Bullying

I guess bullying is becoming a bigger problem everywhere you go.  We recently had to deal with some bullying issues at Haylee's school, and ended up having her transferred to another classroom.  In talking with my sister about that situation, I learned that her youngest son has also had to deal with bullying.  Now that those incidents have been dealt with and are behind us, a new problem within Carter's Boy Scout troop has popped up.

The first I learned of this issue was during the January camp-out.  The January camp-out was a different setup than most.  First of all it was an indoor camp-out, meaning that we had rented a lodge to stay in.  Secondly, there were two floors, so we put all the boys downstairs and the adults slept upstairs.  The final piece of the puzzle was that the senior patrol leaders slept in a separate room downstairs which left all the younger kids more or less on their own.  Yes, I know... with this setup, we were asking for problems.

Anyway, with the adults watching a movie upstairs and the senior patrol leaders going to bed in their own little room, the stage was set and the bullying began.  There wasn't anything truly major, but some horsing around by a couple of the boys at the expense of a couple others.  Things became loud enough for some of the adults to hear and the Scoutmaster went down to resolve the problem.  Things were quickly back under control and I thought that was the end of it.  However, at the next committee meeting I learned that this was not the case.

One of the boys that was a victim of the pranks decided that he wanted to quit as a result of the bullying.  As a result of that, we decided to have a counselor come speak to the group.  Our hopes were that this would allow everyone to get everything out on the table and provide us with the knowledge and tools to avoid any further incidents in the future.

Surprisingly, we were able to get a counselor to come to the very next meeting.  Unfortunately, the scout that stated he was going to drop because of the incident did not attend.  However, the two primary offenders were both present.  What followed was a rather lengthy and somewhat productive meeting with all the boys participating and coming up with solutions to implement moving forward.

However, there was one specific part of the meeting that I wanted to share.  One of the questions asked by the counselor was how many of them had ever taken the role of the bully at any point in time.  Every single boy there raised their hand except for one, my son.  Naturally, with only one boy not stepping forward, the counselor focused on him and tried to get him to recall some scenario where he had joined in and taken the role of the bully.

What followed was incredible to see.  Every one of the boys there jumped to Carter's defense saying they had never seen him join in and take that role, nor did they believe that he ever would.  It was a very proud moment to be able witness all of the boys defending Carter and hearing them say what a nice guy he is.

Anyway, this is turning out to be quite a lengthy post and it was not really intended to be.  The bottom line is that bullying is becoming more and more prevalent and we as parents need to do what we can to prevent it and make sure that we instill the correct values to make sure our kids are part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Coming Together

It has been a long time since I posted anything here.  The simple reason for that is things have been busy.  The last set of posts were all related to completing the Body By Vi Challenge and losing weight.  The reason Lindsey and I were doing that was to prepare for our wedding and honeymoon.

The wedding went off without a hitch, well almost anyway.  Nothing that any of the guests noticed.  We had a little difficulty in the morning with Lindsey's car not starting, and then a small mix-up on the menu at the reception.  However, it was a wonderful ceremony and I couldn't have been happier with the way everything turned out.

As great as the wedding was, the honeymoon was even better.  We had an incredible time, and we both enjoyed every single minute of it!  It was like another world.  The weather was perfect.  The beach was like a post card.  The food was amazing.  It was exactly what we both wanted and needed.  A perfect week to relax and enjoy life without a care in the world.

Since then, school has started and everyone has gotten back into their normal routines.  Lindsey is working for MPS as a sub, which works out perfect for us.  She has the same schedule as the kids and it is not a problem for her to take a day or two off if anyone gets sick and needs to stay home, and I finally managed to get child support payments stopped so I can actually use that money for what it is intended (taking care of the kids).  In fact, I plan to take them to Vala's this weekend.

All in all, life is good, and it is wonderful to finally see everything coming together.

Body By Vi

90 Day Challenge - DONE

We didn't hit the 100 pound mark, but I would still have to say that it was a very successful 90 days.  We finished 93.6 pounds lighter than we started.  We both feel much healthier, we have more energy, and we are both looking forward to staying healthy and seeing further improvements.

As you can see, there were a couple small bumps along the way, but by doing it together we were almost always able to see positive results for the day.  I have to say almost, because there were special occasions in there where we both had minor setbacks at the same time.  However, we both knew the cause for these and we were able to get back on track after the birthday weekend or camping trip was over.

Now that the first challenge is complete, we both plan to continue the diet.  However, we don't want to start a new 90 day challenge just yet.  We will be leaving for our honeymoon in just under a month, so we will be waiting to start the next 90 day challenge until after we return.

19 Days Remaining

We are in the final weeks of the challenge now, and I am happy to say that I am only 1.4 pounds away from my goal weight.  At this point, I don't think hitting my goal is going to be a problem.  My question is more of if I should try to lose more or be happy at my original goal weight.  

I think the answer I am going to go with is to keep doing what I am doing.  If I lose more, then that is great.  If not, then I must have picked the correct goal weight to start with.

I have to say that I knew I would be able to lose weight on this program.  However, I didn't think that it would provide the transformation that it did in such a short time.  I am still debating if I will post before and after pictures or not.  I still have almost 3 weeks left, so I still have some time to find the courage to be able to post them.  I know Lindsey wants me to, and I'm good with the after photos.... just not so sure about the before shot.  

Anyway, with just under three weeks left, we are both trying to stay motivated and intend to finish this 90 day challenge strong.

6 Weeks In

Lindsey and I are now six weeks into the 90 day challenge, which is three days shy of the halfway point, and I am happy to report that we are down a combined 51.2 pounds!  That means we are more than half way to our goal of losing 100 pounds, and we are ON TARGET.

I have to say that it definitely helps to have someone else doing this program with you.  There are days when the numbers aren't what you want them to be.  There are times when the numbers take small steps in the wrong direction.  However, by being able to look at the combined number instead of just my own, I am able to see progress almost every day.  Even on the days when one of us takes a small step in the wrong direction, the other is able to make up for it and we are still able to post positive results for the day.  Because of this, we both continue to move forward and are down over fifty pounds and are more than half way to our goal.  We both have more energy than we did a month ago, and we are both much healthier than we have been in a long time.

The bottom line is, I am happy with what we have been able to do so far, and I am looking forward to the rest of the journey!

Spilt Energy Drink

I know, lame title.  I mean who cares about the fact that I am a clumsy oaf that spilled my energy drink yesterday?  Well, that's not really the reason for this post.  The reason for this post is what happened after I cleaned up the mess.

I had been dragging and really felt like I needed that extra little boost, so I looked around and found one leftover can of diet Mt. Dew.  I hadn't had a soda in over two weeks and have been doing pretty well with the diet, so I decided that one can couldn't hurt.  I opened the can and took a whiff of the aroma from within.  It was stronger than I remembered.  I was hesitant, but proceeded to go ahead and take a small drink.  Wow!  After having had nothing but water (or flavored water) to drink for two weeks, this was more flavor than I had experienced in a long time.  It was too much.  I had to take a drink of my water to wash out the flavor.  The rest of the can took me an hour to finish, and after each drink, I had some more water to help wash it down.

I know this seems crazy, and a little unrealistic, especially coming from a person that used to drink as much soda as I did.  However, I am actually happy to say that this is reality.  I am back to drinking just my water (or flavored water) and I like it!

12 Days In

Lindsey and I are almost two weeks into the 90 day challenge, and although not every day shows us the results we are wanting to see, we are definitely both doing well and on our way to being healthier and more active!  After the first 12 days, we are down a combined 24.4 pounds!  We even went to the YMCA over the weekend where Lindsey did some cycling while I swam with the kids.  Lindsey even went back the next day to get in a little more time on the bike.

The boost in our energy levels is also noticeable around the house.  We are both getting up and getting things done.  It feels wonderful to have the energy to be able to take on all the chores around the house and still care more about being able to go for a run than what shows are on tv that evening.

The diet itself is also getting easier.  I'm not sure if I am just getting used to the slight hunger feeling, or what the reason is, but I have noticed that I don't want to eat large portions and I am finding it easier and easier to steer away from the unhealthy foods.  Bottom line so far is that we are both seeing good results, are happy with the program so far, and we are looking forward to seeing continued improvements in our numbers.