Decisions Made With Love

I have been so in the zone with exercising that I don't even let the heat get to me, I just make sure I have water and I hydrate as much as possible.  Now saying this, I do not go out in the afternoon for a walk unless it is cool out... I usually walk in the morning and in the early evening.  I did walk on the treadmill at work for 20 minutes today... I would much rather walk outside then in that controlled environment.  However; once the icy weather hits in the winter, I am sure I will utilize the treadmill on a permanent basis.  At least until the spring hits again... until then, I am going to enjoy being outdoors.

Alright, enough on exercising... I am addicted to it... so I have been thinking of taking a break from social media.  Either that or I am going to have to slow it down somehow.  I have already cut off all but a couple of notifications from Facebook... however; there is Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, We Heart It... the list is endless.  So, what I have decided is that I will turn off my phone at work... stick it in the drawer and not turn it back on until lunch and after work.  I will allow myself to use it on the bus both ways...  I certainly survived without a cell phone for many years, I am sure I can live without one for 8 hours per day.

With all the walking I am doing, I certainly don't have time to play on the phone .. I only have it with me so that I can Map My Walk... what an awesome app, that and Fitness Pal... LOVE these two apps that help to keep me on track.  I start my vacation on Wednesday, I am going to take the opportunity to take walks that consist of more than a mile or two... just to push myself a little outside of my comfort zone.. Oh my, I am fixated on exercising... okay... done

I find lately that I am longing for simpler days, I want Valentina to have those days... the kind I had when I was growing up.  The ones where we played outside all day, with a jump rope, a ball.. maybe our bikes and just had fun inventing games. Then on rainy days we used our imagination and drew pictures, colored, played school and store... we used our minds and had fun.  My blogging friend Joy from Starting With Myself, reminded me today with her blog how much we have got away from doing this with our children...  What a disservice to our children... they have lost out on fun while we keep giving them every gadget going.

I am not going to continue down that path with Valentina, it stops here... I have done a lot to let her be a little girl for as long as possible... I am going to stand firm by not letting her have a phone for a few more years, I may have one she can use when she is out, so I can reach her but it will not be for use all day long.  Also, I have limited TV with her a great deal, I rarely watch it and I don't want her wasting her time for hours on end with it either.  When school is back, there will be no TV from Monday morning until Friday evening.  Can you call me the unpopular mama... oh well, that is what being a mama is about, not about being her friend and letting her have whatever she wants, it is about the tough decisions. The decisions made with love, the ones she will appreciate when she is older...

I think many of us as parents feel like we don't give our children enough time, so we try to compensate in other ways... I am one of the main culprits, I have a very long commute and I have little time with my Valentina... The answer does not lie in giving her more things, the answer lies in me giving her as much of me as I can, which I do now when I take her out for a walk each night... it also lies in those tough decisions I make with love because that is what they are, I love Valentina, I want the best for her and sometimes making those unpopular decisions are extremely tough. However; it is because I love her that I make the tough decisions, the ones where she feels as though I am a meanie and she 'hates' me... wants a new mama....

Believe me those words hurt a lot but I just keep on and eventually she comes around and tells me she is sorry and that she loves me... those times are worth it.  I am learning to be a stronger mama, I was not like that with Andrea... I was a weakling in many ways... I give the credit to Andrea for being so strong willed and to our church that helped her keep her morales above her friends.  I can't rely on Valentina being as strong as Andrea was that way... most children need to be guided with decisions made with love.

I cherish my past, I accept my present and I dream for my future ♥