Road Trip for Mommy

No, not the fun, girls-only weekend I have been dreaming of, but still, it was a road trip. At the end of March, I went to Denver for a weekend training to get certified to teach Dr. Sears L.E.A.N. Programs. L.E.A.N. stands for Lifestyle Exercise Attitude Nutrition, it is a series of classes geared for parents of 3-12 year olds. It was an intense weekend with lots of reading and studying but it was worth it. I learned a ton of information and am excited about teaching classes. I am officially a Certified L.E.A.N. Coach and will even have business cards next week and am working on a website.

It was however, my first weekend away from Keira & Isaac so there was a lot of adjustment for all of us. I cried as I walked into the airport all by myself thinking about how much I was going to miss them and wondering if they were going to be alright without mommy. I will say it was nice to go through security without 2 toddlers and all their stuff (car seats, a diaper bag, kids backpacks full of books and activities...) Denver had a huge snowstorm the day before I left and Southwest canceled 82 flights so I was fortunate that weather wasn't an issue the day I flew, but wow, were both airports a mess! It was really cold when I arrived Friday and there was lots of snow on the ground, I was missing Bryan and the kids already and knew Keira would have loved the snow, but I got settled in my room, grabbed some food and headed off to my first class. Friday night I was looking forward to a great night sleep without interruptions (at the time Isaac was still getting up 1-2 times/night) but I would have slept better at home even if Isaac would have woken up 10 times. It was awful. Saturday night was a little better, but I think only because I was so exhausted. Engorgement was another issue to deal with since I was weaning Isaac before I left, but there was a girl in the class that brought her 6 month old baby so I think hearing him cry and having Abby nurse him in class didn't help the situation. Let's just say Isaac and I were both happy to be re-united Sunday night :o) So much for weaning...

Bryan did a great job with the kids. I know that had a few meals out (Bryan didn't want to worry about cooking and feeding both kids at home by himself) and I'm told they got baths every night... I knew he would do a great job but also hoped he would gain a better appreciation for the day to day 24/7 drama of parenting I deal with. He did tell our friend Michelle on Sunday that he was happy I was coming home ~ that's good, I'm glad they missed me and I'm glad he got to experience the full-time parenting thing :o)

One of Dr. Sears topics is "Traffic Light Eating" ~ teaching kids green light (GO, eat as much as you want - fruits and veggies are in this category), yellow light (slow down and think. you can eat it everyday but need to watch the portions - whole grains, lean meat, etc) and red light foods (stop and think foods, don't eat very often and try to make a better choice or don't eat that much - chips, cookies, soda, etc.) Keira now loves to classify her food and knows that green light foods help her grow big and strong, jump higher and dance better. I love that she is so into it (and without me hammering it into her head) She even threw away Easter candy when we were at Omi & Nonno's (see Easter post) because "this isn't good for you and will make your tummy hurt if you eat too much" Made me smile to see her make her own decision about what to do with candy.