Not so Deceptive, but Delicious

John Henry does not eat vegetables.  He honestly doesn't like the taste.  He will pick one up, put it in his mouth and then spit it out.  I get worried about my little one not getting the nutrients he needs.Until today that is. I borrowed a book from the library called "Deceptively Delicious" which tells how to puree vegetables and hide them in your kids food.  I have used this book before, unsuccessfully, when I tried to sneak vegetables into Eryn's food when she lived with us ( I even made her homemade chocolate cake with beets in it!, but the girl wouldn't touch it).  Today I made chicken nuggets and hid spinach puree in them.  They turned out not so deceptive. You could totally see the green spinach through the breading and it took Margaret Mary about ten minutes of staring at it before she took a bite.  But, they were totally yummy.

Here's Henry checking them out...

He goes for it! Mommy is holding her breath!

hmmmm...these aren't so bad! The green color was totally misleading!

I'll have another...

and another...

He even asked for seconds!

As the mom, I like to imagine the Halleluiah chorus blasting in John Henry's tiny body.  Blood cells, carrying all the nutrients my son has just consumed, smiling and giving high fives as they float past each other.

For supper I made spaghetti (with carrot puree hidden!) and meatballs (with broccoli hidden!) that tasted wonderful! I don't think my son has ever eaten so many vegetables in one day!  The goal is obviously for him to eat veggies like the rest of us, but for now, I will continue to sneak....

Butternut squash in his grilled cheese tomorrow!

Food anyone?

Welcome to Cafe Craig! The only thing on the menu are dry red kidney beans; but the chefs are really cute!

Margaret Mary will take your order!

Henry will bring you your food...

While eating you will enjoy panoramic views of the the elegant pink princess castle, a gift from the very prestigious Granddad Craig.

Your server might not be wearing any pants, but don't worry,  his multi-colored heart oven mit is protecting his hand from the intense heat of our powerful oven.

Don't forget to check out our Chef apparel, designed and collected by the talented seamstress, 

Grandma Kaman.

We hope you will join us!

Chickens and Goats

 

The homeschool group at our church got together at a parishioner's house to learn about chickens and goats. I was so excited when we got an invitation to attend (my kids aren't old enough for the home school group yet). MM and Henry really liked the animals but were very timid and stand-offish at first. Probably cause the goats were as big as they are! Margaret Mary held on tight to her friends and Henry got really dirty throwing dirt at the goats (boys!).  I love his hands in his pockets!

MM has really gotten outgoing. She beat me to the chicken coup and by the time I got there, this girl (whom we have never met before) was holding her!

Taking in all in...

 I love  MM in her boots in this picture...

Henry has learned to trust some of the girls from our church.  He now lets them pick him up and hold his hand! My shy little boy is growing up!

I love Henry squatting to examine the goat!

 

This last pic is one of my favorites. Some older kids were feeding the chickens and the chickens started going crazy! MM grabbed onto her friend Joseph's arm and clung to him till the chickens had calmed down.  

We had a great time! Can you believe its been a year since this picture was taken at this same place?

It makes me wanna cry how fast MM is growing up!

Birth Notes

Yesterday I had my 6 week check up with the Midwives. I asked for my birth notes because so much of what happened once I got to the birth center was a blur.  I found out two things that I thought were interesting...

1) Peter was born with a nuchal hand, which means that his hand was up by his head and came out at the same time as his head did.  When pushing him out, I remember a really strong burning tearing feeling on one part of me and I thought I was tearing. But I didn't tear, and now I know that that was his hand making me stretch more one on part of me then the rest.

2) I talked about my contractions being irregular in my birth story post.  On my notes they noted when my contractions did become regular:  7:00 am.  Peter was out by 9:23. So, if next labor is similar to this one, when my contractions finally do become regular, its time to go!

Porch Swing = Pure Joy

 

 "ready Henry? ready....steady...go!" (I have to note that Margaret Mary had just as much fun pushing and twisting Henry in the swing as Henry had riding in it!)

Margaret Mary's Turn! And by now, Mommy has all the controls on the camera set correctly...

 

Thanks Papa for putting up the swing!

Best Parenting Advice Ever!

"When kids are crabby, put them in water." - written on the wall at the kid's doctor's office

Thanks Mom for the stacking cups!

Martin, MM is over the moon about her princess sippy cups! She wont drink out of anything else!

Playing in the kitchen sink is a daily occurrence at our house.

Memorial Day

 Playing in the stream at Belleview Park (in their water shoes; thanks Lisa!)...

The freezing cold water. Jason and I couldn't stay in for more than a minute.  The kids didn't seem to notice!

The family decked out in our best red, white and blue outfits..

Lots of dirt...

Laughs...

Sleeping...

Train rides... Henry was in heaven!

 (He doesn't have on pants in the above pictures because he fell in the stream and soaked them!)

Good family time remembering those who gave their lives so we can live life so freely and abundantly.  Jason took the kids to the WWII memorial across the street while I fixed supper, and explained to the kids why the men honored there died.  Its sad to tell our kids that the world isn't as safe and innocent as they think it is.  But what heroes have arisen, what virtue and charity has been shown by our fallen soldiers. Freedom comes at such a great price.

Missing our family back in NC and wishing we could celebrate this day with them...

Proud Parent

Anyone who has ever tried to make sourdough bread can understand my pride.  It took seven days of feeding this baby (twice a day!) for me too see bubbles and rise, but it was worth it!  Homemade bread is awesome.

Amanda- your napkins are getting so much use as jar covers. Thanks so much for them! They make all the jars sitting out on the counter fermenting look pretty!

Still the apple of his eye...