Wordless Wednesday - Godmother

sorry this one isnt quite "wordless"

Marcus and I are Godparents! Our very first Godchild was born last week. He is a very perfect little boy, that we are DYING to meet (in person)!

here he is in his daddy's Coast Guard hat

The proud big sisters

We are flying to Washington to meet the little guy, visit the family, and attend the Christening in October. Needless to say I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!! Been dying to see the Northwest and now we have an even better reason to visit! I'll keep y'all posted









disclaimer: Marcus is already a Godfather so this technically isnt his 1st Godchild, but it is mine!

Meal Planning

I bought a deal on mamapedia a few months back for this GF meal planning site. I think i purchased a 6 month subscription for like $10, and it has been oh so worth it! Not only are the meals entirely GF but they delicious and diverse. We have been trying out new combinations finding some we like and some we dont care for too much. But the best part is, is the convenience! I go on the website each week and pick out meals from the ever changing rotation of meals. Once I select my meals the website automatically generates a shopping list for me (divided by section of the grocery store). Even thought the meals are GF I have not found them to be much more expensive than a regular meal. There are a few times where I have just made mine with GF noodles and served everyone else's over the poisonous variety, but mostly we are all eating the same thing (except I still dont eat meat). I have to say overall I am happy with the site, and I think my family is happy to have tasty meals served almost every night.
speaking of meal planning I have to get to the store tomorrow for the rest of this weeks menu items. I try each week to include at least one chicken dish, one non meat dish, one fish dish, and one red meat dish. Im not exactly sure if this weeks' chicken dish will make it to the table though.

Here is what is on the menu...

Summery Chicken Brown Rice Salad Fresh Bread and Dipping Oil
Corn Fritters with Broiled Tomatoes Snap Peas and Carrot Sautee
Fresh Corn and Scallop Sauté Apple-Spinach Salad
Grilled Salmon with Mango Kiwi Salsa Rice with Fresh Parsley
Tex-Mex Salsa Burgers Margarita Grilled Corn
Mexican Pizza Appetizers


I have also tried to get the girls involved more with the cooking and prep work. This is really tough considering if I allow them too much time in the kitchen we would have NOTHING left to eat for dinner. They sneak food any chance they get, like they are starving to death. Tonight I had Kaylee helping and i turned around for a second to stir something on the stove. When I turned back around she obviously had something in her mouth, when I asked her what it was, she couldnt resopond because we've told her not to talk with food in her mouth, so she opened it and showed me. It was a mouth FULL of raw onions and garlic! REALLY!?!

Our newest favorite in the kitchen is Orange Roughy. Everyone out there should try this kind of fish. Even if you dont really like fish, or think you dont like fish, you should give this one a try. It is FANTASTIC!

Consignment Sale

I participated in the consignment sale, that I have been for the past 4 years, again this fall. I surveyed the girls fall/winter clothes and figured out what clothes were needed. Kaylee has out grown most of her size 5 jeans/pants, so it was on to the next size up for her. I cant believe that i shopped in that "big girl" section for my 4 year old! She has really grown a lot over the past couple of weeks.

I had a goal set in mind to spend about $100 on the sale, which included any toys/games/educational items I found. I was able to squeak out of there only $10 over my budget, I probably should have put some of the shirts back, but it was hard to pass up shirts that were $1 or $2. The best part of the sale came when I was given MY check for the items I entered into the sale. I put in about 120 items (didnt sell all of them) and was able to make $96.75!!! I was thrilled! The sale paid out a whopping 86% this time, which is considerably higher than other consignment sales. So total I got rid of clothes the girls don't/didnt wear AND bought clothes we needed all for $13.25! YIPPEE SKIPPEE!!! Oh and I got to socialize and have some nice time away from the girls during my shifts at the sale. It is always nice to get a break even if I was technically "working". The best item I think i scored was an Llbean parka for Kaylee that was in fantastic condition for 7 BUCKS! A jacket like that would be at least $80 if purchased new, and the Llbean brand cant be beat. If anything ever happens to it, i can send it back.
The only thing that i wish I would have been able to find more of was shoes. Her foot will not stop growing, she is wearing a 13 in some brands and up to a size 1 (big girls) in others. So I guess we will be buying shoes brand new this year, hopefully i can find some good sales somewhere.

Homeschool Update

Well we are in FULL swing now! We started last week, so this marks 2 weeks down.......many many more to go. So far we are loving it! I have stocked our school room with fun and educational toys and games for both girls. We start each morning immediately after breakfast, usually somewhere between 830 and 9. School usually takes somewhere between 45 minutes and a little over an hour. I was surprised at how well the work held Kaylee's attention, because anyone that knows Kaylee knows that she is a very "busy" little girl. After their work is complete we usually eat a snack, do some chores or dance to music, then we play outside, have lunch and in NO TIME it is time for nap. I am amazed at how quickly our mornings fade away.

I was introduced to a very interesting blog by a fellow homeschool mom friend called Confessions of a Homeschooler. I love this blog, among others! I decided to purchase her Letter of the Week Curriculum to get us started on our homeschooling adventure. This program is really geared towards 3-4 year olds, but I didnt feel like Kaylee was quite ready to dive right into a full time 4K program (beauty of HS, tailor the curriculum and schedule around the child). I decided to try this one first and then move on to the next level. We are speeding through this one, completing not the suggested 1 letter per week, but doing 2 letters per week most weeks. I want to have this curriculum completed before Thanksgiving so that gives us a few weeks to transition into the big 4K curriculum before the baby arrives. I have also decided to use Confessions 4K program as well. I am about to purchase it and begin all the prep work that is involved with it. I have to say so far we have LOVED her curriculum. It did require a lot of prep (printing, cutting, laminating, etc) but both girls have been working on various pieces of it and seems to be doing well and like it. Also, when I move her up to the 4K curriculum I am going to try Math U See with her (Primer Edition). Kaylee seems to show an interest in math, and considering math was my strongest point in school, I would like to tap into it as early as she would like. I have also ordered the Muzzy Spanish to try it out too. I am hoping that the entire family can benefit from learning a language. Needless to say we have jumped right in with this whole HS thing, and have been pleased so far.

We do our calendar each morning and I have implemented a chore chart for Kaylee which has really helped out in many ways. We use the "workbox system" that Confessions recommends on her blog, and although we are only 2 weeks in this system has helped develop a sense of independence when it comes to doing her school work. There are activities that she completes completely on her own, and designated times where we do an activity together. I like the fact that I dont have to sit by her and "hold her hand" through each activity. I can bounce back and forth between Kaylee, Ainslee, my computer work, and things that need to be done around the house.

Kaylee and Ainslee are growing so fast (as all kids do) and i am so thankful that I get to let them grow up before my eyes and influence their growth, instead of them learning new and often undesirable things from children at school. There is a HUGE of list reasons why we made this decision and I am SO thankful that we not only made this decision but that we were able to do it.
I have enjoyed the discipline that HS has provided for both the girls as well as myself. I was really beginning to miss being in the classroom, and this opportunity has afforded me the ability to "feel" like Im back in the classroom, but with MANY more benefits!


Here she is doing a math counting/number recognition game

coloring her math page on the floor, cause these are the kinds of things you can do when you homeschool
Drinking a delicious smoothie while working on a unifix cube activity

Both girls doing their work on the floor

Math puzzle game

Ainslee working VERY hard on her do a dot letter "O" page

Check out the necklace she made

Check out her necklace, but ignore the crazy hair

3D feel and find game

Cleanse Recap

As I mentioned a while back, I did a 7 day cleanse. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience and would suggest it to just about anyone! It has me thinking differently about food and making healthier choice for myself and my family. Dont get me wrong we still endulge in some perfectly unhealthy foods from time to time, but the addition of "good stuff" has been welcomed by all! Our lastest unhealthy dessert, but it was oh so yummy, was chocolate fondue. We dipped pretzels, strawberries, bananas (frozen and fresh), clementines, and marshmellows. The girls ate like they hadnt eaten in years, and loved every last bite.

Back to my cleanse.....so while on the cleanse, my only complaint was the prep time of my meals. Im sure it will get easier and easier as I become more and more acquainted cokking with different ingredients. Because I plan on completely this cleanse between 3 and 4 times a year. The benefits were so amazing. I had SO much more energy, my mood increased dramatically, I no longer woke up in the middle of the night and lay there sleepless for hours, i felt better and "lighter". It was awesome!

Basically the cleanse had me give up meat (which I had already done voluntarily due to pregnancy and just not wanting to eat meat), gluten (which I obviously dont eat anyways), corn, soy, alcohol, and dairy. After reading that list you might wonder what I did eat, basically fruits, veggies, quinoa (my new favorite food) and beans. During the cleanse the food I craved most was cheese, but after the cleanse I didnt even jump back in to eating cheese immediately, I think it wasnt until like the 3rd day after that I thought to myself "man I still havent had any cheese, and that's what I missed the most". It was strange. Now I still eat cheese, but no where near as much as I did pre-cleanse. I also made a smoothie each day of the cleanse, and the girls loved helping me "experiment" with our recipes. We all realy loved having smoothies, and I loved that they were packed with good stuff and tasted yummy too. We still incorporate smoothies into our "almost" everyday routine.

If you have any questions about the cleanse, or would like more info about which one I did, let me know and I will be glad to share with you. Even if you dont want to do a "cleanse" you should consider trying out some easy, heathly, and delicious smoothies.

I also made homemade Lara bars for snacks. Here were my ingredients: raw unsalted almonds, raw unsalted cashews, dates, unsweetened coconut, GF oatmeal, vanilla, and chocolate. I mad e2 different kinds one was chocolate coconut and cashew. the other was almond crunch. They were both delicious! Try it for yourself, these puppies are EXPENSIVE to buy, but easy to make your own.

The chocolate and dates all processed up, it might not look delicious, but it is!

Wordless Wednesday - Baby bump

21 weeks (and 1 day)

23 weeks

and an interested onlooker

disclaimer: i own more shorts than the ones pictured, but for some reason I had them on both times. I promise they were washed during those 2 weeks as well! ;)

Pictures and Videos GALORE!

Enjoying some watermelon after swimming

I love that she used the mouth hole to look through

eating fruit on the boat in Hot Springs

About to tube

daddy on the boat

is she eating again? yep, thats my girl!

Here are some muscadines we got from our "egg lady". We buy fresh eggs from a lady down the road, and they also sell muscadines this time of year. These little suckers were so sweet and delicious!

I found some more pictures from Florida. Here are the girls drinking their virgin "special" drinks by the pool

We were waiting for the alligator show to start

Mary and B came to the alligator show too. B was SUPER excited!

No explanation needed

B and Kaylee holding the alligator, the lady kept referring to B as her "daddy", Kaylee was quite confused but just went along with it. I suppose she does look more like him than me!

Kristy and Kaylee at River Island

Kristy and I on the last day in Florida, right before we pulled out for the drive home. Kristy came with us to Florida back when we were in High School, it was so much fun to be back with our families this time.

And the videos....

Here is another one of Ainslee jumoing in off the side of the pool

Amma and Abba gave the girls a trampoline for their "back to school" gift. Despite the directions saying 2 people are required for assembly, I had that sucker put up in no time. This video was taken before I got the net up, they were just dying to try it out.

Here is not so good video of her tubing at the lake. We went to Hot Springs with some friends for the weekend and rented a boat. I have to admit Kaylee could be a lake rat, if we gave her the chance. She LOVED it! Too bad Ainslee didnt get to join us for this trip, she turned up sick the night before we left. It was quite sad to leave her behind. But she was promised another trip to the lake so she can ride on the boat.

More Florida Videos

This one is really dark, but it was her favorite slide! We went on it like 15 times! You can tell by the audio and her comment at the end that she thoroughly enjoyed it!

Here's a clip i filmed of Ainslee following me down the slide. She was SUCH a dare devil when it came to the slide. She didnt even care if no one was at the bottom to catch her! She experimented with all ways of going down, on belly headfirst, sitting up, on back head first, on belly feet first, on back feet first. She loved every minute of it!

and here's my little fishy jumping in off the side and swimming. She decided, by HERSELF, that she wanted to take off her ring and jump off the side like the big kids. So thats just what she did! and she LOVED it! but this video does not do it justice. By the time we got home, she could jump off the side and swim about 4-6 feet to our waiting arms.........we need a pool!

Florida videos and pictures.......FINALLY

This post nearly drove me to the crazy house! Blogger kept deleting my videos and after over an hour of trying to upload 6 short videos, I have decided to try again later and just stick with the 2 it is allowing me to keep.

Here are a couple of the pics we got, we didnt take many pictures mostly just videos, and I didnt sift through the 160+ videos (just a few of them) to find ones to post. i narrowed it down to 6, hopefully i will be able to upload the other 4 later

All these videos have sound problems......sorry!

Kaylee swimming under water to get her goggles

Since my last post.....

• I have NOT gone through our Florida pics (I know I am SO bad for not sharing, I hope to fit that into my schedule sometime soon)
• I have pulled BOTH girls out of MDO and have decided to start home school this year, as apposed to supplementing this year and starting full time next year.
• As I prepare the "school room" the girls can hardly contain themselves, they want to spend all day in there doing "school work", it is going to be such a fun adventure!
• I have been busy growing a belly, feeling baby kicks, and noticing all the differences between this pregnancy and the previous ones.
• I was informed by Kaylee that "if I am going to go to school at home, and you are going to be my teacher, then we MUST get a playground for the backyard so that I can have my recess time!"
• I completed my "cleanse" and it was AH-MAZING!!!!! I have decided that I am going to do it about 3-4 times a year. I love love loved it! And hopefully one day will have the time to blog about it!
• Our washer finally bit the dust, we have been without a means for washing clothes (except for at my moms house) for about 12 days. We only have 7 more days to go until the new ones are delivered! I cant believe I am joining the 21st century and getting front loaders!!!
• Ainslee has began the lovely "sleep transition". Dont get me wrong she still sleeps better than most, but both girls think that 7 am is the new wake up time. While I think that 7:30-7:40 is a nicer wake up time, I think I am going to be the one that makes the adjustment!
• I am busy trying to get my items ready for the consignment sale that I participate in twice a year. I am looking forward to getting rid of items they dont wear and buying Kaylee some bigger clothes/shoes, as she will NOT quit growing!
• I have been working on a delayed vaccination schedule for the new baby, as well as how I am going to catch Ainslee up on her vacs, because that has sort of slipped my mind for the past 6 months! (anyone with delayed vacs schedules please let me know your thoughts/ideas)
• I have joined a Gluten Free menu planning website, and while I am still unable to eat meat, my family has been enjoying wonderful tasty and healthy meals. And I am enjoying the ease and simplicity of the help with meal planning and shopping!
• thats about all I have been doing, at least that I can remember right now. Kaylee is awake from her ever shrinking nap, and we are off to get allergy shots and pay Whole Foods a visit.