The Mitchells

Grateful for Health

2010-12-01T13:42:00.001-08:00

We all got really sick a couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Carter started it all and developed croup, which spread to Jaden first, then Addison. I HATE croup, it is so scary to wake up in the middle of the night with a child who is having difficulty breathing. Jaden gets it really bad. Last year was our first experience and we had to take him to the ER in the middle of the night on Thanksgiving day. That was no fun. Now that we have some experience with it, so we know more what to expect, but it is always so scary! I let it go with Carter for a few days, hoping it would take care of itself but it got pretty bad so I ended up taking all of them to the doctors as it came up. I thought, "phew, at least we got through all that before Thanksgiving this year!" But that was just the beginning. Jaden developed a fever for a few days, and kept coughing so hard he would throw up. On night he didn't even wake up enough to come get me to clean it up and just fell back asleep. YUCK! After that Carter started Pink Eye, which developed during the weekend so by the time we got him in to the doctors again on Monday he had spread it to Jaden and Addison also.

All along Jeff and I kept thinking how lucky we were that we weren't getting anything from them. Unfortunately the week of Thanksgiving our luck ran out and I got hit hard. I lost my voice completely, I could only whisper, and my throat swelled up so bad I almost cried every time I swallowed. The throat thing lasted for 48 miserable hours and I didn't eat or drink and only slept fitfully. Jeff has since gotten sick also with his throat hurting a little, as well as congestion and coughing. Oh yea, our house has been full of joy this past month.

I thought Thanksgiving was toast, but thankfully I recovered quite suddenly. I remember the time because it was such a drastic change, it was 9pm Tuesday night when I realized I could swallow. So I rallied and made the rolls, chocolate pecan pie and these Thanksgiving turkeys:

They were quite fun to make, and gave a fun touch to our Thanksgiving. The kids loved eating them. This year we were acutely thankful for our health! You never realize how many times an hour you swallow until it hurts like the dickens! I was very grateful to be able to eat and enjoy our feast. It was a close call but we all enjoyed our day of gratitude.

If You're Happy and You Know it Clap Your Hands

2010-11-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

Addison has just learned how to clap her hands! It is so cute, but very hard to catch with the camera. She usually does it when she is eating so Jeff just filmed her for awhile trying to catch it.

Another thing she loves to do while eating is smack the spoonful of food. This is her way of telling us she's done eating. If we keep trying to get her to eat things gets messy very quickly!

Addison: 9 months

2010-10-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

Addison is nine months old! Since I haven't blogged anything about her since her blessing day I think I have some catching up to do! Here are some of the things we have noticed as she grows:

1. She loves to blow raspberries! It is the cutest thing, and quite hilarious during quiet moments at church, though decidedly not reverent-making.

2. She has become quite adept at putting her binky back in her mouth, though it was a learning process.

3. She is very good at sitting up and I am now confident to leave her that way. But she also loves to roll around and covers some pretty good distance.

4. Jaden and Carter absolutely adore her and Jaden is very helpful towards her. He always fetches her toys and still likes to put pillows behind her just in case.

5. She has the cutest little voice and we love to hear her making small squeaky sounds! She is starting to laugh more and more and is quite ticklish.

6. She already has he Daddy wrapped around her little finger and gets really excited when she sees him. He gets a much more enthusiastic greeting in the morning even though I'm the one who wakes up to get her up and feed her. Her whole body tenses up, her little legs start kicking and she gets the biggest smile and even sometimes laughs. It is the cutest thing.

7. She LOVES LOVES LOVES the swing. You can't see it in this picture but her faces just lights up when you give her a little push. She also loves to be thrown up and caught in the air. And often now when I'm holding her she tries to throw herself back. You can see the anticipation on her face as she leans her head back farther and farther, waiting for that fall.

8. It took quite awhile for her to warm up to solids, not at all like my boys who were ready right off the bat at four months. She would refuse to open her mouth or only open enough to stick out her tongue. It took many attempts between 4 and 6 months before she finally decided it was okay. Actually the turning point was when my mom gave her a taste of ice cream. At first she rejected it like anything else offered on a spoon but you could watch the emotion change on her face as she actually tasted it. It was hilarious the way she aggressively grabbed the spoon and tried to get it back in her mouth. After that she was much more willing to taste solids. Unfortunately, because she's eating more solid food now she's not nursing as much and her growth has dropped off the charts. We're trying different ways to get more fat in her diet, but after my experience with Carter who has the same problem I'm not as concerned. My mother had the same problem gaining weight as a child as did I (boy has that ever changed!) so I feel confident that she will progress at her own rate. To us she's perfect!

Seven Years=Breakfast and Lunch

2010-10-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I have been married for 7 years now! It was our anniversary yesterday. Jeff let me sleep in for a bit then he and Jaden brought me breakfast in bed. Oatmeal just the way I like it, some fruit and a glass of milk. I was stuffed, I couldn't even finish it all. What a great Hubby I've been blessed with!

We usually go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate, but our finances being such as they are we were afraid to plan anything. Last minute we decided to go out for a late inexpensive lunch. We took Addison and Carter and had lunch at Thai Basil, Jeff's favorite Thai restaurant. We had Pad Thai, Sesame Scallops, and Chicken Curry, yum! We were so full that later, dinner was a small affair.

I am so grateful to be able to spend my life with such a wonderful companion. Jeff brings so much humor and fun energy into the home. He's always there for me when I need him, and supports me through the rough patches. Its so cute to see the boys growing up to be just like him. Who knew seven years would go by so fast!

We first met at the singles ward in California. One of the first things he said to me was "So, did you just graduate High School?" I had just finished my Bachelors degree, and still have not let him live that one down. Perhaps he was initially looking for someone younger, but I've got a year and a half on him. He had returned from his mission not too long ago and was working at In n' Out and applying for LAPD. I had just returned from a year of teaching English in Taiwan and traveling throughout South East Asia. Right after I met him I left to visit my sister Juli who was living in France and he was left wondering why I wasn't calling him back. Even while on vacation I thought of him and looked forward to my return to the states so that we could go on a date. Dating went smoothly and we were engaged three months later, and married five months after that.

Growing up I was a little afraid of getting married. While in my teens I often heard the phrase "if you think life is hard now just wait until you get married!" Considering that my teens were a very difficult time in my life marriage didn't sound too good. Even when I was engaged I expected married life to be hard. I guess the first year did take some adjustment, but everything since then has been amazingly easy and full of joy. Marrying Jeff has been the best thing I've done in my life, the thing that has brought me the most happiness. Here's to the next 7 years!!

5 Things I HATE About Walmart

2010-06-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

In no particular order:

5. Its always crowded. Trying to navigate the aisles is like trying to make your way through rush hour no matter when you go.

4. The products are not very fresh. I bought a whole bag of onions only to realize they were all rotten when I went to chop them for dinner. The "fresh" kale and lettuce sadly hangs limp over the edge of the shelf.

3. The produce is not well stocked. I don't know how many times I've needed parsley only to find they have none. Seriously?!!! I mean, its PARSLEY, the most commonly used fresh herb there is!!

2. Its too big. If I can stay in one section I'm fine, but if I need something that's located on the other side of the store we're in for a serious trek.

1. The checkers are agonizingly S....L....O....W. 'Nuff said.

Sorry for the grumpiness but I started making dinner last night when I realized that yet another product I bought at Walmart was rotten and I didn't have a replacement. I had to drag the whole troop down there for one thing when I had already spent an hour shopping earlier that same day. The line was long to exchange, which they made me wait in twice. All in all dinner was served right around bed time, and I was starving and exhausted long before it was done. Not such a great night.

Fun in the Sun

2010-06-21T20:57:00.001-07:00

The sun was hot shining through the car window at 9am this morning. We had an early doctor's appointment so Jaden could get his last couple shots for preschool. We promised him a treat afterward so we swung by our favorite doughnut place on the way home. Right next door was a K-Mart so I suggested we check to see if they had any deals on little kiddie pools. I'd been thinking about getting one for awhile but just hadn't gotten around to it. We found one on sale for 10 bucks.

As soon as we got home I filled it up so there would be time for the water to warm up a bit, it is FREEZING straight from the hose. Jaden and Carter were so excited they didn't wait long. Right after lunch they got changed and ran outside. There was a light breeze blowing now but that didn't stop them from climbing in. Jeff and I brought down chairs to watch them. I thought we were just going to be spectators but before I knew it we had a family water fight. We were all laughing hysterically. It was really funny to watch Jaden dump all the water on himself when he tried to throw it on one of us, but with Jeff and I aiming for each other there was plenty of wet to go around.

After the fight died down we all laid out on the porch on the warm concrete and let the sun dry out our clothes and re-warm our bodies. It reminded me of being in California at the beach warming up from the frigid ocean. What a delightful afternoon in the sun.

Szechuan Green Beans withTofu

2010-06-19T08:54:00.000-07:00

I made the yummiest stir-fry dish the other day that I changed so much I can put my own name on it. And hey, it turned out great, so I thought I'd share. Its only my second time experimenting with tofu and I was surprised at how delicious it was. The kids even loved it, Jaden kept asking for more tofu! It even started an amusing dinner conversation. Jaden: "Mom, I want more chicken." Me: "Honey, that's not chicken, it's tofu." Carter: "Toe-who?" Jaden: "No Carter, say toe-foo". Anyway, maybe you had to be there. So here's the recipe:

Margaret's Szechuan Green Beans with Tofu

one package extra firm tofu
frozen green beans (I use the ones from Costco), enough to fill a 12-inch skillet
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
salt and pepper

Cut the tofu into 1/2 inch cubes, and let marinate in the rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili flakes, sugar and hoisin sauce. Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil in a 12-inch skillet until hot, than add frozen green beans, garlic and ginger. Saute 5-7 minutes. Add the tofu and marinade stirring gently for a couple minutes until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and salt and pepper to taste. Serve with cooked brown or wild rice. (Try wild rice, it's so yummy with it!)

That's it! Its so easy, try it! Don't be scared, the tofu was actually good!

Camping at Montaine Day Three: Natalie Comes to Visit

2010-06-12T15:58:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night Jeff's sister Natalie drove up from Denver to hang with us. The kids were so excited to see their aunt. On Wednesday we decided to be a little more ambitious and try a hike twice as long. The hike would take us to three different lakes and back in 3.6 miles. The first lake was Nymph Lake, .5 miles up the trail:

Next was Dream Lake probably about halfway up. It took my breath away!

After Dream Lake we started hitting some serious snow. I've never hiked in so much snow and been warm in a short sleeved shirt and shorts. It was weird. The snow was very wet and slushy as you can imagine which made it pretty treacherous to walk in. Very slippery, which is scary enough when it is just you walking (or falling) but very nerve wracking when you are carrying precious cargo.
The kids were delighted about the snow. They walked through a lot of it, which was great.
We almost gave up, and then we made it to Emerald Lake, and boy was it worth it! What a great accomplishment. Jaden and Carter loved climbing on the rocks:

This was one of the prettiest hikes I've ever been on, especially for only being a few miles. I am so glad we tried it!

That afternoon we took a drive up the alpine loop, which took up almost to 12 thousand feet. There were some crazy fear-of-heights inspiring twist and turns and stunning vistas and views. Unfortunately we needed a wide-angle or panoramic lens to really capture anything, so our pictures just didn't do justice.

That night we had traditional camping "Gut Busters" which were soo yummy (and yes, most definitely gut, and diet, busting) and smores once again. They never get old. After one more night of falling asleep to the wilderness sounds we awoke the last morning to our tent almost falling down around us. These crazy winds blew in every thirty minutes starting in the wee hours and each time we almost got lifted into the heavens. It was crazy. Finally at 6 am after another almost collapse we gave up on sleep and decided to start the packing. We made it home, pretty exhausted, bringing home much dirt and debris, with big smiles on our faces and some memories that won't soon be forgotten.

Camping in Montaine Day Two: Hiking in the Rockies

2010-06-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

After falling asleep to the sound of rain falling on our tent (which amazingly didn't start until everything was done and put away), and frogs coaking (there was a flooded campsite nearby) we woke up bright and early to join the birds in the celebration of a new day. After a breakfast of awesome Pineapple Coconut Crumb Muffins and scrambled eggs, and a nap for Addison, we set off on our first hiking adventure with all three kids. It was still rainy and pretty cold and windy so we all bundled up. We started out easy with a 1.9 mile round trip hike to Alberta Falls:

As you can see Jaden did not want his picture taken for some reason:

The boys did a great job walking! Jaden walked the whole way of course (he is WAY too heavy to carry for any distance). We made Carter walk the whole way back because it was all down hill. He was great for most of it, but he got pretty tired and cranky toward the end.

After the first half mile it got pretty warm and we ended up carrying all our warm clothes back to the car. Alberta Falls was absolutely gorgeous! The water was really moving with all the snow melt. I was a little nervous having the boys wandering around because if they fell over the side into the water I doubt anyone could save them. I gave them strict instructions to not go close to the edge.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Isn't that just stunning?!

This is my favorite picture of Addison and Jeff, isn't the hat so adorable?

There were some great views from above the falls.

We stopped at the top and had a snack of apples and Peanut Butter Balls, which was the perfect hiking snack and went nicely together. As we were munching a little chipmunk came to investigate and would not leave. It was a little creepy because it kept coming so close to us, it was not scared of us at all. It would hide right behind us like it was gonna jump up on us and grab something right out of our hand or just bite us on the butt. It reminded me of the scene with the squirrel from Christmas Vacation and I kept cracking up. Good times.

Camping at Montaine

2010-06-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Monday morning we woke up bright and early, finished the final preparations, packed the van, and drove out to the Rocky Mountain National Park. Jeff did the research on the location and boy did he pick a beautiful spot, Montaine Campground. It was rated #1 out of 50 locations on a web site he found and we were not disappointed. Everything was super green with spring, and almost everywhere you looked was a beautiful view. This was the view when we looked outside our tent:
We think we must have gotten the most beautiful spot in the campground:

The boys loved being free to run around outside all day. They were endlessly entertained by the bugs, rocks and sticks, and all the unique family time:

They also loved seeing all the wildlife up close (I learned those are elk not deer):

Here we have Jeff showing off our awesome skewers! With an extra long handle and two prongs for multiple marshmallows or hot dogs they couldn't be better! They were a little pricey at $4 each at Walmart, but they were well worth it.

Making smores always scores!

Here is the Mitchell Family version, ain't it beautiful?

Update

2010-06-05T09:23:00.000-07:00

Foot: I started wearing my regular running shoes (I was wearing my Five Fingers shoes when I injured my foot) 24hours a day because I noticed my foot hurt less that way. Now I barely feel anything. I'll keep at it for a few days more before I let myself wear cute shoes again just to be sure. But I've been able to continue my training so I'm encouraged by that. Looks like it was nothing a blessing couldn't heal!!

Diet: I've been on the diet for six weeks now. I've had a few challenges along the way (eating at someone's house, i.e. BBQs) that have put major temptation in my path. But I enjoy my little indulgences and go right back to my normal eating habits. Right now I am planning a camping trip and that will be a challenge also. Jeff will want to eat really yummy, fun and easily portable food, and I want to eat healthy, fresh food. When the junk food is right in front of me I rarely say no so this will definitely be hard. Especially since one little push at this point and I feel like I will fall off the wagon. I go back and forth, should I just enjoy my camping trip and eat what the family wants to eat or stick to my guns and make my diet work in the wild. Considering all it took to push me over the edge last night was to DRIVE BY Baskin Robbins to make me stop and order not a kid's scoop, not a single scoop but a double scoop of ice cream makes me think I do not have the will power to last four days surrounded by unhealthy food choices. Sigh. My strength may fail me, but I'll just need to keep going once I get home. All that said, I have lost 15 pounds! So I'm almost halfway done. :)

A Woman's Perogative

2010-05-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Not that you can tell from these adorable pictures, but Addison can be quite the unpredictable woman! This is how she was until VERY late last night...
...when this is what we wanted.

There she was wide awake while I could not keep my eyes open. She normally goes to sleep somewhere between 7 and 8pm. I usually go to sleep anywhere between 9 and 1opm, she was awake and fussy until midnight last night! Luckily I had Jeff home to stay up with her, I don't know what I would have done if he had been working. After all that she still woke up at 7 am this morning!

I think I need to get her on more of a schedule, but I'm not sure how to do it. Any suggestions from you more seasoned mothers?

A Little Self-Pity

2010-05-27T18:26:00.000-07:00

My foot hurts! I love, love, love to run but my body does not. This is an endless source of frustration to me. I am only running TWICE A WEEK right now because I'm training for a triathalon. TWICE A WEEK. No big deal right? My longest run so far has been only 35 minutes. That's IT. And my foot has been hurting for over a week now. I deliberately do not limp on it because I think that caused all kinds of other problems when I fractured the same foot last time. I asked Jeff to give me a blessing last night and I am trying to have the faith to be healed.

At this point I am going to just keep praying and continue my training. I only want to make it to my race. With all the cross training I am doing I am crossing my fingers that I will make it through. It really doesn't hurt that bad, but then again, neither did my stress fracture. I don't care if it is already broken if I can just do my race.

I even bought special shoes that are supposed to strengthen your feet. And I cross train. I haven't trained for a running race in a year. Why does this always happen? Why can some people run 100 miles and not get injured and I can't run 3? I just want to run!!!!

Bike Ride

2010-05-26T08:36:00.000-07:00

I went on an amazing bike ride yesterday. I did the north Santa Fe trail and rode for 70 minutes, so I got more than 5 miles out before I had to turn around and it was so beautiful! After a few miles the trail really opens up and you can see the mountains and all the land around. The weather was perfect, nice and warm and not windy! I have used this trail lots of times but never on a bike so I was never able to go much past the gate to the Air Force Academy. But this time I saw so much more and it was breathtaking. It reminded me why we moved here. It is so beautiful here!

The only down side is my bike is not a mountain bike so I slipped on the dirt a lot and that was scary, plus I saw a snake (shudder). So unfortunately I don't think I'll go this way again, and instead stick to the south going paved road on the other side of Woodmen. I REALLY don't want to fall! It was so beautiful I almost wished I had a mountain bike....but I like my face road-rash-free. Maybe I just need to train for a marathon next so I can run miles out on the trail. Hmm, that's an idea... :)

Keep on keeping on

2010-05-24T19:02:00.001-07:00

I am on my fourth week of my Eat to Live diet and feeling great! So far I've lost 11.5 pounds! Yea! To make it a complete make-over I also started a 90-day schedule to finish the Book of Mormon, and a 12 week triathalon training program. So by the time I go to California in August I will be my new self physically and spiritually.

When I first started my diet I felt overwhelmed by a vegan diet. I mean if you are not eating meat or dairy, what ARE you eating?!! At first I just stuck with meals I already knew and just modified them a bit. I made my favorite split pea soup and just didn't add the ham. I made Red Beans and Rice and only put sausage in Jeff's and the kids' portions. I made bean burritos and left out the cheese and sour cream and added avocado and lots of veggies instead.

We made some other changes as well. We found fabulous whole wheat tortillas at Costco that we love and made the switch to brown rice or wild rice, and soy milk. Instead of having cereal for breakfast I now have Old Fashioned Oats cooked in water, sprinkled with dried blueberries and Craisens, which Carter LOVES (although in Carter's I add lots of butter and little whole milk with the dried fruit). Or I just have a whole grapefruit or some other fruit. Surprisingly the fruit usually holds me till lunch just as well as oatmeal.

I've found some new recipes that I love also. Wild Red Beans, Chickpea and Cauliflower Curry and Robin's Granola, from my friend Robin's website, who started me reading Eat to Live in the first place. Roasted Carrots with Cumin and Lime is also a new favorite. Just the other night I made Golden Mushroom, Pea and Asparagus Risotto which was also delicious (although I'm not sure risotto is a whole grain, but I tried it anyway).

All in all, we're eating a lot more salads, vegetables, and beans. I feel full and satisfied after every meal and don't really have many cravings. I still often want something sweet after dinner but if I really want something I'll have some fruit or a bowl of granola. One night I made a Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie which was amazing, but it can only be a once in a while treat!

Well, I'm halfway through my six week program and over halfway to my goal of losing 20 pounds! Here's to keeping on...

What????

2010-05-04T15:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Jaden said "Look!". We looked and this is what we saw:
If you look closely you can see that our office door is pouring water like it's a faucet!! Jeff, who had gotten home only minutes before quickly figured it out and ran upstairs to turn off the washing machine. I just stood there stupidly, "What?????" I guess the washing machine wiggled the water hose off and it drained straight through the hole in the center of the top of the office door. Weird. Could have been worse I guess, what if we hadn't been home? What would I have done if Jeff wasn't there to run upstairs to turn off the washer? I can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes. By the time I had figured out the mystery our house would have been flooded!

Jaden

2010-05-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

On Sundays I make the whole family take naps because the Sabbath is supposed to be a day of rest. Jaden, who is now five, rarely actually falls asleep anymore and Sunday is usually the only day I actually make him lay down. Well today the whole family actually did fall asleep for a blessed two hours (well all the kids were asleep for two hours, I got about 20 minutes before Addison woke up hungry and then I couldn't fall back asleep). While the house was rarely quiet I enjoyed some time to read the Ensign and a book I've just started. Ahhh. Peace and quiet.

(He actually caught all those fish!)

What I didn't expect to enjoy so much was waking Jaden up. It had been two hours which now meant it was 5 o'clock and I was gonna start dinner soon. When Jaden does sleep he often sleeps a long time. I didn't want him sleeping too long or too close to bedtime so I decided to wake him up. He is a pretty heavy sleeper so its not always an easy or quick thing. I pulled him out of bed and he was so out of it he was kind of resisting not knowing what was going on. He is so big and strong now I almost couldn't get him out of bed! I finally heaved him up into my arms and carried him down the stairs. I could feel him holding in to me and his strength surprised me again. It has been awhile since I've needed to pick him up for anything. I carried him downstairs and sat down on the couch with him. He curled up into my chest like he used to do when he was much littler. As I sat there holding my oldest son who is now barely fitting in my lap as he snuggled into me like he hasn't in years my heart swelled. Here was my first born all legs and arms who struggles when I try to give him hugs, who gets up by himself, gets dressed by himself, puts on his shoes by himself, who almost takes care of himself curled up like the baby he used to be. When he was two he used to love to be snuggled like this for a long time after naps, now I barely get a kiss anymore. And then I could see ten years down the road when he is taller than me, stronger than me, smarter than me (at least he will think he is!), mouthing off to me and hating all the show of love I will want to give him (hopefully not all of it!) and I just hugged him tighter and kissed his head. I tickled him and squeezed him, put my cold hands on him and stole quite a few kisses while he was still willing. I asked him as I often do, "Do you know that I love you?" He answered, "you always do" and I couldn't stop smiling.

Eat to Live: Diary of a Diet

2010-04-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

There's one thing I cannot stop talking about lately. It's this book I read called "Eat to Live."
It's a book about how to lose weight, reverse disease and eat as healthy as possible. You eat tons of fruits and vegetables--four whole fruits a day, 1 lb fresh raw vegetables, 1 lb cooked vegetables, 1 cup beans and legumes, a small amount of raw nuts and seeds (1 oz), only whole grains, no added sugar, very limited fat and no animal products. That's it in a nutshell. The author recommends you go completely vegan, but concedes that a little bit of lean meat and fish is okay.

If anyone asked me two weeks ago if I ever thought I would try a vegan diet I would have said no way. While I was reading the chapter that talks about how bad animal products are for you I had to put the book down and pray to discern truth because I was so resistant to the idea. I didn't want my preconceived notions to close my mind to truth. As I was reading, the Word of Wisdom came to my mind to eat meat sparingly. That never really made sense to me before. I mean, we need protein every day, right? As I kept reading and learned how much protein is in vegetables it all made sense. I don't think I'll ever go all the way vegetarian, but from what I read sparingly makes a lot of sense to me.

So I buckled down and put my money where my mouth is and started the diet yesterday. The amazing thing is I had already started making some changes to my diet last week, and before I even officially started the diet I had lost a couple pounds! Then after one day of really following the rules I lost a pound and a half. And the best thing is I finally feel like I have discovered the healthiest way to eat. I always knew to eat healthy you need to eat a lot of fruit and veggies, but this gives me actual guidelines to go by so I feel like I have more direction.

My only concern is having enough calories to produce breast milk so I make sure I get some fat in the form of avocados, olives, and nuts and some light dressing on my salads. Also I'm not limiting my carbs, I'm just switching to all whole grains. I lost my breast milk by dieting while nursing Jaden so I'm much more aware this time. Hopefully I can catch it if my supply goes down. I feel like it will be okay because I'm not counting calories, I eat as much as I want of the good stuff, I'm just cutting out the junk.

I'm gonna try to keep a diary of the diet so that I can pay attention to positive changes and the progress that I'm making. So hopefully I'll do a good job of keeping y'all posted! Here goes nothing!

Work

2010-04-27T19:15:00.000-07:00

Dirty toilets. Dishes. Dinner. Laundry. Grocery shopping. Gym. More sleep please?

Shoes and Hope

2010-03-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

I saw these on a trainer at the gym yesterday and got so excited! Vibram Five Finger Shoes.

After reading a book last Christmas I absolutely loved, called "Born to Run" I've been curious about these shoes and VERY interested in the science and thought behind them. Believe it or not these are running shoes. The idea (as far as I understand) is that instead of needing more support/cushion in a running shoe you need less, in fact, the less the better. Traditional running shoes weaken your muscles and hide bad form causing more injuries, not less. In the book, the author talked a lot about these superathletes in Mexico that could run hundreds of miles in rubber sandals with no injury, so why couldn't he run a few miles a day without injury? EXACTLY the question that has been plaguing me. Ever since I fractured my foot training for a marathon a few years back I can't even train for a 10K without getting injured. Nothing as serious as before, but enough to stop my training and make me extremely frustrated. After reading "Born to Run" I took my orthodics out and have turned my training upside down. Now I am focusing on weight training to strengthen my muscles before I start running too much, and I won't be buying any new running shoes, unless they are the ones pictured above.

So when I saw the trainer wearing them yesterday I was so excited because I knew she must know something about all that or she wouldn't be wearing them. (I can't imagine anyone wearing them unless they loved running and bought into the idea that stronger feet equals less running injuries--they are pretty ugly I think.) I had a bunch of questions for her and we talked for several minutes. And man, if I could ever pay for a personal trainer it would be her. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to find a way to train for long distances without getting injured. It would resolve a huge frustration for me.

In the meantime I will continue with weight training and wear down my old running shoes and know that there is hope.

Strange Noises and Bad Dreams

2010-03-30T04:45:00.000-07:00

What is with the noise in my bedroom right now?!!!! Its driving me nuts and probably contributed a lot to the horrible dream I just had. I've heard it before on other windy nights but I don't know what makes it happen exactly because it's always windy here and it only happens occasionally (thank goodness!!). I can only describe it as a deep metallic rumbling. Maybe it's the wind blowing through a drain pipe by my window??? I don't know but it is so creepy!

I woke up at 2am surprised that Addison hadn't woken my up yet. I felt like the breast pain from Mastitis was flaring up again so I got up to take some more Motrin and as I got back into bed I had to check Addison's skin for warmth to assure me she was still alive. I don't think those thoughts contributed well to my sleep after that because I had such disturbing dreams I even dreamed about having them! Included were, waking up to finding Addison on the floor, re-swaddling her while she was making scary-movie-like demon faces at me, hearing weird noises in the house, being chased by a man with a gun who is trying to kill me, etc. At one point I thought I was awake because I was in my room thinking about what bad dreams I was having and how I was getting freaked out but that was when I picked up Addison off the floor and she turned into a demon. Ugh. Now I can't sleep and am afraid of the dark.

Giggles

2010-03-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

When I was little I remember always giggling at the dinner table. For some reason my Dad would always get annoyed and tell us to stop. My mom would more often then not be giggling with us. This is what I remember, either from family stories often brought up or from memory, or perhaps both.

History repeats itself. Tonight at the dinner table Carter was so slap-happy it was ridiculous and Jaden couldn't help encouraging him. They both would not stop goofing off and Carter just kept bursting into giggles. Jeff started getting annoyed and we both were trying to get them to settle down and eat their food. It totally brought me back to my childhood. I never understood why my Dad always got so annoyed with us giggling, I mean, we were only laughing, right?

Well here I was on the other end. Only, even though I was a little annoyed, at one point I couldn't help some giggling myself. Carter's laugh is absolutely contagious, and it was just so weird to try to tell our kids to stop laughing.

Finally we had to move Carter to the other table in the kitchen so he could actually eat. Sometimes its so weird to be a parent and after 30 years finally understand something my parents did when I was little.

Ahhhh.

2010-03-13T19:05:00.000-08:00

What a great day today was. I went to our Stake Women's Conference in the morning, even waking up early enough to get everybody ready and out the door in time to drop the boys off at my parents house and still make it the the breakfast at 7:30am. With two kids and a nursing baby, that is quite a feat!

I left that early so I could take the kids to the St. Patrick's Day Parade at noon. It was a last minute decision but its hard to get the kids out because we're often busy with the baby so we stay in a lot lately. The chance to get them out and do something fun for them was too hard to pass up. Besides, I went to most of the conference anyway. When I walked outside and saw the beautiful day that had developed I was soooo glad I didn't spend any more time indoors.

The parade was fun, I got a great parking space, into which I parallel parked like a PRO! It was done in two moves and ten seconds. I should have gotten an award. :) And, it was on two block from Tejon where Jeff was working extra duty. The kids got to watch the parade and check out Daddy's cop car. They got to see the lights and hear the sirens. He even let them climb in the back and showed them how the bad guys couldn't get out once they were put in. (The doors don't open from the inside). Jeff's sister Natalie (who is living with us for awhile) met up with us halfway through the parade and added to the fun family day.

After Jeff got off work we met at Baskin Robbins for ice cream. Surprisingly, all of us had Mint Chocolate Chip for at least one of our scoops except Carter who got Wild and Reckless Sherbet.

When we got home Natalie watched the kids while Jeff slept in preparation for work tonight and I went for a run on the trail behind our house. It was still relatively warm outside, perfect temperature for a run. Almost halfway through my run my Forerunner battery died, which was actually a good thing cuz I stopped thinking about how sluggish pace and just enjoyed the run. On the way back it was all down-hill and about half a mile from my house there was a fox right in the middle of the trail. I'd never even seen fox in real life until we moved here, and I've still only seen one a few times. This one remained in the middle of the trail as I kept my pace steady until I was pretty close, then only moved to side of the trail, still only about six feet away from me. We just stared at each other as I passed. I never knew foxes had such an amazing eye color! It's eyes were a fiery bronze color that matched its fur, it was a beautiful animal. What a surreal moment I won't soon forget. The wind blew gently as I continued down hill and my spirits soared. I returned home exhilirated and uplifted. There are few things better than a really great run.

After the run I made a delicious dinner that I consumed with relish, fed Addison without a bottle, and put her to sleep without much fuss. Ahhhhhh, what a great day. :)

Third Time Is a Charm

2010-03-13T18:38:00.000-08:00

As I nursed Addison at about 2 AM I kept thinking how easy she is. She sleeps great at night, waking up once around 1 or 2 AM, then again around 5 or 5:30. Not bad for not even two months old! She still sleeps most of the day, getting a little fussy in the late morning and evening as she winds down and falls asleep.

The boys have adjusted well to her, I really don't sense any resentment at all from either of them. They are so sweet to her, they love to kiss her on the nose. Carter likes to snuggle against my arm while I'm nursing and say "I like you, Mom. And I like the baby, too."

The third child has been easier for me to adjust to, also. The first baby is a total life change, so even with an easy child, and even though you just have one to deal with, it's quite an adjustment to make. By the time we had another child I thought I had it all figured out. I quickly realized I that I didn't. Carter was VERY different from Jaden from day one. Plus, I still had Jaden to deal with. For me, having a two year old and a new born was very difficult, especially since Carter was NOT an easy baby. So baby number two was also quite an adjustment, even harder than the first.

Nursing was got progressively harder for me. Jaden and I had a pretty rough start, then, right when we were really in the swing of things my milk dried up and nursing came to an abrupt and unwanted stop. I thought that was bad, but when I started nursing Carter he wouldn't latch on correctly and one of my nipples cracked in half. I didn't realized it until he had blood in his spit-up. Very gross. I tried to get past it but nursing became excruciatingly painful. It was like torture session ten times a day. After two weeks I got Mastitis and it was just all too much pain, so I called it quits.

So when Addison was born I was pretty concerned about getting it right this time. Amazingly, so far so good. I've struggled with producing enough milk, but am on a medication right now that seems to have solved the problem. I am on the fourth day of not needing to give her a bottle at night. Yay! That makes me sooo happy!

I am surprised at how easy it all is this time. So far, anyway. I bonded with Addison right away, nursing is going great, she's sleeping great, the boys love her, we all love her. I guess the third time's a charm!

Bobble Head

2010-03-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

Addison is surprisingly good at holding her head up. Almost from day one she would push her head up. I'm guessing this is because she was a week overdue. Now she's only 7 weeks old and she holds her head up without any wiggles. No more bobble head. :)

Addison Blessing Day

2010-03-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday Addison received her baby blessing. Jeff's parents came up for the event and which made for fun weekend. A lady in our ward said Jeff gave a perfectly eloquent blessing. Addsion was blessed to have loving heart filled with charity, a desire to pursue a higher education and a temple marriage, and have strong ties to her family. My mother made sure she had a beautiful dress to be blessed in, which was borrowed from a lady in her ward. The dress and bonnet, and the day could not have been more perfect!

Just look at that smile!!!
I know the boys already miss Grandma and Grandpa!

Farrish

2010-03-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

Last week our ward went to Farrish for a ward activity. Sadly, you can only go there if you are military or are with someone in the military. So I don't know if we will be able to go there again but we had loads of fun! It was beautiful and couldn't have been a more perfect day. There was lots of snow, no wind and a surprisingly warm day. There was a large frozen lake where you could rent ice skates. Jeff decided to improvise:

Carter was delighted to find this stick:

I was worried about Addison, that is might be too cold or too much exposure for her but they had a lodge where I could nurse her, and she didn't mind being outside at all! She was the cutest little pink bear I have ever seen.

Some of the smaller kids, found a rock to slide down. Carter loved it, he spent most of the day climbing up that rock and sliding down it.

I guess it was more fun for him than trying to walk through all the snow on the ground, he's still so tiny he got quite stuck one time:

Of course lots of snow means big snow balls!

And beautiful landscape:

We stayed most of the day and by the time we got in the car to go home we were all pretty tired. Carter said "Mom, I'm not tired, I don't need a nap," but was zonked out two minutes later. It was a very fun winter day!

A Pee-pee in the Potty

2010-02-23T10:28:00.000-08:00

Carter is finally potty trained! After several failed attempts since last summer I decided that what he needed now was consistency. He started telling us throughout the day, even while in the car and at stores that he needed to use the potty so we gave it another shot and just stuck with it. He had a few accidents but I reminded myself that he would learn from it better if I kept underwear on him than if he was constantly changing from underwear back to diapers. I put a change of clothes in my diaper bag and crossed my fingers every time I left the house. Luckily we only had two accidents while not at home.

To help him remember that we was wearing underwear and not a diaper I let him leave his pants off. I realize this is a little white trash but I figured it was ok since we didn't leave the house this way and it was just until he could go a full day without accidents:

He is still so small that using the potty is quite a process for him. First he has to climb on the toilet to turn on the light:

Then he has to bring the stool to the toilet:

And Bingo! He always looks like he's falling in but he doesn't want to use his little boy seat and assures me he isn't getting his bum wet. I guess that would just be adding another step anyway.
Every time he used the potty he got to put a sticker on his potty chart, and when he went a full day without accidents a few days later we took him out for ice cream. We haven't had an accident since! Yeah! I feel pretty proud of myself considering we did all this only a few weeks after Addison was born. I was a super mom for a few days. Hmm. That part didn't last long. :)

Valentines Do-Over

2010-02-16T11:21:00.000-08:00

If the first time fails, try, try again.

Jeff had to work last Saturday night so we decided to celebrate Valentines Day on Friday night. My parents agreed to watch the kiddos so we went out to dinner. Jeff wanted sushi but I was more in the mood for BBQ. In the end Jeff picked out a new BBQ place he wanted to try. We dropped off all three kids (I didn't want to leave Addison at first but then thought if I fed her right before we left it would be okay because she always has some formula around that time anyway and I didn't think we'd be very long cuz we were just doing dinner).

The place Jeff wanted to try was in Old Colorado; a place called Front Range BBQ. I was a little nervous driving so far away, and was already second guessing leaving the baby even though we had just left. Then when we got there the place just had a scummy feel. The two guys we met in the parking lot made me grab Jeff's hand for a reason other than affection. And once we got inside there was group of people waiting for a table that were having quite a colorful conversation. The menu looked good and the reviews got raves but the F-bomb that was dropped in the lobby as we were leaving assured us that we had made the right decision. It may have good food but I don't think we'll ever know.

So there we were back in the car again, 30 minutes gone from our "quick" dinner and we were back to square one. Where to eat? Sushi? BBQ? We decided to go to Texas Roadhouse. On the way Jeff is driving and plugging in the restaurant to see if we could find a closer location than the one we already knew of. We find a closer one, make a U-turn and call ahead to put our names in because the Roadhouse is notorious for long waits. 45 minutes they say. Its now 45 minutes already into our "quick" dinner so 45 minutes more seems like a long time. So we look up the number for the other location closer to home and think we'll just spend some of the time driving over there and which will save time on the drive home. But when we finally get them on the line they say their wait time is an hour and 25 minutes!

Now what? After another U-turn and phone call we end up at Old Colorado location and settle down to wait it out. The place is just insanely crowded (I don't even want to imagine how the other place was!). We calm the hunger pains that are now upon us with a lot of peanuts and check out the menu to save time. We get to know that faces of those around us really well because they do not change. I watch this lady dressed in sweats cry silently for some unknown reason and think it's the saddest thing I've ever seen. I mean, you must be in pretty bad shape to go out in public in a condition like that. Your family must be desperate to cheer you up, or why else would you be out?

After an hour of waiting, looking at the same faces of three different groups that were there before us we called it quits. We weren't even hungry anymore and definitely done waiting. The hostess told us with a straight face that it should only be about 10 more minutes, but in the same sentence added that there were 7 parties in front of us. Eight parties will be seated in 10 minutes? Riiight.

Jeff grabbed a hamburger on the way home but I passed, having totally lost my apetite. By the time we picked the kids up Addison had just finished a bottle and was not interested in what I had to offer. It was a pretty uncomfortable night for me and definitely not good for my milk supply which already not the greatest. Not the best Valentines date we've had.

When we got home Jeff's sister Natalie asked how our date went. When we told her our story she very kindly offered to watch the kids for us the next day if we wanted to go out to breakfast or lunch. Although we weren't too keen on the idea that night, but in the morning we decided to give it another go.

We chose Sushi and had a wonderful date. I guess everyone needs a do-over sometimes.

My Valentine

2010-02-12T14:56:00.000-08:00

I was about to buy a Valentine's Day card for my husband the other day but then I happened to look at the price on the back of the one I picked out. It was over $7! So call me cheap, but I put the card back and decided to write something myself.

10 things I LOVE about my husband:
He comforts me when I'm sad
He's a great father
He builds me up and always tells me I'm beautiful
He's in tune to my emotions
He makes me laugh
He supports me when I feel overwhelmed
We enjoy most of the same activities
We work together on finances
We rarely argue, but when we do, it is with respect and quickly followed by an apology and then forgotten
He is unselfish
He is generous
He is self reliant
He is a hard worker
He loves me always

Okay, that was more than 10 things, but what can I say? My husband is the best!

I'll never forget the first time we went snowboarding when we were dating. I was a little apprehensive about going because I knew it was gonna be difficult to learn and I didn't want to ruin the day for Jeff. He had just told me the day before that he loved me for the first time. I knew the next day would show me just how much he loved me!

I hadn't told him I loved him that night, but I couldn't keep from telling him the next day because he was unbelievably patient and sweet. I was falling all over the mountain while he waited giving instructions. I felt clumsy and silly but he just kept telling me how beautiful I was and how much he loved me. I'll never forget him climbing up the mountain to give me a kiss and wipe all the snow off my face after I had wiped out after only boarding a few feet. It takes a lot of patience to spend an entire day waiting for someone to take over an hour to go down the bunny slope each time. Not much fun. I'll never forget how he treated me that day.

Another favorite memory of mine happened very recently. Shortly after Addison was born I suddenly felt very overwhelmed and exhausted. He found me crying on the couch. After I explained why I was crying he suggested I lay down for a nap and he watch the kids. He tenderly helped me upstairs and tucked me in bed. It seems a simple thing, but the compassion and love he showed me with that simple act spoke volumes. I will remember that day for a long time.

At church today it was Ward Conference and the Stake President talked a lot about marriage. All I could think about was how wonderful mine is.

Addison Renee Mitchell

2010-01-27T10:36:00.000-08:00

On January 19th we welcomed Addison Renee Mitchell to the world. She was born at 6:15pm on my mom's birthday. She weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces (the same weight as Carter when he was born) and 19.5 inches. I was a week overdue and had to be induced. She was just too comfortable in my womb I guess. I was still only dilated 2 cm when I checked in to the hospital at 6:30am that morning. My guess is I would have gone at least another week if my body and Addison had their way. (I am VERY glad they did not.) It took two doses of medicine (I could not remember the name of it for the life of me, even in the hospital, I finally just stopped asking the nurse what it was called) and six hours to get me dilated to 3 cm.

By then it was 1:45 pm and they started me on Pitocin. My contractions started in earnest and the nurse kept needing to turn down the pitocin. Jeff and I had been chillin' out up to this point. Watching movies, playing scrabble, etc. I started off the game of scrabble with a huge lead which I quickly lost as my contractions gained strength. About an hour into the pitocin I gave up on scrabble and decided to take a pain killer in my IV to put off getting the epideral. An hour after that I was dilated to 5cm and we called the anesthesiologist.

After that hurdle was over and I started breathing again, I was attacked by an insane itching that overtook my entire body. I was used to being slightly uncomfortable with an epideral but, this was like a meth induced craziness! I didn't even try to scratch that much because I didn't know where to start and knew it wouldn't help anyway. It was unbelievable! I also started to get really cold and have violent shivers. The nurse kept giving me more blankets but I couldn't stop shaking. With all this going on I was very glad I put off getting the epideral. I would have gone insane if I had the epideral for 10 or 12 hours like my previous deliveries. But by 6pm I started feeling increasing pressure and the doctor was on her way.

One slight down side to only having the epideral for 2 hours was a lot more feeling. I definitely felt much more this time than other pregnancies. I hope I didn't upset other laboring women; I did scream a little. But, strangely, the part that bothered me the most (although it wasn't the part that made me yell) was feeling her stitch me up. I tried not to think about what she was doing but it was hard to ignore. Of course it wasn't as intense as delivering the baby, it was just such a yucky feeling.

So once the labor really started, it was all over in four hours! That sure beats 18 hours with Jaden! When she was plopped on my belly all covered in blood and goo, the first thing I thought was, "She's so pretty!" Second thought, "Wow, she looks just like Carter did as a newborn."

The kids have handled the change great. Jaden is so great with her, he loves to give her kisses and soft little hugs. Carter is a little curious and a little oblivious (hey, I'll take that!). I think they are really enjoying having Daddy home, as is Mommy.

Here is the first time they got to hold their baby sister:

Our beautiful little girl! I know she'll have Daddy wrapped around her little finger in no time!

If I didn't just upload this picture I would think this is a picture of when Carter was born. Except that was pretty much the last time Addison cried that night, which was very different from Carter.
Addison is our easiest baby yet. She only cries when she wants to eat or be changed. She nurses calmly and usually lets me sleep three hours at a time after feeding her at night. She is just completely snuggly and cute. We all adore her.

Baby #3

2009-07-01T10:24:00.001-07:00

In case anyone missed my hidden announcement in my Torch Run post, we are pregnant with baby #3! I am now 12 weeks, pregnant. So far so good. Baby's heart rate is good, mommy is now feeling pretty good, just tired all the time. We'll find out what the sex is around the end of August. I'll keep you all posted. :)

Why I Haven't Been Blogging

2009-07-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

16 1/2 TONS of Landscaping rock:

A trip to Seattle to visit some good childhood friends:

Trenching and sprinkler system building:

A wonderful visit from family:

All the ingredients for one busy June.

Torch Run

2009-05-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I ran the Colorado Springs Torch Run for the Special Olympics yesterday. There are many segments of the run, but we did the ceremonial half mile walk and 5 mile run in the afternoon. It was quite different than any other running event I've done before. First of all, there were a couple of people from the local new channels running it so there were all sorts of cameras in our faces in the beginning. You can see a video of it here, and you can actually see me in the video, behind the news chick, to the right, and Jeff to the left. (I know, we're TV stars!) We started off walking together (it was a small group, maybe 20 runners) through the middle of downtown with a police motorcycle escort. Jeff and I were betting on whether or not the motor cops would have to put their feet down cuz they were barely moving. It was quite a balancing act, we were impressed, although they did have to put their feet down to balance themselves once, that we saw.

Even once we started running, it wasn't a race by any definition; we actually all ran together with those in front sharing the torch. That alone was interesting because if you lagged behind then they tried to get everyone to slow down, talk about pressure! I wasn't expecting that, I've always been free to run my own pace, and was counting on that for this run because I was not properly trained. We've been so busy with planting our garden, preparing our yard for landscaping, refinishing our table, and getting over the flu, that there wasn't much time for training. My longest run before the torch run was 4 miles, and I was pushing it. Normally I would at least get the mileage up to 6 before attempting a 5 mile race. So I was planning on keeping an easy pace (right now that's an 11 or 12 min pace per mile), and just trying to stick it out. Well, that didn't really happen, cuz everyone was running a 10 min pace or faster most of the time.

Jeff did just fine, he was chatting it up with a fellow CSPD officer the last half, but I really started lagging at four miles and slowed down to a walk. I ended up runing about a 4.5 miles, then hopped in a van they had following us to pick up stragglers (yep that would be me). I should have just stuck it out because the end was just around the corner, more than a quarter mile short of 5 miles, I would have been done in just a couple minutes. Oh well, I wasn't the only one in the van. Besides, I'm pregnant! I don't really enjoy running pregnant, not even the first months. I'm just so low on energy, which I always feel the most whenever I try to run when I'm prego. Thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

So in the end Jeff did great, his first running event and he did 5 miles without much training at all! And he was barely even puffin' at a fast 10 min pace. Not bad, huh?

Let Me Count the Days

2009-05-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

How many times can the family get the flu in a week? Oh, let me count the days. The week before last, on Thursday morning, Jaden complained that his stomach hurt. He does this quite often so I usually just brush it off unless there are other symptoms, which I did that morning. Then, as I was driving him to my parent's house so my mom and I could go on a hike, he repeated his complaint, and as I looked back his lips turned white. He looked like he was about to hurl any minute. I warned him not to throw up in the car, and eased the petal down, grateful that we were almost there.

We arrived at my parent's house vomit-free and Jaden seemed to have recovered. I wasn't sure what to do, my mom had already planned the hike and was looking forward to it all week, and we were just about to leave. So with encouragement from my dad and an eager push out the door from my mom, we left. When we got home my dad reported that Jaden had thrown up, but then felt much better. He acted fine the rest of the day and I thought the episode was done.

The next Tuesday night my stomach started to hurt. The whole experience culminated with my head over the toilet at about five the next morning, and slowly concluded with a day spent in bed. Again, I thought the experience was finished.

A few days later, I wake up in the middle of the night to the always unwelcome sound of vomiting. It was poor Jaden again! He was fine by morning, and I counted myself lucky. Ha ha, silly me. The next night was puncuated with a quite different sound. I woke up to hear Carter screaming. When I checked on him he showed me that his pants were wet. Thinking that he had wet himself through his diaper I changed his diaper and pjs and tucked him back in bed. It was when I tucked his blanket around him that I discovered that one of the corners of the blanket was also wet, and couldn't be from a leaky diaper. I asked him if he had thrown up, and he calmly nodded. Poor guy! When the scream was repeated in a few minutes, I stripped him down again, armed myself with a bowl, a towel and nausea medicine, and set up a little bed for him beside my bed. Luckily he didn't throw up again, though he didn't sleep much and groaned and squirmed a lot. Again, he was fine by morning, but I wasn't taking any chances and kept the whole family home from church.

Everyone except Jeff has now had the flu at least once, and Jaden twice. You'd think we were done, right? Nope. Jaden threw up again, the next night! I swear we do wash our hands and we have been sanitizing, and disinfecting, etc. I just hope that this is finally the end. I have no idea how Jeff escaped, except that he has with every little bug out family has gotten since we moved out here. He has this special super-strong hand sanitizer they give him at work that kills bacteria for two hours after applied, but we all use it when we get sick, and it only seems to work on him! I guess it only works on cops.

Almost two weeks later, after many loads of laundry, much toilet cleaning, and carpet cleaning, a missed presidency meeting, activity, birthday party, and church, we've now had on vomit-free night. Are we done? I guess we'll see...

Prayers and Temples

2009-05-22T10:17:00.000-07:00

Temples have been on my mind a lot lately. First of all, my temple recommend expired right after we moved here but with all the moving business it was left expired for far too long, so when I finally did notice it, it was pretty shameful. Then after missing two temple recommend appointments I felt even worse. Once I finally got everything together I felt a renewed commitment. Jeff and I went together shortly after. Since then I seemed to be reminded constantly that more frequent attendance would greatly bless our family.

I loved Elder Scott's talk from General Conference, in which he reminded us to set goals and specific dates for temple attendance ahead of time, then let nothing get in our way. Jeff and I usually just decide randomly that we want to go to the temple that day or the next, we've never tried to make dates.

Last night I attended an activity where Sister Baer, the Denver temple president's wife spoke. She reminded us that we should make regular plans and try to stick to them. She spoke a lot about her daughter who has 7 kids, who goes to the temple once a week while her kids are in school. I want to commit to a new approach myself, to make a date each month to attend the temple and stick to it! With May fast closing we need to do it soon! Its funny, but when you set goals like these the months just fly by!

Another thing I really want to work on is saying morning prayers. I always say prayers at night before I go to bed, but I've never been good at remembering first thing in the morning when there is so much ahead of me. When I do say a prayer in the morning I always pray that I won't raise my voice so much that day. I find that I remember that morning prayer throughout the day when I start feeling frustrated. Hey, its a start, although I'm sure I'll never be the most soft-spoken mom. Sigh.

I know this isn't the most interesting post, but I'm hoping writing this down will help me to remember my new goals. Wish me luck!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T14:46:00.000-07:00

I thought a lot about being a mother today, on Mother's day. I love being a mother. I love raising my children, I love teaching them and watching them learn. I love watching them grow, I love (almost) all the little stages and phases. I love their simple joy and wonder in the world. I love their innocence, their laughter, their tight hugs and cuddles, and I love that they need me and most of all, I love that I can be there for them through it all. I also love other mothers. As the years of my motherhood increase, so does my admiration and respect for other mothers. There is so much that I admire in others and I watch my friends as they mother their children and try to learn from their examples. I pray every day that I can be a better mother. There are only a few other things in my life (being a wife, and being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) that bring me such peace and joy.

I will always be grateful that I have such a wonderful and loving mother in my life. My mom has always been a source of passion, exuberance, energy, and love in my life. She filled my childhood with nature hikes and camping trips that I will never forget. She would often catch a bug, or a lizard, or a snake and bring it to us for us to see and touch. The world of insects and bugs and ampibians was a wonder to me as a child, I felt like natures endless bounty was open for us to explore. Every hike was like our own little petting zoo! We sang songs joyously as we hiked with the boundless energy of youth. We would walk along river and stream beds, climb the hills to a swimming hole or just walk to enjoy being in nature. We went camping every summer as children and these trips, piled with our friends and all our equipment into our car, are some of my fondest memories. Only now, as I plan camping trips as an adult, do I appreciate all the work she put into those trips! I just remember waking up early excited for each day, whether we would play in the ocean, go on an eary morning walk at low tide and search for shells and starfish, play games at our campsite, or go for a hike that ended at a lake and get into a crazy mud fight. I will always cherish my childhood because of what she gave to us. I will always try to follow her example with my own children.
She one of the most compassionate and unjudgemental people I know. She loves everyone. She would stick up for Satan if she thought he was being unfairly judged! She is such a great example to me, and I continue to find things that I can learn from her. She is a strength and a support to me. She understands me and makes me feel sane when I think I am going crazy. As we have grown our relationship has become more and more a deep friendship. I am so grateful that we have stayed close to family and that I can call her up to go to the gym with me or plan a lunch or movie date. She is the perfect mother for me, and I can never tell her enough how much I love her!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Easter Fun

2009-05-06T05:28:00.001-07:00

Jaden's preschool put together an amazing activity for Easter. We started out in the sanctuary where we sang some fun Easter and worship songs, then they split us up in groups and sent us through an activity circuit. We started out with face painting. Jaden was too scared at first, but after Carter did it (although he smeared it almost immediately) Jaden tried it, too. He asked for a bee.
Next stop was an easter egg hunt!

After that we decorated paper easter eggs, then went to story-time! A lady read a story about Jesus and Palm Sunday.

Next was a game room where they played Simon Says, and played parachute games.

After that they had a snack, and then it was back to the sanctuary for an awesome puppet show!! It was very creative, they had black lights and neon puppets. It was the best puppet show I've ever seen, by far. Very fun activity, the kids were exhausted by the end of it.

Bike Riding

2009-05-05T14:01:00.000-07:00

I really started getting into a new hobby out here: bike riding. I absolutely love the wind in my hair and the burn in my quads (especially when I am pulling both my kids)! It was hard to get out and do in California only because there really wasn't anywhere fun and pretty to go, that was close by and safe to tow the kids. So one of the things I absolutely LOVED about Colorado Springs, the first time we came to check out the area when we were thinking about moving here, is all the trails everywhere! I just LOVE the Santa Fe trail, even in the off months, its still beautiful. Its perfect for my stroller/trailer whether I want to take the kids for a stroll and let them run around, or for a run, or a bike ride, and its so close and totally safe for them.

Just recently I met a new friend at Gold Gym and she bike rides a lot on the Air Force Base. She can bring me in as a sponsor; we went for a ride last Friday and it was so much fun. Of course, this was after quite a few annoying setbacks. I had gone for a bike ride by myself with the kids the day before and, like the airhead I can be sometimes, I forgot that I had the bike on top of my car and drove it right into the house! (What makes it even more infuriating is that was not the first, but the second time I've done that!!) Fortunately, the racks weren't ruined and my bike looked okay. I tried to count myself lucky and just forget about it. But the next day when I set my bike up with my friend, the brakes were continually locked on the wheel because part of the frame had gotten bent a little. We tried to fix it for a little while (all the time I'm feeling like an idiot for not checking out my bike the before coming to meet her), then tried to find some way to just tie the brakes out the way, I would just rely on my rear brakes, which are safer anyway. Once we got that figured out we rode down to the entrance, only to be turned away because I wasn't wearing a helmet (silly me!). We drove back to her house so I could borrow a helmet, duct taped my brakes out of the way, and tried again. By this time I was feeling really bad for causing so much trouble. Once we got back we unloaded the bikes, again, and rode down to the entrance, again. Only to be turned away, AGAIN, because I needed my driver's license! ARGH. After another quick trip back to the car we were finally admitted and on our way.

It was definitely worth all the trouble. It was so beautiful! It was a nice, cool day, and the ride was up hill the first half, and downhill on the way back, so we felt great by the time we got back to our cars. It was so exhilarating, and a great workout! My legs were pretty shaky the rest of the day. We decided to try to ride together every Friday, I am so looking forward to it!!

Jaden is Four (Last Month)

2009-05-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

Jaden had his birthday April 3rd (I know, I'm really behind!). It was really fun because Jeff's parents were able to come out that weekend. It was General Conference weekend, and Jaden's uncle Zach's birthday also, so it was a busy weekend, but a very fun one! Saturday after General Conference we picked up Jaden's friend Solomon and we all went to Chucky Cheese's.

I made a cake for Jaden and Zach and put four candles for Jaden on his side, and ten candles on Zach's side because he was turning fourteen, and let them blow them out at the same time.

We all got in on the games!

Jaden and Solomon love to play together!

Jaden absolutely adores his uncle Zach! Zach couldn't be sweeter to Jaden, I've never seen a 14-year-old play so much with a 4-year-old!

Grandpa Rhett and Grandma Susan loved spending time with the kids!

I made a beautiful strawberry cake, per Jaden's specific request. Unfortunately, it turned out terrible. :(

Virgin Islands Paradise

2009-05-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

I spent a week in April with my sister and her new baby, Scottie. I left the kids behind and flew out with my mom so we could help Juli out with the baby. He was older than we had planned when we arrived because he decided to come early, so he was two months old by our visit. We spent a lot of time just hanging out with him, but we did get out a few times to enjoy the beauty of where they live. We spend four days in Tortola, which is a British Virgin Island. We stayed at a friends house that had amazing views and was a short, though incredibly steep, walk down to the beach. This is the view from the house!

We had some amazing sunsets!

Isn't that about the most idyllic picture of the beach?

This picture was taken at the bottom of the hundred stairs you have to climb to get up to the house.

This was taken on our first day in St. John, where Juli lives. We went on an awesome hike, which eventually took us to the beach where we gratefully cooled off and rinsed off our sweat! It was Scottie's first time in the ocean!
Scottie prefers to sleep being held so Juli usually carries him everywhere in a sling (he was still only about 7 lbs at two months), but he did take one nice long nap by himself while we were there. He even smiled! Isn't he cute!!
All in all I think it was the most relaxing vacation I've ever taken! I got to sleep in, lay on the beach a few times, go for a run along the ocean, and all in the most beautiful place! It was such a nice break. And I didn't have to worry about my kids because we paid to fly Jeff's mom in to be with them. So everyone had fun, except maybe poor Jeff, who had to work. What a hero!

These are some CRAZY spring storms!!

2009-03-30T07:59:00.001-07:00

Isn't it supposed to be Spring? We didn't see these kinds of blizzards in the winter!

Jeff and I were thinking about going for a run on the Santa Fe trail this morning. Um, maybe not.

Half-naked exchange

2009-03-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Jaden (standing at the top of the stairs naked from the waist down holding his pants, which were inside out): Mom can you fix my pants?

Me: Why don't you go find your underwear first?

Jaden (two seconds later): I can't find it.

(Repeat two or three times)
When Jaden comes downstairs still half naked, Mom: What are you gonna give me if I find your underwear right where I told you to look?

Jaden: I don't know.

Mom: Are you gonna buy me a pizza?

Jaden: Ok, lets get pizza!

Mom: Are you gonna buy it?

Jaden (looking confused): Kids don't buy things for moms.

How true, how true.

Favorite Pictures of the Boys

2009-03-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

Just a random shot I captured as we were walking to the park on one of those warm days

I don't know where he got this from but he does it all the time and it always makes me laugh, especially if he's in the nude. I call it his yoga baby pose:
Just the bros, hanging out

Carter's Two!

2009-03-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

In pretty much opposite order (oh, I wish I had a brain), here are pictures of Carter's birthday:

Trying to blow out his candles:

Among other things he got his own pair of sunglasses (so he doesn't have to steal Jaden's), and gummy LifeSavers, one of his favorites. This was just the cutest picture of the presents:

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

2009-03-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

I've been stuck at home with various illnesses in the family for a week now. At first I was my normal self, trying to make the best of it. After I recovered from a nasty bout of food poisoning I straightened up the whole house, did four hours of much needed spring cleaning and then made myself presentable again. I continued like this for a couple days, thinking the next day Carter would be better. Now on day seven here I am still in the pajamas I've been wearing since yesterday (which are now pretty much covered in hair after Jeff's hair-cut last night), still not showered or dressed by 1pm, despite needing to drop Jaden off at a ward Primary activity.

Yes, I showed up in all my glory, not noticing until I got there that I hadn't even bothered to brush my teeth or put on a bra! The only thing I did to improve my appearance was throw on a pair of sunglasses, feeling very much like someone trying to cover up a hang-over. You would think that by the time I had to pick Jaden up an hour and a half later that I would have regreted my previous slothfulness and taken a shower, at least out of pure shame. But no, I showed up the exact same way AGAIN (still without a bra), toting Carter with no pants on because he'd already gone through two pairs of pants that morning almost immediately after I put them on, and he only had one pair left. I wrapped a blanket around Carter and hoped I could just grab Jaden and slink away as soon as possible, hopefully before I was even seen. But, again, no.

Right when it was time for the activity to be done they herded in the kids to a buffet table full of all kinds of snacks. Jaden was so excited so I had to lead him through the line and let him eat his full, all the while slouching in the corner wishing I would blend in more to the wall. I tried to keep Carter covered up but of course he wandered off at one point dragging his blanket, while someone stared and probably wondered why he was half naked with almost a foot on snow on the ground outside.

Yeah, it was a day to be proud of....

Maybe its time to take and shower, put on a little make-up, and stop feeling sorry for myself for being cooped up. What do you think?

I LOVE Normal

2009-02-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

Just to update, I had the best most normal day today. The kids were just their everyday selves, really nothing to report, except that I love them VERY much. I had a couple inspirations on some things to do for some friends to cheer them up and that made the day extra special. I feel good that I made a couple people smile today.

My parents stayed home while the kids were asleep and I went for a quick little run (ok, maybe not quick, but just short), and even though it got pretty cold it felt GREAT! I love being able to get away for even just a little while and have some "alone time".

There was no dangerous medicine medling, no cracked walls (or heads!), and even no fits! Amazing!

And tomorrow is Valentine's Day, and I'm going to help watch about 24 of my friends' kids so they can spend some quality time with their spouses. Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm really excited!

Eye of the Storm

2009-02-12T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well I got my quiet night. Little did I know it was just the eye of the storm. Carter pretty much slept through the night, only waking once right after I fell asleep. I was so grateful in the morning! Ahhhh. I think the Lord knew I needed a full nights rest for what I was about to face.

Today Carter:
1) smacked his head so hard on a wall that he cracked the wall!!
2) spilled gatorade all over his high-chair tray while I was in the shower, and then smacked the puddle repeatedly until everything within a mile radius was covered
3) had 2 out-of-control-in-a-way-I've-never-seen tantrums that lasted at least 30 minutes each
4) fell off a chair
5) climbed up on the stool, and opened the childrens motrin, spilling and possibly consuming the entire half-empty bottle (yes he has recently figured out the secret to "child proof caps")
6) fell asleep sitting up
7) found and got into my Dad's heart medication Nitroglycerin
8) had a very expensive two hour visit to the Emergency Room

It didn't appear that he had ingested either the nitro nor the Motrin, but when he fell asleep sitting up I called poison control, who told me to take him to the ER. If all of this had happened with the amount of sleep I had yesterday I think I would have had an mental breakdown. But I thank Heavenly Father that my child is still alive and screaming. I didn't even mind the fits so much. And when we were at the hospital he was such an angel he had all the nurses cooing at him. I was afraid he would totally freak out with all the doctors and nurses around him, which he has been prone to do since he had a minor surgery about 6 months ago, but he didn't seem to care at all. I contribute that to all the great, sweet doctors we've seen since we've been here. He just sat in my lap for pretty much the entire two hours and pretended he was a different baby.

So despite my horrible guilt for having all this happen on my watch I am one grateful mommy.

A Day of Tears

2009-02-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

Today the crying never stopped. Carter started feeling sick yesterday, and was fussy all day from morning until night. The over all misery progressed until he was only content being held. He laid in everyone's arms until he fell asleep before 7 PM. Once he was asleep he was pretty much quiet until I went in his room to check on him as I was going to bed at 11 PM. After that he decided it was much better to be with mom all night than be alone in his crib. Sleep was only captured in glimpses for the next 24 hours.

The day started anyway despite all my hopes and prayers. And the crying continued. He cried when he woke up. He cried because Daddy wasn't there. He cried when Daddy came home. He cried even harder when Daddy had to go to sleep. He cried when we had to take Jaden to preschool. He cried because he was hungry, but then he refused to eat. Finally, he started to nod off while I was holding him. I had one peaceful moment as I was rocking him in his room. But then I put him in his crib and he cried. I picked him up and tried to get him to sleep on me. He cried, so I put him back in his crib hoping he would fall asleep eventually, and dozed off while he cried. I woke up a few minutes later when he cried again. I got up and held him as he cried once again for Daddy.

Thankfully, my mother relieved me and held him while I picked Jaden up from school. I made lunch while Jaden pouted about who knows what. He was having his own "out of sorts day". We got through lunch and I laid Carter in his crib for his nap. I put ear plugs in knowing that I had to get some sleep or I was going to be a very mean mommy VERY soon. I fell asleep to him crying and woke to him crying. By that time I was feeling very depressed and nursing a migraine. Thankfully Jeff was up by then, and I escaped for a desperately needed trip to the grocery store (Carter got sick right after Jaden got better, so this has pretty much been the story of the week). I took an Excederin and left to the sound of you-know-what.

Once I was in the car I took a deep breath and looked around. The mountains looked beautiful, snow capped and majestic. I turned up the music on the radio and tried to sing along. I thought about how grateful I was for the "time off". I knew by the time I got back Jeff would probably be feeling how I did when I left, so I tried to cheer myself up. We can't all be cranky at the same time! So with my headache temporarily relieved, and little bit of shaky, caffine energy, I made it through the night. Its amazing what a little bit of fresh air will do for you during a very oppressive day. So now with my exhausted children in bed, my husband off to work, and my migraine returned in force, I take two Excerdin PM and pray for a quiet night.

Baby Scott

2009-02-11T18:42:00.001-08:00

My sister, Juli, had her baby! He was born two months early, surprise! He came on February 9th at 4:03 PM, 4 lbs 3.4 oz, 17.5 inches. He is doing great, and even better every time they do a check-up. He will have to remain in the NICU at the St. Thomas Hospital for probably four weeks.

Everything came as a surprise to everyone. The pregnancy seemed to be doing fine, Juli was experiencing some cramping and what she perceived to be incontinence, but nothing that seemed off course. Then Monday, her cramping seemed to be intensifying, still she just thought it was Braxton Hicks contractions. She called her midwife who told her to check into the clinic just to be safe. Reluctantly she did, but not until she ran a few errands that had to be done that day. She didn't tell Will because she knew he was busy with work and didn't want to cause any unnecessary alarm. She figured she'd just tell him about it after she got home.

When she got to the clinic in St. John she was 4 centimeters dialated, and the contractions were progressing quickly. They tried to give her some medecine to slow it down but to no avail. The realized now that her water must have broke about a week earlier (it leaked slowly so she just thought she was peeing herself!) They shipped her over to St. Thomas and she had to work hard not to have the baby in the boat or ambulance! Once they allowed her to push, the delivery was over in 10 minutes. Will barely had time to wash his hands to be there for the birth. Congratulations Juli and Will!

"Put it on my Tab"

2009-02-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

My good friend from BYU made a comment on her blog the other day that I must reiterate. She has four children, three of which have been very sick lately. After the umpteenth visit to the doctor toting three sick children, she wanted to tell the nurse behind the counter, like Dan in "Dan In Real Life" to the police officer writing him a ticket, "Put it on my tab." I laughed so hard when I read that. I mean, haven't we all been there? We had so many visits to the doctors over the holidays, for puenemonia, ear infections, pink eye, and a sinus infection, and those were just the visits that produced diagnoses.

Today, unfortunately I will say it again at 11am, "Put it on my tab." Jaden has had a fever since yesterday afternoon, and despite rotating tylenol and motrin every four hours, has not receded. He couldn't sleep all night (which of course meant, neither could Carter nor I). So off we go to the doctors again...

Ovens, Refrigerators, and Cell Phones

2009-02-06T08:03:00.001-08:00

So I bought an oven. Not as cool as the one I really wanted, but still a great deal. We had to drive out to Denver to get it, but the nice lady who sold it to me took $150 less than what she was asking so it was definitely worth the trip! This appliance is the one I care the most about so I'm relieved that that purchase is done. Now all we need is an electric dryer, an over the range microwave, and I would love a stainless/black refrigerator.

I was so proud of myself yesterday, I figured out how to list an item for sale on Craigslist all by myself, with pictures even! (Which is REALLY easy, by the way, but I just always leave that stuff for Jeff to do just because he's better at it. Until yesterday, I'm ashamed to admit I had never even uploaded pictures off the camera to the computer before!!) I'm having trouble convincing Jeff that we need a stainless/black refrigerator to match our new kitchen, so I figured if we could sell our current fridge for a good price first, he wouldn't need as much convincing. So if anyone wants a great fridge we're selling ours for $800.

I was excited when I received an email asking if it was still available just a couple hours later, so I decided I'd better clean it out just in case someone wanted to come by to see it. I had my cell phone in my pocket so I wouldn't miss any calls, and I spent probably an hour making it spotless. Just as I was finishing up, something fell into the bowl of soapy water. What would it be, except my brand new phone? Yep, the only cool phone I've ever had, that I've only had for a couple weeks. Yeah, I broke it. Nice. It probably commited suicide because it had no more self-worth after the whole oven thing. I shouldn't have bad-mouthed it so much, cuz right now I sure wish it had stuck around longer. Sigh.

Baby Sitting Co-op

2009-02-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

We had our first day of our newly formed Babysitting Co-op on Monday. I started it off since I chose to make myself available on Monday mornings. I had two kids from 9-12 am, we had a blast!

Then today, I swapped kids with the mom from yesterday, and she took mine for three hours this morning. I finally vacuumed the spilled baby powder from a week ago in the kid's room, cleaned up the dishes piled all over my kitchen, and drove around all morning collecting boxes for moving from various grocery store produce departments. All things that are not very much fun toting two kids. It was a nice break. What a great idea! :)

Grrrrrr

2009-01-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

This is a double convection oven I found on Craigslist yesterday, listed for $650, which retails for $1900 new!

I was so excited! I emailed the guy immediately and left a message on his voicemail. I was waiting around anxiously all day for a call back, because the last stove we were interested in on Craigslist was sold before we could go see it. The only time my cell phone rang was when I was on my dad's cell phone with my State Farm agent going over her insurance quote for our house. I went to see who was calling on the caller ID and it said "Shaina Nunnelly". I didn't want to interupt the call with my insurance agent because we needed to get this done pronto to close on escrow so I planned on calling her back later.

As soon as I hung up I went to explain to Jeff our insurance options. While we were talking about that he said we should make dinner for my parents because my Dad was sick (he does all the cooking). So we made a quick dinner, cleaned up....then I checked my message. Turns out the call was NOT from Shaina, it was from the guy I had called about the oven! My new phone has done this a couple times, where caller ID says its my Dad, when its really my realtor, etc. Its a little confusing and annoying. I'm still surprised every time.

So now its an hour later as I call the Craigslist guy back. I leave another message and wait. Finally I send him a text message asking if we can go see the oven the next day. He sends me a text back saying he just sold it!!!! Arghh!!! I am still so mad! My stupid phone cost me a really great stove! Its is just so frustrating, I probably won't find another deal like this. The oven is the most important appliance to me that we have to buy. I've had too many bad ovens that make my food turn out terrible. And now that I've seen what I missed I won't be easily satisfied with less, ya know? This all happened last night and I am still fuming.

Inside Pics

2009-01-30T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here are some picture of our new home! This is the master bedroom (I don't know why the top window is covered):

This is our top level:

This is our formal dining room:

Our family room (a little small):

Our backyard (still needs a lot of work, but its huge!):

Our front porch:

My dream kitchen, it even has pull out drawers:

There are more picture on flikr.com, but I thought these ones showed the house the best. We are stressing on the numbers ($), appliances, and landscaping, but we know its totally worth it!

My Little Spiderman

2009-01-27T07:39:00.001-08:00

Jaden LOVES anything Spiderman! Before Christmas my mom bought him some Spiderman pajamas and that just completed his "stash". Now every night or afternoon Jaden asks me, "Can I put on my Spiderman pajamas?" I finally had to make it a rule that he had to wait until after dinner to put on his pajamas, otherwise he wanted to wear them all day long! He still asks me about five times before dinner. Although that gets old, I think its the cutest thing!

We Bought A House!!!!!

2009-01-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

We just bought this house! Its on Chancellor Dr, which is in Woodmen Point, near Woodmen and Austin Bluffs. It was only on the market for one day and we had to race 6 other people to get our offer in first. I couldn't sleep until after midnight last night and I pretty much held my breath all day. I didn't really think we would get it, I was pretty shocked when our realtor told us the news this afternoon. Unfortunately it is just barely out of the 9th ward boundaries. But it is in District 20, and that all we could ask for with a house like this!!!

Its about 3500 square feet, with an unfinished walk-out basement, so its about 2500 finished square feet, built in 2006. It was a bank owned foreclosure, I can't believe the last people lost it after putting so much money into it. Very sad for who ever they are. It needs appliances and landscaping but I never thought we could afford such an amazing house. The upper level has all four bedrooms and the washer and dryer hook-ups (which I am so excited about, I HATE dragging laundry up and down stairs). Plus there's an office on the main level. We absolutely love it!

Embarrassing Emotional Outbursts

2009-01-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

For everyone who wasn't there to see it, I had a totally embarassing emotional outburst last night. I only blog it to everyone because for some reason it makes me feel better to talk about really embarrassing moments. I actually wrote a paper in college that explored the irony of why people retell embarrassing moments, it was very fun because I got to collect embarrassing moments from everyone I knew and type up the stories as part of my paper. These moments can be so funny to recall. So here's mine.

I didn't realize how stressed out I was until I fell apart. Here's how it happened. We had planned a girls night out at the movies and I was really looking forward to it. I had just started my period and had been really busy lately looking for a house. I was getting very frustrated because it was a lot harder than I had thought to find a house we liked, that we could afford, in the school district we want. I was talking about it with Jeff right before I left to meet the girls and we were thinking that our best bet might be this one house on Chancellor Dr. We looked it up on realtor.com for another look and found that it was gone! That was the only house we had liked in the entire school district!

With that thought I left a bit late and a little distracted. When I arrived at the theatre I soon realized I must be at the wrong place. My new phone didn't have any of my phone numbers in it so I called Jeff for help. I found out I was at the wrong place! As I drove to the correct location I grew more and more frustrated and upset. I was going to miss the meeting at Dairy Queen, which I had been looking forward to, and only arrive in time to watch the movie I wasn't looking forward to seeing. And I couldn't believe that house was gone!! After over a hundred days on the market it disappears before we could get our hands on it! I felt myself getting emotional and thought about just throwing in the towell and going home, but I had already said I was on my way. I thought if I could just get myself together I would have a good time.

Well, as soon as I had found everyone and said hello, for some reason I just burst into tears! I guess it just had to do with already being menstral and upset, and then suddenly being surrounded by girlfriends, that just hit a trigger behind my eyes. I tried to explain that I must just be stressed out from losing the house I wanted, but I just felt so dumb! I absolutely hate crying in public! Everyone was nice and said they understood but I still just felt like an a--. So I tried to get control of myself and enjoy the rest of the evening.

The movie was actually really good but it started the flood of tears again because it was about best girlfriends and made me miss mine. Then after the movie as I was leaving I made a really stupid remark to someone's mom. I just meant to say something nice, so I said "It was so nice to meet you. " Then I remembered I hadn't really met her at all, in fact I hadn't even made eye contact with her, so the next thing that came out of my mouth was "well not really...". From that point there was really nothing to say that would salvage it so I just walked away, again feeling like the idiot of the night. One of my friends teased me about what I had said, and ridiculously, I burst into tears again!!! What a night! I felt so completely insane!

Of course I cried the whole way home, cried while I told my mom what a lunatic I was, and then cried some more as I explained to Jeff why I came home from a girl's night out in tears. I felt better, as I always do, when Jeff gave me a hug, told me I wasn't crazy, and that he loved me. Ahh, what a difference a loving husband makes. :)

And by the way, today I looked at more houses and found some great possibilities, plus we may be able to make an offer on the one we thought we had lost.

House Hunting

2009-01-20T06:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't been posting! We have spent as every spare minute this weekend house hunting. Saturday afternoon we looked at some houses and found some really beautiful ones, but they were all pretty expensive. So Monday we met with our mortgage banker to get pre-approved. We found out we both have great credit scores!!! Jeff's is 791 and mine is 807! That is amazing, they don't get much higher than that! Yay!

With our finances all figured out we met with our realtor again. We looked at some cheaper homes this time, all in district 20. We were unimpressed, so we revisited a couple we liked from Saturday. Its such an overwhelming decision to make! We were excited to find one home in our current ward: 8384 Old Exchange Dr . Totally cute on the outside but a little outdated on the inside. Unfortunately it wasn't our favorite.

We found a couple amazing homes that we keep coming back to. One that is huge and beautiful and an amazing deal, but one that we may not be able to afford on Sunset Ridge Dr. Another one, not as big but immaculate and has everything that Jeff wants on Saddle Rock Rd. But both of those are in District 11. And then there's the one we can't agree on. Its definitely a great deal, but its got some wierd quirks that we don't like. Its on 7490 Chancellor Dr. The main two levels are amazing for the price but the basement is a mess and the backyard is the worst we've seen.

We may just try to make some low-ball offers on the expensive ones. Thats what Jeff wants to do. I'm not sure. I just want to keep looking. We really want to stay in District 20, but the homes are sooo much more expensive here. Our realtor gave us a million to look at in District 49, so maybe we'll just give up on 20 and look out there. What do you guys think? Take a look at them and let me know! I would appreciate any feedback. I'm still completely undecided.

Valkyrie

2009-01-20T06:02:00.000-08:00

Great movie! Jeff and I saw this Friday night. I absolutely loved it. When I think about the Haulocast I always wonder how so many normal people could be brought to commit such horrifying crimes. Its unbelievable. What I never knew is that there were 15 attempts on Adolf Hitler's life, made by the German people. Not everybody went along with Hitler. What courageous people. I would hope that, given the oppportunity, I would be brave enough to make a similar decision that those people made. You gotta see the movie. Very thought provoking.

Good Feelings

2009-01-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

You know when you just have those perfect days? When the air is fresh and the kids are happy and you just sing yourself through the day, grateful to be alive? That was my morning today. I don't know what prompted it but I floated on a cloud this morning. I didn't do anything exciting, in fact, I did something I've been dreading: going to Costco with a HUGE list of things to get. I never mind going to Costco to get a couple things, but I dread the bill if you need more than five items. Everything there is like ten bucks or more! So I've been putting it off and adding more items to my despair. Finally today I had to go because we were totally out of eggs and if I wanted to get off my sugar binge and start South Beach again I need eggs. (I know what you're thinking, "wait a minute, wasn't she already doing South Beach, and sugar free?" I only lasted like three days, then I made an amazing cheesecake to bring over a friends house, and of course I had to take some leftovers home. Talk about self sabatoge!! I know, I know.)

Anyway, back to the subject. So maybe I was just on a sugar high from the piece of brownie I ate on my way out to the car. Or maybe it was the pizza we had for lunch there after the $230 bill. For whatever reason I just felt so euphoric. I kept looking at my kids and thinking, "gosh, could they get any cuter?" Actually, I've been thinking that all the time lately.

With my car loaded down almost to the ground with groceries, and the pizza and junk in our stomachs, I filled my tank for less than $30, washed the outside for three bucks, and even filled the air in my tires (which is actually a big deal because I have an automatic sensor which gives a long loud obnoxious beep for each tire that is low). I felt like superwoman when I thought about all the things I had accomplished before nap time!

Of course as soon as we got home my time ran out, Jaden started crying because he had to use the potty, Carter threw a fit over something he wanted from the fridge and the phone rang. Good feelings gone. Sigh. But hey, they were sure good while they lasted!

Family Fun in the Snow

2009-01-15T13:54:00.000-08:00

We went sledding with some friends after it snowed on Monday. How fun! The kids were excited to see each other and they had a blast sledding, even though they had to push it all the way down the "hill" most of the time because it wasn't quite steep enough. Even the little ones had fun. Carter, who didn't care for playing in the snow last time and fought putting his snow clothes on, was as happy as a bird in a tree.
We tried to make a snow man, but, darn it, the snow was too dry and wouldn't stick.
When we all got too cold we piled inside for some hot cocoa and a good movie. We had a delicious impromtu dinner, for which we were graciously invited, and enjoyed each other's company. All in all, the most weekday fun I've had in a while! Thanks guys!

btw-i couldn't figure out how to arrange the pictures nicely in my post, sorry. I kinda blogger illiterate.

Snow Day

2009-01-12T13:40:00.000-08:00

It snowed today, how beautiful!! Jeff and I are all excited to take our kids sledding. First we had to go out and buy one, never having lived in snow with our family before. I just love the look of a city covered in freshly fallen snow!

Yummy Thai Soup

2009-01-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

As some of you know I have dabbled in the South Beach Diet. I admit, I never would have tried it simply because the name sounded like some hokey fad diet, but my doctor recommended it. I read the book and thought it sounded smart, moderate and very healthy. The basic premise for those of you unfamiliar with it is this: Phase 1: For two weeks give up all sugar, fruit and "bad" carbs, ie, bread, pasta, potatoes, cereal, etc. Eat as much as you need to fill satisfied of lean proteins, including low-fat cheeses, healthy fats (no butter), and most vegetables. Phase 2: Slowly introduce healthy carbs, ie, whole grains and fruit but continue to stay away from sugar until you've lost your desired amount of weight. Phase 3: After you've acheived your healthy weight continue to make healthy choices and limit the bad stuff, but basically enjoy anything in moderation. Whenever you want to loose some quick pounds go back to phase 1.

So, the first time I tried the strict "phase 1" I didn't even last a week before I gave up. I loved it every day until I gave up, but at that time of my life I couldn't really stick to anything. So this next time, after Thanksgiving I had eaten so many sweets and yummy unhealthy things that I felt I really needed to get sugar and bad carbs out of my system for a while. I stuck to it for about 10 or 11 days and lost 8.5 pounds! I was really shooting for the full two weeks but it was too hard with all the holiday goodies sitting around. But the great thing is I've maintained those pounds lost!
Anyway, with the holiday tempations gone I'm back on the "phase 1" wagon so to speak. And the reason I'm sharing this with you all is that I've discovered some really yummy recipes that are amazing whether you're dieting or not!! And the best thing about them is they are healthy!

Seriously, this Thai soup is delicious! It totally reminds me of Thailand. If you are not fond of seafood, try chopped chicken, I bet it would be just as good! So please try it!

Thai Shrimp Soup with Lime and Cilantro
South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook p. 78

1 tablespoon canola oil
3 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 small onion, thinly sliced
5 cups chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (1/2 pound) head napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 3 cups)
1 1/2 pounds fresh or thawed frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or substitute scallions if you prefer)

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger and onion; cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add broth and red pepper flakes; increase heat and bring to a low boil.
Add cabbage and cook 2 minutes. Add shrimp, fish sauce, lime zest, and lime juice; cook just until shrimp turn pink, about 1 minute. Serve hot, sprinkled with cilantro if using.

Super easy, huh? And quick too, only about 30 minutes to finish! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. (Jeff ate three huge bowls of it and even Carter gobbled it up too!)

2009-01-10T13:51:00.000-08:00

Hey everybody! Shaina has requested this recipe, and since I love being able to print up recipes from her blog, I decided to post it on my blog. I'll work on adding my other favorites, plus any requests! The recipe is pretty involved, I know, but it turns out so great its totally worth it. The cornmeal in the struesel may sound a little strange, (I thought so) but it gives it a nice nutty texture. I love how the mix of apples and the cream really helps mellow out the tartness, and precooking the apples helps them be perfectly cooked every time! The recipe is from " The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook", which is my favorite cookbook.

DUTCH APPLE PIE

SINGLE-CRUST PIE DOUGH
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, chilled
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water (I use more for cooking in Colorado!)

1. Process the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor until combined. Scatter small pieces of shortening over the top and continue to process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter small pieces of the butter over the top and, using short pulses, process the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs, about 10 pulses. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. Stir and press the dough together, using a stiff rubber spatula, until the dough sticks together. If the dough does not come together, stir in the remaining water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does. Form the dough into a 4-inch disk, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
3. Let the chilled dough soften slightly at room temperature before rolling it into a 12-inch circle and fitting it into a pie plate. Trim, fold, and crimp the edges and freeze the unbaked pie crust until firm, about 30 minutes, before filling or baking.
4. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Line the chilled crust with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or pennies. Bake until the pie dough looks dry and is light in color, 25-30 minutes. Transfer the crust to a wire rack and remove the weights and foil. (For a fully baked crust, remove the pie weights and foil and continue to bake until the crust is a deep golden brown, about 12 minutes longer.)

STRUESEL:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup pack brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon fine-ground cornmeal
6 Tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, melted

FILLING:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 pounds Gala apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. For the streusel: Mix the flour, sugars, and cornmeal together, then drizzle with butter, and stir to combine.
3. For the filling: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until some of the apples have begun to break down, about 12 minutes.
4. Transfer the apples to a large bowl using a slotted spoon, leaving the apple juices behind in the pot. Add the cream to the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the cream is thick and sticky and has reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Toss the thickened cream with the cooked apples.
5. Spread the apple filling in the hot, partially baked crust. Sprinkle with the streusel. Bake until the crust and streusel have browned, about 25 minutes. Enjoy!

Standing Up

2009-01-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

I watched a show on television the other day that really bothered me. I think its called "What
Would You Do?". In the show they set up various situations with actors in a public place to see how people react. For example on one show they had a "mom" bring in her kids to a restaurant and let them run wild and filmed the reactions of the other people in the restaurant. There were not a few people that let the mom have a piece of their mind. Of course it was different when it was a "dad" with the kids--hardly anyone said anything! Another one was someone in a restaurant talking loudly on a cell phone, etc.

The episode I saw the other day was not as light hearted. It involved two hispanic migrant workers (actors) trying to order some food at a coffee shop. The employee behind the counter (also an actor) found any excuse to insult and demean them, refused to give them service, and asked them to take their business somewhere else. This guy did not hold back, no matter how many customers were around. He made fun of them because they did not speak English, he told them to go to Taco Bell, etc. All of this right in front of people. The workers asked many people to help. They clearly had the money to pay for their food, but very few people would help them, let alone stand up for them. It made my stomach sick to watch people being so obviously racially descriminated against and hardly anyone had the guts to stick up for them. I think they played the scene 60 times, and only about 40% of the time anyone had a problem with it, and nine people even agreed with it and made some comments of their own.

Growing up in Southern California, I am well aware of the issues with illegal immigrants. I taught ESL at an adult school, and of course many did not have a social security number to put on their records. We all turned a blind eye because we were teachers and educators and you don't turn a student away who wants to learn. Whether I agreed with their methods of getting here or not, I greatly respected my students. They were incredibly hard workers who were respectful and kind. But in reality, anyone who avoids paying taxes is a burden on the society in which they live. I believe many of the problems in Los Angeles exist because there are so many people, mostly hispanic, who live there illegally and do not pay taxes. The city does not have enough money to make their schools decent, let alone their highways driveable! That is why I voted against giving illegal immigrants driver's liscenses, and any other such propositions.

I firmly believe that you should abide by the laws and appropriate customs of the land in which you live. That is why when I lived in Taiwan I made a concerted effort to learn Chinese, and respect their customs. I was the only teacher I knew who hired a personal tutor to teach me the language. I was appalled by my friends who made no efforts to speak the native language. Who were we to go to their country, not just on vacation but for an extended period of time, and expect them to speak our language?!

With all of that said, racial descrimination is wrong no matter the reasons. I am not a confrontational person but I could never stand by and let a human being be treated so shamefully. We are all God's children and everyone deserves respect, regardless of their skin color, or nationality, or handicap, or age, or gender. It is one thing to make your opinion known on the ballot or in respectful communication, but it is quite another to be insulting and refuse to give someone service! One of the "actors" actually broke down crying afterward. He said he didn't understand how anyone could treat him that way. He said he was human too.

This morning Jaden was watching "Go Diego Go" and one of the characters told the viewer to say "Stop scaring her!" to someone who was behaving meanly. Jaden repeated "Stop scaring her!", and I was glad that the writers of the show cared about teaching children to stand up for what is right. Maybe if more of the new generation learn about standing up for what is morally right, when they are grown there will be more than %40 of them who will be strong and take a stand.

Car Trouble

2009-01-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

We took our Murano to a mechanic to get a couple repairs, and get a call telling us its gonna cost about $2500!!! One part was $1300 alone! Ugh. Cars suck. The mechanic actually advised us to either pay for the repairs or just sell it! A lot of the repairs aren't even really necessary, (like an small oil leak) because they don't effect the way the car runs and are really labor intensive but how do you not fix something when you know it needs to be fixed? Besides who would want to buy a car that needs so many little (but expensive) repairs? Lame, lame, lame.

So, that started the new car conversation. With two kids and a desire for a third in our near future, the "van versus large SUV" debate began again in earnest. Neither of us want a van but, darn it, they are just so practical. It is such a struggle between what you want versus what makes sense. Gas prices are so cheap right now, but how long is that gonna last? Besides, the big cars we want (Jeff wants the Saturn Outlook, and I want a Chevy Tahoe) are just so expensive. We both hate the boring ordinariness of a van but what is a practical family to do?

We now have a blog!

2009-01-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

Yeah, Shaina showed me how to make a blog, how cool.