tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66524415622651220882024-02-28T17:44:07.243-06:00everyday lifewhatever it is, it's oursheatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.comBlogger1237125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-29059606789978406882016-11-05T21:14:00.000-05:002016-11-05T21:14:07.505-05:00one one<div style="border-image: none;">
Well look at me! Two days in a row!</div>
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Actually it's just convenient that one of my kids has a birthday I need to document. Ha!</div>
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His actual birthday was really low key... we made SJ skip play practice and did (jello)cake & presents after school. Then we had dinner at a pizza buffet. Because of course we did. It is Sawyer, after all.</div>
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Sawyer scored himself some STEM robotics to work on, a puzzle, some new air ball shooters, a new wallet, a super soft bathrobe he requested and an "air hammock" he'd had his eye on. He was a happy kid.</div>
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Turns out his friend party day was super low key as well. He hasn't had a party in a few years now and so I was excited he wanted to throw one together this year. But surprisingly, even *I* kept it low key. I picked up a few storebought decorations and an ice cream cake and called it good. I didn't even theme it up and if y'all know me, you know that's absurd. The one single thing I made myself was an invitation for him to hand out to a few friends.</div>
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They went to a local arcade, and came back to our place for pizza and cake and a pinata (I realized what a brilliant idea a pinata is for this birthday timing each year... I had all four of my kids empty their Halloween buckets into the pinata! Easy peasy way to disperse our hoard!).<br />
Super low key, Sawyer had a ton of fun and no stress for us. :)<br />
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So he's eleven. </div>
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Cue the usual How Did This Happen and Where Has Time Gone lamentations.</div>
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Eleven. He's becoming such a Young Man. He's kind to a fault (to anyone but his siblings), he's got a quick sense of humor, he's forever curious, he's easily distracted but when he zeros in on something, that's all there is. He's smart and he's daring and he thinks he's too cool. I kind of think so too.</div>
He still loves all things sports, and now rather than just playing or watching, these days he's all about the sports talk as well... chattering on about teams and players and stats and good calls and bad calls. He still can't turn down a good card or board game, is currently more than a little obsessed with both chess and cribbage. He's in the STEM club at school and that's his jam. He comes home on those days chatting away and excited about what new things they're learning or building.<br />
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Sawyer Isaac, you are a crazy incredible kid. And I am thankful beyond thankful we get to be your mom and dad and get a front row seat to all this growing up you do. Getting to discover this fine young man you're becoming.<br />
I think Eleven is going to fit you quite nicely.<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-83649350655019511742016-11-04T12:57:00.001-05:002016-11-04T14:49:35.989-05:00taking stock<em>"In 2007 when I started blogging (yup, it’s been a while) I met women
from across the world who had voices to share – some of those women
have dusty blogs….that I’m hoping they’ll reset passwords and take stock
for themselves."</em><br />
Thanks for the extra nudge <a href="http://subtractionproject.com/2016/11/taking-stock/" target="_blank">Cass</a>.<em> </em><br />
<em><br /></em>
It's been two and a half years since I've written here. TWO AND A HALF YEARS. <br />
I don't even know what to say. Except that I'm here.<br />
And I need to write.<br />
I've really been feeling it the last few months... that urge to spill my thoughts on <strike>paper</strike> screen. I've missed it so. I have always, always, always been a journal-er and there is always something that feels missing when I'm not.<br />
So I'm here.<br />
<br />
And I'm just going to jump back in with some easy!<br />
Currently I am... <br />
<br />
<b>Making:</b> plans, plans and more plans. Meal plans, trip plans, babysitter plans, party plans and the list goes on and on. Seems I've constantly got something spinning the wheels in my brain these days. It never ends.<br />
<br />
<b>Drinking:</b> water. Boring.<br />
<br />
<b>Reading:</b> Heart Made Whole by Christa Black Gifford. Still. Slowly. Soaking it in. Having great discussions on it with a group of amazing women walking through it together. Big stuff.<br />
<br />
<b>Wanting:</b> to go back to Aruba. Bad.<br />
<br />
<b>Looking:</b> at the outdated pictures on my wall. Except for one or two in the dining room, we have no pictures of our youngest two children displayed in our home. All the pictures framed on our walls and such are at least six years old. I'm horrible.<br />
<br />
<b>Deciding:</b> between making or buying the ice cream cake Sawyer requested for his little birthday party this weekend. I think laziness will win in the end.<br />
<br />
<b>Enjoying:</b> the new TV shows we've been watching this year. This Is Us, Designated Survivor, and Poldark are at the top of that list. <br />
<br />
<b>Liking:</b> backyard lunchtime picnics with the littles in this gorgeous weather. Even if they don't really eat anything because they're too busy having fun. That's what it's all about. We've been doing this almost whenever we have chance and it's awesome.<br />
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<b>Loving:</b> said gorgeous weather. It FINALLY cooled off and now it's all sunshine and 70 degrees and I will take all of that I can get. It's Fall y'all.<br />
<br />
<b>Listening:</b> to Coen chattering over the monitor while he's upstairs for rest time. He never naps anymore, but he needs the down time. WE need the downtime.<br />
<br />
<b>Buying:</b> too many little girl clothes. Way too many. I can't stop. I feel like I'm catching up from spending basically the past ten years buying for baby boys and now I'm making up for lost time. There's a package that was just delivered on our front step as we speak.<br />
<a data-slimstat-async="false" data-slimstat-callback="true" data-slimstat-clicked="false" data-slimstat-tracking="true" data-slimstat-type="0" href="http://www.branchshop.com/"><br />
</a><b>Hoping:</b> we get some snow this year.<br />
<br />
<b>Wearing:</b> Yoga pants and tee. It's Friday.<br />
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<br /><br />
<br />
<b>Disliking:</b> The election and how what was designed to create a strong
union has deteriorated to show the weakness in our one republic and
insulted much of what we were created to stand for.<br />
<br />
<b>
</b><b>Opening:</b> aforementioned package. It wasn't the package I thought it was after all... it's Ryan's new toy: the Google Home smart speaker.<br />
<br />
<b>Embracing:</b> this season. Right now. Where we all are. And getting back to documenting that like it's my job. Because it is. To capture the memories in writing and in photos... I want to get back to that and have that to look back on. I need that. My kids need that. I love it. I'm on it.<br />
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-75704226500873011492014-03-12T10:44:00.003-05:002014-03-12T10:44:46.815-05:00wacky wednesdayWhen Sawyer was sick last week, what he was most upset about -more than throwing up 9 times in 8 hours, more than not sleeping all night and feeling craptastic with a fever, and more than the idea of putting a dent in his perfect attendance this school year...<br />
was the realization he would miss the highly anticipated Wacky Wednesday at school.<br />
[I've learned over the years there are some do or die days at school these days... my kids will FALL APART if attending these school days are threatened: D.E.A.R days (read-ins), pajama days, or Wacky Wednesdays.]<br />
Turns out some icy patches on the roads in the northernmost corners of our county saved the day for Sawyer. School was unexpectedly called off. Again. And when school was called for so many days and that coincided with our school's planned Literacy/Read Across America Week with five days of special events planned, the school decided to reschedule them. So the kids got to go ahead with their "A Good Book Will Knock Your Socks Off" (crazy sock) day and their "Hats Off To A Good Book" day (wearing a favorite hat) that they missed... and the ever anticipated Wacky Wednesday.<br />
There was much rejoicing in our house. By a certain eight-year-old at least.<br />
<br />
And so I present to you,<br />
Wacky Wednesday!!<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-61439955058301175842014-03-09T22:22:00.000-05:002014-03-12T10:22:41.459-05:00sunny weekendperfect weather for some baseball...<br />
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perfect weather for a walk in the park...<br />
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<br />
perfect weather for some spring cleaning in the yard...<br />
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Love it!!heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-20507990159586024612014-03-07T09:48:00.002-06:002014-03-07T09:48:46.471-06:00thank. God. it's. friday.This has been the type of week you call A Wash.<br />
<br />
It's finally Friday.<br />
It happens to also finally the first day of the week that we are back to "normal".<br />
The first day the big kids are both at school this week and the first day Ryan is at work.<br />
Here's how the week unfolded... <br />
<br />
Monday: snow day (freezing rain day), kids home, Ryan home, appointment at Vanderbilt rescheduled due to weather, started out the day relaxing together enjoying a rare whole family snow day off. But by the time we had lunch, I wasn't feeling too hot. And by the time Ryan returned from a late afternoon run to the grocery store, I headed upstairs to bed. With a bowl. And proceeded to be sick all night. Ryan took the baby and slept in the guest room.<br />
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Tuesday: snow day #2 (but no snow or ice to be seen anywhere around us), kids home, Ryan stayed home to take care of sick ol' me and all the kids, plus take the baby to his rescheduled specialist appointment. I was feeling better by dinnertime. Took a nice shower and got into a freshly washed bed for bedtime... Ryan didn't trust it yet though so he and the baby still slept in the guest room.<br />
i slept blissfully for all of two hours... and then Sawyer came in to me at about midnight with the dreaded news; he had thrown up. And continued to do so every hour after that until after sunrise. He and I (again) didn't get much sleep that night. And so much for my fresh, sick free bed.<br />
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Wednesday: snow day #3 (with not a trace of wintery issues to be found)(and was in fact supposed to be 50 degrees that day). Sawyer was happy to not have to ruin his perfect attendance. Ryan got up for work, but ended up in bed with Sawyer unsure of his stomach as well... and ended up in the bathroom before midday.We played musical beds and I took over the guest room that night while the two sickies camped out in my room. I feel like was only half asleep all night expecting SJ to join the stomach bug club at any moment.<br />
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Thursday: finally school is back on! Savannah was eager to get out of the sick house. Unfortunately Sawyer had spiked a fever with his bug until late the night before so he was out of the running for the school day. He was disappointed because he really felt pretty fine in the morning with his fever gone. Both boys stayed home to recooperate. And watch a Star Wars marathon.<br />
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Friday: thank God. School is on, Savannah (and the babies) seems to have made it thru our sick days unscathed, Sawyer was eager to get back to class, Ryan headed to work for a one day work week and I'm finally here with a semi-quiet, thoroughly lysol-ed, freshly laundered house.<br />
<br />
So the sun is out and it's supposed to be a beautiful (warm!) weekend so I'm happy.<br />
I'm thankful for the smallest of breaks today and for everyone getting back to their normal. And I'm thankful it is Friday and we can have a great weekend... and just pretend this longest week ever just didn't even exist! ;)<br />
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-14196911844757225942014-01-08T09:50:00.001-06:002014-01-08T09:50:51.564-06:00and there was much rejoicing!Our littlest buddy, the itty bitty babe we have with us, at three and a half months old,<br />
<b>slept thru the night last night!!!!!!!</b><br />
Now, he's actually been "sleeping thru the night" in infant terms (ie, 7-8 hrs straight) for quite a few weeks. Problem is, he very much likes the early to bed mantra. He wants that "last" bottle at about 7 o'clock -8 if we're lucky- and then he'll sleep a good seven hours. Problem is, 7 hours from then is 3 or 4 in the morning. Oh we've tried waking him up before we go to bed and feeding him again. We've tried the <a href="http://www.babyexpert.com/baby/sleeping-crying/what-is-a-dream-feed/1132.html" target="_blank">dream feed</a>. He just will not wake up and if he does, he will. not. eat. He just wants to sleep. So we've been stuck at this 7pm to 3/4am schedule.<br />
Until this morning.<br />
Ryan's alarm goes off at 6:30am.<br />
"Did Sonny wake up last night?"<br />
"I didn't get up with him, did you??"<br />
"Nope"<br />
<br />
Maybe he was happy to be back in his own bed??<br />
(he'd been in the pack 'n play in our room while Coen was visiting us for the past five days)<br />
Maybe he's just relieved to finally have his surgery scheduled.<br />
(large inguinal hernia... to be repaired Feb 5th) <br />
<br />
Whatever it was, I'll take it!!<br />
When you have [newborn]baby after [newborn] baby like we randomly have, a sleeping thru the night milestone is a big one!!! <br />
<br />
Hard to believe this bitty has been with us for three months already...<br />
He's smiling more and finally seems happier and I think we're moving past the "rough start" he's had.<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-80294419289955777592014-01-02T11:27:00.000-06:002014-01-03T11:44:46.756-06:00a new yearWell.<br />
I'm not even sure what to say.<br />
I knew it had been awhile, but jeez...<br />
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When I finally logged in and dusted off the old blog and saw the date I actually last posted... ouch.<br />
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<br />
I mean, I've had little lapses before, but <b><i>four months</i></b>??!?<br />
Never in the eight years I've been <strike>babbling here</strike> blogging has that happened.<br />
I don't even know what to say. Not even sure I know how to jump back in. It must be kinda like riding a bike, eh?<br />
<br />
What a crazy four months it has been. <br />
But I'm just going to jump into January and pretend like that little leave of absence never happened and back fill things in as I go.<br />
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And so, <b>New Years</b>!<br />
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Our only out of town-ers to ring in the New Year with us were the Laughlins. They came and stayed a couple of nights before and we had a great time hanging with them. We all ate lots and played lots and laughed lots and our two kids made it to midnight (which 3/4 of the adults did not!) on New Years Eve.<br />
<br />
And then of course our New Years Day Dinner. Eighth Annual, fyi. :) <br />
<i>[Here are <a href="http://notesofus.blogspot.com/2013/01/and-of-course-new-years.html" target="_blank">2013</a>, <a href="http://notesofus.blogspot.com/2012/01/and-new-years.html" target="_blank">2012</a>, <a href="http://notesofus.blogspot.com/2011/01/first.html" target="_blank">2011</a>, <a href="http://notesofus.blogspot.com/2010/01/2010.html" target="_blank">2010</a>, <a href="http://notesofus.blogspot.com/2009/01/happy-new-year.html" target="_blank">2009</a>, <a href="http://notesofus.blogspot.com/2008/01/dinner.html" target="_blank">2008</a> and <a href="http://morrisonsinmichigan.blogspot.com/2007/01/dinner-party.html" target="_blank">2007</a> if you like trips down memory lane like me!]</i><br />
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It was a bit of a smaller affair this year; The Harkins again, The Laughlins, one half of the Wrights again and us, which made 7 adults and 8 kids. We had a full afternoon with a colorful table, a symbolic menu, fun fortune cookies, kid decorated toasting cups, breaking and sharing the peppermint pig and wonderful friends...<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>L-R grown-ups: Mike, Ryan, Me, Mindy, Kevin, Kelly and Kasey</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>L-R kids: Evan (4.5), Wesley (2.5), Baby C, Kyle (8.5), Sawyer (8), Savannah (10.5), Alex (2.5) and Micah (4.5)</i></span></div>
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Always the best way to start off the New Year!<br /><br />
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-7955893998571184612013-09-09T09:05:00.000-05:002013-09-09T09:05:12.638-05:00weekend endMonday is here too quickly. As usual.<br />
Let's see... what made up our weekend?<br />
Neighbors over Friday night for a couple of drinks and pool table action,<br />
a Saturday morning soccer game (first of the season!),<br />
one sick kiddo with the throw ups for a bit, meaning cancelled plans for a music festival I was looking forward to, which also meant a no-go on plan B; the State Fair, but also meant a loungeful Saturday afternoon of movies and slushes and snacks,<br />
a Sunday morning at church with an extra kiddo hanging out (watching a friend's daughter for the day),<br />
a Sonic lunch,<br />
a spend a good few hours at the pool 'cuz it's the last day of the season kind of afternoon (complete with a faceplant on the bottom of the pool by a certain 7-year-old boy)(yes Sawyer, there's a reason we say no diving in a depth of five feet!),<br />
followed by some more take-it-easy movie time that evening winding down the weekend.<br />
It was a full, relaxing weekend.<br />
<br />
Soccer was super fun to watch. Sawyer was crazy excited to play... he must have asked me a half dozen times before 10am (game time) "are you so excited to get this game going mom?!"<br />
First loss of the season as well, but they all had a blast and Sawyer is even more excited for the next practices and games. I think this is when sports get so fun... when they actually mature enough to look forward to practices and games as the actual learning and experience and you know, <i>practice</i>, for what they are... that they get it and embrace it. And become better players. Love it!<br />
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And it was the last weekend our pool was open. Boo. We spent a good few hours down there though with friends on Sunday, so all is well. Minus Sawyer's faceplant on the pool floor. Last week Ryan had been doing tricks with the kids, having them jump and dive through our big tubes... he'd hold them up angled or perpendicular to the water and the kids would attempt to dive through from the edge. Or they'd make a stack of tubes and jump in pencil dive style and try not to disturb the pile. Well, Sawyer was attempting these on his own while we were absentmindedly talking with our friends... which was fine, they always make up all sorts of crazy jumps on their own. But we didn't notice that apparently he had forgotten the fact that the only time he was supposed to be diving -head first- into the tubes was when someone was holding it upright. Not when it was floating flat on the water. So apparently he tried that. And succeeded. And met the bottom of the pool with his nose. Ouch.<br />
Saddest thing is, we never even noticed it happened. We did notice that he had gotten his towel and was just lounging on a chair in the sun next to an older buddy who was taking a break and reading. And then we noticed he initiated a game of pool baseball... outside the pool, with a squoosh ball and pool noodle. And then he moved to another chair and was just laying down relaxing again. Ignoring our numerous encouragements to get back in the water. He finally came over to our spot for a drink and that's when we noticed his nose was scraped up and slightly bruised. And he was definitely not his usual rambunctious pool self. Sawyer takes a lot of licks and keeps on ticking, so you know it's a big deal when he decides for himself to take it easy. Poor guy. I felt really bad. :(<br />
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It was a perfect day at the pool though. And Coen at least, as usual, was all smiles. :)<br />
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-52282463795646151942013-09-04T09:15:00.000-05:002013-09-05T09:16:08.516-05:00the see was sawedSavannah somehow, some time ago, got a hankering for some teeter-tottering in her head and has not stopped mentioning it almost daily for weeks. Months? Seriously... "can we go to a park with see-saws?","do you know where a park is with see-saws?","is there a park near the soccer field with see-saws?","can we get a see-saw for our backyard?", with every mention (or not) of anything outdoors.<br />
<br />
After admitting (for the hundredth time) that I don't know of any see-saw/teeter-totters around --my kids call them see-saws while I call them teeter-totters... potayto, potahto anyone??-- but I showed her <a href="http://ana-white.com/2012/05/plans/birthday-seesaw" target="_blank">this plan</a> and told her to start bugging her dad about it...<br />
She and Sawyer agreed to pay for the supplies and help with the project.<br />
This was last Friday. Of what happened to have coincidentally been "Labor" day weekend. By Sunday it was on.<br />
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It was a family affair in the garage. Mostly the baby just watched, and SJ helped him out with a little ear protection when the saw was on, but the rest of us all got our hands in it at some point.<br />
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A (few) trip(s) to Lowe's, about $30 and just a few hours later and ta-da...<br />
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They're already discussing plans to break the world record <a href="http://www.tv.com/shows/the-brady-bunch/the-teeter-totter-caper-4919/" target="_blank">a la Bobby and Cindy Brady</a>. <br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-40809598551880979442013-08-30T10:09:00.001-05:002013-08-30T10:09:55.699-05:00lunch-ableSchool lunches.<br />
I hate 'em.<br />
Don't get me wrong, the school's are definitely trying to make school
lunch more healthy for children, but the problem is, I know that my kids won't eat much of what they serve for those lunches. <br />
Turnip greens? Black bean salad? Baked (soggy, I'm sure) tilapia on a whole grain bun? Orange Chicken w/ whole grain vegetable rice? I'll give them credit, but this is stuff my kids would hardly touch at home with prompting (and bribing) from me. Left to their own accord... looking at that food that's been sitting in a school cafeteria kitchen all day and surrounded by friends who are enough of a distraction from eating even an appealing lunch, and I'm not sure much of that food gets eaten. What good is a cafeteria full of healthy(ish) options if no one actually consumes anything but the lowfat chocolate milk? Let's stick with kid friendlier food and make it real, good tasting food, okay?<br />
<br />
Anyway.<br />
Needless to say, my kids, hands down, day after day, choose to bring their lunch to school.<br />
(Except Mondays... sometimes Sawyer chooses to buy Mondays because it's of course Cheesy Flatbread Pizza)<br />
In fact they resist school lunches so much (seriously, sometimes I just want a break from lunches! can't you just eat cafeteria food for one day?!), it has become their "punishment" for not emptying their lunchbox from the day before. If they leave their day's lunch in their backpacks and I don't have an empty lunchbox on my kitchen counter when I'm ready to pack a new one, I dole out the money. And they hate that. ;)<br />
<br />
But packing a lunch to send to school every day gets really old for me — figuring out things my kids
will eat that will fill them up and give them the good energy they need... things that will survive the trek to
school and sitting in a lunch box... and then take peanut butter options out of the equation as well... it's what I hate most about the school year. :( I feel like I'm constantly trying to come up with things that are healthy, appetizing to a 2nd and 5th grader, good hot, cold or room temp, and are easy to make and eat??? Lunch -even at home- has never been my forte.<br />
<br />
So these have kind of been my go-to's so far this year:<br />
whole grain waffles w/peanut butter or nutella, hard boiled egg, fruit and yogurt<br />
whole grain mini bagels w/ cream cheese and turkey, sugar snap peas and carrots, fresh fruit<br />
spinach salad w/ ham bits, mandarin oranges and raspberries, carrots, cheezits<br />
pizza quesadillas, cucumber slices, applesauce, pirates booty<br />
pepperoni stick, cheese stick, fig newtons, yogurt, carrots <br />
muffins (usually carrot/zucchini/berry/bran varieties), deli meat, cottage cheese, fruit<br />
<br />
That's it. Pretty much the same old things rotating all year long. <br />
Sawyer won't eat sandwiches. Or pretty much any vegetable besides carrots. (he'll eat spinach if he has a canned mandarin orange segment to eat with every bite of spinach. weirdo.) And he doesn't like berries, fresh oranges, peaches or bananas.<br />
Savannah isn't so picky, but you never know what she's "in the mood for". (i.e. what comes back home uneaten that day)<br />
<br />
Savannah leaves for school a bit later than Sawyer does this year, so I've decided to see how it goes giving her her own lunch responsibility. (this may or may not have to do with the fact that she <i>cannot</i> seem to remember to not leave her lunch box in her backpack every. single. night. -and weekend!)(and the tears and stomping that ensue when I try to enforce my "I don't have a lunch-box so I can't pack a lunch, here's your lunch money" rule)(every morning)(seriously.) <br />
<br />
So she's started making her own lunch. Supposedly following my "protein + vegetable + fruit + grain" requirement. Which meant today she basically packed the same thing that I packed for Sawyer.<br />
But she did it herself. Because I refused to, when at 7:45am I still hadn't seen her lunchbox return from the day before. She slathered a couple of mini bagels w/ cream cheese, cut up a nectarine, threw in some snap peas and grabbed a frozen yogurt tube and called it good.<br />
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There may be a light at the end of the tunnel of my dreaded lunch-packing days... ;)<br />
<br />
Any other great packable lunch ideas for me?? Well, for me and my non-sandwich eating, dip hating, most fruit and veggie boycotting seven year old??heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-15242348272696198782013-08-26T09:59:00.000-05:002013-08-26T09:59:23.914-05:00pulling the plugWe're changing things up around here: No tv during the week. Zip, zilch, nada.<br />
Some of you are probably a lot smarter than I am and had this going on from the get-go. I, on the other hand, always foolishly thought, <i>we've always had a nice balance... no need to get drastic</i>. ;) <br />
<br />
You see, my kids didn't used to watch too much tv. <br />
But as they've gotten older, it's gotten to be more and more... and now they don't like to watch the same things, so that's more and more time that the tv's on... mostly, I blame it on the all-things-screen obsessed going-on-eight-year-old boy in my house. <br />
Regardless, however we got here, it's gotten out of hand. Waaay out of hand.<br />
<br />
The two biggies right now: <br />
My kids didn't watch Spongebob until lately. And now suddenly Sawyer is obsessed. OBSESSED. <br />
And Savannah is likewise preoccupied with watching every single Full House episode known to man. <br />
She'll get up at 6:30 in the morning on the weekends to watch the reruns. And have the DVR record it when she leaves for school.<br />
Meanwhile, Sawyer discovered that he gets a little taste of (his idea of)heaven with the fact that Spongebob is in fact on one certain channel for <i>hours straight</i> every afternoon when he gets home from school, making it so convenient to kick off his shoes, grab a snack and relax after a hard day at school, soaking up all the Sponginess... and losing all track of time in the real world.<br />
<br />
Add to those tendencies suddenly fuller schedules and a big handful of things that <b>need</b> to get done each day... and we're in trouble. Sorry, but summer's over kiddos!<br />
<br />
Sawyer has a tiny bit of homework (practice work) most every day... that is a huge fight to get him to do. I'm hoping that snapping him out of his Sponge<strike>brain</strike> er, Bob coma will help with that. Also, his teacher moved him up to the highest spelling group (he's in the highest reading group, but his spelling is a struggle we've had going on way, way below that) wanting to really push him and see how it goes, so he really needs to spend a good amount of time on his spelling list every day of every week. Plus, you know, actual reading time each day. And how about actual childhood playing and oh yeah, eating. And soccer on Thursdays. And we still <strike>enforce</strike> enjoy early bedtimes. ;)<br />
<br />
But SJ is actually the one who is a little more crammed for schedule. She gets home an hour later now that she's in middle school, so her home afternoon time doesn't even start until almost 4:30. That will leave three short hours 'til bedtime (that's reading in bed time for her) to do any homework, spend 30 minutes each day practicing multiplication facts (a stickler for her, so we're spending some real time working on it), practice piano, practice for band, and of course eat dinner, and oh yeah, it'd be nice if she could help clean up and hopefully relax and actually spend some time with her family. Oh and Mondays are minus an hour to go to actual piano lessons. Luckily, she doesn't get on the bus until 8 in the morning, so she has a extra little leeway in the a.m. as compared to Sawyer.<br />
<br />
Anyway, all that to say... I made the executive decision to unplug the tv during the week. <br />
[not literally. this is only as far as the kids are concerned. the grown-ups?... are you kidding? all the new shows are about to start up for the fall!]<br />
I also made up some little magnetic charts for the kids to "plan" their own afternoons each day... handing them the responsibility of looking at their time and fitting things in to get everything done that they need to get done. They have to slot in time for homework and practice and so on and so forth. And of course snack time and free time...<br />
<i>...that doesn't include the television. </i><br />
I expected that little detail to be met with an uproar... but surprisingly, they agreed to it easily after I showed them how it just wasn't smart to waste time with tv right now... and after I reminded Sawyer especially that it was making it really hard for him to be cooperative with getting his spelling and homework done the best that he could.<br />
Dare I say, they actually agreed with me. And got busy planning their Monday afternoon ahead of time... ;)<br />
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<br />
So, we had talked (and agreed) about it over the weekend, but I was braced for complaints this first morning as well. (tv has almost always been on first thing in the morning around here... kind of some brainless wake up time for <strike>me</strike> the kids)<br />
But complaints never surfaced.<br />
<br />
So it makes this choice a lot easier. So far. ;)<br />
Check back in with me when I have a fussy baby, I'm trying to get <strike>breakfast made</strike>, <strike>lunches packed</strike>, dinner ready, I have the two bigger kids at each others' throats, Ryan's working late, and I'm ready for the day to have been over at 4pm.<br />
<br />
How about your house? Do you have to regulate tv during the week vs the weekends? Are your <strike>seven-year-olds</strike> kids as obsessed as mine with screen time?? What works for you?<br />
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-86459239595250605922013-08-23T15:05:00.000-05:002013-08-23T15:05:07.195-05:00hello fridayWell, hello Friday. Here so soon?<br />
Actually I was wondering if you'd ever get here.<br />
I am beginning to wonder if that's how my weeks are going to be from here on out... a crazy mix of "the days are long but the years are short" mindset. Every single day I can't believe it's only Monday, only Tuesday, only Wednesday, not yet Friday and then all of a sudden the week is done and I don't know what happened with time's fly-by. <br />
<br />
But it is Friday.<br />
Hello.<br />
Hello middle school skate night. (a bit scary!)<br />
Hello no-plans-weekend. (minus soccer practice.)<br />
Hello to some real August weather. (finally!)<br />
Hello to entertaining the idea of repainting a bedroom.<br />
Hello to probably not really doing it. ;)<br />
Hello new favorite song my husband introduced to me... which makes it better than just me hearing it myself. ;) It's a cheery little song to have stuck in your head...<br />
"Some days are better than other days, but these days life is better with you"<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5Nz5kHurcc0" width="420"></iframe>heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-9416808026650085592013-08-20T12:40:00.000-05:002013-08-20T12:40:08.086-05:00rest<div style="text-align: left;">
The word rest has been whispering in my heart lately.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I want rest.<br />
I feel like my faith is being so tried right now. It's so very easy to let myself doubt what we're doing here, to let myself worry how things will turn out. To let fear creep in. To wallow in feeling like things are so out of my control.<br />
But I don't want worry, I don't want fear. I want rest.<br />
<br />
There's a song (below) that's been somewhat my mantra as of late, and with it I am reminded that the real rest I'm longing for is a constant choice; that the rest I need is truly a verb and not a thing to 'have'.<br />
<br />
<span class="hw"><b>rest</b><sup> </sup></span> <span class="pron">(r<img align="absbottom" src="http://img.tfd.com/hm/GIF/ebreve.gif" />st)</span><i> noun</i><br />
<div class="ds-list">
<b>1. </b> Cessation of work, exertion, or activity.</div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>2. </b> Peace, ease, or refreshment resulting from sleep or the cessation of an activity.</div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>3. </b> Sleep or quiet relaxation.</div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>4. </b> Relief or freedom from disquiet or disturbance.</div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>5. </b> Termination or absence of motion.</div>
<br />
<div class="pseg">
<b>rest,</b> <b>rest·ed</b>, <b>rest·ing</b>, <b>rests </b><i>verb</i> </div>
<div class="pseg">
<div class="ds-list">
<b>1. </b> To be at peace or ease; be tranquil.</div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>2. </b> To depend or rely: <span class="illustration">That argument rests on a false assumption.</span></div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>3. </b> To be located or be in a specified place for a time: <span class="illustration">The original manuscript rests in the museum.</span></div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>4. </b> To be fixed or directed on something: <span class="illustration">His eyes rested on her face for a moment.</span><span class="illustration"></span></div>
</div>
<div class="ds-list">
<b>5. </b> To place, lay, or lean for ease, support, or repose.</div>
<br />
I want rest... but it's not rest that means everything is easy and relaxed. (although that can be so appealing!) <br />
I want the rest that doesn't mean I've fallen asleep, but rather that I am at peace... while depending, relying, being located in, fixed on, directed to, and able to lean on one big thing for support and repose... it's the rest that only comes in the security of trusting God. Of being firmly in His will. The kind of rest that is established in Him; throughout the situation, no matter the chaos swirling around. The rest that doesn't just calm the situation, but rather calms us, and all the while matures us, refines us, even in the not-so-restful circumstances.<br />
I don't just want to get through all this and get to the "rest" at the end. (although, again, I will appreciate a little of that too!!) <br />
I want rest IN it. Because ultimately I want to come out of
this better…refined by Christ.<br />
I want our family’s faith and trust to
be increased and I want to see Jesus in all of it.<br />
I'm learning that means I will be sent into those parts of life that He
knows we can’t quite handle on our own. But with Him, <i>resting in Him</i>, we come to discover... we’ve got this. He calls
us to those places… and I want to better recognize what an opportunity that is. What an honor that is.<br />
<br />
I can't navigate this on my own. I am just a timid, scared, faithless, trustless
sinner.<br />
But Jesus can make me -can make our family- this bold, excited,
faithful, trust-filled, forgiven family that’s ready. Ready for
what’s ahead. Because more than
anything, we have to know we’re not ready on our own, but with Him. We are
His… and He’s declared that He is ours.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>Isaiah 43:1-3: “But now, this is what the Lord says—he who created you, he who formed you: </i><i>“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.</i><i><sup> </sup>When
you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass
through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through
the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, your Savior…”</i><br />
<br />
What an amazing promise and
comfort that is.<br />
I want to rest in that.<i> </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art<br />
I am find out the greatness of Thy loving heart</b><br />
<b>Thou has bid me gaze upon Thee and Thy beauty fills my soul<br />
For by Thy transforming power Thou has made me whole<br /> </b><br />
<b>O how great Thy loving kindness; vaster, broader than the sea!<br />
O how marvelous Thy goodness lavished all on me! </b><br />
<b>Yes, I rest in Thee Beloved and know what wealth of grace is Thine</b><br />
<b>I know Thy certainty of promise and have made it mine <br />
<br />
Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art<br />
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart <br />
<br />
Simply trusting Thee Lord Jesus, I behold Thee as Thou art</b><br />
<b>And Thy love so pure, so changeless, satisfies my heart</b><br />
<b> Satisfies it's deepest longing, meets, supplies it's every need</b><br />
<b>And surrounds me with Thy blessing; Thine is love indeed.</b><br />
<b> </b><br /><b>Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art<br />
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart</b><br />
<br />
<b>Ever lift Thy face upon me, as I work and wait for Thee<br />
Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus, earth's dark shadows flee<br />
Brightness of my Father's glory, sunshine of my Father's face<br />
Keep me ever trusting, resting, fill me with Thy grace </b><br />
<b> </b><b> </b><br />
<b> Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art<br />
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dX9-ruvMtrE" width="560"></iframe>heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-75065085588969351962013-08-19T08:40:00.000-05:002013-08-19T08:40:04.740-05:00hello mondayHello tired morning.<br />
Hello messy house.<br />
Hello full day.<br />
Hello to-do list a mile long.<br />
Hello baby <i>not napping</i>.<br />
I'd love to say hello to my bed again...<br />
<br />
Hello Monday.heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-84666274985284644462013-08-15T15:00:00.000-05:002013-08-16T10:32:26.070-05:00and, and, andIt's Thursday.<br />
Feels like a Monday.<br />
But also that it should be Friday by now.<br />
Unfortunately, now that school's back on it's time to officially remember what day of the week it is.<br />
I'm in trouble.<br />
<br />
It feels like we've been so busy, but we haven't really. <br />
I think that's because it's all in my brain; a million things going on at once.<br />
All the stuff swirling around getting us into the routine of school and "Fall" (I say that with huge quotation marks, as it is still obviously barely mid-August)... all the things we still need at teachers' requests, schedules, evening open houses, and squaring away logistics of the extra things like band and piano lessons and soccer starting up. <br />
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<b>And</b> then all the stuff going on with Coen... not only are we are pretty much in the midst of a loooong and uncertain/possible/probable plan and placement change so that I'm dealing with the extra visits and communication and, oh yeah, EMOTIONS that go along with that, but we are also suddenly having our child case worker change at the same time as our own Family Support Worker getting a promotion which leaves us to be assigned a new worker on both ends. At the same time. In an already stressful (to me) situation. So, extra meetings and rundowns and EMOTIONS again. Blech.<br />
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<b>And</b> now that the big kids are gone for a chunk of the day
(and I have a great napper here with me) I'm also trying to "organize"
and be intentional with my time and my job as <i>homemaker</i>... I feel
like most of the summer was NOT my best time as a mom and wife when it
came to cooking and cleaning and all things home. My biggest goal was
to utilize the short time off we had and really try and have the most
fun. Which honestly did not include regular laundry or deep cleaning or
feeding my family all that well (from scratch/wholey/healthily). It was
a very lazy summer on my part.<br />
So now that I have the down time,
I've been more intentional about planning good meals, preparing
nutritious breakfasts and snacks, orchestrating our time at home into
more structure and efficiency, etc, etc, etc. As well as catching up on
some deep cleaning, closet purging, and on and on and on. Did I mention laundry has been taking over our house?<br />
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<b>And</b> we're trying to plan for -trying being the key word; lots of intentions, not a lot of actual accomplishment- our big Fall Trip.<br />
And somewhat attempting to work in me going with Ryan on his Boston trip next month and so the pros and cons of the money and juggling involved in planning that and the logistics of handing the kids off for a few days are constantly swirling in my head as well.<br />
<br />
So yeah, my brain is full.<br />
<br />
But.<br />
<br />
Our school year has started off better than I could have asked for... our mornings have been smooth and enjoyable, the kids are loving their new classes and I'm overwhelmed with how lucky we've been yet again to get some pretty incredible teachers who seem to fit with our kids (and me!) so well. The kids have been happy to get going to school each day and come home having great days to report. :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">happy school boy... even at 7am :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>And</b> Coen is doing awesome... he is just seriously the best baby and spoils us completely. He had his six month check-up this past week and had four shots and he's teething big time this week (seriously, any. day. now. please.) and so he's been a little whimpery-whiney, but even still... he's the happiest and most laid back baby I've ever seen. He's at that super fun age where he's getting so "real" with us... he's beyond the moon excited when the kids get home from school... he squeals with delight when we come downstairs in the morning or after naps and he sees the dog waiting at the bottom of the stairs... he's grabbing our faces and snuggling into shoulders and holding us back when we're holding him. He's grabby and giggly and his favorite thing right now is playing peekaboo with his little lovey blanket (or bib or book or whatever's nearby) with everyone and anyone who'll give him a second glance. Especially the handsome little kid he met in the mirror the other day at the dr's office... ;)<br />
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<b>And</b> our house has stayed mostly tidy and functional these first few weeks (due in some small part to a couple of caseworker visits per week as of late, no doubt) and I've mostly been planning meals and have packed healthy inventive lunches and have had fun and (mostly) nutritious snacks ready for the kids when they get home. And I purged the playroom and my bedroom and bathroom are actually clean, which is a nice change!<br />
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<br />
<b>And</b> I am so looking forward to a vacation. Whatever it looks like.<br />
And the possibility of running away with my husband for four days. Even though it's only a possibility at this point. Even though it'll be a lot of him at a conference and colleague dinners and such... but I dare say I'd enjoy some time to myself in a nice hotel or wandering around a fun new city. And really loving the possibility of my littlest sister and her new baby coming to hang with my kids and visit with us. :) <br />
<br />
So my head is busy full, but it's full because of a life that's full and blessed.<br />
<br />
Now if I could just remember what day of the week it is...heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-72838199559111287682013-08-14T21:53:00.000-05:002013-08-16T09:54:07.846-05:00lovely dayEver since school started we've had hot, humid, thundery, rainy weather.<br />
Much to the kiddo's chagrin, we haven't been to the pool for over two weeks.<br />
But we woke up this morning and it felt like a fresh, beautiful fall day. Cool clear and sunny blue skies. :)<br />
<br />
I promised the kids that we would hit the pool as soon as we got a sunny day. But the weather was just too perfect, so we changed up our plans. It's rare that a day in mid-August around here is actually enjoyable to be active outside... and not have to be in the water to be comfortable. ;)<br />
<br />
So as soon as SJ got home from school and Ryan got home from work, we grabbed a picnic dinner and hit the park. Low to mid-seventies with a cool breeze in TN in August? Oh yes, I'll take it.<br />
<br />
We walked some paths and we enjoyed some dinner and we met another great dane (puppy)(that was already as tall as Clementine) and the kids played on the playground for what seemed like forever.<br />
It was<i> such</i> a nice day, I just couldn't get over it.<br />
In fact, I had that old Bill Withers' song "Lovely Day" playing non-stop in my head... :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this kid LOVES swinging :)</td></tr>
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<i>Then I look at you<br />
And the world's alright with me<br />
Just one look at you<br />
And I know it's gonna be<br />
A lovely day... lovely day, lovely day, lovely day...</i><br />
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IE1FEIlP_yG-Vz9dQ_MrnG9abUE1o1x9H9coTUkL-9jyKQZpdu_NhOBEpNBzotxryF0hGncymnkV3cHhVB_OqmSxU39rSGzPOLQaIovr6zfxkvCqog2Uxrv6vls-bFxnKFECK9M4yTc/s1600/IMG_2558c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8IE1FEIlP_yG-Vz9dQ_MrnG9abUE1o1x9H9coTUkL-9jyKQZpdu_NhOBEpNBzotxryF0hGncymnkV3cHhVB_OqmSxU39rSGzPOLQaIovr6zfxkvCqog2Uxrv6vls-bFxnKFECK9M4yTc/s640/IMG_2558c.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and this furry kid loves watching all the kids play :) "someone come pet me!!!"</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-11619835946249309302013-08-11T17:59:00.000-05:002013-08-11T17:59:59.014-05:00(gf) banana oatmeal muffinsI've been wanting to share a few recipes lately... I'll put most of them over on <a href="http://www.ourowngongshow.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">my food blog</a>, but wanted to stick a couple here just to have out there as well. <br />Now that school has started, I've been trying to be that much more intentional about filling breakfasts, healthy snacks, and easy lunch ideas that the kids (ahem, Sawyer) will eat that are actually nutritious. I've come across quite a few that have been pretty good successes in our house (and lunchboxes!), and like I said, I'll try and get a handful of them up on the other blog, but I thought I'd start here with our latest favorite from last week:<br />
<br />
<b>(Gluten/Wheat free)</b><br />
<b>Banana Oatmeal Muffins</b><br />
<br />
2 1/2 cup oats (old fashioned kind, not quick cooking)<br />
1 cup of plain low fat greek (or regular) yogurt<br />
2 eggs<br />
1/4 cup sugar or sweetener of choice<br />
1 1/2 tsp baking powder<br />
1/2 tsp baking soda<br />
1-2 bananas<br />
<i><br />
</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Preheat
oven to 400 degrees. Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12
muffin tins with silicone or foil liners </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>(I find the paper liners don't work well when baking with a base
that does not include flour, they always seem to stick to the paper)</i>.</span></span><br />
Place oatmeal in food processor and pulse until fine. You can then add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor or as I did, (my food processor is too small) just dump them all in a bowl and combine. I added some mini chocolate chips as well. Cinnamon chips would be yummy!<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 24px;">Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.</span> <br />
<br />
I also made a batch with strawberries instead of bananas. Together would be good also, I just happen to have a kid who doesn't like strawberries so I did two batches.<br />
<br />
I especially like these because I have a kid who won't eat breakfast... seriously some mornings it's like pulling teeth to get him to eat anything. If I'm lucky I can get a whole grain waffle (with Nutella) down him or he can usually be tempted with muffins and breads. Problem is, he just does not have an appetite in the morning and so it really has to be yummy... he won't go for them if they taste too "healthy". He loves these Banana Oatmeal Muffins however, and I feel good thinking when he eats one of these, he's essentially eating a bowl of oatmeal w/ fruit, yogurt and a side of eggs! :) <br />
<br />
<br />
Do you have any new breakfast, snack or lunch ideas (nut free for us here please!) I should try?heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-42141680744001444872013-08-01T20:14:00.000-05:002013-08-08T15:19:36.513-05:002nd & 5thI'm not even gonna bother with the "where has the time gone" and the "I can't believe how fast they grow up" stuff...<br />
Even though I totally don't know where the time has gone and I seriously cannot believe how fast they do grow up. It's insane. And scary. And a little sad for this mama.<br />
<br />
But here we are at 2nd and 5th this year... the beginning of a new school year, new grades, new friends, new teachers, and for SJ, a new school!<br />
<br />
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<br />
Yep, this one's now at the middle school. Talk about growing up....<br />
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Savannah was a tad nervous going in and being the youngest again. But she found lots of friends as soon as we got there to help ease her fears. Here's her and her bestie, ready to start the fifth grade!!<br />
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They're both excited and looking forward to this year. We've heard nothing but great things about both of their teachers... well, Savannah has more than "a" teacher for her classes (and band this year!!), but we're confident it's going to be a fabulous year. :) <br />
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p.s.<br />
We went out for a little dessert before dinner after school to celebrate them both having awesome first days. ;)<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-69632876497474583672013-07-31T14:51:00.000-05:002013-08-08T14:52:03.914-05:00the rest of our summerWe crossed quite a bit off our list in our short two months of summer.<br />
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We went to <a href="http://notesofus.blogspot.com/2013/07/where-weve-been-all-summer.html" target="_blank">STL; Six Flags, the Science Center, a [non]baseball game, and Circus Flora</a>.<br />
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We went to the drive-in (Despicable Me 2 and Monsters University)<br />
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We managed to hit the lake a couple of times<br />
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We camped in the backyard<br />
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We had lemonade stands<br />
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We did VBS<br />
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We passed two sessions of ARC swim instruction<br />
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We miniature golfed<br />
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We slept in and stayed up late, we watched way too much tv (Full House is the new obsession) and played way too many video games, we chased fireflies and slipped and slid down the slip 'n slide, we made fudge pops and s'mores, we did three great puzzles and played lots and lots of card and board games.<br />
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And of course we swam. And swam and swam and swam. Coen was a summertime pool champ. Seriously could hang out there all day. He love, love, loves the water and otherwise, he was always happy to chill and nap in the stroller. We spent hours at a time down here... five hours one afternoon and not a peep of complaint from our littlest swimmer. :)<br />
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It's been a great summer... so sad to see it end this year!heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-11917160459353525712013-07-30T09:36:00.000-05:002013-08-08T09:37:17.407-05:00where we've been all summerWell, to start off, June sure flew by didn't it!<br />
Along with blank dates on the ol' blog. :(<br />
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We saw a lot of old friendly faces in June.<br />
The Laughlins stopped in both on their way to and from Florida and we got to spend some good time with them. We went to the zoo and we went swimming and just hung out and enjoyed some of our favorite company. :)<br />
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The following week, we had a little vacay/staycation of sorts.<br />
Vacation in that we left the town we live in.<br />
Staycation in that we went to the previous town we lived in and stayed at friends' homes. And did a bunch of fun "we miss St. Louis" stuff that we don't get to do anymore... with people we don't regularly get to see anymore.<br />
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We left on a Wednesday, (thinking we were getting an early start, but discounting all the freaking summer road construction between here and there)(turned our 5 hr trip into an 8hr trip.) and arrived at <a href="http://theswinigans.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">the Swinigan's</a> that evening. So good to see them and let the kids just enjoy each other hear all their good news lately and basically just pick up where we left off last we saw them. :)<br />
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On Thursday, Kevin worked and Heather and the girls had a few errands to run, but Heather was kind enough to keep Coen with her all day while Ryan and I took our big kids to <a href="http://www.sixflags.com/stLouis/rides/index.aspx" target="_blank">Six Flags</a> for some fun in the sun. We spent the first half of the day in the waterpark, slides (Sawyer and Ryan did the Bonzai Pipeline!!), lazy rivers, wave pools and all.<br />
Lots of water, lots (and lots!) of sun. :)<br />
Sometime around one or two, we stopped and snacked a bit and headed over to the other part of the park. First stop: take a load off and scope out the park on The Colossus Ferris Wheel (18 stories high!)...<br />
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We hit Thunder River and the log ride of course, as well as a few of the big coasters. Savannah opted out of most of them, but Sawyer had a blast. At only 7 years old, he'd not yet been on any real roller coasters... I think he was taken a little by surprise at how fast and crazy it was at first, but he was screaming and laughing and had his hands waving in the air like the best of them.<br />
He did The Boss and American Thunder (formerly called Evil Kenevil) and the new Ninja.<br />
Savannah did the ferris wheel and the carousel. ;)<br />
Ryan did talk her into Batman... because Sawyer was too short for it. She was hesitant (of course), but they walked up there and there was actually no line, so they got right on before she had any time to really think about it. Ha!<br />
We were pooped that night!<br />
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Friday we hung out most of the day, and then all ventured to see one of our favorite local events, <a href="http://www.circusflora.org/" target="_blank">Circus Flora</a>. (It's like a mini, STL based Cirque du Soleil show) Fun, fun!<br />
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That Saturday was low key day, with the kids just loving getting to hang out and play together. We got out in the middle of the afternoon and headed to the theater to see <a href="http://disney.go.com/monsters-university/" target="_blank">Monsters University</a>.<br />
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Sunday we bid the Swinigans farewell, met up with some new friends at the <a href="http://www.slsc.org/" target="_blank">Science Center</a> for a few hours, and then made our way to the other side of town to see the Malones. We had tickets to the Cardinals ballgame that night and we went out for dinner beforehand. <a href="http://llywelynspub.com/soulard" target="_blank">The pub</a> we ate at had a free trolley down to the game, and the kids were giddy to take a ride. Even though it was pouring and storming. :(<br />
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The game was delayed three hours... everyone was a good sport while we made it about half that time (til 8:30) but with five kids past their bedtime and no game start in sight, we gave up and headed back to the house.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">tired, bored, good sport cotton candy smiles</td></tr>
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We left St Louis pretty early Monday morning and took our time getting home early enough to be able to unwind and relax a little. <br />
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All in all, it was a really great trip, packed with fun stuff and fun people and we're so glad we had a chance to get up there and and enjoy it. <br />
<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-41350847612809285372013-07-17T09:22:00.001-05:002013-07-17T09:22:50.493-05:00summertime, summertime, sum sum summertimeWow, it's been a month since I've updated around here?<br />
I think that might be some kind of record for me. <br />
<br />
We've been keeping busy with summer stuff... along with a fair amount of summer laziness. ;)<br />
It's been nice.<br />
What's not nice is realizing the kids have less than two full weeks of summer break left before school starts. :(<br />
Which means now we're getting busy getting in those last minute dr and dentist appointments, shoe shopping, school supply lists and such.<br />
Plus trying to cram in any last minute summer must-do's. I feel like I need to be real intentional with these last few days of real summertime for our family.<br />
<br />
There's been some new developments as well with Coen's case, that I haven't so much wanted to talk or even think about, so if you know me at all, you know I tend to avoid writing at all when there's an elephant in the room.<br />
<br />
I'll try and get back in the habit though. <br />
It's been a great summer so far and I need to record what I can.<br />
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Soon!heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-14098343281233528982013-06-12T11:07:00.002-05:002013-06-12T11:07:29.629-05:00to-doSo the kids have their (our) Summer to-do List, but I'm thinking I really need to make one of my own so I actually accomplish some things around here this summer.<br />
<br />
This list may or may not include...<br />
-painting the guest room<br />
-making a crib bumper<br />
-making SJ a weighted blanket (and one for Sawyer if it goes well... I've read they can also possibly help with sleepwalking and bedwetting)<br />
-actually using the fence wood we saved to make a wall hanging for the two story wall on our stairway<br />
-finish reorganizing the garage<br />
-make outdoor chalkboards to hang on the new fence (we have aggregate driveways and patio so the kids -who LOVE to draw outside- have nowhere to display their artwork outdoors)<br />
<br />
And I'd like to, at some point, relax by the pool. :) <br />
*sigh* I can already tell it's going by way too fast... heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-41508220317499676322013-06-07T14:42:00.001-05:002013-06-07T15:50:31.662-05:00swimming and boatingThe kids just finished up a two week session of swim lessons this week.<br />
We go to a private pool out by the lake that teaches <a href="http://www.philomath.k12.or.us/pool/Red%20Cross%20Level%20description%20%20r.09.pdf" target="_blank">the Red Cross levels</a>. We tried that out two years ago, our first summer here because we were sold on these more individual type classes when Savannah first experience with this type of environment was such a success way back when we lived in Michigan. (we went <a href="http://kintighspoolllc.com/" target="_blank">here</a> for you local Jacksonians :) )<br />
We have a little bit of a trek out to lessons each day (up to a 30 minute drive), but I feel like the quality of the instruction and the price/time in the water is worth it. We got too busy to fit in lessons last year, but we were back on this year. I had them repeat the level they did the first year <a href="http://mssueswimming.com/Home_Page.php" target="_blank">here</a> (Sawyer didn't quite accomplish all the strokes exactly, back when he was five) so they could get some real refreshing and practice with their form in the water. I think it was good for them and they both aced all the skills with flying colors. And they both want to do another session this summer. They have all the basic strokes down now, the next levels are all stroke refinement, more practice, practice, practice and learning more things like diving and turns and basic rescue stuff. Savannah really wants to learn turns at the wall. :)<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7zLCxGdvI_oULrRCI598hVZEHdmGfv9xEz7p33Qzj9MglBtT-A5s3ijpl8qx1Zf-vgqMEEs70JYvzpN3RSxhB_D1sIHIYY2R9z-qhCKBI2QBmpQ2uwS1YRHeg26L_PFgjWrVua063I4/s1600/IMG_1848c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7zLCxGdvI_oULrRCI598hVZEHdmGfv9xEz7p33Qzj9MglBtT-A5s3ijpl8qx1Zf-vgqMEEs70JYvzpN3RSxhB_D1sIHIYY2R9z-qhCKBI2QBmpQ2uwS1YRHeg26L_PFgjWrVua063I4/s640/IMG_1848c.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
Ryan joined us for the parent day (we get to watch them perform their tests) and Savannah and Sawyer tested together so it made it easy for pictures. :)<br />
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They had to jump in and do two laps of front crawl<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7DyljlbrQZiv2wLx63DsgVAjqcOjGdupPX1AvtuNNr7BhEUskhEQdTFvjWUtQYSmnmmWDNCey0MOaJcNzOC6SNIZfGRAt2waAG6I2lY9LM0mjn3KrrfoeGzlQySwV8aLvug0IxAODME/s1600/IMG_1836c.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC7DyljlbrQZiv2wLx63DsgVAjqcOjGdupPX1AvtuNNr7BhEUskhEQdTFvjWUtQYSmnmmWDNCey0MOaJcNzOC6SNIZfGRAt2waAG6I2lY9LM0mjn3KrrfoeGzlQySwV8aLvug0IxAODME/s640/IMG_1836c.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCt7zd5KhPGCorD2a6FVMd9tf8CN38VyvTda7_nRPC4B56rxrvkNgqtwGSrohWQPY6ggv3qCFN-m1Ah5FsQvrcxoo5ulHHWc10P-xaPnVWzJc8G2Z7jc-uRPjd3vy6WelcJQbqXofsVI/s1600/IMG_1837c.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFCt7zd5KhPGCorD2a6FVMd9tf8CN38VyvTda7_nRPC4B56rxrvkNgqtwGSrohWQPY6ggv3qCFN-m1Ah5FsQvrcxoo5ulHHWc10P-xaPnVWzJc8G2Z7jc-uRPjd3vy6WelcJQbqXofsVI/s640/IMG_1837c.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
and then flip over for a 30-second back float<br />
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and then two laps of elementary backstroke (chicken, airplane, rocket & bend, open, close is what I could hear them chanting in their heads...)<br />
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Savannah said her favorite thing is treading water. Sawyer wants to join a swim team.<br />
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After swimming, we stopped by the little lake beach we drive by out there every day and threw our little inflatable kayak in the water. Aside from the mosquitoes attempt to eat us alive (<a href="http://www.repel.com/products-and-solutions/natural-insect-repellent/lemon-eucalyptus.aspx" target="_blank">this repellant</a> rocks, by the way!), it was a perfect little afternoon to be on the lake. Coen and I hung out at a picnic table in the shade while he napped and the big kids took turns going out with dad, going across to the rock wall and finding caves and cactus and then paddling the other direction and playing an obstacle course of sorts under the bridge.<br />
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Too bad it was only Thursday... by the time we stopped for some dinner and got home, I was fully in Friday mode and ready for a weekend. :/heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-61568404623236878012013-05-28T11:29:00.002-05:002013-05-28T11:34:24.459-05:00fortyThe kids have been sprawled out in the backyard all morning. Love what a couple of kids, bedsheets, lawnchairs, clothespins, and a rebound net can do. <br />
Love it. <br />
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They set themselves up with games and lemonade and books... I'm betting I don't see them until lunchtime.<br />
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Except for when Coen and I go out and join them of course. :)<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652441562265122088.post-48235911244010833382013-05-27T11:10:00.000-05:002013-05-28T11:15:37.200-05:00may visitorsIn the midst of the craziness that was our month of May, we got to have Ryan's younger sister and her little family here with us for something like 12 days.<br />
This was the first time we got to meet our (then)newest cousin (my little sister had a baby while the E fam was here, so there's now a new newest we have to meet!), Paisyn. The last time they were here visiting, Tate was the same exact age as Paisyn this time around, so it was fun to think back and compare... and to have an almost-three-year-old having fun with us this time!<br />
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We didn't do much for fun, show 'em around Nashville type stuff while they were here. That's what happens when you have two little's naps to work around and the crazy busyness that is our last few weeks of school. Plus our foster care life of caseworker appointments and parent visits.<br />
Yes, poor Jenn and Greg didn't find much of a destination vacation here in Nashville with us in May. More like, welcome to a day in the life of the Morrisons! Such fun!!<br />
Tate was more than happy to just stay home and play with Clementine all day though...<br />
he kept her fed well. :) <br />
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Oh and lets not forget we were still in baseball/softball season. Because of rained out rescheduled games, we seriously had a game every single night they were here except for two. One of those nights was SJ's piano recital and the other was a Saturday, and we had games earlier in the day. :)<br />
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That Saturday we did get a babysitter and us grown-ups hit the town. We went out for some yummy BBQ and went down to "the strip" to find some music and good drinks. Gotta get your fill of Nashvegas while you're here!<br />
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We did attempt a few fun outings where we could squeeze them in...<br />
We tried to go for a quick hike around a little lake nearby, but after we drove all the way out there, found the trails closed because of flooding. And the little playground there by the lake was literally swarming with mosquitos. Boo.<br />
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Coen and I took the visitors to the zoo one day while the big kiddos were in school. Carousel rides were a must, obviously! <br />
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We also took the crew down to Chattanooga and went to the Aquarium one Sunday afternoon and that was fun (despite almost getting swept away in a storm on the way down there and Sawyer somehow trying to slice off the top of his toe somewhere in the River Journey building).<br />
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Since our pool wasn't open yet, Ryan took all the kids down to the
indoor pool we like to go to that has little kid fountains and play-structures and a big water slide, and I think everyone enjoyed that.<br />
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We already decided they'll have to come back in the summer next time when we can go to waterparks and the lake and relax and show them around town properly. And when the kids are out of school and we don't have ball games and our pool is open. :)<br />
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Thanks for hanging in there with us guys. Miss you already and can't wait to see you again soon!!<br />
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<br />heatherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12585727879797305803noreply@blogger.com3