Something About Weight

I really hate posting pictures like this, but I really need to start having more accountability AND...conversely... more self esteem.  I am not a spotlight kind of person, ordinarily.  Especially when I'm not comfortable with my weight.  I've always been pretty active, and my body has responded fairly well to exercise and dieting.  Until I hit 30 and had three kids.  You read my post on that earlier.  It's been a nightmare to lose this baby weight, and there is 30-40 pounds of it!  I hate wearing a different person on the outside than how I feel on the inside.  BUT, I'm still working on it, and not giving up.  

This is a picture of me at the beginning of September.  I really hate it.  I'm bowling, by the way.  I started Body for Life in November, which I've done in the past and I love it.  And since then I've gained 5 pounds and lost...maybe half an inch.  Yup, I've been so frustrated!  However, I have toned up so much with the weight lifting and extra cardio, so that's good news.  I have since had to ease up on the weight lifting after a visit to the chiropractor which I'll post about later.  

Here' a picture from the other night.  Granted, I'm wearing black, but my arms, waist, and hips are a touch more toned.  Plus, I do feel better.  I need to focus on the positive moments, however small and keep moving forward, no matter the slip ups!  Also, ignore the disaster in my room, my 14 month old is a crazy girl!

I have been growing my hair out for ages, AGES!  It grows so slowly!  It's finally getting long enough to actually look long!

 I didn't dye my hair, it's just the filter.  But I've been able to do some fun hairstyles with longer hair, so don't let me cut it for a little while!

Unique Traits to Cherish

I love my kids.  It's amazing how a person can create something and cathect to it with as much fervor as a parent does to their children.  I love each of kids as much as the other, but differently because they are very different little people to love!  As they have grown, and I have grown as a mother, I have come to appreciate different things about each of them, their qualities and characteristics, the parts of their personality...I'm able to find them sooner with each child because I'm a more experienced mother than I was seven years ago; and I'm sure I will discover more and more as my children grow and I grow with them.

This is my sweet Marin, how I love her!!  She is my firstborn; and at age seven, she is ready to take in the world with wide eyes and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.  Those cute little glasses of hers only exemplify the studious nature of Marin.  She loves to learn and misses very little, much to my chagrin at times.  She is such an obedient girl (well, for being seven, of course), and she is very aware of her surroundings; she notices someone in need of a friend, she notices if the baby gate is down and needs to be put up. she notices if one tiny little thing of hers is out of place.  I have come to appreciate this feature of her.  While sometimes it's hard to have an 'eagle-eye' living in our house, she is so helpful and aware and I just don't know what I would do without her.  She is incredibly responsible and I know I can trust her with tasks beyond the normal capacity of a seven year old.  She really is my sweet girl and I am so grateful for her.

This is Owen.  My second child and my only son.  He is six weeks shy of his fifth birthday and is such a handsome boy.  His thick brown hair, his deep blue eyes with long lashes, and the most darling freckles smattered across his nose and cheeks....this boy leaves the little girls in his primary class wishing they had another chair next to his.  Owen is innately a shy and soft spoken little guy, taking after his daddy, and other little children tend to trust him because of this...another trait after his daddy.  One of the characteristics I love so much about Owen is that somehow, he makes me laugh EVERY day!  I don't know how he does it!  He doesn't mean to be funny, he isn't theatrical or dramatic by any means, but every single day, some funny little phrase innocently bubbles out of his mouth and it cracks me up.  And I need that SO much!  For example, the other night Owen was folding his clothes...his pants to be specific, and as he was focusing so diligently, he said "Daddy, it feels like I'm trying to fold a loaf of bread.".  I lost it.  It wasn't anything meant to be comedic, it was just an innocent little boy very seriously noting the difficulty of his task.  And I laugh, and he giggles, and then I laugh some more and hug him and think of how grateful I am for my little buddy.

And my darling Rosalie, last but certainly not least!  My little 14 month old girl has given me a run for my money.  She has been my most challenging of my three children.  I have only had 14 months (plus nine additional counting pregnancy) with this little one, but I am starting to figure out this little pistol.  She will not be forced or persuaded to do anything she does not want to do, and it requires a great deal of new found (and growing) patience.  She loves her family and in particular her mama....outsiders and strangers are not tolerated and you can be sure to hear her shrill, ear piercing screams if you get too close to her 'bubble'.  I haven't had a baby be so attached to me....so...loyal.  And that is what Rosie is, loyal.  I can tell that this will be a very tricky trait to nurture as she grows and in different ways, and for now I am trying my best to not betray that loyalty while still encouraging her to branch out and grow socially.  It's a difficult balance, to say the least.  I know that her loyalty will be a blessing to me and our family in the future.  We love our darling girl! 

I cannot believe how fast these kids of ours are growing and part of me is grieving the forever loss of those years passed already.  My husband is so great at helping me to look forward to the things that are coming (though some things terrify us, HA!).  We've been blessed with three beautiful babies and I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Decemberings

There are all these little things that happen day to day in our home, most of which are so mundane or routine, that I just don't think much of taking pictures or documenting!  I try to snap pictures when I remember, but so many times my kids are just too quick and the moment is over before I can even get my phone.

This cute little munchkin is now ULTRA fast on the stairs.  She can climb them in thirty seconds, phew!  And boy does she love to be chased, it's about the most adorable thing to hear a baby giggling on their way up the stairs as you chase them.

 The Christmas tree was complete and utter fascination for Rosalie.  Every day she would stand by it pull my tree skirt off and throw that on the ground.  Pull at the lights, reeeeeaach for those bottom branches and ornaments that Marin and Owen would diligently rearrange every single day.  And the cat (if you look close, you can see her under the tree) would watch and cheer her on from the sidelines!

 Our wonderful neighbors across the street brought each of the kids these chocolate advent calendars from Germany.  These are the ones I remember as a kid and I was so delighted when he brought them!  They had a great time opening one each night, though Owen would get carried away and tell me we were really on a different day...

 My mother sent me this absolutely beautiful FRESH pine wreath for Christmas and I have absolutely loved it!  Since we don't have a fresh tree, and I'm not really down with having one necessarily while my kids are still little, having something that was fresh and beautiful hanging on my front door made me happy a million times over.  I hope she makes this gift a tradition!

 A very blurry picture from our Ward Christmas Party.

 All three kids pulled strange faces.  This girl is getting so tall!

 My cute Owen.

 Haha.  Nope.  Just nope.  Rosie was not having anything to do with this Santa business.  She went from 0-10 in less than a second.  You would have thought someone punched her in the stomach it was that instant.

 At least on family picture.

Our little gingerbread village all ready to be decorated!

 I kind of loved that we could each decorate our own.  It's nice having these pre made kits.  Someday when my kids are bigger I'll attempt the real McCoy, but for now, these are amazing!

 I had parked on the top level of the parking garage at work one day, and as I left that evening, I caught one of the most stunning winter sunsets.  This picture simply doesn't do it justice!  

 The clear, crisp air, the snow on the mountains, the cold winter sky and rays of light streaming from behind the mountain.  It really was breathtaking.  I stood there are watched for a minute or two while I snapped some pictures.  A few other people stopped to take it in as well.

 This is why I feel my house is *never* clean.  This girl is fast.  She had a very good time emptying this bag of cuties and biting into them....seven of them.

 I did break out my pasta roller and we had fresh pasta.  SO good.  

 A winter storm!  It was fantastic....though driving to work at 5am the next morning was not so fantastic.  It took me two hours!  The roads were not cleared, just snow pack, and yet people were still zooming past me.  CRAZY!

 It did make for some pretty pictures, though!

 My friend and I got together and made a bunch of treats for our Visiting Teaching Sisters.  We spent the whole day baking and letting the kids run around.  It was so fun!

 I love the pre-Christmas activities, they are crazy and sometimes overwhelming, but so much fun!

Sweet Tooth Fairy and Cupcake Wars

My Marin has somehow gotten into watching Cupcake Wars; a ruthless baking battle of the most delightful little girl food there is....cupcakes.  She loves it and it's kind of fun to watch her squirm when someone drops batch of cupcakes on the floor or a the end when they are about to choose a winner, because to her, that's the worst thing that could ever happen in life!

I took the kids to The Sweet Tooth Fairy one day as a little treat so we could all choose a cupcake, and once we walked in and Marin saw the sign stating they had WON Cupcake Wars, she became so excited!  "Mama, mama, look, look, they won Cupcake Wars?!  They won Cupcake Wars!  Mama, that sign says they won Cupcake Wars!!".  It was pretty cute.  She asked for her picture to be taken in front of the sign, this one came out a bit blurry though:

 Isn't having a little brother the best?!  Haha, I love this.  And if you see the next few pics, it's the relationship these two share, I love it!

 Just watching for sister's face.

 Awwww, he loves her so!

 And she's still smiling for the camera!

 Nom nom.

Furniture Project: Front Room Chairs

I have had these amazing chairs sitting in my front room for over two years now and it was FINALLY time for the change!  They were given to me by my mother in law who was getting rid of some things, and I gratefully took them.

They have such great structure, but needed a little bit of updating, so I finally found a weekend, some fabric and paint and got it done!

I reupholstered the cushions which was fairly easy...though the old fabric was attached with a ridiculous amount of staples, so it took more time than I anticipated.  The actual re upholstery took maybe 15 minutes for all three chair.  I found the perfect paint, which was actually spray paint:  French Cream (are you surprised?), and it is THE perfect shade of creamy white for these chairs.  Not too blindingly white, not too yellow.  And then I found some cute new pillow shams at Hobby Lobby for super cheap.  

I LOVE the way they turned out, they totally brighten up the front room and they just make me super happy.  I have been wanting to do some kind of a project for a while and this made me smile, I'm such a sucker for DIY stuff!

October Details

I can't let October blogging slip past me without reminiscing on General Conference.  I have grown to truly love General Conference for our Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Every April and October we listen to our Prophet, Apostles and General Authority speak to us and those talks fill my soul with light and wisdom.  As a child, I used to loathe it, because, let's face it, sitting and listening to old men and women for at least four hours on Saturday and four hours on Sunday was the pits.  Then I became indifferent to it as a young teenager...not really knowing what it meant for me, but feeling grateful that there were people who cared so much for , not even knowing me, that they spent hours in prayer seeking guidance for me....it was a start.  Then as I entered my young single adult years, I found great power in my choice to be an adult and do adult like things, such as listen to General Conference.  I remember dutifully taking my pen to paper in my notebook and carefully noting the phrases that spoke to me and comparing them with my friends later that day.  It was a time of great blessings and burgeoning accountability.  Now, as a wife of nearly ten years and a mother to three, I absolutely CRAVE the time for General Conference.  I need not convince other mothers reading this that the days are spent in service and fulfillment of other's needs.  It is emotionally and spiritually exhausting, and physically draining.  My efforts to nourish my spirit are often interrupted by so many things.  When General Conference rolls around, I rarely have a chance to sit and take notes anymore, but I listen and ponder and, in the fall, I bake pies.....

One of the things I remember from growing up was a memory all wrapped in the booming voices of Conference, and the smell of apple pies, and the spirit of giving.  My father would bake apple pies in the kitchen of our 150 year old house and would crank the volume up through the speakers in our kitchen.  There he would quietly roll out pastry dough, peel and slice apples, mix the filling, and bake the pies, which were to be given away.  Every one.  I do not remember eating any apple pies, but I do remember the wooden counter filled with 8-10 pies of varying sizes, all ready to be delivered.  It's a memory I hold so near and dear, because in the two and a half years since he died, I am finding that those memories are all that I have to fill that gaping hole in my heart.  So I carry on the tradition, and for the past three years, I bake apple pies.

 The kids had some fun activity sheets for conference.  Marin was partial to the M&M bingo, while Owen kind of did a variation of it...mostly involving eating M&M's.

 Also, who doesn't love googly eyes on a cat?!

 Or on a little boy, for that matter.

 Marin had crazy hair day at school....and though I had plans to get up a little early and make it super duper extra awesome....it didn't happen, so we did this instead...with some glittery hairspray.  Marin loved it!

Rosalie June, A First Birthday

When I think that a full year has gone by with this little gal, I'm so amazed!  It has felt like an eternity and has flown by all at the same time.  Those first three months were, well, pretty hellacious.  Before Rosalie, I'd been pretty lucky to have two very good little babies;  Marin was a dream once we figured out her schedule and stuck to it; and Owen was a dream as soon as my milk came in, so easygoing!  But Rosie...my oh my.  She was my colic baby, and it was so rough.  I really don't know when she slept for the first 12 weeks...in fact, I really don't remember much of those first twelve weeks to be honest!  She was up pretty much ALL night long.  I would feed her and that would take 45 minutes, then spend another 45 minutes to and hour trying to get her to go to sleep, then I would get 15 minutes of sleep before she was ready for her next feeding.  Truth be told, there were some nights I hauled her little bassinet into the closet so she could scream and I could sleep for a few more minutes....and scream she would!  Phew, that girl had a set of pipes on her, and she was sooooo tenacious she would scream until you came to get her!  I am glad that part is done with, lol.

 Rosie has blossomed into such a darling girl, which is what I call her, my darlin' girl.  She is super sweet and she knows she is cute.  She is also very, very loyal; a trait that I am learning to embrace and wisely nurture for I know I will need it to work for my benefit in the future.  She loves her mama!  Strangers...no way.  She will sound the alarm which is high pitched, shrill shrieks of dismay until mama or daddy come and save her.  Although, we have made HUGE strides with the girl at the kid watch at our gym.  She is in the baby section and we have now been able to physically pass her off to this cute girl....it's heaven!

 This is Rosalie's one year picture, and it totally captures her! I love this girl so much!

Rosie is incredibly expressive and it's fun to watch her face.

We celebrated with some cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy, and since Rosalie's birthday is in October, there was some Halloween flair to them.

My skinny little baby.  I haven't been able to get this girl beyond the 10th percentile for weight...EVER.  She eats like a little bird!

And she also eats in a very bird-like manner.  Not a big mess maker when it comes to food.

 My little collage of Rosalie.

 And the full year montage!  I had been taking a photo of her every month with the same blue bedspread behind her and the same little stuffed animal for size reference.  And here it is, all put together!  It's amazing how her ultrasound picture shows exactly what she looks like.

We are so grateful for sweet Rosalie.  She is indeed a little pistol, and requires some very patient parenting and gentle/firm guidance....more so than my other two, but her personality absolutely lights up a room and people just fall in love with her from afar...and I have a feeling that trait will stay with her forever.  Happiest Birthday, sweet Rosalie!

Shamefully Absent yet Dutifully Engaged

I'm so embarrassed at how absent I've been from Blogger these past few months!  Such busy, busy months though and I think that's part of the reason why I have barely picked up the laptop.  Kristoffer has been (thankfully) busy with work, and has essentially monopolized the computer, so I just haven't dared touch it with everything he has open on the screen at any given time.  This may be a good chance to beg for my *own* laptop for Christmas (though Kristoffer insists he needs/wants one, too); I guess we'll see who gets the computer!

And yes, Kristoffer has been BUSY!  I knew when I married him that I married a business-man at heart.  He thinks in 'business' ALL the time.  It's exhausting.  And I'm the wife!!  And when we embarked on this whole start-your-own-company thing, I knew it was going to be a looong road, and it has been.  A very very looooong and bumpy road, with rain....and fireballs....and maybe an assassin or two running at you with a giant sword.  OK, so maybe that's a bit dramatic, #butseriously.  We've been through tough times, and this has been no exception.  Kristoffer has also had to learn how to be busy at something he's never done before, what a challenge!  I will say that I have never in my life prayed for more patience and longsuffering than I have these last 15 months.  

In addition to this new business venture, Kris was called as the new Elders Quorum President a few months ago when they rearranged our bishopric.  That has also brought its own set of challenges.  There is an apparent need for re-engagement with many Elders, and it's left very few active and engaged Elders for Kris to work with and to call on for help.  He's a very patient man and has a good heart and is carrying a heavy load.  I'm doing my best to be supportive of the time required for him to fulfill this calling.

A few weeks ago I was released from my calling as Compassionate Service Leader with a bit of sadness in my heart.  I have grown to LOVE that calling!  I accepted it last year with much faith when I was very pregnant; and as I served and served and served and watched other women serve and serve and became aware of their individual circumstances and needs, I developed such a testimony of service.  The capabilities that I have, though I may think them small, when shared, they become enough and they bless me and they bless others.  I have grown to know so many women and families in the ward; some very active and serving just as dilligently, and some completely inactive that I will likely never see inside the church building.  Regardless of who they are and where they are at, my job is not to provide a service in hopes to lure them to church or in exchange for church activity...my job is to serve and let that be enough.  

So after being released and passing the torch on to my amazing friend, I was called as the Second Counselor in the Primary Presidency!  Primary is so new and foreign to me!  Many years ago as a fresh faced 18 year old I was called as the Primary chorister, but I had no involvement in the rest of Primary; so this calling for me is a bit overwhelming.  I've prayed long and hard many times for strength and faith to fulfill this calling and serve these little ones, and it's not coming easy!  I'm barely two weeks into it, so there is much to learn but I am excited to move forward and be actively engaged in the lives of these great kids.  

Along with all this, we've still been raising our little family, which really deserves a post on its own, so I'll hopefully be back on soon with pictures galore!

Fall Pumpkin Picking

We have this really cute little pumpkin place we like to go to for pumpkin picking.  It's only a few miles away and they have everything arranged so nicely and pumpkins organized, plus it's local and we can go there without any pre-planning.

Also, I have these super cute kids that just neeeed to be photographed.

 My baby girl, so big!

 These next two pictures totally capture the dynamic between Marin and Owen.  He teases her, she pushes him away, except she really loves him, and he totally loves his big sis.

 My girl.

 My fave picture below.  This is kind of how we roll.

I think these were the best family pics we got all year, so I couldn't leave them out!