Savanna's birthday party was a success! It seems to me that as kids get older, their parties get easier. All she wanted was a doughnut cake, Hot Cheetos, popcorn, and a movie night with her girl friends. Super easy! It was a good thing too because I was sick with strep throat for close to two weeks and it was about all the energy I could muster to go to the store and get these few items. Still managed to get a picture for the blog too! And, yes, we embarrassed her by singing "Happy Birthday" loudly and making her blow out her candles. :)
I don't know exactly how it happened but Savanna has finally entered Scholar Phase! She now studies 6 to 8 hours per day on her own, without any prodding or pleading. She is reading a book on setting goals and plans out her day meticulously. She studies all morning and early afternoon, works out every day, attends seminary and reads her scriptures, does her chores, and works on the weekends babysitting and gardening- it is AMAZING! She recently was contemplating going back to pubic high school. We wrote out a pros and cons list, had her talk to several people (home schooled and public schooled), and then she fasted and prayed to find out what she should do. To my complete surprise (and relief), she felt she should stay home and prepare herself to start junior college next year. Since that moment any complaints about home schooling have ceased and her motivation to improve in her academics has gone through the roof. It is great to see her not only learning, but enjoying learning (I might even dare say love learning...but that depends on the day and the subject)!
Savanna's very first cake! She had to make a two-layered frosted cake to bring to her first cake decorating class. Apparently it is harder to make a two-layered cake then one would think!
Thank goodness for frosting!
Ta-Da! Super cute, and just in time for her birthday!!
Every afternoon the boys go out to the garage while Emma naps. They play Foosball, make crafts, play playdough, make forts, eat their lunch, and listen to their books on CD. They are currently listening to the 4th Eragon book on CD- Inheritance. What creative little men.
Speaking of Eragon, Bradley is also reading the series himself and just finished the first book! A whopping 730 pages! Not too shabby for an eight-year-old!!
Brad has his last soccer game next weekend. He is bummed to see it end, but it will be nice to have a little more family time and one less commitment. He finally started up cub scouts again and has completed all the requirements to receive his Wolf Badge! He should be getting that next week and he is very excited. He has worked very hard and has learned a great deal this past year in scouts.
Like most kids, the boys love animals. We were taking a walk and this horse took a liking to Ben. He galloped right over to him and began sniffing his face. The boys were elated.
Benjamin's front teeth are finally coming in! The bad news: he has THREE front teeth. We took him to the dentist last week and he referred us to an oral surgeon. It looks like little Benny (as Emma lovingly calls him) will be having surgery to remove that third tooth some time next year. Poor kid.
Little Emma is busy as ever. She has been fighting a cold on and off for several weeks. I almost think she might have allergies but I can't even go there mentally right now! I am hoping it is just a weird virus and she will be back to her healthy self very soon. The time change has thrown everyone off but Emma has been the worst. She normally is an early riser (she wakes up around 6am) but with the time change she now has been waking up at 5am! And for the past week she won't nap longer than 45 minutes or an hour which means she spends the majority of the afternoon whining and crying, "Mama, I want to hold you!" Not too fun but we are still enjoying how cute her little voice is (even when she is whining), and we are amazed at how quickly she is learning. She counted to 8 the other day, she knows her ABCs, she can name most of her colors and animals- yeah, she's pretty much a prodigy!
As she has gotten bigger, James keeps saying how much she looks like him. I think this is hysterical because 1. I don't think she looks anything like him (but we humor him) and 2. He thinks he looks nothing like the boys who, in fact, look exactly like him! He was talking about how much Emma looks like him again at dinner last week and Benjamin finally had enough. He said, "Dad, she doesn't look anything like you! She has hair and she is cute!!" Doh!
I wish I had more time to update my dinner blog. I have been trying some amazing recipes lately. During my sickness I watched every food/nutrition documentary on NetFlix. My favorites were "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and "Forks Over Knives." Both advocate a high plant-based diet rich in fruits, veggies, whole grains, seeds, nuts, beans, and animal products sparingly (Sounds like a scripture I read once...hmmm...). I found the "Forks Over Knives" cookbook at the library along with another fascinating book called "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I think I have finally found the balance I have been looking for as I have studied nutrition over the past five years. Going too extreme in any direction has given me great results, but not long-lasting, continual results. These books talk more about a way of life that is based on eating high nutrient food MOST of the time. Eating to fuel your body, eating to live a life without excess weight or disease. But unlike some of the other avenues I have tried it isn't super rigid. It is just common sense mixed with desire to care for yourself, our animals, and our planet.
So far the fam loves the recipes! They are basically vegan or vegetarian recipes but they are hearty and very tasty and they don't involve any rare or faux-type products that are costly and hard to find. Above is an AMAZING pizza bar we made for the missionaries. Tomato sauce, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, red bell pepper, olives, black beans, corn, cilantro, spinach, and nutritional yeast (or a small amount of cheese) baked on whole wheat pita breads circles.
Our make-shift Panini pan! Veggie Paninis are one of our new favorites- hummus, green onion, red pepper, mushroom, avocado, spinach, and cilantro. Grill on each side for 1 minute. It lightly steams the veggies and warms the hummus. The kids say it tastes like pizza and even my husband will eat them!
I started my new workout program, Rev Abs. I know I say this about every Beachbody program, but I REALLY love it! I think I have just finally fallen in-love with exercise. I love the way it makes me feel (and look). I enjoy working out different parts of my body and feeling stronger. Just prior to getting sick I completely fell off the wagon with my diet. Not sure what I was thinking but I was eating very BAD! Then I was in bed for 2 weeks and I had a lot of time to contemplate my actions (and the consequences of my actions). I renewed my commitment to take good care of myself both with exercise and diet, not for 90 days, but forever. It is worth the time, energy, and preparation. Plus, I deserve it. :)
The boys have been practicing magic tricks. This is Brad's new trick which he calls, "The Magic Tunnel."
Oct- Nov 2012
