Nature Vs. Nurture ...

How many times have you heard "it runs in the family"?  I have always understood that phrase to be hereditary in nature ... but besides hair and eye color -- and perhaps basic bone structure -- I wonder how much that is actually true.  I wonder if much of who we are is based upon HOW we were raised/trained and not necessarily how our DNA is structured.

For example -- my dad told us the story the other night that growing up he thought he was destined to get dentures at a very young age.  His mom got them by the time she was thirty -- and it was because she had "bad teeth".  To my young dad -- why take care of your teeth if in the end, you will loose them anyway.  Now, good news is -- my dad has all (or most at least) of his original adult teeth -- but the perception of what his future COULD be ... very well COULD have come true because of his mindset.

Going along with the teeth thing ... Joe "doesn't have GOOD teeth" ... I don't know if that was ever told to him, or if that was part of how he was raised, or the fact that he has had a (ahem) cavity or two has justified this.  Several years ago Joe was getting root canal after root canal.  Crown after crown.  He even has an implant.  Since, he has made it a point to take care of his teeth -- and has had NO NEW PROBLEMS!  All of his dental work in the last 5-7 years has been because of problems that he has had with his teeth in the past.  Poor kid barely got any sleep last night because an old root canal has gone bad ... Old problems.  His mindset has changed ....

Switching gears -- I have "Fautin Hips" .... sure -- we inherit body composition from our relatives.  But it shouldn't define who we are.  We shouldn't be satisfied with being overweight simply because it "runs in the family." ... heck -- I have a few cousins who should have "the Fautin hips" ... but are very very slender.  The "Fautin hips" shouldn't justify the 60+ lbs that I need to loose .... I know of people that have made it quite the point to stay in shape and eat right because they were told that would be big and there wasn't anything they could do about it.  It ran in the family.  If the day comes that someone says something like that to my little Elsie ... let's just say the mama claws will be coming out.

The point of all this rambling -- besides to document Joe's poor tooth -- is that we have to be careful of the words we speak to others.  Even if our DNA is stacked against us -- we all struggle with math -- we all have two left feet -- we are all "big girls" -- it is up to us to define who we are.  And don't be the person who breaks someone else down .... remember how your words effect those you love most.

01/06 - Already Noticing a Difference

I read on a news post today that January 6th is said to be most depressing day of the year -- I'm guessing this is only because of those people who make New Years resolutions and can't keep up with them by 6 days into the year.

Luckily for me, I didn't make any "New Years Resolutions" .... my quest for a happier, healthier, fuller life started about the week before !!  :)

Here are the goals our family has set to achieve in 2014.  Some are hard.  Some are a stretch.  Some are common sense.  All we need to work on!!

Joe Goals

Run a Marathon

Jen Goals

Run a Half Marathon

Spend time every day *exercising *Alone time *Spiritual study

Family Goals

Run/Walk 2014 miles

Stick to a written budget

Strive to be healthy in our diet

Read the Book of Mormon

So yes, we have every possible "resolution" you can think up -- but I think my little family was ready for a big life change.  We are doing good ... but can always be better!  And I need to focus on our accomplishments because it makes us have the desire to keep moving forward.  For example.  I've been eating healthy and exercising for a week now and in that time I have noticed a big difference!  I have lost 8 lbs (wahoo in a week!!).  I feel thirsty when I don't drink water (because I've been drinking water more, my body is better at telling me that I need it!), my body (even though I'm at my heaviest ... sigh) still remembers how to exercise!  I can't run as far as I used to -- but I'm not back at ground zero either!.  My heartburn has essentially gone away (suh-weet!) and I don't get as many headaches.  I have more energy.  I don't loose my temper as quickly.  I feel motivated.  Excited.  Empowered.  And ready to kick 68 more pounds to the curb!  

A Web Slinger in your Face

I have felt the urge over the last few weeks to start documenting my thoughts and little life again, so after a good fourteen months of inactivity -- here are the Bouchers again!

One tiny thing I have always loved is little tiny naked baby bums.  There is nothing better than bathing your newborn for the first time and getting them dried off and ready for their diaper and squooshing their little naked bum through the towel.  The best part is -- those naked bare bums are still so cute at 1 and 4 years old!  Jace and Elsie were taking a bath and as I put a towel over Elsie and grabbed her by the bum I started making up my own version of "I like big butts" song ....

I like naked buts and I cannot lie ......

Of course, I sang the entire verse and of course, my little four year old picked up on it right away!  He kept running in and showing me his (untoweled) naked butt and just laughing!  Joe, realizing this was going to be a future problem, changed the song to ...

I like Spidy butts and I cannot lie  ... and you get a web slinger in your face ...

I would like to say that three days later, Jace still requests the naked "butt song".

***

Here's for another funny Jace story.  We have been refinishing our house to sell and it's practically all ready to go.  There is one bathroom that has a toilet paper holder and one that doesn't, so my sweet BOY has dubbed these two bathrooms the "pee" bathroom and the "poop" bathroom, (since he doesn't need paper for the one ... function ... ... he even gets angry at Joe for going pee in the "wrong bathroom" ... oh gosh!