Thursday, January 23, 2014

Events

Dinners. We have an unofficial goal to have someone over every week. So far, so good! It's really fun to cook for others, and it gives me a chance to interact with adults, since my average day does not include much "adult" interaction. I love to cook, and I love to feed people!

Ice fishing. The pictures tell the story best, I think. We had a great time and enjoyed eating the fish the next day. I even gutted it myself.






Thursday, January 16, 2014

Being Flexible

My New Year's resolution has been a little harder than expected! Katie has decided in the past week that it's time for a growth spurt, so instead of her normal 1 waking per night, she's been waking up 3 times. I'm a little tired and grumpy. Sleep regression is always frustrating.

The past few days have been a little stressful. We started going to the ward preschool group, which I'm hosting next week! I'm excited. Joseph didn't seem to get the concept of sitting and paying attention for the story or craft, but oh well. It's his first experience with all of this. All the ladies live on my street who are doing this group, so I can walk. It wasn't easy to go just 3 doors down with all the kids, but we made it there and back without too much crying.

Katie had her 2-month (late) checkup on Tuesday. She's growing up fast! 12 lbs. (40th) and 24 inches (60th). That will probably change. The big head probably won't (98th).

I've been working out faithfully, even though I can't get more than 30-45 minutes in very easily. I'm determined to have the shape I did before any babies! Since I was never small to begin with (a size 10), I know I can do it. I did it a year after I had Joseph. I didn't make it after Kenny since I was still nursing him when I got pregnant with Katie (and didn't wean him until he was a year, so 3 months pregnant). I'm trying to break my bad habit of snacking right before bed. One thing that's really helped is giving up (most) dairy. I still eat some butter, but that's about it. I've felt a ton better because of it. My pregnancies have made me moderately lactose-intolerant, and I was tired of feeling crummy from eating dairy products. It's definitely made a difference! I know I could do lactase pills, but for right now, I'm not missing anything except ice cream, really. That, and dairy is no health food and not a requirement for nutrition. (I get my "creamy" fix from curry! Coconut milk is so yummy!)

So yes, resolutions are going pretty well. It always takes me a week or two to get used to the change in schedule so I can incorporate (or reincorporate) things into my life. Katie has started staying up longer (2 hours) instead of 1 1/2, so that changes things too. She is going to bed earlier though, for which I am grateful. We're moving right along.

James had his birthday on Sunday. It was great. I got him a Wii from the pawn shop, along with Wii Fit and the balance board to go with it. Pawn shops are awesome. Still, this is going to count as a Father's Day present as well. I hope he uses it to get working out! It's pretty interesting that Wii says I'm obese, but my strength/balance is really good, so my "age" is 28. That's not too bad, and I'm going to bring it down so my "Mii" doesn't look like a puffy balloon. :)

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Resolutions

If I had an "overarching" resolution, I'd say it's to be more flexible. I mean this for all aspects of my life. I don't always get to do things the way I want them since I have no real schedule due to my darling daughter, who is completely unpredictable. It can drive me crazy at times, but I'm trying to go with the flow, "come what may and love it". I notice that on days I care less about getting things done,  I usually get it all done anyway, but with a lot less stress.

Other goals:

Actually practice Spanish with James. I really didn't do anything with it at all last year.

Write some poems. Again, I slacked off last year, but I really love to write.

Double the amount of scripture study for one day.

Plant a  good garden.

Get back to my pre-babies measurements. I'll need to lose 25 lbs. and about 20 inches. Ack. Writing it down makes it look terrible. To accomplish this, I'm working out every week day for at least 30 minutes and eating healthier snacks (and some greens every day!).

Finish all the songs in my piano books. As a treat to myself, I want to buy the Phantom of the Opera piano book when I reach this goal.

Digitize family photos. I have a scanner, so I may as well put it to use! I don't have any of the photos in my possession yet, but once I do, I'm going to have a lot of fun looking at them.

2014 is going to be a great year!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Christmas

It was a merry Christmas, indeed. We left for Rexburg on Saturday, Dec. 21st after doing our own little Christmas early. Some highlights of the trip:

all 3 kids sleeping for at least part of the way
stopping by Cindy's house!
Church with the family X2
meeting my adopted sis-in-law's birth mom (and her family)
Christmas Eve with the Lees (I was Mary, James was Joseph, and Katie was baby Jesus.)
Christmas Day with the Heads in Victor
wedding and reception for a family friend (that I just met)
ice fishing, which yielded delicious fish for dinner
breakfast date with James
trips to the big D.I.
adventure for the kids at the BYU-I greenhouses
cooking with my mother-in-law
resting!
and laundry.

Travel back wasn't as good since the kids were all worn out and cranky from the trip. The pipe we fixed broke AGAIN...so we're fixing it...AGAIN...and I feel nasty and greasy from the lack of a shower, clean dishes, or washing my hands today.

This Christmas has truly been a miracle for us. Finances have been a little tight, so I hadn't bought much for the kids. Our budget for gifts hasn't changed much from when we were poor students. We opened our door to find bags full of gifts left on our porch the night after we got back, so my boys now have double the toys they had before. Whoever bought them gifts was really generous...brand new clothes and big, expensive toys that we'd never be able to afford in a million years. Seeing them open these gifts was priceless. There was also some money included...not for the first time this Christmas season. We were able to buy our own pump to get the water out of our crawl space...AGAIN! Haha. I feel a little overwhelmed by emotions...stress from this broken pipe, but so much gratitude for those who have helped us out this Christmas. It has been wonderful! I will feel even more wonderful after a shower. :)
all asleep

Uncle Joseph and his nephews


trying on ugly stuff at D.I.

We burned a muneca for New Year's.

and watched this! I got all 4 seasons for Christmas! :)