April, Parenting, & Choices

April snuck up on me pretty fast this year. The first three months of 2011 are already gone and in the past. I am positive that time did not go by this fast when I was a kid. Once Christmas was over, April couldn't get here fast enough. Why you ask? Well, my birthday is in April. It's the very last day in April, it might as well have been in May. But in my childhood, birthdays were just as important as Christmas. My parent's didn't always have a lot of money but my mom made sure our birthday's were special! We always got to invite all of our friends and play games and have cake and ice cream and of course, presents. My mom made memories for us. I can't thank her enough for that.

This year I'll be 28. It seems so surreal sometimes that now I am the mom and trying to be sure to create memories for my daughter. As a parent you have to be pretty selfless. And if we're being honest, it's not something that comes naturally to us. There are plenty of days where I don't want to go outside and play or I don't want to watch The Spy Next Door for the 101st time but I do it because I love my daughter. Every day that I am a parent, I am pushed out of my comfort zone. I am reminded that life isn't all about me and that it's hard. I am made more aware of my choices and the consequences of those choices every time those big brown eyes look up at me or I catch my daughter mimicking me in some way...good or bad.

One of the choices that we have made recently is to be more healthy. If you've read my blog in any capacity you will know that my weight and being healthy is something that I have struggled with for a long time. A couple of months ago, I was the biggest I have ever been in my whole life. I don't know how much I weighed because I was too scared to get on a scale and see the number. I had to take a look at my life and my eating habits and not only how it was negatively affecting me but my daughter as well. Chicken nuggets and french fries is not the road I wanted her to travel. So we made a decision. We started buying more fruits and vegetables and less junk and processed food. We cut out fast food and when we needed a quick meal we ordered grilled chicken instead of greasy hamburgers. We haven't been perfect in it but we've been better. We still have the occasional sweet treat but it's in moderation. Now when we go to the grocery store, she doesn't ask for candy or junk, she wants fruit and vegetables. Just today she practically wanted to buy every fresh fruit in the store. We eventually decided on fresh pineapple, grapes, and a mango. We've been trying to incorporate as much organic into our diet as well. It's definitely more expensive eating healthier but it's worth it. Eating this way has me really wanting to grow a garden. It's just not practical right now since the lease is up on the house we are renting and the landlord is trying to sell it. We aren't really sure where we'll be going from here but it's all in God's hands.

A great "consequence" to eating healthier is weight loss! I'm not sure how much I've lost total because as I said earlier, I didn't weigh myself before we made the choice to eat healthier. I just know that my clothes are fitting better and I feel better. I've recently incorporated exercise into my daily routine and since I've started exercising I've lost about 5 pounds. Go me!