Blessings In A Backpack

Friday comes around quick in this household.  The kids toss their bags down, run to the fridge to grab a snack before they make a run back out the door to play.  "I'm starving Mom!"  as if they haven't eaten a thing all day. Before you know it they are back for more and ready for dinner time.  In between opening and closing the cabinet doors or the fridge, they grab a drink, a bite, or in some teenage cases, a full meal at least for the next 15 minutes until they are hungry again.    A typical day for most families right?  (Ok, we eat throughout the day for you organized scheduled meal time moms out there.) Go ahead, Google "Kids Hunger"; Hunger Task Force, Kids Count Data Book,  No Kid Hungry, Stop World Hunger.  and a gazillion more links you will find.  These are all titles that we hear platforms on but it doesn't click because we are able to feed our children and have our own daily struggles to worry about, right? Maybe we feel its too overwhelming and really how can just "I" make a difference? Well, what if that child is YOUR child's best friend that doesn't eat, and YOU have no clue because its not something that comes up at play time.

40, Fit & Fabulous OR Fat & Frumpy?!!!!

As if TMZ caught me at my worse!

Feeling Fab with my sista!

A battle I faced when I turned 40, just a number anyway right, no way I was the heaviest ever and I was not facing the doctor again with that #?!  Not for me, I was 9 months in and I had to make a choice and stop the battle within myself.  I stopped working out months ago, or was it years? & started putting myself last.  Within the everyday chaos serving the needs of my family I did what I told every mom what NOT to do and quit thinking about myself when it came to health and nutrition.  My to-do list was a million things long but was the list as important as my health?  “Oh it’s just a season, I’ll get back on track!”  I’d say.  I choked down my Garcinia Cambogia please- make- me- skinny- overnight- pills with a shot of Apple Cider Vinegar and realized this is not the only thing that’s going to get me back on track!  I have to say, I started off on the right path, I had all the right people in my court helping me out; Personal 9Round trainers Jerry & Trina, Emily with Shakeology, Angie my detox queen with supplementing properly, and Dr. Sweet with chiropractic care.  Even with all the right people & tools, it was the mindset that I couldn’t get on track!  I would think about it so much that I swear I did it but saw no physical results!  Ever feel that way?!  Wow, how the mind plays games on me!

The Summer Mrs. Ruffolo conquered the EColi Monster!

Julia, Katie & Mia

1^st day of summer break.  Students are out but Teachers are in, cleaning the last of their decorations, taking down the old, and excited for a summer break of their own.  My daughters Julia, Mia, and I walked into the building ready to help two of our best teachers from the year swap classrooms; Mrs. (Katie) Ruffolo, 1^st grade, moving out and onto a new school in the district, and Mrs. (Becky) Pierson, 2^nd grade, moving in.  We kept laughing how Julia was going to be in the same classroom 2 years in a row from Mrs. Ruffolo to Mrs. Pierson, funny stuff.  Our family loved being at school together helping out where we can and when it comes to our teachers, this was right where we wanted to be kicking off our summer, believe it or not, at least for the first few hours  J . 

The Ruffolo Family!

Katie and I shared the plans of our summer in between taping & labeling boxes and moving desks out of the way.  The girls popped in and out of the classroom transporting items back and forth across the halls.  Katie, with husband Keith, have three beautiful children of her own, the oldest, Maddy (K5 at the time), Ryan & Emily.  Keith was also off work a little bit during the summer so family time was well on its way and many trips were planned to fill it!  We talked about the plans both of our families had and how fast this summer was going to fly by just thinking about it.  It was a great end to a perfect school year and a new beginning to another fun summer. Or was it…

Only about 3 weeks in, all those plans changed and within an instant, Mrs. Katie Ruffolo was in intensive care and coding, unsure if we’d ever see her again.   EColi took over Katies body, and this fast moving monster had no idea who it was dealing with. 

                           "You don't know how strong you are until you have no choice."  -Katie Ruffolo