Something new...

I love when I discover something new I didn't know about one of my kids. That happened recently with Julia...

When I put her to bed she holds a pacifier in each hand. When I get her up they are always at the end of the bed, but I never thought about why.

It turns out she actually sleeps with them in her toes!!
I asked her about it and she told me that's how she likes to hold her pacis. Since then I've seen her do it many times. When she's laying in bed awake she will toss them to the end, pick them up with her toes, and put them back in her hands- like a game of catch for one :)

I had to laugh when the dentist asked us if she still used a pacifier. "Well, yes.....in her feet." You're a nut JuJu!

What's On My Tot's Plate?

This new site has quickly become one of my favorite resources for all kinds of information and inspiration. There's something for everyone. One of their newest features is healthy foods for your tot.

Here' is one of Julia's (34 months) recent lunches...

She is a big avocado lover. I fed them to both my kids as infants. It is believed to be one of the world's perfect foods. And I love the way God packaged them- self-contained, perfect texture for all ages, ready to eat, full of healthy fats, and it even comes in it's own feeding dish :) I cut them in half and save the other half (with the pit still in) in tupperware for the next meal- that is if I didn't eat it myself. Now as she's gotten older she loves that she can scoop it out and feed it to herself.

The raspberries are one of her favorite fruits (along with blackberries, strawberries, and frozen blueberries). We buy ours at Costco and on more than one occasion she has eaten the entire container by the time we checkout! The cashier always asks why we're buying an empty one.

We are big fans of the Barilla Plus noodles. Neither of my children are big meat eaters. I love that they have enriched these with protein and omega-3s. They quickly became a lunch staple at our house.

The smoothie is one of my own concotions:

• 1/4c. Dole frozen wild blueberries
  
• 1 banana (overripe, I keep a bag of them in the freezer)
• 1/4c. frozen strawberries (or any other fruit- canned or fresh)
• 2T ground flaxseed (I love that Walmart sells the organic one now! Keep in the freezer.)
• 1/2c. Stonyfield vanilla yogurt
• 8oz water/ice
• 2oz pomegrante or orange juice
• 1 scoop fiber powder
• 1t probiotic powder (from a healthfood store), optional
  

It has been great for my kids as a quick breakfast on the go or as an appetizer while I'm making dinner. It packs a nutritional punch on many levels. My husband and I enjoy them, too. It also keeps well in the refrigerator- just shake before serving. It usually takes two meals for her to finish the cup pictured. (The cup in the picture is a Nuby, but I have snipped the inside of the spout to accomodate a thick beverage. My older son drinks it out of a Tupperware kids' cup with lid.)

The Dole frozen wild blueberries are great by themselves, too. My kids love to eat them, still frozen, with a spoon. They are a good fruit during the winter months when choices are limited. They have a very high level of antioxidants- 50% more than regular blueberries- and more than any other fruit!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We decided to do activities with the kids to teach them a little bit about St. Patrick's Day. Most people- probably 95% of people have no idea why we celebrate. Annmarie came up with some cool crafts to use for our lesson.

We started with the globe and found Ireland. Then we talked about islands and what makes something an island. We showed them some of the nearby countries and oceans, too. After we looked at it, they each cut out their own from green paper and glued it to a paper plate they had colored blue. Then they colored Irish flags and we reviewed colors with the little ones. Then we told them about St. Patrick:

• he was from England
• he was kidnapped by pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland (related to Joseph)
  
• spent time held in prison
  
• he escaped back to England and studied to be a bishop (for 12yrs) in the church
• God filled his heart with love for the people of Ireland and he returned to preach the Gospel and baptize new believers
  
• for 20 yrs he traveled and set up monasteries, churches, and schools
• it is said that he used the clover leaf to explain the Trinity
  
• he died on march 17 461

We talked about what a missionary is and what they do. They named some of the missionaries they know from the Bible. We talked about how God calls all of us to spread the Gospel.

Then came the fun part painting their hands to make shamrocks and then decorating them with glitter- sparkly :)

NEW BLOG!!

Okay, I've finally done it!

I've been recipe sharing with family, friends, and the internet for many years. How many times do you say, "email me that recipe" or "I'll have to get that recipe" and then when you want to make something you have to dig through papers and emails to find it, not effective.

So, I am starting to compile my favorite recipes onto a blog. They have come from all over. If I have a source I will give credit. If you have a fav you want to add post a comment :)

There are 40 in there so far. You can search by labels (there's a list on the side), recipe name from the archives, or type a search word at the top.

This will be a work in progress as I go through all my compiled cookbooks and emails. Whenever I try something new and we love it, I'll add it, too.

SO........ check out the new link ----->>>>>>>
(on the sidebar)

God's Place in All of This

I knew the questions would come and our faith would be challenged, but I didn't realize how soon we would be having these discussions...

Carter is a big science buff and we read lots of books, watch Discovery and Science channel programs, visit museums, watch 'Sid the Science Kid', and do experiments. That little brain of his is like a sponge, no more like a high-powered vacuum. He takes in everything he can and holds onto it for good. It has been a joy to teach him because he is able to put the information together and retain it so you can add to it and expand on the ideas. And he seems to remember everything you tell him, in the precise way you told him. It has really surprised me the depth of the conversations we have already, so I should have seen it coming.

We were at the Natural History Museum in DC. They have a really cool mammal exhibit with every animal you can think of (stuffed) arranged by continent and environment. You can travel the globe in one large circle and you're able to see everything up close. As we neared the back we went through a dark room where they were playing a movie about evolution. It was a well-planned movie with live pictures, music, cartoon characters- geared toward all ages. As we walked through, on our way to the Arctic animals, Carter wanted to watch the rest of the movie. When I told him no, he asked why. Without much thought, I said, "Because they're talking about evolution and we don't believe in that. We believe that God made the world." His answer, "Yes. Doesn't everyone?" Wow, time to talk.

It was really neat to hear our pastor address this very issue in his Sunday sermon. (God is so universal, yet oh so personal.) We're studying the book of Colossians right now. This week we began with the verses, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible...all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." Pastor Don was talking about his own recent trip to the Natural History Museum in NYC. Evolution was everywhere and he felt drawn to whisper God's name as he looked at each display. At some point most Christians wrestle with reconciling their faith and science. But it truly seems the deeper you go, the more you can't help but believe. There are so many mysteries in this world that cannot be left to chance or happenstance. The way the body works for example; the fact that we can transplant organs and tissue, the way two microscopic cells divide into millions all specializing into their perfect form and position to make a human being.

We found the same to be true as we were studying space this past month. The uniqueness of our planet is clearly evident. The universe is ginormous! In all that vastness we have our specific solar system heated by the sun. In all the eight planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, meteors, stars, and comets circling the sun; our planet is the precise distance from the sun to maintain steady temperatures. All the others exist in extremes of 400 degrees above and 400 degrees below zero. We are the only planet encased in a 'safety blanket' of our atmosphere that keeps us at just the right temperature. We are the only planet with water to sustain life. And we are the only planet with living creatures and not just a few bacteria, but millions of unique and diverse life forms in variety the mind could never imagine! Is that just a coincidence?!

Pastor Don said one of the things he read at the museum talked about 'the secret, flexible, inhibition holding all atoms together in precise stability' Do we think that's just an accident? I know it is easier to say these things if you are already a believer, but I feel like the questions are within all of us, we must only take the time to find the answers- the truth.

So what should we do, as Christians? It's rather simple. As Pastor Don concluded, 'To not trade truth for lies, you must have the truth living in you." That is really the key. As we encounter questions, problems, and statements in science- or in life- we must rely on God's Spirit residing within us to discern the truth and to do that we must know Him through His Word.

JuJu Says.....

We were riding in the car and both kids were talking at top speed at the same time (I have no idea where they get this from!), typical in our car. If not both then at least one most of the time. I was trying to listen to them each one at a time and respond. Julia eventually gave up talking and Carter just kept on going.

After a few minutes, Julia looked at him and politely said,
"Hey, hey, hey Carter. That's enough talking!"

My thoughts exactly, now if we can just get it to work when Carter asks her to stop whining........

Teaching Tray Tuesday

This is one of the kids' favorites. They both love to play with cars- working, arranging, driving, etc. Throw in rice and suddenly it's wonderful! They scoop, plow, dig, make roads, etc. Have a dustbuster or kid-size dustpan available at the end to help with clean up :)

This is a very simple activity, but surprisingly soothing. All you need is an empty creamer container and popsicle sticks. The kids pop the lid open and drop them in, then dump. You can also store the sticks in the container and make it portable. Great restaurant entertainment for an antsy toddler :)

This has been a really neat activity for all of us. Carter loves his map skills workbooks and one day while we were working on 'perspective' I thought of trying this. (I also just love playing with these and wanted something to do with them :) I bought 2 packs of acrylic cubes (they sell them with the flower decorating supplies). Then I made puzzle cards from cut-out paper squares. The cards range from basic to more difficult. The kids have to copy the image (learning to convert from two-dimensional to three-dimensional). For Carter we also work on perspective, translating both literally and from an overhead ("map") view.