Sydney's swimming lessons

We have been really busy this summer and the fun isn't over. I'm hoping to get everything posted.

Sydney had swimming lessons earlier this summer. She did awesome!!! A friend of mine from high school, who now works with Nick was doing private lessons. At first Sydney refused to put her face in the water, go under the water, or swim on her back. After 4 lessons, She was putting her whole face in the water to blow bubbles, swimming on her back, using a kick board almost all by herself, and jumping off the diving board! We are so proud of her!!!

This video is during Sydney's first lesson. She's trying to talk her way out of blowing bubbles in the water by saying she can't do it without the ring. Silly kid :)

Zoe's First Words

Zoe all of a sudden started saying words just over a week ago. She has the sweetest little voice. Listen to when she says the word blue, you can tell it's like she's calling for someone. When we went to our cabin about 2 weeks ago, my brother Eric brought his dog, Bleu. All weekend long the kids were calling for Bleu and Zoe picked up on it.

Not really sure what happened to the video quality. It looked a lot better before I uploaded it.

Sydney was feeling a little left out that I didn't put her video on here. So, here is Sydney saying stroller and singing the song "Over the River and Through the Woods".

Again, not sure why the quality is bad, probably the lighting.

Changes... Week 1

I was able to drop a couple pounds which is good to know, but obviously not enough to feel a difference. I have noticed I'm getting full on less food, and I'm really excited about that. Also, my cravings for sweets has lessened a bit, which is a really big deal for me. I'm feeling good, just keeping at it and waiting to see the pounds drop off :)

BREAK DOWN...

Calories: I did pretty good at staying close to my 1350 calorie count each day... until I went to Bear Lake with some wonderful friends. Then I threw my goals out the window. I mean really, who can pass up those delicious Bear Lake shakes, and that yummy philly cheese steak sandwich! Not me :) I did cut back on my usually vacation candy intake, but not enough to counter the shakes and sandwich. Monday I got back on the ol' Diet, and went a tad over my calorie goal, but stayed within the goal that sparkspeople.com has set for me. So I'm feeling pretty good about my eating changes.

Exercise: I hit my goal and exercised 4 days this past week. I need to get more cardio, so that is something I'll try to work on this week.

Eating out: I did not eat out... until we went to Bear Lake. There we ate out 3 times. So considering it was a vacation... I'm satisfied that I did that well :)

Until next week... "Move more, Eat less!" ~ Dr. Laura Schlessinger

Changes

I'm planning on making some changes in my life and home, and I've decided to document it here so that I have some accountability, as well as an incentive :) 

First change:   Eating habits.  I stepped on the scale yesterday morning, and found that I weighed as much as I did when I was 6-8 months pregnant.  Aaaggghhh!!!  What happened!  I guess this whole getting older thing is taking a toll on my metabolism.  I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and it never affected the scale (even after I had Sydney).  Which leads me to my next change...

Second change:  Exercise.  I've never done well at keeping an exercise plan.  I've just done my thing, and it's never been a problem, until now.  I'm so out of shape!  After stepping on the scale yesterday morning, I decided to put together an exercise routine, lunges, lying abductions (that's what they called them online:), leg raises, and crunches.  I felt really good yesterday morning and afternoon.  By late afternoon I could feel my thighs, butt and stomach tightening up,  so I stretched some more.  This morning is hurts to sit down, or even take a normal size step.  At least I know I worked something... right?  Hopefully I didn't injury anything :)

Third change:   Eating out.   This is a little embarrassing, but on average I eat out at least 3 times a week (that's a good week).  Isn't that ridiculous?  I work part time at home and take care of my 2 little girls.  I don't have the time or money to keep doing this! It takes so much effort to pack the kids up to go anywhere, not to mention the time it takes to drive to the restaurant.   There are a couple restaurants across the street from us, but I have to be pretty desperate to pay that much money.  The next closest restaurants are 15 minutes away, so it usually takes an hour or more to pick the food up.

Fourth change:   Sydney's room.  Not that Sydney really cares what her room looks like, but it's so boring!  The walls are white, her bedspread is white (it was mine when I was a little girl), the "decorations" on her shelf are some that I had growing up, but they just look pathetic really, and she has a light pink, green and purple valance above her window that seems too baby-ish for her now.  Needless to say, this is not my definition of a fun room.  So I'm thinking I need to get some color into it, but I don't really know where to start.  Do I find a bedspread that we like first, and then find paint and decorations to match?  I'm on a very tight budget so I can't really go all out.  Maybe I could even keep the white bedspread and just spend money on paint to add the color.  Any advice is greatly appreciated,  I am not good at this stuff.

So here's the plan...  I'm going to eat 1,350 calories or less a day, focusing on my fruits, vegetables, and water intake.  I'm still considering whether or not to allow myself a free day.  I don't want to restrict myself so much that I start binge eating.  I'm going to exercise at least 4 times a week.  I'm only going to allow myself to eat out 1-2 times a week (this includes date nights with Nick).  I'm planning on this helping me save money, so I can redo Sydney's room :)

What do you think?  Am I going too easy on myself, or have I set unrealistic goals.  I'm hoping I can create better eating and exercising habits for myself, and that they become life long.  I'm planning on doing an update in a few weeks or so... stay tuned :)

Ouch! That's going to leave a mark.

*WARNING* - bloody, graphic photos. Look if you dare :)

I knew the day would come when one of our kids would need stitches, and deep down I knew it would be Zoe. She is constantly bonking her head on things. Today we were up visiting my Mom. Grandma was reading a book with Sydney, Zoe and cousin Caleb. Zoe wasn't interested in reading the dinosaur book and had climbed down to find the farm book instead. That's when she tripped on her shoes and hit her head on the corner of the fire place. The second I saw her start to fall, I KNEW it was going to be bad. I jumped up and grabbed her and ran out the door yelling, "WE GOTTA GO! WE GOTTA GO!". It was all I could do to obey the traffic laws (I know, it's only a cut, and it wasn't like she was losing a lot of blood. But my little girl was hurt and I was stressing). I took this photo when we were stopped at a stop light. Had it not been for the old man in front of me, I would have ran the light, because NO ONE was at the intersection and NO ONE was coming. Agh!

After cleaning it up a bit

All wrapped up.

Zoe was such a trooper. We waited about 3.5 hours before the doctor was able to stitch her up, then another hour afterwards so the sedatives could wear off. Here's a video of her being so good.

Waiting...

... waiting...

... and more waiting.

I couldn't take any pictures of the doctor stiching Zoe up because it was making me sick.  I must have lost some color because the nurse made me sit down and gave me some juice and Lorna Doone's.  (Ever since staying in the hospital when Sydney was born, I have LOVED Lorna Doone's.  They are SO good!)

7 Stitches

Zoe scored two bears and a roll of stickers from the nurses.  What a spoiled little girl ;)

Sydney was completely entertained at Grandma's while Zoe and I were at the hospital.  I'm so grateful I didn't have to worry about Sydney during this whole thing.  Family is such a blessing!

Everyday fun...

We pretend to be a lot of things in our home...

Father and "daughter" camping trip

Back in May, Nick's brother Jason invited Nick and Sydney to his wards "Fathers and Sons" camping trip. Sydney was a little apprehensive about the whole thing at first (deep down she must have known she'd be the only girl :). But once she was finally on the road, she had a wonderful time. They went to the Little Sahara sand dunes in central Utah. This was Sydney's first time sleeping in a tent, and Nick said she did great. Zoe and I had a good time while they were gone, we spent the weekend ironing and watching chick flicks.

Sydney and and her cousin Gavin

(apparently the lens cover didn't quite open all the way :)

A new post... (Tori, are you happy now?)

Things are going well for Rak Attack family. I have a few events that I need to post, but blogging has been put at the bottom of the "To Do" list... ya know, right after stalking other peoples blogs and playing Farm Town on Facebook (I'm a nerd, I know).

Here's a quick update: Sydney has her first swimming lesson today (if it stops raining). I'm so excited for her to learn how to swim. A friend from high school will be teaching her. Sydney also has been going to speech therapy because of her stutter. She really has improved and has loved going to school. Right now she doesn't go to school because it's summer, but we are working on it at home everyday. The therapy will start up again in the fall. Zoe is starting to say a few words... eye, head, mama, dada, and Nick claims he's heard her say Sydney, but I've yet to hear this. She does however know a few more signs than words... baby, milk, mommy, daddy, eat, more, all done. She's also trying to jump, which is really cute. I'll try and video her sometime. This weekend Nick and I get to go to Park City and the kids get to stay with my mom and dad. They are really excited, and so are we :)

Okay, so that's not much of a post... but it's something new to read. Maybe I'll get some pictures up on Sunday... or sometime in the next year :)

MS Walk

Last Saturday we did the MS Walk with my work. It was so much fun! I'm so glad we participated in it.

Back: Nick, my sister Michelle, friend/co-worker Kim, and me

Front: Zoe, Sydney

When we crossed the finish line, they gave us all medals for completing the walk. Which, despite the look in the picture, Sydney was really excited to get one. As we walked farther along there were individuals with signs saying "Thank You!" and the year they were diagnosed with MS. I got really choked up seeing them. I'm so glad we took the time out of our day to donate our time and money to this great cause.

St. Patrick's Day

I decided it was about time I did something special for a holiday other than Christmas. So for St. Patrick's Day, Sydney and I made cupcakes with green frosting.

Tasting our efforts

Syndey's friend Ezra was over for the fun.

We thought it would be fun if we hid them from Nick and when he got home he could search for the surprise.

I tried teaching Sydney how to play the Hot/Cold game. That didn't quite work out. When Nick came in the front door and I asked Sydney if Daddy was Cold and far away or Hot and close to the surprise. She shouted "COLD!" then ran to where the cupcakes were hiding and said "Here they are!"

It was a lot of fun!

Birthdays continued...

Sydney turned 3 this year and she had a "Princess" Birthday. Just about everything she wanted and received was Disney Princesses. She is a princess all the way! We love her so much!

Nick's Birthday was the day after Sydney's and unfortunately he was sick on his birthday. So we did not do a thing on his birthday. He spent the whole day sleeping and watching movies. He had already purchased "Rock Band 2" for his gift, so he didn't even have anything to open. Needless to say, I felt like a really lame wife. We're hoping to do something special when we get our tax return to make up for it.

And finally it was My Birthday. Nick surprised me with all my gifts. He gave me some really cute square dishes with bamboo place mats, a cute brown skirt and the movie "Runaway Bride" (which I love).

What a sweet guy :)

That ends the birthdays for our family this year. 4 within a months time is tiring and expensive. Now to start saving for next year :)

There's lots to read and view on the Rak Attack blog this time. We've been really busy with a lot of things and have 3 more birthdays to celebrate this month. So keep scrolling down for all the recent events and check back soon for more fun :)

Zoe's ONE!

Our little Zoe turned one on February 19th. Time has just flown by, and she seems too little to be one already (I swear Sydney was bigger at one). We just love our happy, loving Zoe. She has brought so much joy to our home. Here are some pictures of the all the birthday fun...

Birthday with just the family, at home.

Birthday fun with the extended family...

That little cake was my first attempt at something other than a 9 X 13 pan cake.  I felt like it turned out good.  Zoe didn't really think much of it though...

She ate a little but in the end she needed to have help eating it from Sydney and her cousins, Ashton and Tate.

Zoe opening her presents.

The "kids" having a balloon fight. Brad's a kid at heart :)

Syndey wishing she was the Birthday Girl.

Maggie's in the back and Gavin and Emma are in the chair with Sydney.

One of Zoe's favorite games, Guitar Hero :)  (She really does like to play the drums.)  Jason and Gavin are playing the drums and Julienne is at the guitar.

Here we have Brad on vocals, Matt playing the guitar, and Eric rocking out on the drums.

We love you Zoe!

Adenotonsillectomy

Sydney had to have her tonsils and adenoids removed last weekend. The doctor said they were HUGE! She had obstructive sleep apnea due to their large size, which caused her to gasp for air while sleeping. We decided that having them removed was a better option, long term, than to have to give her medication for an extended period of time, which would not solve the problem. The surgery was done at Primary Children's Hospital, and I must say... THEY ARE AMAZING THERE!!! Sydney does much better if she is prepped for what's coming. The hospital had a pre-surgery class where they take the children aside and explain exactly what's going to happen during their stay in the hospital. Then they take the kids, along with their parents, for a tour of all the areas that the child will see on the day of their surgery. Sydney really enjoyed this and could hardly wait for her wagon ride. The class also helped to calm my nerves.

Sydney was such a trooper on the day of her surgery. She could only have clear liquids since midnight the night before and wasn't even allowed the liquids after 8:15 am. The surgery was originally set for 11:10am, but things got pushed back and she didn't get in until after 1pm.

Here we are waiting to go to the exam room

Sydney in her hospital clothes. Aren't those adorable :)

In this room we waited about 2 hours for Sydney to be called back for surgery. In the above picture, nurse Kym was going over the details of the surgery with Sydney again. She was so sweet to Sydney, and even walked with her back to the surgery room and stayed with her until she went to sleep (not everyone was so lucky). It was just what Sydney needed.

Sydney got another "buddy" to take back with her to the surgery room. They give each child one of these dolls that's wearing a hospital gown. Then they let the kids draw a face on it, check it's temperature, use a stethoscope, and check it's blood pressure.

So cute!

Sydney using up time, driving around the waiting room.

Here is Sydney heading back to surgery in her "green" wagon. She kept telling everyone that she needed a green wagon. That was the anathesiologist pulling the wagon and nurse Kym following behind.

This is where I was left behind. It was all I could do to not cry. I was so worried for Sydney, because she had no idea what was about to happen. I knew they went over everything in the class and stuff... but she's not even 3 yet. How much could she really know? Nick really wanted to be there with Sydney and me, but was unable to get off work. Luckily I had my sister Michelle there with me. It was nice to have someone there for a distraction. Apparently when they tried to give Sydney the gas to put her "under", the smelly part wouldn't open and that's when Sydney got really scared. The nurse said her eyes got really big and teary and she said "I just want my Mommy". Heart breaking. Sydney was in surgery for only 20 minutes, and everything went great. Waking up was a different story. Sydney was scared and had a really hard time calming down. Finally we were able to give her some pain medication and get a movie going for her and she calmed right down.

In each room they have pictures painted on the ceiling tiles. Sydney's room had a beaver and a frog.

Sydney enjoying some chocolate pudding

Sydney had lots of loving visitors who brought her get well gifts. The picture above is Sydney with the dolls that her cousin Caleb, Aunt Emilie and Uncle Matt gave her.

And this is Sydney ready to go home. She was really drugged up here. Just before we took this picture, Sydney was drinking some apple juice while watching a movie. All of a sudden she started laughing and I asked what was so funny... thinking it was something in the movie. Sydney lifted her finger and laughing said "My finger". She had put her finger in her juice.

Gotta love the Lortab :)

The recovery at home hasn't been very fun for anyone. The Lortab caused some unwanted behavior changes in Sydney and we have since changed her medication. Things have gotten better, but there's still room for improvement. Hopefully by the end of this week Sydney will be back to her young self again.