Day 16 of 28 - Early Spring?!?

Supposedly Punxsutawney Phil (where the heck did they come up with that name anyway) did NOT see his shadow this morning and forecasted an early spring. Forgive my cynical attitude, but HA! Yeah right!! As we are currently under a Winter Weather Advisory for the overnight. Although, similar to my disbelief in Mr. Groundhog's prediction, I have similar feelings toward our meteorologists up here lately. Every "storm" they've predicted this winter has barely left us a dusting of snow. Needless to say, I've become a "Let's just sit back and see how this plays out" kind of girl lately. Although, I'm not against an early spring... just sayin'.

So, moving on... I think that I'm finally finding my groove again. The cravings are fewer and farther between, my willpower and ability to say no has improved and I don't feel like it's a chore to plan and prepare. Although, I will admit that it's killing me not to weigh in each morning. It's a horrible habit, but one I have grown to depend on. Hopefully that "need" will fade much like my need for naughty junk foods!

I have to share the excitement I keep hearing from my Emmy Lou...

This little critter right here has her mama's sweet tooth. Unlike her little sister, who is more of a salty/crunchy fan, Emmy Lou loves her sweet treats! She loves to bake sweet treats, buy sweet treats, you name it. This picture is a perfect example.

The Hubby had to wake her and her sister up early on their day off of school over Christmas Break. She's not a huge morning person, but she's a decent negotiator. She made a deal with The Hubby that she would get up and go with him without a peep if they could stop at Dunkin Donunts (literally three blocks from our house) while they were out. He's a sucker and made a deal with my bitty little devil! Hence the picture sent to me at work of her successful negotiating skills. Oh how I love that kid!

So, on her own she decided about two months ago what she wanted to give up for Lent this year. In the past she hasn't really paid much attention, so this is her first year really thinking it over and planning to give up something for the period between Ash Wednesday and Holy Thursday (the Thursday before Easter). Most people have heard it as the 40 days of Lent, but I have a newsflash... It's 53 days! Still... she's bucking up and has decided she wants to give up sugar for Lent. There are a couple caveats to this decision though.

First, she is giving herself a pass for their class Valentine's Day party - it'll be nearly impossible for her to stick to her goal when 90% of the things at the party include sugar, but she plans to put the candies and goodies aside for later after that day. Second, she wants to do THM with me on the days she is at my house. She wants to help me pack THM friendly lunches, so she doesn't have to figure out what is okay to eat from the school's hot lunch, and she wants to be in on dinner planning.

I'm extremely proud of her for making this choice on her own. I had nothing to do with it. She just came up to me one afternoon and said this was what she wanted to do. Now, for the past week I keep hearing, "Mom, are you ready? It's almost time. Just XX more days..." I can't count the number of times she has reminded me or asked me if I'm ready to help her with this!

Now, this is where I get to be the mom who uses everything as a teaching moment... I plan to have her write in our journal back and forth to each other about what she ate that day, what she liked and what she didn't like. Plus, since she is our kid who will pretty much try anything, I will challenge her to try something completely out of her comfort zone at least twice during this journey. I want her to be able to look back when she's done and pick from her favorite meals or treats long after she's done with her Lent challenge.

Overall, I think this will be an awesome experience for both of us. I know she is very likely to end up with PCOS when she grows up because it is genetic. I don't want her to fight the lifelong battle with her weight and self-image that I have, so I'm hoping she understands what it takes and means to be healthy. I don't want her to be worried about her size, or her figure, or anything like that. I want her to focus on things like if she feels like she sleeps better, has more energy, has less headaches... all things that will show her that she is getting healthier.

At the end of Lent I want her to be able to look at me and tell me what she learned from the experience. I'm not planning to weigh her, or measure anything. She's a child and she is perfect just the way she is. But as a child with complications her whole life due to two different diseases - mastocytosis and asthma - she knows what it feels like to be lethargic and feel crummy and frustrated with her body and how it works. I want to show her she has some power over it and hope that we see some improvement in her immune system with the boost in vitamins and elimination of things that are known to make our guts unhappy.

I think I'm just really curious how it will all play out... will she get frustrated with the lack of options or not eating what her friends are eating (a good time to teach her how people with food allergies feel all the time) or will she be happy with her choices and feel like she barely sacrificed anything? I will not hound her... this is her choice and her thing. She has to make the conscious decision to stick to it or not. I'm will be there to help or listen to her if she needs to talk, but I won't dictate how she handles this. This is 100% her choice.

Time will tell how it all ends, but stay tuned. We start next Wednesday (which is day 1 for both of us in that challenge, but day 24 of this current challenge period). She may even make a guest appearance on here once in a while, if she wants. At the very least, maybe I can talk her into giving you all some product reviews from a kid's view.

It's Tuesday... show this week who's boss! We've got this, early spring or not!