Unsatisfactory grades from the lanky boy who can do better.

Cranky moments from a teething and first-time-ear-infection-suffering Sweet Pea.

Breathe In. Breathe Out.

Sanctuary filled with God’s people, lifting up one voice in a cacophony of praise.

Teaching a class about the power of communicating with Elohim through prayer.

Breathe In. Breathe Out.

Deadlines loom, some pass unattended.  Life seems to be quickening the pace, or is it me? Why can’t I keep up?

Breathe In. Breathe Out.

Encouraging email arrives.  Confirmation through a text that God is at work.

Breathe In.  Breathe Out.

Don’t want to waste a single breath on worry, anxiety or doubt.  Don’t want to miss a chance to practice gratitude for the good, the God.

Casting my cares.

Breathing in, breathing out.

As someone that lives with autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus), which have been linked to chronic inflammation, I had a lot of questions for the doctor and looked forward to hearing his perspective.  Other common illnesses with a connection to chronic inflammation are diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

I started by thanking Dr. Sears for voicing the theory that the mantra of “eat less, exercise more” does not work for everyone when it comes to weight loss and living a healthier lifestyle.  Instead, Dr. Sears believes that an anti-inflammatory diet is the key to being healthy.

He talked about the cultural attitude that those that are overweight are “morally inferior” when in actuality, in many cases, they are genetically predisposed to carry weight.  Dr. Sears further asserts that “ancient genes” are triggered by the very foods that we are encouraged to eat.

Dr. Sears gave me three steps that everyone can take to reverse the affects of chronic inflammation in their bodies in 30 days.  Yes, three simple steps can reverse a nasty physiological process that can cause serious health issues (SO LISTEN UP).

1. Remove all (omega-6 fatty acids) vegetable oil from your pantry.  Throw them out.  This includes vegetable oil, canola oil, corn oil, margarine, etc.  Substitute olive oil, slivered almonds and guacamole in their place.  (I would add you can substitute applesauce for oil as well, but that is per MultiTasking Mama)
2. Take (omega-3) fish oil every day.  Dr. Sears said our great grandma’s had it right when they recommended a tablespoon a day.  Fish oil has natural anti-inflammatory properties and is an important supplement.
3. Rebalance your diet.  Our diets need to be the correct balance of protein to carbohydrates.  Dr. Sears pointed out that our bodies produce the same insulin response to whole grain carbohydrates as they do refined flours. (I am still sticking with my whole grains but need to work on the balance concept)  When asked how can you know if you have struck the right balance in your diet, Dr. Sears said that if you have no hunger for 4-6 hours after a meal then you have eaten a well balanced meal.

He admits that “it is easier to get people to change religion then to change their diet” but points to the importance of taking what we eat seriously.  Obesity is an epidemic and he attributes this to our love for the “3 P’s- pizza, pasta and pastry”.  We need to educate ourselves on how the food we eat interact with our genes and our hormones.  People need to be on an anti-inflammatory diet for the rest of their lives. 

You can read more about all of this at Dr. Sear’s website and follow him on Twitter. 

I was not compensated for this post.  I was given the opportunity to interview Dr. Sears through the RoleMommy network and was happy to pass the information along to my readers. 

I haven’t liked getting my hands dirty since I was a little girl.  Gardening? Yuck!  I even mix meatloaf with a spoon.  Up until recently, I didn’t like to get anything under my french manicured nails (did you know all the chemicals in acrylic nails?  I do now and haven’t had them on in four months).

In 2008 things changed.  I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and nearly lost my life to a pulmonary embolism (that turned out to be related to a clotting disorder and systemic lupus).

I started looking at life and health a lot differently.  I discovered that I was deficient in several (important) vitamins and minerals.  In order to live my best life and insure that I am around to watch my kids grow up, I needed to change the way I viewed the world.

I started reading books on alternative medicine, diet and natural living.

And we started making changes as a family.  In the last two years we have switched to whole grains, gotten rid of artificial sweeteners, drastically reduced our red meat intake, and started paying attention to the ingredients on the foods and other products we buy.  We use natural cleaning products.  Many times I clean my kitchen with a simple vinegar and water mixture.

I take vitamin D, vitamin b12 injections, I have visited acupuncturists, I exercise, I drink lots of water and everyday I take more baby steps towards a natural, healthy lifestyle.

The hubby and I are even planting a small produce garden this year (I have pretty pink gardening gloves, in case you were wondering).

I know that taking control of my health and our quality of life is achievable.  And it is companies like Seed that inspire me to keep moving forward.  One baby step at a time, towards the best life possible.

This post is my entry to the Seed BlogHer ’10 sponsorship contest and is posted at Hip As I Wanna Be.

I arrived home from Blissdom with a heavy heart.

Mind you, I had a fabulous time (with a capital F) and learned a lot.

I also realized that I had strayed from my passions- the passions that led me to start this blog in the first place almost two years ago.  I have been working on shifting my focus back to sharing life from my heart with my readers.  (All my product reviews, giveaways, professional organizing advice, etc. will be on my professional organizing site starting March 1st.)

I blog about life.

Life as an adoptive mom of a child with severe emotional and behavioral issues, life as a mama of all boys, life as a mama of all tween/teen boys, life as a wife, life with multiple sclerosis and lupus, life as a former foster child, high school drop out turned teen mom who found Jesus and has never been the same since!

I blog about cutting through the clutter of life…the things that distract us from seeing and enjoying the life and purpose God has for us. When I speak at mom’s groups and women’s events, I usually am either sharing my testimony or sharing how to get control of your calendar, manage your time, set realistic goals and priorities and handle money the way God intended.

I’m glad you stopped by if you are here from Kelly’s Korner and invite you to read my About Me page and/or listen to my intro video to learn a little more about me and this here blog ‘o mine.

First, my vlog for Monday Mingle, hosted by Eighty MPH Mom.

The questions this week were:

Do you have siblings?  Did you want more or less siblings when you were growing up?

What was your wedding song?

Did you do anything special for Valentine’s Day?

Tell us something special about your spouse/partner

Here are my answers:

Then I need to give you my Mamavation update.  I am down another 2.3 lbs this week (which is absolutely amazing considering all the awesome food we had at Blissdom).  I have not been able to walk outdoors because there is 4 feet of snow on the ground but the hubby and I did a lot of unpacking/cleaning so I am assuming that is where I burnt off most of the calories.  I continue to drink ice water and the occasional glass of juice with club soda.  I know that staying away from soda is really helping with the weight loss.  We have switched completely to whole wheat bread (still getting a little complaining from the family on this) and brown rice in my quest to make the switch to whole grains.

Last but not least is my Bible in 90 days progress. Confession time:  I am behind AGAIN.  Having the hubby, kids and 3 dogs cooped up in the house with me all week, after falling behind while at Blissdom, has me still in Job when my #b90days gals are in (one of my favorite books) the Psalms.

I have a plan to catch up (that is how I caught up the last time I was behind) and with the kids (hopefully) going back to school tomorrow I can get back in to my normal routine.

I also need to say that it was amazing to meet so many other women going through the challenge.  Some of us got together for coffee Friday morning at Blissdom and sharing our thoughts, struggles, insights and more was incredible.

That is all for this fine Monday morning!  Head over here to see my menu plan for the week and to enter to win some money saving coupons.

Relationships that allow us to take off our grown up hats and put on our play time hats (or boas and beads as the case may be)

Relationships that allow us to relax.  To lean back into the knowledge that we are accepted for who we are in this moment.

Relationships that allow us to celebrate each others success without thought of competition or glory.

Relationships that make our hearts smile and our spirit sing

~A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words~

Author Unknown

Today I am thankful for my friends.  What are you thankful for?

This week the questions were:

If you could be any literary/movie character who would you be?

What is your biggest phobia?

Do you have pets? What are they and what are their names?

And here are my answers:

Join us for the fun on video or leave me your answers in the comments!

Ha! That could be the theme of my life so I decided to do a little time line post of how God took the unexpected (to me, not to Him) and worked it for good in my life.

• Time in foster care When I was a tween girl my family imploded.  The result was myself (and eventually my brothers) being removed from our home for a time.  While I am fortunate that my time in foster care  was not long term (about a year and then I went to live with my grandparents) I am thankful for it now.  It softened my heart and created a passion in me for orphans and foster children to have forever families.
• Teen pregnancy While it can be argued that pregnancy should not have surprised me, given my promiscuous lifestyle at the time, I was nonetheless shocked when I learned I was pregnant at 16.  Those of you that know the rest of the story know that being a teen mom is what led me to finding the redeeming grace of Jesus.  How can I not be thankful for that?
• Chronic Illness I certainly never imagined that diseases I cannot control would have such an impact on my life.  But, like only He can, God has used my inability to maintain my previous break-neck speed lifestyle to woo me back to His side.  I have such a feeling of purpose and peace that I didn’t know before I became ill.

I could go on and on about the way God has used unexpected trials to produce unlimited blessings and growth in my life.  And I am so thankful for every one!

But, back to my weight loss/get healthier journey:

I have lost 2.6 lbs in the last week!

I have walked everyday (even in the rain, I have a pretty umbrella)

I am drinking water like it is fine wine!

What I want to add this week:

Add in a workout video at least twice a week (and do workout video when children are not home so that I do not get made fun of during double time on Tae Bo) I’m sensitive (ha!)

Think I can do it?  We shall see!

For more Mamavation motivation, check out Bookieboo.com.

I am so excited to partner with Aircut and let my readers know about this innovative product.  Vacuum hair clippers…so cool.  Gone are the days of sweeping hair off the floor after my husband would use clippers on our three boys.  Gone are the days of the boys complaining of the itchy hair on their neck and shoulders- boy, do I wish these had been around 10 years ago!

In the last few years, with the whole I-am-too-cool-for-my-tween-britches thing going on in our home, the boys have been going to the hair salon.  My husband’s philosophy was crew cut or hair salon.

The fabulous thing about the Aircut is that with all the attachments and tapered 1/2″ attachment, Mike can accomodate the boy’s haircut desires without the expense of the salon.

Here is our first experience with the Aircut:

The boys were comfortable with the Aircut and the hubby wasn’t nervous.  In the past, using traditional clippers, some injuries occurred- cutting an ear by accident, etc.  You don’t have to worry about that with the Aircut as the attachments make the possibility of skin contact impossible.

Be sure to visit Aircut’s website for 10 reasons to buy an Aircut and a graph of how much money you can save by cutting your hair at home.

My husband is going to cut his hair next…be on the lookout for that vlog.

**Disclosure:  AirCut is a sponsor of Multitaskingmama.com and provided me with an AirCut to facilitate this review. All opinions are mine and not influenced by anyone.