Easter Extravaganza 2010


What a fun week/weekend. We have just come off of Spring break; it was Conference Weekend; and Easter Weekend. The weather was horrible basically all week...but on Easter Morning the sun came out. Perfect timing.

Brynnie had a great first Easter. She loved the plastic eggs.

Bryn and Ailey got matching Easter dresses...Reilly is too big for the matching dresses...sniff

Kameron looking thrilled...was he blinded by the sunshine that he hadn't seen for so long? :) All Kameron wanted for his Easter outfit was a nice tie from Nordstrom. Very easy to please.

Reilly

We had a great Easter morning, watched the first session of Sunday General Conference (What a great conference we had!!), and then headed out to the lake to gather as a family for a wonderful Easter Dinner and Easter Egg Hunt.

My Aunt Marji and Uncle Dennis and several of their children and their families were all in town and we had a great time visiting with them. It really was such a great reminder on Easter of the eternal nature of families and the great gift of the Atonement that allows that to occur.

Bryn ready for the hunt and waiting patiently while the dads and teens hid the eggs. Then the madness began.

Daddy and Bryn hunting those eggs

Ailey, Reilly and Zeke

Dane

Kameron

Bryn loved hunting eggs. She had so much fun with those plastic eggs...who cares about the candy inside?

Such a cutie!!

It was impossible to get everyone to look at the camera and someone was always crying.

The best of the bunch!! From left on the bench: Ashlun, River, Dane, Gabe, Ailey, Reilly, Baby Lola, Daxton, Breckley and baby Kesli. On the front row: Kameron, Bryn, Elle, and Zeke. Do note that by this time both Bryn and Elle were howling.

Ken, Mom, my uncle Steve and my cousin Kellen

River and Ailey

Elle and Bryn

Gabe

John, Dane and River

Tyler, Mom, Elle and my cousin Jaymon

Elle

Jaymon and Kelley...the original Ailey and Dane

Dax and Kam

Zeke and Gabe

Reilly, Granny and Maklun...when did these little girls grow up!?!

Fixing dinner

Kellen (the daddy...crazy) and his darling baby girl Lola

Ashlun and Ailey...these girls had the best time together!!

Ailey the crazy boiled egg girl. She LOVES hard boiled eggs. When I was boiling our 4 dozen eggs for the Easter Egg Hunt our house smelled disgusting. Ailey walked into the house, took a big whiff and said "Oh my mouth is WATERING!!" Only Ailey.

Cousin pyramid

Bottom Row: Maklun, Reilly, Zeke and Gabe

Middle: Breckley, Dane, and Kameron

Top: Jaymon

And they all fell down

Then some adults got in on the action:

Bottom: Jessi, Uncle Dennis, Jaymon, Gabe
Middle: Reilly, Maklun, Gabe, Kameron
Top: Breckley, Ailey, Ashlun

Many of you have waited for this video and here it is...Elle can crawl but she likes to get around this way because she can go so much faster...for your viewing enjoyment:

Then out came the dress-ups:

It wouldn't be a family gathering without dressing up. Lookin' good guys!!

Happy Easter from our family to yours!!

Double Trouble


Saturday was my niece Elle's first birthday and since Bryn's birthday is only two weeks later we decided to have a double birthday bash for these two cuties. Elle and Bryn put on their tutus, headed to Chuck E. Cheese, and partied like crazy one year olds. It was a WILD TIME!!

Hey Elle...they're trying to take our picture. Let's agree to never look at the camera.

Some more party animals!!

River, Kameron, Reilly, Ailey and Dane

Grandma Vic and Grandpa Ken

Aunt Stacey and River

Birthday Girl...Elle Jane

Birthday Girl...Bryn Kaitrin

Brynnie in her birthday crown with Mommy and Daddy. She would not wear that thing and was pretty traumatized when Chuck E. Cheese himself came over to place it on her head.

Not a fan of Chuck E. Cheese

Is a fan of presents!!

And money!!

Elle liked presents too when she wasn't jammin' to the music. She was rocking out!!

How cute are these mini-cakes?

And then she grabbed the lit candle...Hmm...perhaps Tyler should have been the one filming instead of me!!

Much safer now that it's blown out

Both girls dug right into their cakes...yum yum!!

Elle liked hers!!

The most HILARIOUS video EVER!! Go Elle Go.

How many hours have we been at Chuck E. Cheese?

Bryn and Grandma

Hanging out with Aunt Stacey...Uncle John was there too...he must've been playing games.

A little tiring but a fun day all in all.

Happy Birthday Cute Girls!!

Weaned


No...not Bryn. She's been weaned for months. I've been weaned from my anti-anxiety medication. (Not pictured above!!) Just in case any of you might have been wondering but were too afraid ask..."Is Kristin still on her happy pills?" The answer would be no. Not any longer.

So in analyzing this whole experience I have come to the conclusion that I really have no idea if the medication worked or not. Half the time I wondered if they were just placebos. (Is paranoia a side effect?) I started taking them at the first of the year. I took them while my cast was on and then was encouraged to finish out the prescription. Which ended up being basically three months. Then I had to call back in to get my instructions for the "weaning." Holy crap.

I guess the medication worked in that I didn't end up hacking my cast off and by the time I got it removed it barely bothered me (ok that's a lie...it bugged the crap out of me.) But did the medication reduce my anxiety? NO. I still felt lots of anxiety (I am a big worrier by nature) and had some worrisome things that occurred during this time and believe you me I felt it all. Obviously I would need a much larger dosage (perhaps horse tranquilizer size) to deal with my own particular brand of crazy.

I felt slightly subdued when I first started taking the meds but after about a month or so I felt like myself again. I found that I clenched my jaw A LOT... especially at night. (This is a common side effect.) In asking Tyler if he noticed any difference in me he said that the medication took the "edge" off. I was extremely insulted. What did he mean by my "edge"? Jerk. But since the weaning I get it. I have a short fuse. I get mad easily and fast. The medication really did help with that. After I began the weaning process I noticed it's return even though I didn't notice it's departure. Weird. Is that reason enough to stay on the medication? No. Patience is something that can be learned.

All in all, I really believe that my panic attack and cast-claustrophobia were due to a bad reaction to hydrocodone. (I have had bad reactions to it before and most of my claustrophobia/panic ended once I stopped taking the hydrocodone and switched to ibuprofen.) Either way I learned a lot about myself during this process. There is no weakness in asking for help if you need it. There is nothing to be ashamed of if you need anti-depressants/anti-anxiety medication. If you need it--use it!! If I need some help later in my life I won't hesitate to go in and have a frank conversation with my physician. No problem.

Now onto the weaning...that was a scary conversation with my physician. I have always known that you can't just go off this kind of medication "cold turkey"...you have to wean yourself slowly. Slowly is right. This has been a several week process. One that required me taking meticulous notes, marking off days on my calendar, and cutting pills. The doctor kept asking me on the phone "Mrs. Johnson, do you have a pen and paper because it is crucial that you write this down...it is crucial that you do not deviate from this plan...it is crucial that you call us immediately if you feel different/off/or have any unusual symptoms...now I need you to read your notes back to me so I know that you have the schedule of days and dosages down correctly. I can't stress enough how important it is that you do not deviate from this schedule and that you call us immediately if you have any problems." Uh-scary. Now I have anxiety about my anxiety medication!!

So far so good. No problems as of yet except for the fact that I have added two new phobias to my long list: breaking bones and panic attacks. File those right under rats and cats please. I am still glad to say I only had the one panic attack...but it was enough. I'm keeping THAT medication around "just in case". So I'm a little wiser, a little more empathetic and a little more "edgy" but hey I'm back to being me!!

New Year New You

In January our Relief Society did the greatest thing. We started a "New Year New You" Program. I can't tell you how amazing this whole 7 week process was. It has made a huge difference in my life. The purpose was to help the women kick off 2010 in a positive way and to help them begin to set and attain goals. It was kind of like our own "Biggest Loser" but weight loss wasn't the only goal of the program.

The women who signed up were divided into teams of about 4 and a team leader and team name were picked. We actually had a good turn out of women who wanted to participate. Each day there were specific goals that needed to be accomplished and tally sheets had to be meticulously kept. You got so many points for doing certain things each day. Once a week you would meet as a team to give your point totals for the week, weight loss, inches lost, provide support to each other and to report on your personal goal.

Here's a break down of the program:

Exercise: 30-45 min. per day = 15 pts. and 45-60 min. per day = 20 pts. (Encouraged to work out every day except Sunday.)


Water: 1 pt. per 8oz. glass (encouraged to drink 8 glasses per day)


7+ hours of sleep per night: 5 pts.

5+ servings of fruits/vegetables per day: 10 points

No eating after 8pm or 2 hours before bed: 5 points



Prayers (morning and night): 2 points per prayer.



Scripture Reading: 5 points



Personal Goal (Each woman was encouraged to set a personal goal to work on): 15 points per week.

Lost Pounds: 10 pts. /1 lb and 5 pts. for a 1/2 lb. If you were wanting to lose weight you were encouraged to follow a weight loss program like Weight Watchers etc. For those who didn't want to lose weight they could journal for their points.

(If you didn't meet as a team and report your points/weight/inches each person would lose 10 points for the week.)

Each teams points for the week and ranking were displayed on a poster every Sunday. It was extremely motivating because you didn't want to let your team down by being the weak link.

Our ward did amazingly well. We had our end celebration a few weeks ago. The winning team received prizes as did the person who lost the most weight and the person who lost the most inches. Sadly my team didn't win but I feel I made some great progress and established some good habits. 7 weeks is a long time and it really had an effect on my daily life.

I somewhat followed Weight Watchers not seriously but just kept points/portions in mind. (I have done Weight Watchers several times in the past to great results.) I made sure I ate lots of fruit and veggies...fairly easy for a flexitarian/vegetarian family...but even I had to add a few more daily portions for myself. I really upped my water intake. I love water and drink it all the time but when I started paying close attention I realized I wasn't drinking even close to the amount I that I should be drinking daily. I also upped my workouts from 4 days a week to 6 days a week. (I started this program in January so I was even working out with my arm in a cast.)

The personal goal I set was to journal more...I decided that could take the form of blogging/facebooking/gratitude journal/regular journal. That was a good goal for me because my blogging had gone way down hill and I had to blow the dust off my gratitude journal (which I have previously kept very regularly for the past 13 + years.)

My results:

Since beginning this program I have lost 10 lbs and 10 1/2 inches. This was nice because I am back to my pre-baby weight and even had to buy a smaller pair of jeans because my pre-baby jeans were too big. I still would like to lose an additional 5-10 lbs and a few more inches plus firm up a lot more. But it has been a great way to start 2010 with good, healthy habits and some weight loss. I am still keeping track of everything and recording my tallies in a journal to help me stay on track.

This program was so much fun and I really appreciate all the hard work and time that went into putting this whole program together by some amazing women in our ward!!

How are you doing on your New Year's Resolutions? I've still got quite a few that could use some work but at least I feel like I have made some good progress so far.

***If any of you read the Mary Jane's Farm Magazine check out the April/May issue. My sister, Stacey, and her Dining Divas group were featured. Exciting!!***

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

"...With everyone telling you be of good cheer...It's the most wonderful time of the year...It's the hap-happiest season of all..."

(I'm singing and twirling with joy!!)

The dreary and dark Pacific Northwest just got a little less dark. Good-bye dark at 4pm. Good riddance!! How I love daylight savings time. Sweet sweet harbinger of summer!!

"It's the most wonderful time...la la la la...of the year!!"

What I Am Up To

Here's what I'm doing these days:

1.) My house is undergoing a MAJOR de-crapification process. That is the removal of any and all
unnecessary, non-aesthetically pleasing, and non-sentimental crap from our house that has
been accumulating for the past few years. It is a monumental project. But each day I get a
bit more done and the joy of seeing all this unnecessary stuff heading for Goodwill fills me with glee. My motto is "purge, purge, purge."

2.) I started physical therapy yesterday for my wrist. It is healing and getting better everyday but it is going a bit slower than my doctor would like...and it's still pretty stiff...so I now will go to P.T. twice a week. After just one session I can already tell a big difference.

3.) I have been listen to this book on my Ipod and computing it to memory:


I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend it!! It has saved the sanity of two adults in our family and the life of one 13 year-old. It is fantastic. Tyler even finished it before I did and loved it...and the last parenting book he read was...oh yeah...he's never read one. So that's especially high praise.

4.) I am also marveling that these two girls are about to turn ONE!!

Bryn and Elle

Aren't these the cutest almost one year-olds on the planet? Their Grandma is pretty cute too!!

I don't think I've mentioned it on the blog but Bryn is crawling and into everything!! It is so fun to see her booking it around the house...she's very fast...I'll have to post some video. It is so interesting to me how different kids are. Reilly and Ailey never crawled...they just stood up and walked. Kameron crawled for so long I was beginning to worry about him. I had to bribe him with cookies for weeks to get him up off his chubby behind. Elle is crawling too but for awhile she has been doing the most hilarious butt-scoot I have ever seen. I wish I had video of that.
These two girls are going to have quite the double birthday bash in a few weeks...as is befitting two miracle babies.

So that's what I'm up to...

Two Light Spring Recipes

I have Spring Fever. I'm done with winter...even though I have been LOVING our mild winter this year. But as Spring is approaching it affects my cooking. I don't feel like eating the heavier winter comfort foods...I start craving healthier meals. I have been scouring blogs, magazines, and cookbooks for some new healthy recipes to add to my repertoire.

Here are two delicious recipes that are light, healthy, economical, and vegetarian (or not) that you should give a try. I made these and my family loved both and I have since made them each a few more times to rave reviews.

Black Bean Couscous Salad

(I found this recipe on a blog...can't remember where...but I've tweaked it a bit to make it my own. This is probably my favorite recipe of the two even though I really love both. I triple this recipe. It's really good for lunch the next day.)

1 cup uncooked couscous
1 1/4 chicken broth (I use bouillon because I am cheap and it doesn't affect the taste either way)
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T fresh lime juice (I use way more than this because I like it to have a real zing)
1 T red wine vinegar (I add more than this too because I like it tangy)
Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
8 chopped green onions
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro ( I probably add more because I love cilantro)
1 bag frozen corn, thawed
2 cans black beans, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil and stir in couscous. Cover pot and remove from heat. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then fluff with a fork and break up any large chunks.

Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, cayenne pepper and vinegar. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn, and beans and toss to coat. Add couscous and mix well. Can serve at once or can be refrigerated.

Wild Rice Mango Salad

(I got this off my sister Stacey's Dining Divas blog. Very good. I have also slightly tweaked this recipe as well. I usually double the recipe...due to the avocado it's best to be eaten the day you make it.)

1 cup wild rice, uncooked
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breasts (I usually leave this out and add two cups cashews instead...very good!!)
1 avocado, diced
1 large ripe mango, diced
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 T orange juice (I usually add more...I like it orange-y)
1 T olive oil
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (I usually add more)
garlic powder to taste (about 1-2 T)
salt and pepper to taste

(If you do add chicken still add at least a cup of cashews as well. It's really good.)

Cook rice and cool slightly. In a large bowl, combine nuts, (chicken if added), avocado, mango, red pepper, and green onions. In a small bowl, combine orange juice, oil, cayenne, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss with rice mixture. Can eat right away.