Worth a Look

A great idea for a kids Lenten activity. 

Smiley Sickies

The flu is making it's way through our house right now.  Steve had it first and was over it in 36 hours.  I was next and am only now (5 days later) getting better.  There are tons of tissues for tiny noses as all 3 kids are hoping on this train.  They all had low fevers today, hopefully they'll get better quickly.  At least we can still get smiles out of them!  :)

  

 

Forecast Calls For...

Did you know it was supposed to snow here today?  The kids seem to have gotten the memo.

  

That would be cornstarch.

Covering these hooligans children from head to toe.

  And what did they do when they saw me come back into the kitchen?

 

Throw it up in the air like confetti and run around the house squealing.  

Anyone know how to get this stuff out of the grooves in a hardwood floor?

Cutie

Out in the backyard yesterday Addie saw a bird land in a tree and got very excited.  She has seen birds before, obviously, but for some reason this one caught her attention.  She gasped and ran to the middle of the yard, pointed and said to me, "Look, Mommy!  A bird.  Aww, it's so cute!  I'm gonna catch it!"  She then opens her arms wide and leans toward the tree.  "Biiiirdeeeee!" she calls before taking off across the yard.

Can you die from too much preciousness?

Packrats in Training

After a few more naps and bedtimes of trying to put the kids in their travel beds I have realized just how much stuff they sleep with. These are "needs" to them.

For Addie: Pillow, Teddy (large stuffed), Roxy and Charlie (small stuffed), gloworm, 2 blankets and 4 pacifiers. Yes 4. One for her mouth, one in each hand and one extra. (She only gets them when it's time to sleep so she likes to hoard them. Breaking this kid is going to be rough. It's next on the list after switching to toddler beds.)
For Gabe: Pillow, BoBo (large stuffed), DoBee (small stuffed), 2 blankets, a lovey and one pacifier.

I'm wondering if when taking trips we'll have any space left in our car for luggage.

Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. I'm participating in a Lenten challenge being held over at Faith and Family. The 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge.

What are you planning on doing or giving up for the next 40 days?

Breakthrough

Last night Gabe slept on his travel bed. All night. This is serious progress.

This summer we are spending a week at a lake with our family. There is limited space and the kids will need to be able to sleep uncontained. We knew it was time to transition them to toddler beds as well, so I picked up two inflatable kid beds at the store. (They are about a foot longer than a crib mattress and come with a fitted sheet and zip-on sleeping bag.) Best of all, they were only $30 each. Much more affordable than any toddler travel bed we'd seen. So what if they roll out, they're 5 inches from the floor!

So last night we set the beds up in the small alcove of their bedroom and went over the rules. Well, rule, actually. No getting out of bed. As soon as they do they're done for the night. Addie lasted longer than we thought she would, about 10 minutes. She just couldn't resist getting out a book though so she went back to her crib for the night with a promise that we could try again tomorrow.

Not long after Addie was back in her crib she started testing Gabe, trying to make him get up.

"Gabe. What you doing? You in your cars* bed?"
~Addie throws her pacifier to the ground~
"Uh Oh! Gabe, get my paci? Come here. Gimme your hand. Gimme your hand."
Gabe, silent up till now, simply says, "No."
"Gabe? What you doing? You wanna book? Get a book."

Gabe didn't respond again and she must have given up because they were silent for the remainder of the night.

We will try this again at nap time today. It seems to be the best way to get them used to sleeping without rails and not getting out of bed. If they do get up we simply pop them back in their cribs. No converting required until they have it down. As an added bonus they will be very familiar with and used to these beds so when on vacation it will be an added comfort.


*The beds have disney characters on them. One is red with Lightening McQueen from the movie Cars and the other is pink with 3 princesses on it. Not my top choices, but you just can't beat that price!

Say it again

Addie is as loquacious as ever. She's even speaking to Gabe in sentences now, always prompting him for his opinion.

"You geh muffin, Gabe? s'it good? s'it nummy?"
"Ah-yi-ga-rer" (Alligator)
"Gi-muh hahn! I guh fall" (give me your hand, I'm gonna fall)
"Dehnce" (dance)
"no, no, no. I get it."
"Help us?"
"Wow, look at that!"


Gabe has begun trying to form longer sentences and string several together. His words aren't always very clear so we're lucky to pick out one word we recognize in his babblings, but are still trying to encourage him. Addie has been jabbering like this for a while so it's fun to see Gabe trying, too. You can almost see the little gears working in his head.

"Dadee bed?" (a request to jump on our bed)
"coo-fik" (crucifix)
"muh-mus" (muffins)
"Yaaaaaaaahh!" (Yes. But with Swedish pronunciation. And always very emphatic.)
"Push a button?" (a request to start the microwave or dishwasher)
"No pants"
"Sumch" (Sandwich)

Super Chocolate Muffins

This has become our family's favorite treat. Not only is it delicious but it's healthy and made with natural ingredients.

1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup natural sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Mix these well in a large bowl. In a separate bowl combine

1 egg
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp rice milk
1/2 cup spiced applesauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk well. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix till fully wet (add more milk if too dry.) Add in

1 large zucchini, shredded

and stir. Lastly, add

1/4 cup chocolate and peanut butter chips

stir. Fill 14 muffin cups that have been sprayed with cooking spray to 3/4 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

They're spongy, chocolate-y goodness and, at around 130 calories and 3 grams of fat each, not bad for my diet. Sweet!

Oooh, sparkly

I have been deep cleaning my kitchen for the past several days and it's been wonderful. I have cleaned up every "hot spot" surface and kept them free of clutter for almost a week now. You know, they're those places that seem to always be covered in things . Things to be put away or given away or thrown away. For some people it's their mantle. For others a coffee table. Well, for me, in my kitchen, it was the top of the microwave, next to my coffee maker, the top of the fridge and my dryer. (Washer and dryer area is in the kitchen.) Wow, that's a lot. But no more! It's so nice to have those areas free of clutter. I almost feel lighter with all that stuff gone.

I'm also planning on re-organizing my storage for my laundry area. I have some great storing systems in there but I'm using them for the wrong things. I need to have anything I use daily or weekly in there and everything else moved upstairs to the storage room. (We have finally decided to keep Ana in our room until she can share with the twins and move the desk from our bedroom to the spare room to have it an office/storage area.)

I've also been able to get some deeper cleaning done. I have found that if I clean out the sink for the kids and let them play with toys in the water they're in heaven, and fully occupied, for anywhere from 30-45 minutes, though it is an activity that requires much supervision (and lots of towels). Tackling some small jobs lets me stay with them but still be productive. So far I have been able to clean my baseboards, wipe down all my appliances, doors and cabinets, clean the stove and hood, scrub every corner and hard to get to place, and clean and organize the bathroom. We'll play again today, the microwave is calling my name.

Snow!

Our camera is on the fritz again so we didn't get many good pictures but everyone had a good time. You can't tell it by looking at him but Gabe loves the snow. He pitched a royal fit about having to come in after being out for 2 hours. Only promises of hot chocolate could lure him towards the door. Addie enjoyed it for a while but seemed glad when we headed home. Juliana had a wonderful time. I wore her facing out in the Moby wrap and she bounced, kicked and cooed the entire time.