My toxic friend

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a love/hate relationship with sugar. I love to eat it, and I hate what it does to me physically. Not only does it add unwanted mass, it also causes me fatigue and pain. That should be reason enough to stay away from the stuff, right? Wrong. I have gone without sugar many times for short spurts (my longest was 6 weeks), but I always cave and make it a part of my life again. I have also tried making rules for myself, such as eating a treat once a week. That hasn't worked well for me, either.

When I made it to the halfway mark of my pregnancy (last week) I decided that for the health of my baby, my mental wellness, and to give my booty a fighting chance at continuing to fit into my pants the rest of my pregnancy, that it was time once again to fine tune my eating. I felt so great after just a couple of days of eating more healthy choices, and then I remembered my ongoing battle with sugar, and decided I needed to change how I think about it. I think of sugar as the enemy, and so far that mentality has failed me time and time again. As I was washing my hands yesterday I had the thought, 'you should think of sugar as your friend'. Then a light bulb went off and I had an AHA moment. My thought continued...'but not as a good friend that you can spend lots of time with, more like a toxic friend that you can only handle in small doses because they don't bring out the best in you.' So, that's my newest attempt at keeping this sugar addiction under control. I have let go of the anxiety, and will not shame myself if I eat a treat. Rather, I will enjoy its company when I choose to spend time with it, and be ready to say goodbye after a brief visit.

The Dentist

Yesterday was the day.

On the dentist menu: Cleanings for the oldest three, sealants for Sean, and a dreaded cavity filling for Olivia.

As the kids came home from school Olivia announced that she had lost a tooth during reading time. She excitedly wondered, "What if that's the tooth that needed the filling?" (yeah right, I thought). "Maybe", I responded (doubtfully), and we headed out the door.

They were placed in their respective rooms, and I spent my time traveling the office between three exam rooms and the kid area (to check on David) to make sure all children were settled. As I was in Liv's room with her I joked with the hygienist, "Liv lost a tooth today, and she's hopeful it's the very one that needed the filling." She checked the computer and started laughing. Her reply? "You know what? It is!" Liv couldn't keep from smiling. (Neither could I). I couldn't believe her good fortune. The kids all got A's for brushing, and slightly less great marks for flossing. Sean is the unlucky one this time. There was a little bit of decay in between the teeth that will need to be taken care of. Because of that the sealants were postponed until next week when the cavity can be filled. We headed to the store to stock up on all the goods that will hopefully motivate us to take excellent care of our teeth.

I heart our dentist's office. It is less like a dreadful experience and more like visiting friends every time we go.

Grown up girl bonding time

Monday we were able to attend the NieNie benefit concert (Mindy Gledhill and the Thrillionaires). AnneMarie and Eva found out about the concert, and thought it would be fun to have a girls' night! They were right! We had a blast. We ate dinner, then had plenty of time to browse at the silent auction before the concert started. We bid on a few things, and came home with one (Olivia still suspects foul play on the part of the grandma who snatched the pink daisy necklace at the last minute--both of the girls said the auction ended with our bid, but when we went to claim it, it was gone. I sure hope her granddaughter loves it!). Anyway, there was no way that could have dampened our spirits! The concert was so much fun! The Thrillionaires were hilarious (and I found an old college friend on the stage with them!!!), Mindy Gledhill was amazing, and there were some great surprise visitors--Ryan Shupe and David Osmond (not together). We laughed, we cried, we danced, we sang, we went home happy. Thanks for the fun!

The grown up girls

and their moms

all of us in the lobby checking out the goods from the silent auction

The girls with Mindy Gledhill

The rules of the game

I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of a made up game. I still don't quite understand the object of the game, but it involved throwing a ball at each other and giving points. Here's just a sampling of the dialouge:

Warren: (Throws the ball at Sean) Yes! Two points for me.

Sean: Nuh-uh. It doesn't count. You hit my pants. (Proceeds to throw the ball at Warren) Yes! Two points for me.

Warren: Nuh-uh. You hit my pants.

Sean: That doesn't count. They're not even real pants. They're pajama pants.

Oh. I see how it works.