Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Why Does Eating Clean Have To Be Such A Challenge?



My husband and I both had thoughts collide this week.  I've been baking bread from fresh ingredients and we love the way our house smells.  We are finally on the same page about eating clean but could use some guidance and advice...here are the challenges I'm facing currently.   I'm letting you sound off here.  This is your place to share your challenges, your learning curves, and what you are doing about them.



Our pantry is almost empty of any processed food, our fridge is filling up with grown from nature items, and our freezer is stashed with the same.  It looks like we are on the right track but just because it looks that way doesn't mean it feels that way.  I started questioning everything...


I looked down at my Costco purchases which felt really impressive...at first.  Then I thought to myself, "nothing is organic, the meat probably has flavoring or injections."  I sighed and put it all away.

Why does it feel like it's not good enough?

We struggle with our weight in this house, not because of food choices but because of the food.  Food today has become so toxic it's scary, even the so called health stuff.  I once found myself standing in front of the biscuit mix having a panic attack. Sometimes my kids enjoy a biscuits or pancakes, not often, but sometimes.  Do I make it from scratch?  Is there a healthy alternative?  Why does the kind I want have to cost so much?  My wallet wants me to by the cheap stuff?  If I make it from scratch then there is a learning curve... seriously!  I stood there with two different mixes, one in each hand, and stood there and stood there and stood there, feeling as if it were an impossible decision.

There is a learning curve...


So our pantry, fridge, and freezer look pretty wholesome.  Then the whole...should we be eating so much dairy? Why do I love it so much?  How do you replace it?  What alternative's are healthy because I've heard nothing is great?  Would farm fresh be better at least for cooking?  How do you find answers to these things?  What do you use instead of butter?  Yogurt? Sour Cream?  Did I mention of LOVE DAIRY? 


I grew up on a dairy farm!
With cornfields...
that brings me too...

Corn these days...GMO's.  There's so much talk about GMO's and how Non-GMO's and how do you know what is true and what's not.  A friend said, she judges it based on if the plant can reproduce it's self.  That makes sense.  My thoughts when I first heart "GMO" was "doesn't nature GMO on it's own?"  Doesn't nature show us that genetic modification is natural...take my Boxador for example. He's a pretty awesome puppy and can reproduce...so we're good right?  Isn't this true with all living things that can blend their genetics to make something new?   Still, what about GMO and how serious should it be taken?



Organic? I really don't want pesticides on or in my food.  Ever!  I used to have those mini-panic attacks about that too but I got over it and buy organic if it's available...if not I figure I'll try to do better.  I'd get upset when my husband bought lettuce and I swear I could smell the pesticides.  He'd get upset because I bought organic salad because it costs more.  I wash the apples, soak the grapes, I do what I can to wash our food clean but...if it's on the plant and in the soil it's grown...is there any point?  What's the dirty dozen again?


Homegrown?  Do we plant a garden this year?  Should we get chickens?  What about cows or goats? Did I mention I live in a subdivision that has codes?  We'd have to move?  Should we move?  Maybe that would help? A garden is a start but what do we plant?  When do we plant it?  How much? Does it yield enough harvest?  Do I learn how to can food?  Sure, I probably should?



Fresh markets sound like a good idea! 

Local farmers need support!

I could buy from them?

When? Where? How much?


I need to explore this option...are there people this day and age that sell fresh eggs?  Are there small farms that bottle their own milk?  Should it be pasteurized?  Is there a place I can go? Can I make my own jelly?  How do I do that and not consume so much sugar?  

Learning curve...

I've come a long way from this...


Oh and then when you figure the food out, hopefully you've figured out what to drink.


My husband and friends call me a water snob.  I won't drink my tape water unfiltered and prefer to keep an ice cold gallon jug in the fridge at all times that has been filtered or spring fresh.  I like it cold but I like it clean.  The water out of my faucet smells funny to me and tastes weird, very metallic and hard.  So I load up empty water jugs and pop in some change and refill them.  I first started doing this to make me drink more water but that's still an effort so I mix it up... I drink tea sometimes.  My kids like crystal light...but hold on? That's not clean either.  


I'm trying to increase my fruits and veggies but what I heard yesterday was that we should increase our veggies and then our fruits.  Huh?

We also all take our vitamins, minerals, omega 3's, and antioxidants too.




SO enough about the confusion...I'm taking advice!  What is working for you?  What books have helped?  What documentaries?  What recipe books?  What blogs?  I want them all! 

My Mothers Day Gift


Well, we have three new additions to our family.  After my husband and children took a course Saturday on the development of frogs at the DeSoto State Park Nature Center in Mentone Alabama, they thought it would be a good idea to bring mom some little friends to raise.


This is Huey and his brothers names are Dewey and Lewie.  They like to swim to the edge of the glass and look at us.  
{sigh}
What have they gotten me into...  Do expect updates!

Such a small little life...

Grocery Store Accidents Happen


Last night Baby Boy/Superman was riding in one of those grocery store carts that have the "race car" front.  He was buckled in but still stuck his head out the side window as I was going by a metal display.  I felt a thud and he started screaming.  Thanks to some frozen peas out of the freezer section, the swelling stopped and the bruising was minimal.  It's barely noticeable but let me tell you when a mom sees a horn growing out of the side of her super heroes head, she kinda freaks out a little. 

My Big Boys Bunkbed Facelift

This is the BEFORE


This was an old picture of the bunk bed we put up for Cooper.  We were going to paint it the same color as the stripe on the wall and we never did.  I have this thing for salvaging the old wood from my Papaws' barn.   Here is the "facelift" that it received over the weekend.

Here's the After.


Cooper helped build the ladder and it much easier to climb than the old one.  Most of all, I'm proud that he helped build it and it has own personal touch.  We gave him our recliner so that he has a reading spot.


It's not perfect but for a couple of amateurs we did a good job.  Oh and I have to show you this...


The old mirror was broken out of the chifferobe a couple of years ago and I thought I would take apart an old dry erase board to trim and put in it.  Instead, the internal support for the dry erase board peeled away and revealed this really cool snake skin-like effect.  So, it made a better "magnetic" board with it's cool texture than any dry erase board.  We've had fun in Coopers room this weekend and the rest of our house suffered.  So, I'd better get busy.  Just had to share our hard work.

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”


He worked hard and now has a beautiful boys room to rest in.

Super Heroes vs. Mom


Right at this moment, I am sitting on the edge of my littlest boys bed.  I was in my bed.  Here is how my night has gone.

09:00 p.m.  started cleaning out "new" fridge.
11:00 p.m.  finished cleaning fridge
11:10 p.m.  put two little monsters into bed
11:12 p.m.  give littlest boy a bit of cough medicine
11:15 p.m.  asked husband why he didn't put the two super heroes to bed
11:16 p.m.  long hot bath and my BHG magazine from February, Valentine Issue.
12:05 a.m.  crawled into bed and asked husband if he was going to take a shower
12:30 a.m.  husband crawls into bed after shower
12:45 a.m.  watching "American Pickers" while husband snores and I try to snuggle
12:46 a.m.  find it painfully obvious that sleeping bears don't snuggle
01:02 a.m.  hear coughing,  give littlest boy vapor rub
01:04 a.m.  sleepy now, cut off TV....ah sleep.
02:26 a.m.  middle boy crawls into bed with us
02:34 a.m.  littlest boy crawls into bed...and coughs.
02:40 a.m.  I realize littlest boy is crying because he dreamed there is a bug
{bored yet}
03:00 a.m.  Wake up from a half sleep, dreaming about the word carnivore
03:15 a.m.   In littlests' bed, then asked to get water from downstairs
03:17 a.m.  Littlest feels like he's getting warm
03:20 a.m.  Can't sleep so I'm blogging

At first, blogging seemed like such a good way to document tonight.  It has been weird.  It's a sense that moms have I guess, that something is wrong.   Then, very quickly things start getting worse.  Jake is having strange dreams and so am I.  I was laying in bed trying to sleep with two super hero boys in the middle of our bed.  I was dreaming about scratching the surface of something and every time I did, something magical would happen...kind of like waves crashing on a beach.  It was like I was gently scratching the universe, as if I were scratching its back and watching it sigh with relief.  I think it was God's way of keeping my brain active so I wouldn't be groggy when my littlest started crying.

It was a soft cry that I could barely hear in my subconscious and he was crouched under the covers.  I asked this little 3 year old what was wrong and he said "there was a bug".  There wasn't a bug.  When I cut on the light he sat up and looked around and said I had "scared it."  I suggested we go sleep in his bed.  That sounded good to him.  So now, I am sitting on the edge of his bed, unable to sleep.  I tried to lay with him but my worrying kept me from relaxing, he felt warm to me...his feet and back.  That only means one thing...fever is coming.  

My littlest super hero gets sick every year between April and the end of May.  Allergies?  Maybe.  The last two years he was sick with a viral infection, pneumonia, or bronchitis.  For about two months I have been dreading this time.  I should have been praying about it but I didn't, I tend to pray more about the immediate and not the future.  I think that's why I am awake.  When I was in a half sleep state, my mind said...pray.  Sometimes a mothers prayer is just an "Oh God" in a sigh of desperation, He knows our needs as moms and sometimes our hearts can't find the words, but He still knows.

He's asleep now.
I'm sleepy too.
We are supposed to have baseball practice for all three boys at 10 a.m.  NOT HAPPENING!  I'll stay home now.  Plenty to do here.  Laundry should be number one, but number one is finishing my sons bunk bed redo.  Number two will be catching a nap. 

I think I will go find my old Bible, the one I don't carry much anymore that hangs out by my bed and has all the good markings in it.  Even with all the markings, I still mark even more.  One day I thought to myself, I should just highlight all the verses 'cause they're all that good.  I don't know why I just highlight one or two at time when they all should be.  

God answers my prayers you know.  Especially concerning my babies, because they are His babies.  I'm just here on this perfectly designed earth, living an imperfect life as a sinner with all the other sinners and we keep messing it all up.  I try to raise the boys I have been entrusted with into Godly men.  God and I need to have a talk tonight.  Cause that burden is too big to bear on my own.  These sweet little souls that I love so much are mine to love but they belong to Him.  It's my job to pray for them and teach them His ways.  

1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

This is the verse that God gave me tonight before I even opened my Bible.  It might just be my new favorite for awhile after the night I have had.  I had to look it up because I couldn't remember it exactly so I searched "Greater is He".  I'll share this with you because so many of the verses on this page were touching tonight.

Good Night or...Good Morning

God Bless the Reader of my babbling.
In Christs Name.

A Child's Eternal Perspective


About a week ago my little Evan, my middle boy of just 5 years old, asked me where he was before he was born.  I answered him simply that he was inside of me and he said, "NO, before I was in you, were was I?"

Talk about an eternal perspective.

My answer was simply, "You were in Heaven with God."  I mean, what do you tell a child?  How do you answer a question like that when you aren't even sure if you have the answer yourself.   Here is what I do know and be aware that as I looked up these verses, I was brought to tears because there is more to this story.
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;" Jeremiah 1:5
 "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them."  Psalms 139:16
If that doesn't make a person feel like he or she has a greater purpose in life, then I don't know what would.  How special we truly are to God before we are even conceived here on Earth. 

And here is the rest and the best of the story...

For a few days after that simple conversation with my son, he would ask other questions that related to seeds and plants.  He was trying to reason life in his own mind.  One afternoon, I went next door to my neighbors house because he loves our neighbor.  She is so good to my kids and Evan loves talking her.  So, that afternoon when I went to get him while he was talking to her and helping her in the garden, she immediately started telling me about their latest conversation.  Here is what he told her.

Before I was born in my Momma, Momma was my sister in Heaven.  Momma and Me were in Heaven together and she was my sister.

Wow.  He floored both of us.  I love my neighbor, did I say that already.  I'm so lucky to have such a great lady for a neighbor.   She was so happy to share with me the story Evan had told her and I looked at her and said..."Wow, that kid!  He really gets it in such a simple way that it seems so hard for us to understand sometimes, but he gets it."  

I'm journaling this one for me too, just like the last post but at the same time it is a revelation that is worth sharing.  It all goes back to understanding that we are ALL children of God, God has no Grandchildren.  You my dear reader are my sister or my brother in Christ.  

Sometimes, it only takes a child to put things in perspective.

The Sweetest Smell

"So he went to him and kissed him. When Isaac caught the smell of his clothes, he blessed him and said, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed."  Genesis 27:27 NIV

 
Tonight in church I sat down and caught a whiff of a scent. It's a scent that brings back the same memory each time I smell it.  Tonight, I don't know where the scent was coming from but it was distinct.

Almost 9 years ago I had my first baby, early.  He was a big boy and he was a preemie.  A 6lb 10oz, 6 week premature baby boy, I had complications with gestational diabetes and preterm labor that started at the beginning of my third trimester.  I could not imagine being able to carry that precious boy to term, I'm sure I would have thought I was dying.

While he was in the hospital NICU, it was imperative that my husband and I "scrub in" just to get to see him.  We would have to stand at a large sink basin with a disposable scrub brush and the antimicrobial soap and scrub for a long time.  The soap, had a distinct scent.  When I smell it now, I instantly remember standing over my baby and what he smelled like.  What he smelled like then is beautiful and what he smells like now is beautiful too.

It's amazing how many memories are resurrected by that scent.  The memory of the super charged, hospital grade breast pump (whew, I just started sweating), the Billi light goggles, the book we'd read over and over, the little Styrofoam cup that held cotton balls and Vaseline (that I kept for 7 years).  I remember that I'd put one hand on top of his head and one hand at the bottom of his feet.  I was told this made babies feel safe and secure like they were in the womb.   I can't even count then number of tiny memories that surface when I get a whiff of that distinct scent.

I wish I could bottle scents like the smell of scrubbing in for a NICU visit, my favorite perfume of my Granny's, my husband after a shower, and so many more.  As much of I love these memories, I seem to take for granted the moments that I am in now.  So, I'm sure the smell today and the sudden flow of memories today were just a subtle reminder from our Beloved Lord that I need to start cherishing the moments I am in now.  I should look forward to bedtime book readings with my boys with giddiness like they do.  I know I should talk to my oldest son more often about how his day was after school because before long, he probably won't share with me his day.  I should also kiss my husband more often.

So, this is my little reminder for myself and a little reminder for you that we should be making memories with our babies (no matter how big they are now) and our loved ones every chance we get.

Just a reminder and a little piece of myself...now out there for the world to see.

Who Am I?

If you watch the video, stop the website music at the bottom of the page first.

Yesterday, I visited my sons school for their Chapel program.  The performed to the song "Who Am I?" by Casting Crowns...did I even mention how much I love Casting Crowns.  LOVE THEM!  I thought the song and performance was also appropriate for showing off his "Family Tree". You don't have to watch the video above but it's cute when he realizes I'm filming him and the end of the song is sweet.  I love it.



He worked and worked and worked on this project.  Cutting the leaves, the tree, punching holes.  God love him, he was so proud.  It was so fun reading about some of his heritage.  He was most excited to find out that we had an MD in the family in the 1850's and her name was Sarah.

How to Store Baby Teeth


Save those button baggies


Store those baggies in a sweet organza drawstring pouch.


Store all your "tooth fairy" supplies in a beautiful little box.
Our box includes organza bags for each child, button baggies,  A pouch of "fairy dust" (aka glitter) and our little tooth fairy pillow.

All are sweet keepsakes to keep and pass down.

All is Right with the World for Now...

Is there anything cuter than neatly folded doll clothes?
Sure there is!  My little boys clothes folded, ironed, hung and not a stitch dirty.  Thanks to my dear, dear husband who not only decided to buy me a washer, top loading like I wanted; he also got a front load washer too.  Yes, my husband spoils me sometimes.  This is one of those times.  Two washers and one dryer is PERFECT for us.  I hang almost all of our clothes instead of drying them so I don't need to dry as many as I wash but I wash TONS (literally, I swear, I weighed them against our pet elephant one day).  Oh "weight"  that was just a dream or nightmare rather.  Anyway, we are scratch and dent kinda people, nothing fancy for us, give us the commercial version with a scratch on the side at 60% off and we'll take it! 

Plus, we went shopping for this major appliance (that we needed last week,)yesterday with 5 kids(we thought we'd add 2 extras to try it out) .  Honestly, it felt kinda good to have 5.  Made us wonder why we stopped.  HA HA HA!  Just kidding.  Seriously though, there was something special about having a few more tag alongs that day.  It even had us talking about the Duggars.  ENNNIE WAYYY!

I stayed up until 4 am last night to see my washers actually run a load successfully and then ran a weeks worth of laundry in one evening.   I'm DONE!  I can't believe it, it's like I've been given the gift of time, not just an extra washer.  Let's see what I can accomplish before bed tonight.  

P.S.  I was so blessed today by our church service.  The music was moving and gave God so much praise.  I love singing that "I am a friend of God, He calls me friend."  It truly overwhelms me sometimes when I think about little ol' me being a true friend of God.  I hope I live everyday as a true friend should be.   I thought to myself, I wish I could sing Amazing Grace and we actually sang it at the end of service (YIPPEE!).  i love the part about "Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come."  WOW!  God truly gets us through our trials and that just so happened to be what our sermon was on, starting in Psalms 91:1.  I love it when a preacher changes his plans for a sermon so he can preach what God wants him to preach at that moment.  Those messages are always so powerful.  Even my dozing husband sat with his eyes glued to our preacher THE WHOLE TIME!  Now, that is a blessing!  Truly it is, I think he's borderline narcoleptic.   He gets still and his eyes close.    Still, it was a blessing to be in God's house today.  

I'm praying for a wonderful, joyful week.  I let the devil suck my joy last week!  Not this week!  God's going to help me fly high!  

P.P.S.   Pray for me if you will and my weight loss.  It's a health issue not vanity.   I need prays for strength my friends...thank you!

Better Than A TV Show!


Today, I asked my oldest son to watch my littlest boys while I worked on some things upstairs.  They wanted to play outside.  So Cooper sat on the front steps of the house to watch them play outside on their riding toys. 
I said "Cooper, go ride your bike." 
He said, "Nah". 
I said, "Do you want a book to read?" 
He said, "Nah" 
I said, "Are you sure?"
He said, "Mom, watching these boys is better than watching a TV Show."

Bahahahaha!  I'm glad he thinks so!  I think so too!

Don't Worry About Your Tooth Charley

I almost burst into hysterics at the ball field one afternoon.  It's not bad enough that my middle boy does the pee-pee dance when up to bat...every s i n g l e time!  I think he must get nervous because we take him to pee before every game.  I guess it doesn't help when the game starts late.  



Anyway, there is this one little boy on the team who is just about as cute as they come but he could care less about his position.  His dad yells, his mom yells and sometimes even his baby brother yells...but the one thing that almost had me in stitches was...

"Don't worry about your tooth Charley!"

Charley isn't his real name of course. 
Let me tell you, around our house if a tooth is loose that is WAY more important than holding down the bases.  That might not be the case for everyone's boys but for mine, a loose tooth is a distraction for months.  My oldest has had a loose tooth for almost 3 months now and my husband tells him it's about to fall out and I tell him it isn't ready to pull yet.  So he keeps wiggling.  Sorry, but if this mom is going to pull a tooth, it's going to be dangling.  I can only handle one cracking sound, not two.    The blood I don't mind or the empty hole, that's okay, it's just the sound or the feeling, or that I can't get a grip on the tooth.  

So, to hear a mom yell over and over, "Don't worry about your tooth, Charley" as if he's actually going to forget about it, is funny.  As a matter of fact, he probably should just sit it out.  Because the ONLY thing that little boy was worried about WAS his tooth. 

Can't you see it though, I'll be the mom in a few weeks screaming the same thing at her kid from the bleachers, hoping that my voice carries right to middle field and straightens my kid up.  But it won't so I won't and here's to all little boys who are wiggling their tooth/s on the ball field.  :)

Are your kids this funny???



This is the before, when they were both being cutie pies!




This is the during...




And this is the Kiss and Make-up afterward.

These kids crack me up!

Jakes Lovey (aka Doggy)

Never in my life as a mom have I encouraged my children to get attached to an object other than their pacifiers.  Which, they have given up all on their own.  They have thrown those "sassies' away.  It could be a bad thing I guess to let them get attached to something and then for it to go away
or
it could simply be a fact of life and a lesson learned.


In the last few months or so my little man Jake has pretty much kept a close eye on a new lovey.

His name is "Doggy" and doggy likes to go to movies, eat Popsicles and read Goodnight Moon.
Doggy has been around a long time, he is almost 8 years old.  However, he just never found the right "master".

Until recently.
and now he has a new best friend.

I think Doggy is happy!



A Love for Bubblegum and I love Bubblegum!


Jake showed me his bubblegum
& then he did a trick with it.


and again...


and then he helped me. ; )

and that is why I love Bubblegum!

and

if you think Jake come blow his own bubbles...
well...
that's part of the trick!

First Day of School - Are Momma's Supposed to Be Happy or Sad?

 
My Baby started his first day of playschool!
 
 This is his second year and he loves it!
  
My little guy painted his first at school picture!
I stood outside the door taking pictures like the crazy moms you might see.
This is my baby we are talking about!
  
They both fell asleep before dinner...
 
And Cooper, taking pictures of himself!   He had a good first day too!

My Favorite Getaway...Mentone, AL

Every time I take my boys to Lookout Mountain to visit my parents mountain home, I don't want to leave. When it's just us, it's like heaven!
The water is perfect, the weather is a dream (even thunderstorms), the sky is clear at night, my little boys, get to be little boys!
After going this weekend, my heart really wants to be there 24/7.
What I want for my children is a place that they will always want to come home too.
They are growing up way to quickly. I want them to have a home that they'll want to visit.
What I love is that our Mentone cabin is 15 miles from Fort Payne & Menlo, GA
So, I can go either way and in 20 minutes or so, I'm back in civilization.
This place is like magic! Between our cabin and Fort Payne hose is DeSoto State Park; that place is really cool. Then old downtown Fort Payne is the perfect small town, and the parks for kids are divine! SO, our little getaway has SO much to offer!
I can't wait to go back
&
watch my boys
play!
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