Featuring my new countertops!!

I have been suffering with the grossest kitchen these last 5 years.

Nasty grout I've tried re-coloring, chipped tile, missing tile.

No matter how hard I scrubbed, it never looked clean.

The sink, well it was so bad I can't really describe it.

And the growth on the faucet had become permanent.

But now I have a gorgeous sink & faucet!

And pretty countertops that look clean even when I don't wipe them down!!

I love cleaning the kitchen now. We'll see how long that lasts......

My attempt at Easter pictures

Basic fun on Easter.

Dress up, find eggs filled with candy.

Delicious dinner.

Good family times.

Do you like my compost bin in the background??

My first week on Paleo

So Jared started a Paleo Challenge at his gym.

The freaking day after Easter.

The challenge is to eat Paleo for 7 weeks, who ever loses the most

weight & inches receives gift cards to Oz Korean BBQ & free months to the gym.

I told him I would try it.

Although I've been ragging on the (diet) lifestyle the last couple years.

Paleo is the eating style that CrossFitters like to follow.

It allows you to lose the fat, but gives you the protein

you need to be fit & build some muscle.

Not bulking up ladies, just some pretty muscles.

Which I have if you ever want to check me out;)

So last Monday, I started. And I immediately felt good.

I now understood what Jared means by "eating clean." I felt clean.

The water weight fell right off. Water weight isn't that great for you.

I've always had hereditary bad blood circulation.

Water weight puts pressure on my vessels & organs.

Get rid of it for better circulation.

Retaining water has never been fun right ladies?

I've had more energy, slept better, skin looked better,

I've been happier, less cranky, etc. But even more importantly,

I've lost 7 pounds in 8 days. And can fit into all my skinny jeans.

Cuh-razy & totally worth it.

Has it been hard? Heck yes.

All I've wanted this week was to eat a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerio's.

But no grains for me.

It's been easy to say no to treats, for the first time ever.

I've tried to cut out all sugar before, with no luck.

I just get withdrawals & feel like crud.

The no sugar/candy goal would only last 1 or 2 days.

But when I'm eating "clean" I don't feel this way.

Jared also told me a secret. I could stuff my self with eggs, sausage,

& veggies for breakfast, but I wouldn't feel satisfied.

I would still be hungry, or so I thought.

My insulin level is used to being at a certain level,

& now I'm not "feeding" that level.

So when I'm feeling hungry although I've just eaten, eat some fruit.

The sugar from the fruit helps your insulin boost

to tell your body you're done.

Voila, you're satisfied.

Have I cheated at all? Yup, then felt like crap right away.

I had a Henry Weinhard's root beer one night,

a piece of licorice another day.

I immediately felt like poop b/c my insulin would spike

when I'm not used to it doing that.

Your energy level goes "down down down, in history of course."

So that's another way it's easier to follow this diet

b/c you know if you cheat, you won't feel good.

After 2 weeks of eating this way,

I can start eating more grains & such w/o the poopy feeling after wards.

I'm hooked. I haven't eaten any Easter candy, breads, pasta,

or my absolute favorite-potatoes. Don't get me wrong.

I know grains are essential, that too much red meat isn't healthy, etc.

But this is really good for you. If you can starve yourself on the HCG diet,

you can do this. The hardest part is trying to find things to eat.

But my favorite has been getting yummy lunch meat, slicing pickle,

red onion, bell peppers, with some mustard, then rolling it up.

Like a sandwich but no bread. It's delicious.

Another great find are Blue Diamond flavored almonds.

Pricey at WalMart, but so good. Helps my snacking phases during the day.

Keep lots of veggies around. Eat small meals all day.

If you decide to do this, don't get all nit picky.

Just do your best. Email Jared if you have questions.

I highly recommend trying it.

Even if it takes you 2 years of insulting the idea first.

Shout out Friday

Jared: "Jennifer, where.........oh wait. Here she is.

I was gonna ask you where Elliott was". (She was in his arms)

Jennifer: "That's OK. A couple weeks ago I was in the car

& I couldn't find my keys.

Then I realized the car was already started."

Here's to what our brains are starting to become!!

Hasleton Quote

Grant: Kissing rhymes with missing, hissing & pissing.

Jared: Pissing?

Grant: Yeah, like "you're pissing me off."

Jared:That's not a good thing to say. I don't want to hear say that anymore ok?

Grant: OK.

Jennifer: Jared, you know where he hears that right?

Jared: Yup (we both say it)

Jennifer: Grant, you can say it when you're 18 years old.

Grant: OK, I'll add it to my list.

Shout out Friday

Thank goodness the battery finally went dead on that annoying toy.

"Apparently" it can't be opened to replace it with a new battery.

Sweet Girls

This is where I found Charly's snack the other day.

I have no clue if she was eating them out of here, or figured they were now gross.

Watching her princess movies.

I think Jared put Elles here.

Nothing like having your 2 year old watch your newborn.

Charly talking to Elles to cheer her up.

Shout out Friday

You pock up some new talrnts when yiu have a nww born babt.

Such as typung onw handrd.

I'm prdtyy good at it, if I do sqy so myswlf.

Seriously. They always want to be held.

And if I could have it my way, I'd hold 'em all the doo long day.

But alas, I have a litter of kids, so no sitting all day with the cute

& cuddly baby. Moms have tried so many different things to fix this.

I myself own a Snugli, Baby Bjorn,

some kind of new born sling & The Mother Wrap.

Wow, quite a collection.

But each of these requires some commitment to wear,

or space in the diaper bag, or only fit for a few months.

I love each one I own. They each have a different use.

But I've always wanted one of these guys.

(See below)

They are $50 on the website I've seen them on.

$34.99 on Etsy. But a friend of mine had one,

& she let me copy the measurements.

I fooled around with it, and figured out a super easy pattern.

Only $8 in fabric & 20 minutes of my time.

Yup, they are so easy it was only 20 minutes to make.

They are wide enough to use as a blanket,

have a curve to fit the kid's bum,

can be used as a sling (Elliott is too long already for that),

& I can also carry Charly around on my hip or back.

They are so easy to put on, and take up no space.

Sigh. I'm in love.

So yes, I folded laundry, cleaned the kitchen,

& other stuff, all with my cute wittle bebe on my hip.

She loves it. She gets to be held, & I get things done.

Woo Hoo for the Mommy!!

Elliott Joy 4 months

Elliott 4 months check up

Weight 12 lb 10.3 oz 20%

Height 2' 1.5" 85% (down from 93% @ 2 mos)

She is happy & healthy. I call her my bald, long one.

She rolls over, talks non stop & drools like a boy over a pretty girl.

Shout out Friday

Dear jump rope,

I love to work out with you, but after 4 kids, my bladder refuses to co operate.

Nate's first field trip

Nate got to go on his first field trip to the Folsom Zoo.

I don't remember ever being there before, so it was new to me also.

Here he is on his first bus ride.

His teachers said as they were going along Folsom Blvd,

he started yelling, "Look! There's Dos Coyotes!

I've been there before! Can we stop & make the head rock?"

Apparently it was pretty funny since he was so excited about the restaurant.

Some cool tigers. The meanest tour guide ever is off to the right.
A massive bear.
My own family of bears.
You can get ruh-eeely close to the deer.

I'm surprised none of my kids got their fingers bitten off.

It was fun to see the kids get excited about the animals.

Tip for anyone else. Do not take a stroller here. Carry your kids.

There are crazy uneven hills throughout the whole park.

My arms are more sore from pushing a double stroller

than one of Jared's workouts.

What I've been up to.......

The last few weeks I've been collecting compost waste from

our kitchen & burying it in the garden to prep the dirt.

But I've seen somewhere in blog land about a rolling compost pile.

One you don't have to turn with a shovel.

Wanting to be better for the environment,

& have compost for this winter, I started a legit compost pile.

WalMart had these huge garbage cans for $9.97. Awesome price.

I had Jared drill some holes along the sides & top. For air flow & leakage.

Then I was going to mow the lawn for grass clippings.

But the lawn mower was out of gas.

So my loving hubbs dug some months old grass clippings

from the green waste container. Gross.

Leaves would have been ideal also. But no leaves around this time of year.

Here is my bag of scraps & stuff from just a couple days.

Did you know you can put paper towels & napkins in there!

No more guilt for using paper products.

Anything can be put in there except meats & waxy materials.

I gave Jared a hair cut & put the hair in there.

Then I had Jared take a tinkle in it. Good moisture & nitrogen.

And no, I did not take a picture of that.

Then all I have to do is roll it around every few days.

Or have the boys do it. Be sure to use bungee cords to keep the lid on tight.

Compost in just a couple weeks.

So when Charly was born, Jared's cousin made us some super cute, big hair bows.

But Little Elles has such a small bald head, the big bows look a little silly.

So I made some small ones for her.

(I know these pics are horrible. But I'm too lazy to wait for good lighting)

You can't quite see how detailed they are. But they are really adorable.

I made them entirely from things on hand. Except the box of clips from Sally's.

$5 for 100. Can't beat it.

My house may be a mess. But I'm getting some fun stuff done instead.

Shout out Friday

You know growing up when your Mom always said, "when you have kids of your own, they'll act just like you are. You'll get your payback then." I wished I had believed it back then. I would have behaved A LOT better. Cause now I know it's true.

My sweet Grant

On FHE the other night, I was reading a story

from "The Friend." It was about Joseph Taylor,

son of John Taylor. They were packing to head West

& could not take Joseph's play riding horse

with them because it was big.

Joseph was so sad to leave it behind.

As I was reading about how sad he was,

I looked up at Grant & saw tears streaming

down the poor boy's face. I asked what was the matter?

He said he didn't know & started crying even harder.

How sweet is that? Grant was upset because

the horse had to be left behind. Of course the story ended

with Joseph's Dad going back to get the horse.

There was even a picture of it somewhere in SLC I'm sure.

I have a tender hearted boy.

Shout out Friday

You know you're lazy when......

You spend more than 26 seconds trying to crush a Cheerio

with the wheel of the vacuum so it will get sucked up.

Instead of, ya know, just 2 seconds bending over to pick it up.

Shout out Friday

I don't know why I have a toilet in my hall bathroom.

I'm thinking I should get rid of it & leave that corner designated

for the boys to pee in. I have to scrub the floor everyday anyways.

At least it would be one less toilet to clean.

It's waiting for you Drea

I had a hard time with this one. I bought the fabric well over a year ago.

But every time I got it out, I couldn't figure out what to do with it.

I wanted it to be special cause it's for my besty.

So I really hope she likes it.

So long POS

Jared was in a head on collision this week.

Some lady decided to run over an Element, then Jared.

That some lady won.

Thankfully Jared was the second car hit, otherwise,

ugh, don't want to think about it.

So the Sunfire is a total.

Bunch of stuff underneath is broken.

It was always a POS with no A/C.

But it was a great car for 6 1/2 years for only $500.

Anyone know where to buy a reliable car for $1600??

Shout out Friday

So I was rocking to a work out video this morning.

Getting ready to shed that baby weight.

Noticed my front room was super dusty.

I'll just keep my feet moving & dust.

I might as well clean off the entertainment center.

A quick vacuum. Put away the dishes.

My feet are still moving, keeping up the heart rate right?

Some toys in the hallway. Oh wait, do a couple minutes of the video still playing.

Put in a load of laundry. Go through some papers sitting around.

A quick wipe down in the bathrooms.

Then wipe down the windows in front rooms.

Stretch time in the video. Ahhh, feel so nice. Video is done.

With the house now being clean,

what will I do for my workout video tomorrow morning?

Happy Birthday to Charlotte in my 300th post!

Wow! 300 posts, cuh-razy. So Charlotte turned 2 on the 30th.

She's gotten so big.

Here she is with her cake.

Her ponies from Grandma. She loves these things.

Thanks to DI, I got her a princess dress, Barbie book,

& dress up necklaces all for under $5. Score!

Charly, you're so gorgeous.

Which you know since everyone is always telling you so.

We love you! Here's to the terrible two's.