A Big Boy in a Bed

A while back Brett thought Rheddik needed a big boy bed, but since we didn’t have one he improvised by taking one of the side rails off the crib, making a day bed of sorts. A friend here in TX was getting rid of one of her beds so we jumped at the chance and Rheddik is now a proud, happy big boy in a big boy bed!Having 2 beds in their room really shrunk it right down. Cozy is healthy, right? We took the boys shopping for new sheets (thanks to the Allred’s). Ammon picked out pirates, surprising me by going for a more mature theme than his previous cars, trains and tractors. Brett and I also got new sheets but who wants to see a picture of us smiling on our bed? That would be weird, I think.

Rheddik has been struggling with naps for a bit now. He goes to sleep grumpy, wakes up grumpy, which makes me wonder if they are worth the fight. Brett was home one day and helped Rhedd out.Aah. Sweet!

Did Santa Come?

Ammon and Rheddik wrote letters to Santa and mailed them in the magic mailbox at our Rec Center. A couple days later they each received a very specific, personal letter back from Santa. Have I mentioned lately how awesome my city is?? All Ammon asked for in his letter, and then again on Santa’s lap, was a submarine and a toy house. Not sure where those ideas came from, but it sure made Santa’s shopping a little challenging! Every time we asked Rheddik what he wanted Santa to bring him he said “Candy”. I’d ask if he wanted a toy with his candy and he’d say “No! Candy!”. Much easier. I like this age!

Our apartment’s layout is strange because the bedrooms are on complete opposite sides, with the family room in the middle. The boys always wake up on their own and come into our room. I had visions of Christmas opened before Brett and I had even registered what had happened, so Brett set his alarm. At 6:45 I heard them head for the bathroom so I nudged Brett and told him the boys were awake. I haven’t seen Brett move that fast that early in the morning, ever. He jumped out of bed and seriously ran down the hall. Kind of cute. Kind of silly. That’s how our Christmas Morning began.

We had cinnamon rolls and milk and then went to see if Santa had visited.Luckily, he brought candyand a submarineThis is how Rhedd felt about getting new PJ’sSanta didn’t bring a toy house. Ammon mentioned it several times that day, and has mentioned it several times since that day. Then he always says “he brought an animal rescue center instead”. I hope that means that he is happy with it? So hard to please a 4 year old!

I took Rhedd shopping for Ammon and he picked out a tractor. Brett took Ammon shopping for Rhedd and he picked out a similar tractor. They did pretty good for each other I’d say!After the excitement of opening presents we played with them (I started cleaning/sorting, lame I know!). At one point I looked out the window and saw this:Big, wet snow flakes falling in Dallas, TX. Crazy! Some called it a Christmas Miracle, but I’m not sure I’m to the point yet that I can call snow a miracle, no matter when or where it falls! Rheddik liked watching itand Ammon asked all day if he could go make snow angels. It didn’t ever fall enough for that. Poor kid.

In the afternoon we went to a friend’s house for dinner and enjoyed their company.

We still missed all the Utah family we usually saw on Christmas day, but it was a nice quiet Christmas here in Texas.

The Christmas Story, with Food

Christmas in Utah has always been special, and always full of family visits. This was our first Christmas on our own and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t like our Utah Christmases – I didn’t want my version to remind us that we weren’t having the real version. Did I explain myself? Not sure. Basically, I didn’t want to be reminded that we weren’t in Utah having chicken fried steak :)

While I slaved (not really) in the kitchen Brett and the boys had an intense game of “Cooties”.

Brett and I thought and thought and after an inspiring phone call with Amy we came up with our Christmas Eve idea. In Primary they learned the song “When Joseph Went to Bethlehem” which has a line that says “and carried bread and goat cheese in a little linen sack”. That was the jumping point of the rest of the dinner.

We turned off all the lights except the Christmas lights, pulled out a rug and had dinner, picnic style, with different courses. We started by talking about Joseph and Mary’s journey and ate bread and cheese dipped in marinara sauce. Then, we talked about the inn and the stable and had fruits and veggies for the stable animals. We talked about Jesus being born and about the visitors that came to see Him, like the shepherds. I figured potatoes were a good shepherd staple and added chicken along with them.

After dinner we went for a drive and saw Christmas lights. The idea was to return and have the 3 wise men bring dessert, but the kids were too tired. They went to bed and Brett and I enjoyed their dessert!

We still missed being with our family, but this was so much fun that it will be a new tradition that we will continue even if (when?) we get back to Utah. If it isn’t done Christmas Eve, it may just be the Sunday before.

Christmas Lights

One of my most favorite parts of this Christmas was that Brett had so much time off. He hadn’t used all his PTO for the year so for the 3 weeks around Christmas he worked only like 8-10 days. Total. The last many years Christmas has been the busiest time for him and he wasn’t allowed any time off after Halloween.

We took advantage of that and lounged around the house ;) and every once in a while getting out for some Christmas activities, like looking at Christmas lights.These 2 pictures were at the beginning of the walk. By midway we were all soo HOT we had to ditch the jackets and continue without them. Love Texas!Lucky for us we live close to the Christmas Capital of Texas: Grapevine. (Not sure if it was self-named!)They did have a pretty awesome singing tree(notice how it was cooler this night? we had to wear jackets and blankets!) Funny story about this family excursion: We were on a street in Grapevine, a lot like Ogden’s 25th street just a lot nicer. There were Christmas decorations on both sides so we were crossing the street at a crosswalk – the kind where you start walking across and the cars just have to stop, no traffic lights involved here. I was pushing the stroller and trying to walk quickly because I didn’t want to make the cars stop for a long time. Suddenly, I stumbled on something in the road. I looked down and saw Ammon. Somehow, he fell out of the stroller and I tripped on him. I’m sure the waiting people got a kick out of that one!

Nativities: My Favorite Decoration

I collect nativities. Last year I think the count was 16, or maybe 18. They are all important to me and mean something to me so I could probably list them all, but I don’t think you’re interested in that. Our stake did a nativity presentation and filled the entire gym with other people’s nativity scenes. It was a big deal, with musical groups from many different churches in the area.

Besides being a stake sponsored event, I was excited because of all the different nativities. The really interesting thing? There were literally 1000’s of nativities and only one similar to mine was there. I took a picture of my 2 favorites – just in case anyone looking to get me one needs inspiration :)My very favorite was this one:So pretty!

Anyway… With this nativity activity I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried to do a little missionary work. Ms Terrie is the day care teacher at the rec center and the boys love her. She is awesome. We had had a few conversations about the church and I decided to invite her to this. She wanted to come, but wasn’t able. A couple weeks later I invited her to come to church with us to hear Ammon and I participate in Sacrament Meeting. She came and it felt really good having her there with us. She said she enjoyed it and told Ammon he had a nice church. Unfortunately, she’s been out of town the last couple weeks so we haven’t seen her to be able to talk about it. Maybe soon.

A Miracle

As a missionary my Mission President would frequently ask us “Do you know where blessings and miracles come from? Do you thank God for even the smallest of miracles?”. I swear he had a scripture to back him up but after searching I can’t find it. Maybe one day.

I was given a miracle tonight and as I laid in bed trying to sleep all I could think about was how grateful I am for my miracle.

I took the boys on a date tonight (more on that in some future post, when I get my act together and update) for dinner and a Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at a nearby park. We were having such a great time looking at lights, eating a lot of junk food, watching Santa arrive on a fire truck… There were a lot of people crammed into this little park so, to avoid hitting others’ ankles, I parked the stroller and the boys walked. The line to visit Santa had gotten a little smaller so we headed over. And then I realized I only had one little boy with me. Somewhere, Rheddik had gotten lost in the crowd.

I started searching nearby, because I know he had been close at some point. Then I started widening my search circle. And it kept getting wider. There were so many people and I couldn’t see around them all, let alone to knee-height. I really started panicking then. I started looking for an event person that could help me, maybe make an announcement, but first I said the quickest of prayers “Help me find him, please!”. I turned around and saw a nice young lady who, actually reminded me a lot of my sis Carrie, holding Rheddik’s hand. “Is he yours? I saw you looking around and figured he might be what you’re looking for.”

I may have freaked her out a bit when I picked my Rhedder up and then gave her a hug. Those couple of minutes were easily the scariest I’ve ever encountered in my life, and the joy at having him returned to me was easily the best I’ve ever felt.

It was business as usual for Rheddik. He had no idea he had been lost, or why mom was squeezing him so tight and repeating over and over “You’ve gotta stay close to Mom!”. We got back in line, visited Santa, and had a great rest of our date.

Now, as I was trying to sleep, all the “what if’s” came rolling through my mind and I had to make sure I gave Heavenly Father credit for the miracle He gave me.

“For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.” 2 Nephi 27:23

Date Night

I have started taking my handsome buddies out on dates with me. Usually by the time Friday or Saturday comes around we are all tired of our routine and a date changes it up just enough. This particular date we started by eating pizza (shh, don’t Brett – it wasn’t Domino’s!) and loved it soo much that we ate it all. Ammon matched me slice for slice. Not sure if I should be proud..After the pizza we went to the park and watched them turn on the Christmas Tree lights. Santa arrived on the fire truck, which is the cool way to arrive.Standing in line for Santa, I lost Rheddik. There’s a post about that. So grateful I was able to get the little wanderer back. Santa probably wished we had changed our mind about visiting him. Not sure he appreciated the balloon swords waiving in his face!After Santa, we took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage. Minus the Rheddik scare we had a great night. Love these two crazies!

Thanksgiving in Deseret

We looked forward to our trip back to Utah since May. Ammon asked when we would go see the grandmas and I told him not until the weather was cold. One morning, the temp was high 70’s and he thought it was time to go. Unfortunately, it was just a fluke in September. We warmed right back up, and stayed warm up until boarding the plane.

To start off our trip, Rheddik celebrated by catching a tummy bug the day before we were to leave.We laid low and by the time we left the house we hadn’t had any throw ups for a couple hours.

Rheddik loved seeing the huge airplanes while we waited.We were all waaay excited to finally get on the plane.Rheddik was a bit lethargic the whole ride, but we had no tummy issues until after we landed and had picked up our luggage. Then, he lost it all over me. Lovely way to start the week. While we were there, each of us caught the bug (it doesn’t seem we shared with anyone there though, odd). Although we weren’t able to do all we wanted, or see all we wanted, it was kind of nice to have family there to take care of us sickies!

Thanksgiving morning some of my sibs and I participated in a “Cold Turkey Run”. It ended up being a 6k and I finished in 48 minutes. I was proud of myself and it felt so good. (Thanks to Carrie I have a picture for the memory) The best part of being in Utah was seeing our family. I had this idea that the minute we touched down in SLC I would feel like I had come home. It didn’t feel that way and I was a little concerned. I realized that home is where your family is. I loved, loved hanging out with everyone but as long as I have my boys, I’ll always be home. Sappy, but true.

We had our annual Sibling Christmas Dinner while we were there and had everyone there – minus Landon. We sure know how to have a good time! (Once again, thanks Care for the picture!) I already miss them all and can’t wait for the next party!

The boys loved playing with their cousins and grandparents. Ammon didn’t want to leave, which made it harder for me, and started asking before the plane had even taken off when we would be back. Luckily for all of us, it won’t be too much longer!

Please RSVP

It’s the party time of the year! This week I have a pizza party, 2 baby showers, a pre-Thanksgiving Pie Night, and then we head to Utah (!!!) for a week of non-stop party. And that just gets us through November. You know December will be similar. So how do you party wisely?

First, I’ve gotta say I am so glad drinking is not an option for me to worry about! Five ounces (hope you aren’t thirsty, cuz 5 oz aren’t gonna cut it!) of light beer, red wine or white wine is already 5 points each. I’m thankful I can safely stick with water (which is free, by the way ;) )!

The one thing that gets me through parties is to plan ahead. For example, guess what they’ll be serving at the pizza party? Yep. Nothin’ but pizza. Typically a slice of pepperoni pizza is between 5-7 points which doesn’t sound bad until you have had 3 slices and now you’re looking at 15-21 points – and I only get 29 a day. My plan? I’ll load up on fruits and veggies before I go (free) and stick to one slice of pizza. I’ll mingle and chat. It’s pretty uncomfortable talking to someone with pizza in your mouth!

What will they serve at the baby shower? You can almost always plan on the cute little finger foods. Potluck styles are great (one of the showers this week is potluck, the other isn’t) because you can bring something you know is a healthy option. When you get to the table, take a minute to scan the options. Remember fruits and veggies are free, but that creamy dip isn’t. Water is free, but the sugary juice isn’t. And although the double chocolate brownie looks spectacular, the simple chocolate chip cookie will probably be safer. The great thing going for parties like showers are the smaller plates. Fill it up with great options, have a piece or two of a lesser great option, and don’t go back for more. Go back for water.

There will be several varieties of pie at Pie Night. And I plan on fully participating. However, I plan on fully participating by including my husband and kids. If we each get a different slice of pie, we can share, and no one leaves feeling deprived. It’s also no longer mandatory to clean your plate before you get down from the table. Just because you dished it doesn’t mean you have to finish it.

As far as the weeklong family party, well, I’ve got nothing planned. Family gatherings mean great food and late nights. And since I don’t know when we’ll be back in Utah, I’ll try to make wise choices, but mostly I’m planning on gaining that week and being alright with my decision!

Speaking of weighing in, I lost this week. Not much, just the 0.2 I gained last week, but a loss is a loss. I didn’t do well going to bed earlier, but I did make better food choices at night. My non-scale victory this week was trying out a new aerobics class. It’s spinning and I’m not convinced I like it, but my sis told me you have to give it a couple tries so I am doing that. I also took the kids to a new park (there’s a post about that) so we got out of the house and enjoyed the Texas Fall.

Since this post is already lengthy, might as well extend it more, right? This is my “Clean Out The Crisper Drawer” Soup – meaning, anything basically goes, but this is what typically goes in:

1 onion
1/2 green pepper
3 (maybe 4? I like garlic) cloves of garlic
2 zucchini
1-2 cans chicken broth (kinda depends on how many veggies I found to add and how “soupy” I want it)
1 can Italian Stewed Diced Tomatoes

Saute the onion and pepper in whatever you want :) I tend to go with a splash of extra virgin olive oil or a spray of cooking oil, or a splash of chicken broth, add a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a dash of red pepper flakes. When when they are nice and soft add the garlic (garlic can burn quickly – don’t let it happen!) and the zucchini and cook for like a minute. Add the broth and tomatoes, bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, and eat when you want. The soup just like this is free. All veggies. Well, free as long as you used the chick broth for the saute. I tend to add 1/2 cup of small noodles, or a can of drained and rinsed beans which brings it to 1-2 points a serving.

This is how I make sure none of my crisper veggies go bad. I make this about once a week and it’s a great leftover. Any veggie can go in – I’ve added spinach, celery, even a potato (then just didn’t add noodles or beans). Anyway, it’s a good go-to! Super

A New Park

Back before it got crazy hot around here the boys and I would try out area parks. This last week I found one that sounded close to perfect, and then we started to drive there… GPS lady wanted me to take 3 different freeways, 2 of which are toll roads. The great thing about Texas freeways is that there is a parallel highway nearly the whole length of the freeway. I decided to confuse the poor GPS lady and took the highways instead of paying the tolls. Ha. It took 45 minutes to drive 15 miles. Not one of my better ideas! By the time we got to the park the sun was pretty much setting. It made for a very pretty walk but not nearly long enough.Whatcha lookin’ at?Just a spider, Mom.The next day we went again only this time we took all 3 freeways and got there in only 20 minutes. Much better! We found a caterpillar and I let it walk all over the kids. Rheddik giggled the entire time. Ammon wasn’t too sure of the idea. It pooped on me. Guess it serves me right for bothering the wildlife!

More Proof

Just in case I ever need proof that these guys love each other, I’ve taken measures to document it.

They got mail and Rheddik was so excited to show Ammon.Headed on a bike ride.Playing at the park.Ammon was the horse pulling Rheddik in the cart.

Snacking

Unfortunately, I need a new week and a new start. This last week didn’t go so well. I gained 0.2 (which is hardly a gain, but it’s also not a loss). Reflecting, my problem this week was chocolate cravings and late-night eating. But enough of the negative. My non-scale victory was that of the 7 nights I went to bed by 10:30 5 of them. I also rode my bike, with the boys in the trailer, to a park a mile up the road. That was exciting.

Over the past year I have discovered the importance of smart snacking. On days I don’t snack I eat worse than days I plan my snacks. I may be odd, and unhealthily focused on food, but most mornings while eating breakfast, I think about what lunch and dinner will be. If I also plan out my snacks I make it through the day easier. I’m not hungry and grouchy and I’m not reaching for the chocolate chips – at least not very much!

My go-to snacks are these:
Fat Free Cottage Cheese and Grapes (1-2 points)
Turkey, Hummus, Cucumber Sandwich (3 points)
Tomato Cucumber Salad (0 points)
PB Banana Sandwich (3 points)
Apple and Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge (1 point)
Fat Free Hot Chocolate and Ginger Snap Cookies (4 points)
Applesauce and Cheese Stick (2 points)
Cream of Wheat (3 points)
Leftover Soup (1-2 points – we have soup once a week, just for the leftovers)
Special K cereal (3-4 points)
Chocolate Chips! (hopefully 2 points… I struggle with self-control with these guys)

I try to include protein with a fruit or veggie for my snacks. It fills me up and I feel good for making a good choice – which does wonders to helping you make more good choices. It’s all mental, baby!

My goal this week is to attack those late night food cravings. The plan of attack: continue going to bed at 10:30 and not using any more than 7 weekly points a day.

He Can Be Sweet

Rheddik is somewhat of a bully. I think he always has been. He wins every wrestling match he and Ammon get in, and he has since he learned how to roll over. In Ammon’s defense, we drilled “Don’t hurt the Baby!” pretty deep in his little brain that I think he allowed Rheddik to win, just so he didn’t hurt him.

Rheddik also likes getting in trouble. I’ll get after him for something, he’ll look at me, and then smile. What?! And then he’ll do the same thing again. Little stink. I’ve laughed a couple of times and I think that’s why he does it. I’ve created a monster.

These are the moments that I wish we lived closer to the grandparents. I wish they could witness firsthand his little attitude. When he smiles at them after being scolded (I know, grandparents don’t scold, but they could) I want to see them not laugh. When he goes out of his way to push Ammon down, I want sympathy!

Then there are the moments when he is positively the sweetest, most loving little boy around and then I really wish we had the grandparents so he could smother them in kisses (I hate to admit that after kiss #20 I’m looking for someone/something else to be the recipient!). He also has the cutest voice and asks “why?” in the cutest, whiniest little tone. It’s the only time I’ve ever liked whining.

And he takes such good care of Baby. He changes Baby’s diaper, reads Baby stories, puts Baby to bed and carefully wraps him in blankets. I am proud of my little Daddy and it gives me hope that one day when he isn’t the littlest in the family (I AM NOT ANNOUNCING) his bully days will end.