So. Adam and I have been working on changing our diets a bit. We like the idea of eating more whole foods and we're trying to get away from processed foods. This is a process (no pun intended) for us.
A few months ago we went to a wellness workshop by Dr. Jerry Duggar and his wife Tammie Duggar. All in all it was great and it was a good motivational experience for me. We've tried to incorporate a few things that we learned there. And I bought Tammie's cookbook - it's called "Scratch" - it's all about making food from scratch. We have tried several of the recipes and we like most of them. Some are fantastic and then there are also some that I haven't loved.
But like I said, we're still working on this whole food diet thing and we're hoping to get better and better.
Adam's brother, Jess, and his wife, Jen, have been drinking green smoothies. They went to a little class by the Green Smoothie Girl and they have added these smoothies into their lives. Jen was telling me yesterday that she has more energy and she can tell if she hasn't had her green smoothie. This got me thinking. And then last night I dreamt of green smoothies and so this morning I looked up the website. It is http://greensmoothiegirl.com/. It looks pretty cool! And this lady travels around teaching free classes and next weekend she's going to be really close to us. I got tickets for Adam and I to go. And I wanted to try it before the class and so I got a recipe that was linked from her website (at least I think it was). It is made up of frozen mixed berries, banana, kale, and water. We had it tonight for part of our dinner and it wasn't bad. The kids all liked it and Henry LOVED it. He kept saying it was the best smoothie ever. The only problem is that our blender didn't blend up the kale very well because it is not a good blender. The smoothie was pretty chunky! Oh well - we'll keep trying and maybe get a new blender soon because we've been wanting a new one anyways.
But something else I'm happy about is that she isn't just about smoothies. She promotes whole food/raw food eating in general. I'm excited to see what else she has to say.
So that's it. Check it out if you find that sort of thing interesting and let me know what you think.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Monday, March 05, 2012
Sam's Birth
I know, I know.
I've been thinking about this blog a lot lately and I really want to start blogging again.
Since Sam is now 9 months old, I thought it would be nice to first blog about his birth... :) This is a good place to start, right?
Sam was born on May 30th, 2011. My water broke in the middle of the night - I believe it was around 2:00 or so. I woke up immediately to the feeling (which was actually just one little squirt). I had my bag packed and so I just grabbed a towel that was on the end of my bed (just in case) and told Adam - "my water broke, we need to leave now." He jumped up, told me that it was all going to be okay, and then got dressed (or whatever he did then).
My mom was sleeping in Henry and Ella's room and so I poked my head in to tell her we were leaving. I wanted her to come, but I didn't know how to do that since she was with the kids.
I went upstairs (we were living with Adam's parents at the time) and I told Chris we were leaving and that it would be great if somehow she and my mom could both come to the hospital to be there for the birth.
And just like that we were off! It didn't take too long to get there because there was no traffic in the middle of the night. They got me all checked in and hooked up to IVs and all of that good stuff in no time. Chris and Carole (our moms) were not far behind us. I had been worried that the baby would come fast if my water broke, but the labor actually took about 5 hours. That was a great blessing because I was able to get enough antibiotic in me (strep b positive), which had been a concern of mine.
Not long after getting there Adam noticed that Kaitlin (his sister) was on facebook because she was having a hard time sleeping. So Adam asked her to go up to the house to be with the kids when they woke up. She agreed and that was a huge blessing! Thank you Kaitlin!
For some reason my blood pressure had a hard time with the fluid that was accompanying the epidural and so a few times it dropped down kind of low. That made me feel sick almost the whole labor.
We had asked Gillian (Adam's sister) to come to the birth. I called her when we left for the hospital, but then we didn't call her again until it was almost time. She rushed over and it was great to have her there. It was a full room with Gillian and our moms and I'm so grateful they could all be there.
Sam was born around 7am (I can't remember the exact time now) and he was 8 pounds, 6 ounces - our biggest baby yet. The doctor asked if anyone wanted to cut the cord and since Adam didn't want to (not really his kind of thing), Gillian decided to do it. So Gillian cut Sam's cord.
That's about it. Oh - and it was Memorial day! He came 1 week early and was born on Memorial Day.
This is me right after we go to the hospital (mind you it was in the middle of the night...).
This is Sam not long after he came out.
Happy and tired new parents!
Big sister Ella meeting Sam for the first time.
Henry meeting his best little brother Sam for the first time.
Gillian came back to the hospital later and painted my toe nails - my favorite hospital gift ever!
I've been thinking about this blog a lot lately and I really want to start blogging again.
Since Sam is now 9 months old, I thought it would be nice to first blog about his birth... :) This is a good place to start, right?
Sam was born on May 30th, 2011. My water broke in the middle of the night - I believe it was around 2:00 or so. I woke up immediately to the feeling (which was actually just one little squirt). I had my bag packed and so I just grabbed a towel that was on the end of my bed (just in case) and told Adam - "my water broke, we need to leave now." He jumped up, told me that it was all going to be okay, and then got dressed (or whatever he did then).
My mom was sleeping in Henry and Ella's room and so I poked my head in to tell her we were leaving. I wanted her to come, but I didn't know how to do that since she was with the kids.
I went upstairs (we were living with Adam's parents at the time) and I told Chris we were leaving and that it would be great if somehow she and my mom could both come to the hospital to be there for the birth.
And just like that we were off! It didn't take too long to get there because there was no traffic in the middle of the night. They got me all checked in and hooked up to IVs and all of that good stuff in no time. Chris and Carole (our moms) were not far behind us. I had been worried that the baby would come fast if my water broke, but the labor actually took about 5 hours. That was a great blessing because I was able to get enough antibiotic in me (strep b positive), which had been a concern of mine.
Not long after getting there Adam noticed that Kaitlin (his sister) was on facebook because she was having a hard time sleeping. So Adam asked her to go up to the house to be with the kids when they woke up. She agreed and that was a huge blessing! Thank you Kaitlin!
For some reason my blood pressure had a hard time with the fluid that was accompanying the epidural and so a few times it dropped down kind of low. That made me feel sick almost the whole labor.
We had asked Gillian (Adam's sister) to come to the birth. I called her when we left for the hospital, but then we didn't call her again until it was almost time. She rushed over and it was great to have her there. It was a full room with Gillian and our moms and I'm so grateful they could all be there.
Sam was born around 7am (I can't remember the exact time now) and he was 8 pounds, 6 ounces - our biggest baby yet. The doctor asked if anyone wanted to cut the cord and since Adam didn't want to (not really his kind of thing), Gillian decided to do it. So Gillian cut Sam's cord.
That's about it. Oh - and it was Memorial day! He came 1 week early and was born on Memorial Day.
This is me right after we go to the hospital (mind you it was in the middle of the night...).
This is Sam not long after he came out.
Happy and tired new parents!
Big sister Ella meeting Sam for the first time.
Henry meeting his best little brother Sam for the first time. 
Gillian came back to the hospital later and painted my toe nails - my favorite hospital gift ever!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
What Henry's been up to
I haven't really written much on our blog for a while now and so I'm going to go through my 3 kids, one by one, and go over some interesting points from their lives from the past 6 months or so.
Today I'll start with Henry (with a few family things mixed in).
Here we are last fall, hiking to the Grotto - a fun place up Payson Canyon:
We stayed in California with my parents for 6 weeks and Henry had so much fun with his Brundage cousins.
Here is Henry and Charlie just before a hike up Bishop's Peak mountain:
Henry and the cousins on Thanksgiving, eating ice cream cones:
Henry and cousin Will hugging goodbye after a fun Thanksgiving visit:
We have had a battle with Henry over taking showers pretty much his whole life - he just hasn't liked them. But through some miracle he decided that showers were okay! Here he is taking his first shower without crying and actually enjoying himself:
We love monarch butterflies and went to this cool grove in Grover Beach to see thousands of them hanging out in the eucalyptus trees.
Here is Henry looking at them through binoculars:
And here he is with Grandma Carole and Grandpa Joe:
We've gotten TONS of snow up here this winter(well, in my book, at least) and here is Henry helping to shovel the driveway:
Henry was very enthusiastic about decorating the Christmas tree this year. Here he is with Ella after all their hard work (note the flower headband - he can be very silly):
And here is Henry on Christmas morning - very excited about his new nerf gun:
For some unexplainable reason, I let Henry's hair get WAY too long - it just took me a long time to get around to having it cut (months and months and MONTHS). For a while it looked kind of cute, but then it started to look like a mullet with crazy long side burns.
Look how ridiculously long and bad it looks:
And here he is after a traumatic cut by me (he was sad because the hair was getting all over his mouth and face):
And last but not least, here is our little Karate champ. He's been taking karate for a couple of months now and he really likes it. He has advanced in one belt rank (from white to white with an orange stripe) and this last Saturday he participated in his first tournament. He was in 3 events and won one gold metal and two silver metals. After it was over he was sad that he didn't get a gold, a silver AND a bronze metal - he thought getting one of each would have been pretty cool.
Here he is in the sparring event:
Here he is in the padded sword fighting event (I can't remember it's name):
And here he is sporting one of his metals:
So - there you have it. Hope you're still with me and didn't get bored along the way! Any questions?
Today I'll start with Henry (with a few family things mixed in).
Here we are last fall, hiking to the Grotto - a fun place up Payson Canyon:
We stayed in California with my parents for 6 weeks and Henry had so much fun with his Brundage cousins.
Here is Henry and Charlie just before a hike up Bishop's Peak mountain:
Henry and the cousins on Thanksgiving, eating ice cream cones:
Henry and cousin Will hugging goodbye after a fun Thanksgiving visit:
We have had a battle with Henry over taking showers pretty much his whole life - he just hasn't liked them. But through some miracle he decided that showers were okay! Here he is taking his first shower without crying and actually enjoying himself:
We love monarch butterflies and went to this cool grove in Grover Beach to see thousands of them hanging out in the eucalyptus trees.
Here is Henry looking at them through binoculars:
And here he is with Grandma Carole and Grandpa Joe:
We've gotten TONS of snow up here this winter(well, in my book, at least) and here is Henry helping to shovel the driveway:
Henry was very enthusiastic about decorating the Christmas tree this year. Here he is with Ella after all their hard work (note the flower headband - he can be very silly):
And here is Henry on Christmas morning - very excited about his new nerf gun:
For some unexplainable reason, I let Henry's hair get WAY too long - it just took me a long time to get around to having it cut (months and months and MONTHS). For a while it looked kind of cute, but then it started to look like a mullet with crazy long side burns.
Look how ridiculously long and bad it looks:
And here he is after a traumatic cut by me (he was sad because the hair was getting all over his mouth and face):
And last but not least, here is our little Karate champ. He's been taking karate for a couple of months now and he really likes it. He has advanced in one belt rank (from white to white with an orange stripe) and this last Saturday he participated in his first tournament. He was in 3 events and won one gold metal and two silver metals. After it was over he was sad that he didn't get a gold, a silver AND a bronze metal - he thought getting one of each would have been pretty cool.
Here he is in the sparring event:
Here he is in the padded sword fighting event (I can't remember it's name):
And here he is sporting one of his metals:
So - there you have it. Hope you're still with me and didn't get bored along the way! Any questions?
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
The COOLEST color game ever!
Henry has been really interested in what happens when you mix colors and so I thought I'd look online to help us find a tool to know which colors mix to make other colors.
In our quest, we just found the most amazing game! The kids are loving it. Have your kids try it - you'll love it, too!
Here is the link:
http://mrl.nyu.edu/~perlin/experiments/colorgame/
Have fun and we hope you like it!
In our quest, we just found the most amazing game! The kids are loving it. Have your kids try it - you'll love it, too!
Here is the link:
http://mrl.nyu.edu/~perlin/experiments/colorgame/
Have fun and we hope you like it!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
It's a....
BOY!
We're so excited to tell you that we had our ultrasound and it's a boy. And so far he looks healthy.
Due date is still on for beginning of June and everything is on schedule.
We've been waiting for this little guy to come to our family and we're ecstatic that he is on his way!
We're so excited to tell you that we had our ultrasound and it's a boy. And so far he looks healthy.
Due date is still on for beginning of June and everything is on schedule.
We've been waiting for this little guy to come to our family and we're ecstatic that he is on his way!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Two New Updates
Friends,
Another update from me (Amy isn't really feeling well enough to do this these days). There's only really two things to report of significance. Here they are:
1) We're going to California. Tomorrow morning we are leaving to go to California (San Luis Obispo). I'm driving them out tomorrow and Saturday (going to make it a 2 day trip). Amy and the kids are going to stay there for a few weeks (probably till around the weekend of December 10th). This is their annual stay with the grandparents and lately, it's been when Amy is pregnant and sick. Grandpa and Grandma Brundage are amazingly generous and always willing to help out. They'll help take care of Amy and the kids for the time they are there - while Amy is sick. the kids love going too as they get to spend time with the grandparents and other cousins. Unfortunately it means that we'll be apart for Halloween and Thanksgiving - a big bummer for me. I fly back to Utah on Sunday morning.
2) On Tuesday morning I lost my job. I had been with AtTask for the past 3 1/2 years. It's been a Jekyl and Hyde kind of job for me as I've had to adapt to 11 boss changes, three different roles, and long 12-16 hour days for most of the time I worked there. Yet, I learned a lot and gained some great friends there, so that has been good. I knew this was coming, but didn't think it would happen for a few more weeks or longer. Anyway, overall I think it was a good thing for us. I really needed a change and this presents an opportunity for growth with a new opportunity. We're not sure what we'll end up doing or going, and we're pretty open minded about it at this point in time. It's going to be a good experience to discover new things and perhaps new places. Who knows.
Well, that's it for now. We'll try to keep updating you on things a little more often.
Adam
Another update from me (Amy isn't really feeling well enough to do this these days). There's only really two things to report of significance. Here they are:
1) We're going to California. Tomorrow morning we are leaving to go to California (San Luis Obispo). I'm driving them out tomorrow and Saturday (going to make it a 2 day trip). Amy and the kids are going to stay there for a few weeks (probably till around the weekend of December 10th). This is their annual stay with the grandparents and lately, it's been when Amy is pregnant and sick. Grandpa and Grandma Brundage are amazingly generous and always willing to help out. They'll help take care of Amy and the kids for the time they are there - while Amy is sick. the kids love going too as they get to spend time with the grandparents and other cousins. Unfortunately it means that we'll be apart for Halloween and Thanksgiving - a big bummer for me. I fly back to Utah on Sunday morning.
2) On Tuesday morning I lost my job. I had been with AtTask for the past 3 1/2 years. It's been a Jekyl and Hyde kind of job for me as I've had to adapt to 11 boss changes, three different roles, and long 12-16 hour days for most of the time I worked there. Yet, I learned a lot and gained some great friends there, so that has been good. I knew this was coming, but didn't think it would happen for a few more weeks or longer. Anyway, overall I think it was a good thing for us. I really needed a change and this presents an opportunity for growth with a new opportunity. We're not sure what we'll end up doing or going, and we're pretty open minded about it at this point in time. It's going to be a good experience to discover new things and perhaps new places. Who knows.
Well, that's it for now. We'll try to keep updating you on things a little more often.
Adam
Sunday, October 17, 2010
An update and a secret message...
Pay attention folks - there is a secret message in this post...
Anyway, it's been a long time since I posted on the blog. I thought I'd update everyone on things.
We've been living here in Elk Ridge now for about 2 full months. Here is an update on everything (hang on, it's going to be a little long).
Church
Amy and I got callings as primary teachers. We're teaching the 8 year olds (Valiant 8). We have 6 kids in our class (5 of which actually come to class regularly). It's pretty easy cause the kids are really good and they can read - much different than when we taught sunbeams. Anyway, it should be a pretty good calling. It's always fun to frame the gospel in a context that an 8 year old can understand. Odd how we also then tend to get it more sometimes as well...
Amy has already been assigned and fulfilling a visiting teaching assignment. I have yet to hear anything about home teaching and I don't think we have home teachers yet either - but I'm sure it will happen soon (maybe?).
Today we were asked to speak on Sunday - subject of "enduring to the end". I am an odd one and love to speak (I don't get to speak very often, though). I am excited to both study and share what I can about this subject. Amy won't be speaking though - due to sickness.
Health
We've been blessed to have pretty good health. Grace does have eczema, but it's not too bad and we've been able to keep it under control pretty well. Henry is the healthiest of us all and seldom gets sick. Ella gets small colds once in a while, but nothing else too major. We all got flu shots for free through my work and we hope to escape the flu this winter all together, although it won't matter much for Amy, as she's getting in all her quota (ok, much more than that) of throwing up right now.
In January I really scared myself by standing on the scale. I was a few pounds (like 2) from 300 pounds. Scary. So I began working on losing weight. I began just cutting calories and doing some exercise, but after 20 pounds down, I gained 10 of it back by April. So I decided I had to get drastic. We were recommended by one of our doctors to go to a guy named Dan Wilcox, at Total Health and Fitness. I met with him once, discussed the program he runs, and decided to go for it. We paid for a 24 week program up front and I began full force. It's been a great program and although hard at times, I keep plugging away at the pounds and getting in shape. I meet once a week with Dan and he weighs me, measures my body fat, measures my body, and helps me design a workout program and meal plan for the next week. Then I go and do it. Dan has been great to work with! I am down about 55 pounds total and have cut my body fat % by almost 15%. My goal is to lose about 30 more pounds and 12 more % body fat by January. Then, I will attack my fitness, flexibility, and shape with vigor. I want to ride the Lotoja this next Fall (a very long bike ride from Logan to Jackson Hole). Anyway, it's been great to lose all the pounds. My clothes don't fit me very well and one of my belts is now at it's last hole, but I love how I feel and look forward to finishing my goal. A total of about 80 pounds this year will be good - gosh I have a lot more work to do...
Home Life
Living here in Elk Ridge is an adventure. Living with family is always interesting. It's been good, however. The living space is pretty good and it's hard to be a more beautiful place. The kids certainly like the additional space to run around both inside and outside. We still have some projects to do: replace outlets, put in a few light fixtures, put up curtains, and other items - not to mention that we still have some boxes to unpack and organize.
We've been really happy with the flooring and paint that we did before moving in. It's nice and comfortable. Winter will be a challenge with the drive I have (35 minutes to work and nearly an hour coming back in traffic).
Kids
The kids are doing great. Henry just turned 5, Ella turned 3 in June, and grace just had her 1st birthday. Henry is enrolled in Karate and really seems to enjoy it. Ella continues to be the funny, party-girl that she's always been and says lots of funny things everyday. Her and Henry spend a lot of time playing together. Grace is still light as a feather - even though she loves to eat just about everything we give her. Since we moved here she has had a pretty difficult time sleeping, however, which is hard (mostly on Amy). Grace is crawling (mostly army style) fast and now can stand up while holding onto the couch or something else solid. She is still has big, bright eyes and is always smiling.
Work
I've been at AtTask for 3 1/2 years now and not sure when that will end. It's a good job, although it is full of drama sometimes. I've had something like 10 boss changes in 3 1/2 years with 8 of those in the past 2 1/2 years. Yeah, it's a little crazy sometimes - trying to re-adapt myself to a new boss with all new ideas and ways of doing things. I just keep working hard and surviving. One of these days either AtTask or I will decide it's been long enough and I'll be on to new things, but I'm really not sure when that will be. I continue to work on ideas of my own as well and one day I'll actually take a chance on one of them.
Well, I think that's about it. I hope all of you reading this are doing well. Feel free to drop by anytime. Oh, and yeah, in case you're wondering...early June.
Adam.
Anyway, it's been a long time since I posted on the blog. I thought I'd update everyone on things.
We've been living here in Elk Ridge now for about 2 full months. Here is an update on everything (hang on, it's going to be a little long).
Church
Amy and I got callings as primary teachers. We're teaching the 8 year olds (Valiant 8). We have 6 kids in our class (5 of which actually come to class regularly). It's pretty easy cause the kids are really good and they can read - much different than when we taught sunbeams. Anyway, it should be a pretty good calling. It's always fun to frame the gospel in a context that an 8 year old can understand. Odd how we also then tend to get it more sometimes as well...
Amy has already been assigned and fulfilling a visiting teaching assignment. I have yet to hear anything about home teaching and I don't think we have home teachers yet either - but I'm sure it will happen soon (maybe?).
Today we were asked to speak on Sunday - subject of "enduring to the end". I am an odd one and love to speak (I don't get to speak very often, though). I am excited to both study and share what I can about this subject. Amy won't be speaking though - due to sickness.
Health
We've been blessed to have pretty good health. Grace does have eczema, but it's not too bad and we've been able to keep it under control pretty well. Henry is the healthiest of us all and seldom gets sick. Ella gets small colds once in a while, but nothing else too major. We all got flu shots for free through my work and we hope to escape the flu this winter all together, although it won't matter much for Amy, as she's getting in all her quota (ok, much more than that) of throwing up right now.
In January I really scared myself by standing on the scale. I was a few pounds (like 2) from 300 pounds. Scary. So I began working on losing weight. I began just cutting calories and doing some exercise, but after 20 pounds down, I gained 10 of it back by April. So I decided I had to get drastic. We were recommended by one of our doctors to go to a guy named Dan Wilcox, at Total Health and Fitness. I met with him once, discussed the program he runs, and decided to go for it. We paid for a 24 week program up front and I began full force. It's been a great program and although hard at times, I keep plugging away at the pounds and getting in shape. I meet once a week with Dan and he weighs me, measures my body fat, measures my body, and helps me design a workout program and meal plan for the next week. Then I go and do it. Dan has been great to work with! I am down about 55 pounds total and have cut my body fat % by almost 15%. My goal is to lose about 30 more pounds and 12 more % body fat by January. Then, I will attack my fitness, flexibility, and shape with vigor. I want to ride the Lotoja this next Fall (a very long bike ride from Logan to Jackson Hole). Anyway, it's been great to lose all the pounds. My clothes don't fit me very well and one of my belts is now at it's last hole, but I love how I feel and look forward to finishing my goal. A total of about 80 pounds this year will be good - gosh I have a lot more work to do...
Home Life
Living here in Elk Ridge is an adventure. Living with family is always interesting. It's been good, however. The living space is pretty good and it's hard to be a more beautiful place. The kids certainly like the additional space to run around both inside and outside. We still have some projects to do: replace outlets, put in a few light fixtures, put up curtains, and other items - not to mention that we still have some boxes to unpack and organize.
We've been really happy with the flooring and paint that we did before moving in. It's nice and comfortable. Winter will be a challenge with the drive I have (35 minutes to work and nearly an hour coming back in traffic).
Kids
The kids are doing great. Henry just turned 5, Ella turned 3 in June, and grace just had her 1st birthday. Henry is enrolled in Karate and really seems to enjoy it. Ella continues to be the funny, party-girl that she's always been and says lots of funny things everyday. Her and Henry spend a lot of time playing together. Grace is still light as a feather - even though she loves to eat just about everything we give her. Since we moved here she has had a pretty difficult time sleeping, however, which is hard (mostly on Amy). Grace is crawling (mostly army style) fast and now can stand up while holding onto the couch or something else solid. She is still has big, bright eyes and is always smiling.
Work
I've been at AtTask for 3 1/2 years now and not sure when that will end. It's a good job, although it is full of drama sometimes. I've had something like 10 boss changes in 3 1/2 years with 8 of those in the past 2 1/2 years. Yeah, it's a little crazy sometimes - trying to re-adapt myself to a new boss with all new ideas and ways of doing things. I just keep working hard and surviving. One of these days either AtTask or I will decide it's been long enough and I'll be on to new things, but I'm really not sure when that will be. I continue to work on ideas of my own as well and one day I'll actually take a chance on one of them.
Well, I think that's about it. I hope all of you reading this are doing well. Feel free to drop by anytime. Oh, and yeah, in case you're wondering...early June.
Adam.
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