Ignorance is Bliss

... and a lot  less work and dishes! At least what this Momma thinks when it comes to the secular side of Easter.

**Yes, yes, I know this post is at least a week late. But with the colds and birthday festivities (or lack thereof- I just like to use them as an excuse), I'm just getting down to downloading these. And since I'm not one of those professional bloggers that posts about dying Easter eggs 2-3 weeks before the event...  it's allowed. :) **

My children know the real meaning of Easter. And that's all that matters in my book. And they enjoyed hunting for the filled plastic eggs at church-- and they were content (and have actually forgotten about their stash!). They didn't know there was anything more then that.

And then they talked to Auntie Katie.

And she asked them if they had dyed eggs yet.

Sheeeeeeeesh. (roll eyes here)

All of a sudden, Liam's curiosity got peeked. What does dyeing eggs mean? Really, you color the shells? Is that why you could buy colored eggs from the grocery store?

Apparently, as great of a memory as he had, he didn't remember our last egg dyeing fun in Tampa. So he wanted to do it again. And at the time, I didn't have a good reason not to do it. And it's kind of a fun science experiment, them guessing what color it'll make and all.

So we did it again, natural dyes and all (because if you didn't check the link and/or fail to remember, I can't stand lots of food dye. It just has kind of always grossed me out, all the fake, vibrant colors in frostings, Paas kits, etc).

This time I had turmeric on hand. And we did white and brown eggs, because I was curious if the brown ones would color. And I tried kale powder for green-- it didn't work so well. So I threw those ones in the yellow dye overnight and then added it to the blue dye afterwards. After making Joel "Japanese hummus" (another story for another time), and putting paprika in it, I thought maybe that would dye the eggs orange, but it ended up being more of a brown. Maybe next time (hopefully there won't be a next time), I will just do the beets, cabbage and turmeric- primary colors, and get the orange, green and purple from those. I've also got to figure out how to get the pink to stay, well, pink. A few hours after they dry, they like to go dull on me. Oh well. :)

Ingredients:

- 10 hard boiled eggs (1/2 white, 1/2 brown)

- 1/2 red cabbage, cut into 1 1/2 in wedges

- 2 med beets, chopped

- 3T turmeric

- 3T freeze dried kale powder (didn't work!)

- 3T paprika (was going for orange, kind of turned them tan)

- 2c water per dye

- 1/2t salt per dye

-2 T white vinegar per dye

 

Bring the water, dye material and salt to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer and cover for 30minutes. Allow to cool to RT and then add vinegar.

 Just another reason to love my vitamix. It turned a 1/2 red cabbage into shredded cabbage in 1 second on high. :)

 I ended up having 3c of water for the cabbage dye, because I wet chopped it in the blender, and just used that water.

 

 Adding vinegar...

 Shaking the vinegar into the dye mix before adding the eggs.

 Posing with the results. The one good thing with the Paas kit is I'm sure you get instantaneous results. We waited a few hours (they soaked in the dye during the boys' quiet time) for ours. It was a good lesson in patience :)

I could have organized them better, but starting at the bottom and going clockwise is the beet (pink), paprika (tan), turmeric (yellow, and dark orange), kale (splotchy green, I didn't even bother to bring out the brown egg, because it didn't hold any dye), and red cabbage (blue and dark green).

Take 2 of dyeing the green eggs.
The brown egg didn't turn out so well, but I like the color of the white one!

Thank you.

You guys are a-maz-ing.

No doubt about it. (Not that I ever did doubt you).

Not only do you put up with my blog, it's ramblings and heaps of pictures tossed at you... but you guys pray for me. For us.

How do I know??

Well, two days ago, I posted in Callum's update that...

"Refuses to be spoon-fed any longer, and unless he is absolutely starving, won't except it. But is picky with what he will eat. It has to be the perfect texture. Unless they are crackers, he won't eat grains. Doesn't care for fruit besides kiwi, pears and applesauce (he loves strawberries, but they give him a rash), loved sweet potatoes pureed but refuses to eat them steamed in chunks. Likes carrots (sometimes) and green beans. Doesn't like meat, but enjoys kidney beans (not pinto, black nor cannellini)... loves dairy (cheese and yogurt). ... And you wonder why I'm exhausted! "

And as always, I continued to try to feed him, and as always he continued to reject. And then yesterday evening happened. And he ate his normal green beans. And quinoa.

Quinoa?!?!  

You mean that stuff even a lot of grownups scoff at? And that stuff that he has rejected- both homemade and storebought? Yup.

And he even let me feed him... with a spoon.

Yes. I was in shock and awe. Figured starvation must've completely set in. I was hypocritically praising God with my mouth while mentally chalking it up to being a fluke.

But this morning, he ate crepes. A whole one (like 7 inches across). And half a banana. Both quite shocking.  And this afternoon he ate cannellini beans. And at dinner he ate pasta. And a few bites of hamburger.

I'm pretty much at a loss for words. Unless a mental switch was flipped when he turned 367 days old, there is no other way for me to account for this besides prayer for us on your behalf. As I was flabbergasted, the Lord reminded me of the following...

James 5:16

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Thank you for being my prayer warriors out there. Both for the big things like our upcoming move to North Carolina, Joel's boards, marriage, parenting, etc etc... and the little things- like my son's eating habits. I didn't even ask, and yet some of you stood in the gap for me. Thank you.

I am humbled.

Turning One

I have been weary lately (no, I don't think I'm pregnant), and the city shutting down the road by our house just seems to be the final barrier that I'm not willing to hurdle- amusing really, as there is no construction yet, so really, there is no barrier besides the barrels at the entrance to the road. Mentally though, it was the apex, as I look at how every weekend from here on out we had something planned (save one), until we are settled in North Carolina. We were supposed to be headed to Rittman this weekend for the AC medical fellowship, but with the boys still under the weather, and Callum finally seeing the doctor today for some Rx, we decided it'd be best to lay low up here instead. Maybe God is using them to force us to slow down and put margin in our lives. :)

It's amazing to think that a year has gone by since Callum was born. Like so many other things in life, it seems as though it's been a lot longer in some aspects, but just a little while in others. Ah, such is life! Joel was on call yesterday, so we had a little celebration today. And by little, I mean carrot cupcakes. That's it. Liam was aghast (yes, that word is in his vocabulary) that there were no presents, although I may have picked up something tonight at a mom-2-mom sale... appalling, I know.

Anyhow, here is an update on my littlest one. (You'd think with him having a doctor appointment just today, I'd remember his weight and height. I don't. So if the numbers seem off, they may well be. Guess I'll find out in a couple weeks when he has to go in again.)

- Weight: 19+ lbs.
- Length: 29 inches.

- Currently has 7 teeth and is working on at least one more. (The first 6 came out at 6 months, and the 7th finally popped through a couple days ago).
- Is a Daddy's boy... already. *Sigh.* And that is with this Momma still nursing full time. He also loves to snuggle in with all the men willing to hold him at church. And won't return to me.
- Will say "hi" cheerfully when in the mood. Liam says he also says "Mama", but I don't know if I count it since it is just babble. He will wave high, blow kisses, and give high fives.
- Continues to show his strong-willed determination in life, relentlessly pursuing whatever he is focused upon.
- Starting to stand up for himself against his brothers and will actively seek to tackle them sometimes, especially if they are laying down at the time.
- He continues to have a steadfast fetish with the bathroom. And toilets. and dropping things down the stairs.
- Walking a lot better now, and can go from room to room without falling
- Likes to play with cars, balls, duplos, and whatever else his brothers are doing.
- Refuses to be spoon-fed any longer, and unless he is absolutely starving, won't except it. But is picky with what he will eat. It has to be the perfect texture. Unless they are crackers, he won't eat grains. Doesn't care for fruit besides kiwi, pears and applesauce (he loves strawberries, but they give him a rash), loved sweet potatoes pureed but refuses to eat them steamed in chunks. Likes carrots (sometimes) and green beans. Doesn't like meat, but enjoys kidney beans (not pinto, black nor cannellini)... loves dairy (cheese and yogurt). ... And you wonder why I'm exhausted!
- Still an extremely happy child if not being picked on by his brothers.

I took a couple videos and will try to upload them later. Unfortunately, my camera shut off after only 10 seconds of video the first time, so you missed the 3 part rendition of "happy birthday"... or maybe it is not so unfortunate ;)

As I suspected, he enjoyed the frosting (after great hesitation), but tried to feed the cupcake to Liam. When Liam told him that he already had one, then over the side of the high chair it went.

 Enjoying the singing.

What is Mom trying to feed me this time??

 Ugh. It won't come off my fingers. I might as well try it.

 This stuff isn't so bad after all!

 It's finger-licking good!

 I might as well just lick it straight off the cupcake!

And this is where he accidentally bites into the wrong end...

 

 ... and proceeds to try to clean his mouth out of the unwanted foreign substances...

 

 ... and decides now that the frosting is mostly gone, the best alternative is to feed his brother, who has been hovering around his chair the whole time!

Loved.

and blessed.

That's how I feel. :)

My mother-in-law sent me a birthday card in which she said she thought about what to get me for my birthday, and decided the two things I love most, food and relationships, you couldn't send in a package (although my mother did send me a box of Belgian dark chocolate truffles... yum!). She has figured me out though. But I was definitely gifted both yesterday by my God above, and through all those around me that He has so graciously and abundantly blessed me with in my life.

It was a great birthday-- low key and almost non-existent on a crowd scale (with the exception of the church singing to me Wednesday night, but thankfully the culprit {ahem, Jamie, ahem} waited til most the crowd had left, which made it not near as embarrassing!).

A few highlights...

- It began with a little blessing from God and Callum... he only woke up once during the night (around midnight) giving me 6 straight hours... praise God!

- Liam snuggling with me in bed for a short bit before he announced that we just had to get up, or else we would sleep right through my birthday and not be able to celebrate and I'd be so sad.

- Joel met the boys and I for breakfast and surprised me with the Harmon family also being there (even Ben took off work too!). We did miss Jamie as one of her children was sick, but I'm sure she didn't miss the chaotic atmosphere of 5 children 4 and under at a restaurant. And of course we made sure we had a smorgasbord of options... you can't leave without having it all ;)

- Aiden sweetly gave me one of his blueberry pancakes since I was without :)

- The boys enjoyed playing at the park on a brisk, chilly day with their friends, followed by a trip to Costco and TJ's, a couple of my favorite places to take them. I even had the willpower to resist buying another orchid...

- Liam and Aiden picked me beautiful spring flowers (from my backyard...) ;)

- All three were able to take a nap at the same time again... praise God!

- At church it was the monthly dinner and Bible study, and Bev was gracious enough to watch Callum for a bit so I could enjoy the study, since Joel wasn't able to make it last minute.

- Jamie gave me a collection of homemade cupcakes, with an old favorite (espresso) and a new found love (key lime cheesecake), (the third is a yummy cherry limeade that made me remember my sonic happy hour days :).

- I received a text from a sweet friend in Florida who was reminded that it was my birthday (and not even from FB, since I purposely don't have it revealed through there). It was the icing on my virtual cake of happy messages from family, close friends, and my birthday buddy (Tyler K).

Thankful that turning 30 means that I'm one year closer to balancing my age with my grey hairs ;)

 

I am both loved and blessed indeed.

Happy Easter!

He is risen.

We are blessed.

May you remember the atoning sacrifice of our Savior not only during the Easter season, but in every moment of your life.

The Brief "Arrival" of Spring

After having a snowy, cold winter, we finally caught a glimpse of warmer weather this past weekend. And boy, were the boys excited! As the temperatures gradually inched upwards, the boys began to venture out with their toys... first balls, bats and clubs, then bikes, and eventually chalk. By the weekend, even our studious Daddy had to take a boards break for a picnic lunch-- I love my boys! :)

It made up for him missing an Easter egg hunt our church through as a way of reaching out to the community. There was such a good turnout, both with our own youngsters as well as some from all over the city. I think it will become an annual tradition. (I had the wrong setting on my camera, so unfortunately the pictures are annoyingly blurry- sorry! But you get the gist).

Book Review: The Donkey Who Carried a King

With Palm Sunday just past and Easter approaching, I was reminded of a pdf file of a book I had received, reviewed, but with the craziness of life forgot to ever post. I'm not very good at the intangible. The Donkey Who Carried a King is a children's book written by R.C. Sproul, with earthy-toned illustrations by Chuck Groenink. Although it's title could hint towards it being a story about Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry is really only given a page spread in the book, as it's about so much more.

 

Sproul's frame narrative begins with a little boy Reilly walking home from a day playing with friends. He is sad because he was chosen last in their game. His parents direct him to the sage advice of his grandfather who then tells him the story of a donkey named Davey. Davey was a young colt who had yet to be chosen for any task. When he is finally chosen, it is to carry Christ in His triumphal entry through the streets of Jerusalem. After this privilege, Davey sees himself as too important for the trivial assignments given to him by his owner. Through the wise words of an older donkey, Barnabas, as well as later watching Christ walk to his crucifixion, Davey learns the lessons of servanthood, obedience and a joyful heart.

As with some of Sproul's other tales, my four-year old wasn't as interested with the story of Reilly so much as he was with the story of Davey. He did have empathy towards Reilly, especially as he recently had been told by another little boy that they were not friends (The beginning of many scars that will happen in his life, I'm sure, but still hard to take in!). He also enjoyed guessing the Bible stories when the donkeys were talking about their famous predecessors. I once again appreciated how Sproul includes in both narratives the involvement of the generations and the father looking to the older grandfather as a source of wisdom (Job 12:12). There were many wonderful nuggets and lessons tucked into the story and expounded upon in a 3-pg discussion portion at the end of the book. The main lesson being that Christ's life was one of servanthood reflected throughout His life and ministry, and is an example to us, His followers (Matthew 20:28).  I loved that Sproul uses the term "master" when the two donkeys speak of their owner. It makes reality hit home more when the older Barnabas instructs, "...whatever the master decides to put on our backs. Every job is important, even carrying a sack of olives, and you should do your best to do it well." The story shows how God chose Jesus for the worst job- taking the sins of mankind with Him upon the cross; with whatever task we have before us, we should perform it diligently with a cheerful heart for the Lord (Colossians 3:23, I Thess 5:16-18). A good lesson when reinforcing the menial tasks around the house (and a good reminder for this Mama when she is often weary from her calling)! This was a good reinforcement for my young child, who is already constantly trying to be a servant and knight. In addition, both the donkey and the boy struggle with identity and purpose, areas where I think many can relate as well. I was able to use this to show my son that we are children of the King and He is our faithful Friend and will never forsake us.

In conclusion, our family enjoyed this book and I would recommend it, again, not as a book specifically about Easter week (though the story finishes with Christ's resurrection and the resulting hope for mankind from His shed blood), but as one to help establish biblical character traits. I do enjoy adding it to our books we read during this Easter season however, as it adds a side narrative to the already well-known story and celebration in our home.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

English 101

We had chili for dinner last night.

Liam, during the middle of the meal, suddenly stops. And with a very serious inquisitive look, comically subdued by the rubbing his chin, while putting his elbow on the table, asked...

"Why is it called chili, because it's not really chilly, but actually hot?"

After laughing about the way he posed his question, Joel and I tried to explain to him homonyms. But then, while I was up nursing Callum last night, I googled it to make sure. Turns out we were wrong. Technically, a homonym is where the word is spelled the same and pronounced the same, but have different meanings. Liam had taken note of a homophone. That is where the two words sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings (think of your Latin derivatives... homo-same, phono-sound). There is also another variant called homograph, where they are spelled the same, but pronounced differently (graphia-written). Thus, a homonym has to be both a homophone and a homograph.

... so now you know.

Not that you cared to go back to English class again. :)

Not sure why I tried explaining it to Liam, but I ended up opting to just show him the different spellings instead. Which is probably what I should've done from the beginning. No need introducing grammar and Latin roots to a 4-year old...

And He's Off...

Well, perhaps not in this video. Whenever I whip out the phone or the camera, life invariably happens.

You know, things like, my phone's memory being used up, or someone calls, which always somehow messes with the video sound system and makes the voice all robotic from thence forth (which the boys find hysterical, actually), or the camera's battery dies (which is what happened here), or the subject drops on all fours and crawls to me because he wants the object in my hands, or he gets distracted by a toy or the sound of his brother's voice or he starts laughing so hard from us cheering that he topples over... you know... life. :)

So perhaps this only shows a step or two and not the multiple ones he took for me yesterday.  But if I don't post it, then I probably will never get a good video until he's fully in motion, and if I do post it, well, I'm likely to probably get a decent one later this afternoon.

So here's my lil 11-month old, growing up way to quickly. By the end of the night he was even blowing kisses to his Daddy. :)

For Love of Airplanes

Aiden is into airplanes lately. Case in point... this morning. He was a red "blue angel" flying really fast (although not actually moving), while sitting at the table (with the bike helmet our neighbor kindly gave to us).

 



Checking to see if he finally fell asleep during his quiet time/nap, I found him like this.

(That would be four airplanes around his head- the lego one to the left, and the Southwest, Disney and fighter plane to the right, not to mention the slippers and shirt.)

 

And a little riddle for you...

What roars, stomps and has two arm wings that stick straight out?

A Dinosaur Airplane of course! :)

(all those pictures/videos were quick snapshots with my phone, so the image/sound quality isn't the greatest...)