Thursday, May 17, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Clark Klent
Lincoln frequently dresses himself as "Clark Klent." The cape is hiding under his clothes awaiting the quick transformation into Superman, hence the bubble butt. He is sad here because he couldn't find the glasses and I wouldn't let him wear jeans over his superman pants. I'm such a bad mom.
Paintasaur
I purchased this dinosaur painting kit awhile ago at Ross, hoping it'd be fun down the road, when the boys showed a little more interest in art. Yesterday, while spring cleaning, I pulled it out and boy, did they have a blast?
Boone certainly surprised me with his meticulous painting skills. Even held his pinky high, while daintily applying delicate brush strokes.
Tada!
Lincoln said his was a polka dot bumblebee dinosaur.
Boone made a "Superman dinosaur."
Monday, May 14, 2012
5/14/12
Taking a second to brag about my boys. I asked Lincoln if he thought he was old enough to go fetch the clothes out of the dryer all by himself. "Um, sure!" I watched him cheerfully run to grab the hamper, skip outside, cross the patio into our landlord's garage. All the while humming the Superman theme song. Boone ran out to "help." Oh dear Lord, what was going to happen next. I decided to keep my distance, peering out the window, and observe my little men interacting, half expecting I'd soon be breaking up yet another fight.
A few minutes later, Boone excitedly appeared, holding the screen door for his big brother. "Here, Wincoln, I got da door." There he was, my scrawny 4 year old. All I could see of him were his bare legs underneath the mound of clean sheets. When he finally made it inside the house, he shot me the look of pride and accomplishment for completing what to him was a big deal. It may not seem so to you, but for a tired mommy, when the children start doing chores and helping out joyfully? Big deal! Welled up with joy, I planted a big wet kiss on his cheek, while daddy rewarded him with an extra banana muffin. Eyes widened!!! He hadn't expected a reward. (These were major big deal treats today!) Boone looked at the muffin, than at me with sad eyes and a big bottom lip, "I held open the door." Before I had a chance to give him one, Lincoln broke his coveted muffin in half and gave it to his bother. "Mom! I'm turning into a good boy now!!! My heart is growing big! Like the grinch!"
A few minutes later, Boone excitedly appeared, holding the screen door for his big brother. "Here, Wincoln, I got da door." There he was, my scrawny 4 year old. All I could see of him were his bare legs underneath the mound of clean sheets. When he finally made it inside the house, he shot me the look of pride and accomplishment for completing what to him was a big deal. It may not seem so to you, but for a tired mommy, when the children start doing chores and helping out joyfully? Big deal! Welled up with joy, I planted a big wet kiss on his cheek, while daddy rewarded him with an extra banana muffin. Eyes widened!!! He hadn't expected a reward. (These were major big deal treats today!) Boone looked at the muffin, than at me with sad eyes and a big bottom lip, "I held open the door." Before I had a chance to give him one, Lincoln broke his coveted muffin in half and gave it to his bother. "Mom! I'm turning into a good boy now!!! My heart is growing big! Like the grinch!"
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Going Back To My "Roots"
Well, it's official. We've gone vegan cold turkey. No pun intended. The other day I was browsing through Netflix. Intrigued, I selected a film in the documentary genre "Forks Over Knives." I was only able to view about 20 minutes when the kids awoke from naps and the tv was turned off. It only took that 20 minutes to give me the conviction and inspiration to reevaluate our nutritional goals and and more importantly, our lifestyle. I'm now going to share my experiences for those of you who have seen my Facebook post and asked me about it. In no way am I suggesting that if you nourish your family differently you are doing anything wrong. This is a personal decision we have made for our family. Period.
1995, my dad had his first emergency heart surgery. Due to a heart condition he was born with, the cardiologist discovered he'd need a pacemaker. It was also recommended by this doctor to make some dietary changes for his heart and overall health. Done.
As a 10 year old new vegan, it wasn't a difficult transition. I didn't do the cooking nor did I dive into the research behind why this was really healthier. I just ate what was given to me. It wasn't until several years later, when I began preparing my own food, that I opted for convenience and reincorporated small amounts of animal products. Later on, I met my man. He and his family were meat and potatoes kind of people. Hmm...lets face it, vegetables dripping butter, steak seared to perfection? This stuff tasted much better in my opinion then the lentils and tofu! Eventually my parents rejoined the carnivore club.
Ever since our 3rd son, Hudson's birth, I've been trying to get back my pre baby body, and I'm proud to say it only took me about 4 months to see that number on the scale. It was definitely a record for me. He is now 10 months old and I've dropped an additional 10 lbs. That recently inspired Johnny to start exercising nearly every day to get back into his prime swimmer body. When I told him about Forks Over Knives, he rolled his eyes and said "But lean meats are good for you. It's just a matter of opinion." I didn't feel like discussing it any further. I decided it wouldn't be as practical for me to make such a huge decision on my own, if I'd still be feeding meat to 4 boys. This needed to be his decision as well.
Backing up...over the past several months, his parents have begun a strict, plant based diet. Newly diagnosed health issues, as well as my vegan sister Amanda's nudging to a healthier lifestyle were huge inspirations for them. They are much more hard core than my childhood vegan diet. No sugar, salt, or even oil. Strictly vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains. Wow. Sounds intimidating and limited, right? That's what I thought.
The day after I had watched FOK, my mother in law brought over several reading materials for us to check out. Johnny is not a big reader, but within just over an hour, he had completed The Engine 2 Diet by Texas firefighter Rip Esselstyn. That sealed the deal for him. He told me he wanted to jump in completely if I did! I was so curious as to what the book was about, I read it that same night. Highly recommended.
I cannot express how thrilled I am to explore and bond over this new lifestyle choice. It's overwhelming at first, like learning a new language. We spent several hours cleaning out the fridge, freezer and pantry, replacing it with all whole, natural, vegan foods from Trader Joes and Harvest House, our local health food store that my mom used to drag us to.
It's only been two days, but it's pretty exciting! Giving up meat won't be the hard part, it's going to be the sugar and oils. I'm certain we can stick to it, though. One day at a time.
Now, this is not going to become an all consuming topic of discussion, nor will I pressure or judge anyone who eats what we no longer do. Simply, we have made this personal choice. We have decided not to let this affect our social life i.e. going out and entertaining. If we need to cheat a little, add a little oil etc., it will not be the end of the world.
However, I have learned just how many delicious simple and pure food options there are out there for us, and if you happen to be some of our dear friends who will continue to come and dine with us, get ready for some yummy, healthy recipes I'm excited to try out. But be prepared for some possible flops as well. Lunch today was pretty gross. Hey! I'm new at cooking tofu!
The kids are loving it too, not really a surprise though. They are addicted to fruit and would hardly ate meat before. Boone requested some "arbongo beans" for breakfast yesterday. If you don't speak toddler, that's garbanzo beans.
1995, my dad had his first emergency heart surgery. Due to a heart condition he was born with, the cardiologist discovered he'd need a pacemaker. It was also recommended by this doctor to make some dietary changes for his heart and overall health. Done.
As a 10 year old new vegan, it wasn't a difficult transition. I didn't do the cooking nor did I dive into the research behind why this was really healthier. I just ate what was given to me. It wasn't until several years later, when I began preparing my own food, that I opted for convenience and reincorporated small amounts of animal products. Later on, I met my man. He and his family were meat and potatoes kind of people. Hmm...lets face it, vegetables dripping butter, steak seared to perfection? This stuff tasted much better in my opinion then the lentils and tofu! Eventually my parents rejoined the carnivore club.
Ever since our 3rd son, Hudson's birth, I've been trying to get back my pre baby body, and I'm proud to say it only took me about 4 months to see that number on the scale. It was definitely a record for me. He is now 10 months old and I've dropped an additional 10 lbs. That recently inspired Johnny to start exercising nearly every day to get back into his prime swimmer body. When I told him about Forks Over Knives, he rolled his eyes and said "But lean meats are good for you. It's just a matter of opinion." I didn't feel like discussing it any further. I decided it wouldn't be as practical for me to make such a huge decision on my own, if I'd still be feeding meat to 4 boys. This needed to be his decision as well.
Backing up...over the past several months, his parents have begun a strict, plant based diet. Newly diagnosed health issues, as well as my vegan sister Amanda's nudging to a healthier lifestyle were huge inspirations for them. They are much more hard core than my childhood vegan diet. No sugar, salt, or even oil. Strictly vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains. Wow. Sounds intimidating and limited, right? That's what I thought.
The day after I had watched FOK, my mother in law brought over several reading materials for us to check out. Johnny is not a big reader, but within just over an hour, he had completed The Engine 2 Diet by Texas firefighter Rip Esselstyn. That sealed the deal for him. He told me he wanted to jump in completely if I did! I was so curious as to what the book was about, I read it that same night. Highly recommended.
I cannot express how thrilled I am to explore and bond over this new lifestyle choice. It's overwhelming at first, like learning a new language. We spent several hours cleaning out the fridge, freezer and pantry, replacing it with all whole, natural, vegan foods from Trader Joes and Harvest House, our local health food store that my mom used to drag us to.
It's only been two days, but it's pretty exciting! Giving up meat won't be the hard part, it's going to be the sugar and oils. I'm certain we can stick to it, though. One day at a time.
Now, this is not going to become an all consuming topic of discussion, nor will I pressure or judge anyone who eats what we no longer do. Simply, we have made this personal choice. We have decided not to let this affect our social life i.e. going out and entertaining. If we need to cheat a little, add a little oil etc., it will not be the end of the world.
However, I have learned just how many delicious simple and pure food options there are out there for us, and if you happen to be some of our dear friends who will continue to come and dine with us, get ready for some yummy, healthy recipes I'm excited to try out. But be prepared for some possible flops as well. Lunch today was pretty gross. Hey! I'm new at cooking tofu!
The kids are loving it too, not really a surprise though. They are addicted to fruit and would hardly ate meat before. Boone requested some "arbongo beans" for breakfast yesterday. If you don't speak toddler, that's garbanzo beans.
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