Zombie

This is what my kiddos do when one of us is sick.




Notice the pj's, the teddy bear, and the fact that he never takes his eyes off of the t.v. screen two feet in front of him. These are staples when we have the germ buggies. It had to have been around noon or so. The sad part is that he wasn't the one who was sick that day....he is today though.

Homemade

Well, many of you know how to do this and many of you have done it, I'm sure. But I am excited about the fact that I am making my own baby food this time around. I tried with Adam and I only got as far as carrots. Why do I feel more motivated to do this now that I have three children instead of one? Most likely because we have an orchard and way too much fruit to use. The plums were juiced and frozen to later be turned into jelly. The apples are soon to become cider. And the pears... What do I do with our over abundance of pears? Well, we have been eating them as they ripen. And I will most likely make pear butter out of quite a few. But what about the rest?

That's where the baby food comes in. I do plan on making most of her food but the pears had to be done right away.

This is how I did it.

Clean your work surface really well.

I washed the pears.



Then I peeled them.




Then I cored and chopped them.


About 2/3 of the way through this pile I realized that quartering them was much more efficient. *slaps forehead*

Then I put them in the steamer. I only steam them for about three minutes. I read that it isn't necessary to steam them at all but I wanted them to be a little softer without cooking all of the nutrients out. So I just did it for a very short time.



Next I put them in my food processor. I am quite fond of my food processor.



Then puree!


Now you could always add a little of the water from the steaming if your puree is too thick but I'm guessing that pears are next to never too thick. I didn't add any of the liquid.


Time to freeze.


Are you wondering what the turkey baster is for?

My husband is a genius. He thought of this when I did carrots for Adam.
You use the baster to fill the ice cube trays. It is so much faster and less messy. You don't have to pour or spoon it.




Then you stick them in the freezer. I left them for a couple of days because Avril isn't really eating food yet and I forgot. But it probably only takes a couple of hours.

Pop 'em out onto a cookie sheet. Bag them in freezer ziplocs. Voila! Baby food. Just stick them in the freezer and you can thaw out how ever many cubes your baby will eat at a time.



FYI: I tasted it and it is goo-oo-ood. I think it may be even better than the jarred stuff at the store.
Oh! Admit it! You all tried it too.

I plan to do this with sweet potatoes, peaches, blueberries, green beans, peas, carrots and many others as well. It is cheaper, yummier, and in my opinion, healthier. It's kinda fun too.

Now I'm off to wash and change bedding, do laundry, dust, mop, and bake.

What can I say, Heather's post yesterday makes me feel very convicted. *smile* In a good way.

An End of Summer Picnic

Our last full day in Colorado we all decided to be lazy and just hang out at the park. We hopped in the truck and SUV and off we went. One stop at the local grocery and one stop at KFC, then we were off to the park.

The kiddos lost no time in racing to the play equipment.



One truly is the loneliest number(while swinging).

The grownups wasted no time in digging into the grub.





Of course, the kiddos soon joined us.






Lane doesn't like mashed potatoes.

Lane loathes mashed potatoes.


Jay doesn't like being hungry.

Other than that; he's golden.






Avril was trying to sleep. She wasn't interested in fried chicken or swings. Just sleep.




It was a very pleasant outing. Until my boys attacked each other on the sidewalk on the way back to the car. But nothing's perfect, right?

The Cabin

The first summer we were married, Jay and I made a trip to Colorado. It was our first trip down there alone together. Little did we know that it would be one of only two trips down there with just the two of us. All other times, we've either had parents or kids with us. Man, we had no idea how good we had it. Anyway, on that first trip, Matt & Tennille took us 4-wheeling up to this cabin.

I think we have gone there every trip since. In the summer we use the 4-wheelers. In the winter we snowmobile. Keep in mind that these die-hards make no exceptions for six-month pregnant women or women with three-month-old babies.(I know from experience in both cases.)

It is absolutely astounding up there. I believe it sits somewhere around 11,000 feet. The views leave nothing to be desired and the cabin itself is quite complete. Even the outhouse is nice. And I would know because we had an outhouse until I was 12 so I'm kind of an expert.




Hey! Don't just go thinkin' I was some big grouch. No. The elevation really makes me sick! I would walk across the room and my heart would be pounding like crazy and I'd feel lightheaded. Plus I had to get Avril to go to sleep. You know, she needed her rest before I tripped and dropped her down the steps. Oh yes. It happened. Thankfully she was in her car seat. Thankfully it was just the front steps and not the stairs inside. Thankfully I took the brunt of it and her seat's handle protected her when she flipped and rolled on the ground. And thankfully everyone already knew I wasn't graceful when I belly-flopped in the dirt. Oh yeah, and thankfully, everyone saw! Nope, not a single person missed it. Thank goodness for that. Yesiree.




The Fantastic Four.
These kids really are somethin' else. I don't think even one day went by when Adam and Cheyanne didn't have Rowan in tears thinking a mountain lion was going to get him. I learned that Adam will believe anything his cousins tell him and next to nothing that I tell him. Oh joy.




My poor kids didn't have much in the way of cold weather clothes and it was pretty cold up there. They had to borrow some things. I think Rowan was borrowing a sweatshirt from Uncle Matt.

One last one of the view. Not too spectacular a photo but Jay was more interested in riding and I wasn't up to taking pictures. Lance, you really should go down there some time. You would be in landscape heaven. Matt knows all the good places too.

Milestones

Well, we kicked off autumn with quite a few milestones met in this little life of ours.

First, Rowan is almost potty trained. He's had a 'bout of the runs lately and that has set us back a little. But for the most part, he does really well. *sniffle* I think that I was kinda procrastinating because it was the last of his baby traits to hit the road. Now he is a full-blown boy. Most likely my last boy. But I couldn't let him start kindergarten, or college, in diapers.

Which brings me to our next milestone. I started doing school with Adam today. He gets basic concepts such as same & different, groups, matching, and so on. But as far as the letters and numbers go, we have work to do. I may have jumped the gun when I tried to have him write the letters and numbers we were working on. I think we need to work on recognition first. I don't really have a curriculum yet. I have to wait until payday to order it. We have decided to go with Landmark as it seems simple, very Biblically based, and CHEAP!

On the first of the month, Avril started eating cereal. She just didn't seem to be gaining weight like she should and she was kinda crabby. I've always had issues with getting my babies to gain weight. As soon as they go to the bottle they pack on the pounds and usually get happier as well. So I very adamently informed my husband that I refuse to watch another baby starve for the next year. Yeah. You can imagine how that went over. He was frustrated and thought I was giving up too soon and I was, well, mad and bawling. So we decided that I will nurse as much and as long as I can but start her on cereal and give her a little extra in a bottle a couple times a day. I really hate the idea of formula so we decided to buy organic, thinking it might be a little better. I also bought some tea that's supposed to boost my supply. So far she seems to be happier. And she seems to enjoy the bottle and the cereal so it has helped me to feel better about giving it to her.

Here is her first taste of that powdery goodness.







So now I have to take Rowan potty in the public restrooms (icky), feed Avril cereal every morning, and battle with Adam when he doesn't want to be told how to correctly write something on paper. Did I say milestones? I meant to say millstones.