Seven minutes.

Seven minutes- the amount of time that my son was missing in the mall late Thursday night.

We went there after work.  A shoe store caught my eye, so Chad said to go ahead and he'd venture over to the play area with the boys.  I quickly found a pair of shoes that I wanted, however the store was having a buy one, get one 50% off sale.  So there I was, trying to find a shoe worthy of tempting me.  I found a pair that I liked, but thought I'd ask Chad if there were shoes he was wanting before I went ahead with the purchase.  I called him and we were talking about the shoes and how much fun Liam was having.  Then a few minutes into out conversation Chad abruptly interrupted me.

"Just a minute Michelle.  I don't see Liam, " Chad said.

"Oh!  I'll let you go," I quickly replied, assuming he'd soon find him hiding behind a slide or in a tunnel.

We hung up and I continued to deliberate over my shoe choices.  Three minutes passed.  I get another call from Chad.

"Michelle, I can't find Liam anywhere!  Come help me!"

I panicked, threw down my shoe boxes, mumbled a quick apology to the customer service explaining I had a missing child, and bolted out the door.

Fears of becoming one of those mothers that has a child kidnapped ran through my mind.  I scanned the corridors for Liam and any shady looking individuals as I silently and urgently prayed in my mind.

I made my way towards the area where Chad was.  It was late, so things were beginning to close down.  I turned the corner and saw two girls sitting at a proactiv kiosk that was closing.  With panic in my voice and on my face I got out, "If you see a little boy in Cars pajamas with someone that doesn't look like his daddy, please stop them!"

One of the girls then replied that her mom was head of security at the mall and that she could call her right then.  She placed the call and it was within a few minutes that I was reunited with Liam...in front of the helicopter kiosk and at that point with a mall cop.

I was relieved to say the least.  And Liam...just mad that I was making him come with me.  He seemed completely unconcerned that he was wondering around alone in a strange place without any parents.  That punk!  I definitely need to teach that boy stranger danger! 

Now, in the defense of my husband- we later learned that some bystanders saw Liam bolt from the play area and he took off running without so much as pausing to look back.  It was enough time to get a sufficient head start before Chad could even discern that he was actually missing rather than just hiding in some tunnel or something.    

I later checked my phone record to figure out just how long he was missing from us.

Seven minutes.      
(I took this picture on the way home from the mall.  So grateful to have my Liam safe.)

Intuitive eating part 2

It's about time I finish my post regarding intuitive eating.  

Principle #4 Challenge the food police 
This particular principle was a little bit hard for me to differentiate between principle #1- Reject the diet mentality, so I didn't take a lot of notes. But if I had to sum it up- challenge those little thoughts that tell you you're "good" because you didn't eat sugar all day...and "bad" because you ate more than an allotted calorie amount.
moving on...

Principle #5 Feel your fullness
Learn to feel what satiety feels like for you. For some it may be a subtle feeling of stomach fullness or for others a feeling of satisfaction and contentment. Also, remember that if you start eating when you're not hungry, it will be hard to know when to stop out of fullness.

Principle #6 Discover the satisfaction factor
Did you know that the Japenese promote pleasure as one of the goals of a achieving a healthy lifestyle? How cool!

I saw this in Spain too. The country literally shut down for two hours in the middle of the day for lunch or "mediodia". Everyone went home, enjoyed a wonderfully home cooked meal, took a little siesta. They savored this time. They savored their food.

I think Europeans in general are good at savoring and finding true satisfaction from food. One of my mission companions in Spain was from Denmark. I remember one day over lunch we were discussing our favorite meals. I replied, "Spoon Tacos". Of coarse, she didn't know what that was, so I explained that it was a sort of bean dip served with tortilla chips. Even as I was explaining, I realized how silly it sounded.  She looked at me quizzically and replied, "I'm just sort of confused at how chips and dip can be a meal." I don't remember what her favorite dish was, but I do remember it was something a lot more exquisite.

Some suggestions are to ask yourself what you really want. Think about what tastes, textures, aromas, appearances, temperatures, etc., appeal to you.

And to quote the book-
"Our clients are focused on every aspect of food except the here and now. They lament the past and worry about the future (what will I eat, how will I work off these calories), but very rarely do they focus on the actual experience of eating. Therefore, they are not tasting- not experiencing or savoring food."
and...
"When you eat what you really want, in an environment that is inviting, the pleasure you derive will be a powerful force in helping you feel satisfied and content. By providing this experience for yourself, you will find that it takes much less food to decide you've had "enough"".
and last quote...
"If you don't love it, don't eat it, and if you love it, savor it."

You wanna know something funny. I don't like spoon tacos that much anymore. I've learned to savor a little better and have found that I like a meal with a little more variety to it than just chips and dip.  (Well, either that, or I just can't make them as good as my mom.)

Principle #7 Cope with Emotions without using food
Oh, this is a hard one, especially for us girls!  I liked a little chart they showed that showed how we tend to use food to cope with emotions.

<--sensory gratification--comfort--distraction--sedation--punishment-->

Something to think about.

Even though using food as a coping method may seem horrible and wrong, the book points out that you should be grateful that your body is trying to help you recognize that something isn't right and that this is done more as an act of self preservation.

Another book that I read said that journaling could be a good source for coping with emotions and even a way of self discovery if we're willing to have the honesty with ourselves.

But I also must say here that the ultimate source of comfort and self discovery for me has always been God.  It's not usually as instantly gratifying, but isn't it great to know that we can turn to Him in prayer?!  And isn't it great that the Holy Ghost can comfort us?!  I can't count how many times I've found comfort in being able to offer a silent prayer in my head or kneel by my bed and pour out my heart to the Lord.  I've told him how mad or hurt or discouraged or lonely or bored or whatever I've been.   I've asked for help, understanding, comfort or a change of heart.  He's always responded.  I don't think ice cream has ever been that faithful to me.

Well, that's it for the night.  3 more principles for another post.

Below, some pictures of my little "Max Fax" as I like to call him these days.  And I must say, I'm shocked at how much he looks like my sister Shannon in some of these pictures!

Who would've thought that you'd grow up to have a family of your own and you have a kid that look like your grandpa...or your dad...or your little sister (all comments that I've received from others).  Good thing Shannon was a cute, little chunk! ;)  (top 3 pics shan...oh, & the one where he's squinting while he's smiling).  

(If you're wondering where Intuitive eating part 1 is, it's here!)

Lazy afternoon

Do you sometimes just wanna post some pictures but you have nothing clever to say...and you have no idea what the title of the above mentioned post should be? Thus my clever title.

I still have yet to finish my post on intuitive eating. Just don't have the brain power to think tonight. (Oh, and I promise Max isn't so stoic all the time. One of these days I'll catch one of his smiles!)

Our bedtime ritual

"Momo", this is for you :)

(You'll understand when you see the video, but there's pictures of the temple above his bed and a picture of Jesus on his bookshelf.  Usually he points during our song without any prompting from me.  It was fun to see him point from the car when we went to the temple this past weekend.  Oh, and you'll catch a few glimpses of Max.  Chad thinks he looks like a bad extra of a movie that doesn't know he's not supposed to stare at the camera.)