Pat is at the top of the leaderboard

The Family Fitness Challenge is off to a roaring start.  We are currently using Everymove so if you want to join us, please do!  It has been great to see what everyone is up to and to cheer each other on.  (Even if you don't want to track and post your own activity, you can still see and cheer anyone you are following on). 

When I last checked, I wasn't in last place, but it is close.  Now that Pat is on the top, all he can talk about is the activity he intends to do to stay on the top.  It is a refreshing change to see him excited about physical activity, especially stretching and crawling.  I have been taking a few videos of him at his physical therapy appointments that I will try to post or at least post on YouTube and post a link, but just not tonight. 

It's that time again!

What time you ask?  Time for a Family Fitness Challenge.  Or rather, a Family and Friend Fitness Challenge as any who want to participate are welcome.  We are currently researching and voting on ideas, once we have selected one I will post additional details about the one we have selected and how you can join up with us if you want to. 

Patrick is super pumped about it.  Just for fun, here is his motivational picture that we printed at Costco on poster size paper for $6.99 and plan to pin up on our ceiling right above his head so it is the first thing he sees when he wakes up in the morning (his idea!). 

We have been watching some really great youtube videos lately from people who have learned to walk again as an adult.  I think we are going to try to get in touch with a couple of them, sometimes a 15 second glimpse of something someone is doing on a video is enough to get the creative juices flowing in my mind to come up with new and fun ways to challenge him. 

 

Okay, so the picture is super teeny and I can't figure out how to make it bigger.  But you get the idea!

Guess what today is?

Here's a hint, this is what we had for dinner. 

Apple pie with ice cream and pizza pie

 Poor pat is so confused!  I tried to explain that today is 3.14, but I lost him somewhere.  :)

Setting goals and learning new skills

Some of you might know that Patrick had a goal to walk without any support aids (human or otherwise) by Christmas.  Well you probably might also know that he was not able to make that goal this Christmas.  At the time he made the goal, he knew it was a huge stretch but still wanted to work toward it.  Personally, I think he is doing amazing.  Nothing really big or impressive, just a lot of slow and steady progress.  The biggest way I can tell that his hard work is paying off is when I look at the muscles in his legs.

Yes that's right!  He has muscle in his legs (both of them actually!)  What a blessing to find a specialist who could help him find a dose of medication that would allow his muscles to start develop in his left side.  I sure wish I had measured his calf muscles when he first started, but I didn't.  So while he might not be walking all on his own yet, he is getting so close! 

I have been inspired by his ability to set goals and work toward them, even if he doesn't always accomplish them.  In my health and personal fitness class this semester, we have been talking about all of the dimensions of wellness.  This week we are discussing spiritual and intellectual health and I have been reminded of the need to set new goals and learn new skills so that we can help our brain to maintain its neuro-plasticity.  It is so crucial to healthy aging and for avoiding development of memory and brain related illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease. 

Patrick and I have a habit of making individual and couple goals at least a few times a year and for one of my homework assignments this week, I have to learn a new skill.  This brought up an intriguing thought.  What skills do I want to develop that I don't currently have?  At first I couldn't think of anything, but once my brain started working, I found that I easily came up with a list of 25 new skills I would like to master this year.  Sounds ambitious I know, but if I don't finish them all this year, there is always next year.  And having a concrete list will give me something to refer back to and add on to.  It is my intent to pick one and learn it and then move on to another until I have finished the list, without worrying about how long it takes me to master each one.  In no particular order, here is my list:

-        Learn to rewire a lamp

-        Learn to play the guitar

-        Learn to knit

-        Learn to crochet

-        Learn to type faster

-        Learn to speed read

-        Learn to kick a soccer ball really far

-        Learn to draw

-        Learn 5 new ways to tie a scarf

-        Learn to make tortillas

-        Learn to replace baseboard pieces

-        Learn to make my own table

-        Learn how to install dimmer switches on my lights

-        Learn better knife skills – how to chop like a chef

-        Learn how to sharpen knives

-        Learn how to whistle

-        Learn how to pick a lock

-        Learn calligraphy

-        Learn how to throw a boomerang

-        Learn to play the organ well enough to play in sacrament meeting
Learn how to juggle

      Learn how to put in a zipper on a skirt

      Learn how to make a modest swimming suit from scratch

      Learn three new swimming strokes

      Learn CPR and get CPR certified - DONE!

      Yes, I started at the bottom of the list.  Not sure yet which one I will pick for my project but now I have lots of ideas of how to bring fun into my life.  I plan to run the list by Pat and see if he wants to learn any of them with me.  :)  Fun date nights planned for a while.  :)  

      So my question for you is, what would your 25 new skills be?  Feel free to share in the comments if you want, it is always fun to be inspired by each other.

     

     I can't resist sharing one last thing.  This week at our Stake Relief Society conference, someone shared this really short Android commercial which I thought was just amazing.  It made me really think about our talents and why we are giving unique talents and what are responsibilities are to increase our talents.  I hope you enjoy it!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLhJIFC8xkY (Android: Monotune video)

No more wifezilla!

First, a confession. 

I have a handy, dandy app on my phone that tracks sleep and it's effectiveness.  So for an experiment, I tracked my sleep last week.  Out of 56 possible hours of sleep, I actually laid in bed trying to sleep for only 44.3 hours.  So at the very maximum I was 11.6 hours short last week of the sleep I should have (and needed) to have gotten. 

Why do I confess this?  Well, I was a big wifezilla/sisterzilla last week (REALLY, REALLY sorry Daniel and Pat!)  And how can I expect Patrick to make sweeping changes in his life when I can't even handle a little thing that makes me feel good like getting enough sleep. 

I have tried quite a few different things, but haven't been able to change so far.  I heard a great quote in one of my classes this week that I want to put to the test.  She said "Everyday you get to decide again who and what you will be."  I know that I don't want to be a wifezilla anymore and I need some help. 

And I know that there are some specific steps to change. 

1. recognizing your problem
2. admitting your problem
3. changing your habits
4. accountability
5. acknowledging your success

So now I can check off one and two from this list.  But I need help with 3 and by posting this here, I am asking for you all to help hold me accountable (check 4 off list).  Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas that might help?  Does anyone want to be my accountability partner or participate in a challenge here? 

Maybe those of you who are really good about getting enough sleep can share some suggestions with those of us who are deficient in this category.  :)  And those that fall in the bandwagon with me could join me in the challenge? 

Inspiring video about overcoming difficulties and learning to be self-sufficient

I decided to post a different kind of video today, but still one that I found inspiring.  We have been discussing family crises and how we handle them in one of my classes this week and one of my fellow students shared this amazing youtube video with me.  Be forewarned, it made me cry!

True Story of A Mother, A Daughter, and A Pineapple

Swimming videos

Pat wanted me to share a few videos of his pool walking with you.  When I was filming him, I was thinking about the very first time I got him in the pool in Greeley with his physical therapist.  He couldn't even go 5 seconds without someone holding him up.  I remember the therapist saying that once he got better at standing on his own, someone could make gentle ripples in the water around him to make a little current so he could try to stand with a little current.  I remember the look of genuine panic on his face and I remember distinctly thinking that it was a grand thought, but I didn't know when/if we could ever get there.  I sure wish I had a video of that first session that I could show.

Well, if you notice, on one of the videos I am posting today, there are other swimmers in the other lanes of the pool.  They tend to be serious swimmers and often splash us quite a bit as they pass.  As you can see, the swimmer splashing by doesn't even phase him, even when he is walking on his own.  What a blessing that he has been able to make so much progress!  I know sometimes he feels like he isn't getting anywhere, but when I look at how much stronger and confident he is, I almost can't believe it.

Here is Pat air clapping.

Here is Pat demonstrating his balance with arm raises.  This is after he has walked for about an hour.  :)  So he was a little tired.  

I tried to post the last two, but it looks like they are too large.  If you still want to see them, you can access them by clicking on the links below.  These are the best one, I highly recommend them!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxds7yJOZ8-RVDRiTjFINVZvdDQ/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bxds7yJOZ8-RcE1meW5UVVBDbHc/view?usp=sharing

Pat surely is a superhero.  Whoever gave him the nickname Superpat sure got it right!