The First Two Weeks

So, I've been putting off posting an update because I don't know that I have much of interest to share. But, since we've been working on our "Summer of Change" for two weeks now, I guess I should record our progress.

Becoming Pesca-Ovo-Lactotarians, or whatever the word is - Brandy, you keep telling me and I keep forgetting! - has been fairly easy. I didn't eat much meat to begin with and we are all loving eating so many fresh fruits and veggies. Coming up with a variety of meals that everyone will eat has posed a bit of a challenge, but I think that's partly because our brains still think of a dinner in terms of a meat, a veggie or two, and a grain. Thankfully we have some great cookbooks and my friend Brandy has also been posting some awesome recipies on her blog...I highly recommend the Tex-Mex pizza recipie...YUM!

My sewing is going well...albiet VERY slowly. I am hesitant to start any new part of my project without having a consultation with my fabulous sewing teacher. I have started on Lily's ECU cheerleading dress - even though I have not finished the pillowcase dresses - but am now on hold because I want to embroider and ECU logo on the front before sewing the rest of the pieces together. My embroidery supplies have been ordered and are in route...I'm hoping I can teach myself how to set the embroidery attachment up so I can really get moving. I have LOTS of embroidery projects planned but Step 1 is to learn to use the machine properly! :)

Part of the reason I haven't completed any projects yet is because another summer goal is for me to spend more time just being with the kids. I am physically with them 24/7, but I find that much of my time is spent taking care of everyone's basic needs and doing all the things I do to keep our household running and in order. Sometimes at the end of the day I realize that I haven't had a conversation with Cassidy that didn't involve what she wanted for lunch or a directive to do or stop doing something; I haven't held Finn except to nurse him; and I haven't taken the time to cuddle Lily and listen to her joke. This summer I'm going to make the time to snuggle for no reason at all, to roll around on the floor and play a silly game that has no name because we just made it up, to NOT always have a scheduled time for everything in our day. I'm just going to be with them, to listen to them, to laugh with them, to play with them, and to love them...remembering that these moments are precious and will be gone all too soon.

Excercise still eludes me at this point - 30+ minutes of exercise 5 times a week is another goal for the summer. I have a million excuses for why I can't seem to find the time...for why I'm snoozing at 6:30 a.m. when the girls come down to wake me up (I could be up exercising!) or why I jump into the bed as soon as we get the kids down with a bowl of popcorn to watch Hell's Kitchen....but the bottom line is that I need to make it a priority and make the time. I haven't figured out a solution yet (one that I'm willing to live with anyway)...maybe Joey and I can work out a schedule when he has some time off in July. In the meantime, I'm going to continue to eat healthy, move as much as I can during the day (carting Finn around should count as weight training, right?), and focus on all the good things I'm doing instead of feeling bad about the things I'm not doing.

One last thing - we've started a game at our house. This was not part of our original "Summer of Change" plan, but it fits in perfectly. I noticed that everyone at my house (me included) can be pretty negative at times. In an effort to change that we are playing the "Turn that Negative into a Positive" game. When you catch yourself or someone else saying something negative about themselves, others, or a situation, you must stop and change your negative statement into a positive. For example, while playing SingStar last night Joey said, "You're a good singer." I said, "No, I'm not." He called me on it, so I changed my statement to, "I like to sing, but I'm very shy." I believe that by continuing to confess positives instead of negatives we will see a positive change in our thoughts, our mindsets, and our outlook on life.