A Healthier Way to Eat and Eating Wars with Gavin

 Drinking Green Smoothies

A year ago I was part of a Biggest Loser contest with some friends.  Counting calories (a big eye opener) and increasing the amount I exercise and how I exercised (I stopped running and did Insanity), started our family on a new way of living.  During the last week of the competition, I shot up from fourth place to first getting back to my pre-Gavin weight (even with adoption you can gain weight!)  Over this last year we have slowly made changes to our diet to become a healthier family eating the right types of food.  The result? I don't worry about counting calories any more and I probably only weigh myself once a week.  I also haven't put the time into exercise as intensely as I did during the competition, but I can maintain my weight without a problem and probably have lost a little more.  Also, I get to hear comments like, "Can I have the green soup (cilantro soup with tons of veggies hidden in it) for lunch?"  Because we eat a lot of vegetables (and because Dallin is great about trying different kinds of food), he loves his vegetables (Gavin is a whole other story.)

Our change in our diet started with Green Smoothies.  We drink these almost every day (Gavin drinks them every day since he is a super picky eater so the smoothies become his main nutrition.)  In 20 minutes a day, I can feel like a great mom knowing my kids are getting so much nutrition.

We have also slowly started adding other foods to our diet getting rid of less healthy options.  We eat less meat and dairy (Gavin has an intolerance to dairy and so we started drinking almond milk), a ton more vegetables, a variety of different types of grains, and more nuts and seeds.

Lately we have been eating a lot of soups because Dallin loves soups, I can hide a lot of vegetables in them, and I can puree them so that I have a chance of Gavin trying it.

Tonight we had Butternut Squash Quinoa Stew.  Before you get scared away from this recipe, let me tell you, it was really good and...Gavin ate it.  This means something. I replaced the chicken with some Great Northern Beans and chopped the spinach with my food processor so that it was really tiny making it more kid friendly.  For Gavin I blended the soup in my Blendtec making it as smooth as possible so that he couldn't just spit out the vegetables.  Soups are great for Gavin because I can give him a piece of a roll and when he goes to put it in his mouth, I move quickly to put the spoon of soup in instead.  After he eats the soup, he gets the piece of the roll (Gavin could eat bread and cheese all the time.)  Gavin is a pretty smart kid though, so as soon as he sees the spoon of soup, he covers his mouth or hides his face.  The trick then it to make him smile so that I can then get the soup into his mouth.  The thing is though, if Gavin hates the soup, he will spit it out spraying me or make himself choke so that he throws up.  (Before you think my soups are just gross, Dallin is downing his soup and asking for more.) You can't motivate Gavin with the promise of dessert to eat either.  Nothing motivates him when it comes to eating.  He always wants the roll I'm offering, but if he hates the soup, he won't care about the roll.  I swear he would choose to starve if I let him.  So tonight was a success because he swallowed the soup.  He swallowed 8 bites.  Zane and I were in shock.  We gave him some apple crisp for dessert though and he fed it to me instead.  He is picky about his desserts too.

A 40's Clue Game

We started out the month of October with our friends' throwing a 1940's Clue party at our church.  After arriving, we soon found out that our Bishop (pastor) was kidnapped.  The police detectives came and announced their suspects including showing weapons that may have been used to commit the crime.

The suspects were of course your usual type criminals, a chef, choir director, nursery leader, seminary teacher, basket ball player, janitor, an Elder's Quorum President with an obsession with food storage, golf, and a desire to be Bishop and a few other shady characters.

(Zane was the seminary teacher who complained constantly that the chairs were not set up correctly when he got to church at 6 a.m.)

The guests went from room to room asking the suspects questions about who committed the crime, the room it was done in and the weapon used.

In the end we found out that Mrs. Snow wasn't happy that the Bishop refused to keep the building a little warmer saying that with a name like hers, she should be fine a little colder.  Mrs. Snow lost her temper and kidnapped the Bishop sending him on a boat to Hawaii.  (She can kidnap me next time!)

After a humorous game, it was time for dancing (the below picture is the men attempting "Thriller.")

And a little karaoke.

The consensus at the end was to make this a yearly event.   What a great way to kick off the month of October and a wonderful date night!

Click!

I joined my sister, mom and lots of friends at Time Out For Women this year.  The weekend was wonderful, but one idea in particular has helped me in my every day duties as a mom.  Every time I think a positive, uplifting, or optimistic thought, I pull out my clicker and click!  By the end of the day, instead of being angry and worn out raising my voice at the littlest things, I am a happy worn out mom.  For instance, when Zane calls to say he is working late I think, "I'm so grateful that Zane's boss thinks so highly of him that she gives him so much work to do. It is nice to know we have job security."  Click!  Or after dinner when I survey the mess on the floor I think, "What a great opportunity to have my children learn the value of work."  Click!  When Dallin is rude to Gavin I think, "I'm so glad my furniture gets to be dusted now."  Click!  (I noticed this week that I actually had to do the dusting because apparently Dallin didn't earn as many chores.)

And then there was this time. 

We made martian goo at preschool (cornstarch and water) and while I was saying goodbye to parents, Gavin had some fun.  My first thought was, I'm glad I didn't die the goo green." Click! Then, "I'm glad I didn't have time to mop my kitchen floor and clean my wood floor last night." Click! (In fact, I had to think these two thoughts over and over again while I spent the next two hours doing a very thorough cleaning...sweeping, moping, cleaning under all the furniture in my family room, and vacuuming the rug and couch.  The white powder was over/under everything!) Gavin was so proud of himself, I could only laugh (although that was a bad reaction because Dallin, thinking Gavin was going to be in huge trouble, had a confused look on his face.  I'm sure he was thinking that he could make an even bigger mess if this is going to make mom laugh...)

So clicking has kept me sane, mostly calm, and happy.  We all know that when mom is happy, everyone is happier.  Try it.  Clicking just might help you too!

See the video below for Hillary Week's explanation of clicking.

What Have We Been Up To?

I took a blogging break.  Not on purpose.  Life got busy and something had to give.  Here is what has been occupying my time...

Preschool, preschool, and more preschool!  My sister is the best sister ever and shared her lesson plans with me from her year last year (with the hope that I make them even better although she has done a great job on her own.)  Even with those plans, preschool still takes up a lot of my time especially the first month getting things up and running.

 In September we learned all about ourselves and healthy eating.  On the day we learned about the dairy group, we pretended to milk a cow.  Dallin loved it!

We took a field trip to a grocery store where we were given a tour with our tour leader showing us healthy and unhealthy options.  We also got to meet Larry the lobster.

Dallin has also started soccer.  A friend decided that there was enough 4-6 year olds in our area to start our own teams with dads coaching keeping the cost way down!  We have four teams playing each other once a week.  Dallin is having a great time and I love how much running he does!  Dallin does pretty well chasing after the ball, but there are still times when he stops and picks up a stick to start digging or sees a butterfly...

It seems that once a week I find myself at the Waterway by our library.  I pick up a lot of books at the library for preschool and we usually have friends with us on those days, so instead of spending time in the library (four boys sitting quietly in the library with two of them two years old...not likely) we head out to run along the waterway, eat a picnic lunch, feed the ducks/fish/turtles, and read our library books outside.  

 These turtles loved our bread!

Zane and I have been busy on the weekends finishing up house projects.  When we got new tile in our bathrooms, I decided I didn't like the paint color anymore.  This led to a painting project, shopping for new rugs and wall hangings, and then new lighting for the room.  At the beginning of summer I had decided it was time to move for lots of reasons but one being I was ready for something new.  Instead, we redid so much in our house this summer that it feels like we are in a new house and I love it!  Amazing what a coat of paint and new floors can do.

So we are alive, doing well, and very busy!