A little bit about me....okay, A LOT about me :)

I am 32 years old.  I am NOT a native of New Mexico, although I have lived almost half my life here. I do consider New Mexico home, although I grew up in Omaha, NE and northwestern Iowa. I am married - 10 and a half years now - to my fabulous husband, Doug, and we have three girls: Ciera, 10; Amelia, 8; and Kaydence, 5.

I am a MOM, first and foremost.  I used to be a performer; a musician; a private studio and classroom music teacher; but my first priority is being a mom. Why? Well, I'm glad you asked....

Our oldest daughter Ciera and our youngest daughter Kaydence have "High-Functioning" Autism.  My husband and all three daughters have an auto-immune condition called Celiac Disease.

Let me be frank here, folks....AUTISM SUCKS.  It sucks the very life and heart out of you. There is NOTHING WORSE than watching your child struggle and struggle and struggle, never quite making it to the accepted range of 'normal'.  I have spent more hours in various therapy sessions and Autism trainings than I spent in college, for pete's sake.  I should be the world's premiere expert on Autism - but I'm not.  I am the expert on Ciera Renee and Kaydence Grace.  THEY are why I stand and fight.  I stand for all of them - Amelia, too - because guess what? CELIAC DISEASE SUCKS.  It sucks your time in the grocery store, because you can't just grab "Kraft mac and cheese" off the shelf for dinner.  It sucks your time at a restaurant, because you have to make sure the chef/cooks understand - NO WHEAT, NO BUN, NO BREAD, NO SHARED FRYING OIL, etc.  It sucks for class parties and birthday parties and basketball/football games, because you constantly have to plan ahead for snacks. I can't just take the kids and run - I usually have a cooler or snack sack in tow, because I can't count on the concession stand or a friend's mom to have something on hand the girls can eat.

Now, before you all think I have an awful attitude on life, let me tell you: I LOVE MY FAMILY, and if you came to me and said, "Here's a pill - it'll cure Autism", "Here's a pill - it'll cure Celiac Disease" I wouldn't give that pill to my children.  My children were given to me by God to serve a special purpose on this Earth.  And they were given to me this way.  No demon is possessing them, this is neither a curse nor an obstacle to overcome.  This is God's hand. 

I LOVE MY FAMILY EXACTLY AS THEY ARE. 

YES we struggle financially to feed these kiddos sometimes, YES we are a part of a government program that pays for Ciera's therapies and medical bills, and YES sometimes I get my panties in a ruffle cuz there's a pizza party at school and I have to make a gluten-free pizza when I really don't feel like it.  But words can't tell you how I felt the day my "non-verbal" 5 year old came to me and said, "I want juice." (Yeah, that was a cool day....now I can't shut her up, LOL!)  I remember the relief we felt when Amelia was diagnosed with Celiac Disease, and it wasn't Cystic Fibrosis, as they'd thought.  And nothing compares with being able to tell those doctors from Albuquerque that our Ciera (who they said would probably never talk, function in a regular education classroom, or be potty trained), that she beat their predictions because she is an AMAZING young lady who doesn't let something like Autism keep her down.  And I believe that Kaydence will do the same.

SO.....how does me being a mom have to do with my weight-loss goals?  Well, When I was pregnant with Kaydence, I gained a whopping 50 lbs.  Yeah, I did. I weighed like, 215 when I delivered her.  Ten years ago, I weighed 140 lbs.  I'd like to get back there...

Today I weigh 170 lbs.  A year ago, I weighed 200 pounds.  I started out by making little changes - NOT eating my kiddo's leftovers; walking to and from the school with the girls instead of driving; and when I got upset, instead of curling up into a ball and crying my brains out - I would clean the house, moving furniture and all.  To this day, when my husband walks in the door and sees that I've re-arranged the furniture, his first comment is "What did I do?"

In November of 2009, I mustered all the courage I could and auditioned for San Juan College's production of 'Sweeney Todd'.  I used to be a theatre major in college and I quit for several reasons, none of them relevant here.  I was cast in the ensemble, and was thrilled.  Maybe I COULD be a mom and an actor....

I lost the first 10 pounds through the run of the show, January through March.  Boy, did I feel awesome.  Not only did I meet some amazing people - I worked my tail off in rehearsals through repetitions of choreography and blocking and vocalizing.  Through the show I met the person who is now my gym buddy - I had never had a gym membership until she suggested it, and I am forever thankful to her for it.  The next 15 pounds came off pretty fast - I quit drinking 4 cans of Dr. Pepper a day - and between cleaning houses for extra money (good cardio, by the way!), continuing to walk when I could and my commitment to eating healthier, I am forever changed for it.  And my habits continued through the Christmas season - somehow between Thanksgiving and today I lost 5 more pounds. Not sure what happened there...but I'll take it, LOL!

Now is the hard part - the next 30.  NOW we get to my 'unique situation.'

Because my daughters and husband have Celiac Disease, we avoid WHEAT, OATS, BARLEY, and RYE.  I think we eat a little healthier because we can't eat things like 'hamburger helper', boxed mac and cheese, and pasta dishes.  However, I have PICKY kiddos, especially Ciera (who has a tactile aversion to some foods), so I end up making at least two meals for my family at dinnertime.  That doesn't bother me, but we are trying to introduce our picky girls to more Gluten-free foods that have more nutrition than a Van's toaster waffle with peanut butter on it..... (Ciera's favorite)

But here's the real kicker:  I CHEAT, bad. I don't have to be gluten-free, although my house is 90% GF.  I choose to eat Gluten Free, so I don't contaminate our kitchen space with gluten.  My WORST craving is pizza.  Now that we have a 'Little Caesar's Pizza', I sometimes grab one of their $5 large pizzas while everyone is at school/work, and before I know it, I've eaten half of it....bummer, right?! OY!

So, as far as my "HEALTHY FAMILY" goals go, here they are:

Lose 30 pounds over the course of 2011 and KEEP IT OFF (my husband also has a weight loss goal)

Teach my family to eat healthier despite their dietary restrictions

Use more fresh meats and veggies instead of filler foods (GF pretzels, crackers, cookies, breads, pastas, fruit snacks, etc)

BE MORE ACTIVE (the girls start Basketball practices this week, so that should help!)


My personal goals...well, maybe that's for another post....this one is WAY TOO LONG as it is....

Enjoy your day!