August Pictures

AJ's Colorful Cornbread

A rare picture of D with his eyes open

AJ holding D

First Day of School. She was so excited to go "all day long" and get "two recesses". She seems to love it although she doesn't know many of the kids in her class.

Me and D!

Here's to better health

We are sick a lot
We've had 15+ colds, infections, pneumonias, and/or flus per child and husband in the last year. J has been on flovent (and he still has only had a handful of days with no coughing attacks) for nearly a year. I get sick the least by far, however, my gallbladder is filled up like a bag of marbles with gallstones (probably due to multiple pregnancies and too-low-fat of a diet).

My kids eat mostly junkfood
I promise myself daily to stop feeding my children a steady stream of junkfood. Probably as a result of the diet my kids get, I recently found myself making a new rule
"no climbing bookshelves, windowsills, balconies, stair railings, kitchen counters, tables, couch arm rests and backs, cars, or pianos" (all behavior from one single day!) As I proclaimed this, two of three kids were standing on their heads!

School lunches have a lot of highly processed foods
I once imagined myself making super healthy home lunches for my school kids. After signing AJ up for school lunch, I guiltily got online to see what they would be feeding her, I couldn't believe my eyes
typical day:
"...Vegetable Protein Product (Isolated Soy
Protein, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Niacinamide,
Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin B12, Copper Gluconate,
Vitamin A Palmitate, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine
Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin),
Seasoning (Salt, Sugar, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Spices,
Sodium Tripolyphosphates, Dried Onion, Dried Garlic,
Partially Hydrogenated Soybeans And/Or Cottonseed Oil..."

This list of processing ingredients went on for pages! Anyway, I make home lunches. I hope I can get my money back for the first month of school lunches.

I make a goal to feed my family better, there are 12 steps
That does it! Time to finally give Robyn's "12 steps to better health" designed for busy mothers of young children a try. I've been aware of her program fo two years, but assumed she couldn't teach me anything I didn't already know, but now I hope she can. I want my family to get well.

Month 1 of 12 (this should be easy for us!)
1. Green Smoothies
How to get tons of leafy greens into your diet, painlessly, spending less
than 10 minutes a day in the kitchen

Wish me luck

My idea won!

J's Star Wars birthday party was my creative outlet during May and June this year, well, after the party I posted about the party on the website where I got most of my inspirations from. It was my way of saying thanks, but it turns out they choose the best idea write-ups submitted each month and send money to the winners. I won first runner-up for the month of June and got a check for $20 in the mail yesterday. Very cool!

Also, AJ has been wanting me to enter a contest. She and J entered one this summer and won tickets to a magic show. So when I told her about this, she was really impressed. She also advised me to get two $10 bills when I went to the bank to cash my check, because they are easier to spend.

Zoo, Hair, Sleeping Well, and Gallbladder

Inexpensive Daytrip:

We went to the Willow Park Zoo in Logan last Tuesday. It was so much fun. We were there four hours including lunch and time at the playground. Zoo Admission for all of us: $2.00

First time:

Yesterday before we went out to do errands I looked at AP and to my surprise I realized her hair was a mess. She's never had enough hair before to worry about. I suggested we brush her hair before going out. She lit up like a christmas tree. She got all the supplies and sat down on the stairs like she has seen big sister do. Finally, for the first real time in her life, 25 months old, she got her hair brushed.

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child:

This book has helped me a lot and I usually keep it on my nightstand during baby's first year, but finally, with my fourth baby, I don't need it. If only all babies slept like this one!

Ouch:

If your baby is easy, there has to be something to challenge you. Mine is gallbladder. I've had two attacks (15 hours each) in the last three weeks. No fun, wipes me out.