The Boy's Soup

My boy loves to cook in the kitchen. He is quite the little chef. Today he asked if he could make his own soup recipe and I obliged. It was so incredibly good! I mean really really good. And not to mention simple. I wish I would have taken a picture of it as it looked, smelled and tasted great.
Here is HIS recipe:
1/2 cup cooked turkey- broken into bite size pieces
1 can Veg-All original vegetables with liquid
2 cups water
2 tsp soup base
1/4 cup stelline #35 (small flower shaped pasta)
salt, pepper and Mrs. Dash Chicken to taste

Bring to a boil all ingredients except pasta. Then add pasta and cook for 7 minutes.
Serve with bread.

You could substitute turkey with chicken and stelline with any pasta.

Hope you try it out and enjoy!

A Song For Today

Sing to the Farmer and the Dell

My Hubbies coming home
My hubbies coming home
Hi Ho the dairy-o
My Hubbies coming home

Yippee!
So far this year my husband has been home 5 days. Glad he is coming home today!

Health Challenge- Week Two

The Health Challenge is in full effect. With week one being drink 20 oz of water. The kids carried their water bottles with them and successfully drank their required amount on 6 out of the 7 days. One day of travel without their bottles meant unmeasured water consumption. I am really proud of them. They are really trying hard to meet the goals of each new challenge.
I am still stumped on rewards. But after reading the Reader's Digest article about bottled water, I think I am going to search out stainless steel water bottles (canteens.) This may be the small prize for week one. I am still debating, should it be one small prize each week or accumulate points towards a huge prize at the end? Care to share your thoughts?
This week's Health Challenge is Brush Brush Floss Wash.
The kids and myself will be required to brush teeth after breakfast and before bed. This will include flossing once daily. Right now brushing is sporadic. Some weeks they brush each night, then the next week brush only a couple times. And flossing is rare. I plan on making some posters during our school time to put up around the house to remind them to brush. After brushing and flossing, the kids are then required to wash their face. Simple enough. It is a task they both dislike and baulk at doing. They can go around with the dirtiest of faces and not care a bit. I am hoping to change this. By focusing on hygiene, I am hoping they will make the connection that proper hygiene is an important part of a healthy body and life.

Week One- Drink 20 oz of water
Week Two- Brush Brush Floss Wash

Book Meme

The Book Meme

1) One book that changed your life: Beyond the Bible, I would have to say The Princess by Lori Wick. In the book the main character marries not for love but duty. She learns to love her husband through time. It taught me love is a choice.

2) One book that you have read more than once: The Mystery of the Great Swamp by Marjorie Zapf. It is one of my favorites from my youth.

3) One book you would want on a desert island: Tough Choice: Either my Bible or Camping & Wilderness Survival by Paul Tawrell. Without the Camping and Wilderness Survival, I would die a quick death and not need my Bible as I would be in heaven with the author. Without my Bible life would be sad and lonely, not too mention dangerous.

4) One book that made you laugh: Normal is Just a Setting on Your Dryer by Patsy Clairmont. I laugh so hard I cry, every time I read this book.

5) One book that made you cry: Any of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

6) One book you wish you'd written: The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren.

7) One book you wish had never been written: Not that fond of Harry Potter.

8) One book you're reading: The Family Nutrition Book by Dr William Sears. It's time for a good novel.

9) One book you're going to read: Hmmm. Not sure. Any good novels, you can recommend. Heck, any good books you can recommend.

I am going to add one of my own.
DS's First Favorite book was Good Night Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. This could have been listed under books read more than once. Engrained in my memory as it has been read hundreds of times.
DD's First Favorite Book was Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle. Also read hundreds of times. Little girl has this one memorized.

Thanks Diane for this fun meme.

Return of the Puke Machine.

Friday night we went to the YMCA with our friends. The pool had an accident hours earlier so it was just coming off of a major chemical shock when we arrived. We swam for over an hour and then came home. Not long after returning home little girl was curled up in my lap as I talked to her dad on the phone. When I hung up the phone little girl says to me "My tunny doesn't feel good." One look at her face and we rushed to the bathroom. We made it to the bathroom but not quite the toilet. After, she felt much better, making me believe it might have been the chemicals in the pool as she did drink some of the water. We went to bed with little girl in my bed and the puke bowl next to the bed. Good thing, as it was used many , many times throughout the night. No fever, no diarrhea. By 3am she was done puking. She continued to wake up every few hours asking for a drink of water.
When we woke up I was faced with a dilemma, what to do with little girl. In fact I probably dreamed about the predicament for most of the night. You see, I had plans. The kids were to go to my SIL's while I went with my friend to meet her biological family for the first time. I knew my friend was counting on me to go with her as support. I also knew I did not want to take a sick kid to my SILs as she has a kid and is expecting. So (enter hero music) my parents agreed to take her. She laid low at their house while I did go with my friend. Which was a cool experience.
Afterward, the boy decided to spend the night with his cousin. Which I quickly agreed to, the less exposure to possible virus, the better. This also meant I could focus on little girl for the rest of the day. We read books, watched Noggin without interruptions, painted piggly wigglies, played the Care Bear board game and invited Grandma and Grandpa over for dinner. I tried to get her to take a nap in the afternoon but that never really happened. She did end up getting a low grade fever. It never went above 100.3. I am thankful the puking has ended. Still not sure if it was a bug or the effects of major chemical shock from the pool. Just glad things seem to be on the up.

Oh, and in other news I lost another 2 pounds. Which makes me half-way to my goal. If you scroll all the way to the bottom of the blog page it shows you where I am at in my weight loss goal. Woohoo!

We're Not In Preschool Anymore, Toto...

Last term I was involved in the preschool room for our home school co-op. This term I decided it would be best if I removed myself from the preschool room and moved into the Michigan History class. My reasoning was simple, little girl does better interacting if I am not there. If I am there she tends to cling and "play" shy child. I feel like she will participate more if I am not in the room.
Today I had a planning meeting for Michigan History. No curriculum. Raw ideas. We created a time line and formulated concepts we want to present. It is so not preschool. I guess I am a little intimidated. There is a reason I use a curriculum. I like a preset curriculum. It makes me feel safe. This out on my own thing is going to be a good growing experience. I will be responsible for the Lewis Cass Expedition including the advertising of Michigan and Michigan Industry in the 1800's. What I don't already know I will soon be learning. As my dad likes to say, "If you want to learn something, teach it to someone else."
There's No Place like Michigan, There's No Place Like Michigan...

In The Pool

Over the last year it has been awesome watching little girl develop skills in the pool.
She went from climbing around the edge, to jumping into my arms. Next, she would "blast off" the wall into my arms. As time went on she would ask me to step further and further away. I would only go as far as my comfort level but I was realizing that she was getting pretty comfortable with it herself. Over the summer, with life jacket on, she would jump off the dock and swim back to shore. She got really comfortable with the life jacket on. I must say that it is a reassurance to me as well. She would paddle her little arms and kick her legs. She would get where she wanted to go.
Then there was the Teddy Bear Tri. Where she went by herself in the pool with her life jacket on and swam half a length turned around and swam back. That was during the fall.
Lately, as her brother has his swim class we go into the 3 ft 6 pool and play together. She has learned she can float. Then she learned if she kicked while floating she could make it the whole way across the pool(25ft.) She has ditched the life jacket and has gone to holding onto the ball as she kicks her way around. She still blasts off the wall and swims to me and each time she is getting a little bit better. Her butt still seems to sink after 5 feet.
A month ago, grandpa asked if she could swim under water. We had never tried. So the next time in the pool, she tried it. And ever since I think she think's she is invincible in the water. She loves going under and thrusting her arms to push her forward. She went from a little girl that clung on for dear life to pushing me away. Sometimes I get a little nervous as she plunges under in a pool she can not yet touch in. I hover. I follow a foot away at all times. It annoys her. If she stays under for more than 5 seconds I grab hold and pull her up. "Why are you holding me?" or "Let go of me she will say." Finally as we were swimming today I said to her. "I will let you go under to try and get the goggles but if you are under more than 5 seconds I am pulling you up." She agreed.
She is on the brink of being a great swimmer. That she is not afraid of the water is a great thing. It is also a great concern. I have to watch her like a hawk to make sure she is not endangering herself because of her over confidence. Such a line. One mother is watching her child encouraging their child to put their face in the water and another (myself) is making sure her daughter doesn't stay under too long.
I look forward to the day when both of my kids can out swim their mom. Trust me it will probably happen.

Health Challenge- Week One

The health of my kids are important to me. I want them to know how to make good food choices. I want the to stay active and fit. I want them to live life hydrated, contrary to my perpetual state of dehydration. I want them to enjoy foods, love their fruits and vegetables and know the difference between foods that help them grow and those that don't. Beyond knowing that sugar is bad and avoid fast food. I want to them to understand and embrace what it means to live and be healthy in all their lifestyle choices. This is why I am starting a 8 week Health Challenge.
I have been reading, yet again, The Family Nutrition Book by William Sears. I first borrowed this book from the library when I was pregnant with my first, 7 years ago. I insisted I own it and received it for a Christmas present during my second trimester. I devoured it then and made some great early childhood choices for my kids and their nutrition. As time has passed, fast food and many processed foods have crept into our diets. Candies and sugar, convenience foods high in fats and hydrogenated oils. I know that I can make the change in our families eating habits. Already in the last 3 weeks we have improved so much. Thankfully the kids are embracing it.
So the Health Challenge. Each week I will choose and area of our health or fitness that we can improve. Something very specific. This week it is drinking water. My kids like water. Most of the time it is what they ask for but I am never sure if they are drinking enough. As I was reading about it I came across a couple guidelines. Infants should be drinking, 1 and a half ounces per pound of their body weight. A 20 pound baby should be drinking 30 ounces of fluids. Breast milk, water, up to 4 oz of 100% juice. Adults should drink half an ounce per pound of body weight. So a 150lb adult should drink around 75 ounces per day. This includes liquid in soups, fruits, beverages and of course the preferred WATER.
So the challenge to my kids this week is to drink a 20oz bottle of water every day. They have the entire day to drink it. Each day they if they complete the challenge they get a sticker. Seven stickers at the end of the week and they earn a prize. Yesterday they each drank their bottle with no problem. Ideally their water intake would be a little more than the 20 ounces but I felt this was a good start and know that they get other fluids by fruit, soups and some juice.

So there you have it. Week One's challenge- Drink 20 ounces of water each day.

Stay tuned to see how it goes and what's next in our families health challenge. Oh yeah, one more thing, if you don't already own the above mentioned book. You should! It is an excellent resource. At the very least go out to the library and borrow it, to see for yourself.

Sherry

This morning I got news that a dear friend had passed away. I got the call at 9am and soon found out that the funeral was at 10am. I quickly got the kids around and dropped them off to my parents.
Sherry's funeral is exactly how I would want my funeral to be. Full of stories of her life, her faith and her Lord. She was an incredible woman. She battled a brain tumor for the last 14 years. Never did she complain. Whenever you saw her she had a joy in her eyes that only comes from the Lord. She was a woman of the Word. A woman of prayer. A woman of great faith. Her two son's are close in age to me. My first memory of her is breaking CD's and old tapes after an Acquire the Fire weekend. Many of the youth wanted to get rid of music and other influences that were not glorifying to God. She made it happen. Afterward we all went to her house and hung out. She was the kind of mom that was greatly involved in her kids lives. She knew their friends and made the most out of every encounter. She made ministry opportunities. She will be greatly missed.
Before she left this earth she saw both of her boy's marry and she met her first grandchild. I know that she is no longer in pain. She is dancing and rejoicing in heaven. But here on earth many of her friends remember her today. And will continue to do so for the rest of our lives.

When Roller Skates Attack

With as much water sopped up as possible I put three fans on the carpet. One fan which I had borrowed, unknowingly had a faulty plug. It sparked and blew the circuit. Thankfully the computer, on that same outlet was fine. With the basement drying out and I decided to join my sister and her family roller skating. I needed to get out of the house and hey, 5oo+ calories burned an hour, I was in.
The kids and I arrived and got into our skates. I purchased roller skates with tax money last year. My thought was to skate for cardio every now and then. Over the course of nearly a year I have probably used them for less than 3 hours. Not as much as I had originally intended. But I used them yesterday.
Let me take you back for a moment. Skating. When I was a teen I lived and breathed skating. I was at the rink nearly every Friday and some Saturdays. It was a cool hang out. So I love skating. I am a good skater. I know the moves.
Fast forward to yesterday. The kids were comfortable early on so I was able to skate independently. Cruising along, having a great time. Every time I passed the kids I got smiles and thumbs up. My sister and I would encourage them as they were doing a great job. Everyone was having a good time. Some are a little sore in parts but nothing terrible.
The first special comes along, the chicken dance. You know the hands, flap your wings, shake your booty and clap, clap clap. Then the little spin around part. Well, I was spinning alright. So fast that I got dizzy and BOOM, flat out on my booty. The tail bone to be exact. Ouch. I got up and continued to participate, just no more spinning for me.
With nothing permanently damaged I continued on with the all skate. Songs came and went and around and around I went. Feeling pretty good about this little trip out. That was until about an hour and a half into it, when my skates attacked. I was going around the corner at a pretty fast clip. The next thing I know I am flying forward and landing on my hands and knees. I had no clue what happened. Nobody pushed me, I didn't run into anybody. A glance back revealed the issue. The front two wheels of my left skate completely fell off. Fell off as in no longer attached to my skate. Meaning I got to test out the laws of motion. Body moving forward, left foot braking, causing me to fall. Flat out.
A worker at the rink retrieved the wheels as I pulled myself up off the floor and hobbled to the side. In seconds I had three workers at my side. One took the skate and looked at it. None of them had ever seen anything like that happen before. The skate, unrepairable. It appears to have snapped. Most likely a manufacturers defect. Since I bought them there and I had worn them so little they took the skates for the owner to look at. Taking my name and number. We will see what comes of that. I am hoping th manufacturer will replace them.
In the meantime they gave me a pair of their skates to continue skating with. They were so tight and uncomfortable that lasted about a minute and then I called it a day.
Flooding, sparking outlet and attacking skates. Not really my day.
I went home drew some bath water, poured in some salts and soaked for a long time. Then I got into my jammies and crawled into bed. I did Sudoku puzzles until I was ready to sleep. I told my mom I was afraid to cook so I opted for a frozen dinner for me and chicken nuggets and french fries for the kids.
Today, I have determined will be much better. It's off to a good start. The basement carpet is dry . I am battered and bruised but moving. And there has been nothing out of the ordinary thus far.
Oh and just in case you were wondering I burned 787 calories while roller skating. When I weighed myself this morning I had lost another 3 pounds. See today IS going to be a good day!

Where Did The Water Go?

In our basement not far from my computer desk, we have a 150 gallon tank. This tank is home to Peewee, the turtle, an unnamed plecostomus and a crayfish that likes to hang out under the filtration system. Since Peewee is still quite small we have the tank set up to be about 15 gallons of water with gravel land should he want to walk about. Last night I was doing some computer stuff and noticed the water was getting low. I usually add about 5-10 gallons a week so I already had a 5 gallon bucket filled and setting out. I got the bucket and added it. The water still looked low. So I added another 5 gallons without my normal 24 hour wait to get the chlorine out.
This morning, I went to say good morning to Peewee. And there was no water. It was like a peninsula of gravel with small amounts of water on the side where Peewee has scraped the gravel back over time. Poor Mr Plecostumus had found one such pocket of water and was hanging out there. Where did all the water go? I knew that I had added 10 gallons the night before. And now there was hardly anything. A quick glance through the tank revealed the culprit, the air tube. My son had been playing with it yesterday afternoon and inadvertently created a siphon. All afternoon and evening the water tricked out of the tank onto the carpeted floor. I figure probably 20+ gallons. Doh. I have added 4 gallons ad will gradually add more as the day goes on until it is back to normal. The guy at the pet store recommended water changes but I don't think this is what he had in mind.
Bad news: I have a mess to clean up and carpet to dry out.
Good news: Son learned the effects of a siphon and won't be playing with the tube anytime soon.


Here is Peewee and the Plecostomus after the I added the 4 gallons.

Passing OnThe Info

NCG Cinema Eastwood is having a free showing of Tonka Tough Truck Adventures.
The show times are this Saturday and Sunday at 10:30am.
On the link above it appears to be a great movie for young boys.
Next weekend it should be Care Bears Oopsy Does It for the girls.
Thanks J for passing the info on to me.

Now That's Imagination

Laughter erupted in the back seat.
A blue saucer and a hot pink sled had been brought up from the back.
"What are you watching?" Little girl asked her brother.
"Funniest Home Video and Pet's, it's so funny." More laughter.
"I'm watching Wonder Pets."
Haaa haaaa! "A gorilla just sat on a person's head."
"Was it Pinky Dinky Doo?"
"Let's see what could we watch."
A long list of TV shows follow. They change the channels on their pretend TVs and the fun continues.
They kept this up for the 20 minutes or so it took me to run my errands.
Who needs DVD's in the car when you have imagination? Ask me again when I take my next long trip and I will probably answer, ME! But for today I will relish in the fact that my kids have entertained themselves with a saucer and a sled.

Autism Awareness

The band, Five for Fighting, is donating $.40 every time the following video is viewed.
Check it out and bring awareness and funds to help fight autism.
http://www.whatkindofworlddoyouwant.com/videos/view/id/408214

Children's Body Mass Index

Age: 6 years 9 months Sex: Boy Birth Date: April, 2001 Height: 4 feet 0 inch(es) Date of Measurement: January 16, 2008 Weight: 50 pounds Results Based on the height and weight entered, the BMI is 15.3, placing the BMI-for-age at the 44th percentile for boys aged 6 years 9 months. This child has a healthy weight. Age: 4 years 3 months Sex: Girl Birth Date: October, 2003 Height: 3 feet 6 inch(es) Date of Measurement: January 16, 2008 Weight: 37 pounds

Results Based on the height and weight entered, the BMI is 14.7, placing the BMI-for-age at the 32nd percentile for girls aged 4 years 3 months. This child has a healthy weight. I found this interesting site that figures out the Body Mass Index for children. Check it out! It also has helpful hints for encouraging health and fitness with our kids. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx

Invaded Privacy- Funny

Some days I crave privacy more than others. Like when I am on my period. The bathroom door is shut for a reason, people. Still in the case of their own personal emergencies they come in. Today it was my dear daughter. "Mommy, why do you always do that?" Pointing to evidence of menstruation. To which I reply, "It's the way God made my body." She looked at me suspiciously. "Your body well do this too when you are older."
"NO! I am not going to BUY that."

My dear if it was something I could have returned for a refund, I would already be standing in that line.

False Rumors

I had heard that you could not life tax returns until February this year. NOT TRUE!
I just finished filing and they were accepted for e-file-TODAY!
Hip hip hooray!

Hibachi Grill

Ukai 2 Hibachi Grill to be more specific. One of our good friends had a surprise 30th birthday party at this fabulous restaurant last night. I loved it! Seated in groups of 8 around the grill, you watch you dinner be prepared. The chefs were amazing as they bounced around eggs and then cracked them on the side of their spatula. They were full of tricks I for one was highly entertained. The food was incredible, delicious, fantabulous! I got the Sukiyaki Steak which came with salad, Miso soup, shrimp appetizers, rice, vegetables and the steak. Yum, yum. While it is on the pricey side, we plan to return soon and take the kids.
I highly recommend you give it a try.

Speaking of Hawks

I just got an email that the Hawk-I-Tri is now open for registration.
Last year I participated in this triathlon and had a great experience. It is set-up with beginner's in mind. So I am looking for people who are interested in joining me this year. It does not matter if you have never done a triathlon. It does not matter if you can currently not swim more than a lap in the pool. Heck, it does not even matter if you can run for 10 seconds without getting out of breath. I know because last year when I began training I was terribly out of shape. With a few months of hard work and dedication I completed the triathlon within my goals. Really all you need is the desire to be healthy and guts to try something new. The good news is we have 5 months to prepare.
For those wondering what is involved check out the website for more information, http://www.hawk-i-tri.com/site/index.html

For those of you who read this and thought NO WAY, consider volunteering.
Hope to see you there on race day!

Hawk In The Hood

My dad took this picture of a red-tailed hawk in the neighbors front yard.

He titled it Hawk In The Hood. I thought it was a great picture and title.

Appreciating My Curriculum

Today during Reading my son was whining and complaining. Distracted!
In the lesson yesterday the main character did not get to be in his friends cabin for summer camp. He whined to his dad and determined he was not going to have fun. His dad told him God has a plan. He stayed in his assigned cabin.
Today's lesson, the boy was down by the lake for a bible lesson. In it the counselor told them they were to praise God from sunrise to sunset. This meant that God did not like whining and griping. These things were not praising him. In the story the boy felt bad for whining and asked God to help him do better.
From that moment on, there was no more complaining in he was focused and we finished the reading in no time. Yes, I love my curriculum.

My Daily Plate

This site requires a post of its own.
http://www.thedailyplate.com/

I am thoroughly enjoying this free site. It has such a large database for foods and their nutritional facts. Not only that but if you find they do not have a food that you eat, you can enter it in. Meaning, the data base is getting bigger everyday.
Already a couple of my friends have joined. If you do, please add me to your friends list. My user name is(bet you can guess) momteacherfriend.

Seriously, if you have made any sort of health goal for yourself this site will help you.
Let me know what you think.

A Date to the Zoo

With the boy participating in a field trip that I did not need to supervise, the girl and I went on a date. To the zoo. 60 degrees and drizzly. During the winter months Potter Park Zoo is free. Both parking and entry, whether you within the city limits or not. This makes for a nice inexpensive date. We played with the otter, watched the spider monkeys and enjoyed walking around the zoo. The best part of our visit today was the mandrill. There was a baby, a very young baby. It had no fur yet, just pink skin and very attached to it's mama. As we were leaving we were skipping (literally) our way back to the car. Yes, I think it was a very good date indeed.

Taking My Pulse

One full week! This week has flown by.
I weighed in this morning and... will keep reading and I will tell you later in the post how much I have lost.
I love having my water consumption and exercise miles on my side bar. It is very rewarding seeing them add up. 576 ounces of water in one week. I bet this is more than a months worth maybe even two months worth previously. So this is a HUGE improvement.
I made it into the gym 4 out of the 7 days. My first day back in the pool I was wearing my kids goggles. I had a goal of half a mile and I made it. But was constantly adjusting the goggles. Last night I borrowed my nephews goggles and swam the first 10 lengths without stopping. A huge improvement on last year. And made my goal of 1/4 mile. Running and biking have been good too.
The food journal: I have tracked every morsel that has entered my mouth. And since I am writing it down I have been thinking twice about what I let enter. Earlier in the week I was having a hard time finding nutrition facts on some things . So I ordered the Biggest Loser calorie counter book. Since then I have found a GREAT site. My Daily Plate at http://www.thedailyplate.com/
You can track your weight, find your caloric needs, journal foods and find nutrition facts for just about everything. And it's free. It also has a exercise section for figuring out calories burned. I am going to stick to my written journal for now and occasionally enter a day in on the daily plate.
One thing I AM going to do is keep journaling. I read an article about the number one indicator of weight loss. It is not food or exercise it is whether or not you keep a food dairy. I know it is keeping me accountable. That and it is helping me to see what I am not getting. Like enough red or green vegetables. I am able to clearly see how much of each food group I have eaten and because of it my diet is more well rounded. Whatever it is I am doing it is working. I have lost 9 pounds this week. One or two of this may be clothing as I was wearing a thick fleece at initial weigh in. But this morning I used what I will wear each time so that it will be consistent.
Oh, for those of you wondering about my kids and how they are taking the change. They are doing fabulously. They are at such a fun age of understanding. They want to eat healthy. They want to eat their fruits and vegetables. They are always asking if something is healthy. Yesterday they made their own fruit smoothies and loved them.They declared that they need to eat them more often. Still little girl will ask when we get to goto Mc Donalds. And I tell her not until February. Maybe by February it will not even sound good to me.If this is the case I will let her go with grandma.
Thanks Wendy for encouraging me to put my totals on the sidebar, it was a great idea.
Happy and Healthy week to all of you.

Heat Wave

I am singing the song in my head.
We were 3 degrees last week with overnight negatives. Last week. Today will be in the 50's.
Crazy!
With all the snow we have had many areas are concerned about flooding. Check your sump pumps people. Already the snow in my yard is nearly complete gone. Less the snowman base from a month ago.
Again I say crazy!

Blood (Juice) Shed

My boy asked to join me in service. I agreed. Hand in hand we entered the sanctuary. He clapped his way through worship. Deciphering words on the big screen as he sang along. He would look up at me with a smile of contentment. He admired the guitar player and said,"I want to play like that someday." I would like that too.
The pastor spoke on worship. It was such a good powerful message. Worship is not an experience for a few moments on Sunday morning. Worship could and should happen in the ordinary. Worship in all things. Take a moment to thank God and praise him. For who He is. For what He has created. What we have been blessed with. My son sat there listening respectfully. His face reflecting moments of Ah ha! I prayed his heart was understanding.
Pastor Alan spoke about a time in his youth when he would sit down at the piano and play hymns. How he loved the music. He was good at it. It became a passion. Hours upon hours of sitting there playing. Before long the old hymns became songs of praise as he sang them out to God. Written notes on the page became an impromptu song from his heart; a song to his God. His faith grew, God met him there in those moments. The boy soaked in every word. He loves music. I strongly believe God will use him with music in the future. His little strums each day continue to grow. They sound better and better with each passing day. He has yet to learn chords. Most of what he does is an impromptu song from within him. Something about this innocence, I love it. I can not wait to see what God will do in and through him as he grows in this passion.
As the service was ending it was time for communion. He took a cracker and a juice. He bowed his head. I whispered to him that he could thank God for all he has done for him. A minute later I whispered he could ask Him to forgive him for his sins. He kept his head down. Just as everyone had been served we were about to partake, he dropped his cup of juice. A puddle on the floor. We took the bread and ate it.I handed him my cup and he drank all but a tad bit . Then handed it to me so I would still have some. The lady next to us reached into her bag and produced a couple baby wipes. I went to work soaking up the crimson liquid. 'Blood shed and poured out for many.' My boy whispered to me, "What about what's on me? I'm soaked." I had not even noticed. Sure enough one of his legs was pretty wet. I dabbed the stain. Then whispered in his ear. "Christ blood poured out for the forgiveness of sin, looks like it was poured out. Don't worry about it." He smiled up at me. Somehow I think he gets it. And that is a reason to worship.

Stolen Moments

When hubby travels the kiddos take turns taking Daddy's spot in bed. Usually at dawn the other child will climb up and in and sandwich me until we wakeup.
This morning I lay there thinking about the stages we have been through. Nursing, diapers, cribs; these things are now gone. I thought of where I am at currently in this stage of parenting. Emerging independence, training and teaching. Sometimes during the daylight hours life can resemble a war. But in the early hours it is calm and peace fills the home.
This morning I wrapped my arms around my boy and held him. My head rested against his. He nestled in and accepted the embrace. Looking up with a smile then dozing back to sleep. A stolen moment.
When we woke up he returned the love with a back and hand massage. Sweet moments.
When I returned the hand massage he said, "This is the life!"
I agree.

An Afternoon at the Hill

At it again. Sledding that is. This time we took it to bigger and better heights. 7 of my mom's 9 grand kids were there. We had a blast. After a few times up the hill, I declared it was my workout for the day. Breathing hard, heart beating. Yup. It counts. Thankfully my kiddos are at an age where they CAN go down and back up by themselves. Meaning mom can rest at the top while they go again and again and again without ceasing.

rav·en·ous

very eager or greedy for food, satisfaction, or gratification

I have a ravenous appetite tonight after working out. I had a 8 oz protein shake, a banana and raisin bread with butter. I feel like I could eat the whole pantry.

I have kept under 2000mg of sodium today. I am really surprised how much salt is in my food. 2 Tablespoons of Italian dressing has 525mg. The salad however had only 8mg. This is something I learned today; fruits and vegetables have little to no salt. Go figure.

Food Analyze

No fast food, more water. To help me keep track of my water consumption, I added my yearly water consumption to the side bar. Check it out. It is just below my miles for swimming, biking and running. At the gym last night, I ran 1 mile and biked 5. Drinking 40 ounces while working out. This felt productive.
In the evening I decided to take a look at foods consumed for the day. I made a list of all the food. Then I figured out the calories; 1665. Then I looked at the sodium; 2925. I was a bit shocked by this. Daily average should be 2000 or less. If I got nearly 3000 while eating more healthy, I cringe at the thought of what it was a week ago. Probably double maybe even triple. Next, I checked protein; 58 grams. Right on track there. Last, I figured out the fiber; 32 grams of fiber. Yeah!
I will probably keep track of my food intake for the next week. While I may not do it to the degree I did last night, I think it is helpful to see what I am eating. An informed consumer is a smart consumer.
How about you? Do you keep track of what you eat and calories?

Funny Quote

Joe Weinstein

"My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to 99 cents a can. That's almost $7.00 in dog money."

Resolution

I am normally not one to do a resolution. Set goals; yes. Have desires I work toward; yes. Resolutions? I normally just don't make them. This year however, I have made a resolution. I will get in shape and lose weight. I will look and feel great in 2008.
Getting on the scale tonight was an eye opener. I weigh more than I ever have. I know I weigh more than I did pregnant with my firstborn and I think I am only a couple pounds less than 9 months pregnant with my second. I am 20 pounds more than I was after completing my triathlon during the summer.
So here's the deal. Absolutely NO fast food during the month of January. I will be drinking water faithfully. I have struggled with water intake for what seems like forever. It has to be a priority for me. I have to conscientiously be thinking drink water or I just do not do it. If I drink 48 ounces I will be more than doubling my current intake. There are some days I only get 8 ounces. Of course I would like for it to be even higher, 64-80 oz is the recommendation.
Also, I will be training for my next triathlon. Which means hitting the gym. Faithfully and with fervor.
Tonights episode of Biggest Loser: Couples was a great motivator. I plan on watching the entire season. My girlfriend was over and watched with me. I decided I was going to be active during every commercial. Sit-ups, push-ups, jumping jacks and leg lifts. By the end we busted out the exercise ball and the step aerobics. By the end of the two hour show we added up about 30 minutes of exercise and movement. Yeah!
I know I am not alone in these goals. I know two of my friends and joining me in the no fast food and water challenge. Anyone else want to join us?

Banging in the New Year

In the afternoon, I took my kids and three of their cousins bowling. DS came in second , 6points behind the oldest bowler. Little girl did pretty well. She developed a sideways hurl that was super cute. Even if it only traveled at 2 miles per hour.



After bowling we went sledding. My nephew brought his new snowboard. My son and nephew took turns going down on it.They were both pretty good at it.Unfortunately, I forgot my camera at home. So use your imagination.

Here is our decorated time capsule. It is my first EVER decoupage. Complete with a hidden picture, jokes, technology of the day, curriculum prices and of course, Dora.


To fill the time until midnight we played games. Go fish and a marathon game of Sorry. It took an hour and a half. Which nicely ate away the minutes until count down. Little girl did make it to midnight. Though at 11:30 she stated she was very tired and it was WAY past her bedtime.

One of my husbands traditions growing up was banging pots on the front porch at midnight on New Year's Eve. The tradition continues.


They went out on the front porch, yelling "Happy New Year" and banging away on their pots. DS added a few strums from his guitar. Little girl stayed inside and gave me kisses instead. :)

And again I say to you, HAPPY NEW YEAR!