The last 4 months in a nutshell

Halloween was fun, Sydney was a "Happy" witch, and Zoe was a Cowgirl.  They both loved trick-or-treating and looked adorable in their costumes.

Thanksgiving was a blast with Nick's family.  Wonderful people, wonderful food... couldn't have ask for more.

We loved Christmas in every way.  The girls were so grateful for everything they received.  Sydney was even gracious about the pants she received.  For those who don't know, Sydney absolutely loathes wearing pants.  Saying it's a battle to get them on her is an enormous understatement.  I'm told I had this coming to me, because I was same way about having to wear a dress when I was her age.  And to this day I'm only in a dress as long as it's absolutely necessary.  We didn't take many pictures because we were video recording most everything.  Maybe one day we'll be able to do both for the same event :)

 Here they are in their Christmas pajamas, next to Grandpa.

Playing with their Play Doh with Dad :)

My Mom and Dad were on their way over to see what the girls got for Christmas.  Syd and Zoe are trying to set the toys up nicely so it looked good for Grandpa and Grandma.

Sydney is going to preschool two days a week with some friends in the neighborhood. She is also going to speech therapy once a week.  For a while there, she was doing really well and hardly ever stuttered, but unfortunately she has reverted back and will need to finish out the school year.  She is such a sweetheart and luckily hasn't become frustrated with the stuttering at all.  When she realizes she's "stuck" repeating something, she stops and tries to rephrase what she's trying to say.

Sydney is all princess.  Everyday Sydney pretends to be one of the Disney princesses.  One of her favorite things to do, is to watch the first song of Cinderella, "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes", and act out the song with Cinderella.  She'll make me pause the movie while she changes from her nightgown to her Cinderella dress, and also when she needs to tie her hair back just like Cinderella.  She's so sweet :)

Zoe is talking so much now!  I'm amazed at how smart she is, and how much she really knows. She can say just about anything, but some of her common phrases are:

"Help me you!" = I'll do it on my own or I did it all by myself.
"I Know You" = Snow White (She use to call any princess this, but now it's only Snow White)
"Upon-a" = Prince Phillip from Sleeping Beauty (as in "Once Upon A Dream")
"I do!!!" = when Zoe sees someone eating something and she would like some, she yells "I do!!!"
 "Ho-Ho" - Santa Claus
This is a video of Zoe saying she wants a "spoon of peanut butter".  It was recorded back in November so her words have improved since :)

She is so smart.  A few days before Christmas, our local fire department drove around our town with Santa on the fire engine.  The girls and I were out playing in the snow when they came by, and they loved seeing him.  About 2 weeks ago, Sydney's preschool class went on a field trip to the fire station.  When I told Sydney and Zoe what we were going to do, Zoe said "See Ho-Ho?"  I was confused by this at first, until I realized she  remember seeing Santa on the Fire Engine.  I was so surprised she put two and two together.

Another fun story about Zoe happened just last week.  She wanted to kiss me on the lips and I told her that she couldn't because I thought I was starting to get a cold.  She said "Cold?" then ran off.  A moment later she came running back with a little doll blanket in her hands.  She handed it to me and said "Baby blanket... warm Mommy."  It melted my heart.

Well, that's a good start on getting back to blogging. Until next time.

Mini Road Trip

The girls and I took a mini road trip to Logan with my sister Michelle at the end of August.  It was so much fun!  We started about 10am, and arrived in Logan just in time to have lunch at Papa Kelsey's on Main Street.  From there we headed up to the Utah State University campus.  Michelle attended USU, and showed us all around campus.  When the girls started getting a little grouchy, we decided to stop and let them play at the Quad.  Michelle, the amazing aunt that she is, was wise enough to bring bubbles for the girls to play with.  They loved it!  Zoe ate some of her bubbles and spilled the rest, but she looked so cute trying to blow the bubbles :)

Sydney was a pro bubble blower :)

And to finish our adventure we enjoyed some of that famous Aggie Ice Cream.  Mmmm!  Seriously the best ice cream EVER!

 

 (I didn't bother with the pictures of me because they were ridiculously bad)

Thanks Michelle for the fun mini road trip.  Can't wait to do it again! :)

Staying fit

I recently rented "Jillian Michaels: 30 day shred" from Netflix. She's one of the trainers from Bigget Loser... I think, I've actually never seen the show.  I've only done it a few times and the beginner level has kicked my butt every time.  Sydney loves to do the workout with me.  A few weeks ago her friend Ezra was over and they wanted to do the workout.  It was so fun to watch them!

Here they are stretching their hips (notice Ezra's awesome mustache)

and here they are doing jumping jacks

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 :)