Getting Creative

When I first started changing our eating habits I knew it might be a long road and I realized that the transition might be hard for the boys- especially Hudson. I read this book and was so inspired! I realized that I could get creative with food, still keep nutrition in mind, and not make the boys feel that they were missing out on everything fun. For example, instead of buying store-bought popsicles in the summer....we make our own fresh fruit smoothies or purchase organic lemonade and pour that into popsicle molds. They still get the "popsicle" experience without all the extra sugars and yucky ingredients. I recently discovered this Pizza Bagel Bites recipe and it's been a huge hit around here. It's so easy to make and the best part is that you make them ahead of time and pull them out of the freezer when you need them. When compared to the store bought pizza rolls you will see that they are MUCH healthier for your kids.

Pizza Bagel Bites

12 miniature whole wheat bagels, cut in half

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup pepperoni slices (I cut these into fourths)

1 1/4 cups pizza sauce

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

(you can make these as healthy as you want by purchasing natural/organic ingredients)

Lay bagels out on a cookie sheet. In a medium bowl, combine the cheese, pepperoni, pizza sauce, and spices. Stir. Top each bagel half with about 2 teaspoons of the mixture, make sure not to overfill. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer and flash freeze for about 30 minutes or until the top is firm. Transfer them to a large freezer safe zip lock bag. Write "cook on 350 for 20-25 minutes) on the baggie. Place bag in freezer.

It's that easy! Now you have miniature pizzas in your freezer for those nights you don't want to cook or for an easy lunch. It will also hopefully keep you from grabbing food from a fast food place.

Probably the most important thing I realized when making changes is that if I don't have it in the house, then I can't be the bad guy. If my kids see a 2-liter bottle of Sprite in the refrigerator, they may ask for some. If they do, I will probably say no and they might get upset. That puts me in the position to be the bad guy. Why would I do that to myself? Same thing for food- if they open the pantry door to see it stocked with candy, cookies and treats ....they are more than likely going to want some. If it's there, I'm torn with the decision of should they eat it (and if it's there then I will probably eat it) so I avoid that altogether. If it's not in the house then I'm off the hook. So, if you are thinking about making some changes my first suggestion would be to STOP BUYING the stuff you don't want them to eat. It's that simple. Again, your family will probably have enough parties and celebrations to fulfil the sweet tooth they occasionally get. Next, you can get creative with food and hopefully your kids won't feel they are doing without.

Do you have any creative food ideas to share?

More Carrots Please!!

We actually heard those words last night at the dinner table. When I think about how far our family has come the last 2 + years, I'm so proud of the progress that has been made. To clarify, we have never been horrible eaters but we were not as diligent as we are these days. When Hudson was first born I was super picky about what he ate. I made wonderful homemade baby food for him and the first 18 months or so of his life, he ate great. Then the picky toddler stage started and I gave in to many things and we ended up with a kid that loved nothing more than chicken nuggets and fish sticks. I always had a knot in my stomach when I would reflect on what he was eating but I found it hard to get him to try new things. Luckily he would eat most fruits but veggies were another story. So I found myself, like most moms, giving in and lowering my expectations for his diet. One day, it seemed that the light bulb came on and I realized that our family would need to make some big changes in order to get my family to eat the way I envisioned. Thankfully, these changes were made around the time Cooper joined our family and he is a great eater because it's really all he's ever known. Let me say that these changes did not take place overnight. We had many nights where tears were shed over the 3 green beans that had not been touched. We don't force our kids to clean their plates but we do ask them to try new things. Hudson has found that he likes many foods that he had never even tried. Who knew that a breakfast burrito (with just eggs and tortilla) could be so yummy? To this day, he is still somewhat picky and will investigate everything on his plate. We often hear things like "what's that red thing?" or "I don't want that" but he has improved SO much lately. One thing I am adament about is that our kids eat what we eat. I don't make special meals just for them (unless there is a rare occasion that I make something really spicy that I know they won't eat) and they know that if they don't eat dinner then they don't get anything else. They have learned to enjoy meals such as pot roast with veggies, tilapia, meatloaf, baked cod, flank steak, etc....... The days of chicken nuggets and fish sticks are over for us. We have a few in our freezer but it's not the bulk of what they eat anymore.

I've had people ask me what we eat and what changes we have made. I'm sure I'll leave something out but here is what I can think of off the top of my head:

1. We try to eat organic whenever we can. This means meat, dairy, produce.....

2. Increase our fresh produce intake....we ditch the canned fruits and veggies (will eat some frozen)

3. Limit processed foods. We rarely eat "boxed" meals but occasionally my kids will eat some mac and cheese for lunch or have some crackers with their sandwiches.

4. We no longer eat foods that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. This is a HUGE undertaking. HFCS is in just about everything and it takes some time and attention to do this. Every once in a while I will still see this on a label in our house - it's something that I'm constantly having to look out for. It's frustrating that I'm forced to buy the $8 Pure Maple Syrup instead of the $2 Aunt Jemima...but when I compare the ingredients it's a clear decision for me.

5. We drink mostly water and very rarely have juice. I'm not saying that juice is necessarily bad (in limited amounts) - I just prefer to give my kids a fresh piece of fruit and have them wash it down with water. They get way more fiber and nutrients from that versus the juice.

6. Sweets and desserts are few and far between around here. Don't feel bad for my kids......they get their share of yummy treats and snacks. It just seems that between all the birthday parties and celebrations we attend, our kids get their fair share of cake without having it around here too.

Is our family perfect? No. Do we eat bad at times? Sure. We have our occasional Chick-fil-A run or pizza night from Mr. Jims. This post isn't to paint the picture that we do this perfectly or that we do it every single time. Our goal is to provide the best nutrition for our kids and to educate them along the way. I know that I've got a handful of years where I have control of what my kids put in their mouths. I can only hope that once they are older that they will make good choices and remember what we have taught them. I am constantly researching and reading about this topic. I know that I still have a TON to learn in this area. Do you have any good tips on feeding your kids or getting them to be healthy eaters?

Friday's Favorites

I don't have a ton of things to list today.....in fact one thing I really wanted to post about isn't here yet so I'll have to include that one on another day.

1. My good friend, Laurie, introduced me to these healthy snacks. They are only 100 calories, full of fiber, vitamins/minerals, and don't contain a ton of "extras" or yucky ingredients. I found them in the freezer section (located next to the organic/natural products) at my local Target and Tom Thumb. They are definitely worth the money!

2. This pineapple slicer from Crate and Barrel is a MUST if you love fresh pineapple. I recently got this and have only used it once but it did not disappoint!

3. For some reason, I LOVE to wear dresses right now. I love the comfort they offer and the endless possibilities for accessories.

4. Some of my favorite friends! We had a girl's night last night and spent 4 hours eating and catching up. As usual, we had a TON of great laughs!

Happy Friday everyone!

60th Birthday, The Boys, and 70's Bunco

On May 15th, my sweet mom turned 60. It's kind of like with my kids......where did the time go? How in the world is she 60? Although we know it's just a number, we are thankful and blessed that she is here to celebrate this day!

Mom with all of her loot. We have a tradition in our family.....instead of bringing gifts, we have a money tree for that person. It's awesome because then you can spend it on what YOU want. I think she got a little over $300. Woo-hoo!

Happy birthday, mom. I thank God for you every day!

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Yesterday, Cooper crawled into a basket and made his own little "movie feater."

Yesterday Hudson got into the car after school and was going on and on about a certain book he eyed at the book fair. His school had a family night book fair and he really wanted to go. I was hosting Bunco so it was going to be up to Jason to take them. He kept telling us about this robot book and about how bad he wanted it. Jason took him and he was so excited to get it. It has a TON of neat information (about modern technology) but this by far is his favorite page. He woke up early this morning and came into our room carrying the book and asking for us to read it to him. Now he's begging for this Lego Robot that costs about the same as a monthly car payment. Sheesh!

I had the pleasure of spending some time alone this morning with this little monkey.....who informed me the other day that he "sure needs a haircut!" (which we are going to get in a bit)Reading books to his bear.

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Last night I hosted Bunco at my house. We don't typically do "themes" but every once in a while someone will choose a theme to spice it up a bit. I decided to do a 70's theme and we had lots of fun!

Charis found the BEST dress from Goodwill. I swear it looked like something Carol Brady would have worn. Of course, Tami and Laurie looked groovy too!

Diane- thanks for the yellow daisies!

During the summer of 1997, I purchased this yellow bell-bottom jumpsuit at an Abilene Goodwill store. It hung in my closet for YEARS and Jason even told me a few times to get rid of it. (he thinks I'm a bit of a pack rat) Lo and behold this baby didn't let me down. I was able to squeeze myself into it after all this time! Here are some pics from the good ole' days:

Andrea, me, Robyn and Laura- August 1997- Kojie Stock
Laura, do you still have the Chin-Sue shirt? If so, you need to come over right away so that we can do some prank calling!! Oh, what fun memories!!

And no 70's Bunco night would be complete without the strobe light.......that I just so happened to borrow from Hudson.

Hudson's Water Day

Hudson has been looking forward to Water Day all week long.

They had a bounce houseCrazy, wet kid coming after me!!

Having fun with the boys in his class.At the bubble station

Of course Hudson had to take some time out of playing to check on the bounce house blower.

Cooling down with a treat.

That's about all the pictures I took. I was working the relay races and balloon popping station. Needless to say, I got soaked......but it was fun watching the kids have a blast!

Last Day of Me School

I mentioned this recently- that Cooper's speech has come a long way these last few months. We've had so many people tell us lately that he is talking so well. That thrills me....mostly for him. He still struggles with some sounds but overall is doing great. Right now, some of his words are SOOO cute and deep down I know I'll be sad when he corrects them. For example, he says "me" in place of "my" and he puts the "uh" sound at the end of several words. Here are just a few phrases he has said today to give you an idea:

* "heeeeey, you wake-uh me up"

* "it's last day of me school"

* "Hudson hit-uh me on the head"

* "Wuv voo too"

* "hmmm, I don't fink so"

In fact, today was the last day of his preschool. Wow, this year flew by. He had a blast and was blessed by wonderful teachers. They had "Beach Day/Water Day" and Cooper was excited to wear his swim suit to school.

When I picked him up he was covered in red popsicle.

With Mrs. S

With the other Mrs. S

This is the look he gives me when he says "hmmm, I don't fink so." I'll say something like, "Cooper do you want to go potty." His response is "hmmmm, I don't fink so." Too cute! (now ask me next week and I'm sure I will no longer think it's cute!)

He has 2 more days next week of speech class and then he is officially on summer break. I think in some ways he will miss school over the next 3 months. He's my social child and always wants to be on the go!

This Taxi Ride is Comin' To An End

I'm so ready for summer. Ready for the obvious reasons but I'm also ready to stop driving all the time. Really. I feel like a taxi driver at times. Except I don't get paid.

I knew this year would be tricky with Hudson's half day kindergarten (which, I still stand behind my opinion that I've LOVED it for him) and with Cooper's recent acceptance into the speech program with our local school district. It really doesn't sound too bad expect that they both attend school on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8-11. At different schools. That's the wrench. Having to be at two places at the same time. It's been challenging.

Here's a look at our weekly morning schedule. I document this not to necessarily complain or gain sympathy, but for myself, so that one day I can look back and remember the craziness. (now why would I want to do that?)

Monday-

• Get the boys up at 6:50
• Serve them breakfast- which can often take a while and I've been known to say things like "come on guys, we need to eat" or "it's going to be sad when we leave for school in our jammies"
• Get everyone dressed. Hudson is a piece of cake. Cooper is another story. Just imagine wrestling a steer and you get the idea. No wonder I'm sweating profusely when I walk out the door!
• Gather all of our essentials such as backpacks, etc...and head out the door at 7:30.
• Take Hudson to school around 7:35 or so
• Drive through multiple school zones and one lane roads to get Cooper to school by 8:00. This is no easy feat and at times I feel my blood pressure begin to raise as I hit every red light or get stuck behind some granny that is taking her sweet time. If you know me, you know that I can't stand to be late and this adds to the morning stress.
• What to do? Not really a ton of time to go all the way home but I occasionally do. Run maybe a few errands during this time.
• Head back to get Cooper from school around 10:40. Even though his class ends at 11, I have to be at the other school to get Hudson so I must retrieve him early so that we make kindergarten pickup for Hudson.
• Pick Hudson up at 11 and head home for lunch.
• Rest of the day is open but we usually either play outside or around here because Cooper naps around 2pm

Tuesday-

• Get the boys up at 7:00 and feed/dress them like I mentioned above.
• Leave around 7:45 to take Hudson to school. Why the different time? Well, because this is a preschool day and it doesn't start for Cooper until 9:00 so we have a little more time.
• Drop Hudson off at school but now I have around 30 minutes because it's too early to head to preschool but such a pain to head back home. Sure enough, we head home and Cooper gets settled in on something there and then doesn't want to leave again. I make his lunch, do a few things around here, and wrestle the steer once again to get him into the car.
• 8:35 is when we leave for Cooper's preschool. It's about a 20 minute drive there.
• 9:00 is when I drop Cooper off and breathe a slight sigh of relief. We are all where we should be!
• 9:10-10:30ish I can run errands, grocery shop, etc..... but can't venture too far because it's almost time to get Hudson from school.
• Pick Hudson up from school at 11 and either head home for lunch or somewhere fun, depending on what our plans are for that day.
• 11-1:30ish I get to spend with just Hudson. Sometimes we hang out at home, go to the library, Chuck E Cheese or some place fun that he wants to do. I love this time with just him and will miss it next year.
• Pick Cooper up from preschool around 2:00 and head home. Get home around 2:20 and do all the fun things that need to be done around here- laundry, pick up the house, etc....

Wednesday and Thursday are repeats of Monday and Tuesday.

Friday-

• We take Hudson to school and luckily Cooper doesn't have anything on this day so it's much less stressful that the others. Whew!

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So that's it. The glamorous life of a stay at home mom! See why I'm ready for summer? I'm pooped just typing it all out!

Mother's Day 2009

We had a good Mother's Day yesterday. We went to church with our parents (we are so lucky that our moms and step dads go to church together) so we were able to spend time with both sets of moms. We had lunch and then went to Mimi's house for a bit.

Jason found the best Mother's Day card for me. (the picture represents Hudson and Monkey Boy)Too cute!

Later that day, I had my annual dinner and movie with my mom and sister. We saw "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and ate at our usual Carrabas. It was great to hang out and visit with them.

Love these girls!

A Great Saturday!

Today we loaded up for a fun day but didn't tell the boys where we were going. Here are the excited/surprised looks they gave us while trying to guess where we were taking them.

We took the boys to Fort Worth to ride the train. They loved it!

All Aboard!

It was a bit overcast today but was a perfect day for a train ride. In fact, it was more on the chilly side while riding the train but I'll take that any day over 100 degrees.

Next we headed over to the Botanic Gardens.

They loved all the fountains.

This is such a neat tree. Look how huge it is.

Hudson would often ask us what some of the various signs around the gardens said. We told him this was a Chinese Sweetgum tree. He said, "Look Cooper.....I found a tree that grows gum!" We had to break the news that this is not that kind of gum tree.

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Our little guys were tuckered out from a fun filled day. We came back home and let them nap/rest and I decided to head out to the local Sam Moon that opened yesterday. The recession has obviously not effected this store because it was pure craziness!