My little ones were sick so we watched from inside. Sister went outside to bring the weather indoors, bringing back a cup of snow. Sumo was enthralled.
He stuck his tongue in it...
Then somebody (SISTER!) suggested using the snow as "dip" to go with Doritos
The joys of childhood. I'm glad we had one of these moments...even on a sick day :)
This is nothing less than amazing. I'm the same girl who rarely cooked a meal and constantly ate out. Now I bake my own bread....incredible.
I've always been a person driven to be the best at whatever I do. I thought that a wife and mother ought to know how to bake bread...just because. Now I bake bread because I'm convinced that it is the only way to make sure that I'm giving my family the best bread possible w/o paying an arm and a leg. Whole grain at the grocery store is really not whole grain. Once I understood how many foods, including bread, are stripped of their true nutritional value, I committed to doing what I could to give my family my best.
Not only do I bake my own bread but I mill my own flour. I know....REALLY insane! How'd I go from the up and coming financial research guru to breadbaker...I dunno...I guess it's Jesus.
I could try to explain the reason for milling my own flour but it's already been done so well HERE.
Anywho, I milled my fresh flour and produced five beautiful loves of bread in about 1.5 hour. Here's the bread going into the oven....
Here's the finished bread on the counter to cool with fresh melted butter brushed over the top...Mmmmmmmm!!!
I went on to slice the bread with an electric slicer. A good friend just gave me this tip. This was my first time to use the electric slicer and it was wonderful!
Not bad. I also took some additional dough (the dough that is normally the sixth loaf) and made a gigantic "Hot Pocket". It was so good. A little cheese, turkey, and miracle whip inside before baking followed by melted butter and parmesan cheese on the outside after baking and VOILA!
I started about 4pm and was finished at 6pm. This included cleanup...and....one hour of this time was spent looking at magazine while my bread was rising and baking! Not bad :)
We ate a loaf. I put one in the refrigerator for later (cuz we almost go through a whole loaf when the bread is fresh and hot...wonderful with butter and fruit spread). I also put two in the freezer and sent one home with my mother-in-law. I will bake again in a couple of weeks. Many times I give most of it away b/c when I get in a groove of baking every week we just can't eat it all. Not a bad problem to have :)
I'm such a routine person. If I get out of the habit of doing something it takes moving a mountain to start doing it again.
I intended to go this morning but I stayed up to watch a movie with Gracie last night and that ended that plan. Also thought about going this morning but I woke to two sick boys and that stopped that idea. (Sigh)
I have been making better food choices and drinking more water. The main issue is that I have to figure out a way to live a lifestyle of better health even when my circumstances aren't making it easy.
The choices are mine to make. When it's easy to eat well b/c I've planned it....GREAT...but I'm still responsible for making good choices when it's hard - like when I'm starving and need to head home for a turkey sandwich and chips INSTEAD OF stopping at fast food restaurants.
This choice is hard but nonetheless NECESSARY....
Lord help me to make good choices even when it's a little harder.
But...I am still going to make it easier on myself. I'm planning a menu for the rest of the week this afternoon . :)
AND TOMORROW MORNING I WILL GET UP BY 5AM AND HEAD TO THE GYM!!!!!
This pumpkin bread has already made two appearances at our house this past week. Once as muffins for breakfast and once as loaves to share at Thanksgiving. I love the sound of my littles asking for "Punkin Bed" :)
2 cups Pumpkin (1 15oz can will do)
1 cup oil (I have been using vegetable)
3 cups of sugar (gotta find a substitute)
4 eggs
3 1/4 c flour (I have substituted freshly ground wheat for white and it works wonderfully)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp clove powder
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Stir dry ingredients together. Then, mix pumpkin, oil, sugar, and beaten eggs in another bowl. Add wet to dry and stir. This will make about 2 dozen muffins or 2 loaves.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes for muffins and 45 minutes for loaves. I think that it really takes more time than this but this is what I set my timer for before I start sticking the bread with a toothpick checking for doneness. One of these days I'll figure out exactly how long this takes in my oven :)
Back home to shower, change, and pack for our trip out of town....Can you say RUSH!!! We are gonna have to figure out this for next year.
Off to my in-laws for TONS OF FOOD. My binge apparently had one last leg (sigh)
Then off to Pine Cove for the holiday weekend. This is a favorite place for our family to be. We grew up going here every year. My Dad would be the featured guest speaker and we'd also get a family vacation out of the deal. Even now, as adults, we love going back and being together as a family.
As the weekend drew to a close, the females in our group decided to take a trip into town while our littles one slept. We left them in the cabin with "Poppy" (their granddad) and took off about 2:30 pm.
At 4:00 pm, my Dad called me and said that the front door to the cabin was open and Sumo, my 3yo wasn't in the house. He checked everywhere and my son wasn't there. Within 15 minutes of his phone call, Sumo was found and returned by the POLICE....he had been gone for TWO HOURS.
From what we can piece together, Sumo must have run out of the room and out of the front door, trying to catch us as we left for shopping. My Dad was in his room with his door open and still didn't hear Sumo leave. The police picked my son up at 3:15pm from some folks who had him for 30 minutes already.
Sumo walked out of the cabin, off of the campgrounds, and onto the main road - a two lane rural road on which vehicles travel fast. He was wearing a diaper....no socks, no shirt, only a diaper. A car passed and he ran out into the road behind the car. The car stopped, picked him up and took him to the nearest house on the road. From there the police were called and the search began to try and find who this kid belonged to. He wasn't taken immediately to the police station b/c this is a small town and he couldn't have come from too many places.
Finally someone was found who knew that the speaker for Pine Cove was my Dad and that he had brought his family with him. The police brought Sumo back to the camp. When I arrived and went into see Sumo he said, "MOMMY, I FOUND YOU"!.
The police said he was a happy kid. They could tell he had been crying b/c there were dried tears on his face but from the time they picked him up...he had been smiling and laughing the whole time.
Later that evening, I asked Sumo why he left the house. He said, "I had to find you Mommy".
Can somebody say JESUS!!!!!!!
We are so grateful. Words cannot describe how thankful I am that we are not still looking for him, that he was no killed on an open country road, that he was not picked up by some evil person, or that he did not drown in the lake less than 100 yards away.
Our son was in a perfectly safe place, with a perfectly safe person, in a perfectly safe area and still found his way into a dangerous situation. It could have been so much worse.
We truly have a great reason to be thankful this holiday. My son is home, safe in his bed, and I have the privilege of being his Momma one more day. My husband has his son, and his siblings have their brother.
If you are reading this....make sure you kiss your babies. When I left my son that afternoon, I didn't know that my kiss to him before his nap would prelude such an event. We just never know what's coming...make every moment count.
Christians make up about 35 percent of Lebanese, down from estimated 55-60 percent before the 1975 civil war. The decline is attributed to emigration of Christians and higher birth rates among Muslims.
In reading this, my heart ached. I want the world to be influenced for Christ and to see an area where the Salt and the Light is decreasing makes me sad. Christian people are leaving this war-torn area and moving to other places, leaving behind less of God's people in a place that suffers tremendously.
Also, Christians are just not having as many children as others are. How can we possibly influence the world for Christ if we don't continue producing other people to continue the work?
So many times I hear people discussing the number of children based on what's comfortable, convenient, or desired. Rarely do I hear people discussing the number of children they have based on God's prodding to grow the kingdom of God.
Let's face it. It's a numbers game. Everything is a numbers game. The more people that believe in a particular value, the more likely those values are to infiltrate the culture in which those folks live. The same holds true for Christians and our role in society. Not to negate God's power nor to negate the minority voice, but more people typically carry more power.
How in the world can Christians expect to continue replicating their beliefs and worldviews if we base the number of children we have on the same foundation as non-Christians. Our view of our role as mothers/parents/life-givers must change.
I don't say that everyone should have 12 kids, nor do I believe that people with two children are in sin. I do believe, however, that most Christians I know (including myself) have to take a HARD look at our reasons for our attempts at opening and closing the womb (God is the ultimate opener/closer :). We must constantly evaluate our desire for children and the number of them in the light of God's purposes and plan.
This brings my role as mother into a whole separate light. I view my role as infinitely significant b/c I am raising the leaders of tomorrow. I try to see beyond learning colors, shapes, reading, and algebra. My children have to be prepared to lead in a nation of followers and to think in a country of people where a large majority are trained to be robots and to follow the herd.
Our world is dying. My children will be the tools God's uses to affect change in that dying world. My job is to prepare them. The state of affairs in the world now, and in future generations, far supercedes my desire for comfort and financial surplus. I, along with my husband, must continually check with my Father to see if I've done my part in adding to the number that are marching in his army.
Help me Lord to think of the size of my family in light of YOUR plan and purposes. Help me to view my daily routine/activities/ and sometimes grind as a series of events that lead to a glorious end for my children's future. Help me to see past "getting them to "18". Help me to my children as world-changers and to view my time with them and input as deposits to their future contributions to society.
I know exactly where that half-pound came from too....I've been an absolute glutton for the past couple of weeks. Going out of town was gonna be tough I knew, but Lawd have mercy!, I wasn't prepared for the feast of sweets at the Ronald McDonald House. It was almost as if I'd been starving a monster and the taste of refined sugar brought the animal out of hibernation!....
So...today was my last hurrah. I've had enough sugar and fast food over the last couple of weeks to last me til I'm 40 (I'm no where close to that :)
More than anything I'm realizing how much my choices about food have to be about lifestyle versus goal oriented. Without the total commitment, any old set of circumstances could provide an opportunity to fall back into the familiar pattern of emotional and undisciplined eating.
I don't want to go back there. I've come to far and I'm not finished yet!
We've started something new in our household. It began with my oldest wanting to create a fun experience for the boys. So, we all joined in and this is our first family Friday. The boys enjoyed the popcorn - eating it AND watching it pop. They also got the privilege of eating in Mommy & Daddy's room, on a Barney blanket, while watching a movie (CARS). We all had fun. And as usual, I was snapping away.
We watched and watched...the boys weren't really that excited...until...
It started POPPING!!!
Daddy and boys watching the movie :)
(I've got to start developing all of these shots, but this is so much FASTER than scrapbooking :).
Tonight I cooked Shake-N-Bake Chicken with corn on the cob and lima beans. This is a family favorite. I defrosted some chicken breasts in a bowl of warm water. I just kept filling the bowl with warm water until dumping it each time it would get cold. Defrosting took about an hour. then I cut up the chicken breasts into nugget-sized chunks before dumping them in the brown paper bag holding two cups of mix.
I LOVE the site where this recipe comes from Hillybilly Housewife. This lady has AWESOME recipes as well as wonderful tips and tricks for the kitchen. In addition, many of her recipes are budget friendly.
PTL...no cavities!
When I was little, I used to WANT to get cavities b/c then, when I got them filled, I'd be able to inhale that "laughing gas" and get a legitimate high. Isn't that a mess!
Now that I'm grown up. I don't want to PAY for cavities.
Afterwards, we took advantage of a littles-free day to head to Target. I bought another bin for some organizing I've been doing of the boys things. From infant to 3T, all clothes that currently don't fit my boys have been in an unorganized mess. I straightened that out today.
After Target, we went and had a mother/daughter lunch (with no littles!) at Cheddars. Our lunch included a business meeting over schoolwork and a slight review of upcoming work.
Dropped Gracie to coop and I then went to the eye doctor. I hadn't been in five years. In 1991, I had lasik surgery done and saw 20/20. That's my excuse for not going back for awhile. Poor excuse I know. Anywho...I still see 20/20 (20/15 out of one eye) so I'm happy! I had worn glasses since the 3rd grade so I'm glad to be in the land of the seeing!
Stopped by to see my sister (something I really get to do by myself) and then made my way home to finish my organizational project and start dinner.
Tonight I cooked Shake-N-Bake Chicken with corn on the cob and lima beans. This is a family favorite. I LOVE the site where this recipe comes from Hillybilly Housewife. This lady has AWESOME recipes as well as wonderful tips and tricks for the kitchen. In addition, many of her recipes are budget friendly.
My husband kept an eye on the boys for awhile while my hands were covered with raw chicken gook. Sumo LOVES working on this wooden (and inexpensive, I might add), toy train set from IKEA...
Then he went upstairs to finish some work stuff. My 3yo stayed busy w/one of his puzzles. I put my 20 mth old in the high chair, pulled him close to me and let him do a puzzle too. I think this is about the age that we started teaching Sumo about puzzles too. Melissa & Doug puzzles are great!
Packed up a dinner for my oldest and left home quickly to then pick up Gracie from coop and take her to Volleyball tryouts. Got home at 9:30.
Long day but a good day. Wonderful time meeting some of my own needs :)
Still working on getting unpacked :)
This is always the worst for me. If I choose to unpack the same day, I'm exhausted and burnt out the next morning. If I choose to leave it until the next day, it drags out for the next two weeks.
Last night, I decided to leave it. We designated our piano room as the room for all the suitcases. I have decided to cancel school for today so that the focus today can be on getting everything in it's place. My daughter is a great help and this counts for homeschool - home ec: organization skills. I intend to spend naptime conferencing with her about last week's work and discussing what we will do for the rest of the week. I think that I'll make some hot chocolate, buy some whip cream and have that conversation with her on the couch sharing a blanket.
It is a windy day here and quite chilly. Basically, it's a day to be at home.
I intend to let the boys relax...run around all day in comfie clothes and play with all the toys they miss :)
One day I'll be the great organizational queen, but for today, I just want to slowly ramp back into motherhood, and housekeeper.
At last update, the kids had just finished hanging out in the petting zoo. After watching the animals walk around in hay, the children wanted to play in hay too. What do ya' know? There was a hay maze for them to play in. Beginning Logic class began!
After the boys ran themselves out of steam, we rounded out our study of "large" animals with a hayride. Keeping everyone in their seat was a challenge but we laughed the whole time we were in the wagon.
The hayride ended with the petting of the horse so we began to head to the bathroom to wash our hands. But we got side tracked by an impromtu study of botany and ecological systems :)
Abstract Art Appreciation Centered Around Nature
Practicing Observation Skills and Research
Group Thinking Activities
Gaining First Hand Knowledge Through Experimentation
WHOO! Finally, a much needed lesson in cleanliness, mechanics of specialized equipment, and more team work!
I can't even tell you what the point was in washing our hands. These anxious students headed right back outside for more BUG FUN!
This day just kept getting better and better. Gracie DID get a break while we trapsed around with the little ones to get some of her book work done. What better way to get a job done is there than working on Biology homework, outside, in a pecan grove, and sipping on complimentary Starbucks Coffee. When the boys headed back in her direction she very willingly got involved again with a servant's heart in helping them to max out their trip to this awesome place.
One thing about being home with your children, it gives parents plenty of opportunity to work at cultivating children who are willing to serve others as opposed to being completely absorbed with their own needs.
Just the opposite.
This place is amazing. There are twenty rooms to house twenty families and the place is full today. There is a large kitchen with a large dining room to eat in. In the kitchen there are like six refrigerators. Two are "house" refrigerators that anyone can raid and eat out of. The others are floor specific where we can store "our" food. There are two large islands that have all the sweets you could every want. Talk about midnight snacks AND not doing well with eating healthy :(
Dinner is provided most every night by different people or organizations. Tonight, I type with my plate next to the computer filled with Roast, Veggies, Fruit Salad, and a green salad. All I have to say is I didn't have to cook.
The generousity of people who I will never know and never meet has floored me. Tonight's dinner was provided by a high school class and their teachers. They came not with the food in hand but with the ingredients to cook the meal in the kitchen.
There are three common areas - all outfitted with TVs, VCRs, and DVD players. Children's movies are in abundance.
In the downstairs children's area, there is a playroom with every toy known to man.
I'm actually typing while my 3yo plays with his new friends. Kids are funny that way. They are friendly with any and everyone. He is riding around and around the playroom, hallway, etc on a tricyle. He and another little boy are behind the other little boy on "wheels". His wheelchair is not slowing him down one bit.
Here is Jessie...giving Sumo a lesson in riding.
A massage therapist just showed up to give free chair massages for stressed out parents and caregivers. I'm about to go and get me one.
...OK...I'm back. The massage was great! And Sumo got a back rub too. The massage therapist shows up once a month to share her gift and talent with parents and kids in great need of some stress relief. How wonderful.
I've also had the great opportunity of getting to know parents from all over the country who have come here to stay while their children get the care they need. Some families are here for the week; others are have been here for months. It is so good to talk to parents whose kids have challenges of one kind of another.
Also, it's good to see other kids who look like Kano. I had never heard of Brachial Plexus Injury before Kano was born. Since, he was born, I have yet to see another kid like him. Being with others who "get it" is a neat experience.
In a weird sort of way, this is a mini-vacation. My children are happy and busy so I'm free to relax and watch TV, read a book, or....blog :) All is well in the world. Funny that it takes the Ronald McDonald House to give me a vacation.
Alright...too much time spent on this blog posting pictures and such. I'm off to update Kano's Online Journal with more detailed info about his day.
This week I'll be blogging from Philly. My baby son has an MRI tomorrow at the Shriners hospital here. He is scheduled to have surgery next Monday. You can read more about what's going on with him HERE.
We are staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Camden, NJ - right across the bridge from Philadelphia. Due to all my preparations for leaving town my blogging has not been consistent but I hope to get with it again this week. I plan on finishing my thoughts on soon. I've already uploaded new photos...now I just have to add commentary. Thank you Jesus for wireless internet at the Ronald McDonald House!
This week is going to be difficult for me on food and exercise. I think I'm gonna let myself off the hook and just do my best b/c it is definitely not going to be perfect. I truly feel for people who travel for their jobs. It's so hard to be in control of your food choices when you are not surrounded by good choices.
I've located a couple of gyms in the area. My 24 Hour Fitness membership allows me to participate in a passport program from www.healthclubs.com. Many of the clubs are free to me or available at a minimal cost. Finding the time to work out is going to be the issue.
The Ronald McDonald House is awesome. I'll take some pics of the inside of the house later but for now, here's the front. It's not in the best neighborhood so my idea of taking my boys out in the double stroller and walking is not gonna fly.
Here's picture of one of the living areas in the RM house
The kitchen here is STOCKED. If you never wanted to eat out, you wouldn't have to. But...it's stocked with all the WRONG things. Carbs, carbs, carbs. Businesses, groups, and individuals volunteer to bring food daily. There is cake, cheesecake, cookies, brownies, etc....EVERYWHERE.
Pray for ME!!!
Workout Diary
Monday - didn't work out :(
Tuesday - Walked/Ran through the neighborhood and to the grocery story. There's something about running on the street that makes you feel like you can't stop and walk with people looking you know :)
Wednesday - 30 minutes on the "gazelle" & Resistance training for arms. Then 15 minutes on the "sit-down bike"
Thursday - Spin Class. Evening - ran for 30 minutes with a friend outside.
Friday - Training session with Cophie. 30 minutes of cardio - 10 minutes elliptical and 20 minutes walking on an incline.
Saturday - 30 minutes in a Spin Class
Eating Diary
The candida cleanse was...well uh...let's say...not quite a success this week. I started the week tired and eating right takes planning. Well...I didn't plan. Still ate basically OK but this week wasn't as pristine as last week. I did a lot of snacking off the kids and around the house. A chip here, a half a cookie there, etc. Still better than my all out binges (LOL). This week was weird too b/c my daughter's B'day was Wedneday...translate Birthday Cake and eating out for lunch. I didn't do terribly...just not on my p's and q's. I did not eat as often as I should and foregoed the evening meal one too many times. Working out does no good if you confuse your body's metabolism.
Next Week's Goals
Better Planning
Eating more frequently (keeping healthy snacks on hand)
Getting more rest!
Monday
Breakfast - Oatmeal
Lunch - Salad (Romaine), Lettuce & Cucumbers
Dinner - Spaghetti Squash
Tuesday
Breakfast - Gracie Famous Smoothies + Toast (Ezekial Bread)
Lunch - Turkey Sandwich (w/sprouts, avocado, & mustard) on Ezekial Bread
Snack - Tex Mex Beans
Dinner - Family ate @ a Fall Festival. I wasn't hungry and ate toast before bed.
Wednesday
Breakfast - Scrambled Eggs & Toast (snuck in one donut hole w/Gracie in the early am)
Lunch - Blackened Chicken Sandwich w/French Onion Soup & a Caesar Salad @ Fridays (Gracie's B-day Lunch)
Dinner - Not sure. Again not hungry (late lunch) and had toast before bed.
Thursday
Breakfast - Boiled Eggs + Toast (Ezekial Bread)
Snack - Luna Bar
Lunch - very late...a Turkey & Cheese Pannini from Barnes & Noble
Dinner - At a salad and two bites of pizza.
Friday
Breakfast - one pancake w/real maple syrup
Lunch - Lean Cuisine
Dinner - WHATABURGER...I felt like a sinner afterwards. Problem?...I waited to long to eat. I didn't eat red meat but grilled chicken between two white pieces of bread is not OK...especially when you wash it down with a Root Beer and then two chocolate chip cookies. Can you say GUILT!?!?!?
Saturday (so far)
Breakfast - Oatmeal (doctored ...for the kids...yea...for the kids...butter and sugar)
Lunch - A slice of Gracie's homemade pizza
Dinner - (Planned) Pei Wei . Gracie has volleyball tryouts today and we will be out.
I lost one-half a pound. Nothing exciting but at least nothing gained! I can definitely look back at my week and see what led to my stagnancy this time. Hopefully, I will learn and put my nose back to the plow.
I'm gonna leave my ticker unchanged. It will motivate me to see it change next week.
My inch weight loss has slowed too. I haven't lost an inch in the last three weeks. What does this tell me? I'm playing a lot with water weight.
Exercise is great but I was reminded this week that the main source of weight loss is what I put in my mouth. Exercise does not take the place of good food choices.
A dear friend of mine offered me some free tickets and I said YES! The planner in me didn't want to reck my week by taking the day off but I'm so glad I did. Days like these only come around once in awhile and you have to seize the day! I even got adventerous and added one more little one to my brood (my sweet nephew) and we all headed out to for a fun-filled day.
All of us getting ready to go on the wagon ride!
When we arrived, we headed straight for the face painting. I was anxious to get some good "pumpkin patch" picks of my little ones with the good old 35mm before their faces were altered and I got 'em!
Then came the paint! The boys were all AMAZED at their transformations! In fact, we had to wait "awhile" until we could coax my oldest that it was time to wash it off! (the next evening)
My sweet nephew!
What would I do without my oldest daughter?
I really think that my son thought he had transformed into a tiger!
Then we were off to the petting zoo. They boys got to waltz right in and be up, close, and personal with a few. I kept my youngest strapped in the stroller and let him pet from a short distance :)
Since I entitled this blog, School at the Arboretum, let me share what we learned about today. My young ones learned about animals. They got to look like them, pet them, brush them. They learned more about tigers, goats, horses, and such. We talked about the sounds that animals make and what they eat. We reinforced the concept of gentle touch and taking care of God's creation. Because there were a limited number of brushes available for the children to use, the kiddos got to practice sharing and the quality of putting others first. Selfishness starts early so I'm glad for the opportunity to encourage the trait of UNSELFISHNESS with these little guys early.
My oldest got a lesson in photographing children. The tricks of catching them in their "moments" and getting them to sit still and focus on the camera! CHEESE! She plans on entering the photography competition next year in the Texas State Fair so she is always looking for opportunities to sharpen her skill :)
I'll write more about our field trip tomorrow...
This is addicting...wow...
I've skipped two days and was in torture over it. Oh well...life happens and the important things have to come first. Right!?!?
We had a very eventful week. I have pictures to post so I'll start updating on the latest and greatest from the our household tomorrow...
For today's main entry, and in a separate post I've shared a family favorite recipe called Cream Cheese Chicken. Check that one out. It's good.
More tomorrow...
Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
Salt & pepper, to taste
2 packets dry Ranch or Italian Dressing Mix
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 chopped onion
Directions:
Brush chicken with butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a CrockPot and sprinkle 1 packet dry mix over all. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. About 45 minutes before done, brown onion in 1/4 cup of juices from CrockPot. Add soup, second packet of dry dressing mix, cream cheese and chicken broth. Cook until smooth. Pour over the chicken and cover and cook another 45 minutes. Serve with sauce.
I serve with rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes. You can add in broccoli or other veggies for variety.
