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Not Me Monday: All part of a well-balanced diet

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week

I would never eat French silk pie for lunch. While the children napped. Never. Not going to happen.

I'd have a delicious and filling chef salad made with spinach and iceberg lettuce. A little ham, a little turkey. A nasty, un-deviled hard-boiled egg. Baked turkey bacon. Shredded, low-fat, gitty...yet waxy cheese.

Yeah, that's what I'll have, instead of a chocolatey pie...

Relearning Discipline: When What Worked Doesn't

It's been almost four weeks since Lily's surgery. She's been sleeping so much better the last 2 weeks. Her behavior has greatly improved.

The last couple of days, she's been acting up or acting out. I'm not sure which, or why.

Lily is learning new ways to deal with upset. This is something I didn't foresee. I assumed that once she was sleeping better, the behavior would resolve itself. For the most part, it has.

I've been using our usual method for discipline. When she starts screaming and crying, I'd send her to her room. The hope was that she'd calm down and fall asleep, catching up on the sleep that she missed.

Well, severe sleep deprivation isn't the issue anymore.

For me, that means I have to change, too. She's old enough, I think, to start losing privileges. She got TV time revoked. She had a time out on the stairs. She's not been allowed a bed time snack.

We're learning.

What are some creative solutions you have tried when the old ones no longer work?

Lily's Surgery ... A Gamble That's Paying Off

I can't believe that so much time has gone by since Lily's surgery. She's doesn't seem to be having any pain or problems.

I'm not going to lie, the first couple of days after the surgery when she was in pain and crabby, I wondered if it was really the right decision. She just moped on the sofa and whined. She didn't even want a sippy cup of chocolate milk!

After a week of resting, Lily returned to school. This was a trial since we weren't sure if she'd do well through a whole school day. She did fine. Got her school pictures taken, too!

She sleeps so much better. No more snoring. No more waking up in the middle of the night screaming because she's having trouble breathing. No more bedtime tantrums.

Her tantrums overall are happening less often. She's more loving and more affectionate. She's not as easily irritated. She's not chronically tired!

She's been so sweet. I always give her 4 kisses before a nap or at bed time. She gave me 28 kisses before she went to bed. She's been so much kinder to Navy. She shares snacks, she's helped him get toys, she's patted his back when he's upset. I love this behavioral change!

The change that I wasn't expecting was her voice. I didn't realize it before, but Lily's voice was kind of hoarse all the time. Now, she has this little girl voice. I'm sure I'm the only one that notices, but it still gets me.

I really see this being a positive thing for Lily.

She's catching up on lost sleep. Right now, she'll sleep 12-14 hours a day. Usually about 10 hours at night, then a 2-3 hour nap. When I'm home in the mornings, she'll sleep in until 8 or so.

I'm just so happy, and relieved, that this has turned out to be the right decision for her. It's hard, as a parent, putting your child through surgery, especially when there's no guarantee that it's the "right" thing. For her, the gamble is paying off!

Baking Up Some Love

Over the last couple of weeks walking through Fort Wayne, I've struggled with finding my place, a way that I can help and feel like I have something to offer.

*enter Betty Crocker mode*

One thing I can do, and do well, is cook. Baking cookies, cupcakes, pies. Making stir-fries, casseroles. It's something I'm good at.

I made two different cookies: classic chocolate chip and peanut & hazelnut butter cookies. Half of the chocolate chip ones got burned because I preheated the over for shiny pans, and I have dark pans.

When we were talking with Dan, a guy I've never met before, about the situation that led him to being homeless and on the streets, he started eating the cookies. Nothing goes better with Nescafe than homemade cookies. Mid-sentence, he stopped and told me that the cookies were good!

*puffs chest with pride*

I came home with no cookies. I think I've finally found my special way to contribute!