Brooke Van Gory

So I am looking for a new diaper bag that is bigger than the one I currently have. I like it, but I didn't actually choose it and it is a hand me down. Which is fine. I LOVE all the stuff I have gotten from my sister. Anyway though, it is a little small for everything we bring with us. I am pretty sure I over-pack, but I just like to be prepared. Anyway, we need a bigger bag!! In my research for the best bags for cloth diapers (because they really do take up more space than disposables) I found out about Brooke Van Gory bags! And I WANT one! However, they are a little expensive because they are custom made. But check these out!

Look here to see how much these bags can really fit! And here for a review of the bags.

So the exciting thing is that Brooke is going to be doing a giveaway soon. So I am totally entering that! I realize that it is a long shot with so many others entering, but who cares? There's a chance, right? Anyway, as soon as Brooke gets a few more followers on her Facebook page, she is doing a giveaway. Check it out!

I like these patterns, but I still haven't looked at ALL the fabrics there are to choose from. Which is really any fabric since they are custom.

Feeling Like I Would Do ANYTHING For Sleep!!!

Okay so Natalie is not the best sleeper. She just isn't. It has been like that since we moved. Every once in awhile she will go 4 or 5 (I think our record is 6!!) hours straight at a time. But then it is up every hour or so after that. Which means I only get a couple of uninterrupted hours of sleep since she goes down about 7:30 or so. Anyway, she mostly sleeps with us. Which is kind of nice when you are first falling asleep and get to cuddle with her but not so nice for staying asleep. I would love to put her in her crib...awake....and have her stay there all night long!!! But I just don't have that baby. I don't like cry it out. Been there and tried that. Natalie just escalates and screams bloody murder! And then won't calm down for a long time even after you pick her up.

Anyway...All this is just to explain that we have just had the WORST NIGHT EVER!!! Natalie wouldn't stay for more than 45 min when we put her down at night. After going to bed she hardly slept at all. I was kind of a zombie through all this but it was basically sleep for 30-45 min and wake up. Then I would try to get her back to sleep patting her. If that didn't work I would nurse her. Yes I realize I may have just nursed her an hour ago but I was kind of desperate here people! Then repeat about 30 min later. Then finally realize hey! It's the weekend! Sama can help! But I was kind of not sure about that because starting a couple days ago Natalie doesn't seem to like to be with anyone but me when she is upset. Not even her dad?!! Anyway, I finally did ask. And Sama is wonderful so he helped. And an hour later she would be back and it would be my turn again. I am sure she never slept the whole hour. But she would always be awake for me an hour later when it was my turn again. This went on for a few hours. So now? We just got up. I am giving Sama a few more hours sleep and then it is his turn again.

We had a lot of plans today, but I am just exhausted and have no idea if we will actually do anything!

Okay, rant over. Natalie, I LOVE YOU TO PIECES! But, sweetheart, I need sleep!!!!!!!

Heart Healthy Week: Chicken, Salsa Verde, and Avocado in Ciabatta

We had a delicious dinner tonight! I loved this recipe! Not quite as healthy as some of the other things we had this week, but still not bad. I also had mine open-faced so less bread.

AND I made it to tonight with no sweets! Yay me! I feel really good about that. Tonight we had a brownie and ice cream and I actually enjoyed it more than I would have I think if I had been eating that junk all week. And I didn't feel the need to eat more....yet! Hopefully that will stick! Next week is another heart healthy week. I am pretty excited about it.

Heart Healthy Week: Updates

Tuesday was pork with rice and a salad. It was okay but not that great. Probably won't make it again. Here is the recipe if you are interested in a healthy dinner that is okay but not my fave.

Wednesday was the farmer's market. Sama and I had an okay time but we both ended up getting our dinner other places. I had a veggie pizza from Whole Foods and Sama had a sandwich from Muchas Gracias.

Today we had Italian-Style Stuffed Peppers. I thought they were pretty good! A little bland, but you could always add more seasoning, cheese (kind of defeating if you want a healthier meal though), or tomato sauce.

Overall I am feeling really good about these heart healthy meals. They still have a lot more flavor than I thought and are decent. Some are even delicious! I have a few more planned for next week too.

The BEST accomplishment for me this week has been no sweets! I feel super good about that. It is hard, but not as hard as I thought it would be. I have been chewing a lot of gum though :) Sweet enough to keep sugar cravings away. Tomorrow night I get sweets again. The weekend is okay, but next week I will be doing this again.

Heart Healthy Week: Pineapple Chicken Salad

Sama and I are both trying to eat better. Our goals this week are no sweets until the weekend (my biggest weakness!!) and we are making heart healthy dinners.

Tonight was pineapple chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette. So delicious! We got the recipe from the Mayo Clinic.  I added a little pineapple juice towards the end of cooking the chicken. I also didn't wait to add the chicken and since it was still hot it wilted the spinach a little. Not too serious. Anyway, it was just a little sweet with the pineapples so of course I liked it!

Anyway, I'll try to add the recipes we are trying as we try them this week. We do have plans to eat at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday though!

Father's Day

We had a great weekend! Natalie and I went to my parents' house Friday and stayed the night. My Uncle from the East coast was there and Saturday my sister and her kids came. Sama came Saturday afternoon. Saturday morning we took the kids to the carousel. It was Natalie's first time and she LOVED it! Pictures to come later as they were not taken on my camera :) After we all went to lunch and then back home to play games. Our family loves playing games together. We had a nice dinner and Natalie gave Gumpy his Father's day card. We had her hand print on it as her signature :) Then time to go home. It was a really nice visit!

Yesterday was Father's Day and we went to church. We have a new calling teaching the Sunbeam class in primary. Sunbeams are the 3 year olds. I think it will be a little crazy but I am still excited! I love this age group! We will have 4 kids in our class so not too bad.

I made Sama breakfast (breakfast burritos and cinnamon roll casserole...SO GOOD!). Then we came home and all took a nap and then had a nice dinner together. We made gourmet sandwiches with turkey, tomato, avocado, cranberry, lettuce, and mayo on toasted sourdough bread. Yum!

Anyway, that was our weekend!

Nice Baby

Yesterday morning I woke up with a terrible headache. The beginnings of a migraine kind of headache. It was kind of my fault for staying up too late the night before but however it happened I was kind of worried about the day ahead of me. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and sleep. It hurt to talk and I had a hard time playing with Natalie. But then she decided to take an early nap! And sleep two hours! Thus allowing me to sleep too. So I took some Tylenol and we took a nap together. And after I felt SOOOO much better! Still had a little headache, but no biggie. Later Sama brought home lunch and Natalie took another long nap! After that we all went to the farmer's market. Overall a great day for starting out so bad! Thanks for the sleep Natalie!

Health

I often think about writing more on my blog and then I think of how much I haven't written about and just don't. How silly. I used to do that with my journals. I wouldn't write because I thought if I did I would just have to write a ton updating my whole life since I hadn't been writing. Anyway, maybe a few updates today but mostly I just want to get back in the habit of writing!

Health
This is a big thing for me right now and something I am really struggling with. Why is it so stinkin hard for me to not eat sweets?! Even though I am overweight and my cholesterol is dangerously high I seem to have a huge problem changing my eating habits. It seems ridiculous, right!? I think it is. So I am working at it. Any encouragement is greatly appreciated!

Natalie
Natalie is amazing! I just love her so much. She is so smart and the sweetest little girl. She wins lots of friends by smiling at anyone who talks to her. She is rolling over. She will giggle and laugh but not very often so it is really fun when she does. She is interested in everything going on around her to the point where I have a hard time feeding her sometimes as she just pulls away to look around over and over again.

We started solids a few weeks ago but mostly we just breastfeed. She loves eating other food but everything except rice cereal didn't seem to agree with her. So we have backed off of that for now and every few days she gets some rice cereal. I was excited to start her on solids as she has been so interested in our food, but I am kind of content to wait a little longer now.

Discount Furniture
So we bought a couch when we first moved here from a discount furniture store. It was a good price and we liked it but unfortunately it had just sold. Soooo, we ordered another one and they told us it would be one month. Kind of a long wait but okay. So last weekend it had been a month. We hadn't heard anything so we called them to find out where things were at. And guess what? The guy said he had no idea why we were told only one month because it wouldn't be delivered until mid-July! WHAT? REALLY? And all sales are final because it is a discount place. Whatever. But really? Even though we were lied to? Anyway, they brought us a loaner couch until ours arrives. So we at least have something. It is just frustrating though. But I guess that is why it was so stinkin cheap. Definitely going to rethink buying from places like this again!

Car
We bought a car after we got here. We paid cash and it felt so great!!! I love not worrying about payments. However, it is kind of hard sometimes just having one car. The good thing is that I am not completely isolated here because our apartments are surrounded by all kinds of things. We have a mall across the street, restaurants, grocery stores, parks, etc. So at least there is that. Someday we will get a second car.

Church
We really like our new ward so far. People have been really friendly and nice to us. Last night we had an ice cream social and met a lot of new people. It is interesting because it seems like everyone we talk to also works for Intel. They just have so many campuses here so it makes sense.