"Just a Mom"

This is kind a of personal rambling..which I don't do often but feel I need to.

Several months ago, I was talking to stranger in line at the store and of course we always cause a scene when I go with the kids. As a result of the scene, I have lots of random conversations with strangers.. (For example, one said wow those 2 babies look really close in age, which is older? I said Bekah, by 2 minutes. she said. Wow how did that happen? She obviously didn't get they were twins and luckily it was my turn to check out so I didn't have to respond.) Somewhere in this conversation she asked if I worked I said, "No. I am just a mom." I have spent several months thinking a lot about my response."Just a Mom" Sure, I think all moms feel like they are the teacher, the baker, the cook, the seamstress, the nurse, the counselor, the judge, the peacemaker, etc etc. I was feeling lack of energy and just kind of in an overall rut.  There are a few things over that last few months that I learned in my journey, maybe you already are smarter than me, that I would like to share. The overall biggest thing was I needed to take time for me and do something I like to do that was not directly "mom-related."  (I realized other than church I had not left my house in over 2 weeks. This was bad.) I started sewing here and there, loom knitting, and made some nice scarfs and hats but there was still something missing.. I have always had an interest in health and fitness and I started looking there and digging deeper. In a nutshell, this is what I found, in no order.

1. Sleep. I work nights but I try really hard to go to bed and get up the same time every morning and night. There is medical proof behind this and it totally helps with my energy level.  Eat within 30 minutes of getting up.

2. Meditate- I take time 7-10 min every day to meditate. I have done a lot of research reading on this and it really does help my mind be more sharp. There are several ways and methods.. etc. I won't go into the detail of the one I do for the sake of letting you explore on your own and find what works for you.

3. Vitamins- Are they really healthy? Natural vs Synthetic? Some of you know I have this homeopathic side of me. (I mean who else uses stinging nettle to curb their seasonal allergies) The last few weeks I have really learned a lot about vitamins. I, like all moms, try to do the best for our kids and get them to eat fruits and veggies. Newsflash, easier said than done and it doesn't always happen at my house .I decided to do vitamin supplementation. I recently realized a huge "ah ah" moment. The gummy vitamins I was giving my kids appeared "all natural", "no artificial coloring", healthy. etc etc. I was SO wrong. Its been research project, I have data to support it but won't bore you, but the way we label things in our country is CRAZY. We really have no idea what we are eating. The product only has to 10% natural ingredients to be consider"all natural." So what is the other 90% made of? Chemicals and junk. I did a quick test, put your vitamins in the oven on a cookie sheet 350 for 8-10 min.. This will tell you if they are FAKE or REAL. My gummies I feed my kids..after 6 min went charcoal black and nothing was left of them. The multi-vitamin Carl and I were taking again,oozed black synthetic material. Some research shows that synthetic vitamins do more harm than good. (ie Prenatal vitamins study,, they had to stop the study  after 2 months because of the toxicity of the vitamins to the fetus.) So if you care and want to do something, we can talk later. If you want to live in ignorance and wished you hadn't read this, well sorry, I did warn you.  I can totally tell a change in my energy and my kids by doing correct vitamin supplementation and only slightly changing our diet. Anyway, just some food for thought and another thing to make all you moms worry about. I know.