Funny things kids say....

Kaylee:
When I dropped her off for her first day of horse camp I hadnt told her about the camp prior to that day. I didnt want there to be any problems with Ainslee feeling left out or Kaylee having trouble sleeping beforehand from being excited. Anyways so we were walking up and Kaylee kept asking questions about what was going to happen and what they were going to be doing. As I was saying good bye to her she says "Mommy I might get to touch a horse today!" Little did she know then that she would be riding one. And to think that she was SOOOO excited about the thought of even touching one!

Ainslee:
we were driving one day and she asks "Mommy where are we going?" I said we have to find somewhere I can park so I can nurse Brynlee. She then noticed the car in front of us was making the same turns as us and appeared to be going the same place as we were. Then she asked "Mommy is that car going to find somewhere to nurse their baby too?"

Kaylee:
One night we were out to eat dinner and we ordered fries. As Kaylee bit into her giant steak fry she looked inside of it. She leaned over to me and whispered "Mommy there are potatoes inside these fries!" and I said "YES Kaylee that is what fries are made out of." She immediately leaned over to Ainslee and said "Ainslee we are eating potatoes!"



There have been MANY more things they have said lately but I failed to remember them or write them down, so they are lost and gone forever, unless they ever say them again

Brynlee's Medical Update

Brynlee has been experiencing some medical "issues" for quite some time now. She has had blood in her stool since she was about 2 months old. It isnt an every day thing, and it started out just little eraser size chunks (sorry for the graphic description). This was about the time I started putting her on the potty.  While I never noticed it in her diaper I recall seeing it many many times when she went on the potty, but i didnt keep track of how often it was. I didnt bring this to anyones attention, even Marcus' until she was about 3 1/2 months old. At that point I still wasnt quite sure if it was blood or not.  I continued to monitor it and then one day it was WAY more than usual, and it really alarmed me. I decided to bring her in to the doctor. The diagnosis was an anal fissure. I was never quite pleased with that diagnosis. And the next time it happened I examined the poo more.....gross I know! But i came to the conclusion that the blood was not with her poo it was IN her poo!  There is a big difference! I decided that I needed to bring in a sample for the doctors to see. So I waited.......until one day we were at the allergy doctor getting our shots. Brynlee was acting super strange and i decided to put her on the potty, which by the way I think is SUPER disgusting to put her on public pottys at this age, but she wanted to go and wouldnt go in her diaper! I noticed that there were a few BIG chunks when she went so I acted quick. My mom had the big girls out in the waiting room. I called her and asked her to come in the bathroom. I told her i needed to get the poo and blood out of the potty to bring to the pediatrician. She said she would rather be on "poo fishing duty" than keep the girls for me. So I gladly went and collected some supplies and she began fishing. We brought the sample to the doctor where it was confirmed blood. They sent me home with a proper collection kit and asked that I get a "clean" sample for testing. And also suggested that I remove dairy from my diet because she was fitting all the signs of having issues digesting dairy through my breastmilk.  So for the next 3 days I had to put her on the little potty so that I could catch everything, and I was officially gluten AND dairy free!

Finally Brynlee gave us 2 samples in one day and I saved them both. Since she gave them to us on a Saturday of a holiday weekend I had to keep that in my frig until Tuesday! double gross! I brought it to the doctor and also had an appointment to see the doctor. But this time her doctor was out of the office so we saw a different doc. She assured me that the blood was NOT coming from the fissure and that she wanted to run more tests. They attempted to draw blood from her but were unable to find her vein so I was sent to another location to have the blood drawn. About a week later we recieved the results back and her blood was negative for ALL allergies and her poo tests came back completely normal. The only thing that was slightly alarming was her hematocrit level. But since it was still within the "normal" limits (the very lowest number in the normal range) they said it was ok. I still continued to monitor the poo and they told me I could start eating dairy again. Then they referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist. When I called for an appointment the earliest they could get me in was 7 weeks. I was NOT pleased with that, so I called my pediatrician and they were able to expedite the process and get me in the very next Monday! Amazing how those things work out! We saw that doctor and got a better diagnosis of Allergic Colitis. At first I wasnt too keen on this diagnosis. But the more I thought about it I think I wasnt happy with the way it was presented to us. Here's what went down: we were brought to our room where the nurse asked lots of questions about her symptoms and dates and things of that nature. She feverishly wrote down everything in Bryn's chart and left the room. About 10 minutes later the doctor walks in carrying a piece of paper and begins to talk to us. Within the first 3 minutes he says "I think she has allergic colitis" and hands me the paper he brought in. I felt like he made the diagnosis without even looking at her or talking to me personally. But whatever, maybe this is so common and so trivial that it didnt require more of his time. To me this was a big deal! My infant daughter has had blood in her stool for 4 months! I took the info he gave us and went home to digest everything. He also told us this is something she will outgrow and that it doesnt mean that she will have allergies in the future. He assured me that she has a mild case and that I dont need to do anything to alter my diet/lifestyle as of yet. He said if the symptoms worsen then we will begin exploring options then.  And you know what......she hasnt had A SINGLE DROP of blood in her stool since! How crazy is that? So now she is medically cleared to start solids and we have been full force ahead trying and experimenting with all different kinds of food. Turns out she is much like her sisters in that she is NOT a fan of typical pureed baby food. She much prefers regular table food.  I am hoping that we have all blood issues behind us now! And I just want to know why kids start so early scaring the S**T out of thir parents?

Brynlee Growing - 6 months

Here are the lovely pictures I took of Brynlee on her 6 month birthday (a day late)

arent they just fantastic? NOT

ANd then I asked my super-D-duper friend to snap a few and this is what hers turned out looking like!

Dont get too excited people Im NOT putting headbands on my baby! I just let Bethany do it for pictures because it makes her happy! It just so happens that this one turned out AMAZING!!!

 I cant wait to get the rest of the pictures back from her......there are so many more cute ones!

1st Camp

Kaylee went to her first camp this summer. She has been to VBS, which I dont consider a camp, but it is sort of like camp. HA! anyways, I signed her up for a horse camp. I couldnt pass up the Groupon deal when it rolled through my email. It was $125 for a 5 days, 6 hours/day camp. I think she was a bit young for the camp, but I think she still enjoyed it. The days were SUPER long for her and she crashed hard every night. I really enjoyed the extra time with Ainslee and Brynlee too. While at camp she learned not only how to ride, but also about horse equipment and general info about the horses. Like I said she was a bit young for the camp (even though they allow 5 year olds) but one day she came home so excited that she got to take the horses' temperature she said "mommy I even got to stick the thermometer in its booty!" She can be so disturbing sometimes. One day they rode the horses in the water, and while I think she thought that was the coolest thing when we got her home and found TWO ticks on her she quickly began to DISlike the whole situation! Then after doing her laundry from that day I noticed tons of seed ticks on her socks and her shirt. I did not count them all but there had to be over 60 ticks on her clothing. DIS-GUSTING!!! And while she wasnt a fan of the long hot days, I wasnt a fan of the dirtiness! But we all made it through the week. Oh and on top of the "horse" stuff they did and the educational part of the camp they also threw in some crafts. One day they decorated horseshoes to bring home, one day they cut out pictures from magazines and made a wish list of horse things, one day they tye dyed shirts, and I cant remember what they did the other days.

The final day the parents were asked to come early to watch them "perform". My parents wanted to join us so Kaylee had a pretty big crowd. Before the riding began the campers showed us a dance they learned during their "down" time. You can tell where she got her dancing skills.....from her parents! (neither of us like to dance!) And you can also tell how incredibly exhausted she is! But it sure is funny!

Here she is riding her horse. The camp leaders told me that Kaylee always chose to ride the biggest horse they offered her. That didnt surprise me! Oh and she also learned how to trot at camp, which she was totally proud of. They gave the kids the option to show off their skills to the parents and Kaylee chose NOT to show her steering skills. This totally bummed me out. The counsellors said that she could in fact do the skill which made me a little happy, but sad she wouldnt show us. :(

As of right now I do NOT forsee horses in our future......THANK GOD!!!

Dug Deep and Working Out

I have been meaning to write on here for quite some time now. It has been over a month since my last post and OH so much has happened around here. But every time I felt like I could get around to writing, something always came up. And then once it got to a certain point i had dug myself into such a hole that I didnt know where to start.

I use this blog primarily for ME as a way to remember and document the things that happen in our lives. The good, the bad and the ugly. I like that it also is a place that others can read/comment on the crazy things I have to say, but that is not why I am writing this blog. So back to my point, I am going to try and catch up on the past 5-6 weeks or so and then work hard not to get myself behind again.

About 2 months ago I bought a groupon for 6 weeks of CrossFit classes. I was so eager to start and excited for finally getting to do something I wanted to do (sans kids). Dont get me wrong I get to do things I want to do but this was something that I have been dreaming about for years now. I have neglected my body since having kids. I have made half-hearted attempts to "workout" but none of them led to any results. Insert groupon

So the 1st class I attended I was nearly shaking I was so nervous. Would I be able to keep up? Would i fall out and die? ok maybe not DIE but I was scared I would injure myself or end up in the hospital  Would I make a complete fool of myself? That 1st class was ROUGH, but aren't they supposed to be? It felt so good! i couldnt walk for a couple days afterwards and it hurt to sit down but it was just what I needed! I continued on and attended ALL 12 (3 classes a week for 4 weeks) classes without missing a single one. I was pretty proud of myself for that. But what I was more proud of was the changes that I was making with my body. It made me look completely different. I had many people point this out to me before I actually saw the changes myself. My clothes were getting looser and looser. I was sleeping better at night. I had more energy. I looked forward to working out. I was LOVING it! After the 4 weeks of classes I still had 2 weeks of "unlimited" classes. Sadly I was only able to make it to 5 classes in those 2 weeks. And now this is my first week NOT working out. And I am saddened. I cannot/will not pay the price of a membership to this particular gym. But more importantly it is a small gym therefore there is no childcare, which is a major reason why I cant afford to join. I would have to find someone to keep my heathens and it just isnt feasible right now. Sooooo instead I have decided that I am going to attempt the workouts on my own at home. I know that this route is not the "best" but I am going to try and make it work. I will miss my friends at the gym, I will miss my trainer, and most of all I will miss the motivation that the other guys and girls provided. In order to keep up my workouts at home I am going to make a small investment towards the equipment needed; some of it I will make and others I am going to buy. I am excited about this new adventure. I am excited that I can do this at home on my time and not have to drive an hour (round trip) to the gym, and I am excited that I can get the girls involved. I want them to grow up with a passion to live healthy lives, I want them to eat right and I feel like the best way for me to instill this in them is to lead by example. And secretly I am hoping to get Marcus involved too!

When you hear about CrossFit training you most likely will hear about a diet that goes along with it. I really dont like the word "diet".  For me, I like to say "way of eating". Maybe it is the same thing, but to me the word diet has taken on a negative connotation. The way of eating that is encouraged in the CrossFit community is called Paleo. I tried super duper hard to stick to this while CrossFitting. I did have some cheats, but overall I'd say i did a good job. I have continued to eat better even after my classes ended.

So if you want something that will make you look better and FEEL better and overall live a better life.......try CrossFit! Oh and what I love most about CrossFit is..... I wasnt just running on a treadmill or riding on an elliptical the entire time. I was engaging in purposeful movements, things that will aid me in my everyday life.


Here are some of our favorite recipes....

Kale Chips The girls couldnt shove these in fast enough

Steak Ive made this twice now and it is a HUGE hit!

Peach Crisp I made this 3 times with some of the 25lbs of peaches I got from the bulk co-op (more on that later) I joined. It is divine!

Pad See Ew I made this last night for dinner. It was my most favorite meal at this Thai restaurant we used to eat at. The last time I ordered it, I ended up in bed for like 3 days because of the gluten content. Needless to say, this version does NOT contain gluten!

Pork Chops Im not a big pork fan, but this was pretty good

Mashed Cauliflower (I loved this, but the girls wouldnt touch it, in fact it nearly made them gag. But then again they dont really like mashed potatoes either)

Dates watch out! these suckers are ADDICTIVE!!! YUMM-O!

we love making homemade lara bars too. Our recent favorite is dark chocolate macadamia nut!

and of course we make smoothies almost everyday too which is a fantastic way to get in more veggies and fruits and healthy fats

Here's to living a healthier, happier life!

and not abandoning my blog for weeks months at a time