The Nine

so, over the course of the last several months i have been making a few changes that will lead to a healthier lifestyle. we have always been a healthy family, but i generally felt like i was always running on empty. i know that personalities are different, but i would look at my friends are are extremely "high energy" and long to be more like them. i longed to have the energy to run around in the backyard playing football or watergun fight or tag. i longed to have the energy to tackle the cleaning of the house all in one day to have that "job completed" satisfaction. i longed to want to go for walks to the park or even the desire to go on outings with the kids. the fact was that i had...somewhere along the line...adopted a introverted/home body personality. at least i thought that was the situatioin. it finally dawned on me that that wasn't it at all. i still wanted to be the energetic/fun loving me that i had always been before and that there was something preventing it. i don't know how it took me so long to realize that i was......TIRED.

THAT'S IT!!!! i'm tired. i have no energy. i never really feel good. for someone who had perfect attendance in high school and could have had the same in college if i had wanted to... :) ...i was sure complaining of not feeling good a lot. i realized i always had a dull headache, or a queesy stomach, or felt like i could not go on any longer without a catnap. i started to think there was something seriously wrong with me. so...after doing a little research (and by little...i mean very little) i decided to make these changes:

1. my bed time was moving up from 11:30 or sometimes midnight to 9:00 sharp.
(i had to move it up in 30 minute intervals to get used to it...it only took 3 nights and i immediately noticed a huge difference) kids would go to bed at 7 sharp.

2. i would not drink any alcohol anymore. we don't drink a lot, but would have a beer or hard cider after we would put the kids down sometimes. i found that i would instantly relax and loved winding down the day with chad over a drink and tv. however...i didn't think it was really helping me to live my best life. now, i only have a glass of red wine every now and then because i truly believe in the combination of the reservatrol and alcohol in protecting against heart disease and dementia (which ended up taking my grandmother's life.) they say to have a small glass a day, but i just don't like it that much.

3. i also started eating a spinach salad for lunch about 3-4 times a week. i would get organic spinach, celery, avacados, raw almonds, tomatos, and the dressing of my choice and make a salad when i made the kid's lunch. they would have 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day.

4. i would drink more water.

5. i would cut our sugar. i would cut the kids sugar.

6. we already switched to mostly organic...so i stuck with that. took chase off dairy for his eczema.

7. i need to excercise. i know this. so i still need to put this one in place.

8. i take my juice plus, air born, vitamin b complex, and fish oil daily. kids take juice plus daily.

9. i started a precepts bible study with my mom and that was making a big difference spiritually. started reading the Jesus storybook bible with the kids daily.

so those are the nine. here is how it has gone:

1. november-the entire family had a terrible respiratory virus (not chad) that lasted 6 weeks. literally. it was a bad chesty cough and congestion. 6 weeks i tell you.

2. mid december-a stomach virus hit all 3 kids.

3. a week and a half before christmas-aiden got a double ear infection as a result of the respiratory virus. the doctor said to watch out for pneumonia.

4. a week before christmas and the day of colton's class christmas party that i was in charge of and chad's family arrived from iowa-chase rushed to the er. pneumonia.

5. end of january-para-influenza (whatever that is) hit colton and aiden and then i got it a few days later as chad left for cuba. fever and severe body aches. it was lovely. chase never caught it.

6. feburary-colton has wet chesty cough again.

7. a week ago-i begin to feel a sore throat. only on the left side. tell myself it is not really there and only a figment of my imagination. possibly sympathy pains for colton and his cough.

8. a few days after that-the gland in the left side of my neck swells and gets extremely tender to the touch. can see it from the outside. still ignoring it. feeling like death warmed over at this point.

9. 3.5 nighs ago-aiden throws up in her bed.

10. friday-i wake up and realize that something is definitly wrong. go to the doctor and they look in my throat. say there are puss pockets (nice) all over that tonsil and want to test for mono. great. fantastic. ends up being strep and put me on steroids and a z pack.

11. last night-aiden says her neck hurts while pointing at her throat.

i'm thinking that my idea is not quite going according to plan. what about you?