Educate Yourself On How We Got Into This Mess

3 More Contests on DMLI?

More contests have been added since I last posted about them!  We have really loved having the opportunity to give things away!  Does Mommy Love It? is growing and we are so excited about it.  We even have the opportunity right now for the logo and such to be designed by someone who is seasoned in company re-branding.  A lot of exciting things are happening and we love getting the chance to share the love.  So come by and enter our contests!

In addition to the 4 I posted earlier this week:

What: Loolabelle Bib and Burp cloth set of choice
Where: Here
Deadline: Oct. 16 Midnight

What: Stella McCartney/ LeSportsac Umbrella
Where: Here
Deadline: Oct. 19 Midnight

What: KeeKa clothing item of choice (children)
Where: Here
Deadline: Oct. 20 Midnight

Vote For Seabird!

Help us get Seabird in regular rotation on MTVu!!  Go HERE and vote for them.   They are currently at #2 but have to be at #1 to be played on MTVu regularly.  These are great guys.  Help them out!

Help a Family Adopt at the Mom Crowd

A family is raising money to adopt a down syndrome child from Russia.  You can get involved and win great prizes in the process.  Visit the Mom Crowd for more details on this raffle with a heart!

4 Contests Running on Does Mommy Love It?

As of today we have four active contests on Does Mommy Love It? and more to come this week!  Make sure you drop by and enter!  I’ll list them by order of expiration. 

What: Mini Cuddle Blanket from Ambajam
Where: Here
Expiration: September 30th at Midnight
 
What: Free pair of Jack & Lily ‘My Shoes’
Where:Here
Expiration: October 8th at Midnight

What: Book- Eat This, Not That! For Kids!
Where: Here
Expiration: October 15th at Midnight

What: Free pair of Rileyroos shoes!
Where: Here
Expiration: October 15th at Midnight

What I’m Doing to Lose Weight

Inspired by my friend Sarah, I decided to be transparent about shedding my post-baby pounds.  I like the idea of the accountability.  While I’m not obese, I have more extra weight for my frame than I would like.  I know if I don’t do something about it now this could become my permanent weight.  I’m at that age where many women’s bodies change.  In addition to that, I have to fit into my clothes again.  Something has to be done.  Once a week I’ll talk about my progress or lack thereof.  (hopefully progress!).  

Right now I’m not being super aggressive.  I’m easing into this dieting thing slowly (I have never dieted before). Here is what I have done so far.

1.) Portion Control- Deliberately eating smaller meals. 

2.) Cutting Snacks- I’m a HUGE snacker. I always have been.  My husband teases me about it.  I’d take a snack over a large meal any day.  But I have cut them… and its killing me!  The urge to snack sneaks at me all throughout the day and I have just been saying no over and over.

3.) I eat crushed ice instead of food when I want to snack.

4.) When it’s late and I get the munchies I make myself go to bed (or eat ice!)

5.) I Started using Splenda in my coffee instead of sugar.

6.) I am not drinking juice like I used to.

So far it all seems to be working.  My pre-pregnancy weight was 120-122 lbs.  I started this journey at 156-157.  Right now I’m down to 151.  Baby steps!  I will add in working out more soon.  You will most likely have to put up with a weight- diet post once a week because that way I can keep myself accountable.

Menu Plan Monday- September 22,2008

This week is low budget week.  I’m really trying to cook more at home but also make a few cheap meals to save money.  I know hamburger helper is not so glamorous, but the husband loves it… so what can I say?  I’m also trying to clip more coupons and stock up when things are buy one get one free.  This post by Brandi really had an effect on me so I’m on a search to learn more about saving money.  This is an area that is practically a foreign language to me.  It’s about time I learn it.  So add this as habit #3 I’m adding to my life (#1 being diet, #2 being cooking at home more).  

Anyway here you go, a mix of nice meals and low budget meals.

Monday- Spaghetti and Broccoli

Tuesday- Pizza and some green veggie.  (soccer practice and bible study this night)

Wednesday- Hamburger helper and Edemame

Thursday- (Parents come to town) Orange chicken (recipe below), Jasmine rice, and Edemame

Friday- Flank Steak, Roasted red potatoes, Edemame (we eat edemame a lot because it is pretty much the only green the boys like!), and Salad 

Saturday- EAT OUT!

Orange Ginger Grilled Chicken

1/3 c. OJ
3T Rice wine vinegar
3T Soy sauce
1T Minced garlic
1T Minced ginger
1T Sesame oil
6 Chicken Breast

Combine OJ and next 5 ingredients in a large freezer bag, add chicken and chill for at least one hour.
Remove chicken from marinade
Grill covered with grill lid over medium-high heat.

My Great Sadness

Wow.  I have been busy reading The Shack in the last couple days.  Actually, I finished it.  Between 3 kids and all the work I have been putting into Does Mommy Love It? that is quite a feat.  Part of me would love to write a book review of it, but it has almost effected me too deeply to do that.  There is no way I could actually sum up this book by a post.  In fact, it really is a book that would be useful to read first as an overview, the read again giving special attention to each chapter day by day.

I had so many thoughts as I read through the book.  In many ways it felt familiar.  The way that “papa” or God as we know him (;)) talks to the main character is the way (or tone) I often hear him speaking to my heart.  I also understood the great sadness that is often described.  His sparked from the murder of his daughter.  Mine began from the death of my mother.  

In the last couple of years for some reason I have felt intense healing in this area.  I remember when I moved back to my hometown, Columbus, a few years ago, I felt an onslaught of fresh grieving that I can’t put into words.  That was such a great sadness.  I had to dig really deep, into myself, into God.  I felt so much pain.  I was deluded by so many lies.  I was not fully walking with God when my mom died, even though I thought I was.  I was depending on things I knew were not healthy for me.  Deep inside I always felt that the closer my mom got to death, the closer she got to God.  I felt (in my deepest parts) that God could not possibly truly love me because of the things I knew about myself.  Since my mother was coming closer to her savior… I thought she knew, and could not possibly love me. 

In my head I knew these things were rediculous, that they weren’t true.  But my heart took much longer to realize.  I felt such guilt.  Guilt for not spending more time with my mom when she was sick.  Guilt for not weeping at her feet and begging her not to go.  Guilt for believing me when she told me she would not b healed.  I should have asked God for it anyway.  But I was 17.  

Now here is where you may think I am crazy.  God started working on this very painful area of my heart when I was 19.  I had spent Thanksgiving night with some of my closest friends and they dropped me off at my dad’s house when the night was ending.  Unfortunately, no one was home and I was locked out.  This was before we all had cell phones so I had to walk to the nearest pay phone which was a UDF about 3/4 of a mile away.

This time in my life was excruciating.  I had started college and had some pretty crazy experiences there (not good crazy).  My heart was broken from a previous relationship, actually a couple of previous relationships.  My heart was broken because my dad had already found someone new.  And my heart was broken because I missed my mom.   I did not give God much room in my life and kept busy.  I knew if I went deep it would hurt.  I did not know if I could face more pain, so I kept busy.

So there I was on a family holiday, stuck outside, by myself, walking to the UDF.  The evening was beautiful and the sun had not yet set.  I knew God wanted my attention so I asked him.  What?  What Lord?  What is it you want me to hear?  I heard him in the deepest parts of me saying, Don’t you know I love you?  Not fully convinced I gave him the reply ingrained in my head since I was a babe.  Yes, Lord I know you love me. He said it again, Don’t you know I love you?  It seemed redundant but I answered the same, Yes, Lord I know you love me. This happened one more time and I was getting agitated.  Then he spoke to me, Don’t you know your mom loved you?  That hit a chord.

I stammered around trying hard to say Of course.  I finally said Of course she loved me.  He asked, How do you know your mom loved you?  I started recounting how she rocked me till I was 12 and always had hot breakfasts for me in the morning.  He asked again, Don’t you know your mom loved you?  This time it started breaking me down…  I said Well, she loved me most my life but not toward the end.  (until this time I didn’t even realize I felt that way.)  I started crying.  I opened up telling God all the reasons she could not have loved me anymore.  His gentle, sweet response was, Elizabeth, don’t you know I love you?  It then occurred to me that this was a deeper issue than I thought.  My problem was that I really did not believe deep inside that God loved me.  This started a work that God would be doing for years in my life.  

It really hasn’t been until the last couple years that I have even felt real healing in these areas.  But I suppose that years from now I could be saying the same thing.  We should be always going deeper.  As we grow with God and understand more about his love for us healing increases.  My great sadness, the one that has been known to suffocate me at times, is gradually disappearing, to the point I barely recognize it anymore.  

Anyway, just thought I’d share.

$10 off at Diapers.com

Right now if you purchase $49 or more at Diapers.com you can get $10 off with this code- EEJA0375.  You can get diapers, formula, baby needs, sippies, bottles, robeez and more there!  The prices are what you would pay in a grocery store and it arrives at your house in a couple of days.  I definitely recommend checking them out.  We reviewed diapers.com on Does Mommy Love It?  Go to Diapers.com now!

Jack & Lily Shoes Giveaway on Does Mommy Love It?

You have to see the line of shoes one lucky reader of Does Mommy Love It? will be able to choose a pair from. Check out Jack & Lily.

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