During the month of September, I cut out all bread/pasta/rice and sugar from my diet, and lost 15lbs. I did it as a challenge to myself, the weight loss was just a bonus. I only cheated 1 time the entire month -- a cheat I allowed myself: sushi on my birthday. I felt great! Not only had I accomplished my goal, but I had more energy, I was fittin in clothing from when Joel and I got married, and others noticed the changes.
However, during the month of October, we started preparing to move, lots of stress and sickness, and needless to say, I quickly fell off the bandwagon. I havent gained all the weight back, but I notice the difference. Sugar makes me more tired, depressed, and cranky. I feel weighed down when I eat a lot of these kinds of foods. So, for November (other than birthdays and Thanksgiving) I am back on it!

While I was doing the diet, I enjoyed finding and creating new recipes to keep the food interesting, yummy, and healthy. Even Joel and Charlie approved of most of it. So I will be posting recipes, updates, ideas, etc on here, along with a little journal of how its going. I am also packing our house to move this month, so any motivating comments back would be greatly accepted.
The photo above is me today: November 1. I am wearing a size 10 jeans. I have about 15-20 lbs to go to my goal. I will weigh myself in the morning (though that wont be posted!) and keep tabs on how much I lose toward my goal.

If you want to do this with me, we can keep in touch. I will try to post lots of recipes: dinners, snacks, deserts, etc. If you want an idea, ask. I have lots!!!

She is here... for 4 months!

Clara Jane arrived on November 2. She had the sweetest red hair when she was born that quickly faded to strawberry blonde. She is a great sleeper, amazing eater, and just a happy baby!

Joel and Charlie absolutely love her ... though Charlie was harder to win over. He wouldnt look at her or hold her for 2 days because he didnt believe she was the baby that was in my tummy, but we finally got him.

Clara was 7lbs 6oz, 20 3/4 inches. She didnt like her bath until just a few weeks ago. However, she started sleeping 6 hours a night when we brought her home, and is up to 8-12 hours depending on her growth spurts. She is currently over 16lbs, rolling over (when she feels like it), playing with toys, eating blankets and her fist, and smiling and laughing at anyone around. She is always so happy and calm.

She is definately a cute addition to our family. Charlie is an amazing big brother. He loves to help bathe her, change her diapers, and entertain her. He loves giving me play by plays of what is going on with her in the car, or while I am cooking, and he dances for her at every opportunity.

She is named after my Uncle Clay and Joel's grandma Iola Jane. We love family names, and though we cheated a little on the Clara, we love her name.

6 weeks left

We have 6 weeks (and 2 days) until my due date, and I sure feel it! I have reached the point of just being done! I am loving the cooler weather, but I struggle to get on shoes, and I dont have maternity pants, but I dont want to go buy any this late in the game. I do the rubberband trick on my jeans (that amazingly still fit), and I got a belly band to cover the rubberband. She moves a ton, still, and loves to stretch. She has been in my ribs a lot this week, but is still pushing on my bladder, so she must be pretty long. I have been having lots of braxton hicks contractions. They are getting worse and closer together, but still nothing to worry about. I am looking forward to meeting this sweet little girl, and to carry her on the outside!

Joel is still loving his job. He has been working overtime lately, which is tough, but the extra income will be great when the baby comes. He is working on his "schooling" through them and doing great. He really seems to enjoy learning all this new stuff. It has been great for us to have him back at work. Charlie and I are back in our old routine, and Joel is so much happier working than being a stay home dad. He loves being home, but providing for his family and being out during the day really suits him!

Charlie is still growing. He has really been in to dressing up lately. Usually its just a batman cape, but he also has Woody, Buzz, and Titan costumes, along with a lion costume. I have to call him by whatever name he is dressed as, which gets confusing. And if he isnt dressed up, he is Steve (from Blue's clues) or Joel. It keeps me on my toes! He has been playing more independently lately, which is good since I dont have the energy to keep up. He loves his cars and his "guys". He also has 2 swords, so every once in a while I tell him there is a bad guy and he beats him up to keep me and the baby safe. He is great and taking care of me/us. He is sure looking forward to being a big brother! He asks a lot why the baby isn't coming out, and points out that my belly is big now so it must be time.

He has been in a preschool group with some friends from church. He loves it!!! It gives him a chance to sit still in one spot, to socialize with kids his age, and to learn along with others. He loves to learn new things, but also to tell others what he already knows. All the kids seem to enjoy it, and I enjoy the teaching rotation so he gets lots of teaching styles, plus I get to teach occasionally too.

I found out last week that my brother is getting married!!! Those who know Marc, here is your announcement. LOL. He is getting married in December, so we get to plan a trip out to California. With Joel's schedule, it may just be me and the 2 kids, but he may get to come for part of the trip. I am so excited for my brother!!

That's about it. We had 2 fun trips this month, but I am done travelling very far for a while. We had our anniversary and my birthday, but with Joel's schedule, and all the ongoings of life, they werent the most exciting. We are just busy living life, having fun, and getting ready for our new bundle of joy!

Morning Sickness

I am gong to blame my lack of writing on my lack of energy!!! I get on to start, but between not feeling good since February, and being completely exhausted (or distracted by an active 3 year old), I havent written.

This will be short, too. Just the headlines.

JOEL'S NEW JOB!!!

Joel got hired on as an assistant signal person at Union Pacific RR. He is excited. I am too, but he will be gone a lot, so it will take some adjustment. Today is his first day, but this week is just all the orientation stuff. I am so proud of him. He worked so hard not only to find a job, but to get this job where he knew it would be stable and something he would enjoy.

CHARLIE

Charlie has been potty trained since January, he is continuing to learn so much, and has more energy than ever. He is so tall, over 40"! He LOVES church, and he reads his Book of Mormon stories board book almost daily. He loves to count and try to read, and he loves games on the computer and my phone. (Photo: Charlie helping make banana muffins)

BABY!!!

We found out in early March (?) that we are expecting a new addition. We found out a few weeks ago that it will be a girl. She is very active and healthy. Charlie has loved helping set up the nursery. We got a ton of stuff from our amazing neighbor's daughter-in-law who has 4 girls and is done. She had a garage sale and I got first pick. We cleaned house. ;) We have quite a few clothes, and most of the big stuff already. Charlie has been trying to help us pick a name, too. I think we are down to 2 names, but I just can't choose. Good thing I have almost 4 months.

IOWA

We are still loving our house here in Carlisle. We have great neighbors and live in a great area. We recently enjoyed a houseful when my family came. It was SO fun. We had 15 people in our house for a couple days, and besides not being able to keep the AC low enough to cool us all off, it was wonderful. We are still roasting. It has been in the high 90s all weekend with heat index over 110, and will continue this whole week. Then lower to low 90s with thunderstorms. The rain will be good, and after a few days of storms hopefully we will get some cooler weather.

KARIN

I recently enjoyed girls camp with my ward. I was the camp director and worked hard to get everything organized and have fun. It was hot, which made it that much harder going pregnant, but I enjoyed it! The girls were amazing and we had some great experiences. Other than that, I am just trying to get the house set up for a baby between naps on the couch.

Well, not too short. I will try to update again before the baby is born, then after of course. :)

(Me at almost 21 weeks.)

New Discovery

I have recently found, through an old friend (who is the creative mind's sister-in-law), an amazing blog of crafts, outfits, etc that you can buy. She has the most beautiful designs. If you would be interested in checking out out, check here: http://katicupcakequiltingco.blogspot.com/2011/05/sugar-blossom.html.

Here is a sample of her work:

Recipes

I know I still need to update about Christmas and Disneyland, but today is not the day. I need a nap time with me not working for that... maybe Saturday if we are not busy.

For today, I have some healthy recipes that friends have requested and so I decided to post them on here. I have been on a 'fertility diet' for the past 3 weeks, meaning I havent had soda, sugar, white flour, butter, or much red meat lately. It has been nice and helped with my energy, but I sure to want a diet dr. pepper. hehe.

The first recipe is a whole wheat pancake recipe I found online and absolutely love!!! Charlie loves it, too, as long as I add chocolate chips and top with syrup. Joel likes them, but prefers his regular out of the box ones.
Mix
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1-2 Tablespoons honey
Add and mix
1 c. buttermilk (I used 1/2 c. cream and 1/2 c. 1% milk)
2 large eggs
Add
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt and like it better)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 c. whole wheat flour (or you can mix 1/2 whole wheat 1/2 oat flour, but I dont)
(Add in some cinnamon and vanilla for a little extra flavor. Yum!!!)
Mix well and cook like regular pancakes. I use a slightly lower heat setting since they seem to take slightly longer to cook through and I didnt want them to burn.

I top them with frozen (and melted) strawberries with the juice, honey, or yesterday I put a fried egg and honey (yum!).

The second recipe for today is whole wheat banana bread. This is just my regular recipe with a change in flour and a switch to honey. It's a little thicker, but I loved it. It would be amazing with butter on a toasted slice, but I just to honey.

Mix
1/4 c. shortening
3/4 c. honey (maybe add 1 tablespoon molasses if wanted)
beat in 1 egg
stir in
2/3 c. (2-3) mashed bananas
3 Tablespoons buttermilk (or the trick: 3Tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar)
Mix separatly, then add
2 1/4 c. whole wheat flour (can mix 1/2 of that oat or white flour if desired)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Add in 1/2 c chopped walnuts after all mixed if desired. I love chocolate chips in it, too, but it kills the healthy nature.
Line a greased 8x4 loaf pan with waxed paper. Grease paper. Pour in batter.
Bake at 350 for 50-55 min.

I know I have other recipes that I make up all the time. I rarely use real recipes unless I am baking or trying something new. I use a lot of deer meat instead of beef (obviously), we eat a lot of fish and chicken, too. If you have any requests let me know and I may have something for you. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

BDay/Thanksgiving

Well, this has been a fun-filled week! We had Joel's birthday and Thanksgiving with 2 families. We have really enjoyed ourselves. We started off on Tuesday night with bowling. We had a coupon for cheap games of bowling, so we thought we would take Charlie and see how he liked it. He had a blast!!! He did the first game using this ramp, but by the time we started our second game he was trying to throw his 6lb ball down the lane. It took a while for the ball to reach the end, but we really enjoyed our time together.

On Wednesday we had planned to go see "Tangled" after nap time for the cheapest show of the day, but we had to stay busy during the day. We made Joel his banana cream pie for his birthday, and an apple pie to take to his families house for Thanksgiving on Thursday, but then Charlie and I decided to build a "fork". It was so fun. All three of us, plus Suzie Jo, could fit in. It didn't last very long, though, since Charlie would jump off the couch and collapse the fort. We had a lot of fun building, destroying, rebuilding, and redestroying it. And, yes, we loved the movie. It's the first time Charlie went to a theatre (besides as a newborn or in my belly) and he did pretty good. He had a hard time getting the popcorn out of the bag, and kept dropping stuff on the floor and didnt understand why he couldnt pick up his candy off the floor and eat it, but he enjoyed the movie too.
Finally, on Thursday, we headed north. The weather was teasing us, but it was clear enough for us to make it to my grandma's to see family. We had a great time talking, playing games, and eating yummy food. Charlie crashed on the way back to get ready for the second round. We quickly switched food items at our house and were off to Joel's parents with all of his family for another dinner (luckily we ate at 1 at my grandmas and not until almost 6 at Joel's family, so we didnt suffer too much). We had a great time seeing everyone and enjoyed another great meal. We were home by 8 to play some more and read stories before bed, but Joel and I weren't far behind Charlie with such full bellies.

We got up on Friday morning (but thank you to Charlie for sleeping until 8) and enjoyed pulling out Christmas decorations. We had some from last year, and our sweet neighbor gave us a big box of stuff she found cleaning out all of her decorations. We had a lot of fun, and it was a chance to clean up the living room a bit. Charlie had fun helping with the tree so a lot of the ornaments are in one area, but I think it turned out great.

We have our fake tree from last year up again. We wanted a real tree, but since we are leaving for Christmas we decided to wait another year. Charlie keeps telling us how 'bootipul' the tree is. He loves the lights and cant wait to help Joel hang the lights outside tomorrow. We have a few weeks before our California trip fro Christmas and we are looking forward to it!!!

Well, that about catches us up. If you want to see more pictures of these adventures, or other things we are up to, check out my albums on facebook.