Spring Projects

I've tried a few new recipes this week and wanted to share:

Couscous salad with chickpeas, tomatoes and mint.  I subbed in whole wheat organic quinoa for the couscous and it was great.  Very tasty and healthy and quick to make too.

Haven't made this yet but this Chicken Enchilada Soup is on my radar.

This Honey Glazed Chicken was easy and very tasty.  May try to cut back on some of the butter next time though.

Derrick found this Shepherd's Pie Recipe tonight and it was very good.



We've been preparing for Easter this week.  Resurrection Eggs have been a big hit with the kids this year.  If you want to make your own set, here is just one website with instructions...there are many variations.

I found this cute Easter Basket/Bucket I'm going to try to make for Reese tonight.  She broke the whole bottom out of her old basket when she was jumping in it...doh!  I don't think she'd be able to break this! And I have a bucket already that will work perfectly for this project...FREE!  Score!!!

Train up a child...

A very wise mom said to me last week, "Every good thing in life takes a lot of hard work."  That statement is so true, whether you are talking about kids/family, your marriage, creating a warm and inviting home, taking care of your body with healthy food and exercise....

I've been thinking about this statement a lot over the last week, especially during times when I'm tempted to complain about my children acting crazy.  I've been overcome by the weight of my responsibility to teach them right from wrong and to give them a strong understanding of our faith and why we believe what we believe.

Yesterday was no different from any other...we had our ups and downs throughout the day.  I was putting Reese to bed and was ready to leave when she said to me, "Will you pray with me?"  We have been reading Bible stories with her every night now but I don't always pray every night.  I was so moved that my 2-year-old doesn't want to lay her head down to rest without a quick prayer together.  What we do with our young children does matter...the do listen...they do notice our actions, our words, our interactions with others!

I love this quote I read a few weeks back:

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing."
~ Edmund Burke

Fun Weekend

The kids have enjoyed everything from playing in the sand at the Jersey shore to going on egg hunts, to enjoying the aquarium today.  We've kept them busy this weekend and had a lot of fun together.  They visited the Easter Bunny yesterday and even dyed Easter Eggs last night.  Only a few made it out without cracks, but they didn't care.

We took advantage of the very warm weather on Friday and went down to Ocean City.  They loved playing on the beach...even splashed around in the water a bit...brrrr!  Then we walked the boards with them...got some Johnson's popcorn, salt water taffy and boardwalk fries.  You gotta love the Jersey Shore!

They did the Easter Egg hayride and hunt at Johnson's Farm yesterday.  They even sat with the Easter Bunny and smiled...amazing!  My mom was sure to remind me of my days of employment there when I had to dress up as the Easter Bunny...yes it is true.

Smiles with the Big Bunny!

Rather diabolical egg decorator.

The kids really enjoyed visiting the Discovery Aquarium today.  The hippos were amazing, swimming in the water today.  None of my pictures turned out but hopefully Mom got a few that I can post soon.

Too Nice to Blog

Whoever would have thought that we'd have two weeks in a row of 70+ degree temperatures....in Pittsburgh...in March!?!?!  All the flowers and trees are blooming, and I mowed the grass yesterday.  We are actually nearing 80 for 4 days in a row in Pittsburgh and it is beyond wonderful.  We even got the fire pit out last night and toasted marshmallows, which the kids loved.  Needless to say I have gotten absolutely nothing accomplished and have spent all my time outdoors with the kids.

I've decided that the happiness of your children is directly proportional to the amount of black dirt under their fingernails, sand in their hair, and mud on their clothes.  My kids have been absolutely FILTHY by the end of the day every day this week.  It doesn't help that we opened the sandbox after having it covered all winter.  The sand is wet and gross and it's ALL they want to play with every time we step foot outside now.  Ah well, that's what makes summer so great I guess, right??

The other day while Reese was in the bath she held up a rubber ducky that is dressed like a pirate and has an eye patch on one eye and said to me, "This ducky has one sunglass."

Spring??

It may not be Spring yet officially, but it sure felt like it today.  72 for the second day in a row and we enjoyed every second of it.  We also had our first daffodil bloom today.  LOVE!!!!!

New compost system

New kind of Crazy

Ahhhh, Spring Fever...the term has taken on a whole new meaning for me these last two weeks.  Of course, during some of the most gorgeous weather of the year, both of my children have become extremely sick...Carter had a 104 fever last week and stomach bug, Reese has had the 104 fever for the last two days...and it is supposed to be 71 AGAIN today!  Not only this, but I think Daylight Savings has really been messing with their heads, because they have taken their level of craziness to a whole new level.  The other night they really pushed my patience to the edge when they both stood upstairs on the landing and threw down their (full) sippy cups, which hit the wall on the way down and splattered water EVERYWHERE!  Momma was not too happy.

This weekend, it was about 55 degrees out and both kids apparently thought it was summer because they were both running around outside in only their underwear.  Brrrr!  Also, they were playing in the water table which still had chunks of ice floating in it....and loving every second of it.  Could this perhaps be why they get sick???

Now that Spring has made this surprise appearance, we are just ready for it to stay!

We were driving home yesterday and the whole way Carter was pointing out every single car we passed, whether on the road or parked in a driveway.  At one point he said, "I must have seen 100 cars!"  Derrick said, "Wow that is a lot, do you think you can count to 100." And Carter replied, "I can't count to 100.  Last time I tried to do that I got SO seasick."

Things with Berad #3 are progressing quickly.  I've had to break out the maternity clothes....things sure do move more quickly when you've already had two!  My nausea has FINALLY seemed to subside so that I'm not having to lie on the couch every night for 3 hours...Hallelujah!  We'll have our ultrasound in about 5 weeks and I'm guessing we will once again not find out what we are having...have to keep the suspense going!  And no, we have absolutely no idea about a name yet, so any suggestions would be welcome, however Carter and Reese are still strongly lobbying for Rocketship for a boy and now Digger for a girl.  :)

Superheros and Princesses

I took the kids to a Superhero and Princess Party yesterday morning at our township Nature Center.  There were just a few other kids from the neighborhood there and they had fun dressing up and doing some superhero and princess related games and crafts.  Carter wanted to stay in character all day so he was wearing his cape everywhere we went again.  Reese on the other hand, stripped down buck naked when we got home and didn't want to put any clothes on at all.  Sigh...kids.




When we were out in the car running some errands, we were talking about birthdays and that Derrick's is coming pretty soon.  Derrick said something like, Oh I don't want to get any older.  And Carter had some advice for him.  "Well then you should just stop eating, Dadda."

As a recap to last week's post about glutamates in food, I found this good article about "natural flavoring" as one of the ingredients in food this morning.  I looked it up again when I saw that the "ALL NATURAL Boysenberry Syrup" I was using on my waffles had Natural Flavor in the ingredients list.  Won't be buying that anymore...just 100% maple syrup!

Zoo Day

Baby rescued sea turtle

 We took a trip to the zoo today since it was 65 degrees.  Can't ask for much better than that in early March!  The kids had fun, and we enjoyed seeing the new attraction, the baby gorilla, who was conveniently posing right by the glass window when we walked by.






Reese "helped" me clean out my flower beds when we got home.  I love tearing out all the old, dead stuff from last year and welcoming in all the new green shoots coming up.  Soon there will be flowers again, leaves on the trees...life!  We've got our mini greenhouses set up in our bedroom since mid-February and the garden is officially growing.  Can't wait to get some of those seedlings out into the ground and I really can't wait for that first harvest!

Brand new baby gorilla at the zoo...CUTE!!!

Marshmallows and Pigeons

 I found this cute idea on Pinterest this morning for a Marshmallow Shooter.  The kids loved it...and it really does work.  I needed to have smaller cups because the large ones I had are hard for them to hold in one hand...but they didn't seem to mind too much.

 We also did Story time at the library today and they loved hearing one of Mo Willem's books about the Pigeon and then making their own pigeons afterwards.

Forever Reign

Good words to meditate on today...

Master Your Metabolism

I'm recording some of the notes I took after reading "Master Your Metabolism" by Jillian Michaels, more for my own good, but thought I'd share as there is some EXCELLENT information in this book.  It is honestly the most comprehensive book on healthy eating and living that I have read...a lot more technical than I was expecting, but really good info.

HFCS:
(High Fructose Corn Syrup) production in the US went up from 3,000 tons in 1967 to 9,227,000 tons in 2005.  It is one of the cheapest sweeteners.  Fructose doesn't suppress hunger hormone ghrelin levels the way that glucose (table sugar) does.  Women who ate fructose instead of glucose had higher ghrelin levels throughout the day, overnight, and into the next day.

Artificial Preservatives and Colors:
A common preservative, butylated hydroxyanisole, or BHA, has been "generally recognized as safe" by the FDA, but is still "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen."  It helps prevent food spoilage but is also a known endocrine disruptor.  We eat BHA in hundreds of foods, including butter, lard, cereals, baked goods, sweets, beer, vegetable oils, potato chips, snack foods, nuts, dehydrated potatoes, flavoring agents, sausage, poultry and meat products, dry mixes for beverages and desserts, glazed fruits, chewing gum, and active dry yeast.

MSG:
Glutamates are flavor enhancers...they keep you coming back for more.  Unfortunately they are also known to be devastating to the nervous system.  Some processed foods have not only one form of glutamate, they may have tow, three or even four kinds.  The government has decreed that anything that has monosodium glutamate in it must say "Contains MSG."  Does that mean that if your food doesn't have the label, it doesn't have glutamates?  Absolutely not - it just doesn't have that particular glutamate.
Don't be fooled by the words, "natural flavor" or "spices" either.  Foods with natural flavors or spices could, in fact, be jam-packed with glutamates, and you'd never know it!  Check out this list of code words for hidden free glutamic acids in your processed foods:

Autolyzed yeast, Calcium caseinate, Gelatin, Glutamate, Glutamic Acid, Hydrolyzed corn gluten, Hydrolyzed protein (wheat, milk, soy, whey - any protein that is hydrolyzed), Monopotassium glutamate, Monosodium glutamate, Natrium glutamate, Sodium caseinate, textured protein, yeast extract, yeast food, yeast nutrient

PLASTICS:
#3 V or PVC - found in cooking oil bottles, cling wrap, clear wrap around meat, cheese, deli meats, and other food items, plumbing pipes, toys.

Hormone-disrupting phthalates and cancer causing dioxins leach out of PVC when it comes into contact with heat, food, water, air or our bodies.

Choose these instead:  Saran premium wrap, Glad Wrap, and Saran Cling Plus wrap do not contain PVC or BpA. Store your food in glass.  Buy cooking oil in glass bottles.  Never microwave food in plastic - use parchment paper or wax paper.

#6 Polystyrene (styrofoam)
Found in disposable coffee cups, takeout containers, foam egg cartons, meat trays, packing peanuts, and foam insulation.  The nonextruded type is found in CD jewel cases, disposable cutlery and transparent takeout containers.

Especially when it gets hot, known endocrine disruptor polystyrene can leach chemicals into food.  Never drink hot drinks out of foam cups or eat hot food out of foam containers.

#7 Polycarbonate
Found in baby bottles, microwave ovenware, stain-resistant food storage containers, medical storage containers, eating utensils, plastic liners of almost all food and soft-drink cans.

Hundreds of studies have linked BPA, a chemical in polycarbonate plastic, with harmful endocrine-disrupting effects.

COSMETICS:

Try using some natural cosmetics such as:
www.drhauschka.com
www.renskincare.com
www.aesop.net.au
www.nudeskincare.com
www.jasoncosmetics.com

RESOURCES:

www.ourstolenfuture.org
www.theorganicpages.com
www.slowfoodusa.org
www.eatwild.org
www.eatwellguide.org
www.organicconsumers.org
www.newdream.org
www.localharvest.org
www.amazon.com/tag/bpa-free/products
www.calorieking.com

Rocketship?

Are my kids suddenly becoming exponentially more difficult?  Or is it just the fact that I'm tired by noon every day? Could be both perhaps.  Yesterday I had them outside in the afternoon to color with chalk on the driveway.  A neighbor pulled over to say hello and while I was talking to her, for just a few minutes, both kids stopped coloring the driveway and began coloring the front of my jeans and coat with their chalk.  What on earth would possess them to do this, I have no idea.

Last night we asked the kids if they wanted the baby to be a little brother or a little sister.  Carter said, "When my little brother comes, we should name him Rocketship.  We can call him Rocky!"  Oh my goodness, now there is a name that wasn't on my radar.  No clue where he came up with that!

We've been using this recipe for waffles lately that I wanted to share.  They are SO yummy and actually pretty healthy too.  (We usually double it)

Whole Grain Waffles
Ingredients
2 eggs

• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup flax seed meal
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Crack just the egg whites into your mixing both and beat them until very stiff.  Put them aside until the end.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk, applesauce, and vanilla. Beat in whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed meal, wheat germ, all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt until batter is smooth.  Then fold in the egg whites very gently.  This makes the waffles more light and fluffy.
3. Preheat a waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray. Pour batter into waffle iron in batches, and cook until crisp and golden brown.