I Cheated on my Diet

I am scared to get on the scale tomorrow morning.  I blame it all on Kneaders having a drive through.  It should be illegal for bakeries to have drive-throughs.  Don't they know there are people trying to reunite their upper bum to their lower bum...people with very little self-control and a biblical knowledge of what it's like to savor the berry cheesecake on their tongues....people who are shamed by their incredibly comfortable but equally ugly electric blue Crocs who dare not show their unpopular choice in footwear in public.  See?  The drive-through is just too easy.  Damn you berry cheesecake! 

Then there is my old flame that just won't burn out...Coca-Cola aka the nectar of the gods.  Everyone tells me to just drink diet.  Listen carefully o foolish ones - I'd rather drink Milk of Magnesia.  I know there are a lot of Diet Coke fans out there, but why? 

Meanwhile Jessica Alba's in my face with her better-than-ever post baby body.  "You would never know that she gave birth just six months ago..." The butt kiss of an interviewer exclaims.  Mariah Carey is screeching on t.v. in a tacky gold midriff-baring dress? half tube top/half long loin clothe? proclaiming that Jenny Craig worked for her.  Like the tacky getup I believe that Ms. Carey belongs back in the nineties as well.  Just because you married a much younger man doesn't mean that you are still relevant to the current generation.  Is this the aging diva's game plan?  The ultimate hip accessory is a husband born in the nineties.  Watch your back, Justin Bieber...Madonna's got her botoxed eyes on you.  Janet Jackson is instructing me to get on it.  Whatever that means.  I'd like to meet the ad wizards who came up with that slogan.  Get on it.  Pfsha.


Got off on a mean rant about skinny celebrities, didn't I?  Sorry about that.  Like I said I'm scared for the morning.  Pray for me.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Sunday kicked off our Biggest Loser competition on my side of the family, so I put it into high gear because nothing's greater motivation than sibling rivalry, right?  For once in my life having more weight to lose puts me at an advantage over my petite, marathon running, five kids birthing, BLOND sister.  I mean, did God really have to give her blond hair?  That was like salt in the wound.  Not cool, dude.  I'm hoping a bolt of lightning doesn't crash through the roof, maybe calling God dude is not exactly appropriate.  But come on, to top it off you give me this wildly curly hair that according to the Millionaire Matchmaker is a sure ticket to get rejected by a millionaire.  The only thing worse...according to her...is red hair.  But I digress. 

I've been waking up and dancing for an hour, walking in the afternoons and generally cutting back on my portions.  I've tried letting go of Coca Cola.  It's been a rough battle.  The longest I've been without it was three days, then I caved.  It's something I will continue to work on. 

Have you noticed that there are a million food commercials on t.v.?  It's awful when I'm trying to keep my thoughts pure and free of greasy fast food. 

This week I lost 3 pounds!  Yay!  I've never lost 3 pounds in a single week.  Next week I'm hoping to continue to try to improve the quality of the meals here at home with more vegetables.  I've never liked vegetables.  They taste very, very bitter to me and only a boat load of butter and salt and pepper can improve their taste. 

Hope everyone out there who are striving to get healthier are keeping the faith.  It's not easy, but to use an over worn phrase, it's worth it...we're worth it!  I keep imagining laying on the beach without my ugly granny swimsuit I was forced to buy a couple of years ago, and feeling more confident in my healthy body now ensconced in a cute hip swimsuit.  One piece of course.  No amount of exercise is going to get these stretchmarks off my tummy...thank you Ava and Brielle.  Still, they were worth it.  Who needs a flawless midsection anyway? 

Good Book, Good Movie

Growing up my favorite Christmas present by far was always a novel to read during the break.  This Christmas I read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.  It's the story of a man named Louis Zamperini who grew up in Southern California.  He becomes a world class track star who eventually gets to compete in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany.  He trains for the next Olympics but World War II breaks out, ruining his plans.  He is eventually drafted into the Army Air Corps and is trained as a bombardier.  The book follows his travails through WWII and what happens to him after the war.  Although some parts of the book were really hard to read, in the end it is so inspirational and confirms that life is a precious gift and that healing and forgiveness are possible even after the most horrendous trials. 

It's been a long while since I sat down and watched a movie and afterwards thought to myself what a wonderful experience it was.  For me, Midnight in Paris was one of those rare movies.  Gil, played by the very likable Owen Wilson, is a successful Hollywood script writer vacationing in Paris with his fiance (Rachel McAdams)  and her parents.  Gil has written a novel, but has doubts about his ability to cut it in the literature world.  He laments "selling out" for the prosperity his shallow and unfulfilling job has provided him, and regrets not trying to make a go of being a serious author.  He longs for what he believes were the glory days of Paris...the 1920's, filled with writers and artists.  His fiance, who is the wealthy daughter of a right wing businessman, doesn't share his enthusiasm for Paris or the past.  She's what I like to call a dream squasher.  Anyway, her character is very unlikable...as is intended, but man oh man I liked the clothes and shoes she wore.  It's clear from the get-go that these two people are not at all right for one another.  Anyway, after a dinner with some old friends, Gil decides to walk back to their hotel while the rest of the group go salsa dancing.  He ends up lost in Paris at night.  An old car rounds a bend in the cobblestone street and stops.  Some, shall we say, vintage characters urge Gil to join them.  He hops in the car and is whisked back to Paris in the 1920's.  I won't give the rest away, but Gil is able to live out his fantasy night after night while his fiance and her parents begin to wonder where he goes each night.  Along the way he meets Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Salvador Dali and Picasso to name a few. 

If you care little for past artists, then maybe the premise will not be as cool to you as it was to me.  The movie is really kind of a love letter to Paris, itself.  Having never been there it was so beautiful to see the different shots of the city streets and the well-known buildings.  For me the ending was a little weak, but overall I really enjoyed the movie as a whole.  Of course, if you're like my husband, after having watched the movie and after hearing me declare my love for it you might say, "Really?" in a very surprised/confused manner.  Then again, Brig has never met an action movie he hasn't liked which tells you something about his taste in movies. 

Owen Wilson is fabulous playing the free spirited Gil.  I love his crooked nose and his voice.  His voice is so pleasant, isn't it?  I dare you not to like his character. 

I have to get back to folding clothes now.  Just had to get that off my chest.

Bree Oddities

My second born is a funny girl.  She recently started hugging a lot.  Not just people, either.  One day while I was doing my hair in the bathroom I peeked out into the hall to see her flush against the wall, arms outstretched making a kissing noise.  She regularly hugs the couch and Ava's Disney Princess chair.  This morning she was carrying around a copy of X-Men First Class DVD, hugging it to her chest and saying "Mmmmm-mmmm," the noise she makes when she is being affectionate.  I'd like to think she's just a very affectionate little girl.  The sweetest thing is when Ava cries, which is often lately (girls are so moody), she will make a bee-line for Ava and hug her and pat her head.  Of course the claws do come out occasionally...she is a notorious hair puller and I'm constantly amazed that sibling rivalry is born so early in one's life. 

Another funny thing she does is pull Ava's underwear out of her top drawer and carry it around with her.  She has a specific preference for panties.  Sometimes she attempts to put them on her head.  I always wonder, why the panties?  Why not leggings, or socks? 

She's always been much more vocal than Ava ever was.  I don't know if this is due to the fact that I could never get her to take a pacifier and so it left her mouth free to grunt and growl and yell.  She really loves dogs.  Whenever we see one she makes the panting noise.  Recently she's started yelling at them.  At the park yesterday it was like a doggy bonanza and Brielle was spellbound.  She kept yelling and yelling. 

One of the fun things about being a mom is watching the personalities develop in your children.  This little girl has a big one.  I love her very much, even if she does keep waking me up at 2 a.m.  It's like Stockholm Syndrome.  She's tortured me with greatly reduced sleep for over a year now and yet she makes my heart sing when she smiles at me.  Love my baby girl.

Weight Loss Wednesday

Thought I'd forgot about it, didn't you?  In good news on this front I've lost 2 lbs!  In bad news I gained 4 lbs over the holidays, so really in all I've gained 2 lbs.  If I could make money as easy as I can gain weight I'd be very, very wealthy. 

Gosh that Jennifer Hudson is looking good, isn't she?  Tis that time of year when the t.v. is bombarded with diet-related industry commercials because they know we're all feeling especially bad about that third serving of pumpkin pie.  

My side of the family is having a three month biggest loser competition starting this Monday.  This should give me some incentive.  Also Brig and I's ten year anniversary is coming up this year in October and I'd like to be near what I weighed when I got married.  My hopes are we will be able to get away together without the kids.  It's been quite a few years since we've been able to even stay overnight somewhere for our anniversary. 

I've been dancing about an hour a day.  We got the Kinect for our Xbox for Christmas and one of the games we got was Just Dance 3.  It's a lot of fun, and I'm all about fun when it comes to exercise.  I also have a couple of friends from my ward who are threatening to drag me to the gym with them every morning.  They are both in fabulous shape, which intimidates me.  I may just give it a chance though. 

As far as eating goes, this is my biggest challenge as I've talked about before, I want to cook more healthy meals for my family.  We have frozen huckleberries in the freezer and the infamous frozen rhubarb that I once used to ice my wounded boob from my eight month old's sharp teeth and I've been blending up smoothies for lunch.  This is good for me as I'm most tempted to eat poorly at lunchtime when my energy wanes and Brielle goes down for a nap. 

By next Wednesday my goal is to lose 1 - 2 more lbs.  According to the Mayan calendar 2012 will be the last year we all exist before the destruction of the world next December...so obviously I want to be in shape for that ;) 

Hope all that are reading this who are wanting to lose weight can find it in themselves to make themselves a priority this year.  I have a tendency of taking care of everyone else but me, and I don't want my girls growing up thinking that they should follow in my footsteps.  I know that I am happier when I'm exercising and feeding my body with the nutrients it needs. 

Christmas Morning

DISCLAIMER: I haven't posted all these pictures of the girls' presents because I think my blog readers really want to see every gift they got.  I've only posted them so my parents can see our Christmas morning.  With that out of the way...

Ava woke up at 6:30.  I had just gotten up and was hoping to sneak back to bed, but it wasn't to be.  She told me she had hardly slept she was so excited.  I consulted Brig as to what we should do...wait for Brielle to wake up or let Ava open right away.  We decided to make her wait.  I know.  We're cruel.  In the meantime I made french toast and bacon and Ava jabbered excitedly about what she thought all her presents were.  She did pretty good being patient, poor girl.  Brielle woke up at 7:30. 

 And she's off....

Brielle woke up happy, but then again she usually does.  She seemed to get the opening presents thing more than Ava did on her first Christmas.  Maybe that's because she has a big sister to show her how to do it.

 Bree and her wild hair. 

 

Ava helping Brielle open her presents.  Sometimes Brielle got annoyed and would yell out in protest when Ava wasn't letting her in on the action

 Brielle with Ava's boots.

 Gosh dang-it Mom, don't take my pillow pet away!

 Oh you were just trying to get it out of the plastic bag for me to cuddle.  Silly me.  All is forgiven.

 Ava said, "I think this one's a hula hoop, Mom."

 Bingo!

For every blond Barbie you get you must counter it with a brunette one.  It's a rule in our house.  Glad Santa was paying attention.

Ava loves dressing up.  She often wears her princess dresses out and about.  I've thought of quashing her grandiose sense of style, but I figure you only get to be a little girl once.  Some days I still wish I could put on a tutu or a ball gown before I leave the house.  You know, just to make me feel special.  My sweats don't give me that feeling.  They usually give me the feeling that it sucks to not be able to fit back into your pre-pregnancy jeans.  Then I buy a Coke to wash down all the sadness.  Tangent.  Sorry.  Basically I wish I could buy a dress like this one.  I doubt she'll be wearing it to anywhere but church. 

 Ruby slippers to match.

 Third year on the Christmas list was the charm.  The Pillow Pet has landed.

I don't know why I didn't get a picture of her next to the easel after she opened it.  And yeah, she guessed what this one was too.  She writes things on it like, I love my mom, and then calls me into her room to show me her "surprise".  Gosh, she's sweet to me.  It was a very merry Christmas. 

Christmas Eve

Every Christmas Eve since we've moved to Salt Lake City, our lovely landlords have invited us to their Christmas Eve party.  It's where I was first introduced to sushi, for that one act alone, I will be eternally grateful to them.  I snapped a few pictures of the girls after we got home.

Ava with the wand the Bullens gave the few kids at the party.  Lora who has three sons has always made a fuss over Ava and each year she buys her a Christmas gift.  Ava got an art kit that she has hardly put down since she got it.  Bree got a board book and some bath toys.  Best landlords ever.

Ava played with Veronica and Ashlyn whom she sees the one time a year and yet they all get along great.  Last year I was recuperating from my c-section but they made up a plate for me and brought it down and I remember the food was wonderful.  This year on the menu was goose...for those who have never tasted it it tastes like greasy turkey.  Maybe that description doesn't make it seem that appetizing but it's really pretty good.  Also, salmon and prime rib.  Plus a great spread of side dishes. 

Brielle hung out with me and Brig while the other adults oohed and awed over her.  I admit I'm not super comfortable hobnobbing with people I don't know well, but it's so sweet of them to invite us, knowing none of our family live in the city. 

We were treated to an impromptu concert by a guest in attendance who according to his wife is a descendent of Brigham Young's.  That was followed by a group singing of Feliz Navidad with our lovely hostess doing the samba while her twenty-eight year old son tried to get her to stop embarrassing him.  Needless to say there was quite a lot of imbibing going on around us. 

 This is Ava's sugar overload face.  Plus it's Christmas Eve, what's a girl to do?

All that was left to do was get the girls in their jammies, read Luke 2 and put them to bed so Santa could come down the chimney.