Less Perservatives

Our home is slowly trying to take out preservatives and eat foods in their natural form.  The motivation is not for any reason but to be healthy.  I want my children to be healthy and I want to be healthy for my children.  My husband got on board after he had a month of sickness.  It will not be an easy thing because our family loves sugar.

Where did we start?  By eating all of the sugar in the home and not replacing it (we are not wasteful people).  I have been trying to find healthy alternatives like greek yogurt ice cream bars or homemade all natural fruit ice cream bars, is something I give out for dessert.  When we do have real sweets, I want to make them using raw sugar and using unbleached flour and using recipes that call for ingredients in their raw form.    I also plan to make things we enjoy to be able to use more ingredients in their raw form.

The biggest switch we made is our milk.  I debated this and researched it for awhile and went back and forth and we decided to buy milk in the raw form.  We go through over 3 gallons of milk a week. WE ARE BIG MILK DRINKERS!  I found a farmer about 30 mins away that sells raw milk.  The cost is not much more than what I was paying for organic milk from the grocery store.  The initial investment was $4 per gallon in glass jars (I buy 3 gallons a week so $12), then it is $5 per gallon.  I was paying almost $4 per half gallon of organic milk.  They only milk their cows 2 a day and do not feed them any grain.  The cows are Jersey Cows and they spend their time outside not in a barn never getting to leave.  Their cows get no steroids, hormones, or any other additive.  The milk we are drinking is the actually nutrients.  Store bought pasteurized milk is boiled and all of the nutrients are killed then they added the nutrients back in that are developed in the lab.    The most helpful website about raw milk, I found was here.  We actually enjoy raw milk better than store bought.  It is such a creamier clean taste.  Not all raw milk is the same so if you try it and don't like try a different farmer.  The flavor will depend on the type of cow and what they are feeding the cow.  Another farmer that was more convenient, we did not like the milk.

Our family may not be able to ever go completely to whole foods or gluten free but we are going to take small steps that will hopefully have big results.

What are somethings in your home that you are doing to eat less preservatives and more whole foods?  I would love suggestions?

All about the Mommy

I read 2 or 3 blogs in the last couple of weeks that inspired this post. They wrote a post all about them. This is going to be a post of random facts about me. My husband always tells me I am so weird (he says that mostly in a good way). Some of these facts are things he finds weird and some he finds completely normal but others find weird. Just thought I would share a glimpse into the life of the Mommy of Niah and Malachi :-)

1. Since having kids, I can count on one hand the number of times I have the left the house with no kids. I prefer it that way.
2. It actually stresses me out to leave the kids with anyone including my husband and plus if I have the kids with me, there is no rushing home and it is more relaxing.
3. When I am mad, I clean, When I am stressed, hurt, or sad; I shop. By shop I mean, I feel the need to spend a lot of money (a lot would be somewhere around 75-100 in my single days it would be $200).
4. I feel the need to get out of my house every single day, even if it is just going to work, which is not even a quarter of mile away. (my littles come to work with me)

5. I am an extremely private person and usually only share my deepest thoughts with the husband, sister/best friend, mom and Jesus.
6. I take a bath in our jetted tub 5-7 times a week. Being completely honest, I take a dessert and the Ipad and watch tv while in the bath.
7. I throw all manners out the door when it comes to my kids. I try not to but it is my first reaction, my husband does as well. The easiest way to get a rise out of me is to attack me as a mother or attack my kids.
8. I can count on one hand the number of times, I argued with my husband in a year. Usually the arguments are over silly things.
9. I love running errands but truly only enjoy them if it is only my kids and I. That way I could move at my own pace and go where I need to.
10. Becoming a homeowner and a mother gave me the motivation to do crafty projects. Now I truly enjoy it.
11. I prefer to do things alone unless the person helping is just as personally invested in the project as me.
12. When I take on a project for someone, I make it my own project and personally invest every energy I have in to it. It is a positive and negative thing.
13. It takes me at least a year to use up makeup, not because I do not wear it because 99.5% of the time I wear it. The only thing I buy on a regular basis is eyeliner and mascara. Sometimes it makes me wonder if I do not wear enough makeup and other times I am glad I do not have to spend money on it.
14. I gave up my love for shopping for myself when I had kids and now I love to shop for my kids.  Not only do I love to buy them new clothes I love to see them wear it (they have better wardrobes than me now)
15.  The only jewelry I wear consistently is my wedding ring.  The only only other piece of jewelry you can catch me wearing is a pearl necklace and that is usually only once a month thing.  

Malachi Turns 1

Dear Malachi

It is so hard to believe that you are one today.  It is a bitter sweet feeling.  I love the little man you have and will become but sad to say good bye to the baby.   From the second you came into my life you made it better.

You are such a sweet, happy boy that lights up our lives.  The instant we look at you, you smile ear to ear and you are such a joy.  I had no idea that I would enjoy raising a boy so much, but I absolutely love it.

You are a stubborn boy, and you know what you want but you have such a sweet sensitive spirit.  That is amazing qualities to have and I pray that you will use those qualities to do mighty things to further the Kingdom of the Lord.

You mean the world to me and I absolutely love you.

Love

Your Mommy

My dear sweet baby turns 1 today.   I can not believe how fast time goes by!

You are a great eater and eats more than Niah does right now.  Your favorite food is MEAT.  You hava a well rounded diet and will try everything.  You are not completely satisfied until he gets breast milk (trying to figure out best way to break this habit).  You eat about 5 small meals a day.

You can say momma, dadda, hi/hey, thank you, that, and I have heard you say Niah a few times.  You babble a lot and will get into a mood and repeat lots of words.

You have no interest in walking, you only pull yourself to standing every once in awhile.  You gave of the army crawl on your birthday and now you crawl normal most of the time (in the last 24 hours).  We had to lower your bed last week for the first time since you were born because you were pulling yourself up.  You love music and will sing and bang on anything. 

Your favorite toy right now is the Little People setups with the slides.  You will play for 30-40 minutes with them.

You go to sleep at 7 and usually wake up at 7 eat and go back to sleep till 8- 8:30.  You usually go to sleep at night with no problems, just lay down and go right to sleep.  You take 2 naps, the first at 10 and sleep till noon, and then you wake up for an hour or so and go back down and sleep another hour.  You usually go right to sleep for your morning nap but will cry for your afternoon nap.  If you miss your afternoon nap you are ready for bed really by 6 but I try to get you to hold out till 6:30.


Yes I posted this a day late.

Santa is Just for Fun

This will be my daughter's 3rd Christmas and she has yet to sit on Santa's lap. In fact last week was the first time I pointed at Santa at Bass Pro and said "that is Santa Claus." She has no idea what he has to do with Christmas or why he exist just that he comes out at Christmas. I always thought I would be the mom that braved the line at Bass Pro to get a picture of my kids with Santa. Have the reindeer and Santas displayed at my house. Then I HAD kids and suddenly it was not as important to me that my kids saw Santa or if they even knew who he was. Now, do not get me wrong I love Christmas and holiday cheer, I have a Christmas tree that has been up since he beginning of November filled with Presents but the celebration of Santa is far from what I want my kids to learn.

Christmas is a celebration, a Birthday, a beautiful holiday of Jesus coming to Earth. Jesus deserves a lot more recognition but he really only gets 2 days his birth and death which has been intertwined with Santa and the Easter Bunny. I spend time everyday talking about Jesus in our home but I want them to know that Christmas was started as a holiday to celebrate Jesus' birth. That Everyone across the world celebrates this holiday because it is to remember the birth of Christ not because of Santa Claus and elves. That we give presents because God gave us the gift of life by sending his son. That it is a time to give to others to share the love of God. I do not ever want my children to doubt what I am teaching them is truth or not. Teaching my children that Santa is real and repeating it over and over seems to me that I am actually teaching them that I do not always tell the truth and you have to figure out what it is truth. I want them to know that when I tell them Christmas is Jesus' Birth and he sacrificed his life for us to have eternal life that it is truth that they will never have to think in their minds my mommy told us Santa is real and she lied maybe Jesus is not real. I want my kids to say my mommy told me Jesus is real so he has to be real! I not only want them to know because I tell them I want them to know because not only will Jesus be talked about in our home but He will be celebrated on holidays that were designed to remember Him.

I may be judged and may get a few scowls, because my 2 two year old will tell you Santa is not real he is just for fun but that's OK. My 2 year old will also tell you that "God so loved the world he gave his only son so that we will not perish but have eternal life. That God did not send his son into the world to Judge but to save the world through him." The only thing that matters at the end of the day, a 1 year from now, 10 years from now, and 50 years from now is that my children are living for God.

10 Months old

Mr. Malachi

I can not believe you are already 10 months old. I have so enjoyed this last month, you have really shown your personality. You are loud, happy, determined to get your way, and love the social life. You are such a joy in our lives.

You have perfected the army crawl, you do not even try to crawl regular and you are really fast at it. My favorite is when you crawl into my lap and just sit. I will try to stand you up and you will not lock your legs so you can just sit in my lap. You will reach for me when I come into a room and someone else is holding you. The only thing I can get you to pull up on is me. You love toys, you love to figure out how toys work, you love toys that make noise, you love things that roll. Niah has never been a fan of toys but you are the complete opposite. Speaking of Niah, you adore her, you laugh and laugh at her no matter what she does. She could be sitting on you or pulling you across the floor and you squeal with delight (of course I intervene if she gets too rough). Speaking of rough she loves to get close to your face and you love to grab her hair and pull without letting go. You also tend to dig your teeth into any body parts that come near your mouth. You love to clap, I can say, "clap, clap, clap" and immediately you will clap.

You love finger food. You are extremely messy and I think you enjoy throwing food on the floor as much as you do eating. Chicken and strawberries are your favorites. You let me feed you 10 bites of yogurt from a spoon (the most you have ever let me spoon feed you). I have been trying to wean out your dream feed only for you to wake and eat at 5 am but you do go right back to sleep. I guess you are a growing boy.

You go to bed at 7 and sleep till 8. You take 2 naps, first one at 10 waking up at 11:30-12 and you go back down at 1 and sleep till 3. Then you are up till bed time at 7. You get pretty tired starting at 6 - 6:30 and when 7 comes along you are ready for bed.

I have big plans for your first birthday. Sad to see the baby stages go but love to see you grow and to interact with you.

I love you Malachi, more than you will ever know.

Funny Little things

Niah is almost 2 1/2 years old and we spend our days enjoying her and laughing at the funny things she says and does.

She has been potty trained since 2 years and 1 month, with very few accidents. The dr. and parents as teachers tell us Niah speaks better than most 3 year olds. She speaks clear and well, with a huge vocabulary, it is very impressive. We had the talk that the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus are not real they are just for fun. She still despises the car but loves to go shopping and to the store with Mommy. She is a little helper and likes to be right in the middle of everything. Niah is not good at sharing and we are constantly working on that. She always wants to take whatever Malachi has. She is usually so sweet and has a very sensitive spirit. She enjoys her sleep, she sleeps 12-13 hours a night and takes at least a 3 hour nap. Just last week we changed her over to a toddler bed because she tried climbing out of the crib and fell and busted her nose and she is doing awesome. Niah was a little scared of the change at first but after the first night she loved her bed and does not get out of it even in the morning till we tell her it is ok. If you wake Niah up early from a nap it takes a good hour for her to be in a good mood and not cry about everything.

Niah loves church and loves her friends at church. She has already memorized 2 verses John 3:16-17. We are going to start on verse 3 and once she has memorized her third verse we are going to take her for ice with chocolate.


Here are some things she has said over the last few weeks.

One night she was crying in her bed and I went in there to check on her and she said, "Mommy I can't sleep."

She was playing at her little table and I heard her demand, "Daddy sit down" and from the other room I said, "Niah we do not demand, what do you say if you want somebody to do something," She whispered to Matthew, "I not say please."

This is just something we could not believe she knew how to say. We were at the mall shopping and Niah looks at Matthew and says, "Mommy, Mimi and I went shopping yesterday." Yesterday, was a complete shock because we did go shopping yesterday and she was able to know the time frame.

I was talking on the phone to Christa (my sister) in the car and we were talking about how her 2 year old would not take a nap and she constantly gets out of bed. I got off the phone and Niah said, "Christa is upset." I said, "why" She said, "Christa is upset with Kyah."

I asked Matthew to stop at dollar general and let me run in, Niah immediately say, "Mommy I go in with you." How could I tell her no. So we are in the store and I go to get fingernail polish and niah says, "For Niah" I tell her, "Well really it is for Mommy" She said, "Mommy can Niah use it too, Can mommy share" Niah got her toes painted as soon as we got home

She was playing in her kitchen with Matthew and she said, "Daddy it is not quite done yet."

We took her to play mini golf for the first time and she would put the ball right next to the hole and then hit it in and say, "Hole in One!"

She comes to work with me and we work at a retreat center and summer camp, as cars drive on that she does not recognize she will say, "Who is that?" "Why are they here?"

In the car she was crying so I handed her my phone and she called my friend Lauren and started talking to her for about 5 mins and I didn't not even know it.

Niah told Malachi the other day when he was crying on the floor, "It's ok, mommy will probably come get you."

We went to the dollar store and I picked Malachi a toy out and she picked a toy out. I opened her toy then Malachi's toy (which was a play phone). She immediately wanted Malachi's toy and kept asking for it, I finally told her, "You can play with it when Malachi takes a nap." We pulled up to where I work and Niah said with a huge smile, "Ok Malachi it's time to take a nap." short pause "I will take your phone"

Why I Vaccinate

When I was pregnant with my first baby, Niah, I planned and researched everything you could possible think of to become well informed. One thing, I spent an enormous amount of time researching is vaccinations. Before, I made the decision I wanted to be well informed.

After hours of research, I chose to vaccinate and this is why:

This is Malachi right after getting his vaccinations this week

1. I want my kids to travel all over the world for leisure and missions. Niah has already been to Mexico and we will hopefully be going somewhere this winter with Niah and Malachi. When they are a little older like 5 and 7, I want to take them on a missions trips to help other kids. Vaccinations make that travel safe for them.

2. Children all over the world suffer from the sickness my kids are getting vaccinated for, because the vaccinations are not available to them. I have personally been to orphanages in desperate need of vaccinations and quarantine kids that had sicknesses and kids that didn't as they waited for the arrival of the vaccinations. I want my kids to take advantage of the privileges in the US and to never be at risk for getting those sickness.

3. History shows that vaccinations help eliminate illness.

4. Their is no hard evidence or studies that show that vaccinations are harmful or cause autism.

I do not have them get the flu vaccination but almost all other vaccinations they get. As parents we have to make the best decision for our kids. Vaccinations are the best option for our family but may not be for everyone. Do you vaccinate, why or why not?

Busy, Crazy, last few months

I apologize with not keeping up with the blog but I have been so extremely busy since the start of summer. Every spare moment is used enjoying my babies and the lake!!

So a few things we have been up to:

We spent some wonderful days at Big Cedar with just our family!

My husband almost finished our beautiful patio. The only part left is the kids play house

Niah got her first haircut in June, it was not even enough hair for me to save. I just had her trim the bottom to help with growth.

Malachi will not touch purees but he will chew on crackers and bread. I have got him to nibble on green beans and carrots.

Niah enjoyed swimming in the lake this summer which was so fun!!

Malachi has 6 teeth and I think 7 and 8 are just about to break through

Boat Rides

Nephew/Cousin being born.

We went to the zoo in Kansas City

8 Months Old

I am still late but better than last month.

Dear Malachi

You have really been showing your personality this month. You are mostly laid back with your feet crossed but when you are mad you are mad and let us know. You have a loud voice and want people to listen when you speak. You have said "mama" 3 or 4 times without mimicking me. You say "hey" when you mimic someone. You love to make spitting noises and love when I tap my hand on your mouth and you yell. You often just throw your head back and laugh. You love to interact with people.

You are so desperate to be on the move. You are a rolling machine and have a pretty good army crawl. You do push ups trying to get into a regular crawl but have not mastered that position yet. You love to get into everything especially cords. If there is anything in front of you at the table you are grabbing it and get angry when we move it.

You are starting to become interested in bites of food but you do not really eat them just play. You will only consider food if you are the one in control and putting it up to your mouth. If someone's hands tries to put something up to your mouth you clamp your lips together and nothing is going in. You got 2 more teeth this month so we are up to 6 teeth which at this time Niah had none.

We are so enjoying every moment with you and love your little personality. We can not imagine our lives without you.

7 months old

I know my dear sweet boy is almost 8 months old but better late than never.

Malachi

How did you get to be 7 months old so quickly. You are such a happy content baby. You constantly smile and laugh and the only time you cry is when you are hungry, tired, or you lose your toy. You have become very active and you roll all over the place from one side of the room to the next. You have started trying to crawl but have not figured it out. You desperately want to move like Niah and Kyah; when you watch them your little toes start moving in anticipation of what they will do.

You still do not like any kind of food. I have tried oatmeal, rice cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocadoes, yogurt, green beans, peas, and white potatoes. Nothing is a go and you start hitting my spoon and taking it after you take one bite, it is quite comical. You start clenching your lips together as soon as you see food. You have four very sharp teeth. I have not see any other teeth start to come in. You have slowed down on spitting up, now you only spit up usually 1 time a day compared to spitting up every time you ate.

You love the water. You get so excited in it and just splash and splash. You hate to lose something you are playing with and get very mad and start to holler. You have really started to find your voice. You make very loud intentional noises because you are are happy, mad, bored, or sad. You are ready to get up and go, even though you are not quite there. You absolutely love your sister. You love to watch her, you love it when she gives you attention, and you love when she talks to you.

You are such an amazing little guy and we can't imagine life with out you!!

Paci's and Potty Training

This mommy took on, taking away the paci from the 4 month old and taking the diapers away from the 2 year old.

I had kinda played around with potty training Niah who turned two in May right after her birthday. She was starting to understand it so the last week of May I decided, I was going to get serious and not use diapers anymore. A month later I will say we have only had 1 or 2 pee pee accidents and 4 or 5 poopie accidents. She has going potty down and does really good, the only time she has had accidents is when mommy and Niah are really busy and I forget to ask her. Most of the time Niah will tell me she has to go. Now, poopie is hard for her because she gets the feeling she has to go 20-40 mins before she has to go. We will sit on the potty 3 or 4 times and she tries to go but because it does not come out as quickly she says all done. We are still working on it but I think we will have it down soon.

The same week I decided to get serious with potty training, Malachi who at the time was 4 months old started waking up every 2 hours in the night wanting his paci. I never let him use his paci for night time sleep but it did not matter he still knew he wanted it. After night 2 of waking up, I said that is it we are getting rid of the paci. I read lots of articles on how to do it and I decided to just go cold turkey. No more paci! It took 2 nights for him to go back to his 8 hour sleep schedule at night but after that it was back to normal. Naps, where he used his paci always to fall asleep and stay asleep took about 5 days to get back to normal. He started to take only hour long naps instead of 2 or 3 hour naps and was a little fussy. After a week naps slowly got better and longer.

It has been a month (now 2 months, I wrote this the end of June) with no paci and no diapers and it has gone well. I am so proud of Niah for how well she is doing with going potty in the big girl potty. I am so glad that Malachi has adjusted well and got past using the paci!

Niah sitting on her potty.... She actually does not even use the potty chair now

Sleeping boy with no paci

Summer fun

Summer is extra busy for our family because we work at a Christian summer camp so we are at our busy time of year.  We may work long hours and lots of days but we still find time to make memories.   

Niah loves the water, this is her first swim in the lake

Niah's new hat... Golf rides (as she calls it) is a favorite activity

Boat rides

My sweet happy boy

My babies

Sibling love

If I do not blog much, just know I am spending time with my babies!! How are you spending your summer?