So Far, So Good

 

Day 4 of the 30 Day Challenge: So far we are doing well!  I knew my kids would do well.  Here are yesterdays school lunch requests:
Bubba- ham, white cheese, and SPINACH on a (whole wheat) pita
Dutch- ham and cheese on a pita with a little bowl of hummus on the side for dipping
I also gave them both carrot sticks and whole wheat pretzels for dipping in the hummus.  Their lunch boxes were empty when they came home.  So far we have followed most of out rules.  I didn't have fruit with breakfast yesterday because I ate oatmeal at work since I had to be there so early.  Last night the Hubby made us a great whole foods dinner- steak tacos with lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cheese on corn tortillas.   He bought us corn tortillas even though he used flour tortillas for himself
 :-)  I have realized I'm going to need to buy a whole lot more hummus!  My kids are gobbling it!

So, how about some updates on the kiddos?  Let's go youngest to oldest.
Huck-  My baby is turning into a big kid.  He is in constant motion and insists on being included with the big kids.  He loves to play in the backyard, loves to climb the playhouse, swing, run around and follow the big kids.  He loves playing ball and is starting to play more with blocks, both the big cardboard blocks and the Duplos.  He still plays in the play kitchen a lot.  Sometime soon we'll get out the tool bench and tools for him, I think he'll love it.  He'll sit still a little more for books but we still have to turn the pages pretty quickly.  He loves Veggie Tales and we have trouble getting him to leave the DVDs in their cases.


He got himself ready to go out in the snow dusting

Put on his own make-up to go to the Cub Scout Banquet

Reminds me of a birth ball!  Only a doula would think that :-)

We really have to watch him because he has figured out he can reach whatever he wants if he stands on a stool.  So if I put something up on the counter away from him, he'll just go get one of the new kitchen stools, move it where ever he wants and climb up to get it.  And he takes the stools all over the house- bathroom, playroom, bedroom...
He is still nursing and not looking like he is interested in weaning at all.  He nurses before naps and/bed and whenever he suffers an "injury," either physical or emotional.  Some days I think he survives on air and breast milk because he eats so little, but the next day he out eats us all.  Typical toddler! 
He goes to bed in his own toddler bed most nights.  He doesn't stay there all night, but it is a start! 



Is there anything sweeter???

Dutch-  Is reading!  She really is doing well with it.  She sounds out words, looks at the pictures for clues and uses the sentence to get the context.  She is very proud of herself!  We do book reports every week and she can do it by herself now.  It's fun to see her blossoming, she is more comfortable at school and not quite as shy.  It's fun to see her with her friends before and after school.  Today is the 100th day of school and the big kindergarten celebration is on Friday. 
I think she is sleeping better than she did before she had her tonsils out.  She used to wake up almost nightly but now it is only 1-2 times a week.   I don't hear her snore as much and when she does it more like loud breathing than actual snoring.
She was invited to a birthday dinner for a friend at The Magic Time Machine.  It is a fun restaurant where all the servers dress up in different costumes. 
She continues to love ballet and is learning the recital dance. 

Dutch and the Birthday Girl

Bubba- His reading skills have "sky rocketed" according to his teacher.  I agree.  He is reading like crazy and we have to enforce lights-out or he'd stay up until midnight.  Last night he read "Freddy in Peril" for 70 minutes.  I don't know much about it except that it is about a hamster.  It was given to us by a friend who's son loved the series.  I am so happy that he enjoys reading!  I was just listening to a NPR story about how much of a difference having books in the house makes in a child's literacy.  We definitely have a lot of books around here! 
I am seeing the influence of his peers more and more.  Which is good and bad.  Some of the good things- he asked me to buy more blueberries because James told him blueberries help you to focus more and Dylan told him spinach is good.  The bad: Magic game cards and talk about The Hobbit and playing zombies... 
He had the Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet this past weekend.  It was at the Boy Scout museum so that means there were roughly 70 boys running wild around the museum.  They played zombies...  They have a desert contest and he won for Most Creative Use of Marshmallows- he made Indoor S'mores which are a marshmallow dipped in chocolate and rolled in graham cracker crumbs.  So not whole foods...But he won a Cub Scout water bottle and was very proud of himself!


We had a beautiful weekend and the kids spent much of it in the backyard.  Some of the games I heard being played- mountain climbers, super heroes, cowboys, and army men (and girls).  There were lots of costume changes and props involved.  We had a school friend over Friday afternoon and neighbors Sunday afternoon.  Love it!  We also had a picnic lunch on Sunday.  And painted  MomMom birthday pictures. 

We decided to take the kitchen table out and eat all of our meals in the dinning room.  The kitchen table is not really big enough for 5 of us anyway, so we moved it into the playroom.  One of my biggest "clutter" problems was the end of the kitchen counter so we decided to add more storage.  We put in a long desk and a really big cabinet from Ikea.  The kids sometimes eat breakfast at the desk and both the hubby and I will sit down there to do some work.  It is working for us and the kitchen feels more open.  Someday we'll update the cabinets, counter and floors...

 

We're Going (Mostly) Whole Foods

Inspired by The 100 Days of Real Food Challenge www.100daysofrealfood.com, I have decided that the kids and I are going to have our own little challenge.  We are going to 30 Days of Mostly Whole Foods.  So what does that mean?  Basically it means cutting out highly processed foods and eating foods as close to their natural state as possible.  We do usually eat pretty healthy, but I have noticed that we have been slowly slipping in more "convenience" food  (from a box) and more "treats" (sugar.)

 I have been toying around with needing to make some changes to our diet for awhile but two things really prompted me to make this decision now.  1) the big kids seem to be fighting more than ever and more prone to melt down.  Bubba has also had a very hard time settling down and falling asleep.  We get plenty of exercise, play outside, don't watch a ton of TV or play a ton of video games, are not over scheduled with activities and go to bed every school night by 8:00.  So the only left to change is diet.  2) I surprised the kids by bringing up lunch to school one day.  I was a few minutes late and Dutch had already bought her lunch; a grey piece of breaded "meat" they called chicken fried steak.  I was happy to throw it away.  Other benefits I hope to see: more energy for me, a decrease in sugar cravings from all of us, Huck not asking for junk snacks all day long...  I have no idea if it will change anything, but it can't hurt! 

I have no illusions that it will be easy or that we will follow it 100%.  It won't be tough to get my kids to eat healthy.  It will be tough to get them to NOT want the unhealthy stuff.  They like fruits and vegetables.  It's just that they also like candy and Cheetos and cinnamon rolls and Kraft mac and cheese.  Sugar and white flour are definitely going to be the toughest.  I really like flavored creamers and Stacy's Pita Chips and flour tortillas...  So I am not going to give up the flavored creamer- yet.  I think my kids need me I need me well caffeinated if I'm going to have to spend more time in the kitchen.  Let's just say my Midwestern-born meat and potatoes eating husband is not on board- yet.  I think we'll convince him to at least do a little better :-)  Maybe.

So the rules that I am going to try to follow:
1) a serving of either fruit or vegetables at every meal (which is not so tough since we usually do that)
2) No artificial colorings/ food dyes
3) whole wheat/ whole grain baked goods
4) whole food school/ work lunches (which means I have to make lunch every day, blah! I hate packing a lunch for work.)
5) nitrate-free pork and lunch meats

Rules that I am not going to follow;
1) no white pasta, tonight I am going to try the half white, half whole wheat pasta trick to see if that flies.  Whole wheat pasta is just not the same...
2) no sugar, see above re: coffee creamer.  Also, I just don't like plain yogurt, even with honey.  I'll substitute honey or other natural sweeteners when I can.
3) no fast food.  Going to Chick-fil-a is a nice treat for everyone, including myself.  I will, however, order the kids the grilled nuggets to go with the fruit we always get.  And no Sprite or lemonade.

On nights that the Hubby makes dinner, I will eat whatever it is gratefully. 

And lastly I will still use some of the foods that are already in the pantry that don't meet the criteria.  I will try to spread it out so we are not eating them as often .  I'm not going to waste the money by getting rid of it.

We made the trek up to Trader Joe's in Plano yesterday and I was pleased.  We got almost everything on my list for the week for less than $100.  We are getting two locations closer to us this year.  If I can avoid Whole Foods and their prices I will be happy.  Our Kroger has a decent selection of organic/ whole foods as well.  And I want to try to find a source to buy a mixed quarter of grass-fed beef from a local farm.  That should help the Hubby to get on board a little bit.

We had a good breakfast this morning.  Whole wheat blueberry muffins, strawberries and apple yogurt sweetened with honey.  The muffins and strawberries were a hit, the yogurt not as much.  I agreed.  Lunch will be nitrate-free ham and cheese on whole wheat pita bread, carrots with hummus dip and whole wheat pretzels.  Dinner will be spaghetti, salad and a loaf of fresh-baked bread from Trader Joe's. 

So wish us luck!  I'll be sure to report how it is going.

Been A Long Time

So where was I?  Oh, yeah. Thanksgiving.  We went to MomMom's house.  Uncle Mike's family was there as well as Uncle Scott and Uncle Bryan.  The kids had fun playing and we celebrated Uncle Mike's birthday at Chuck E Cheese again. 

We went to the Evansville Children's Museum.  It was really quite nice, they had a traveling exhibit for the Magic Tree House books, which Bubba loves, so it was fun to play out the story themselves.

 

 

 

 

So, What else.  December.  I'll let the pictures do the talking (since I'm having a hard time remembering!)

 

Pictures with Santa at school, Huck would not even go near him



Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer watching party

 

 

 

Pictures with Santa at school, Huck would have NOTHING to do with him!

Cookie decorating, we started a tradition of delivering homemade treat to some of out neighbors.
 Hope the neighbors like sprinkles!

Christmas Eve

 

Headed to church

 

cookies for Santa

 

sleep over in Mom and Dad's room!

His most favorite gift, we couldn't get him to come out to open any other gifts!

 

A BIG bike!

 

Barbie Dream house, I'm a little jealous

 

He was mad we made him get out of the car...

Dressed himself to go outside, Daddy's shoes, Mommy's scarf

New covers for his toddler bed!

A surprise snowstorm the day after Christmas, Huck was not too thrilled with it.  Too cold!

 

Bubba, on the other hand, loved it.  He played outside for a long time with one of our new neighbors.

 

Dutch was kind of in the middle.  She did not like the cold but did not want to be left out
of the fun Bubba and the neighbor were having.

One supper exciting thing that happened the end of the month was that we had TWO new families move in, one right next door and one across the street.  Both families have 2 kids each, 8 year-old daughters and 3-4 year-old sons.  And one has a baby on the way :-)  So, so, so very happy to have kids close by!  It is so fun for the kids to be able to just go knock on the door to see if the kids want to come out and play.  So far everyone as gotten along well even though the genders/ ages don't match up with my kids.  

 

 

 

 

Halloween

Wrote this long ago but never published because I was waiting to add pictures...  Only a few added but putting it up anyway!

So much to catch up on!  Let's start with the Cub Scout Camp Out.  The last weekend in October Bubba and The Hubby set out for Caddo Lake State Park for a weekend of camping.  They rode out with two other families, buddies from school and their dads.  They report that they had a great time despite the freezing weather!  The temps dropped into the mid-thirties at night and the tents were pretty chilly.  Sat afternoon they all went on a steamboat tour and got a turn driving the boat.  There was a pumpkin carving contest, s'mores over the fire and skits for the pack. 
We left at home started Saturday morning at the doctor's office as Huck had an ear infection.  After, went to the school's Fall Festival.  The weather was beautiful in the sun!  It was nice for Duch to get a little more focused attention. 

Then came Halloween!  It was extra special because Grandma with the Spiky Hair arrived that day.  Duch started her day with a costume parade around the school.  Kindergartners are the only ones allowed to wear costumes! She was a mermaid.  Grandma went up to school with me in the afternoon to pass out treat bags for Bubba's class.  After school we were off to ballet.  Miss Amanda had taught them a special Halloween dance and they were allowed to wear costumes.  Dutch could not dance in her mermaid costume so she chose to wear her costume from her dance recital the year before.  Then we were home for dinner and to get ready for trick-or-treating.  Huck loved it...until he saw his first scary costume... Then he was done!  The Hubby took the kids up and down our street and then called it a night.

While Grandma was here we went to the Sea Life aquarium.  It was pretty cool.  We learned lots about sharks and sea turtles.

We had parent teacher conferences for the big kids.  Both got good reports.  Bubba is reading like a 3rd grader, which is no surprise.  He is doing well in math and science.  If there is anything to work on it is handwriting and spelling.   Oh, and not talking to his neighbors.  I'm pretty sure my mom could have gotten the exact same report from my teacher 30 years ago.  Ms.Jenkins said Bubba is one of her star students.   His special job is pencil sharpening :-).
 Dutch is also doing well. She is reading some on her own.  She has read several books with me needing only minimal help.  Her teacher told us that she has taken a special interest in one girl in her class, Vivienne.  She is Burmese and is a limited English speaker.  Miss Holford told us Dutch takes a lot of responsibility to help Vivienne with her work, to play with her at recess and to help her move around the building.  We have been encouraging Dutch to ask Vivienne to teach her some words in her language.  We are very proud of both kiddos.

We are off to MomMom's house on Wednesday for Thanksgiving.  All my brothers, sister-in-law and nephews will be there!