Mom Habits

Today I was trying to clean up the house so that when Trent returns to it, he can go about life as usual and we won't have to worry about cleaning the mess up with him in it. Makes sense, right?
As I was cleaning the bathrooms, I found myself finishing the first bathroom and wondering how much time I had left to finish the second bathroom. Then it dawned on me that I didn't have a time limit today. Trent's still at Grandma's so I could clean the whole house room by room in one day. Normally, I break it down and clean during his naptimes so bathrooms get done on one day, the floors get washed on another day, etc and eventually by then end of the week, everything has been cleaned. Even with him not here though, I find myself efficiently working at the same hasty speed as when he's here (naptime only lasts so long, ya know!) There's no off switch for mom habits.

Making Progress!

I know the blog posts have been more sparse than usual, but we're making progress on the kitchen! The cabinets and microwave have been installed (eventually all the appliances will be white, but that's happening over time). The sink, faucets and countertops have all been ordered and should arrive within a week. So exciting!! The cabinets are a chestnut color. The walls are a sage/olive green. The countertops are granite with brown, gold, and ivory tones. It's going to look so nice when it's all done. I have to dig up our before shots of the kitchen but once it is all in, I'll post a before and after post.

Range Side of the Kitchen

(These pics were all taken with my phone so they're not the greatest quality. The top pic is a truer version of the colors)

Sink Side of the Kitchen

Granite Sample

Much more storage

(the old cabinets did not go all the way up to the ceiling, the new ones do)

My favorite little guy hanging out at Grandma's

They're Here, They're Here, They're Finally Here!

So worth not parking in the garage for a few days!

Our new kitchen cabinets arrived yesterday! We have slowly been remodeling our house room by room and the kitchen is finally getting its turn. Our current kitchen cabinets are older than me so I'm super excited for the improvement. Right now they are sitting in the garage. Jesse is going to tackle ripping out the old ones this weekend. I took Trent up to my parents for a few days so that he would be able to have fun with Grandma and Grandpa and still maintain a fairly normal schedule. All the banging and construction zone at our house over the upcoming week would not be the easiest place to entertain a mobile toddler! I'll post pics as the improvements are made!

Homegrown Produce (Happy Earth Day!)

I get so excited each spring when we first start eating from our garden. In our area, the first vegetables to come in are always spinach and chard. It's so fun to go outside and pick the veggies and make them for dinner. I love knowing exactly where my food comes from. In the summer time, we eat caprese salads all.the.time. We grow fresh basil and tomatoes and then I have to buy the mozzarella, but oh that is one of my favorite summer treats. The tomatoes are already planted so give it about 60 days and I'll finally be able to indulge!

We watched a movie called Food, Inc. last night. I highly recommend it. It's a documentary on the food industry in America. It didn't really change my opinion on anything; just confirmed how I already felt. Years ago, I ate McDonalds Chicken Mcnuggets and became very ill. I was constantly throwing up. I couldn't move a muscle without vomiting. This went on for days. I finally got better but people die from Salmonella and E. Coli every year. The food industry is run like a factory and quality control takes a backseat to the four or five large food companies making profits. When I was in nursing school doing clinicals, I met a woman who had her intestines rupture from a meal she ate at a fast food restaurant. Where does this meat come from? The poor woman will have to find a "new normal" for the rest of her life because of a hamburger that she trusted was edible. A good hamburger is still one of my favorite meals. I don't intend to stop eating red meat. But there are a few things that I can do to better understand what I'm eating. Here are some helpful suggestions I found and am hoping to implement at our house. We have already been doing some of these things for a while.

1. Stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages
This is one we already do, but I admit every once in a blue moon I'll drink a Coke and boy is it a treat when I do!

2. Eat at home instead of eating out
I love a nice meal prepared by someone else, so we still eat out occasionally. I love restaurants that support locally grown food and actually list on the menu where they purchased the ingredients!

3. Go without meat one day a week
There are plenty of great natural foods out there that provide a variety of nutrients. Be adventurous and try different types of vegetables, grains, legumes, etc.

4. Buy organic or sustainable food with few pesticides.
We're working on this one. We buy some things organic but we are nowhere near all organic. Some things are just plain hard to find organic and other things are a lot more expensive to buy organic. We do organic dairy and attempt to follow the "dirty dozen." Costco does a good job of providing organic foods at an affordable price.

5. Protect family farms; visit your local farmer's market
I LOVE this one. Farmers markets are my favorite. I enjoy the whole atmosphere of fresh produce and homemade sauces and spices. It's easily one of my favorite spots to go in the summer. I'm also contemplating buying our meat this way. You can go here to see a list of local farmers in your area. U-pick farms are a great family outing too!

6. Read labels.
I love to know what's in my food and if it contains a bunch of things that I don't understand, I try to avoid it. There's probably a reason why the companies list an item as xanthum gum instead of bio-engineered additive.


7. Tell Congress that food safety is important to you.
Many of the politicians, FDA advisors, etc. have tie ins to the food industry. Years ago, the food industry was not controlled by four or five large companies that basically decide how we get our food in the supermarket. As consumers we should demand that we want high quality foods that aren't bio-engineered, cloned, given hormones, etc. Our voices can be heard. Even Walmart milk is now rbst free because enough consumers spoke up.

Menu Monday

Lately, I have not been in much of a cooking mood so I've found myself in the 4pm hour thinking, "oh bother, what am I going to make tonight?" This has also caused us to eat out more than we should. I know that it makes financial sense and is a sanity saver to plan meals ahead of time. My problem is that I never feel like eating what's on the menu. On THAT day, I always want something else. Anyway, we have plenty of food that needs to be eaten up this week so I'm stating it on here, in hopes that then I will actually follow the plan. So in our fridge... we have leftover chicken that needs to be used up. We also have apples, hamburger and marinara that need to be used up. So for this week: I'm thinking chicken rollups; caramel apple pork chops, spaghetti, and chicken pot pie (if we still have chicken leftover after the rollups tonight which I'm thinking is likely). Tonight is definitely the rollups. As for the rest of the week, I can't commit to which day will be what.

12 Month Stats

Trent had his one year checkup on Friday. The doctor said that he is doing great and is "the picture of health." He is 31 inches tall, weighs 25 pounds, and has a head circumference of 19 inches. For those interested in percentiles, this puts him in the 90th percentile for height, the 75th percentile for weight and the 90th percentile for head circumference (he definitely has a Norsk noggin'). He's been consistently in those percentiles since he was born, so they're pretty much the norm for him.

Random Tidbits of Life with A Boy

Raising a boy can be just plain funny. Yesterday, I got my haircut. It was long overdue. I hadn't had a haircut since August so I had 5 inches chopped off. Now it is full of big curls and much healthier. I can barely pull it up into a ponytail. Anyway, I was going to try and keep it nice since hair salons tend to style my hair much better than I do. Trent had other plans. He's been on a wrestling kick lately. He loves to roll around on the floor with me. He'll come up and jump on top of me and then put his mouth on me (not really a bite, not really a kiss). So after wrestling for a good part of the afternoon, my hair was no longer salon chic. Nothing screams great new haircut like wrestlemania hair topped with slobbery little boy kiss-bites. A delightful sight ;)

After dinner, I gave Trent a bath. He was sitting contently, playing with his bath toys and having a good time, when he stood straight up, aimed at the tub faucet, peed, and then sat back down and starting playing with his bath toys again. Maybe you had to witness it to see the humor, but it cracked me up to see how deliberate he was in standing up and peeing on the faucet. I haven't seen him do that before!

Rain, Rain, Rain

Today it's supposed to rain all day. I woke up this morning to a hard rain and thunder and lightening. Usually, I'm a sunshine fan, but today I'm really thankful for the rain. It started off with an excuse to skip body pump this morning. Do I really want to get soaking wet just to go the gym at 5:30 in the morning? So after contemplating for a little bit, I made my way back under the covers. I can do body pump on Saturday morning if I'm still feeling guilty about skipping today.

We're also in full swing pollen season right now. Everything is coated in icky, yellow pollen. Oak pollen is what causes everyone's allergies to go crazy. Pine pollen is what coats everything. My green car looks yellow. I took Trent to the playground yesterday and he was COVERED in pollen by the time we got home. I don't struggle with allergies, but Jesse does, so April is a tough month for him. His eyes get itchy. I'm hoping that all this heavy rain will wash all the pollen right out of the trees!

Would you believe I washed this table down just two days ago?

Yes, that is the screen from the porch that you see...

it's that whole not wanting to get out in the rain

I love our winter yard because I can see forever through the woods. It's easy to spot deer on the ridge and see birds flying through. I love the summer yard because everything is green and full of life. It amazes me each year how quickly the green comes in. It seems like it's been all in one week that our backyard woods transformed from barren winter trees to a yard full of green!

Who Does He Look Like?

I've never been very good at the "who does he look like?" game. We get a lot of mixed results when people try to determine if Trent looks more like me or Jesse. My dad received this picture from an old friend the other day and I'm about the same age in it as Trent is currently. The picture actually reminded me of Trent. I let you decide. :) I have to find a picture of Jesse around this age so we can compare his baby picture too.

Kristen - 1982

Trent - 2010

Easter Weekend

Nack and TJ

My little Sailor

Grandpa showing TJ the ropes

Jesse taking over for a bit

Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa

We went up to Tennessee to visit my folks for Easter weekend. My uncle, aunt and cousin were down visiting from New York. It was great to catch up with them. We don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like. The weather this weekend was gorgeous - sunny and 80's!

We got a chance to get the boat in the water. What a difference having TJ on the water this year! Last year, every time we got on the boat he fell asleep. This year he was crawling all over the floor of the boat. He doesn't quite have his "sea legs" yet. He struggled a little bit walking around the moving boat. The carp were spawning in the marina this weekend so he also got a kick out of watching the big fish whip around in the water.

Trent and Nack (my cousin) did an Easter egg hunt on Sunday. Nack did a great job finding some well hidden eggs. Trent was content to play with the ones he found right away rather than keep looking. Trent had a good time playing with his cousin. She gave him a lot of attention and stuck right with him, everywhere he went. She spent a lot of time entertaining him. She'll be a great babysitter in the future!

Happy Easter!!!

1 John 4:10 "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

I love holidays, especially now since I have a child. Children amplify the holidays. They bring a whole new level of excitement to the day. Easter is often thought of as Easter bunnies and candy like Christmas brings Santa and presents under the tree. I love to see the look in Trent's eyes and the noises he makes when he's super excited. I love that boy! I would do anything for him. So it brings to light how much greater God's love is than any amount of love I could ever offer anyone. I can hardly comprehend how much God loved humanity to sacrifice his only son for people that mocked him, abused him, humilated him, tormented him, abandoned him. But he loves us THAT much. Thank You Jesus!

Have wonderful Easter filled with family, friends, good food and fun memories while rejoicing in God's love!

Dogs on the Fireplace?

Duke and Dozer

The dogs have taken to sleeping on the fireplace. It's the craziest thing. I originally thought they were doing it to get away from Trent, but Trent can still reach them there. Apparently, the blankets that cover the edges for Trent's sake are just extra comfy. :)

Baking With the Boy

Trent and I used to bake together all the time when he was small enough to be in a baby carrier. But, when he was long enough to kick me in the knees and heavy enough to cause me to walk like Quazimoto, I knew our baby carrier days were over. So we've been on a baking bonding time hiatus because it was just easier to do while he was sleeping. Well now his naps times are not as reliable as they used to be. He still needs two naps a day because he comes apart around 5:30pm, if he only gets one nap. That doesn't mean he always takes two naps a day. You know the saying, "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink?" That's naptimes at our house right now. I can lay him down and let him sit in the crib, and possibly he'll sleep in the morning, possibly he won't. I can only give him the option. Anyway, because of our inconsistent morning nap, I'm not always able to do things by myself during morning nap time (or if he does take one, often times it's shorter than it used to be.) Sometimes he's content to just play by himself and sometimes he wants to be constantly with me. So I'm again incorporating Trent into baking with me, just this time sans baby carrier. So this morning we baked! Here's what to do in order for this to work with MY one year old (every kid is different so I make no promises on how other children will react during this time.) We first preheat oven, gather and measure ALL the ingredients and grease the pans(he's usually on my hip at this point). Next, we throw all the ingredients in. He is usually sitting in front of me on the counter at this point. Let's face it, one year olds are not known for their long attentions spans SO - while things are mixing, empty paper towel rolls, empty butter boxes, etc. help to prolong the attention span. Next place the child on the floor with a sippy cup (again, distraction method works wonders) and pour batter into pans and place pans in oven. And an hour later, you have three big, beautiful loaves of banana bread. I double the recipe so the bread last longer and this process doesn't have to be repeated quite as often.

Getting ready to mix (the bananas had been frozen - hence the brown color)

Checking on our banana bread