Honesty

My friend said something yesterday that is rattling around in my brain and won't leave me alone. I finally figured out why.

She said, "I'm exercising to be healthier, the weight loss is just an added bonus."

I couldn't figure out why this would stick so prominently in my brain, until now.

I can't honestly say this.

I lost 25 pounds last year and got myself down to a size.....well lets just say a much smaller size! I exercised my butt off (literally) and worked hard. I'm sure I am much healthier today than I was before I started. So.....what's the problem?

My quote would read:

"I'm exercising to lose weight and look amazing in jeans, the health benefits are really of no consequence."

Am I too young to care about health and therefore allowed to have this shallow viewpoint?

Not really. I'm almost 30, have 3 kids, one crazy loving husband, and plenty to live for. So.....great! Now I just feel guilty for wanting to confidently wear a swimsuit......!

Here's my opinion. Does it matter? I am motivated by the compliments and looks I have received, both good and bad. Is this wrong? NOPE. I am extrinsically motivated. (There's that big word again!) It's ok. I know that I need some reason outside of myself in order to accomplish something. I found it in the beautiful joy of buying a new wardrobe and not hating it. I'm ok with that.

Thanks, Mom!

So, it's official, I'm becoming my mother.

But I hope in all the right ways.

On Good Friday, I decided my little girl needed a one of a kind Easter dress for Sunday morning. No problem, you say. There are lots of unique shops around. 2 days to shop. Should be fun.

Sorry, that's not how we roll. I designed, created a pattern for, and sewed her new dress before Sunday morning. THAT'S how we roll.

Thanks, Mom. (With a ring of truth but dripping with sarcasm.) This idea that I can, and should, do anything I want is met with frustration from my husband as well as myself when projects go way longer than expected (cabinets) or end up not being as "cost-effective" as I thought.

I learned early on that I could do anything. Whenever. Not because she ever really said this. She just did it. We rearranged our bedroom furniture almost monthly with no comment from her. (Except maybe, "As long as you do it yourself.") We repainted, recovered, and built whatever we wanted. I do believe I was even allowed to skip school to go fabric shopping on occasion. One day, my sister and I decided to switch bedrooms and we just did it. I don't think we even felt the need to ask. We knew that if we could accomplish it on our own....she wouldn't mind. As long as she knew where to deliver the clean laundry.

I never thought much of this until I got married. My mom has helped me to realize that she doesn't actually know how to do everything. She just does it. With common sense, some creativity, you can figure anything out. This mentality DID get me royally electrocuted at a young age as my small arms were needed to help put a belt back on the dryer!

Re-carpet my own stairs?      Why not?
Lay my own flooring?      Awesome!
Refinish my own cabinets?     Easy.
Tile my backsplash?      Still waiting to find the right tile.
Design and create a dress from scratch in 6 hours of work?      Done and done.

I'm trying to treat my children the same way. With a quiet expectation that if you want to do something, you will. Not "You can do it if you try!" or "I'm sure you will figure it out." (Not that these are bad!) Just a calm assurance that my children will accomplish what they set out to do......because they are my mother's grandchildren!

Drug abuse

Anyone who has ever had to give their children Azithromycin will understand this blog post. If you have not....don't judge.

My lovely children are blessed with penicillin allergies (including the entire "cillin" family) so they are restricted in what antibiotics they can have. The best invention ever?...

Azithromycin.

Where amoxicillin (or Penicillin) would require a 2-year-old to take a large dose of disgusting liquid 4 times a day for 11 days, Zithro requires one tiny dose every day for 4 days. A miracle, you say?

Hold on. Where amoxicillin tastes bad but palatable, Zithro induces vomiting in everyone I have had the privilege to share it with. Not the "stomach-ache" kind of vomiting but the "touch-my-lips-and-my-whole-body-reacts-to-get-it-as-far-away-as-possible" kind. Unpleasant. And immediate.

So. Here we were. I picked up the prescription and needed to get the first (and largest) dose into him as soon as possible. What to do?

The last time we were here, he puked all over my van and clothing. We don't want to repeat this incident so I pick up some cupcakes for incentive, a smoothie to get the taste out, and head for the nearest park.

This would be a good time to note that you cannot mix this medication with anything to make it easier. Mixing this with anything short of a gallon of kool-aid only serves to destroy the host mixture and make the medicine as good as garbage cause no one can stomach that much foul tasting Kool-aid.

There in the park we tried coaxing, pleading and, me being on 4 minutes of sleep in what feels like 3 weeks, a few tears. Nothing worked. He was clamped shut. Here's where the "no judging" comes in.

There on the floor of my van, with the door wide open for the inevitable quick escape; I pinned my little boy down on the floor and tenderly place 3 ml of foul liquid into his less-than-willing mouth. He swallowed and I gave him his smoothie in time to keep most of the stuff inside. Try to picture the blood curdling screams of a child nearing death through it all.

That's when I looked over and saw a lovely woman and her two children playing maybe 50 feet away in the park. Easily within earshot of the torture I had been giving out, but completely blocked by the van. As I allowed my children to play in the park while they ate their reward cupcakes and smoothies, she continually eyed me suspiciously. I smiled and had the nerve to ask if she had a kleenex to wipe my poor child's nose. She obliged but handed it to me like she was approaching a rabid animal.

I wonder what she thought I was doing?

At this point I guess all I can do is be thankful he kept the dose down, that my kids played wonderfully in the park, and the woman didn't have a cell phone.

Here's to a full recovery in 4 days!