Steven Turns FIVE!

Here is an overview of Steven's actual birthday:

I wanted to do something special for the morning of Steven's birthday. I meant to do it the night before when the kids went to bed, but I forgot until I was going to sleep and didn't want to stay up. Instead, I woke up extra early to blow up these balloons. I sat and watched "How I Met Your Mother" while I blew up about 50 balloons. Yes, that clock does say 5:30 am.

Then I put streamers in front of his door.

I had wanted to put the balloons in between the streamers and the door (with the streamers holding up the balloons), but I was too tired to try to do that. Instead, they were just all in front of the door. Still cool. 

Steven & Sofia waking up to see the streamers in front of the door. They were a bit confused and thought they were trapped at first. 

Steven ripping down the streamers. 

Sofia trying to reach the top streamers to pull them down

Steven trying to get more streamers

It didn't take long for the kids to get excited about the balloons

Playing "Keep the balloon up"

Rubbing the balloon on Sofia's head

Jumping into the balloons

Steven, the balloon head

For breakfast I made colored pancakes. I asked him what colors he wanted and he said green & pink. This was my attempt at an "S"

My attempt at a "5". I think this one looked much more like what it was supposed to!

Waiting to blow out the candle

Blowing out the candle

Taking out the candle

My big little man! I love that he is now actually starting to make nice, smiling faces for the camera :)

Trying to blow up a balloon. Notice he's sporting the hat he got from pre-school

Aunt Sammy sent them iron-on designs for Steven's birthday, so we got t-shirts that day and made the shirts. 

For a few months, Steven has been saying that he wanted to go to "Olive Kindergarten" for his birthday. We went there for dinner that night. 

Sofia coloring on her menu

After dinner, we went to the "Frozen Yogurt Store"

Steven's favorite flavor is strawberry. I'm glad they had that flavor that night!

Sofia & Steven

Smile!

Whaaaa....

So in one of my earlier posts about my weight loss progress, I mentioned that maybe my thyroid or something was out of whack. I had been thinking that maybe I should get some of my hormone levels checked out just to make sure everything was okay. I felt like maybe my thyroid levels were abnormal (that can cause weight loss issues) and maybe that some other things were not right because I was feeling extra hormonal, especially around my period. Also, I'd never had my cholesterol or anything like that checked, so I thought it would be a good time to get a baseline. The results came back a few days later & everything that I thought might be abnormal were normal and the one thing I thought for sure would be fine wasn't: my cholesterol. I was frankly shocked when the nurse called me back and told me that my cholesterol was high. I'm 28, not (very) overweight, I exercise several times a week and eat fairly healthy. I was very, very surprised. These were my numbers (mostly I'm putting them here so I don't forget):
~Total: 254
~My triglycerides were 247; the recommended level is below 149 (so almost 100 point over!)
~My HDL's (the "good" cholesterol) were 49; the recommended level is above 39
~My LDL's (the "bad" cholesterol) were 156; the recommended level is below 99

So...yeah. I was not expecting that at all. The nurse practitioner that I saw said she wanted me to come back in, but I knew that was just to go over what to do to improve those numbers and since I already knew the basics, I didn't want to waste the copay. I just said I'd like to try lowering it through diet and exercise and come back in a few months to get it re-checked. I did some more research on ways to lower it as well. I read an article on the Mayo Clinic's website about the top 5 foods to eat to help lower your cholesterol. They were oatmeal (or other high fiber foods); fish & Omega-3 fatty acids; walnuts, almonds, and other nuts;   olive oil; and foods with added plant stanols or sterols (substances found in plants that help block the absorption of cholesterol). I already eat oatmeal, omega-3's (I get my omega-3's from chia seed. Chia is a "super food" and a great source of a lot of important nutrients. This is an article that summarizes the top 10 benefits of Chia. If you've never heard of it, you should research it. I think it's a great thing to have in your diet.), and olive oil on a regular (daily except for olive oil) basis. Cholesterol only comes from animal protein and I actually don't eat much of it on a regular basis. I also don't really have any family history of high cholesterol (unless it was related to poor diet and lack of enough exercise). It just didn't make sense. Then I did some more research on what can cause you to have high triglycerides (because this was my highest number), and certain medications can cause your triglyceride level to increase in some people. Two of those medications are birth control (I don't know if it's brand- or type-specific) and progesterone. Well, I've certainly taken a lot of both medications in the past several years. For seven years (since I've been married), I've been on oral birth control for nearly all of the time in between pregnancies, and since April of 2011, I've taken large amounts of progesterone twice (for both of my surrogate pregnancies). To me, it would make sense that those things could have caused my higher triglycerides. I have never had my cholesterol checked before now, so I don't know if my cholesterol was normal (or at least lower) before I started birth control or before my two surrogacy journeys. And honestly, usually during my pregnancies, my diet is not what you would call "extremely healthy", and I don't work out as much. It actually hasn't been that long (only since July or August) that I've been working out regularly again and eating better. Who knows, maybe my cholesterol was even higher during my pregnancy, and it is actually lower now? It takes time for cholesterol to build up and I think it takes time for it to improve as well. 
I really do not want to start taking any medications for high cholesterol. That is a last resort for me. So for now I am trying to limit the amount of cholesterol I eat, eat foods that are more "heart healthy", and continue to work out regularly. I will go back in around March to get it checked again and hopefully there will be a significant improvement. Always in the past, I have worked out and tried to eat better/less to lose weight. I  would say it was about "becoming more healthy", but really, it was mostly about the weight and how I felt about the way I looked. This has really made me realize that it can't just be about that anymore. I really need to eat better and work out to actually become more healthy.  I don't want to be on medications and I certainly don't want to develop some sort of heart disease. It's still hard to always remember that, but I'm trying. Here's hoping for better numbers soon!

Finishing my Month of Gratitude

Day 24: today I am grateful for the knowledge that I am a daughter of A Heavenly Father who knows & loves me.
Day 25: Yesterday I was looking through pictures on my computer for a project I'm doing. I am grateful that I have so many pictures that help me remember the memories that come with those pictures.
Day 26: I am grateful for the people in my ward & neighborhood. I've always felt welcomed & supported, especially during my two surrogacy journeys. Have great people around you makes such a big difference!
Day 27: today I am grateful that my children enjoy learning. They love have books read to them & learning new things. I just hope I can continue to nurture that enjoyment as they get older.
Day 28: Today I'm grateful for a day to remind us of our blessings. I'm also grateful that this year Thanksgiving was later than usual this year so I could have lots of days to remember how truly blessed I am. I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving !

I only did up until the day of Thanksgiving (the 28th), instead of all 30 days. I probably should have done all 30 days, but I didn't end up doing those two extra days. I'm glad I did this because even though sometimes I had a hard time thinking of a new thing, it definitely made me realize how much I truly have.