The Big Reveal

3 Years, 23 Weeks.


Food.

I'm a big fan, its no secret.

But sometimes the food we eat can do us more harm than good.

Call it an epiphany; call it a revelation.  But there's more truth to it than the restaurant and food industry would have you believe.

It all comes down to this:  Choices.  We choose what to eat, what we put in our bodies. Because eventually we will have to pay for it later, either with sickness or health.

So the reason for this week's topic is because we've made some pretty dramatic change in our daily lives, namely, our approach to food and what we eat.  Don't get me wrong, I still love to cook and experiment and create delicious gourmet meals.  It's just now I'm more conscious about the quality, nutritional value, and portion size of the ingredients. It's because we have decided to change the habits that have been affecting us physically. Because we wanted to lose the excess weight.  Because we wanted to get healthy.

For ourselves.  But even more importantly, for our family.

Tangie had joined the program last year.  She was still struggling to lose weight, even 2 years after the birth of the twins.  And she hadn't even fully recovered from when she had Braelyn.  For both of us, years of being content and comfortable, coupled with eating out a lot as well as incorporating bad eating habits during stressful work schedules caused us to become lethargic and overweight.   But what was especially bad was that it became "the norm" for us.  We accepted the lifestyle and just lived with the consequences.  Even more, we were instilling these habits down to the children;  a quick stop to McDonald's anytime someone was hungry was acceptable.  Convenience took precedence over health.

So, Tangie decided to make the change first.  She really wanted to drop some weight. And with help from her health coach (who happened to be a friend from church, as well as Braelyn's former nurse practitioner) and living the Habits of Health, she has lost 40 lbs in the past year and has successfully kept it off!  And without taking any drugs, pills, or supplements!  Incredible!

Recently, I was approached by that same friend to join her practice as a health coach.  I had never really thought about being one, as I had always thought I was "healthy", but in truth I too was suffering from a bunch of symptoms, from a sluggish gallbladder to high blood pressure to aches and pains to constantly being tired.  So Tangie and I talked, and decided that if I was to become a health coach, that I needed to make some changes and incorporate a healthier lifestyle.

Obviously.

I wanted to experience the program for myself, so that I too could understand the journey and process.  It took a few days of wrapping my head around the idea and grasping the concept, but once I saw the immediate changes in both weight and inches, I was 100% bought in.  But what was the most amazing thing was the change in energy I felt -- it was revitalizing!

So we continue to learn, make adjustments, and grow with this program.  It has been one of the most rewarding decisions we have made together, and we're excited to be able to share the opportunity to help others achieve optimal health!


Here was our week:

• I attended a Leadership Summit for the company over the weekend, held Thursday through Sunday.  The conference was at the beautiful JW Marriott at Grande Lakes in Orlando, and was a great opportunity to meet some of the company's leaders, including founder Dr. Wayne Anderson and his wife Lori.  It was a great experience and I learned a lot about networking and working with clients.  

Quick pic with Dr. A

and Mrs. A in between the lectures and sessions.

My mentor Donni Alvarenga and I had the opportunity to sit and share with Dr. Anderson during lunch!

• Sabbath we went to church and Sabbath School, and then joined some friends for a haystack lunch over at the Zbaraschuk's, a get together to see our friends Matthias and Stephanie Vohwinkel, in town from Texas.  They had lived here in Orlando before they were married and moved out there for work.  It was great to see them and catch up with everyone.  Later that evening I joined my team back at the conference for a celebration dinner.

The kids dispersed themselves in the Z's huge game room.

Catching up with the man of the house.

Some of the moms chatting together.

Maddy got a chance to hold baby Colby, with Corey's help!

The littlest kids all sat together.

Enjoying conversations without kids distractions.

Team members pose and ham it up before dinner.

We were joined by Executive Vice President Jeanette Mills and Vice President  Kimberly Williams at our table!

Beautiful venue and great weather made for a fantastic evening!

• On Monday I celebrated yet another year of life, the children making it fun and memorable.

Madelyn incognito.

I'm most proud of the prevalent Isidro nose!

Of course the kids would choose the card with the monkey picking its nose!

Mommy joins in on the fun.

• The rest of the week:

Early morning bike ride indoors.

Showing off some gymnastics moves.

Followed by her two shadows.

Clearly loving his brand new back pack.

Waiting patiently for supper.

Randoms:

Braelyn's thoughts on the beach.
Translation:  I love the beach.  Do you know why?  I love the water and in the sand I like to build sand castles.

September at Walmart.  Seriously??

Quotes:

• I was getting ready for the day and changing in my closet.  As I had removed my pajamas the twins walked in and saw me in all my glory:

           Kohl:  "Ahh!  A giant monster!!"

           I don't know whether to take that as a compliment, or...

• We were driving in the car, and then all of a sudden there was a foul smell in the air, from the outside:

           Me:  "Whoa!  That stinks!"

           Maddy:  "What Daddy?"

           Me:  "I smell a toot!  Did you toot Maddy?"

           Maddy:  "No, I not!"

           Me:  "Kohl, did you go toot?"

           Kohl:  "No...[pause]  It was you!!"

           I promise, it was not me!

Bicycle gang.

Have a great weekend!

Big Kid Underwear!

3 Years, 22 Weeks.


I made the decision to forgo purchasing anymore pull-ups for the twins.  We were spending a small fortune every two weeks buying them in bulk from Costco.  The time had come for us to bite the bullet and go full force into potty training mode.

The only exception would be for night time.

So we've prepared ourselves to have a few, okay make that many, accidents in the next few weeks.  I've been bearing down on the task at hand, making sure we're constantly making visits to the bathroom every hour, on the hour, and reminding them to let us know when they have to, you know, go.

And they are THRILLED to be wearing big kid underwear now!

Here was our week:

• Sabbath brought us to church, attending both 2nd service and Sabbath School, before heading back home for naps.  Tangie attended our friend Catherine Ottati's baby shower with Corey that evening, so I took the kids over to the Grodacks' to hang out with Duncan and his crew, joined by Catherine's husband Richard and his two girls, and another friend Tink Kittrell with his two kids.  4 dads and 10 kids, whew!

The twins look thrilled as usual at the start of Sabbath School.

There's that smile!  Maddy comes around.

Finally participating in the activities.

At last, smiling with Mommy!

Tangie getting pampered.

Talking with Colby.

Maddy and the Grodack girls play on top while

the boys play underneath!

Big kids' table vs.

little kids table.  

• Sunday morning I hit the driving range with Bruce, while Tangie took the kids to the Science Center to attend a birthday party for a school classmate there.  She had quite the adventure, with some potty accidents and temper tantrums.  Meanwhile I worked on some projects at home before heading over to the Grodacks' (Again?!  They're such gracious hosts!) to watch the Broncos/Giants game on their big screen, the rest of the family joining later.  The Manning Bowl III featuring the quarterback brothers battling it out; our team coming out on top in the end.  A great way to end the weekend.

It was so nice to just get out and swing the clubs!

Maddy enjoying her pizza at the birthday party.

The twins were lucky to join in a first grader's birthday!

Listening to the science lady talk about science.

She wants to be an archeologist because she loves to dig and find old artifacts, gems, and fossils.

Kohl assists Duncan with the revamping of their gardens.

Brae helps Brady with the heavy load.

• The rest of our week:

At her gymnastics class last Friday.

Doing a catapulted front flip!

Stretching out.  Can you spot Brae?  *hint:  middle right.

Celebrating the grand opening of their new restaurant.  They named it, "The Food Cafe."

Braelyn explaining something profound to Kohl during supper.

Hitching a ride from little sister!

Injuries of the week:

Friday night Kohl stepped on a toy and tweaked his ankle. but he couldn't pin point where the injured area
was, so on Saturday I ended up wrapping his entire leg.  He would be better the next day.

Playing tag, running and not looking ahead results in a nice head knot from the recliner.  Ouch!

Napping positions:

Food this week:

My take on both eggplant & chicken parmesans.

Smoked salmon with mini cucumber and heart of palm.

Randoms:

I saw Tangie and I taking a walk 40 years from now.

I need to be more careful when I give my phone to the twins.
Apparently they like to take photos of unsuspecting people in towels after their showers.

Saw this on Jay Leno's Headlines segment.  Um, no comment...

Quotes:

• Tangie and Brae were talking, and Brae mentioned that I had done something neat and commented, "Daddo is such a clever clogs."

          Daddo has become my nickname.  And apparently "clever clogs" means you're
          very smart!

• Tangie and the kids were on their way to Costco, and on the on ramp to the highway, Maddy looked out over the tree tops and said, "Look!  We're taller than the ceiling!"

• Kohlden and Maddy were chatting in the back of the van when Tangie overheard Kohlden say, "When I grow up like an adult, I can have some coffee and drive the car!"

• We were on our way to pick up Braelyn from school and were stopped at a red light when a dump truck stopped right next to us:

          Maddy:  "Hey, it's Mr. Gilly" (in reference to a dump truck driver from a kids'
                         show)

          Me:  "Yeah, it sure is.  And he's stopped right beside us."

          Maddy:  "He's going to pick Braelyn too."

• So apparently celebrity chef Emeril Legasse was at Orlando Jr. Academy last week inspecting their "Edible School Yard Program" and I was showing Tangie the picture of  him with Braelyn's teacher, Mrs. Lowry:

          Tangie:  "Braelyn, did you meet Mr. Emeril on Thursday?"

          Brae:  [glancing at the photo]  "No, I didn't eat him."

• With the twins at breakfast one morning:

          Me:  "Do you guys want cereal?"

          Twins:  "Yay, cereal!"

          Me:  "Okay, do you want Kix?"

          Maddy:  "Yes, I love cakes."

          Me:  "No, not cakes.  Kix."

          Kohl:  "Maybe Evan's mommy has a cake?"

• Putting the children to bed one evening and I was giving Madelyn a hug, her arms wrapped tight around my neck:

          Maddy:  "Goodnight Daddy."

          Me:  "Goodnight my love."

          Maddy:  "I'm not my love!"

          Me:  "You're not?"

          Maddy:  [matter of fact-ly] "No, I'm Madelyn."

• I had created a small restaurant/cafe area for the kids in the small playhouse in our living room, complete with an open/closed sign:

          Me:  [to Madelyn]  "Is the restaurant open?"

          Maddy:  "No."

          Me:  "What time is the restaurant going to open?"

          Maddy:  "6:60."

          Me:  "Oh, so you mean, 7:00?"

          Maddy:  "No.  6:60."

• Driving to school to bring Braelyn in the morning, the sun was really bright and fiery orange straight ahead:

          Kohl:  "The sun looks like cheese, and the clouds are bread...that's a sandwich!"

• The twins were watching an ABC's lesson on my iPhone and it came to the letter P:

          Me:  "Hey guys, do we go pee?"

          Kohl:  "Yes!"

          Me:  "Where?"

          Kohl:  "In the garden!"

          Nice.

• I was telling the twins that I was going to attend a meeting on Thursday evening, and that a babysitter was coming over to take care of them while I was gone:

          Maddy:  "Pretend?"

          Me:  "No, a real babysitter."

          Maddy:  "Corey?"

          3 more kids wouldn't hurt, right Cor?  ;)

• We were at Costco getting some supplies when I realized our cart was inadvertently blocking the aisle, preventing an elderly woman on her electric scooter from going through:

          Me:  "Oh, I am so sorry."

          Woman:  "No, don't worry.  I was enjoying watching your beautiful children."

          Me:  "Thanks.  Actually, you could watch them for a few hours, if you'd like."

          Woman:  "Oh, I've done my time thank you." [speeds away, chuckling]

Have a great weekend!