Womanhood

I've mentioned before how I am a little new to relishing in womanhood. I grew up with a "Girl Power" mom, who raised us to know that we could ALWAYS do whatever a boy/man could do. Sometimes I think I took that lesson a little too far and began to look down at the female sex--like most women were so weak, they didn't understand they could do anything a man could do.

The older I get, the more I start to take pride in being a woman! In our church, we have a woman's organization called Relief Society. We meet together for an hour on Sunday's to learn about the gospel of Jesus Christ together. I love learning and being able to share with one another from a woman's unique perspective.

Our particular Relief Society group meets once a month on Wednesday nights, in addition to Sundays, to have a "Mother Education Classes." Last night the class was on infertility, adoption, and family planning. Three ladies spoke about their various struggles with infertility and the paths that struggle has taken them down. Something that hit me was how varied each of their particular situations were. Each was caused by health problems, but each was extremely unique and different from one another. It's a wonder that anyone is ever able to have a baby!

I don't think it'd be my place to share each of their specific stories, since it is obviously such a personal struggle. However, I did want to share what I took away from last night. The biggest lesson was that we NEVER have any idea what other people are going through. If you looked at these ladies, you would see good-looking, well put together, successful, kind, service-oriented people. Your first thought would never come to the battle they have fought for multiple years, if not decades. My uncle always says, "If you go into a room with your problems in a bag, you'll look around that room and see what's in everyone else's bag, and you'll always walk out of that room with your own bag." It gave me a stronger resolve to be a little kinder to everyone I come in contact with. You never know the battle they are fighting and the struggle it took for that person to be standing in front of you at that moment.

Last night reminded me to slow down. This is something I am always trying to overcome. I often react to situations, instead of taking a step back and seeing the bigger picture or thinking about the repercussions of my actions. In this scenario, that means I often ask questions that are none of my business--"Do you guys know when you want to have another baby?" I shudder at how many times I have asked that in the last 6 months alone. It honestly was coming from a place of goodness and eagerness to make bonds with all of the new people I've been meeting. However, when held up to the experiences of these ladies, I obviously see the error in my ways. After their presentation I was talking with a few of the ladies and I realized that the best possible reaction to have when someone reveals their struggles is to have respectful honesty. What I mean by that is, you don't have to have some grand statement to get them through their struggle, a simple, "I'm so sorry" really does suffice. I find myself not wanting the other person to feel awkward and so I just. can't. stop. talking!

A few of them gave examples of off the cuff remarks they have received--"At least you won't gain weight" because of adoption, or "You're so lucky you get to sleep-in on Saturdays" because they have no kids. It's hard because, I can see how someone would say that without realize the repercussions of their statement, but I'm reminded of one of my very first posts (read at your own risk! That was a venting post from a very dark time in my life..yikes!) from long long ago--try to help the person in the situation, not yourself. What would they like to hear, what would help them? It goes against our natural being and it's hard! But obviously the right thing to do.

Lastly, one of the ladies shared something that I hope I will always remember. (I wish I could have just recorded how she said it, but here's the best I can do from memory!) She said that she used to always say, "This isn't fair, life isn't fair, why is this happening to me?" A friend of hers that dealt with infertility said to her, "Life isn't fair, and that is a miracle. It is because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that life isn't fair. If it weren't for him, we would all have had to suffer on the cross for our sins, but he did it for  us. Thank goodness life isn't fair!"

This whole post was to tell you that I love being a woman! There is a bond with woman that cannot be described or duplicated by men. Sometimes I see women judging one another or battling over breastfeeding/bottlefeeding, co-sleeping, etc. and it makes me so sad! There's no need to compete with each other when we could all just use this bond to build one another up. The emotional bond we have is unreal and makes me so proud of who I am.

Food for Bedtime

I periodically get informational emails from my insurance company. I used to delete them without even looking at the subject matter, but recently they've been sending some pretty interesting info. (Note: my interest level is much different from many people...just letting my freak flag fly!) Last night I got one on foods to eat before bed time, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Quick Bites: Eat Right to Help You Go Night-Night

Three out of five Americans have trouble sleeping on a regular basis. And most everyone has a night here or there where they can’t fall asleep. Does a hungry belly ever keep you up? Are you the thing that goes bump in the night as you rummage around in your refrigerator?

You want a snack, but not one that will keep you up. Are there foods that can help you sleep better?

Many people know the basics of what not to do, like avoiding large meals, caffeine and alcohol within a few hours of bedtime. But research shows that high-fat snacks such as french fries, potato chips and mozzarella sticks may also interrupt sleep cycles. Bacon, pepperoni and sausage contain high levels of tyramine, which may also keep you up.

Consider trying these foods for nighttime snacking:

1. Cherries: This fruit is one of the few natural food sources of melatonin, the chemical that controls the body’s internal clock to regulate sleep. Melatonin helps maintain your daily body rhythms and is an important antioxidant in the body known to fight cancer. If you can, find Montmorency cherries, a type of sour cherry. They have nearly six times more melatonin than a regular cherry.
2. Bananas: Potassium and magnesium are natural muscle relaxants, and bananas are a good source of both.
3. Scottish or Irish Oatmeal: A complex carbohydrate, oatmeal triggers a rise in blood sugar, which in turn triggers insulin production and the release of sleep-inducing brain chemicals. Oats are also rich in vitamin B6, an anti-stress vitamin, and melatonin. You might think of oatmeal as just a breakfast food, but it’s also a smart choice for a bedtime snack.
4. Edamame: Boiled edamame (soybeans in the pod) is high in magnesium, which has been shown in some studies to improve the quality of sleep.
5. Popcorn with Parmesan Cheese: This easy snack provides a tasty combo of carbohydrates and dairy. Dairy has tryptophan in it, which may help you sleep. And the carbohydrates in the popcorn help your brain absorb tryptophan better.

Be sure to keep your late-night snacking light and eat only when hungry. Not only do calories add up, but many experts believe that not getting enough sleep causes changes in the body that affect our ability to regulate our appetite. So a combination of the wrong kind of nighttime snacking and not enough sleep could result in weight gain.

I had no idea cherries had melatonin in them! I thought that was very interesting. I love learning ways to listen to and work with our bodies for better health. I've never appreciated sleep like I do now, I have no clue how I will ever have another baby again in the future! (Not an announcement.) 

Menu 7/22

It's been awhile, but today I was searching Pinterest for some new recipes, when I decided to post them on here! I hate having to go back through my Pinterest to find whatever recipe I'm looking for--plus, sometimes I go back through these posts and remember recipes I'd forgotten about! Win-win!

Here's what I'm attempting this week!

Shrimp and Rice Stuffed Tomatoes
-I've been blessed with a good eater. J loves tomatoes! When I first saw this I thought I'd just do the rice and shrimp part, but I figured I'd go for it and try to do the real deal...we'll see how it goes!

Crockpot Italian Chicken (several other recipes in this same link)

Sweet Chili Chicken Bowls
-I'm going to either serve this over noodles or just by itself as the main entree since we are already having rice twice this week.
-I'm usually not big on having my entree sweet, I don't know why, I just have never really liked it. However, last week we had this Corn and Black Bean Pizza, and the mixture of the sweet corn and BBQ sauce was awesome! I've been thinking about it ever since! I'm hoping this recipe will keep my new sweet craving alive!

Fried Rice
-I'll leave out the chicken on this one, we tend to get a little 'chickened out' if we aren't careful.



Anybody have any new favorites?

Book Review: The Fault In Our Stars

This is a Teen Lit novel--so of course I liked it! I just love teen novels, I don't know why, but I always have! I think it has something to do with the fact that my life has always had virtually no drama in it, so reading about other people's is fun! That's probably the same reason I enjoy crappy Reality TV..?

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green, is about two teenagers who both have cancer. It's about their relationship with each other, their families, and ultimately, themselves. Having watched my mom battle cancer from afar, this book had me full on ugly crying more than once. Something I found interesting about this book was that the teenagers were faced with a terrible illness that many times emotionally debilitates adults, yet in the midst of them dealing with their ailments, they still wanted/needed to go through all of the same coming of age obstacles that every other teen faces.

There was one particular scene that I felt the author did such an awesome job writing. I could picture it so well and the dialogue between the teens and their actions were so realistic to students I had had in classes. I was laughing so hard! (If you decide to read the book, egg + car is what I'm referring to). I wish I had remembered to write this review right after I read it...whoops! Overall I enjoyed the book, it was a quick and easy read. I could have done without some of the smut that was thrown in there, but such is life. A good read for older teens to adults like me who have some weird obsession with teen lit.

Potty Training Part 3

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

God answers prayers! I got up that morning, and as soon as J woke up, I took her straight to the potty! Everyone has to pee first thing in the morning, and her diaper was fairly dry, so I knew she had to go. She went and I went crazy! We called people, we danced, we ate candy before 9 am! We had NO accidents that day. None. At. All. She even eventually pooped, but if I'm being honest, she started to go in her undies, but I ran and got the potty so everything made it in the potty. To me that's still no accidents! For pooping we went crazy and did all that, but she also got bubbles. Call me a lame mom, but I hate playing with bubbles! They're so messy! I've learned to love them since they have become the ultimate reward for going poop in the potty. In the morning on this day, I set the timer for every 30-40 minutes. After her nap (she goes down at 11:30 AM), I decided she really did have the hang of it, so I let her just tell me when she needed to go. 

It took us a week more to feel more confident about leaving the house with just undies on. We had a few times where we'd put her in her undies with a diaper over top. That was great for us! She actually never even had an accident when we did that, but it was some nice assurance for us not having to clean up an accident in public. Now, two weeks later, she will go anywhere! We've never pooped outside of the home, but most adults don't even do that, so I'm not worried or even encouraging her to do that. I give her yogurt everyday to make sure she goes at least once a day. The first week I didn't do that and it made bowel movements harder because then she would be constipated and had to sit on the toilet longer. Yogurt has been the key to bowel movements for us! That, and I stand outside of the bathroom where she can see me with my back turned. This allows her the privacy she wants, while still being able to see me so she doesn't just get off the potty. I found she doesn't like feeling as if she is missing out on any fun. So whether it's going to the bathroom or eating, she likes to see where I am. 

Night Time

We still put her in a diaper during naps and at night. However, this past week we've run into a new dilema. Her diaper is ALWAYS dry when she wakes up (yay!), but now she'll wake up in the night SCREAMING because she needs to go potty. Obviously, that's a good thing that she'll wake up to go and not go in her diaper, but I'm exhausted! Last night she woke up twice, and each time she legitimately needed to go and went back to sleep, but I'm so sick of getting up in the night. 

We do still put her down with milk--I think she may be addicted to it--whoops! K and I thought we could just start giving her less and less to ween her off, but every time I don't give her a full bottle, she wakes up in the middle of the night asking for more. 

Does anyone have any advice on that? Will it just take time for her bladder to be able to hold it? Do your kids still go down with a sippy cup? When did you stop that?

Public

I think I was more paranoid about her going in public than I needed to be. I would bring the potty seat that clips into the toilet in a plastic bag and I was always so worried she wouldn't tell me until it was too late. (She did do that once, but it was the one time we tried to use a pull ups. My opinion is that pull ups feel the same as diapers! She was so much more cautious when we put her in undies and kept her in them!) The best thing for going in public was peer pressure! We were at an outdoor mall and there was a mom and her 5 year old daughter that walked into the bathroom before us. J is at the perfect age where she is loving older kids. I told her, "Look at that little girl! She's going to go potty on the big potty! Don't you want to go on the big potty just like her?" Girlfriend walks into the stall, I hold her on the toilet, and she goes like she's been doing it everyday of her life! We haven't looked back since!

Potty Training Part 2

Day 1

Day 2

I got up the next morning, feeling slightly better and started right in (although, J woke up unusually early, which is never fun). I kept the timer at every 20 minutes. She was less enthused about it that day, so I let her put her undies on. I just opened up the washing machine and every time she got her undies wet, I'd throw them in there and do one normal sized wash that night. Putting her undies on really helped because then I could say, "Oh no! You got Elmo wet! Now you can't wear Elmo because he's wet!" It really helped her make a cause and effect connection between her peeing and getting the undies wet. This day lasted forever! These are the text between K and I that day.

I began to notice that she just wasn't having to go pee that much. We had some left over Pedialite in the fridge from when she was sick, so I began giving her that whenever she wanted. This helped increase the frequency of her going, which helped speed up the learning process. This was the night of my break down. It's so emotionally exhausting because you can't get mad at them, they're just learning and it's not their fault they don't know how yet. Plus, I wanted to keep everything very positive, truthfully, because I wanted her to be able to go poop on the potty. I've heard a lot of stories about kids going full weeks between bowel movements because they were terrified to go poop on the potty. In my head, I thought if I could keep it all very positive then that would help. Being overly positive and enthusiastic is VERY taxing! Maybe that says something about my personality, oh well!

That night, as I laid in bed starring at the ceiling, I thought, "There's no way I can get up and do this again tomorrow. I want to die! [so dramatic, but that's what mental/emotional exhaustion does to you] There's no way I can have another kid ever again if I have to do this with them every time! But I can't stop, if I stop I'll have to go through this first day all over again! I can only have 1 first day per child!" And then I prayed. So stupid. But I honestly prayed. I can't help but laugh hysterically just thinking about it! However, what I've learned several times in my life, if it's important to me, it's important to God.

Day 3 (+ night time and going in public)

Potty Training Part I

Hi friends, it's been awhile. We were sick, sick, potty training, sick/maybe J has allergies? Totally random and weird, but such is life! Incase you missed our big news, I did say P.O.T.T.Y. T.R.A.I.N.I.N.G! Now before you all throw your shoes at me for being some overachieving first time mom, let me tell you, this chick was ready! This is a typical mommy-blogger-post, so if you have no interest in that, go read another post. I want to write down everything we did because I want to provide some encouragement for myself for the next time I have to potty train.

Potty training (PT) is awful!! I would be lying to you if I didn't tell you that at one point, I cried. Full on-emotional break down-I will never get pregnant again if it means I have to PT another human being-crying! But, obviously we have gotten passed that and I am so happy I stuck with it!

So I don't forget, here and here (AHH! I just searched through my Pinterest to find the other blog and I can't find it. Basically, she's the one that encouraged giving a lot of juice the first day. So sorry I can't find the link to give her credit.) are the sources for the PT method we used.

How I knew she was ready
For several months she would come and tell us right after she had gone poop in her diaper. The wheels started turning in my head, but I figured I'd wait awhile. A few weeks ago she started telling us before she would go poop, wheels turning again, but still not quite sure if recognizing bowel movements is the same as recognizing needing to pee. One day, we didn't have much to do and so we just sort of hung out at home all day. EVERY TIME she would go pee she would say, "change! change!" She hated her wet diaper! She didn't mind the diaper when we were out and about doing stuff, but she really noticed it while we were at home. I probably changed her diaper that day close to 15 times! It was like she was a newborn again! Not only was I over changing her diaper so much, I can't afford to go through 15 diapers in one day! (Note: 15 is probably an exaggeration, just know it was more than the 3-5 tops it usually was.)

Day 1
J and I finally had time to go get some undies in the late morning--I didn't plan on starting until the following morning. However, she was adamant that she wanted to wear her undies, so after her nap that afternoon we began. I put her training potty in the living room on a plastic mat that our landlord had left for right by our sliding glass window. (Obviously, I've sanitized the dickens out of that thing, but lets just say, this apartment will always have a little piece of us with it:). We later learned that towels work much better. I set a timer for 20 minutes and had J run around the same way she came into this world, butt-friggin-naked! She loved it, and to this day still asks to be, "Nakey baby!" Every 20 minutes we would sit on the potty and try to go pee. However, I soon found that she kept going a minute or two before the timer would go off. So frustrating! I decided to change the timer to every 18 minutes. This day was exhausting and I was starting to think maybe she was too young and wasn't ready to try PT. I even had K pick up a pizza on his way home because she would just start going at the most random moments, there was no way I could try to cook and PT at the same time! She did have 2 successes that day. When she would go, I would go crazy! Telling her good job, give her candy, bless my sister's heart, we called her and her kids probably 30 times in the span of 2.5 days! We put her in a diaper for the night time.

Day 2
Day 3 (+ night time and going in public)

The Great Mediator

While we were on vacation J got really sick. I'll spare you most of the gory details, but I will tell you she was a sad sight! As a result of some of her symptoms, she had a terrible diaper rash. When I went to the doctor for that and all of her other ailments, the pediatrician (trying to appease all of my fears) prescribed her an antibiotic that would hopefully work for all of her symptoms. The antibiotic, while helpful for her ear infection, resulted in some undesirable side effects that made her diaper rash worse. I could tell she was in so much pain! At first, I thought I needed to accept our circumstances and suffer through the trial. It was unfortunate, but what else could I do? However, the pain on her face was just too much to take! I finally called the doctor to see what kind of changes to her diet I could make, or anything else I could do, to ease the side effects of the medicine. He informed me of several steps I could take, but also prescribed a less drastic antibiotic that would hopefully still be as effective.

As I was reading my scriptures today, I was overcome with emotion as I began to think of Christ's role as The Great Mediator. I believe, like many other Christian faiths, that when we leave this life there will be a judgement. We will be held responsible for what we have done, both good and bad. Our Heavenly Father is a just God, but He is also a merciful God. Christ, having endured all things and with his perfect understanding, will be able to advocate for us. No one but Christ is perfect, he understands all that I have been through and all that I will go through. He knows me better than anyone else and, because of that, will be able to mediate between the demands of justice and mercy.

Obviously, I would never want to compare myself to Christ. He is perfect and I am for from it. However, while in this life, one of my roles is to advocate for my children. I don't know if I ever truly knew what it meant to be an advocate for someone until today. Today, Christ's role as the mediator and advocate became so real.

J can't speak for herself. She doesn't understand all that is going on, just like most of us don't have a perfect knowledge of why certain events happen in this life. No one knows her like I do and no one has gone through these experiences with her like I have. I was blessed to have found a doctor where I never had to 'fight' for J, but I did have to speak up. I had to find the balance between accepting the situation we were in (justice) and searching for a better solution (mercy).

I hate when I try to write and the words I know and use can't fully describe the feelings in my heart.  That's how I feel with this post. Hopefully it is somewhat coherent and you can grasp even a glimpse of what I'm trying to convey. I'm so glad we have a savior who knows my heart and understands me in spite of my weaknesses.

Source

Miscellany Monday...

Who are we kidding, many of my posts have a "Miscellany Monday" vibe to them. At least now I have an excuse! 

1. We have traded the Naked drinks for real vegetable/fruit smoothies. We realized once we bought the Naked drinks, they were heavy on the fruit and not so much with the vegetables. K is trying to talk me into getting a Blendtec. He went so far as to show me several YouTube videos demonstrating the greatness that is the Blendtec. Men have a way of taking the simplest kitchen appliance and turning it into a 3 million horse power machine...it's actually pretty impressive.

Bonus: J LOVES the smoothies. Where did this child come from? I'm not sure, but I like her.

2a. J's toddler-isms are increasing in number at a remarkable rate. She's a pretty funny and quirky kid...I like it! Sometimes when we say it's time for bed, she starts grabbing random objects and running for her bed. This particular night, the objects of choice were every. single. couch pillow. She throws them in there and asks to be put into bed.

2b. Sometimes I go to put on my shoes and find little surprises.

Anyone know a good remedy for cleaning those suede-like shoes? I tried the Nuskin shoe cleaner on a different pair and it made it look bad. These are my favorite shoes ever, so I'm afraid to ruin them.

2c. Even little lambs need to be buckled in when they eat. Side note: My late Grandma Cora collected stuffed animal lambs because she grew up on a sheep ranch. When she died, each grandchild received one of her lambs. She died when I was pregnant with J and I've always felt they had some sort of connection with each other, like they met before J came to earth...or J sort of took her place? That sounds a bit hippie-ish, but I think you catch my drift. J has always taken a special interest in her lamb "Lola" and it has slept in her crib every nights since we brought her home from the hospital.

2d. This kid can get down like no one else I've ever known. Sorry for my mom-singing-voice. She likes to combine these two songs--a little remix, if you will. Also, at the end she comes to blow raspberries (they're called Philburts (Filburts?) in our house. Just realizing I've never actually typed that word out!) on my face--as is custom at the end of any song..?

3. I can usually stay pretty strong at Costco. I eat the samples and move along. Today, they got me! Not only did they get me, they got J too. We were loving these things. Not healthy in anyway, but a wonderful blend of sweet and spicy.

 Of course, if you're anything like me, you'll eat them like this. 

I'm such a wimp with spicy food. These were too spicy for me!

Pretty much all my link-ups I find from my friend, Whitney's blog. Go check her out, she's the bomb dot com. <---I felt a need to use this saying since we've been friends since high school...throwing it way back!

Menu 4/14

A little late this week, but I wanted to try out some of these recipes so I could tell you how they went. And I just forgot to post on Monday. Typical :)

Fish Tacos

More than just spaghetti

Lasagna
-For some reason I've built up quite the collection of lasagna noodles. This is more out of necessity to get them out of our pantry than anything (I never made it last week).

Pancakes
-This was Monday. Sometimes you just need to add water and eat.

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
-Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh, how I miss this restaurant! You people in the Utah/Idaho area, don't take this blessed place for granted! This was probably the closest copy cat recipe I have ever found! This was the one I wanted to try before I posted because I'm sick of people trying to do their sweet pork and disappointing me (dramatic much?).
Cilantro Lime Dressing
-This was not as good as other copy cat recipes I've had before, but here it is. I could still taste the greek yogurt, which is always gross. It needed more lime I think.

Since yesterday, simple changes

My friend, Megan, told me about this awesome website called 100 Days of Real Food. It goes right along with what I'm trying to do, so I thought I'd share for anyone else that might be interested. What I particularly loved were her rules. Like I said yesterday, this can be so overwhelming! But her rules really help break down the process and make it seem less scary. I wish we lived in a warmer place where we had Farmer's Markets year round. I did have a friend tell me that between our town and the surrounding towns, there is a different Farmer's Market just about everyday in the summer! Just one more reason for me to look forward to the summer time!!

This is all a process for me, trying to decide what changes will work for our family and what changes won't. I liked the way 100 Days talks about eating locally. As I've been researching more and more about what exactly are 'organic' foods, I've found some interesting information. This first one is from the FDA's website.

Confusing Claims

The terms "natural," "healthy," and "organic" often cause confusion. "Consumers seem to think that 'natural' and 'organic' imply 'healthy,'" says Schneeman. "But these terms have different meanings from a regulatory point of view."

According to FDA policy, "natural" means the product does not contain synthetic or artificial ingredients. "Healthy," which is defined by regulation, means the product must meet certain criteria that limit the amounts of fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium, and require specific minimum amounts of vitamins, minerals, or other beneficial nutrients.

Food labeled "organic" must meet the standards set by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Organic food differs from conventionally produced food in the way it is grown or produced. But USDA makes no claims that organically produced food is safer or more nutritious than conventionally produced food.

For example, says Schneeman, "A premium ice cream could be 'natural' or 'organic' and still be high in fat or saturated fat, so would not meet the criteria for 'healthy.'"

I followed up to find this from the USDA's website because a friend had told me that not all foods that are labeled 'organic' are actually organic. To me it seems like they need to be unless the farmer sells less than $5,000 worth of product. Anyone else ever heard of this claim?

Anyways, once the Farmer's Markets start, I'm hoping to buy my produce there because the fresher the food the more nutrient dense the product is. Until then, I'll have to just trust the labels at the store!

Fun fact: a fact that always stuck with me from my Nutrition 100 class in college was how frozen fruit and vegetables are often more nutrient dense than fresh fruits and vegetables. This is because a lot of fresh produce must be picked before it is completely ripe in order to avoid spoiling before it gets to the store. Frozen produce has the opportunity to develop all the way without having to worry about spoiling since it will be frozen. So don't forget about your friends in the frozen section!

Another interesting tid bit from the 100 Days website. She talks about looking at the food ingredients a lot, not to be confused with the food's nutrition label. One thing that really stood out to me was when she talked about bread.

"...what I bought for my husband from the grocery store was what I thought was whole-wheat bread. When we finally checked the ingredients and found 40 different items on the list, including white flour and sugar, we decided it was time for a change. Why would there be so many on the list if it only takes a handful of ingredients to make bread? ... honey whole-wheat loaf only has five ingredients – whole-wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and honey."

Now I've never been a real "ace" in the kitchen (just ask my mom) so I've truthfully never made real bread before. For some reason, anything involving 'yeast' is just scary to me. But when she states the small amount of ingredients that you need to make bread, and what all actually comes in bread, I was floored! I had never even thought about it. So of course I went straight to our pantry to look at our bread.

I just so happened to have bought Costco's Organic bread this week! I had never even noticed the Organic Symbol until I read about it on the USDA's website, but there she blows in all her green and white organic glory. While everything seems pretty normal in the ingredients, I think I might try to make our own bread. K just about died when I told him that :). Anybody have any good tips for a first time bread maker?

So that's where we are today. I'm going to shoot for organic/natural/locally grown produce in the coming weeks and attempt to make bread at some point. It's hard because our pantry is stocked FULL of all the foods I'm trying to get away from. Being the cheap frugal people that we are, I'm going to have to just transition as I go.

I do want to throw this out there: if I was working, there is no way in heck I'd consider doing a lot of this. It's so important to remember to just do the best you can. When I worked, I never would have had enough time to read ingredients, let alone, to try and make bread. (Note: I will probably fail big time at this...the key word is TRY and make bread!) This blog is all about the process of having a more balanced and healthy life.

A lifestyle change

If you are friends with me on Facebook, than you might have seen that K and I are trying to make some pretty significant lifestyle changes. I want to start altering the types of foods we buy. I'm still trying to sift through how far I want to take this and my own personal feelings on the matter. Lucky for you, you get to read my thought process!

I've always thought eating organically was for the hippies (haha). I know, I'm an anomaly in the blogging world. (Don't even get me started on all the oils and stuff that people are putting on their new born babies.) My SIL asked the other day what got me started thinking about making the change and I couldn't put my finger on one specific incident. As I was reflecting on it more today I started to realize that this had been a long time coming, little tid bits I'd hear from different places all began to build up in my psyche. Then, a few days ago, I was watching one of my guilty pleasure reality TV shows. This girl was talking about infertility and how it seems like so many more women are dealing with infertility now days than ever before. She mentioned how she wondered if it had something to do with the food we eat and all of the chemicals and hormones that are injected into them. That really stuck with me. I've never had to deal with infertility, but from what I know about it...it just sucks! There's no other way to put it.  Who knows, maybe we hear more about infertility issues now because most people are starting to have children later on in life or because we are just a lot more open in our society to talk about feelings and deeper subjects now. Either way, you can't help but wonder if it does play some minor role in these types of cases.

As a Health teacher, I know what I should be eating. I would say, compared to the average American, we do a fine job. We eat red meat sparingly, we have a vegetable or fruit with every meal, we don't drink a ton of soda, when we have beef or bacon it is always turkey alternatives, we try to drink a lot of water each day, we eat low fat dairy products (except J who still drinks whole milk) and I don't buy a ton of candy or anything like that (sometimes your health benefits from being cheap). I even stopped buying chicken breasts awhile ago when I took a look at the chicken breasts we bought and realized I'd never seen a chicken that big in my life! We still eat a lot of chicken, but I like to stick to the tenderloins because it just seems more natural? That isn't scientific based in any way, but I felt better about it. It's certainly a lot less fatty than the breast we had been buying before.

As a Health teacher, I know the importance of quality selections from each food group. I'm not interested in any fad diets or trends. We aren't trying to lose weight, we are trying to make healthy, long-lasting, lifestyle changes. Several of my friends recommended the Paleo diet. I've only researched it a little bit because, from what I've seen, it just isn't practical for our family. There's no way I could cut out all dairy or wheat or beans. I could if we needed to, but I don't want to. There are many health benefits from dairy, wheat, and beans--as long as you're eating the right kinds. It's a great option for many people, but just doesn't meet all of our needs.

My SIL gave me some great advice about not trying to change everything right at once. It really is just so overwhelming! So we are going to start this week by buying organic fruits and vegetables. We've talked about getting a juicer, but I read they can be a pain to clean. Also, we still live in an apartment, I'm not sure we could fit another appliance in this joint! Right now we've just been buying the Naked smoothies and I really like them so far! I think our next step will be to find farm fed meat. I have no idea how expensive that is (Does anyone know?) or if you can even buy that in a local grocery store (Anyone? Anyone?), but I'll find out next week! I also want to start collecting healthier recipeces. I was noticing at the store this week that many of our recipes call for cheese---like, we eat a ton of cheese! I think there is a place for cheese, but not in almost every dinner--that seems a bit much!

Does anyone have any great sites, blogs, books, thoughts, or opinions on any of this? I really would like to stick to research based information because there is just too much propaganda and hoopla mixed in with this subject. Bahaha, hoopla, never thought I'd type that word out.

What's been happenin' / Menu 4/1

You may have noticed, I haven't been doing Weekly Goals lately. This move has really taken the wind out of my sails. I've had the hardest time getting a routine going that I like and can stick to. The thought of having weekly goals has become too much (sad, but true). Lately we've been taking it one day at a time. Sometimes, that's just the way life goes.

To make matters worse, J has been sick since last Thursday. Since I am passionate about not letting my kid go to public places where other kids will be when she is sick, I haven't been to the gym since last Thursday either. Basically, I've been a hormonal nut job without my much needed endorphins. Last night I went totally loco on K. When I freaked out over nothing, I thought, "Where did that come from?" Do you ever have those out-of-body-arguments where you know the entire time that you are wrong and have absolutely no idea why you're continuing on in your quest for right-ness? Yep, that was last night. So tonight, as a peace offering, I'm going to admit my wrong and go to the gym. That sort of seems like a backwards peace offering, but K will understand and accept it gladly. That's what we call "a peace offering on a budget!"

While my life may be crazy everywhere else, I have loved still putting up our weekly menus. It makes me feel like I still have my life together...even if it is only in one small area! It really is all about the little things!

Ham sliders

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos 

I'm excited about this one!

Twice Baked Potatoes
Remember a few months ago when I said I was going to do this. Yeah, I never did. I did find this new recipe, though. So, hopefully, I'll be giving this a try at some point this week.

Tostadas
-Hard shell corn tortilla, refried beans, lettuce, salsa, cheese, sour cream, green sauce, other stuff. Sometimes we throw nacho cheese on it if we're feeling up to it.

Beef Noodle Casserole

Tilapia marinated in Sun-Dried Tomato dressing, on George Formen, with cheese melted on top, and random spices thrown over it. Basically I loved this recipe and will recreate it with what I have on hand.

Pizza Night
The local grocery store here has a pretty decent generic pizza dough. You can't beat an entire pizza for $3.00!

Naps, it's what's for dinner/ Menu

Today was out of control! I don't even want to type it all out, but it involves my debit card being declined at a weird grocery story in front of a loooooong line of strangers (total mystery because I called my bank and they said there were no attempts...I got back in line and it worked? I. Was. Mortified.), thrown eggs, whiney baby, and exhaustion because my 21 month old has decided she doesn't know how to sleep through the night anymore..? There was one point where I honestly said to myself, "Is this real life?"

K could tell it had been a day as soon as he walked through the door. I'm grateful for a husband that leaves is career job and comes right home to his dad job. I gave him a few minutes to unwind before handing over J and going in the back bedrooms to hide. I fell asleep for a good hour or so and am glad I made that choice. I woke up loving my family again, which I'm pretty sure is a good sign :).

Here's this week's menu, as always, feel free to share what you're having because I need some more ideas :):

Vegetable Mac and cheese
We aren't spicy people, so this recipe sans spicy ingredients + more vegetables and still debating the crust...because the picture of it in the skillet looks pretty dang good to me!

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken
We ended up having several people over for dinner last Sunday. This got pushed to this week and I made a lasagna in its place on Sunday. Thank goodness for lasagna leftovers because my family probably wouldn't have eaten today without them!

Shrimp Tacos


Corn Chowder + BLTs


Ham (or lamb or something cool for Easter) + Potatoes and other cool Easter stuff
The whole reason I went to the weird grocery store today was because they had a good deal on ham, but once I got there all the ham they had was HUUUUUUUGE! I knew I'd regret it, so I let the reasonable side win out over the cheapskate side and I left without a ham! I'll be on a meat search tomorrow.

Stress Relief (Part 3)

See Part 1 and Part 2

After yesterday's pretty intense posts, I thought I'd take it down a couple thousand notches today :). Stress is such an interesting dynamic in our lives. Everyone experiences it and everyone handles stress relief in different ways. Today I want to talk about MUSIC!

I love music! (Does anyone not love music?) When I was a teenager, I used music to feel like I belonged and that other people could sympathize with my emotions--have I mentioned what a dramatic teenager I was? I'm terrified for J's teenage years because I know I will get everything I did to my parents back X 20! Now days, I feel like music is more of an escape from my everyday stresses. It lets me loosen up and let go of the world around me. I love to jam-out! I'll be so sad the day J doesn't want to dance with me in the car anymore!

Lately, I've been a music buying fiend! Getting new music is so exciting to me. I'm totally that person that will buy a song and then listen to it on repeat until I'm sick of it. Or I'll be a few new songs and listen to all of them on repeat until I get sick of them. Lately, I've been wanting songs I can workout to. You should know, I'm not like most people where they need crazy-fast, adrenaline pumping music when I work out. I like songs that I can either (a) dance to or (b) sing along to. Here are my new buys:

I have been loving Maroon 5, lately! I bought the songs, "Daylight" and "One More Night." 

I loved this movie! I want to download more from this album, but I need to pace myself so I don't download us out of house and home. I bought the song, "Pool Mashup: Just the Way You Are." 

Despite the awkwardness of the 'shower scene' in Pitch Perfect,  I loved the slow version of "Titanium" that she sang. Sadly, it wasn't on the soundtrack, so I bought this version instead. I'd never heard of this singer before, but she has a great voice!

I LOVE Ne-yo! This song is great for wanting your body to just dance and move!

Say what you will about T-Swift's dating life, she sucks me in with her ridiculously teeny-bopper style! I didn't love this album as much as I have some of her others from the past. I downloaded "I Knew You Were Trouble" and "State of Grace." 'Trouble' gets you moving and 'State of Grace' is just fun to sing and listen to.

There's been so much hype lately about Justin Timberlake's new album. Overall, I'm not the biggest fan. By that I mean, I will download individual songs, but I doubt I could just buy the whole album and listen to it on repeat. Don't get me wrong, I've been a JT fan since N*Sync, but this just wasn't doing it for me. So far I've only bought the song "Mirrors" and that is my new JAM!! For the disappointment I felt for the album as a whole, this song is so awesome! It makes me want to sing and dance. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that this was on repeat at the gym for me today and kept me on the treadmill for about a half mile longer than I was planning on! 

Proof!

I love the way that music can make you feel so happy! For better or for worse, it really can dictate your mood if you let it.

What songs are you loving lately?

Do you listen to songs on repeat and run them into the ground like me? Or do you have more self-control? (ha!)

Thoughts on my new buys? Love 'em or hate 'em? (It's cool if you hate them, I'm secure enough to hear your honest opinion :))

Stress Relief (Part 1)

Several studies have been done that connect negative stress with heart disease and stroke. A few years ago I started having little mini-panic attacks. I had never dealt with anxiety or panic attacks before, so it was really scary for me when they would happened. Since I had just started going through the Health Science Education program at BYU, I knew a little bit about anxiety. I decided I would start to take notes on what was going on with me or around me when the panic attacks started.

I began to notice that I would always have the panic attacks right before bed after I had said my prayers. Now, prayers aren't a very stressful activity for me, so that timing seemed odd. However, as I started to pay more attention to my mood and thought process that was happening when the panic attacks would set in, I realized that they happened at that time because before, during, and after my prayers is the time I always had to think about my day/life and what was going on. At that time, I had a lot of changes happening in my life (deciding what major to pursue, friends leaving and moving away). At that point in my life, I was not very good with change--I resisted it as much as possible. I realized that I was having panic attacks over all the situations in my life that I had no control over (can you say, 'control freak!').

I decided that I could either keep having these panic attacks, or I could realize that I only have so much control of what happens in my life. I had to find a way to deal with my stress or that anxiety was going to turn into a very real and debilitating problem. (Note: anxiety is such a serious problem for others, mine does not even come close to comparing with what others deal with). I figured, as an adult, that most people would frown upon me kicking and screaming when I don't get my way, so I needed to find another outlet. In the next few weeks I want to highlight some of the different actions I take to reduce the stress in my life. The one I want to start with is exercise.

Picture from the first, and last, time I ever played racquetball.

Exercise is a tricky subject for me. I played competitive soccer from the time I was nine. For a very long time I had hopes and dreams of going on and playing in college. I wasn't good enough to play for BYU (where I wanted to go to school) and I cared too much about my education to go to any of the smaller schools that were interested in me.  So I quit. I went from training 20+ hours a week to having all the time in the world and no set schedule on when I was supposed to be at the gym. It was a little eerie, but also invigorating! I would go to the gym here or there, but I mostly just felt burned out from all my years of training. Once I started teaching and became a mom, I went from an occasional trip to the gym to just about never working out. As I started to turn into a basket case get stressed from life, I knew I needed to start exercising again. So, don't think I'm perfect, I've gone up and down with my exercise habits...I just happen to be in an upswing at the moment!

I've found what really helps me to keep motivated and go to the gym is to constantly mix it up. Since I've joined the gym I have done the Zumba, aquafit, and yoga classes. It sort of depends on the week, but I rotate those classes into using the treadmill one day, the bike another, lifting weights, and working on my core (sit ups and stuff like that). It's nice because I think J and I need breaks from each other! She gets to go play with the kids for an hour while I exercise. I don't like the idea of daycares, so it's great because I can just pop my head in or look through the window to make sure everything is legit. I definitely don't push myself like I used to be pushed when I was training for soccer. Someday I hope I will get back to that point, but for now my motto is, "It's all about the endorphins!" (I got that from my awesome marathon friend, this was her motto when she was pregnant). The endorphins that are released during exercise help me to be happy and more emotionally level throughout the day. It gives me a time and a place to work through the stressful situations that may be happening in life (insert nasty thoughts about packing up all of our belongings and moving across the country...again!!)

HOLY NOVEL! Gold star if you are still reading!

Do you exercise? 

If no, what gets in your way? 

If yes, what helps you stay motivated to keep going? What are your favorite forms of exercise?

What are some of your favorite stress relievers? 

Serving Size

Today as my sister and I were on the treadmill, we started discussing some of our different teaching experiences (she taught Social Sciences for several years). I was reminded of a time when one of my students had an "Ah-ha" moment.

She was the Student Body President, a senior, AP Student, and was for some reason in my sophomore class. Usually, seniors were only in my sophomore class because they had failed health as a sophomore. Although I didn't know her, most people can pretty much figure out from Day 1 that the Student Body President probably didn't fail health. I asked her on the first day of school,
Me: Why are you taking this class?
Student: I don't know...it just kind of looked interesting
Me: Alright, but most of the health stuff will be a review for you
Student: Oh, it's okay!
This class was not just a regular health class, it also explored a variety of health careers...plus it was easy. I totally loaded my schedule senior year with easy classes, so while I liked to hope that she really did want to learn about health careers, I could read between the lines on that one.

Later on in the year we began our Nutrition Unit. One activity I would do with the kids was to (1) learn how to use the food labels on the back of food products (2) look at the food labels on foods that they actually eat to see how they were doing nutrition wise. One of the biggest mistakes people (not just teenagers, people of all ages) make is that they do not understand serving sizes. For example, most ice cream has a serving size of 1/2 cup...when was the last time you had only a 1/2 cup of ice cream? I can't help but throw this in...

So this was always a very eye-opening experience for the kids. (Side note: if you keep track of the sodium you intake, your mind = blown!). This same student came up to me a few weeks after we had this lesson,

Student: Nelson, I need to tell you something.

Not usually how teachers like to start conversations...I've had that turn into "I'm pregnant" one too many times!

Me: What's up?

Student: You know how we did that food label thing? Well I used to eat, like, two peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches a day, because, you know, that's not that bad right? Well since we did that activity I realized how much I was eating...and how much I wasn't using those calories. So I just stopped eating them so much. I've lost 10 lbs! 

Aww, to be young with crazy good metabolism :)

I can guarantee, my intent was never to have my students lose weight. However, I was all about CHOICES! Taking what I taught them and using it for their own good. Like I said before, this was definitely a well above average student, about to enter college. This concept escapes many of us! For many people, they work out non-stop and the weight still doesn't seem to come off. A lot of that comes down to your serving size. Like the video suggests, Fig Newtons are most definitely a health alternative to other cake and cookies, but eating them by the sleeve isn't going to get you anywhere! Serving sizes don't have to be a scary thing, either. It's one small adjustment you can make. It can take you from the feeling that you can "never eat what you want to," to eating what you want, just in moderation. 

Do you ever look at food labels? Do you like to? Or does it just depress you? :)

I don't do it all the time. I go through stages where I'm awesome about eating right and then when I'm not. Usually I do after a not so good binge to help me be where I want to be.

I do look at them for what J eats though!

What has helped you with your serving sizes?

Do you have questions about nutrition or eating right?