Teeth: a Rant from the Depths of my Mouth.

I hate teeth. I'm sorry, but I do. They are too dang fragile! Even if you take extremely good care of them they could still get big painful holes and cost thousands of dollars to fix up. It's just not an ideal system we have going on in our mouth. I look forward to the day when there is a solution to all this uncertain trouble that is inevitable to most people with a set of teeth.

One bright side of the lifetime of hassle that is associated with teeth is we do get two sets. We are given a "training set" for all intents and purposes. While we are young we get to practice taking care of them. We get to realize the hazards of grinding them together. We get to see what happens if we choose not to brush and floss. Then, when they're ready, they fall out. In grows a new set! It's pretty much a miracle.

River has joined the club of the Tooth Fairy! He's already seven years old and has just today lost his very first tooth. It was his top front tooth! I'm not that surprised it took a bit longer for him to lose one. His first tooth didn't even come in until he was something like 9 months old. Good for him in any case. Less years to worry about damaging his permanent set of teeth.

He's really cute without that tooth, too. It's strange to look at him though. It's only going to get stranger, too. He has at least two other loose teeth right now. The Tooth Fairy had better be on the ball!

We made him a little red velour tooth pillow. Red is his favorite color. When I finished stitching it closed he grabbed the pillow and rubbed it on his cheek. He's pretty happy with it.

Losing teeth is a right of passage. I wish it meant joy from then on though. Once the baby teeth are out, they are OUT. Then you have to maintain unyielding responsibility with your dental hygiene. Really, I'm just asking for consistency. If I brush and floss twice a day, I want a guarantee I will never get a cavity. Is that really too much to ask?

My baby is walking!

The mark of a baby is having to carry them around. Babies do not transport themselves well. Because this is true, it is an especially big milestone when they DO start moving around without your help. First it's crawling. Then, BAM! Walking. Your baby is growing up!

Kingston is about 13 months old. We have been watching him for the past month or so because it's a pretty common time for a baby to start walking. It wasn't until the past few weeks though that he actually started taking more than one step at a time. It was amazing. One day he is barely taking a single step unassisted. The next day he is taking full strides across the room! He gets better and better each day. He is such a fast learner! I am amazed! 

Really, you think the day will never come. Before you know it though, it's here. Then, it's old news. Well, I'm taking the chance to celebrate his progress while it's still a new development!

Here are some great videos so you can share in our fun!

These were both taken within the past few days. He is already exponentially better at walking. He's amazing. Next thing we know he is going to be running around and talking. It's so fun to watch my baby grow up!

A Cookie I Can Eat!

8 weeks of no sugar is quite the feat. It's felt great to be able to cut refined sugar from my diet. I admit though, coming from a place where sugar had quite a loving home, I sometimes miss the sweets I've decided not to indulge in. There's something about a warm cookie that brings comfort to my heart (and mouth). One of the things that has helped me keep my resolve is finding new, healthier alternatives to my beloved desserts.

One recipe I found online was for No Sugar Oat Drop cookies. I do miss oatmeal cookies. So, Britta and I decided to try out this recipe for our Family Home Evening treat this week. She was very enthusiastic. She loves things like granola bars and oatmeal cookies (and plain oatmeal for that matter!). She had zero hesitations about this being a "healthy" dessert. I have another daughter who has a harder time embracing something once she knows it's healthy for you. We're working on her. Britta and River are great examples.

No-Sugar Oat Drops (with personal alterations)
1 1/2 cups regular rolled oats (use whatever type of oats you like)
1 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened of course)
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 cup of almond meal (or nutmeal of your choice)
( If you want to make it nut free you could use a flour, just adjust the wet ingredients to get the right consistency)
1/2 cup mixed nuts, finely chopped
1 cup dried fruit (of your choice or chocolate chips or berries)

3 ripe bananas, mashed ( or substitute applesauce, or 2 eggs)
1/4 cup coconut oil (or oil of your choice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The instructions are super simple. Add all the dry ingredients together. Mix the wet ingredients separately, then add them to the dry ingredients. Be sure your mixture is moist and sticks together like regular cookie dough would or your cookies will be too crumbly! Spoon onto parchment lined cookie sheet and flatten. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes or until cookies start to become golden around the edges.

Britta and I were a great cookie making team! We first roasted the nuts we were going to put in the cookies. There's a good possibility they would have roasted in the oven as the cookies were baking. However, I am allergic to raw walnuts and pecans, and have had issues in the past where they didn't cook enough in normal cookie cooking time. I figure it was better safe than sorry. Besides, roasted pecans and walnuts are delicious!

I didn't have any almond meal (and that stuff is darn expensive at Sprouts!). So I decided instead of using regular flour I would grind up some almonds I had on hand to make my own almond meal. Grinding up the nuts in our chopper was by far Britta's favorite part of making the cookies. I guess it is rather thrilling...

I didn't have any bananas, so I decided to use apple sauce instead. There were a few other adjustments I had to make, and ultimately I found the mix was far too dry. I read in the comments section that for 3 bananas you can sub in 1/3 c apple sauce. Yeah. Tried that. It was the texture of granola, not cookies. I added a bit more apple sauce, and a bit more oil to see if I could moisten them up a bit. I made a dozen that were too crumbly. I knew they were when I put them in the oven. SO, I decided to add some ground flax with water to the mix as well (this is a good substitute for eggs in baked goods). I think next time I will just throw an egg in, too.

I also added more apple sauce, and HONEY. Now, I know these were going for the healthy not sweet taste, but I know how good honey is, and I decided I wanted to include that sweet goodness in my cookies. It was great. River and Britta actually CHEERED as I poured in a couple of tablespoons of honey. They know what's good, too.

I could tell even before they baked that the second cookie sheet full was going to be perfect. Thankfully, I was right. Everyone loved the cookies and gobbled them up after our Family Home Evening lesson. I now have an oatmeal cookie recipe I can make without breaking my no sugar resolve. With these kinds of alternatives to sugary foods, I may never eat sugar again!

Preschool Graduation

It's the end of the school year for the general public. That means we are done with this session of preschool for Britta. To celebrate the occasion we met the other kids at the park for play time and lunch.

My kids, especially Maddy, have been asking to go back to this park since we went there a few months back. It's a great park. It was designed so that children with disabilities can also enjoy it. The All Abilities Park is huge, too! There were a ton of people there while we were, and it didn't impair of visit in the least.

Maddy and River packed their scooters. There were a bunch of fun paths for them to enjoy riding on. There is even a little area designed like a town. There are even stop lights they have to obey. The sidewalks and driveways in our neighborhood are cobblestone. The kids much prefer the smooth walkways. The fact that the sidewalks aren't bumpy there makes it an instant favorite.

Everyone brought food to share. We had hotdogs, watermelon, chips, veggies, popsicles, and other delicious items to eat. It was a bit of a trick to feed Kingston while he sat in my lap. It was also really windy and the kids' plates kept blowing away. Thankfully we were able to finish eating without too many losses.

Kingston is getting really heavy. I probably should have put him in the Ergo babycarrier on my back and walked around the playground. He did get to play in the sandbox for a little while, which he liked. He wasn't quite ready to play on the equipment. As he starts walking better playgrounds will be more fun for him, too. In the meantime it's still a bit of a headache to take him to the park.

We had a great time. I was really tired in the morning and almost couldn't make myself load up the kids and go to the park. I'm glad I did though. Sometimes the hardest part is getting there... and then the next hardest part is leaving. The kids were really well behaved though. It's telling that once we left, while I was still a bit tired, I still had patience and endurance enough to run a few errands before heading home. It's definitely best to leave the park while you still have your sanity. Happy graduation to Britta!

Good Friends and Good Food

You know you're in a good place when you can have a group that includes 7 kids, 3 babies, and 4 adults over to your house, and while it's a bit chaotic, you don't feel super stressed out. Now, mind you, it helps that we have a big backyard for those kids to run and play in. It also helps when your husband is an equal partner in making sure everything runs smoothly, ranging from cooking the hotdogs, to setting up the slip 'n slide, to bandaging up a kid's scraped knee. I do love that man.

We've been wanting to have our friends Stacie and Merritt over again with their kids. I also invited another friend to drop her kids off while she and her husband went on a much needed date -- just the two of them. It was a fun group. The kids ran around playing in the water and on the toys in the yard for a long time.

When it was apparent that everyone was super hungry, we fired up the grill and threw on corn and hotdogs for the kids. Once we had the kids settled we cooked honey chicken shish-kababs and veggies for the adults. YUM.

I admit, it was a bit difficult to supervise kids, hold babies, and eat at the same time. Needless to say, my food was cold by the time I ate it. Small price to pay though. I got to hold my friend's 2 month old baby who is an absolute DOLL.

By the time the kids were pretty settled and occupied after dinner, the flies were out! So, after batting away flies for a few minutes we decided to flee! I'm not sure we've ever cleared the patio table as quickly as we did this time.

We chatted a bit longer in the comfort of our air conditioned living room, but before long it was time to call it a night. I wish our friends could have stayed longer, but kids (especially babies!) get tired and subsequently unpleasant. So, before we were quite ready to stop visiting with them, we had to break up our party and end our evening. It was definitely the right choice though. The kids turn into pumpkins about 8 o'clock. We were all exhausted, too.

I like having friends over that we have a lot in common with and a lot to chat about. We've decided that we need a quiet date night without kids next time! Then the only interruption will be from one another, instead of  from our little people. There is something to be said for occasional adult only parties.

Not Proud of This

Typically my family eats pretty healthy foods. I cook nearly every meal at home (yeah... some weeks are better than others...). I am not a big fast food eater. I feel like it's worth spending a bit extra to get foods that won't make you feel like crap after eating them. However, we can't always live up to our ideal. Life sometimes calls for compromise.

On our temple trip this month I had to take the kids out for lunch while Cameron was in the temple. I was going to go to Great Harvest Bread company, which is across the street from the temple. I was under the impression that it was like Cornerstone Cafe or Paradise Bakery, where they serve food as well as just bread. I was wrong. They serve bread. Thankfully I could tell that from looking inside from the car, and didn't make the mistake of dragging the kids in first. It did leave me without a lunch idea though.

The younger kids had been begging me to go to McDonald's. It was a rainy day, and they wanted to play on the playground there. They know I hate McDonald's. The food is not delicious, nor is it good for our bodies. Knowing that, it was funny to hear the kids' attempts at persuasion. My favorite was that we could get food at the bakery and then take it into McDonald's. Right. I'm sure that would have gone over really well.

In any case, when I discovered the bread store wasn't going to be an option for lunch, I decided I wasn't going to stress about thinking of where else I could take four hungry kids. Yes. McDonald's won. The kids were really great about not gloating. River even said, "Thanks for taking us to McDonald's Mom, even though you hate it." Good kid.

I just grabbed dollar burgers for River, Britta, and myself. Maddy got spicy chicken. The kids each got french fries. Kingston shared fries. I cringed a bit as I gave each one to him. He loved them, of course. At least he was cute while eating them.

The kids did have a good time playing. I only had an hour to kill. An hour really isn't that much time. Aside from the screaming kids (not mine) in the play area, the time at McDonald's was actually kind of enjoyable. It's fun to see my kids having a good time playing.

I figure an occasional post showing my kids at McDonalds is good to keep me humble. It's also good in order to keep my friends. If all days were filled with homegrown produce and no-sugar desserts I know people wouldn't want to be around me. Nobody is that perfect, and if they are, those people are probably super annoying anyhow.

Girls' Night

Oftentimes it's difficult to get out for some quality girl bonding time. However, when the opportunity presents itself, I know it's important to take advantage of it. There's something about being together with girl friends that helps make me feel more connected to the rest of the female population. It's been a really long time since I've been able to indulge in this activity. It was time.

Last night I went out with a group of ladies from my church to celebrate our friend Sarah's birthday. We met up in the pouring rain at Emily's house and then all piled into one of our vans and carpooled over to a restaurant I'd never been to before, picking up the birthday girl on our way. It was a fun drive. I'd forgotten how much girls can talk when put in the same space. There was constant conversation on the way.

Hopdoddy is a really fun burger bar in Austin. As I said before, I had never been there. Almost all the other girls had (there were eight of us total). It's fun to try new places, especially when there's someone there with experience to walk you through it.

When we arrived, the line wrapped around outside. Thankfully it was under a cover so we weren't standing out in the rain. I was reminded how standing in a line isn't as big of a deal if you think of it as part of the experience. Everyone laughed and talked the whole time. It probably took us 45 minutes to place our order and be seated.

 The inside of this place was pretty cool. The company is focused on local sources and sustainable practices, and the decor highlighted that. They were obviously going for a trendy feel, and they did quite well at it. There was a lot to look at.

There was a bit of a bar atmosphere, but not so much that I felt odd not drinking myself. It was more in the slightly upbeat crowd and the fact that there were a lot of people standing around (mostly due to the line to get food). It was a fun place to be actually. The noise level was pretty high, you had to talk pretty loud to be heard over the crowd.

There was a neat spread of gourmet burgers, fries, and shakes available. I'm pretty sure I could have ordered anything on the menu and been perfectly happy. The prices were reasonable, too. They ranged from about $7 to $12 for a burger. The fries started at $4.50 and went up from there.

Everyone's food looked divine. We got a few orders of different kinds of fries to share. The truffle fries were my favorite. The shakes looked great, too. I didn't order one myself though since I'm still avoiding sugar for the time being.

It was a fun night of girl time, good food, and conversation. These ladies are great. I'm glad I had the chance to hang out with them on a Friday evening and enjoy their company.

I Grew that Myself.

There is something about cooking with foods you have grown with your own two hands. It makes me feel all earthy and awesome. This week we've gotten more beets, and also a couple of yellow squash from our plots out back. I love both of those things! I have been eager to make a few dishes incorporating those foods. Any recipe would certainly be improved using fresh produce from my garden.

After searching around a bit, I found a recipe from The Six O'clock Scramble that used zucchini. I just happened to have all the other ingredients as well. Dinner!

One thing I love about the recipes from The Scramble is that almost all of them are super quick and easy. There are so many recipes online it can, at times, be dizzying. I love that I can go to one place and know there will be some delicious meals that are simple and fast to prepare.

This recipe is a pasta dish, and was just as quick and easy as I needed. I used 12oz of ziti for the noodles. Honestly, I rarely have cooked with actual ziti noodles. I almost always have penne pasta on hand and will just use that. It was fun to have ziti! I think I will start stocking a larger variety of noodles from here out. It's just fun.

The dish actually didn't have that much to it. I sauted the yellow squash and some garlic in olive oil. I then added basil along with a can of chopped tomatoes and half a cup of chicken broth.

After that simmered for about 10 minutes I added the ziti to the skillet and topped it with about a cup and a half of cheese. I used a combination of mozzarella and cheddar jack. Next time I think I will add some fresh parmesan. I love parmesan.

I then took the pan and put it under the broiler to melt the cheese. I love it when the recipe can be completed in the pan it was cooked in. Easy to do, quicker to clean up!

So, I admit I wasn't sure this one would live up to our standards. I'm happy to say the kids gobbled it up. Even Kingston went to town on this one. Yay! I do think the flavor would have been enhanced with a good quality parmesan. This recipe was still great as I made it though! It was in no small part thanks to my delicious homegrown squash. A store bought squash just wouldn't have been the same.

Maddy and Mom Time

Sometimes it can be a challenge to find time to spend with each of our kids individually with no other distractions. We try our best at home, but sometimes it takes a special outing to be sure we make the opportunity available.

The way we have things set up for our family, I take the girls out every other month, and Cameron takes them out the month that I do not. Then, if it's not our month to take out the girls, we get to go out with River. It's worked pretty well thus far!

Today Maddy had a check up at the doctor's office. Afterward she and I took the chance to go out on a "date" together. It was lunchtime, so we opted to stop at Fuddrucker's for burgers.

I hadn't been to Fuddrucker's since Junior High School! I couldn't remember what to expect.  The reviews online were good though. I figured it was worth the visit.

It was actually a really fun place. You place your order at a counter and then go find a seat while you wait. When it's done you get to dress the burger yourself. Maddy absolutely loved that she could put as many pickles on her burger as she wanted. Also, they had fake nacho cheese. I made her put it into a little cup instead of smothering it all over a perfectly good hamburger.

Maddy was really impressed with the place. There was a little arcade off to one side, and it was just a fun overall atmosphere. The food was actually really good! I'm pretty picky about my burgers, and this one passed the test.

Most importantly I got to spend time alone with Maddy. Frankly, there wasn't much conversation during our date. It really was just about being there together. That's important to me, and I know that's really important to Maddy, too.

Shopping Revitalized

I don't really like shopping. I know that most women really do, but I am just not one of them. I don't hate shopping, I just don't really enjoy it very much. I think this is because I have four children. It's difficult to take children shopping. It's also hard to find a time to go shopping without children in tow. When I do find time to go by myself, I have a difficult time buying things. I guess it takes somewhere special to lull me into shopping comfort.

One of those special places, as you probably have guessed, is Costco. Cam and I like it enough that we are even willing to go with all four kids in tow if needs be. That, right there, says a lot.

We called Costco to find out if they carried a lawn care product that would also kill the trillions of chinch bugs invading our grass and garden. We were told the North Austin Costco was out, but the South Austin Costco had plenty. So, we buckled up and headed south.

The drive was actually just fine. We went after traffic died down, so we didn't have to worry about the stress associated with that. Also, we got to listen to the book we'd been listening to as a family, The Hobbit. It'd been awhile and we were all eager to join up with Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves once again.

The South Austin Costco is probably only 15-20 minutes further than our regular Costco (so a total of about 35 minutes or so). I love how relative the term "far" is. Austin is no Phoenix. Even "far" isn't that far here.

Well, when we arrived at our destination we were a bit dismayed to find that the product we'd come after wasn't what we thought it was after all. Thankfully we had a handful of other items to pick up. Also, we were happy just to stroll around for a bit and see what this Costco had in stock compared to our regular Costco. Costco is just a fun place for us.

The kids didn't even complain that there were no samples this time (it was too late in the day). It helped that we stopped and grabbed Jersey Mike's Subs on our drive. That place makes delicious food. Our bellies were pretty full once we arrived.

Considering it ended up not having been necessary to drive the extra distance, we all had pretty good attitudes about the whole thing. You know you really like Costco when you travel an extra 20 minutes out of your way for no reason and you leave the store in a cheerful mood. Oh Costco, thank you for making shopping fun again!

ABC Preschool

Today was the last day of Britta's at home preschool. We have rotated around the 4 kids' houses learning a new number and letter each week. At this point we have gone all the way through the alphabet!

While we waited for all the kids to arrive the kids headed out back to the seesaw. They figured out that as long as you balance the weight, you can fit more than one kid on each side! Thankfully things stayed in control and I wasn't worried about injuries. They did have a great time, too!

Once they had some time to run and play outside, I herded them into the house to get down to business. Today was their finals and review day. I wish all finals were as laid back and low pressure. We did a lot of alphabet singing.

After reviewing all the letters we'd learned this year, we sat down together and colored a picture featuring each one. I helped, too. I do like me some coloring!

Once we were done with all of the letters I put
them in a pile in the front room. The kids were instructed to put the letters in order. It was a fun game. They did a great job. We sang through the alphabet song probably a couple dozen times, and they got them all right in the end.

River is less than two years older than Britta, so it's pretty natural for him to join in with the little kids during preschool. He's a good helper. Our group is so small it was also nice to have one more kid joining in for activities.

After lining up the letters, we all went out back for a game of ABC tag. The first person that was "it" named the first letter in the alphabet. The person they tagged said the next letter, and so on. It was so much fun to watch them run around playing tag. Our yard is so big that after the first minute I had to confine our game of tag to the one grassy area by the shed. If I hadn't the game would have gone on forever.

As it was, we only made it to "M" before the kids were too tired to go on. We went inside for a drink of water. All the kids' faces were flushed. Pink cheeks are so cute.

While the kids rested, we read Dr. Seuss's ABC book. I like books where the kids can read parts of it along with me. I remember reading this book with my mom when I was little. I've gotten a lot better at reading since then. I almost never mess up anymore. ;)

After eating their sack lunches (and in the case of my own kids, a snack), they headed back outside to play until their parent arrived to pick them up.

I had a really fun time today. These kids are great. They follow instructions really well, and are very well behaved. Their little personalities always brighten my day. I'm glad that, even though we're done with preschool, I will still be able to see them at church each week! And you'd better believe I will be quizzing them on their ABCs.