The China Study

So, Kyle just went to Utah this last weekend to go to his cousin's wedding. While he was there, he learned about this book, "The China Study." To my surprise, MY husband came home requesting that we eat less meat. WHAT?! His favorite places to eat dinner are Outback Steakhouse and on a night of extravagance, Ruth's Chris. Anyway, we talked more about this book which shows different studies that prove PROTEIN to be a likely cause of cancer. And where is most protein located? In meat. You can read the book yourself to discover what it all entails. I won't go into details, but after discussing this protein business and our personal eating habits, we decided to look into getting recipes that involved little or no meat. We will still enjoy our steaks and chicken from time to time, and this will be a gradual process, but I am actually excited to explore a new way of thinking and a new way of eating. We are buying a lot more produce, trying new foods, and experimenting on new flavor combinations. It is actually really fun, and we have only been doing it for 2 days. ha! I am also at a point of frustration with this whole weight loss business, so it's refreshing to have a new perspective on food and what I am putting in my body. Anyway, we will see how this goes, and if it will last very long. But it should be fun!

Not gonna lie...

I have to admit, I really really love when I get a good deal on something. I also now understand why people get addicted to couponing (something I really don't have time for right now in my life.) BUT, yesterday, I hit a JACKPOT! And since my dear hubby wasn't as excited about it as I had hoped, maybe someone else out there will appreciate it. :o)

Ok, here's what happened. At our grocery store, Acme, if you buy 3 boxes of Kellogs cereal, you got a gallon of milk for free. Then, most of the boxes of Kellogs cereal were on sale for 3/$5. So, that's $5 for 3 boxes of cereal AND a gallon of milk. But there's more...attached to the front of 2 of the boxes I got was a coupon for $1.00 off fresh fruit if you buy 2 boxes of kellogs cereal (which I was already doing.) So, I got bananas and lemons for free. THEN, on a Rice Crispies box was attached a coupon for a free bag of m&m's (up to $2.99 value) with the purchase of 2 boxes of reg/chocolate rice crispies (which I was already doing). THEN, the yoplait yogurts were on sale for $.50/each, and before going to the store I printed 2 coupons for $.40/off 6 yoplaits. So, that's almost 2 of those for free. AND I got 4 gerber 1st foods for the price of 3, with a coupon I had. To sum it up;

2 gallons of milk-free

bananas-free

lemons-free

large bag of m&m's-free

a yogurt-free

1 baby food-free

I was on cloud nine when I got home! How incredible is that? I think I'll be going back next week to do it again...that was too fun!

On a side note...yesterday was also the worst day of my life...I accidentally poked Connor's head with a seam ripper, trying to do too many things at once. And it. bled. a lot. I immediately freaked out as soon as I saw blood, threw him in his carseat, put a kitchen towel on his head, and rushed him to the ER which is thankfully 5 min away. When we got there I was uncontrollably sobbing realizing what happened/feeling rediculous guilt. They took him back, cleaned off the blood, and informed me that the cut was pretty small and he would be ok. The doctor came in and goes, "so I hear this is much ado about nothing?" My reply, "yeah, I guess so." The entire time, Connor smiled at every person that came in the room, flirting if you will, with every nurse that came in, and was a total ham. That was a pretty good indication that he was ok. The nurse kept asking, "is he always this happy?" So the doc made sure everything was ok and in place on his head, put a little glue (not elmers) on Connor's cut to stop the bleeding and hold it together, and sent me on my way. I have never in my life felt so awful, terrible, guilty, sick to my stomach. Making your own kid bleed is the worst feeling ever. All I ever do, every day, is my very best to protect them, and then I (put nicely) poked his head. As you can tell I am still not over it. :)

(It was more like a stab, about 1/4 inch wide. It's just too hard to use the word stab in relation to my kid...)

Today has been a much better day. It is sunny and warm, so we had a picnic for lunch out on the back deck, let the girls play in the grass, while we listened to conference. And for the last hour, all the kids were asleep so we got to just sit there in peace, soaking up the sun, listening to the Prophet and Apostles testify to us the truthfulness of the gospel and the teachings of our Savior. I wanted to freeze time. It was rejuvinating. In that moment I truly felt the love that our Father in Heaven has for me and my family. What a great feeling!

(wow...this post was an emotional rollercoaster.)

really?

So I finally decided to write a huge long blog post about what was going on with our family. Then the power went out and all was erased. poop. I am not writing it all again. Sorry. Just know we are doing great. Kyle got a job for the summer. Yay! He is so excited. The kids are awesome. So much fun. Hallee is a braniac. Maddie is her shadow, so she is too. Connor is finally the wonderful, happy, silly little boy I knew he would be. We are IMpatiently waiting for summer (or even spring) to get here.....Oh, and Connor is 6 months old. WHAT???

This is the day he turned 6 months old.
Kyle took Maddie on a daddy/daughter date last weekend to celebrate her potty training success. No more diapers for her!

I love winning free stuff

This awesome swimwear site is giving away a giftcard for a new swimsuit. I am so excited! Let's hope for some good luck.

http://www.hapari.com/

You can also enter the contest here!

Stats

Today I went in for Maddie's 2 year apointment (yes I realize she turned 2 back in November.) and Connor's 4 month appointment. Well, lucky for Maddie, or rather unlucky, she had a double ear infection and a kid-version sinus infection, so little missy didn't need to get her shots just yet. But...my poor baby is so sick! Despite her sickies, she is growing really well....maybe a little too well!

Height: 95%

Head: 99% (that means only 1 person has a bigger head than her, out of 100.) :)

Weight:85%

Holy cow! I loooove my cute girl! She is just growing great and talks so well, and she is such a sweetheart.

And then there was my peanut, Connor. He is doing great, growing right on his own little curve. His little problem is his eczema. Really bad. Oh, and he has a herniated belly button. Look it up, they are a little scary and painful looking. Back to the eczema. 2 different doctors looked at it, and since there is some psoriasis in the family, they want him to go to a dermatologist to look at it and make sure it's only eczema. That's how bad it is. I really can't imagine being a tiny baby and not being able to scratch where it itches.....ugh! Anyway, here are his stats:

Height: 75%

Head: 75%

Weight.......10%

SERIOUSLY!!! He eats EVERY 2 hours and then every 3 hours throughout the night......and only 10 PERCENT!?!? Oh dear....Oh well...The doctor wasn't concerned. At least he is super tall compared to his weight. But then the doctor had the nerve to say that Maddie will probably be taller than Connor when they get older. Thanks lady. Just what I wanted to hear. (for those of you that don't know this about me...I hated being so tall in highschool because there weren't a lot of guys taller than me, so I was self conscious about it.) I am sure my girls will be a good height, but lady please let me believe that my son will be taller than my daughters someday.

please excuse that little rant.

Anyway...good to know that my kids are somewhat healthy and growing and have no major problems. And thank goodness for modern medicine.

I hate that I am once again not posting a picture....

(post-blog edit: Just so everyone understands...I will still completely love all of my children no matter how tall or not tall they are, and I will support and encourage them to be confident with however tall they may be. I just didn't think that lady needed to say that....that's all.)

4 months!

I can't believe it. My little man is 4 months old. Have 4 months really gone by already? I guess that makes Law school go by faster. We only have 15 months left of Law school....then no more school, ever? So weird. Anyway, I have to admit...the first 3 months of Connor's life were pretty hard. He was not an easy baby the way the girls were. He ate every 2 hours. 8, 10, 12, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, then he thankfully slept 6-8 hours every night. I think if he hadn't, I would have gone crazy. And it wasn't just the every 2 hours....he spit-up a lot. He cried a lot. He had to be held constantly. If I set him down, he would be happy for maybe 5 minutes. If he were my only child, I could probably handle it. But...I have a 4 story house and 2 other children to take care of, along with cooking meals and whatever the daily routine consists of. I had to learn to do everything with one hand, basically. And then he stopped sleeping through the night- waking up every 2-4 hours...so I was sleep-deprived too. I feel like we are always supposed to praise our kids and talk about how perfect and wonderful and easy they are. And it's too taboo to talk about the hard times, or that I should just be grateful that I have kids...Well, if you don't like this post, then don't comment. Those 3 months were not easy.

One of the many things that helped me get through it all, though, was his amazing smile. After just a few weeks he was smiling. And if he wasn't crying, he was smiling. Every time he would smile, it would melt my heart and I would forget about how exhausted I was.

But NOW....he is a completely new person. And so am I. He still eats every 2-2 1/2 hours, but he is happy so much more, and he knows how to roll over so he loves to be on the ground! And he loves interacting with his sisters! And he smiles and laughs even more! It is so wonderful! I feel like I can breathe now. And he is starting to sleep longer in the night, and take longer naps. And, I have gotten used to doing life with 3 kids. I really feel like a new person. What a relief. I really am so grateful for him, and for my sweet patient girls. The Lord definitely knows us and what we can handle, and he knew what order to send down my children. Hallee is an amazing big sister. She helps Maddie with so many things, and she drops everything she's doing if I ask her to do something for me. And Maddie is our entertainer and sensitive one. She is always willing to share with Hallee if she knows it's helping us out. She is so silly and so funny. Those girls are inseparable, and I am so grateful for that. They are the best big sisters a little boy could have, too.

Anyway, this is mostly for journaling purposes...I love my family and I am just glad the newborn stage is done with Connor. He is my sweet little boy, and yes, I am so grateful for him!

Dreadful

So, I have this issue with blogging. I don't exactly love doing it. I would actually rather just write in my journal all the time. But here I am. And then, if I wait too long and too many things happen, I start to feel overwhelmed with how much I need to write about and how behind I am with blogging. So...I just don't do it. I know....lame.

Christmas was really fun. We went to Albuquerque and spent 2 1/2 weeks with Kyle's family. It was nice because we were able to relax a lot and just hang out. His mom planned this fun thing where everyone (over 12) had a turn cooking dinner each night, because let's be honest, cooking for 17 people for 2 1/2 weeks is enough to kill someone! :) Anyway, since everyone only cooked a couple times, they all wanted to make their favorite dishes, so we ate some GOOOOD food! But, luckily Kyle's sisters love to exercise as much as I do, and one of them teaches yoga, so I was able to keep the holiday pounds off by exercising with them.

We were also supplied with 24/7 babysitters! Definitely a perk of being the oldest of 9 kids! We were able to go on dates WITHOUT the baby and I could literally forget about my children from time to time. Not gonna lie...it was great! A much needed break. It was fun to get to spend time with his family since we only see Kyle's siblings once or twice a year. Big thanks to Mia and Gramps for a fun break.

Anyway, school has started again, and I am finally getting the hang of juggling 3 kids, house chores, and cooking meals. Still a work in progress, but at least I don't feel like I am in over my head anymore. I just love my little family and I look forward to the new year and all the adventures it will bring.

And since I can't blog without pics, here are a few we took over christmas. Kyle's not gonna be happy bc some aren't "edited" yet, but oh well!