Hodgepodge of Updates

Adorable

Always Full Speed

Beginnings of a Baby Bump

View from the Top

One of my favorite, favorite things about staying at home is getting to see all the little things. This week Trent finally figured out how to go down the stairs. (No worries, he never tackles them alone.) He has been doing great going up them for a while now, but going down was different story. We tried the sit on your tush and scoot forward approach. He wasn't interested. He wanted to walk down them just like we do. We tried the going down backwards approach and he constantly wanted to turn around and go down them like an adult. One day it finally clicked! He's been going down the stairs (using the backwards/facing the stairs approach) without a problem for a couple of days now.

Another fun thing that he's been doing is pointing at things and saying, "Dat?" Which means, "what's that?" He then tries to copy what you say. Sometimes he sounds really close, other times, not so much. My favorite yesterday was "sheep." We were reading a book about Noah's ark and when he tried to say sheep it sounded like he was hushing a library. It came out as, "Shhhhhh"

Our garden is doing really well! We've been using a lot of it, especially the herbs. Yesterday, I made homemade pesto sauce from our basil and today I picked our first cauliflower. This is our first year growing cauliflower so it's kind of fun to see one actually come up!

And lastly, we have the beginnings of a baby bump. I'm showing a lot faster this time than last time. However, at this point, I just look like I've been eating a few extra donuts. This picture was taken last week so it's a "ten week" shot.

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.

Signs of Spring!

Spring finally showed up! I've been SO ready for some warmer weather and longer days! We started our spring garden this weekend. Around here, you can keep a garden for the majority of the year. We usually plant our hardier, more cold resistant vegetables at the end of February/beginning of March. Since this winter has been a lot colder, we just now planted the early vegetables. We always have container gardens. This year we're planting some by the new patio as well! Our spring/fall vegetables are cabbage, spinach and swiss chard. The summer vegetables that we do every year are eggplant, tomatoes and peppers. We're also trying strawberries, potatoes, asparagus, cauliflower and rhubarb this year.

Left side of the patio

Top tier: flowers - tulips will bloom first, then wildflowers throughout the summer

Bottom Tier: Asparagus, Spinach, Cabbage

Right side of the patio

Top Tier: Still tulips and wildflowers

Bottom Tier: Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Herb Garden (Basil, Rosemary and Cilantro)

Container Gardens - Spinach (not shown), Cabbage and Cauliflower

Pretty Daffodils blooming around the mailbox!

TJ and I sitting OUTSIDE on a coffee shop date