and another....

Change seems to be the theme of my year. And yesterday's news was no exception. After meeting with my heart Dr. we came to three conclusions:

1. My heart EF rate will never be what it was
2. We need to get me out and about again (for personal sanity reasons)
3. Diet will now play just as big of role as medication does

diet, yes, I used the "d" word, the forbidden word in our house. Those who know me, know that I Do. not. diet. I love food, it was the one stress relief that worked, and now... GONE.

I feel very overwhelmed about the three new things I have learned, and in light of trying to keep my positive attitude I just keep saying, "The only thing I won't miss is my waist line!"

So what can I eat? I am asking that same question, I will meet with my Dr. again along with a dietitian next week, but this is what I do know:

I CAN NOT eat anything that is an animal bi-product. Like, eggs, milk, cheese, meat. No grains. Like, Bread, pasta, rice *all my fav's by the way*

I CAN eat dark leafy greens, for calcium. Lots of nuts, but that will be kinda tricky with Riley's highly allergic nature. I will just have to wash my hands and brush my teeth ALL the time.

Fresh fruits, mainly the ones with seeds. staying away from Bananas. All fresh vegetables.

and the kicker....

I CAN'T COOK ANY OF IT! No cooking.

What? you might ask.... EXACTLY. Now you know why I went to be crying last night. So any suggestions or support would be greatly appreciated.

I am off to go have fruit and salsa for breakfast. yum. (sarcasm intended!)

to leave this on a positive note.... yesterday Riley asked me to keep his toys away from "swiper" I asked who "swiper" was, he said Maddy! (Swipper is the fox that takes things on the show Dora) Put a smile on my face for the whole day.

I love my little family, especially the three littlest ones!

"Potty Trains"

We are potty-training Riley right now, and he is doing GREAT! An occasional slip on the back end (which is to be expected), and yesterday he said, "Mom, are there really potty trains?" Yes Riley. There are "potty Trains" they come to good boys who do poo-poo on the potty.

Which he did yesterday, which yes, he got up bright and early this morning and wanted his potty train.

Way to go Riley!

Staying Positive

So on Saturday I bloggged about my mission to have a positive week... and I have! Even with potty training and holiday stresses I have managed to keep a smile on my face, amazing, right?

My new goal of staying loyal to those not around has also been a great achievement. All in all I feel like a new, better person. Of course we are just in week one of this new endeavor. (ha ha)

Keagan has no school today and I started the morning out by making homemade waffles (always a big hit with my little munchkins) Want the recipe? Go to HERE and look under the breakfast category!

well... that's about all for this time. Hope your week is going well.

Barb

oh.. couldn't leave you empty handed... here is a pic of Maddy this morning:

Life is a process

I just left my friend Skye's wedding. What a beautiful day, I was glad to be a small part of her happiness. As I drove down the mountain I thought about how many wonderful things Skye has taught me.

oh... this is Skye:


(I know, she's a hottie!)

So here are the list of things I have learned from my friend. Some I took for granted, and others I have taken to heart, but all have meaning.

1. Life is a process. It's not that you pass a certain mile mark and you show up at the turn in the road called, "life" You are there. constantly. Making the best and the worst of it. It's a process

2. Everything is not a competition. Skye is not a person that likes to get ahead at others expense. It's refreshing. Skye is Skye. and I am Me, when I am around her. It's not always about getting ahead at someones expense. Thank goodness there are still those types out there.

3. Life is magical, and Heavenly Father is in control. Skye thinks everything in life that is "right" is magical. It's refreshing what a positive outlook she has on things. something I know I can work on.

4. Give your whole heart. why not? We only live once, why not give it all we can.


I know that sometimes I find myself on the wrong side of the lesson. Things this past week have been hard, and instead of being grateful for the challenge and growth I find that I have been negative. Life lessons are not going to disappear from my life until I embrace the lesson and learn from it.

I drove by our old house tonight, I had the pleasure to visit with our old neighbors, the Watson's (so good to see your family by the way :) and while I was visiting I found myself wishing we were back in our old house, with our old life. Without the trials that we have had this past year. But then I stopped, and realized without these trials I would not have the relationship with my Father in Heaven that I do now. I need him now, I needed him back then, but never knew it. I turn to him now, in prayer. often.

What a nice ending to an emotionally stressful week. I have priorities this next week to make it a great one. Want to know what they are? Ya, I will tell you anyways...

1. Not to get caught up in the drama.(just because I know something doesn't mean EVERYONE needs to know. I really need to work on this)
2. To be loyal to those not around.
3. To appreciate the things I do have
4. To show love to my family in all ways
5. To write thank you notes to these people:
a. my Mom and Dave. For endless reasons.
b. my Dad, Rocco. We are staying in his townhouse and we are grateful for him for allowing us to be there
c. My friend Jill, she has always been a soft place to fall, we have been through it all and I want to write to her telling her how much she means to my life
d. To my husband. for being a sounding board and a voice of reason.


I'll start with that. I love my family, my little family and my extended family. I love my brothers, they teach me how to be a better person on a daily basis. I have a past of letting them down, and I am glad they forgive me.

I hope everyone has a marvelous week... and one last thing.

Heather S. I am thinking about you and praying for you. I have no idea what to say, except for, hang in there.

And one last, last thing... Check out barb Bakes (click on the picture on the top right) I plan on making some goodies this week

one thing

This was the ONE thing that made me smile yesterday. The kids swinging on the playground while waiting for Keagan to get out of school.

Two things

Two things we do everynight:

Play games together


and light a fire!

Love this time of year.

SUCCESS! That is how I would describe our night last night. We attended our ward's Trunk or Treat, then hit the streets for some good ol' door to door candy extravaganza! We went to a neighborhood that has houses that are closer together to make for easy walking.
Every house we would come to, the Snow Princess and Buzz would run to the door, ring the door bell, and the moment they answered Keagan would say, "trick or treat" and Riley would ask, "Do you have dogs?" (My son is deathly afraid of dogs) I think people were asking if he had "dots" like the candy. Some would hear him and say, "no darling, no dogs here" It was just so out of his comfort zone, but the love of candy pushed him through!
We carried Maddy and we pushed a stroller, so Riley would jump on and ride from house to house. Keagan was too excited to hold still for more than a minute... I think she ended up running to every house! We had a great night, we were home by 7 to pass out candy, and yep you guessed it... NOT ONE! So we have LOTS of candy that we will be freezing for next year.

Keagan:

There was no surprise that Keagan wanted to be a Princess, it was just which one... She decided that being warm was a factor, so she chose to be a Snow Princess instead of a Ballerina princess. I painted her nails red and she has been diva-ish ever since. We invited her little friend Kyla from school to join us at our Trunk or Treat. I think they had a good time.



Riley:

Riley had a hard time deciding what or who he was going to be. Last year we pretty much had to hog-tie him to get him to dress up, so this year was an improvement because he was willing, just undecided. He went back and forth between a cowboy or Buzz. He said, "what about a cowboy Buzz?" Um... I guess so.. but when we left he forgot his gun, so he was just Buzz.




Maddy:

Miss Madilyn was a little lion *duh* I tied a pink bow in her main so people would know she was a little girl :) We originally bought this costume for Riley when he was this little. She looked so darling, and she actually didn't mind keeping the head piece on... I think because it was SO DANG COLD!




C A N D Y T I M E!!!


Keagan sorted all of her candy, just like what I used to do when I was little. She was so busy sorting that she didn't really eat any last night. She actually got SO much candy that she needed two big ziplocs. I say she had a successful night!




Maddy didn't get any candy but that didn't stop her from eating some! She crawled over and picked up a sucker from Keagan's pile, and we didn't think anything of it, well... about 5 minutes later I realize she is sucking on that sucker and oh-so proud of herself for unwrapping it!




Riley's stash! He was so funny, we have to pick through it to find all the candies with nuts, and while we were doing that he was picking through Keagan's pile. I guess he thought that was fair.