Shew!

I passed my 3 hour glucose test!!!!!!!! I'm not a pregnant diabetic. I must say though, this has been a big wake up call. I am so motivated to eat better. I have been trying to eat like a diabetic all week with low sugars, salts, and good fats just in case. I got a diabetic cookbook from the library and even tried one recipe so far. It wasn't half bad I must say. All the cookbooks say that a diabetic's diet should really be what everybody aims for because it is just soooo much healthier than the way we eat today. So.....I'm going to give several of these recipes a shot anyways in search of a better, healthier way to eat. However, I still may have to have the occasional cookie. Life without cookies would have been miserable. Yippee I'm OK!

Just a little of what we've been up too

Here are a few pics of an activity the library sponsored. Kadyn is in a fire truck in one of them. This weekend we get to go explore a corn maze, pick our own pumpkin, see some craft booths, see lots of farm animals, sheep sheering, dog herding, and ride a wagon pulled by horses. I'm sooooo excited!

This pic explains it all!

As you all know I have been able to get out an about with the kids. The first two weeks however, were a bit surprising to me. Although Kadyn LOVED getting out and had a ball, Liam wasn't always such a good sport. In this pic he was complaining that it was too hot and bright for him. However, since this pic he has started to enjoy each outing a little more. I'm not sure how much he gets out with his parents, but really was an adjustment for him to go out with us.

First REAL haircut

Last weekend we took Kadyn to "Cookie Cutters." She was soooo excited and loves her new doo. She did very well.

Oh the things they say!

Kadyn has said some things lately that just crack me up. She told her daddy that she wanted to grow a beard like his when she grew up. We explained that boys grew beards when they grew up and girls grew......boobs. That night as she was saying her prayers she mentioned, "Thanks God for helping me grow my boobs."

This morning she was convinced that two of my new cherry red moles I've had to sport since being pregnant (one on my ear and one on my neck) are nipples. I don't think I ever got it through to her that they were moles.

In other news, I completed my 3 hour glucose test this morning. Now I wait a couple days for the results. I'm mentally prepared for the worst and am trying to look at it as a wake up call if it turns out I have gestational diabetes to take better care of myself and make it a lifelong change and not just a phase as I so often get caught doing.

I flunked!

Jeff gets onto me about making posts to long so I'll try to make this one a shorty. I failed my one hour glucose test! They called this morning and said my number was 160 and they want to see it below 140. Now I have to go in for a 3 hour test. Those suck! That's five pricks in my veins. Ouch! Last time I took the three hour test it came out borderline. Not sure what to think about how this one will turn out. Wish me luck. I go in on Tuesday morning for this.

One of my favorite recipes

So often I see other people share recipes and today as I was making one of my favorites I thought, I should share this one. This is a recipe that Jeff invented several years ago when we were on a diet to satisfy our pizza cravings (we are huge pizza addicts) without all the calories. You can modidfy it to suit your own taste buds, but it certainly does help with pizza cravings without all the guilt and oh so easy to fix.

TORTILLA PIZZAS

Ingredients:
whole wheat tortillas
speghetti or pizza sauce
your favorite veg toppings (I like olives, tomatoes, and fresh spinach) if have to have meat then try turkey pepperonis
oregano and basil
one serving of mozzerella cheese

Simply pour on the sauce, sprinkle lightly all over with both oregano and basil,
add cheese, sprinkle on toppings and cook at 425 until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. For the kiddos try putting the veggies on then sprinkling the cheese to help disguise the veggies.

As long as you go light on the cheese, these really are much healthier for you than the traditional pizza we all buy. In traditional pizzas the bulk of the fat and calories comes from the crust, meat, and abundance of cheese. This pizza addresses all of these issues and tastes pretty good. Hope someone else gets to enjoy. Toodles!

I must be nuts!

Two nights ago I took Kadyn to the mall by myself to get new pants. When I was done Kadyn wasn't particularly interested in going home so we walked around and just looked. In one store we saw some hermit crabs. I've always found them fascinating creatures and it doesn't hurt that they can paint their shells such cool colors, plus they don't stink! Anyways, we looked at them and admired them. I would have loved to have bought one for Kadyn but I thought, "Nah, she's way too young for a pet of her own." I secretly wanted one for they were kind of cute and how much fun would it be to let Kadyn feed them and give them baths. But the realist in me kept thinking, Kadyn would be into it for one week and then it would be all me. Did I really want to keep another pet? The lady at the store said they typically live 6 months to 1 year. The care sheet she sent me home with said some crabs have been kept in the home as pets for 20 years! Yikes! I don't want one for 20 years!

I concluded we would go home and harass daddy about getting one for fun, not really intending to get one and perhaps go by a bug cage and catch us a bug for a pet. Kadyn exclaimed to daddy as she walked in the door, "Dad, I want crabs!" That was quite funny as Jeff's mind wasn't thinking pet crabs. He was a bit confused. A bug would definitely be low commitment. A bug might last one week. Problem, where do I get a bug now; it's almost too cold for bugs. So now I'm pondering, maybe I should get Kadyn a hermit crab for fun. I really need to talk myself out of this. I must be nuts!

Milestone day!

Liam, my only daycare kid, finally peed in the potty! Go Liam. Yesterday he kept telling me had to go pee but only after he had already went in his diaper. Today he did the same all morning and then late morning he actually made it to the pot and went in the pot. We were on a playdate at a friend's house and her toilet seat actually didn't have the pee guard on it which I think made it easier for him to use ironically because he could get down there to aim it down better. I don't know where to find a seat without one of those guards. Anyone else know? Maybe it is possible to actually have both kids completely diaper free by the time this baby comes. Boy would that be nice.

I have some pics I need to post just of life with Kadyn but have been lazy getting them downloaded to the computer. I will get to it eventually faithful readers.

Today is my glucose screening. I will be 28 weeks on Friday. I am nervous about this test for a couple reasons. First going 3 hours without eating only to drink a horrible sugar drink at the doctor's office is just not fun! Of course being pricked with a needle is not fun either. And lastly last time I ended up flunking my first test and had to go in for the miserable 3 hour test only to have them tell me that I was borderline diabetic. I REALLY don't want to do the 3 hour test and really don't want to have diabetes. Although, as for timing, with my newfound motivation to be healthy nothing would be a better kick in the butt than finding out I have it, I suppose.

The baby is certainly becoming more active during the last week. I have even felt little bumps here and there that I can only assume are either knees or feet. She really doesn't do much kicking, mostly squirming. She is finally big enough for me to see her move really well from the outside. It's wierd when you are watching TV and see your entire belly move from the corner of your eye.

I finally broke down and bought bigger maternity pants that HOPEFULLY will get me through the rest of this pregnancy. My booty is definitely bigger with this pregnancy which really sucks! So my old maternity pants aren't quite doing the job this time around. It is quite disturbing to me that if I outgrow my current size in maternity clothing I will have to move to plus sizes. This even though I have gained the same amount of weight as I did with Kadyn at this point in the pregnancy. The only difference is that I started out 12 lbs heavier with this one. Weird how that 12 pounds makes such a huge difference in the way the clothing fits me this time. Perhaps with my newfound eating habits I can slow down the gain and level off enough to stay in my current clothing to ride out the rest of this pregnancy.

I have REALLY been enjoying my life lately. Having just the two kids to look after has been a breeze! We get out about 3 times a week and the kids are really liking it. Our regular times out are to the library storytime on Mondays, a playdate on Wednesday mornings, and Friday is my surprise outing. Last week we went to the fish feeding show at Bass Pro. This Friday we are going on a nature walk at one of the parks to collect leaves and such for a little art project I have in mind. It's amazing how much more productive I have been able to be with only 2 kids to watch.

Well that's about it for now. I need to start lunch for the kids. Hope you all have a good week.

Eating healthy

Ever since we got the BBC channel I am an addict. In addition to loving the "How Clean is Your House" show I have added to my plate the show called, "You Are What You Eat." The cleaning show as you can judge from my last posts has really motivated me. I only recently started watching the Eating show and let me tell you, it is also starting to impact me. However, I'm not finding it as easy due to a couple factors:

#1 Jeff just doesn't like to eat healthy so would probably turn his nose up to most of what I would make

#2 Eating all those new and healthy fresh foods is so expensive

#3 I'm certain Kadyn will turn her nose up to half of it too

I have always thought I feed Kadyn fairly well. I usually try to count the food groups to make sure all or most are represented on her plate for both lunch and supper although I haven't been as good about this as I used to be as time has gone on. After watching this show, I realize that even when I do have all the food groups represented on her plate, that doesn't necessarily mean that she is eating very healthy. She eats a lot of canned and frozen veggies. Fresh is best, but I find that it takes soooo much more time to prepare and Kadyn doesn't like them as much which usually means I am the only one eating the fresh veggies and then they go bad before I can get through them all. It seems like such a waste of money to buy them when that happens.

After watching this show, it almost seems that one can acquire a taste for all these fresh foods over time. Almost everyone turns their noses to much of what they are asked to prepare but by the end of two months they have grown to like some of the healthy recipes they have been forced to eat. Surely if I offer Kadyn nothing else, she would eventually eat. After all, I've always heard that toddlers will not starve themselves. It's hard to believe though when you see them gladly opt for hunger over eating a pile of broccoli. I don't think I can ever change Jeff however, but I feel that if I am going to make a switch to a healthier diet with my children it has to be while they are still young.

Another problem I have is that many of the foods introduced in these new healthy recipes I've never even heard of. I don't even know where to get them in a store, or if the stores we go to even have them. I'm sure I could go to health food store and find these things, but health food stores are sooooo expensive. Why does it have to cost so much to be healthy? It really is frustrating. However, one could rationale that if you don't take care of yourself you'll be paying that money you saved on eating cheap in healthcare costs anyways if you don't take care of yourself.

Well anyways, I'm rambling. Anyways, just sharing my latest phase. I'm sure it's a phase because it seems every so often I decide to get healthy and it never lasts. How does one make it a permanent lifestyle. It is so hard.

Have to share

Ever since I have become a parent I have become increasingly paranoid about toxins in my cleaners. After seeing my little child put everything in her mouth the first two years or dropping food on the table from her plate and then putting it in her mouth, I was determined to clean with cleaners that are safe so she isn't ingesting any toxins. I have always known that a vinegar water solution makes a great, safe cleaner. Not only does it disinfect, but it also cleans so well. However, my husband HATES the smell of vinegar. After torturing him for some time with my vinegar solutions, I tried the clorox green products. Although I like the smell and how well they clean, I have recently read info that they don't disinfect and aren't necessarily nontoxic. They are safe for the environment, but that doesn't necessarily make them safe for our children. So I felt like I was back to square one with my good ol' vinegar/water solutions.

As I have mentioned before I am a member of a great website called cafemom. I stumbled on upon a board today that gives all kinds of recipes for all kinds of homemade things. You could find recipes from cleaners, to lotions, air freshners, cosmetics, etc. etc. All were green and safe. One mother posted a solution to the stinky vinegar solution. I thought I'd share in case any of you want to give it a try.

1 cup white vinegar, 3 cups water, one cinnamon stick, 1 tsp salt, some all spice, and whole cloves. Just mix and shake. It almost eliminates the vinegar smell entirely and resembles a nice fall spice smell. Perfect timing for the season change that is upon us.

I have sent a message to the woman who shared this recipe to find out what cloves she was talking about and how much all spice to use and am waiting for a reply so I can perfect my first solution, but gave it a try without the cloves and guesstimated the amount of all spice. Let me tell you, it AIN'T BAD! Now the real test, will Jeff's nose detect the vinegar or not? He has vinegar radar I swear! I can't really smell it with this new solution, but we'll know for sure when he walks into the kitchen. It always puts him in a bad mood.

Good Sunday

We had a very eventful Sunday. Our local library hosted a party that we attended. Kadyn got to tour the inside of a fire engine, play with big bubbles, play a bean bag toss, have her hand painted, and walk with an egg and spoon. She also got to meet "library lion" which she said was "so cute!" Afterwards we went to our church fall kickoff potluck dinner where Kadyn got to see Whitey the dog do some tricks and play with some of her church friends who aren't nearly as fond of her as she is of them, I'm guessing because one is 9 months younger and the other is a boy. It was funny that as we left she insisted on saying goodbye to each and every one of them. We had to seek them out one by one so she could give them her goodbye hug. It was so endearing.

Today we got out for the first time while Liam was with us. Kadyn was thrilled to death that Liam was riding in her "Vanna" as we call it. She said, "Liam you have fun? Liam Vanna go fast. Liam my friend mama!" We went to storytime at our local library where the kids got to sing songs with actions, listen to a lot of stories, play ring around the rosies, and play with some toys. Kadyn really got into it, Liam just kind of stood there and watched it all without particpating much. I'm guessing he hasn't really done stuff like that before. I think that Sunday school is paying off for Kadyn making her very receptive to doing things like this. I think this will be very good for Kadyn. Wednesday we have a playdate at a friends house and Friday I thought I'd take the kids to the fish feeding show at the bass pro. It feels sooooooo good to get the kids out and about.

I'll have to post some pics from our weekend later. Hope everyone had a good weekend too!

Too end I'll have to tell you my most recent funny stories. Kadyn was eating lunch and told me "Mama I'm done with my peckeronis." My reply, "You mean macaronis?" Yesterday before bedtime she insisted that she had a cricket in her crack. Where in the world she came up with that one I'll never know. Those darn crickets, she'll never get over her fear of them I suppose.

I'm a cleaning machine

Now that the antibiotic is starting to kick in I am getting some energy back. I am back to being a cleaning machine. Yesterday I cleaned both bathrooms head to toe, and vacuumed, and did all the laundry. Today I sterilized all the toys. That took half a day. I hate doing that but it was long overdue. Tomorrow I want to sweep and mop the entire house. I've made a list of all the cleaning projects I want to do. More on my agenda, steam my rugs, steam my couches, clean out the sterilize the diaper pail, wash the sheets, magic eraser my kitchen cabinets, clean out the cabinet under bathroom sink, and I'm sure I can think of many more. It's sooooo much easier to get stuff done when all I have to watch is Kadyn and Liam. They play so well together. I spend half of my days doing some misc cleaning project and/or cooking and the other half doing an organized art project or game with the kids. I feel like finally my house and my kid is getting the attention they have long deserved. No longer am I just breaking up fights the entire day and changing diaper after diaper after diaper, or cleaning mess after mess after mess. And the best news yet, next week I actually have plans to take the kids out of the house. Monday is storytime at the library and Wednesday I have a playdate at a friends house. Oh me oh my. I'm loving my life again.

I know when the baby comes there will be more diapers, more messes, and a lot less time to clean so I'm taking advantage of this grace period while I still have it. At least it will be my kid's messes and diapers. That always makes things seem a little more tolerable. I'm so excited for baby to come but so grateful for this time to catch up on things that have been long overdue like cleaning, spending more quality time with Kadyn, and just being stress free.

The weather outside is so pleasant. A misty, overcast day, but such lovely temps. I have the windows open to air out the vinegar and bleach smell from all this sterilizing. Ahhh! Fall is just around the corner. I can't wait for cruncy leaves and crisp air. I can't wait to take Kadyn to her first pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin. I can't wait for jackets and halloween costumes. I can't wait for Sunday football games with frozen pizza. I can't wait for cozy movies on a blustery day underneath a fuzzy blanket. Ah yes, the sanity is returning to me. I am free! I am alive! Don't you just hate the optimism? Hope you haven't puked by now. Toodleloo!

Trip to CO

Our trip was good. Kadyn did good overall except for a little meltdown in the airport on the way back which I fixed with a time out in the middle of the airport. It was a bit embarrassing but did the trick. I personally wasn't able to do much because I didn't feel very well most of the trip. Once I was home I figured out that my cold had turned into a sinus infection. I'm on antibiotics and hopefully after two weeks of being sick and I can finally find some relief.

Jeff and my dad got to do a lot from four wheeling and golfing to hiking. I hiked once and it was not easy climbing a mountain 6 months prego and sick let me tell you. We went to a little town called Euray (spelling?) that was called the mini Switzerland and it really did look like a mini Switzerland. We saw two beautiful waterfalls and got to see some really cute chipmunks too. I got to see my Grandma and Kadyn got to ride horses, four wheelers, and play on a playground while we were there. She even got to have a little water fight with.

Overall the trip was good. It's too bad plane tickets are so pricey. We have only manged to make it out to see my parents once a year. It really is weird not having them around but such is our life.

Pics from Labor Day trip