Wordless Wednesday

A Change of Hair...

I need something different.  I've been tempted several times to chop my hair off.  Like this...

But it's so much work when it's short!  And I know I'd regret it...
So I've been thinking about trying a new color.  I've gone dark before...

But my hair doesn't hold color well and it fades really fast and ends up looking mousy.
So I've been thinking about trying something like this...

or this...

The darker would be pretty close to my natural color and my ends are already pretty bleached from years of highlights...

Whatchya think?

First Day of Summer

Wow.  Today felt like the longest day of the year!  The day started off well enough.  We went to see the free movie at the theater.  The kids loved it!  Then we went and had a picnic lunch at the park with friends and the kids played on the playground.  I was sitting on the blanket with Lorelei in the shade when I heard a kid crying...so I looked around for Amelia and Elliot.  I could see his little blonde head sticking up on the other side of the playground border.  I hollered at him to get up but he didn't.  So I started walking over, when I realized he was laying there crying I started running!  If you know Elliot, you know that him laying there was a BAD sign!  I knew something was wrong.  I carried him back over to the blanket where he laid down and cried.  He was moving it a bit so I tried to convince him to move it more but he just cried.  When I started gathering our stuff to leave he stood there with his arm just hanging at his side!  So I packed up Elliot and Lorelei, left Amelia in the care of a good friend and headed to the children's hospital.  He continued to cry for about 45 minutes.  Also, VERY unlike him!  He dosed off in the car and I thought maybe he was just being dramatic.  But, as soon as I touched it he shrieked in pain.  My poor little bug!

X-rays are the worst!  he was so brave and tough until she tried to turn his arm over.  It's a good thing Aaron met us there cause I barely held it together!  Apparently it doesn't matter if someone is intentionally hurting my kid, or accidentally hurting my kid...I kinda wanted to hurt her!  (She was actually great!)  The x-ray confirmed what I already knew...he broke his forearm.  As far as breaks go it's a minor fracture, but it's still broken!  He has a soft splint for 4 or 5 days to leave room for swelling, then he will have a cast for 3-4 weeks.

It didn't seem to slow him down too much.  I don't know if he was really feeling okay or just trying to be tough but either way he over-did it!  He was crying by bedtime about how much it hurt.

The bright spot in my day was when Amelia told Elliot not to worry because God would make his body better.

Lorelei is 8 months!

You've now been here for as long as you grew inside me.  I still think a lot about those first 5 weeks and how blessed we are to have you with us, healthy and happy.  It's like when you have a bad dream and it sticks with you.  That's what that time is like for me.  Sometimes I have to remind myself that you are healthy and I don't have to worry so much!

You have so much personality.  You are the happiest baby I've ever seen!  Unless you're mad...then you're MAD!  You're rarely fussy.  I love all your faces.  When you can talk I know you'll have a lot to say.

 

You love your toys.  You have figured out how to make noise with them and shake your rattles and bang them together.  Your favorites are the pink bug and Sophie the giraffe.  You chew on anything you can get your hands on.  Everything goes straight to your mouth.

You have 2 teeth and no signs of getting any others any time soon.

You've figured out how to move!  You scooted for the first time yesterday and today you're all over!  You haven't quite figured out what to do once you get your knees under you.

You love your brother and sister.  I love watching you watch them.  You love music.  You love to watch Amelia and Elliot dance.

You nap well but sleeping at night is another story!  You wake up every couple hours and want me.  You have to have your blankie to sleep.  You like to bury your face in it.  I hate that.  You also have to have your seahorse.

You LOVE food!  Especially green vegetables.  You've had broccoli, avocado, green beans, peas, apples, pears, bananas, sweet potatoes, and carrots.  I couldn't pick what I think is your favorite.  You love it all.

You love when I sing to you.  Your favorite is "You Are My Sunshine."  You definitely live up to the lyrics.  I'm so thankful He chose me to be your Mommy.  You make me happy when skies are grey.

Breastfeeding Mommy Problems

I love being able to breastfeed.  I'm so glad I can provide my babies with this start in life.  Especially since Lorelei was on formula in the NICU and for her first month;  I didn't think we were going to be able to do it!  However, it comes with an interesting set of problems that you don't realize (or sometimes understand) until you've experienced it for yourself.

1.  As if swimsuit shopping isn't horrible enough on it's own.  Try doing it while nursing! Never mind trying to find a swimsuit that you can somewhat easily nurse in, that will also accommodate your larger-than-life tatas AND cover your post-baby belly.  Don't, and I mean DON'T try on swimsuits after nursing.  That cute top that fits probably won't in about 2 hours.  Or the first time you wear it to the pool!  You will spend the entire time trying to make sure you aren't being obscene.

2.  You will only look nice for about 15 minutes after you get dressed...or until the first time your baby eats.  And I'm not talking about being spitup on.  I've yet to find a top that doesn't end up looking too big and stretched out after being lifted up or pulled down 15 times.  Don't even try nursing tops.  Those ones that "pull over for easy access" just get more stretched out and end up showing an inappropriate amount of cleavage.

3.  You will flash a stranger.  I am a discreet public breastfeeder.  I use a cover or blanket and usually try to do it out of the way.  That being said, Lorelei HATES being covered up.  And just when she relaxes and I loosen my grip holding the cover in place, she rips it back like the magic curtain exposing us to the perfectly timed walk-by.  Or even better...you'll be carrying your dear one through a store when she decides she wants to eat and sticks her whole arm down your shirt.

And that was just yesterday!

A Quick Visit

This weekend we had a quick visit with The Morgan's on their long drive.  We grabbed a quick bite for lunch and headed to the Louisville Slugger Museum.  We've been through before but the kids still had a great time! 

It was awesome to spend some time with friends!  It's so funny how the kids pick up their friendship exactly where they left off when we saw them almost a year ago! (Last year we visited the science center)

 Kailey and Amelia held hands for the whole tour and so did Lexi and Elliot! 

 Wow!  They've all grown SO much!  Next time Tyler and Lorelei will probably be playing together and holding hands!

Later in the day Elliot walked over to me, very seriously and said "Mommy, I am SO CLOSE to marrying Lexi."  He was very matter-of fact about it.  And if you know Elliot you can just picture the hand-gestures that went along with this statement!  I hope it's not another year before we see our friends again!

Friday I will be having a "pinterest party." Do a pinterest project, blog about it and post in the comments.  What project have you been wanting to do?

Sidewalk Art

So we started the summer checking off things on our bucket list.  We went in the morning and the kids got their library cards and signed up for the summer reading program.  In 2 days Amelia has read all 4 books she picked out, including 2 chapter books!  The girl LOVES to read!

Then we spent the afternoon decorating our driveway with sidewalk paint.  Yet another pinterest find!  (I have a serious addiction!)  All you need is some containers (I used dollar store muffin tins), cornstarch, water, food coloring and paintbrushes.  Of course you'll also need some kids in clothes you don't mind ruining and ready to paint (the food coloring will stain).   Mix equal parts water and cornstarch and pour into containers.  Then add food coloring to make as many colors as you want!
Give the kids some paintbrushes and have at it!

When we started painting it just looked wet, but as it dried the colors became more vibrant and the longer it dried the brighter it got!

The colors end up being MUCH brighter than chalk, and it was actually less messy!  Amelia painted pictures of what we were doing on a bright sunny day...

Elliot made an army of "terrifying monsters!"

Elliot ran between the paints and his pictures, mixing colors and making splatters.  As someone on facebook put it...a budding Jackson Polluck!

And my budding Georgia O'keefe sat down to perfect her artwork and stayed far away from Elliot's splatters!

 

  And of course we had some supervision!

It's all in the details...

I posted here about our summer schedule and yesterday it went great!  Amelia (our mini Aaron) kept an eye on the clock and me on our schedule all day!  Even my little wild man seemed to have a pretty good day.  Quiet time was kind of a bust, but they'll get used to it.  I need to figure out  a way to keep them separated because Amelia would lay in her bed and read the whole time if he didn't bug her!

Anyway...the schedule...it's not perfect and not for everyone but it's something we're trying...

We are also trying a new approach with discipline.  It focuses more on rewarding good behavior than punishing bad behavior.  We call them "Gem Jars".  This is yet another pinterest find! 

Each kid has a jar and they receive gems for good behaviors.  There are different sized gems for different behaviors.  I occasionally do take a gem away for really bad behavior.  When their jars are half full we will take them out for ice cream, and when they fill the jars we will have a family "date day".  We've talked about going bowling, mini golfing, to the movies, or to a baseball game.

It seems to be working quite well!

Cooking with Quinoa

So I have started experimenting with different foods.  In part because I am striving to branch out and expand my food knowledge and partly because I am trying to serve healthier meals to the fam.  I have been wanting to try quinoa for a while now.  I thought this protein and fiber packed grain would be a great alternative to our usual carb-heavy side dishes.

The kids are a little hesitant when it comes to new foods so I thought I would try Quinoa "mac and cheese".

I got my inspiration from this recipe, found on pinterest.  I didn't add any of the vegetables (didn't wnat the kids to turn it away because of that).  Then I didn't have any eggs, so I made my cheese sauce with a roux. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup quinoa
1 teaspoon EVOO (My skillet doesn't take a lot of oil, you may need more)
1.5 cups water
1 tsp Mrs. Dash
1.5 cups cheese (I had partial bags of sharp cheddar, mild cheddar and colby jack...)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1.5 cups milk
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Heat oil in your skillet and saute quinoa until golden brown.

Then stir in water and Mrs Dash, heat to boiling, cover and simmer about 25 minutes until water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan.  Once melted, stir in flour.  I only had wheat flour, but it worked!

SLOWLY stir in milk.  Stir constantly until thickened.

Now stir in 1 cup cheese until melted.

Fold in quinoa and pour into baking dish.  Top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.

While it was baking I caught Lorelei's first taste of pears...she made less of a face for broccoli!

 And Amelia and Elliot had fun playing on Study Island...

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes until bubbly and golden brown

Enjoy!

The Verdict:
I thought it was pretty tasty!  The kids enjoyed it too!  Next time I will try with some garlic and other seasoning.  Maybe some pepper jack cheese.  I also love that this recipe is very easily made gluten-free using an egg-based sauce and skipping the bread crumbs.  I like to have good gluten-free recipes in my arsenal for company.

What's your favorite way to enjoy quinoa?