I Can Do Hard Things

OK... So I've been trying to loose my pregnancy weight and as you can see from my old pants, I've lost a fair amount! :) Honestly, I'm now 5 pounds away from pre-MaryKate weight and HONESTLY there must be a giant in Orem, Utah because I am 5'10 and this man's pants, that James and I found at Savers, goes to my CHIN! I would love to hug the waist of the previous owner of these pants and thank him for making me feel petite. My pregnancy weight was not going away on its own. So I had to do what we all "should" do but usually don't do... Eat healthy & exercise. That is hard for me to do consistently, but I have found a few delightful things in my healthy journey that I want to share with you. I am not getting paid to say any of this. :)

1. Orowheat Sandwich Thins- 100 calories, 19 grams whole grains, 5 grams fiber, and 1 gram fat. I love them for sandwiches, toast, lean hamburgers, etc. At Costco= cheap!

2. WishBone RANCH Salad Spritzers- 2 calories per spray. What I miss most is pouring on the ranch and so you can imagine how I squealed and clicked my heals in the grocery isle when I saw this new flavor of spritzer. It gives just a hint of ranch and moistens your salad. So tasty... $3.50 but lasts forever, unlike regular ranch.

3. Frozen Yogurt- Fat Free, no fructose corn syrup, low calorie & delicious!In Utah this is a huge trend. 4 new serve it yourself yogurt shops have opened near us & we love them. Yes it has sugar, but when I'm desperate for a treat its a much healthier alternative than a brownie oreo sundae.

4. Papa Murphys Delite pizza- 1/2 carbs, 1/2 calories, $3 to 4 cheaper than their regular pizza, twice the flavor! Every once in a while you need to eat pizza and when you do this take & bake pizza is so good. You can get olive oil instead of sauce and chicken and sun dried tomatoes and basil... or whatever you prefer.

5. I Can Do Hard Things Collage- Typically when I try to be healthy I guilt myself into it and I think negative thoughts about myself to motivate me to do it. So, its no surprise that it makes me feel miserable. This time I pondered what I could do instead... the answer came when I woke up one morning & had this phrase come to my mind, "I Can Do Hard Things!" I decided this would be my motto, not just in exercise but in life. This phrase would be my motivation. James and I for Family Home Evening made this collage together. We printed pictures of people or things that reminded us that "We could do hard things" and picked out the paper & designed it to hang above our bed. It helps. It really does and its a good message for our family.

Around the World In 5 Days

This week I babysat my brother's kids: Hannah, Sarah, & Justin while he and his wife went on a cruise. While they traveled from country to country, we traveled to a new place each day without leaving Springville! Here was our week in a nutshell:

HAWAII:
Dinner- Hawaiian Haystacks & Fruit Smoothies
Treat: Candy Leis
Activity: Swimming at the public pool

MEXICO:
Dinner- Carne Asada Tacos & Rice
Activity- Go to the Mexican Market & Pick Treats
Treat- Sarah/Sage-Tres Leches Cake, Hannah-Chocolate Cake, Justin-M&Ms :)

ITALY:
Dinner- Pasta, Garlic Bread, & Salad
Treat- Gelato & Kinder Chocolate at Gloria's Little Italy
Activity- Sculpt, Bake, & Paint Clay Sculptures

U.S.A.
Dinner- Tin Foil Dinners & Hot Dogs
Treat- Smores
Activity- Go to the library, set up tent, read books & camp in tents

GERMANY:
Dinner- Beef Stroganoff & Salad
Treat- Chocolate from Germany
Activity- Make Pinewood Derby Cars & Race them down the driveway

MaryKate was cheering them on as they were racing the cars... so fun!

Sitting By Herself = Happy Girl!

MaryKate has finally mastered sitting up all by herself! (Yes, there are no photoshop tricks in this video removing my arm. It's the real deal!) She still falls over after long periods of time or if her large cranium picks up a little to much momentum in one direction. But we are so happy for her and wanted to share a little bit of her happy sunshine with you... maybe while you watch this you can clap your hands, bounce, fling your arms, and smile because you are able to sit too!

Hope When Hope Is Gone

I taught James' 14-15 yr old Sunday School Class yesterday so that he could have more time during the week to prepare for finals. This was the video that I made to show at the end of the lesson "Look to God & Live" on Moses and the Brass Serpent Staff. My old roommate, MaryAnn and I originally made this as a powerpoint to music, but I made it now conveniently into a video. I hope you enjoy it. The song is called He Is by Hillary Weeks and has the most beautiful message of hope. My hope is that during the week you feel and see the love of the Savior all around you.

Splishing & Splashing at Six Months

MaryKate is officially 6 months and at her doctors appointment weighed in at 19 lb 1 oz and 27 1/2 inches long. This puts her in the 95 percent for height and 90 percent for weight... The good news is her head is back on the charts! Her cranium is now only 97%. Hurray for 3 other kids out of 100 having bigger noggins than MK!

She is eating solid foods! She and I both don't love it yet, but everyone tells us it takes time. (Its been 4 days) So far this week she's had rice cereal twice and oatmeal cereal many times. I put it in and she spits it out... repeated over and over and over :)

MaryKate loves her bath time. She has graduated to the big tub and thinks its the greatest thing in the world! She loves to splash, splash, splash! For modesty purposes, I put her in her bathing suit and had James video her so that Cambria, her cousin, could see "Her Baby MaryKate" in the bath tub. Here you go Cambria! Enjoy and sing along!

Last week we got to spend an afternoon with Carrie and Adam doing fun things in Salt Lake together. MaryKate & I took them on a fun free tour of Sweets Candy Factory. They give you fresh yummy candy right off the line & these awesome hair nets!

While James was taking a final & studying his brains out, we also took them to Mars!

And to the Moon! (or maybe just the planitarium... you decide)

If you know us well, you know we live above a dry cleaners and Sally the Seamstress, who has been MaryKate's pseudo-grandma, retired this month. So we made her a cake and had a little party down stairs at the cleaners. We're sad to see her go. She gives great baby tips!