Alex's birthday

Alex just a couple weeks old.
Alex 9 months old





These are Alex at 1 yr and some change.



This is Alex now! Ha ha don't know why he's not smiling, we are on our way out to celebrate his birthday. Going bowling and to Sweet Tomatoes his choice. He is a happy kid don't let the picture fool you.









Here are the other two ready to go. Sam is happy, though sleepy you'll see...













And we're bowling...












Sam fell asleep on the way, it was a 1o minute drive.


He's a good sleeper, so the good parents that we are, we laid blankets down and let him sleep on the floor of the bowling alley. All you OCD's are freaking out. He was rested and happy for the restaurant,and Ed and I were able to bowl without swapping holding him back and forth, risking him waking up. He did get in on the action for the last 5 mintues, it was all he needed- 2 times to bowl.


Here we are at Sweet Tomatoes. Where Alex and I both ate too much of a good thing (it was all healthy). He was sick afterward the kid doesn't eat much and overeating really is an uncomfortable feeling for him. When we left he kept thinking he needed to throw up, he has a sensitive stomache. He did opted to do cake a different night.


Opening presents. A monster truck from Grandma. Lego Star Wars the Complete Saga from Dad (and mom), another webkinz, a toy guitar (mom and dad) and magnet bugs (grandma).

The next night we did the cake.



He's growing up. I can't believe it when I look at those old baby pictures....

Roller Skating

When I REALLY didn't feel like exercising on Saturday, the idea of roller skating came to my mind-- don't ask how, I don't know. I quickly realized this would be something my kids could really enjoy and I could still get my exercise while having fun. By the time it was time to go I really felt like staying home, but I had promised the kids and I still needed my workout so I we went. My 9 year old, her friend and my 6 year old son. We walked in and my 9 year old immediatley notices there are no walls around the rink and says "I can't skate around that." We of course are going to anyway. So we get a package deal to skate and do one other thing (you can pick laser tag, the jungle which is a HUGE indoor play area, or you can bounce in the bounce area) plus you get a bunch of tokens for the dimecade. It was a good deal all in all. We started out skating and both my kids were really difficult to teach and made very little progress. My 9-yr old spent the entire time wheeling around on the carpet area instead of the actual rink because it slowed her down and made a fall more comfortable. My 6 yr old went on the rink if I held his arm (a great workout --holding up all his weight) while he slid his skates EVERY direction with no specific plan but to move them A LOT. If I didn't hold him he sat on the edge. Several people came to ask if they could help and gave tips, which I thought was really nice, but I felt kind of bad taking their fun time. So I accepted and then eventually convinced them to move on. After a while we decided it was time for the kids to go to the jungle area. When we we got there we discovered an entire other rink. This one had two sets of walls, an outer wall and inner wall. It was basically a track that circled part of the jungle (the jungle had a bridge that crossed over to another area) and the bounce area. Why didn't I have this for my 9 yr old earlier? I had no interest in the jungle so I was glad to see that they could go play while I got my exercise in. I skated my butt off around that track dodging kids who were going the wrong way, little guys on scooters (yes they can ride rasers around) and people who weren't looking at all as to where they were going. I need to add here that I wasn't too great on the skates and in the beginning had an embarrassing fall or two until I warmed up. I looked for other people as bad as me and didn't see any, all those people seem to be really good!! It has been a serious long time since I last skated. It came back pretty well because by the end of the night I wasn't falling and was able to dodge the said people above. As I skated around and was surrounded by all the youngins I felt so young again! I started to think of myself as this little teenager thing again. Whatever. It felt great. The kids finished in the jungle and came back to skate on the walled rink. I arranged for Alex to get a scooter by this time and he loved that. Ashlin, I wanted to work on her skills. I passed her about 7 times while she clug to the edge sllllllllllllowly creeping along. Thankfully her friend had some ability, but she didn't like to leave Ashlin. Finally the place was going to close so the kids hurried up and used their tokens on the games where they won tickets and redeemed them for cheap prizes. It was a great night. I still can barely lift my right leg to move it. I must have pulled something because my left leg doesn't feel that way. I guess I am not THAT young after all. This would have never happened to me 10 years ago.

Snow, snow and more snow.

I have been meaning to post these pictures of the last snow for a week. This is how our Martin Luther King day, with no school turned out. We got this huge snowfall. This was the most we have had since we've lived here, but its only our second winter. I have lived here before for school and we did have a snowfall or two like this, but not often. It was still around with very little melting despite a warm 37 on Saturday! Then today another whopper. The winds combined with the heavy snow were bad, resulting in a short aiport closure (not too common here) a lot of closed roads and at least one fatal accident. We are expected to get more tonight and tomorrow in the day. Ashlin left to school in snowboots and I thought, "She probably doesn't need to wear those, all the walk areas are clear," but we were in a hurry and it never hurts to wear them, just in case. I was glad when she had to trudge her way home in the snow from the bus. If you are thinking how bad I am for not picking her up-- I thought about it, but getting the car around in the unplowed snow is really tough, then hard again to get it up our steep driveway!

Ed out shoveling the snow with Ashlin playing in it. She loved it.

Can you see how deep the snow is?

Always eager to get suited up not wanting miss out on a single thing. I love him when he gets in his snowgear, it makes me want to bite him even more...Mini snowboots, mini gloves, mini hats and coats in a big puffy ball, need I say more?

So I have a newly aquired love for tulips and daffodils. When I was growing up my parents always wanted to go to fields of tulips and stuff. I thought it was kind of cool to see but wasn't my idea of an awesome outing. Tulips and daffodils come up in early spring, peaking through the last bits of snow. The tempuratures outside become perfect and the world is beautiful. These flowers look amazing and you driving around town and most houses has them cheerfully annoucing spring has arrived. Fall use to always be my favorite time here, but now Spring is giving tough competition. Below are pictures of what I am dreaming of and looking forward to is the snow keeps falling and falling and falling. Don't get me wrong I don't hate it, but I look forward to spring like a child does Christmas.

We had more daffodils than this last year and we didn't get a picture taken of any. We only got this picture because it was so cute of Alex and his cousin Adam out sitting so cutely together.

Whats better chubby babies in puffy wintergear, or chubby babies in a pool wearing nothing but a diaper?Toss up.

Praise to the Man!

I learned this morning of the passing of our Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley from Kariann's journal. It came as a shock, even though I had wondered at every conference for the past couple years, if this talk could be his farwell. He was 97 years old and his health, while absolutely amazing for his age, was deteriorating. He had lost his wife a few years ago as well and publicly shared his deep love for her and admitted that getting along without her would be difficult.

When ordinary people die they are often glorified and their faults forgotten. President Hinckley is truly extraordinary. He deserves to be glorified. His faults which were never apparent, must have been few and needn't be forgotten when they can't be remembered. He was truly a great man who touched the lives of innumerable people. As I read the comments left for him on DeseretNews, my heart was further touched at the outpouring of love, praise, mourning and devotion for him from people of all faiths. His service was done with great energy, spirit, wisdom and cheer. The impact of his life was great his impact will be eternal. I wish only I could witness his work continue as it did here on earth, in the heavens with renewed energy, ailed no longer by his aging body. My heart is filled with emotion both of joy and sorrow for a life greatly lived and for a man who will be greatly missed.

Rosemary Artichoke White Bean Hummus

Yes, another hummus recipe and its a good one. We had run out of hummus and I was missing it. I spread it on wraps, eat it for dip with veggies, and eat it with crackers or baked (homemade) tortilla chips for a snack. Last time I made hummus (I posted it- traditional) I was grabbing stuff out of the pantry and saw a jar of artichokes. I thought, "hmm that would be really good in hummus- I should try that sometime." When I was at the grocery store yesterday I looked at their hummus selection and saw one called garlic artichoke. I almost bought it, but it was so expensive for such a small amount. Plus I don't usually like store bought hummus as much as homemade. Plus it had a lot of fat and calories compared to my homemade kind. So I resolved to make my own. I like that you can use different types of beans to make hummus so I decided to experiment here. I had navy beans in my pantry needing to be used-- the end result, GREAT. Here I came up with this recipe which I will list below. I was pleasantly surprised by how godo it was and will definitely make it again. Ed loved it, Sam loved it and Ashlin liked it we all chose to eat it for lunch, except Ashlin. She never has liked hummus, of any kind from any place, as much as the rest of us. Oh and this time I have a picture and the nutrition info.








ROSEMARY ARTICHOKE WHITE BEAN HUMMUS

1 can navy beans drained and rinsed
1 jar marinated artichokes drained
2 Tbl tahini (if you have it)
1/4-1/2- broth of choice
1-2 tsp garlic pwdr to taste (or use 1-2 cloves fresh. I was lazy)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
2 tsp lemon juice (just a splash)
a sprinkle of pepper and cayenne
mine didn't need salt because the broth and beans and artichokes had enough already

I blended it all in a food processor but if you use the more broth a blender should work well. The artichokes were blended, but I think next time I might chunk them up, because I think chunks of artichoke would be really good in it.

Nutrition information: 1/2 cup
Serving size 1/2 cup. Servings per recipe 5.

With tahini No tahini added
165 calories 126 calories
4 g fat a trace (tahini adds healthy fat and protein, makes it taste better
5.3 protein 3.5 makes it creamier, and makes it a more complete snack)
4.6 g fiber 4.6

The tortilla chips and veggies were really good with this. I learned that beans and rice or beans and corn tortilla make a complete protein. So these chips with the hummus should make a complete protein. I bought a package of corn tortillas it is only 110 calories for 2 of them. I cut then in triangles and lay them on a foil covered cookie sheet, spray them with pam and sprinkle them with salt. I then bake them at 475* for a few mintues then flip them and bake them for a few minutes again. I make a whole bunch and put some in a ziplock for later. 8 chips has 110 calories- not bad. 1 gram of fat (plus whatever the pam adds) 2 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein. I don't know how this compares to store bought baked kind but I don't like those as well and they break whenever you dip them.

I am off to take the kids roller skating. I was looking for a different kind of exercise from the regular. This works to make the kids happy too. I have tons more to post. Pics from the last snow we got (its was a BIG one) Pics from Alex' birthday. And Rockband- one reason I have had so little time to post or do anything else lately! Stay tuned.

I am hoping to win this food scale.

Check out Roni’s new contest! I can win a Nutrition Smart Scale from Eat Smart and so can you! Click here for details!

One sweet talkin' sister-in-law

So last year around this same time my sister-in-law Kariann talked me into training for a marathon along with my older sister Julie and younger sister Erin. It was a goal I had always had and this time opportunity had knocked at just the right time. Us girls emailed, chatted and ran our brains out. The time finally came and I completed my first and only marathon (Salt Lake City Marathon, last April). It was one of the most amazing and gratifying experiences ever. I doubt that I would have run a marathon to this day or for many days after had she not talked me into it. It will always be a highpoint for me in my life.

So here I find myself introduced to another challenge by Kariann. This time it is a Throwdown the Pounds weight loss competion. Kind of like the Bobbly Flay thing only in this one we are avoiding the food and hittin' the treadmill. It involves the same gang as last time, Julie, Erin, Kariann and I. I am the last to post about it- you can read all their input on it on their individual blogs. Kariann was the instigator and so her blog has the most details. I am always scared to start these challenges. Just as I seriously doubted my ability to complete a marathon, I seriously have doubts as to how I will finish in this competition. I also however have enough confidence in myself to enter. I can be stubborn and competitive when necessary. Lets just say she's convincing but she didn't have to twist my arm TOO hard. Mostly because they are things I want to do anyway I just need someone to give me a nudge. Really opportunity knocked once again at just the right time. I had just begun a serious attempt at weight loss, one that was years in the making. I had been waiting for that spark ever since my last baby was born and just when I thought it was there another peice of cake showed up. You would think that running a marathon alone would melt all the pounds away. I thought so too, it turns out that people rarely lose weight while training for a marathon. Wish I had known that when I started, I guess it is good I didn't know, or I might have never done it.

So each person has sort of posted their course of action (you know like Bobby Flay does). So here's mine: I am going to eat around 1300-1400 calories a day, but more importantly I need to make sure to be slightly hungry when I go to bed. When that happens I know I am losing weight. I will choose higher fiber, lower fat, lower calorie foods. And oh man, I getting good at this- I am getting giddy! For exercise I will continue to rotate between different types of exercise so my body doesn't get too efficient at one. I will use my orbital glider, my treamill and floor exercises such as jumping jacks or jump rope, squats, weights and sit ups. Today I started with weights, then went to the orbital glider to warm up further, then ended by rotating a 2 min sprint with a 1 min. walk for the remainder of my workout. When I finished I felt like I had gotten a really good workout! I am down 3 pounds since I started a week ago and so hopefully I am doing something right.

So who will win? I thought Julie's point was very good on her blog. The $25 in the form of gifts cards that we are each throwin' in the pot is cheap in comparison to what it costs to get this kind of motivation someplace else. So whether I win the Throwdown or not, I really can't lose- well except in pounds. The first person to lose 7% of their bodyweight and maintain it for 2 weeks wins.

What will it be next year? She got me fit, she's getting me thin. She's one sweet talkin sister-in-law.

Hummus Recipes

I have had a couple requests to share my hummus recipes. One is a traditional Chickpea hummus and the other is a Black Bean hummus that I had had at restaurant and then came home and after researching Black Bean hummus recipes, came up with this. Because of my love of food I will probably post recipes on here whether you like it or not, whenever I come up with something I liked a lot- especially if it was healthy, which is going to be the case with my cooking from now on. I wish I had pictures of these recipes but I don't, hopefully I will add those later.

BLACK BEAN HUMMUS
1 clove garlic (more if you like)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans; drain and rinsed (or boil your own beans, it takes longer and you have to add more salt)
Juice of 1 lime (about 2 Tbl)
Zest of 1 lime
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (if you have it—I didn’t add this but I did add probably the same amount of canola oil instead)
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Black pepper to taste
1 tsp Chili powder
Cilantro like 2 handfuls
If too thick add chicken stock

The way I often make food is to add stuff then taste it, add more of anything I think it needs, then mix, taste, add-- until it tastes good to me. The best way to blend the hummus is in a food processor. Don’t chop anything just stick it all in there. If you don't have a food processor you can use a blender, but you will have to thin it quite a bit. If you don’t have the food processor and your blender doesn't work well for it, you can mash up the beans by hand and chop everything separate and then mix it together.

TRADITIONAL HUMMUS

1 can of Chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed (again you can boil your own if you want)
2 cloves of Garlic
3 TBL Tahini (I eyed it by throwing in a glob-and it was great)
¼ - ½ cup of chicken stock (or whatever kind you like)
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp coriander
2-3 Tbl EVOO

I adapted this recipe from the one on Greenlitebites.com -- I have a link to that site under weightwatchenrecipes in my blogs list. The original doesn't call for tahini, evoo or coriander. I can' t have hummus without tahini, I have made it before without and it was not right to me. I had to throw it out (black bean hummus is fine without though). I can find tahini in any health food store or grocery stores with a health food section. I have never added curry or coriander or chicken stock to my hummus in the past and I know the restaurants don't do it. I skeptically decided to do it this time and really like it. The stock helps to make the hummus the perfect thickness without having to add a ton of oil or lemon juice or water (water waters the flavor down). I loved the addition of all of these things, it is the best hummus I have made at home I believe, Ed loved it too. You can omit the oil if you are worried about calories- I will try that next time, but I know olive oil is a staple in hummus. Most restaurants also use a lot of tahini, more than I have in this recipe.

Again I throw all this stuff in a food processor and mix it up. Again the blender will make it thinner and if you need to you can mash it up by hand, but it will probably not be as smooth.

Sleep

Sleep is one of the very most important things to me period. If I don't get sleep I am sluggish, grumpy, and I end up inevitibly getting sick. However in light of the weight loss topic that has been common on my and my family/friends blogs, I wanted to discuss a segment I watched on a local show called "Studio 5" reguarding sleep-- in a minute. First I want to bring up what Anna (my sis-in-law) wrote in her blog that her baby boy has RSV and that she has been up a lot at night with him and thus getting hardly any sleep. She said this made it hard to exercise and made her want to eat more. She wondered if anyone else was this way. For me-- absolutely it is and has been for a long time. When I don't get enough sleep I feel way too sluggish to exercise and in order to revive the energy that I lack I feel the need to eat. The first time this happened what when I was newly married. I was in college and up early for classes. I was also working, doing laundry, cooking and shopping for two people, and also had to fit in my studying. During the day I couldn't resist stopping by the candy counter and to get candy, I craved sugar. I gained weight. Then I remember a few years ago, I had started up jogging again when I had stopped for a while. I was getting up at 5:30 to go and going only 3 days a week 6 miles a day, but that was more than I had been doing! I was in decent shape, I also made sure to go on walks whenever I could. I even started wearing a pedometer to make sure I got in the recommened steps per day, which I easily did on the days at I ran. That year I was so tired all the time, it is practically a blur. I remember wanting to eat a lot to make up for the lack of energy. I was so tired all the time I remember just feeling like a zombie. I would try to get into bed earlier, but that meant like 9 or 9:30pm to get me the 8 plus hours I needed and that never happened. Nothing could quite get me to where I felt rested, so instead of losing weight I gained and continued to gain until it finally came to a halt too high. It stayed and has been difficult to budge since, even with sleep. So back to "Studio 5" I was watching it ther other day while exercising and was interested to hear a medical sleep expert come on and talk about sleep. She said... well here I got the exact quote from the website, "A recent study found moms who got less than five hours of sleep a day when their babies were six months old were three times more likely to be carrying eleven extra pounds at the child's first birthday than those who get seven hours." She went on to talk about the things we need to do, some of which are: make sure we have a regular time to go to bed and get up and stick with it. She didn't even recommed sleeping in on weekends, which I love to do. This last Saturday I slept in and it messed my bedtime up- I wasn't tired. She also said to not nap unless you are a mother of a new baby, then you might have to. She said adults need 8-9 hrs of sleep a night, I know I do. Some people claim to not need as much, how can that be. I had a neighbor in AZ who said she only ever needed like 4! I haven't looked up anything more on this subject, but this confirmed what I knew all along (I have heard a few other comfirmations of this idea before as well) that not getting sleep is likely to cause weight gain. Something to sleep on....

Numbers

Here are some numbers:

5pm: The time that Alex's friend called to have him come over and play webkinz.

5:17: The time we left to his friends house

25: The tempurature it was outside when we left

5:20: The time we arrived at his friends house

7: The number of times I had to ask Alex to get his shoes on so we could leave his friends house.

6:30 The time we left Alex's friends house (we all went in while I looked at the newly finished basement and talked to the Mom)

22: The tempurature outside when we left.

6:37 The time we arrived at Carls Jr., which I had promised (Dad still out of town).

$11.40: The amount I paid for dinner for all us! A good deal for something my kids love to do--- play on the huge play equipment.

7: The number of times I asked the kids to get ready to go home.

0: The number of times I had to ask the kids to come after I told them no webkinz

7:35: The time we finally left Carls Jr.

15: The tempurature it was outside when we got in the car. It was SO COLD! In AZ I couldn't touch the steering wheel on hot days. Well this is the first time I had trouble touching it because it was so COLD!

8:36 The time it was when all the kids were in bed

20: The approx. number of times Sam asked for Dad at bedtime

10:37: The time it was when Ed got home

1: the number of seconds Sam fussed before Ed jumped up to go check on him.

4: tonights forecasted low

1202: The amount of calories I ate today

2: the number of ounces I have been consistently dropping a day

8: the number of days it will take to lose 1 pound at the rate of 2 oz a day

PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

Whenever I am eating mexican food I think that I could be from Mexico because I like it so much-- salsa, chips, beans rice, hot, mild, burros, tacos, baja whatever-- I love it. Then when I eat Italian I think it could be my favorite-- pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, stromboli, crusty bread, salad, garlic! But recently when I got my hands on some good Middle-Eastern falafel and hummus I thought "I love this food so much you would think I was Middle-Eastern myself." What it all boils down to is that I love food, all kinds of food- with great zeal.

I went to Park City (just me and Sam) for a quick outlet trip. Literally quick, I had just dropped Alex off at school and had 3 hrs to get there and come back and the drive itself is about 40 minutes. So I didn't have much more than an hour and for me and the Tanger outlets, that is nothing. I had excercised showered and then run out the door, and it was past lunch hour so I was really, really hungry. Well I knew that Park City was likely to have something yummy and I decided to go see what I could find. When I saw Reef's Middle-Eastern Restaurant, there was no question, no choice to make-- I was there in seconds getting falafel to go. The experience thereafter can scarcely be put in words. I have to quote what my husband told me about his meal later that night (he was out of town) because it was exactly how I felt "I don't remember the last time my spot got hit like that" his was breakfast (yes for dinner) and it was apparently very good. A picture would have been nice, but impossible, it was gone way to fast. It had been a loooong time since I had some good middle-eastern food. We had tons in AZ and I partook regularly. Since moving to UT we don't have much. I know there is some in SLC but I don't drive that far into a busy city usually just for that. Although I seriously have considered a regular trip to Park City just for Reef's. To elaborate on the Utah thing and please nobody be offended, but a lot of my friends that are born and raised here would turn falafel down flat because it is so unusual to them (I am gauging this off of some opinions I have gotten in reponse to hummus). Lets face it if you want good burgers fries and fry sauce, then you can go to any UT town where they, no question have got something that will kick butt. Utah has a lot of other good food too. But if mexican or middleastern is what you are looking for then the butts...not so much. I had to search for over a year before I found some decent gnocchi. Anyway now if anybody was offended hopefully this will help. I sadly admit, that I am guilty. I too turned falafel down based purely on the description once. I was at a Whole Food Grocery store in AZ (we are getting Whole Foods here now BTW) and they had a little "to go" bar with various foods sold by the pound. Falafel was one of the things offered and it looked good (like a huge meatball) but the description turned me off I am sure it said something to the effect of "ground chickpeas and spices put in a ball and fried.], " because that is what it is. I was missing out, it is delicious. To help you picture how this can actually taste good is to compare it to a meatless patty something a like a gardenburger. It is like that but better! Served up warm in a pita with hummus or tzatziki, cucumber and tomato-- heaven. Okay so they are fried and that isn't so healthy so I came home and googled some recipes and found some that you could bake. So I tried baking some up tonight and Sam and I liked them. Ed was not here and the other kids thought they were allright, not their favorite. I think if they were fried they would taste better, but doesn't everything? I can settle for the lower fat VERY healthy alternative.

Ok now that I just bore my testimony of the falafel. I am going to explain why I am so proud to be an American and that is that I have the best of all the worlds! I can love all these foods and eat them all and I don't HAVE to PICK! In Italy you get Italian , in Mexico - mexican, and in the Middleast mostly falafel (it is like their burger) and lamb and well middleastern food-- you get the picture. In the US you can get all of that and Indian (love it too) and Thai and Mimi's Cafe and Crepes and well again , you get the picture ANYTHING! Now that is one amazing country.

In Style Haircut

Under the title of Haircut Hayday below I talk about a thing that is on InStyle.com that you can use to see yourself in different celebrity hairstyles. I kept trying to get them to post to my old blog but it would never work and I gave up. I have discovered however with this blog I can post them. So here they are... Oh and I looked and looked but could not find a picture of just me, only of me holding kids and babies. The one I used is of me holding Sam on his blessing day so you see part of him behind the hair.

There they all are! A little better on the originals and some more than others! It was fun.