Balance

Summer feels like it's slipping away fast, probably because I'm back into the swing of things at school and the glimmer of warm summer days spent by the pool are fading fast. Did I really spend two weeks in Florida? It feels like forever ago. Martin thought we still needed to enjoy a warm summer evening together so we jumped in the car and headed through Denver to find some ice cream.

We meandered down the highway into a very up and coming neighborhood where the restaurant lights were twinkling in the dusk as corporate workers laughed over a glasses of wine.  I always wonder what it would be like to have a job in an office...in a skyscraper in the middle of a bustling city.  I could wear a stylish suite with my beautiful heels as I walked along feeling very important. Teacher's aren't known for their stylish work attire and sometimes I look longingly at clothes that would make me feel and look more grown up. But Elmer's glue and sticky fingers don't mix well with Gucci and Prada.  And sitting criss cross applesauce in a slim fitting pencil skirt would probably rip the seams...

Her shoes matched the pink clouds

We strolled along as we ate our gelato...mine was honey and Martin's was chocolate coffee toffee.  I could feel the stresses of work slowly disappearing. It didn't feel like a school night and I liked that. Usually I come home from school and call it a night, but there are so many hours left in the day still...hours that can be filled with exploring and enjoying time with my husband in this big city. 

We get so consumed by our daily lives...work mostly.  I'm trying to hold onto the way I felt those last few weeks of summer vacation...I felt in control of my life, I felt calm.  Nothing was to big to handle and the small stresses in life seemed pointless.  The minute I walked into school I could feel the energy, the stress, the anxiety...deadlines, test scores, meetings. But it's okay. Work is work. While I'm there I'll work my very best helping to make my school a place that I can be proud of.  But when I'm home, it needs to be about Martin and I...and our life. Maybe I'm finally understanding the balance I need. 

 I know summer is slowly fading. I can already feel the change in the morning air, a little cooler a little crisper...it smells like school. It always makes me a little sad, I wish I could hold onto it just a little longer.  Just a few more nights of hand holding as we eat our ice cream, a few more days where the only relief from the heat is to jump into a freezing cold pool, just a few more nights of listening to the crickets latest orchestral arrangement as we fall asleep. 

Soon enough it will be fall and with that comes some of my favorite things...especially this year when I'll become an auntie :) This year is about enjoying life...taking in the smallest of moments, taking advantage of the things around us. I'm working my hardest at learning how to do these things...and I know that a little balance in my life will make it that much easier. 

An Ocean Engagement

I was so excited to be able to take my twin sister's engagement photos while I was in Florida. We woke up early and drove to the beach just as the sun was rising. I think they turned out perfectly :)

ready or not here they come...

This evening was Back to School Night. We put on a little presentation for some of our families and I got to see some of my students from last year who transformed into first graders over the summer.  They walked the halls with their heads high and a new found confidence, after all they are now a year older and wiser and this is their school.

I met a few of my students...there were already some nervous tears and the token child who runs ramped around the room. I've been thinking about my new group of students and all they have to learn; how to sit criss cross applesauce, how to hold a pencil, how to stand in line, how to raise their hand to speak...I could go on all night.

My room is ready for new adventures, new learning and exploring, and new friends. A new year to start fresh, a year filled with endless possibilities.  

Here's to a brand new sparkling school year and here's to the new class of 2024!

Healing

It has been five months since I changed the way I eat. I can't say that everyday has been my best, but I'm proud of myself and I feel better...healthier. There are several reasons why I decided to start eating Paleo, but the biggest reason was for my future.

When I was in high school I was diagnosed with PCOS. My first fear was that I wouldn't be able to have children...I was only 16 and all I could think about was the word infertility.  I thought about the fact that I now had an increased chance of getting adult-onset diabetes and that my teenage skin problems would probably continue if not worsen.  My doctor immediately put me on a birth control pill, but that wouldn't cure me of my PCOS or any of my symptoms. And I was told that when I decided to have children they would start me off right away with fertility drugs. Never once did they say anything about finding a natural way to solve the diagnosis.

PCOS causes excess insulin in our bodies, along with an array of embarrassing and unwanted symptoms.  But what if you took a natural approach to reducing the insulin? If you removed the foods that your body is fighting against? Ridding your body of simple sugars and gluten, and in my case dairy too. Replacing it with protein, nuts and non starchy vegetables. Realizing that what you put into your body is so important to your health and well being. 

My body is healing itself. 

I know that my insulin levels have stabilized because I can feel the change. I'm no longer shaky and lightheaded before I eat lunch  or dinner. My skin is finally clear (which is amazing to me after having taken every pill and potion available with no permanent results). I have more energy. My migraines are far and few in between. My cycle is finally regular. My body composition has changed...for the better :) 

I still struggle daily with food as I've had to begin to change 26 years of eating habits. Sometimes I honestly just want to eat a bag of Cheetos, but remembering why I've made these changes gets me through to another day. Soon it will become routine for me and I won't have to think about it. 

I don't know what the future holds, but I hope that someday I won't have these uncertain thoughts of infertility floating through my mind. That I'll be able to join the motherhood club and that by going back to the way humans have been eating for thousands of years, I will help my body work the way it's supposed to.    

and so it begins...