Amanda is 29 years 5 months!

Whoo-hoo!  I get a post!  Why not, right?  So, here is an update on me, my favorite topic.

I feel like I am finally getting into a good routine with Logan, but I am still a little surprised at how much having three kids (especially since the older two are both home and neither nap or do quite time) sucks up all available time.  I am not tired, thanks to sleeping in until 8 am almost every morning (and Logan sleeps well, just waking up once or twice).  But gosh, those 2 hours at night after the kids are asleep and before I go to bed are precious.  So, I’m still struggling how to do those – spend all my time washing dishes, exercising, and reading scriptures?  But if I do that every night I go crazy, because I need something for me.  That is just fun.  We’ll see …

I have been trying out a few new recipes, mostly from a vegetarian cookbook I got for my birthday.  I tried one I really like – Bulgur and green lentil salad with chickpeas.  I think that might become a lunch time staple at least once a month.  And it lasts like a full week almost.  The roasted parsnips were good, but not worth the price.  Homemade spaghetti sauce is pretty darn good – the kids won’t eat it (except Andrew who only wants to eat the carrots in it, silly boy).  I really need to try out the mandoline and yogurt maker I got for Christmas but haven’t had time.

Otherwise, highlights of the month were “hiking” (which really isn’t with two slow-poke kiddos) around the Confluence area (but at least I got to try out my new hiking boots) and getting to finally go on a date with Katsu.  It’s been since like my birthday.

I have been going positively crazy this month from living in this tiny apartment.  Sometimes, I feel totally claustrophobic and like there isn’t a single square inch of our house that I can walk on without stepping on something, a door that I can open without having to move something, or something that is generally driving me crazy.  I try not to complain (well, I try at least a little bit), but the lack of a garage, back yard, washer, dryer, bed, own room, own bathroom, table with enough chairs for everyone, etc. etc. just drives me nuts sometime.  I CAN NOT wait until we live in a house! 

I have been trying to give up most sugar (and some white flour, though I am going to work more on this later).  It feels so much better not eating the massive amount of sugar I feel like I was eating before, especially so after Christmas in over.  I really am bad at moderating sweet things, so this is good for me.  And I have lost 5 pounds in the last 3ish weeks, which puts my weight back to pre-Logan-pregnancy.  I would still like to lose more weight though.  My body is still very very flabby – I feel like I have a bowl full of jelly.  Sigh …

My new years resolutions are somewhat amorphous, but I think I have done a good job of being on my computer less, spending more time playing and talking with kids, and working on the sugar.  Scripture reading is okay.  And Katsu and I went on a date, so that one is good for the month!

I have read some this month or so.  The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks – I liked this because it was interesting and it made me feel a little closer to knowing more about science and Katsu’s work (he works with Hela cells sometimes).    Good calories, bad calories – So, so.  This was recommended in some lectures I am watching on food from Yale.  I loved the first part with the history about the science, but once he got into what he believed, I thought his analysis of the science was less thorough and believable.  A better criticizer than promoter, perhaps.  The mission of motherhood – I enjoyed this and loved the thoughts it gave me about being a mother.   Mommy’s locked in the bathroom – I didn’t think this book was that useful, but a fun read while nursing.  Micro – I enjoyed this for a fun fluff book, but definitely not as good as most of Crichton or Preston’s books.  Flourish – I mostly skimmed this books; some interesting ideas, but a little too wordy. How children raise parents – I really enjoyed this book, especially the beginning because I feel like that is really what parenting is about for me – changing me and making me a different person.  A life that says welcome – I really want to do more entertaining and basically haven’t because our apartment is so small, but this was somewhat encouraging (now, if we actually had more than 3 chairs for the table …). For women only – I thought this would be a dumb book, but I actually thought that some of the things it uncovered were really really useful, especially her analogy about how men are so visual.

Oh, and I wanted to post a picture of the completed three boy’s stockings since they are my life’s work … well, just slightly after the actual raising of the three boys.