L: Ben, do you want to get married some day?
B: Umm, I don't know.
L: Do you want to have a wife? Like Abbie or McKenna?
B: Umm.... I want Miss Tonia! (McKenna's mommy, maker of his birthday cupcakes :)
L: Oh, wow.
- 30 minutes later in the car...
B: Mommy, can I have TWO wifes?
A (under his breath): Only if you live in Utah!
L (bypassing the teaching moment): Um,well, who do you want to be your wives?
B: Well.... still Miss Tonia...
L: Okay...
B: And Ezra! (his "best friend" at church).
A (still under his breath thankfully): Well, in that case I guess you will have to stay in Asheville.
And there you have it folks. :)
2.28.2011
Bumperstickers of the Day
CAUTION
BLONDE THINKING
---
- seen on the back of a big black suburban
SHUT UP HIPPIES
(this could be my favorite of late :)
BLONDE THINKING
---
- seen on the back of a big black suburban
SHUT UP HIPPIES
(this could be my favorite of late :)
Naomi: 10 Months Old
Naomi is now 10 months old! She is getting more and more fun by the day! She has learned to sign "all done" "more" and "down." Which have been very helpful!
She is walking everywhere, going up and down the stairs, climbing and more! And she does NOT want your help either! She won't hold your hand while walking, she wants to feed herself, and she KNOWS what she wants. :)
She loves stuffed animals, carries them around with her and snuggles them and gives them hugs. For that matter, she just loves carrying things from room to room. I am constantly finding things in the wrong places.
Sadly, she has yet to grow out of any of her food allergies, so we are still avoiding dairy, wheat, rice and berries... however, we have found that she can have spelt! And the local bakery makes an amazing vegan, spelt, sugar-free (they use maple syrup to sweet it) muffin... so we go there at least once a week. :)
Her here are a few of the many faces of Naomi:
The sweet smile.
The cheeks.
The I-am-not-happy-about-this-nose-scrunch.
I love this one. Especially with no teeth!
Just a sweet face.
I am so tired of your picture taking mom!!!
She is walking everywhere, going up and down the stairs, climbing and more! And she does NOT want your help either! She won't hold your hand while walking, she wants to feed herself, and she KNOWS what she wants. :)
She loves stuffed animals, carries them around with her and snuggles them and gives them hugs. For that matter, she just loves carrying things from room to room. I am constantly finding things in the wrong places.
Sadly, she has yet to grow out of any of her food allergies, so we are still avoiding dairy, wheat, rice and berries... however, we have found that she can have spelt! And the local bakery makes an amazing vegan, spelt, sugar-free (they use maple syrup to sweet it) muffin... so we go there at least once a week. :)
Her here are a few of the many faces of Naomi:
The sweet smile.
The cheeks.
The I-am-not-happy-about-this-nose-scrunch.
I love this one. Especially with no teeth!
The poochy lip.
Just a sweet face.
I love to clap!!!
I am so tired of your picture taking mom!!!
The Biltmore
We were given some free passes to the Biltmore Estate that had to be used by the end of February, and Saturday was perfect so we spent 5+ hours just wondering walking trails and picnicing in a field, playing soccer, visiting the farm animal petting zoo and just having a wonderful time in the 60+ degree sunshine! I forgot my camera, but thanks to Andrew's new swanky work phone we did get one. :) So here you go! Ben is trying to get Naomi to smell the flowers. :)
2.21.2011
Dinner
Well, as of Day 21 we are doing fine. There have been a few bumps, but nothing major. We did take Friday night off and Drew, Ben & I all had a chocolate from the chocolate fetish. Oh so yummy. :) More than avoiding sugar and processed foods, my problem has been more finding things to cook that don't involve wheat, spelt, rice, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, sour cream) and strawberries and blueberries. :) Tonight we had a good night though. :)
Afternoon Snack: Guacamole
2 avocados
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch of jalapeno (I took the seeds out)
1 tomatilla (optional, I just love the flavor)
2 T purple onion
juice from one lime
1 roma tomato (I look the seeds out to make it less watery)
salt
Chop it all up, mix it together and break out the corn chips. Naomi couldn't get enough. I don't know if there is anything better than fresh guacamole.
For dinner we had pan fried Pork Chops with olive oil, salt, pepper and sage.
And then THIS spaghetti squash recipe. We obviously omitted the feta, and I didn't have basil, we used tomatoes, spinach and olives. But you could really use anything. Ben like it, and Naomi loved it. (I think this is pretty standard when it comes to food for these two).
And for dessert we whipped some peanut-butter-banana smoothies. Yummy!
2 Bananas
8 ice cubes
1 big scoop of peanut (or almond) butter
unsweetened almond milk
a tsp ish of agave nectar.
Afternoon Snack: Guacamole
2 avocados
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch of jalapeno (I took the seeds out)
1 tomatilla (optional, I just love the flavor)
2 T purple onion
juice from one lime
1 roma tomato (I look the seeds out to make it less watery)
salt
Chop it all up, mix it together and break out the corn chips. Naomi couldn't get enough. I don't know if there is anything better than fresh guacamole.
For dinner we had pan fried Pork Chops with olive oil, salt, pepper and sage.
And then THIS spaghetti squash recipe. We obviously omitted the feta, and I didn't have basil, we used tomatoes, spinach and olives. But you could really use anything. Ben like it, and Naomi loved it. (I think this is pretty standard when it comes to food for these two).
And for dessert we whipped some peanut-butter-banana smoothies. Yummy!
2 Bananas
8 ice cubes
1 big scoop of peanut (or almond) butter
unsweetened almond milk
a tsp ish of agave nectar.
2.19.2011
Learning
Ben has just taken off in his questions the last few months. We have moved from the constant "WHY?" (although by no means have left it behind), to asking more than one word questions.
Here are few recent ones:
Tonight while reading a book about "Under the Sea"
B: Mommy? How do starfish swim?
B: Mommy? How do sharks blink? Do they blink like me?
(this, after reading that dolphins can breathe as fast as you can blink)
---
B: Why is the sun so hot?
Andrew: Because it is a giant ball of fire.
B: Oh.
A: Actually it is a star.
B: No it's not!!!! It doesn't have any of those pokey things around the edges!!!
---
More to come... when I can remember them. :)
Here are few recent ones:
Tonight while reading a book about "Under the Sea"
B: Mommy? How do starfish swim?
B: Mommy? How do sharks blink? Do they blink like me?
(this, after reading that dolphins can breathe as fast as you can blink)
---
B: Why is the sun so hot?
Andrew: Because it is a giant ball of fire.
B: Oh.
A: Actually it is a star.
B: No it's not!!!! It doesn't have any of those pokey things around the edges!!!
---
More to come... when I can remember them. :)
2.17.2011
2.08.2011
Walking & Talking
We officially have a toddler!
I guess my children are destined to walk before they have teeth.
I guess my children are destined to walk before they have teeth.
Birthday Boys
Birthdays are special and should be celebrated. And I have realized that I, as the wife and mother, can totally make or break birthdays/holidays. As much as I love to celebrate I often loose motivation... so one thing I am trying to work on this year is making holidays and birthdays etc. special. And nothing like breaking in the new resolution with two back to back birthdays!
We went with a Wild Animal theme this year. :) Nothing too crazy, just some balloons with animals on them (Thank you Uncle Jonathon & Uncle Ryan). And of course the traditional Leah Party (lots of people, time to talk, no plan etc. ). I tried to make it more "intimate" than our normal parties... limiting it to family and Ben's friends and their families... we still had 35 people. :) I don't do small... I blame my mother.
We went with a Wild Animal theme this year. :) Nothing too crazy, just some balloons with animals on them (Thank you Uncle Jonathon & Uncle Ryan). And of course the traditional Leah Party (lots of people, time to talk, no plan etc. ). I tried to make it more "intimate" than our normal parties... limiting it to family and Ben's friends and their families... we still had 35 people. :) I don't do small... I blame my mother.
The birthday boys... Ben 3 and Andrew 29.
The amazing cupcakes made by my amazingly creative friend Tonia. She Rocks!
The amazing cupcake artist Tonia and her daughter McKenna...enjoying Tonia's creation. :)
Birthday Fun!
Ben and his birthday loot. :-P In keeping with our animal theme Ben got animals for his birthday and has LOVED them. We play with them constantly!
What Are We Eating???
After some of you read a recent post about our 100 Day Food Challenge/food allergies and wondered WHAT ARE WE EATING?
Well, with a husband that is out of town my motivation to cook is slim to none, but we do eat a lot of eggs, oatmeal (raisins, cinnamon, apples etc.) And I love my vitamix! Kiwi, banana, orange, carrot, tomato spinach smoothies that the kids suck down! And peanut butter/banana/almond milk smoothies for a treat or 1/3 cup nuts (or peanut butter) 1/3 c. honey and 1 c oats blended and then rolled in sesame seeds... yummy. One of my favorite foods is tacos... minus the cheese and sour cream of course... but corn tortillas or chips, lettuce/spinach, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, ground beef and black beans... and liberal amounts of salsa... so yummy! And here are a few recipes I have found!
Chickpea Salad (sort of like Tuna salad but chickpeas instead)
2 c garbonzo beans (mashed, but chucks are fine)
1 stalk celery (or more if you like the crunch like I do)
1/4 onion, finely chopped (or less if you don't like raw onion like I do :)
1 T mayo
1 T lemon juice
1 t dill
salt and pepper
I added a little more mayo, and added some of my mother-in-law's amazing cucumber sweet relish... great for a bite when you are hungry or Friday night dinner and a movie night with crackers or for me... corn cakes (like rice cakes).
Granola - this one has brown sugar but next time I make it I am going to add a little more honey instead
6 c rolled oats
1/2 brown sugar (I will leave this out next time)
3/4 c. wheat germ (I have substituted oat bran since we aren't doing wheat)
1/2 c coconut (unsweetened)
1/3 c seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin... And I usually add a lot more than called for)
1. c nuts (I just chop up whatever I have at the time)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/3 c honey
1/2 t vanilla
raisins or crasins to taste
Heat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients except oats then add to oats. Whisk together oil, honey and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and stir til coated. Spread in pan and bake stirring occasionally until golden (not brown :). Add raisins or crasins. Let cool and store!
I have just received two of my three cookbooks and have been pouring over them. The first is called Nourishing Traditions, all about being soaking grains, good and bad fats and all kinds of stuff like that, I will tell you more once I have read more! The second is The Cancer Fighting Kitchen. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall and she got this book shortly after that. Although I am not doing it so much for the cancer fighting part, I have loved everything she has made of it. Using nothing but real ingredients with tons of flavor... everything from making broth and garbonzo bean patties to Baby Bok Choy with Yams & Ginger and Edamama Avocado Dip with Wasabi. I can't wait to plan my menu for next week with it! The same author has another book called One Bite At A Time that I may get soon as well. Lots of veges, beans, lentils, and spices... how can you go wrong? And the book that is coming is called The Natural Nine, it has been out of print for 25 years, but I found it on Amazon... (30 cents!) my mom had it growing up but had lost it, but I still remember her barley pancakes that were to die for! It is all about using whole grains... all kinds of fun!
Well, with a husband that is out of town my motivation to cook is slim to none, but we do eat a lot of eggs, oatmeal (raisins, cinnamon, apples etc.) And I love my vitamix! Kiwi, banana, orange, carrot, tomato spinach smoothies that the kids suck down! And peanut butter/banana/almond milk smoothies for a treat or 1/3 cup nuts (or peanut butter) 1/3 c. honey and 1 c oats blended and then rolled in sesame seeds... yummy. One of my favorite foods is tacos... minus the cheese and sour cream of course... but corn tortillas or chips, lettuce/spinach, avocado, tomatoes, cilantro, ground beef and black beans... and liberal amounts of salsa... so yummy! And here are a few recipes I have found!
Chickpea Salad (sort of like Tuna salad but chickpeas instead)
2 c garbonzo beans (mashed, but chucks are fine)
1 stalk celery (or more if you like the crunch like I do)
1/4 onion, finely chopped (or less if you don't like raw onion like I do :)
1 T mayo
1 T lemon juice
1 t dill
salt and pepper
I added a little more mayo, and added some of my mother-in-law's amazing cucumber sweet relish... great for a bite when you are hungry or Friday night dinner and a movie night with crackers or for me... corn cakes (like rice cakes).
Granola - this one has brown sugar but next time I make it I am going to add a little more honey instead
6 c rolled oats
1/2 brown sugar (I will leave this out next time)
3/4 c. wheat germ (I have substituted oat bran since we aren't doing wheat)
1/2 c coconut (unsweetened)
1/3 c seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin... And I usually add a lot more than called for)
1. c nuts (I just chop up whatever I have at the time)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/3 c honey
1/2 t vanilla
raisins or crasins to taste
Heat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients except oats then add to oats. Whisk together oil, honey and vanilla. Pour over dry ingredients and stir til coated. Spread in pan and bake stirring occasionally until golden (not brown :). Add raisins or crasins. Let cool and store!
I have just received two of my three cookbooks and have been pouring over them. The first is called Nourishing Traditions, all about being soaking grains, good and bad fats and all kinds of stuff like that, I will tell you more once I have read more! The second is The Cancer Fighting Kitchen. My mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall and she got this book shortly after that. Although I am not doing it so much for the cancer fighting part, I have loved everything she has made of it. Using nothing but real ingredients with tons of flavor... everything from making broth and garbonzo bean patties to Baby Bok Choy with Yams & Ginger and Edamama Avocado Dip with Wasabi. I can't wait to plan my menu for next week with it! The same author has another book called One Bite At A Time that I may get soon as well. Lots of veges, beans, lentils, and spices... how can you go wrong? And the book that is coming is called The Natural Nine, it has been out of print for 25 years, but I found it on Amazon... (30 cents!) my mom had it growing up but had lost it, but I still remember her barley pancakes that were to die for! It is all about using whole grains... all kinds of fun!
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