mr. 18 months old

Last week marked a pretty big milestone at our house, Ethan turned 18 months old. 18 months is kind of a big deal to me. It means that he is no longer a baby but a full-fledged toddler. Our house is virtually empty of baby items save for the highchair (I'm still using that one to save my new kitchen table from destruction) and the nursery furniture. Today I threw out all of the teething toys (he's pretty much got all of his teeth now) and the old baby rattles. I have to say that I am a little sad that time is passing so quickly and that there will be no more babies at our house but at the same time I am happy to be moving on.

Ethan is really developing quite a personality. He is kind of a ham and loves to draw attention to himself by way of doing something silly. He also has a lot to say, we just don't understand any of it yet. Almost every night when Jeff gets home, Ethan follows him around babbling for a good five minutes. He is no doubt filling Jeff in on the happenings of his day. Our house may be empty of baby toys, but he is full steam ahead into the world of big boy toys. Ethan particularly loves blocks, cars and playing with Hannah. One of his new favorite past times is rolling over his sisters when they are playing on the floor. At 18 months, he is equally cuddly and wiggly. His favorite place is still on my hip and I'm happy to have him there.

The story behind the picture is that last night he was playing with Hannah and fell face first into the corner of the coffee table. We have a square coffee table and the corners are pretty sharp. I have always known that sooner or later one of the kids would fall into a corner and get hurt. To tell the truth, I always thought it would be worse than it was (think stitches). I heard the thud from the kitchen and managed not to panic when Jeff brought him into the kitchen with blood pouring out of his nose. This was at least his 5th bloody nose, I think that the girls have maybe had 1 each. Maybe. I guess that's one of the differences between boys and girls.

starting fresh, part 2

So my plan to feed my family more fresh foods and fewer prepackaged, preservative-filled foods has been going pretty well. I have managed to stay on budget and not lose my mind for all of the extra time and effort my new plan requires.

Some of the positive things about our new style of eating are that:
1) The food tastes better, much better.
2) We are all trying new things (just the other day the girls gobbled up hummus and pita bread for an after school snack).
3) Our digestive systems have adjusted accordingly and we can no longer tolerate fast-food, which means we avoid it big-time.
4) Our menus are more spontaneous and that is fun.

Some of the drawbacks are:
1) It takes a lot of time, lots of time cooking and lots of time running to the store.
2) It takes a lot of creativity to come up with our meals, as opposed to opening a box of Hamburger Helper and calling it good.
3) Our digestive systems have adjusted accordingly and we can no longer tolerate fast-food, which means that I pretty much always have to cook.
4) It takes a lot of work to learn about nutrition, cooking and meal-planning.

We are far from perfect. Just today we drove thru McDonald's to get ice cream and milkshakes as an after-school snack. But, my kids absolutely eat way more good than bad. Budget-wise I have learned that pre-packaged, all-natural, organic snacks are more expensive than their unhealthy counterparts. But, fresh produce is pretty darn cheap. With regard to cooking, I have learned to stockpile a few things that I know I use in recipes so that I don't have to worry about having the basics on hand (flour, chicken stock, olive oil, etc). I am still learning. I read things that tell me I should roast a chicken every week and then use the chicken in various recipes and the juices to make my own chicken stock. I don't know why, but that idea intimidates me. Maybe I'll come around but for now my chicken comes frozen, from Sam's. I have yet to pinpoint the criteria that makes one olive oil better than another and I'm really unsure of the pros and cons of bleached vs. unbleached flour.

Overall, all is well but I'm still doing a bit of fine-tuning...

a conversation with hannah

Me: Hey! Hannah, it's time to go get Avery from school. We can play on the playground today.

Hannah: Okay, just let me get my high heels...

i wandered lonely as a cloud

By William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils

treading water

This week I feel like I'm treading water. It's a busy week and I haven't been sleeping well and I'm pretty sure that I have spread myself a little too thin. I am so overwhelmed this week that I really would have to look at my calendar to know what day it is.

It started Sunday afternoon when I looked around my house and realized how filthy it was. I don't just mean that there were toys strewn everywhere (there were) but that the house was actually filthy. Untold amounts of dog hair, fuzz and crumbs had accumulated on the floor. Dust was so thick on the furniture that I could see where someone had touched the table (or whatever) and the bathrooms just needed to be scrubbed from top to bottom. Plus, there are dozens of little things that needed to be done cleaning-wise. Then, there was the laundry. There is always the laundry. So, Sunday night I did a couple loads of laundry, swept the kitchen floor and picked up all of the toys and I felt like I was keeping my head above water once again.

Monday morning I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned and found out that I have three cavities that need to be filled to the tune of $500. I felt like I was drowning again.

Tuesday morning the man from the furniture store came out to repair our new kitchen table. After he left, I managed to get the kitchen and hardwood floors mopped and the downstairs vacuumed. I wished for more time but had to pick up the girls from school. But, the things I had accomplished made me feel like I was keeping my head above water. Then, I remembered that I had promised Avery's elementary school music teacher that I would finish a project for her and I was under the water again.

Today, Wednesday, Avery got out of school at noon. Rather than check things off of my list, I chose to spend the afternoon with her. I did get my sheets and towels washed but my bathrooms are all still filthy. I also got the news this afternoon that my dad's cardiologist is sending him to the Mayo Clinic on Minnesota for treatment of his condition and my head promptly went under the water...way under. Tonight, I have chosen to sit at the computer and research my dad's condition rather than glue ribbon for the music teacher. My research has made me feel better with regards to my dad but I still have the gluing project looming over my head.

Tomorrow is a new day and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I can spend more time above the water than under it. Hannah will be at school and Ethan and I only have a couple of errands to run, so I should be able to get some things done. I swear my whole outlook would change if I could just get those bathrooms clean!

starting fresh

Recently I have decided to change the way that I feed my family. It all started when I was watching an episode of the Martha Stewart show. Martha's guest was a woman who had just published a cookbook of recipes that she had fed to her 3 sons as they were growing up. During the course of the interview/cooking demonstration, the cookbook author made the statement, "I don't believe in pre-packaged snacks." Hmmm. That statement really got me to thinking about what it is that I have been feeding my family. Sure the little plastic fruit cocktail cups are convenient to toss into a lunchbox, but maybe fresh fruit would be better? The turkey and cheese sandwiches I made everyday seemed like a good idea but a closer inspection of the packaging left me with an uneasy feeling. What exactly is a "pasturized processed cheese product" anyway? And the fat-free turkey? Since when are turkeys fat free? I'm not sure I want to know what all has to be done to make meat fat free...The more I thought about it, the more disgusted I became.

So, I have decided to start serving my family more fresh foods. Gone are the days of processed foods, microwaveable side dishes and pre-packaged casseroles. The changes I have made do require more work on my end. Instead of shopping for an entire week's worth of groceries at once (hence the need for frozen vegetables and fruit with preservatives), I am now going to the store several times a week to purchase fresh produce, lunch meat and bread. And, it means that my menu is at the mercy of the produce selection at the store. But, its all worth it. Our food tastes better and we are all (even the kids) more open to trying new things. I also like to think that we will all be healthier in the long run.

At this point, I'm not too picky about organic vs. non-organic foods but as I become more educated I have a feeling that will change. I don't think I will ever go back to the way I was shopping/cooking. Maybe someday someone from the Kraft company will explain to me just what that powdery substance in their boxed macaroni and cheese really is...

boo!

Let me preface by saying that Avery has been looking foward to Halloween for months now. She was perusing online costume shops back in August and had all sorts of elaborate plans for decorating our front yard. So, we were all excited when Halloween finally arrived. But, who can blame her? When you are 6, every holiday is a big deal...especially the ones involving candy.

Avery dressed up in her witch costume, Hannah dressed up as Ariel the mermaid and little Ethan went out as a firefighter. Ethan's best buddy Luke (a.k.a. the dinosaur)came over to do some trick-or-treating with us. We kept the kids confined to our cul-de-sac for the trick-or-treating but they still managed to hit a dozen or so houses. Trust me when I say that they came home with plenty of candy!