Grateful....

Today is all about honoring our mothers, I can certainly say I honor, revere and love my mother, mother in law and grand mothers. Without their love and guidance, I wouldn't be the woman I am today. But I can't help but think of these 4 precious spirits that I have been entrusted with, because they gave me the opportunity to fulfill my calling as a mother, and for that I'll be eternally grateful.

Seven months!

My sweet baby woke up on her 7 month birthday with her first tooth! I didn't even know she was cutting one, that explains why she was reluctant to eat her solid food, her little mouth probably hurt!

Now that she cut her tooth, she's been eating her solid food like a champ! She eats brown rice cereal, avocados, sweet potatoes, bananas, green beans and bits of things from my spoon here and there.  I make my own baby food (and have for all my children), it's a labor of love, really- but the only way I know for certain what she's eating, and that it's healthy, and delicious.

She loves to roll and roll and roll, no piece of paper, electrical cord, crumb of cookie or dangerous object is out of reach now! Not only does she roll, but she's quick too! I have to keep a constant eye on her, everything she picks up goes directly in her mouth.

Amelia sleeps through the night- usually 10 hours at a time, and naps 2-3 times during the day. She nurses several times a day and before bed and loves to have her sleep sack on when she sleeps. What a joy she is to our family. We love you Amelia!

Coconut Almond Granola

Nothing sends me into a good old morning dry heave faster than a bowl of gloopy, slimy oatmeal. I know eating oatmeal has huge health benefits, so why can't I get the stuff past my mouth? Actually, I can't even get it near my mouth without full fledged gagging. So what's a health nut to do when faced with such challenges? You got it... make granola, and lots of it. When mixed with homemade jam and plain lowfat yogurt? It's darn tasty... no gagging at all!


Coconut Almond Granola

6 cups oats (I used a combination of quick and old fashioned)
2 cups slivered almonds
2 cups shredded coconut (I used sweetened)
1/2 cup coconut oil melted
1/2 cup real maple syrup
1/3 cup honey
1 T pure vanilla
a few dashes salt

Warm the coconut oil with maple syrup and honey, add the vanilla and salt. Pour over the oats, almonds and coconut. Spread on 2 cookie sheets bake @ 300 for 40 minutes (stirring 2-3 times during cooking, and switch trays).

Go ahead and make some. You know you want to!

CSA Love

This week Tadd & I were discussing our dream of living on a small farm someday. The kids would love it! We could have a huge garden, chickens, maybe a few goats and even a dog! It sounds like so much fun for the kids, but maybe not so much fun for the parents (you know... upkeep and all). While our dream simmers on the back burner, we decided to join a small organic CSA so we can have a teeny slice of country life without all the work. In case you were wondering, CSA stands for community supported agriculture, basically you pay a yearly fee to become a member, then when the farmer harvests the crops, you get a share every week, works for me!  Since the weather has been so great, we got to head to the farm early and pick some chard, lettuce, kale and herbs. 

 Look! A tire swing! My kids played on this thing for an hour.

 Baby missed her afternoon nap while we played (we're paying for it right now)

 They have baby goats! They drink from a bottle.

 Henry feeding a horse some grass? Poor horse probably thinks he has a sugar cube.

 Harvesting the kale, did you know that kale comes back when you cut it? Just don't pull the roots and it will keep producing all summer!

 One of Maya's favorite snacks is kale chips! You just tear kale up into bite size pieces, spread on a cookie sheet, spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees. Yummy.

My post birth awkward hair, it's been falling out like crazy and I'm in terrible need of a haircut.

Look at this kid, do you think he needs free access to a tire swing and farm equipment? Maybe not.

One of the baby goats was just three weeks old, it's mama died while giving birth, so the kids got to feed it a bottle, it was so cute!

Harrison is such a good helper. He loves to work! He would fit right in on  farm...

On being attractive...

Before we had kids I used to think Tadd was the best looking man I had ever laid my eyes on... Little did I know how much more I would be attracted to him when he gently cradled our first baby in his arms for the first time.  Now that we've had 4 you might think I would be used to this whole manly man holding a baby thing and it wouldn't make my heart pitter patter so.

Nope!

Makes my heart melt every time.

GAAAAK

Yesterday was a cold and rainy day here, so the boys and I decided to make some gaak, or flubber, or slime or whatever you want to call this fun stuff. The kids loved it, it was really quick to throw together, and I had all the ingredients on hand. It was a really fun project!

 He really did have fun (despite the look on his face). 

I know you want to try it too! Head on over to the Gold Jellybean for the recipe link! (Yes, Henry is in his underpants, I'm making no apologies).

Amelia VS the sweet potato

 Despite Amelia's fantastically delicious chubby rolls, she does not, in fact, like to eat. Make no mistake, she loves to nurse, she just doesn't like to eat food.  The only way I can get food in her mouth is to trick her, I'll give her a toy and when she attempts to put the toy in her mouth, I quick shove some food in too. As you might imagine, this leads to a very messy meal time. I've given up on bibs and now feed her clothed only in a diaper. Today she had a particularly messy encounter with a bowl of sweet potatoes, so messy it screamed to be documented. The bath time photo doesn't do justice to the magnitude of the mess, she was literally covered head to heel in sweet potatoes! I had to add a few post bath photos too, just to prove she can clean up nicely.

 See these healthy thighs? When I took her to her 6 month checkup, the pediatrician said she was perfect poster child for nursing, it was a proud mommy moment indeed.

Time for a nap! No wait, we have afternoon church... time to wrestle a tired baby for three hours! Yee haw!