7 Posts I'm Going to Write....That's A Promise

We've had a busy few weeks... closed on a house, went to Nashville for the National Elementary Chess Championships and then moved to a new house.

So I haven't had much time for blogging. 

Never fear though...I haven't forgotten about my loyal readers.  I know that all 10 of you are waiting with bated breath for my next post. 

Well, I don't have a real post, so I'll just leave you with a teaser...a promise of posts to come....what you can look forward to in the future. 

So here are 10 future posts you can look for soon (or sorta soon, or before next year.)

1. New House Tour

2. Stop Telling Me the Sweeping and Scrubbing Can Wait Until Tomorrow.

3. Our Time at the National Elementary Chess Championships

4. The House of Mirrors, Body Image and Weight Loss.

5.  What Saves Me the Most Money on Food

6.  The Evolution of our Homeschooling

7.  Home Decoration for Dummies (That's Me!)

Linking up with Kelly for 7QTF

7 Quick Takes Friday....What's Going On

1.

 We close on our new house on Monday.  MONDAY!!  That's so soon.  It's very exciting.  We aren't moving in until the following Monday however.  That's because the current owners want 5 days to move out.

2.

And because right (right!) before we move, we are going to Nashville for 3 days so that John and Greta can play in the National Elementary Chess Championships.  I think we're crazy, but it's CHESS...and John is super good at chess, so...you know, you do what you do.  Hopefully he'll bring back a trophy.  Maybe Greta too...although her competition is going to be a lot tougher. Although there is still some tough competition in the 1st grade at National Chess tournaments.

3.

Ben started moving into his office last week.  He still doesn't have any furniture for it.  We've been scouring thrift stores and Craigslist and will try our hand at auctions and estate sales to find used desks, chairs, etc.   Wish us luck, because it's incredibly hard to find good furniture at affordable prices.

4.

Speaking of Craigslist, why doesn't anyone return my emails when I ask about an item??  It's super annoying.  Would it be so hard to send a quick email with "This item has been taken."  I mean, really??

5.

So we've switched all our prayers now.  Instead of constantly praying for Ben to find a job, we're constantly praying for his law firm to succeed.   So, that's different.   Even with the scariness of starting his own business, it's somewhat comforting to be settled down and to be buying a house.  I don't mind short-distance moves, but I'm so done, done, done with long-distance moves. 

It's nice to finally feel settled, even though we are still poor.

Today is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. So it's a good day to be thinking about this

6.

I hate antibiotics.  I mean, I love them and I hate them.  So, as you might remember, Heidi was on antibiotics for 2 months due to a bone infection.  Well, that was cured, her back pain is gone and she's fine now.  So that's good.  However, those  2 months of heavy-duty antibiotics seemed to have triggered new allergies, so know we have the fun of figuring those out.  Dairy definitely seems to be a culprit.  Which is hard, hard, hard.  Last night I tried making mashed potatoes with coconut milk.  It was.....okay.  Not bad,....but not like buttery, fluffy mashed potatoes either. 

And this is why I try really, really, really hard to avoid antibiotics.  Sometimes they are needed (and she did need them), but they definitely have their risks and downfalls.   So, we try to avoid them unless absolutely necessary, and I mean absolutely necessary after trying all my herbs, and essential oils first  And usually the herbs and essential oils do the trick. 

7.

Just in case you are interested in some homeschooling talk, I think I figured out what we are going to do next year.  I'm planning on keeping John (will be 2nd grade) and Greta (will be 5th grade) using (not enrolled) Mother of Divine Grace and enrolling Heidi (will be 8th grade) in Seton.  I've never done Seton before, but I really feel like I need transcripts and grading and someone else to do all the work, for the older grades.   And yes, I know Mother of Divine Grace offers all that, but for a variety of reasons...including cost and schedule flexibility, I think Seton will work better.

And that's all....go see Kelly for more quick takes!

When Holy Week Doesn't Feel So Holy And Why We Don't Eat Hot Cross Buns Today (7QTF)

1. I'm always amazed when I see these moms post about these amazing Holy Week activities.  I've never been able to really pull that off.  Life just seems to always get in the way.   I'm especially intrigued by the idea of visiting 7 churches on Holy Thursday.

I thought this was cute.  From the ever popular Catholic Memes

But I've never done that.  I first heard about it last year.  But, last year we lived in Virginia and not in the super Catholic part of Virginia, so finding 7 churches to visit would have involved A LOT of driving.  More than I was willing to do.

2.  This year.  This year we are all suffering from sneezing, sniffling, coughing, runny noses, nasty colds.  So again, I didn't feel up to it.  And of course, we missed Holy Thursday services....because... nasty colds.  And we missed the Seder meal with my parents for the same thing.  And I wasn't with it enough to put something together at home just for us.  

3.  We've also been using the week for house searching.  A LOT of house searching.  We've spent hours with our poor realtor this week.    This week is spring break, so Ben wasn't working, so we wanted to take advantage of that and see as many houses as possible since we could go out and look during the day, instead of just in the late afternoon. We found one we like....a lot.  But of course the last time that happened, someone bought it first.  So, we'll see what happens with this one. 

4. Did I mention that Ben signed a lease on an office?  Well he did. Which means he is officially opening his own law practice in a few weeks.  Which means there is a lot of work to get done.  So, I've also been using this week to create his websites.  This is turning out to be harder than I thought it would be.   But again, since this is spring break, this is the best time to do it.  Actually the designing part is easier than I thought it would be, but the writing part is much harder.   

5. I feel like I should have some sort of Good Friday mediation here.  But, I really have nothing.   I'm not good at meditations.  We'll be fasting today.  We probably won't be going to any Celebration of the Passion because we are still a little sick.  Although we're starting to get on the upswing.   I read somewhere that colds are most contagious for 2-4 days after symptoms start.  Well, today is the 4th day for the kids, so they should be good tomorrow and for Easter, but today we'll still stay home. 

6. Well, I should say that I'm fasting except for all the apple cider vinegar mixed with vitamin C I'm sipping.   And the raw garlic.    That's pretty penitential.  Effective at knocking out a cold...but penitential.  Didn't they give Jesus vinegar on the cross?  Well some translations say wine and some say vinegar mixed with gall.  Whatever it was, I'm sure it was not pleasant tasting.  So I'll be thinking of Jesus while I drink my apple cider vinegar. 

7. I'm really trying hard not to feel guilty that we haven't done more for Lent or Holy Week.  I feel like this whole season has passed us by in a whirlwind of house searching and business starting and now illness.  Reading other blogs, I definitely feel "less than" as a mother.   Last year, we did at least go to a Good Friday celebration of the Passion at our church.  Unfortunately it was a bilingual, which really meant that it was 80% in Spanish.   So, only one family member actually understood all of it.  This year, we probably won't even make that.  And when it comes to "Living the Liturgical Year."  Well, I'm really, really, really, really, really bad at that.  Really bad.  I never plan ahead.  I hate crafts.

And, I'm always a little befuddled that all these celebrations generally involve some sort of sweet treat. Like the whole hot cross buns on Good Friday thing.  I can't get past the whole eating a sweet treat on a day you are supposed to be fasting thing.   Now, my kids don't technically fast on Good Friday, but I certainly don't let them eat sweets or treats.  Somehow eating a sweet bun with frosting shaped like a cross doesn't seem like the best way to celebrate Good Friday.  Now, maybe if it was like spinach shaped like a cross, I could get into that.  Hey,  maybe we'll do that today. We'll shape our broccoli into crosses before we eat it.

Anyway. whatever you do, I hope you have a holy Good Friday!

My Version of the 7 Worst Real Estate Photos

We're house searching.  Without much luck I might add.  Which means, that we've looked at TONS of real estate photos. TONS. 

Have you seen the Terrible Real Estate Photos Blog? It's hilarious.

Well in our house searching, we've come across some pretty terrible photos. 

For your entertainment, here are some of the worst real estate photos I've seen.

And if you see your house in the pictures....well...sorry.  And take new pictures. 

1

I really, really hope that's not blood on the walls.  Really...clean up the crime scene before you take real estate photos please.

2.

And fix the bullet holes.

3.

Hey...if your name is Shawn...the writing's on the wall!

4.

Princess Feline Furry Toes ain't moving.  She comes with the house. 

5.

Door's open.  Come on in!

6. 

This reminds me of an optical illusion fun-house.  And the overhanging counter...weird.

7.

I desperately want to know what that symbol on the garage means.  Or do I??. 

(See Kelly for More Quick Takes)

7 Quick Takes Friday -Updates

1. Heidi's back pain is completely gone and she had her (hopefully) last doctor appointment today.  She still has three more weeks of antibiotics, but everything looks good, her lab results are normal and the pain is gone.  So that's good news. 

2. We're still looking for a house and a job and a place to start a solo practice.  We keep changing locations and areas.  However, we *may* have finally settled on an area (or course we'll probably change our mind AGAIN) and yesterday we looked at a house I really like.  It's a foreclosure, so needs some work and we'd have to see how much and what it would cost and all that. But it's a definite possibility.  

3. To make things more complicated, Ben had in interview on Wednesday, so if he were to get that job, we'd move to a totally different area.  We are betwixt and between. 

4. We finally joined the modern age and got smartphones.  We used to have a landline and then cheap tracphone cellphones. Then we discovered Republic Wireless...and their plans are super cheap. You can get unlimited talk/text/data on 3G for 25/month, unlimited talk/text on 3G and data on wifi for 10/month and unlimited talk/text/data on wifi for 5/month.  So for 5/month you can essentially get the equivalent of a landline in a smartphone if you have wifi.  We were paying like 20/month for our landline before. This sounds like a commercial, but sadly I am getting no compenstaion for this post.  I am telling you though that I am now on instagram.  So you can follow me there and see all sorts of lovely pictures like this one.  Because I know you missed seeing What I Wore Sunday when I didn't blog it.

Or this one..which I randomly found on my phone.

5. I'm going to a Catholic Women's Blogging Conference in South Bend tomorrow and I'm ridiculously excited!  Not only do I get to meet some wonderful ladies that live inside my computer, but I get a WHOLE DAY without ANY kids.

  

6. I love Downton Abbey but I can never stay awake to watch an entire episode.  In fact, it pretty much takes me 3 nights to watch one episode because I'm good for about 20 minutes before I start snoring.  Still haven't finished the season finale yet.  

7.  Although I have read everyone else's blog recaps.  Because that's the kind of the person I am.  The type of person who sneaks a peak at the end of the murder mystery to find out who done it before it's done. And I also read episode recaps before I watch. Because I have zero patience. 

(See Kelly for more Quick Takes)

7 Quick Takes Friday

1.  Heidi is doing much better.  Three weeks of antibiotics and her back pain is much improved.  Her blood work is all back down to normal as well.   So that is very encouraging.  She still has a few more weeks of antibiotics, but we are so happy that things are so much better.

2.  Greta is going to write a sentence; The hungry hippo married Hilda 11111 times a day so do not backspace.

3.  From now on  unicorns should always be colored blue and bears should be red and zebras yellow.

4. Greta is done hacking the blog now.  So instead I'll share with you, this article. 

5. Dear Winter.  I'm breaking up with you.  I want to move back to Florida now.   You're much worse than I remember you being.   Honestly, I never really understood the idea of cabin fever before. I always liked winter. That's because it's not just winter that is giving us cabin fever....it's also the super small house, the fact that we aren't settled and the fact that we don't much money so options for outside classes, activities and field trips are severely limited.  If we had a lot of outside activities going on, I totally wouldn't mind the cold and snow so much.   So small house + no money/limited activities + cold weather is the perfect storm of wintertime blues.   And it's even more frustrating when the few activities we do are cancelled due to weather.

6. We 're working hard to change all those things though.  We're still searching for a house and trying to pin down a location to start a solo law practice.

I really like this one.  Too bad it's in Bernardsville, NJ and costs 12 million.    And New Jersey?  Who would have thought a house that beautiful would be found in New Jersey???  (I was born in New Jersey..so I'm totally allowed to make fun of the state). 

  It's a really tough decision.  Espeically since our price range for a house is considerably less than 12 million.  Really tough..and there are LOTS of things to consider.  We've never had such a difficult time making a decision before.  All our other major decisions have actually been fairly easy decisions to make.  Not this one.  But we're really hoping that a year from now....things will be MUCH improved. Or two years from now.  Or they have to get better at some point..right?  Right?

7. So, I need some hair help.  What's your favorite brand of shampoo and conditioner.  Preferably something more natural and less expensive.  And please don't say something like no-shampoo, just baking soda and vinegar.  I've tried that and my hair just ended up greasy and icky.   But I'm not really liking what I'm using now.  My hair is just sorta dried out and frizzy.  Help!

{See Kelly for more Quick Takes}

7 Quick Takes Friday - Birthdays and Houses

1. We have a teenager in the house! It's Heidi's 13th birthday today! So far, it's not so bad.  Everyone says teenagers are awful. But, my teenager is way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way easier than my toddler. Way easier. And Heidi is an exceptionally good teen.  She's smart and friendly and kind and helpful and responsible and honest.  Plus she's turning into a very good writer, a not bad chess player and a wonderful person. Happy Birthday Heidi.  We love you!

This is how she wanted her picture taken. 

Everytime I see this picture, I think that's me.  Until I realize it's not me.  It's a bit disoncerting that my daughter is the same size as me.  Plus she's wearing my hat...so I get confused.  Sometimes I like to wear her jacket. It's fun. 

2. Life has been a bit hectic lately.   We're moving forward with plans to start a solo law practice.  And part of that involves house searching.  Which I thought would be fun but it's actually a major headache.

3. Mostly because we have all these requirements.  While still trying to keep the price under a certain amount.  It's sorta like trying to find a magic beanstalk. 

4.  Actually we had found the "perfect house".  We were getting ready to put an offer on it.  Then we read something in the paperwork about checking for meth houses and registered sex offenders. Sure enough, there was a registered offender in the house right behind that one..and another one two houses down.

5.Yes, I realize that not all people on the registry are dangerous.  But when some one's offense is "Offense against Children" it makes one think twice and thrice about buying a house near them. 

6. Of course, nothing is ever simple. After that didn't work out, we decided to change strategies and look in a different locale. So we're back to trying to find the magic beanstalk.  Every time we think we find something that might work...it doesn't work.

7. To make the week even more crazy...Ben got a flat tire and apparently the lug nut and stud broke.  Whatever that means I don't know. But apparently the labor is expensive and we got some miracle mechanic who was able to fix it without taking the hub off.  Because apparently the 16 year old car that I got brand new when I graduated from college is completely rusted.  If they had taken the hub off, the entire thing would have fallen apart.  Or something like that. Or so the mechanic says. He seemed like an honest guy anyway.  He even showed me videos of his granddaughter on his smart phone while I was waiting.  Anyway...thankfully old Gabe is still trucking along a little longer.  We'll see how long he lasts.

Gabe in his younger years.

Linking up with Kelly for 7QTF.

 

7QTF..Biopsy, Rabbits and Stuff

1.  Heidi is having a biopsy done on her back today. As I previously mentioned, the doctor thinks it's an infection but she isn't sure if it's fungal or bacterial so wants to perform the biopsy so they can give the right treatment.  I'm pretty freaked out about it.  It's outpatient, but she is going to be totally sedated and I've never had a child totally sedated before. Plus, there is always that fear that it is something more serious..like cancer, although the doctors don't think that's it, only a biopsy can rule it out. 

2. We're still thinking of going the solo law practice route...now we're researching houses and loans and home offices and all sorts of things.  It's fun.  Not really..but at least it's different.  And sometimes different can be fun.

3. I sorta majorly freaked out about the whole thing the other day.  Normally I can be somewhat calm about the situation, but occasionally I have this total crash where I just cry and scream and rant and rave. Please tell me I'm not the only one who does that.  It's pretty much the roller coaster between hope and despair...which is a tough ride to be on.  And accepting that there probably will never be an easy resolution to our job situation and no matter what it's going to be hard and many more years of difficulty. 

4. Moving onto a lighter note.

Elsa's favorite phrase is "I did."

Me: Elsa, do you have to go potty?

Elsa: I did.

Me: Elsa, did you color on the wall?

Elsa: I did.

At least she's honest.

5. So, I'm sure you've all heard the brouhaha about the Pope saying something about Catholics shouldn't be like rabbits.  I'm not sure why this is so controversial. Obviously Catholics should not be like rabbits. I mean rabbits eat their own poop and occasionally eat their own offspring.  So no...don't be like rabbits.  Please.

(Actually,..technically they don't eat "poop" but some other sort of bacteria rich product called cecotrope.  It's still comes from their rear end and it's still gross.)

6. Not to pick on rabbits or anything. I really like rabbits.  I've had several pet bunnies over the years.  My first one had white fur with black ears and red eyes.  I think I got her when I was 10 and ever since l,I'd had a series of rabbits over the years. Although we've been rabbit-less for the last 4 years. Rabbits can be messy, but I'm still a sucker for a cute little bunny. 

7. On a more serious note..I really liked Sarah's take on the whole thing. 

Go see Kelly for more quick takes.

Good News, Bad News in 7 Quick takes

Let's play Good News/Bad News in 7 Quick Takes.

1.  

Good News: Heidi is doing much better. 

Bad News: She's still having some back pain so she had an MRI done this morning.  And, now Greta, John and Elsa have a cold/flu thing.

2. 

Good News: Ben had a lawyer job interview yesterday and he says it went well.

Bad News: The job is 2 hours aways and of course we don't know if he got it or not. Uncertainly is hard.

3.

Good News: Our heater got fixed on Thursday. 

Bad News: It stopped working on Monday night/Tuesday AM so we were without heat for TWO WHOLE DAYS.  And there was SNOW on the ground outside the whole time.  SNOW!!

4. 

Good News: We found A WHOLE BUNCH of missing library books . A WHOLE BUNCH.

Bad News: We found them in the process of searching for a missing science textbook.  A big, big, thick textbook that is hard to lose mind you. 

5. 

Good News: We found the science book.

Bad News: But not before I had already ordered a new one and it was shipped.  Oh well, I'm pretty sure I can sell the extra and get back what I paid.  

6. 

Good News: Heidi got new glasses.

Bad News: She already lost them.

7.  

Good News: We found them.

Bad News: Let's end on a good news!

Today 7 Quick Takes are hosted at Kelly's Not the Lyceum Place

Ho Hum...7 Quick Takes

1.  Oddly enough, I am not scared of Ebola virus.  Even though lots of other people are...including my husband who once passed out while watching a movie on Ebola.  You know what medical things I am scared of? Cancer and Lyme Disease. Clearly I'd rather bleed out my eyeballs than have a long-suffering illness. 

2.  Elsa has her 2-year check-up yesterday. She is healthy...and about 50% percentile for height and 25% for weight. I would have thought she was fatter than that...but apparently not. When we did the language/development screening thing, she passed everything, so seems to be doing okay.

3.  Speaking of pediatricians, does anyone else find it EXTREMELY AWKWARD when the doctor has you hold your toddler on your lap facing out and then the doctor scoots their chair up really close with their legs spread and your legs are kinda in between their legs. 

Like this.  I recreated the scene with Dr. Greta.  Yes, Dr. Greta is eating a muffin while conducting an exam.  Medical professionalism at its best.

AWKWARD, AWKWARD, AWKWARD. I've had 2 different doctors do this and the whole time I'm just worried I'm going to accidentally knee them in the groin.  Yikes!!

4. Is it all right to talk about something that REALLY annoys me. I hate it when friends of my friends, friend me on Facebook, I accept and then later find out that they use Facebook to CONSTANTLY promote their business/MLM thing.  I don't mind when actual friends promote their business/MLM, on Facebook but I DO mind when people I don't really know try to friend me so that just have one more person to hawk their thing too.  

5. The worst part about job searching is the CONSTANT highs and lots...and moving up and down between hope and despair.  That's not an exaggeration.  It feels like a constant roller coaster with numerous difficult decisions to be made. I hate it!

6. Speaking of job searching, maybe I'll write a whole post on this soon, but when my kids are ready for college, I'm going to REALLY push them to find something with good career options with flexibility for working part-time in different areas. Ben and I both feel that our colleges failed us MISERABLY at career counseling. No one really explained how certain major/career choices increases your job opportunities and others limited them.   If I had it to go back and do it over again, I would have majored in some sorta of health field (like Nursing) and continued working even after having kids on a very-part time basis (like once a week).  I realize I could still do that now, but going back to school is infinitely more complicated at this point.   And, Ben wishes that someone had mentioned law school to him 10 years ago, so he could have considered the possibility back when we were young and the economy was a lot better.

7. We finally gout our gas turned on this Wed.  I had been delaying doing it because the only thing we need gas for is heat and we just moved here end of June, so the world outside provided all the heat we needed.  But, my mother was after and after me to get our heat turned on.  So, I finally  did it and sure enough, last night it got down to like 40 degrees and they are only calling for a high of 46 today.  Even with our heat set at 62 degrees, it still turned on.  Moral of the story...always listen to your mother.

No, I'm off to take a walk on a chilly morning.  Linking up with Jen for Quick Takes on a Saturday.

Why I Need A Goose for Monday and other Random Things

1. Remember how I was worried about Elsa's speech.  Well she seems to have picked things up a bit in the last few weeks and is now combining words..sorta.  She still isn't speaking in full sentences, but she has combined 2 or more words a few times. 

where baby
on ack-et (John, jacket)
Mommy, out.

She has even added a few phrases. "I don't know"... seems to be her current favorite phrase.  Probably because she hears it so much.

Me: "Where's your math book?" 
Kid: "I don't know."

Me: "Why is there cocoa all over the floor?"
Kid: "I don't know."

2. Thank you for all your prayers on our unemployment situation.  While still no job yet, there have been some positive signs that things may not be totally hopeless and even an interview scheduled in early October.  Keep praying friends. 

3. Is anyone else completely penny-wise and pound-foolish?  When we are watching our budget I tend to balk at buying simple things (like a can opener) but then somehow feel I NEED more expensive things (like vitamins or supplements...my downfall).  It doesn't make sense, but it's the way my mind works until I finally breakdown and buy the darn can opener anyway. 

4. Speaking of things worth spending money on, if you homeschool and have a middle or high school student, I can't recommend enough the recorded classes from Homeschool Connections.  It has made my life SO.MUCH.EASIER.  Heidi is basically doing Spanish, History, Literature, Math and English all independently.  Independent work is the name of the game folks. 

5. Speaking of homeschooling, are you ready for another I've changed my mind post.  Everyone loves those, right?  When I first started homeschooling I was pretty much against all homeschool oversight, and now I'm generally in favor of it.  Not super stringent regulations, but enough. to help prevent educational neglect, which I now think IS real. Stay tuned for that future post coming.

6. So, in the interest of healthier eating, I've been trying to make healthier "treats" without any sugar at all.  You know, things like avocado cocoa balls sweetened with dates.  Yeah..um...it can't be done.  I mean, it can be done but it probably shouldn't be.  

+

7. So, until I started reading Catholic blogs, I had no idea that the feast of Michaelmas (September 29) was even a thing.   But apparently it is, and a lot of people make it a BIG THING.  Which is kinda cool. But, I'm terrible at parties and celebrations and all that.  But maybe I should look for a goose and blackberries we can eat on that day.  Apparently there is an old British saying that goes like this.

“Eat a goose on Michaelmas Day,Want not for money all the year”.

 So...if you hear of any missing geese from the local duck pond..well I admit to nothing.

Now, go see Jen for more Quick Takes 

Baby-Steps To Healthier Eating

Food matters y'all.  Everyone knows that right, everyone knows that what we put into our bodies effects how they function. 

But, that doesn't mean that eating healthy is easy.  It isn't. Things like lack of time and lack of money and lack of know-how get in the way. 

It takes a lot to change eating habits, and you don't get there overnight.  We eat a mostly whole foods diet, but we didn't always eat that way.  It took a lot of "baby steps" along the way to reach the point we are at now.  

I thought I would detail some of the steps I took along the way...and how I moved from more conventional eating to healthier eating.  Maybe it will help someone.

To start at the beginning, I did have an advantage in the healthy eating lifestyle.  When I was a kid, while all the other kids were eating Twinkies and Lucky Charms and marshmallow fluff Sandwiches, we had to eat stuff like homemade whole wheat bread, collard soup and home grown green beans.

Plus, we had to go out and weed the HUGE vegetable garden every day in the summer (I hated weeding!). 

However, once I left home, like your typical college student, I didn't eat well on dorm food, and then I fell down the low-fat, low-calorie rabbit hole where I thought diet Pepsi was the best thing ever.  It took many years to dig myself back up to a place where I would voluntarily eat collard soup again. 

So here 7 steps I took to get into a more wholesome eating lifestyle....and keep in mind that these steps took YEARS, to get me where I now am.  And, our diet still isn't perfect, we do enjoy treats and during times of travel or holidays healthy eating goes out the window. But the rest of the time, we try to stick to whole, clean, unprocessed, healthy foods.

1)  Eating vegetables every day at dinner. I started out with canned vegetables, then moved onto frozen vegetables before finally tackling fresh vegetables. It took a long time for me to be comfortable cooking or preparing fresh vegetables

on a regular basis, but now I find them some of the easiest things to cook. 
e 2) Avoiding certain ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, BHT, BHA and MSG, artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, unpronounceable things, etc.

3) Learning to make everything from scratch...learning how to cook things like breads, yogurt, cookies, soups, sauces, salad dressings was the next step.  This sorta goes along with step 2, because to avoid all those "bad" things, you either need to spend a fortune at Whole Foods or learn to make everything yourself.  I chose making it myself. 

4) Adding in high-nutrient foods like bone broths, fermented vegetables, new vegetables (like avocado). 

5) Giving up gluten. Now obviously lots of people don't need to do this, but once I realized that gluten didn't agree with me, it was the kiss of death for processed food in our household.  No more crackers, cereals, pretzels..things I had held onto before were no longer a regular part of our pantry.

6) Following the perfect health diet (liming dairy, grains, sugar etc.)  After Elsa was born, I started following the Perfect Health Diet.  Not perfectly by any means, but it was an impetus to limit dairy and avoid certain grains, like corn, sugar, etc.  We always still allowed ourselves treats, but I no longer made these foods a regular part of our everyday diet. 

7) Trying Whole30.  I'm still in this right now, but this seems to be another step I needed to help me really clean up my diet.  I had gotten into the bad habit of stress-eating chocolate and cooking with too much cheese (which really isn't good for us) and eating too many carbs (like rice pasta which is pretty nutritionally defunct). We still eat those foods, but not in the same frequency or at the same quantities that we used to.

Keep in mind. This was NOT a linear progression.  There were LOTS of backwards steps and regressions...sometimes for things like pregnancy or a new baby or a move and sometimes just because life was extra stressful.  But one thing I've learned is any baby steps I make are positive, because even if we regress on them, it's a lot easier to get back into healthy eating once I know-how to do it. And, we still eat ice cream on Sundays and chips on occasion, but generally I try to follow the 80/20 rule.  If 80% of your diet is good, it's okay to eat junk food 20% of the time. 

(linking for 7QTF)  

7 Quick Takes, Speech, Shoes, Bar and Viruses

1.

Ben passed the Indiana bar exam!! We're very excited!  And very grateful that they posted the results on September 12th.  Last year when he took it in Virgina (and passed) we had to wait until October 31st to find out.

2.

He's still job searching though..so prayers would be appreciated.  Although we are hopeful that passing the bar will help him find a job easier.   

3. 

It got colder here today...highs in the mid-60's.  This is basically my favorite weather ever...except we are not prepared for colder weather and I need to somehow dig out all our cold weather clothes.  But, I LOVE the cooler weather like this.

4. 

It totally makes we want to take everyone and go hiking. 

Except Greta has a broken toe...so no hiking for her. 

5.

I did dig out some of our colder clothes and found a pair of boots for Elsa.  Except now she wants to wear them ALL THE TIME. I mean ALL THE TIME.  Heaven forbid we take them off for anything (like to change her pants).  Cries of "boots, boots, boots, boots" until she gets them on again.  In stark contrast to the rest of my kids (who prefer to be discalced) this girl loves her shoes.  I forsee a very full closet in future years. 

3

6.

I'm toying with getting Elsa evaluated for speech.  She's mostly fine and actually says lots of words, but isn't really combining words yet and a lot of her words only we understand (like she says "A-ah" for herself (Elsa).  I don't think she's that behind and she's pretty good at conveying what she wants across, but I think she might be a tiny bit behind.  Anyone has experience with early intervention or speech therapy for young kids.  Heidi was in speech therapy but she didn't start until she was older (over 4) and in hindsight I wish we had started her a lot younger.

7.

So, I'm sure you've heard about the mysterious respiratory virus in the midwest that is landing numerous children in the hospital.  I'm trying to decide if I should be worried or not.  Well, obviously I shouldn't be worried, because worry  never changes anything.  Or so, my husband tells me (personally I'm not convinced).  Nonetheless it's probably wise to load up on Vitamin D, Vitamin C and immune-boosting herbs (like garlic).

 Go see Jen for more takes.