Whose Life is This?

These are the words that keep playing in my head: "Whose life is this, anyway?" So many things going on that just seem . . . amazing, incredible, and ridiculous. Here are some of them:

R (7) has been teaching himself how to do back flips on the trampoline. He had this to report to B yesterday: "The other day I got adventurous. The punishment for that ... was landing on my head." Seriously. This kid says the coolest things. (#321)

T (3) strung two measuring cups onto his rope tonight and bounced them up the stairs to show me. I was helping M on the potty (he went; more on that later if you want to know) and listening to R talk about something. In that split second that I wasn't watching. . .  he urinated in the 1/2 cup measure. I looked up just in time to blurt out, "T; stop!" and carefully transport the brimming measuring cup to the potty. What?!

And we are crazy blessed. Who loans you their truck so you can drive to/from work . . . even when you no longer work for them (and instead work two hours away!) . . . and has continued the "loan" for over a year?! (#322)

Can you believe that the government has a loan forgiveness program- for US? If B works for the government for 10 years, his consolidated government loans' outstanding balance will be forgiven. Oh, yeah- and in the meantime, they've adjusted our monthly payments based on his income and our family size. Instead of paying about $1000/month for all of the loans. . . we'll be paying $20. REALLY. INCREDIBLE. (#323)

Who has wonderfully generous relatives that offer their home. . . for a week or two- or three months? That's amazing to me. (#324)

And we have these kids that make us smile. (#325) And radiators that work. (#326) And friends who celebrate with us. (#327) And peppermint hot chocolate (#328) and turkey stock simmering on the stove (#329). We know about healing oils (#330) and JuicePlus (#331) and homeopathy (#332). We have a van to drive (#333). People gift us with clothes- really nice J.Crew and GAP and Loft clothes (#334). We know there will be gifts beneath our Christmas tree (#335) and we know we'll find a tree at our friends' farm (#336) and yet the Greatest Treasure we will celebrate daily (#337). We have enough food to last until payday (#338) and enough to share with others (#339).

Whose life is so crazy-wonderful? Ours.

Loved In IL

L (5) with Uncle John

T and Cousin Rachel

M and Aunt Jan

L and Aunt Stephanie

Uncle Zach and O (9)

Great-Grandpa B and M (6 months)

R (7) and O playing at the Dickson's

Simple Fall Salad with Maple Salad Dressing

We had a wondeful fall salad on Thanksgiving. Here it is! (Thanks Anne for the ideas!)

Simple Fall Salad with Maple Dressing


1 large bowl of mixed greens (we used romaine and lettuces fresh from our garden)
Crumbled feta, gorgonzola, or bleu cheese
6 oz. walnut or pecan halves, toasted if desired
Dried cranberries
Thinly sliced red onion

Dressing:
1/4 cup maple syrup
1-1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Put greens in a large bowl. Top with cheese, cranberries, onion, and nuts. Warm maple syrup in a small saucepan. Pour vinegar into a small bowl. Whisk oil into the vinegar in a slow stream. Whisk maple syrup into dressing in a slow stream. Pour dressing over the salad and toss. Season with salt and pepper.

Snapshot of Life

Just a quick snapshot of my afternoon:

T needs assistance in the bathroom.
The phone rings.
I send T upstairs to get new unders.
While I'm on the phone, I see underwear falling past the window.
Back to office for crucial information on desk.
Upstairs to find underwear accomplice. . . missing.
End phone call and head outside.
Find boy in underwear and a pile of clothes and blankets in the mulch; direct clean up.
Phone rings again; back inside.
Step outside to check progress; find that three children are climbing on top of the van, clothes and mulch are all over the steps.
M is crying.

Oh, and the van clean up left paper towels all over the front lawn. . . . which reminds me that O thoughtfully sawed a roll of paper towels in half this morning after determining that we were out of toilet paper (which is actually L's job). Said sawing left little paper towel shreds in the kitchen. Blankets from mulch have molted all over the house, including in the baby's bed. Said baby spit up carrots on our white bedspread. . . which reminds me that I need to clean the pomegranate off the kitchen tile (big boy's helped with breakfast).

I'm tempted to throw up my hands. I wish I were quick to laugh at this madness! It's a crazy, wonderful life. And, I'm grateful (and I need to concentrate on it!):

311) Hot chocolate in the evening quiet
312) Looking forward to the short week
313) Thanksgiving anticipation
314) M's talking, crawling
315) Glorious autumn day; raking in warm sunshine with M on a blanket nearby
316) T: "Don't cut my toenails! They aren't ripe yet!"
317) T: "God loves cheerfulness."
318) Protection; the back door was unlocked last night
319) Fellowship of children who bring out good things in our children
320) Steam hissing in radiators

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Okay. Yum. I love fall! Not that it needs to be cold to enjoy pumpkin and apple cider and things... but it helps to be a little chilly. I made this up yesterday and we tried them today and determined that they are worth making again. I halved the amount of sugar called for in other pumpkin bread recipes, and used my baking mix from Falls Mill (but you can use all-purpose flour).

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pumpkin Muffins

3/4 cup sugar
2 cups canned pumpkin (1 can)
1/2 cup coconut oil (or softened butter)
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 large eggs
3 cups baking mix (or flour)
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 and 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar in mixer.
2. Add pumpkin, yogurt, and eggs, mixing well.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, soda, and cinnamon.
4. Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
6. Fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes or until done.

First Foods

Little Man started eating "real" food today. We've (I use the plural because no one has yet confessed to giving M his first apple and it wasn't ME) given him slices of apples and diced bananas before, but today I prepared food just for him- finely ground oatmeal for breakfast and carrots for dinner.

At six months, he's been waking at night more frequently and seeming fussier. This has typically happened with all of our babies and even though I still don't know if it is an issue with milk supply or metabolism or just a readiness for food (more calories). . .  I guess I need to just go with it. May the Lord give me wisdom as how to proceed with these children! (The first year is so challenging for me.)

The best part of the whole event is what an event it was. All of the children thought it was as good as Christmas and there was a general hoopla made over M. There were oohs and aaahs over his bib; O took charge of installing the booster seat; L and R procured baby spoons from the little-used cubby in the drawer; T crawled right up, practically in my lap, to get a good view.

M enjoyed banging around on the tray and seemed puzzled by the bib. He is otherwise quite used to the attention made over him. I took his tiny hands and prayed a simple meal prayer before offering the first bites. "OH! So that's how we learned to pray!" the big boys immediately exclaimed.

At dinner, R was calling the pureed carrots "carrot sauce," which made me smile. He had the idea to get the video camera and so he ran to the office to get it and O decided that he would take some pictures, too. Here are some shots of the excitement.

Monday Uh-Oh

It seems that my gratitude posts continue to start with disclaimers and whining. Very humbling.

In the past month, I've taken M to Orlando, taken the five children on four flights to get to/from Illinois, and then taken M to Richmond. We've orchestrated help from friends to make this possible, and the children have had a most wonderful time.

I'm tuckered out and not looking to plan or take any trips for a good while. (Though I did beg B to let us come with him to Alexandria today, thinking we could learn and see a lot while he has meetings.) We're so far out of the school routine, I'm not sure how to get us going again. We're out of groceries and I'm out of meal plans that sound good to me. Uh-oh... here I go again. Making a list of challenges and wish-nots instead of the litany of praise I intended. Time to change course.

I'm grateful! For:

291) November sunshine
292) Sitting on the front steps, soaking in the sunshine
293) Baby smile around two fingers
294) Nordic blue hat on M
295) Warm Melton at the Drowsy Poet- so yum.
296) Happy boys that smell like (camp fire) smoke
297) M sleeping through church
298) Family doing P90X together
300) RC and lavender diffusing peacefully at bedtime
301) Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom? Mom?
302) Boys playing Christmas carols on the piano
303) R tenderly teaching L to play the songs he has already learned
304) Beautiful new necklace, reminding me of my mother
305) Long conversation learning a new friend
306) Grace, covering over all I lack
307) Sharing my bed
308) Greedily devoured clementines
309) Ruffled yellow carpet under the neighbor's maple tree
310) Skateboard/scooter/tricycle races

What We've Been Doing

T playing in the bales

O Riding the dirt bike

M "helping" Grandpa in the shop

L outside at the Farm

R opening birthday cards- Happy 7th Birthday!

Why My Kids Don't Know a Nugget

We don't eat chicken nuggets- or let me at least say it has been years since we've made nuggets at home and we don't eat them out. My kids don't recognize nuggets as chicken. (Though they also call chicken and fish "steak," so don't be too hard on us.)

We simply don't eat out often. The average American eats out 4-5 times a week and yet our family eats out together about three times a year.

I find it staggering that The National Restaurant Association reports that "an average of one out of five meals consumed by Americans — 4.2 meals per week — is prepared in a commercial setting."
(Read more: http://greenanswers.com/q/73628/food-agriculture/restaurants-markets/how-often-do-americans-go-out-eat#ixzz14oiLuzKG)

Our reasons for eating at home are elementary: it costs too much for our family of seven. It seems so very wasteful to spend so much money on food that I could prepare at home for a fraction of the cost. We also know that eating together as a family is good for our children socially and provides emotional stability and a connecting place for each of us, building our family bonds. Plus, we know the quality and nutrition are lacking. When we eat out, I'm never quite sure that I know what I'm getting.

Here is proof:
Only 50 percent of a McNugget is actually chicken. The other 50 percent includes corn derivatives, sugars, leavening agents and completely synthetic ingredients. Yet, according to McDonald's, their chicken nuggets are "made with white meat, wrapped up in a crisp tempura batter."
Organic Authority helpfully transcribed the full ingredients list provided by McDonalds:

"White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid, rosemary), sodium phosphates, seasoning (canola oil, mono- and diglycerides, extractives of rosemary).
Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, whey, corn starch.
Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent."

Did you know that dimethylpolysiloxane is an anti-foaming agent made of silicone? Or that tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is a chemical preservative so deadly that just five grams can kill you?



I think that is scary, and so did Federal Judge Robert Sweet. In a lawsuit against this restaurant chain back in 2003, he said:

"Chicken McNuggets, rather than being merely chicken fried in a pan, are a McFrankenstein creation of various elements not utilized by the home cook."

At the time, Time Magazine reported that Judge Sweet "questioned whether customers understood the risks of eating McDonald's chicken over regular chicken."
 
There are RISKS to eating at McDonald's! (And it is not just that franchise, but all fast food that I know of.) Here is a great article on this by Dr. Mercola. The risk is not just from the nuggets alone, though.

When I speak on wellness, I often show a cheeseburger and french fries that I purchased at McDonald's . . . five years ago. I think most people have seen those shriveled fries (on the floors of mini vans!), but it is a bit of a shock to see the bun, meat, cheese and all still intact after five years. This is intended to drive home the point: this is not live food! Our bodies need live food to live. "If it doesn't rot or sprout, throw it out!" is a great mantra when it comes to food. Real bread should mold or attract insects. Why doesn't the McDonald's bun?

Here are just a few of the ingredients in the McDonald's hamburger bun:

• calcium sulfate (aka Plaster of Paris)
• calcium carbonate (Antacid medication)
• ammonium sulfate (According to MSDS,“harmful if swallowed”)
• ammonium chloride (Causes irritation to the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting and diarrhea)
• calcium propionate (Preservative)
• sodium propionate (Mold inhibitor)  

No wonder the bun looks the same today. And could it possibly have any nutritional value? (I would say it is harmful and not just neutral and definitely not beneficial.)

Fast food can be so deceiving. I tell my kids, "It looks like food and smells like food and tastes like food. . . but it is NOT food!" It's hard to understand- even for me. When you are hungry and food is readily available that looks and smells good, it is hard to resist. Understanding some of these ingredients helps me, however. Fake food, and fast food in particular, has lost its appeal for me. Knowing what I know, my good sense can override my senses when it comes to choosing what I'll put in my mouth.

Monday Again?!

These Mondays seem to slip right past me. In my memory are Monday afternoons with a cup of tea and rest time at my computer in the kitchen while the kids were quiet. "When was that?", I wonder now. I'm sure it happened, but in this season it feels so long departed.

I liked those Mondays of pausing, reflecting, giving thanks. My soul still needs that!

281) "Treasure" Hunts- shrieks and thinking silences and running
282) Smell of Theives
283) Dad snuggling a baby- until he spits up
284) Happy boys riding dirt bikes with my brother
285) Twinkling eyes around the kitchen
286) Family laughter and shared jokes
287) Text messages from my husband
288) Fluffy comforters on the bed- looking forward to it again.
289) Late autumn sunshine, all goldy-orange and warm
290) macs- they are amazing!

Hallelujah!

Here is a fun clip. It feels like just a glimpse of the glory that The King deserves and will one day receive.

On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia brought over 650 choristers and throngs of singers from the community, infiltrated Macy's store as shoppers, and burst into a pop-up rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's "Messiah." 

Sunday Outing