Eating our Bs

We began our B days on Monday. It was a pretty simple day of bananas for a snack (one of the few fruits that all three children in our house love) and a summer staple for dinner: BLTs. Of course my picky little Mr. B's "BLT" was more of a cheese sandwich, but I have to pick my battles.

We tried two new recipes on our subsequent B days. One served double duty as our sweet treat and was amazing. So much so that I'm going to share the recipe with you (I sadly do not recall where online I originally found it, so I cannot cite my source - sorry!). They happen to be gluten free (which we do not require in our family) and relatively healthy as far as brownies go. They are delicious!
Dark Chocolate Brownie Bites

Makes: 24 brownies

Ingredients:

3.5 oz. dark chocolate

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/3-1/2 cup raw honey

2 organic, free-range eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

3/4 cup blanched almond flour

1/2 tsp. unrefined sea salt

Extra 1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a mini muffin pan with coconut oil.

2. In a double boiler, gently melt the 3.5 ounces of chocolate, coconut oil and raw honey. Remove from heat, allow to cool, then add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the almond flour and salt. Add the wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in the remaining chopped chocolate pieces. Fill the mini muffin tin nearly to the top. Bake for 15-25 minutes until golden and set.

4. Allow the brownies to cool in the pan - if you don't wait then they'll fall apart!

Wednesday's recipe attempt was less successful, but that may be because we all decided that the new food we were going to try was rather disgusting. I made Bacon Braised Brussel Sprouts. I've always been curious what a brussel sprout tasted like (after all, I do love bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts...), and I thought that as they'd be braised with bacon, they'd surely taste good. Wrong. Not only do brussel sprouts obviously look different from all other sprouts, but they also taste awful. E was graceful enough to say that they smelled like something she'd had (and liked) at school once, contemplated her first bite with a positive attitude, and then admitted that they were not likeable, after all. I only served each child one sprout (luckily I only made a half-recipe) and merely encouraged them to try it (they all did so). I ate four of them, but only to be a good role model. We all agreed that brussel sprouts would not find a place in our kitchen again. Ick.

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

Eating our As

I decided to start out the summer with Alphabet Soup for dinner the evening school was dismissed. We haven't ever had this in our home, so the kids were excited. And my pickiest little eater asked for seconds!

Sadly, I do not recall ever eating apricots in my lifetime. I'm sure I have, but I have no memory of it. So even though the Alphabet Soup could count as the food we'd never tried, on Wednesday I challenged us to all try apricots as well. I also had the kiddos try avocado. I eat it all the time, but they've never desired to try it. I'm keeping a list of new foods they've tried and having them rate each one. The apricots rated high with my older two, the oldest was neutral on the avocado, Miss Middle Child didn't care for the avocado, and (big surprise here...) the picky one detested both.

The recipe I chose to make was Apple Butter Pork Loin. We had it with sweet corn, which was a bigger hit than the meat. Admittedly, even I didn't really care for pork with apple butter on it. B did eat his 4 "no, thank you" bites and is still leery of any meat that isn't in the form of chicken nuggets or hot dogs (in his defense, he did branch out to eating steak - with ketchup, of course - last month).

We all love apples in this house (especially Honeycrisp!). Despite them being far out of season and therefore, not the best choice in the produce department, we bought a bag of them to snack on this week. Almonds were also on hand, as they typically are. Both make great snacks to take to the pool!

For the special treat, I let the children vote on whether we should get some animal crackers or head to the mall for Auntie Anne's Pretzels. Of course, there was not a consensus. The younger ones wanted animal crackers, but I still took L to Auntie Anne's. Everyone was happy. :)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

Our Edible ABC Summer...

...begins tomorrow! Today is the last day of school here, so tomorrow we begin eating our way through the alphabet. 

My children and I have agreed upon a few guidelines for this foodie summer. For every letter, we have to:

* Choose at least one food that we haven't tried before

* Choose a recipe to try 

* Choose one food that we know we enjoy

And for every letter, we can do one of the following:

* Choose a sweet treat

* Choose a restaurant or special restaurant item

Because we're out of school tomorrow and schools around Portland do not start until the day after Labor Day, this is likely the longest summer my children will ever experience during their childhood years. That means we have over three full months of summer break! We'll be skipping weekends and just eating as usual those days. We will spend three days on each letter of the alphabet with the exception of Q, U, and V (which will each get two days) and X, Y, and Z (which will get one day each). 

I'll do my best to post at the end of each letter's edible adventures!

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

I Have Not Fallen off the Face of the Earth (yet)

True, I haven't posted since December. That is sad and pathetic. However, I am still alive and kicking.

Things got crazy with our family in the last several months. My husband was laid off (for the second time in a little over 5 years) from a job he loved. He had known for months that it was coming, as the company he worked for was being bought out, so he'd been networking/job searching for quite some time. The lay off was at the beginning of October, and we had really hoped he'd have something else in the Des Moines area by then. No dice. Ross had traveled for interviews near and far. He'd been a finalist for a position in St. Louis that we were excited about, but it did not materialize. Christmas came and went, and there were three great possibilities around here at that point. The first vanished early in February. The second was not a job he was dying to have, as it would require traveling 90% of the time, but it would compensate well. We both knew he wouldn't be able to stand it for more than a couple years, at which point he'd be searching again. The third was stable, and had a great job title, but he feared it would be a bit boring.

We prayed (and asked everyone we knew to pray) for clarity. Even though every closed door hurt, we knew it would eventually lead to one open door that was THE one God wanted us to walk through. During the last year, he had not only interviewed in St. Louis, but also Chicago, Minneapolis, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Seattle. Truly, the only one of those places that appealed to me was St. Louis. I could live with Minneapolis because of its proximity to DM, but I don't love it. The others were less than desirable, some downright appalling to my little Midwestern brain. Early in March, while we waited to hear from the last two opportunities in our area (I should mention that his skill set is very specialized in the derivatives/fixed income area of the investments field), my husband traveled to Portland, OR, for an interview. This didn't concern me. I was fairly confident that one of the jobs here would be offered to him.

The next week God closed the door on the job that would require all the traveling. This was honestly a relief, yet we were concerned at this point. We were both born and raised here in Iowa. Both sets of our parents still live in our childhood homes. Two of our four siblings are still living in Iowa with their families. We have been in Ankeny for over 14 years, and in our dream home (designed by me and built by one of the best builders, who also happens to be our neighbor) for 10 years. We LOVE our church here, and we have an awesome group of friends. The last thing on earth we wanted to do was leave.

Before hearing one way or the other on the last job opportunity, my husband was offered the job in Portland. It sounded like a job he would really like at a company that seemed fairly stable. They offered much less than he had hoped, but after some negotiating, they met him not quite half-way. He held off on accepting by asking if they'd let him take me out there over spring break to get a feel for the area. For such a huge move, we wanted to be sure it would be a good fit for our family. All the while, we were both hoping and praying that he'd get the offer in Iowa for the other job. We spent two days in Portland with realtors provided by the company. Lots of stress. Little sleep.

We got back to Iowa Thursday night and before we were even out of bed Friday, the Portland company had already left a message asking for my husband's decision. He stalled and asked for the weekend to think about it. Monday finally brought God's final closed door. The last possibility for us to stay here disappeared. God made it perfectly clear that He wants us in OR.

Here's the odd part. I never felt any major anxiety or qualms about moving to Portland. Even from the time he first went out to interview. When we visited over spring break, I couldn't believe how beautiful it was out there. I could immediately picture our family living there. Don't get me wrong: I continued to pray for the Iowa job. But, God was definitely working on my heart. This Iowa girl has always loved traveling, but has not ever wanted to live anywhere outside of Iowa. Certainly never wanted to live outside the Midwest. And yet, somehow God has changed me so that I know beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we are going to love living in Portland, OR. Weird.

Now our house is on the market and I'm striving to keep it clean with three kids and a husband who has been in OR for almost three weeks. We are staying here through the school year, and into June if the house doesn't sell as quickly as we hope it will.

I am looking forward to finding amazing new ABC activities and places in the Pacific Northwest, and I'll be adding them to my blog. This summer we're still planning to eat our way through the alphabet. Some of that will be on the road, as it's a long drive to OR from here, but I will still do my best to post about our edible adventures. Don't give up on the ABC Summer Mom! :)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC summers here.*

The 12 Days of Christmas

Only 4 more shopping days until Christmas! We just celebrated Christmas with my side of the family here today. We are all happily full and the children are enjoying new toys (L is playing a new Wii game - "Guilty Party," E is sorting her Rainbow Loom rubber bands, and B is loving his new Magformers). My ultra healthy husband took off for the gym to burn off some calories after our guests left, so I decided to blog about our 12 days of Christmas plans.

Unlike most ads and sales events that stores hold, our family actually begins celebrating the 12 days of Christmas on Christmas day. Silly, huh? Not really. Christmastide or Twelvetide, whichever you want to call it, begins on Christmas day and ends on January 5th (Epiphany Eve). Ever heard of the "Twelfth Night?" That can either be celebrated on the night before Jan. 5th or the night of Jan. 5th. Now, we don't go all that deep here, but we do leave up our Christmas decorations clear through the 12 days of Christmas. We try to get them down each year on January 6th. I have to admit that both my husband and I get very annoyed when people think the 12th day of Christmas is on Christmas day. As I've stated before, I am anal. ;)

Last year, we wanted to do something special to keep the spirit of Christmas going through these 12 days. For our first year, we decided to write random acts of kindness, or good deeds, on slips of paper. We put them in a jar and drew one out each day for us to perform either individually or as a family. Here are the good deeds we had in our jar:
1. hold the door for someone
2. let someone go before you in a line
3. choose a toy to give to Goodwill or TAKE (The Ankeny Klothing Exchange)
4. take games to the Blank Children's Hospital
5. serve a meal at Trinity UMC in Des Moines (we were not able to do this as a family because they encourage volunteers to leave young children at home)
6. take treats to Youth & Shelter Services (we ended up delivering these on New Year's Eve right before their annual pizza party)
7. smile at EVERYONE you see today
8. clean something for a family member so they don't have to do it themselves
9. say a prayer for someone sick or unhappy
10. pay for the person/car behind us in a line or drive-thru
11. take cards to a nursing home
12. take our neighbors' garbage can up for them

It all seemed to go well, and a couple of the experiences were extra special for our children. We tried to keep our focus on thinking of others more than ourselves during this time.

I have a couple other ideas that I'd like to do in the future. One year I'd like to make small donations to 12 charities of our choice. I have a list of charities ready to go, but I would really like to have each child choose a couple of charities that mean something to them, so I think it will be best to wait until our youngest is a little older. But, if I had to choose them myself, we'd give some sort of donation to March of Dimes, St. Jude's, MADD, American Lung Association, TAKE, DMARC Food Pantry, Pennies for the Planet, Ronald McDonald House, On With Life, Make-a-Wish Foundation, Animal Rescue League, Blank Children's Hospital, and Kyle's Wish. I'm sure there are many other worthy causes out there.

I'd also love to just pick a local family that is going through a rough time and deliver small gifts to them each day. We may go with that option next year.

Because we'll be away from home for a good portion of this year's 12 days of Christmas, we are keeping it more simple. I found a fun book that was written in 2010 called The Twelve Days of Christmas in Iowa, by Sue Cornelison. It's about a little girl from Iowa whose cousin is coming to visit for Christmas. While visiting, her cousin writes letters to his parents about his adventures here in Iowa. There are some fun facts and history of our state in the book. We are going to read one letter/page of the book each day beginning on Christmas. E's 1st grade teacher read her class a few pages of it the last couple weeks, so she's excited to hear the rest of it. If you don't live in Iowa, just check out Amazon... chances are there is a similar book for your state.

We pray that your family has a wonderfully blessed Christmas and a healthy, happy new year!

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

Advent is coming!

Okay, so Thanksgiving is still officially 8 days away, but I am SO looking forward to Advent! Please don't get me wrong, I love Thanksgiving. We'll be hosting my side of the family (and maybe my brother-in-law's family, too), eating lots of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and the pumpkin cheesecake I make every year, sitting around with full bellies, and listening to all the kids run around making memories. I love it!

But, every year I really can't wait for the day AFTER Thanksgiving. And no, I do not do Black Friday shopping. For our family, the Friday after Thanksgiving is the beginning of Advent. True, Advent formally begins on Sunday, December 1st, this year. For us, though, everything Christmas will begin on Friday, November 29th! That's when all the decorations come out. It's when I start playing Christmas music non-stop (although we did start listening to the all-Christmas radio station in the car earlier this month... the kids requested it and I figured, why not? Life is short). Starting that day, my children watch Christmas movies every chance they get (though Rudolph has already been viewed twice this month by my 3 year old). It is also the day I mail my Christmas cards, unless it's super early in November. The fact that Thanksgiving is so late this year makes me long for Advent all the more! It seems like the season will be too short.

My children know that our Advent calendar will be on our dining room buffet, filled not with treats, but with little slips of paper. Every morning during Advent, they take turns opening the little doors and reading the exciting news. I try to mix it up so we don't do all the same activities every year, but there are some standards that they know they can always expect. The years that find Thanksgiving much earlier, have more activities... We just put the November days' papers behind a door on the calendar that I mark with the specific date.

Below is my list of planned activities for this Advent. Of course, one must be flexible (just as we need to be with the ABC summer activities). Things come up, kids get sick, etc. I have everything saved on my computer in case I need to reprint a day's slip. And I never put the slips in the calendar ahead of time. I don't want to tempt anyone (I'm not naming names, but I may be referring to my oldest...) to look ahead at future dates. ;) Please feel free to steal or borrow my ideas! That's the point of this blog! (Yes, I do end all of these notes to the children with exclamation points - they love it)! Hee hee.

Nov. 29th - 26 days until Christmas - Today we'll be decorating the entire house! Later this afternoon, we'll be shopping for our first ever REAL Christmas tree!
Nov. 30th - 25 days until Christmas - Tonight we are going to the Spirit of the Season Kick-off at the Science Center of Iowa and watching The Polar Express in the IMAX theatre!
Dec. 1st - 24 days until Christmas - Today we will start the daily family devotions we got at Sunday School and this afternoon we will visit The Festival of Trees & Lights!
Dec. 2nd - 23 days until Christmas - After school today we will make treats for our neighbors!
Dec. 3rd - 22 days until Christmas - This afternoon between piano and drum lessons, we will go to the fire station to see Santa and watch the tree lighting!
Dec. 4th - 21 days until Christmas - Tonight we will watch the Rockefeller Tree Lighting on TV! (Note: this one is always extra special because our children are not usually allowed to watch TV after 5:30 on a school night)
Dec. 5th - 20 days until Christmas - Today we will deliver treats to our neighbors after school!
Dec. 6th - 19 days until Christmas - This afternoon we will make treats for Aunt Cindy's annual cookie party and make a few gingerbread boys & girls to keep here!
Dec. 7th - 18 days until Christmas - This morning is the dress rehearsal for the Christmas program and then we'll go to Aunt Cindy's for her annual cookie party!
Dec. 8th - 17 days until Christmas - Today is your Sunday School Christmas program at 2:00. Then we'll go to the uptown church for the Advent Festival and the family pizza dinner!
Dec. 9th - 16 days until Christmas - This afternoon we'll make treats for your teachers and then we'll go help set up the MOPS toy giveaway!
Dec. 10th - 15 days until Christmas - Today you will take the treats to your teachers and tonight is the MOPS toy giveaway!
Dec. 11th - 14 days until Christmas - Tonight we will drive through Jolly Holiday Lights!
Dec. 12th - 13 days until Christmas - Today after school we'll read a bunch of Christmas books and then it's Wendy's Night! (for those of you not in our school district, Wendy's Night is a school fundraiser)
Dec. 13th - 12 days until Christmas - Tonight we are going to watch a Christmas movie! (movie TBD... I think they've seen nearly every one there is...)
Dec. 14th - 11 days until Christmas - Today we will get out a new Christmas puzzle to work on over break!
Dec. 15th - 10 days until Christmas - We are going to make treats for tomorrow's Clover Kids/4-H cookie exchange and we'll call Nana to wish her a happy birthday!
Dec. 16th - 9 days until Christmas - This morning B & I will wrap some gifts and tonight is the Clover Kids/4-H caroling and cookie exchange!
Dec. 17th - 8 days until Christmas - After school today we'll play Christmas trivia and bingo!
Dec. 18th - 7 days until Christmas - Today you'll take your teachers their gifts and after school we'll each make an ornament for our trees!
Dec. 19th - 6 days until Christmas - This morning B gets to ride with a friend on the train at the mall and after school we'll all enjoy hot chocolate!
Dec. 20th - 5 days until Christmas - Today are the winter parties at school and we will wrap more gifts after school!
Dec. 21st - 4 days until Christmas - Tonight we will drive around town in our PJs looking at Christmas lights!
Dec. 22nd - 3 days until Christmas - If there is snow today, we will sled and build snowmen! (if not, there will be a Plan B still TBD...)
Dec. 23rd - 2 days until Christmas - Today we are going to see Frozen and enjoy some Christmas M&Ms in our popcorn!
Dec. 24th - 1 day until Christmas - Today we'll make cookies for Santa, read Twas the Night Before Christmas, and go to the Christmas Eve service at church!

Other ideas we've used in the past: ice skating, snow tubing, take treats or serve a meal at Trinity UMC, watch the National Tree Lighting, take toys to the fire station for Toys for Tots, make Christmas-y crafts (Santa beards, snowflakes, pretzel/gumdrop trees, etc.), visit big light displays like the one that used to be outside Pella or the one near Vinton, see Santa at the zoo, shop for an adopt-a-family, make snowman pancakes, etc. I'm sure you can think of many more!

It gets me so excited to get that all planned! Bring on the snow!

P.S. For those very few of you who follow this blog, my plan to "better" myself before Christmas is going pretty well. The first week was wonderful - time set aside to practice yoga for 7 straight days. Last week I drank well over half my body weight in ounces of water daily (I'm attempting to continue that one). This week I'm trying to cut back on the sugar. It's going okay, but I can do better. I'll really have to watch myself at MOPS this Friday as there are always so many yummy things to eat there! ;)

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*

Becoming a better me...

I've decided to spend these last few weeks leading up to Christmas attempting to better myself. I'm talking an all-out improvement of mind, body, & spirit. The last year has been a roller coaster of hopes and disappointments surrounding my husband's career. There is still a possibility that we will have to pick up our family and move to a larger city, but we are praying (selfishly, we admit) that we'll get to stay here in IA. Anyway, all of this stress has taken a toll on me physically, mentally, and emotionally. Though we still don't have any definite answers, I am needing to take control somehow. So, this is my plan.

Week of Nov. 4th (I did start this rather impulsively yesterday): Release tension, regain flexibility, and reduce physical stress. Sounds like a big goal, but for me it's really all about yoga. As a former yoga instructor, there have been times in the last decade that I spent anywhere from one hour to 8 hours a day (during trainings) practicing yoga. During those years, I rarely carried any stress in my neck or shoulders, and it was so easy for me to relax my body even during tense situations. I chose to stop teaching yoga last spring, and I have since spent more time doing strength training and cardio. That's all well and good, but my back, neck, and shoulders are paying the price. This week, I am dedicating time every day to yoga. I will still run too, but the yoga will be a bigger priority. I aim to let go of the tension in my neck and stand taller by the end of the week.

Week of Nov. 11th: Drink tons of water. Okay, maybe not tons, but I will drink at least half my body weight in water every day. I will start my day with 8 oz. of water with a drop of lemon essential oil in it. This helps to curb any non-healthy cravings I tend to have throughout the day. I have a 20 oz. glass water bottle that I'll attempt to fill and empty several times each day. I have already eliminated most pop from my diet, so I'll be fine drinking only water. I think I will allow myself one mocha sometime that week, as I realized for the first time in my life on our recent trip to WA that I do, in fact, like mocha. A lot. 

Week of Nov. 18th: Reduce sugar intake. You may recall reading a post a while back about how I was buying less sugary products for our family. That is still true. It's also true that when there is Halloween candy in our house, I have a difficult time resisting it. And when my husband picks up caramel dip along with our weekly purchase of Honeycrisp apples, I cannot resist that either. Frankly, I still have a huge sweet tooth. I really want to work on that so I can be a better role model for our children. Of course, I tend to save my sweets for when the kiddos are in bed, so they usually don't see me partaking in them, but still...

Week of Nov. 25th: Focus on gratitude. I know many people do this all through the month of November. I admit that even I participated in the "30 days of thankfulness" posts on Facebook a couple years ago. This year, I was thrilled to find this idea in our church's children's ministry newsletter. This is supposed to start a week before Thanksgiving, but we are going to do it Thanksgiving week instead. Each day, the family will take turns at dinner naming one of the following:

1. One gift you've received this year that you're thankful for.
2. Two things you've learned about God this year that have changed your life.
3. Three things you're thankful for about our family's faith.
4. Four things you're thankful for about our family.
5. Five experiences our family had this year that made you happy.
6. Six things in creation you couldn't live without.
7. Seven people outside our family who blessed you somehow.         

Week of Dec. 2nd: Begin a daily Bible reading. I used to be so good at staying in The Word daily. There were three or four years that I followed a calendar that had an Old Testament and New Testament reading for each day, so that by the end of the year, I had read through the entire Bible. I've also take a Disciple Bible study that read through the majority of the Bible. However, in the last year, the only time I've spent studying God's Word is with my children. Don't get me wrong, that has been great! It is a special time we have before I tuck them in at night. My daughter is still reading her Kindergarten Bible to me; she'll be done with it by the end of the year and I'll have to find her a good devotional. My son and I have been reading his 3rd grade Bible together since he received it in church last year. We read through one OT book, then one NT book, and then keep alternating. We're almost finished with Leviticus and I'm looking forward to getting into Luke during Advent. There are awesome little side notes in his Bible that have helped us both to understand Biblical times better. But, I still need to be doing my own study. I need quiet time with God. Getting started on this during Advent will help me to feel the peace and joy of the season. Also, our church gives out wonderful Advent devotionals that our family reads every day beginning on the 1st Sunday of Advent. This year's even includes some activities for the family to do together.

Week of Dec. 9th: Catch up on my writings to my children.  I began writing in a journal to my firstborn before he was even conceived. Every year, I have written to him in the journal around his birthday (and sometimes half birthdays). I began journals for my younger two when I was pregnant with them and have kept them current as well. That is, until this year. My oldest turned 10 in September and I have yet to update his journal. I can't even remember if I wrote in the other two back in March when they turned 3 and 6. This is weighing on my ever-tired, but crazy-with-consistency mind. During this week, I will catch up on their journals. I will also go through their baby books and school year books to make sure everything is filled in. I'm pretty sure there are some blank pages towards the back of my youngest's baby book...

Week of Dec. 16th: Write to friends with whom I have inadvertently lost touch. Sadly, I'm sure I am not the only one who just gets busy and falls out of favor with certain friends. Sometimes distance plays a role in this happening; sometimes it's just my own laziness. I know of several people I will be reaching out to during this week. I pray that they'll forgive me for not always being a good friend. I want them to know that I spend great amounts of time thinking about and praying for them even when it is not obvious.

That will take me up to the week of Christmas. I'm hoping by then that by spending a three weeks on my body, two weeks on my spirit (which will continue on indefinitely), and two weeks on my mind, I will be feeling refreshed and ready for the holiday. Actually, I plan to continue the yoga, water-drinking, less sugar-eating, AND daily readings indefinitely. If you would like to take this journey with me, please do so! If you have other suggestions for any of these areas of improvement, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

P.S. I did get pictures at our 90s themed murder mystery:

It was all that and a bag of chips! ;)

P.S.S. I also spend time before Advent planning something Christmas-y to do with the kids each day. Once I have our fun things all laid out, I'll post those for you too!

*For those new to my blog, check out the beginnings of ABC Summers here.*