Lessons of single motherhood

The past 9 months acting as a single mom has taught me many lessons. The first is that I am definitely NOT cut out to be a single mom! I have gained some serious respect for you single mothers- I admire and revere you. It is not an easy job, the pay is lousy and there are no vacations.

The second is sometimes I am just surviving. I tend to look forward to the future more than I enjoy the present. These little ones grow so fast- it's so easy to focus on the misery of diaper changing and cleaning up messes and lose track of what a short time this really is and how quickly they will grow up. I try to "escape" by pampering myself or wasting time on the computer but never quite feel refreshed.


It dawned on me that I have been forgetting to"cast [my] burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain [me] Psalms 5:22. I have been unnecessarily trying to bear the burden alone. It's amazing to me that by simply changing the frequency and sincerty of my prayers and scripture study, I suddenly don't feel quite as overwhelmed and alone. I still have disasters to clean up and screaming children to calm, but I am able to handle things better without feeling like I'm going to lose it.

The third thing I have learned is the importance of prioritizing. There are only so many hours in the day and even fewer hours I have alone. About two to be precise. I've discovered that if I do the things I want to do first, I never have time for the things I should do. On the other hand, if I do the things I should do first, I seem to always find time for the things I want to do. Of course it's always easier said than done, but when I actually put forth the effort and stick to a routine, though I am busier, I feel less stressed and more fulfilled at the end of the day and am better able to enjoy the simple moments of motherhood.

Twelve years...

Twelve years ago today we were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. I could never have predicted the way life has turned out, yet I wouldn't change a thing. We have shared some pretty amazing adventures in those twelve years.

We've traveled through more than forty states and several countries. Some of my favorite memories are our trip to beautiful Prince Edward Island, seeing Phantom of the Opera in NYC, scuba diving in Florida, relaxing on the beach in the Bahamas, getting sunburned in Puerto Rico, hiking on the Great Wall of China, driving over 120 mph in Germany, touring Moscow, and canoeing on the lake in New Hampshire.   

During those twelve years we both earned graduate degrees, got certified to scuba dive, bought our first home, lived in 4 states (countless houses), had three children in three years, began homeschooling, survived two deployments (I'm planning on surviving another 4 months!), ran a marathon together (he's run countless marathons and an ironman), and have had a pretty wonderful life.

I'm so glad I married someone who likes to keep things exciting. There are times I curse him for this trait, but in the end we have so much more fun than I would ever have if things were solely up to me. He makes me laugh, is constantly sending me flowers and leaving me little notes around the house (even before he left from R&R he left notes all around for the boys and I) and when he's home he's constantly cleaning up the house and sending me off for some "sanity" time.. I've been teasing him lately that I need to go back to work and he can stay home and school the boys, he's so much more patient and engaging than I am. I couldn't ask for a more supportive loving husband and my boys couldn't ask for a more involved father. We love you!

San Diego, May 2012

Real Food: Decoding labels

Up until just a few months ago, I would shop like most other people, wandering up and down every aisle, occasionally checking the back of the box to see how much sugar or fat was in it, and not really paying attention to anything else. Now when I pick up a box, I see something totally different. Ingredients. Amazing how I never really noticed them before.

As I start to read the labels I see all sorts of strange things that I have never heard of before. Do I really want to eat those things? Um-no, I don't. But sometimes the lovely food companies try to trick you into thinking something is not there when it really is, or lure you into believing the claims written on the box like "fat free!" "no added sugar!" and "all natural!"

It is amazing to me when I shop at a "regular" grocery store now, almost every single thing (including canned fruit) contains one or more of these additives. I find that now, unless I'm at Whole Foods or similar store, I only shop the perimeter and never buy anything from the center aisles.

Here are three rules to help you decode the labels:

1. Ignore claims on the box: "All natural", "whole grain", "healthy" and "real fruit" mean nothing. They are simply marketing terms to draw you in. Unless it says USDA Certified Organic, it's not. Don't be fooled into buying something based on what the package says. And don't worry about calories and fat- worry about ingredients- your body knows how to process natural foods.

2. Read the ingredients: The best thing to remember when buying food from a box, can or jar is to look at the number of ingredients. The fewer the better. Then actually read the ingredients. Do you know what they all are? Now I whip out my iPhone and google any ingredient that I'm not familiar with to see if it's really something that's ok to eat, even in the health food store.

3. Look for sneaky ingredients:

"Sugar Free" claims usually mean they have substituted an artificial sweetener in place of sugar. Artificial sweeteners are NOT good for you, they will NOT make you skinny and they are NOT better for you than sugar. Instead they could make you obese, get breast cancer, multiple sclerosis, birth defects and more.

Brown Rice Syrup included in some "healthy" products in place of sugar, is actually linked to high levels of arsenic. Not good.

MSG is thought to have been removed from many products due to negative effects from headaches to nausea to sudden cardiac death. Instead, they disguise the name and keep it in the food. Here are common sneaky forms of MSG to watch out for (and yes, some form of msg is in nearly every fast food hamburger, bun and sandwich bread- if you look at the ingredients on their website- those brave enough to post them- you will see some of these listed). For the complete list click here and here.

Yeast Extract, Autolyzed Yeast, Textured Protein, Calcium/Sodium Caseinate, Gelatin, Glutamate/Glutamic Acid, Monosodium/Monopotassium Glutamate, Carrageenan.

Food Dyes are in many products, even ones you wouldn't think need food coloring. Unfortunately these dyes are linked to cancer, ADHD, allergies and tumors. Here is a great article outlining specific food dyes, what foods they're commonly added to and the effects.

Conventionally Grown in the produce section is a nice way of saying "we used pesticides and/or genetically modified seeds". Why does this matter? Pesticides have been linked to ADHD, Autism, Cancer and who knows what else... Here are the Dirty Dozen foods to definitely buy organic (buy in season produce for lowest prices). And here's why you want to avoid genetically modified corn, tomatoes and other "food". Buy USDA Certified Organic, or grow your own.

Here are 12 dangerous food additives to avoid Be sure to add these to the bottom of your shopping list so you aren't confused and misled.

Fish you should never eat, a great list of toxic fish as well as a list of clean fish you should look for instead.


Here's a great example of reading labels- what my husband and I chose for dessert when on vacation (he was completely shocked when he compared his to mine)

Real Fruit Frozen Yogurt

This is my family's favorite "ice cream" in the summer. It's so delicious and the best part is it's 100% fruit (yogurt is optional) and absolutely no sugar added.

When your bananas start to turn brown, just peel them and freeze them for ice cream. In a blender mix the frozen bananas, one ripe mango, 1/4 fresh ripe pineapple and a handful of strawberries. For a creamier ice cream stir in 1 to 2 cups of yogurt and enjoy! Read the full recipe here.

Kreative Blogger Award

While I was on vacation, I received the Kreativ Blogger Award from Carla @ Our Journey to Self-Reliance. Thanks Carla!

She has a great site with lots of self-reliance tips from making your own beef jerky to homemade foaming soap to making your own rolled oats.

So, the deal is I list 7 things about me and then nominate 7 awesome blogs. Here are 7 things you might not know about me and some things you probably don't want to know about me...

1. I used to be a total city girl but lately I dream of a house in the country, chickens and all. Of course that would mean giving up traveling (and getting out of the military) and cleaning up after animals, which I loathe...

2. My favorite thing to do (not that I can do it much anymore) is curl up with a good book and read all day, preferably if it's snowing outside and I have some good hot chocolate to drink or on a beach in the Bahamas...

3. I watch tv maybe once a week. I purposely put it in a room of the house that I rarely go into so it's inconvenient to watch. Although sometimes I think I'd like one in my kitchen so I could watch HGTV and the Food Network while I cook.

4. If I could choose any place to live in the U.S. it would be near Charlottesville,Virginia. If I could choose any place outside the U.S. it would be a country villa somewhere in Italy.

5. I am terrified of heights and have cried at the top of Mount Timpoanogos, UT, Mount Katahdin, ME, and the climatization hike of Mount Elbrus in Russia. I was even scared standing on the skydeck of the Willis/Sears Tower.

6. I have a scar on my eyebrow and my left eye is slightly smaller than the other from being kicked by a horse as a child. I also got rolled on by a horse which turned my body into a walking weather barometer...so I'm not a horse person anymore.

7. I am the third of eleven children (which is why it took me 6 years to have my own).

Now for the nominations, these are just a few of the blogs I enjoy reading:

1. Babblin' Brooke blogs about homeschooling, crafts, recipes and more. She has such a fun personality and always has great ideas to share. *Just found out her site is not working...for now you can visit her on Facebook

2. Finding Beauty in Alaska shares beautiful pictures in Alaska, creative ideas and is just a fun blog to read.

3. Melissa is a good friend and fellow blogger about motherhood, faith, food and crafts. She has two of the most adorable children and some pretty fantastic recipes.

4. Another great friend- Joann (one of the most amazing women I know) inspired me to jump into the whole clean eating, chemical-free lifestyle. She has four little boys, is a photographer, homeschools and is an amazing cook. She shares homeschool ideas here and food ideas here.

5. Two Sasters shares some pretty amazing craft ideas and are host to a creative idea link party.

6. My Rags to Riches is a fun blog where this ambitious mom of 3 boys shows how to reclaim old furniture and make it fabulous.

7. House of the Rising Sons is a mom who blogs about raising her four sons (yes, I am partial to blogs about boys!) and has some great spiritual insights and homeschool ideas.

Here are the rules for those nominated (if you choose to participate):
1.Copy the Kreativ Blogger Award logo and place it in your post.
2.Thank the person who nominated you and link back to their blog.
3.List 7 things about you that people might find interesting.
4.Nominate 7 other bloggers for their own Kreativ Blogger Award.
5.Leave a comment on the blogs you nominate to let them know about the award.

Summer School

The last two years we continued to do school all summer long. It was too hot and humid to play outside, the boys didn't even want to go out to swim. This year, I just feel like I need a break.

Our summer curriculum will consist of reading library books, our Zoobooks, High Five, Which Way USA and Kids Discover magazines and traveling to National Parks. We plan to visit Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon and it's so awesome that we now have free access to these National and state parks!

We also hope to spend a lot of time at the pool and park, make lots of ice cream and just spend more time playing together before these little boys are all grown up.

Las Vegas, Nevada LDS Temple Pictures

Visit http://www.freeldstemplepictures.com/ to download these free pictures of the Las Vegas temple.

Photographing temples is actually harder than you would think. Especially older temples. They are usually surrounded by houses and on busy city streets so it's difficult to find a place to stop to take pictures without people or cars in your photo. Once you do find a good spot, they are usually surrounded by trees so it's still hard to get a good shot unless you are inside the gates, but once you're inside the gates the temple is so massive that it's hard to fit it all in the lens. Sometimes I wish I had a helicopter...

I have seen pictures before of the Vegas temple with the spires and the city in the background and knew I wanted one like that. Unfortunately once I got there I realized there really isn't a great spot to get that photo (again, helicopter would be nice). There is a small hill and a mountain behind that. Anthony took the boys to explore a little cave and I began walking over to see if I could get a good shot. Fortunately I found a hill of gravel stacked up and made my way (in flip flops) over and climbed to the top. It was a bit off center, but it best I could do without falling off. As I started climbing down, I saw the van driving away! Apparently my husband couldn't see me and thought I had walked back down the hill to the temple... Fortunately I made it back to the temple before he left the city ;)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoy taking them!

Mt Whitney, St. George & Kolob Canyon

Our last stop in California was Mt Whitney portal. My husband is working on visiting the high points in each state, and I think this makes #38. He hiked alone, starting around 3am and it took a greuling 14 hours to hike the 22 mile round trip that climbed 6,000 feet of elevation.

The boys and I stayed at the hotel and swam and dug in the dirt all day.

We drove through death valley on the way home, very appropriately named.

We decided to stay overnight in St George so we could see my family. I took a few more pictures of the St George temple (you can download them at http://www.freeldstemplepictures.com). We discovered the most family-friendly hotel- the St George Inn & Suites. They are extremely affordable and have both an indoor and outdoor pool and playground. The boys had so much fun and we will definitely be staying here again when we come to see family.

On our way to Cedar we stopped by Kolob Canyon to do a little hiking around.

It was a fantastic trip, the only downside was having to say goodbye for another four months. Oh, and I did get pictures of the Las Vegas temple, I'll share those next.