Oops...

It's been a while since I last posted. I remember when I blogged twice a week, and now I'm lucky to get one time in! Oh well. Life gets busy.

Dad and Myles visited for President's Day weekend. Myles is quite the baker and made us a chocolate PB cheesecake and banana bread. We celebrated by spending a few presidents on a new TV. It was long overdue. The audio/video connections on our ancient TV were starting to mess up, and even replacing the cables didn't help. We had to keep jiggling them to get them to work.

So yes, we received our tax return. We were originally going to purchase an inexpensive family car, but a prayer later convinced us that now isn't the right time, so we put most of the money in savings. I just received Katie's LAST bill in the mail, so she will be all paid off as well! :) We got a few fun things off Amazon - some Wii games, a sprouter for me, as well as some new curry pastes to try. I'm pretty excited. I realize that it's really hard for me to spend money on myself. We both got 100 bucks to spend on whatever we want. I still have over half of it, and I have no idea what to buy. Haha. I'm sure I'll think of something...

As for awesome purchases, I found some stools at D.I. for $2 a piece. After painting, the cost about doubled, but they look great. I'm usually horrible at projects like that, but I can wield a can of spray paint! It was just in time to set up my keyboard at the kitchen counter (bar, really). I got called to play the piano in Primary during second hour. I love it. It gets me motivated to practice more often, because I struggle with that. I also still get to go to Relief Society, which I love.

My other awesome purchase was a big wooden dollhouse for $4. I need to paint or touch it up with a wood marker, but I'm so excited. It will be perfect for Katie whether she's playing with Little Tykes people or Barbies. It also has wheels, which is great since it's so heavy.

As for health, no more colds in this house! I did have a bit of a bug yesterday, so I was really weak and tired, but I am completely better now. I am happy to report that I've lost 7.8 lbs. and 11.5 inches so far this year. That makes me so happy!

The kids are doing great. Katie is 4 months old, starting to grab everything, and shows anger when we take things from her that she shouldn't be chewing on. She still wakes up twice a night, but that's because she goes to bed at 8:00 now instead of 10:00. I'm very grateful for that. I love having a girl to dress up and put pigtails in her hair. :)

I think that's about it for our lives the last few weeks. We're taking a short day trip to meet up with James's family this weekend. It should be fun. (Day trips = minimal packing!)

Healthy Me

Looking back, I can't believe some of the habits I used to have when it comes to my health. I have far to go still before I'd say I have a near-perfect lifestyle, but I'm grateful for the push I got from this blog (wordofwisdomliving.com), to change things in my life, one at a time. I can't recommend this site enough if you want to learn more about nutrition from the perspective of the Word of Wisdom.

Some things that have changed for me since 2011:

I started exercising for real and not just depending on walking.

I started making more foods from scratch and aiming to eat more natural foods. The biggest changes were with using fresh, whole-wheat flour, homemade salad dressings, and homemade chicken broth, since I used to depend on the yellow powder.

I started liking greens. I've always liked vegetables, but salad wasn't a big thing in my house. Once I started making my own dressing, I really started to love salad. I am completely hooked on green smoothies as well, and I can't recommend them enough! My kids love them too.

Reducing refined sugar and dairy intake. Less sugar means fewer headaches and cravings. Less dairy means no stomachaches and bloating. 

Taking vitamin D. It's the only vitamin (hormone, really) that has made a difference in my life. (Sorry, prenatals.) This winter was much more tolerable and less depressing than the last 3. I'm a believer in Vitamin D for sure!

My biggest challenge is still with snacks, but I'm working on it. Even without lots of refined sugar, there are lots to things to tempt me, like chips. Haha. I'm a sucker for chips. I need to be less lazy and throw some beans in the crock pot every week, and I'm hoping to buy a sprouter soon so I can make sprouts in large batches. And, once the sun decides to show up again, I'm going to get myself outside!

More than anything, this is a pep talk to myself to remind me that changes happen gradually. I have a long way to go before I'm in the shape that I'd like to be, but I'm going to get there! I have lots of support from James, but it's still hard to have a husband who actually needs to gain weight and weighs less than I do. :)

Babies

Such confusing little creatures. I think I know what to expect, but then I don't. Nothing about them makes a lot of sense until they learn to communicate, and even then...

Katie has acted grumpy since lunchtime today. I've held her, but she cries. I put in her in swing, but she cries. I burped her, but no luck (and that hasn't been a big issue recently anyway). So, for right now, she is crying in the other room lest I pull my hair out. I think she's just tired, really, but she keeps fighting sleep and making it a lot worse.

Potty training has commenced in this house with no success whatsoever. Everyone I've talked to says that boys take a long time. It's the last thing I want to do, really, and I'd much rather hire it out to some willing person. After all, I don't feel like potty training my son is going to improve our relationship at all. It's not like people bond over poop.

The week has been pretty uneventful. All I want right now is a moment where no one needs me for anything.

We did file our taxes, so our return will enable us to buy another car. It won't be anything super nice, but it's time to get something besides the Corolla to hold 3 car seats.

Oh, and I have lost weight...about 6 pounds so far this year, and 6.5 inches. I'm well on my way to making my goal by mid-year (though I'll be happy to reach it by the time Katie turns one.)

And now I will end so nothing else pessimistic makes it to this page.