Okay....it's furbaby time! Here is my newest...4 month old Beau.Bo 005.jpg

We adopted him from the humane society 3 weeks ago. He's part lab and part somethin. We're thinking that the somethin is boxer or pit.
So, here's the funny part...I'm very very afraid of big dogs, but Hubby and the girls have always wanted a big dog. I've spent the afternoon visiting Cesar Milan's site (The Dog Whisperer) and I've asked for his DVD's or books for Mother's Day. I have to learn how to be the pack leader. Hubby and the girls know that I am, but I need to teach this dog that I am, too. My other two dogs are under 5 pounds, so no worries there.

Since everyone is posting pics about their fur-babies, this is our youngest and newest addition to our family.

Tawnya - Do you plan out what you're going to eat the entire day? Or do you just try to avoid those certain types of foods? If you're getting hungry in the afternoon, it could be beneficial to plan yourself a well-rounded snack.

From the sound of it, though, you're bored! (I, too, am a boredom eater.)

When you say those dvds aren't doing anything for you... what exactly do you mean? Do you think they're too easy? You can rent new ones for free from the library to try out. Do you think they aren't fun? Once again you can search for different kinds! It sounds like you have to time to try them out, and doing some form of fun exercise is a hobby, and does take up time.

What about reading? Library to the rescue once again! If there's one in the area, and it's safe to walk to you can get in a little exercise at the same time.

Do you have regular access to the internet? Use 3FC to distract you for 15 minutes until the food cravings pass. Or start a journal/blog and when you feel like you want to grab food, instead write about it. Sometimes getting the feelings out of our heads helps us process them.

Pick up a pencil & paper and art. (Yes, I use art as a verb.) Not a lot of money is needed for that. Call a friend. Make some hanging out plans with other moms who could also probably use a friend to talk to.

You can work through this.

Ok, let's knock these out one at a time.

The first tells me that you are not getting enough at breakfast or at your morning lunch to fill you up. Try lots of proteins and whole grains in the morning to keep you full.

SAHM boredom eating? Welcome to the club. When I hit that part of the day when I don't have time to tackle a big project, but I don't really have anything else to do, I have a tendency to graze.

This ties in with the food cost issue--don't have it in the house. I buy snacks every two weeks. When they are gone, they are gone. Snacks in this house until Friday? Carrots, apples, popcorn, (from kernel, not the overpriced microwave stuff). Pretzels, z-bars and fruit leather are gone. Too bad.

Ask yourself if you are really hungry? What would satisfy you? Don't eat until you find the answer; find the answer before you eat.

As for the walks, you live in Houston? Are the little ones getting sick from air quality? Just being outside should not induce illness, but if you are in a poor air quality area (which is pretty much the whole of east TX), you may have to have a pediatrician help you out. Your kids cannot stay inside forever. That is not good for anyone.

HTH

Great suggestions there from Fae and Anna!

And your Pup is ADORABLE!

Jill -What a CUTE combination! I love terriers, so I love the hints of terrier fur! It's just so cute!

I'm not a SAHM, but I do work full time from my home and I have the same kind of problems. My slump hits me mid-afternoon. I believe that mine is an emotional eating problem as I'm usually feeling lonely or bored. Hubby works with me, but he's not much of a conversationalist. What works best for me is to find some kind of distraction that can't involve eating. I only allow myself to eat in the breakfast nook or dining room, so my distractions involve coming here to 3FC and reading/posting...my computer is in the office...or, I'll play a free game on Pogo...or, I occasionally will tempt Hubby to take a break. Blogging helps sometimes, but only if I use it consistently. The more days I can beat the urge to binge, the stronger I start to feel and the easier it seems to get. Having the scales "smile" for me is also a great incentive. This is why I weigh daily. The best plan is a practical plan. What can you do to distance yourself from the food and keep yourself motivated?

Also, do you get any "me" time? Any adult conversation? Any time out of the house without children? If not, it might be time to do some serious thinking and talking with Hubby about how you can find some time for yourself. We all need this.

Lisa- Not looking good for my uncle either, dying from espestos cancer, very soon now. I will pray for Richie and your sister must be having a horrible time now.

______________________

awwwww

Francie---Happy Birthday.

I have tried talking to my hubby about "me" time and a night out with my best friend and he is totally against me going out and he feels that I have too much to do to have any "me" time. He suffers from PTSD and has mixed feelings about alot of stuff. He's a tough one to "break".



Is there a thread for our team to do some daily exercises? there was a thread once where someone would type in an exercise for the next person to do. Then that person would type in an exercise for the next person to do and so on. And it's up to the person if they want to do ALL posted exercises.

I realize that his medical condition effects the whole family, and that it is something that each of you have to deal with. I get that; I do. But his attitude about your time that you need is HIS problem, not yours. And given that you have the added burden of living with someone with post-traumatic stress, you may need more me time than the average wife to offset that impact on you.

He needs to work through is mixed feelings, which clearly will not happen overnight. But he cannot heal in the construct of your relationship until you can say, "These are the things that need to happen to make this work for everyone" and under those guidelines is where he will make his adjustments. You cannot let his 'mixed feelings' determine YOUR DESTINY. And for a full and healthy life and relationship, you cannot let PTSD rule your home. It is a fact of your marriage, but it is not good for anyone to let it be the center of your marriage.

I really hope you guys are getting help working through this TOGETHER.

Pintobean, I will be up with you in the morning! It's not really that I'm not a morning person, I just am more of a well if the kids aren't killing themselves or each other why crawl out of bed. Hubby gets up at 4am, I get up with him and make his breakfast, pack his lunch and send him out the door. Usually I go back to bed with my alarm set for 6 so I can get up to exercise.. but snooze is my friend and I find myself still hitting it every 7 minutes and it's after 8! Sooooo I am trying to learn to stay up from the time hubby leaves... I guess I can consider it extra me time, extra cleaning time.. since with teaching the oldest and working a bit with the younger ones and then playing mediator all day the house is usually a disaster! or I guess I could use it for extra exercise!

To all of you who have sick loved ones, I will keep you all in my thoughts (sorry, names are failing me right now).

It is time for me to go snuggle on the sofa with hubby for a bit before we go to bed for the night.

Here are my kitties, while we're into posting photos

The one in the foreground is Thor, the one in the back with his head on his brother is Loki. They're our grumpy old man ex-shelter cats, and we love them. I'd say they love us but sometimes I wonder. I do, however, know that they love our bed!

Yeah! That! ^^^^

Not being able to have any "you time" will not make matters easier.