A Busy March

Our Spring has gotten off to a busy start and looking back over some pictures, I've realized why we're so tired! We've done some major landscaping...

Tree removal...yes, Ben DUG them out by the roots!
Birthday baking...Ben turned 31!
Video gaming....could that little face be more intense?! Ha! (she's video boxing)
Hog killin'...
Repotting...
Vehicle maintenance...
Haircuts.... Oh, he screamed...
And screamed...
And screamed!!!.... you would've thought I was setting him on fire or something!
Playing...
Public service projects...http://bigevent.tamu.edu...Oh, and then the RUF guys came to help us with a drainage problem on the side of our house...



Wow! That explains that 3 hour nap we took yesterday! Pray for Ben because he's hurt his back somehow in all of this. It happened Friday, after most of the work was done so it was unexpected. And we have had some gorgeous weather.

Dinner

Tonight we had Peggy's fried rice recipe with nitrate free bacon and venison sausage and sweet potatoes baked in coconut oil. I served Nathan's plate (he's 2 1/2) and didn't hear a word out of him until he leaps out of his chair, rice flying in all directions and holds it up yelling, "more food!" He couldn't have been cuter with dirt and sand smeared into his eyebrows, a carpet burn on his nose and greasy food stretching from one ear to the other. With a mouth full and on his second helping, he announces,

"This food real good, Momma!"

Thank you, Nathan.

I could just eat him, he's that cute sometimes.

Waco Zoo Trip

We enjoyed a wonderful Spring Break with Daddy being home most of the week. We got to go to the Waco zoo on Tuesday and it was very worthwhile. Mr. Tiger gave us several impressive growls or meows, whichever it is, and the bear was anxiously working off his winter coat by rubbing against his hut. Hannah said her favorite animals were the bald eagles and the elephants. Nathan liked the lions.

We've been doing yard work the rest of the week and are so thankful for perfect weather. The kids have enjoyed lots of dirt, sand and water while Mommy and Daddy worked but my carpet has surely paid for it. :)

Being Two

Don't you just love the logic of two year olds? It's after bed time and that means it's time for my children to begin the process of coming up with reasons for me to check on them, such as needing water, needing to be covered up, or one of our favorites is Nathan falling out of bed deliberately and then producing a fake cry. So tonight, Nathan started up pretty quickly calling out from his room,
"Mommy!!....my stuck! My stuck, mommy, my stuck." (translated as "I'm stuck"-little bit of pronoun confusion there)

And when he realizes I'm not coming to check on him, he hauls all four trucks with him into the hallway so that I can now lay eyes on him.
"My stuck."

Dietary discoveries

Every time my mom comes to visit, I find that my kitchen and my diet evolve. I'm either adding some strange new food to my routine, like ground flaxseed, or removing something that is sure to cause cancer, like children's vitamins containing aspartame. It's always an adventure and I welcome it now more than ever before because after years of experimenting, I can honestly say that my body feels and treats me better when I'm off of dairy, sugar and things that are "artificial". Not that I always abide by these new rules because sometimes the call of the Caramel Machiatto is much stronger than the vague memory of stomach cramps and brain fog, but i do know better now.

My mom came last week, and this time, I was ready for her...I had a new food to share. I'm quite proud of myself for discovering palm sugar. A friend in North Carolina sent me a link for a recipe calling for palm sugar and I was so intrigued that I hunted it down at the Asian store here in town. It's cheap! And good considering it's low glycemic index number of 35 and tastes like a pasty maple syrup. Yummy! It kind of has that "just eat it straight from the container" quality, like ice cream. Hannah, who hates to shop and be in grocery stores, was more than happy to accompany me to the Asian market today (and drag Nathan too) when I told her we were out of palm sugar. She willingly carried the 5 pound jug from the car to the house and waited ever so patiently and sweetly while I unloaded the rest of the groceries and heated up the cast iron skillet to make her palm sugar bread concoction that GaGa invented when she was last here. So here's the link for any other brave cooks....
http://www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/12/easiest-healthiest-most-scrmptious.html

Oh, and I did make the "healthy fudge" and love it!