I Got the Munchies

One of my very favorite things about the holidays is this incredible sensation of CAREFREE EATING. It's almost as though the calories don't count (ha ha ha...I have 15 pounds to drop, who am I kidding).

So to make the days go by and keep Connor occupied while the girls napped each afternoon, we (mostly me) made some different goodies to share with the family.

Our first major attempt were these adorable Rice Krispy Treat Christmas Trees. Connor did manage to place a few red hots on, but after 6...he decided to just sit and eat them while I finished decorating the trees.

Then I tried to convince Connor to help me make a Graham Cracker Cookie Cottage. He didn't care at all and went downstairs to watch "Elf" for the thirtieth time. I made the cottage by myself, only to find Connor the Giant devouring it the next day.

My biggest failure had to have been the Candy Cane Cookies. They were supposed to turn out all small and round and cute and they looked like this (who cared in the end....they tasted GREAT!):


My English Toffee turned out way too buttery, but that didn't discourage anyone from eating the whole batch. Then I made some of my friend Jodie's cornbread for a Christmas party only to burn the first batch. The second batch ended up perfectly!

So, now that the holidays are over (not really, I am going to pig-out tonight) it is time to join a gym and drop that 15 pounds hanging on my hips and thighs. I plan to drop the weight by following Heather's "water diet" and not munching while sitting at the computer...and by going to the gym and by running around with the kids more often (anyone up for "airplane" or "ride a pony"?).

You know, I realized that they made the New Year a week after Christmas so that we can finish eating all of that amazing junk food people brought over as Christmas Gifts before January 1st. I mean, how are we really supposed to lose weight when it is lying around...and we can't just throw it all away, that would be rude! So, I will promise to eat any food that anyone brings over at Christmas Time.

Family Picture

Yes, I know that the family picture at the top of the blog is out of date. It is exactly one year old!

However, I just couldn't keep the Christmassy blog header up, so I changed it to this one with the good intentions of replacing the picture with our most recent family picture.

The newest family photo was taken last week and I hope that the photographer will have the proofs back to us this week. So in the meantime you will have to stare at our cute and a little smaller family.

The family portrait was an incredible feat and a success! Have you ever tried to round up 30 people at the same time in the middle of the day? Not an easy task, but my mother-in-law accomplished it. She is wonder-woman.

We took the pictures at Sugarhouse park and the photographer did an excellent job of organizing us quickly and then taking each little families individual shots with little tears from the newest tiny babes (despite the snow falling and temperatures in the 30's).

When I get the pics, I'll post them for all to see! I am anxious to see them, as I am sure you are (that means you Ang).

Enjoying the Weather

This post is late coming, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway.

Two Saturday's ago, we had a nice storm. So, Saturday morning Todd went out with his dad and Ike to go and get a sled. While they were out, I got Connor into as much winter gear as we could muster up.

I wanted his first experience in the snow to be a good one!

When the guys returned, we gave Connor the run down on how to properly use a sled (which he didn't listen to at all). And headed out the door.





After Todd was worn out from Pushing and Pulling Connor, we decided to build a snowman. Connor has had quite the obsession with snowmen lately. Everynight before bed we read the book "Snowmen at Night" or "Snowmen at Christmas" or "Frosty the Snowman." We thought he'd be so excited to help us!

We thought wrong. Instead, Todd and I built our Spartan Snowman while Connor sat on the front perch and ate the red hots we were supposed to use for the snowman's mouth. Connor kept trying to abandon our "family activity," so to keep him close by, we gave him a spray bottle with blue water and he went to town on the snowman.

In the end, we felt proud of our snowman and we humans melted off with a nice warm cup of cocoa.

The Trouble with Nursing

Let's just say it isn't going well. I can make up excuses (which I have done), I have beaten myself up thinking I am not adequate, and I have finally settled on this:
It doesn't matter if I nurse or not, what matters is that mommy and baby are both healthy and happy.

Obviously, I am still feeling some guilt over the subject, or else I wouldn't be writing about it looking for approval from all of my mommy friends.

Let me give you a little history. Before Connor was born, I went to a breastfeeding class and learned so much. I took to heart every single thing that the teacher instructed and when Connor was born, he latched on like a charm! He ate constantly, but that's what babies, do...right? He refused to take a bottle or a binky, so I was his only source of nutrition. But I loved nursing him. I didn't realize how demanding and time consuming it was. So I quit my job, quit teaching seminary and took a little hiatus from school.

The cute little guy plumped up so quickly and I couldn't have been happier with myself! At 6 months I had lost all of my baby weight...by 9 months I had lost an additional 10 pounds (I can't credit it all with nursing, I did change my exercising and eating habits).

I told my success story to a nursing coach and she had me speak at one of the classes. I told them all of the good stuff and how easy and naturally nursing came for both me and Connor. If only I could go back now! I have 3 completely different stories to tell.

With Abi, the nursing came along horribly. She never latched on right, so it was always painful. Then she was re-hospitalized and I had to bottle feed her. I did pump, however, my milk supply decreased. She was on a strict two-hour feeding regimen until her bili levels were normal and she had to have formula (it helped the levels to go down).

A few days after she was discharged, I met with a lactation consultant about the problems I was having with Abi not latching on correctly. She said that Abi would eventually learn, but in order to get her to latch on right, she had to be crying (that's the only time her mouth would open wide enough). It was too frustrating for me. I surrendered.

This time around, Carly has mastered the latching on. No pain! Yeah! I thought we were on a roll. That was until she started refusing my left breast. Now I get almost no milk from my left breast. I have tried pumping...but with a toddler and an almost 3 year old running around, I don't exactly have the time to sit there and pump that often.

For the last three nights in a row, Carly wakes for a feeding at midnight and latches on fine and eats well. 3 am she wakes and refuses to latch on at all. She cries and cries and I cry and cry and keep trying to get her to latch on. In exhaustion I give her a bottle and she settles down (she doesn't go back to sleep though...that takes some more work). She nurses the right side fine during the day, but after each feeding I have to give her at least 4 ounces of formula.

I have even pumped my own milk before bed and tried to give it to her in the middle of the night, and she refused that. I thought it might have been something I ate, but I hadn't had onions or broccoli or caffeine or milk (yes, I did have chocolate...but there are some things I will NOT give up).

I'm ready to give up, again. I am no longer a poster-child for nursing. If I could, I would re-do that class and tell the mommies that nursing is amazing. Definitely give it a try. But when it starts causing you to doubt your abilities as a mom and you and your baby aren't happy...try a different approach.

I suppose I will have to drop the baby weight the old fashioned way. Jogging and eating right. Yuck. But I can't live with these thunder thighs and humongo hips (do they spread further with each child?) for the rest of my life.

There...the whining is over.

Christmas Tree Themed FHE

At the beginning of the month our Family Home Evening was inspired by Christmas Trees. Uncle Ikey read the story "The Three Trees" (a good tear jerker for any time of the year) and for our activity we went to a tree lot in Sandy on 90th South.

Ike wove us in and out of a few trees and in the far back corner there was a large fence set up near a trailer. Out of the trailer came Santa Clause!!! And behind the fence were four live reindeer. Connor may have been too cold to know what was going on, because he didn't give too much expression in any direction.

The Santa took a lot of time explaining where the reindeer come from and what they like to do. I had no idea that reindeer were so little...at least these ones were.

After the educational lesson in reindeering, we walked back up to the front and found the perfect tree. It really is perfect. There is nothing quite like the smell of a fresh pine in the home at Christmas time.

Once we got back home, Grandpa Riches had hot cocoa waiting for us all (Abi really loved the whipping cream on top). The tree was just a little too tall, so after a minor trim, the guys got it situated in the corner and the decorating began.



Dad put on lots and lots of lights and everyone else helped with the ornaments...making fun of the "old school" ones. Since that time, all ornaments and decorations have been moved up onto the top half of the tree. That happened after Abi started grabbing at them. They were moved up even higher after Connor started taking off the glass balls and throwing them on the tile. He took the word "ball" too literally. Maybe from now on I will refer to them only as "ornaments" or "orbs."

Happy Thanksgiving

I know, it is a little late, but here it goes:

Thanksgiving morning started out nicely. We got the kids all dressed and ready for the day. My only concern was that Connor still had a yucky runny nose and it seemed like Abi was coming down with the same thing. I didn't want my kids to be the ones to get all of their cousins sick, so I had told the Riches (who we were spending Thanksgiving with) that I would hole myself and the kids at my parents house until the festivities were over.

As I was packing the bags the phone rang...it was Chad with his concerns about Mailee waking up sick, so they may not come over. Then Alicia called saying that they might not come because Rachel had a runny nose. I quickly chimed in that my kids were sick too, so everyone should just come over.

It was strange to not have the house full with all the Riches sibs...something that will be more than made up for at Christmas time, I am sure.

Chad & Kimi came over with the "healthy" kids later on in the evening for pie (the pumpkin dessert was amazing Kimi). Dinner was fantastic, although Abi went down for a nap shortly into the meal.

We didn't celebrate with my family this year...we'll get to next year, though!

So, what do I have to be thankful for?
~Good health
~My Toddy
~Three beautiful children
~The opportunity to have lived in so many great places and meet so many amazing people (I love you and miss you all)
~The gospel in my life that has helped us through all of the changes that have taken place in our little lives
~Parents who have brought me up to be a (somewhat) decent person
~Siblings who bring me lots of laughs
~Painkillers & Chocolate...they go hand in hand (or are one in the same)