My baby is one!

This post has taken me over a week to write and I do feel guilty about that. I'm just. . . still in denial.
How can it be that an entire year has gone by so quickly?!
My sweet, chunky, baby boy is a toddler now and I can't remember how or when that even happened! He has brought so much more love and joy into my life and I don't think that i'm ready for him to keep growing. My little girl turned 3 in June and with her full on talking, writing, imaginary friends, and even a little boyfriend, I just want to keep my baby a baby forever. Don't get me wrong, I love how grown up my Katie girl is. In fact, my absolute favorite part of motherhood is watching my children learn new things. That first step, a new word, writing their own name, clapping their hands. . . it's all so amazing to me and one of the reasons that I so love being a stay-at-home mom. I wouldn't miss these small moments of learning for the world. Everyone asks me when I will put Katie in preschool and my response it that we do home preschool. Some think i'm a little crazy, and while schedules and routines have always been difficult for me, I just couldn't stand to not be there to witness my little one learning. I just love it. On that same note, watching Nolan learn as been incredible. They are so different, Katie and Nolan, and it was so fascinating to note all the differences. Slower in some areas, quicker in others. They are such unique and different little people, it's exciting to me.
Nolan has just started walking around and he gets so incredibly proud of himself when he does it.
He's been saying "mama" for quite a few months now, as well as the occasional "da," but he's been branching out lately with sounds like "broooom brrrrooom" when he's playing with his cars and trucks. Such a little boy he is!
He is still my little velcro baby, quite attached to me day and night. There's just nothing like the comfort and security of his momma. It can be tiresome sometimes, when I'm trying to make dinner or shower or run errands or breathe- but I love it even more. There's something so special about being someone else's most important thing in the world.
His smile and laugh are so wonderful, it just makes me want to cry! I've always been an emotional person, but motherhood has really amplified it to an extreme amount. The smallest thing will put me in tears now, most often happy tears.
Nolan is a happy, healthy boy who loves his family, loves to play with his sister, and loves to be outside. He enjoys eating new foods, trying to be more grown up than he is, climbing on things, figuring out new ways to be as loud as possible (banging toys together), and laughing while pulling out chunks of mommy's hair. He'll eat just about anything he finds on the floor, which often results in bits of crayon or beads being found in his diaper. Oh, the perils of having a very artsy craftsy big sister. Speaking of, I would say his two favorite "foods" are crayons and chalk, and I can't seem to keep them away from him. When he's got a sister who draws and colors almost 24 hours a day, I can't seem to keep up with the tiny crayon hidden in the rug or the piece of chalk in the grass. Nolan is very good at finding these things for me and tasting them too.
He keeps me on my toes and keeps my arm muscles strong from carrying such a hefty little guy around.
I simply love my Nolan James. My family just means everything to me and he makes it hat much more complete. While I'd still like 3 or 4 more (I want a big family!) I'll settle with my two for right now.
As long as Nolan stays little, that is. ;)

I stuck all the pictures at the bottom of the post because I was too lazy to incorporate them into what I already wrote. 

This is kind of an oldie, but I think it's hilarious!

Little man LOVES to be outside and play in the mud.

He wasn't a huge fan of this big owl.

This happens at least weekly. Just so adorable. My handsome boys!

Nolan loves to sit in just about anything that he can. There's a popular cat meme with pictures of cats sitting in random things with the words "if it fits, I sits." I think that can also apply to this little boy. Boxes, crockpots, upside down chairs, tupperware, stock pots, trash cans. . .

Just having fun at the park!

He loves to play and splash in water.

Mother's Day.

The morning of his birthday. He was certainly spoiled. Way too many gifts and I held him almost the entire day. Being held by mommy is his favorite thing after all.

A little weight-loss update

It's sad to admit this, but I haven't seen a number below 150 since Middle School. Well, until today that is! Hello 149.2!
I'm sure some of it might have to do with the fact that me (and my whole family) have been very sick for the past few days, which means I wasn't eating much, but still. . . It's awesome!

I also ran out my my Zrii Achieve shakes a coupe of weeks ago and it's been hard to stay on track since then. They made such an easy and filling meal for breakfast every day! Our budget has been a little tight, so I just couldn't afford the $90 each month. $90 really isn't that much (That's about $3 a serving, about the same cost as a drink from your local coffee shop, but SO much healthier), so hopefully i'll be able to buy them again soon. They really were such a great start to my day! I've been trying to be good and have a green smoothie every morning ,though I do skip some days. Sometimes a piece of toast or spoonful of Trader Joe's cookie butter is just so much easier!

Eating well in general has been especially difficult since we had a kitchen fire two weeks ago. As of now, everything has been cleaned up, thankfully, but we are still missing our oven and stove. We also don't have our microwave, though a friend lent us her extra one in the meantime. I never realized just how much and how often I used my stovetop and oven until I didn't have them! I literally used them every single day! I've been trying to plan more meals using our george foreman grill, waffle maker, Vitamix and crockpot for warm meal substitutes. I guess it's time more of my small appliances get some use.

Brad has been out of town since Monday, which has been AWFUL. I'm glad he was able to have some fun and go to a conference for work and everything, but wow, the timing couldn't have been worse. The sickness in our house has just been awful, and taking care of two sick kids, while being sick myself, is so incredibly taxing. I feel like a walking zombie. Can't wait until my hubby is home.

Resolution Update: March

This last month was terrible. Not just for my resolutions, but for pretty much everything in general. My cousin Lara lost her oldest daughter and we were able to attend the funeral a little over a week ago. We had a kitchen fire a few days ago and lost our oven, microwave, and a few pots in the process. Our house is a complete mess with soot covering everything, and everything reeking of smoke. Both of our car registrations came up in March. Both Brad and I had to see the dentist in March, as well as today, April 1st.
It just hasn't been fun. Now, on to the resolutions:

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st
• This one was completed!
• Limit Fast Food intake to once a month
• Complete fail. I was doing good, until the kitchen fire. Then, without a microwave, stove, or oven, I turned to fast food. Oh well. Things come up, you know?
• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month
• Also a fail for the month. I am so sad about this one. We kept procrastinating because there were so many other things going on in the month, and we originally thought it would be no big deal to go in the last two weeks of the month. Then funerals and fires kind of prevented it. My sister and ehr husband were in town, and I thought it would be a great chance for Brad and I to go, until I realized I had given all of Brad's church clothes to the restoration company to have dry-cleaned, so Brad wouldn't have anything to wear. We are going to try and make it there two times in April to make up for it.
• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• This one is coming along. I started cleaning houses a couple nights and week so it's been easier to save up money. It's also been easier to spend it, sadly. Paying for dinners on Brad's birthday, and delivery pizza when i'm too tired to cook, unexpected trips to Ikea, and buying a sink/vanity for the basement bathroom. Before I spent so much of my hard-earned cash, I had saved up over $250 from various things. Right now, I'm only at About $190. I need to be better about getting the cash in my hands and stashing it away where I can't get at it easily. I still have until the fall to really stat on this resolution though, so I think i'm ok. 
• Post on my cooking blag at least once a week
• The biggest fail of all. I didn't post even once in the month of March! Ridiculous, I know. I was just in such a cooking funk, and now half my kitchen is missing for who-knows-how-long. 

Can we just forget March ever happened? With warmer weather on the horizon, I predict that April is going to be much better. I can just feel my motivation getting ready to spring into action.

A little update on yesterday's post. . .

Just wanted to document this. I posted yesterday that I had somewhat failed at my resolution to lose 10 lbs by March 1st.

While it's now March 2nd, I just wanted to report that my weigh-in this morning flashed the number 154.6 in my face. That's more than 10 lbs!

I count that as a success.
:)

I also went jean shopping this morning because pretty much all of of my pants are falling off of me. Found one pair at Ross that was only $15, almost too short for me, but I haven't seen a size 10 in jeans on my body since, quite literally, middle school. Take that! 6 years and 2 babies later, i'm smaller than I was in High School. Yeeeeeeaaaaah!

I do want to eventually lose another 20 lbs by the conclusion of the year, and 10 of those pounds by my birthday in September, but right now I've decided to start focusing on tone. I may be be smaller than I have been in years, but i'm much more jiggly. Thank you pregnancy.

Anyone have any advice on getting more toned? More muscle definition? I've been losing weight mostly just through diet change, but now I want my skin to to tighten up and lose some flab. Any help is appreciated.

Resolution Update: February

Time for my monthly goal update! On January 1st, I set 5 New Years Resolutions for myself. At the end of the second month, let's see how i'm doing!

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st
• I failed this one. After some serious slip-ups in February, and then working really hard to re-lose the few pounds I had gained back, I ended the month at 156.4. I started at 165/164, so an 8-9 pound loss is still really great! People have noticed, and that's always a plus. Now that this first resolution is over, I can focus on my new resolution- Losing another 10 lbs by my birthday. My birthday isn't until September and I know that gives me 6 months to lose just a measly 10 lbs, but even when I was at my fittest in High School, 155 was always my plateau. It was SO difficult to get any lower than that and I know it's going to be very difficult to get rid of the next 10 lbs, even given 6 whole months. Hopefully with the warmer weather coming and summertime, it will aid in my progress. Gardening for hours out in the sun, long walks around the neighborhood, swimming in the pool I WILL be buying this summer. . .
• Limit fast food intake to once a month
• This was sort of fail for this month. I was doing awesome for the most part. Brad and I had Del Taco a couple of weeks ago and that was all. We did have delivery pizza twice (free codes from Papa Johns), but I decided to not let those count against my fast food limit. However, yesterday, the very last day of the month, my family was coming down to visit and my mom called and asked if I wanted anything from In-N-Out .Without even thinking about it, I said yes and ate the burger they brought to my house for me.  It wasn't until late last night that I realized I had eaten fast food! Argh! Brad was half-joking that I shouldn't be allowed to eat fast food for the month of March, and I think I agree with him. We'll hopefully be going out to eat for Brad's birthday in 2 1/2 weeks anyway, so I think I can make it without Panda Express like I had been planning. Oh well.
• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month
• Success! Because my parents and sister and brother-in-law were down, Brad and I finally made it to the temple on the last day of the month! It was the last session of the day, and it was in Spanish so we had to hear the English through headphones, but we made it and that is what matters. I truly believe that our marriage is strengthened through temple attendance.
• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• I feel great about this one, because I've earned about $150 so far to put towards taking a class! I have about $55 from Survey sites that I can cash out, $20 in my Paypal from my online mom community and another survey site, $20 from a Valentines gift, $25 from doing some cleaning at my sister-in-law's house earlier this week, and $30 from selling a microwave we've had for about 4 years that we've never opened.  I'm going to keep going strong with my surveys, hopefully sell a few more things, and do some more house cleaning each week. About half of the house cleaning money will be going towards an above-ground pool for our backyard, though.
• Post on my cooking blog at least once a week
• FAIL! I only posted once in February. Oops! Things just got a little busy and dinner kept falling back on easy things from our food stock, like hamburger/tuna helper, and basic pasta. I kept thinking that there were things I could post about, things I actually made, but my camera battery was dead for a while and I kept forgetting to plug it in. Excuses, excuses. . . I know. My ambitious plan for March though is to finish my freezer series, post about my newly discovered bread recipe, post about my new go-to rolls recipe, the pasta sauce i've been making at least once a week, and maybe a post on homemade granola. We'll just have to wait and see what actually happens though. :)

Good luck to me! March has 3 more days then February does, so it should be easier, right?

2-27-13 Update

We're in the home stretch for my weight loss goal! Only 2 days left! How did this happen?!
I was doing so well for a while, and then the week of Valentine's Day came up. From sugar-loaded brownies at a Pampered Chef party, to EMORMOUS sugar cookies at a Young Women's activity (I am a Mia Maid Adviser), to ice cream sandwiches made with homemade chocolate chip cookies for Valentine's Day, to eating the rest of the cookie dough from the fridge for the next 3 days. . . I seriously fell off of my healthy-eating cliff. It was awful. I went from making it all the way down to 156.6 back up to 159. I struggled for the following week to get back on track and then it really hit me yesterday that the end of the month is SO close. So. . . I am on a mostly liquid diet until Friday. Yesterday I had 3 fruit/veggie smoothies, a Zrii Achieve meal replacement shake, and lots and lots of water. I did eat dinner with my little family though. Pizza quesadillas with homemade pizza sauce and homemade tortillas. I also made an apple crisp, mostly as a treat for Brad, but I did indulge in some of it with a little vanilla ice cream. Today i've had my Zrii Achieve, one fruit smoothie, and some fresh pressed orange juice from a ton of oranges I picked up at Smith's a few days ago. I also ate 2 slices of bread because Katie wanted some and it smelled so yummy. Haha! I'm out of veggies to add to my smoothies, so I'll be heading to Smith's after I get home from Young Women's tonight. I'll have to have another protein shake and a lot more water. Not sure what's up for dinner tonight. I had originally planned on Potato Mountain (I plan meals 2 weeks in advance), but that's not something I should be eating right now. :) Perhaps I'll just make some homemade hamburgers for Brad and Katie and roast up some veggies for myself. Good luck to me!

Oh, and irony kicked in when this morning my scale decided that it finally needed a new battery. After 3 years, the battery had to die today. Figures. It's a 9-volt, so i'll have to get one of those at the store as well.

2-8-13 Update

These little updates are so lame, but I couldn't help posting this one. I woke up this morning and weighed myself (I always weigh myself in the mornings. It's more accurate to do it at the same time of day each time) and I almost couldn't believe what I saw. 157.4 lbs!!! That's 8 lbs less than when I started at the beginning of the year! I know it doesn't seem like a lot, and 154 is still heavy (24 lbs heavier than what I "should" be), but I haven't seen that number in years. Not even just pre-baby, but pre-wedding and pre-college! I think the most exciting part is just that my stomach is getting flatter. I've got two babies worth of flab and watching it disappear has been so great! Even I can't believe I only had a baby 5 months ago! I wish I would have taken before pictures. I guess I can probably find some somewhere that were snapped without my permission. Haha!

It's a little accomplishment, but I'm proud of myself. I've been eating healthier, staying more active, and feeling great! (Apart from a lingering cough i've had for the last two weeks).

I can't wait until it warms up and I can start going on walks again with my little ones. Brad and I might be getting a couple of bikes so a bike trailer for the kiddos might be in order. Not sure about that though. I never was very fond of bike-riding. I wonder if I would look super lame, as a momma-of-two 20-something, rolling around on roller blades? I do miss roller blading!

As summer comes I'll also be spending tons of time in my yard pulling weeds, planting seeds, and tending to my future chickens (not too mention lounging in the above ground pool. I have this theory that the more time I spend outside, the more weight I will lose. And maybe get my tan back. And my natural highlights. We'll see.

Resolution Update: January

Time for my monthly goal update! On January 1st, I set 5 New Years Resolutions for myself. At the end of the first month, let's see how i'm doing!

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st.
• I am down approximately 5 lbs! I have 4 weeks to go until my March 1st deadline and if I up my exercise a little bit more each week, I should definitely be able to accomplish this. I have had some brief relapses the last couple of days because i've been sick (apple crisp and bowls of ice cream), but  I'm getting right back on track tomorrow. I'm still sick today. :p

• Limit fast food intake to once a month
• On track! I chose Carls Jr. as my fast food of choice for the month of January, and I most thoroughly enjoyed my charbroiled chicken club. I didn't get waffle fries or a chocolate shake, my two other favorite things, but I had to show a little restraint for my weight loss goal. I am kind of regretting it though.  
• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month  
• Success! My mom was in town for a couple of days so not only did Brad and I get to go on our monthly date (I pre-planned monthly dates as part of Brad's anniversary gift), but we were able to attend the temple the next night as well.  Funny story though, our temple bags have been in the trunk of our car for a while, and our gas can has spilled quite a few times back there. It wasn't until we were changing into our white clothes in the temple dressing rooms that we realized our clothing COMPLETELY REEKED of gasoline. So gross. Oh well! They are washed and good to go now.
• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• This one is nowhere near completion.  The cost of courses actually went up without me realizing it when I posted this resolution, so I need to somehow earn/find over $400 for a 3 credit course. Ouch! I've been taking surveys diligently though and have made about $20 this past month with them. I also earned about $20 in my PayPal through various things, but have already spent it on different things for the household. Our budget is SUPER tight, but I am still determined to make this goal happen!
• Post on my cooking blog at least once a week
• Success! Mostly. I did post 4 times in January, so that's about once a week, but sometimes it was more like, 9 or 10 days rather than every 7. Not that that's a big deal or anything. It has been nice blogging again, though. And it's definitely easier to find things to blog about when we can no longer afford to go out to eat or pay for convenience foods. I even made 2 loaves of bread to use for sandwiches, garlic bread and toast since we ran out of frozen loaves in the freezer.

Can't wait to see how things go in February!
I've only been exercising about twice a week, but i'm going to up that to 4 times a week this month. 
I still haven't decided what fast food I want for February. I'm thinking Del Taco. It's cheap and always delicious!
I'm not sure if my parents will be coming my way at all this month, so i'll have to find a babysitter so we can go to the temple. Hopefully I can find someone to do it for free!
I've also rustled up a few things I think I can sell, so I plan on saving that money specifically for my college goal. I'm thinking I can bring in about $30-$40 on selling things. I have another $15 coming to my PayPal this month, and hopefully I can get at least $10 from my surveys. Sadly, most sites only offer rewards and not cash payout, but I'll make it work.
For my cooking blog, I plan on continuing my "A Peek Inside My Freezer" mini-series, as well as sharing one of new favorite bread recipes and hopefully posting about my parent's famous enchiladas. There's a cookie recipe i've been wanting to try as well, so if that turns out yummy, i'll post about it too.

1-29-13 Update

Weight: 160.2. I'm getting there! One month and 5 lbs down, one month and 5 more lbs to go. Woo!

Food: I might have lost some more weight in the last couple of weeks, but I was out of town for a few days and definitely pigged out while I was there. Oops! I'm home now, so things should be getting back on track. Back to my Zrii in the mornings and fruit and veggies to snack on! I also stopped drinking very much water for a week or two, so i'm getting back to that as well.

Exercise: With being out of town, I got off track with my work-outs also, so I'm starting it up again now. Did Yoga Meltdown last night and boy were my legs shaking. I've got a lot of house cleaning to do today, so i'll work-out again tomorrow, hopefully in the morning. Katie loves to do Yoga with me and it's so hilarious! Until she says I look like a tunnel or a slide and proceeds to climb all over me.

1-12-13 Update

Weight- 161.3 lbs. This is the lightest I have been in. . . 4 years? Since I got married? Crazy. It's only 4 lbs less than where I was at the start of the new year, but hey! That was only 2 weeks ago and i'm down 4 lbs. Can't complain!

It's probably boring to read about what I eat for each meal, so i'll just say what i've kind of been doing. I drink my Zrii Achieve protein shakes in the mornings, sometimes accompanied by scrambled eggs or toast and fruit. I've been drinking a LOT of water, sometimes mixed with Zrii Accell. I've started mixing in some D'oterra essential oils into my water as well. Lunches are just dinner leftovers. Snacks consist of carrot sticks or celery with peanut butter. I've been cooking dinner from scratch just about every night with cut-up fruit or roasted veggies on the side. Splurging still happens, of course, because if I don't, I CRAVE fast food and things. A chocolate kiss here and there, or homemade brownies or something. Although, I used coconut oil in my brownies, so that makes them healthy, right? :)

Exercise: I just started on a new video today, Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown. My legs were definitely shaking after it was over!

6 lbs to go to meet my resolution, and i've still got 6 weeks left! This is SO doable! Of course, the next 20 lbs by the end of year will be a little more difficult to achieve, but I am just not going to think about that right now. :)

1-2-13 Update

Starting Weight: 165 lbs. More than yesterday. Figures. I fluctuate a lot though, so I'm thinking I'll just do weekly weigh-ins. It'll probably be much more accurate.






Breakfast: Toasted honey wheat bagel with cream cheese, some fresh pineapple and a glass of milk

Lunch: Black bean, corn, cheese, and rice quesadilla on a homemade tortilla with sour cream. Glass of milk.

Snack: 4-cheese lean pocket. (Awful, I know, but I am SO hungry today! Nolan must be going through a growth spurt.) 1 Hershey's Kiss.

Dinner: Spaghetti with parmesan garlic bread and corn. I also had some egg nog with dinner. Hello calories!


Exercise: 15 minutes of aerobics this morning. Not very much, but I've got to start small when it's been months since i've exercised (I had a baby 4 months ago and all).

1-1-13 update

Morning weight: 164.6 lbs

• This is less than my pre-pregnancy weight, which is AWESOME. However, jiggly baby fat remains around the middle region, which is what I want to get rid of the most!

Breakfast: None. We didn't get out of bed until after 10 today. Haha!

Lunch: Whole Wheat Bagel with one egg, a slice of sharp cheddar cheese, one slice of bacon and 2 slices of avocado. One Zrii Achieve Protein Shake.

Snack: Zrii Amalaki, Zrii Accell mixed with 16 oz water, glass of grape juice.

Dinner: Black bean, corn, and cheese quesadilla on homemade tortillas with mexican rice and pineapple with a cup of milk.

Exercise:

• Nothing really today. I spent about 45 minutes cleaning, including 10 minutes of vacuuming and about 10 minutes of dancing. Haha!

2013

New Years Day.
A day full of overly ambitious resolutions and "fresh starts" which last about a week.
I'll admit, i've been there many times before. Setting huge goals  with high hopes and then they are dead and gone within the month.
Not this year.
I am SO determined to not let that happen this year.
So without further ado, here are my New Year's Resolutions:

• Lose 10 lbs by March 1st.
• This goal is part of a higher one to lose 35 lbs by the end of the year, but starting with just 10 is much more reasonable and attainable.
• I will post DAILY updates on my blog here about my progress including my starting weight in the morning, what I ate during the day, and what type of exercise I was able to do. The daily updates are NOT a resolution, so if they don't always happen, I won't feel guilty. It will just be a tool in helping aid my weight loss.

• Limit fast food intake to once a month
• As much as I would love to eliminate fast food altogether, it is just not a reality right now. I have got to start small if I want to accomplish bigger things.
• I describe fast food as establishments with a drive-thru. Sit-down restaurants are still permitted, but since we can't afford sit-down restaurants very often, this doesn't really worry me. 
• I haven't decided yet whether I want to count delivery pizza as fast food. ;)

• Attend the temple with Brad at least once a month
• This goal might not seem that difficult, but with two little kids and no money to pay for babysitters, it IS difficult. I will do my best to utilize the times when my parents are in town and to make friends with people in the neighborhood who will be willing to watch my children for free. 

• Take ONE 3-credit college course through BYU Independant Study and receive an A
• One college course probably seems like a tiny goal to many of you, but not when you are poor. With our new home/mortgage, finally having to pay for our own cell phones, higher utility bills, car payment, etc. . . there is no way we could afford for me to go back to school on Brad's income alone. A 3 credit course through BYU Independant Study costs $360 and that is just not doable for us at the moment. Because my education isn't really a priority at the moment, I will need to accomplish this on my own. I will need to find ways to earn and save my own money. I will be much more diligent at my survey sites and online communities. I will sell personal items online and possibly have another yard sale this summer. I will look for babysitting jobs in the area. I will find a way to make this happen!
• I also MUST get an A in the class. I always had great grades in high school, and then terrible grades in college. I need to fix that. 

• Post on my cooking blog at least once a week
• I have a new kitchen that is large and beautiful, I will be cooking at home MUCH more with my limit on fast food- I have NO excuse why I can't post at least one recipe or cooking tip/tutorial on my blog at least once a week. I really enjoy posting on there, but my motivation has been lacking. First up this week, Easy Mexican Rice. 

Good luck to me! Once a month I will try to remember and post an update on my goals and my progress for each of them.  I wish everyone else the best of luck in accomplishing their own resolutions this year! Happy 2013!

The Year Without A Santa Clause

Did you know that we don't do Santa Clause around here? It's something I kind of decided that first Christmas with Katie 2 years ago. Brad probably thinks i'm crazy. Most people think i'm crazy.
But why?
Why is Santa Clause so important?
Some say it's because he IS the spirit of Christmas and that he teaches our children about giving.
Doesn't Christ do the SAME thing? And Christ is actually REAL! He is the true reason for the season and I chose to make Him the focus of our Christmas celebrations each year.
I don't knock anyone else for doing Santa Clause, of course. Different strokes for different folks. :)
In light of the Christmas season, i've truly been making an effort to be more giving and Christlike. To put him at the center. I've just returned from Salt Lake City, where I dropped off an enormous bag of donations to a needy family. The father is out of work, the mother is sick, one of their children has down syndrome, and they speak very little English. I decided last month to sponsor this family for Christmas. My original plan was to have people at Brad's work pitch in, but none of them seemed really interested, sadly. So it was me. Alone. I went black friday shopping a few weeks ago, not for myself or my own family, but to buy blankets, pillows, towels, and pajamas for this sweet family. I gathered up toiletries from my couponing stockpile, and I drove it all up to Salt Lake this afternoon. I will tell you right now, nothing feels better than serving others. THIS is what Christmas should feel like. Not stressed about travel and decorations and getting the right gifts and watching your bank account deplete.
So what if our children won't be getting all the latest toys and gizmos? There is a family out there who will be a little warmer this Christmas. Who can feel a little less worried about their family.
Later today, a woman is stopping by my house to pick up more donations from me. I LOVE that I have been able to coupon and build up a supply of extra things. There is a sweet family here in West Jordan who's home burned down and they were left with nothing. While it's a little harder for me to donate clothes or furniture, this family will have their weight in shampoo, conditioner, cleaning products, toothpaste and soap this Christmas!

I don't want this post to be braggy. I don't feel prideful. I just feel happy. And I want YOU to feel happy. PLEASE, find one family or person that YOU can help this Christmas. The economy is though. I know. But you have a roof over your head. Food on your table. You might even already have presents under the tree. Not everyone is so lucky.

Suggestions:
If you aren't sure how you can help, here are some simple ideas.
- Gather up gently used clothes that you never wear anymore. Drive to your local church, or ANY church for that matter. Tell them you have some clothes that you would like to go to a family in need. I guarantee they will know someone who can use them.
- Find an old coat that you never wear, or buy one from goodwill. Hand it to someone who is homeless.
- You can even grab that extra box of crackers in your pantry and hand it to someone holding a sign on the side of the road.
- Search Facebook! I am part of a group called "West Jordan Angels." People can nominate needy families in their area and other people can donate to that family.
- Buy a few cans of corn at the grocery store. Immediately drop them off in the Food Bank bins.
- Next time you hear a story on the news about a family who is experiencing a tragedy, and that they have a fund set up at a local bank or grocery store, actually donate to that fund!
- Drop your extra change in the little box at McDonald's for the Ronald McDonald House.
- Smile at those less fortunate. Wish them a Merry Christmas. Include them in your prayers. 

Unlike the stories, Santa Clause does not visit every house. He does not give toys to every child, rich or poor. WE can fill in the gaps.

Now go out there and do some good this Holiday season!

12 weeks

(I want to share some pictures on here so badly but it's telling me that i've used up all my free photo space! What the heck?)


My baby boy is just about 12 weeks old and i'm in disbelief! He is growing up SO fast! I wanted to take some time to post a little bit about this sweet boy of mine and how amazing he is!

Nolan is over 15 lbs now. He has already outgrown all 0-3 month size clothing and much of his 3-6 months clothes! Big boy!
He is such a happy little baby and loves to share his smiles with you.
He loves to sit and look out of our big front window.
He LOVESSSS when you sing to him. Smiles and giggles the whole time.
Nolan is also very ticklish. It's hilarious! We love his laughs and squeals.
He sleeps SO GREAT. 7, 8, or even 9 hours at a time! After Katie, I didn't really believe that any baby ever slept longer than 3 or 4 hours, but then Nolan came along! Boy loves his sleep.
He definitely loves his momma. Sorry everyone. He is mommy's little boy!
He has such a sweet disposition and personality. Everyone can't help but comment on what a good baby he is. Katie was a good baby too, so. . . nature vs. nurture, you decide. :p
He loves to stand up or sit up, and to be facing outward so he can see everything.
So far, he doesn't really like the bouncy seat but the bumbo is a winner.

Katie LOVES him, although she gets a little bugged when he "hits" or "kicks" her. We try to explain that he can't help it but she still gets annoyed. For the most part though, she is absolutely in love with her little brother. I always have to tell people this, so sorry if you've heard it, but it's such a sweet story! Sometimes, Nolan will be upstairs napping or with Brad and Katie and I will be downstairs. We'll hear Nolan start to cry and Katie will drop whatever she is doing and run to the stairs calling "I coming Nolan! I coming!" It melts my heart how much she wants him to be comfortable and happy and have everything he needs.

My heart is just full of love for my little family and the amazing blessing that they are to me. Though they can't fully understand yet, I tell both Katie and Nolan everyday how thankful I am for them and for Heavenly Father allowing me to raise them. I tell them how much I love them and how much their Father in heaven and Jesus Christ love them and that I am so lucky that I get to be their momma. I really am so lucky.

For pictures, check Facebook because I can't figure out how to get pictures on here! :(

Nolan James Odasso

The birth story. It's a little long. Sorry!    

     I believe it started on Wednesday, the 5th. I was one week "overdue" (I use quotes around the word overdue because babies are not phone bills or car insurance payments. They come when they are good and ready). I had had my membranes stripped the day before and now I started having a few contractions! While mommy brain has already erased some details, I do know that there were a few, though not really consistent. Thursday, they were coming often enough for me to write them down. Every ten minutes for a few hours. Then every FIVE minutes for a few hours. Then I went to sleep and poof! Gone. Friday, on and off. Saturday, on and off. I was able to convince Brad to take me to the state fair, where they started coming every 5 minutes again. Woo! They slowed down after leaving the fair, which left me feeling pretty discouraged, but as the night wore on, they continued, even if still half an hour apart. At some point, I fell asleep and I remember waking up at least twice to breathe my way through a contraction. Again, not very close together. But then, something crazy happened. Right around 3:30, I SHOT out of bed with a painful contraction! Exactly 5 minutes later, another painful one. I stood next to the bed, leaning over onto it to breathe my way through it. I think I might have gone to the bathroom after that and the next contraction hit only 4 minutes after the previous. Another one that wasn't too bad yet. But the next one was only 3 minutes away. They were moving fast! The next was another 3 minutes and this time I dropped to my knees in pain. Now they were every 3 minutes and I couldn't even stand during them. Breathing was getting difficult. I had Brad call the student midwife, who said she would call us back. I'm not sure she grasped that this was it! I knew it was progressing WAY fast and we needed to get moving! I texted my sister-in-law, Jenna, to let her know it was time. She had asked if she could be there for the birth and I was happy to say yes! (although she might be forever traumatized now. Lol!). At that point it was just about 4:30 in the morning on Sunday. Brad woke up my parents so that they could get ready. My mom was coming with us and my dad was going to stay here with Katie until after the baby was born. And then, we waited. And waited. It felt like forever waiting for the midwife to call back, although it'd only been about 15 minutes. I decided that we couldn't wait any longer and that we needed to get moving. My contractions had been getting worse and worse and were now 2 minutes apart. The drive to the birth center takes half an hour, though at 4:50 in the morning, I think we got there in 20-25. The car ride was AWFUL. Contractions every 1-2 minutes and sitting was so painful. I found myself on my knees on the floor in front of my seat, with my upper body laying across the dashboard, just in so much pain. As we were driving, I went ahead and called the student midwife again and told her that my contractions were 1-2 minutes apart and very painful. She apologized for not getting back to me yet because another baby had just been born at the center. She went to check with the midwife on call to make sure I could come in (too bad, i'm already on my way!) and then she said that I could. Anyway, we arrived and the next hour was just pure pain, basically. All I wanted to do was get in that big, warm bathtub, but the midwives had me in a hands and knees position to help my cervix dilate more.

I wish I could describe the pain, but you probably wouldn't want to even hear it. Mostly, it just feels like the worst way to die. A few times I got off the bed and squatted on the floor instead because that was MUCH more comfortable. One of those times my water broke, which was actually pretty awesome. I didn't see that when I had Katie, so it was exciting to see that my body was doing what it needed to and that the time was pretty close! Finally, the midwives consented to letting me get in the tub!

 It was a little annoying when they asked "do you want a water birth?" because I was pretty sure I had mentioned that a few times before! Anyway, after reading online about water births, I was honestly expecting a little more pain relief than I got. It did feel nice, but not much was going to ease my pain! The one wonderful thing about it, however, was that I could move so easily! I was able to get into different positions so much easier with the water supporting my weight. It was awesome. At this point, it was probably around 6 in the morning and I had a number of contractions before I decided that I was going to just start pushing. I'm not sure I felt like my body was telling me to push yet, but I was going to push anyway. This needed to end! I told the midwives that I was going to start pushing and then it started. The screaming. Holy moly, the screaming. I swear, Brad, my mom, Jenna, the midwives, and the poor new mother in the other room are probably all traumatized now. The main midwife was very helpful though in telling me to keep that energy in (by energy, she meant the screaming, haha!) and to focus it all on pushing. While it was very hard to keep myself from screaming anymore, being quiet and just focusing really, really helped. At one point I asked, "is that the head?!" because I could just feel his head in there. It was so incredible to be able to actually feel what was going on, to feel that I was actually moving this baby out with each push. I knew what my body was doing and what I needed to do to help it. After 14 minutes, I felt his little head pop out and one more push brought out the shoulders and the rest of this tiny baby. I grabbed his little body under the water and pulled him up to me and it was just incredible. Here he was! 6:37 a.m. 3 hours of labor. I did this! (Did I mention that during labor, I must have said the words "I can't do this" about a hundred times?)

     I held him close while they rubbed him down a bit. After a while, I pushed out the placenta, which was so neat. I didn't get to see it, or even the umbilical cord, after Katie was born. Once the cord stopped pulsing (pumping the remainder of his blood from the placenta back into his body), they clamped it off and Brad cut it. And then we just cuddled in the tub for a while, mommy and baby.

 I nursed him for a little bit and eventually we got out of the tub to go lay in bed. Lots more cuddling and one big nursing session. My dad showed up with Katie, though being woken up at 6:30 in the morning, she wasn't very interested in him.

 Brad brought me some juice and some cereal and the grandparents bonded with little Nolan for a bit. The midwives came to stitch me up at some point and help me to the bathroom. Then they weighed him, 8 lbs, 10 oz, and took all his other measurements- length, head circumference and all the other baby body circumferences. They checked out all his little body parts and made sure everything was ok. The student told me that he was very symmetrical. I think it was around 9 o'clock at this point, Jenna had left earlier and my parents and Katie had left, and the midwives did the most wonderful thing. They also left. Haha! Not that they weren't great, but they told Brad and I to take a nap. So with little Nolan between us, we all took a nice 2 1/2 hour nap. No hospital beeps. No nurses coming in to poke and prod me and Nolan. No doctors and people randomly walking in to do things. Just peace and quiet on a Sunday morning.

     When everything is healthy and looking great, you don't stay at the birth center very long. Our check-out time was 1:15 that same afternoon, which was just fine with me. I absolutely hated being held at the hospital for so long with Katie. I'd had her at 5:30 in the morning on a Friday and they kept me there until noon the next day! All I wanted was to be home and start enjoying my new family. To take a shower in my own bathroom and eat my own food and just relax in my own bed. Anyway, we woke up around noon and one of the helpers at the birth center brought us some lunch. I think it was around 12:45 when we decided we were ready to leave, so we did. We just packed up our things, brought our dishes down to the kitchen, and came home. It was awesome.

     Since then, things have been great. Nolan is so wonderful and I can't stop staring at his sweet little face. Breastfeeding has been a little bit of a challenge, but nothing I can't push through. I just make WAY more milk than he can handle right now, and he also burps and spits up which honestly is something we didn't really experience with Katie. He does love to eat though and has gained almost 4 ounces in less than a week! Katie loves him and I found myself in tears yesterday watching her hold his hand and give him kisses. It is rough going from 1 to 2, especially when it comes to getting them in and out of the car by myself, but oh goodness, I love my little family. I love my husband Brad for all of his loving support and for being so strong for me while I was in labor. I know it was a scary and heartbreaking experience for him to see me so vulnerable and in so much pain. For being patient with me as the "baby blues" hit really strongly and I found myself crying all day about being overwhelmed and my "failures" as a mother. For reassuring me and changing diapers in the middle of the night. I love my children, for the amazing spirits they have and for allowing me to love them so much. I'm so grateful that Katie loves her little brother and is so willing to help me in any way she can. I'm thankful that i've been blessed with little Nolan and his sweet smiles and silly faces and soft, squishy body that I just love to cuddle all day long. I am just a woman in love with my little family. I can't get enough of them! Despite the struggles and pains and sleepiness, I want to thank my Heavenly Father for this family that I have been blessed with, and for my ability to love them so much. My heart is full. Thank you.

Cleaning Queen

I just wanted to talk about my big little helper for just a bit here.
Mostly, I just want to make sure I have a written record of a time when she actually liked to clean and help me out with chores. :)

Sorry there are no pictures. :(

Let me say that Katie LOVES to clean. I really do not know where she gets it from. I am not a clean person. I really am not. I don't know how many people actually know this fact, but I truly am a slob. Brad is a clean person, but he does not enjoy cleaning. He doesn't go out of his way TO clean. He just doesn't really do much to warrant cleaning. Can't make much of a mess going to work and then playing computer games all night. ;)

If Katie sees me cleaning anything, she immediately runs over, says "keen!" (clean) and searches for some way to help. Here is my list of what my 2 year old absolutely loves helping with:

Dishes
Although she can't put away most of the dishes in the dishwasher, she really enjoys helping with what she can. She is allowed to put away the silverware (though I have to reorganize the drawer afterwards), the cooking utensils (nothing sharp of course), pots, pans, and lids. She stands next to the dishwasher and dutifully waits for me to hand her the next item to be put away.

Setting the Table
This is probably her second favorite chore ever! And it's probably my first favorite one that she does. I love that I can finish cooking dinner while Katie puts everything we need on the table! She runs into the kitchen and I hand her items one at a time to be put on the table- plates, utensils, salt and pepper shakers, cups, napkins,  juice (if it's not too heavy), and various food items that are not too heavy and ready to go, like a bowl of salad or a plate of sliced fruit or something. Brad often helps her out in putting things in the right places, like putting her plastics plate/cup by her high chair and putting mommy's and daddy's plates by our respective chairs. I also want to mention that sometimes she acts like a puppy while she is setting the table. It's pretty hilarious.

Laundry
Katie is very good about picking up her dirty clothes and putting them in her hamper. She is also great at handing me things from her hamper to put in the wash, and them later putting them in the dryer. I've started hang-drying almost all of our clothes now, and Katie loves to help hang things up. We're still working on the folding part. She is much more of a destroy-that-pile-of-clothes-mommy-just-folded kind of person.

Cooking
Oh my, this girl loves to cook! If i'm in the kitchen and doing anything that looks even remotely interesting, she yells "cooking!" and pulls a dining room chair up to the counter so she can help. Adding ingredients to a bowl is her favorite part. I let her dump in the flour/sugar/eggs/vanilla/whatever else is needed for a recipe. The only downside is that every once in a while, she discovers that one of the ingredients tastes good all by itself. She was helping to make chocolate chip cookies a while ago and when I asked her to pour in the chocolate chips, she instead ate a few, grabbed the bag, and walked into the living room to eat them. Haha! She also likes to help stir, though she gets tired of it pretty quickly. Even the simplest tasks she enjoys though, like setting something in the microwave or rinsing fruits in the sink.

Sweeping/Dusting
I have a little swiffer duster that is specifically for Katie. She takes it and dusts random things for me. She never really accomplishes much, but she enjoys pretending. She also likes to try and "seep" (sweep) with the broom. It's a pretty long broom, so she has a rough time with it. Instead, I usually try to give her one of those small broom and dustpan combos. I hold down the dustpan while she sweeps big crumbs into it.

Actual Cleaning
There is no cleaning task Katie loves more than having a spray bottle in her hand, spraying something, and then wiping it down with a paper towel. With heavy supervision, she is sometimes allowed to wield an actual cleaner and spray things like the toilet or the sliding glass door, but usually I fill up a small spray bottle with water or give her my little spray bottle that is filled with vinegar that I use for cleaning most things. She does tend to over-spray however, getting a little too trigger happy with those spray bottles. After the item is thoroughly soaked, she grabs her paper towel and wipes it down. For little messes, I hand her baby wipes to use instead.

Misc.
- Whenever we get home, I remind her to take off her shoes and after doing so, she immediately puts them on the shoe rack by the door, without being asked. Katie is much better at this than Brad. :)
- For some crazy reason, she enjoys throwing things away in the trash can. When I hand her a piece of trash and ask her to throw it away, she actually takes it and says "thanks!"
- Though this doesn't happen all the time, Katie is pretty good about picking up her toys without being asked to do so. Many times, she will finish playing with something and just put all the pieces away where they belong. It's pretty awesome when this happens. When she forgets, a couple of gentle reminders will prompt her to pick up her toys before she gets anything else out.
-She also enjoys putting away the groceries, putting the cats outside, trying to clean the litter box (I say trying because I do NOT let her do this, but she tries very hard to be sneaky and scoop that poop. Time-outs are more often than not related to Katie attempting to clean the litter box), closing doors, flushing toilets, turning lights on and off, and picking couch pillows up off the floor.


Of course, this post wouldn't be complete without saying the most common thing she does around the house. Or really, the most common thing any 2 year old does around the house, and that is to make as big a mess as possible each and every day. :D

Independance Day

I never did post about our 4th of July, did I?
Well, better late than never!
I'll be brief and post some pictures. :)


We were able to go up to my parent's house in Idaho Falls (they retired last year, sold their house in Cali, and are renting in Idaho for now). We've spent the last 3 July 4th's with them, so it was nice that they live much closer now.

What's more all-American than an orange push-pop?

Yum! While we were there, we also got to see my old neighbors from growing up, the DeJongs! They had come up for vacation and their son and his wife live in Rexburg.

So, Katie has worn this onesie for the last THREE Independance days! Crazy, right? Her first she was just 3 weeks old and my sisters' girls were decorating shirts. Katie's cousin Peyton was getting a onesie decorated and it was a size 18 months. My sister Marci used one of the extra 18 month size onesies to make one for Katie. It was pretty large on her little 3 week old body! Then last year, it fit her almost perfectly, though it was still a little big. She was still in a 12 month size. This year, she was too big for it, but I used a onesie extender to snap onto the bottom so she could still wear it. I'm thinking next year i'll have to somehow cut it up and make it into a shirt or something. :)

After burgers and hot dogs at the house, we headed out to wait for the Fireworks show. The Meleleuca Fireworks Show in Idaho Falls is AMAZING. If you ever get the chance to see it, you should go! My parents had parked the RV much earlier in the day to secure a spot for us to watch.

 Katie was waiting very patiently for the fireworks for a while, but then she got bored and just wanted to run around in the fields.

She noticed daddy sitting on top of the RV and wanted to join him. I know, not so safe. Daddy's are just crazy sometimes. I kept telling Brad to get farther away from the edge.

We stayed up there for a couple of extra days, hanging out with my family. We went by the river to feed the geese and ducks twice.

 Katie loved them!

Yes, that is Cap'n Crunch. Haha! I guess My little sister's husband has bought the generic kind and didn't like it at all, so we thought the geese might. They didn't really. Lol!

Overall a fun trip. It always makes me miss Idaho even more when we go up to visit. It was even harder to leave this time though, because it was the last time i'll see my brother, and his new wife, for a LONG time i'm sure. They moved up to Alaska just a week later. Sad day.

Anyway, good thing Idaho Falls is only 3 1/2 hours away!

7 Weeks!

So, I have approximately 7 weeks left until baby boy arrives. And while that doesn't seem like a long time, it sure does to me!!!
Summer is not a fun time to be pregnant! Our electric bill was double this month what it normally is, thanks to my absolute need to keep the AC at 72. I would make it even lower if I wasn't worried about freezing poor Brad and Katie. I am just so dang sweaty ALL THE TIME!
Ok, anyway.
So 7 weeks left.
And I also happen to be in that "nesting" stage. You know when pregnant women suddenly have to have absolutely everything clean and ready to go for when baby arrives?
So i've decided, in order to distract myself, I will thoroughly and completely deep-clean one room a week until baby is here! There are about 7 main areas in the apartment and 7 weeks left, so it works perfect! There is the living room (i'm lumping the dining room in with this one), kitchen, master bedroom, master bathroom, Katie's room, the guest bedroom, and the guest bathroom.

Today, I did the guest bathroom!
I know it doesn't seem like a guest bathroom would need much deep-cleaning, but our cat and her three kittens have been occupying that bathroom for the last month. It is also Katie's bathroom, meaning scumy bath toys and a ring around the tub. Yuck!
I did everything from the baseboards, wiping down the walls and door, taking a toothbrush to all the cracks and crevices, washing the shower curtain and liner and even scrubbing the plunger!

Here's the rest of the schedule:

(I'm going to list these by the week in my pregnancy)
Week 33- Guest Bathroom -DONE

Week 34- Master Bathroom

Week 35- Kitchen

Week 36- Katie's Bedroom (this includes getting baby things ready!)

Week 37- Living Room/Dining Room

Week 38- Guest Bedroom (definitely needs to be done by this time. My mom will be coming to stay)

Week 39- Master Bedroom

Week 40- BABY! hopefully. . .

As you can see I saved the easiest rooms for the end as I know it's going to get more and more difficult to do too much at a time. Week 40 will just be last minute things, making sure everything is vaccumed, laundry and dishes are done, the freezer is stocked with meals ready to go for after baby's arrival, putting the car seat in the car and setting up the bassinet and all that other fun stuff.

I can't believe it is getting so close to the end! Even though it feels like I still have forever to go, I also feel like much of my pregnancy went by so fast! I guess being distracted by Katie helped. When I was pregnant with her, I spent most of my pregnancy laying in bed watching Netflix. :)
Not that I don't wish I could be doing that this time around because chasing a toddler is TOUGH.
Oh boy. A toddler and a newborn. What have I gotten myself into?
I'm so excited for this new little guy though. Like, REALLY excited. Can you believe I will be a mother of two? Am I really that grown-up?
Sorry. I'm starting to ramble. I think I need to take a nap. That's all for now!

OH! Let me add a few Katie pictures so you don't think that reading this post was a complete waste of time. :D

 Oh, that little stool. She loves it! Speaking of, does anyone know how to get chocolate pudding off of a footstool? Hehe.

 Getting all pretty.

She loves to try and let the kittens play with her toys. It's hilarious! She doesn't understand why they don't think balls and horses and bath toys are as awesome as she thinks they are.

Feeding geese in Idaho Falls, though she refused to call them geese and would only call them ducks.

Expanding my mind

So, I've been feeling pretty down for a few years now.
Why?
Because I didn't finish school. In fact, if you didn't know, I flunked out of school. Pretty pathetic, right?
I think i've finally gotten to a point where I can take full responsibility for how completely lazy and unmotivated I was in school. My low GPA that put me on Academic Suspension was entirely my own fault. I had stopped going to classes and stopped caring and it is one of the biggest regrets of my life.
As someone who had always been a good student (top 5% of my HS class, thank you very much), I have been so disappointed in myself.
Not to be a braggy-braggerton or anything, but I was accepted into all 3 BYU's. All three!!!! That's not that easy! And yet I blew it.
Ok. Enough self-pity.
Anyway, i've decided that I REALLY need to rectify this problem. I literally feel like i'm getting dumber and dumber all the time and going back to school is the only answer! I had intended on starting at Salt Lake Community College in May, and had my enrollment done and everything, but that was before I knew I was going to be in my third trimester of pregnancy. Yeah, not happening.
On top of that, car payments, baby/pregnancy bills, and hoping to buy a house in the next year? Where are we going to get the money for school?! Not to mention the fact that Brad thinks my want for a degree is pretty unnecessary :(
Ok, I'll get to the point.
Free courses! BYU has an independent study program, where you can pretty much take as many courses as you like, whenever you want, which is just perfect for me! But at around $120 a credit, it's not so affordable right now. AND most places won't give you a student loan or financial aid for courses like this. My plan is to save enough money to take just one course at a time, until I can save up for the next course. (Taking online surveys, selling my stuff, leftover money from the monthly grocery budget, etc. . .)
Until then, they offer some courses for free. They don't give you any college credit, but I think they may help fill the academic hole in my heart right now.
I just feel like i'm at such a stand-still and I have this deep NEED to keep learning.
My degree may take quite a while to finish going this route, but at least it's something.

Call me lame, but i've just signed up for my first two free courses:
Basic Arithmetic: Part 1 (there are 4 parts. I know math, but I think it'll be good to sharpen my skills)
Study Skills (I OBVIOUSLY need this course anyway!)

If anyone wants to take a free course with me, let me know! How fun would it be to go over stuff together? Here's the site to see what they offer.
http://is.byu.edu/site/courses/free.cfm

Wish me luck!