A joke

Why is 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 8 9.

Or in this case, Henry ate 1.

What can I say?

I'm a planner!

I'm turning 30 next May, I'm already thinking about what I want to do...

I've got the kids Christmas presents purchased and organized.

I already have the "what I need to pack" list running for Thanksgiving.

I've been thinking about birthday party theme ideas since August for the kids.

I've got calls into a few pre-schools for next year.

I don't even know if or when I might be moving but I already have paint samples and fabric swatches.


Seriously, I have a problem.

Diet is a four letter word

Frankly, I don't believe in diets. But I do believe in eating healthy. Diets (to me, I'm not judging) feel so restrictive that they're so easy to screw up. I've tried to eliminate all HFCS (even in 'maple' syrup, and that was tough). I eat whole grains and low sodium/no added sugar foods. Which all seem pretty normal to me because as a parent I want to feed my kids healthy, wholesome foods not Cheetos.

I didn't eat meat (except for fish, I ate fish) for the first 18 years of my life. So when my yoga instructors started talking about eliminating meat as a way to go deeper in my yoga practice and meditation I thought "Why not?!" I've been veggie before so it wasn't that hard to substitute chicken for fish or tofu or beans.

I've been feeling like I've had more energy the last 2 weeks. (Some swear that digesting meat uses more energy.) But the best difference? I lost 7 pounds. What?!

Best. 'Diet'. Ever.

So I thought I'd share with you the staples of my non-diet-diet. As it gets colder in my little slice of suburbia I like to eat things that make me feel full and satisfied and have bold and delicious flavors. Salads are for summertime. So here are some of my faves:

Eggplant Parm.

Paneer Masala

Bean Stroganoff

Try them, I bet you won't be disappointed!

Happy Birthday, My Little Crawler!

He's so happy to be seven months old.

Because, for his birthday, Daddy taught him to crawl! Now I will blame the Husband for any negative fall-out from the crawling (like fights that break out over toys, which is already happening, btw). But if I'm being completely honest- Henry is so much happier now that he can go get the toy he wants it's actually kinda nice that he's mobile.

Tomorrow I will be eating these words, I'm sure!

Happy Anniversary, Husband!! It's been four years of wedded mostly-bliss and I'm planning on forty more (at least)!

Updates!

There are quite a few things going on 'round here.
We now have photographic evidence of Henry's teeth. We had a little problem with biting during feedings but, thank goodness, he got over that. That would have been the end of things real quick if he hadn't learned not to bite me.

Last night Jack went to sleep without his paci for the very first time. He only woke up twice and it only required a gentile reminder that he didn't need it. We were shocked and pleased that it was dare I say it, easy?! I'm fully prepared for the possibility that tonight we might have more resistance but it doesn't make me any less proud of my little-big man.

This morning we decided to give him a new toy as a reward when we explained that this was his bye-bye paci toy he said "Yeah, I say 'Bye bye to my paci'" ::glowing with pride::.

Henry is now decidedly mobile. In an attempt to ruin my life teach Henry to crawl, my fool of a husband spent an hour this weekend 'coaching' him. He has managed to pick up the scooting and rocking on his hands and knees skills. This combined with an ever increasing desire to do whatever his big brother Jack is doing has lead to mobile-baby. I'm not saying I blame you, honey, I'm just saying thanks, thanks a lot.

Henry is 7 months old today, but that adorable little milestone photo will just have to come in tomorrow's post.

Camping Trip

We decided to take the kids camping at a local campground. We knew it was going to be in the mid-40's overnight so we tried to plan accordingly.
I decided to wear Henry as much as possible in an attempt to keep him warm.

Jack loved collecting firewood and playing in the tent.

Driving cars on the car.

After all that baby-wearing Henry fell asleep on me so I laid him down in the tent. He woke up pretty soon after that with a runny nose (which marks Henry's first cold).

We cooked dinner, which was some delicious chicken, potato, fennel, onion thing with flat bread. We put Jack to bed in the tent and within a minute of Matt zipping the tent closed we'd hear zzzzzzzzip and see his little blondie head pop out as he called for "Daddy?!" again and again. At about 8:15 he said "Daddy I need to go home and sleep in my bed."

Since Henry was showing no signs of sleepyness and many signs of getting sick we took Jacks request as an opportunity. Put the boys in the car with the heat and radio on. Turned the headlights towards the campsite and packed everything up. And drove home.

It makes me happy that Jack is already asking to go again. A few slight changes to how we prepared (bring small LED lantern night light for the tent, make sure the kids aren't sick...) and we're good to go!

Caween

Mommy: No, Jack it's Halloween. Letter 'H'. H-H-Halloween.

Jack: Yeah, Mommy. Caween. I'm a firefighter. Lets go outside.

Mommy: Jack? Did you say Trick-or-Treat?

Jack: Yeah. I say 'Trick-or-Treat'. Now I say 'thank you'.
I need to go to this house. I need to knock it.

Mommy: Okay, Jack.

We have raised one Halloween expert. (Not hard to do, all kids love candy.)

Jack and I worked the neighborhood while Daddy put Henry to sleep. When we got home Jack helped me hand out candy to a few more kids. Jack asked me about Henry's candy basket (I picked up some coordinating Trick-or-Treat baskets). I explained that Henry's basket didn't have candy in it because he didn't go knocking on doors with us. Jack found this to be highly disturbing so he took two pieces of candy from the bowl and put them in Henry's basket. "Henry needs two."

Sure he does.