that there was no exit for this ride.
They’re Really Not That Bad… April 26, 2011
If you’ve never had a green smoothie, I highly recommend them! Try just making a normal fruit smoothie (banana-strawberry or orange-banana, something like that), and adding a few spinach leaves. Bet you won’t even taste a difference, and you’ll get that much more green in your diet!
Sunday Sunshine 04.24.11 April 24, 2011
Happy Easter! May your joy in the risen Christ be full today!
Here are a few good things from this week:
Video by Robyn O’Brien (author of “The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It.”). This is great basic info on food allergies and insensitivities. (Mom, WATCH THIS.)
The Case for Once A Month Cleaning – Simple Homeschool
Now Is All We Have – Kisses from Katie
She’s Working on Her Fade-Away Jumpshot April 22, 2011
Why is it that relatives always give the loudest and/or biggest toys?
In this case, I’m happy for the gigantic basketball hoop. B-ball is probably my favorite sport to play. I played a LOT of sports growing up: volleyball, soccer, basketball and golf for school, league softball in the summer, and tennis, swimming, and the occasional game of football for fun. I look forward to the day my daughter can school me, which, at the rate she’s growing, might be before she hits Kindergarten.
Just know, J & T, that someday there might be payback. Even if it’s a 4′ mouse for Papi.
A new way with Egg-decorating April 20, 2011
Many of you already know that our family does all the commercial Easter things to celebrate the first day of Spring. So these pictures are old. But…they’re probably just in time for those of you who will be doing the commercial Easter things this week and weekend!
Since we’re on the Elimination Diet, the kids our the current consumers of our hard-boiled eggs. He gets the yolks, and Anja gets the whites.
I like to dye eggs, but I didn’t want my kids eating anything dye-saturated, and I couldn’t see throwing a bunch of perfectly good eggs in the garbage, so I looked up alternative ways to decorate eggs. This one was super-easy. Put your still-hot hard-boiled eggs in an egg crate and let your little one color them. The crayon melts on the egg and virtually becomes “paint.” Anja had a blast.
The next week I found a brochure at the co-op on how to dye eggs using organic items (I didn’t read it, but I’m thinking beet juice, turmeric, etc.).
Have you ever done something besides the traditional dye bath?
On another note, happy 31st birthday to one of my besties, Ingrid!
The French Braid April 19, 2011
Apparently I take after my mother in the French braiding department. Meaning: I can’t do it. Normal braids, I can do, but I can’t for the life of me get Anja’s hair to take a French braid. Maybe the hair is the problem? Since my mom couldn’t get one in mine, either, maybe she just has my kind of hair? Yeah, I’ll keep telling myself that. And giving her awesome other-styles instead.
A Fun Way to Wake Up April 18, 2011
Anja left her markers on the kitchen table one night, and I found Husband carefully lining them up at her spot. He knows her well. Well enough to know that she would think this little display was fabulous. He was right.
Markus, 15 months April 15, 2011
Oh, Markus, my boy. You have changed a TON these past three months. At 15 months old, you:
- Are trying, and liking, many more foods. Some of your favorites: barley, sweet potatoes, pinto beans, peaches, bread, and almond milk.
- Took your first steps a few weeks ago, but still don’t walk more than a few steps at a time. You’re a cautious one when it comes to walking, but…
- Attempt new things with reckless abandon. From standing on wobbly little chairs to scaling a pile of boxes to taking on your sister (who is almost double your weight) in a fight, you are not one to back down from a challenge.
- Have developed an unfortunate “whining/screeching” noise that you make when you don’t get your way. It happened while we were gone in Dallas, so I blame your grandparents. :)
- Also developed an attachment to a lovey (bear head with a blanket attached) while we were gone. It’s pretty cute to see you hugging him and dragging him around.
- Have gained weight and height. Hooray! Both were necessary, since you had barely gained any at your 1 yr appointment.
- Are loving books more and more. You have developed favorites, and we’re excited to watch you learn as you read.
- Are still a mama’s boy. You have got serious stranger anxiety, and don’t even like to be with Daddy when I am in the room. We’ll keep on leaving you with other people and praying that this gets better.
- Are completely scared of animals. We went to the zoo this week, and the only thing that didn’t make you cry was the fish. We think it possibly stems from a memory of a friend’s dog giving you an unwelcome face bath, but we are praying that this, too, will pass.
- Have figured out way, way too many things around the house. You can turn on Daddy’s TV and X-box, open baby-proofed cupboards, pull a stool up to the counter and reach the stove (BIG uh-oh), pull down and empty boxes on my supply shelf, open toilet lids, flush toilets, and most recently, reach table-tops and anything within a few inches of the edge (which will be pulled to the floor). And we thought your sister got into a lot of stuff!
- Still have the biggest, squishiest cheeks that I love to nibble.
- Are a precious gift from God. We love you!
Heyyyyyyyyyyy…. April 14, 2011
Proof that I’m not the only one who can’t resist squeezing those chubby little thighs.
And then, some more gratuitous nekkid thigh pics. 
A brother to hug.
This is actually a pose she did for the camera. Yes, she’s my child.
“Mama, I wanna go out and play on the deck, tooooooooo…”
“Sorry, buddy. You have no pants.”
“Um, put some on me then? Duh?”
Anja and her prized bucket.
Tiptoes.
Love.
Reminds me of when she was a wee bebe.
Pwease Wead Me A Book? April 13, 2011
How many times have I been able to resist this nonverbal question? Approximately NONE times. The last few months he has started to drag a couple over to me, chuck them in my lap, and then climb in himself. I thought, since he didn’t have book fever starting at 2 mos. old like Anja did, that he might not enjoy reading, but oh boy does he!
