Kiwi and Sweet Potatoes

Not mixed together or anything - those were the 2 foods sor far today that I prepared for Elijah.

Kiwis are such a pretty fruit.  I decided to puree these and put them in the ice cube trays because I will be mixing them into other foods for flavor, not feeding it to him straight where I would need 5-6 oz of kiwi.

The sweet potatoes are not as pretty on the outside, but have such a pretty orange on the inside.  These I don't even put in the blender, I just used a wisk to whip them up.

 The cups are 8 oz - I think I got about 6 oz in each one.  I love the way these are stackable.  Not just that they fit ontop of each other, but they actually snap into place that way. I have more to do up for him, but probably won't get around to doing more until tomorrow.

First Day of School 2011/2012

Jonathan had already taken Alex to school - he's now in middle school.  So I didn't get a picture of him this morning.  Isabella is in 4th grade this year and Abigail is in kindergarden.  Abigail told me on the way to school "Momma, I AM a little nervous"  I told her it was OK and that I was sure the other kids in kindergarden were a little nervous too.  Isabella is my little social butterfly, she was very excited to go back to school and see all her little friends.

I am not sure why Abigail was looking at Bella's feet.

I walked Abigail to her room and introduced her to her teacher again - she met her on Monday at the meet and greet.  She seemed to want to get in the room to see the other kids, so I quick snapped this picture.



Such a big little girl.

I can't wait to go pick them up and find out how their day was.

Last night

I had just finished dinner and I looked out the kitchen window.  I needed to take a picture of it.

It was actually sprinkling too. This was nice to see because I was feeling kind of bummed with the kids going back to school today.

Making Baby Food

As I mentioned before, I make most of Elijah's food.  Since he has started on solid foods, I have purchased very few jars of the commercial baby food and I bought those for when we are out and about.  I made the other kids food before too, but I am really doing a lot more with Bean's diet.  Since reading the book Super Baby Food, it's actually been easier and believe it or not a lot more fun.  I know that pretty soon he won't need the mushed up foods anymore, the little booger is 11 months old today and has 3 teeth.  Last week I was really considering not making his food anymore because it does require cooking, storing and freezing and then when it's time to feed it, thawing it, so it is a little more time consuming but not a whole bunch.  I just can't do it.  I can't justify buying already pureed food in jars that are watered down, that don't look or smell as good as what I make for him at home.  A perfect example is the peas.  Baby food Peas in a jar are kind of a grayish green color and smell funny.  To me, they smell funny.  The peas I blend for him are a vibrant green and smell - well - like peas!  Bananas are another one that don't look or smell like a pureed banana.  So for me, it's clear, I will make my own baby food. 
I had been wondering what else I could use to easily and safely store his food in the freezer since his meals now are bigger.  I was just going to use the ice cube trays again, but I need to use about 5 - 6 cubes for him for one meal.  I have the "Baby Cubes" too - again I still have to use 3 of them.  I am also not real fond of the flip-top lid.  I was at Walmart last week buying a new dryer vent, I just happened to walk by the display of canning jars. Canning baby food is a big no no due to the risk of botulism.  I looked at them for a second and to my surprise there were packages of plastic, BPA free, 8 oz freezer jars with stackable, screw top lids!!! Ding Ding Ding!!! PERFECT!!!

So tonight when I went grocery shopping, I bought all kinds of good stuff to cook up for my little Beany Boy - butternut squash, spinach, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, apples, mangoes, plums, avocado, blueberries, and I can't remember what else.  I figure while the big kids are at school tomorrow, I can spend the morning steaming, and mushing up food for him. 

Yesterday marked 12 years of marriage!

Yesterday was our anniversary.  I can't believe it's been 12 years.  It honestly doesn't seem like it's been that long.  I have to find some pictures of when we first met and got married to post on here.  I am pretty sure there are some on the old computer.  But I found this one and it's one of my favorites. 

This is about 2 years into our marriage.  Alex was just over a year.  It was taken in the driveway of our old house in Alabaster.  I loved it there at the time.  I actually just drove the kids down that road the other day and it's sad to see how close the quarry has gotten. I have so many good memories from there. When I think about Merry Fox Farms Road, I get all warm and fuzzy inside. Good times.

Then fast foward 10 years ...

Yup, that's my Jonathan!

Toothaches do not tickle.

If you know me and my family, you know that we just have bad teeth. And if you don't know me and my family, you just learned that little tidbit of information. I guess it's just genetic and I received the "bad teeth gene" from both of my parents. I take vary good care of my teeth. I brush, I floss, I waterpik and I use Listerine a few times a week. I would prefer not to use the Listerine at all, but that nerd in me says I have to to prevent gum disease since I have such bad teeth. Maybe nerdy me is right because my gums are healthy even with "unhealthy" teeth.

Well needless to say I had a dental emergency over the weekend and it was just awful! I ended up having to have my far back upper right side molar pulled. Funny thing was, I thought for sure that tooth had a root canal and the dentist that saw me on Saturday showed me that no root canal had ever been done on that tooth. So a tooth that I thought I had saved with a root canal and a very expensive crown had to be pulled. Funny thing is, I actually don't care because it doesn't hurt anymore and to me that is worth way more. Have I mentioned I have a very, very low pain tolerance? That was probably one of the worst pain experiences I have ever had. I would put that right up there with kidney stones. Like I said, toothaches DO NOT tickle.
I have a lot more work that needs to be done on my mouth and I think going to go to the dental school because it costs about 50% less than my regular dentist and I am sure the students would have a field day with my mouth. I need to hurry and get started on that because I don't want to be in that pain again.

Learning to walk = Boo Boo's

Poor Bean bonked his eye and the bridge of his nose.  It looks like I put purple eye shadow on him.  That "learning to walk" business can be rough!

Thank goodness it didn't get his eye.