Back to School

Well, today we all made the trudge back to school...mine was a trudge.  Amelia and Emerson were both thrilled to be heading back to see teachers and friends, which I adore!  I'm so happy with both of their schools and I'm so thankful that they are well taken care of, learning lots, and happy!  That's what's important to me!  So, I trudged...I know that I love my job (I'm a speech-language pathologist for a public school if you don't know) and I love working with kids.  BUT, over Christmas break, I had myself convinced that if I could keep my current salary and be a stay at home mom, I might want to do that!  But, we do enjoy eating and playing and having fun...so off to work I went.

Once I got there I was glad...it was nice seeing my kiddos.  I adore them and they, like my own children, were excited to be back!  Well, for the most part...I do have those older kids who were "too tired" or "wanting to go home" to play with their newly acquired treasures.  I always enjoy hearing them relive the excitement of Christmas morning: what they got for presents, what they did, what they ate...I've got those that have sparkly eyes when they talk of the wonderful gifts that Santa brought them.  I've got those who were way to stressed out by all of the hustle and bustle and were just excited to get back to school and everyday routines.  My sweetest encounter was probably one of my intermediate kiddos who told me that he "fake believes in Santa."  I asked him what he meant by that and he told me that he knows who really puts the presents under their trees, but that he knew how important it was to his momma to have him believe and he didn't want to ruin Christmas for her...I got teary and was so touched by his story. 

Like I said before, I love my job!  BUT, it is a stressful job.  Working at a high impact military school, there is a lot of transition of kids, bringing with it lots of paperwork.  Working with the special education population has frustrations.  And coming back after a nice long break, you are reminded of their ability to lose gains.  And then the paperwork is back staring at you.  And before you know if you're back to deadlines and drafts and meetings and parents calls and progress monitoring. 

All of this stress leads to one thing for me, typically...EATING!  I am for sure an emotional eater.  I eat when I'm stressed for sure.  And for some reason, simply walking into the building increases my hunger level tenfold.  All day if I wasn't working with kids or deep in the thought of paperwork, I was thinking about food.  I packed my breakfast and my lunch and lots of healthy snacks...but since there was a snow day the Friday before winter break, I had a stack of gifts on my desk.  The first one I opened was a box of assorted See's chocolates.  I quickly shoved it into my desk drawer and tried not to hear it calling to me.  But, around 1:30, I had enough...I pulled the box out of my desk drawer, opened it and grabbed the nutrition information out.  I ran it through my point calculate...5 points for 2 pieces of chocolate.  Not horrible, but not typically something I'd waste points on...but, if I wanted to make it through the rest of my day, I needed it.  So, I indulged and had two pieces...it was divine!  I put it in my points tracker, shoved the box back into my desk drawer, and moved on with the rest of my day.  I stayed under my points for the fifth day in a row, and I'm proud of myself.  Now, if I can just continue the pattern of being good, I'll be smooth sailing!

Stress does horrible things...and I know I need more relaxation in my life.  A good friend got my a book for Christmas that I'm excited to start reading...and a secret admirer got me a gift card for a spa date...perhaps I need to do that soon!  Because a massage sounds so much better than eating a whole box of chocolates...um...maybe :)

FOOD FOR THE DAY:

Breakfast: Smart Ones Egg White and Cheese Sandwich, two cuties oranges

Lunch: Green Chili and Cheddar Turkey Burger, and a ton of celery

Snack: two pieces of See's chocolate candy

Dinner: Whole Wheat Sandwich Roll with miracle whip, 8 chicken breast nuggets, 9 tater tots

Dessert: See's Candy Lollipop - I found out that these are only 2 points for a lollipop!  They are a delicious treat and they last a long time so I feel like they are a good option!

I got an e-mail from WeightWatchers...if any of my friends are interested in joining for themselves, it is free registration right now!  Check them out at www.weightwatchers.com