Week Two: How to get healthy one week at a time

So is everyone spending more time in the bathroom?  Hope so!!  Keep up the water drinking!

Okay, are you ready for the next challenge?  Here goes...

What did your mom always tell you growing up when you were having dinner?  Yep, you guessed it.  "Eat your veggies!".  Well, mom was right!  Vegetables are a crucial part of our diet and most people don't get nearly enough.  They are PACKED with important vitamins and minerals that we need to function at a healthy level.  Another part about eating veggies though is that eating them raw is the most nutritious way to take them in.  Once you cook anything it begins to break down the nutrients.  Cooked is good, raw is best!

So here is the challenge for the week (I can hear you all groaning!):

Add one, yes I'm only asking one, serving of RAW veggies to your food intake each day.  A salad, a handful of carrots, some sugar snap peas (yum!), broccoli...whatever you want it to be.  Just chomp down a handful and you are good to go.

Here's a tip-have a small salad with your lunch or if you have errands to run throw some veggies in a baggie and eat them while you drive around.  It's that easy! Another great way is to throw some kale or spinach into a smoothie each morning.  Sounds gross, I know, but it's actually really good!  Throw in some frozen berries, your veggies, a little juice and water.  Blend well and go!  Just keep your fruit/veggie ratio to at least 40% veggie.  Oh, and make sure your juice is a good quality-no added sugars or high fructose corn syrup!

Good luck this week!!!!

And PS...if you have a hard time getting your kiddos to eat veggies, the smoothies are awesome for that!  I feed Aiden a smoothie every morning and he LOVES them.  He goes nuts as soon as he sees me start making it.  Try it out!

Real Joy

I was at the gym this morning and there was a commercial on TV for Sears.  It showed families wrapping and giving each other gifts for Christmas.  At the end it put the words on the screen "Real Joy".  That got me thinking.   I know that I have experienced "real joy" in my life.  Kneeling in the temple with my husband as we were sealed together for time and all eternity.  The first time I held Aiden and looked at this chubby little face.  Feeling our Savior's love for me when I read the scriptures.  Being with my family as we gather from all across the country.  And even all the little things too.  Aiden wrapping his arms around my neck and giving me kisses.  Going for a walk with my family on a beautiful evening.  Sitting around the dinner table with good friends, just eating, laughing, and talking.  All of that is "real joy" too.

So how is it that "real joy" has now been equated with giving your wife a treadmill for Christmas?  Or Uncle So-and-So the Kinect Zumba game?  Why when we walk into Walmart the week after Halloween are we bombarded with pictures of glowing faced children receiving gift cards or the latest rock and roll Elmo doll?  

Don't get me wrong, I completely recognize that it is a lot of fun and brings a lot of happiness to give gifts.  Even our Savior received gifts.  But it just made me sad to see something so special as "joy" degraded to receiving a drill for Christmas.  

Not to sound cliche, but let's remember the real reason for the season.
It's not that flashy new Light Sabre.
It's Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who makes REAL JOY possible.

Big

I really can't believe how big Aiden is now.  I was uploading pictures from my camera and was looking back at older stuff and it was just earlier this year that he was a butterball rolling around on the floor.  And now he's a little boy.  Where has time gone??

Yummy...

So growing up my mom always made the most AMAZING Pot Roast.  Nothing takes me home more than a roast cooking in the crock pot, yummy rolls, and my family sitting around the table.  BUT..my mom's recipe has always had dairy in it and since my family and I have gone dairy free (milk allergy) I have been searching high and low for a good recipe.  I have tried many and none were that great.  So yesterday I decided to wing it.  I read a bunch of recipes, took what I wanted from them, threw it all in the crock pot and hit go...

And 10 hours later, voila!  AMAZING!  Seriously delicious stuff.  And I am one happy camper that I have a recipe now!  So in honor of my wonderful discovery, I am going to share my recipe.  Try it out-it's delish!

Chuck roast (you want about 1/2 lb. per person-more if you have a big eater)
4 large yukon gold potatoes
1 lb. baby carrotts
1/2 large onion

Sauce:
1 1/4 c Beef Stock
1/3 cup Red Cooking Wine
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Dice potatoes and slice onions.  Mix all veggies in crock pot. Pour sauce over veggies.  Generously salt and pepper the roast, patting the seasoning into it.  Place on top of veggies and cook for 10 hours.  The time you spend cooking your roast is CRITICAL.  You need at least 9 hours to have it tender and falling apart.  Any less and you will have a tough roast.

After roast is done remove roast to cutting board and "slice" (it will mostly just fall apart into chunks-that's what makes it good!).  Spoon veggies out with slotted spoon onto serving platter and top with roast.

To make gravy, pour juices from the crock pot into saucepan and turn on high.  In small bowl or cup add 2 tbsp. flour to about 1/2 cup water and whisk together.  Whisk the flour mixture into the saucepan and continuously stir until well incorporated.  Let bubble, continuously stirring for another minute or two.  Add salt and pepper to taste and remove from heat.  Serve!

Next time I will take a picture!  Enjoy!

Week One: How to get healthy one week at a time

I've been thinking a lot lately about everything I've learned from my husband and on my own about nutrition and how to get to a healthier point in my life.  Not just healthy as in not being sick, but healthy as in really feeling good, energetic, clear minded and taking care of my body the way it's meant to be taken care of, as the temple of my spirit.  Our bodies are an incredible creation, created after the image of our Father in Heaven.  They are a gift in this life, and we will be reunited with them in the next.  Knowing this, I have a firm testimony that we should take care of our bodies as best we know how.  Now I will be the first to admit that I don't do everything right, currently I'm still working on getting better at exercising.  One area I'm really proud of though is the way my family eats.  We are doing a lot of things right and I can feel a big difference.  So, I decided that I want to share what I've learned.  Most people when I start talking about all we do get overwhelmed and think it would be too hard to get where we are.  But what I always say is that it's been almost a 2 year process...changing one small thing at a time.  It was not an immediate switch.  So if you decide to follow my blog and want to try some things out, I'm going to give one task a week for you to work on.  Some things I'm already doing, some I'll be giving as a challenge to myself as well.  Some weeks will be pretty easy and others will be more challenging.  The biggest thing is to remember that even if you mess up, don't give up.  Just keep going and it'll get easier, I promise!

So (drumroll please), here is your challenge for week one:

As soon as you wake up in the morning drink 20 ounces of water before you eat or drink anything else. 

Yes you heard me, 20!

My tip: Buy a cheap big cup at the store, fill it before you go to bed and put it next to your bed.  As soon as you get up it's right there and you can chug it down!  I usually drink half, then make my bed, and then drink the other half.  If you don't make your bed...not sure what to tell you :)

Why?  Water is a critical part of our diet and most people are not getting enough. It helps flush waste out of our body, will give us more energy, and provide important minerals and other nutrients to our bodies.

And just a heads up...yes, you WILL be going to the restroom a lot more, but as your body grows accustomed to the added water you won't have to go as much.  So just be prepared for more bathroom breaks!

Have a great week!

A little (lot) belated, but still important

So after reading my dear friend Jenny's birth story, I realized that I never shared my own birth story.  It's amazing how almost a year and a half later you can still remember things clearly but the emotions have faded to a point where it actually seems possible to go through it again.  Crazy.  

Here is my story...

To really tell my story we have to start at the beginning.  I decided early on that I wanted to go the natural route. I also decided that instead of a hospital birth I wanted to have a midwife and deliver in a birth center.  Orie and I did some research and picked our midwife, Cherie, and absolutely loved her!  

Side story.  We found out the beginning of October 2009 that we were expecting.  About 2 weeks later I woke up in the middle of the night with my husband having a seizure next to me.  It was terrifying.  Being newly pregnant and hormonal it just made things worse.  Over the next 8 months of our pregnancy we spent our time hopping between different doctors, neurologists and chiropractors trying to find out why Orie was having seizures.  We also spent a lot of times on our knees in prayer and in the temple.  Through a miracle we were led to an amazing chiropractor in Austin who found the source of the problem, helped correct it, and Orie had his last seizure about 3 weeks before Aiden was born.  What a blessing!  Although it was a very difficult experience and made for a stressful pregnancy, we are both grateful for the lessons we learned and for how much stronger our marriage is.

Okay back to the real story.  So on June 10th I was running some errands (our due date was June 21st).  I had absolutely zero signs of labor however at 2pm as I was walking out of Target I had my first contraction.  At 3pm I texted Orie and told him to get home immediately.  My contractions were already 5 minutes apart.  By 4pm we were headed to the birth center and I was 4 minutes apart and they kept getting closer on the way.  We got stuck in Dallas rush hour and so I went through transition in the car.  I don't recommend that.  

When we got to the birth center at 4:45 I was already 9 1/2 centimeters and at 5pm I started pushing (yes, just 3 hours after my very first contraction!).  Things seemed to go well at first but after an hour we weren't making any progress.  My labor had progressed so rapidly that my body hadn't had time to relax and prepare itself for delivery.  So after a lot of intense pushing, an episiotomy, and vacuum extraction, we welcomed our little Aiden Matthew into the world at 6:30pm.  He was perfect!  

Because of the stress of the labor he was having some trouble breathing right.  After an hour he still hadn't calmed down to normal levels so the midwife made the decision to call the hospital next door and have him transferred to the NICU.  Although Orie and I wanted the best for Aiden, we just felt that this was not the right thing for him.  Orie gave him a priesthood blessing and by the time the NICU team had arrived Aiden's breathing had returned to normal.  We had been told though that once the NICU team was called they were required to take Aiden no matter what.  The team examined Aiden and said he was completely fine but they had to take him.  Orie and I prayed that Aiden could stay with us.  After a few phone calls to the hospital the team gave us the okay to keep him!  What a blessing!  The midwife said that in her 17 years at the birth center they had never seen the NICU team leave a baby once they were called.  We were so grateful and truly humbled that the Lord had answered our prayers, healed Aiden, and made it possible for him to stay with us.  

So the following morning (very early) we packed up our new little miracle and took him home to start our life together!  It has been such a joy to have Aiden in our family.  We love him SO much!

3 years...1,095 days...26,280 hours...1,576,800 minutes...94,608,000 seconds. However you count it, every moment has been wonderful!

Orie and I just celebrated our third anniversary and I am SO grateful to be married to such a wonderful man.  He is my very best friend and an amazing husband.  It's amazing to look back and realize how much we've done in just 3 years.  Orie finished at the UofA, I left my job at Walmart, we moved to Texas, Orie has gone through almost 2 1/2 years of Chiropractic school, I worked for a year, we went through a major health scare, we had Aiden, we just celebrated Aiden's first birthday, and now our time is coming to a close in Texas and we are getting ready to move home to Arkansas in December.  Wow!  Even though some of it has been really tough-Orie's 9 months of seizures was no walk in the park-it has all helped us grow and strengthen our marriage.  I have been so amazed at the strength that comes from going at life together, as partners, equally yoked.  Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he created man and woman and brought us together in marriage.  And he went beyond that and provided a way for us to be sealed together in the temple not just for our time here on earth but for eternity.  And I am so grateful that Orie is my husband now and for eternity.  I love you Orie!!!!

My good little eater...

Aiden is so funny.  His favorite thing to do is to play in the fridge.  He loves to pull everything out.  And he loves to try stuff.  So far he has pulled out and eaten (or attempted to eat): apples, big tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cantelope, avocado, potatoes, nectarines, and a red bell pepper.  Here is the bell pepper.  And yes, he actually ate those chunks.  I guess he's just trying to figure out what to do with his 14 teeth :)

Aiden is 1!!

Wow I can't believe that a year has gone by since my favorite little guy came into the world.  

Aiden you have brought me so much joy and light up our lives.  Your daddy and I love you so much and can't wait to watch you keep growing and learning.  You are the most wonderful little boy!!

His cake...homemade and super yummy!

Not quite sure about this.  We never gave him sweets before his birthday so this was a totally new experience!

He kept picking off the little balls of icing around the edge and eating them.  So we cut a slice out for him to actually get some cake.  Lol :)

Now he's getting into it!

Toys!!

We love you Aiden!!

Presenting the future Elder Quinn!

I want to be a missionary now...

I don't want to wait until I'm grown!

I want to share the gospel while I'm young,

For I have a testimony of my own!

It's been forever...

So I haven't blogged in a while...mostly because I'm totally embarrassed to follow up on my last post.  I totally botched it.  No follow thru.  I admit it.  But there is a small glimmer of hope.  I have been working out, not as much as a wanted, and I have lost a few pounds.  Yay!  I'm still working on it, and I'll get where I want to be.

Moving on from that sad story.  Here is what we've been up to!  First off was a trip to the zoo.  We had so much fun that day.  Aiden's favorite thing was the fountain in the children's area.  

It felt great on a pretty warm day!

Picnic!

Orie was at his Applied Kinesiology seminar all weekend so Aiden and I went down and met up with him for his lunch break on Saturday.  Couldn't possibly ask for better weather that day-it was gorgeous!  And Aiden was looking so cute.  I couldn't help but take tons of pictures.  I know you want to see them all.  Who wouldn't want to look at pics of such a cute boy?  :)

My little escape artist!

Went in to get my little man from his nap earlier and this is what I found.

I really have no idea how he managed this...but I'm impressed with his new skills! :)

This kids has completely stolen my heart!

Just had to post these pics-love them all, but especially the one playing with his daddy :)

I have the cutest little family and I LOVE it!