Christmas Eve

We started off Christmas Eve with donuts from our favorite bakery in Lehi. You know it’s going to be a great day when it starts off with donuts, am I right? We had lunch later in the day with Tj’s parents and brother’s family at Cubby’s then all went over to Eva’s grandparents’ house for lots of fun! The kids played bingo, decorated sugar cookies for Santa, had a little gift exchange, and then a Christmas Spiritual thought about following the footsteps of Christ. It was so sweet. We turned off the lights and then the kids had flashlights and went on a little scavenger hunt. We then wrapped up the night with the kids singing Christmas carols and opening up new jammies. Christmas is a whole new ball game with kids. It’s so magical and absolutely precious.

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A Visit to Santa

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We took the kids to see Santa on the 23rd of December. Eva had her list ALL ready to recite, and dang… that girl had some high expectations. She wanted a wedding barbie doll, a new princess dress, and a magic mermaid tail that changed colors in water. I told her I wasn’t sure if Santa made those. But she replied, “Yes, he does, he makes toys and is magic.”

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Odds and Ends from December

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Eva went to a Birthday party where they got to meet Elsa and all dress up as princesses. Obviously, she had a wonderful time.

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Finn started sitting in his jumper this month and loves it so much! He gets so proud of himself. Adorable. Eva gets very jealous that she can’t get in.

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I learned how to carry Finn front-facing in my wrap. Total game changer! He doesn’t look like he loves it from the picture, but I promise he does!

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We drove through Thanksgiving Point’s light display one evening while we ate our dinner in the car and listened to Christmas music. It was a fun Christmas activity which we will probably do again since we don’t have to get out in the cold with the kids.

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One afternoon, I took Eva and Finn to the Christmas puppet show at the Library. I love all the little free events and activities they put on!

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I put Finn down on his playmat for one second and the next, I looked over and Eva had put antlers on him. She was laughing up a storm! So funny!

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They sang Happy Birthday to Eva and her friend at church one Sunday. I still can’t believe she is four years old!
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Eva LOVES playing (and eating) in the snow. We have an enclosed backyard, so I send her out there to play while Finn and I watch from inside!

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Home Alone at the Orchestra

We were so lucky to get two date nights in ONE weekend in December. We rarely go on dates, and so to have two in a row was nuts. We had kind of had an off day though so it almost didn’t happen, but we already had tickets to see Home Alone at the Utah Symphony (they played the soundtrack while the movie played on a projector, it was awesome!) so we decided to still go.

We got off to a late start and my anxiety level was already at like a 9/10 (see previous postpartum aftermath post ha!) and then we hit TERRIBLE traffic heading up to Salt Lake. We were going so slow and changed lanes, and of course got into an accident. That delayed us another hour, since we had to wait for the police and do a report. Thankfully everyone was fine and the cars weren’t in terrible shape. I told TJ we should just head back but then we just started laughing at how terrible our whole day had been. We kept making up funny scenarios of where the guy who’s car we hit would have just yelled out the window and said, “Don’t worry about it, have a great day!” Or, “Thanks guys, you actually did me a favor.” Or, “Here’s one million dollars, don’t worry about my car!” Sounds really dumb when I write it out now, but it cheered us up (plus I treated myself to a diet coke!) and we ended up making the movie at intermission and caught the second half. Afterwards, we walked around Temple Square a bit and admired the temple and temple grounds where we were married in, all lit up in Christmas lights! It was a bittersweet date, our car still has a dent, but we had fun!

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Framed Lace

I’ve been wanting to make and sell these for a long time and finally have gotten around to it! They are made out of frames and antique crocheted lace. I think they’re so cute and a great way to organize all of your bows and clips. You can also just hang them up (without bows) for decoration.

I’ll eventually reopen our Etsy shop and put them on there, but until then I’m selling these framed lace bow holders here on my blog. I’ve currently have two different frames for sale. Each are $25 + $4 shipping.

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The Christmas Carol

My in-laws took all of us to see The Christmas Carol at the Hale Center Theater. We left the kids with TJ’s cousin and got to have a night out with all the adults. It was such a great production and made me realize how much of a Scrooge I sometimes can be, especially at Christmas. Hopefully I can learn a little bit from Charles Dickens and try to be kind and generous to all those around me… all year round!

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Resolutions

I’ve thought long and hard about my resolutions this year. I’m not going to share ALL of them with you, but here are seven.

  1. Give love and be loved.
    • In my marriage, to my children, friends, and family.
  2. Live in present, stop living in the past.
    • This means to stop crying every time I see a scene of NYC.
  3. Take more video.
    • And then organize them!
  4. Don’t stress the small stuff.
    • And remind myself that most of it IS small stuff.
  5.  Go to bed before midnight.
    • Preferably at 10:30.
  6. Lose 25 pounds.
    • Tone it up!
  7. Although it sounds cheesy, let my light shine.
    • Smile, be optimistic, and share my testimony.

I’m rereading The Happiness Project again (I like to read it each January or whenever I get in a rut). If you want to get your life in order and set some good goals, I definitely recommend that book!

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The Nutcracker

My friend and I took our girls to see the Nutcracker performed by a dance company in Sandy at a high school. It was very family friendly and really cheap, so it was perfect to bring a four year old to. The girls really enjoyed it although some parts got a little long for them (some of those solos are long!), but overall it was a great afternoon. We then got cupcakes afterward to celebrate Eva’s birthday a little bit. Seeing the Nutcracker with daughters (or sons if they want to come, obviously) is a tradition I’m going to do each year from now on!

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Biggest Loser: Week 1

Guys, we are ONE week down. How did it go? Have you lost weight? I did really well in the beginning of the week, planned out my meals and workouts but didn’t plan it for the weekend. And guess what? I did terribly this weekend and probably gained a pound back (I’m too scared to check!). But I learned my lesson. To have success, you must plan ahead. I also learned a couple other things this week. Found a couple things that really worked and thought I’d share them with you!

  1. Like I said earlier, success starts with planning. So, plan out ALL of your meals and snacks ahead of time. Then prepare as much as possible ahead of time. Also, schedule your workouts. Side note: I went to a fitness dance class this week and it was so fun! I was the most out of shape person there which was kind of embarrassing, but I still enjoyed it!
  2. Make snack bags! Last Monday, I cut up and bagged up all the veggies I wanted to eat every day. Then each day, all I had to was grab the new baggie and just snack on those through the day if I was getting hungry. I also washed my fruit ahead of time and bagged up servings of grapes too. Snacking is really what gets me in trouble so having those baggies ready really helped.
  3. Drink tons of water. Whenever I felt hungry for a snack, I tried to drink a big glass of water first.
  4. Keep track of what you eat. I use the app MyFitnessPal on my phone (you can also do it on their website) and track everything! It looks at the nutrition breakdown too, which gets really addicting. It turns out I eat way too much sugar (duh!), never enough potassium, and at first not enough protein. So, to fix the protein deficiency, I decided to add more to my breakfast. I’m one who typically skips breakfast or just will snack on some dry cereal. But this week I really made an effort to eat a big breakfast everyday. Most days I ate a hard boiled egg white, turkey sausage links, light & fit vanilla Greek Yogurt sprinkled with oats (I like that for the texture), and a cup of carbmaster chocolate milk. That big breakfast prevented me from snacking every day in the morning/early afternoon,gave me a lot of energy, and got me 100% of my DV of protein! Seriously, get the app, it’s awesome. And add me as friend on there!
  5. Have a support system! I got TJ on board with me (he’s not doing the competition though because if we BOTH won, it would look like we rigged the whole thing haha!) and was open and up front with him about my weight. I don’t know if I have ever told him what I’ve weighed in the past, it just has seemed embarrassing. But he told me his weight, his goal weight, and so I did the exact same. Then when we have success we can cheer each other on and also find ways to eat healthy and exercise together! Oh, and talking about success… he’s down two pounds and I’m down five! Yeah!

Good luck on week 2! I guess I shouldn’t be sharing what worked for me because I don’t want you guys to beat me! But hopefully you all can share with me any other tips you guys have… Maybe you can give me tips on how to do well on the weekend. I have it in my mind that weekend=cheat days but if I cheat for 2.5 days a week then I’m going to definitely fail. Help!

 

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The Aftermath of Having a Baby

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Like many women, I’ve had some postpartum anxiety and sadness (I don’t want to say depression because I don’t think it’s ever gotten to that point) since having Finn. Nothing to be too concerned about, but it is something I finally came to terms with in December and am trying to deal with everyday.

Since realizing I’ve got these postpartum issues, I’ve been trying to figure out the triggers. Obviously my emotions and hormones have a lot to do with it, but there are definite things in my life that make it worse/better. Here are some of the things that give me the most anxiety:

  1. Running late
  2. Dirty house
  3. Lack of sleep
  4. Getting everything done in the day
  5. Finn screaming

I feel like figuring out those five biggest things was a really good step because I can now be aware of them (and let TJ know about it) and learn how to relieve the stress that comes with each.

  1. Running late: Prepare better and give myself a break! Wake up earlier, take my showers at night when the kids are asleep, plan out meals and activities ahead of time. And when all else fails, tell yourself, “It’s okay! So, you’re ten minutes late…. It’s fine.” One Sunday I was taking both kids to church by myself (TJ was already there early to pass the Sacrament) and we were running late. I found myself yelling, telling Eva to go faster, in tears because of how stressed out I was. Then I told myself, “It’s okay. You’re doing your best. At least you’re going to church. God sees your efforts.” It was such a huge relief. I just need to give myself a break sometimes. And the next week, get my church clothes and bag all ready to go so we are out the door earlier.
  2. Dirty house: Do a little each day and… give myself a break! I used to have one day a week where I did a deep clean. I spent hours working on it but those days are long gone. I can no longer spend four straight hours cleaning the house now that I have a newborn. So, I’ve got to do a little each day. I used to never ever leave dishes in the sink at night but now, if I have so many things to do like tending Finn, reading to Eva, getting my work done for my Dad, sometimes I’ve got to tell myself, “They’re just dishes. I can do them in the morning.” Why does that cause me so much anxiety? Why do I even have to tell myself that? I just need to give myself a break! Happy kids are more important than a clean house. BUT it does need to get done because I cannot live in a dirty house. I’m in no means a clean freak, but I definitely feel stressed when there’s clutter, dirty floors, or laundry to be done. I’m still trying to find a balance with this.
  3. Lack of sleep: Go to bed earlier, eat healthy, take naps. I love watching TV. That’s not a secret. At the end of the night, I just want to lay in bed and watch episode after episode of whatever series I’m currently binge watching. I also have it in my head that anything before midnight is too early to go to sleep. I’m just a night owl! But with a new baby, this is completely ridiculous. Go to bed, Katie! You’re nuts! I’ve also trying to eat healthier and drink more water (Thanks Danica for that resolution idea, instead of saying drink less diet coke, just drink more water!). I’m sure the more I do this, I’ll feel better and more awake each day!
  4. Getting everything done in the day: Make a to-do list. I’ve started making a to-list on my phone and it has been awesome! I write everything down, including just “take Eva to school” so at the end of the day, I can check lots of stuff off and feel like I really got a lot done! And then the things I didn’t get to that day, I can finish up the next. Scheduling my activities and meals ahead of time also has helped with this. I’m trying to waste less time and get things done like a boss! And on the days I’m tired (see number 3), give myself a break (see number 1 and 2).
  5. Finn Screaming: Hmmm…  Yeah this one is still a huge anxiety trigger for me. If I’m trying to get out the door on time, Finn is screaming in his car seat, and Eva is being a crazy four year old, I almost LOSE IT! Like 75% of the time I start to cry. You’d think I’d be used to his crying by now, but I’m not. I just want peace in my life, kids! I find myself shouting, “SERENITY NOW!” (Seinfeld, anyone?) It’s so hard sometimes, it’s worth it, but it’s hard. I think working on numbers 1-4 though should help number five because my life will be more organized and I’ll have more time to tend Finn and be happier when doing so. In the end, just lots of prayer and singing lots of hymns… those are the the two biggest ways to help me deal with this.

There you have it. My five biggest anxiety triggers right now and how I’m trying to deal with them. I haven’t written about my New Year’s Resolutions yet, but a lot of those are centered around these five things so I can be happier everyday and try to relieve stress in my life! Motherhood is a journey (and hormones are a major B), but it’s worth it. I know it is.

I’d love to hear your stories about your postpartum aftermath and how you’ve dealt with it! Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message.

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