Project 365: #1

A couple of years ago I decided to do Project 365.

Project 365 is when you take 1 picture a day for a year.  The idea is to capture the happy, everyday bits of your life!

I failed miserably.  I forgot to take pictures during the day...you know, of our children, and ended up taking a picture of my feet before bed or making a duck face with Pringles.

I wish I was making that up, but I'm not!

But, now that I'm in the blogging habit, I take pictures a lot more, so I thought that this would be the year to do it!

I can't promise they're won't be any pictures of my feet before bed, but I have high hopes.

I did forget to take a picture on the first day, though.  But, I pushed ahead!  I'll just have my Project 365 year run from January 2, 2014-January 2, 2015!

Day 1:

Day 2:

Gracie gave me these flowers for my birthday (which was December 31) and hands them to me every now and then so we can get married!

Day 3:

We made granola bars for school snacks, wrapped them in plastic wrap, and kept them closed with cute washi tape.

Day 4:

Leah made everyone a mailbox so she could give us notes.  I give her some, too!

Day 5:

I was so excited to eat a scone and drink tea while watching the season premier of Downton Abbey.  But, alas, I was sick, so I was laying on the couch with a bowl just in case. Thankfully, I didn't end up needing it again.

Day 6:

The girls are helping Maggie get ready for her first quiet rest (instead of nap time)!

Day 7:

The artiste <3

Day 8:

It was early release day for Leah, complete with some silly faces!

Day 9:

Gracie was helping me fill the crockpot with yummy-ness!

Have a great weekend!

It was Cold...It was Fun

It was pretty darn cold here on Monday and Tuesday...so cold that there wasn't any school.

As I mentioned yesterday, I was sick on Sunday and not at my best on Monday, either. Aaron stayed home on Monday to take care of the girls, so I mostly laid around.  They were busy!

Leah worked on this...decoration/scene/backdrop on Monday, and we put it up on Tuesday.

That's a rainbow in the middle, with a treasure on each end and a sun and cloud in the sky!

I like her fun ideas :)

I like her even more!

Leah gave Maggie the scraps from the sun, and Maggie made a puppet theater!

Maggie and Leah put together a little show, but Gracie wasn't having it.

Suspicious Gracie ;)

They each created "hideouts" in Leah and Maggie's room.  

Maggie's hideout is under her bed.  You can see she has some books lined up back there.  You can't see that she has a flashlight with her :)

Leah and Gracie are in the closet...with books, blankets, stuffed animals and flashlights.

Note: the girls' room was painted that horrifying yellow color before we moved in.  We didn't have time to paint the closet.  I can't think of a more horrible yellow...it's like Big Bird got run over by a school bus.  Bad, bad, bad.

I'd also like to point out the obvious that we don't ask our children to play in the closet or under the bed.  They do that on their own :)  There's just something about small spaces that kids really like.

I think it's really cute that the girls really like setting up their hideouts, but they only play in them for like 3 minutes at a time...probably because the spots are a bit cramped!

On Tuesday, though, I was feeling better and we needed groceries!  I let the van warm up for a long time and we all wore hats and mittens and headed to the grocery store.

I think we were all glad to get out of the house and to have a change of scenery!

We even saw the positive side of the thermometer today!  Yipee!

Stay warm this week!

The Whole 30 Menu: Week 1

Today's the big day that I'm starting The Whole 30!

I'm really excited!

Here's a weird/cool thing, though.  I was throwing up on Sunday, and my stomach certainly wasn't back to normal on Monday.  Yesterday was okay.  Every time I throw up, which isn't often, I think to myself, "I have a fresh start in my stomach, and I'm only going to put healthy foods in there."

So, here's my big chance!  I mean, on Monday at supper time, I was slicing bell peppers (aka sweet dippin' sticks at our house), and I was so looking forward to eating their crisp, juicy goodness when I felt better.

I'm going to have Egg Muffins (without cheese and add lots of veggies) ready to be reheated for breakfasts.

I'm going to have Hearty Paleo Vegetable Soup ready for lunches.

Wednesday, January 8  Island Chicken (coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and make extra for salad on Friday) with (cauliflower) rice and green beans

Thursday, January 9  Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce (without sugar and butter and freeze leftovers) on zoodles for me with salad (lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers and dressing)

Friday, January 10  Pizza for my family, Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Chopped Salad for me (leave off cheese and bacon {couldn't find the right kind}, use dressing from Thursday instead)

Saturday, January 11  Grilled Cheese (Coconut Lime Chicken Soup for me coconut aminos instead of soy sauce)  Breakfast Bowls (Sweet Potato Eggs for me)

Sunday, January 12  leftovers/sandwiches  SCS

Monday, January 13  Island Spice Pork Tenderloin with Mango Avocado Salsa and (cauliflower) rice and roasted broccoli 

Tuesday, January 14  White Chicken Enchiladas (Chicken Fajita Sizzling Salad for me)

Snacks:  frozen raspberries, 1 oz cashews, hard boiled eggs

Here's the Menu for Week 2 and Week 3!

I'm one of those ladies who likes pretty foods, so all of the bright colors of veggies in salads and things really appeals to me!

You know what else really appeals to me?

This!

Little known fact: I love glasses!  I have 2 sets that I rotate for when I need a change.

Additionally, because I think they're adorable, I picked up some stemless wine glasses at the Target Dollar Spot.  I feel like everything tastes more fun in a stemless wine glass :)

I'm drinking a Cranberry-Raspberry La Croix with lime wedges and frozen raspberries.

I like being able to make something fun that's within the perimeters of The Whole 30!

Now that you see the menu and can see that the food is very doable, does anyone else want to join me? 

The Lonely Goats

The girls have been performance singing machines lately!

We owe this to The Sound of Music!  We got the DVD and soundtrack with some Christmas gift money, and they love it!

It's so adorable to hear them sing along.  My personal favorites are hearing Gracie sing along with Do-Re-Mi with great energy and enthusiasm and hearing Leah sing, "Her penitence is real" when she has no idea what that means.  

The best, though, is when Maggie sings along with 16 Going on 17, "Totally unprepared am I, to face a world of men" with her cute little voice.  It's so hilarious and adorable!

This is Gracie performance singing in the minivan on our mattress shopping journey :)

Based on the TV performance of The Lonely Goatherd (or as I like to call it, High on a hill was a lonely goat)...

We've had this...

Leah/Maria lovingly stuffs directs the sisters children under the futon bed so they can pop out and sing at the appropriate time!

Yep, our HOUSE is alive with the sound of music...and while it can be loud, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Getting Our Shop On

One of these days, we are going to do a big ol' room switch.

Gracie will move to the bottom bunk, Maggie will move to the top bunk, and Leah will go into what is currently Gracie's room.  

We need to get a twin mattress for that to happen, hence our shopping trip.

Aaron preached at our friend's church on Sunday, so he was doing some sermon prep on Saturday.  It seemed like a good time to do some price and comfort comparison.

I made Leah a little chart.

Now, Leah is an incredibly bright child, but she had no.clue. what to do with this, even after I showed it to her and explained it several times.  

I'm not going to lie, I got a bit frustrated and finally told her that we were done talking about it that I was sure she would understand once we were at the store using the chart.

Thankfully that was the case.  She picked right up on it when we visited our first store.

You may be wondering what some of the abbreviations are.  The only store worth explaining is CMS.

CMS=Creepy Mattress Store.

I mean no offense to stand alone mattress stores, but they just kind of creep me out a bit.

I'm not the only one...

Anyway, Leah sampled all of the beds like a bed-trying-out-pro!

As you can see from the top picture, Menards didn't have twin mattresses.

But, what Menards lacks in twin mattresses, they make up for in gigantic stuffed dogs.

That is a lot of stuffed dog to love!

I have a friend whose mother-in-law buys gigantic stuffed animals for her the grandchildren all.the.time.

I am almost hyperventilating thinking about linebacker sized stuffed animals populating our house.

I can't even...

Once we buy a mattress, it will get the Great Room Switch ball rolling!

Stay tuned...but don't hold your breath :)  These kind of changes can take me a while!

Weekly Menu (and an Interesting Update)

I'm doing a weekly menu for the first week of January, because the rest of the month is going to look a little different.

Wednesday, January 1  BLTs
Thursday, January 2  BBQs
Friday, January 3  Pizza
Saturday, January 4  Baked Oatmeal  Chicken Frontega Sandwiches
Sunday, January 5  Leftover BBQs  SCS
Monday, January 6  Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup  
Tuesday, January 7  Evan and Bri bringing Pizza

So, starting on Wednesday, January 8th, I'm going to be doing The Whole 30.  Basically, I'll be eating meat, veggies, some fruit, healthy fats, nuts and seeds.  I'm sure it'll be both easy and hard.  I like all of the things that I'm allowed to eat, but not having sugar will be hard...which is kind of the point.  I'm doing this to basically press control-alt-delete on my cravings.  I mean, it can't hurt to eat the things I'll be eating.

I won't be able to have sweet coffee drinks, my favorite coffee creamer, or ice cream.  I'm making this ice cream before I start, though :)

I'll be doing weekly menus until I'm done with The Whole 30.  I already have a few tricks up my sleeve for making this easier, so I'll share those tips.  Plus, I'll share how I can make 1 meal and have it be Whole 30 compliant for me and "normal" for my family.  I'd like to do The Picky Eater Project with the girls while I'm doing The Whole 30, but we'll see!  If I end up doing that, I'll update you on that each week.  I might as well do all of the things at once :)

Oh, and don't worry about coming over to my house to eat while I'm doing this!  I certainly won't subject you to The Whole 30 against your will :)  I'm loading the freezer with scones and other deliciousness for such occasions!

Does anyone want to jump on The Whole 30 train with me?  It'll be fun over here :)

It was Christmas and it was Good!

Here's a quick photo update of 3 of our Christmas celebrations! 

The girls open presents on Christmas Eve morning!

And, in case you were wondering, Leah got Aaron that paddle ball thing he is holding.  It's so he can practice tennis so that when he plays tennis on the Wii, he'll be ready!  She's such a sweet gift giver!

The girls dove right into playing with their gifts!

They all liked the toy they got!  Yay!  

Gracie likes her toy so much that she yells at anyone who tries to touch it.  Yeah, we'll be working on that!

After lunch on Christmas Eve, we drove to my parents' house.  Poor Gracie threw up on the way there.

We had a super fun time with my side of the family, but I didn't take many pictures.

I did get this picture of the girls talking to my parents!

I don't know why I like it so much, but I do!  Maybe it's because I can picture them standing just like this when they are teenagers, or I like how Leah and Gracie have a purse/stuffed animal dog carrying case.  Whatever it is, I like it :)

We came home on the 26th and had a wedding on the 27th.  We got a babysitter for the girls, so it was even kind of a date!

As it turns out, Maggie and I kind of matched!

Check out this beautiful sky on the way to the wedding!

Of course, this picture doesn't do it justice, but, believe me, it was gorgeous!

The next morning we left for Aaron's parents' house.  Before I forget to tell you, the girls did awesome in the car!  It's about a 4 and 1/2 hour drive.  Very often they do well on the way there but kind of fall apart on the way home.  But, not this time!  We were so thankful!

Anyway, here they are in all of their Christmas finery ;)

The girls had lots of fun opening presents!

Yes, Gracie is using a Doc McStuffins blood pressure cuff on her leg.

On the Doc McStuffins note, Aaron's parents got Maggie this little Doc McStuffins play set.  There are pieces, and I have issues with pieces.  I believe at one point I may have had a charming rant about toys with pieces.  Well, my mother-in-law deserves an award, because every time they get the girls a toy with pieces, they also give a container for the toy and the aforementioned pieces!

Seriously!  She deserves a gold medal or a blue ribbon or a certificate of some sort.

There was some fun crafting/playing at the table after lunch, too!

And, of course, a picture of the cousins!  

We took the picture before bed, hence the pajamas and lack of focus ;)  Someday I'll learn to take the group shots earlier in the day :)

I hope your Christmas was happy!