43 pounds in four months.

My body has been changing lately.  Or maybe I should say I'm changing my body?

I have lost a bunch of fat in the last few months.  Surprisingly, the hard part doesn't have to do with food and weight!  The real weight is in my head...

I found a diet program that is working really well for me.  I've been losing weight easily and quickly but I think maybe the biggest transformation is coming in my head. The other day I was commenting on the near platform appearance of my hips (seriously!) and Rustin said--"that's where my babies sit.  I love it!"  So sweet.  He's right!  I am grateful for this body that has grown SIX human souls!

I have to say, my physical pregnancies weren't the most difficult thing for me.  Really--my brain is what caused the biggest struggle.  Postpartum depression has been an unwelcome companion through the infancy of just about all of my kids.  Jenna was the exception.  Benson was probably the worst. Thankfully, I haven't ever been in a position where I didn't love and enjoy my babies.  More like, I just spent several months either hiding in bed with them snuggled up with me or baking my way through intense anxiety and feelings of failure and overall depression.  I am grateful that those experiences have all been temporary and I have been able to find my way back to more level headed enjoyable life.  I have an awesome husband, good friends and family to thank for that! But I also gained a LOT of weight.  Homemade bread and cookies were my coping mechanism--what can I say...

I am really starting to understand the root of the problem for me.  Even without the depression, I have always been an anxiety driven person.  I don't do the laundry until the anxiety over smelly, dirty clothes forces me to the laundry room for a couple of days.  I don't sort the mail until the anxiety over what bills I'm missing wins over the uncomfortable-ness of the task of facing the bills.  The list goes on and on.  The problem with using an anxiety based motivation to accomplish tasks is that once the task is started and the anxiety lessens, the motivation to continue the task ends.  So if I start dieting because I am afraid I will turn into the fat lady at the circus, then as soon as I lose a bit of weight my motivation (and will-power) is gone.

The first step for me has been changing my mind.  I am learning to re-define myself as a healthy person and a person who can take life by the horns! I don't have to hide from difficult things.  I have repeated "I can do hard things..." a thousand times in my head!  And I am redefining my view of my body so I don't see a fat body--just a body that has accomplished some incredible tasks and needs some attention. I'm not just someone who is eating healthy food today but I am a person who IS a healthy person.

Honestly though, it's hard to say goodbye to food.  I'm not kidding.  I almost don't really believe that other activities can make me as happy and calm as baking the perfect batch of light fluffy rolls with warm melting butter... I am taking baby steps in faith that I will discover that life without overeating really is just as happy and soothing as life blanketed with food.  I'm trying to believe that there are other things that will bring me more comfort and peace than eating and providing food for my family.  This dieting experience for me is like the difference between someone who stops smoking because they don't have any cigarettes and the person who actually becomes a non-smoker. It's really hard to do!  But it's a task that is worth my time and attention.

Catching up

Hey everyone!
How was Halloween?
We had a great Halloween! But Halloween is always great isn't it?  We went to our traditional ward party.  I love ward parties...
I was a dud with costumes this year.  Benson was yet another version of a Hobbit (three years running).   I think he was a Hobbit wizard? I don't know but he had a cool staff and hat so he was happy.  Jackson wore the leopard costume that all five of his siblings have worn.  So cute! And he said trick-or-treat to everyone he saw. Jenna and Austin scrounged costumes from the box.  It was fun.  I love Fall and our weather has been absolutely perfect with some of the most beautiful fall colors we've had in years.

Is it me or is Christmas already creeping in?
I have big plans to have all our Christmas shopping done BEFORE Thanksgiving.
I always say that but this is going to be my year...

Here's what we've been up to:

Landon had surgery on his knee.  They removed the mangled portion of his meniscus in his right knee.  His knee felt better almost immediately.  Though whatever they gave him during this surgery (general anesthesia always makes me nervous...) made him sick and he threw up for a day or so.  Poor kid! His knee felt great though--he walked out of the hospital and only took one pain pill. He spent a couple of days laying around on the couch but bounced right back.  As usual.   His shoulder still hurts.  He is in physical therapy and hoping that he will be able to wrestle.  We'll see.

The boys' football team won the district championship so we start state playoffs next weekend here at home.  Dallin has been starting offense and defense. Yea! We wish Landon was playing...  I have discovered that I love watching football and it's even more fun when my kids are playing. 

Austin finished his football year.  He played offense and defense and did great.  He is busy with wrestling.  All three boys keep reminding that they need wrestling food---which means lean meat and vegetables.  Good for all of us...

We took family pictures last week.  I've been working on Christmas cards.  Can I just say that pictures with a wiggly grumpy toddler equals a million hours on Photoshop...

But Jack sure is a cutie lately! He came in our room at 5:30 this morning and snuggled up and went back to sleep with me.  I love moments like that.  He is talking like crazy.  It is so fun to hear what he thinks.  He says all his colors wrong which makes the kids laugh.  I keep asking if he wants to go on the potty like Benson and he says "no way." Darn.

Rustin is loving his new office.  Everything about it is great and he is really busy.  Also great.  He has been super busy with bishop things lately.  Yesterday we were cleaning up and singing along to one of Austin's favorite playlists--a bunch of minecraft parody songs--and Rustin commented that he had never heard any of them.  So funny.  I don't think any of us notice how much he is gone until something like that comes up. We have been blessed though.  I don't think the kids feel any lack of involvement or presence from their dad no matter how busy he gets.  That is just one of those compensating blessings I guess.  We are grateful.

Hope you all have a grateful November!

Homecoming and an injury report.

The Bruins had a great game Friday night.  They beat Miniko (last year's conference champs) by five touchdowns.  Yea!  Dallin played right tackle and did a super job.  At one point we could see a scuffle on the field and some of the team members pulled Dallin back.  It turns out that the opposing team piled on the already tackled star running back.  Right in front of Dallin.  Duh. I think if I were a player, I would like to have Dallin around--he has no tolerance for anyone beating on his teammates.

Landon had a great game too--for almost one quarter. 

Looks like he has torn the meniscus in his 'good' knee.  I could tell he was injured immediately.  He started limping and favoring his right leg right after a tackle in the first quarter.  Darn.  His knee is swollen double its normal size and it is super painful to bend.  And it is a nice shiny purple color on the back.  The father of the running back on the team (the same one Dallin fought for--see above) is an orthopedic surgeon.  He's also in my parents ward.  He took a look at Landon's knee and ordered a set of x-rays but we are betting that they won't find anything on the x-rays.  We will need an MRI.  

We were just in the office of our regular ortho surgeon on Thursday making shoulder rehab plans...  

Landon's shoulder still hurts like crazy.  

Have I mentioned how much I hate injuries?

Landon's knee didn't stop him from having a great time at the Homecoming dance!

Such cute, nice girls!  The boys got new suits.  Actually their first suits!

For some reason the dance was at the beginning of Homecoming week this year.  We are sad Landon won't be playing in the Homecoming game! Maybe next year...

I'm sure he will find something to keep himself busy!

Happy Fall Y'All!

Today's the first day of Autumn!  I love Fall. 

We had a great stake conference this weekend.  Stake conference is one of the two Sundays a year that we get to have our dad sit with us.  It's nice to have a second lap for the tired heads to rest on! Jackson made it through about an hour and twenty minutes before he started saying, "Ready home, mom." We rotate him through the bench pretty well.  Each sibling has something he likes--Jenna always has mints in her bag,  Benson loves to take him out for a drink or help him color, Dallin, Austin and Landon bounce him on their knees and/or turn him upside down.  It works for all of us.

Our stake president gave us three challenges:

1.  Have a fast of gratitude.  Have a family prayer and truly thank the Lord for our blessings.

2.  Fast and pray for moisture.  Our reservoirs are empty.  We really need a big winter!

3.  Pray for missionary experiences

I personally felt prompted to pray to have a desire to do missionary work before President Hansen said anything.  Within the next month or so we will have one set of missionaries in every single ward in the stake!  I know this weighs heavily on Rustin's mind and soul.  There is more than enough work to do but we really need to help our elders out!  I honestly don't know where to start to share the gospel myself.  I'm sure the Lord will help me figure it out if I ask.

 In the mean time we are enjoying the beautiful early Fall afternoon.  The kids have been lounging wrestling on the trampoline and basking in the warm-ish sun. And they just made cookies.  Of course.  It isn't Sunday afternoon without cookies. 

The best part of this evening is that tomorrow there is no school. Hooray! 

The usual.

We had such a nice almost-Fall weekend!

 We spent the weekend in Pocatello.  Dal and Lan had a game at Holt Arena on Friday night and Rustin's cousin Alex had a wedding reception on Saturday so we took the whole family and stayed at Grandma Geisler's house.  Darren and LoaLee came up with Jotham and Jamie's kids and Aunt Jill and Uncle Terry joined us at the game.  We lost to the very formidable Highland team (#1 5A school in the state) but the kids all played well and we had fun watching.

As for the injury report:   Landon's un-injured knee took a hard hit and is still swollen and bruised and his un-injured shoulder has been hurting all weekend.  We hope he didn't injure it trying to spare his injured shoulder...  Dallin had a great game.  No injuries--just the usual bumps and bruises.  Rustin and I were chuckling as we watched the players come out of the dressing room to load onto the bus. Almost every player had an ice pack taped to a body part--knees, shins, backs, elbows... Football is ridiculous.  But fun.

The weather was in the mid-seventies with  a soft breeze the whole weekend.  I love Fall! We went down to Ross Park where Rustin and I spent many a Saturday in our dating years!  When we went out to load everyone up in the suburban, we realized we made the critical mistake of leaving the boys football gear in the back of the suburban all night.  Holy locker room!  Thankfully Grandma had some febreeze...

The rock here is as slick as a slide--I'm sure generations of playing children
(including toddler Dallin and Landon!) have polished it like nothing else can!

Ross Park was perfect.  The kids climbed around on the rocks and we laid in the grass. Rustin laid with his head on my tummy and Jackson could not stop jumping on top of us.  The kids sat around and talked and laughed like only cousins can.

Austin is missing from this picture because he had just split his brand new shorts from waist to hem...

The big boys chatted with Grandpa Hatch about who to take to the Homecoming Dance and how to ask them.  Thankfully Dallin's phone died so he would quit texting long enough to chat...

Rustin and I watched Jackson play on the playground equipment.  I think he's only been to a park twice... Poor youngest child!

We had a great weekend!

That 's my girl

Jenna wrote an awesome essay about Fall in school.  I completely agree with her!  As soon and the end-of-summer---my-kids-are-leaving panic subsides I completely embrace the cooler nights with the hot days.  Maybe I'll stick this up on my mirror at the end of next summer...

Don't you love the curly q 'h's?!

I have accomplished quite a feat this week--I am almost completely caught up on the laundry.  Fifty thousand dirty camping blankets, jackets, sleeping bags and all!  I even organized and re-stocked the storage room.   I have Jason Borne to thank...  

And I am working on big plans to make my evenings easier.  I hope to complete it by next week!

Friday Night Lights

TFHS against Hillcrest (Idaho Falls)

Dallin and Landon played in their first varsity game Friday night!  

I am surprised at how much I enjoy watching football when my kids are playing.  

This game definitely helped in the excitement department.  

We won in quadruple overtime.

Have you ever seen a game with four overtimes?!

At the end of regulation time they were tied  12-12 so each team got four downs starting at the ten yard line to try to make a touchdown.  We both scored every time until the final fourth time around when our team ran the ball in for the two extra points and then they kept Hillcrest from scoring. 

Landon started as the Mike (middle linebacker) and Dallin started as the right guard on the offensive line.

  Landon ended up playing on the offensive line almost the whole game as well because one of the linemen dislocated his shoulder.  Kind of ironic because Landon has been fighting with an unstable shoulder all year.  He first injured it last spring playing rugby and now it keeps slipping around in the socket with the occasional partial to complete dislocation.  Ouch.  Really ouch.  He said he felt it pop in and out 6 times during the game.  The last time it slipped,  Landon's brace had come off so it (the humerus bone) moved more than normal and left him screaming with pain until it slipped back.  And then he played the four overtimes.  

I'm super frustrated. So is Landon. 

 We bought every extra protective piece of equipment we could find--gloves, forearm pads, extra neck braces, shoulder brace, knee pads...

 Have I mentioned that I hate injured kids?

So back to physical therapy.  With our fingers crossed!

Exciting changes!

 School started again!  

We start late here--Tuesday was our first day of school.  When budgets got tight in Idaho a few years ago they cut the school days by three or four so they could pay the teachers less.  It was really a big sacrifice by all the teachers so that our district extra-curricular classes could all remain intact.  Drama, chess, soccer, choir, football--we still have them all!
Along with three recesses a day for elementary kids.
I love our schools!

 High School

 Elementary

However, I don't love sending the kids back to school.  I really, really hate when school starts.  I get this physical reaction.  My heart beats faster and I have this constant subtle feeling of impending doom.
I like having the kids home.  I think having them here helps me stay focused and on task.  The start of this Fall was better for me though.



I have been excited for all the great activities the kids have and I am a little more confident in my ability to manage all the crazy schedules all by myself.  

Middle School

My driving life is a little easier this year because---
We bought our own optometry practice!!
Rustin is no longer an employee!!
Rustin's new office is right up the road from the middle school and they both start at 8 AM so Austin gets to ride with his dad instead of on the bus.  That gives him enough time to get piano practicing done before school.  Yea for both of them!
We bought into Gary and Jared Walker's practice--Eastland Vision Clinic.
 Rustin and Jared both work four days a week and Gary will come in on Thursdays and Fridays when Rustin or Jared is out. The office is brand new and beautiful with an on-site lab and a fantastic optical shop.  Rustin's schedule is already packed.  What a blessing! 

So Jack and I are home alone until 3.  

Jack MISSES his kids. 

 He drags me all over the place trying to get me to play with him.  

'C'mere Mom, C'mere.'
All. day.
But he smiles and giggles and snuggles so all is well.

Sunday.

We had the yummiest muffins today!  

Zucchini banana muffins.

Jackson randomly takes bites out of the muffins... 

 A neighbor gave us an 18 inch zucchini and that sucker was enough for TEN dozen muffins!  

In an effort to get my kids to stop eating super healthy snacks (as pictured below)...

I have been searching out and testing some healthier recipes. 

I especially want to find some non-cold cereal options that are quick and easy. Maybe frozen?

I have seen a recipe for blender pancakes but haven't tried it yet.  

Has anyone tried pancakes made from wheat berries?  

I'd really like to have a freezer full of good breakfast choices so Dallin and Landon don't eat toast and hot chocolate every. single. day. for the next school year.  Once school starts those boys will have 12-13 hour days every day of the week until wrestling is over in March.  They need some good healthy food!

We checked an item off our summer list and went to the drive-in a while ago.  We saw Planes.  I'm sure it was good but I pretty much spent the entire drive-in trying to get everyone comfortable.  By the time the kids settled down on our two gigantic bean bags and stopped jostling each other, the second movie, Monsters University, was half over and I fell asleep.  But it was still fun anyway!

We start our last week of summer tomorrow! Yee-hah!

Cool off

It's been hot this summer!  

I think we've had an entire month of near 100 degrees every day.  

Jackson figured out his own air conditioning method. 

Isn't Sadie the cutest puppy ever? I don't know if I have ever introduced her here in BlogLand. 

She is a first generation English goldendoodle.  Her mom is a black and white poodle, her dad is an English Golden retriever.  She will be a great mom for us in a year or two when she has her own adorable puppies!

Speaking of puppies...all the puppies have been gone for a couple of weeks and I must admit it is nice not to be a resident doggy day care!  They ended up all over the country--from New Jersey to San Francisco! We have been getting the nicest reports about the puppies we sent off.  So far they are all very mellow, easy going little guys.  And smart.  We get lists of tricks the new owners have taught their pups. 

 It makes me happy! My goal has always been to raise dogs that I would want to live with. 

Tomorrow begins our last week of summer break.  I'm handling it really well this year.  Sometimes the end of summer really, honestly gives me anxiety attacks.  I like having everyone home and I hate the crazy cycle of homework and constant activities.  I always feel like we didn't accomplish enough in the summer. This year I am excited for everyone and their fun activities.

Dallin and Landon have been busy with two-a-day football practices.  They are playing the SAM and MIKE positions this year.  That is strong side linebacker and middle linebacker.  I looked it up on the internet so I would sound educated! 

They come home and drink a gallon of milk and eat all the bananas and pineapple they can find.   It seems to be helping with the painful leg cramps that both boys were having at the beginning of the week. 

Dallin was released from physical therapy for his knee this last week.  Yea! So far he is totally healthy and doesn't have any knee pain for the first time in a long time.  He actually wrestled all last year (5th in state!) with the meniscus torn so I think it is a relief to practice without knee pain!

Of course Dal finished just in time for Landon to start therapy for a shoulder injury.  

Actually, it is not so much an injury as shoulder instability.  Apparently the humerus slides around in the socket more than expected. They think he is having subluxation rather than full joint dislocation so we are hopeful that physical therapy will help.  Lan first injured the shoulder when he took a really hard hit in rugby last spring.  It has been kind of 'popping' randomly during swimming etc., but this last week of linebacker practice really exacerbated it to where he doesn't want to move his arm and he is telling us about the pain.   Based on past experience,  if Landon complains about something hurting then it is usually injured...not just sore. So I have good reason to be paranoid, right?  

Anyway we have some fun plans for the last week.
 Actually they are just fun for me!  I'm going to make the kids help me with a bunch of projects.
Can't wait!

Tick-tock

I am sooo glad that we still have three weeks of summer left! We still have temperatures in the triple digits nearly every day but the nights have started to drop down to the 50's/60's--first sign that fall is on its way! Which means.....It's that time again....

School shopping.

I swear half my clothing budget goes to my kids' shoes.
Not kidding!
Football cleats, wrestling shoes, church shoes, regular school shoes, sandals, hiking boots, PE shoes...
And of course each pair last approximately 8 weeks...

On the bright side--Dallin and Landon haven't had their feet grow in the last year or so.  Maybe their toes will stop poking through the end of the shoes and a pair will last longer than a few months!
I can't say the same for Austin!
I predict that he will be the tallest of the Hatch boys.

How is it that our only girl is the LEAST expensive shoe wearer in our family?!

Shopping for Jenna's shoes is the most fun.  I'd rather buy shoes for Jenna than me for sure.

I make her try on all the crazy shoes in the store.

I don't really care much for shoes myself.
I don't know why.
It probably goes back deep in my psyche from when my size nine/ten 4th grade feet couldn't fit in the shiny little girl shoes they so desperately wanted.  It was traumatic. Now they make cute 'young' shoes in all sizes!  Yea for my large-foot-destined daughter.  Actually, the other day the shoe store guy told me that the average size shoe for women now is a 9 1/2.  I really didn't have that big of feet!

Today I have a big project planned that will make my future mornings infinitely easier.  At least I hope it will! I'll try to finish it and post pictures tomorrow!

Checking off our list...

We went camping this weekend. 

Though I'm not sure it counts as camping if you get to stay in a cute little cabin...

 

It was built in 1946 and it has a cool wood cook stove and an ice box.  There is still a type written paper of instructions on the wall about how to start the stove and where to find the coal oil. 

 "And don't forget to empty the pan under the ice box..."

It was cute.  

Dallin and Landon came up late Thursday night after work. 

Just in time to stoke up the fire after the 'youngers' were asleep.

Can I just mention?--I started that fire with one match and NO PAPER.

Thankyouverymuch.

The kids reluctantly saved them s'more stuff. YUM!

 Friday we took the 4-wheelers and motor bike and rode down to Ross Falls for a hike.  It is more like Ross trickle this time of year but we all had fun on the hike up and climbing around on the rocks.

Afterward this cute girl learned to drive a 4-wheeler all by herself.

I am the official sit-behind-and-teach-the-kids-how-to-shift kind of mom.  Probably because the slow speed of the learners is right up my alley!

Benson also moved up to the driver's seat.  He has a harder time shifting--especially when he is wearing his big sister's sandals (because his are MIA...). He will be a great driver though. No doubt!

Paisley didn't like being left behind.  She followed us on a couple of short rides.  

She is one athletic dog!

 Of course the dogs had plenty of play time in the dirt.  

Sheesh. 

So. dirty.

 Saturday morning we all loaded up to go to the hummingbird feeders.

 We actually put Austin and Benson behind Rustin and Jenna and I rode little Red.  I suppose we need another 4-wheeler...
Landon's bike lost one of the pins that holds the handle bar to the frame just after we headed out, (Rustin went back to check on him when we all stopped and he wasn't with us...)
so Landon stayed behind at the cabin.
We were so grateful he didn't lose it while riding! 

Someone started this hummingbird feeding area 20+ years ago and now there are dozens of different kinds of hummingbirds buzzing around at any given moment.  We could hear the thrumming of their wings.

We went on a great ride up to the top of the hills.

The view of the valley was a patchwork of fields and little towns.  

We could even see the temple way off on the horizon.  

Beautiful. 

When we got home Jackson cried and cried to have another ride on the "mow-tow-cy-ko." 

I think he was mostly just tired.  As were we all.  

And we definitely gave our hot water heater a workout--I think we had a tub full of sludge 

after every bath (dogs included!)!

A perfect weekend for sure!

Still here!

Whew.
Our puppies are all sold and all but one has shipped off to new homes in New Jersey,
Seattle, San Francisco, Texas and lots of other places.

I think I forgot how much work puppies are!  We had 13 dogs at our house for most of the summer.
Two words pretty much sum it up--pooper scooper!

Actually it wasn't that bad.  These puppies were really quick to learn.  They all used the dog door to go outside from 5 weeks on.  They learned to sit at the gate to be picked up or fed with very little effort.  Lots of our families were surprised that the dogs already knew how to sit.  Two families said their pup has had no accidents in the house.  Yea!  My goal was always to raise dogs the way I wish mine were raised.  Goal accomplished!

Jackson has been in an alarmingly naked streak.  He is hilarious with the pups.  When they were nursing he would crawl all around and under Paisley with the pups.  There is one picture in particular that my sister took that has my parents renaming Jackson Mowgli.

Yes,  they are all drinking out of the same bowl of water.

 He just got in there and pushed puppies out of the way and said "hey guys--move!"

I think it's safe to say that it was time for puppies to go!

We are into August which is one of my favorite times of the summer.  At least the first two weeks before football starts are my favorite. Once the actual start of school gets closer I panic for a minute.  I feel really unsettled when the kids leave.  I'm not kidding.  My heart beats faster and I get a little sick to my stomach when I think about it.

Some of our last weeks of summer plans:

Go camping with just our family.
Make s'mores.
Have a giant back to school picnic with all our friends.
Go to the drive-in--again!
Sort out closets and get school clothes ready. (okay this one is totally my goal...)
Throw away all the mismatched socks. (I can already feel the relief!)
Sleep in.

Fourth of July

Parade in  Lewiston

The fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays.  Actually every holiday is one of my favorites but I especially love summer!

This year we had our Hatch family reunion over the fourth.  Jotham and Jamie were in charge. We all met at Darren and LoaLee's house where we did service projects.

Aren't Jot and Jamie creative?!  Such a fun family picture!

We did some great projects.  And true to the Hatch heritage, the kids worked and worked and worked!  I was truly impressed!  

We built a riding arena.  

With very. heavy. fence. panels.

And then we painted...

We hauled rocks.  And more rocks.  And more rocks.  

Franklin has no end of rocks!  

We put them in the flower beds and it looks great!

Did I mention that we all got dirty...

Then of course we had some time for fun: 

Parade in Lewiston in our matching t-shirts (and we got enough candy to last the rest of the weekend!)...

Fireworks in the driveway...

Swimming at the lake...

 We also drove tractors and played games...

 We enjoyed some beautiful scenery...

And most of all we spent time together. 

It was a great weekend.  With a great family!