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.