It's Howdy Smoothie Time!

Well, we had a rough week last week, mostly because my littlest one has officially fallen off the weight charts. Through a discussion with the PED we've decided that he has a dairy intolerance/allergy and have gone 100% dairy free and prob 90% gluten free for a while. We go back in a month with the hopes that he has gained.

Also I have added a smoothie to his daily diet. I make him one that has 1/2 avocado, a handful of strawberries (we picked ourselves!), 1/2 a banana, a bit of spinach and some almond milk. He seems to really like them.

There is another version I make for myself. I put fresh pineapple, blackberries (my fav but the others don't like the seeds it has in the smoothie), spinach and water. Here's a peek of what one looks like in my handy dandy magic bullet (great b'day gift from Curt).



While trying to relax about the weight issues I decided being outdoors would help. It's been really nice weather here lately and seeing as my usual lawn boy (read husband) is out with a broken leg the yard work has all fallen in my lap. So why not take the boys out to enjoy the weather while I get some light yard work done?



As you can see I made a nice little pile of oak leaves for the boys to play in. Here in Florida fall comes in the Spring mostly. We are pretty backward around here I guess.




Today was a bit cloudy, so I'm looking forward to getting our nice sunshine back. After all that is what the state was named for.

Clark's first haircut

We decided to give Clark a haircut for Valentine's day. I've been wanting to let his hair grow long but the thing is it just becomes a trap for food and sweat and it's in his eyes a lot. If you know me, you know I'm all about making life easier and the haircut became easier than the hair growing.

Here he is still so long haired and naive of what is to come.



Here he is in the chair with his long locks. We took him to a Sport's Clips because #1 I have a friend whose sister works there and she's done really well with Curtis' hair, and #2 I had a coupon (forever frugal).



He did pretty good during the cut. He got a little antsy at the end and I had to pick him up for her to do around his ears, but otherwise I'd say it was a success since there were no tears at all.



Curtis helped keep him occupied by making silly faces at him.



And finally he got his lollipop reward.





I'm feeling a little weird about my baby getting his hair cut. Yes, I know he is 15 months old, but he's still my baby. Once you get those wispy ends off he really looks different/older. It's also a little sad to think that the hair he grew in utero is now mostly gone. I have a little zippy of the first trim for his baby book though.

Wow

Well, I guess I was wrong. I just picked Curtis up from the valentine party and I'm so thrilled that he only got a few candies. He also got a playdough, some pencils, a maze book, and a blank notebook. I guess I take it all back. He is right now sitting on my bed with a freshly sharpened pencil doing a maze in the book.

Check out his valentine painting too. He wrote his name by himself so well!

Valentine's

I thought I'd share these valentine's that Curtis and I made together for his class the other day.



I was gifted a set of scrap booking scissor, but I don't scrapbook. I tried to give them away but nobody wanted them and now I'm glad. They came in handy for these hearts, cut out from construction paper.

Curtis picked out some glitter glue at Joanne's for them and had a good time decorating the hearts.



So I was pressured into adding candy. I get kind of irked by the amount of candy they give at schools these days. I remember as a kid that we exchanged little cartoon cards and that was it. You might end up with a box of conversation hearts by the end of the day, but I swear now-a-days we are pressured into handing out all kinds of junk food for every holiday on the calendar. It isn't the teachers pressuring me either, it's my own husband and the other parents. I would rather give just cards but I figured since everyone else is adding to the cards maybe I'd add a colored pencil or box of raisins. Apparently my dear husband thinks this is crazy and yes...I caved and added lolly pops. Luckily I spent no money since we had these pops left over from Halloween, but don't tell the kids at preschool this.

This kind of plays in with the idea of every kid getting a trophy in sports and parents buying gifts for the sibling of the birthday child so they don't feel left out. Trust me, I am a very caring and loving parent, but doesn't there come a time when a child needs to learn that there isn't always going to be a prize. I wonder how my boys will learn to keep trying if I reward and prize them for every little thing.

On top of that, why does it seem to always be junk food that is the reward? I try to come up with new ideas for these things (hence the colored pencil idea) but most times I feel stumped. My kids, like most others I believe, just want candy. But does that me they should have it so often? Shouldn't it be a special treat? I think if Curtis only got candy on holidays I'd probably be ok with it (maybe not the shear volume, but a few would be ok), but unfortunatley it seems there is always something he wants to be rewarded for with candy. I try very hard to hold off, I promise, but it is hard.

I wonder if other parents struggle like I do getting their brains around all of this?

Where've you been Tara?

...taking care of this little one. I left for an hour one day and Curt said he threw the biggest fit. So big that he fell asleep tantruming by the door. He has been very clingy to his Mama lately...



...making multiple baby shower gifts, like this afghan...



...and this poncho.



...harvesting these beautiful heirloom tomatoes from my container garden.



...and taking care of this big Klutz. That's right, Curt broke his leg playing soccer on Superbowl Sunday. That's probably the main reason for my lack of blogging. Poor guy (poor me) has a total of 6-8 weeks in an aircast and on crutches. Yes, mostly poor me...

It gets cold here too!

I've been neglecting my blog again. January was not a good month for us, so I'll use that as my excuse. It was illness upon illness, both physical and mental. I had a mental breakdown twice this month, which may have been normal for me in the past, but not lately. I've been free from depression and anxiety for a while now so this snuck up on me and has me a bit shaken. It is mostly the fear of having to deal with mental illness all over again that keeps my shoulders up around my ears, which I know is funny. How can the fear of anxiety be your main source of anxiety? Well, I wish I could explain it. I also wish I could blame it on our weather, but Florida stays pretty sunny even in the cold, and yes we did get some cold here recently. I mean REAL cold.

Here's the proof. Yes, that is Luke Skywalker ice skating on our bird bath. For a lot of you Northerner's this means nothing, but to get a frozen 'pond' in Central Florida is nuts! I hate the cold so I'm sure that added to my misery.



So what do I do when I'm stuck inside feeling sad and cold? I bake! It really is cathartic and helps me a lot. Here are two oatmeal honey wheat loaves I made. Ahhhhh, processed sugar free comfort food!



And for the boys, well a nice warm bath with bubbles to make Santa beards with is always a good way to kill time inside on a cold day.



I'm hoping this current cold patch will be our last this year, but I am trying to use the Law of Attraction in my favor by focusing on the good in it all. For example, the giant pot of chili I have cooking away right now will probably taste much better now that we have some cold weather. I'm hoping to enjoy it with my family and some friends this afternoon during the Superbowl (the Eagles should be there, but that's another sad story for another day). I'll let you know how it turns out (the chilli I mean, not the Superbowl).

T

I'm married to a 35 year old!

Well, you may not know, but you can get into Disney World for free on your birthday this year. So last week DH took the day off on his 35th birthday and went to Disney World with Curtis. This was Curtis' second time, but I'm sure he doesn't remember the first time he went. We got in free that time too and he was only about 18 months old. I guess going to Disney World over and over as a kid is a perk of living in the Orlando area. My 4 year old has officially been twice as many times as I have now!



Can you tell they took this photo on the tea cup ride?



It was a little dissappointing that it was a rainy cold day, but they both came home telling of all the fun and how they didn't wait in any lines.



I sent them off with a totebag filled with ponchos, water bottles, snacks and the camera. They came home just in time for dinner.

Giveaways

There are some really cool give-a-ways at The Crafty Crow right now. Check it out.... http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/209893/38538010

Go Eagles!

Hope it works this week.

Curtis was effected by the peanut butter recall yesterday and has had an upset stomach. It wasn't until this morning that I read the paper and found out that the peanut butter crackers he ate yesterday were part of the recall. Luckily it is a weak bacteria and only caused upset stomach for a day. Too bad we were out strawberry picking when he started feeling yucky. So check your peanutbutter products on the recall list to avoid any problems.

T

Check out my new best friend!

We named her Claire and I love her. Today when I was out at the supermarket I had a machine at home washing my dishes and a machine vacuuming my floor. I'm living in the future!

I promise more of a post soon, but first you'll probably have to watch another video.

Oh Yea....

I forgot to say, I found a four leaf clover right after taking this video.....

Go Eagles!

Hey, it worked last weekend!

Day 5

Today is day 5 of being processed sugar free. The last two days have been a little harder than the first three were. Not sure why, except that maybe my system is detoxing a little. I've heard it's called a healing crisis. I swear I am crabbier than normal. The hardest part is after dinner when I'm washing up as Curt gives the boys a bath. I used to just eat a bite of this and a bite of that as I cleaned up the kitchen. Now I take mini breaks in washing up to gaze yearningly at the cupboards which are bare of sweets.

Food has been on my mind. I need new ideas for processed sugar free snacks for me and the kids. I feel like I feed the boys the same things over and over. It's not that they complain, but I'd like to get out of the rut. It seems this is cyclical, this food rut. Every couple of months I feel so bored with food and find myself hungrily staring into the pantry and fridge, unsatisfied. Now that Curt is on board with some changes this year I'd really like to experiment more.

I am thinking of ordering 5 lbs of almond flour so I can try some sugar free baking. I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, feel free to spam me with snack and meal ideas.

Go Eagles!

Can you believe we made it to the playoffs!!!!????!!!!????!!!

My 4 year old has been learning from I think.

Happy New Year!

What does that mean anyway? Is that proper grammar? Happy New Year...or is it Happy New Years...I've heard both. I guess the sentiment is, wishing our fellow man a happy start to the new year.

Traditionally, I do make resolutions on January 1st, and I am very good at keeping them, if I do say so myself. I am now a regular dental floss user and I hardly ever curse at all. Some years it's something as simple as I want to pray every night. This year it was a bigger one. I am now officially on day 3 of being processed sugar free.

I have been thinking about my sugar addiction for years really. I kept telling myself that everything is fine in moderation as I stuffed my face with brownies and cookies and chocolate and ice cream etc etc etc. When one is addicted to something moderation is impossible, ask me how I know this.....

After much research on some physical and mental health problems I've been having I kept coming back to my sugar addiction. It was hard to ignore, so here I am facing it. I am really hopeful that I will notice a big change in my health this year due to this change. The truth is it hasn't been that hard so far seeing as I've been sick with a head cold on top of taking care of one very sick family.

We found out Curtis has a double ear infection and Clark was close to pneumonia yesterday. I have a nebulizer and antibiotics for them and I'm praying they start to turn the corner asap. So, being w/o dessert hasn't been really that big of a problem for me. Mostly I think of it right after lunch and dinner and then just remind myself that I don't eat processed sugar anymore and have a piece of fruit (frozen black berries are a favorite right now).

I am right now pondering perhaps a second resolution. This thing called the Internet has become a bit of a job for me lately. For some reason I feel compelled to read a few sites 3 or more times a day. I just realized that instead of doing something truly relaxing (tv, knitting, veggin out) when I have a few minutes, I feel compelled to check these sites to see if anything was recently posted. It really does feel like it is another chore for me. I do enjoy it, but the fact that it feels like a chore is a red flag for me. I'd love to hear any thoughts on this....

Christmas 2008 - part four

So here is my last post about Christmas this year. Here are some of the nice things I crafted for friends and family. Maybe you'll get an idea or two for next year....

I made herbal hot/cold packs for my in laws and for Curtis' teachers. Basically I sewed a tube and filled it with herbs and rice. You can heat them in the microwave or cool them in the freezer and they make great sore muscle soothers. I made each one with fabric to suit the receiver. Here are photos of the ones for the teacher's at the Complete Soccer Academy.





Here are two lavender eye pillows I made for some friends. Basically these are the same as the hot/cold packs, only intended for eye stress or head aches.



Here is a shot of the reusable fabric gift bags I made.



And here is a shot of the fudge I made for Curtis' soccer coach and also one just like this for my father-in-law, who loves sweet treats.




Whooooweee, I think you are finally caught up!

Christmas 2008 - part three

We tried to do a homemade Christmas this year. First off there were the cookies, then I bought some Christmas fabric with a coupon at Joanne's and made sacks for us to use as reusable gift bags. I also made fudge and some other handmade gifts that will have to wait until the next post. This post is about homemade gifts here in my nuclear family.

First up we have the beautiful potholder my son made for me with his 'Ammaw's' help. I love that he's finally getting into being crafty.



Here are the fingerless gloves I made for Curt so he can paint in the garage. They were cheaters since they are basically a wrist warmer, and who knows if it'll ever get cold here again, but it's the thought that counts...right?



Here is the surprise gift I got for Curt. When Curtis had his school pictures taken I got the photog to take this photo of me and the boys to give to him as a gift. It actually turned out pretty good.



Curt put together this photo frame retrospective for me. It starts with a photo of us on our trip out west before we got married and ends with the photo of the boys on Santa's lap from this year. So cool!



Here is the best gift I got this year. Curt painted this for me. He said it started as a picture of me and I really like it.



Next I finish this Christmas barrage of posts with some of the things I made for friends and family.

Christmas 2008 - part two

Here is just a glimpse at what we did leading up to the big day.

We celebrated with my husband's family the saturday before Christmas and both boys got some cool cars from their Aunt and Uncle.



Here we are at church on Christmas Eve.



And here is Clark helping Daddy put up Christmas lights.



Seriously this boy is a daredevil like his Daddy and big brother. He wanted to climb this ladder all by himself. He can already climb up the ladder on the playyard in the backyard with just a spotter. It's enough to give a mom a heart attack.

Christmas 2008 - part one

Here are a few from Christmas morning. It was a little rough because both kids got sick 2 days before Christmas. Curtis woke up at about 2am with a good fever going, but we still had fun, as you can see.

Here is the before shot.



He really enjoyed opening the gifts this year.









And here is the after shot.

Cookie Press Christmas Cookies!

Today we made cookie press cookies!



You can see my Grandmother's cookie press in this next photo. I inherited this and find the pictures on the package pretty funny!



This is a tradition in my family and I'm so glad to pass it down to my kids. I have many fond memories of decorating while my Mom 'pressed' the cookies. Wonder how we'll do this next year when I'm off sugar?



I am giving some to my FIL and I already gave some to my girlfriend and her family up the street. So there is one can full for us and I have a feeling it might not even make it until Christmas!

T