Listen to them- even when they're not talking

My little angel showing off her pigtails

My daughter is 21 months old and is JUST starting to talk. Let me rephrase that- She is JUST starting to be understood when she talks :) She has recently figured out that she can reach for my hand and lead me to whatever it is that she wants. When she wants something to drink, she drags me into the kitchen. When she wants something out of her crib, she guides me to her bedroom.

There are days when she wants to drag me places and I am simply at my wits end and don't go. Other times I just pick her up and guess what she wants. Yesterday I told her that I had to go to the bathroom (we were reading books and I didn't want her to think that I was just leaving her there). She stood up with me and reached for my hand. I followed her and she brought me to the bathroom.

There was something wonderfully calm and almost spiritual that I noticed as I held her hand. This sweet little girl wanted to tell me something and she knew I would understand. She didn't yell or make a fuss, simply took me by the hand and guided me. This made me think about the Holy Ghost and how often I feel prompted to do something. Sometimes I let the spirit guide me and other times I'm not 'in the mood' to be dragged around.

When I listen and let the spirit guide me, I am always blessed. Always.

Yesterday my little girl went potty in the toilet. If I wouldn't have been 'in the mood' to be dragged around the house, I would have missed this wonderful opportunity. I am a busy mom with many responsibilities. This was a beautiful reminder that I will always be busy and I need to stop and make a choice to LISTEN and BE THERE for my children.

322 days into my 90 day challenge

So I completely forgot I had a blog...
Yeah, I tend to start things and not finish them- it's kind of my M.O.  - well WAS my M.O. ;)

In order to really understand how far I've come, I first must paint the picture of where I started. I clearly remember when I was writing my first entry I was eating Doritos and drinking a Mt Dew that I had stolen from my husbands stash. I was sitting on my bum and dreaming of a better life. As I type I'm chewing a fresh blackberry and in between bursts of sweetness I'm sipping a raspberry Neuro. Don't get me wrong- if a Dorito slapped me in the face I just might have to eat it, but I'm not fishing through the cupboards on a daily basis hunting them down either.

my snacky snack

When I started I was wearing 16/18 jeans - depending on the brand. I was trying to get to the gym a few days a week. (I started at the gym in mid Jan. Before that, I would let the kids wake me up. If they slept till 9, so did I). On days I didn't go to the gym, I still would let my kids wake me. For those of you that do this- I UNDERSTAND. I really do. I will talk more about that in another post perhaps... even though I was sleeping in I almost always took a nap as well. Emme was 10 months old when I started my first 90 Day Challenge and had been sleeping through the night for a while. Did I need a nap? No. Did I really want a nap? YES! :)

Now I wake up 5 days a week and workout before my husband goes to work. He has to leave at 7, so I'm up anytime between 430-545. I've learned that 515 is about the perfect time for me to get my workout in, shower and be ready for my day before he leaves. Do I nap? Yeah sometimes I do. It is amazing! :) The big difference with my napping now is that before I would get too much sleep at night, be groggy all day and eat junk that wasn't nutritious. Now I get about 7 hours of sleep, workout for an hour every day and fill my body with good food that doesn't make me tired. When I chose to nap it's not because I'm bored, depressed or lazy- it's because I've earned it ;)

I'm currently doing P90X - a workout program that I had only dreamed of doing... 6 days a week for at least an hour. My husband is doing it with me. It's a cool feeling to get healthy with the one you love. Both my children know how to lift weights and my son loves exercising with me. I have the opportunity for my children to only know a mom who is healthy, fit and active.

I don't want my children to see me 'diet'. I want them to see me LIVE!

I'm sure there are time when people find me annoying... All my facebook posts about Body by Vi, or my workout... I've thought about it though- and I don't care. I know how I use to be and I have no intention of ever going back. My new goal/mission is to take as many people out of that world as possible. Being tired all time, craving junk food, nothing in your closet fits so you get sad and you eat junk food and take a nap... Pretty sure the delivery guy for the Chinese place in Iowa City knew my name.

I'm not sure if this will help anyone- but it helped me. Helped me see how far I've come and helped me realize that I do want to add a few more posts to this blog :)