My Genius Idea

(***I'm going to re-post/link this to WFMW in case it might be a helpful idea for another mom of youngish kids.)

(I don't know why this took me so long to figure out!)

When we were driving up to the airport to fly home after our recent trip, I stopped in at Wal-mart for some last-minute snacks, small toys and books to keep the kids entertained. (Since there would be no movies. Traumatic, I know.) One of the books (which has turned into Drew's current favorite) was an activity board book that came with its own dry-erase marker. It's about cars, trucks, and boats, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

Anyway, over the last week the kids have LOVED marking up their books and wiping it off. And then the light bulb went off in my head! I promptly ran to Target and bought them each their very own dry-erase board and a set of markers.

First day:


Getting the hang of it:


Art school, here we come.



Cleanin':


Drew: "Look, Mom, I'm drawin' a snake!"


Keeps 'em occupied. For several minutes in a row, even.

And the best part is, unlike a coloring book that gets used up and pages ripped out, this is reusable and is one sturdy piece.

Bits of Randomness

Afterall, what's a blog for?

As I was folding laundry this morning, the thought occurred to me: how many white tank tops does one woman need? Several, apparently.

Madeline has an accent that's sort of a Bostonian/New Yorker mix. We have no idea where it came from but it provides us with an endless source of amusement.

I had run out of my asthma med. samples two days ago and finally got around to calling for a real prescription last night. No wonder I was so tired yesterday! Today I'm feeling much better. Breathing is sort of, you know, useful.

Did I ever mention we're going to another cousin's wedding? This one is in Florida. I KNOW! I feel like the Priceline Queen, too. I used their "name-your-own-price" feature and scored a hotel for $45-a-night and a minivan rental for $25-a-day. Oh, and the Southwest airplane tickets were only $49 per way, per person. So it really has turned into the bargain hunter's dream vacation. I mean 'wedding trip.' Ahem.

Adelaide has taken to using the back of her neck as a napkin. I never know what I'm going to find back there. Spaghetti sauce, anyone? She also likes to hold toys behind her head and drop them behind her back and then she'll turn around to look and see if they're still there. She's an odd one.

And, finally, look what happened to me yesterday, mid-stride:


Yes, in case you're wondering, those are the same ones that were chewed on. (I had cut off the, uh, ragged part.) They were obviously destined for the trash bin. The same thing happened to me last year with a different brown pair. Good thing they're so cheap! (Literally.)

Playtime with Adelaide

And please excuse the loud banging noise in the background. (Ahem, Drew!)



Yep, she's their sister.

Here's the Why

I'm not going to turn this into my new blog platform or anything, don't worry. But I do think we need to be more aware. So, here's another good link on the effects of cow's milk: www.milksucks.com.

The short explanation:

"In one study, funded by the National Dairy Council, a group of postmenopausal women were given three 8-ounce glasses of skim milk every day for two years, and their bones were compared to those of a control group of women not given the milk. The dairy group consumed 1,400 mg of calcium per day and lost bone at twice the rate of the control group. According to the researchers, "this may have been due to the average 30 percent increase in protein intake during milk supplementation. ... The adverse effect of increases in protein intake on calcium balance has been reported from several laboratories, including our own" (they then cite 10 other studies). Says McDougall, "Needless to say, this finding did not reach the six o'clock news." This is one study that the dairy industry won't be repeating any time soon.

After looking at 34 published studies in 16 countries, researchers at Yale University found that the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis—including the United States, Sweden, and Finland—were those in which people consumed the most meat, milk, and other animal foods. This study also showed that African-Americans, who consume, on average, more than 1,000 mg of calcium per day, are nine times more likely to experience hip fractures than are South African blacks, whose daily calcium intake is only about 196 mg. Says McDougall, "On a nation-by-nation basis, people who consume the most calcium have the weakest bones and the highest rates of osteoporosis. ... Only in those places where calcium and protein are eaten in relatively high quantities does a deficiency of bone calcium exist, due to an excess of animal protein."

Harvard University's landmark Nurses Health Study, which followed 78,000 women over a 12-year period, found that the women who consumed the most calcium from dairy foods broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. Summarizing this study, the Lunar Osteoporosis Update (November 1997) explained: "This increased risk of hip fracture was associated with dairy calcium. ... If this were any agent other than milk, which has been so aggressively marketed by dairy interests, it undoubtedly would be considered a major risk factor." (And it goes on...)

The short version of how this happens is:

"But what is the mechanism for this process? As food is digested acids are released into the blood, and the body attempts to neutralise the acid by drawing calcium from the bones. This calcium is then excreted in the urine (the calciuric response). Animal protein from cow’s milk and dairy products as well as meat, fish and eggs has a particularly bad effect because of the greater amount of sulphur-containing amino acids it contains compared to plant protein. As the sulphur content of the diet increases so does the level of calcium in the urine. Studies reveal that an animal protein diet (with the same total quantity of protein as a vegetarian diet) confers an increased risk for uric acid stones (Breslau et al., 1988). Furthermore the animal-protein induced calciuric response may be a risk factor for the development of osteoporosis. The traditional Inuit (or Eskimo) diet is made up almost entirely of animal protein. Inuits potentially have one of the highest calcium intakes in the world (up to 2,500 milligrams per day) depending on whether they eat whole fish, including the bones, or not. They also have a high rate of osteoporosis, even higher than white Americans (Mazess et al., 1974; Mazess et al., 1975; Pratt et al., 2001)." (Taken from the VVF website.)

Boning Up on Calcium, is another good resource.

Readin'

Sure to be unpopular with dairy farms everywhere

If you are interested (and I know there's at least a few), here's the milk research (also why we've gone completely vegan and not simply vegetarian). You can click on all the tabs, starting with "Part One."

(Otherwise known as everything you ever wanted (or didn't want) to know about cows milk!)

Life Changes

I never, ever, EVER thought I'd say this.

EVER.

Did I mention ever?

But, Andy and I (and the kids) have started following a vegan diet for our day-to-day living.

I KNOW.

The decision was fairly easy after we stumbled across a video of a lecture from a doctor who has spent his medical career studying nutrition and the long-term effects of consuming animal products. (That includes meat, dairy, poultry, and fish.)

I can elaborate if you're interested but basically the studies show the relationship of meat/dairy consuming countries to their corresponding rates of things like heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.

(Have you ever thought it weird that American women are among the biggest consumers of calcium (i.e. dairy) in the world, yet they have one of the highest levels of osteoporosis (Frassetto et al., 2000)? Thai and rural Chinese woman, on the other hand, consume little or no dairy and have virtually no rates of osteoporosis.)

Here's the full list of diseases linked to animal product consumption from the Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation website. (You can click on "scientific reports" tab for more information.)

And I think both Andy and I would honestly say we've never felt physically better.

I know! I'm full of surprises!

Memorial Day - Sure to wear you out.

We took the kids to the beach today. (Adelaide stayed with the grandparents, oh yeah!)





And now we're all tired and bright red.

What did y'all do?

My Favorite Things

* homemade sweet tea with real lemon slices (my summertime drink of choice)

* thick slices of ripe tomato right next to the mustard on my sandwich

* freshly painted toenails

* stand up comedy (if it's clever and mostly clean)

* snail mail (excluding any type of bill)

* BLOG COMMENTS!

* naptime with a good book

* new clothes

* shoe sales

* a tan

* chips and fresh salsa

* impromptu dates with my hubby

* music turned on

* sunshine

To the Curb

I spent the evening getting ready for The Summer Purge 2008.


THAT is (mostly) 10 years' worth of faded and outdated clothes. Brite, I'm so sorry you had to help me pack all that.

Whew. I feel lighter already.

Just Because

Outside this evening:

Genesis 9:12-16 (NKJV)

12 And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. 14 It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; 15 and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

Congratulations!

To Benji and Christina on the birth of baby Margot!

Let the Housekeeping Begin

I slept in my own bed last night! I started to wonder if I was going to around 3 p.m. yesterday - we hit major traffic heading up to the Denver airport. And it wasn't even rush hour.

When we arrived at the airport, my mom got the sidewalk check-in clerk to help us (and a policeman to let her park her car behind his motorcycle - thank you, sir) and we got all 5 of our checked bags and an extra car seat off of our hands. The clerk said he couldn't guarantee our luggage arriving with our flight since we were so close to the take-off time but a few minutes later shouted at us that our flight had been delayed an hour.

Totally a God thing.

But even so, we were still cutting it short, so my mom asked a security guard what we should do and she sent us down a special lane and we didn't have to stand in line for security (which was good since it snaked around the entire state of Colorado). I was starting to think this was the way to travel - arrive late and everyone helps you!

And then we took the train to the concourse. The whole time I was thinking about what would have happened if our flight hadn't been delayed. I even checked the clock when we arrived at our gate - our original flight would have left in 3 minutes. Which may have been iffy.

Anyway, they ended up delaying the flight another hour. I wasn't so enthusiastic about that one but it did give us time to get Happy Meals. Except they forgot to give the kids their toys.

It turned out to be a non-issue because Drew helped himself to an airplane set in the gift shop. My mom came running back after him to where we were sitting and grabbed it and ran back, explaining over her shoulder that we had to pay for it FIRST!

Life lessons, life lessons.

The flight itself went fine (for not having a working dvd player, especially so). Of course Madeline started crying about how bad she had to go potty right as we were about to begin taxiing down the runway for lift-off. It never fails.

She and Drew later made friends with the couple behind us and caused quite the laughing ruckus. The guy could not believe how many cars Drew had with him (I couldn't either - did those things have babies?).

But we definitely had our moments...Adelaide woke up and started screaming right when I was stuck under a sleeping Madeline. The flight attendants were great though and even held her for a little while.

All in all, we didn't get home until almost 2 a.m. our time. Which is definitely past my bedtime. So I was thankful that all three kids slept past 10 this morning.

Since we've been here...

• When we first arrived at my parents' house, my mom dropped everything to get ready for an event she had to go to that night. She was just finishing up getting dressed in this gorgeously feminine red suit and Drew walked in, took one look at her, and goes, "NICE!" I fully expected him to give her a high-five.



• One day we grown-ups were discussing plans our for the day when Drew piped up with a very enthusiastic "won't that be great?!"



• Drew: "What's the atter, Madelaide?" I think Adelaide was whining about something. It was cute to see such a little boy get tongue-tied.
  
  
• I asked Drew if he wanted his socks and shoes on to go outside, and he replied "No, just my feet."
  
  
• Somehow Drew and Madeline climbed up into my parents' Blazer and found an old dark pink lipstick in the console compartment. I won't even tell you what a mess that was or how hard it was to remove from clothing, hands, and faces.
  
  
• "I eat all the tic-tacs!" Madeline, pointing to her mouthful of half-eaten tic-tacs, sugary drool dripping down her chin.
  
  
• A couple of nights ago before dinner we were starting to pray and Drew looked up, interrupted and said "we're praying, Cassandra." (In the most condescending tone ever.) We all bust out laughing.
  
  
• I left Drew and Madeline with Carrissa over at my grandparents' house Sunday night so I could come back and put the baby to bed. They were playing Legos with my Granddad and didn't want to leave, and she was watching the Country Music Awards there anyway. Later when they walked through the door, Madeline was carrying this flat rectangular lego creation she'd made. Carrissa told me she had asked her what it was and Madeline had replied, "a dog." Could've fooled me.
  
  
• Last night as my mom was tucking Drew and Madeline in bed, Drew looked up at her and said, "thanks for having us, Grandmommy." She melted. And no, I did not put him up to it.

A Day for Treats

After a slightly-crazy morning involving too-few cars and the ensuing runaround, a Jeep that ran out of gas, and a 'check engine light' coming on, I was finally able to meet a bloggy friend for lunch today - in real life.

(Okay go ahead and laugh. I'm sure our husbands did/are.) But I had THE BEST time hanging out with Mer (from Life at 7000 Feet), face-to-face.

THE BEST.

We met at Panera and ate outside. Got a little sun-kissed, even. And just talked and talked and talked and talked. (That's what happens when mamas go out to lunch without kids. It's like a mini-vacation.)

I think it's sort of rare these days to connect to a new friend on so many levels, especially when you only first "meet." But we've been reading about each other's lives, via blogs, for quite some time now and have lots of familiarity to work with. We've shared plenty of similar experiences - including but not limited to, meeting our husbands in college and cafeteria first dates, husbands going to seminary, having three kids, and also some church-y stuff that I won't specifically mention.

Well, and blogging. (Which almost goes without saying.)

Her kids are older than mine but she has a firstborn son and then two daughters, just like me (so we're practically twins!). We share a lot of the same perspective/views on life in general, which makes for an easy friendship.

So here we are at Panera (and please excuse my lack of lipstick):


I'm thankful I have a sure friend whenever we come to visit my family here in Colorado.

Later this afternoon my mom called my Granddad to see if he would be willing to watch the kids so my mom, sisters and I could run to the shoe store (I say "run" as if it would be a quick trip. But we all know better.) and then to grab some Starbucks on the way home. Thankfully he said yes and we were able to do our little girly outing. And can I just say that the mint mocha chip frappuccino is divine?!

A very fun lunch, some new black heels, and a girly coffee drink - I'd say definitely a day of treats!

Andy, My Love

I got tagged for this (the month for memes, apparently) and thought it had some humor potential...

1. Who is your man? Andrew (Andy, Honey, Andramus)
2. How long have you been together? Married - 6 years
3. How long dated? Two and a half years?
4. How old is your man? 27 (yes, I'm a year older)
5. Who eats more? ha; no comment.
6. Who said “I love you” first? You know, I really can't remember. Most likely him.
7. Who is taller? He is. But I can come close with heels.
8. Who sings better? HA HA HA He was a voice major; definitely him.
9. Who is smarter? ME, DUH! No, I think we're each smarter in different ways.
10. Whose temper is worse? No comment.
11. Who does the laundry? Me. Me. Me.
12. Who takes out the garbage? We both do. He usually runs it over to the dumpster, though. That's what men are for, right?
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does - it's closer to the wall and I get ultra claustrophobic by the wall.
14. Who pays the bills? ME! We've tried him doing it and, well, that didn't work so well. People like to be paid on time. Who knew?
15. Who is better with the computer? I used to have a monopoly on all things computer but now with his job he uses it more. So now we're probably tied.
16. Who mows the lawn? Nobody; the school does all that. But at our Chattanooga house Andy did. He'd make me lather him up with tanning oil first but he'd probably shoot me for telling you that.
17. Who cooks dinner? Me. He can cook though, too. He has restaurant experience. And if he cooked every night we'd be poor from the grocery bill alone.
18. Who drives when you are together? Him.
19. Who pays when you go out? What kind of question is that?
20. Who is most stubborn? Me.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? We've both gotten pretty good at that but if you asked him, he'd probably say that he is.
22. Whose parents do you see the most? Lately his, because they live 5 minutes from us. But before this year, my parents definitely.
23. Who kissed who first? I think it was mutual.
24. Who asked who out? I think he first asked me to a Choral Arts concert that he was singing in.
25. Who proposed? Andy, on the beach. It was deserted and windy and dark.
26. Who is more sensitive? Him.
27. Who has more friends? Me?
28. Who has more siblings? Me.
29. Who wears the pants in the family? My Big Fat Greek Wedding - The neck turns the head, remember? Er, I mean him.
30. How did you meet? My dearest college friend sort of wrangled up an introduction in the Great Hall of Covenant College. Over a cafeteria lunch. Romance, indeed.

Hey, feel free to play along and lemme know if you do.

A little late for Mother's Day but oh well!

Whenever I visit her (or she visits me), I'm always amazed at my mom's selflessness, diligence, and generosity. She certainly puts me to shame.

She's exceedingly disciplined about reading her Bible and walking for exercise in the mornings (and has even taken my kids with her in my double stroller a few times this week). She sees to all sorts of other things that make life run smoothly for everyone else and I never hear her complain. In fact, she goes out of her way to be helpful. She's a blessing to others.

She sometimes reminds me of a little worker ant. I hope I have that kind of energy and cheerful attitude when I'm a grandmother!

(And also her shoe collection.)

***Proverbs 31:28a, "Her children rise up and call her blessed..."

Could it really be Friday?

I've been battling a headache all day, so I'm not really up for posting much of anything tonight. I did get to go to tea with my mom, sisters, and grandmother this afternoon and that was really fun.

I even had a piece of carrot cake. And you know how I feel about desserts? Entitled.

Three babies will do that to ya.

Tonight the girls, my mom and I went to a movie. Something about 'When in Vegas' or something like that? Slightly raunchy but it had some really funny parts and was a cute love story under it all. We had fun.

And now I'm taking my headache to bed. See y'all tomorrow.

Another *boring* day of vacation

This morning I had my coffee, as usual, with French Vanilla, as usual. First time on this trip, though, since my mom only bought it yesterday.

(Sigh of relief.)

After the kids were bathed and dressed and I was also showered and dressed, we took the kids to Focus on the Family - they have this fabulous children's play area based on Adventures in Odyssey and Whitt's End or whatever (I'm 28 now, remember? Don't expect me to remember all the stuff we used to listen to on the radio during family road trips way back when).

The kids had a BLAST and it was FREE. Although unfortunately, they were too short for the big green twirly slide. So we'll have to do that another year.

And there was even a place for Adelaide's level of skill and intellect. With a door that latched.

A mother's dream.

Later my mom and I ran some errands while the kids were down for a nap and I found myself a new best friend, a little pink ipod nano. (Shh! Don't tell Andy!)

I feel like I've finally joined the 21st century.

My sister and I just went through her library list and I snatched all the music I wanted. See? Already saving myself time and money.

My mom even put my older kids to bed and I didn't even ask her to.

Vacation, indeed.

Happy Wednesday or Whatever Day This Is

Do y'all like hearing about my daily life? Even if it's boring? Well, I suppose if you didn't, you wouldn't be here.

So I'll just carry on.

Today my mom took the kids on her walk and then over to a playground. Which meant I could spend my morning with coffee and my sister's laptop. Heaven indeed.

And then during naptime the twins (sorry...I should say 'Carrissa and Cassandra,' but that's kind of hard because I've been referring to them as "the twins" their entire lives) and I went shopping.

Which is one of my favorite things to do and if you didn't know that, you don't know me very well.

We started at a little boutique in Old Coloardo City, which was surprisingly reasonably priced for being a boutique. And then we went to the mall because that's where the Old Navy is here. And then I also made a quick run into Steinmart because my aunt wore all these fabulous dresses during the wedding weekend and she gets all her clothes at Steinmart.

I did find one dress and it was even on sale. Happy Late Birthday, To Me.

Or Happy Anniversary, I mean.

Or Mother's Day.

(Just pick one already.)

After dinner we're going to go precinct-walking and also the twins (there I go again) and I are planning a run to Wal-Mart which may or may not involve a new mascara and a box of haircolor.

I'll keep you posted.

Vacation, Part II

Yesterday and today the kids and I drove back with my mom and grandparents to their homes in Colorado. (Andy flew home last night from Phoenix. Someone's got to make the money, afterall.)

We broke the trip up into two days and stayed in Albuquerque last night. It was fine because we had two cars and each one had a dvd player. I'm not really sure what the agenda is for the next week except, well, relax and play with the kids. So nothing out of the ordinary for me!

Drew just said to me, "Mommy? Please get out, Mommy. I won't touch this..." (Pointing to my sister's guitar.)

Yeah, right.

I wonder what I'm in for.

Vacation!

***This was actually written yesterday.***

Two of my mom's sisters live here in Phoenix, one of which we've been staying with this weekend. It's sort of like a little bit of heaven. I wish you could see their backyard! Oh, wait, I'll run down and snap a few pictures (hang on)...






See? Told you.

Here are some fun photos of our afternoon yesterday:





Madeline and my mom:


Drew attempting to get on the floatie:


Madeline in the "hospital." (She somehow got it in her head that the hot tub is called the "hospital," and has been asking "can I go in the hospital?" ever since.):



Here's a few from this morning:








How do you expect us to ever go home?

Happy Birthday, Andy!

Birthday Donuts:


Listening to Drew attempting to sing "Happy Birthday." Quite comical.




Yum.

***Oh, and I also forgot to mention that yesterday (Mother's Day) was also our 6th wedding anniversary. May is certainly our month-o-holidays.

Mother's Day Brunch

After church yesterday all the family still in town went out for brunch for Mother's Day. We took a million family pictures, as usual.

My mom (in the cropped red jacket) with all her sisters and mom:


Adelaide and Papa:


Trying out his shades:


Madeline and Grandmommy:


It's called "Keeping Baby Occupied":


Andy and me:


Hope your Mother's Day was just as wonderful! What did y'all do?

Here it is!

The Real Deal, interpeeps! Do you want to win a free sling from BohoBaby? Well then click right over to Musings of a Housewife and enter yourself in the giveaway.

And Happy Mother's Day, while we're at it!

Wedding Pictures and Highlights

My cousin Renee, The Bride:


Hats at the Rehearsal Dinner (a Western theme, as we are here in the Southwest):


The Wedding Clowns:


Me, being Mommy:


Aunt Erin making Madeline beautiful:


Flower Girl (wearing her Plan B dress):




My Aunt Becki (Mother of the Bride), Renee, and her sister Leah (Maid of Honor):


The Bridesmaids (and Bride):


Yes, she's very tall:


Me and Ne Ne:


Drew being Drew (look closely):


That's better:





My immediate family:


Wedding Cake:



How Drew spent his time at the wedding:


Mr. and Mrs. Jason Thomas:


And they lived happily ever after.

Leave it to Drew

to walk down the aisle, completely oblivious of Madeline trailing behind, and swinging the ring pillow around in circles as if it was a lifeguard's whistle.

Apparently we weren't very clear with the directions.

The wedding was gorgeous! The after-party is here at my aunt's, but hopefully afterwards I'll have a chance to upload some pictures.

So back to the poolside I go.

Wedding Drama

Yeah, so the flower girl dress I'd ordered for Madeline apparently got lost in the mail. Another bridesmaid and I ran all over town this afternoon trying to find a Plan B dress. We found an acceptable one at Sear's, but the smallest they had was a size 4. I just finished taking off the pink bows and hemming it by 4 inches.

Pictures and a longer update tomorrow afternoon, post-wedding.

Help!

I found out last night that the wedding tomorrow is at 9:30 a.m.

9:30!!!

A.M.!!!

That should be interesting.

Here Safe.

My oh my. We're here, that's something!

I knew I was in for it when the pilot announced the flight was 5 hours and 15 minutes. I had no idea.