Yesterday we got our first delivery from Spud Local & Organic Grocery Delivery. And I must say, I am a fan! Very impressed with the convenient service, amounts of food, and quality of food! It's so easy to place your order online (www.spud.com) and then a few days later it will be on your doorstep - Free delivery!
Spud is in a few major cities - Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and a couple others. They deliver to surrounding areas, but you'd have to find out exactly for your zip code. If anyone wants to try it out, let me know and I have a coupon code for you. (Oh and I get a referral bonus so make sure you talk to me first before you sign up!)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Beware! Nudity in church manuals!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
A Day in the Life
Here's a little snapshot into our daily life.
The kids and I wake up around 7 or 7:30, Rychen is already gone to work. Rychen usually goes to his room to get dressed and play quietly until he is hungry and asks for breakfast. I usually turn on the computer and check my email with Elisabeth in my lap nursing. And inevitably she pees on me, because I haven't changed her night diaper yet. This literally happens more often than not, and still I don't learn my lesson. I guess it's just hard for me to change diapers when I just woke up!
We have the car 1 or 2 days a week for errands/activities. So usually we just hang out at home. I have a mental list of things we need to do each day, which comes in handy when Rychen asks to play a video game or says he is bored - I just whip out my list and say "Would you like to read some books or do a puzzle?" Unfortunately, these activities get tricky when Elisabeth is around. Reading books is next to impossible with her climbing on me and grabbing at it, so we've settled into a routine of having "Mommy-Bubba Time" when E. takes her nap after lunch. Every day, when Elisabeth takes her nap, I devote my attention to Rychen for "school time" and we read books, talk, look things up online, or just play in his room like buddies (And more recently, we do DDR, another difficult activity when Elisabeth is around). So that is our most structured time of the day.
While Elisabeth is awake, we usually start our day off with dancing and breakfast. I try to do some exercise, and I have to be creative - using the kids as props, or having them do it with me ("dance") or pleading with Rychen to go take Elisabeth to another room so I can just get it done! For a few years now, we've kept the habit of eating fruit for breakfast, and maybe a green smoothie. We might graze on fruit throughout the morning.
And then the usual Stay-at-home activities...laundry or dishes, while the kids make messes, Rychen asking me questions, Elisabeth wanting to nurse anytime I sit at the computer (a funny habit she's developed - she doesn't ask to nurse any other time, so weaning will be as simple as not using the computer when she's awake!) and if I am lucky I will get a playdate for Rychen so they will disappear and give me some quiet time. I have arranged for this to happen about 3 times a week, and I love it! Thank goodness for little friends! (And consider this an invitation to bring your preschooler off for a playdate at my house anytime!) Elisabeth is usually happy, toddling around, doing her own thing. Although now I have to watch her to make sure she's not eating crayons or carrying them around. Other than that, she keeps herself pretty safe.
So when I get time to myself, I usually have a book I am reading, or computer time, or workout. Maybe I will do some stamping, but business has been slow so that hobby is on the backburner. Rychen gets home at 4, so then we have family time, or we switch off watching the kids so we can get some things done (like Rychen going running). We usually have dinner between 4:30 and 5:30, which may take an hour, and getting ready for bed may take another hour, so the evenings are busy. We try to have the going to bed by 7 and asleep by 7:30 or 8, and then we have a couple hours to watch TV together or eat our own dinner.
I like having this predictable day, it brings me comfort. I know Elisabeth will sleep after lunch. I know I can get a break if needed around 4 pm. I know I am off duty at 7:30 pm when I get to relax, and catch up with my husband. Weekends can be a bit confusing at times because it mixes things up, and we're not in our kush little routine. So I like my weekdays! Strange huh?
The kids and I wake up around 7 or 7:30, Rychen is already gone to work. Rychen usually goes to his room to get dressed and play quietly until he is hungry and asks for breakfast. I usually turn on the computer and check my email with Elisabeth in my lap nursing. And inevitably she pees on me, because I haven't changed her night diaper yet. This literally happens more often than not, and still I don't learn my lesson. I guess it's just hard for me to change diapers when I just woke up!
We have the car 1 or 2 days a week for errands/activities. So usually we just hang out at home. I have a mental list of things we need to do each day, which comes in handy when Rychen asks to play a video game or says he is bored - I just whip out my list and say "Would you like to read some books or do a puzzle?" Unfortunately, these activities get tricky when Elisabeth is around. Reading books is next to impossible with her climbing on me and grabbing at it, so we've settled into a routine of having "Mommy-Bubba Time" when E. takes her nap after lunch. Every day, when Elisabeth takes her nap, I devote my attention to Rychen for "school time" and we read books, talk, look things up online, or just play in his room like buddies (And more recently, we do DDR, another difficult activity when Elisabeth is around). So that is our most structured time of the day.
While Elisabeth is awake, we usually start our day off with dancing and breakfast. I try to do some exercise, and I have to be creative - using the kids as props, or having them do it with me ("dance") or pleading with Rychen to go take Elisabeth to another room so I can just get it done! For a few years now, we've kept the habit of eating fruit for breakfast, and maybe a green smoothie. We might graze on fruit throughout the morning.
And then the usual Stay-at-home activities...laundry or dishes, while the kids make messes, Rychen asking me questions, Elisabeth wanting to nurse anytime I sit at the computer (a funny habit she's developed - she doesn't ask to nurse any other time, so weaning will be as simple as not using the computer when she's awake!) and if I am lucky I will get a playdate for Rychen so they will disappear and give me some quiet time. I have arranged for this to happen about 3 times a week, and I love it! Thank goodness for little friends! (And consider this an invitation to bring your preschooler off for a playdate at my house anytime!) Elisabeth is usually happy, toddling around, doing her own thing. Although now I have to watch her to make sure she's not eating crayons or carrying them around. Other than that, she keeps herself pretty safe.
So when I get time to myself, I usually have a book I am reading, or computer time, or workout. Maybe I will do some stamping, but business has been slow so that hobby is on the backburner. Rychen gets home at 4, so then we have family time, or we switch off watching the kids so we can get some things done (like Rychen going running). We usually have dinner between 4:30 and 5:30, which may take an hour, and getting ready for bed may take another hour, so the evenings are busy. We try to have the going to bed by 7 and asleep by 7:30 or 8, and then we have a couple hours to watch TV together or eat our own dinner.
I like having this predictable day, it brings me comfort. I know Elisabeth will sleep after lunch. I know I can get a break if needed around 4 pm. I know I am off duty at 7:30 pm when I get to relax, and catch up with my husband. Weekends can be a bit confusing at times because it mixes things up, and we're not in our kush little routine. So I like my weekdays! Strange huh?
Monday, January 11, 2010
Food Storage Challenge
So I didn't end up doing the Specific Carbohydrate Diet with Rychen, I don't think that's what he needs, at least right now. He is doing a bit better now, just working on eating habits and a lower-volume diet (higher calorie foods so there isn't as much volume to process). Anyway part of this means we are using our food storage more! We've been using our food storage for at least half our meals. And yesterday we FINALLY cooked the last of the pinto beans from this 25# bag we bought a couple years ago!! What a burden lifted! ha ha!
So I am having fun using the gluten-free foods for Rychen. We've been doing gluten-free since Elisabeth was born, but I never really got into bakery items so we just didn't eat much flour at all (more beans, potatos, rice). But now I am having fun doing muffins and pacakes with sorghum or brown rice flour. We top it with homemade almond butter (we always have several pounds of nuts in the freezer, a short-term food storage) and we also have a couple lbs. of frozen butter handy. Rychen Sr. has been using up the wheat and barley making his own breadsticks, and dipping them in canned tomato paste, another food storage item.
I also experimented with blender flours, which turned out quite well. You can't tell the difference. So you don't need a mill - what you do is soak the grain overnight (which releases dangerous enzyme blockers) and then rinse them off and just blend them with water, to make your dough. This is very handy because you can throw in other things while you're at it, and it mixes your dough for you. We use Ener-G Egg Replacer, which is a shelf-stable powder to use as egg substitute. Also, I like to use applesauce in place of the oil, so I just throw an apple in the blender while it's grinding the grains.
Other foods in our food storage make great hot cereals. We have lots of oatmeal to use up soon, and since Rychen P. is allergic to oats, he does a similar hot cereal with either rice or quinoa (Quinoa is a "new," ancient grain that has a strong nutty flavor, high in protein - you can buy it at Costco or order it from Azure Standard).
Millet is another grain we love - we use it the same way you'd use rice, but it's fluffier and just provides some variety (I don't personally like rice). It's yummy just stirring in some dehydrated vegetables, or putting some ginger and soy sauce over it. There's a 100% food storage meal right there.
So mostly our food storage is those grains, and some beans. We also have raw foods - mung beans and lentils that can be sprouted. All our grains are in kernel form so they can be sprouted if desired, to increase nutrition and preserve the life/enzymes. We are sure to have lots of seasonings and spices, since that is how you enjoy all these plain grains and beans! We keep our dried fruits stocked up, since that would be our fruit supply in an emergency, as well as some dehydrated vegetables. And our freezer is always full with extra vegetables, fruits, and raw nuts. And we usually have 50-100 lbs. of produce on-hand - this time of year is great because you can store apples, oranges, pears, onions, carrots, potatoes, squash, etc. for a month or two in your garage.
So anyway it is fun for us to see how little we can shop, and rotate our food storage each winter. We tend not to use much of it in the summer because we eat almost exclusively produce during the warm months, so I figured it would be a good challenge to live off our food storage (and thus rotating it) through the winter months.
So I am having fun using the gluten-free foods for Rychen. We've been doing gluten-free since Elisabeth was born, but I never really got into bakery items so we just didn't eat much flour at all (more beans, potatos, rice). But now I am having fun doing muffins and pacakes with sorghum or brown rice flour. We top it with homemade almond butter (we always have several pounds of nuts in the freezer, a short-term food storage) and we also have a couple lbs. of frozen butter handy. Rychen Sr. has been using up the wheat and barley making his own breadsticks, and dipping them in canned tomato paste, another food storage item.
I also experimented with blender flours, which turned out quite well. You can't tell the difference. So you don't need a mill - what you do is soak the grain overnight (which releases dangerous enzyme blockers) and then rinse them off and just blend them with water, to make your dough. This is very handy because you can throw in other things while you're at it, and it mixes your dough for you. We use Ener-G Egg Replacer, which is a shelf-stable powder to use as egg substitute. Also, I like to use applesauce in place of the oil, so I just throw an apple in the blender while it's grinding the grains.
Other foods in our food storage make great hot cereals. We have lots of oatmeal to use up soon, and since Rychen P. is allergic to oats, he does a similar hot cereal with either rice or quinoa (Quinoa is a "new," ancient grain that has a strong nutty flavor, high in protein - you can buy it at Costco or order it from Azure Standard).
Millet is another grain we love - we use it the same way you'd use rice, but it's fluffier and just provides some variety (I don't personally like rice). It's yummy just stirring in some dehydrated vegetables, or putting some ginger and soy sauce over it. There's a 100% food storage meal right there.
So mostly our food storage is those grains, and some beans. We also have raw foods - mung beans and lentils that can be sprouted. All our grains are in kernel form so they can be sprouted if desired, to increase nutrition and preserve the life/enzymes. We are sure to have lots of seasonings and spices, since that is how you enjoy all these plain grains and beans! We keep our dried fruits stocked up, since that would be our fruit supply in an emergency, as well as some dehydrated vegetables. And our freezer is always full with extra vegetables, fruits, and raw nuts. And we usually have 50-100 lbs. of produce on-hand - this time of year is great because you can store apples, oranges, pears, onions, carrots, potatoes, squash, etc. for a month or two in your garage.
So anyway it is fun for us to see how little we can shop, and rotate our food storage each winter. We tend not to use much of it in the summer because we eat almost exclusively produce during the warm months, so I figured it would be a good challenge to live off our food storage (and thus rotating it) through the winter months.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Crayons!
Friday, January 08, 2010
Video: Rychen skateboarding
These are this "three tricks," he says. He doesn't skateboard very often; we do have mixed feelings about it. But I thought this video was cool enough to upload and let the world see.
Elisabeth's words and foods
The past couple weeks (while we were out of town, incidentally) Elisabeth's language has really taken off. We hear words probably 10 times a day, although there is a lot of repeat. The words I hear most often are "ball" and "bite" (repeatedly, as she is suddenly eating a lot more also!) - and other words recently debuted are "balloon" (pronounced ba-yoon), "hello" (on the phone), "Emmy" (aunt Emily), "crayon" and "down" (to get down from her chair).
Before going to Las Vegas, Elisabeth's solid foods had only been tons of fruit, avocado (which apparently she is sensitive to, as it gave her a painful rash three times), cooked vegetables, potatos, and squash. I was delaying introducing common allergens because of Rychen's situation. And now, a mere two weeks later, she has eaten pretty much everything I eat. Crackers, pasta, lentils, bread (Ssh! Don't tell Rychen P., he'll be so jealous), almond butter, pancakes, peas, hummus, even pizza crust. Her favorite is the dehydrated apples from the chuch cannery, which my mom keeps in a cupboard. Elisabeth would periodically wander to the cupboard and grab at the can, asking for some. I am relieved to give Elisabeth some typical/processed foods without seeing any signs of problems, the way Rychen displays them (addiction/obsession, allergies, behavioral problems) and she nibbles at them casually, not at all like the way Rychen eats. I did notice the more she eats these foods, the less she is interested in fresh fruit, unfortunately. But still, her most favorite foods are tomato and strawberry, and she never turns down a green smoothie! Good girl. Anyway, we are home now, and the closest thing in this house to processed food is a homemade whole grain flax muffin! So we are back on track.
Before going to Las Vegas, Elisabeth's solid foods had only been tons of fruit, avocado (which apparently she is sensitive to, as it gave her a painful rash three times), cooked vegetables, potatos, and squash. I was delaying introducing common allergens because of Rychen's situation. And now, a mere two weeks later, she has eaten pretty much everything I eat. Crackers, pasta, lentils, bread (Ssh! Don't tell Rychen P., he'll be so jealous), almond butter, pancakes, peas, hummus, even pizza crust. Her favorite is the dehydrated apples from the chuch cannery, which my mom keeps in a cupboard. Elisabeth would periodically wander to the cupboard and grab at the can, asking for some. I am relieved to give Elisabeth some typical/processed foods without seeing any signs of problems, the way Rychen displays them (addiction/obsession, allergies, behavioral problems) and she nibbles at them casually, not at all like the way Rychen eats. I did notice the more she eats these foods, the less she is interested in fresh fruit, unfortunately. But still, her most favorite foods are tomato and strawberry, and she never turns down a green smoothie! Good girl. Anyway, we are home now, and the closest thing in this house to processed food is a homemade whole grain flax muffin! So we are back on track.
Natural History Museum
Mom and Peter took Rychen to the LV Natural History Museum. Here are some fun pictures of them, afraid of the big animals!
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