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Encourage your favorite high school students to attend this summer's Holy Cross College Youth Conference. Main speaker is Fr. Larry Richards, a popular priest who gives riveting talks and sparks laughter among young people. For more information, click HERE.
I was reading Prevention Magazine (what I'm supposed to be preventing is still not clear--aging? disease? fat cells on my tummy? Well, it's a little too late for most of that.)Anyway, I was reading the magazine and came across an article entitled "A Flatter Belly for Good: 3 Customized Food and Exercise Plans to Lose inches and Zap Flab". Needless to say, after bearing nine children and experiencing a recent move as well as a very sedentary winter I was ready to devour the advice.
So I started by taking the "Tummy Type" test.
Type 1: Over 40. Used to gain fat in the hips and thighs but not it goes right to your abdomen. Caused by fluctuating estrogen and a declining metabolic rate. The remedy? Maximize calorie burn, reduce calorie intake.
Yup. Definitely me. I didn't like the solution but I can live with it. Ah, but what's this?
Type 2: You've had blood glucose issues (ahem, it's me here--who hasn't had blood glucose issues with lots of pregnancies?). Your wasteline (oops, I promise that was an inadvertent typo) waistline is becoming more prominent than your hips. The cause is out-of-whack insulin levels. The solution is to balance your blood sugar.
Hmmm. The last three pregnancies I had to return to the doctor because my glucose tolerance test failed me.(Nope, not taking responsibility for that. It was during Lent that my sugar levels were high, for Pete's sake...) And I do tend to crave sugar....
Okay, so maybe I am Type 2......But then I read the last tummy type:
Type 3: Feel anxious once a day. (Me again: Are they kidding? Who wouldn't feel anxious after a toddler strips down to her diaper in the car (yes, buckled in the car seat securely) while we are driving in sub zero temperatures or after hearing loud shattering sounds on the kitchen tile floor and hear "Oops. I think that was Grandmas."? This stuff definitely happens more than once a day, but I'll continue.....)
Have a never-ending to-do list that leaves you feeling overwhelmed.
(This is getting to be too much....husband out of town, 11 people's laundry sitting in hampers, 5 student's homeschool papers to grade, 2 kids to "encourage" to practice piano for competition, 3 college essays to read for second oldest son, dinner to cook (do they really have to eat 3 times a day?!), driving to 3 sports commitments, 3 times a week and dealing with contractors who want to know where I want lightswitches and can I come downstairs right now to determine where the heating register should go? )
"Have a never ending to-do list that leaves you feeling overwhelmed"? Uh yeah. Welcome to motherhood. What's new there?
Can't find time for yourself.
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Excuse me, just for a second.....
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Can't find time for yourself.
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Ok, I think I can go on now.....By the way, if you're a mother and CAN find time for yourself, I want to interview you for my next article in Today's Catholic....
As I was saying, (serious face put on...straightening shirt and sitting up straight)... "Can't find time for yourself." ....
I'm doing fine, thank you. I've had my once-a-week shower. I certainly do have time to read the back of the CoCoPuffs cereal box as I organize my cupboard. 'Time for yourself'. Sure. I brushed my hair this morning.
Notice an abdominal weight gain during major life events-a new job or house, recent illness, a child leaving home.
You mean that lump on my belly is not supposed to be there? I just thought I was pregnant again. (and no, I'm not)
The cause of Type 3 tummy troubles: stress hormones like cortisol in overdrive.The solution is: learn how to relax.
Yeah right. WHERE? At the kitchen counter cooking dinner? Soak my toes by my desk as I grade math problems? Do some deep breathing while doing the 4th potty run with the toddler for the day? Meditate while making history posters with the kids? (I can just see it now...."Mom! Mom! I've been calling your name for five minutes and you're just staring at the pear in the center of the table.....")
So what's a gal to do? I have every 'tummy type' and no hope for a cure......
WELL, I think I might maximize my exposure to other mothers in my situation. Balance my blood sugar with a little sweet creamer in my coffee, and learn to ignore unrealistic recommendations from someone who probably has a membership at a spa and household help. Maybe THEN I can relax.
Is this ridiculous, or what? I checked it out on Snopes.com to see if perhaps it's just a rumor.Nothing comes up. I dropped a note to the pork board so we will see.....If you would like to inquire yourself, here is the website for the National Pork Board. Contact info in the upper right hand corner...
Now, I will tell you that I nurse my children. I'm very pro-breastfeeding. I doubt very highly that you could convince me to wear one of those tee-shirts because they are so "out there" and a little "in your face". BUT, I don't see anything wrong with wearing one. (if that's your activist schtick, fine with me...) And I certainly don't think breastfeeding is a threat to the pork industry or that breast milk could ever be confused with pork. Even 1 hour old babies know the difference.
The offending 'Lactivist' website and some tee shirts (the offensive ones saying "The other white milk" were removed) can be found here: http://www.thelactivist.com/
Hmmm. Let's see:
Child eating pork
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Child nursing
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Confusing? I didn't think so.
We all know we are each an original, a one- of- a- kind, an unique human being. BUT, have you ever wondered how many people in the U.S. share your name? I don't know how accurate this is, but it's fun to look. There are more than a thousand people with my married name, but only one (presumably me) with my maiden name. Should have stayed single? Nah. It's fun to blend in too. Plus, to be single means not to be married to my favorite guy. It's worth the unoriginality.
And so, Lent begins....
I
Fast and abstain rules here.
Thank you, Lisa from Catholic Mom Community for this drawing. You have a penchant for finding the greatest available stuff on the 'net!
God bless us all as we embark on these 40 days...
Lent
A novena uttered faithfully...
Sacrifices secretly sent to the Savior...
Devotions done daily...
No ice cream tonight. The sweetness of the almgiving will be discovered again.
Focus. Listen. He is there. Here. Everywhere.
In the need of that chubby little face that beckons my attention.
In my husband's whisper.
In my neighbor's sorrow.
In a stranger's glance.
I prepare. I hope. I bring the little ones unto Him...
"See the cross?" "Bend your knee". "Shh. Yes, you may blow a kiss..." "There, there, don't nudge your brother...."
Outside, slowly I witness change. Layers of cold winter melted to reveal
Buttery jonquils peeking their heads through the muddy earth...rebirth...renewal...fresh again...
Harbingers of Spring flitting about the bushes, like little kisses from Him...
I am hopeful, watchful, waiting...
Inside too I hope, do I see a glimmer of change? Layers of ice melted too to reveal
Graces and gifts as yet unknown.
Form me. Mold me. Make me unto You a mirror of your
Love
Glory to You for Easter
Once again.
Are you tired of waiting for spring? Do you have the winter doldrums? This is the PERFECT time to get things done! I am strange, I admit. I actually like this time of year which seems to drag on and on for so many. It just seems like such a good opportunity to get a head start on some planning. The following is a list of ideas if you care to join me. Grab a cup of tea, your imagination and let's go:
1. Design your summer garden. Look through catalogues. Order bulbs and seeds.
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2. Plan your Lenten activities...Ash Wednesday is sneaking up. What devotions are you going to do as a family? What prayers will you say? Will you be making a personal sacrifice? Here are some great ideas from Catholicmom.com. Catholic Culture also has some suggestions here.
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3. Do you have a graduate this year? Now's not too early to start thinking about the party. This might get you started. What food will you serve? Do you have a present to make or buy? If you don't have a dress but know how to sew, start looking for patterns and some pretty material. If you don't sew, sneak a peek into those spring clothes catalogues. Do you need to shed a couple pounds before you don short sleeves? Then see #9 too.
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4. Clean out your cupboards. Get rid of mismatched or broken plates or cups. The baby sippy that melted in the dishwasher will do more good in your recycling bin than your toddler's hands. Pitch it and reclaim order on your shelves!
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5. If you home school, start browsing catalogues and plan next year's curriculum. Here is a good place to start.
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6. Clean out your closets. Don't forget the old recommendation of dividing things into three boxes: Give Away, Throw Away, and Fix. Anything that doesn't fit into those boxes has a place in your house where it belongs. Put it there! If you simply can't part with something, but know it belongs in one of the other three boxes put it in an unmarked fourth box in the garage. In 3 months (no peeking) dispose of.
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7. Help your kids clean out their closets. Share your three-box secret with them.
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8. Start a novena. If you don't have an intention in mind, tell your husband it is for HIM. And tell him he doesn't even have to tell you what his intention is. (Then when you sneak off after dinner and before the kitchen is clean 'to pray', he can't stop you--just kidding)
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9. Exercise. Shovel snow. Sled. Borrow an aerobics tape from the library. Jump rope...You will be less likely to feel like hibernating if your blood is not frozen.
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10. Read someone else's blog or start your own. You can't be bored if you are pontificating just a bit. . . . . .
Happy Valentine's Day to all who love, have been loved or are the fruit of love!!! (pretty much all of us)
In honor of St. Valentine's Day I've gathered a mish-mash collection of a few items of interest which keep in the spirit of the theme of today....
The story of St. Valentine here and here.
Activities you can do with your kids here.
This site and this one are geared for school teachers, but the activities can be adapted for your children at home.
This article shares 7 powerful ways to show love to your children.
Catholic Exchange published my article True Love and Pearl earlier this week. Peek in for a different kind of Valentine's Day story...
This story is interesting Valentine's Day fare as well. "Mary's Advocates" is a non-profit group seeking the reform of "no-fault" divorce.
And finally, Mary Carty tells us it's not too late to avoid a love blunder and have a special Valentine's Day in this article.
God bless you and all those you love!!!
