Run run run

So, the past 3 or so weeks, I have started a new running program. This is HUGE for me. I have always been an athletic person, dancing and what not, but for some reason, running has been a very big struggle for me. I have only run an entire mile one time in my lifetime, which was when I was in my best physical condition. I have some kind of athlete's asthma which makes it really hard for me to breathe while running. But I see all these people on Biggest Loser do it, and they weigh 300 pounds more than I do. So why can't I do it???

That's when I decided I will do it. I downloaded this app called C25K (Couch to 5k), and it is amazing! It basically get's you to go from the couch and no running at all, to running a 5k in 9 weeks time. There is a 5 minute warm up and cool down, and 20 minutes of running/walking. The best part about it is that there is just a voice that comes on that says, "Walk." And then he says, "Run," when it's time to run. It's so simple, yet it is exactly what I need. I have already seen a HUGE improvement in my endurance and breathing. It has also affected the rest of my life too. I have more energy to do other things and my appetite-inhibitors are a lot stronger, so I don't snack as often. I haven't lost any pounds yet, but I know I will get there.

I don't think I can explain it in words how big of a deal this is for me. It's just one of those things that I thought to myself I could never do. And here I am doing it. And kind of enjoying it.

Sigh

So, without going into much detail, things around here have been a little rough and stressful. Finally, after about 4 months, I feel like I can breathe. I am sure that some of you know that I stress myself out more than I should, and I am working on that.

But, thankfully for my wonderful husband and amazing kids, we got through it all and got all our plans figured out with our living arrangements, and Kyle has had an awesome internship all summer, and we have had some fun weekends, which all helped me get through the stress. I am so grateful that Kyle is who he is. He is my human stress reliever. He knows just how to make me laugh when I need to. He is such a great dad too. He is a great example of hard work and great faith to our kids. Then there's our children. I am so incredibly blessed to have been given these particular little spirits to raise, teach, and nurture. Just last night, as we were laying in bed, talking about our day, I said to Kyle, "It really is amazing how much I love our kids." My heart is so full of love for my family. I am actually glad we are so alone out here because it has brought us all closer together, allowing us to brace ourselves together for the upcoming adventures and big life changes. In just over 10 months, Kyle graduates from Law school and we will be *hopefully* moving to Dallas where he will *hopefully* have a job lined up. I have loved the crazy adventure that has been Philadelphia, but I am very ready to go back to the west, where the general public is less brash and the cities are cleaner. :)

I feel like I have been m.i.a. for a while because of my stressed-outness. I am so over it and so ready to enjoy the rest of our summer. Yay!

WHAT??

New post? No way. I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since I last posted. Big time fail. Anyway, Hallee turned the big 4 on the 12th, and we were lucky enough to go visit Uncle Aaron and his family down in Lusby, Md. And lucky for us, their neighborhood has their own beach. Yay! It was lots of fun and Hallee had a blast with her cousins. So we had fun at the beach and then came back to their house, let the kids crash for a while, then had her party celebration with a Costco cake and presents. She was in heaven.

I am so grateful for my Hallee. She is so incredibly smart and so funny. She is the best helper a crazy mom like me could ask for. She loves her sister and brother with all her little heart and would do anything for them. Her sense of humor is to die for, and I just love it when she catches jokes and busts out laughing. She is so beautiful, inside and out, and I love her so much!

Happy birthday, little Hal Pal!

The Resurrection and Bunnies

"Easter, the day Jesus rose from the dead--what should we do?"

"How 'bout eggs?"

"Well what does that have to do with Jesus?"

"Alright, we'll hide 'em."

"I don't follow your logic."

"Don't worry there's a bunny."

Hallee doesn't quite get the oddities of the Easter tradition either. "The Easter Bunny hides the eggs." "Why?" "He likes to hide things. He is going to hide your basket too." "Why?" "Stop asking questions, you'll get candy out of it." "Candy?"

We started the weekend with an Easter-egg hunt on Saturday morning. I don't think anybody told Saturday about the plan because it decided to rain which kind of killed the festivities early, as in nobody wanted to stick around, but we still hunted for some eggs despite the rain.

That evening we dyed some eggs so that the Easter bunny would have something to hide, since he enjoys hiding things so much. Que the ginormous pictures (yep, it's a Kyle post).

Sunday morning, before church, was filled with finding what the bunny had hidden and also getting ready for church. Connor is modeling his new tie that Megan made for him. That's right, Megan made that. (I'm not acting surprised I'm just stressing the point, in case you read that wrong). I now want her to start making ties for me. At church Hallee sang with her primary for the first time in her career. We both got teary eyed seeing our little angel up there. Maddie was there for me though and broke up my sobbing with laughter everytime she would yell "hi" to Hallee and wave. She was excited to see her sister up there.

To end the evening we ate a delicious, yet meat-less, Easter dinner. We made margarita pita pizzas and used some fresh basil from a basil plant we just planted. We are hoping for the plant to keep on providing us with its delicious leaves, but we are not the best plant people and today we awoke to it already wilting away. Hopefully some more water will perk it back up.

We also had a family night to make sure that we did focus our Sunday on the real reason we were celebrating. We watched the video below and bore our testimonies to the kids. What a blessing that after this life is over my family and I will rise again, to be together in the eternities. I love my Savior for making that possible. He lives!

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!