February Is One Heck Of A Month

My cute little family has been passing colds around since mid-December and I, for one, am sick and tired of being sick and tired. Last week it was Emma who had a cold with an incredibly runny nose, cough, and low-grade fevers. Now it's Liam's turn. I'm glad I stayed home from work today to take care of him, because he has a double ear infection! Poor buddy. These kinds of colds make it hard for kids to sleep well at night, and if kids don't sleep well, Mommy doesn't sleep well. Poor Mommy.

Anyhow, since I'm home from work and Little Dude is napping (I should really be napping too, but that's just not my style.) I figure it's time to write a quick blog!

This is how he feels about ear infections, Nursery, and Daddy spiking his hair.

February is a big month for us. Liam hit the 18 month mark, which meant he got to attend Nursery at church for the first time. That didn't go over so well. Previously, he had his sister and a parent in there with him. This time his family ditched him. He was okay for 20 minutes, then he noticed we were missing and he sort of lost his mind. We'll try it again this Sunday, if he's well enough to not snot on all the kids and toys.

18 months: 25 lbs 11oz

4 years: 35 lbs 6 oz

Emma turned FOUR! I had no desire to throw a party and bring other people's germs into my house, but we had to celebrate. Emma wanted to go out for ice cream, so that is what we did. We invited four of her little girl friends to come to Menchie's with one of their parents. I bought the girls ice cream, they watched Emma open gifts, they ran in circles around the tables, and then we all went home. It was one sweet hour of my time and everyone seemed to have fun. I loved it.

Hello from the Oakland Temple

Barry and I had our sixth wedding anniversary, and Valentine's Day was also our fifth anniversary of being sealed in the Oakland Temple. We celebrated by leaving the kids at home (Thanks, Mom!) and having a weekend adventure. The glory of being able to eat my meals without making sure kids were eating first was worth the weekend away. That, and sleeping through the night without having to get up to tuck anyone in or wipe any noses, are just a few simple reasons why parents need adult time. 

Fentons.
This was devoured shortly after I inhaled a cheeseburger.

My happy place.

I hope all of you are doing well and not coughing through the night.

Adventures in Hypothyroidism

On Christmas day I gave up sugar. It definitely wasn't the most convenient timing ever, but it's what I decided to do. I had been in a horrible funk, unable to regain energy after my afternoon crash, and I thought this little break from my best friend might help.

I went one month and four days without any desserts, candy, or other magnificent sweet. I wasn't perfect, because bbq bacon cheeseburgers happen, and I'm fairly certain that Chili's bbq sauce is loaded with high fructose corn syrup. I also had pancakes on a few occasions and ate a sample of cinnamon raisin bread at Costco before thinking about its sugar content. (It was delicious.) Overall, I rocked it. I am feeling a lot better, still often tired and lazy, but not as wiped out as before.

Wednesday last week I decided to reintroduce sugar. I had one little See's chocolate with lunch and one mini ice cream sandwich (made with coconut milk instead of dairy-so good!) with dinner. I didn't die or feel horrible the next day, so things are good.

I've decided to allow sweets into my life on a limited basis, and only with meals. I need to make sure my blood sugar doesn't spike and plummet too much if I want to prevent my midday exhaustion, so grabbing a cookie when I'm hungry between meals is a no-no.

In addition to cutting out sugar, I increased my thyroid medication at the start of the New Year. That's probably helping with my energy levels some as well. It's also helping prevent my wee-hours-of-the-night ridiculously low heart rate of 40 beats per minute from happening so often. Good thing, too, because I don't like feeling my heart do weird things in my chest.

Now, if I could just sleep for more than a few consecutive hours at a time I'd really be feeling great...

The Books of 2013

I love to read. It's my escape from reality without actually having to leave my house. Miss Emma stopped napping during the summer, so the past six months have involved less reading than I'd like, but such is life.

Here's what I read in 2013. (The * denotes books read for my book group.)

Matched
Crossed
Reached - Ally Condie
This fictional trilogy is about a young woman in a dystopian society who comes of age and has to figure out what to do with her life. It sucked me in right away and was a very enjoyable read. It's sort of Hunger Games meets Twilight. I liked it.

* A Girl Named Zippy - Haven Kimmel
A memoir of a girl growing up in a small town in Indiana. I confess, I didn't finish reading it, partly because I couldn't get through it fast enough before it was due back at the library. Some of the stories she shared were hilarious, though.

* Princess - Jean Sasson
Wow. This book was an amazing, horrifying eye-opener. It's a true story of a Saudi Arabian princess in modern times. Her stories of wealth and extravagances contrasted with stories of horrific female oppression had me riveted. I couldn't put it down. I was hooked and disgusted at the same time. You should read it.

* Star Girl - Jerry Spinelli
A young adult novel about a unique girl who shows up out of nowhere and turns a clique-filled, judgmental high school upside down.  It's awesome. You should probably read this, too.

Heaven Is Here - Stephanie Nielson
A true story about a mother, not much older than me, who survived a plane crash which burned 80% of her body. This woman nearly lost it all, but held tight to her love for her family and her faith. It's a great story of hope, faith, and survival.

* Ruby Red
Sapphire Blue
Emerald Green - Kerstin Geir
I LOVED these books! Another fictional, young adult series that sucked me in with the first page. The story is about a girl who inherited a rare time traveling gene. These books are full of humor, adventure, young love, and mystery. I can't wait to read them again!

The Maze Runner
The Scorch Trials
The Death Cure - James Dashner
Yet another fictional, young adult series (I'm sensing a theme, here.) that I enjoyed. The first book was my favorite. It's a very mysterious, adventure-filled page turner. I was hooked and had to know how it would all end. By the second book, I started to tire of the bad luck the characters face over and over, but it was still a fun read. I'm thinking of reading the prequel, The Kill Order.

* A Wrinkle In Time - Madeleine L'Engle
I chose this one for book group because I loved these stories as a kid and like any opportunity to reread them. It's a sci-fi adventure where the kids save the day.

The Host - Stephanie Meyer
I saw the movie first and decided I needed to read the book. This story of aliens who have taken over humans' bodies and conquered the Earth was fun, with great characters and creative experiences. I really enjoyed it.

* Pope Joan - Donna Woolfolk Cross
I absolutely could not put this one down. I recommend it to everyone. Pope Joan may or may not have existed, but this historical fiction novel tells the story of her life as she was educated, disguised herself as a man, and rose through the ranks of the Catholic church. The characters are well developed, and the author did a fantastic job of displaying what life was like during the Dark Ages. Read it!

* Stumbling On Happiness - Daniel Gilbert
I confess, I didn't get very far into this one, but I liked what I read. (After Pope Joan, I just wanted to get sucked into another novel.) The author is witty and explains how our minds work and that we only think we know what makes us happy. I'd like to come back to this sometime and try it again.

* Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
This is a favorite of mine. I enjoy Austen's novels, because of her characters, their dialogue, and the wit of her heroines. Plus, reading the book gave me an excuse to re-watch the movies, which I did with Emma this time around! Yay!

* The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey - Susan Wojciechowski
This is a great picture book about a wood carver who is befriended by a young boy and reminded of the spirit of Christmas. It made me cry a little. You should read it.

Seventeen completed books. Not too bad.

I'm currently reading To Kill A Mockingbird, but am about to put that on hold to read The Little Prince for book group. I'm planning on reading The Book Thief and Wool in the near future too, along with a book a month with my group! Here's to another year of great reading!!!! Cheers!