The Kiddos

This is just a quick re-cap for my journaling purposes of what my kids are like these days. If you are not Avree, my mom, or Nicole, you probably won't be interested in this:

Marin (5)
* Loves Kindergarten, is very into following the rules
* Loves playing Mario Kart with her dad. Is surprisingly good for a 5-year-old.
* Can do a pretty mean cartwheel after taking gymnastics for the last few months
* Loves to dance
* Is the tallest girl/possibly kid in her class
* Told a girl in her Primary class who was crying that "it would be better if you used your words."
* Likes to use big 3-syllable words, but uses them out of context quite often
* Loves to play with her friends in the neighborhood
* Still gets super excited about the toys that come in Happy Meals
* Still gets super excited over lots of trivial things and I love it!
* Is very polite to teachers and adults, thank heaven
* Loves hugs and snuggling much more than when she was a baby
* Will try lots of new foods, but will not try bananas
* Has the most beautiful red hair that looks like it was professionally highlighted
* Is a great little skier and likes to go FAST
* Is very very dramatic. Teenager-hood could be a difficult time :)
* Can make Andrew laugh and laugh just by looking at him

Kate (3)
* Starts every sentence she says with "Actually...."
* Won't let me put even the tiniest rubber band in her crazy curly blonde hair
* Is a little destructive with toys (we call her Sid)
* Describes people she really likes as her "best fwiend"
* Loves to ride plasma cars at "A-Ree's house"
* Eats crayons like candy
* Eats many many more things not intended for ingestion (toothpaste, soap, dirt, hand sanitizer, etc.)
* Loves to dance, particularly spin until she falls over
* Will not, I repeat, WILL NOT wear clothing inside our house
* Loves to sleep in her "goll-bed [girl-bed]", which is short for big-girl bed
* Whenever I leave and come back she says, "You here?! You my best fwiend!"
* Anything she loves she calls her, "Fav-wit color" A typical phrase is, "I wuv it! It's my fav-wit color!"
* She speaks really fast, kind of sounds like Chinese until you get used to it
* She takes 27 baths a day. Loves to eat bubbles (shocker)
* Eats a bag of popcorn daily
* Would eat pancakes for every meal
* Has to eat at the same place at the table for every meal, with the red plastic place-mat that I melted the shape of the crockpot bowl into-- she calls it the "ovo [oval] pwace-mat"
* Loves to sing -- knows every single word to "I Am a Child of God" and "I Wuv to See The Temp-o"

Andrew (9 months)
* Happiest baby ever-- seriously, he used up all of his crying in the first 4 months of life
* Recently learned how to open the DVD player, to his sisters' dismay
* Can crawl anywhere, and does
* Loves to eat paper when he can find it
* Loves to eat all food and wants to feed himself
* Loves the bathtub
* Can only make one sound... "Daa daaa daaa" but says it with every emotion-- sad, happy, mad, excited, etc.
* Growls on cue, and pretty much the rest of the time
* Screams when his sisters do
* Laughs at everything his sisters do or say. I have a feeling this will continue for a long time
* Gets 10,000 kisses from me and actually LIKES it!
* Still likes to be swaddled up tight in his blanky to sleep

Fact or Myth?

My sister (also a Registered Dietitian) and I have been wanting to do a post about this for awhile now. We collaborated on this and here is what we came up with:

I am not saying this to brag, but to let you know that I feel like I have the credentials to make a post on this. I am a Registered Dietitian (a.k.a. Nutritionist) and I have a Master's Degree in Nutrition Science. Since becoming a dietitian, I have been amazed at how much nutrition misinformation there is out there. In the newspapers, TV, Internet-- and especially on social networking sites such as Facebook, I have been bombarded with inaccurate, misleading, and often downright dangerous health information. What is disturbing about the misleading information on Facebook, is that it comes from our "friends"-- and a recent study about health behaviors reported that most patients believed health advice from friends and family over health professionals. So here is some advice from your friend who is also a health professional on how to sift through nutrition information. It's in my favorite format-- a list:

1. Does the information have references? If you are reading an article and they are spouting statistics left and right with no references, either in the article or after, you need to be wary. Especially if the statistics are outrageous. Testimonials DO NOT count as references. Here is a perfect example: A recent article I read on the Paleo diet website says this: "Gluten causes gut inflammation in at least 80% of the population..." Then there is no reference. In fact, the article contains ZERO references. I did a little research on the website of the American Gastroenterology Association and their 2011 Position Statement estimates that it is more like 1 in 100 (or 1%) and they have a bazillion references to back it up.

2. If the article has references, what are they? Are they trusted professional organizations (i.e. American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, American Dietetics Association, Professional (peer-reviewed) Journals, Universities, etc.)? Which brings me to my next point--

3. Who sponsored the article? Is there a conflict of interest? If Tropicana Orange Juice sponsors a study that finds that drinking juices with Vitamin C cures cancer (that is obviously bogus but you get the picture) then you need to think twice before accepting the information.

4. How many studies reached the same conclusion? In the academic world one study means nothing unless multiple studies continue to get the same results. One study's nutrition information should not be what you are basing your health behaviors off of.

5. How many participants were in the study? Were there 10 or 1,000? Small studies often do not contain enough participants to reach valid conclusions or statistical significance.

6. Does the information violate all known biochemical or physiological laws? Let me explain. I think everyone should have to take a basic biochemistry or human physiology course. Just knowing basics about how our bodies function can help us. Take this example for instance: A fad diet claims that we can lose 10 pounds in 3 days. In order for us to lose 1 pound of FAT, it takes a negative energy balance of roughly 3,500 calories. So is it really physiologically possible to burn 35,000 calories in 3 days? No. If you lose that much weight it is because you are dehydrated. See? Basics.

7. This goes along with #3, but is the organization who is giving you the information trying to sell you something or get YOU to sell something FOR them?

8. And finally....Does it sound too good to be true? Then it is. Promise. Pinky swear. Cross my heart.

If we would all be a little wiser with what we choose to believe, there would be a lot less nutrition misinformation available. Just because you find an article in a magazine or newspaper or hear something on the evening news doesn't make it true. Be careful what you believe (and especially what you act on) when it comes to nutrition. Your health depends on it.

Friday Confessional #6

First of all, I would like to thank my sister-in-law EmRee for the one comment my last post got, ha ha. Next, on to confessional. I really shouldn't tell this because it really brands me as the super-nerd I am... but oh well.

I do the newspaper crossword puzzle every night after my kids go to sleep.

I love crossword puzzles and I am getting much better at them. My newspaper recently announced that they won't be doing a Monday paper anymore. Apparently it is not cost effective for them to distribute a Monday paper (small town). I will admit, my first thought when I read this was, "Dang, no Monday crossword puzzle." Because, you see, I can usually finish the whole crossword puzzle on Mondays since they get harder as the week progresses. About Wednesday is when my skill level is passed up. But guess what? The Monday crossword puzzle gets sent ahead of time on Sunday now. You know what that tells me? Hooray, I must not be the only geek in Cache Valley!

Christmas 2011

Every so often I have to do a post that is more of a journal entry and very detailed and not that exciting to anyone but family. This is one of those.

We had a wonderful Christmas at home this year. My parents came up the day before Christmas Eve and stayed for 5 days. It was so nice actually being home for Christmas! I love being with family, but it was nice to have them come to us. We've never actually spent a Christmas in Logan in the 8 years we've been married.

My sister Avree, my sister-in-law Callie, and I made a ton of candy the week before Christmas. We made caramels, Oreo truffles, dark chocolate truffles covered in toasted almonds, toffee, and white chocolate peppermint brickle (I will share this recipe because it was AMAZING!)-- all while our lovely husbands took the kids to the Aggie basketball game. We are definitely going to make this a tradition!

We spent Christmas Eve over at my brother Jaren's house. Yes, he is the one who looks kind of like a creeper with the gross mustache. Bear with him... it is his last big hurrah before he goes to Law School (he's already been accepted to several schools so he's not one of those people who say they're pre-law or pre-med and never actually become lawyers or doctors ha ha). He and his wife Callie made the best dinner. I'm amazed my sister-in-law Callie just pulls dinners off for all of us without stressing. I would have died having to make Christmas Eve dinner for all of my in-laws when I was first married!



My parents had Christmas PJ's for the kids to open-- Kate wouldn't wear hers because they were the kind that cover your feet so that is why she is not pictured wearing the darling Gymboree PJ's my mom bought her in subsequent photos. Then we drove around to look at Christmas lights (family tradition) and while we were gone, Mrs. Santa Claus left us a Christmas book with a little note (my favorite family tradition). It was a Fancy Nancy Christmas book and was loved by the girls.

Then the kids went to sleep and the adults, ahem, wrapped a few last-minute presents (until 1 a.m.) and then Santa did indeed visit! I had to work at the hospital NICU for a few hours so I left at 5 a.m. (yes, that's just 4 hrs after I went to bed) so I would be back in time to open presents. Luckily the kids slept until about 7:45. The train set was a gigantic hit-- gigantic literally! There are 4 remote control trains and a room full of tracks and accessories and it still gets played with for hours each day. Marin also got a Wii (yes, I know we're several years behind on that one, but she is still thrilled with it).




There are a million more pictures but for some reason Blogger won't let me add any more. ("oh darn," you're thinking I know). We had a lovely Christmas dinner at my sister Avree's house complete with funeral potatoes. Her husband Matt put together a little musical program and Callie played the guitar and my dad made me play a piano solo. Some of Matt's family were there, including his dad who used to be in the Tabernacle Choir so they contributed some lovely musical numbers as well.

The rest of the holiday we spent relaxing, skiing, eating out, going to movies, and just enjoying having Grandma and Grandpa St. George (as my children call them) here.

We also had some cool experiences trying to focus on the true meaning of Christmas with our kids, but that is not the kind of thing I like to post in detail on my blog. But just so you know, we didn't forget :)

Hope your holidays were wonderful and have a very happy New Year!

The Green Smoothie

Okay, I am going to go a little "dietitian" on you all right now. I know many of you forgot I am one, what with all of my dessert and candy-loving talk. But I did spend a significant portion of my life studying the lovely topic of nutrition and healthy eating, so I feel that I must share my latest health idea with you. Mind you, I tend to shy away from things like this. So when 2 of my sisters-in-law told me about the Green Smoothie I admit I scoffed at first. But now I am a whole-hearted Green Smoothie drinker. I have provided this lovely picture of what I put into my green smoothies. I feel it is a delicate balance between healthy and disgusting-- I have only dared to stray from my original recipe once with horrifyingly disgusting results. So now I just stick with this:

1/2 banana (frozen)
1/4 cup blueberries (frozen)
5 whole strawberries (frozen)
1 3/4 cup very cold water
2.5 cups spinach

It looks disgusting, but I promise it is not. I got my sister (also a dietitian) on board. This is important now-- I AM NOT drinking this exclusively. No way. I drink this in the morning with my breakfast and later around 3:00 when I am craving a snack. All it is, is a healthy way to get a quick 5-ish servings of fruits and veggies in for busy people. This is the nutrition breakdown:

110 kcals
3.5 g protein
5.3 g fiber
90 mg calcium
2.5 mg iron
And a ton of vitamins and phytochemicals I didn't feel like listing.

If I haven't sold you I have one more pro-green smoothie thing to add. Since I have been drinking these my skin is softer and my hands don't crack and bleed in the cold. I'm serious! So there you have it. Take it or leave it :)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas....

A little vintage




Some live poinsettias


Some homemade (eat your heart out Anthropologie, I saved $48 by making these myself!)


A fake tree decorated by Yours Truly


A real live tree with ornaments brought to you by expert sewer Marin Moncur (oh, the smell is yummy!)




Some live White Pine and Boxwood


And don't forget the wreath (I made the bow out of burlap-- copied straight from my Pottery Barn magazine)!


Candy Cane Cocoa (Courtney, you'll appreciate the alliteration) for the neighbors


And, of course, stockings (because, Merry Christmas to me, Pottery Barn had free monogramming and shipping!)


SO BRING ON SANTA! THE MONCURS ARE READY!

Friday Confessional #5

I am getting ornery in my old age. This is an e-mail I just sent to Gap:

I received this in an e-mail this evening:

"Recently, we notified you that we processed a return for Order #154YRTS. Please note that the return policy for merchandise purchased online is 45 days from the date of purchase. You’re a valued customer and we want you to be happy with the service we provide, so we have processed this return as a courtesy."

I just wanted to note that the reason for the return is that I was sent an item I did not order. I ordered some jeans for my daughter and was sent a "slim" size by mistake, so I exchanged them. I expect this situation to be an exception to the regular return policy in place. The order may have been made over 45 days ago, but I would not have had to return the item if I had not been sent the wrong one in the first place. Thank you for processing the return.

Sincerely,

Cara Moncur

I feel that I must explain. First I waited for Gap to ship me the right pants. It took forever. Then Gap sent me the wrong pants, and in order for me to exchange them I had to buy new ones and send the old ones back. By the time I got the new ones, it was right around Thanksgiving, so I sent them back when I got home from Wyoming. Apparently this process took more than 45 days. So I got this snotty little e-mail and I had to retaliate. Oh I'm so assertive* am I not?

*I think about 75% of the time "assertive" is code for grouchy :)