Here kid, catch !

Monday served to be one of those moments when mommy learned just as much as the boy did. First thing I learned was the power that one little number can make. It seems that a clerk at the electric company made a data entry error, and so according to the power company we had moved. One small numeric error can majorly impact two families. Thankfully hubby is working to straighten the mess out. Second lesson is just how much lessons in life are more caught than taught with my son. We are an unusual family in the fact that we do not do chore charts or have specific chore assignments. Instead we operate on a system of logical assignments, where the most logical person for the job does it. It works very well most times, but lately has run into snags because of increased work load on some parts. So I created a chore system with a magnetic white board where there is a magnet for each chore , and as they are done the magnet is moved to a different section. This way everyone knows what needs to be done and when they get a free moment they can pitch in and do some things on the list.We have been analyzing stories involving work the last couple of weeks in homeschool, and it has helped my son to become a bit more conscientious. Yesterday at our lunch break I casually said i was going to run the vacuum before we ate, and while I was working son decided to grab the mop and broom to tackle the sweeping and moping, and then did all the dusting. No pleading, no threats, not even any asking. He caught the idea that it was time to clean- much like he caught the habit of healthy eating and exercise from example. It happens. As a parent there are so many times when you feel like you are doing a better job of getting through to the walls, but you are indeed getting through. When the child has processed the information for themself and has decided to make it there own, they apply it in their life. Just the same as we did. Notice how slowly we have become a reflection of our own mother or father ? It is evidence of how we caught it , and so it will happen to our children. For those of us who are parents , this can serve as a great motivation in our own journey. Our children are watching us, and imitate our habits. They may never have a weight problem, but our weight struggles serve to teach them about how to carry on whe the going gets tough. They see how to pull from your own deep well when things seem to be impossible. They watch how we attempt to turn a physically unpleasant thing around to something bearable, and if we do it well they learn how to hang on to a vision and do the work until it is yours. I don't know about you , but knowing that my son is watching my example for his own weight loss journey goes further to keep me on track than any contest, reward or incentive program. If I give in, I fail him as well as myself.Nothing is worth that.

Yesterdays journey was fueled by the following
Breakfast was egg beaters with a slice of swiss and 3 strips of turkey bacon on a Thomases Better Start english muffin with a V8, Yoplus lite , apple and coffee for 370 calories

Lunch was a turkey burger on an Arnolds Multigrain, a cup of homemade vegetable soup, celery carrots tomatoes and a 100 calorie pack of smartfood with a diet soda for 425 calories. Afternoon snack was the usual pudding, almonds and apple for 290

Dinner is something I am calling Healthy Hash. You take a pound of ground turkey, mix it with garlic and onion powder and spread it thin on a cookie sheet and place in the fridge for a few. Meanwhile peel and dice a turnip, dice a potato, dice 3 carrots and spread them on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil and seasonings of your choice. Place the veggies in a 375 oven for 15 minutes and then add the tray of meat and cook for another 30 minutes. Meanwhile make a gravy ( 2 T oil , add 1/4 c flour to make a roux then add 2 cups beef stock). Place the veggies on a plate, the meat on the veggies and top with the gravy. A tossed salad on the side for 347 calories. Later in the evening while watching Dancing With the Stars I had my evening snack of a pudding, an apple and a Fiber Plus bar for 320 calories. Days total was 1752 calories.

It's a rainy morning out here, and I am hoping we will get our walk in between the drips. If not I think we will try to do one of Leslie Samsone's indoor walk tapes or something.