Ella at six months

Can you believe our baby is already six months old? We are enjoying her immensely! She has been the most content, cheerful baby we have ever experienced. Maybe it's because she feels good? Maybe she's just a tender mercy. But whatever the reason, we are loving having her in our home. Isn't her smile contagious? And don't you just love those fat little cheeks? :)

A Car Accident, a Remodel & a Nourishing Easter Basket

What a month! It all started with the TJEd Forum, which my family all attended and were inspired by. The following Tuesday, I went to Alpine for my last postpartum chiropractic adjustment and then to Ikea for some furnishings for our new family room/workspace that we were working on. After a long day, and nearly home, I must have been more tired than I realized because as we were only a minute or so from our house with the sun was setting in my eyes, I dozed momentarily. The next thing I knew, I was pulling myself off the steering wheel, shocked and dazed, wondering why my chest hurt so bad, and what in the world just happened??!!

It's amazingly scary how much damage can happen in a split second when driving. In dozing involuntarily for a moment, I veered to the right and drove right into a parked SUV at 30 miles an hour. Unbeknownst to me, I pushed the vehicle two carlengths ahead, hit another parked car, which shook the battery cable loose, disabling the transmission, ultimately causing the car to roll 200 ft. into the next intersection!!! Finally, the SUV hit a lamp post when it came to rest. I knew it was bad at the time of the accident (the impact was enough to throw off my glasses, my earrings and my cell phone into the engine area), but I had no idea I caused this much damage until the kind policeman explained all this to me later that night. I was very sad about this- I am not one that likes to hurt anyone or anything.

The bad news is that I totaled our van as well as the other two vehicles and damaged the lamp post.

The good news is that our insurance is covering all damages and we have been blessed to find a replacement van that is a much better fit for our family with less miles at a better price, to boot!

Even more miraculously, not one of my six of seven children that was with me in our van at the time or myself was seriously hurt. Shaken, definitely... but not hurt other than a few minor bumps and bruises and a few bones that got knocked out of place- nothing that a handful of trips to the chiropractor couldn't fix. We all were wearing our seatbelts, and interestingly, our airbags did not deploy. (I do have to say that a seatbelt injury to the sternum is extremely painful for a couple of weeks. Thank goodness it wasn't anything more than that!) I was told by several different people including a policeman, the EMT's, the ER doctors and our chiropractor that our injuries should have much more severe. They all believed that someone must have been watching out for us that day, as do we. There were glass chips in the baby's carseat, but she wasn't touched- not even a trace of whiplash. My son that is nearly twelve was sitting in the front passenger seat was hardly touched, and looking at the pictures of our van, we wonder how he walked away with no more than a couple of bruises below his knees and a small one on his head. Heavenly Father has been very merciful to us, and we are extremely grateful.

Of course, before the accident, we were very busy, and already feeling a little apprehensive about starting a remodeling project (but needing to get it done SO badly!)... and then this! Needless to say, we have been very engaged in all that we have on our plates for quite some time, and I haven't posted for too long again. *sigh*

We are blessed. We are healthy. We are safe. We have a van that fits our needs. Our new family room is proving to be a welcome and needed change in our home. And I am thrilled that we get to celebrate Easter this weekend!

I am always one that loves to celebrate, and I refuse to give my kids junk food just because it's a holiday. It's one of those quirky things about me. So I thought you perhaps might be interested in what I am choosing to put in my children's Easter basket this year. (Yes, that is singular. My sweet friend, Suzanne, inspired me to give up the individual baskets and present one special family Easter basket.) I have worked to focus this week on the true meaning of Easter, teaching and testifying of our Savior and His resurrection (it's great practice for my Sharing Time on Sunday, you know!) So our basket will be filled with things that I can feel good about- items that feed the spirit and a few homemade goodies that will nourish our bodies!

Here's a list of what I am putting in our basket this year:

•Coconutty Fudge (Eat Fat, Lose Fat, page 212) frozen into Easter-themed chocolate molds and wrapped in foil (they look so authentic!)

•Apricot Bars (Nourishing Traditions, page 548)

•Homemade Macaroons (Nourishing Traditions, page 532)

•Painted hard boiled eggs from our chickens

•Medjool dates and dried pineapple

•Raw cheese and homemade coconut crackers (Eat Fat, Lose Fat, page 209)

•New ties for the boys

•Pretty new hair clips for the girls

•Scripture marking pens

•Booklet about how to mark scriptures

•CTR pencils

•Spiritual bookmarks

•New Book of Mormon reading charts

•Rise and Shine book with CD

•Missionary figurines

•Angel Moroni figurine

•Davey and Goliath activity/coloring books

I love nourishing my family- in body, mind and spirit. I don't believe we have to compromise our health to make our holidays special. In fact, I think planning ahead and properly preparing our food with love makes it even more special. And isn't it nice to feel good even after the holiday is over? :)

Have a blessed Easter weekend!

Another Breakfast Idea

Here's a fun breakfast idea to try sometime:

Soaked dough scones!

Roll out my soaked dough to about 1/4- 1/3" thick and cut into shapes or triangles. Heat a spoonful of coconut oil in a skillet. Place dough carefully in heated skillet and cook until bubbles start to form. Flip over and lightly brown on other side. Serve with honey butter. Yum!

For Valentines Day, cut dough into heart shapes and color honey butter pink with beet root powder. Also, a little bit of cinnamon, raisins and sucanat can be mixed into the dough previously. Another variation is to add currants or pecans. These are really yummy served with scrambled eggs and a yogurt smoothie.

Have a great Valentines weekend!

Simplicity Revisited

So I've just made it through nearly a month and a half of my husband working out of town... whew! My menu started working out great, but then I just got tired and had to simplify further in order to survive and still eat healthy. It worked... we made it through without a trace of sickness, and the kids didn't even complain much, even though they ate the same kinds of foods day in and day out.

What did we eat? Toast and smoothies nearly every morning; soup, salad and bread nearly every lunch and dinner. I did vary the soups and smoothies so it wasn't exactly the same every day.

Bread is simple using my recipe. I have found that it works great in the stoneware loaf pans if you let it bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes, then turn off the oven and let sit for a least another hour. I also did make bagels and cinnamon raisin bread for variety.

Yogurt smoothies can be fast, easy and very healthy. I like to use my own homemade yogurt with frozen berries, a banana and freshly squeezed orange juice if I have them, a generous dollup of coconut oil, and a spoonful of raw honey or stevia for sweetening. A couple of egg yolks add even more protein and nutrition!

Someday, when I am ready to take this blog seriously, I will post pictures. Until then, it's kind of nice just to pass on little tidbits when I have a minute (which is not very often right now) via this blog. Hopefully you find it somewhat useful sometimes! :)

A New Year... A New Menu

2011 is here! We have made it through the beginnings of life with our 7th baby, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and now back to regular life... except now with my husband working out of town... a lot! (sigh) So now in order to survive (no, I mean, THRIVE!), I am simplifying my life in whatever ways I can, and in many areas, that translates to systemizing. The more chores I can do without having to thinking due to a basic routine, the better success I have.

For example, I have been able to "wing" our meals for the last few years because I have many recipes in my head, and know how to throw a healthy, balanced meal together without much thought. My circumstances have now changed, and I NEED my children's help in the kitchen much more that I used to, and in order for things to run smoothly, a planned menu is a must. But because my brain and my hands are so full, I'm not very good at writing up a new menu each week. Hence, I have written up a basic menu that is posted on our fridge for us to follow that I will change seasonally. So far, so good!

Each of these meals are all based on Nourishing Traditions principles, even though I have not included everything each time (such as the lacto-fermented condiments or side veggies or salad, etc.) This is a basic outline for me to follow as I mentor my children in the kitchen and free up brain space! This menu may not appeal to your tastes, and perhaps seem a bit boring, but it's simple enough for my children to prepare the meals using the foods that we have on hand most of the time.

MENU

Breakfast

Monday- Hot cereal (rice, oatmeal or cream of wheat)
Tuesday- Muffins & smoothies
Wednesday- Potatoes & eggs
Thursday- Granola & yogurt or pancakes
Friday- Breakfast burritos or egg McMuffins
Saturday- Pancakes/waffles or rice pudding
Sunday- Oats in yogurt or smoothies & toast



Dinner (2-week Rotating Menu)

Week One

Monday- Minestrone or vegetable beef soup
Tuesday- Potato casserole
Wednesday- Chicken noodle or taco soup
Thursday- Pesto pasta or spaghetti with garlic bread
Friday- Creamy corn or clam chowder
Saturday- Chili or black bean soup
Sunday- Pot roast or meat loaf

Week Two

Monday- Lentil or split pea soup with rolls & salad
Tuesday- Potato, carrot & meat casserole & sauerkraut
Wednesday- Chicken Caesar Salad/Frittata, potato wedges, coconut carrots
Thursday- Potato soup & rolls, salad
Friday- Leftovers
Saturday- Chicken fajitas or burrito wrap
Sunday- Steak, mashed or baked potatoes

Baby Ella's First Photo Shoot

We wanted to get family pictures taken for Christmas, and capture this precious and fleeting time on film, so we dressed up and ventured out when Ella was two weeks old. I don't know what I was thinking, but somehow we pulled it off!

Our New Baby

Here she is, a day old! Little Ella joined our family on November 24th at 4:51 p.m. after a short three hour labor, born in the birthing pool at home with our wonderful midwife, Heather. Baby Ella weighed in at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 21 3/4 inches long. She has been a peaceful and content baby since day one and we are thrilled to welcome her into our family!