You Don't Eat Anything!

I heard that sentence several times over the holidays. In the last three months I completely altered what I eat. I now know how my body functions and I am eating foods that give me the fuel I need. As a result I have lost 20 pounds :)

So in response to the statement "you don't eat anything!" I thought I would list what I normally eat in one day. I try and stick to a very similar menu each day to help regulate my blood sugar. Although my dinners do vary each day.

5:00 am snack before my workout- 1 hard boiled egg

Breakfast- whole grain english muffin sandwich (with 1 egg, cheese, and 1 sausage patty)

Snack- 1 piece of string cheese with a small handful of corn chex cereal (taste good together)

Lunch- A salad with a little cheddar cheese and 4 pieces of turkey bacon (cut into pieces), 1 piece of chicken.

Afternoon snack- 2/3 cup of corn chex

Dinner- hamburger (no bun) and 3/4 cup broccoli /or meatballs and broccoli/ or english muffin breakfast sandwich/or an omelet with cheese and turkey bacon and a whole grain english mufffin/or taco salad/ basically a piece of meat and a veggie. Broccoli s my favorite (it contains no carbs and very little sugar). Once a week we get a thin crust pizza and I have two pieces. I make sure that my other meals throughout that day allow for this splurge.

Before bed snack- 1/3 cup sesame sticks and 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips mixed together. I need a night time snack because my blood sugar drops very quickly in the morning.

All of this food equals out to roughly 6 carb servings (20 g each) and 15 grams of sugar. I do allow myself to have an extra carb serving occasionally.

I should add that I do not drink anything except water. I have not had a soda in three months! I am so glad to be rid of all that syrup, chemicals, and sugar!

Several months ago we had a scare with our son Asher. He was tested for leukemia. Our world stopped until we heard the test results. Thankfully the test came back negative. This song is just breathtaking.



You can donate money to help support St. Jude at http://www.matthewest.com/.

The Results Are In

I had my blood work checked and I know some of my numbers. My biggest concern was my A1C. Three months ago it was 5.9. Which is considered prediabetic and only .1 away from being diabetic. I completely changed my eating style and have done everything I can to lower my A1C. The nurse told me in September that she has seen people lower it by .2. My doctor wanted mine to be lowered by 1.0. So I knew I had an uphill battle ahead of me.

My A1C is now 5.5! I lowered it by .4!!!! The nurse actually said "Wow" :) I am not done yet, but I am doing GREAT!

Another Healthy Snack

Try Corn Chex! I eat this plain, with a few chocolate chips, or with string cheese (sounds weird, but its good!). Plus it's gluten free :)

Great Article on Nutrition!

Balancing Nutrition & Priorities

Science Experiment

I love the science experiments that Sonlight schedules. Joshua has been really enjoying his study of electricity. This past week he had to make a circuit that he could use to pop a balloon. He hooked up all the wires and taped steel wool to the side of a balloon. He then attached a wire to each end of the steel wool. When the battery was attached the flow of electricity would heat up the steel wool (has a high level of resistance = heat) which would melt the balloon and cause it to pop. The boys LOVED this experiment!
(He actually makes his wires using aluminum foil (per the TOPS electricity book instructions). I love this! He makes everything he needs and gets it all to work :)

Randomness

She is beautiful in orange glasses :)

Asher and Elliana helped me make sugar cookies.

Healthy Breakfast

When I was diagnosed as prediabetic my doctor recommended I start using Barlean's Flax oil and Omega Swirl to help control my blood sugar levels. The flax oil actually coats the intestines and slows the absorption of carbs. The Peach Mango Omega Swirl tastes great. The flax oil few tastes like...oil. But when you mix them together it is edible. The health benefits out way the few seconds of "eww" :)

My favorite low sugar/ low carb breakfast is a homemade sausage and egg mcmuffin. It contains one gram of sugar and 1 serving of carbs. It is important to read the english muffin package. Some contain more carbs than others. I use the Aunt Millie Whole Grain english muffins.

School Update

We just started our 18th week of school. There are days when things do not go as planned. Days when the kids are crabby and would rather stare at the wall than do school. Days when the teacher wants to drive up to the nearest public school and push them out and drive away. But those days are few are far between. This has been an extremely productive and enjoyable year :)

Both boys love reading. They would much rather sit down with a pile of books than sit down with a worksheet to complete. They each spend at least an hour reading each day. Sonlight provides books for them to read that coincide with their history lessons. In addition to these great books I add some classic literature.

I want to add a disclaimer- I try and discourage the boys from reading books that are in a series. (For example Geronimo Stilton and the Boxcar Children.) My reasoning can best be explained with an analogy. I feel that series books are like Saturday morning cartoons. They are short potions of a larger story. They can normally be read in one or two sittings. And require little if any thinking on the part of the reader.

Classic literature is like a full length feature film. They contain a large story that fully develops the characters (books like Treasure Island and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). The reader must pay attention in order to understand fully what is going on in the story. These books normally take a week or two to finish.

There is another reason I discourage series books and encourage the challenge of reading classic literature, and that is pride. My boys are so proud of themselves when they finish a "real" book. I will hear the loud close of a book, peer into the room and see my son beaming. He accomplished something great. This is not a response associated with a little paper back series book.

OK I am done ranting :) Back to the school update! Asher has become an avid reader. In the last few days he has finished Little House on the Prairie and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. He started reading How to Train Your Dragon and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I did not suggest the Harry Potter book. I wanted to wait a few years. But last night I found out that this little reader had been secretly reading this book for days! I made sure he was comprehending the story line before I agreed to let him continue. Joshua is also enjoying some great books at the moment. He is working on a biography of George Washington Carver, Robinson Crusoe, and he has been dabbling in Greek Myths.

Math and science are going great as well. The boys used electricity to pop a balloon :) We had to do that a couple of times because it was so cool!

Elliana LOVES school. I am using Sonlight's pre-K program with her and it is a perfect match. She is starting to read three letter words. She seems to be picking up reading pretty easily. We are working on numbers as well. I also add in some extra poetry and read alouds to the core program.

Another Killer!

I posted some time ago about Bob Harper's new Inside Out Pure Burn Super Strength video. I am still enjoying it and it still kills me every time. I have recently started using the Body Rev/ Cardio Conditioning video (also in the Inside Out series). It is AWESOME!

Forget what you normally think about when someone says "cardio". This workout contains an enormous amount of squats, kettle ball moves, regular push ups, scorpion push ups, and plyo exercises. It will definitely get your heart rate up and keep it up!

I have been using the Super Strength and the Cardio Conditioning workouts for two weeks and I can already see changes :) You don't need a gym membership to get in shape. You also do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on workout videos.

Both of these DVD's are nine dollars at Wal-Mart! You can spend 18 dollars and get a great set of exercises, doesn't get much better than that :)

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[you will need a set of free weights for both of the videos, a kettle ball is helpful as well]

Michelle Rhee

The U.S. spends more per pupil on elemenary and high school education than most developed nations. Yet it is behind most of them in the math and science abilities of its children. Young Americans today are less likely than their parents were to finish high school. This is an issue that is warping the nation's economy and security, and their causes are not as mysterious as they seem. The biggest problem with U.S. public schools is ineffective teaching, according to decades of research. (Rhee Tackles Classroom Challenge)


When I was teaching high school science getting tenure was a big goal for my fellow teachers. After teaching for a few years a public school teacher gets "tenure". At that point it is really hard to get fired. You can do an awful job as a teacher and it really does not make any difference to your job security.

When my fellow teachers would tell me"your almost there" they were a little annoyed with my response. I told them I didn't want tenure. If I was doing a bad job than I deserved to be fired. They would follow up with all the silly reasons why teachers needed tenure. For example, what if a student lied and accused you of hitting them. You needed to have that protection. That is just ridiculous to me. If a student lied the truth would come out in the end. If not, I wouldn't want to continue working there.

I have recently become aware of an advocate for better education. Her name is Michelle Rhee. I am sure I don't agree with everything she stands for, but I do agree with her opinions on tenure. While working in the education system she fired 241 poor teachers, even if they had tenure :) You can imagine how much the teachers unions love her. She has recently left her position and is starting an organization called "Students First". I anxiously await what this go getter will accomplish in this new venue.

What is the main problem with playing in the snow with little ones?

I think it is constantly putting gloves on little fingers. You put them on before you walk out the door and in a matter of minutes they have fallen off or snow has become compacted between the glove and the coat sleeve. Resulting in cold fingers and frozen wrists. Last year I had an idea on how to solve this problem, but I put it in the back of my mind.

Today was our first time really playing in the snow and the idea came rushing back to me, as I was putting Elliana's mittens on for the tenth time. The idea-mittens should have a stretch type of material that goes from the glove up the arm to just above the elbow. That way mittens will not fall off and wrists will stay warm.

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So I went inside and started on my idea. I used two shirts, one Elliana's and one of the boys, to make the extension. One shirt was a waffle type material that I thought would be good to use inside the wrist portion to make it extra warm. The other shirt was a stretchy material that I used to go from the wrist up past the elbow. The waffle material was placed as a second and third layer at the wrist area. Make any sense?

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The red waffle type shirt is the insulation for the wrist. The pink shirt was the material that goes from the glove up past the elbow.

The inside of the extension, the red material is super warm :)

A close up of the connection between the glove and what I added.

Elliana modeling the completed glove. You can see how the dark pink material goes from the glove up past the elbow. The red material is inside around the wrist.

The extension is sewn on to the glove. The glove does not come off and snow cannot get in :)

Success!!!

Girl Time!!

We love dress-up time!

Christmas time begins

The kids holding the Christmas ornament from their very first Christmas :)

Thanksgiving was full of surprises this year. The night before Joshua threw up. Which changed our Thanksgiving day plans. It actually turned out awesome. We stayed home and decorated for Christmas. It was a great time of taking it slow and just enjoying some time as a family. We all agreed that it was a great day.

A few days later three of our family visited the doctor. Joshua and I have sinus infections and poor Elliana has pink eye. But we are on the mend !

Good Article...

Half of Americans Facing Diabetes by 2020

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40332640

It is good to remember that while obese individuals are at a higher risk for type 2 diabetes due to their decisions, genetics play a major role as well. I ran a half marathon three days before I was diagnosed as prediabetic.

After completely changing everything that I eat I am now healthy. If I eat even a little too much sugar or carbs I am sick for an entire day. Sugar is the enemy people! We do not need to be consuming hundreds of grams of sugar per day. At this point I eat less than 15 grams of sugar each day. Give it a try. What do you have to lose, other than the risk of becoming diabetic.

And It Begins!

Joshua making the pie crust..

A very busy kitchen..

Elliana helping make the rolls.

Uh Oh!

Asher measuring the sugar for Aarons apple pie crust. He had to taste test the sugar :)

Joshua breaking the eggs for the rolls.

Elliana taking the wrapper off the butter for the rolls. She was so proud of herself.

It is harder than it looks..

Asher measuring the milk for Grandma Sandy's Famous Thanksgiving Rolls.

Joshua will have fun doing whatever you ask, when I directed him to get the milk he made up a game- balance the milk :)

And the turkey is in the oven! It already smells yummy!

Elliana telling me how to cook the turkey. She shocked me when she told me "to cut holes in the bag". I checked the box and sure enough that was the next step. She was watching what was going on and comparing that to the pictures on the back of the oven bag box. She is brilliant!

My three little cooks ready for an adventure!

It's Thanksgiving!!

Well not really, but at our house it is :) I always make a big Thanksgiving meal for our family a few days before the official day. I want my kids to know how to cook a big meal with confidence.

Today we will stop our normal school work at noon. Then the fun begins! All three kids will be instrumental in making every part of our meal. Things will get messy and mistakes will be made. But we will also be making some great memories and learning some new skills.

On the menu:
-Turkey
-Stuffing
-Broccoli & Cheese Casserole
-Grandma Sandy's Thanksgiving Rolls
-Real Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
-Homemade Apple Pie

(No, I can't eat anything on this list- except of course the turkey. But I love to cook! So I don't care one bit :)

Stay tuned for what I am sure will be some fun pictures of messy children :)

Killer!!

I love hard workouts. Weights, cardio, spinning, swimming, and running are my favorites. I recently picked up a new weights DVD at Wal-Mart for ten bucks. In the past I have enjoyed the Biggest Loser series- Last Chance Workout, Cardio Max, Yoga, and Power Sculpt (also ten bucks each at Wal-Mart).

Why do I use videos when I have a gym membership? Two reasons 1) I save in driving time and as a result I can sleep in 30 minutes longer, which adds up in the course of a week. 2) They are harder than gym classes. The classes held at the gym must be easy enough for older and overweight individuals. If they had killer workouts few people would come back. I use my gym for swimming, AMT, and sometimes running.

Back to my new workout, it is Bob Harpers: Inside Out Method-PureBurn/SuperStrength. It kills me every time! If you want to challenge yourself, buy this video and stick with it!

Halloween 2010

We had a great time trick or treating on Halloween. Our new neighborhood is much larger and thus we obtained a ton of candy :)

Joshua was Captain Kirk, Asher dressed as Mutt from Indiana Jones, and Elliana was our little dragon :)

She is the cutest dragon.

wonderful

Connecting

That is one of my goals throughout the day. I want to make connections with my kids. To really look into their eyes and speak to them. To pour wisdom, love, good character, and Jesus into their impressionable minds.

I am fortunate to homeschool my children. I don't know how parents find the time to do this when their children are gone all day at school. Not to mention how busy families can be with extracurriculars and homework every night.

But just because I am with my kids everyday doesn't mean that it is easy to spend this quality time with them. I have the normal mom duties that are endless added on to the daunting task of educating all three of my little ones. It is easy to get wrapped up in household chores and to-do lists. But when I feel that happening I know I need to step back and look at the bigger picture. Dishes and laundry can wait. These blessings that are growing before me need me now.

A cute homeschool moment- Joshua is reading a biography of Thomas Alva Edison. He came to me all excited and said "Mom, did you know he was homeschooled!" My response- "Yes, isn't it cool that one of the greatest inventors of all time was homeschooled!" He just beamed :)

2 Hiccups and an Astrid..

We have several drawers filled with dress-up clothes to choose from for trick-or-treating. Every year the kids and I wait until after Halloween to buy new costumes. I refuse to spend 20 dollars a piece for a costume (that would total 60 bucks!). After Halloween I can get them for 75% off!

The costumes they get after Halloween are to play in and if they wish; to wear next Halloween. I know I am biased, but I have the cutest dragon trainers in the world!

Everyday Life

More fun at Raders!

She is gorgeous when she eats breakfast.

Cowboy Asher!

Just standing in the kitchen and she is beautiful.

Ouch!

Tomorrow I will begin testing my blood glucose levels at home. I have been doing a good job keeping track of my sugars and carbs. In three and a half weeks I have lost 12 pounds. But that is just a portion of the picture.

I see the results of eating healthy and exercising but I don't know how my body is responding to the food I am eating. I can eat 6 servings of carbs per day. At times I save them and eat 2 or three of those servings at one time. It hasn't affected my weight loss. But what is it doing to my glucose level? I have no idea. My goal is not to lose weight, that is just a side effect of getting my glucose under control. Although I did want to lose a little, because that would help lower my A1C number. I had no idea I would drop this much, this fast.

My ultimate goal is to have a low, stable glucose level at all times. Checking my blood glucose after I eat will tell me exactly what my food choices are doing to my blood glucose levels. Should I eat only one carb serving at a time? Maybe two servings at a time is ok? How is my blood sugar during my workouts? Is it dropping to low? I am excited to find out the answers to all these and many more questions.

I have a motto for this whole prediabetes journey- I am fighting to win :)

A Moment That Made Us Smile :)

Earlier this year we sold our home and moved across town. It was a really hard decision to make. We loved our home and our neighbors. But those 1000 square feet appeared to be shrinking as my children started growing. I have second guessed that decision a thousand times. I am very thankful for the home we have, but I know what we left behind and it breaks my heart.

We miss the neighbors that we lived next to for 8 years. One neighbor in particular comes to mind when I think about our old neighborhood. She was just awesome. My kids adored her. I remember how proud Asher was when she told him what a good job he was doing riding his bike. Her comments made my kids feel like they were amazing.

This afternoon I saw that same light in their eyes when I handed the kids three orange envelopes that came in the mail. The return address was familiar. Tonight I wish we could magically return to our old life. To watch Joshua zoom his bike around the cul-de-sac. And the kids jump in leaves in the front yard. To spend time talking to my neighbor. I miss her greatly. We will make new memories, but the old ones will always be treasured.

The kids are excited to trick-or-treat in our old neighborhood. And they were bummed to hear that they won't get to see our awesome neighbor on Halloween. But they were touched that she sent them each a card (they loved the jokes inside- they keep asking me what kind of music mummy's like :).

The kids holding their Halloween cards.

School Times

We have art once a week using a program called Artistic Pursuits. This week we studied Near Eastern Bas-relief. Ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia used bas-relief to decorate their city walls. All three kids enjoyed making their own bas-relief using self-hardening clay. Joshua and Asher have a map assignment each day. It was awesome to walk in on Joshua helping Asher find Pakistan and Afghanistan.