Are you joining us and Sweet-Me for the Sweet-16 Challenge?
If not you totally should, it's going to be inspiring and fun, we promise!

January's challenge for The Sweet-16 is our Health.  We are focusing on getting a better nights sleep, drinking more water, eating for fuel, taking time to relax and movement.



Let’s face it, we live crazy busy lives.  So of course stress is a part of our everyday lives.  We need to learn how to relax and make an effort to practice relaxation in some form daily.  We need to learn to chill out and enjoy ourselves.  Relaxation can be a great coping strategy to help deal with stress and anxiety.  











Other benefits of relaxation are, lowers risk of; depression and anxiety, hypertension, heart related problems, and can help boost our immunity.


Make Time To Take Time For Yourself.

I like to Move it, Move it!

We all know that exercising regularly leads to a healthy and balanced lifestyle. But sometimes it is so hard to muster up the energy to get off of the sofa and move our bodies.  But if we think outside of the box, exercising can be not only rewarding, but fun!

1.  Decide what steps you need to take to make your dreams come true.  Break your dream down into daily steps, and then decided on a daily plan of action.  Set a time frame, and don't and don't be flexible.  Word for it.  Don't let your dreams get away from you just because you were afraid to start on a plan.

2.  Create a Dream board.  Write your dreams down, put them into pictures.  This makes your dreams real and tangible.  When you get your dreams out of your head, then you can plan the steps you need to make them reality.


4.  Get a mentor.   Read inspirational biographies.  Talk to those you admire and who has followed their dreams and learn from them.

Getting a better nights sleep is part of the January Health Challenge for The Sweet-16.
Contributed by www.sweetmeblog.blogspot.com




1.  Move during the day.  Having a regular exercise schedule will help with anxiety, stress and a busy mind, making it easier to get a good nights rest in the evening.  Make sure you schedule your activity at least 2 hours before bed, so that your body has time to use up the post work out energy.

2.  Take a warm bath.  The heat will relax you and loosen your muscles, allowing for a better nights sleep.  Use essential oils to calm and meditate you.

3.  Slip into comfortable pajamas.   Pick something that is not too tight or constricting, but ones that won't bunch up and tug when you move.

4. Set the temperature.  Make sure your home's temperature stays at a between 65-73 to keep optimized sleeping temperature.

5.  Create a comfortable environment.  Leave your bedroom for only bedroom activities.  Invest in a good mattress, splurge on nice sheets, use white noise,......whatever you need to have a good nights sleep is worth the investment.

6.  Unplug.  Turn off the T.V., the laptop, the ipads and cell phones.  Try to unplug an hour before bed, so that your mind has time to quiet down and unplug as well.

7.  Journal or read before bed.  A good way to end the day is to write in a gratitude journal.  It's a good way to quiet  your mind and to chronicle your day.

8. Go to bed at the same time each night.  This will create a shut down habit in your brain, making it easier to fall asleep.

9.  Limit your caffeine intake after 3;00pm.  Doing this will help keep your body on it's natural sleep cycle.

10.   Listen to relaxing music.  Instead of falling asleep to the T.V.  try listening to relaxing music or sounds instead.

Contributed by sweetmeblog@blogspot.com


Today starts the first Sweet-16 challenge.  This month we will be focusing on our health.  I don't know about you, but 2015 was a doozy for me, health wise.  I was in and out of Dr.s offices, I tried a dozen different treatments and medications, and then ended up having two major surgeries within just a few months of each other.  I spent TOO much time, in bed watching Netflix.  (Pretty Little Liars, Gilmore Girls, Parenthood and The Originals were my past time.)  I missed a lot of life and doing what I liked doing.

This year I want to be in control of my body, not the other way around.  I know that there are some things I can't help, and I'm still figuring out all that ails me, but for the most part, I am feeling much better and stronger, and I want to keep it that way!

So January's focus will be to get/be/stay healthy.  We will start a habit that we can continue all year long that will help us feeling our best, so that we can be our best.

SLEEP
Commit to going to bed at the same time each night, and waking up at the same time each morning. By keeping a regular sleep schedule, it will help dramatically with the quality of your sleep.  Your brain will be trained when to shut off, so less laying in bed at night trying to fall asleep AND by waking up at the same time, your body will become used to it, and you will no longer struggle with the snooze button.

WATER
Drinking enough water during the day is vital to our health.  We all know we need to drink more, but we still struggle to do it.  This month commit to drinking more water each day.  This one thing will help you FEEL better more than any other thing you could do.

REST
Research shows that mental breaks increase productivity and encourage creativity.  Moments of rest also allow you to keep a sense of self and helps in motivating you to stay focused on your goals.
Taking time each day to rest and reset will actually help you to accomplish more than if you try to just plow through.  This month make a goal to have a deliberate resting period each day.

MOVE
Get up and do something.  You will sleep better, you will have more energy and will be able to focus that energy better by being active.  You can decide to work out at the gym or train for a marathon.
Moving can be something as simple as deciding to go on a bike ride with your kids or taking a walk in the morning.  It really doesn't matter how you move, just do it.  This month make a habit out of moving and focus on how this helps your sleep, your attitude and how your body embraces it.

FOOD
We all know that you are what you eat.  This month commit to being aware of what is going into your body, and how it makes you feel.   Commit to eating a breakfast full of protein, this one habit will set the stage for more energy in your day.  Cut out sodas, add more fruits or vegetables.  The key to this challenge is to be in tune with how food effects you, and make the necessary changes to get more out of your day.  By using food as fuel instead of a friend, activity, or an emotional crutch you will start to feel like you can do anything.

I will be posting tips and motivation on instagram and facebook, so make sure you follow me.  And join the challenge.  Be a supportive member and let me know what you are doing.  We can do this together!

Let's start off our year feeling good, so that we can tackle our dreams!

Here's to a Sweet-16!

This time of year it is so easy to get caught up in all the lists of things we need to do, buy, bake and see that we lose sight of why we are doing it.

Here we are, 9 more days until Christmas, and I feel stressed out!  I feel like I don't have enough time, energy or money to do everything on my lists.  I don't FEEL like it's Christmas yet because I still have so much more to do.

So I got to thinking..........What do I need to do to make it FEEL like Christmas?

Is it the perfectly decorated home?  Is it baking the best treats?  Is it having the most presents under the tree, or the most beautiful family picture?

Nope!

For me, Christmas is the warmth of cuddling up with my family with hot cocoa and watching Elf.
Christmas is decorating cookies while listening to Christmas music.  Christmas is watching my kids play in the snow.  Christmas is going on a shopping date with my Husband.  Christmas is sitting in church singing Christmas Hymns.

Christmas shouldn't be a stressful time, but for so many of us it is because we think we need more than we do.   We put so much pressure on ourselves to make sure everything is picture perfect, wrapped up pretty and all aglow, that we convince ourselves that THAT is what Christmas is.  That we NEED more in order to have a beautiful Christmas.

This Christmas I hope that you find what you NEED.  That this Christmas brings happiness and peace.  I hope you make the time to sit under the Christmas tree lights and read a book.  I hope you listen to Christmas music as you make dinner.  I hope the magic of Christmas touches your heart in the simplest of ways, so that you can go into the new year knowing that you don't NEED much.  And what you do need, you probably already have.

Today is still-born awareness day. Our daughter, Aria Dawson, changed my life on May 19, 2011. 

Too many women suffer in silence, because this topic is so uncomfortable.  Others don't know how to help with the grieving process, so often times the Mother feels alone. I am so glad we have a day like today to bring awareness and support. I would have been lost without the support we received from the Funeral Home, the cemetery, the group SHARE who offered counseling, helped dress Aria and did molds of her hands and feet, and for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep for the beautiful pictures they did of us with her. 

Here is Heather's Story:

I belong to a club.  Not one that I would have ever wanted to join.  But, one with many members.  One that does not discriminate race, class, age, or circumstance.

On May 19, 2011, I joined a group of woman who are stillborn Moms.

I remember the day so vividly.  I remember my entire pregnancy with such detail.  I am so grateful for those memories, because that is all I have now.  Some of them are hard to re-live, but others bring a smile to my heart.

Like when I first found out I was pregnant.  I called my Husband and we both sat there on the phone for like 10 minutes, laughing and saying "HOLY CRAP!" like a million times.

My first ultra-sound and we heard the baby's heart beat.

The first few months were hard.  I felt guilty about being so sick and not being able to care for my kids while I was growing another one.

I remember having contractions at about 18 weeks.  Calling my Dr. and going in.  The contractions were minor, and they weren't progressing, so we had another ultra-sound.  Baby was sucking it's thumb!  Seeing that made it a little easier to hear, "You need to be on bed-rest.  Don't do anything more than necessary."

Going in a few weeks later and finding out, "75% sure it's a girl.  But she's very modest, and she's still measuring very small so I can't be sure."  I was in disbelief, because I really felt like I was having a boy.

We had an appointment to see a Perinatologists.  My Dr. was concerned with our babies growth and wanted us to have a specialized ultra-sound.  I was really excited for this ultra-sound because I was finally in my third trimester, we were finally able to start feeling her move, and I knew we should be able to for sure know if we were having a girl now.  I was in the home stretch!

We walked into the Hospital for our appointment and my Husband and I were talking about how in just a very short time I would be back there to deliver our baby.  We went into the ultra-sound room and a nurse started the exam.

She started the ultra-sound and started making small talk.  Then she stopped.  She started asking if I was sure on my due-date.  I said yes.  I explained to her that all of my babies measure small, and they all turned out fine.  I just kept chatting away.  She kept typing things on her computer.  Then she said she was going to get the specialist now, and she left the room.

My husband was really quiet.  He was pale.  I really had no idea what was going on.  I looked at the computer screen and the measurements were all over the place.  She was measuring small.  I tried to reassure my husband that yes, she was measuring smaller than our other babies, but I reminded him that ALL of our babies had this same issue, and they turned out fine.

He kissed my forehead and told me he loved me.

He knew.  And he knew that I didn't.;...........................
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Our baby didn't have a heart beat.  From that moment until later that day when I went into Labor, is a blur.   That is the only part of my whole pregnancy I don't remember, and I don't know how I coped with.   I was blind-sided and felt like I was hit by a truck.

We were admitted to Labor and Delivery that afternoon.  They have special rooms for this.  It looks just like a regular delivery room, except there is a picture on the door, so everyone who enters knows that this Mom does not get to take her baby home.  They have specially trained nurses to deal with this too.  Counselors, and people to come in and help you decide what kind of funeral you want, what funeral home you want to use.  I was so overwhelmed having to make these decisions that I had NEVER thought of before.

When I walked in and saw the baby cart I lost it.  For the first time since knowing, I lost it.  It was real.  It was happening.

I was in labor for almost 10 hours.   My nurses were very attentive.  Jason had to leave for a bit to go check on the kids, and one of the nurses stayed in my room with me the entire time, rubbing my back.

Labor pain had really start to set in.

Jason came back, and I decided to finally get the epidural.  A different nurse came in and was checking on my stats and said something to me I will never forget.

She said, "I'm so sorry for your loss.  I know that today is the worst day of your life, but someday, it will be one of your best too."

I wanted to kick her.  When she left the room I looked at my husband and said, "SHE is the nurse that has been trained to deal with this and THAT is what she said!??"

That night, at 11:56 pm.  I delivered Aria Dawson.  No one was in the room with us.  It was just me, my Husband, our daughter.  I knew it was time, and my husband went to push the button to call the nurses, but I just had this feeling that I wanted to do it alone.

That moment was the single most spiritual moment of my entire life.  I felt so loved and so comforted.  I know that Heavenly Father was in that room with us.  He was there to comfort Jason and I, and to take Aria home with him.  I know it with every fiber of my being.  I think that is why I wanted to do it without all the Dr's and nurses.  I knew that Heavenly Father was there with me, and that he would help me.

After I delivered her, Jason called the Dr. in and they had Jason cut the cord.  They cleaned her up a little bit, and then they gave her right to me.

We were able to spend a few hours with our baby.   Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep came in and took pictures.  A group called S.H.A.R.E came in and did molds of Aria's hands and feet, and helped to dress her.  I got to hold her.  I sang to her.  She looked just like her big sister.  Jason gave her her name,  and we prayed together.  Then, when I was ready, the funeral home came, and he took her.

How do you say goodbye to your child?  How do you say goodbye to all of the hopes and dreams you had for that child?

The next few weeks I was numb.  We buried her.  We spent a lot of time together as a family.  We had a lot of support and love from our neighbors and friends.  Lots of flowers delivered, food, cards.  We were well taken care of.  My boys soccer teams got us Pizza gift cards, took the boys to games and practices.  My sister entertained my kids as took them with her everywhere.  My Mom would just sit with me and watch me stare out the window. I cried more tears than I thought was possible.  I got more hugs than I though I could.

I went through every emotion possible.  I was numb.  I was mad.  I was devastated.  I felt guilty.  I felt lonely.  I felt betrayed.  I felt empty.  I felt lost.  I felt loved.

The recovery from having a still-born is the same as having a full term live baby.  I was sore.  My milk came in and I had to be wrapped for a week to dry it out.   I was exhausted.  I slowly started getting back to life.  Getting out of bed.  Getting dressed.  Being my kids Mom.  I love those kids of mine, and I wanted so badly for them to know that I was okay.

I was going to be okay.

The funny thing about time, is it doesn't stop.  The weeks turned into months.  And the months turned into years.

It's been 4 years now.

I still remember everything about my Aria.  And I can still feel every emotion with losing her.

But I feel something else too.

I remember my nurse, the one I hated, and what she said,

"I know that today is the worst day of your life, but someday, it will be one of your best too."

Surprisingly, I get it now.

And she was right.

That day was beautiful.  It was sacred.

I made a promise to my baby girl that day.  I promised her I'd live a full and joyful life for her.  I promised her I'd love greater.  I promised her to be happy.

I see life so differently now.  Life is precious.  Life IS beautiful.  Even on the rainiest of days.  I am grateful!  I am blessed!  I am happy!

I KNOW that my Heavenly Father knows who I am, and he loves me.

I know that I will be reunited with my daughter, and I will get to be her Mom one day, because of the eternal blessings of the Temples and the covenants that I've made there.

I feel so blessed to have an angel baby.  I know she is watching over us.  She got what she needed.  She received her body, and all she ever knew on this earth was that I loved her.  So so much!

How comforting is that!?  All my daughter knew of this world is what she felt in the womb.  She got to hear her Daddy talk to her every night.  He told her how much he loved her.  She got to hear her brothers and sister laugh.  She heard her mother pray for her, daily.  She felt warmth from us cradling my belly.

That best "worst" day of my life, was the day I learned how to live.

(To read how I found purpose after loss, click here.)



May 19, 2011

It's that time of year again.  Back to School.

I always have mixed feelings about my children going back to school.  On the one hand, I love having them home with me.  We love staying up late, playing games, going on bike rides and hanging out.  We spend our summers at water parks, soccer tournaments and family activities.  I hate to see our fun come to an end.

On the other hand, I crave order and routine.  I enjoy letting go of it during the summer, but I do get a little excited about the thought of schedules again.

Every year I like to plan a little Back to School dinner.  I make it a special occasion, one that we look forward to and each of the kids can participate in.  I use it as a night of planning and goal setting for the upcoming school year.   I pick a theme I want to focus on and then go from there.

This year my sister, Hollie, and I were talking and we really liked THIS TALK by President Gordon B. Hinckley.   It's the B's talk.  We were trying to find a way to focus on the the "Be Smart" part of his talk.  After all, it's Back to School.

Then we found a follow up talk he gave,  and I really liked this part.

"For you, my dear friends, the sky is the limit. You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. ........... Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for its opportunities." 

I knew that this was what I wanted our focus to be on.   I want my children to know that they need to not just go through life.   They can't just let life happen, and go with whatever way the wind blows.  They can not become idle in their dreams, and they can do and be anything that they work to be.  They must live their life with PURPOSE!  Anything can be accomplished when they go forward with a positive attitude.

So I put together these bookmarks for each one of my children with excerpts from that talk.










Once everything was set I made a yummy dinner, (post to come) and my Husband I talked to our kids about our Back To School theme.  Then my Husband gave our kids their annual Back to School Blessings.   I always look so forward to this tradition.  I am a bit of a nervous Nelly, and hearing him give each child a blessing always eases my mama bear heart.  He even gives me one, so that I can embrace the new School year, instead of being anxious and feeling sad about the kids leaving.

We then had each child write down 3 goals in their journal that they wanted to focus on for this upcoming school year.  We encourage them to think about this before our dinner, that way they are inspired and can take this process seriously.  We encourage them to think beyond passing tests, and reading a set number of books.   We want them to remember that back to school is about relationships with friends, choosing the right paths, and making the right decisions with their time as well as good grades. They need to seek out knowledge and truth, and to build on their relationship with their Heavenly Father.

I am now looking forward to this upcoming School year with so much excitement!!  I am excited to see what my kids can accomplish now that they have a clear understanding of our expectations and with their goals they set for themselves.   We are ready to Go Forward with Purpose!!!