2 minutes to make a difference- An Update

     So it kinda dawned on me today I haven't updated in a long time. Almost a month to be exact if not a little longer. OOPPPPS Mad cow has been busy and I apologize. A lot of life changes have  been going on and most of them, actually no all of them, for the greater good of Mad Cow kind. So we will start with some of the more usual updates and then hit the personal ones.
Weight Loss
    Since my weight loss journey began I am now down 44 pounds,6 inches off my hips and 7 inches off my waist. I still have a major bingo wing problem but over all I am doing good.
2 minutes Make the Difference
    This deserves its own heading because well my journey into weight loss started with eating right of course but more importantly it started with 2 minutes. When I began I could only handle about 2 minutes on the elliptical before completely losing my breath , knee pain, back pain, and exhaustion(I FELT PATHETIC), but I told myself its 2 minutes more then you did yesterday and eventually 2 turned into 5 then 10, 15, 30, and now 35 plus usually another exercise sometime in the day.I eat way way less, water no longer makes me nauseous, and I'm doing good. I hit snags every now and then but that is to be expected but things are going great.
You weigh yourself how much
    DAILY. Taboo ,I know, most specialist tell you not to weigh yourself daily so that when you hit these snags you don't get discouraged but personally I find that by weighing myself daily I am able to stay on track. For example;if  I was bad in the past , say on my cheat day or just  a bad day (I'm human I have them too we all do)  the next day I would give up and be like well I screwed it up and ruined all my hard work. Well ladies and gents weighing myself daily has taught me that no usually one bad day is not going to throw all your hard work in the drain and that yeah you may not be lighter the next day but odds are your no more then 1 pound heavier either, so don't beat yourself up for having a cupcake or an extra piece of pizza as long as its just one day odds are your fine. I need to see that on the scale to stay motivated it also helps me keep up when I hit a snag so I know okay lets change this or try that. So while this works for me and if you think like me it will probably help you also it is definitely not for everyone.
Oil's 
    My skin is awesome, my hair is stunning and well using the oils has been the best decision I ever made. My face breaks out rarely and when it does its so mild. My hair well it hasn't been this awesome in years so grapeseed and coconut oil are officially forever in my bathroom.

Mentally
     Well as I have spoke before I have struggled with depression off and on most of my life. Well recently it has came back full force causing me to be mean and nasty with the people I love the most. Call it not being able to deal and putting up a wall of steel because I kept getting hurt. We lost a baby, I was so over weight I  was unhappy, my father was diagnosed with cancer,my son was born premature, my husbands plant shut down, my son needed 2 surgeries his first year after being in the hospital 60 days, we had to move, my father passed away, my uncle passed away , I didn't get into the perfect Grad school (I am in grad school now though not the perfect one but it will do lol). Pretty much for every good thing that happened to me it seemed there was something equally bad or worse happening, so I did what I did best tried to push people away and shut everyone out. Well things came to a head when the voice in my head wouldn't shut up and I lost control(FYI the voice in my head is my own I don't hear voices but just to explain what i mean better its my fancy way of saying my mind wouldn't shut off) not to mention my mind would say not to do something but then I would do it anyway because that wall was so tall. Well after discussing with my husband we agreed a trip to the doc was in order so now once a morning I take a small little 10mg dose of lexapro and all is well in my head. The biggest downfall is the fact as clarity comes back and the fog lifts you realize the things you were overly bitchy about and you feel like shit. Luckily I have a wonderful husband and supportive family who all forgive me for the crazy. So now that things are clear I am on a mission to make sure those who I love know exactly how much I love them and how much I can't live without them , they really do make my world go round. Also, I share this with you because as a psychology major what kind of professional would I be if I hid my own mental struggles, I mean seriously how can I expect someone to be honest with me if I can't be honest. Mental illness is scary depression is real and the feelings that go along with it are crazy , you feel crazy. There is nothing worse then feeling out of control of yourself. However, I am now back my smiles are no longer hiding anything and my tears well they come a lot right now because wow when that wall comes down and you let people in again you feel really really vulnerable and its scary but things are balancing out and I like that.
Counting my blessings
    I am now counting my blessings every day. I have two healthy sons, who drive me crazy but I love them. I have the worlds best husband who loves me despite my craziness and who has always been there for me and at times is very romantic. Our 6th anniversary I got 6 balloons 6 flowers and 6 boxes of chocolate I almost tear up thinking about that because it was so super romantic he really is perfect. I have a mother who supports and love me in whatever crazy things I choose. I have a brother who is my best friend and I would die without. Last,but certainly not least, I have some of the most amazing friends it takes a lot to be friends with a crazy  person but they do it gladly. So I now count my blessings and take each day as a new day and try to find the good in it because despite all that has tried to knock me down I am still standing .

Good Moms Don't ?

 

    So your a mom now and everywhere you look you will find people full of advice. There are books on what you shouldn't do and books on what you should and what one person says is bad another will tell you its good. (kinda like dieting) So today as I was reading through my facebook feed someone shared an article on  not yelling at your kids and what this mom learned by not yelling.

 Now reading through the article I personally found the mother to have made several valid points and at one point she even called herself a Rhino, which was hilarious, I loved it and will post the link at the bottom. Now what set me off though was one of her viewers comments, they applauded her for ending her behavior because if she really got that mad and out of control she was abusing her kids. SERIOUSLY, are you kidding me people?, this is a damned if you do damned if you don't situation. While I will go ahead and state that YES you can abuse your children verbally as well as physically the simple act of getting angry, shaking(meaning you start shaking), turning red, and shouting at the top of your lungs to GO TO YOUR ROOMS NOW! is not abuse, screaming ,yelling, and shouting to knock it off, leave your sibling alone, keep your hands to yourself, and etc are not ABUSE (at least not in my opinion). Now abuse would be " Get over here now you low life , little abortion I should have had, " that would start to constitute as abuse and would warrant an OKAY mom knock it off. 

So this all brings me to my point , the biggest fight of them all , what do good  moms do ? Well boys and girls  good moms love their children, good moms care, and good moms do whats best for their children(Thats specific there, I literally mean their individual children). As a child from the "get a belt" era I can assure you getting my ass spanked didn't make me a criminal, however getting my rear tanned got a point through my head that you don't do that again mmmmmmmmmmmkay.  Now some parents don't believe in spanking and thats fine by me but whether you do or don't unless you have a degree and a ton of research to support your theory don't go around telling people that they are wrong for the way they raise their kids. So this all brings me to my list of what good mom's don't do.

                                                     GOOD MOMS DON'T......

1. Let others beliefs overthrow her own beliefs on what is right for her children

  Short list ? Well its simple, isn't it and goes back to my main point as a mother you do what is best for your children and don't let others tell you that you are wrong. There are a million blogs out there talking about what changes a person has made and how it has affected their children and life and it is just fine to browse through those things in an attempt to get ideas, better yourself, or make a better life for your family in general. Asking, googling, searching, or whatever else is needed is nothing to be ashamed of and I don't claim to be a perfect mother by any means, I have faults but it just really gets to me when I see someone saying that yelling at your children is abuse or spanking is abuse or even not doing so is abuse. I mean at what point is enough , enough . People have complaints about everything, they get mad if your kid is acting a fool but then claim its abuse when you discipline the child . Therefore, moms/parents discipline how you feel is appropriate for your child because only you know what will work for them and if you need help ask, just don't let those who "know it all" influence how you raise your children because they have made your afraid. Lets all do society a favor and stay out of our neighbors houses and let them raise their children as they see fit. (disclaimer: I'm not saying allow children to be actually abused I'm just saying if you see a parent swat a kid on the rear whether you agree or not walk away and shut your mouth)

The article I was talking about above, I enjoyed it and thought the author made some excellent points .... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-orange-rhino/10-things-i-learned-when-i-stopped-yelling_b_2886161.html