Day Thirty-Five - Bruised Ribs, Sleepless Nights, and Guidelines

As a kid I can remember waking up in the middle of the night and going and climbing in my parents bed.  I don't remember if it was from being scared or lonely (yes, sometimes from wetting the bed) but I remember climbing up and sleeping there.  Well, this week E has woken and come to our room on two different nights, and the other B wasn't sleeping and ended up in our bed.  Now for E we have been very strict about not getting out of bed.  She usually does really well, however when B moved into her room she is afraid of waking him, so she'll get herself up.  The problem is that sometimes she'll use that as an excuse to get up when she doesn't want to go to bed.  Regardless, the last few nights have had very little sleep, and definitely some bruised ribs (that kid can kick like Pelé).

I bring this up mainly because I want to talk about E's excuses for getting out of bed (but also because I want you to know how tired Bekah and I are and give us pity).  Like most kids she uses the typical, "I have to go potty" (five seconds after having gone), "I need a drink of water," or, and this is the hardest "I need someone to cuddle" (that one will make any Daddy break).  When making a lifestyle change or really during the journey to reach any goal, there are rules.  These rules, or guidelines, are there for our benefit.  If we follow them, they can assist us to reach our destination.  For some reason, I find myself still trying to break these guidelines.  I attempt to draw new lines or rewrite the rule book.  Thankfully, I have grace to remind me that if I adjust those boundaries, if I tell myself, "you've been doing so well, you can eat that or you can skip the bike tonight," I am reminded that it will only set me back.  I'm tired of setbacks.  I'm tired of lying to myself that I deserve a "cheat day."  I don't have "cheat days" in my work, parenting, marriage, or Christian walk.  Just think how each of those areas of my life would immediately crumble if I had the mentality that I can bend or break the rules.  So just like I remind E that the rule not to get out of bed is there to help her get sleep which will help her be healthy and grow up strong, I have to remind myself that my guidelines for this journey I'm on are there to help me reach my destination quicker.  So here's to the guidelines in life, especially the ones helping me to lose my butter half.

Calories were great today.  I enjoyed my breakfast (I'll post Bekah's egg white and sausage muffin cup recipe soon) and Bekah made an old favorite (chicken and veggie pasta with tomato sauce... yes, I'll post that recipe too).  I was able to get in a great workout on the bike even with having had men's Bible study tonight.  Weigh in in the AM.  Praying for good results.