Personal Training starts... tomorrow!!!

I decided to get serious and get a personal trainer.  I start training tomorrow and I'm super nervous.  I am going to start a blog that focuses sloely on my training progress and the tricks I learn.  I met with my new trainer last week and he explained a few things to me about weight loss.  50-70% of weight loss is diet.  And there is something called a "target heart rate".  When your heart is beating within your target rate you are burning fat.  If you go above that rate you are just burning off sugar and other simple nutrients.  He said that it's good to get your heart rate up above the target rate but if you want to burn fat you need to stay within your target heart rate range.  How you figure it out is you subtract your age from 220 which is the maximum beats per minute your heart could beat when you were a newborn.  The number you get give you your current maximum heart beat.  Then you multiply that number by 60%  and that is the low end of your target heart rate.  My range is from 116-136 BPM.  I'm not sure how he calculated the high range of my target heart rate... probably just added 20 to the low number.  But I thought that was interesting information. Stay tuned for before and after pictures!

Random funny memories from when I was a kid

For those of you who don't know, I grew up on a small family farm.  A lot happens on a farm some sad, some funny and some gross.  I was just thinking about being a kid the other day as I was digging in the yard and my neighbor called over the fence "Wow!  You've used a shovel before!  I haven't seen anyone attack the ground with a shovel like that in a long time." It's true, I have used a shovel before.  My parents bought an old 1920s farm house when I was going into 3rd grade and fixed it up.  I remember one VERY rainy day being outside with my dad digging out a foundation so we could add on to the house.  We were drenched and we were digging.  I was in 4th grade.  The cement truck was coming in the morning and we needed to dig down x amount of feet and across x amount of feet.  We had started the day before but the cows had gotten out so we had to round them up and mend the fence.
Another time I remember using a shovel was when we were digging out the porch.  The porch that was on the origional house was crap.  So dad was going to build a covered porch that went the length of the house.  So there we were again.  Mom, dad Tyler and myself digging out another foundation for a porch.  I was in 7th grade.  Tyler was really pissing me off and it just so happened that he walked behind me as I was throwing a shovel full of dirt behind me.  The blade of the shovel hit his eye and cut it open.  Work stopped while a trip to the Urgent Care was taken.
That wasn't the only time Tyler walked by me while I was shoveling and regretted it.  He and I were cleaning out the hog barn one Saturday morning when I was in 7th or 8th grade (he was in 4th or 5th).  I reached back and got a heaping pile of pig poop and swung back around to hurl it out of the barn and down the hill.  At that very moment Tyler walked in front of me and saw that I was in the process of hurling the shovel.  He opened his mouth to yell at me to wait and a big pile of pig poop went right in his mouth.  While he ran to the house crying like a little girl I continued to shovel the poop all while laughing my head off.
There was another time when I was a sophomore in high school that I went with my dad to get a couple cows.  One of the cows was PISSED and did not want to go in the trailer.  How we corralled him in there is a mystery to me but we got him in and he thrashed around in that trailer the whole way home (about 40 minutes from the place we got him to the pasture).  As soon as we opened the trailer door that cow barreled out and went right through the high voltage electric fence and down the road.  Un. Believable.  So dad yells at me "Don't lose sight of that blankity blank cow!" So I take off running after the cow who is by now making his way into the woods.  Dad unhitched the trailer, grabbed his gun and drove after me.  I stopped at the edge of the tree line and waited for dad.  He got out of the truck with his gun and we went looking for the cow.  We found him and dad held his hand up for me to back off a bit.  So I took a couple steps back while dad took aim and shot that stupid cow dead.  Now we had a dilemma.  How to get that cow out of the woods.  The truck had 4 wheel drive luckily so dad blazed a trail through the woods and got as close to the cow as possible.  Great.  Now what?  We tied a rope around the cow and tried to pull it up.  We got it about 10 feet to a tree and stopped.  Then dad called his buddy who came with a come along and pulley system.  They set up the pulley on the tree branch and lifted the cow up into the air. Dad backed the truck up under the cow and the cow was lowered into the truck.  The thing was so long that we couldn't shut the tailgate.  So then dad and I were off to the butchers (in downtown) so he could skin and cut up the meat.  The cows tongue was hanging out of his mouth and blood was dripping from the bed of the truck as we pulled up to the butchers store.  I was mortified! I'm pretty sure I hid my head the whole way there.  Never mind that the truck we were driving there was the truck I drove around and to school with and if anyone I knew saw it they would've known it was me.
Some other funny memories I have are of my dad sticking his shot gun out the kitchen window and blasting the crows that were eating the corn out of the garden.  Every once in a while I would come down the stairs to dad, shot gun in hand  trying ever so carefully to open the kitchen window without making a sound.  (The screen on that window was just left off for such an occasion).    Then he would whip his gun out the window and BAM!  A couple crows would fall while about 20 others would scatter and fly away.  He would do the same thing off the dining room window with the barn rats.  If you've never seen a barn rat you are missing out.  These things are the size of a cat.  I remember being out back playing with my brothers and coming across a dead barn rat that was missing a head.  Tyler and I would look at each other and shake our heads and laugh looking towards the dining room window.
I always joke around about how much my life sucked as a kid because I could never go out and do what I wanted to but you know what?  It's okay because if I had done whatever I wanted I wouldn't have these stories to share with you.  Theses are only a few of the stories that come to mind but I have many many more and as they surface I will be sure to write them down and share them.  I look back on these stories and it makes me laugh.  I had a great childhood.  It may not have been ideal to me at the time but now looking back I wouldn't have it any other way.

My weekly weight check in

I went to weigh in today and I had lost 4.2 pounds!  Not the 5 pounds I wanted but pretty close. This week I focused on breaking my habit of going into the kitchen when I wasn't hungry.  Every time I went in I asked myself if I was really hungry or if I was doing it out of habit.  I would say 90% of the time I answered the question as "habit".  This week I'm going to work on going to the gym one more day than I did last week.  Last week I went 3 times.  Hopefully the weight will continue to fall off!

30 Day Picture Challenge Day 1

A couple people I know have done this and I think it's pretty cool.  We'll see how good I am at keeping up with it.  Day one is a picture of you with 10 facts:

1. I love to spend time with my family.
2. I think camping is awesome.
3. I think I may be obsessive compulsive.  Ex.  I had someone over helping me bake and they took the eggs out of the center of the egg carton and it bent me out of shape.
4. I can bend down and touch the ground with my palms.  (Jacob rolls his eyes when I do it... I think deep down he's jealous)
5. I'm ultra competitive
6. I suck at math
7. I love working hard
8. I can't stand lazy people
9. I don't take crap from anyone
10. I really am a sweet person!

Weight...

I was thinking the other day about my weight. (I think a lot about it).  I'm so frustrated!  I used to not be overweight.  In fact I was a thin kid growing up and through high school.  I was athletic and active.  Then I went away to college, gained weight and became less active.  Now 8 years later I'm struggling to get back into shape.  I don't care so much about how much I weigh, I care more about what pant size I wear.  I would LOVE to be a size 8 again.  I used to be a 6 but I will take an 8.  I made it a goal this year to run a triathlon.  I fully intend on doing this and I can register on the first of March for it.  But before I run this race I feel that in order to be more competitive I need to shed some weight.  So I will be joining Weight Watchers at least up to the triathlon and I'm going to set the goal of losing at least 25 pounds before the race (July 3rd I believe).  I lost 20 pounds the last time I was on Weight Watchers and then we moved and I got pregnant with Linnea.  So hopefully in the next week I will be marching myself to Weight Watchers, signing up and dropping some pounds.  I want to look better for this summer.  There are so many things I want to do this summer like going backpacking and going on long hikes and if I can lose some weight then I will be able to carry a backpack full of supplies.  If I get brave I may post my starting weight and post my weight loss every week as I weigh in at the meetings.  I think I might because it will help keep me motivated knowing that a ton of my friends know who much I weigh.  I'll keep you posted!

Thoughts for 2011

I never make New Years Resolutions.  Ever.  Because I don't like to set a goal and then not do it.  The thought of falling through on something I said I'd do is just too much for me.  But this year will be different.  This year I have a few goals that I want to accomplish and I believe they are within reason and not too far fetched for me.  So here you have it, my goals for the year 2011:

• Go at least one month without any junk food. (I'm working on being healthier and I hope that this will help curb my appetite for those things)
• Run a triathlon  (I'm also working on being more fit.  I wanted to do this last year but didn't get to)
• Run a 5k in under 38 minutes (my 5k last year was run in 44 minutes... I was out of shape and had shin splints)
• Read the Book of Mormon in its entirety.  (I suck at reading my scriptures but KNOW that I need to in order to become the better person I want to be) 
• Keep up with the house work for one month (It seriously makes me sick to have a dirty house)*Edited:  I will actively clean the house for an hour per day.  Thanks for the idea Roxanne!
• Learn a new skill (Maybe knitting, or something else, I don't know yet what exactly I will learn)
• Drop 2 pant sizes (Who doesn't want to do that??)
• And finally again thanks to Roxanne I will also work on having a date night every week.

 Today I start my no junk food month.  Well... I'm going for a week and then going further.  What are your goals for this year?

Working out

At the beginning of the year I made a goal to run a 5k. I accomplished that in April and thought about running a 10k by the end of the year. Well I got shin splints and haven't wanted to run since but I have kept with my main focus of becoming healthier. I'm and now working out 5-6 days a week for an hour each day. I am doing 3 days of weights and three days of cardio. I've noticed a big difference in how I feel energy wise and my eating habits have naturally changed a bit. I was getting a bit discouraged the other week about doing all this work and not seeing any physical results until someone that we go to church mentioned to Jacob that I was looking a lot better. And then one of my friends the other week told me she could see a difference. I have lost 7 pounds in 2 months which is the rate I want to keep loosing it. It's a slow battle but I am making it. I LOVE working out and miss it a lot when I can't go to the gym. I don't care how much I weigh, I'm more focused and concerned with what size pants I wear. My goal is a size 8 but I would be happy with a size 10. I can't wait to see what I look like this time next year. I should post a picture... only I hate how I look right now. My goal for next year continues to be running a sprint Triathlon though. Wish me luck!

Shenanigans

These last couple days have been entertaining at our house. Emma thinks she's a little mommy to Linnea which is endearing and annoying at the same time. Jacob and I found them like this yesterday:
They played like this for a long time and then Emma got tired and left her sister hanging.
Linnea LOVES Mr. Elephant. Right now he is getting put into the washing machine because he stinks... like really bad. But she won't ever give him up. These past couple nights we have taken away her pacifier when she goes to bed and she has slept so much better/longer than she was. She's not waking up as often either. She is still allowed to have it during the day sine she seems to have this great NEED to suck on something. If she's crying that is what calms her down. Next on the list is showing her other ways to self soothe. We were so much better with Emma with these kinds of things, but for some reason two kids just is throwing us off. Some days I wish I had had twins so I wouldn't know any better. (That only lasts for a brief moment though).

And this morning I woke up sounding like a man. Kinda weird but Jacob came home early because it's too windy for him to work where he does and on the way home he stopped at this supplement store and got me some tea and throat things and they seem to be helping. I'm becoming a fan of natural herbs. The more I come in contact with them the more I'm liking them.

5th Wedding Anniversary

We are going to work backwards in our trip because I don't feel like rearranging these pictures. Here we are our first time kayaking. The sun was shining but it was really windy and the tide was going out. But it was a blast and we want to go again soon!

Light House at Fort Worden. The Coast Guard has control over it right now but they are working on turning it over to the park so there will be more opportunities to tour it.

Messing around at the Fort

Lower Lena Lake. It was a great hike. We hit snow about halfway up and that slowed us down a bit but we were happy to reach the lake.

The view from our Bed and Breakfast looking out at the light house at Fort Worden.

The front room at the bed and breakfast. I learned how to play chess. It was really hard to get the hang of and I'm still not sure I really understand how to play.

The Dungeness Spit. We ran down the trail (it was only 1/2 a mile down hill)and I kicked Jacob's trash in a sprint. Felt so good!

This lovely burger is the Smitty Burger and Fat Smitty's. I got through half of it and felt like I was going to barf. It tasted REALLY good but dang it was big!

There's always money in a burger stand. Have you seen Arrested Development?? If you have then you'll get that line.

Jacob outside Fat Smitty's

While we were away from the girls they had a great time with their Mor Mor and Papa and Uncles Tyler and Kaleb. They went to the Zoo and down to the farm where they held lambs and rode pigs. A great time was had by all!

A new recipe! And some other things

This last week I made Chicken Tortilla Bake. As a kid my mom made it every once in a while and I never liked it. But I was craving it the other week so I made it. I think I figured out why I didn't like it as a kid. The 2 cans of chopped green chillies I think are too much so I just did one can. And I used dehydrated onions instead of fresh because I love the taste of onions, but not the texture. Emma LOVED it and Jacob did too. I'd never made it for him. We've been married almost 5 years. But it was a big hit and as I'm typing this I am craving it. I think it might be too early to make it again though. :( You should try it though! It's excellent!

Chicken Tortilla Bake

3 c shredded cooked chicken

2 (4oz) cans chopped green chilies

1 c chicken broth

1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of chicken soup

1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 small onion, finely chopped

12 corn tortillas

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a bowl, combine the chicken, chilies, broth, soups and onion; set aside. Warm tortillas in the microwave according to package directions. Layer half of the tortillas on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan, cutting to fit pan if desired. Top with half the chicken mixture and half of the cheese. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered at 350˚ F for 30 minutes. Yield: 6-8 servings

And I've been doing the couch to 5k program for a full 5 weeks now. I just started week six this morning and I feel so good! I am the world's slowest runner but I am out there doing it. I've got a LONG way to go to hit my 7:30 miles that I ran in high school. Shoot... I've got a long way to run a 12 minute mile. But that's not the point. The point is is that I have 55 pounds I want to lose. I've come to the conclusion that I will never be 120 pounds again and I am fine with that. I am just so glad that I am in the habit of exercising again. I worked out on the elliptical on Saturday and could only do 20 minutes because my thighs were on fire from jogging 20 minutes on friday but as I was running on my elliptical Jacob came over and grabbed the back of my legs and told me that they were looking hot. I haven't taken any measurements or stepped on the scale since I started working out because I don't want to be disappointed. Right now I just want to get into the habit and not be tired after playing with Emma and Linnea outside.

Next month is mine and Jacob's 5th anniversary and I'm planning a get away where we will stay at a bed and breakfast and go running, hiking and enjoy some good seafood. I can't wait to take him hiking to places that I went as a kid. I love how I feel after a good workout. It feels amazing! ANYONE can become active and become a runner. I've been following the Couch to 5k program on facebook and there are people 100-200 pounds overweight that are burning through the program. Some people take each week and make a month out of it. I've had to repeat a couple runs because I got new running shoes and didn't want to injure myself. It hasn't been a cake walk which is what has made it so rewarding. You'd be amazed what your body is capable of. I do have an athletic background but there are people doing this program who are literally coming off the couch and running 5ks. It's just a mind game that we play with ourselves and talk ourselves out of doing many things. At the begining of the year I posted that it was my goal for the year to run a 5k. Well I may be changing that goal to a 10k depending on how my first 5k goes. I'm looking to run one in April. Just remember that you can do ANYTHING if you put your mind to it. Don't give up on your dreams!

Week 3 day 2

Today I jogged my Week 3 day 2 jog. I am really excited. I love that I only have to jog 3 times a week. Six more weeks to go and I'll be running a 5k! Then I'll start training to run a 10k. My eventual goal is to run a sprint distance Triathlon. I read somewhere that only 1.7% of the population ever complete a Triathlon. I want to be in that percentage!

I was talking to my mom the other day and she told me that you need to get to a point in your life where you say to yourself this is who I am and this is what I do and then go and do it. Well I am Jen and I am a runner and future Triathlete. When I get discouraged I repeat those words to myself and then put my head down and run. For too long I have let myself slip into this lazy state. I let myself go and now I'm paying for it. I have been surprised at how easy it is to take 20-30 minutes out of my day 3 times a week and jog.

Before I started I didn't think I had any free time left in the day. But once you figure out your priorities you'd be amazed at how much time you waste during the day. If at the end of the day my house isn't clean and dinner isn't made it's because I wasted too much time doing useless stuff. Now there are those off days where Emma and Linnea are being impossible and some things don't get done but they don't happen all the time. I've realized more and more that I don't have an equal balance of leisure and work. I lean heavier on leisure. Now that I've changed to a more equal balance I am so much happier. I still workout, play with my kids, read my scriptures, spend time with Jacob, have the house cleaned,make dinner, and have a little time to read other books and/or watch tv/play on the internet.

"Letting circumstances or others determine your worth gives them inappropriate control and power."

A couple of my friends had this as their status. I feel like this has been my life for the past couple years. I've let others put me down and have kind of had this poor me thing going on. So this year I decided that I was going to run a 5k. I have been training for almost 2 weeks and I feel fantastic! I love the way I feel after my 20 minutes of jogging. I feel so much better about myself now that I am jogging 3 days a week, running on my elliptical twice a week and then going to the gym and lifting weights once a week. I'm going to try and start running on my elliptical 3 times a week as well and going to the gym at night after the girls go to bed and lifting weights on those days that I run on the elliptical.

This couch to 5k program is just awesome! I've said before that I'm not a runner and I'll say it again. I'm not a runner. But this program that I'm doing is turning me into one. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has wanted to get into shape. It's really gradual and really easy to do. 20 minutes three days per week. I have found that I am happiest and feel the most self worth when I am doing something active.

And since I haven't posted a recipe in who knows how long I will add one below. It's a new recipe that we tried last week and loved. And I got it from my Taste of Home Magazine.

Chicken Tortilla Chowder

• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (11 ounces) Mexicorn, drained
• 1 package (10 ounces) ready-to-serve roasted chicken breast strips, chopped
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 3 flour tortillas (8 inches), cut into 2-inch x 1/2-inch strips
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• Additional shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Directions

• In a large saucepan, combine the soups, milk and broth. Heat through, stirring frequently. Add the corn, chicken and chilies; bring to a boil. Stir in tortilla strips. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup (calculated without additional cheese) equals 280 calories, 11 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 42 mg cholesterol, 1,569 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 15 g protein.

I didn't have any green chillies but it still tasted great to me. Emma and Jacob loved it! This will be another one of my fall back recipes if I'm ever in a pinch. And if you want a copy of my favorite recipes send me your email address and I will email a copy of it to you.

"What button do you push to do that!?"

This is an old picture of Emma but I can't find my camera... I should probably get on that.

So first things first. This morning was day one of week two of my 9 week couch to 5k program. I was all excited to get out and start the second week. I got just over halfway with my jog and Emma and Linnea both started screaming... like really loud. And my shorts were falling down (guess that's kind of a good thing right), and I couldn't see through my glasses because it was misting out (I will be getting contacts again soon since we now have vision insurance! YAY!). So I cut the jog short. But oh well, I felt really bad about that but then realized that two weeks ago today I wasn't even doing as much as I had done today.

After I got home I calmed the girls down and called my mom. Emma came over and asked who I was talking to. I replied that I Was talking to the phone. Her eyes got all big and she said "And the phone is talking back to you"? To which I replied yes. Then her eyes got even bigger and she gets all excited and says "Mommy! What button do you push to do that!?". I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time. My mom was busting up laughing on the other end too. It was awesome.

So then we went to Albertsons for their Quaker sale and I bought 25 boxes of oatmeal/cereal, spent $25 and saved $82.67! I was so excited. I love good deals. That deal is going on through tomorrow.

This time of year brings back some funny/nostalgic memories..

Christmas is full of memories for me. My Great Grandma, mom and I would make chocolates every year and that was a lot of fun. Now my Great Grandma is gone and I am carrying on the tradition. Today I dipped chocolate covered cherries and almond joys. Just one batch of each to see how much I had. Well... I need to make a couple more batches of each. I love standing in the kitchen reminiscing about my childhood when I was just learning how to make chocolates. When I was little... like 8 I think. I was in charge of whittling the chocolate. Nonnie would always order a 50 pound block of chocolate from Ghirardelli Chocolate. I remember the big eagle in the center of the block. It seemed like it took forever to whittle away that block (and it did). Then I would sit and listen to Nonnie tell stories about her childhood. Her and mom would be busy mixing up different batches of chocolate on the stove, shaping the cooled fondants, and then dipping them.

My favorite part was when they would make fondant. It's the creamy centred candy. Nonnie would whip out her 2 marble slabs and put them on the table with a couple dollops of butter in the center of each. Mom would pour the hot mixture on the marbles and then with wooden paddles they would work the mixture until it went from glossy to smooth. Then came the flavoring and food coloring. I would sit there mesmerized watching them work. This continued every year through my junior year of high school. Of course as a teenager I was using the paddles to work the fondant.

I am grateful for the time that I had with my Great Grandma (Nonnie). I learned a lot of life's lessons from her. During this time of year I really miss her. I wish Jacob had known her. And Emma and Linnea. I like to think that she played with Emma and Linnea before they came to Earth to be with us.

A funny story I remember that happened the very last time Nonnie and I made chocolates together was while I was stirring the fondant in the pan trying to get it up to temperature... for a little background, Nonnie LOVED maple nut flavored fondant. No one else liked it. So as I'm stirring Nonnie says "Why don't we make this batch a maple nut batch?" I pretended like I didn't hear her, hoping that she would forget. After a couple minutes of silence I thought maybe it had worked. Boy was I wrong! All of a sudden she's next to the pot pouring chopped nuts into the fondant on the stove. I was so mad! How could anyone like that flavor!? Sick! But this year I'm making fondant (if I can get a marble slab that is) and I am going to make maple nut flavored fondant. Even though I don't like it I will take a couple pieces of my own and I will eat them in remberance of Nonnie. And when Emma and Linnea are older and ask me why in the heck I make that nasty flavor I will smile and tell them the story.

My Personal Struggle

I can't believe I am about to divulge this to who knows how many people, but here goes. For the last 6 years I have had a huge struggle with my weight. Growing up I was always active. I played basketball, volleyball, softball, and swam. I also would ride my bike and go running. I was in great shape and looked fantastic. As as result of me being so active I never learned good eating habits. I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn't matter because I would burn off all the calories and then some. I graduated from high school weighing in at 130 pounds.

I went away to college and that's when the problem started becoming more clear to me. I gained 30 pounds while I was away so I was now 160. I was frustrated and so mad at myself for gaining that weight, but yet I still continued to eat those things I had always eaten. After I got married I gained another 27 pounds and then got pregnant with Emma. While I was pregnant I quit eating sweets, meat and any other fatty or unhealthy food. I dropped weight like crazy! I looked fantastic after having Emma. Then I decided to try a dessert a couple weeks after I had her. I was at 150 pounds after having Emma and I jumped up to 191. I couldn't stop after having one dessert. It was horrible.

I decided when Emma was 10 months old to join Weight Watchers. I did so good! I lost 20 pounds and then Jacob got a job in Washington and we moved back. It was a very stressful time and we were having some marriage problems and I turned to food to make me feel better. I gained 15 pounds and then got pregnant with Linnea. I didn't eat well with Linnea and gained 25 pounds with her. (I only gained 12 with Emma). I lost all the baby weight with Linnea but still have 13 pounds to go until I get back to 171.

So if you are following that puts me at 184 pounds. I'm so angry at myself for weighing that much. I hate that I let myself get this big. It's gross. But my goal is to lose 45 pounds over the next year, or however long it takes. I plan on joining Weight Watchers here next month again when we have a little more money and I'm going to do it.

What brought on this confession? Well today I went to the doctor for my follow up appointment for my gall bladder surgery. I went down stairs to find the lab and asked a hospital worker where the lab was. She told me where it was and said "oh and you are pregnant" so... I stopped her and told her that I wasn't pregnant and just kind of turned and walked away. I knew I looked pregnant, but I never thought someone would actually mention it.

Ever since I had the C-Section with Emma the weight I have gained collects in my stomach. And because they cut through the muscle the fat sits up higher on my belly. I really do look pregnant and it sucks. But that will soon change! I will change and become a better person. Wish me luck!

My Trip to the Hospital

So while I was pregnant with Linnea I had really bad acid reflux. I didn't think anything of it. It was during my last trimester so I thought that my stomach was just pushed up into my throat. Then after I had Linnea I started having really bad chest, back and stomach pain. It would come and go so I again didn't think anything of it. Then on Tuesday of this last week I was knocked out on my back from the chest pain. It was the most pain that I have ever experienced (even more than labor contractions after your water breaks).

I decided to call the doctor and make an appointment for the next day. So I went in first thing and they did an EKG on me. My heart looked perfect. Then the doctor started pushing on different spots on my stomach. When she got up by my rib cage I started feeling a little pain. So the doctor told me she thought it was my gall bladder and she wanted me to go to the lab and run some tests and gave me the paper work. She also asked if it would be alright to do an ultra sound. I consented to it and she gave me a referral. I was going to go home and not do the lab work because I was tired and still in some pain, but I went and got it done.

Then I went on about my day. I dropped Emma off at her friend Olivia's house so they could play and took Linnea to get her 3 month pictures taken. I called to make an appointment for an ultra sound and they scheduled me for Friday morning first thing. While the pictures were being taken I started having really bad chest pains again. So on my way back to pick up Emma I called my friend Lora to see if she could take the girls while I went home and got some rest. Being the excellent friend that she is, she took them. I went home and layed on the couch with my heating pad. Then a couple hours later I went to pick the girls up.

As I was leaving Lora's house my phone rang. I answered it and it was my doctor. She asked if I had had the ultra sound done yet and I told her no that I was scheduled to have it on Friday. She told me that wasn't soon enough (this was Wednesday, that she thought I had a blockage in my gall bladder and that she would call and she if she could get me in today. I hung up and called Jacob to tell him what was going on. Luckily he was on his way in from work (3 hours early). So I went home and as I was pulling into the driveway the pain started increasing and my phone rang again. So I picked it up and it was my doctor. She told me I needed to go to the hospital right away and get my ultrasound done. I asked her if I could wait until Jacob got home and she told me I needed to be there in 30 minutes because that was the time they could fit me in. I was a little irritated at her urgency so I called my neighbor and asked him if he could sit with the girls until Jacob came home. He came over and I called Jacob to tell him what was going on and then drove myself to the hospital.

After I had the ultra sound done I was referred to a Dr. Kincaid to go over my results. I went up to meet with him and he told me I wasn't going anywhere and admitted me to the hospital. I was told that I would be getting my gall bladder taken out the next morning because I had a stone blocking my pancreas and one blocking my liver duct. My gall bladder was also very inflamed. This came as a shock to me. So I called Jacob and told him the news and then called my mom to have her come over from Port Orchard. My mom had been up since 6am canning pears and peaches and she was in the middle of canning. So she finished up canning and drove over to our house and got there around midnight Thursday morning.

Jacob and our friend Ian (Lora's husband) gave me a blessing in my hospital room Wednesday night and I felt much better after it happened. When I heard the words "everything will be taken care of" that was all I needed to hear. When Jacob and the girls left that night I was so sad to see them go. I kept holding on to Jacob's arm.

Jacob came back first thing Thursday morning and stayed with me all day. I went in for surgery just after noon and the surgery lasted 40 minutes. They gave me general anesthesia so I was out for it. I loved my anesthesiologist(I think that's right). He was a crack up. So were the other doctors and nurses. They kept me laughing from the time they got me from my room until they were putting me under. They did it laparoscopicly so I have 3 or 4 little incisions.

Now I am recovering and it's going really well. I'm stiff and a little sore but I did just have surgery. They filled me up with gas so get to my gall bladder so I look like I'm pregnant again but hopefully that won't last long. I'm sitting here waiting for my mom to get back from church to help me take a shower for the first time since surgery. I thought I was done having her bathe me but I guess I was wrong!

I am so thankful for my husband and the priesthood that he holds. I am also thankful for my beautiful daughters and the joy that they give me. And for a wonderful mom who is willing to do anything for me. I'm truly blessed!

In Port Orchard

Right now I'm in Port Orchard with my family canning. It's not necessarily a "fun" thing to do, but I do enjoy sitting over the sink snapping beans, stemming blueberries and crushing blackberries. My brother Tyler and I went over to the neighbors and picked blackberries this morning. There still aren't many ready but I think we have enough for a batch of jam.

I love coming back home and hanging out with my family. It's funny to me because my brother Tyler and I didn't get along growing up but now we are the best of friends. It's funny how that happens. My other brother Kaleb is fun too. The three of us enjoy joking around with each other and annoying our parents. I'm pretty sure my parents are glad when I leave! :)

I haven't posted in a while and I just realized this is my 100th post. I didn't plan ahead for a cool post for my 100th, but I will give you a recipe!! My mom and I came up with this amazing combination of ingredients/spices for the best ever chicken pot pie.

Chicken Pot Pie

So what you do is cook some chicken in oil and minced garlic, salt and pepper and set it aside. Then you open a can of corn, peas, and beans and put them in a bowl. Then open a can of cream of celery soup and a can of cream of mushroom soup and add to the vegetables. Add a little milk to thin it down. Next add about a teaspoon of poultry seasoning, sage, rosemary, thyme and oregano. Add the chicken. Make up a triple batch of pie crust and place 2/3 in the bottom of a 9x13 pan going up the sides. Then pour the chicken mixture in and top with the rest of the pie crust. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is baked.


I hope that makes sense. I should really write it down and organize it a little better. Anyway, I hope everything is going well with you all. I'm enjoying myself! Oh! And we closed on our house! We are official home owners! So that's good news. Well... I'm off to make a batch of blackberry jam!

The latest and Greatest... and a recipe of course!

This month has been pretty busy. Emma and Linnea keep me busy! We've been spending our hot summer days hanging out with friends at the community wading pool and the library. Emma has had so much fun playing with her friends Niev, Olivia and Connor. They are all the same age and are all in Primary together.

The girls with "Aunt Jeanne"

This last week while Jacob was on the High Adventure with the scouts, the girls and I went to Port Orchard to be with my family. We had fun visiting some old friends where Emma got to ride on a Steam Locomotive that I use to ride on when I was her age. They are an older couple that we lived by when I was a little girl and I grew up knowing them as Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Ed. Ed built the train himself and when the train whistle blows, all the neighborhood kids come running to take a ride.We also went to the Point Defiance Zoo with my brother Tyler. Emma really enjoyed the aquarium so we spent all of our time checking it out.

Then we went out to eat with some of my friends from high school. One of them I hadn't talked to or seen since graduation day. It was tons of fun catching up with them.

Also, I went outside the other day to check on Emma and this is how I found her...

She lines EVERYTHING up when she plays with it. I love how orderly she is! Notice the circles she is drawing. They are smiley faces. She's actually getting really good. The other day she drew one and added hair to it. So funny!

And Linnea who is 2 months old today still likes to be swaddled. I think it's funny/cute so here's a picture of that...
And we are going to be closing on our house this week and are really excited about it! That's about it for us!

And here is a recipe for you. Zucchini is starting to come on and Anyone who has grown it or is growing it knows that you get TONS of zucchini. Some times too much to deal with . This is a zucchini recipe that my grandma use to make. It's really yummy! I don't think I've posted this before. I'm too lazy to look right now.

Zucchini Herb Casserole

(Jeanne Trogdon)

5 cups zucchini cut into ¼ inch cubes

1 c sliced green onions

1 clove garlic, minced

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 ½ tsp garlic salt

½ tsp paprika

½ tsp basil

1 c cooked rice

½ tsp oregano

2 c grated cheddar cheese

In frying pan, heat oil and stir in zucchini, onions and garlic. Cover and cook 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are barely tender. Remove from heat and add rest of ingredients except 1 c cheese. Spoon into shallow 1 ½ quart baking dish and sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until heated through at 350˚ F.

I think I usually double it and put it in a 9x13 pan. Anyway, it's really good and you should try it! Haha!

The countdown begins! Emma is a cutie, I'm getting organized and a recipe! WOW!

I had my doctor appointment yesterday. I'm a 2 and 70% effaced and the baby is at a -3 station. I was told that I have a 75% success rate of going through with a VBAC. I asked the doctor to strip my membranes and he did and told me that we would see what happens within the next 2-4 days. (By the way, isn't it funny how after you've had a baby and/or are pregnant conversations like this aren't a big deal?). I left the doctor's office kinda discouraged. I asked for a blessing and was given one and now I'm feeling better about it. Everything will be fine. I'm amazed at how many women said that their babies never dropped until after they were in heavy labor.

My previous doctor had mentioned to me that my pelvis might be shaped irregularly and consequently my babies wouldn't be able to drop. The doctor I saw yesterday (I have 7 that I see) mentioned something along those lines that my pelvis may be shaped in a way that the baby doesn't line up right in the canal. He also said that if the baby is more than 7 1/2 pounds I might not be able to push it out. Emma was 7 pounds 11 ounces. We will see what happens.

What's funny is my mom was able to push out some big babies. I was only 6 pounds 8 ounces but my brothers were 9 pounds at least. I thought I was shaped like her but maybe I'm not. My grandmother was also able to have babies naturally.

I'm just glad that I live in the modern world of medicine. If I were a pioneer Emma and I both would've died because they didn't know how to do anything with a baby that was stuck in the canal. YAY for modern medical knowledge!

My mom comes on Sunday and I'm really excited about that. I love having her around to help. She's such a good help and her and I are on the same page about most things. I honestly didn't think we would be when I moved out but it turns out we are pretty dang similar. Funny how that works!
Oh and my little girl LOVES DIRT! I don't think she's fully happy until she gets to get dirt all over herself. Such a silly little girl!

One of my main goals before Linnea came was to organize the toy room. Our friends had this cubby organizer that they got from target and Jacob and I decided that it was a must have for the toy room so we went and bought it. We got it on sale for $40 and it's normally $50. There are canvas boxes that you can buy to put in the cubbies for all the little toys and they are $7 each. Totally worth the money! I had Emma's toys in old diaper boxes before this so it looks much better.

And I was talking to my friend Ashley the other day about meal planning and I've decided to get organized again. Her and I have the same system and I have just been slacking on it for the last few months. Here's what you do: write a list of all the dishes you make, print of a blank calendar page (or just use your wall calendar) and write down a recipe for each day of the month. I write down the side dishes too so it kinda looks like a school lunch calendar when I'm finished. Then you can make a grocery list of of the ingredients that you will use. I try to make recipes with some similar ingredients so I cut down on the cost of groceries.

This week my calendar had on it Chocolate Chip pancakes (Emma requested them), BLT Sandwiches and 5 cup Salad(I'll post the recipe below), Chilli and Corn Bread, Baked Potato Bar with green salad, pizza, sweet and spicy chicken, and pork chops with apple stuffing and green beans. I have the recipe for the Pork Chops with Apple Stuffing on my blog as well as the Sweet and Spicy Chicken and Chilli recipe.

I set it up so that tonight we will have chilli and corn bread and then tomorrow night we will do a baked potato bar where I will use the leftover chilli for a topping. I also make homemade pizza every other week. We were doing it every week but that got to be too much pizza too often.

Here is the 5 up salad recipe:

One cup of each:

shredded coconut
sour cream
minni marshmallows
bananas
strawberries, peaches or mandarin oranges

Mix everything together and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

I made this last night and didn't refrigerate it sicne it was a last minute thing. I love the salad because it's so easy and really tasty. Don't use fat free sour cream though because it will taste like crap. I use light sour cream. Of course regular sour cream would taste best!

Waiting...

That seems like all I have been doing the last week. It's a bit premature I know but I'm so ready to have this baby. I went to the doctor on Wednesday and I was dilated to a one and was 50% effaced. I am really excited about that because that never happened to me with Emma. On my due date I wasn't dilated or effaced at all.

So I have some questions for you lucky moms who actually got to go all the way through labor. What did you do to ease the pain of contractions? How was your recovery? What helped calm you?

I am going to wait as long as I can to get and epidural if I get one at all. I'm convinced that that's the main reason why I had to have a C-Section. That and I don't think my hips widened at all. (And I don't have hips. I'm built like my mom who also didn't have hips growing up but after having my brother got some).

For those second, third, fourth time mommies... what helps to ease the older kid(s) into having a little brother or sister at home? For those blog stockers out there reading this... I want your opinions too.

On a different note I have quite possibly the cutest little girl in the whole world (sorry but I'm really sure I do). Emma is such a little sweetie!This is a picture of her Sunday after Church. She let me do her hair in french braids! I haven't ever really been able to french braid hair. I didn't have any sisters and my mom had/has short hair. I think the first person I ever attempted to french braid their hair was Serena at girls camp our last year. I'm so excited to be able to do the "girly" stuff with Emma.

She is growing up so fast! Her favorite thing it do is play outside. What I love about her is she will put on her dress up clothes and want to go roll around in the dirt outside. That's my girl! She also loves to help me cook and clean! I've really appreciated this help recently. I haven't had to bend over and pick up a whole lot of stuff which has been good for my breathing!

Emma is a very active little girl! She loves to run and play hard with Jacob, myself and our dog Annie. We take Annie to an of leash dog park in the area and Emma loves to run around and chase the dogs.

She's a climber too! I can't believe how well Emma climbs. I've had a couple scares at the playground when I turn around and catch her climbing something that's really high up.

And now Emma is able to read her name and "Mom and Dad". She has a fascination with letters and learns them very quickly. It's fun to watch her try to copy the letters onto paper that she sees.

And no blog post would be complete without a recipe or two. I have a request to post a Lemon Bar recipe. So here is that one:

2 cups flour
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 cup butter
4 beaten eggs
2 cups sugar
1/3 c lemon juice
1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Sift together the 2 cups flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender until mixture clings together. Press into an 8x8 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Beat together eggs, sugar and lemon juice. Sift together the 1/4 c flour and baking powder. Stir into egg mixture. Pour over baked crust. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with additional powdered sugar. Cool. Cut into bars. Yield 9 bars.

The last couple times I've made this recipe it hasn't turned out. Here is another one from Taste of Home that I'm going to try next time. I think they pretty much halved everything in my recipe.

• CRUST:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup Domino® or C&H® Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
• TOPPING:
• 1 cup Domino® or C&H® Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Domino® or C&H® Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
• Orange peel strips (1 to 3 inches), optional

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the flour, butter and confectioners' sugar; press into an ungreased 8-in. square baking pan. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, flour, lemon juice, extract, baking powder and salt until frothy; pour over crust.
Bake for 18-22 minutes or until light golden brown. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Sprinkle with orange peel strips if desired. Yield: 9 servings.

I can't think of what else I want to post for a recipe! I'll give you some of our quick ideas for dinners that we use a lot in the Spring/Summer months:

BLT Sandwiches (had them on Monday night)
Taco Salad
Baked potato bar (we bake the potatoes outside on coals if it's really hot)
Fruit Salad (when it gets into the 107s here in the summer all we really want to eat is fruit and I also get some baby carrots and broccoli to eat too)
Spaghetti!
Breakfast for Dinner (one of Jacob's favorites)

I will sometimes if I'm on top of things make Jello and add bananas, strawberries, blackberries, or raspberries to it and we eat it as a side for dinner. Sometimes, I even get whipped cream to put on top (gasp!).