What is this? It is the sign of a progress towards a healthier life. This month I"m focusing on moving my body more. I've posted this calendar to mark off days I make a special effort to do some kind of movement. So far I've done 5 out of the first 10 days in July. It's progress. 


What kind of healthy strides are you taking in your lives? PIck one thing to focus on this month! Share it in the comments below! 

So we are two weeks into the New Year! How is everyone doing? 

I wanted to update on my 5 Things I"ll do Today goals.

In the interest of being real (am I ever anything else? LOL). I haven't succeeded everyday.But that doesn't matter. What matters is even after not being successful everyday, I've kept trying! That is huge for me! 

Post in the comments or send me an e-mail and let me know how your year is going!

How has everyone's first week of the New Year been? Did anyone else choose five things to do each day? 

I have done my five things everyday, go me! The weekend will be a little more challenging because I will be out of town teaching. So I'm thinking now on how that's going to work.

I am amazed at how accomplished I feel just doing those five things each day. The extra movement is helping me to have a little more energy and not feel as anxious.  

Remember that everyday is new! Just because you haven't started yet doesn't mean you can't start now. Each day that God blesses us with is a day we can be successful. 

I cannot believe it's been almost 6 months since I posted! 

Time for some truth. 

It should come as no big surprise to anyone that the events of this past year have taken a huge toll on me as well as Tom. Depression is a funny thing. Not funny haha, but funny strange. You know logically what you need to do to help (eat healthy, exercise, etc), but your depression makes it hard, if not impossible to make yourself do it. The holidays are always a struggle for me anyway and this year it's been even harder. I've been too overwhelmed and depressed to do much of anything and well, quite frankly, I'm sick of it. So it's a new year and I needed to pull myself together, but I need to do it in baby steps. 

So yesterday I came up with "Five things I"ll do today". I'll make a list each day of the five things I will do that day-no matter what! Now, it doesn't mean I won't do other things. But these five things will be small steps towards a healthier life and a step out of depression.

One of those things will be that I will do a devotional every single day and spend time with God every single day. I have prayed a lot over the last year, but the truth is I haven't spent a lot of time WITH God. 

The second daily thing I will do is some kind of planned movement. Remember I'm starting small so I will see success so for today, that thing is to walk the dog up and down the street. The other part of this is that I have a new fitness tracker and I am setting a goal to have 5000 steps a day this week. That isn't much, but it's more than I have been doing. Remember, small steps. 

The third daily thing will be something to do with taxes and paperwork. With all the things going on in our life last spring (Tom being sick, Tom being diagnosed with cancer, starting treatments, etc), I didn't get our taxes done until October. And we owed 1000's. So now we are making monthly payments on that and part of that agreement is that we will file and pay our taxes on time this year. So I have to stay on top of it. 

The other two things will be something around the house or in my training business that I need to work on. I'll still have my daily to-do list that I make and will hopefully get lots more done each day. BUT my baby step for year is to do make sure these five things are done daily. Hopefully this will lead to bigger and stronger steps towards a healthier and happier me. 

I'm going to go start setting goals for myself each week to lead to a healthier lifestyle. I firmly believe that small steps are best, so these are my goals for this week:

The grandkids are coming to visit for a couple of days so I know I won't be getting a workout in early mornings those days, so this is my plan:

Monday: 1 mile walk video
Tuesday: walk in the evening with the grandkids, the dog, and hopefully Tom :)
Wednesday: the kids and I will all be walking to the library that morning. 
Thursday: 1 mile walk video
Friday: Yoga video
Saturday: early morning walk

What are your plans for a healthier lifestyle this week? 

I know I haven't been around for a while and I'm sorry. 

March 7th, 2017 rocked our world. Tom had been having trouble eating for several months. I was sure it was his gall bladder and we were both hoping that's what it was, since that is a fairly easy fix. In January, our Dr. did a CT scan and told Tom he needed to go to a gastroenterologist for a scope. It was probably just scar tissue from reflux, but it might be a tumor.  It took a few weeks to get into the Dr, but he finally had the scope on March 7th. He had it at the surgery center in Enid. If you've ever been in there, then you know that it doesn't usually have private rooms for recovery, it has a large room with curtained off areas and very little privacy. When they called me back, they escorted me into a private room with a door. I thought "OH CRAP" and knew instantly that the news was not going to be good. 

They brought Tom in and the Dr. came in to talk to us. He told us there was a tumor in Tom's esophagus and that he had taken a piece to biopsy and would be referring us to an oncologist. He made an appointment for that Thursday to get the biopsy results and told us to think about where we wanted to be referred. Thursday, March 10th, we got the news that it was cancerous. The next week, Tom had a PET scan and his first oncology appointment, where we learned that the cancer had spread.  Since then it's been a whirlwind of treatments and another scan (with much better news) and dealing with the side effects of the chemo. 

I have learned that Tom is braver and stronger than I could have ever imagined. I have learned that I love him more than I even thought I did. 

During this time, I have completely let my healthy eating habits fall by the wayside. Now I want to work on getting back on track and moving again. We would appreciate your prayers for Tom's continued healing, for us as we deal with the financial aspect of cancer treatment, and for me to get my healthy lifestyle back. I know it would help me deal with the stress if I was eating healthy and moving more. 

​Life is made up of moments: The moment you are born, the moment you hold your first child, the moment you meet the person you are going to spend the rest of your life, the big and small moments in life.
December 1986 was full of typical moments for me. I was a sophomore in college so I had finals to study for, we decorated our apartment for Christmas, we packed to go to San Antonio to visit my ex’s parents for the holidays, and we went to Granite for Christmas with my family. I didn’t know at the time that those were the last moments I’d have with my brother. The next time I would see him would be in the funeral home.
I think about all the missed moments now. The birthdays, the anniversaries, the holidays. I try to imagine what Bill would be like as a middle aged man. I wonder what our relationship would have been like as adults. But most of all, I regret those missed moments, those lost opportunities.
Let go of grudges, tell others you love them, live each moment as if it were your last. Because you never know when it could be over.
This post would not be complete without mentioning one last thing. The holidays are a tempting time to go out and party and “celebrate”. I’m not going to ask you not to do that. I am going to ask you to not get behind the wheel of a vehicle if you do. The smartest thing to do is to make a plan before you ever leave your house. Have a designated driver. Plan to spend the night where ever you are going. Stay home to celebrate. BUT if you find yourself in the middle of the night having drank too much (and even one drink is too much!!!!), then I am begging you: call someone! Will they be happy with you? Probably not. But they will get over it. They will not get over losing you.
 

Some other bloggers and I got together and listed our favorite children's books. Check out the links below and share in the comments your favorite children's books. 

Top 10 Board Book for Kids: http://www.houseoffaucis.com/top-10-board-books-for-kids/ 
​
Every Toddler Needs These 10 Board Books: http://stayathomeeducator.com/every-toddler-needs-these-10-board-books

Top 10 Must Have Books for Kids: http://littlesproutslearning.co/top-10-must-have-books/

​The 10 Books that Every Preschooler Should Have: http://playtolearnpreschool.us/10-books-every-preschooler-should-have


Title:  10 Favorite Books for Toddlers and Kids:
http://www.momisforever.com/2016/02/10-favorite-books-for-toddlers-and-kids.html

Daycare Must Haves: 15 Fun & Engaging Stories for Kids
http://whereimaginationgrows.com/daycare-books-stories-for-kids/ ‎

Top 10 favorite children’s books!

1. When I’m feeling series by Trace Moroney. These include “When I’m feeling Angry, When I’m feeling Sad, When I’m feeling Happy, and When I’m feeling Scared. These books put words to very strong emotions for children and they are very easy to read. They give the children strategies to deal with their emotions and are great for a feelings center in your child care program or home
2. Are You my Mother? By P.D. Eastman. I love reading this book with my children and doing silly voices as I read the book.
3. Love you Forever by Robert Munsch This book is a must-read for all moms, especially if you have kids that have “left the nest”. It puts a silly heartfelt spin on how moms feel when their babies are growing up. And if you haven’t read the story behind why Mr. Munsch wrote it, then check that out as well.
4. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. In The Dot, Mr. Reynolds tells the story of a little girl who discovered that she was an artist all along.
5. The Shubert and Sophie series by Dr. Becky A. Bailey. These books are by Dr. Becky A. Bailey, creator of Conscious Discipline and an expert on helping caregivers learn to help young children manage their emotions. The Shubert books are longer and more detailed and the Sophie books are short board books, excellent for reading to the younger children.
6. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (or any book by Eric Carle!)
7. My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
8. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss
9. Colors of Us by Karen Katz
10. Teeth are not for Biting by Elizabeth Verdick

Some other bloggers and I got together and listed our favorite children's books. Check out the links below and share in the comments your favorite children's books. 

Top 10 Board Book for Kids: http://www.houseoffaucis.com/top-10-board-books-for-kids/ 
​
Every Toddler Needs These 10 Board Books: http://stayathomeeducator.com/every-toddler-needs-these-10-board-books

Top 10 Must Have Books for Kids: http://littlesproutslearning.co/top-10-must-have-books/

​The 10 Books that Every Preschooler Should Have: http://playtolearnpreschool.us/10-books-every-preschooler-should-have


Title:  10 Favorite Books for Toddlers and Kids:
http://www.momisforever.com/2016/02/10-favorite-books-for-toddlers-and-kids.html

Daycare Must Haves: 15 Fun & Engaging Stories for Kids
http://whereimaginationgrows.com/daycare-books-stories-for-kids/ ‎

​Did you know that Oklahoma has some of the most stringent child care laws in the United States? Many people are unaware that Oklahoma law requires that anyone who watches even one unrelated child in their home on a regular basis be licensed by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
Why is this important? It is for the safety and well-being of our children. New family child care providers and everyone in their home 18 years of age and over must have an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation criminal background check, including a check for violent and sex crimes along with having a fingerprint background check. They must not be listed on the Child Abuse Registry or the Oklahoma Child Care Restricted Registry which is a list of people barred from working in child care in Oklahoma. Then before they can accept their first child, they must have training on health and safety issues such as the best way to lay a baby down to sleep, immunizations, and behavior and guidance plus other issues and they must be CPR and First Aid certified. If you want to read all of the requirements for Oklahoma family child care homes, go here.
If you are interested in getting a licensing to do family child care in Oklahoma, please contact your local Department of Human Services licensing office to find out more information. You can also get in touch with me and I will be happy to help you find the information you need to know.