Brady's Joy School Graduation

That's right, Brady graduated from Joy school in his swim suit (he's a Potter)! Well it was a pool party/picnic so we showed up in our swim suits! We were the only ones who actually wore our swim suits for the graduation. Oh well! We were ready to hop in the pool!:)

 Getting ready for the 'ceremony' (Brady is on the right):

Brady, Jaren, Taylor, Lance, and Benjamin in the back row:

 Brady's special moment where they read his list of favorites. Here it is:
Favorite color: Golden
Best friend: Catcher
Favorite Sport: Golf
Favorite Movie: Scooby Doo
Favorite Song: I am a Child of God
Favorite Game: Monopoly
Favorite Food: Bacon
Favorite book: the singing book from Family night
Favorite drink: Root Beer
Favorite Holiday: Halloween (again...he's a Potter)
What he want's to be when he grows up: a Race Car Driver
What he brings to bed with him: Kipper the singing dog, and his Goon (thanks Grama Marilyn!)

 "Walking", and shaking Charlene's hand to receive his diploma:

 Getting his 'diploma':

 The Joy School Gruaduates!! David, Benjamin, Jaren, Lance, Taylor, and Brady:

Say, "Graduation!"...."GRADUATION!!!"

 We were so glad Brady was able to do joy school this year. He learned so much and best of all his writing skills really took off. When he started he would only scribble, and never really liked to color. Now he can write most of the letters and numbers, his name and has much more confidence in his writing and coloring! Plus he has some new great friends! And a plus for mom, I got 2 1/2 hours to myself twice a week! (HEAVEN!) Besides the days I had to teach, which really wasn't that bad and the time seemed to fly by on the days I'd teach. I recommend Joy school for anyone wanting to do something with their 3-4 year old before they go to official pre-school or Kindergarten. It was a great experience for us and best of all...FREE:) Some of the mom's already had the curriculum books and so we just shared:) It was great. But the books would be a great investment, I wouldn't mind having it to keep for my other kids! Thanks to Shauni, Lisa, Charlene, Lexy, and Corrine for letting us join Joy School 1/2 way through the year and for putting up with Brady and being patient with him:) I sure appreciated all your hard work and time you put into Joy school! I think Brady will really miss it!

Montour Reunion

We had the most wonderful little reunion in Arizona with our Dad's sisters Charlene and Kathlene and friend Darlene. Phillip's family was down for a visit and Charlene and Kathlene now live in AZ as well as us, so we all got together! We had a wonderful visit with tears, presents, pictures, lunch, swimming, stories, history, and babies! This week was my first time meeting my new niece Lola Fern (Fern after our Dad's mother). And Phillip's first time seeing Charlene in 20 years! I haven't seen Charlene in 10 years! We really wished the rest of the family could've come, but it was fairly last minute that we planned this get together. For most of our lives we have lived on opposite sides of the country and have seen each other only on rare occasion. So this was such a long awaited reunion and extra special to all be together. 

Charlene and Lola:

 Kathlene and Catcher:

 Kathlene, Catcher, Darlene, and Lola....babies!!!:

 Kathlene was so good to give Brady attention as the adults tried to talk and catch up. Here she is with Catcher and Brady:

 Phillip, Charlene, Lydia, Lola, Megan, Catcher, Kathlene and Brady

 And the silly faces:):

 Phillip, Kathlene, Charlene, and Me (I think Lola looks like Kathlene and Catcher looks like Charlene:))

Thank you to everyone for making the trip to Glendale, AZ so we could reunite!!! Montour LOVE!!!

Happy New Year!

What wonderful Holidays we had! I hope yours were as Merry and Bright as ours. Here is our Christmas Card:

We made Gingerbread houses! Here is Brady proudly standing by his:

 Me by my SWEET Gingerbread house:

 Brady and Catcher on Christmas Eve in their new matching jammies:)

 The day after Christmas we went to the Children's museum for free:) 

And Robert visited his family in Washington for a few days and for the New Year. Their tradition is going to the Spokane/TriCities hockey game on New Years Eve. I guess he wasn't cold enough already being in Washington (cold!) and at a hockey game, he also wanted a snowcone! His awesome nephew and niece, Justin & Joy:

I won't bore you with Christmas day videos, we filmed almost all day. Brady got a new Hot Wheels race track which he loves! and some other fun things. Robert returned the gifts I got him (I should learn by now). And he got me a nice set of new white dishes:) I guess I'll still have to save up for that Vitamix I wanted:) We missed Robert on New Years Eve, but Brady, Catcher and I celebrated with some Little Caesars and noise makers at 6 pm:) They were so cute!! I put them to bed at their normal bedtime, and then had some mommy time till 3am, WHAT?! Seriously I don't know why?! Why didn't I go to bed at 11pm or something? I talked to Robert on the phone at midnight his time, then he called me an hour later at my midnight...then I stayed up writing my new years resolutions and making a vision board for 2013! Robert got about 2 hours of sleep, woke up bright and early and flew home on New Years day, and needless to say, we have spent the last few days catching up on sleep. Sheesh. But we are happy to be together again, and enjoying the rest of Robert's Christmas break from school. 

I hope you all had a fun and safe new years! What are your New Years Resolutions?

More of what I've learned on Nutrition

Following the Insanity Meal plan: 

I was fairly strict on following the meal plan, which I really liked and it wasn't hard, and I definitely didn't feel like I was dieting! I was actually TRYING to get in enough calories each day considering how much I burned exercising and nursing. But I wasn't eating JUNK, I was eating healthy stuff; little to no sugar except natural sugars/fruit; protein with each of 5 small meals a day; lots of fiber; lots of veggies; all whole grains; and all meals are balanced with whole grains, lean protein, veggies, and healthy fat. I have learned a lot about nutrition. I honestly thought I knew a lot about nutrition before, but I had so many misconceptions about health. For example I thought all HOME-COOKED meals were healthy. WRONG!!! OMGosh. I loved to cook with cheddar cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, pasta, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, fried foods, white flour, sugar, fatty meats, etc. 

FATS. Lets talk about good fats and bad fats. We need fat....good fat. About 10%-20% of our calories should be from good fats. For example Unsaturated fats like Avocados, Nuts, Olive Oil, Seeds, Canola Oil and things with Omega 3 like Salmon, Flax, etc.  Ok let's talk about bad fats. Saturated fats and trans fats (which cause heart disease) are found in animal products (meat and eggs), high fat dairy (butter, cheese, anything other than non-fat milk and yogurt , coconut and palm oil (anything that solidifies when cooled). Not to mention all that yucky pre-packaged processed stuff! We should have less than 10% of these fats in our daily calories. Lowering fat intake will help lose weight. But we need to really control intake of those Saturated and trans fats for overall and heart health! I use the olive oil mayo if I used any at all on sandwiches or mixed with tuna. If I eat eggs I do the 3:1 ratio 3 egg whites and 1 egg yolk. I now drink skim-milk, eat non-fat greek yogurt, and if I use cheese I use mozzarella, not cheddar. I use Avocados on sandwiches and dijon mustard. I don't use heavy cream or butter in my cooking anymore, sour cream, cream cheese, or creamy sauces.  And when I eat salad I use Olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar or a Vinaigrette. And I'm not even gonna talk about eating out, that's a whole different ball game.

Lets talk about FIBER. I didn't know anything about FIBER. I didn't know what had fiber in it!! Now that I am eating fiber all the time I realize what has it. PLANTS!!! Whole wheat, whole grains, cereal, vegetables, leafy greens, beans, legumes, fruits etc. I had never bought whole wheat english muffins or whole wheat tortillas before! Fiber helps you lose weight and helps digestion. My last week of Insanity I made some muffins. Whole wheat blueberry muffins with whole wheat flour, ground flax seed, and wheat germ in them. WHOA!! I swear that's what made me drop my last 3.5 lbs. in one week. Those things were packed with FIBER. Start reading the labels for Fiber...you will be amazed. 

Stay tuned for more on Sugar and Protien:) 

My Fitness Journey

  After my pregnancy I told my husband that I wanted to lose weight no matter what. I didn't care if I had to pay for a gym membership or whatever, I was determined to do it, whatever the cost. So I started looking around at gyms. YMCA was a little too...ghetto for me (at least the one here in phoenix) but still a good/cheap option, the other option was a club close by that we got a discount with through Robert's school, but they didn't take kids at the child care place under 2 years old. So that option went out the window. Then Beach Body came along. I knew I would lose the weight quicker than going to a gym every day. In the long run it would be cheaper. And I would have a support group, which I knew would be the most valuable part. I couldn't have done it with out my challenge group. So it was a no brainer. I bought the Insanity program and ordered Shakeology-the Healthiest meal of the day, for one month.  

I have always been skeptical about those people when you see their before and after pics. I honestly believed they were two different people and it was all a scam. Well who knows about them, but I have seen it work for ME and it was honestly miraculous to me. I couldn't believe how fast my body changed week to week. After my first week I started noticing changes. On average each week I lost about 1-2 lbs. doing the Insanity program through Beach Body and following the meal plan. I never missed a day working out. 6 days a week, 60 days. Each work out the first month was about 40 min and the second month some of the work outs go up to 60 minutes. 

 Let me tell you of the condition I was in before starting this program. I had had a baby 2 months earlier. I started out that pregnancy still with all my baby weight from my first pregnancy, about 30 lbs. I exercised on and off moderately but never enough to lose weight. In the 3 years between my kids, I never really lost weight, although I tried little things, nothing ever made an impact. During my pregnancy I stayed active, and ate healthy trying not to over eat like most pregnant girls do thinking and rationalizing "I'm eating for two!" So although with my pregnancy I gained about 31 lbs total, after I had the baby I was only about 5 lbs. more than before I got pregnant. Ok so here's my weight over the last 5 years: 120 when I got married, 164 at 7 months pregnant with baby #1 (Brady was 2 months early), 145/150 after baby #1 (Brady), 181 at 9 months pregnant with #2 (Catcher),  155 after baby #2, 130 now 4 months after baby #2. I still would like to get down to 120/125, so I'm not done yet:) But I went from a size 4, to a size 12, then 14, now back down to a size 4!!!! It is a miracle.

Anyway the a couple weeks before I started Insanity I started "working up to it". I knew Insanity would be tough and I couldn't start "cold turkey". I started lifting weights, running a little on the treadmill every day etc. little things to get my body slightly in shape before my Insanity challenge pack arrived in the mail. Regardless, my first day of Insanity was TOUGH! I think I almost passed out. literally. But I kept going. By week 2 I wasn't feeling like I would pass out anymore. By week 3 I felt like I could actually keep up pretty well. Week 5 was recovery week. Which meant an easier work out every day focusing more on muscle development. I got comfortable with that and then BOOM, week 6 killed me!!!! It was like I started all over again! I couldn't keep up, 60 minutes was a LONG work out for me! I wanted to give up and be done with 30 minutes still left! BUT I pushed through. I didn't think, I just kept getting up every morning, putting on my work out clothes and shoes, and pushing play. I just tried to keep up and do my best, pushing a little more each week. My consistent results are what kept me going. My challenge group kept me going. And the knowledge that my goal was so close...those size 4 pants, kept me going. And I am so proud to say that one week after I finished Insanity, I wore those size 4 pants in our family pictures, and I didn't think I would be able to only one week earlier. 

I DID IT!!! SIZE 4!!!  I CAN'T BELIEVE IT WORKED! IT SEEMED SO EASY ONCE I WAS COMMITTED TO DOING IT, AND I KNEW WHAT TO DO EVERY DAY. I JUST FOLLOWED THE PLAN!!! 

Stay tuned for more on what I learned about Nutrition in following my meal plan.... 

Before and After Insanity

Here are my Before and After pics!! I lost a total of 18 lbs. and 18 inches!!! 7 inches alone off my waist! And I couldn't have done it with out Beach Body, Insanity's Shaun T., Shakeology, Carson Carothers, Melody Anthony, Brittany Marlatt, Laura Sample, Robert Potter my wonderful husband and wonderfully patient children Brady and Catcher:) I feel amazing mind/body and spirit, I feel healthy, I have more energy and muscle and wearing size 6 again feels amazing! I had my second baby 4 1/2 months ago and I'm still nursing and going strong. After Catcher was born I was a size 14 and 148 lbs. Now I'm 130 lbs and still working on fitting into size 4, maybe in a few more weeks:) Thank you everyone for your support!!

 Before in my bathing suit

After in my bathing suit

Halloween 2012

Brady Bee- loved to run around bum first trying to sting people:)

 Catcher Bumble Bee- 4 months old:)

 The Beekeeper, his bees and their flower:)

 So this year for our costumes I didn't have to do TOO much sewing. I made my flower head and that's about all. Which was a bit stressful trying to figure out how to do it, but we did it, as always. With the help of a foam wreath as the backbone, some wire, felt, pins, and made a hood with a tie to hold it on my head. Robert did lots of hunting at second hand stores for those cute little bee costumes and my sweet green outfit. And since my parents ARE Beekeepers they let us borrow their Beekeeper's hat! Robert got the white suit at Home Depot in the paint section which worked out perfectly. Unfortunately there weren't ANY costume contests this year, so we didn't win anything. But we had a few people tell us at both parties we went to that we should win Best Family Theme Costume. And someone said that next year at Robert's school they would put in a word for having a costume contest! So we'll be ready with a new idea for next year's contest:) We had lots of fun dressing up this year, even though it was a bit tricky trying to get my flower head through doorways:)

 Brady and Dad in a hot air balloon at the BooFest in Phoenix!

Brady and Catcher

Brady at 7 months in 3-6 month outfit

Catcher at 2 1/2 months in the same outfit and same chair

Brady and Catcher 3 1/2 years apart

Brady at almost 5 months old still wearing NB outfit.

Brady at 4 1/2 months, Catcher wore this outfit in the hospital the day after he was born!

Catcher at 2 1/2 months grabbing onto toys for the first time.

Brady and Dad, almost 6 months still wearing 0-3 month outfit.

Blue eyed Brady at 7 1/2 months

Catcher SMILING 2 1/2 months

Catcher holding toy -2 months

Even though Brady was 2 months early, Catcher is still WAY bigger than Brady was, even with Brady's adjusted age. Brady was 2 months early due to Pre-eclampsia and was 3 lbs. 3 oz. Catcher was born on time and was 8 lbs. 8 oz. Even when we brought Brady home from the hospital about 6 weeks after he was born, he was only in the 5 lb. range.
Brady's nick name was "Turkey" cause he was always doing turkey-like things and we'd say "what a little Turkey", and Catcher's nick name is "Sweetie", he's such a big sweetie and loves to SMILE and will smile so easily! He even loves the sound of Brady's voice and will smile when Brady is next to him talking. Brady is so cute with Catcher, he will hug him, kiss him, rub his tummy, wants him to "play" games with us, and talks to him and plays with him. They are so cute together! We love our boys!
Do you think they look alike? Besides the difference in eye and hair color??

Baby Blessing

Since we've been home from the hospital, Robert took a week off of work to take care of us which was so nice but went by way too fast. This first picture is the first time in his new swing and we got a smile!:

Proud big brother! (and silly):

Baby Catcher brought Brady a present! He loves his new train set!:

Catching some rays to help his biliruben levels go down. He has had jaundice pretty bad so we've given him lots of light and he is all better now. 

I have a bunch of BOYS:

Blessing day:

We weren't sure we wanted to bless him so soon (9 days old!) but we figured out next fast Sunday would be our first Sunday in our new ward in AZ which we probably wouldn't do it then so we'd have to wait till he was 3 months old, and if we waited any longer his little blessing outfit would NOT fit...so we just did it:) He was able to wear the same blessing outfit that my mom made for Brady, so that was pretty cool. Robert gave a very sweet blessing for Catcher and we were so happy to have all of our family who lived in Utah come and participate in the blessing and have a picnic with us. Our little family on Catcher's blessing day:

from left to right: Wendy holding baby Walker, Lance holding Aria, Meiken holding baby Beatrix, Mike, Grandma Ruth, Grandpa Joseph, Ben (in front) with his bulldog Mac, Megan holding baby Catcher, Robert, Brady (in front), Becky, and Brad. This is the most beautiful family picture! 

We sure are enjoying our new baby who is so sweet. He just eats all day, sleeps really good at night, and poops every diaper:) Last night after we watched the fireworks for the 4th of July he ate more than he's ever eaten (30+ min. straight) then slept more than he ever has before, 5 1/2 hours! Brady is a good big brother and doing really well with him and the transition. And of course Robert is the best dad ever and loves his little Catcher. And now we are very lucky to have my mom here helping out for a week!