dreams

Oliver’s teacher had a dream about my family the other night. We were all running down the sidewalk. She saw us and asked what we were doing. We shared how we wanted to get to Hart Park before dark. She said I was on crutches but running really fast.

I loved this – dreams are really interesting and can be so weird!

In my dreams I never use crutches. I do have dreams about my crutches, either I lost them and can’t get up a hill or one of them is broken, but I’m never actually using them.

For those of you in chairs, with braces, crutches, etc…how do you physically appear in your dreams?

Even on a more “normal” basis, do you with glasses, wear them in your dreams?

operation skinny

My dream for this blog was to network with other AMCers to share tips, inspire each other and bring awareness to those “normal” peeps on what it’s like to have a disability.  

So when I receive messages from readers, I get really excited. I got one this week on a topic that I think we all struggle with…OPERATION SKINNY.

Well, there are those girls who seem to be able to eat everything and anything and remain tiny, cute and chipper from the latest sugar cookie high…but we don’t like them.  They never had to lie on the floor to button their jeans. {wink}

Maintaining weight takes work, willpower and dedication.  When your ability to move is limited, this adds a whole new twist.  A fellow AMCer who uses a chair asked for some tips on losing weight.  I am hoping you can comment on here and share what you do to stay healthy.

The level of mobility we have impacts so much. We are all different, but to get things started, I thought I’d share the things I try to do. However, I love pizza..fries…ice cream much more than my 5’1 frame needs…so these are just the things I know I should do, when I’m not being a pig.   🙂

1. Nike Fuel Band

I love this thing and like to track my steps. It inspires me to take a parking spot at the end of the lot or walk a few laps around my neighborhood at night instead of surfing the web. Yep, picture me doing laps around the hood with Carly Rae Jepson belting out Call Me Maybe in my headphones.

Basically, I try to not let my head hit the pillow at night until my 10,000 steps have been walked.  I was on a roll and then work became busy and followed me home, my son got sick, I got sick, a new show came on TV, etc. I have officially fallen off the wagon.  I need a kick in the butt to get back on. 

 

2. My Fitness Pal

This website and iPhone app rocks! You can scan the UPC bar on packages and it calculates the nutrition. You can also search for food or manually enter calories.

Set goals for your ideal weight and it will help determine the calories you need. I usually eat whatever I want but when my calories for the day are gone – I am done eating.  I found it made me become much more thoughtful about what I put in my mouth.

 

Both of these tools incorporate social media and the option to add those you know as friends. This helps motivate me and makes it a little bit more fun. What works for you?  

 

 

don’t cry over spilled milk

Have you ever dropped an entire gallon of milk?                                                       

Let me tell you, it makes a horrifying mess.

It bounces. The plastic cracks. Milk sprays, pours and splatters.

AMC hands are not super strong. I learned the hard way for trying to put away groceries fast. Should have used two hands. The mess was not worth those few seconds I was saving…

I saw this Magic Tap automatic drink dispenser infomercial and want to give it a try. I think it might make life easier and will decrease the odds of soaking up puddles of milk off my kitchen floor, running down my walls and in my shoes.

Check it out, maybe it would make your life easier too.

 

superheroes in my car…

I can’t believe an entire month passed since I last posted on here.  It’s pretty terrible. I think of things almost daily that would make great blog posts but it seems like work, laundry, family, friends and well, life in general, sucks up my time.

I’m not so sure how I’m going to find time for my fall TV line-up that’s about to return. My DVR is going to be smoking! {grins}

I went to pick up Oliver from daycare again the other day. This new sense of freedom is amazing. I’m still holding out for the day we go to Target together and can shop alone. Maybe he’ll carry the basket for me. I’ll probably cry. It will be sheer magic.

So back to the whole picking up Oliver from daycare story… All went well, we got in the car, cheered on the way home, I told him how awesome we are and then we landed in our driveway.

The small red button on car seats are brutal, they are so hard to push and totally hurt my finger. 

I climbed in the backseat and fought with it.  Meanwhile, Oliver made grunting noise and comments like, push hard mama, as I fumbled around, sweat dripping down my forehead…thanks to the never-ending heat wave this summer in WI.  {major dislike}

On the seat next to me was a pile of Oliver’s superheroes. I grabbed one and quietly pleaded, Dear Lord, please help me get him out. Oliver smiled at me and said, Dear Lord, help mama. I smiled back at his sweet face and with renewed zest, I attacked the red button with the hard plastic foot of good ol’ Aquaman. 

The button instantly popped open and Oliver scrambled out of the seat.  It was a sweet moment of victory, hearing my son’s first prayer for help and being with him as it was answered.

Life is good.