Thanksgiving

It was just the four of us this year for the big day. We roasted a turkey and made some simple traditional side dishes and it all turned out pretty great.

Here are some memorable moments
from the past few days to share....

*Starting work in the kitchen around 8am on Thursday and not sitting down to breathe or rest till after 2pm. Ugh....


*Our cat, Roy, acting like a savage at the smell of fresh raw poultry in the house. Makes us think we better not ever try to raise our own chickens.


*Seeing Chloe in her Thanksgiving day outfit. Red pants. Red socks. Red shirt. Tie-dye over layer. So festive!



*Todd and the kids running to WalMart early Thanksgiving day to get the one thing we forgot to buy. Cat food.


*Todd coming home with the most beautiful flower arrangement as a surprise for me -- and Evan whispering to me just before, "Mom, we got you a surprise.... flowers :-)"


*Evan asking for seconds on stuffing. And then thirds.


*Chloe loving the "cranberry gel" more than anything else.


*Enjoying homemade pumpkin pie with ginger snap crust and whipped cream. Yum.


*Calling Liz on Friday for her turkey rice soup recipe and getting off the phone with a smile, feeling so blessed to have such a dear friend to share life with.


*Having Bryce and Ajay over to hang out while I whirled around the kitchen making soup -- loving that she still lives so close and can just 'come on over' when I call.


*Evan requesting a big bowl of stuffing to go along with his lunch.


*Setting up the Christmas tree with Evan doing most of the branches himself this year.


*Delighting in the turkey rice soup for dinner that turned out pretty good considering our turkey meat was pretty dry.


*Marveling at the glow of twinkle lights in our house as we got ready for bedtime, realizing Christmas is coming!!!


*Seeing the first snow of the year when we woke up Saturday and hearing the kids' excitement about getting out to play.


*Spending an entire morning in our jammies playing legos and horses together.


*Getting the kids get bundled to go out in the snow where they stayed for about five minutes before declaring themselves frozen.


*Sitting around my mom's dining room table with my family for a feast Saturday afternoon -- a nice change from our traditional buffet-style.


*Having Keir and Jessica there and being so thankful they have finally moved back to Erie :-)

We had such a nice holiday weekend together,
and I hope you did too!

Bits and Pieces

The photo: Chloe at lunchtime


The story behind the photo: That's a bunny on a leash joining her at lunchtime. This bunny has been to the co-op and the library too, hopping along like a good little friend.





The photo: Evan's latest Lego creation


The story behind the photo: He had to build a car for C3PO and Luke Skywalker since R2 already has one of his own. This one turned out pretty good.





The photo: the hug pile following a massive tickle war


The story behind the photo: Lots of screaming and squealing and shouting, "times!!! times!!!!!!" leads up to this moment. It's a moment I relish.... such silence after the incessant madness.





The photo: Chloe hugging her puppy dog.


The story behind the photo: She's had this puppy since she was two and has always called it Molly (named after our former neighbor's black lab) but just recently renamed it Dexter after my dad's lab. Yes, it was her turn to pick her outfit this day -- don't her clothes make you smile :-)





The photo: Uncle Chris lifting Evan to the highest spot in the tree (a first!)


The story behind the photo: Uncle Chris came over to play with Evan and they were running around outside together for about an hour. Suddenly there they were in the tree. I found out later they were pretending to be two robots climbing a tree in search of energy leaves. Evan said after he left, "I wish Uncle Chris could come over EVERY DAY and play with me."





The photo: Chloe sitting pretty with Ruby


The story behind the photo: The tormenting of our cats never ends. Poor Ruby does not like headbands.





The photo: The kids standing by someone's big diesel truck and trailer.


The story behind the photo: Evan had to check out that exhaust pipe after spying the truck from about 50 yards away. He dashed over and inspected the whole thing -- also the trailer was carrying a John Deere Gator and a 4-wheeler which he also examined thoroughly. He wanted a picture by this 'zaust' (that's his cool way of saying exhaust).






The story behind the photo: Evan riding Adam with Miss Carmie


The story behind the photo: Although Chloe got so much attention on horse day, Evan's joy was more of the quiet sort. He waited patiently for his ride after all four of the girls had turns. A few days later he told me, "Last night I dreamed I had a horse of my very own....... It was so wonderful."





The photo: Chloe reading studiously at the library


The story behind the photo: Or rather behind the book.... look closely for the horse legs peeking out.... Chloe brought several horses to the library and set them up on the table while she read. The librarians adore her (and her rainbow clothes and her horse set-ups) and she is known for the quietest whisper voice in all the town.





The photo: Evan perusing a book at the library.


The story behind the photo: It's a book he found and raced to me with -- "Mom! Look! Droids!!!!!" It's a Star Wars book about R2D2 and C3PO. Love.





The photo: The daily state of my messy living room floor


The story behind the photo: Chloe could not be more proud of her horse pasture. Her wild horses have all the hay they can eat and lots of grazing space and room to run. Can you see her swelling with pride? So cute :-)

Five Steps

My kids love mud.




They play in it whenever they can.




People either think I'm crazy

OR

the best mom ever!




You should see the looks on faces of those who drive by my house when they are out there stomping and splashing and biking and covered from head to toe in goo.... :-)




It is a little crazy, but I let them do it anyway.




It's really not so bad as long as you have a five step plan.


Here's how I do it:



Step One:
Have them change into play jeans and sweatshirts. Also socks you don't care about in case a boot falls off (which it does every.single.time). Get the mud boots out.



Step Two:
Send them out to play. Don't call them back in when you realize it's raining, just let them have fun. But when they ask to go in the mud bare foot, that is where you have to draw the line. After all it is only 65 out there.



Step Three:
Prepare for the incoming disaster that awaits you. Fill the tub for a bath. Set out several large rags by the back door. Also grab a laundry basket for dirty clothes. Clear a spot on the shoe mat for drippy gloppy mud boots. Then wait and get work done till they come in.



Step Four:
When they come in, just strip them down by the door, wiping hands and containing the muddy clothes and the mud-caked sock (from when the boot fell off). Remind yourself it's just dirt -- you can sweep or wipe the area with a wet rag and everything will be fine.



Step Five:
Have the kids rinse their very muddy hands -- I wonder what were they doing to get that muddy -- and then send them to the bathtub to warm up and clean up. (If I know they have too much mud in their hair I run a shower instead.) While they're scrubbing, start a load of laundry -- a pre-wash to get the mud off right away. Greet your clean kids in the bathroom and help them towel dry.




Maybe it sounds easy to me since I've done it so many times, but I think playing in the mud is something every kid needs to do. More than once :-)






Oh, and here is why their hands were so dirty.


A little bit of finger-painting, I think.

Christmas Ideas

Here is what the kids told us they love right now, for any of you interested in blessing our kiddos this Christmas or if you just like to know more about them :-)

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Evan wants Transformers, so Todd and I are taking care of that since we found a perfect deal on some of his favorites.

He also still loves Star Wars Legos -- specifically the starship sets and any minifigures. These are best found on ebay. We prefer the medium-sized sets that a kid can hold, not those ones that fill a room :-)

Ask Todd before you buy!
The names of the ships he likes are:
*x-wing fighter
*tie fighter
*star destroyer
*millenium falcon

He likes puzzles and games -- Chinese Checkers is one we don't have that he wants.

He still loves Lego Technic pieces -- gears and rods and wheels and such. These can also be found on ebay in big lots or vintage sets -- he makes up his own creations but the small amount of pieces we have limits him.

And he would still like a Superman pajama set (not the costume with the bulging pretend muscles) that has the removable cape.

I think he would be thrilled with a sled, a rope ladder for the backyard tree or some stilts.

He also wants a metal Slinky.

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Chloe has been so into tracing and drawing horses that Todd and I are getting her something to go along with that new interest.

She plays with horses every day and still loves Schleich varieties available at toys-r-us or target.

Playmobil sets get her equal attention as long as the focus is on the animals, and not so much the people that come with the sets. Here are some set numbers for things she would love. (We are getting her some horses and also some flowers which she uses as horse food.)

*Black and white cow family 7892
*Brown and white cow family 7079
*The covered wagon 7648
*Forest ranger tree stand 4208 -- this comes with a tree, feedboxes, deer and warthogs -- all the things she requested and we found them in this one set! Even the warthogs. I'm not kidding.

I saw a really cute red polka-dotted tin tea set in a suitcase that Chloe would love (at magiccabin.com)

She's played with kaleidoscopes at The Jelly Jar and loved them -- that would really be a treasure!

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They are pretty easy to please. Just remember the spoke beads (!!!!!!!!) Maybe I didn't post those birthday stories on here but Aunt Kim knows what I'm talking about!

Pretty

She does not look 'four' in this picture.

It's like looking into the future about five years.

I like what I see :-)

Boy Stuff

Evan was born to be on wheels. He rides his bike constantly. The speed and stunts actually make my breath catch. He thinks that's funny.






Transformers. Legos. Cats (and kittens). That's what Evan is most often surrounded with each day. He told us the only thing he wants for Christmas is Transformers. That's what he said last year so we did that. This year he is going to be very happy with what we found him :-)






He loves his crazy hair. And so do I. It looks so incredible the days it is freshly washed and air-dried outside.





He has a loose front tooth. It's been a bit loose since he lost his fourth one on the bottom, but now it's pretty wiggly.




He really loves our cats. Sometimes a bit too much. Ruby's not so into the whole kid thing, but Roy is more tolerant. Ruby must have been really sleepy in this picture.




He and I are reading "Farmer Boy" each night at bedtime and he is really into it.




His first love -- all things with tires -- has taken on a new avenue. He now has a fascination with the exhaust and mufflers of all vehicles. He loves to flip all the matchbox cars over and compare and contrast the muffler/pipes system. He has been known to crawl right under real cars and check it all out -- semi trucks, cars parked along the street, the limo parked outside the church at a wedding... he has to know how it is put together and how the pipes bend and how big the muffler is and how many tailpipes there are and which side they come out on.




Here he is giving Chloe the run down on the street sweeper exhaust. It's muffler is on top, in case you were wondering, right behind the cab.





Legos still occupy his daily life at least in some capacity. He likes using his Creator sets to build his own stuff with -- it astounds me how his mind works.
And each car or truck has a very elaborate exhaust system. Of course.





He says things to Chloe like:
"You are so adorable."
"Your hair is so pretty."
"That's a really nice shirt you picked out."





He also says things to Chloe like:
"Gimme that!!!!"
"Go away!"
"Stop crying. You're faking."




He is still found all too often with no shirt on. Even when it is only 67 in our house. Yesterday he wore shorts.






He recently became interested in the game of Monopoly at a friend's house and found Todd's Star Wars version here at home. This game could be a homeschool post all it's own with the amount of mental math involved. He is learning subtraction now, which from him sounds like this "I'll give you $20 and you can minus me $4 to make 16." Monopoly is so much more fun that CandyLand and other pure-luck games of childhood. We play this while Chloe rests nearly everyday. He loves to set up every single piece just right before we begin.





He made up a game in the car (he's actually done it on his own for years, but now Chloe plays too) that is all about collecting cars you see. He collects PT Cruisers, which they call Stumps, Jeeps, Beetles, pick up trucks, big rigs, Cadillacs. They shout them out and get 'money' for collecting so many... all the made-up rules that kids seem to do without anyone telling them to. As cute as it is to listen to, it does cause a lot of fighting.





And what would his life be without dirt. He is most happy in our front yard digging holes and building with rocks and sticks. This is how it will look till spring when we get it landscaped and he could not be happier that we are waiting :-)




He loves to be picked up, chased, thrown into the air, hugged, wrestled, squeezed and physically loved in any way. And he has the most adorable belly laugh you've ever heard.

Systems :: Food (part 2)

This part of our food system will talk about meals, meal planning and cooking. It's going to be a lot of reading so.... get comfortable. Or just skip this and wait a few days for more about the kids.


We are a work in progress. Every day there are ways we recognize we could improve our eating habits. How we eat now is a reflection of all those moments (about four years worth) put into action. With that disclaimer out there, here goes:

Basic stuff first -- We eat organic whenever possible. That means (for us) that we know what is in our food because it is required to be on the label, unlike 'regular' food where there are over 25,000 ingredients not required by the FDA to be on your label. Also we completely avoid what we consider to be poison: partially hydrogenated oil, corn syrup, msg (in all of its hidden forms), natural or artificial flavor and color, and the mysterious ingredient.... 'spices.' Since this is in pretty much everything you find in the center aisles of the grocery store, we just mostly shop the perimeter, leaving us with more perishable fresh food. We drink water with every meal. We don't have a microwave. And we prefer to cook with cast iron when possible (no teflon). So that brings us here.... and you all think we're crazy! That's ok.



Breakfast: Whole grain cereal with milk and fruit

This is our everyday choice. We eat oat-based cereals like Oat Bran or Toasted O's (as opposed to corn or rice based). It is our goal to make the switch to oatmeal soon -- starting with once or twice a week now and hopefully being 'off the boxed stuff' in six months or so. (see? baby steps) For fruit we just eat whatever we have -- a banana, a clementine, apple pieces, a cup of raisins. When our milk runs out before it is farm day, we eat yogurt with granola or wheat germ instead.



AM Snack: fresh fruit or veggie with cheese or nuts

My idea about snacks is that a truly hungry kid will eat anything he is offered. Hungry? First get a drink. Now, here's some carrots and cucumbers. No? okay then. With that said, my kids devour this snack regardless. Sometimes they have a small cup (always ready in the fridge) with salad dressing in it for light dipping. Chloe sometimes prefers hummus but usually they have ginger sesame dressing. This tiny cup of dressing is theirs for the week to use as they want. If it is fruit, they have apples or whatever is in season for a fruit salad. The cheese is never more than an ounce (a one inch cube) which they savor and enjoy. The nuts are usually cashews or toasted almonds. They don't love walnuts yet, but I'm working on it. All that crunching usually tires them out and fills them up without any empty 'cracker' calories.



Lunch: pb&j on 100% whole wheat bread with flaxseed sprinkles and more fruit and veggies

(Instead of a sandwich Todd eats leftovers from dinner and I usually eat any leftover soup or a veggie plate and cottage cheese or a salad with a piece of bread and butter, otherwise we always eat the same as the kids.)

I make one sandwich on store-bought bread (for now) with fresh-ground peanut butter and locally produced jam. I sprinkle flaxseed on it and cut it in quarters -- Evan gets 3/4 and Chloe 1/4. They always save their sandwich for last :-)
I give them different veggies and fruit from what they ate in the morning. Something like red or green peppers, black olives, celery with cream cheese, pears, grapes...

Weekend lunch: Since Todd is home, we eat a bit different. Saturday is scrambled eggs with sauteed veggies mixed in or on the side with toast and applesauce. Sunday lunch is salsa and chips with corn, black beans and sour cream. I like Sunday to be easy.



PM Snack: trail mix or cup of dried fruit/vanilla yogurt with wheat germ and berries/cottage cheese with peaches/popcorn

They can choose any of these with water to drink before eating anything



Dinner: whole grains and lots of veggies, sometimes with meat added -- planned according to my menu for the week

I base my menu plan on a Thursday shopping day so that's when my veggies are freshest. We use up the fresh stuff early on and depend on leftovers and frozen stuff later on. I like simple meals, not a lot of casseroles and fancy recipes. Here is the basic framework I use and then I elaborate to make it different each week where I want to:

Thurs: salad
Fri: pizza
Sat: soup
Sun: spaghetti or meatloaf
Mon: rice + beans
Tues: rainbow pasta
Wed: salmon + veggie

*Salad is lettuce with hard boiled eggs, white beans, peas, shredded cheese and tomatoes (Todd uses dressing, I don't) -- kids get a veggie plate and an egg with everything separate including some small lettuce leaves and a cup of dressing.

*Pizza is on store-bought crust (for now) and includes mushrooms, onion, peppers, tomato and mozzarella cheese. Sometimes we add bacon.

*Soup is usually stared with homemade broth and has rice or pasta with either lentils or beans and includes lots of veggies. This often contains some sort of leafy green like swiss chard. Sometimes we add meat -- slices of keilbasa or shredded chicken. If there is no rice or pasta in it we'll add bread to the meal.

*Spaghetti is Sunday dinner since I always have meaty sauce frozen in the fridge -- I cook it in huge batches with three jars of sauce to one pound of beef and add in my own peppers, onions, mushrooms, zucchini... whatever I have to stretch it a bit more. We use whole wheat pasta and have been trying to add a green veggie to this meal -- broccoli or zucchini or spinach -- either in the sauce or on the side, but are not very consistent with it yet. If I have a meatloaf in the freezer we use that instead of spaghetti.

*Rice and beans night is pretty open. Some options: traditional red beans and rice with onion and garlic and two sides of veggies; baked beans with rice pilaf and veggies; bean soup with rice and veggies added; black beans and rice with keilbasa with veggies as sides...

*Rainbow pasta is my name for refrigerator drawer clean-out day. Any veggies still unused get chopped up and put in this. It's just cooked pasta and veggies with onions and garlic and cheese on top-- Parmesan, cottage cheese, cheddar... whatever we have. I try to get a leafy green in this meal too, if there's not enough in the pasta, we have a side salad.

*Salmon day is always the same using our favorite salmon recipe -- I've tried a ton and this one always gets devoured so we do 'salmon quesadillas' (I know, sounds awful... but it's not). The salmon is seasoned with garlic and basil then heated in whole wheat tortillas with mozzarella cheese. Since this is the last day of the week there are usually no veggies left in the fridge worth eating so we pull from the freezer for green beans, mixed veggies or just plain old buttered corn.

After dinner: unsweetened applesauce with cinnamon
This is our option for a quick and healthy fill-up.


Some notes about dinners: Meat is not the main course anymore -- it is added in small quantities for flavor. By combining foods right we are able to get the complete proteins we need at each meal/snack without relying solely on meat. And since we will never be vegetarians, we are getting our b-12 in meat. Sides of veggies are just steamed and lightly seasoned with butter and salt -- there are so many options here. When there are lots of leftovers we adjust the menu and I always have a pile of squash on the counter to add as a veggie when we need it. I'd like to add in more variety with our whole grains, but that's still in the works. Things like spelt and millet and buckwheat.... I know, what are those, right? Baby steps.


Treats: you thought we were angels right... after all that health food :-)
I do have to say this -- The less junk we buy, the less craving for sugar and empty foods we have. We don't keep a lot of candy in the house so we aren't preoccupied by it. We allow a treat once a day and everyone's fine with that. Todd and I model self-control for them and they just follow along.

I buy dark chocolate candy bars for myself; I really don't care about any other treats. The kids have chocolate chips, jellybeans, sundrops (m&ms without the crap), ginger snaps and vanilla ice cream. All these come from the co-op and are organic when possible. I don't even go in the packaged desserts/snacks aisle if I can help it since I prefer to try making my own. We make cookies and muffins once a month or so. They know they can get themselves 15 sundrops or four ginger snaps or a layer of chocolate chips in a snack cup. I let them choose their treat time even if it's right after breakfast (it usually ends up after lunch) and they help themselves.

When Giant Eagle has all the candy in the checkout aisle on sale, the kids are allowed to ask for Rolos (I don't remember how this started... ) so we waste fifty cents on garbage and use it as a lesson in comparisons. Sugar is far from forbidden, but we do want them to be informed.

Chloe has been known to make one single Rolo candy last from 9am till after dinner.
Evan can make 25 chocolate chips last three days.
They know how to savor and enjoy what they eat and they are happy kids :-)

Well I think that covers everything. And if you made it this far, I am amazed. That was even a lot for me!!

A New Friend

Yesterday we went with friends to a horse barn to meet Miss Carmie's horse. He is a Clydesdale named Adam. It was love at first sight......


Chloe helped brush and dress him for riding and got to ride him while holding tight to Carmie. Her first horse ride!! We spent a couple hours watching and riding, and then Chloe helped lead him out to undress him and give him some apples chunks.

Some other older girls who were there riding their horses allowed Chloe to ride with them also so she got quite a treat. We took a bunch of pictures but nearly every one was too blurry to keep.

After an afternoon full of horse care, Carmie asked Chloe, "How much do you like horses?" The answer burst forth from Chloe's sweet little heart, "I L-O-V-E THEM!" Carmie got tears in her eyes as she whispered, "That's exactly what I hoped you would say sweetheart. I love them too."

Good for Some Laughs

Found

This "fancy headband" was buried in the dress-ups box for probably a year and has recently made it's reappearance on a very proud-to-be-pretty little girl :-)

More Leaf Playing

Todd and Evan made a huge pile using every leaf in the backyard. Evan has his own mini-rake now and was quite a powerhouse worker!




After all that work it was time for some jumps!!







Chloe did her jumps without help -- she was pretty proud of herself :-)







It was so nice to be playing outside after weeks of cold rainy days!

Music for the Kids

We don't watch Sesame Steet, but I love this video.

Tracing Paper

One of my favorite things as a kid was to trace pictures. I went through tablets of tracing paper and I still have some of my tracings saved in my keepsake box. I also was known to have paper taped to my window all the time so I could trace some more convincing looking art on plain paper.

Evan is always wanting to learn to draw 'real-looking' cars. He's checked out a few learn-to-draw books that just leave him frustrated. Really frustrated.

So I suggested, while at the library, that we try tracing instead of drawing by looking, and he was so excited. He grabbed the car book I had found and a transformer book too and said he was ready to go home and trace. I found Chloe a horse drawing book (since you all know she has to do whatever is doing) and we were set.






There are piles of traced drawings everywhere and cups full of pencil shavings as they have busied themselves with art for days on end.



Chloe is amazingly steady-handed for a little one. Her ability to do the curvy lines pretty well surprised me too. She has drawn almost every horse in her book, including tracing some backgrounds too.



It is such a great way to boost their confidence in their own abilities.

I wish I had some pictures of their graphite smudge mustaches -- true artists at work!