Dressin' Up

There's nothin' like a great dress to boost your mood and confidence and make you feel ultra feminine.  We all have our favs we secretly wish we could wear every day, we just choose not to, 'cuz wearing the same clothes every single day would be weird... I wish I could communicate this fashion sense to my little 3 year old. 

Here's her beloved dress at the moment:

She picked it out with her daddy while she tagged along during a dress-pant shopping trip.  I'm not sure if it's her favorite because of the memory of precious daddy time, because of the sparkles (the girl loves her bling), or because it has a picture of Hello Kitty.  Speaking of--- what is this magical attraction little girls have with Hello Kitty?  I don't get it.

This was my favorite dress when I was three:

I totally remember wanting to wear it everyday, as if it had magical powers or something.  I have several pictures with me in this particular outfit, including this hilarious one:



I love all the different facial expressions (sorry it's grainy).


Even though she has a closet full of in-style fashions, Ivy would prefer her comfy, sparkly, special memory dress.  I guess it could be much, much worse.



Paleo Update: The Kids' Diet

Once I started feeling so amazing on the Paleo Diet, I knew I needed to get the kids eating healthier.   I wasn't very worried about Ivy and Delia- they are both GREAT eaters.  I was super concerned about Hyrum though. 




DD is a bottomless pit when it comes to food.  She eats (almost) everything with delight.  (Her tray has strawberries, scrambled eggs and sausage)


Pre-Paleo his diet consisted of cereal, bread, crackers, pizza, and chicken nuggets.  I knew this wasn't healthy food, but I had this irrational fear of letting my child starve to death so I let him limp along nutritionally.

It took him a few weeks of near starvation, but every week since we've started the diet he's added at least one new food (this is a MIRACLE for anyone who knows how picky and stubborn Hyrum has always been concerning everything he puts in his mouth).  So far he's added: beef patties, turkey patties, oranges, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, eggs, and pineapple.  His palate is maturing and his attitude toward food and trying new cuisine is becoming so much more positive.  It's very, very exciting!

Hyrum's super excited because his FAVORITE food is burgers.  He also has sweet potato chips, strawberries, lettuce, and carrots on his plate- and no, bottled mustard is NOT paleo:)

We try to stay positive about food at meal times to create a happy atmosphere.  If the kids don't want something on their plate we ask them not to voice their complaints, just don't eat it.  If they would like second helpings of a particular item, they have to at least TRY everything on their plate.  We've chosen not to make mealtimes a battle anymore (that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of tears and plenty of chaos though).  It's a long process, just like anything that's really important in life.

The only guilty situations with this crazy eating plan are when we're out in the world or if the kids have friends over.  Hyrum will come home from school and say, "Violet had a lunchables today" or "Dylan gets pop in his lunch" with such envy and frustration.  It's really hard to compete with junk food!  It's sad for me- not being the "fun mommy" of the neighborhood with never-ending sweets in all the drawers and cupboards.

The first thing Ivy asks when we visit someone's house is, "Do you have any food?"  I know she's attempting to break as many dietary rules as possible before she has to come back to her own strict house.

Ivy is THRIVING at mealtimes.  It hasn't been very difficult for her since she's always been the odd-one-out because of her allergies.  Now we eat one meal and I don't have to make something different for everyone!  (The delectable drink in Ivy's green cup is called a "green smoothie"- I know it looks gross, but it's yummy.)

I REALLY don't want my little ones to be the crazy, sugar deprived kids of the neighborhood who roam from house to house consuming as much food as they can before they are forced to come home.  I want them to be proud to give their body healthy nutrients and understand how much stronger they can be because of it...
we've still got a long way to go...

  

6 Days later...DeeDee's Walking!

Erin has spent years encouraging me to write a post. I guess it just took me being the one to witness a "first" for once.  Too many times I've come home to hear all the amazing and cute things my children do while I'm at school. But today, I am one proud dad.  Just six days ago we were enjoying Delia's spider-crawl.  While upstairs playing, she just stood up and walked across the room like it wasn't a big deal.  I was afraid that I had missed my chance.  With her you have a very small window of opportunity to catch her performing.  I can't recount the number of occasions we wished that we kept the camcorder on us at all times.  I ran downstairs as fast as I could, grabbed the camcorder, ran back up and started recording just in time...

Ivy's Collection

Being the mother of a curious and mischievous 3 year old is never dull. She's always asking questions and questions and more questions. She's obsessed with knowing and understanding EVERYTHING and gets so frustrated when the topic is out of her grasp.  Here's a common scenario: we're out in a public place and Ivy sees a man with long hair. This doesn't make any sense.  He's a man... but he has long hair.  So in a loud, carrying voice she HAS to ask, "Is that a boy or a gul (girl)?" Did a mention it's pretty awkward being the mother of a curious three year old?

We were at Hyrum's t-ball game and Ivy attached herself to a cute little 6 year old girl watching her younger brother play. Ivy was of course asking her all kinds of questions like, "Why aw (are) you sitting in that chaiw (chair)? and "Why do you have howt (heart) socks?".  After coming back to sit with me for a while she returned to the girl and said, "Hey, can I sit with you?" The girl replied, "Yes, if you don't ask any more questions." Ivy's obvious response was, "Why?"

Another cute Ivy quirk is her collection. Shiny rocks, leaves, flowers, and other random stuff of the day are treated like precious treasures. Walks and family activities are brought to a halt if Ivy spies anything worthy enough to add to her assortment of specimens. When her trike (inevitably) tips over due to her crazy steering she could care less about her own injuries. She screams, "MY COWECTION!!!" and isn't satisfied until every last artifact is stowed away safely.

Proudly displaying her stash.

I absolutely love this stage: entering independence, but still completely innocent and reliant on me for reassurance

 and security (I'm not ready to be out of the picture yet!)

Physically Fit

My "healthy" perspective has been changing so much lately, it's crazy.  It started with this "unconventional" attitude with food and now it's trickling into other aspects in my life.  I question the real use for everything (I'm not talking about religious stuff- don't worry mom!  My testimony is still as strong, if not stronger than ever).  I guess what I'm trying to say is:  once something that I KNEW to be right is completely wrong (like whole grains and soy products are super healthy) what other tried and true facts in my life are incorrect?

My biggest dilemma right now is exercise.  The past routine was participating in a morning class at the gym like kickboxing or step aerobics and working like crazy- sweet dripping, legs shaking, can hardly stand afterward-crazy.  Emotionally I felt great- so proud of myself for keeping up with the instructor and accomplishing something really difficult.  I knew it was good for my body and would help me live a longer and fuller life.  But physically I was exhausted.  By the time I got the kids home, fed, and to bed all I could do was sleep while they were sleeping.  This daily snooze-fest only added to everyone's stress because I couldn't take advantage of precious nap time to prepare for the rest of the day, clean, and unwind.  I didn't realize it wasn't working on so many levels because I didn't think there was another way.

What REALLY is "physically fit"?   Is it the ability to run a marathon?  Is it having a perfectly formed, athletic build?  Is it being able to lift hundreds of pounds?  Is it flexibility?  Is it having crazy amounts of energy?  Is it keeping breathing under control even in the most tense situations?  I don't know the answer to these questions, but I WANT to be physically fit.

I don't think I need anything in my life which depletes my energy and adds stress (I have enough little depleters in my life right now).  So for now I'm enjoying classes like Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong.  I like the more relaxed and "listen to your body" atmosphere of these classes.  I also appreciate the fact that these classes GIVE me more energy.  I also walk and walk and walk as much as I possibly can (which is much easier now the weather is mild).  I don't know if this exercise perspective is wise and I hope I'm smart enough now to know that I don't know ANYTHING. My goal right now isn't to look perfect in a bikini, it's to have enough energy to serve and love my family and those around me AND give my body what it needs to remain healthy. 

I think the most important point I've learned in this small journey I've begun is how amazingly smart my body is- MUCH smarter than my brain.  It has been telling me what I needed this whole time and I chose not to listen.  Each of us are individuals with different exercise and dietary needs.  There's no one size fits all program.

Spider Crawl

The heat has finally broken and I can actually see why people live in the state of Texas.  We enjoy mornings in the 70s and afternoons in the 90s- WHAT A RELIEF!!!

With the cooler weather it's actually possible to relax outside and we're loving riding bikes, walks, park adventures, flying kites, and just hanging out in the back yard. 

I was hoping Delia would start walking before the mild weather arrived, but, alas, we still have a crawler.  She's had lots of major falls while attempting to walk, so for now, she's decided crawling is much more comfortable.  

This presents problems at the park and on cement.  But, I'm learning to loosen up about bloody knees and stained clothes- as long as Delia is happy and safe... AND not TOO filthy...

Here's her cute little "protect the knees" crawling technique:

 

The Great Food Experiment

So… flash back to about a year and a half, summer 2010- we were visiting Utah and I hadn’t seen anyone in my family for months. My brother comes walking in looking younger and fitter and more full of life than I’d seen him in a long time (it’s not like he was fat or old-looking before, but there was still an amazing transformation). We started talking about this new diet he was on and I immediately lost interest. “Dieting” has always been such a horrible idea to me. Starving and depriving my body has never sounded enjoyable or healthy. He started naming all the things he didn’t eat- grains, dairy, sugar, salt, processed meats- ALL MY FAVORITE THINGS! I was super happy for him, but I knew I could never give up on my favorite foods, no matter how unhealthy they supposedly were.

I’ve never considered myself a “healthy” person. I’ve had problems with falling asleep, anxiety, depression, allergies, stomach aches, fatigue, low blood pressure, and headaches my whole life. In all those days of suffering I never thought the food I put into my body had anything to do with it. I was more focused on medicines. I was constantly consuming Ibuprofen, Pepto Bismal, allergy medicines, and my blood pressure medication with some relief, but never anything lasting.

These problems finally came to a culmination after we moved to Texas. I’m not sure if it was the stress of the move, the intense heat and humidity, or my body had just had enough, but my health was so dire I couldn’t even function. I had reached rock-bottom and was so desperate for any relief.

I decided to read the “Paleo Diet” and see for myself if it made sense. After reading the book I decided it couldn’t hurt to try for a few weeks. After THREE DAYS on Paleo my headaches and stomach aches completely disappeared without any medicine. Now it’s been about two months and the transformation has been amazing- for both me and Bryan. As long as we eat the right foods our health is incredible- lots of energy, great sleep, a sense of well-being, less allergies, weight loss, and just plain feeling great.

In a nut shell the Paleo diet isn’t really a “diet”. It’s a lifelong way of eating and exercising- eat as many fruits, veggies, and meats as you want with a small amount of nuts. It’s super simple. The CRAZIEST thing of all is I don’t feel deprived. I LOVE the food I eat not only because it tastes delicious, but it makes me feel amazing.

There are some cons of course: It’s super expensive and we can’t even afford the organic and grass-fed recommendations which cost even more money. But we are proof that it's still possible to feel great even though we can't afford "high-end" foods.  We figure spending more money on food is a smart investment for our future health, but we also get more out of each day when we feel good. Another con is the time it takes to prepare and clean up is major (it’s not hard to imagine eating cereal for breakfast is less work than a veggie and meat omelet with cut up fruit on the side). But again, the sacrifice is completely worth it.

Since this is a major part of our life now, I will be blogging much more on the subject. Things like how the kids are doing on the diet, exercising, and my continued acne problems are a few I’d like to discuss, along with many more topics in the works.

I know I sound like an infomercial trying to sell something, but I truly feel passionate about this diet. I told Bryan I wish I could hand out the Paleo Diet book and the Book of Mormon to everyone I see and say, “This one’s for the health of your spirit and this one’s for your body.” I don’t know what dismal health I’d be in if my brother hadn’t shared his new-found knowledge with me, but I’m so grateful he did. Love you Golden.

Our Little Author

A few years ago my darling niece Ella created this beautiful book:

Don't you love the fancy T?

The kids love to read it and talk about how much they miss their cousins and can't wait to see them. 

Every time we got it out Hyrum would exclaim he wanted to make a book too.  Unfortunately his attention span wasn't quite strong enough for a whole book- until now....

AND so, without further ado, I present Hyrum's debut novel:

"Once Luke was with Leah they were on Endor."

"When Luke and Han Solo had found Leah Luke left."

"Luke went to the Death Star Luke was fighting Darth Vader the Emperor shocked Luke."

"Darth Vader picked up the Emperor and threw him in a hole Darth Vader died."

"Luke put Darth Vader in a fire."

"But they had a celebration"

I love the quick conclusion, no need to drag it out!

Snippets

There are so many rewarding moments as a mom.  One of the best is when the kids are playing nicely and entertaining themselves (perhaps because it's so rare).  Ivy and Hyrum have become amazing playmates- creating their own worlds and imagining fantastic adventures.

As I'm rushing through my daily to-do list it's such a treat to catch little snippets of their games.  Here's just a few:

Hyrum:  "Don't kill me!  Remember I'm your husband!"

Ivy: "Open your presents."

Hyrum: "I'm a bird and I haven't hatched out of my egg." (He's wrapped in a blanket.)

Ivy: "Okay, then I'll sit on you." (She sits on him until he hatches out of the blanket.)

Ivy: "This is the Tiptoe Forest and Barbie is the princess."

Hyrum: "Here's a map to find the friendly frog.  He'll tell us where the treasure is."

Ivy: "HELP!"  Ivy tells Hyrum to say, "I'm coming!  But I'm a prince so I'm busy!"

Hyrum: "That's the monster weapon (plastic wrapping bubbles) and they don't like the smell of it... or the hit of it."

Ivy frequently reminds me of one of my favorite fictional characters Frances, who sings adorable little songs all day, just like our little Ivy.  Here are some snippets from them:

"If you want to marry meeeee

you have to give me your moneeeey

Cuuuuz I'm the princeeesss."

"Sometimes De De be's nicccce

Sometimes De De be's meeeean

But we love her if she's meeeean

Cuuuuz she's my sister."