83 days left and counting!

So I am 7 days into my 90 day challenge and I am feeling good and inspired - there were a few bumps in the road but I am trekking along. Each days is a new challenge and its hard to change your way of thinking and being from one day to another but I am working on it day by day.

I have lost 5lbs and I feel good, I made to sure to make my lunches and work in some kind of excersice. But its hard when reality comes into play. Work, family, sickness etc comes around and makes things difficult. I tried each day and 5lbs is a big deal. I know it didnt take me a day to gain the weight and so its not going to take me a day to get it off. This week I am going to get some gym time in and make more of an effort to get with the plan 100%.

So its a short one today - Been sick and feeling under the weather - But I will be back and running tomorrow! I dont know who is out there reading and following but I hope that if you are reading this blog -I can help inspire you to join the challenge and work your way to a healthier you just like I am!

See you Tomorrow!! http://lysette.bodybyvi.com/

The things we don't understand

It's been a tough couple of days- my good friend miscarried her baby of almost 3 months - Which made me wonder why do things happen to good people?

Not that bad people or anyone deserves anything to happen to them - but it's moments like these that we need to take a look at how we live our lives and focus on being good, doing good and putting others before our own needs.

Join me and take your health to the next level! Join the #1 Weight-Loss and Fitness CHALLENGE IN NORTH AMERICA!! http://lysette.bodybyvi.com/

'

GTL!!!

Its not the GTL you might be thinking about - I am referring to Gym Toddler Laundry! HAHA I joined gym today! I am so excited because its something that I needed to do in order to succeed in my challenge. I cant wait to go and get my fitness on!

I got such a great deal for only $9.95 a month and no enrollment fee - literraly I paid $9.95 out the door. The gym is a great size and not to big and not to small, its close to work and close to my sons school so I don't have to go out of my way to make an effort. I can go and I have the time to go now - my schedule is perfect and my sons schedule is ideal.

Now I have to find a routine so that I don't get board doing the same thing over and over again. I don't want to get caught up on the treadmill stump. I used to go a lot and I loved the feeling I would have afterwards and being able to wake up feeling fresh! I am looking forward seeing my transformation and really feeling good about me. I am done feeling lazy, tired and unhealthy about me. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror and love what I see.

Well good night all! I am ready for bed and going to get some rest for my day tomorrow - of WGT - Work Gym Toddler =)

http://lysette.bodybyvi.com/

The NEW Body by Vi Challenge is coming! Submit your New Year's resolution for a sneak peak.

The NEW Body by Vi Challenge is coming! Submit your New Year's resolution for a sneak peak.

TEXT IT NOW!!!  This is the month to join the challenge! 

21 months down and 18 years to go!

"Its the hardest job you will ever love!" Those are the words that were spoken to me many many times before my son was born and after he was born. I always said that it was true but I didn't think that it was 100% true. But now it has hit me that ITS TRUE!!!!

Oh my gosh my son has turned into a toddler and at the same time I have noticed that the terrible 2's is no joke. Sure you may think that I am embellishing but to be honest I am not. There are days that I feel like I am going to go nuts, scream my head off, run away or even just hide from my son. Then there are days that I am having so much fun that I hate to put him to sleep. I love spending time with him but well he has his days. 

I think that when you hear/read these and you have kids you know what I am talking about. My son is amazing don't get me wrong, but he has a mind of his own and he will let you know what he wants and what he does not want. He speaks his mind and he doesn't even talk yet, he knows how to get his point across and at times very loudly. 

Lately my son has turned to tantrums as a more appropriate form of communication. Some of the times he makes these decisions in the presence of other adults =). He feels its appropriate that other people know that he has lungs and he knows how to use them. How do you handle this? How do you control the tantrum without spanking? I personally don't want to spank my son and I hate that I am told that it would be the best way to make him understand. 

Let me put myself in his shoes, sort of, If I don't like something and I don't kick and scream, I do get upset but I don't kick and scream. But at the same time I am not hit by the person or situation. I look and analyze the situation and come to a conclusion. Well how is my 21month old supposed to do the same if he can barely talk, he still trips on air and he cant even control his bowls? 

Why do adults feel the need to spank or scream in order to right a situation with a toddler? Where is it written that that is the way to go? I find myself caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to discipline. I don't know what I am doing and I am learning as I go, but I have always felt in my heart that there were many different ways and better ways to right a situation. 

So when all is said and done - I have bought the book "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" and I intend on reading it and figuring out the best way "for me" to discipline my son. I want him to grow up into an amazing boy, man and husband. So we will have to see if this book has the insight that I am looking for or if I am going to have to hide in my bathroom until my son changes. To be continued................

I am not a bad mom but why do I feel like a bad mommy?

Lately I have had time to think about what I do and how well or how bad  I do it. I have been a stay at home mommy and my husband works 4 ten hour days so I am here till 530 all by myself and at times I want to run and hide.
Is that wrong? I mean as much as I love my son I want to hide sometimes and just come out in a couple of years. Is this normal? I would think that maybe yes and maybe no. I was so used to working for so many years and have the freedom to get up and go where ever I wanted when I wanted. Now things have changed drastically, I mean I cant just pick up and go when I please and if I need to rush off somewhere I still have to plan for the rush.
I find myself though at times wishing I had more time in the day for me and that I can spend more time just relaxing. I pray that nap time will be more like 3 hours instead of 1 and I know its wrong but I get excited at bed time.
Sure I am not gonna win mother of the year nor worst mother of the year. But I know that I am not alone. I know that there are other stay at home moms and dads out there that feel like I do and pray that God will make nap time last longer. But why should I be ashamed of being a stay at home mom who needs to sleep an extra day just to feel like her self?
So in order to compromise being a stay at home mom and wanting something for myself I have decided to go back to school. Now this may seem wrong to many but I think that I am on the right path to making ME the priority. What am I gonna study? Well believe it or not I am going to go get my credential to be a teacher. I am gonna first go and study child development so that I can work in a day care/preschool but its something that I have been wanting to do for awhile and just put it off because i felt it was not ok to leave my son.
So inspite of thinking I am a bad mom I think that my son will proud that his mommy did something for herself and this will help me be a better mom and wife. I think that in the long run I will be glad I did this because I know that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me and I have faith that God is the one who will guide me and give me the extra time in the day to get things done.

And So it begins!

So who knew that dieting actually takes work? Apparently not me  - so turns out that I need to loose weight and so its gonna take some hard work and time. But I am determined to do this and so today I enrolled in Weight Watchers. I am determined to do this and make it work - so what better way to make it work then by blogging about it and letting the world wide web about my journey.

So I decided that I have to buy the foods and try it that way first to make sure that I can actually stay with in my points and that I am still getting in some veggies. I have to write down everything and I must keep a journal! I think that writing about my day and how I felt that day and at the end of the day will help me see what is triggering me to eat certain things and at certain times.

I WILL be going for a walk on a daily basis even if its just for a small walk but I have to keep active and try to not make it or keep it boring. My son loves being outside and I want to make sure that I keep him in mind when I wake up. He is one of the reason I am doing this - I need to loose weight for him and for me. I dont want to be one of those mothers that cant play with their kids because they are to big to even move.

So with Gods grace and my husband and son by my side I will make this work! Best of luck to me!

I almost died!

Last week I almost threw in the towel - It was a week full of ups and downs emotionally for me and on top of that my son was teething and not having a good time. I felt like I had the worst job in the world and I keep saying "what did I get myself into?" I would pray for help and ask God to help me understand the importance of this job because I was beginning to lose my cool.
So now it was Saturday and I wanted to get myself together so I went and joined weight watchers, enjoyed the morning alone and then came home to have breakfast with my two guys. The day was looking good and I was glad that the week was slowly leaving its icky feeling behind me.
I hated feeling like a bad mom and as though I was doing a bad job. I hate not being able to play with my son because I am feeling out of it and losing my patience. But it could only get better from here.
We spent a lovely Sunday at church and then a family BBQ where my son had fun playing and exploring his surroundings. He was like a kid in a candy store. He was free to roam about and feel the floor, grass and pavement underneath his hands and knees.
Well its a new week and things were looking better - I kept to my diet and monitored everything that I ate and made sure I was good. My son and I went for a walk and then later in the day we went to the park to play in the sand.
Awe yes sand, its new feeling for him and he is not sure if he likes it or not, but the look in his face, that look of confusion and doubt, slowly went away as he wiggled his toes in the sand and ran his fingers as though he was playing with noodles or worms.
And then - the moment we have all been waiting for! No he didn't say mama, he still feels my name is mapapa. But that's OK I know he will soon get it. As we finished our serving of kiwi and played in the living room, my son decided to stand up and walk around the edge of the toy box. He slowly cheeped around until he got to be face to face with the couch.
With a look of sheer determination and a bit of confusion, he took his first steps! I was so excited that I grabed him and hugged him so hard he just laughed - it was as if he was like "what? arent I supposed to do this?" Oh what a proud moment it was but to be honest I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I had to walk away and cry a little.
The idea that my little guy is walking! Even though some say that its not something I should be excited about, because now its more work. But to me its excitement and joy that I was able to be here for that. I know he is still a little guy, but there are so many more firsts to come and then there are those that I know I wont be able to share when I go back to work. But for now I will take any first that comes to me.

My little Inspiration

My little guy has grown up so much in the past couple of weeks. He has a tooth coming out and it looks like he has one more right next to it. Then when I take him to the park and place him on the swing he gets so excited and laughs up a storm. The cutest part is when he sees the swing as we are pulling up – he gets excited and starts to try and get out of the car! I swear if I didn’t tie him in I think he would jump out and run over to the swing. Sad thing is he can’t walk or run so he still needs me.

Which brings me to something that jumped into my head this morning as I was listening to him in his crib at 6am playing. There is this innocence about him about every baby. They are so helpless and sweet – they want to be independent and crawl all over the place. But then they realize that they need us. They need us to get from one place to another, to eat, bathe and in some cases to sleep.

I began to think of all the helpless little babies who are left alone, who are hurt because their parents are drunk or on drugs. I began to think of all the little babies who have no one and are scared about what may happen to them – those babies of homeless people, babies of parents in foreign countries where war and hatred are top on the list.

Ok yes I know it was only 6am and what was I doing thinking about all of this. Well honestly its something that has been on my mind for some time. I don’t know that I can do anything other then pray for these little babies and children.

I know that God has everything under control. I know that he will never leave a child alone and He cares for them more then anything. Just as I love and care for my son. This past 7 months or 32 weeks I have found myself going from a working girl who had put work and school first for so long to a stay at home mom who has put her son and husband first. I find myself not caring about weather or not I go dancing or shopping, those new shoes, new dress and designer hair cut are not something I find myself wanting. I find joy in buying my son shoes, toys, clothes and sometimes more toys.

So what am I getting at? We are all put on this earth for a reason, we are given a task and plan to follow and at times though it may be hard to follow – kind of like our little angles when they start to walk – we learn. I have learned to walk again. I have learned to discover new ideas and thoughts so that I can keep my little dude entertained. Because I know some of you know how hard it can be to keep a 7 month old happy when all he wants is to put things in his mouth and crawl towards the television. Its not easy but every morning I wake up ready to take on the challenge. I wake up excited to see him and play with him. Excited to teach him how to grab a puff, keep his socks on and hold a cup.

In the last 32 weeks I have been more inspired then when I was in school or when I was working. Even though I look forward to going back to work one day. I find that this opportunity is just that, an opportunity to explore a new world with my son. If only more people would feel that way. If only more people would see how amazing of a gift we have when we give birth and are given this amazing gift, this amazing challenge. Because when we sit down and look at the big picture – our children are just that an amazing gift that challenges us to be more then we are. An amazing gift that challenges us to see our selves as more then others see us and to be inspirations to our kids just as they have inspired us.

God inspired me for so many years and now my son and God are inspiring me to be a better person. 

The Art of Ferberizing

Oh the dreaded ferberizing has arrived at our home - It has been 4 days and we almost have it - but the boss seems to get more upset as we go along. 

I know that this is important and I know that he will benefit from this as he gets older - But what do I get out of it - heart ache and the feeling that I am some how hurting my son. Will this feeling go away? Will he forgive me? Will these next couple of days be imprinted in his mind - Mommy didnt want to pick me up - I cried and she just ignored me. But truth is I know he will forget it, I know he does forget it - Because every morning he wakes up with the biggest smile and he is so happy to see me, so I know that he has forgotten the night before. 

So how long is it gonna take for  my son to get the hang of this? How long will I have to suffer along with my son ans he begins to learn to soothe himself to sleep? I hope that it wont be to long cause I sure cant take this for two long.

I think that this process teaches my son that no matter what the situation - he can get through anything. Sometimes its hard to understand how life works - we are taught that no matter what everything is gonna be fine, that no matter how hard the situation we can get through it because there is always gonna be someone to be there for us to reassure that things are gonna work out. 

I know that my mother is there for me, my father is there for me and now my husband. Now is this something that I have learned because I was ferberized? Who knows but I do know that I turned out ok and I am sure my son will to.

My new diaper bag

So my husband asked me what I wanted for Christmas and truth is I didnt want anything - I have everything I need and I have my baby boy so I am good. But he insisted and so I requested a new diaper bag. 

So after much search and comparison I found one that I love love love! Its cute, its roomy and it does not look like a diaper bag. Ok yes its a diaper bag and its not Christmas yet but i am using it now and let me tell you its AMAZING! haha I know its just a bag but its more than that. You see I used to use a Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Coach - But you cant fit everything my little guy needs inside those and I was not about to go spend 200 or 300 dollars on a bag. 

So if your looking for a new diaper bag or your first one you need to check this one out its Carters Nylon Twill Diaper Bag in Tan

and its not expensive and if you are like me  you can get it cheaper with coupons. =) I hate being in a position where I dont have the things I need for my little guy and believe me you can fit plenty in this bag.

Yummy Carrots!

So today Jajaboo ate his carrots for the first time! It was an exciting moment for me that I actually wanted to cry - is that crazy or what? I mean its a milestone in my mind and it was cute to see my booboola eat his food and actually like it! 

I am such a proud mommy I am bursting at the seams. I am so happy that I get to be able to take care of my son and be there for these important milestones in his life. It was so cute to be watch him open his mouth when I brought the spoon to him and he didn't make ugly faces. 

Now here is my dilemma - Do I make his food or do I buy it? I mean I don't work and I am home most of the time so I have no excuse to not make it. Then a part of me wants to just buy it and not worry about making his food. I am at a crossroads - I feel like I am being selfish if I don't make his food and it would wise to just make it and make that part of my day. Then there is the other side that says to buy it and use the extra time to play with the booboola. I guess I have to see what is best for him and for me - or am I over thinking it?

Just a thought

So November went by faster then we wanted and now we are in December! The year went by so fast its hard to imagine that just 5 months ago my little Jaja was born. But today I was thinking about life in general - My grandmother just came back from La Paz Mexico and has not felt good since. She has heart problems and seems to get very tired. She is 85 and has always been very active.
Well with everything that has gone on this year, my son being born, my two year wedding anniversary, and now this - I feel like I have lost sight of so much. My son has shown me how important it is to live and to be happy at all times. He never seems to not be happy - He actually is a very happy baby and for that I am blessed.
But I have forgotten how important it is to stay close to family and friends. How important it is to charish every moment we have here on earth with those we love. I think that seeing my 85 year old grandmother with my 5month old son has really made me see how life is short and at any moment it can end.
I know that God has a purpose for our lives and I see how at this moment my sons purpose is to bring joy to our lives and also to make my grandmother happy and laugh. Its nice to see her laughing and smiling with him and these are the moments I can share later on with my son.
This post was not intended to be sad but more of a reflection of life and where we are - God has blessed me so much and I want to thank Him for everything that he has given me. I hope that we can all remember this month is not about the gifts we recieve but rather the gifts we can give and not material rather those gifts of love, memories and hope to those who need it.