness into a feeling of entitlement.
Entitlement- a belief that because a person lives and breathes they are somehow entitled to all the luxuries of the world. This is not the case. The central government was created to protect these unalienable rights, not to provide handouts. Unfortunately the time has come where so many people are living well outside their means and are in a position where debt is inevitable and a missed paycheck is cause for panic. This is not what provident living is.

What is provident living exactly? 
Let's examine the word "provident," some synonyms include "farseeing" and "wise." So through insertion, it would be safe to call "provident living" "wise living" and also to think of "wise" as "farseeing," so living wisely would be to live with the future in mind. SO living from paycheck to paycheck would not be "farseeing" or "wise," right? Are you following me here? Now, some think that they HAVE to live paycheck to paycheck- for the vast majority of the people in this country, this is not the case! Sorry, no excuses there. People live paycheck to paycheck because they CHOOSE to.
"WHAT!?," you say- Humor me with your attention for a moment...  You have all these bills and a mortgage AND you have to eat and get to work, right? Okay, sure, that's true, however, who decided to buy a house with a mortgage that much? and who chose to buy a car that has that gas mileage and who decided to eat out instead of making their lunch? Obviously we each have basic needs, like food and shelter, but the cost/type of shelter and food is something YOU decide. When you make those decisions you decide whether or not you are living within your means. Its not a matter of how much money you make, its a matter of your own self control.

The LDS church has created a website dedicated to this very cause called www.providentliving.org, the website aims to educate people on self-reliance and has plenty of resources for debt management and a family budget worksheet. There's also a wonderful article that I would encourage everyone to read that better conveys the point I'm trying to make here. Its called, "Wealth is what you save, not what you spend" and you can find it on www.marketwatch.com. Its important to look at purchases as an investment and to evaluate whether or not you'll get an appropriate return on your investment before making the purchase- that's part of what the article teaches, but you should read it yourself. Another good source of better understanding money is an amazing book my husband gave me to read called, The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason.
Now, I'm not professing to know everything on this topic, or that I am the best at anything I've mentioned here, but that I know it's of great importance and it's worth addressing.

I realize that this topic might seem a little outside the realm of my blog, but it actually fits perfectly into the ideals of a Molly Mormon. A woman who oversees a home and plans for the future knows there will always be unexpected expenses; the toilet will break, the roof will leak, your child will fall, and your children will grow up and will go to college and will get married. Therefore these women know that they need to make the best choices for their family, plan for the future, be wise in their spending and trust in the Lord. AND at the end of the day they can know that they've done all that they can.
My husband and I strive to make the right choices everyday so that when we look at our son we don't have to worry whether or not we can provide for him.  We know we're doing everything we can to ensure that his future will be bright. I urge everyone to do this for yourselves and especially for those who depend on you. If you need help, reach out the resources available to you.

We're Not in Arizona Anymore...

Okay, SO I am no longer in Arizona. My belongings have been packed by a moving company and are currently in transport to their destination... any guesses as to the location? (hint- the title of the post isn't just cheesy, its a clue)

Yes! You guessed it, good ol' Kansas... I actually had never even set foot in this state before three days ago, which was after all of my stuff had been packed and I was already destined to live there. My husband and I took a look at our soon to be apartment the other day. I had hoped to move into a house with a yard since I will now be living somewhere where the terrain is capable of inhabiting more than just plain dirt, weeds and prickly cactus. However, we decided we weren't sold on purchasing and maintaining a property here just yet. So I have settled on the idea of a luxury apartment with a balcony garden. So let the plans begin! I am quite excited about growing a small container garden on my new balcony and moving into my much larger 2 bedroom apartment. I'm upgrading from a measly 600 sq ft, 2nd floor, 1bdrm apartment to a 1000 sq ft 3rd floor (top floor) 2 bdrm apartment. Now, since I will be home all day with my little one, it will be much nicer to have some space to move around and not feel like I'm caged in. Plus I get to look forward to setting up my sewing machine and crafting desk as well as starting my small garden.

Currently, however, I am living in a hotel waiting for the movers to get my stuff up here. Living in a hotel would be rather nice, you would think, you get to enjoy lying by the pool, working out in the fitness center, exploring the town and ordering room service! Well, it would be rather nice, IF my infant wasn't so colicky! I can't lay by the pool without him in my arms, he's unwilling to sleep at all during the day without me holding him. He is intolerant of the front carrier so I can't even use the treadmill. And I await the time of day he might actually sit alone long enough for me to shower- but forget the make-up and hair dryer!  Room service is nice, but the menu is limited and when you are confined to your room with a screaming child all day it's not all it's cracked up to be. So I guess you could say hotel life isn't exactly what I had in mind.
Oh, the wonders of motherhood...
I love the little moop, but I do wish he was a little easier of an infant. My sister-in-law has a baby who sleeps 9 hours a night and hardly makes a peep all day- whether or not she's being held. Oh, how I envy her! It's just a phase though right? It gets better? I get some freedom someday? Some reassurance please!?

Baby Bomb

I've found that nothing can be more motivating than knowing you have a ticking time bomb set to go off at any moment- It could be in an hour or it could be in two minutes, YOU never know. All you know is that infant currently has his eyes closed and your arms are suddenly free to do whatever they please!

Suddenly your mind is racing- all of those things that need to get done that you've been thinking about through each feeding, diaper change and while rocking an infant with some unknown aliment are all possibilities of what you can do with these empty hands! You find yourself so excited you scramble to decide what to do first. In an instant, it seems, 10 minutes have elapsed while you completed some of the little things done, like using the restroom, brushing your teeth and shoving some food down your throat. Finally, you have a chance to focus on one of the tasks you've been hoping to complete, you get everything out and ready to begin when the bomb goes off and your house is filled with the cries of that precious creature you so happily brought into the world a mere week or two ago. 

Did I paint the picture accurately? Did I miss anything? How about night life?- The wonderful evenings with your child where you stumble feebly to his place of distress to attempt to quiet him. Then, when you do manage to fulfill all of his needs and gain the prize of silence and slumber, you only awake an hour later wondering why he isn't crying and feeling the urge to check to ensure he's still breathing (which you do before falling back to sleep).

Oh the wonders of life as a new mother! Forget the idea of cooking, cleaning or having any sense of personal hygiene (yuck, I know)! I anxiously wait for my husband to get home so he can spend some "quality" time with our son and I can have free hands long enough to clean and cook! But wait, who goes to the grocery store? Yay, another thing that Mommy can do when Daddy gets home!

Okay, so I may be making it sound horrible, but hopefully those of you who have children can relate and find some of this amusing, and hopefully, those of you without children aren't completely deterred by this posting! 

In all honesty, in spite of the constant demand of my time, it truly is a wonderful time in my life. I have this adorable baby whom I love with all of my heart and actually do find his little cries cute at times, but his facial expressions even more lovable. 

I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Wifawesome

	I stumbled across something I found terribly hilarious this evening on Urban Dictionary. It defines the exact type of woman my husband was looking for in his 9 year search for the "perfect wife." The type of woman he was looking for can be defined in one simple word- wifawesome. What? Never hear the word before?    Well, according to urbandictionary.com  wifawesome is defined as "Someone who is a little Miss Susie Homemaker, who is awesomely funny and good-looking, and would make an awesome wife, but is not yet one. Wifawesomes tend to enjoy baking cookies, taking care of others, cooking, cleaning, and arranging fresh flowers. They love children and animals and always have painted toenails. Most people feel extremely comfortable around a wifawesome because they have warm, welcoming personalities. They enjoy sex (but are not slutty) and tend to make men melt, yet remain single. Wifawesomes are smart and resourceful. It is a common physical trait for a wifawesome to have dimples and a sparkling smile."  FYI- Miss Susie Homemaker=Molly Mormon As I read this definition to my husband, he laughed aloud- agreeing completely with my analysis. So tell me, are you searching for a wifawesome or were you one? ;)