2 servings a day

I don't know why, I just am not much of a fruit person.  Love vegetables but I've really got to work at it to just get one serving of fruit a day.  I never much cared...but there is nothing like having children around to make you want to change your bad habits! They have the annoying tendency to do what you do, not what you say.
I'm working on upping my fruit intake and making it more of my everyday diet. The health benefits of fruit are many; it provides fiber, reduces the risk of heart disease, some cancers, and high blood pressure. But mostly, snacking on fruit is a habit I want my children to develop again-and it is up to me to set the example. Now that they are older, this momma has let the junky food creep into the house a little too much. As Cookie Monster says, "Cookies are a sometimes food."
I'm a snacker and frequently snack on tortilla chips, cookies, nuts, dried cereal, etc. I know there are better choices, but it's just so convenient (and yummy)! Now I keep a bowl of fruit out on the table, couldn't be more convenient.

The simple move of getting the fruit out of the frig and putting it out where we can see it has worked well for the girls.  Um, momma still needs to keep her hand out of the Veggie Booty bag.

Sick Day

Charlotte didn't go to school yesterday. The girls passed a stomach bug back and forth - twice. Everyone seems to be up and running now, but we are a pretty worn out bunch.
Charlotte stayed in her pj's all day.  I let her watch a little TV in the morning, but that was it.  We try to keep TV to a minimum at our house. By the afternoon Charlotte was feeling much better, so of course that began the chorus of "I'm bored."  Done with reading, drawing, etc. Charlotte came downstairs and asked to sew.
I keep supplies within easy reach so when they get bit by the art bug they can quickly gather materials to satisfy whatever "itch" they got.
We have a big bin of felt and tons of embroidery floss. She cut out her pattern and set to it.

When big sister got home, she got into the act. (Scrap fabric left over from Home Ec apron project is now a fashion statement)

Yup, sewing was definitely good medicine :).

Throw it in

I love to make soups and stews in the winter, especially ones where everything just gets thrown in the pot. This momma has a busy week planned, so I'm making tomorrow's dinner today. It's so easy, thought I'd share the recipe.
Um, I'm not real great with measurements - I just chop it up and throw it in!
Into your crockpot:
One butternut squash, peeled and cubed

One small eggplant, cubed

A couple of zucchini

10 oz. frozen okra

Add in some kind of  tomatoes; either chop up a fresh one, add a can of diced, pour in some sauce, I put in a few T of paste and a bit of water.

Chop up an onion

Chop up one carrot

Add in some vegetable broth to keep everything moist, 1/2 to 1 cup should do it.

Add in a handful of raisins-that's 1/3 c.

 One clove garlic, chopped

Spices: cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and paprika. (Miss Charlotte is on an IBS diet right now, so I went very light on the spices. Season how you wish)

 Fire up the crockpot or stick it in the frig, and you've got dinner! Cook on low for 10 hours or so. I'll pull it out when I leave in the morning at 7 and dinnertime in around 5:30.

Enjoy!

PICTURE FIND-(we all use my camera so I never know what pictures will pop up)
The girls made Groundhog Day treats -

He saw his shadow - sigh.

Wow, I'm a creative momma after all!

Who knew? I've often gotten in the rut of comparing myself to other mothers.  Mothers who were smart, skinny, creative, stylish...just about everything I felt I wasn't.  I would visit blogs of other moms and see how creative and clever they were, seeing their lives in their nicely decorated homes and awed by the scenes of their peaceful days in artistic pursuits with their children.  And me, I was just being mommy to my two incredible girls, but not doing anything special. I always felt inadequate after viewing those blogs. Do you ever find yourself walking this path?
A few years ago I bought a book by a very well known mama blogger. I thought (and so did the 1000s who visited her blog) her approach to mothering was so creative and imaginative. Again, I compared myself to her...she's more stylish, younger, her kids so cutely dressed, her house was better decorated - heck, it was just decorated. I felt like I was an okay mom, but nothing worth shouting about. I didn't have a blog, no one lauded my creativity, I was just exploring each day with my girls. Nothing special.
Last week I FINALLY cracked open her book. The entire time I was reading it I found myself saying, "Oh, we do that," "I always do that," "Yes, I remember doing that with the girls when they were little."
I did/do most everything that is in her book!!!! (This is truly a revelation)
What?!? I'm a creative, imaginative momma?  Well...maybe...yes, I seem to be.

We created, explored, imagined, celebrated, wondered, discovered and grew.  Who knew what an incredibly creative family we were...are.
The girls are now older than they were in these pictures, but the seeds of creativity are firmly planted in those little women. (They spent this day off from school writing stories, baking cookies and learning to crochet!)
Naaa, I do not think I could write a book. However, I find I don't need this book from "creative" mama whose blog I used to read.
Think I'll gift it to my local library. :)
Friends, feel confident that you have the ability to create!

Pray

As I wait to celebrate the birth of one child...

Tonight I am praying for all children.

Find Myself Dreaming of Spring

Many moons ago I uploaded a book published in 1903, A Woman's Hardy Garden by Helena Rutherfurd Ely. I've been reading it off and on for over 2 years. I'm trying to fool myself into thinking that I could possibly grow a flower garden.  Now that we've had a yard for 15 months I find that I have quite the green thumb - my weeds were healthy and thrived all year.  I managed them so well that they survived even when my husband sprayed weed killer on them.  I have a gift.

So now I am perusing several gardening books.  I started to do some research on the author of Woman's Hardy Garden.  Found this bit of information -

In the early 1900s, Helena Rutherfurd Ely, a founding member of the Garden Club of America, wrote three books encouraging a generation of gardeners to abandon the Victorian practice of "bedding out" garish colored tender annuals in geometric beds, the gardening equivalent of a showy, status-seeking home. Instead, she urged her followers toward a more informal and sensual style.

What started as a matter of personal taste became a revolutionary movement, and made Ely and her garden early stars of American horticulture.

Her inspiration came from the relaxed plantings of farmhouse dooryards and rural fences lined with casually tended hardy herbaceous perennials. Her first book, "A Woman's Hardy Garden" (1903), sold 40,000 copies, an impressive number for a garden book even today. Her five-acre garden on the New Jersey-New York border became a mecca for her disciples, and she was inundated with fan mail. Letters were still arriving more than 20 years after her death in 1920.

Hmmmm, I live 9 miles from the NY/NJ border....hmmmm.  After a bit of internet snooping I found out that as of 2004 her gardens were still being maintained, and they are 7 miles from my house!!!  The owner who had maintained the gardens died in 2004 so I'll have to find out this spring if the new owners of the property are allowing folks to have a look! I've lived in NYC for over 20 years so I have NO CLUE when it comes to gardening.  Now that I'm living in a rural outpost of the city, I think this spring I'll stick a few plants in some dirt and see what happens.
(I found her book on U Penn's digital library, have a look).
This ends my ode to spring - now I gotta shake a leg and get ready for Christmas. HoHoHo.

If you do not find time for exercise you will...

have to find time for illness.
It can be so difficult to find a balance between caring too much for our bodies and caring too little.  I'm afraid I fall into the second group.  I get so busy, and the first thing to go will be exercise.  Even my fall back exercise, walking the dog, will get delegated to my daughter.
Our bodies are the only living sacrifice we have to offer God (Proverbs 4:23).  If we are too busy to take care of our bodies, are we busier than God wants us to be?
I recently got a new toy for Mother's Day

This little beauty keeps me movin'! I don't belong to a gym, so that's how I justified requesting it ;). 
Find a way to keep motivated! Having an exercise partner helps, but if you don't have that connection with someone then try an on-line group.  I recently found out about http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ and I love the site.  It tracks your food intake, exercise, and has support groups.
It's spring! Let's get going!  Having a healthy body that can move you and house an active mind and a loving heart...it's a blessing!