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So, when Aaron was 3 weeks old, I distinctly remember being on a walk with him. My c-section 'wound' was pretty well-recovered and I thought to myself, 'that wasn't so bad...I could totally go through that again!' (pregnancy and having a child). Anyway, as I have alluded to, recovery with Joseph was not super awesome. I was in a lot more pain, for a lot longer. The newborn not sleeping phase was pretty tough with the one year old and although I love my son, it is pretty exciting that we are passed that. However, last night, whilst walking with both boys in their super awesome double stroller, FINALLY, at 2 months post c-section...I thought to myself, 'that wasn't so bad...I could totally go through that again'. Fear not friends, we are gonna try to take a breather :) At least for a year (if God agrees with us, which, for today, he does).

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Speaking of taking a breather...
A few years back, I was doing a talk with girls regarding dating/chastity. A young person totally called me out regarding some of my language (which was flowery, and lovely, and all things beautiful) and said, 'yeah, but Mary, it is like,  REALLY hard not to have sex when you are in love'. At first I was a bit taken aback, but since then, it has changed the way I talk to young people. Chastity is beautiful, but it is also REALLY difficult. It takes prayer, grace, confession, and focus. It demands a type of selfless love, which is difficult in a world that celebrates selfishness. Now, when I talk to young people about such things, I say it is going to be tough, it is going to challenge you at times, especially if you are 'in love'. I try to be as real as possible with young people because they need it. Well, my friends...what I have been discovering the last two months is NFP is TOUGH! It takes prayer, grace, confession and focus! It's funny, because like my 'old' talks with teens, I think a lot of people celebrate the beauty of NFP, without talking about how hard it is! About 1.5 months ago, I put out a status update asking practicers of NFP if I could inbox some questions (I put it out without realizing how many people would respond, if I never responded to you, thanks so much for the offer to help). I got some really great guidance from couples going through nfp, it was real, it was good and it was helpful. The whole point of this 'quick take' which is becoming less than quick, is that I STRONGLY feel we need to be REAL when we talk about all things Catholic. We can celebrate the good, the truthful, the beautiful, but part of our faith is a cross...we gotta remember to mention that too.

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Okay, so here is the thing.  Right now, in our country, there is a crud-ton of stuff to be upset or concerned about.  The news is daunting and sometimes REALLY makes me wonder what type of world my children will raise their children in.  Of all the things to be concerned about, can I tell you one thing that is REALLY bothering me that doesn't seem to bother anyone else.  In freaking New York City, they FREAKING passed a FREAKING law about how much soda a person can order at one time.  Now, the thing is, soda consumption is bad (see below), I really don't think people should be gulping down HUGE sodas all day long.  But, in this country, I think we should be trusted to have a RIGHT to order whatever size soda we'd like.  I am being dead.serious. right now.  This kept me up for like an hour yesterday.  It is a really REALLY slippery slope, when even for good reasons (obesity, the cost of health care, etc...) we begin to allow the government to dictate decisions like this.  It is terrifying to me that this law passed with so little concern or outcry from the people.  Are you freaking kidding me?  The sad thing is, it doesn't seem like many people are paying attention...so scary.  That is all I have to say about that.

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Healthy eating has begun. Big Aaron and I had our big weigh-in and picture taking last Saturday, and we are on our way to, hopefully, a healthier us. Lemme just tell you, I do well with about 99.9% of it, but when it comes to not drinking soda, MAN I am struggling. This week, I only had 'pop' twice though...the rest was water or skim milk. My goal is to go soda free next week. MAN, it is hard. We are also reading a great book, 'skinny rules' by Bob Harper (thank you Katie), the biggest loser trainer. Aaron and I are reading a chapter a night to try to remember all the good stuff we have learned about nutrition (side note I think is important to mention, though I ADORE the book, I have ZERO desire to reach society's standard of skinniness...my goal is to get my size 12 'bangin' body' back!).

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Healthy living has begun. As I said last week, I HATE exercise. I mean hate it. BUT, alas, it is part of healthy living and so, it cannot be ignored. This week, I have taken the boys on at least a mile walk, all but one day. That seems to be something that will work for me, while it is still light till later in the evening. This will need to be re-evaluated as it gets darker earlier. We are kicking around some ideas and got some great suggestions.

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Speaking of great suggestions, I just about wanted to cry at how kind people were last week in my '7 quick takes in which I sought advice'. I mean, on my fb page there was a thread of over 60 suggestions. Then, in my inbox, there had to be at least be 20-30 messages. THEN, on this blog, in the comments, I got really good stuff. My dear friend Nichole suggested I compile all the suggestions into some type of document. 'Idealistic Mary' thinks that can happen, the realist in me encourages you to check out the thread to get great ideas! To each of you that took the time out of your busy lives to comment, guide, offer advice...thank you so much! I probably won't get to message back or personally thank everyone, but you all rock. I can't speak enough about how much it meant.

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Big Aaron taught his first 'Financial Peace University' class tonight. I am so very proud of him. His dedication to our family and passion to helping others really does humble me sometimes. The awesomeness of choosing a spouse that puts the needs of others before his own is difficult to put into words. Now, if I could stop yelling at him every thirteen seconds, that would be helpful! Have a super great week!