Living Sonoma for One Month

SO, today marks Travis and my one month "anniversary" of the Sonoma diet. We can't say we've lost TONS of weight. I think I've only lost 5 lbs, but just this weekend, people have started commenting that it looks like I've lost weight. I think I must be losing some inches because things are starting to fit differently and I'm finally fitting in a smaller size. Two more sizes to go but I'm celebrating small victories!! Travis has lost about 12 lbs and we both are feeling a LOT better. The Sonoma diet is basically cutting out sugar/white foods/starches. You really limit breads/potatoes/stuff like that. The first 10 days are super strict and then you can slack a bit from there. ;-) We tend to go a bit crazy on the weekends but it seems to be working out okay as long as we are careful during the week. It feels REALLY good to be experimenting with new foods and actually cooking yummy, healthy meals for my family. I really love cooking and I've discovered that allrecipes.com is one of my favorite websites. SO many good ideas and variations of stuff. I usually never stick to a recipe but add and subtract stuff to make it my own. I am slowly starting to become more disciplined in other areas of my life - not just cooking. The working out part is one that I'm having a harder time sticking with, but I'm not giving up. I may not ever find a "perfect" balance but here is what I'm starting to do with my days. I get up in the morning and I try to tell God everything I need/want to get done. Then I say - "okay, YOU know all about the day. Help me remember the important stuff I need to do and balance all the rest and not stress out." I definitely have a long ways to go still, but am having fun learning how to become a much more responsible, well-rounded adult. I have Travis to thank for much of the changes in my life. He is the one that sharpens me more than anyone - whether he believes it or not. ;-)

SO, I will hopefully report back in one more month and see how the diet is going then...of course, that will be RIGHT after Thanksgiving. ;-)

Reminising...

This is a copy of a blog I posted on Myspace - Nov. 11, 2007...I almost forgot why I am so petrified of cold/flu season until I read this and remembered. Not fun!

The discovery of feet, A TOOTH!! AND the Croup Current mood: cheerful

Well, what a week it has been. Last Sunday started it all - with a trip to the ER for little Mia. She was "barking" - had a horrible cough and it seemed like she was having trouble breathing. We took her in and they tested her out and had a chest x-ray done. That's an interesting process for an infant...but she survived and managed to make cute baby noises and smile exactly when they were trying to listen to her lungs. Turns out, she had a case of croup. I thought we were going to see the worst of it in her since it usually hits infants the hardest, but the next day Keira's temp went up to 103 and she started barking and wheezing. Monday was the scariest day for me. I kept Keira in our bed Monday night. There was one point in time where Keira was crying and I had to put Mia down and she started screaming and gagging and Keira's breathing sounded so bad that I almost called 911. That's the night Travis has school so I was alone in my panic. Two year olds can't really communicate what's wrong - they just know they don't feel good and they know when they're scared. I don't think either Keira or I slept much that night - half the time she was laying on me semi-propped up. Mia slept better that night probably due to her lack of sleep on Sunday night. Tuesday morning we took both girls to the doctor where Mia proceeded to coo and smile exactly when they needed her to be quiet. She was good at winning hearts of the hospital/pediatrician staff but not so good at being able to hear her lungs. She was actually doing SO much better but Keira had to have a shot of Cortizone to open her airways. It took so long for the shot to kick in, I thought I was going to have to take her to the ER Tues night. The doctor warned me that I may still need to because her airways were so tight. I ended up missing all three days of work and finally Keira is doing a better. She still isn't back to her normal self - I look in her eyes and they just look drained and tired. Poor little kiddo. She is still funny, though. When I put her down for her nap today she said, "My finger has a heartbeat!" I think she got that from Elf - he says that on there and she is ALREADY quoting movies. We've watched about every Christmas movie you can think of this week - some over and over again - Elf being one of them.

Mia sprouted her first tooth this week!!! I KNEW she was teething. The doctor saw it on Tuesday and I felt it and sure enough, there were little prongs poking back on my finger. That was Nov. 6th and she just turned 4 months on Oct. 26th. Travis thinks I was actually prego longer than we though - like 11 months or something!! What the heck?

Mia also discovered her feet this week. It was the cutest thing - I had her in just a diaper laying in the Boppy on our bed. I went to get something and when I came back she had her legs pulled up to her like she was going to do crunches and was just staring at her feet. I called Travis in and we watched from the door while she just looked at them and then stretched them out. We went in and he said, "Those belong to you, ya know." She was so intense and it was neat to be there in one of those moments of discovery. She seems to take a lot in. She will watch TV, look at books when I read to Keira and smile at people who aren't looking at her just to get them to smile back. It is so much fun to watch her personality blossom. The coolest part is to see the mutual love between her and Keira. She beams any time Keira is near her and Keira is usually always kind to her - even when she's having a "two" moment. That makes me happy. Even after a week like the one I just had, I feel really blessed at the life God has allowed us to partake in.
Keira always runs around our living room in a (small) circle and says, "It's fun being home!!!" That's how I feel right now - it's fun being home.

WHEEEWWWW!!!

Talk about crazy, busy times. The last couple of weeks have been NUTS - but I can't complain. I do admit - I get a bit irritable when life gets TOO busy and I don't feel like we have any down time. So far, Monday's have been my day to try to regain my sanity before the crazy part of the week starts all over again. I actually had my kids in bed by 7:30 tonight. I think that is a record. The most amazing part is that I barely heard a peep out of either of them after I put them down. Apparently, they were tired. It is much better for them to get to sleep early on Monday nights because I have to wake them up between 6 and 6:30 am depending on my work schedule on Tuesdays to go to my moms. They have a pretty long day because they go to Bible study with her all morning, which they have a blast at, but they get pretty worn out.

SO, life events - I don't remember being this busy in the previous Octobers. I know that the month of December is usually INSANE and November starts getting a little crazy - but for us, the holiday season has kicked in full speed. I think part of the business is partly because I feel like I am really beginning to "live". I don't know how to explain it really but I feel like a part of me has come alive again - maybe for the first time? I was so drained/depressed/in a really bad place for the better part of a year, that to come out of that funk makes me want to become the best everything I can be - wife/mom/daughter/friend/child of God. It's like I have a little fire burning on the inside that is actually propelling my behavior - something I have always wanted and not always had...internal motivation. I have been on the upward spiral since about July. I am realizing though, that I think in my attempt to "live life" I have propelled my family into a crazy busy schedule. Not to mention - I am hoping and praying that we all stay healthier than last year. I am having flashbacks of the croup that afflicted my girls the early part of Nov. 2007. Not fun. They are both eating oranges and taking their vitamins. This, combined with lots of sleep and play, and sanitary surfaces (a little OCD) will hopefully give their bodies what they need to stay strong.

Neither Travis or I had a lot of family traditions we did when we were kids so we have decided that we want to start fun family traditions for our kids. Many of our extended family and friends are a part of those traditions which makes it all the more fun. Last weekend, a HUGE group of us went to the pumpkin patch. It is a place called Lee Farms in Tualatin. My sis had discovered it a couple of years ago and it is pretty amazing. They have tons of animals, rides, yummy food - tons of stuff. We went with so many people it was hard to keep track of all of them! It was a great time, though. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and the weather couldn't have been better. Afterwards, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, the Carver Hanger. They have HUGE hamburgers and I guess good pizza - I wouldn't know since I always get a burger. My mom and I actually shared one since I was still feeling the effects of the greasy elephent ear I had consumed. Trav's mom and sister Meghan were with us as well. Our friends, Josh and Meredith and Nate, Teresa and Kambrie came, too. We had two big tables in the middle of the restaurant. It was fun to relax and chat.

This weekend, we had more fall festivites. We went to two harvest festivals and did pumpkin carving on Sunday. Friday night, the harvest festival was at the school Trav's mom works at. Unfortunately, it was pretty lamO. There was only a few things for the kids to do. I felt sorta bad because my sis and her family had come and it was pretty disappointing. On a good note, our kids are small enough that they really didn't know it was lame and had a great time. Trav's mom was planning on taking the kids to spend the night with her and so we asked her if she wouldn't mind having my sis' daughter for an hour or so, so we could all have dinner. She didn't mind, and Kambrie did great! She's such a versitile kid - not fearful, and apparently easy to watch because my MIL said she would watch her again in the future so we could all go out again! Yea! It was fun to have some adult time, over hoppy bear and hummus. ;-)

I could write tons more about the rest of the weekend and the other good times we had but I still have some things to get done before bed. I am mainly just so grateful for my family and my friends. We had a lot of good time with my sis and her family which was really nice. I felt like our girls were able to bond because they spent so much time together. They even all took a bath together Saturday night! LOL!

Pumpkin carving was fun - I spent most of the afternoon in the house, cleaning and preparing homemade chili. The mom's came over and Trav's sisters and his sister Kendall's boyfriend. Our friends Josh and Meredith came over after they got home from Medford and stayed til almost 11:00pm! It was fun chatting with them.

The next two weekends at least, will be crazy again. I'm praying for no sickness in between there. I just feel blessed that we have been able to do so many fun things and have such awesome family and friends.

Hopefully, I will be downloading some pictures in the near future!

Pictures Finally!!!

It took me forever, but I now have pictures of the last few events posted. They start with Josh and Meredith's wedding rehearsal/wedding. I was really bummed that my camera accidentally went home my mom and Keira after the ceremony. I could have gotten some great shots at the reception...OH well.

God's country

Keira refused to get of Meredith's lap at the dinner.
The happy couple thank people for coming. Ahhhh Keira opens her special flower girl present
A froggy bank! Cool!
Me and my beautiful sis
the big day! They clean up well!

Picture time!




the whole gang
pretty girl loved being dressed up




me, my mom, and sis

Keira's first day of her little "movement" class

Kimberly doing a much needed shot at Katie's b-day celebration

Keira shows off her blue tongue from her "twitsy pop" ;-)

"Cheese" and other cute stuff

SO, Mia has another new word. That word is "cheese". She just said it the other day - and sure enough, she wanted a piece of cheese. Yesterday, she had sort of had a fussy day. I think her canines are getting ready to come down and she said it..."cheese". BOY, did she MEAN cheese. She ended up consuming THREE whole string cheeses. The girl knows what she wants. Tonight at my mom's she had eaten a good dinner and was snacking on some of my rice when she said it again. She ended up eating several slices of chedder before we cut her off - in hopes of not being constipated later.

Tonight, I also had a sweet conversation with Keira at bedtime. I almost always forget it, so I told it to Travis and had to come record it in the blog. It is the only reason I'm still up right now.

Keira "Why are there bad people outside?"

Me "Well, some people choose to follow God and other people don't. They don't live in the goodness that God has."

K "Where is Jesus?"

Me "He's God's son and he's in heaven with him." (I didn't really get into the whole living in your hearts yet)

K "Where's heaven?"

Me "It's invisible but it exists." NOT a very clear answer.

K "Well, I want to go there because I love him!"

I thought that was awfully sweet. Then came the real reason. ;-)

K "Mom, where do all the balloons go?"

I forgot that probably a YEAR ago I told her when she let go of her balloon, it would go up to heaven where grandpa was. Apparantly, she wants to make sure her balloons will be waiting for her someday. I'm sure they will be. :-)

Catchin up on life's events

GOODNESS! It has been busy. I have a moment of quiet...everyone is napping except me so I'm taking a second to remember what we've been doing.

Last weekend - or I guess the weekend BEFORE last, my friends Josh and Meredith got married. You couldn't have asked for better weather or a prettier place. It was at a place called David Hill Winery just outside of Forest Grove - man...it was God's country. Travis was in the wedding party and Keira was the flower girl. That made for a busy weekend - and a lot of trips to Forest Grove. Travis spent the whole day Friday Sept 26th with Josh helping him set up. Keira and I met them out there for the rehearsal/dinner. It was a blast. My sister and brother-in-law were there too, because Nate was officiating the wedding. That made things all-the-more fun. :-)

We had the opportunity to spend the night in a hotel after the wedding. Nate and Teresa and Jenny and Bryan did, too and we had so much fun. We hung out in Nate and T's room until WAY past my bedtime ;-) drinking rum and cokes and eating greasy McDonalds. It almost felt like I was young again! We all had a concensus that as MUCH as we love our kiddo's dearly, we could have probably used even another night or two away - playing with our friends. There is something freeing about not having to check every which way to make sure some little person didn't wander off, do they need to eat, OH, please don't touch that, now they have to go potty. Did somebody poop? I LOVE being a mom and all that goes with it and looking at those precious little eyes and smiles makes it all worth it. Sometimes, though a little time away is just what you need to keep your lid from blowing off on those tough days.

With that said, the rest of the week was interesting. Monday, Travis and I started our new Sonoma Diet. We have a book and a cookbook and I had been researching it for about a month. A friend of ours at church lost most of her baby weight from it and I am resolved that I HAVE to do something. SO, I woke up completely freaked out about having to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I even got Travis up an hour earlier because I wanted to make sure he got breakfast before he had to leave for school. We did pretty well the first week. Travis lost a total of 6.5 lbs (YEA) and I lost 4...but I gained back two from the weekend. I'll explain in a minute. The food is really tasty, but the first 10 days are the hardest. You aren't supposed to have ANY sugar - not even fruit. This is to ween yourself from a lifetime of sugar cravings.

Anywhoo, it was pretty easy to stay strong the first few days, but as the week stretched on, I found myself feeling hungerier and less satisfied. On Saturday night, I went to my friend Katie's b-day party at El Tapitio, a Mexican restaurant close by. I was surrounded by GINORMOUS pina coloda's with WHIP CREAM on them! Margharita's, chips, and OH my such good smelling food engulfed all of my senses. I sat with my chin on my hand and grunted that I was a bit grumpy because I was on a diet. I did eat a chip or two, but it didn't really do anything for me. I wanted to cheat really bad, but good ol' Jenny was like "ABSOLUTELY NOT!!" Thank you, Jenny. My friends Kate and Betty urged me to get the tortilla soup, saying it was very tasty and would work with my diet. Thank God - at least I could eat something. Soup didn't sound that exciting but it did have avacodo in it and it was very easy on the pocketbook. NOW, what to drink. When I left for the party, Travis and the girls were at my neighbors house watching the Ducks game. My neighbor told me that a diet coke with a shot of Bacardi Silver was only 60 calories. Unfortunately, El Tapatio does not carry Bacardi Silver. "I'll just have a diet coke, please."

I did resolve to have one of Katie's special pomnegranete drinks in a fancy martini glass when we got back to see the adorable house she just purchased. Well, the drink was so good and went down SO incredibly easy that I decided to have another. She also made warm bree (sp??) cheese with toasted hazelnuts, apples, and bread. Are you trying to KILL me here?? I had a little bit. The night was fun - it felt good to let go a little bit (once again) and just hang out with girl friends. I did pay for it in the morning when I got on the scale and two of my treasured 4 lbs I had lost had found their way back. (sigh).

I am craving fall comfort food like mashed potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin spiced lattes! It is so hard to have resolve. But I DO not want to stay this weight. I am starting to excercise, too. Today turned out to be a nice day so the girls and I went to Portland Christian and I chased Keira around the track, twice. I also managed to do 20 sit ups on Trav's sit up bench and have my little hand weights I will be using in a few minutes. This weight is going to come off!!

Well, I am trying to be domesticated and right now am getting ready to make a big batch of homemade tomato sauce to freeze from my abundance of tomatoes in my garden. I'm trying to be a better steward of my stuff and let things go to waste, as much. Plus, homegrown/homemade is always better, right? :-)

That is just a little bit of what happened this week, but I only have a little time.

I will post some pictures in a bit.

TTFN!