So our family watched a movie called Food, Inc. It was very enlightening. It was all about a veil that is put up between the consumer and the producer/manufacturer of food. Even today at Wal-mart, I noticed the woman in front of me in line purchasing a dozen eggs. Just normal, Walmart-brand eggs. Not organic, nothing special. On the package, it said "farm fresh". However, the movie we watched showed another side to how the food gets to us and the price both the animals and farm/plant employees have to pay. In the past, when I heard vegetarians say that they felt bad for the animals, I didn't get it because I thought this was the order of things in nature. It's a food chain, it's not animal cruelty. I never considered how the animals were treated prior to being killed. I just thought that they were fed and taken care of until their day. I know that's naive, but typically I'm naive about many things. After watching the movie, I saw several examples of how mistreatment of the animals impacted many humans. I also saw how the big-dogs of the food industry treated their employees as poorly as they treated their animals. It really opened my eyes.
We went shopping at Harris-Teeter to pick up some organic things. They have by far the best selection in our area (only 15-20 minutes away). Making the switch to totally healthy is tricky. First of all, I have 37 years of experience of eating whatever, not thinking of the impact on my health and on the food industry. A 37 year habit of eating convenience foods from time to time, not even every day, is tough to break out of. It takes more time and forethought to make thoughtful, considerate food choices.
At the end of the movie, the screen read, "You get to vote three times a day." I'm praying that as the New Year rolls around and I have some time off next week to get organized and regroup, we'll be able to lean a little more to the organic side of things.
One week in particular was very good for us on an "eating organically" scale. I noticed, even in that short time, that the children were able to find something for a snack that they liked from what we had in the cabinet. For years past, the cabinet had more processed, convenience foods. For snacks, at least for that week, we really tried to think outside of the box. All the children, especially Birdie, tolerated the difference and actually ate less-processed, less-convenience, and less-good-for-you snacks.
Friday, December 25, 2009
The Reason for the Wise Men
As Bug and I looked at a nativity scene at my sister's church, she said, "There's the wise men. They brought the presents. Santa Claus didn't bring baby Jesus presents so that's why the wise men had to come." :)
Bear's Letter to Santa
Dear Santa Cluas,
I want you to bring 3 things that are on my list and 2 suprizes and please bring a present for: Jackie, Piper, and Abby [dogs in our family]. If you can please bring Dellaney an american girl doll. and if you can please bring dady some new sunglases. Is that ok if you get a baby for Joclair.
have a good time
I love the way he added things in for two of his three sisters. Either he ran out of space, time, or ideas before he was able to ask for something for Birdie. Even though this blog has nicknames, it was more important for me to write it just as he did.
Merry Christmas!
I want you to bring 3 things that are on my list and 2 suprizes and please bring a present for: Jackie, Piper, and Abby [dogs in our family]. If you can please bring Dellaney an american girl doll. and if you can please bring dady some new sunglases. Is that ok if you get a baby for Joclair.
have a good time
I love the way he added things in for two of his three sisters. Either he ran out of space, time, or ideas before he was able to ask for something for Birdie. Even though this blog has nicknames, it was more important for me to write it just as he did.
Merry Christmas!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Summer
Apparently, I didn't spend any part of my summer updating my blog. Years from now my children may wonder what happened this summer since I haven't chosen to record anything in over two months. Well, here are a few things that happened this summer...
Chapter Books - The twins started reading chapter books. Bear found (with my help) a really cool series by Dan Gutman. The first book in the series is called Miss Daisy is Crazy. All the books are hilarious and are a good fit for him. He can read them on his own:). Lou Lou began reading a series about princesses - girls who attend a Princess Academy. This is a semi-good match for Lou Lou's interests. Other options that we did not choose included several fairy books, which I'm not in favor of, and animal fiction books (horses, puppies, etc.). If we could find chapter books about girls who love ballet, that would be right down Lou Lou's alley. We did end up finding a series about children in Appleville Elementary School. The problem is...there are only 4 books in the series. We'll see how it goes for Lou Lou!
Birthday - Birdie turned 2! She is very social, very chatty, very copy-catty of anything Bug or Lou Lou say, and very loving. She loves kissing everyone and always sticks out her lips and her chin so much as she heads toward someone to give them a smooch:). The funniest thing that she did this summer...All the kids were playing in our kiddie pool, and, for some reason, the big kids were acting like monsters and saying, "Rah! Rah! Rah!". It must have bothered Birdie because she came up to me to tell me what turned out to be her first official tattle tale. She began with a few sentences of gibberish and then, imitating the big kids, said, "Rah! Rah! Rah!". We all laughed about that one! Today, I was talking with her about using the bathroom, and when I said, "When you have to poop out, come in here and poop in the potty," she said, "OH!" with a loud "aha" sound, like she was thinking, "What a great idea! I never thought of that before!".
Bug turns over a three year old leaf...Bug, my most laid back, sensitive, good as gold child has turned over a new leaf. I guess I should say she is exploring another part of her personality. She has become somewhat feisty with a bit of a sassy mouth. Although her feistiness is not to the degree that Lou Lou's was at 3 years old, it seems just as difficult to deal with because it still surprises me when she acts like that. Anyway, she is still very sensitive and reminds me of myself so much. She is very independent, strong but a little bit fragile at the same time. The monster-chasing game is the new thing at our house recently. Typically, Jimmy's the monster, but if he's not around, Bear is happy to fill in. Tonight, Jimmy was going around chasing and scaring and being a tickle monster. Anyway, all the kids were running all around the house as he turned lights on and off. By the way, this game is nothing I enjoy or participate in. Even as a child, I didn't like scary, run around like crazy games. When they play, I just keep doing whatever...folding clothes, sweeping the floor, etc. Well once tonight, when Bug ran past me, I could see that she was really distressed, way past the point of having fun. I so completely identified with her. It's a rather odd feeling to have a child that is natured so much like myself. I think she likes Monster Chase when it first gets started, but when it gets really cranked up or keeps going for awhile, she can't take it. It makes me think about her as an older child and a grownup, because being sensitive is tough sometimes.
Backyard...Jimmy cut down lots of trees in our back yard. We still have 10-12 and I think he cut down 7 or 8. He cut them down to make more space, to help the grass to grow, and to make space for a playhouse and swingset. The playhouse is set up, complete with a small flag from Mama C. The swingset is set to be finished Labor Day Weekend I hope. During the last part of the summer, it seemed to rain every single day, which held up swingset construction:)
New job...Prayers answered...The day before Open House, I found out that I indeed was moving to my "old" school as the Title I teacher. Title I teacher is nothing I would have ever picked, but with so much prayer just from me over the last two years, I felt that this was exactly where God wanted me. I have prayed for this move diligently, daily for the past two years. It feels like I'm back at home, and the twins are in the second grade there. I am so completely, immensely happy about spending my working time there:):)
New fish...We have two big fish decals and four small fish decals on our car, representing me, Jimmy, and our 4 children. We added two new fish this summer to represent Courtney and Trey, our babies in heaven. Courtney went to heaven in July 2004, when I was about 7 weeks along. Trey went to heaven in February 2009, when I was about 10 weeks along. Recently, the twins noticed the fish and asked me about the "extra" fish. When I explained it to them, they were excited about having a brother and sister waiting for them in heaven. By giving these two babies names and recognition in our family, it makes it easier for the rest of my children to (later on down the road) begin to understand openness to life, the culture of life versus the culture of death, and God-control versus birth control, which was God's plan all along. Thank God for Courtney and Trey:)!
Chapter Books - The twins started reading chapter books. Bear found (with my help) a really cool series by Dan Gutman. The first book in the series is called Miss Daisy is Crazy. All the books are hilarious and are a good fit for him. He can read them on his own:). Lou Lou began reading a series about princesses - girls who attend a Princess Academy. This is a semi-good match for Lou Lou's interests. Other options that we did not choose included several fairy books, which I'm not in favor of, and animal fiction books (horses, puppies, etc.). If we could find chapter books about girls who love ballet, that would be right down Lou Lou's alley. We did end up finding a series about children in Appleville Elementary School. The problem is...there are only 4 books in the series. We'll see how it goes for Lou Lou!
Birthday - Birdie turned 2! She is very social, very chatty, very copy-catty of anything Bug or Lou Lou say, and very loving. She loves kissing everyone and always sticks out her lips and her chin so much as she heads toward someone to give them a smooch:). The funniest thing that she did this summer...All the kids were playing in our kiddie pool, and, for some reason, the big kids were acting like monsters and saying, "Rah! Rah! Rah!". It must have bothered Birdie because she came up to me to tell me what turned out to be her first official tattle tale. She began with a few sentences of gibberish and then, imitating the big kids, said, "Rah! Rah! Rah!". We all laughed about that one! Today, I was talking with her about using the bathroom, and when I said, "When you have to poop out, come in here and poop in the potty," she said, "OH!" with a loud "aha" sound, like she was thinking, "What a great idea! I never thought of that before!".
Bug turns over a three year old leaf...Bug, my most laid back, sensitive, good as gold child has turned over a new leaf. I guess I should say she is exploring another part of her personality. She has become somewhat feisty with a bit of a sassy mouth. Although her feistiness is not to the degree that Lou Lou's was at 3 years old, it seems just as difficult to deal with because it still surprises me when she acts like that. Anyway, she is still very sensitive and reminds me of myself so much. She is very independent, strong but a little bit fragile at the same time. The monster-chasing game is the new thing at our house recently. Typically, Jimmy's the monster, but if he's not around, Bear is happy to fill in. Tonight, Jimmy was going around chasing and scaring and being a tickle monster. Anyway, all the kids were running all around the house as he turned lights on and off. By the way, this game is nothing I enjoy or participate in. Even as a child, I didn't like scary, run around like crazy games. When they play, I just keep doing whatever...folding clothes, sweeping the floor, etc. Well once tonight, when Bug ran past me, I could see that she was really distressed, way past the point of having fun. I so completely identified with her. It's a rather odd feeling to have a child that is natured so much like myself. I think she likes Monster Chase when it first gets started, but when it gets really cranked up or keeps going for awhile, she can't take it. It makes me think about her as an older child and a grownup, because being sensitive is tough sometimes.
Backyard...Jimmy cut down lots of trees in our back yard. We still have 10-12 and I think he cut down 7 or 8. He cut them down to make more space, to help the grass to grow, and to make space for a playhouse and swingset. The playhouse is set up, complete with a small flag from Mama C. The swingset is set to be finished Labor Day Weekend I hope. During the last part of the summer, it seemed to rain every single day, which held up swingset construction:)
New job...Prayers answered...The day before Open House, I found out that I indeed was moving to my "old" school as the Title I teacher. Title I teacher is nothing I would have ever picked, but with so much prayer just from me over the last two years, I felt that this was exactly where God wanted me. I have prayed for this move diligently, daily for the past two years. It feels like I'm back at home, and the twins are in the second grade there. I am so completely, immensely happy about spending my working time there:):)
New fish...We have two big fish decals and four small fish decals on our car, representing me, Jimmy, and our 4 children. We added two new fish this summer to represent Courtney and Trey, our babies in heaven. Courtney went to heaven in July 2004, when I was about 7 weeks along. Trey went to heaven in February 2009, when I was about 10 weeks along. Recently, the twins noticed the fish and asked me about the "extra" fish. When I explained it to them, they were excited about having a brother and sister waiting for them in heaven. By giving these two babies names and recognition in our family, it makes it easier for the rest of my children to (later on down the road) begin to understand openness to life, the culture of life versus the culture of death, and God-control versus birth control, which was God's plan all along. Thank God for Courtney and Trey:)!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sugar
A few nights ago, I wanted to do something fun with Joey without all the other kids. It seems like it's harder to find one-on-one times with each child, so when I catch a minute, I try to make the most of it. I started pointing to different places on my face and asking her to name them. If she got it wrong, I tickled her, so she intentionally got some wrong. I asked her some easy ones (nose, eyes, ears) and some trickier ones (eyebrow, ear lobe). When I pointed to her cheek and said, "What's this?", she said, "That's my sugar!". I don't even know if she knew the actual name for her cheek or not.
Au Revoir, Chapel Hill!
So last night was Jimmy's last night of Chapel Hill forever. No more papers. No more problem sets. No more trips to Chapel Hill. When he got home last night, he told all the kids that he was really done. It still doesn't seem real. He walked with the graduates on Mother's Day but still had one more class to take. That really made NO SENSE to the children! Anyway, Yay Yay for us!
Vegetable Mixup
So we have found and bought into a local CSA to get some organic produce, fresh from the farm. Actually, it's not exactly local. The farm is on Powhatan Road in Clayton. How odd is that? My grandparents attended Powhatan FWB church on Powhatan road. You pass by the church and keep trucking and you finally get to the farm. We only bought half a share just to see how it would go. I didn't want to have lots of leftover food wasted, but I think next year we'll buy a whole share. We get a box of produce a week. So far we've gotten...collards, spinach, garden peas, cabbage, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, and basil.
Basically what I do is get the box, find out what we have, look up recipes in my cookbooks or on the internet, and then throw something together. We've had spinach lasagna, cabbage cooked with bacon, squash with nutmeg, and broiled zucchini. Things that I wouldn't have tasted before are now options for me because I spent time cooking them. Everything I've cooked has been pretty good. My children haven't fallen in love with any of it yet besides the spinach lasagna, but they have tried every new recipe. To me, this is a plus. At least they're getting a taste for all different kinds of vegetables. I especially love the fact that I'm getting fresh vegetables from Powhatan Road in Clayton, so close to my grandmother's house where I used to get fresh vegetables from :).
The first week all we got was spinach and collards. I got up early Sunday morning and began freezing the collards and making spinach lasagna. Later on that week we determined that I had actually made collard lasagna and frozen the spinach using "freezing collards" directions. Jimmy kept eating it and said it tasted pretty good. He was surprised that I had gotten it mixed up, but my grandmother never messed with spinach, and when she did collards, I didn't really help because there was no "before-the-kitchen" work to do. When she did corn, I helped silk. When she did peas, I helped shell. No ahead of time stuff was necessary for collards, so she pretty much did it all. Anyway, it gave us something to laugh about!
Basically what I do is get the box, find out what we have, look up recipes in my cookbooks or on the internet, and then throw something together. We've had spinach lasagna, cabbage cooked with bacon, squash with nutmeg, and broiled zucchini. Things that I wouldn't have tasted before are now options for me because I spent time cooking them. Everything I've cooked has been pretty good. My children haven't fallen in love with any of it yet besides the spinach lasagna, but they have tried every new recipe. To me, this is a plus. At least they're getting a taste for all different kinds of vegetables. I especially love the fact that I'm getting fresh vegetables from Powhatan Road in Clayton, so close to my grandmother's house where I used to get fresh vegetables from :).
The first week all we got was spinach and collards. I got up early Sunday morning and began freezing the collards and making spinach lasagna. Later on that week we determined that I had actually made collard lasagna and frozen the spinach using "freezing collards" directions. Jimmy kept eating it and said it tasted pretty good. He was surprised that I had gotten it mixed up, but my grandmother never messed with spinach, and when she did collards, I didn't really help because there was no "before-the-kitchen" work to do. When she did corn, I helped silk. When she did peas, I helped shell. No ahead of time stuff was necessary for collards, so she pretty much did it all. Anyway, it gave us something to laugh about!
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