The Things We Do For Our Children

How many times a week do you catch yourself saying this phrase, "The things we do for our children."? I find myself saying it all the time and for the littlest things. For example putting a smiley face of ketchup on their plate to pray that it helps them actually eat their food. My children are 3 and 2 as most parents understand it's like a constant guessing game on whether or not something is going to please your children. Even though I may not be 100% sure if what Iam going to do will equal my child's happiness I still try in the hopes that I will get that one small hug or smile that tells me I am the coolest people ever....which I am.

My moment of "the things I do for my children" today was at 4am...yes you heard me 4am...ugh! Let me first tell you that I am not, I repeat, not a morning person! So to have me wake up at 4am is a pretty big deal. Today is my little girls 2nd birthday I have a tradition where I decorate their bedroom door with streamers and balloons. Last night I guess I was a little more tired than I thought and ended up falling asleep before I could complete my tradition. When I woke up this morning I strongly debated on just staying in bed and not doing it. I kept telling myself she's only 2 it's not like she's going to really remember any of it anyways. Then I started thinking about her face and how excited she's going to be when she wakes up. So I dragged my butt out of bed and decorated her door with streamers and balloons. I even got her present ready...which I was just going to leave in the shopping bag it came in...my poor second child. The whole time I was thinking, "Man the things we do for our children.". Once I had it completed, her door was decorated and her present ready, I realized that it's not just for our children that we do these things. By making this effort and giving my child a small tradition for her birthdays I'm creating something more for her and for me. It's the memories I'm going to cherish and take with me throughout this life. The memories of how it made them feel and how I felt seeing their happiness. That is why I do all those random things that leave me shaking my head wondering why I am even doing some of these ridiculous things. It's simple really, I get pure joy from seeing their little faces light up. My heart feels so full that when I get their little hugs and kisses telling me thank you I almost cry because I'm so happy. Those little things or silly things we do for our children are not so much for them but it's for our happiness too.


I think these moments of joy are so good for a person's soul. I know that when I get those happy endorphin's released into my body all the feelings of stress and depression are taken away. I am instantly happy and it's no wonder why we enjoy providing those moments for our children. It also gives my kids the happy endorphin's too and I know that for them it's extremely beneficial to receive them. Now I could go all scientific on the topic and describe how these endorphin's are good for you and a child's development and how there are so many healthy benefits for both but I won't bore you with those details. I think it is a natural desire to create moments where we feel such joy, to receive that natural high. Even though there is a possibility that the moments will lead to a complete melt down or even possibly my most embarrassing moment I am willing to take that risk. I think it's important in my life that with so much bad going on in the world to create something small my children will be able to take with them throughout their lives.

The other thought I had with the quote, "The things we do for our children" is that I think too many parents are trying too hard to please their children. Honestly why is it that we feel that we have to compete with one another in such a big way that we end up drowning out the real reasoning behind our actions. Aren't parents supposed to be doing this for their children? Not to show up another parent or child. When it becomes a competition I believe it ends up doing more harm then good. Parents stress levels are increased which tend to lead to grumpy parents. And we all know who gets the brunt of our grumpy emotions; either the children or our spouses. How is this creating something wonderful? I think we need to decrease the competition (thanks pinterest) and start focusing on the small things we can do for our children. I know my children appreciate it more when I take time out to play or read them stories. I'm becoming a little preachy and off topic I'll stop...the whole point of this thought is that I strongly feel our mental happiness is in direct relation to our physical happiness. The more we stress over unnecessary things the harder it is for our bodies to work properly. I'm not saying I'm perfect at this, I have a very strong temper and I can overreact at times. But it is a goal that I work on all the time in order to help keep me healthy. And if I have to shake my head over the silly things I'm doing for my children then I'll know I'm doing something right, not just for them but for myself as well.

Far Away But So Close

This blog is going to be a place for my friend Weronika (Veronica) and me (Lisa) to post about our struggles with staying motivated to be healthy. This isn't going to be redistricted just to physical appearances but also staying mentally healthy. We are both moms with 2 young children at home, our husbands work very hard to give us a comfortable life and we both love our pets. Weronika is a nurse and I am going to school to be a teacher. We have been best friends for the last 10 years. We have supported each other through our husbands deployments, each others pregnancies, successes and losses. She is the one person I confide in and vise versa. The only problem is that she lives in Colorado and I live in Utah. That may not seem like it but she is so far away I'm just so happy that with technology we have been able to stay close friends. This blog is our shared place so one post may be from Weronika while another maybe from me. Keep in mind that even though we basically share one brain we each have our own opinions and outlooks on life. There may be controversial topics that we share on this page but it in no way represents or reflects how the other person feels. As any true friendship should be I respect her opinions and she respects mine. If we disagree that doesn't mean we think of the person any less but it also doesn't give us the right to insult and ridicule each other for how they feel. We ask that same respect be given from our readers and we will in turn give you the same respect. I hope that you enjoy our blogs about fitness, food, family, and much more!

(In the picture Weronika is on the left and I am on the Right)