Summertime

We are fully enjoying summertime around here.

I was happy to see this little darling after we came back from our Omaha trip.

The kids created a waterslide the first day it was warm enough to get wet.

They played in the water in our yard a few more times before the pool opened.

We went a fun bike ride with friends last week.  The kids did great.

Abby napped in the car while we waited for our friends to arrive. 

This was Alex's first bike ride away from our driveway.  He was awesome. 

A friend gave us their hand-me-down swing set.  The kids are spending hours every day on it!  They love it.  :)

Abby is showing lots of personality lately.  She is so funny.

We had a campfire with s'mores at our house for Cub pack meeting last week.  Annie really enjoyed her messy marshmallows.

Omaha Getaway

A month ago, Jim and I had a nice little retreat.  His parents took the kids for us while we headed to Omaha for an education conference and a little fun.

We arrived at 3am Saturday morning, slept for a few hours, and then began our weekend.  The conference was all day Saturday, and, despite being sleepy, was excellent.  I particularly appreciated hearing Nicholeen Peck speak that day.  After the conference we took a little power nap and then headed to the Winter Quarters Temple.  I don't think I've ever been so sleepy during a temple session, but it was a much needed temple visit. 

On Sunday we enjoyed the chance to rest.  We went to church and attended a fireside where we again had the chance to hear Nicholeen speak, but otherwise we relaxed in our hotel.  It was a lovely day.

On Monday we had some fun before heading home.  We started the day by visiting Boys Town.  I read the book years ago, and was inspired by the story behind it.  So I was excited to see it.  I'm standing in front of Father Flanagan's house in the picture.

Our next stop was lunch at an awesome little cafe called 'My Crepes'.  I'd HIGHLY recommend it to anyone visiting Omaha.  The food was SO tasty and very authentic (Bosnian).  It was a little family run affair.  We were pleasantly surprised.  I believe this is the first time I've ever taken a picture of a meal at a restaurant.

After lunch, we watched 'Mom's Night Out' in the theatre (I laughed and cried...), and then headed home.  It was a great little trip. 

Baby Birds

A few weeks ago I looked out the window to see the kids chasing a small animal through the corn field.  Upon questioning, I learned that they'd been chasing a bird.  They'd seen it fall out of a tree and wanted to put it back in its nest.  Later, they showed me where the nest was and we discovered that it was a nearly full grown robin.  It sat SO still hoping we wouldn't notice it.

A few days later, I came outside to see the kids sitting under the slide and acting very suspicious.  Upon inspection, I discovered that they had once again found the same baby robin.  This time, however, they'd put it in a nest (an abandoned one thankfully) and covered it with a towel underneath the slide.  The little bird was extremely content.

It was pretty darn cute, but we returned it to it own nest, and made it clear to the kids that they needed to leave it alone.

Then a week ago, the kids found another baby bird.  This time they found it in our garage, so they rescued it in a wet sand bucket.  The poor thing was half soaked.

It fluffed back up after a while.  We think this one was a baby quail.  A neighbor took this one since we had no idea where it came from.

Kids Say

Alex was singing 'Let It Go' and he said to me, "Mom, a little of 'Let It Go' was stuck in my throat!"

I asked Alex if I'm really old now because I had a birthday.  "No, cause your face isn't really old!"

Annie was walking around in her dress up high heels, "Mom, I should teach you how to walk in high heels!  Do you always think, 'How in the world does she walk in high heels?!!'  That's what you always think, huh?"

Alex, "A wind knocked down my waterbottle!"  Me, "Why'd it do that?"  Alex, "Maybe it didn't like my waterbottle!"

Alex noticing that I was washing my bedsheets, "Mom, did you wet your bed?"

Alex, "Mom!  A bird picked me up off of my feet!"

Alex came downstairs with a blanket cape, "I'm Superwash!"

Alex listening to morning sounds, "The birds are barking!"

Alex after we drove somewhere, "The sun followed us!"

I told Alex to blow on his food to cool it off.  So he first blew into his hand, then said, "I don't have cold air!"

Logan referring to Abby, "She tells me all her secrets!  She once told me that she doesn't like to be told no!"

We were at a park one day and there was one of those 'In memory of...' benches.  Logan read that and came to me, "Mom!  Somebody is buried under that bench!"

We broke two lawnmowers one evening within a five minute time frame.  Alex was concerned about how one broke while Jim was trying to fix one of them. "If it's a rabbit or a turtle that would be BAD!"

Alex, "All my feelings are wet!"

Alex, "Mom!  I saw popcorn on a apricot tree!  Really!  Popcorn is on apricot trees, right Mom?"

Alex, "If the popcorn is still on the trees at church I'll be proud!"

Alex looking through a Disney book with multiple stories came upon 'Tarzan'.  He said, "Mom, look!  There a naked man outside!  That not good!  It's not good for a naked man to be outside, right?  Or not a naked girl or boy!!!"

We heard a rumble outside, so Alex opened the front door to check for a storm.  After listening for a minute in which there were no noises, "It's just quiet thunder!"

Alex standing on the uneven part of our dining room floor, "Mom, see how our house is rocky right here?  It is sinking into the fire down there!"

I told Alex that he'd already had a banana.  Alex, "Nuh-uh!  My feelings don't feel like it.  Seriously Mom!"

Family Wellness

A few months ago I was feeling worried about the anxiety disorder that Jim and the boys deal with.  Both boys were seeming to have a harder time with it.  I was wondering if we needed to increase Logan's medication and if Alex was approaching the need for medication.  I've always struggled with the idea of medicating my little boys, and Jim has long desired to be free of the medication.  There's no question that they've needed it, though.  It's been a night and day difference for both Jim and Logan.  I've long been convinced that there must be another way, though. 

It's been on my mind for years that the right diet could really help my 'menfolk' with their anxiety, but I've struggled so much with cooking.  I CAN cook... quite well actually.  It's just that I really really really dislike to do so and I struggle with WHAT to cook.  I also didn't grow up eating many vegetables, whole grains, legumes, etc.  I didn't know what to do with those foods and didn't think I liked them very well!  Eating healthy has been a battle I've been fighting for years.  So, although I've been thinking on it a long time, I haven't really been able to see HOW I could possibly provide my guys with the diet they needed.

My little Alex finally prompted the HOW a few months ago.  Worrying about him was the last straw.  I do NOT want to medicate my other little boy!  I do NOT want to increase Logan's prescription!  I DO want to free Jim and Logan from the medication, but not at the expense of their ability to handle life.  So I turned to a wonderful group of women that have quite a bit of knowledge in this arena.  Their response was overwhelming (in a good way) and I felt very strongly prompted to completely overhaul our family's diet as the FIRST step in freeing our family. 

We have switched our family to a mostly plant based whole foods diet.  It took a few weeks to truly start eating this way because I couldn't bring myself to throw away food.  We continued eating what was already in the house, while only purchasing whole foods at the store.  Once we really started eating this way, we all felt better.  Jim and the boys seem to be handling their anxieties better, and both Jim and I are feeling healthier than we have in years.  We aren't so extreme that we skip out on special events (church potluck, birthday parties, an invitation to dinner, etc.), and I have every intention of making my children's birthday cakes with white flour and white sugar.  However, those instances have been rare.  Amazingly, I can see a difference with Logan and Alex when they DO have refined and artificial foods, particularly white flour, white sugar, and food dyes.  They are much more prone to meltdowns and stress for the next day or so. 

This isn't the final answer to managing their anxiety, but I feel it was/ is an important step.  Eventually, we'll work with someone to pinpoint more specific dietary and natural supplements with the hope to begin weening Jim off the medication.  He gets to be the family test dummy.  :)

This has also been extremely good for me.  For years, I've been seeking a way to eat healthy while having a healthy mindset about food.  In the past, whenever I haven't worried about food I've gained weight and felt poorly physically.  In contrast, whenever I've tried to eat healthier, manage portion sizes better, or even make seemingly small reasonable diet changes I've found myself thinking about food all...day...long...every...single...day, and I've felt guilty if I didn't stick with whatever my plan was.  That was never a healthy or happy mindset for me.  I was always focused on what I couldn't have, and there was always plenty of food in the house that would defeat my goals.  So this has been wonderful because I can eat whatever is in the house, whenever I want, and I feel GOOD!  I don't find myself thinking about food (except when I'm hungry or it's time to make dinner) and I'm not destroying my personal health by not worrying about it.  I thought this kind of a diet would be difficult because it sounded so extreme, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is!  I have a simple criteria for shopping, and then I can use whatever is in the house.

Jim has amazingly lost 30 pounds since we started eating this way.  We took before and after pictures because we were also doing a wellness challenge during the first little while we did this.

Before

After (I generally don't realize my pictures are fuzzy until I load them on the computer.)

One really good habit we had before switching our diet was having fruit for snacks.  The kids have always loved fruit.  Yesterday as I was unloading groceries, I was amused at how much fruit I'd just bought for ONE week, so I lined it up and took a picture.  This is minus one bunch of bananas and several apricots that the kids had eaten before I'd put away the groceries.

May Catch Up

Abby is too cute for words, and it's nearly impossible to get a clear shot of her.

This was hilarious.  The kids have been getting absolutely filthy every day playing outside.  We've also had several outdoor projects this month, so Jim and I have been outside with them, but rather focused on our projects.  I came into the house one day to see this.  Apparently they thought they needed to wash up.  We were busy enough that I decided I didn't care, clicked the picture, and headed back outside without saying a word.  A few minutes later I came back in to discover a progression.  Annie had completely stripped (she's six!!!) and was sitting in the sink giving herself a bath.  Intervention! 

Alex is in heaven living rurally.  It has been good for our whole family, but this kid particularly thrives on having the space to run, dig, and explore.  He is pretty much always outside unless we call him in.

When he does come in he generally looks at books, and often is exhausted from all his play.

This sweet girl was sick last week and nearly broke our hearts.  She slept and slept and slept.  We were really happy when she perked up and started acting normal again.

After dance class last week, Annie and I had a date.  We forgot to bring clothes to change into, so she stayed in her leotard and tights.  That ended up being fantastic because we randomly decided to go into a dress up store here in town.  She had so much fun trying on tutus and other items.

This dress twirled out really well.  She spun and spun and spun.

On Friday night we had a family outing to our local state park.  I quickly snapped this picture and thought it was good because everyone was smiling.  Oops.  Annie looks like she needs a restroom break.  Nevertheless, we had a wonderful evening.  The kids pushed Abby's stroller the entire way.  So, Jim and I used that to our advantage to walk arm in arm enjoying the evening.

The kids brought me this pretty leaf yesterday.  It seemed picture worthy.  :)

Grandma and Elisa Visit

The first two weeks of this month we had Jim's grandma and his sister Elisa stay with us while his parents went on a trip.

In preparation Grandma bought a recliner for our house so she could be comfortable here.  The kids were excited to try it out.

The kids enjoyed cuddling with Grandma (their great-grandma) while she read to them.

They also couldn't wait to share their new favorite CD with Grandma.  They all sang along.

Abby attached herself to Elisa right away.  This was very helpful for us because Jim and I were busy building a ramp up to our porch.

They were also here for Mother's Day.  The kids were excited to give Grandma their gifts.

They were also sweet enough to get gifts for Elisa.