More pictures

We had such a great Halloween this year. We made witches out of oatmeal containers, which the girls spent the entire afternoon on. They turned out really cute too. Justin wasn't that into it and Mia was sleeping. And I actually splurged on costumes this year and it was so fun to see how excited they were about dressing up in what they actually wanted. They got a ridiculous amount of candy, as usual. We had a ward Halloween party where we ate soup (I brought my own gluten-free "healing quinoa and cabbage soup" ) and maybe 2 bowls got eaten so I had it for lunch for 2 weeks and the kids went from room to room in the church doing activities and collecting candy. They also trick or treated at the high school and collected tons and did fun activities there as well. Then around the neighborhood in the evening. We only did 8-10 houses, but we had more then we needed. I picked out a bunch of candy to pass out to our trick or treaters. It was a great weekend. I was able to go up to Denver on Halloween for a cadaver lab for yoga. It was a unique experience. Then Hans and I got a babysitter that evening for Stake Conference. I was hesitant to go since it was the holiday, but I'm so glad we did. Elder Maynes of the seventy spoke and it was so great and worth the time. I needed some spiritual guidance:)

Pictures

October has been one crazy month. I've loved it. We had some fun snowstorms and then tons of warm, beautiful days where we could play outside and lay out on blankets and read. It was fantastic. We carved our pumpkins, went to Halloween parties, finished up the soccer season for both girls, and just generally had a great time. I got to go to SYTYCD in downtown Colorado Springs. Yes, I'm a SYTYCD groupie. I signed the girls up for art classes again up in Monument, which they love. And suddenly I can't think of anything else we did. But I'm sure we spent lots of our time in our house. I've fallen in love with my crockpot and I cook almost every single day in that thing. It's so much easier and I have a great gluten-free cookbook. I do eat stuff like Quinoa and cabbage soup, but it's yummy and I'm getting used to it. The girls are doing great in school. They are best friends, which I love. They love to see each other when school gets out and then they frantically play until bedtime. Last night they spent 3 hours making a bracelet on their bead loom and then decorated the cutest cards for me with the "World's greatest mom Award" written on the back. I taped them up to my mirror. They make it easy to be a mom, that's for sure. Mia still can't stop talking about "soda, cake, soda" and her Dora party. She is obsessed with parties, but even more with Dora. I did finally take her to the Doctor. She is 21 lbs and not on the charts and 25th % for height. Her speech is above average and she's perfect in every way.

Mia is 2!!

Mia had a most exciting birthday and party. For her actual birthday day we gave her mini m&ms and some tattoos. She loved it. And this really cute trampoline I bought from a friend off of craigslist. Her smiles in these pictures shows exactly how she feels about it. Then we had a Dora party the next day. We had a candy treasure hunt, opened presents, and ate pizza and cake. She loves her Dora backpack, phone, book, and slippers. She loved her party. We talked for three days about it. She kept asking me to talk to her about it. She would say, "My happy party. So fun. Eat candy and soda. Dora. So fun." On and on. Wish I had it recorded. She loves Dora. She watches Dora everyday. So it was successful.

October

It really is hard to believe that I haven't journaled since the beginning of the month. My life has been really busy. I've loved it. Between the kids activities, homework, school, lots of waiting time at carpool places, and all the yoga teacher training, I have had little time to do anything that I can put off. I have read many yoga philosophy books (definately read Journey into Power and The Heart of Yoga if you're interested), written book reports, observed people doing yoga, practiced teaching yoga to friends and family, and just generally done lots of yoga. Yoga. Yoga. Yoga. My life right now. I'm really hoping to find a job teaching next month when the training is over. Hans and I even dressed up as yogis for an adult Halloween party we went to. Hans looked ridiculous, but he was more in costume. Besides the fake tattoos I put on I pretty much dress like that everyday. Hans had a long haired wig, tattoos, and a really tight yoga shirt. And he brought his mat and showed everyone some sun salutations. Good laughs were shared:)

I also had my neighbor bail out on me on carpool so I've been extremely angry about that, but I've finally come to terms with it. I don't mind the driving anymore, I was just frustrated that she would feel like she could just back out on me without giving me reasons, which makes me think it's that the girls were singing primary songs and her girls probably told her because they are Christians who aren't tolerant of other Christians. It's all I can think of. It certainly couldn't be me!!

Hans had a terrible month at the office. Should I even journal that? He didn't even come close to breaking even. He says it shouldn't happen again, but I felt like he was working and seeing patients, so hopefully next month shows a profit. Some months are beyond great, and then a month like this just evens it out. I have to breathe through that though.

This month has brought lots of crazy weather and the swine flu to our house as well. The week of fall break we were home, then the following week we were home with flu, and then this week here we are with 2 1/2 days off so far from the snow. It really is incredible. It's windy, icy, and freezing. I love a good snowstorm. I'm just hoping Halloween isn't too wintery. We have had a lot of cold soccer games and practices cancelled, but it's been nice to not have to go anywhere.

We also had Mia turn 2. I sure love this baby girl of mine. She is just so darn fun. She says the cutest things. She likes to take her diaper off everytime she pees and wipe her own bum. I get nervous for when I don't catch her and it's filled with poop. Hasn't happened yet, thankfully. She says, "my take off my biaper, wipe bum, so pretty." Anything that is clean is pretty. I think she must have learned that from me:) I still haven't taken her to the doctor because I've been too busy and I feel like it can wait for a few weeks. She is tipping the scales at 20.5 pounds. Not even on the charts. They don't say anything to be about it though. She looks proportional. She loves to color, play legos, hold babies, jump on her new trampoline, climb up on the counter (she pushes a chair over) and fill tupperware with chocolate chips and eat them all, have me hold her (hold you, momma), and giggle with Friday. I love the stage we're in with her, but my heart aches sometimes thinking of her growing up. All of the kids, really. It's strange to be passing through this stage. I didn't even see the transition. I need to stop and appreciate the moments more.

The girls are doing great. Ashley is as sweet as ever and is dying to own her own Book of Mormon (she has to wait until she's 8). She is as smart as you would expect and is enjoying piano lessons. She is so busy with school taking up so much time, but we let her stay up later then everyone else for selfish reasons I my part, really. I just want to be with her. Katelyn has quite the group of friends at school and has already distinguished herself as a leader. She is still way ahead of herself in everything learning, but is content. I love that about her. She sits for hours at the desk doing coloring projects, writing me letters, and doing "homework" she designs for herself. She is by far the best gymnast in her hotshots class this year and loves the 2 days a week. She is moving up to the official team in a month or two, maybe sooner. It's not even close, how much better she is. She landed her backspring, is up to 13 pull-ups, can do a great press-handstand and sticks most cartwheels on the high skinny beam. She is starting her back walkovers on the high skinny beam as well and I'm sure I'm more nervous then she is. She just is so cute. Justin is my demanding 3 year old. I get anxious sometimes when I realize I have a 2 year old AND a 3 year old. It definately makes life exciting. He's so darn cute still. He idolizes his daddy and monopolizes all his time when's home to the point all us girls are jealous and Hans is exhausted. We're working on finding balance. He loves school and still loves to be anywhere but here in our house. "Take me anywhere mom."

So there you go. October has found us happy, beyond busy, but loving our time. Oh and I almost forgot! My friend from college, Erynn, came to visit for a long weekend and we really crammed in the activities. The kids adored her. We hiked to the top of Pikes Peak in 5 hours, which is quite the feat considering the icy snow. Then hitch hiked down the mountain to the car and drove to the yoga studio. The next day we did more yoga and went to lunch and then went with the family to dinner (Red Robin has a great gluten free menu). It was a whirlwind, but so much fun. I love laughing with Erynn. I decided after that visit that I need to laugh more.

My parents also came to visit for Conference weekend and we had a great time walking around Manitou springs, showing off the kids, and also eating out (PF Changs has an even better gluten free menu). I love having people come visit. So come if you're even considering it!

I promise to post pictures of Mia's cute birthday party, the kids carving pumpkins, and the kids and Hans playing in the snow. And of Friday, since I have yet to do that!

Yoga and Celiac Disease

Yoga and Celiac disease have been on my mind CONSTANTLY since last Thursday. I went to the GI doctor for yet another consult thinking it couldn't hurt since I'd already met my deductible. I was feeling so frustrated that my stomach still hurts, 10 years later, with no hope of relief. To my surprise, the GI lady pulls out my pathology report on my small intestine, which shows "lymphocytosis at the villous tips" meaning the strong possibility of gluten-sensitive enteropathy, which is celiac disease. Apparently they didn't tell me this after my endoscopy because I never came back in for my consult. So now I know. So I immediately went gluten-free and I feel oh so much better. It's crazy how much better I feel, actually. I have more energy, my stomach doesn't hurt, and I don't have to always know right where a bathroom is. It's going to change my life. I actually sleep through the night without a bathroom trip. I'm loving it. The only trouble now is figuring out what is and isn't gluten-free. I accidentally ate some gluten in a dinner I made that I spent an hour reading about to make sure was gluten free. Turns out "dextrin" in my turkey burger that I thought was 100 percent ground turkey has gluten in it. I paid big time. I was up all night long in total pain. It's more miserable now that I don't eat it. My reaction was terrible confirming to me that I definately will be eating gluten-free for the rest of my life. They took my blood for genetic markers, which will undoubtedly turn up positive since I have a cousin, my great grandma, and my dad's cousin with it. It also means that my kids need to be screened. Hans is convinced Katelyn and Mia have it, but not the others so we are starting Katelyn gluten-free tomorrow morning for a week and then giving her a little gluten to see if she reacts like I did. I'm sure she will and so excited for her to not be in pain all the time too. Hooray! I now get to add Whole Foods to my list of places to shop, which is annoying, but I don't trust myself to eat anything that isn't labeled as gluten-free after reacting. It was so miserable. Even eating at PF Changs last night off their gluten-free menu I had to ask the waiter at least 5 times if he was sure it was gluten-free. I have anxiety over eating because of how it could make me feel. I think labeled gluten-free stuff will lower the stress until I figure it out. So that is that. I'm a celiac. How exciting.

And now to Yoga. I'm in love. I decided at the last minute to sign up to do yoga teacher training at CorePower. It's extremely time-intensive, but so far I love it. It's challenging and out of my comfort zone so I think it's so good for me. I am doing a 200 hour certification course that will allow me to teach anywhere. It's a lot of hours over the next 8 weeks. 7 weeks to go. I feel more confident already and I love learning about yoga philosophy and history. It's great to do yoga 5-6 times a week and I feel like I am gaining a lot. I decided to give up running for the next 7 weeks because it was too much to do both the last week. I'm nervous for my mind to give it up. We'll see how long it lasts.

So it's been busy. My parents came to visit this weekend, which has been great as well. The weather is beautiful. We spent yesterday in Manitou and today doing conference, soccer, and yoga (5 hours for me this afternoon). The kids are doing so well. They are happy and we are enjoying them. It's strange and sad and wonderful to have them grow up. It's easier and busier. I'm focusing on simplifying. But it's easier to imagine simplifying then to actually do it. I started volunteering in the girls' classrooms weekly, which is a great use of time and energy. We are excited about Halloween and Mia's party this week and beautiful fall weather. My baby turns 2 this week. She is a whopping 21 pounds fully clothed with shoes on at the Drs office. She gets to do all sorts of testing for her delays so that should be interesting. I'll post on her more this next week!!

I need to blog more often so I don't forget all the cute stuff they do and the things we do. So there you have it.

What was I thinking?!

Two weeks ago on Friday we got a dog. He smells, he pees and poops in my house, he chews up important stuff like the DS charger, whines at night, and generally is...a dog, I guess. I would have thought I would have known. I did, really. I'm holding out hope that he isn't as dumb as he looks to be so far. He is a Bichon Shihtzu mix. He looks like a bichon with white fur and brown spots. We named him Friday. We went through several names with Friday being the one that the girls could agree on. He still doesn't know his name so it doesn't really matter and I still call him "it" or "the dumb dog." So that has been my last two weeks mixed with the starting of school and getting settled into a new routine.

Katelyn loves school and so does Justin. Kate already has her posse on the playground and adores her teacher and Justin has already earned two prizes for good behavior. And out of the selection he picked nail polish. Both times. His teacher says he always plays babies at school, but that they are generally taking rides in trucks and such. He is a balanced boy, I think.

School for Ashley has been much more stressful leading me to meet with the teacher, talk with other schools, and meet with the curriculum lady at TCA. Since then things seem to be getting better for Ashley. I was planning on taking her out and cottage schooling her, which I really really wanted to do, but after much prayer on her part and mine, we've decided staying where she is is the best course of action. I was disappointed because it sounded fun to have her home and able to do more extra-curricular stuff she would enjoy, but I also feel good and relieved to just do more of the same. I'm just hoping they treat this girl right and decide to challenge her. They say they will as long as I work closely with them on it. I'm so in...I was planning on homeschooling, after all!

Hans and I have been sick. For some reason we are and the kids aren't. I am trying to figure out a way to boost my immune system. Any ideas? Hans is spending time fixing up his motorcycle. It's fun to see him doing this. He is always happy doing it and I love that. We took the motorcycle on our date on Friday, which was great fun. He taught me to ride it and I love it. Now he is dreaming about getting me one so we can go together. Sounds fun, I think. The weather is turning colder, which stresses me out. Not sure how long I will last running outside and if I can hold out on joining the Y. I'm going to miss my mornings with Kim. If I can stay motivated to run outside I will keep going to the yoga studio. I think I'm in love with yoga. So it would make me sad to quit and go back to the Y. Now I am looking forward to my roommate from freshman year at college coming to visit me in a few weeks. We're going to hike Pikes Peak and do yoga. I seriously can't wait.

I think that's all for the week....or two.

Mia is so cute. She is almost 2. She says stuff like "that fycle (motorcycle) fast, right?" And throws giant temper tantrums about having bandaids all over her body. When I say no she says, "I go Kaykyn a bandaid (Katelyn will do it if you won't, mother dearest)." She is by far my most....spirited? Is that a nice way to say it? I love her energy. She misses her siblings when they are gone and always has to ask me where they are going when they leave. She's used to us all being together all the time. Life is changing.

Last Week

This past week has been a whirlwind. The girls started school on Monday, which is going to be fantastic. Justin started pre-school on Tuesday, which is also going to be fantastic. He's going with 3 of his friends and the class is only 6 kids. For 1 1/2 hours twice a week I now get time to myself. It's very strange. I feel a little like I'm rushing everyone out of bed in the morning and rushing Ashley to school. Then we do our errands or play and then rush Kate to school and then Mia to her nap. It's been nice to have some alone time with Justin. We build train tracks mainly. It's fun. Then after school we are doing homework and reading and soccer. It is all very busy, but I know once I get used to the routine and remembering all their schedules, I will be okay. It's such a change from our no routine summer. This week gymnastics starts for Katelyn as well. I have to have 30 minutes to myself on Sunday just to get all the events into my phone so they remind me what I'm doing and when. Or really what the kids are doing. I'm also coaching the YW in basketball every week and doing activity days. It's a lot for me to remember. So far so good. If I don't forget any children anywhere (which I did to poor Kate once last year) I will count it a successful week. I also joined a yoga studio, which I am loving. I've been going 3-4 times a week and doing yoga one other time at home. It's so good for me. It helps me de-stress and helps my tummy hurt less, and makes me feel strong and present. I'm enjoying it immensely. I got into my first "full expression" of hurdlers, which basically is yogi terms for I can actually do hurdler pose the right way. It is fun to have something all to myslef. I'm still running, just less often. I love it.

So overall it's been a great week of firsts. On to next week....

2nd Grader

Hooray for Ashley! She prayed that she would be in Kaylee's class, which we thought would never happen since I requested a different teacher and Kim didn't do the pick, but Ashley has incredible faith and is grateful for Heavenly Father hearing her prayer. She gets to be with Kaylee for the third year running. I'm so happy for her. They even get to sit next to each other. Their teacher Mrs. or Miss. Rosin is very young and excited, but also disciplined, so it is the perfect combo for Ashley. Ashley said, "Mom she's really nice, but kind of strict." Perfect. It's going to be great. Cousin Andrew is also at school with Ashley so it's fun for them to see each other occasionally. Andrew is in 3rd grade. Her favorite part about school so far is the fancy hair we've been trying out. The middle set of pictures is her favorite, but it takes a long time and it only turns out half of the time. I'm not very consistent. It's fun to spend the time with her in the morning. I'm missing her a lot. She's gone all day long. I don't like it. It does make the time we spend together that much more important, but I don't like turning her over to someone else. She's happy. Gosh I love Ashley. She is a girl with no guile. I admire her immensely. She teaches me daily. I feel incredibly fortunate and loved to have been trusted with this girl. She's amazing!!!

New Kindergartener

Hooray! Katelyn got The World's Best Kindergarten Teacher. Ever. And there's no disputing this. Ask Kim or Joyana. I think they'd agree. We did a dance when we found out Mrs. Meyers would be Katelyn's teacher. It is extra fantastic because my child who screams at the idea of change felt like she already knew her way around the kindergarten scene. Hooray! She gets to go to a brand new school with a fancy playground, which she loves. She gets to finally wear a uniform to school like Ashley. And she is loving learning. She already wants me to teach her all the phonograms. She is a go getter, this one. She spends all morning asking me how many hours until she gets to go. And she is upset to not be going on the weekends. She also decided on the first day I dropped her off that she would like to walk in alone. This made me slightly nervous, but we pulled up through the carpool lane and she hopped out and ran in. It was very strange driving home that first day. I felt a little empty inside. But I am so excited for her. She is so fun when she is this happy. It's contagious. I love this girl.

My Man

Just wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful husband. Not only does he work hard to provide for our family, but then he comes home and wrestles, does dishes, builds train tracks, plays games, reads princess books, helps me, and doesn't rest. Then he pretends like he doesn't care when I have accidentally finished off the ice cream. And promises that he's not too tired to go get some milk from the store. He's amazing. I realize how incredibly lucky I am to have a husband who puts the needs of the family ahead of his own self. He truly looks after us and puts us first. Because he wants to. I love and admire him.