This is a sponsored follow-up post to last week’s #WeighThis post, part of Lean Cuisine’s campaign encouraging women to weigh the things that matter most in life.

When it comes to issues of worth and beauty, weight and body image, shielding my kids from inappropriate messages in the media simply isn’t possible. Skewed messages about body image echo from everything from magazine covers to popular music, inviting conversation to reset the tone and change the way we think about ourselves.

Caring about the way we look and feel is a natural behavior, and we entertain those feelings in a number of ways in our home, particularly with healthy discussion.

The best way I’ve found in my own life to deal with it—to balance wishing my skin was tauter with recognizing truer measures of beauty—is to water what I want to grow. Feed the good wolf. Making sure our input—what we see, what we read, who we spend time with, what we talk about and what we listen to—celebrates the many different ways we can be beautiful.

Many of you contributed some of these measures in your own life—how you want your weight measured.

Debbie:
I’ve survived!…cancer, divorce, & financial ruin. I started working on a college degree after being out of high school for 37 years & only have 4 more classes to go! I can’t wait to weigh that diploma!!! In the meantime, I’m weighing my 4.0 GPA!

Erica:
So today and all the days ahead I want to measure myself by….the number of babies I have given life to-4. The number of months I nursed-approximately 56. The number of friends, true friends, the kind of friends you know will truly be there when you need them- 5. The number of half marathons I have run and each time have beat my previous time–5.My body and strength fuels that. And finally–10 is the years I have been married this year. Marriage is hard, but I wouldn’t change a thing!

Lauren:
I am proud that I don’t let a diagnosis define me and that I will fight like hell for my health and the sanctity of my relationships. I am proud of my spunk and my kindness. I am happy that I’ve never let my thirst for learning and bettering myself through knowledge cease.

Sarah:
I am proud of the fact that I am coming into my own beliefs and own way of parenting. I always tried to fit a mold: Baptist, SAHM, Attachment Parent…. But I am me. I believe in things from all schools of thought, especially my own. And I am trying to instill this value of self into my 4 children.

Summer:
I’m proud of being a bad-Ass biological, adoptive and foster super mom. I’ve got 6 amazing kids in my house now, only 2 of which are born from my body. It’s crazy and many days I feel like I’m going insane. But I can lay my head down, at the end of the day, and know I’ve done SOMETHING that matters.

Shari:
I just had my third child. Thanks for the reminder that the only weight that matters right now is 7lbs, 8oz of amazing baby boy!

Beth:
I want to “step away from the scale” so that I can be measured in the way my son’s DS diagnosis has opened my own eyes to the real meaning of beauty. Instead let me be weighed by the laughter I share with others and the humor I bring to my own life. Please, let the scale show how I am weaving together words to: advocate, give loved ones a glimpse into my inside and letting go of the fear to speak my mind. Let my weight reflect the weight that has been lifted off of my shoulders when I really choose to be the real me…. 

Let the conversation continue!

If you didn’t see the first #WeighThis post, check out this video:

Thank you again, Lean Cuisine, for initiating conversations about weight and worth.

So much for the “it’s not just rainbows and unicorns here” disclaimer. It’s raining rainbows today.

I shared Ruby’s Rainbow with you in March, and you all helped them raise the roof on their fundraising for the 3-21 Pledge campaign. Because of that, 32 individuals with Down syndrome received letters this week, informing them that Ruby’s Rainbow would help send them to college. Liz, Ruby’s Rainbow founder, texted me a picture of the rainbow-colored envelopes the day they went out–a text now wedged between a hundred other texts filled with recipient photos, ideas for growth, words from recipient’s families and new goals. Two time zones behind me, she’s often the first to text me in the morning and the last to text at night, her mission always the same: let’s send more people with Down syndrome to college. Let’s reach more people. “I’m sorry if I’m bothering you with all these! I promise I’ll stop,” she recently texted. But I can’t let her stop.

Ruby’s Rainbow is on fire.

Remember Zach?

Zach graduated from WCU’s UP Program this summer and is now living independently in his own apartment. He also finished his half marathon this year.

Ruby’s Rainbow just launched their 2015 RainBOWL auction online this morning. There are over 100 items in the boutique, sales of which will help provide more higher education opportunities to people with Down syndrome. Some of my favorite shops generously donated products, and there is plenty more (including many local shops and restaurants in the Austin, Texas area if you live nearby).

Brandon Gruber (a 2015 Ruby’s Rainbow participant) is an artist and donated some of his artwork to the auction.

And more Ruby’s Rainbow Auction items from some of my favorites:

1. Mark Poulin Sloth Family Necklace Set
2. Sophie & Lili Handmade Doll
3. Brandon Lack Original “Flower Garden”
4. The Measure Designs Sunsuit
5. Charlottesville Necklace from Sookie Sookie
6. Handmade Lion Mobile from Pink Cheeks Studio
7. North American Bear Company ABC Activity Mat
8. Detention Tees $20 Gift Card
9. Livie & Luca Your Pick Shoes
10. North American Bear 3 Little Pigs Nesting Puppets

Go check it out, shop and know that your purchases are providing opportunities for individuals with Down syndrome. I need more texts from Liz. Let’s help them continue to grow!

 We love the way Lean Cuisine is using their brand power to promote celebrating a woman’s true worth. This post is written by me and sponsored by Lean Cuisine.

It was adolescence for me—when something shifted and how I valued myself no longer simply included how much fun I was having or how loved I felt. Unbeknownst to my mom, I checked out a stack of Seventeen magazines from the library, read them cover to cover, ripped out a few pages where no one would notice and started a supermodel folder that would slowly grow while my worth shrunk. I made new rules for myself based on the pictures I saved of girls who were prettier than me, and my goals now included straighter teeth, whiter teeth, tanner skin, clearer skin, nails that weren’t bitten, straighter hair, blond hair, longer hair and a number I memorized and can still recall—Niki Taylor’s weight when Seventeen interviewed her for an article that would leave a lasting impression on a young teen girl.

That ridiculous number became part of my value system, and even when I outgrew teen magazines and felt embarrassed about the blue folder stuffed with pictures of waifish girls and Cover Girl models, I hung on to it, applauding myself when I felt comparable and later in college, feeling less than for how my weight had changed. I gained, I lost, I ate, I ran, I binged, I starved and I climbed onto scales—the one in my bedroom at my dad’s house and the one under the counter in my grandma’s bathroom— to measure who I thought I was. And when you’re using fluctuating numbers to quantify precious immeasurable worth, here’s how it usually pans out: not good enough.

I don’t know exactly when it changed for me, but I do know that in between scale-stepping days and today, I discovered a lot of other ways to weigh myself. I found out that I would not crumble and die if I moved 1200 miles away from home on my own. I realized that I was a pretty good teacher and that pouring myself into creative lessons made me happy. I met friends, fell in love and observed my amazing body naturally change over time. I lost pregnancies, healed and welcomed three beautiful children—the way they value themselves a constant responsibility in these early worth-shaping years. I grieved over the news of a diagnosis, discovered deep truths about the power of perspective and learned more about the potential we each possess to use our voice and talents and love to help make someone else’s life better. I read more books and wrote more words and felt how both improved my outlook. And somewhere through all of it, I lost my scale. I can’t remember the last time I weighed myself with numbers.

The number game that starts with an Apgar score moments after we’re born snowballs into a quantitative mess where worth can get tangled up in meaningless numbers—standardized test scores, Facebook followers, Instagram likes, salaries, hits, weight and dress size—if we don’t fight to keep it free.

So WEIGH THIS:

I don’t know how much I weigh, but I know that I can write about 4 pages in my journal every morning, save 15 minutes of my day to talk to my sister, recognize 8 new words my daughter says and run 1 more block than I usually can today—because I’m feeling feisty—before stopping to catch my breath. I don’t know how much I weigh but I’ll tell you how good it felt to hold Nella in my lap this week in a cozy theater for a movie that lasted 1 hour and 42 minutes.

I know how many sea stars we collected the other night—11—before pushing them back out to sea and how many books I’ve saved to read this summer—more than I’ll probably get to. I understand that numbers in life fluctuate, and I accept that because I know I’m not a number, and I certainly want my children to know that they aren’t either.

So naturally, I love what Lean Cuisine is promoting right now: that women should be valued by their accomplishments instead of their appearances. Watch this.

Going to let a scale tell you what you’re worth? Hell no. We are so much more than that.

So what is it? What do you wish people would weigh you on besides your weight? What are you most proud of? Put it out there! Share what really matters to you with hashtag #WeighThis. I’ll collect some favorites and share your words in another upcoming post. Show your scale who’s boss.

What do I weigh?
I’m most proud of my self talk voice within that, over the past few years, has grown more powerful and steady. When I’m challenged, when I fail, when I feel insecure, scared, sad, unsure, this voice has some pretty good things to say and I’m listening more and more. I want the weight of that voice to grow stronger and louder—to tip the scale, and I’m proud of the way that’s happening.

Thank you Lean Cuisine for initiating such important conversation and for using your brand to celebrate the most meaningful things in life.

I can’t wait to hear how you all weigh in! #WeighTHIS