Thanksgiving

Well, we went to Kansas City for Thanksgiving and had a fantastic time! I did really good for the first couple of days, eating only what I was supposed to. But then, Thanksgiving came, we had Prime Rib...I still drool thinking about it. Oh and we had pie. My sister-in-law, Karen, made a fantastic pecan pie...it was SO GOOD! I made Chocolate Pumpkin Pie from Vive Le Vegan. It had a cheesecake consistency, it was just fantastic!
Here are a few pictures of our trip. Mostly they are the day after Thanksgiving breakfast :)

In Memoriam

Today I found out that my dear friend, Kerri, lost her son, Orion on November 19. He was 10 days old and leaves a twin brother and his Mom and Dad. My heart is aching. I hurt for her. Please, hold them in your hearts whenever you think of them. This is such a terrible tragedy, I know all too well.

Baby Love

Can you feel it in the air? 3 new souls came into the world this week! First was my new niece, Carlie Emma. She was born on November 8, weighing in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. She is nursing like a champ and I can't wait to see her!!!!
Next up were the twin boys of one of my dear friends, Kerri. Golden and Orion were born on November 9th, weighing in at 5 lbs. 10 oz. and 6 lbs. 3 oz. I don't know which one weighed what. When Kerri called me last night, I suspect that they had just very recently been born. She had a beautiful natural birth and was wiped out ;)

They are both birthing goddesses and I am so proud of them both. Can you feel the love? Can you feel the baby love? Congratulations to both of my dear friends, I am so proud of both of you!

It's a Good Day

Today I have a new niece. I don't know her name yet, but do know she was born today around noon, cst. She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz. and is 19.5 inches long. Mom and baby are doing great. I wish I were there with them. Welcome to the world new little one!

Oh yeah...

I was also in the paper on Monday, check it out here :)

Why I Do It

Have you ever seen 2 cuter kids? I think not. That top picture of A was a total fluke, I swear! She was playing outside, sat up, looked at me and smiled. I just happened to get the shot, I love it!
S is being Super Why for Halloween this year. That is him on his airplane flying, see the cape flying in the back? It's awesome!!! I wish I had the imagination of a 3 year old!!

So, I am changing my life, pretty drastically, but very much for the better. My sister-in-law, Stephanie, told me about a book, Eat to Live. At first I was really skeptical. I thought that it was just another weight loss scheme, something that never really works for me. Sure, it works in the short term but what happens when you go back to eating the way you always have? Well, with this, you don't. You completely change your life, your eating habits, and your health. You eat so that you can live longer and healthier. The weight loss part is just a nice benefit. In the last 6 weeks Stephanie has been vegan. She has lost 21 lbs. She feels better than she ever has. So, J and I are going to do this. We got the book this weekend and have been reading it. It really is interesting how closely it parallels the Word of Wisdom, something, that as an LDS culture, we adhere very closely to. The problem is that we usually just say no coffee, tea, alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. We so quickly forget the part about eating meat sparingly, in times of cold or famine. For a long time now, I've thought if I could just live the Word of Wisdom completely, I would be healthier and would lose weight. I just never knew how to do it. Now I do! I am really excited.

So, for the next 6 weeks I will be vegan (with the exception of Thanksgiving when I will have one piece of prime rib). I will also have very limited grains (1 C. a day) and no sweets (except for 1 piece of the vegan chocolate pumpkin pie I will be making).

J has a cold right now, usually he gets one in the fall and it lasts through spring allergy season. I think that by us changing the way we eat, he will be better very quickly. We have not eaten any meat this week although we will tonight. We are officially starting on Saturday. After the first 6 weeks, we will then go to the 90/10 lifestyle. 90% of the time we will eat vegan, and 10% we will be able to have dairy and meat. So, he doesn't have to give up his BBQ and I don't have to give up my ice cream :)

Honestly, just in doing this for a couple of days, I am already feeling better. And my kids love it! Well, S is having a harder time than A, but he is getting used to it. He even had, and enjoyed, a green smoothie this morning!

So, back to the title of this post, why I do it...for them. I do it all for my children. I want to instill in them good eating habits. I don't want them to have to change these habits when they are 30-somethings. I don't want them to struggle with their weight their entire lives like I have. I want so much more for them. I want them to be healthy, and I truly believe this is an excellent way to do it.

So...wish me luck. If you have any good vegan recipes you want to share also, please pass them along!!!

Proud Mama

I had a very proud moment this morning that I just had to share with all of you. My sweet son, sweet 3 year old, do you see him? He's so sweet...so innocent...


Out of his mouth came the most foul word today. He was playing and he said, "F$@#". I looked at him and said, "What did you say??" He said it again. Now, lest you think he heard this from anyone in our house, we don't say that word. Yeah, he'll hear an occasional shit or damn, but never the f word. He was playing around with words and came up with that one. So here is how the rest of the conversation went:

Me: Sweetie, that is a really, really, really bad word.
S: What is? F*&$?
Me: Yes. So, I don't want to ever hear you say that again. If you choose to say it again, you will be in really big trouble because you know it's a bad word now.
S: No Mom, I don't know that f*&# is a bad word.
Me: yes you do.
S: Is Buck a bad word?
Me: No
S: Is Truck a bad word?
Me: No.

And it continues. He keeps coming up with words that rhyme asking if they are bad words. Oh he is just a goof.

yes, this was a very proud moment. My son saying the f word for the first time...at 3.

Living::Fall

Blogger has been giving me headaches lately. I have tried many times to write, but every time I do, the pictures won't load. So...here you go, a lot of pictures of what we've been doing lately...living.

We call him Super Roo!

I love fall. I love the cooler weather (note, I did not say cold, I do not enjoy the cold, cool though, that is nice) that follows the always so hot summers. I love watching the leaves change color. I love the sound of the leaves as they crunch under my feet. Here are some photos I took of fall here in Logan. The colors are not as brilliant as they have been in past years. Apparently this is because it was so hot and so dry this summer. Hmm...hot and dry in the desert? Surely you jest.



Have you also noticed how S has been dressing up? He wears many different costumes daily. He ranges from Peter Pan, to a Cheerleader (complete in Nebraska Cornhuskers Garb...much to his Father's dismay!), a Cowboy, Superman, Roo, Super Roo, or just Super S. He is so funny, and I love to watch him dress up and become these characters. It really is so much fun for me because I remember loving dressing up when I was little. I just need to make sure he has lots of warm costumes for this cold city we live in!

6 Years

It's been 6 years, 3 kids, a million tears and a million laughs. I love him more today than I did on that day...it just keeps getting better.

P.S. I haven't really been as huge a blogging slacker as it seems. Blogger hasn't been letting me add pictures, so I have like 3 or 4 posts that I've started and couldn't finish. It looks like it is working now, so I'll be posting again soon. We have lots of funny pictures of our goons! :D

Funny Baby Clothes

Oh my goodness you guys, check out this website! I stumbled upon this yesterday and am IN LOVE!!! How adorable would my babies look in these shirts? I love all of them! In a time when it is hard to find things for your kids that aren't the same as what everyone else is wearing, or if you do find something, it usually has a cartoon character on it, here is something cute and original!!! How cute with S look in this?Or, Miss A in...well, all of them?? Seriously, go check out this website, some really great shirts there!

Oh, and Lori, there is even one for Cohen!

6 Years

Wow, today is September 11. I can't believe it's been 6 years already. I am sure that you all remember exactly where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news. For me, I was at work. I went in early that morning, I had to interpret a parent-teacher conference. I was headed to the interpreter's office after the meeting when a student stopped me and told me that an airplane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center buildings. I couldn't believe it. The rest of that day is imprinted on my mind so deeply. Hearing more and more, yet trying to keep it quiet so as not to scare the elementary students. That night, I couldn't tear myself away from the TV. Jeremy and I were to be married in one month and I just cried for all of these young brides and mothers who were now without their husbands. I cried for all the children who lost their parents and all the parents who lost their children. I just cried. Today, I remember those who died. I honor those whose lives were lost and forever changed by this day. Today, I remember all of those whose Angel Day is today.

My Big Boy

S started school this week. He LOVES it! It is really a great group of kids and ladies. The boys all seem to get along great, and best of all, HE LOVES IT!!! Here are the two pictures he let me take of him on his first day...he's so cute!

Ah Labor Day

Hello!!! What a fantastic weekend :) I love Labor Day weekend, not only does my dearest husband get to stay home and play with us, but I love that it signifies that fall is almost here! We had a good weekend, very nice and...well, I wouldn't call it relaxing :)

On Friday night we procured a new (to us) standing freezer. I feel like a real grown up now, we have a freezer in the garage. I am really excited about this. What this means for us is that I do not have to go to the grocery store several times a month to get meat. Our small freezer in the house just doesn't hold much, so we never had more than 2 weeks worth of food in the house. On Saturday, we went grocery shopping, and I mean shopping! We made a menu for a month and we now have everything we need (minus a few fresh items) to make all the meals for a month! I am thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we talked about going on a picnic. But, Jeremy was up at 5:30 (yes, on his day off) to start smoking some butts. Pork butts that is. He got 3 pork butts and smoked them all day today. He and S also made a bird feeder. We have a problem with grasshoppers in our garden. Our theory is, have food for the birds, get them to our yard, they'll see the grasshopper dessert that is in the garden! I am crossing my fingers this works. Here are a few shots of the boys (oh and A had to get into the game too!) making the bird feeder. I have a feeling I will be getting a book all about birds soon as I am sure one of our newest hobbies will be bird watching. Any recommendations?



Today I also took the opportunity to do a little sewing. I love wearing ring slings, my kids love being in the sling, so I have decided to start making them. So, today while A was sleeping and the boys were busy, I made a sling for my friend Kara. I really love how it turned out. I love it so much that I want to keep it. But, I won't. I made it for her and she will love it just as much as I do!

Oh and tomorrow...S starts preschool. I am just so excited for him, but a tinge sad. I can not believe he is old enough to do this! I know, before I know it he will be graduating from high school, I don't want to think about it. I am glad my kids grow up, but it is hard. I'll post pictures of him tomorrow on his big day!

And the knitting...yes, the knitting :) I am making this sweet baby cap for my sister-in-law, who is having a baby in November. When I'm done with the one for the wee one, I'll make one for Miss A. She will look SO cute in it this winter!!! Wait, she looks cute in everything!

Thank you all for your wonderful thoughts and good energy that has been sent my way recently. This has been a tough week...it is every year, but I am doing better. We went today and sent Ladybugs to Emma. It is one thing I really enjoy doing for her. We get a bag of Ladybugs and release them at her grave. I love watching them fly away.

Now, for some pictures of my other babies. Oh, and lest you think I am the fantastic photographer that did these pictures, let me set you straight...it was my dear friend Sarah. She really does such a fantastic job! Thanks again Sar!