Well, This IS vacation week for us. We leave late tomorrow and won't be back till Sunday. Everyone is mostly packed and anxious! The laundry is almost done. The house is almost clean. The swim suits, life jackets, and bikes are piled and waiting. I'll post again next week with pictures and all the details!
So NICE doing a vacation with no kids needing naps, special strollers, high chairs, cribs, diapers, etc.
Basically, just grab a swim suit, flip flops and water bottle and jump in the van!!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Thought of the day....... Focus
http://www.gccwired.com/streampagenew.asp?pageID=174
"What you focus on is what will develop" Mark Beeson
Focus on the good, good things increase. Focus on the bad, bad things increase. In all areas of life, must decide what we will focus on, what is important. What do we want to develop in our life?
Check out Mark Beeson's message on-line from June 13/14. You can view the whole thing or just listen to it on-line. It's worth it!
"What you focus on is what will develop" Mark Beeson
Focus on the good, good things increase. Focus on the bad, bad things increase. In all areas of life, must decide what we will focus on, what is important. What do we want to develop in our life?
Check out Mark Beeson's message on-line from June 13/14. You can view the whole thing or just listen to it on-line. It's worth it!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
More Random Thoughts....
We have baby bunnies. Wild. There are at least 2 of them, and they live in the ground cover in front of our home, we have caught them twice, so cute!!!!
I pulled Miah's hair up in pony tail yesterday and after I was done, she asked if it looked pretty. I said of course it did, and she quickly responded by pointing at her heart and she said, "But, what's in here is what really makes me pretty, right?" (So glad to know she is understanding what we're trying to teach her about truly being beautiful
Couple days ago, Cameron and I had a long conversation about friendship and relationships, how we treat people, etc, and when we were done, he got up and said, "Thanks for the advice, Mom". (So mature for a 7 year old)
Miah is already planning her birthday party (for DECEMBER) she wants only girls and she wants to apply make-up and paint nails!
The kids have it planned out. Cameron wants a dog. Miah wants a kitten. And Jalen wants a pet snake. Yikes!
I have a new 'favorite snack'. Organic Dried Plums. They are so yummy and so good for you.
FYI - Dried Plums may be an important defense against aging and disease, according to researchers at the Center on Aging, the antioxidant ORAC score for dried plums was more than double the next highest fruit antioxidant.
Fruit Antioxidant Scores
Dried Plums 5770
Raisens 2830
Blueberries 2400
Blackberries 2036
Strawberries 1546
Raspberries 1220
Plums 949
Oranges 750
Pink Grpfruit 483
Apples 218
Interesting huh??
On a different note... we still haven't turned on our air conditioning this year. I am always trying to save money as well as energy. Trying to hold out as long as we can!
I love going BULK on stuff. I used to not be that way, but now with a family to feed, I like to buy good quality food, at the cheapest possible price in the largest quantities (which is usually cheaper, not always!) SO this past week when I needed more Coconut Oil, I decided to shop around instead of doing my normal regular size jar from Vitamin Shoppe. I found some great stuff on-line, and I bought a 5 gallon pail full! And over all I went from paying like .56 cents per ounce to paying .18 cents per ounce. I was pretty proud of myself, PLUS I won't have to buy more for like a year!!!!!!
Well, enough of my ramblings for today... looking so forward to a great weekend of family fun, hoping to go to the ZOO or the BEACH. It is Father's Day Sunday, so that day is all about Justin! Have a great weekend friends!!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
More Recipes
I guess I am into recipes this week..... Here's one for some yummy turkey meatballs. And Last night I made these new Healthy Peanut butter TREATS!
Turkey Meat Balls
1/2 green pepper (chopped tiny or juiced)
2 TBLS tomato paste (or some type of tomato sauce)
1 tsp. real salt
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 organic brown egg
1 lb ground organic turkey
Mix it all up and roll into balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes
Enjoy!
(I have another yummy meatball recipe too, but these are my new favorite, maybe I'll post the other one some other time!)
Healthy Snack Balls
1 small banana
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (no sugar kind, organic is best)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup crushed flax seeds (buy them whole and then crush them yourself)
MIX together and roll into balls.
Coat them with either:
chopped almonds (that's what I did!)
shredded coconut
chocolate chips
I store mine in the freezer! This recipe makes 12 snack balls.
Turkey Meat Balls
1/2 green pepper (chopped tiny or juiced)
2 TBLS tomato paste (or some type of tomato sauce)
1 tsp. real salt
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 organic brown egg
1 lb ground organic turkey
Mix it all up and roll into balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes
Enjoy!
(I have another yummy meatball recipe too, but these are my new favorite, maybe I'll post the other one some other time!)
Healthy Snack Balls
1 small banana
1/2 cup natural peanut butter (no sugar kind, organic is best)
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup crushed flax seeds (buy them whole and then crush them yourself)
MIX together and roll into balls.
Coat them with either:
chopped almonds (that's what I did!)
shredded coconut
chocolate chips
I store mine in the freezer! This recipe makes 12 snack balls.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Zucchini Bread Recipe
Once in awhile I like to share a recipe on my blog. I love to cook/bake and over the years have converted some old recipes into healthy versions, and I just made this one the other day, so I thought I would share it!
3 Organic Brown Eggs
1 cup extra virgin organic coconut oil
1 cup raw honey
Beat together well
1/2 cup Spelt Flour
1/2 cup Oat Flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. real salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
Makes 2 loafs, Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.
3 Organic Brown Eggs
1 cup extra virgin organic coconut oil
1 cup raw honey
Beat together well
1/2 cup Spelt Flour
1/2 cup Oat Flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. real salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
Makes 2 loafs, Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Such a crazy summer and it's only June 15th!
Yes, this summer we have already chopped down 4 trees in our yard, power washed the house and shed and swing set, majorly organized the garage and shed (5S is what Justin calls it). I have rescued one son from a very high tree that he courageously climbed. I had a garage sale. I survived a flooded basement, when our sump pump died last weekend (at least now my basement is clean). I hosted a baby-shower at my home. I have two beautiful hanging flower baskets that have been exceptionally beautiful all summer, and yet the very day we are having a baby shower at our home, I decide to try to make these flowers look even better, so I mix up some miracle grow and spray them around 8am in the morning. Well, by 10:00am I notice my pretty flowers looking really brown and dry and not good! So I take them down and spray them with the hose, but the damage was already done. So the one day of the whole summer when I wanted them to look nice, I ruin it. Oh, I was so mad at myself! I almost went out and bought new ones, (they looked really really bad)!
On a positive note, I have a new Shop-Vac, because when the basement flooded we needed something to suck up all the water!
And... I have a new floor steamer mop thing! I got it with a Birthday gift card from my sweet in-laws! (I will be using it daily!)(I saw it advertised on TV and I have wanted one ever since, and they had them at Bed Bath and Beyond, so I got it yesterday and have already used it!) THANK YOU!
Today as been no less than crazy! Our wonderful neighbor friend Diana has been over most of the day, and the kids and I all adore her. She is a really cool and fun 14 year old, and she's the best babysitter in the world! Anyways, Diana and the kids were playing 'hide and seek' in the basement, and I was making lunch and doing laundry, when I got the news that there was a FIRE in the basement. Yes, I said FIRE!
Let me take you back 15 - 20 minutes prior.............................. They were all playing hide and seek, with very little light, because there isn't many places to hide down there, so you can hide better in little light. So Cameron is hiding in his bedroom and it is pretty dark, so he decides to turn on his little lamp! But......... it's too bright, so he then lays it on the bed and covers it with underwear! And it's still too bright so he covers it with a coloring book and a piece of Christmas wrapping paper! That seemed to work good for him, so now he moves out of the room and continues with the game, well a little while later Diana and the kids smell something burning, and they assume it is me making lunch :)
So they just continue playing the game. Then they think, man it smells weird in the basement, it must be the laundry room where I've been doing laundry. So they continue playing!
Finally, Diana goes to hide in Cameron's room and notices smoke coming from Cameron's bed! So she removes the coloring book and WOW, there is a fire in the basement! The underwear was completely burned and the sheets, mattrace pad and 2 inches into the mattrace were on fire! The smell is soooooooooooooooooooooo bad! I still have a head ache from breathing it in!
I am so thankful everyone is okay and so thankful we discovered it before too long!
So yes, this has been a full and crazy summer so far! The kids have been begging me to go on a bike ride to Pops and Grandma's (which is like 15 miles away) Yes, my seven year old and six year old think they can ride that far! Even if they could continuously ride that far, it is on main roads (like 4 lane highway type things!) So not gonna happen!!!!
I think we'll go to the library instead.
On a positive note, I have a new Shop-Vac, because when the basement flooded we needed something to suck up all the water!
And... I have a new floor steamer mop thing! I got it with a Birthday gift card from my sweet in-laws! (I will be using it daily!)(I saw it advertised on TV and I have wanted one ever since, and they had them at Bed Bath and Beyond, so I got it yesterday and have already used it!) THANK YOU!
Today as been no less than crazy! Our wonderful neighbor friend Diana has been over most of the day, and the kids and I all adore her. She is a really cool and fun 14 year old, and she's the best babysitter in the world! Anyways, Diana and the kids were playing 'hide and seek' in the basement, and I was making lunch and doing laundry, when I got the news that there was a FIRE in the basement. Yes, I said FIRE!
Let me take you back 15 - 20 minutes prior.............................. They were all playing hide and seek, with very little light, because there isn't many places to hide down there, so you can hide better in little light. So Cameron is hiding in his bedroom and it is pretty dark, so he decides to turn on his little lamp! But......... it's too bright, so he then lays it on the bed and covers it with underwear! And it's still too bright so he covers it with a coloring book and a piece of Christmas wrapping paper! That seemed to work good for him, so now he moves out of the room and continues with the game, well a little while later Diana and the kids smell something burning, and they assume it is me making lunch :)
So they just continue playing the game. Then they think, man it smells weird in the basement, it must be the laundry room where I've been doing laundry. So they continue playing!
Finally, Diana goes to hide in Cameron's room and notices smoke coming from Cameron's bed! So she removes the coloring book and WOW, there is a fire in the basement! The underwear was completely burned and the sheets, mattrace pad and 2 inches into the mattrace were on fire! The smell is soooooooooooooooooooooo bad! I still have a head ache from breathing it in!
I am so thankful everyone is okay and so thankful we discovered it before too long!
So yes, this has been a full and crazy summer so far! The kids have been begging me to go on a bike ride to Pops and Grandma's (which is like 15 miles away) Yes, my seven year old and six year old think they can ride that far! Even if they could continuously ride that far, it is on main roads (like 4 lane highway type things!) So not gonna happen!!!!
I think we'll go to the library instead.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Emails and Females
QUICK STORY
Jalen asked me yesterday, "What is an email?" So I go into a big explanation about writing a letter and sending it through the computer instead of the post office....." And he says, "No, like... am I a female or an email?"
So then we discussed the words MALE and FEMALE. He understands now. :)
Jalen asked me yesterday, "What is an email?" So I go into a big explanation about writing a letter and sending it through the computer instead of the post office....." And he says, "No, like... am I a female or an email?"
So then we discussed the words MALE and FEMALE. He understands now. :)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Miah catches her 1st FROG
I was doing yard work when I spotted a little green frog, so I yelled to the kids, "Hey here's a frog if anyone wants it!" And my little girl in her pink dress comes running, the boys continue to swing on the swingset. She catches that frog and is in her glory. (I don't remember being like that as a little girl.) This happened over two hours ago and she is still playing with her frog. She ate her lunch outside so she could be by her frog. She cried and cried when the boys teased that they would let the frog go. She is really into this frog. I am amazed, and thankful that she gets to have a pet for the day!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Pet and creature lovers
10 reason I know my children love creatures of all kinds.
1. If you are walking a dog by my home, three small children will run to you and ask "Can I pet your dog?"
2. If they see a frog, they are swept up in making it a home and feeding it for hours and hours.
3. They try to save their money to buy a pet.
4. They dig for earthworms and then play with them and then very kindly place them back in the dirt to make sure they get home safely.
5. They bring home library books on "what type of dog would make the best pet"
6. My 'girlie' little princess searches for any type of bug she can find and holds it in her hands calling it her little pet.
7. They day dream of catching a snake and making a 'cage' for it to live in, and all the things they could feed it.
8. The first thing they want to do at 'Manowe' is go to the horse barn to see the Kitties! (They like the horses but not as much as the cats!)
9. They tell me often that a dog could clean up my kitchen floor, so I wouldn't have to sweep so much.
10. Cameron will get blankets and pillows for my mom's dog, Hattie, and then Cameron will curl up and fall asleep laying right next to her.
SO hopefully someday the Maust family will have a pet or two, but, for now, we enjoy everyone elses!
1. If you are walking a dog by my home, three small children will run to you and ask "Can I pet your dog?"
2. If they see a frog, they are swept up in making it a home and feeding it for hours and hours.
3. They try to save their money to buy a pet.
4. They dig for earthworms and then play with them and then very kindly place them back in the dirt to make sure they get home safely.
5. They bring home library books on "what type of dog would make the best pet"
6. My 'girlie' little princess searches for any type of bug she can find and holds it in her hands calling it her little pet.
7. They day dream of catching a snake and making a 'cage' for it to live in, and all the things they could feed it.
8. The first thing they want to do at 'Manowe' is go to the horse barn to see the Kitties! (They like the horses but not as much as the cats!)
9. They tell me often that a dog could clean up my kitchen floor, so I wouldn't have to sweep so much.
10. Cameron will get blankets and pillows for my mom's dog, Hattie, and then Cameron will curl up and fall asleep laying right next to her.
SO hopefully someday the Maust family will have a pet or two, but, for now, we enjoy everyone elses!
Thoughts of the day..........
"Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will become the brightest gems in a useful life."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first."
Robert J. McKain
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The reason most goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first."
Robert J. McKain
Amazing Jalen
My Jalen teaches me so much about having a positive attitude and joyful spirit. He can always see the positive in about everything. He really loves to do the right thing and is quick to forgive when others don't do the right thing. He is thankful and so full of hugs and kisses. He wakes up with a smile and goes to bed with a smile. He is diligent in doing his chores and keeping his room neat. He is such a blessing to me and loves me even when I mess up or I forget something. He is patient. Just today I forgot to make his breakfast shake this morning when I made everyone elses, and he waited patiently (no complaining) and I still forgot, so now it is 11:30am and he says oh so sweetly, "can I have my shake now?", Yes I felt terrible, but he kept on smiling as I apologized and made his shake for him. He is fun, silly, and very high energy, but also loving and compassionate!
I am blessed daily by this little six year old!
(Ants beware! Jalen loves to kill ants, he spends hours in the yard seeking out and destroying ants!)
Summer Fun
Oh the joy of watching these two play together. It is so precious. They love to play "kittys" or "puppies" or to do tickle games. They have crazy imaginations and they get lost in there own little world for hours at a time. Such a precious bond they have! I am blessed!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
I Hope You Dance
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
I just finished a very touching book called "A Time to Dance" and then in church on Sunday they sang this song for the special music, and I cried through the whole song. Something about it just makes me want to live life to the fullest and be a doer instead of a watcher. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Check out the church service on line at www.gccwired.com
(Listening to the song is waaaaay better than just reading the lyrics!)
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)
I just finished a very touching book called "A Time to Dance" and then in church on Sunday they sang this song for the special music, and I cried through the whole song. Something about it just makes me want to live life to the fullest and be a doer instead of a watcher. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Check out the church service on line at www.gccwired.com
(Listening to the song is waaaaay better than just reading the lyrics!)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Field Day
May 21 was field day for Jalen. Justin and I both were able to be apart of it. So different than when we were kids. No competition, no winners, no losers, no ribbons, no 1st, 2nd, 3rd place. I guess that is good, unless your one of those people who always won! So all in all it was fun and enjoyed by all the kids, not just the athletes.
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