Sunday, April 22, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Taking social action...2nd grade style
It was one of those moments this afternoon when I wish I could have had a 24 hour camera on my children to capture some of the conversations they have that give glimpses into who they are developing into as little people of society.
Over the past week or so Kinsey, my 2nd grader, has been telling me that she doesn't like all the trash that is on the playground. For several days she said that her and some friends have been spending their time during recess picking up all of said trash. They have asked their teacher for trash bags and have been working to clean up the playground.
Today, she got in the car after school and was very annoyed. She started talking a mile a minute about how today they picked up more trash than any other day this week. She expressed how disappointed she was that no matter how much they pick up, others keep throwing trash on the ground. I could tell that she was really upset when she began telling me about a bird's nest in the trees. Kinsey explained that birds have built a nest in one of the trees on the playground. She continued that today when they went out, they didn't find any birds, but rather trash that had been put in the nest. This seemed to be the last straw for her.
I listened as my 7 year old told me about a plan that she had to fix this issue that is affecting our playground...and apparently her happiness. She outlined a letter that she wants to write to our principal explaining the increase of trash on the playground. She wants to request that the school place trash cans on the playground so that people have a place to throw their trash instead of on the ground. She said, "I feel like people would be more responsible if we actually gave them a place to put the trash." Kinsey then explained that she would give the principal two different options of who could be responsible for bringing the trash cans inside (because if it rains, they will just fill up with water she told me).
And she doesn't want to stop there. She explained that she is not the only one in her class that is fed up with the trash on the playground and feels she has enough people in her class that would all write letters too to support her cause. She wants to spend this weekend writing her letter to show her classmates so they can write one too. Kinsey also wants to make and hang posters for people to see on the way out to the playground to remind them not to litter. She asked if she could talk to our gym teacher about hanging the posters in the gym by the doors that lead out to the playground.
As a parent, I am so thrilled with the person she is becoming. The fact that she has such passion about these issues and is willing to make a plan to take a stand against them is more than I could ever ask for in my children. As Kaitlyn, my kindergartner, was listening to her speak about this issue, she wanted to jump on board right away. Kaitlyn told her, "I don't think I write a whole letter yet, but I can draw pictures about why littering is bad. We could hang those. Right, Kinsey?" I thought that was such a perfect response for a 5 year old!
I will post a copy of her letter when she gets it finished and the progress of her issue in our school.
Over the past week or so Kinsey, my 2nd grader, has been telling me that she doesn't like all the trash that is on the playground. For several days she said that her and some friends have been spending their time during recess picking up all of said trash. They have asked their teacher for trash bags and have been working to clean up the playground.
Today, she got in the car after school and was very annoyed. She started talking a mile a minute about how today they picked up more trash than any other day this week. She expressed how disappointed she was that no matter how much they pick up, others keep throwing trash on the ground. I could tell that she was really upset when she began telling me about a bird's nest in the trees. Kinsey explained that birds have built a nest in one of the trees on the playground. She continued that today when they went out, they didn't find any birds, but rather trash that had been put in the nest. This seemed to be the last straw for her.
I listened as my 7 year old told me about a plan that she had to fix this issue that is affecting our playground...and apparently her happiness. She outlined a letter that she wants to write to our principal explaining the increase of trash on the playground. She wants to request that the school place trash cans on the playground so that people have a place to throw their trash instead of on the ground. She said, "I feel like people would be more responsible if we actually gave them a place to put the trash." Kinsey then explained that she would give the principal two different options of who could be responsible for bringing the trash cans inside (because if it rains, they will just fill up with water she told me).
And she doesn't want to stop there. She explained that she is not the only one in her class that is fed up with the trash on the playground and feels she has enough people in her class that would all write letters too to support her cause. She wants to spend this weekend writing her letter to show her classmates so they can write one too. Kinsey also wants to make and hang posters for people to see on the way out to the playground to remind them not to litter. She asked if she could talk to our gym teacher about hanging the posters in the gym by the doors that lead out to the playground.
As a parent, I am so thrilled with the person she is becoming. The fact that she has such passion about these issues and is willing to make a plan to take a stand against them is more than I could ever ask for in my children. As Kaitlyn, my kindergartner, was listening to her speak about this issue, she wanted to jump on board right away. Kaitlyn told her, "I don't think I write a whole letter yet, but I can draw pictures about why littering is bad. We could hang those. Right, Kinsey?" I thought that was such a perfect response for a 5 year old!
I will post a copy of her letter when she gets it finished and the progress of her issue in our school.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Weighing in
It is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of our two week spring break. The time off has been so nice and much needed. Although we didn't go anywhere this spring break, we did have a great time. It is so great to spend the entire two weeks at home with my girls.
Weighing in on softball...
Last Saturday, the girls started in a local softball league. Since the girls are so close in age, we were able to sign them up to be on the same team. This was awesome because practice/games are twice a week and saves me from having four different practice/game schedules. Kinsey, of course, was super excited to play. She did very well at both fielding and batting. Kaitlyn, on the other hand, took some convincing to want to play. How, you may ask, did we convince her to play? Well, we told her that softball players wear pony tails or braids every game. After that, she was sold and couldn't wait to get out there. Practice #1 she wore pony tails. Practice #2 she wore two french braids. She also did very well in fielding and batting. The only problem was that the helmet they gave her to wear was way too big and she couldn't see any of the pitches! Somehow, she did get a few hits.
Weighing in on our progress...
Jason and I have been going strong on our lifestyle change. Yes, lifestyle change. We are changing our ways for good. I've been asked often when we plan to stop counting points and watching what we eat. I have mixed emotions about that question. Our eating and exercise habits before we began were awful, actually I didn't even have any exercise habits. I struggled with a mix of different health problems and overall, just felt like crap. I'm not sure why I would ever want to go back to that lifestyle. If that means that I count points, continue to make healthy food choices, question how things are prepared whether out to eat or at friends and family, special order items at restaurants, exercise daily, and look out for the best interest of myself...then that's what I'll do if it keeps me from going back to where I was six months ago. I'm not doing this to be able to wear a bikini, or just so I can go on vacation and look good in a bathing suit. I'm doing this because I want to be healthy for my family and so I feel good about myself. Those two things are what keep me going each and everyday.
So...a little update on my progress. Since we started WW in October, I've lost a total of 74 lbs. Since my highest weight this past summer, I've lost 77 lbs. SEVENTY-SEVENTY POUNDS! I've been able to go down 8 pant sizes...which is ridiculous to even think about. I've decreased two cup sizes in my brazier. I've gone from walking a slow pace for 30 min.(about 1.5 miles) to a jog/run for 60 min.(about 4.7 miles). I've gone from taking three different meds for blood pressure to now taking no meds at all. I had elevated thyroid levels and now they are perfectly normal. My doctor was starting to see signs of insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition, to now no issues or concerns at all with my blood sugar or insulin.
This is a lifestyle change folks. Not a diet for some determined amount of time just to stop and go back to all of that.
I debated whether or not to post some "then and now" pictures because they absolutely disgust me. However, if it gives others motivation to lose weight, I'm down for the cause.
Weighing in on softball...
Last Saturday, the girls started in a local softball league. Since the girls are so close in age, we were able to sign them up to be on the same team. This was awesome because practice/games are twice a week and saves me from having four different practice/game schedules. Kinsey, of course, was super excited to play. She did very well at both fielding and batting. Kaitlyn, on the other hand, took some convincing to want to play. How, you may ask, did we convince her to play? Well, we told her that softball players wear pony tails or braids every game. After that, she was sold and couldn't wait to get out there. Practice #1 she wore pony tails. Practice #2 she wore two french braids. She also did very well in fielding and batting. The only problem was that the helmet they gave her to wear was way too big and she couldn't see any of the pitches! Somehow, she did get a few hits.
Weighing in on our progress...
Jason and I have been going strong on our lifestyle change. Yes, lifestyle change. We are changing our ways for good. I've been asked often when we plan to stop counting points and watching what we eat. I have mixed emotions about that question. Our eating and exercise habits before we began were awful, actually I didn't even have any exercise habits. I struggled with a mix of different health problems and overall, just felt like crap. I'm not sure why I would ever want to go back to that lifestyle. If that means that I count points, continue to make healthy food choices, question how things are prepared whether out to eat or at friends and family, special order items at restaurants, exercise daily, and look out for the best interest of myself...then that's what I'll do if it keeps me from going back to where I was six months ago. I'm not doing this to be able to wear a bikini, or just so I can go on vacation and look good in a bathing suit. I'm doing this because I want to be healthy for my family and so I feel good about myself. Those two things are what keep me going each and everyday.
So...a little update on my progress. Since we started WW in October, I've lost a total of 74 lbs. Since my highest weight this past summer, I've lost 77 lbs. SEVENTY-SEVENTY POUNDS! I've been able to go down 8 pant sizes...which is ridiculous to even think about. I've decreased two cup sizes in my brazier. I've gone from walking a slow pace for 30 min.(about 1.5 miles) to a jog/run for 60 min.(about 4.7 miles). I've gone from taking three different meds for blood pressure to now taking no meds at all. I had elevated thyroid levels and now they are perfectly normal. My doctor was starting to see signs of insulin resistance, a pre-diabetic condition, to now no issues or concerns at all with my blood sugar or insulin.
This is a lifestyle change folks. Not a diet for some determined amount of time just to stop and go back to all of that.
I debated whether or not to post some "then and now" pictures because they absolutely disgust me. However, if it gives others motivation to lose weight, I'm down for the cause.
.JPG) |
| THEN |
 |
| NOW |
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