Homework Time with Children and Losing It

Homework time in my home used to be the most stressful time for me as a mother. You know when you are trying your best to make a grade 1 understand a lesson and is more than decades since you had your own grade 1, it is a struggle. I used to even drag going home after work, even the thought of it, when I know that the day will be even more strenuous for me emotionally more than it was at work physically.

Let me give you just a glance of what was happening in this house around about 17:45 PM the time I usually arrive during week days. I do not even have time to take my work bag to the bedroom, the moment I enter I fill up the kettle with water to start cooking, oh actually when I enter at the door all my kids come hopping to me, some calling me mama, the other one mommy and the other ma etc. The youngest in this home was around 11 months. I will hold all of them giving hugs and kisses and the last one I will hold on my hip and she will take a while before letting go of me or not at all and have to resort to putting her on my back. She is a heavy child and was around 15.0 kilograms then. If I want to see progress in this house she must be on my back, anyway now she ask for me to put her on my back as she can mutter something I can hear, what can I do, it's called mothering. After all the excitement and is sort of went down I call on my son and niece to ask them if they were given a home work and also reaching for the school bags. I know a few times where they said there was no homework and found us with that red pen gee they are still using a red pen why can't they change to green maybe, somethings just never change.

I check their books and find oh boy there again when is this going to end though...I take out the homework book and the book for writing “Lord have mercy”, I start by asking what we did yesterday they do not know a thing. I get angry and furious and cling fists and teeth and all the angry faces, while at it my 31 months old daughter is crying to be carried as well. We will do the homework and cooking but by the time we finish it we are all angry, teary and pulling faces, just a horrible time in this home. This started to bother me, “life is not supposed to be like this and it looks like I will lose my children in this process”. I like to Google things and topics but this one I did not, I was frustrated, you know when you feel like there is a lump in your chest and all you want to do is just scream, yeah that one. I remember talking to myself as I approach home and actually crying and saying “I do not want to lose my children with this homework thing please Lord help me” and something clicked in my mind that I wanted to lose weight this year 2017 and my goal was to start exercising and dieting, it was time to get rid of all the baby fat besides my girl was going to turn one soon, I cannot be calling it baby fat any more hahahaaa. I missed the point when I forgot to take care of me, to do the things that makes me happy was actually the problem in this whole scenario.

I had to reflect and ask myself where I went wrong in this whole thing and how to solve it. I realized that I forgot they are children and everything is new to them and it takes time to grasp new information. They always say a happy mommy makes a happy home, so this starts with me. I told myself that you know what tomorrow when I arrive, I will give all the hugs and kisses and I will go straight to my bedroom and change to my jogging gear. I like outdoors when I start to exercise it is so revitalizing. I did exactly that the following morning, I was on a mission, behold my child was not even clingy that day wow that was amazing. I went straight out of the door after changing, still no one is crying after me, praise be to the living God. I went for 3 kilometer run and I did that in 22 minutes baaam! I was back. When I came back that is when I asked everyone for their homework, behold I was so relaxed and definitely dripping in sweat.

I sat down with my son and niece with their homework and I told them we are doing the homework today, sitting down for a change. When they did not remember or understand something I was like do not worry you will know next time, mommy will do it with you until you understand, I was more on motivating and praising them when they get something right, or wrong for that matter. I did not force myself to do this, it just came out of me naturally while busy stretching. I found my son stressing over himself when he did not understand something and I was the one who was saying do not worry as long as we do it every day you will know it, do not be hard on yourself, this is new to you. Now I do not ask him to take out his homework most of the times, he takes it out without me asking and if he is watching his favorite television cartoons, he asks politely if he can finish watching and do the homework later. We are not 100% perfect yet, he has his days and I have mine but I am more aware of myself now and more relaxed during this time and if it happens that I just cannot cope at that time. I tell them to pack everything and have a brake and come back after fifteen minutes to finish off and by the time they come back, I have collected myself together and said my motherly affirmations to myself and at it with a bang and patience.

I hope this will help another parent who is struggling with homework time to remember that it starts with you, get yourself together and all things will fall into place when you are in a clear head space. For me it is exercising and prayer that calms me, for you it might be reading your favorite book, but just make sure you are happy for you to make a happy homework time.

Just Me Cruising: How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight:...

Just Me Cruising: How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight:

...: How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight: I have noticed that as I loose weight my skin starts to slightly get loose, this happens ...

How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight

How to prevent sagging skin while losing weight:

I have noticed that as I loose weight my skin starts to slightly get loose, this happens if I am on a yo-yo diet meaning the diet where I can not sustain it and the calories are very restricted and the deficit is way more than 500 calories. Most of the time in these diets we lose muscles more than fat and the scale go down and we celebrate that we have lost weight, three days after that 1 kilogram is gained back and so follow the other kilograms and more than double what you have lost. That is not a problem in a short term, the problem is after these diets we do not feed our muscles after the diet. The secrete is when you see you are loosing weight very fast, slow down a little bit for example you have cut all the carbohydrates then sneak in just a little bit of good carbs and ensure you add more protein to your diet this secrete works better for the ones who does not really enjoy being in the gym 6 days a week.

Secrete number two is to drink lots of water while on the diet,our bodies are made of more than 60% water so work with your body not against it. Secrete number three take gelatin, bone broth, collagen powder or agar-agar if you are vegetarian to maintain the elasticity of the skin. The skin is the biggest organ that occupies a lot of area in our bodies, I believe is a myth that when you lose weight your sagging skin is the after effects. It is not supposed to be like that, the skin can stretch and still tighten again, ask a woman who has given birth. we just need to educate ourselves on how to lose weight the balanced way and more than anything listen to our bodies.

You can find these at Dis-chem with all the description on how to prepare and take it.

Secrete number four is weight training, the bigger you are the better for your skin not to sag by using weight training and a little bit of cardio. Cardio makes our bodies to lose weight fast but does not increase our muscle mass as much as weight training does. To have toned body without sagging skin, just maintain your caloric deficit at 500, drink lots of water, do more weight training alternating with cardio, take gelatin or agar-agar to maintain the elasticity of your skin. I have just explained in simple terms what tends to be very scientific sometimes before getting straight to the point and here I just got to the point without the scientific jargon.

 It can feel like you are not doing any thing and you do not see any changes on your body, remember we can entirely depend on God, ask Him to help you in this journey and give you wisdom on how to take care of your body as the temple of the Holy Spirit. As humans we function on the spirit, soul and physical and all should be aligned together, we cannot neglect the other and only concentrate on one. The equation should balance.

Just Me Cruising: After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak.I ...

Just Me Cruising: After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak.

I ...: After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak. I did do the 13 Days Metabolism Diet for the second time and it was harder than the first ...

After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak.

After 13 days of Metabolism Diet with a tweak.

I did do the 13 Days Metabolism Diet for the second time and it was harder than the first time maybe I did not have enough motivation to get the body that I want at the shortest time. What I did this time around was to add a second cup of coffee in the late afternoons, they were the hardest. I also ate home made bread instead of the store bought bread and I believe my slice were on the big side. There were days where I felt the food was just too little especially on the days where a fruit was eaten, I then added another fruit instead of the one stipulated in the diet. I was also drinking lemon water when too hungry and that is not part of this diet. My conclusion is that, this diet is a very strict diet that needs to be followed exactly the way it is or the expected results will not be achieved. 

In the beginning of the diet and at the end I took the following measurements:

Part	Before	After
Hips	119	115
Belly button	89	87
Around the right thigh	72	71
Waist line (Belt line)	87	84
Around right biceps	33	32.5
Chest	93	89.5
Weight	80.85	77.7

We all know we have all the different 13 Days Metabolism Diet and the one below is the one I followed:

THE DANISH HOSPITAL METABOLISM DIET – 13 DAY PLAN

                         Lump: Means 1tspn, large steak means 200g, spinach/salad 400g, piece chicken is half chicken. DO NOT

                                          CHEAT

Day 1: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar Midday: 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 tomato, steamed spinach Evening: 1 large grilled steak, salad w. oil/lemon

Day 2: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar Midday: 1 slice ham, 1 cup yoghurt Evening: 1 large grilled steak, salad w. oil/lemon

Day 3: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar, 1 slice of toast Midday: Boiled cellery/cauliflower, 1 tomato, 1 fruit Evening: 1 slice ham, 2 hard-boiled eggs, salad w. oil/lemon

Day 4: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar, 1 slice of toast Midday: 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 grated carrot Evening: 1 can fruit salad, 1 cup yoghurt

Day 5: Morning: 1 large grated carrot w. lemon Midday: 1 fillet boiled lean fish w. lemon Evening: 1 large grilled steak, salad w. cellery and oil/lemon

Day 6: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar, 1 slice of toast Midday: 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 grated carrot Evening: 1 piece of chicken, salad w. oil/lemon

Day 7: Morning: 1 cup tea Midday: 1 slice grilled meat (lamb or veal cutlet) Evening: 1 fruit

Day 8: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar Midday: 2 hard-boiled eggs, 1 tomato, steamed spinach Evening: 1 large grilled steak, salad w. oil/lemon

Day 9: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar Midday: 1 slice ham, 1 cup yoghurt Evening: 1 large grilled steak, salad w. oil/lemon

Day 10: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar, 1 slice of toast Midday: Boiled cellery/cauliflower, 1 tomato, 1 fruit Evening: 1 slice ham, 2 hard-boiled eggs, salad w. oil/lemon

Day 11: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar, 1 slice of toast Midday: 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 grated carrot, 1 small cup cottage cheese Evening: 1 can fruit salad, 1 cup yoghurt

Day 12: Morning: 1 large grated carrot w. lemon Midday: 1 fillet boiled lean fish w. lemon Evening: 1 large grilled steak, salad w. cellery and oil/lemon

Day 13: Morning: 1 cup coffee/tea, a lump of sugar, 1 slice of toast Midday: 1 hard-boiled egg, 1 grated carrot Evening: 1 piece of chicken, salad w. oil/lemon

This diet lasts 13 days and although difficult, it is efficient. The metabolism's change is that at the end of the diet one can come back to the normal alimentation without gaining weight for two years. If the diet is respected daily, step by step, one can lose all the fat accumulated in tissues. The diet must last exactly 13 days, not more and not less.

Recommendations:
Any aliment added beside the aliments allowed by the diet (a candy, a chewing gum, a biscuit, a glass of beer or wine) imposes the immediate stop of the diet as it has no longer effect. You can start over again only in six months. In case you cannot resist to keep the diet more than 6 days (respecting all the alimentary indications), stop it and begin again the diet after three months.
If you are hungry, drink water, at least 2 l/day.
The lettuce should be fresh.
Coffee cannot be replaced by tea or the other way round.
The natural yogurt is the non- pasteurized one, without sweeteners or fruits addition.

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