Brynlee Elizabeth

I am so behind on this thing. I don't really feel like getting caught up cause I am kinda lazy but I did want to write about the new addition to our not-seeming-so-little-anymore family.

We (and by 'we' I really mean 'I') decided in July of last year that it was time for another baby. Then we found out at the end of August that we were pregnant!

The pregnancy was much easier than my other two. I was almost 30 pounds smaller than when I got pregnant with Owen, it made a huge difference! I was able to keep running until I was about 25 weeks, after that it was just too much for my bladder. The gym membership was a huge help (and a nice break from the kids.) I would do about 30 minutes of cardio -either walking on the treadmill on an incline or the elliptical- and then I would do a modified version of my normal weight routine. I gained about 30 pounds with this pregnancy, which was about 20 pounds less than my other two. And I just felt so much better! The "completely ready to be done, I feel like a beached whale" phase didn't kick in tell about week 37.

The labor this time around was a bit different. My mom planned to come out on April 27th- my due date was May 5th- but I started having contractions on Sunday April 19th, so she flew in the next day. Of course, nothing happened for a few days. But on Thursday April 23rd they started again and didn't stop. We left for the hospital, after scrambling around a bit to find someone to come stay with the boys, around 9:30 that night. I was admitted and got the epidural a few minutes later. It didn't stick as good this time around though, left leg was completely numb and I could still feel the right and some of the contractions, but it still took the edge off.

Things didn't really progress very fast, at about noon the next day I was still only at a 5, so my doctor said he'd come in a few hours to break my water, but about 15 minutes before he got there my water broke. That was about at 1:45 and Brynlee was born at 2:24! She weighed 9 lbs 4 oz  -my smallest baby! I was really surprised at how fast she came. She was having some issues breathing so I was only able to hold her for a few minutes and then they had to take her to the nursery to try to clear out her lungs. 

She is such an easy baby! She totally just goes with the flow and her brothers love her!

a is for apple

I've been attempting to do a home school preschool type thing with my boys. Thanks to Super Why, they already know all the letters, but we've been working on the sounds they make. I searched pinterest and found a lot of letter of the week ideas and did my own version on a couple of them. {this was one of my favorites http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/56908/how-to-homeschool-preschool}

Honestly, when it comes to little crafty projects like this I don't want to spend a lot of money. So that's where the dollar store comes in. I got a thing of construction paper and some glue sticks. I cut out the shapes for the tree and the apples and then a lower case a with some seeds, stems, and leaves. This was our first experience with glue sticks and {with a lot of help from mommy} the boys did really good with it.

For the capital A I just found one online and traced it off my monitor- very lightly- with a pencil and then went over it with a marker. Then I just cut some strips out of construction paper and let them glue them on where they wanted. {Owen is pretty OCD so you can tell which one is his...and I'm not sure how well Conner was grasping the concept but he had fun!}

For the rest of the week we just kept talking about different words that start with A. We also have been using abcmouse.com and my boys have been having a lot of fun with it! 

 This is just one of the things that I keep in their activity box that I pull out every once in awhile. I tape Glad Press n' Seal to the window {with the sticky side out} and then cut some strips out of tissue paper. It's cheap and easy and keeps them entertained for about 30 minutes.

I seriously love the dollar store and the dollar section at Target. I can usually find a lot of coloring books and different kinds of pre-k workbooks. With those Owen has been working on tracing letters, numbers and shapes. 

So fun to watch them learn!

it's been awhile...

Losing weight is hard. And sometimes it really sucks. Especially when you get stuck in a rut and the pounds aren't coming off as fast as you want them to. It's hard to stick to a diet and it's easy to lose your motivation to exercise. That's about the time that I scroll through all my before pictures that I have on my computer. Or try on those size 18 jeans that I still have in the back of my closet just to see how big they are. I love seeing how far I have come and it gives me the motivation I need to keep going.
I'm not really doing a diet anymore, just watching what I eat. It's a lot easier now to make healthy choices than it was when I first started. That's another reason why I love the way I did this whole weight loss thing. It took a really long time. But it wasn't an easy, quick fix. I changed my lifestyle. And the weight has stayed off. I love eating healthy and I love working out.
I'm still about 20 pounds away from what "they" say is my "ideal weight" for my height and body type. But I'm focusing more now on how I feel about myself than those little numbers on the scale.
In just a few weeks it will be two years since I first decided to start running. It's taken a lot longer than I thought it would. But I am still so glad I started when I did! 

i joined a gym...

I don't like to run on the street. When I first started out running and I was pushing a double stroller, I didn't want to worry about dodging cars or trash cans and having to go up and down the curb...that's why I went to the track. And since we moved, I go to a park that's close by that has a path around it. {Yeah I know...I drive three miles there, run for three miles, and then drive three miles back home...but it's worth it to me} 

Anyway, I used to take the kids with me when I ran. I would go during Conner's morning nap time and he would take his nap while I ran and Owen would be chill with goldfish and his apple juice. It worked out perfectly.

But then Conner stopped taking morning naps. And Owen finally noticed that there was a park there, so he was done with the whole staying in the stroller thing and he just wanted to go play.
And that's when I went from running three days a week to one...if I was lucky.

About three weeks ago I realized that without running I hardly had anytime to myself. So we joined a gym.

Best. Thing. Ever.

They have an amazing daycare and the boys love going. {And they're socializing with kids their own age, which is something that they desperately needed.}
I'm working out regularly again. And getting a few minutes to myself a couple days a week. Priceless.

paleo

In November of last year, I was kinda stuck in a rut with the whole weight loss thing. I plateaued and was starting to lose interest in counting calories. I was on Pinterest and saw that one of my friends had shared this link:

30 Day Paleo Challenge

I had heard of Paleo before, mostly just from seeing it on Pinterest, but I didn't really know what it was. After doing just a little bit of research on it I decided to give it a try. 

{I didn't really follow the challenge word for word, though. We were on a tight budget and I didn't have time to get too fancy with my meals. For breakfast I mostly just did two eggs and two slices of turkey bacon. Then for lunch and dinners I would do either tuna with avocado or grilled chicken and a vegetable.  If I got hungry in between meals I would have a banana or a couple of almonds. And I drank A LOT of water.}

I did it for about three weeks and I lost 10 pounds. It was hard for me to stick to it though. After the three weeks I started having "binge days" when I would have a piece of toast or have some pizza. It would make me pretty sick and I would always feel like crap afterward, but, as much as I tried to resist, I still did it.

I went to Arizona for three weeks around Christmas, and during those three weeks I ate anything and everything I wanted. And I paid for it. I gained those 10 pounds back plus a couple extra. But when I got back home in January I started at it again (except for a week at the end of January when my in-laws came to visit) and I have, for the most part, stuck to it since then. It's gotten a lot easier now that I don't really crave the crappy food anymore and -thanks to Pinterest- I'm finding more Paleo recipes that satisfy the cravings that I do have.


BTW-- highly recommend the Jillian Michaels 6 Week Six-Pack workout. Such a good workout! So hard though...I would honestly rather go run four miles than do that video...but it works!

how i did it...weight loss part 3

**just a little disclaimer...I am in no way telling you what to do, I'm just sharing what I did and what worked for me**

It was in October of 2012 that I started running. I weighed 225 pounds. 

I went to the doctor in March of 2013, I stepped on the scale and saw that I was 212. I had only lost 13 pounds. It was better than nothing, but after five months I kind of expected it to be a little more.
That's when I realized that I needed to keep better track of what I ate. {And that I also needed to buy a scale!}

When I got home I downloaded a calorie counting app on my phone and I started counting my calories the next day. For the next six months I kept track of my calories {I stayed around 1200 calories a day} and continued to run a couple times a week. On September 18th I weighed in at 178 {3 pounds away from where I was when I got married...yay!} and I was so excited! I worked so hard to lose those 34 pounds!
I know that a lot of people are able to lose weight faster, and it is possible to lose more weight than that in six months. But for a mom of two toddlers who can't even pee by herself....I thought 34 pounds in 6 months was pretty darn good!

One of the biggest things to remember when you're trying to lose weight is to not get too discouraged when you step on the scale. Those little numbers can fluctuate a lot. Which is why a lot of other blogs that I read said to only weigh yourself once a week. But for me, weighing myself every morning helped me keep on track. If it wasn't changing, I worked harder. If I was losing, I worked harder.

Now I weigh 165...which is what I weighed when I graduated high school! {Of course I have it in different places now that I've had kids--my stomach used to be flat-- and I'm not nearly as muscular as I was then, but I'm working on it!}

I know 60 pounds in 17 months doesn't seem like that much, but I am so glad that I started when I did! The time will pass whether you're doing something or not, so you might as well do something!

And now...just for you...here's my before and during picture! I've lost a few more pounds since then and I'm still going!

running

Like I said before, I always thought it would be cool to do a marathon. I had never really run before though, and I never thought I would. I did track in high school, but there wasn't much running involved with shot put and discus. 

When I had tried running in the past, I would just run for as long as I could. It was hard and boring. I would do it once and then not even think about it again for months. 

But with the app that I downloaded you start slow...super slow. This is what day 1 looks like:

When I first saw it I thought running for 1 minute would be easy. I mean really...how hard could it be to run for a minute?? But running for one minute six times while pushing two kids, one of them in a car seat, in a double stroller that wasn't made to be pushed so fast....I thought I was going to die. 

But I did it.

And before I knew it I was able to run for two minutes, and then five, and then...gasp...I ran a half mile without stopping. It started getting easier. I was getting stronger. And it got to the point where I would actually look forward to doing it....never thought I would see the day!

And in July of last year I did my first 5K! Crossing that finish line was pretty much awesome, it made all the hard work so worth it!

So here are some of my tips for running:

 {again, I am definitely not an expert, this is just what I have learned and what helps me. I'm not anywhere close to where I want to be, but I'm a heck of a lot closer than I was two years ago...}

download an app. There's quite a few of them and it makes it a little easier. It's almost like having a trainer with you telling when to walk and when to run. It helps. A lot. 

listen to music. When you first start, it really sucks. But when you listen to music, especially your favorite songs, you don't think about it so much. I used Spotify, it's about $10 a month but it is so worth it!

good shoes. Good running shoes are rather expensive, but it can make such a huge difference! I highly recommend going to a running store and having them fit you for shoes. You don't necessarily have to by them there, they might be a little more pricey, but they should be able to help you choose the best shoe for you. {I absolutely love Aesics, but that's just me! They're not very stylish but I love em!)

keep going. There were a lot of times when I really had to convince myself to go run. But you never regret going, so just do it! 

don't get discouraged. It's hard. I had to repeat a couple of the weeks on my app because I wasn't quite ready to move on. And when we first moved to Texas a year ago I went about two months without running and I had to start over again. It's amazing how fast you can lose your endurance.

And lastly...just do the best you can! It's always going to be better than not doing anything at all!

why i did it...weight loss part 2

One of the major points that I want to get across here is that, in my opinion, the most important thing is how we feel abut ourselves. That is the main reason why I decided that I wanted to get healthy...I didn't feel good about myself. I didn't have the energy to take care of my boys. I never wanted to go anywhere. I was extremely irritable. I wasn't happy with myself. 

I would log on to pinterest and scroll through the health and fitness section, and just say to myself "one day I'm gonna do it." I was looking for a quick fix though. I would see something like 'how to lose five pounds a month' and I wouldn't read anything else about it cause I wanted to lose more than that. So I kept looking for a quick fix...

What finally did it for me was deciding that I wanted to run a 5K. 

As a mom, I very rarely have time to do something for myself. My world tends to revolve around my kids. But I realized that not taking time for myself, and doing something just for me, was keeping me from being a better mom. I had always wanted to run a marathon, but it just seemed so far fetched that I never really did more than occasionally think about it. But one day I downloaded a couch to 5K app on my phone. The next day I loaded up the kids and the stroller and drove to an old high school football stadium and walked/slogged around the track. 

After a few weeks I started to notice a huge difference. I had so much more energy. I was more patient with my kids. I started eating better {because I wanted to and not because I felt like I had to.} I just felt happier. 

The whole running thing really sucked at first. But finally feeling good about myself again was all the motivation I needed to keep going. 

Weight loss

It's about to get real personal up in here. 

So far all I've written about is pretty much milestones my boys have reached or what they have been up to. And I noticed that's all I mention on Facebook as well. All I ever seem to talk about is my kids {which doesn't bode well for my vocabulary skills...you like that word, eh? bode. something i would never say in a normal conversation. definitely need more adult conversations in my life} But I have been working somewhat hard over the last 15 months or so to lose weight. Like really lose it. Not just a 'diet' where I gain the weight right back as soon as I start eating normal food again. 

But first, let me back track a little....

I have always been a little bigger. 

Through middle school I always felt like I was bigger than other girls. I knew I wasn't obese or anything, I was just a little overweight. But when your 13 and going through the most awkward stages ever, being a little overweight definitely made things just a smidgen worse. Every summer I told myself that I was going to lose weight before school starts for real this time! 

During my sophomore year I started to feel more confident. I was on the track team and I had started lifting weights. {And I'm sure getting my braces off and finally figuring out how to do my hair helped too.} But I finally stopped caring so much about what other people thought.
While I was in college I didn't really worry about my weight at all, and the pounds slowly started packing on again. And then I got married and I really didn't worry about it. 

Fast forward a bit...after a year of being done with school and not being able to find a job and being home all day with nothing to do but eat...I gained about 20 pounds. By the time I realized it and started to do something about it I found out I was pregnant (surprise! we were super excited though.) 

Fast forward just a little bit more and I have two kids, 13 months apart. I had gained way more weight than I needed to and was for sure the biggest I had ever been. 

Now- I'm really nervous about doing this, but I'm gonna do it anyway-- I was 225 pounds and a size 20. But Conner was in the hospital and I had an 18 month old at home and I honestly couldn't have cared less. 

A few months later I saw this picture of myself...

Seeing this is when I finally realized that it was time to do something.
  Anything.  

So I decided, now that it's two years later, I want to share a little bit more about my journey to being healthy. I want to share my story. 

And of course I'm not certified in anything, or anything like that, I just want to share what I did (and am still doing...it's still a work in progress)

Catching Up

When I was in high school I was super good at writing in my journal. My senior year I pretty much wrote everyday. I could probably tell you exactly what I did on March 22, 2006. I wish I still had the desire and the interest, and the time, to write things down like I used to.. Now that I have kids, I spend my days doing puzzles, making grilled cheese sandwiches, changing diapers and watching Super Why. When the little diaper fillers finally go to bed all I want to do is sit for 20 minutes uninterrupted. I'm bummed that I don't write in my journal like I used to, and I really want to work on that, but in the mean time I'm gonna try and play catch up on what's been going on lately....

Conner is 2. And huge. 95th percentile for height and weight and his dr. is still hopeful that he'll grow into his head. 

He is such a funny little kid. He has such a fun personality and I'm still amazed at how different he is from Owen. 

He's very social and loves to play with other kids. But he's also super sensitive and cries pretty easily.

He mimics anything and everything. He'll pretty much repeat anything you say. It can be very entertaining. 

He knows most of the letters and can almost count to 5 {waaan...tuuuu...nine...four}

He and Owen kind of have their own little language, I don't know if they can really understand each other but it sounds like they're speaking the same language.

His favorite phrase is "no mine" which is a lot of fun. 

Owen is 3 and still a little behind with his speech. His dr. was worried about autism but after a few tests he said that if he does have it it's very, very mild. What he was "diagnosed" with was isolated speech delay, which his dr. isn't too worried about and said that he will grow out of it. 

He is such a sweet little man (most of the time). I absolutely love watching him play with Conner. He is such a good big brother!

He does have just a little bit of a temper. I think he gets frustrated cause he's trying so hard to talk and I have no idea what he's saying.

He is so smart. He loves doing puzzles and is starting to read. I've been teaching him the alphabet in sign language and he thinks it's the coolest thing ever. 

Other than the boys growing up, there's not really anything too exciting going on. The boys and I got to go to Arizona for Christmas and flying by myself with 2 toddlers is something that I do not want to do again. {And yes, we left Daddy alone for Christmas, he had to work anyway}

It's been a year since we have moved here and time is going by way too fast! It's hard being so far away from family, but Tome absolutely loves his job! I am so grateful that he works so hard and I'm able to stay home with the boys! 

Owen-isms

I've mentioned before that Owen has his own language. I think it's the funniest thing ever. He will just look at me and babble. I'm sure he thinks he saying something I am supposed to understand, but I'm completely clueless. He is starting to say a few more words in English though....

car (aar)

truck (truhh)

Super Why (poopoo eye)

tickle (tittle)

 eeesh -- which is juice, cheese, shoes, and -for some really weird reason- diaper

boosh - - which is flower, or anything that looks like a flower

no (he always says it 3 times while pointing his finger at you) 

{quick side story...at church on Sunday our Bishop tried to give him a high five and Owen looked up at him, said 4 or 5 sentences in his language, and then yelled "NO, NO, NO!" while shaking his finger at him, and then walked away...if he wasn't so cute it probably would have been a wee bit awkward}

trash (which is one of his favorite words and he can say it perfectly)

and his new favorite word that he learned after he went to the beach for the first time... dirty.

And if something is dirty, he lets you know. And you have to acknowledge that yes, it is dirty or he'll keep saying it and eventually start screaming it at you till you agree. It's super cute. And if he gets something on his chair while he's eating, even if I wipe it off, he has to move to another spot. 

He is still in love with trucks, especially trash trucks or dump trucks. 

He can count to two. And there's always 2 of everything. Always. (He can say 3, but I don't think he knows what it means.)

He can recognize and say quite a few letters..B, D, E, I, M, O, P, T and Y are the only ones I can understand.  

He gets "bo bos" a lot. Usually "two bo bos". And I have to kiss it twice. 

If he sees any dinosaurs, lizards, dragons, elephants, hippos, snakes, turtles, or anything that looks like it maybe might be some sort of reptile looking thing....he growls. He also does that for dog, not sure why. And he yells "mooooooo" whenever he sees a cow.

He spends most of his day lining things up, usually his cars and trucks. And he gets very frustrated if they don't stay in line or if Conner touches one, which happens a lot.

He is such a sweet little boy, and he is such a good big brother. He is growing up way too fast though. So grateful to be his mommy!

What we do all day

We sit in boxes

And we pick our noses

Sometimes we are a little more productive

But mostly we run around with things on our heads

We steal our brother's snacks

And take the cushions off the couch 

And we really like to line things up...

Sometimes we fall asleep on the couch

And sometimes we play together

But mostly we're just cute.

Road Trip

We moved to Texas. Never thought I would live in Texas. But we're really excited to be here! I've never lived this far away from family though, that's been a bummer, but we love it here so far!

The drive down here was long and exhausting, but still fun. Owen and Conner do pretty well in the car, but after two days in their car seats...we were all ready to be done. 

  

We ate a lot of snacks, read books, saw a lot of trucks and did a lot of whatever this is...

This was my view for 20 hours....exciting I know...

Thankfully, we were able to make it in two days. We stayed in a hotel once we got here and then we got the keys to our new place the next day. {Our place isn't exactly what we thought it was going to be, we were only able to see pictures before we signed the lease, but it could have been worse..}

We made a lot of memories and learned that Owen and Conner think hotel rooms are the coolest thing ever.

My not so Baby Boy

(I think he's finally starting to grow into his head...)

    

Cannot believe Conner is 1! It's been a pretty intense year. It's crazy to think about everything this little man has gone through. It still amazes me when I think about how sick he was and how far he has come. You would never be able to tell by looking at him (other than his gnarly scar) that he had heart surgery. He is such a tough little guy!

He absolutely loves to play with his brother and will try to do whatever he is doing. 

He is so smart and loves figuring things out. He is constantly amazing me with how much he knows.

He loves music. LOVES it. Every time he hears any type of music he dances. It's this awesome squat/shake combo that only he can pull off. He's also starting to master this pretty cool sideways head bob. He's pretty much an amazing dancer. 

It's amazing how different he is from Owen. Owen gets really quiet around new people and doesn't really know what to do with other kids his age, but Conner loves to be around people. He will just go up to anyone like he's known them forever. 

We are so blessed to have this little man in our family!

The 2 year old...

 

 

Has it really been 2 years? My baby is growing up way too fast! I hardly have any pictures of him. Every time I try he either runs closer to me so he can see through the camera, or he just runs away.

He is such a good big brother. He, for the most part, is really good with Conner. I think he has a lot more fun now that Conner interacts with him.

He isn't really talking all that well yet, he kind of has his own language. It sounds like a mix of Russian and Klingon.
There are quite a few words he can say in English though.
He is also starting to put words together like "oh no Mommy" and "I stuck".

He loves books. We usually spend most of the day looking through them. He points at everything and will keep pointing at it till I say what it is.

He LOVES trucks. Everytime he hears one or sees one he says "truck bye" (truck outside) and he will keep screaming it at you until you say it too.

I am so excited to watch him open his Christmas presents this year, he literally squaled with excitement when we put up the tree.

He is such a fun little guy. I love hanging out with him! 

 

Conner's 9 month check up!

 

 

This little man is catching up! He weighed in at 20.5 pounds and is 29 inches, he's so close to doubling his birth weight!

 

He has mastered the army crawl and is getting so close to crawling on his knees. He has a very strong obsession with cords. He loves them. And I'm pretty sure that it's his main motivation for crawling. That and food.

 

He is still such a happy little boy and will smile at pretty much anything. The only time he gets upset is when he's hungry. Or when his brother picks on him. But he's starting to fgure out ways to seek his revenge. It's so fun to watch them interact.

 

 

He is also very entertaining. He is constantly making me laugh. I love his little personality.

He is super ticklish and it doesn't take much to make him laugh.

 

The whole teething thing didn't really seem to bother him too much. The bottom four came through pretty good, but he struggle a little bit more with the top four.

 

He loves to eat pretty much anything and everything. When Owen was his age we had fun giving him new foods and watching the funny faces he makes, but I havent found anything that will phase Conner. Even a lime. He just wanted more.

My grandma passed away last week. It's definitely bittersweet. She and my grandpa had been married for over 60 years and they've been apart for over 7. I couldn't imagine being away from Tome that long. I can only imagine how sweet that reunion was.

My grandma was an amazing woman. I was fortunate enough to live only about 20 minutes away from her while I was growing up so I got to spend a lot of time with her. And I definitely have a lot of fun memories with her.

 

 

Conner's 6 month check up

I feel like it must have been our 100th time taking Conner to the doctor, but it was nice that it was just a regular check up.

 

He weighed in at almost 16 pounds and he is about 27 inches tall. Luckily he needs to wait a few weeks before getting any vaccines so he can get a little bit of a break from needles.

 

He is doing so much better! He's eating a lot better and sleeping for longer periods. He is such a happy baby and smiles all the time! He's finally starting to lay on his belly more and he's getting pretty good at rolling over.

 

Owen is loving that he is more interactive and Conner loves to watch Owen play!

 

 

They've been drawing his blood once a week through his picc line and I guess he was coming up anemic, so we had to take him to a hematologist just to make sure everything was okay. The doctor said it's not anything to be too worried about, they just want to keep an eye on it, so we get to back in a few weeks to get it checked again.

 

Home...again

Finally home...again. I love all the nurses and the staff in the PICU, but I definitlely hope we don't have to go back.

They finally figured out what kind of infection he has so they were able to give him a more specefic antibiotic. They put a picc line in so we could give him the injections at home, much better than staying in the hospital for another 3 weeks. It took them a few tries to get it in though, poor little guy.

It was hard having to be away from Owen again, but luckily Tome was able to get another week off work and my mom was still in town so she was able to stay at the hospital with me. I'm really glad she was there, she's definitely my translator when it comes to medical stuff.

In again

Poor little Conner is in the hospital again!

 

We took him to his post op check up with the surgeon on Friday. He said that everything looks good and that he doesn't need to see him again. But then on Saturday I noticed that his incision was looking just a tiny bit red, then by Monday it was a lot bit red. I called the surgeon's assistant and she told me to text her a picture of it and she'll show it to the surgeon. (Yay for modern technology.)

 

The surgeon told us that it is definitley infected and we need to take him to the ER at the Children's Hospital immediately. They admitted him back in to the PICU and started him on some IV antibiotics. They ran some tests to try to figure out exactly what kind of infection it is. We met with an infectious disease doctor and he explained that until they know exactly what it is, they're treating it with a very broad antibiotic that treats a variety of infections. Hopefully they'll know tomorrow what it is so they can give him a more specefic antibiotic that doesn't have so many side effects.

 

It's been weird being back in the hospital. We have a different room though and the couch/bed is almost a little more comfortable. I think Conner is a little more comfortable too. He's found some fun ways to entertain himself.