Oh Boys!...

Spring came and the shirts went!

One of the many things I love about boys is that they take life in FULLY and totally...they never sit back and let life happen--they are always ALL IN!

Jebbers and some recipes I love lately...

I can't believe my baby is 2 today....and he flipped his motorcylcle---they sure do learn a lot in two years. WOW! He has a serious pump knot and scraped up face, but he still is adorable.

Jeb has loved hanging out with Daddy at his shop in the afternoon and on Saturdays during naps. He "helps" and does a lot of watching and chit-chatting. He takes his own vehicle down there (the Artic Cat) and stays for a while. It is cute.

He is the best son and Big Brother I could ask for. He has been pushing me lately (even had the nerve to ever so slightly stomp my foot--I was flabbergasted) and has asserted that he would like to move homes...BUT all in all I enjoy him greatly. I can't belive kindergarten is coming our way. I guess some of the defiance is God getting my heart ready for him to go--hee hee...

I am always making smoothies--this is what I do...

Smoothies:

1 banana
Yogurt
Juice (just about a ½ cup-cup)
1-2 frozen or fresh fruits (I like to save my fresh for just eating so I use frozen for smoothies).
1 cup ice cubed or crushed

Put the ice, juice and banana in there…then add fruit when it is smooth—eat it! Love it, and it is easy to add protein powder if you are hungry soul like me!


Someone brought this to girls night and I LOVED it---

Girl’s Night Jalapeño Dip

2-8oz cream cheese
1 cup mayo
½ c. mexi cheese, ½ mozzarella cheese,
4 oz. green diced chilies--drain
4 oz. jalapeño peppers-drain
Mix above together after you soften the cream cheese…topping below--

Topping: 1 cup PANKO bread crumbs, ½ cup parmesan cheese

Bake 350 for 30 mins…

Party-time! "I'm TWO!"

All day long when I spoke with Cay about his upcoming party, he would reply, "I'm TWO!" It was a great time with family at his party. It was only natural to have a cell phone party b/c he LOVES phones and is always fishing in someone's pocket for a phone to enjoy. He has lots of his own phones but still loves getting everyone's ...he is especially fond of ipods, iphones and Blackberries! He got lots of old phones, old keys, and glasses (HE LOVES gadgets like those!) and was generally thrilled with all the new toys he has to stuff in his "pocks" as he says. He keeps his pockets full of keys, tools, and phones. He also enjoys trucks and Papa D brought a GIANT dump truck over. The kids had a blast watching the dump truck bed lift and honking the horn of the truck. Cay enjoyed his cake and pizza and loving Meggie! He liked the new tunnel we gave him and really had a great time at his party!

Kiddin' Around Spring 2010

While everyone is enjoying the goats...Caleb just can't stop working..He is always working with tools of some sort fixing something, digging or raking...We have had some fun days with friends lately enjoying all the new babes...

Fun Spring on the Farm—

Fun Spring on the Farm—

We have been having lots of new babes come our way this week and we are pumped. All the hard work of taking care of them pays off when you see these little faces. Jeb has been naming them Tiny, Little Micah, Bella, Gavin, Big Boy 2, and now Lily arrived yesterday when Bridget and her kids were visiting. What an exciting moment for our farm visitors to see Jonas help Bonnie Blue get out her second baby! there is nothing like the miracle of a live birth! Even though I have assisted my dad (a vet) in many deliveries of all sorts the miracle of watching them take that first breath still amazes me.

Jonas takes animal husbandry to a whole new level. He went out and milked our part-dairy goat and got her colostrum (they only have it for 24 hours) to store up in my new freezer for the mama who does not have it or does not do a good job taking care of her babies. Too funny.

One of the fun parts of new babies is seeing good friends come enjoy them...we have lots of folks coming to love the babes this week--so fun!

Sherman and Sgt. are really taking their roles as protectors seriously this week. They have stepped up their game. They are part Pyrenees and part Anatolian Shep and we have not trained him AT ALL--everything they do is innate and God-given. When we change their pastures they run the borders of their new territory.And right now they are super protective of the new babies. When they arrive they lick them and will even snuggle with them to keep them warm (see picture of one on each side). Sherman goes a step further does not move even when they are trying to suckle on him--I laughed my head off. When we have visitors are when we go in their they get really nervous and lick the babies and smell us and stand right on top of us while we hold them--in a friendly way they are quite concerned for those babes. Yesterday, Sgt. was even running a curious cow away from Bonnie Blue while she was laboring and licking her babies. As soon as the cow got close, he was on the job.

Finally My Cousins are doing their part...

For years now we have had a joke that one of us Moorheads is either getting hitched or birthing a baby...Finally, my cousin Scott got married and did his part for 2010. Libby got prego just in case though! Yeah! So, here we are having fun at the wedding! My mom is one heck of an electric slider and we had fun with her getting down. Even Jonas turned it on at the end of the wedding and Lib took some pics of that that are FUNNY. The wedding was so sweet and meaningful and we are thrilled to have Rachel in our family. The food was fabulous and the reception area was gorgeous! It was a day/night to remember.

Bradley and K were adorable in their suits.

Meg was her cute self.

I find myself truly blessed to actually totally enjoy my family...they are fun, fun, fun.

Eating Animals...thoughts on food over the years....

First of all, let me just say I AM NEVER GOING TO BE A VEGAN because I love food...and meat..and yes, I love animals too, but I still plan to eat them. But, I am going to buy the new book Eating Animals. For once this guy seems like a reasonable vegan-some of them are just too out there for me. Then, this summer I'd like to read The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Then, maybe his other book Food Rules if I haven't lost interest by then or heard enough...b/c I like I said I live by the Five F's and I like to keep them all in my life in balance and perspective: faith in God, good food, lots of fun, and loving, cherishing and enjoying family and friends...gotta have them all...still, during life these past few years it has been nice to take baby steps towards making better decisions about food...and I do mean baby steps.

I do think that we won't be eating animals in heaven, but that's neither here nor there...we do a lot of things now that we won't do there...if you are married and you do IT that's another one...it will not probably happen up there...so basically now that I think about it the world has ruined two very good things that God is going to get straight up there...I digress.

In college, I read Fast Food Nation and it revolutionized how I feel about eating fast foods. We just don't if you don't count Chick-Fil-A ...isn't that organic Godly food?? hee hee. Anyway, we pretty much eat at home or at sit-down joints a few times a month (not that they're better). Still, when we lived in CO we lived near lots of feed lots (THAT ARE IN THE BOOK) and that GROSSED ME OUT! Howver, the best steak I've ever eaten was from the Roadhouse in Greeley, CO, that literally had a feed lot within rock-throwing distance. Sad but true. If you have not seen one, just go to TX or CO you owe it to yourself to see it and smell it. If you have seen one, it is pitiful and gross. Anyway, this book changed me. This book is also about the economy and politics as well, which I love the politics around food today...let me re-phrase it..I don't love it ...I find it interesting b/c I hate it...I hate that that we all eat what is cheap and what is cheap tastes good and is EASY, which makes us all SICK and fat...I still digress...another issue for another day...

Then, came SuperSize Me--the movie. Ouch. The movie is disgusting and grotesque but interesting. It was disgusting but made me glad that I don't have to eat fast food and that I don't feed my kids much fried, fatty food...if you don't count Chick-Fil-A, which Jeb thinks is its own food group.

Then, came Food, INC., the documentary. It totally made me glad that at least the past 2 years we haven't bought beef in the store except some steaks I bought at Bloom recently and devoured--they were gooood. So, like I said I'll never be a vegan and I'll never be a lady out slinging chickens and breakin' necks. BUT, what these folks are doing to animals and to farmers makes me sick. Still, I am not rich enough to shop all organic (and don't feel compelled to) and I like the ease of making one stop or two and getting all my food. Still, it changed me some...I am glad we have our garden, are staring our berries, and we are going to keep eating our own beef (or one in my parents' freezer?), AND Yes, folks we are getting a feeder pig in the next year..we are crunching the numbers. We are taking baby steps to eating less meat that is treated with yucky stuff. So, we'll see... AND Jeb wants chickens..we are not eating the meat, but just the eggs. We buy eggs some from our neighbor and I'll tell you no lie when I make a cake/pastry with them it LASTS for weeks. He (a 5th grader) informed me that usually the eggs in the store are MONTHS old already...yikes. I have noticed that cooking organic beef all day in the crock pot messes up some of the taste and that you just can't over cook it. However, I haven't missed the grease, antibiotics, growth hormones, poop in my food, etc.

My food history:
Here's the deal folks...my Mom is a nurse and she always fed us well. I NEVER sat down to fried food--have never, to this day, seen her fry?? We even had an indoor grill above the stove! Some folks find that I've never seen her fryin' unbelievable. Still, we had good, wholesome, delicious food everyday for dinner and most times together. When I was younger and as a teen I really hated all the foods at home after I came home from a friend's house but as an adult I am glad that my taste buds lean towards fruit and not chips. I did not know people really ate Little Debbies ( I still only buy these like once a year? the Christmas trees usually), fried chicken, and doughnuts at home. We never got carry out if it wasn't pizza (and pizza is okay, right...I love that stuff) and we hardly ever ate fast food. At our house, we thought that Gingerale and HONEY NUT cheerios were a big, big deal. Cereals are and were my big thing...If I got Apple Jacks and Honeycombs I thought I was high roller people. Yes, we had sweet tea (which killed me when I ate with folks in MO and they drank water/milk/lemonade with dinner--what is that?)...BUT my mom uses BARELY one cup of sugar--I have departed from that methodology but I only let myself have a glass or two at night with dinner--like fine wine right? My mom thought a dessert treat for a kid was like a bowl with nuts, raisens, and a couple M and M's in it. We had hot breakfast if we wanted it before school--grits, eggs, and cheese toast. My mom says some of my first words to her in the morning were "gits and eggs mama gits and eggs." We never drank soft drinks (I do think this is a slippery slope to giving your kids beer-ha ha ha --there is just no reason for it..there is NOTHING redeeming about it? Some folks have given my kids pepsi/coke (you know who you are-haha!) and it is fine b/c they now have Rock Star status with Jeb, but for real...this should not be a daily drink...it should be a treat for special times!) Still, I do have one diet pepsi a day to pep me up for the afternoon...like I need pepping right? Still I am addicted to it. Nevertheless, I have invested a small fortune in water bottles and I use them all day, every day and drink water. We always had fruit and veggies around and my mo told me repeatedly that one day I would buy into veggies...Thank you Mom ( I put up your pretty picture here since you still inspire me to do better and have gorgeous skin), but I still have a ways that I'd like to go towards truly loving them.



Some great changes I've made the past 8 years:

more nuts of all sorts--cashews, almonds, etc...
more fish --salmon mostly...
more beans--lentils (thanks Kim), more black beans, lima's, kindey's,
more broccoli--I love it any way it is...
only spinach/romaine lettuce--swore off iceberg forever
more honey/less sugar in coffee
organic beef
all natural peanut butter--but dont you worry I keep the real stuff here for those moments
wheat noodles
more yogurt
bagels that are whole wheat and have a bunch of protein in them
olive oil only...for most all things...
less crutons and breads with meals
appreciating dark chocolate
adding pumpernickel/rye breads--at least they have more protein?
sweet potatoes very often (J loves them) rarely white potatoes
love pita chips and hummus...wish I did that more
more berries--our neighbor has lots of blueberry, raspberry, blackberry bushes (and now we have some!! Yeah!) and I love um'.


Some changes I want to make:
more fish
more raw vegetables--I wish I liked celery, tomatoes and cucumbers more!
more stuff that we farm--eggs, pork...coming soon! Maybe even goat meat if I get crazy and one goes down?? hee hee...some of you animal lovers are falling off your chair...hey, read my next post and some of my others...I love them too..fact is though they are edible.
will I ever let go of my afternoon diet soda?
trying to like deer meat
trying to eat the trout Jonas catches...he is a GREAT fisherman and we live near the river!

Things I hope to always indulge in in moderation but regularly:
turkey bacon
sausage--the real, real deal...do buy Snow Creek from down the road
pork chops
steak
dessert--I eat after every meal...a little...my coffee is dessert after breakfast b/c I use full fat creamer...after lunch I have a brownie/a snack hershey/etc...and after dinner...whatever is sweet around here...I sometimes eat a Pop-Tart for my dessert isn't that wierd?
candy--I love sour stuff, gummy worms, lemon stuff, mints, anything candy really
full fat or close salad dressings/sour cream
I love sweets--they are a pure joy in life and I will never give up ice cream/cookies/good cakes/apple pies and pies of any sort with chocolate and peanut butter involved.
Diet cherry Pepsi

Some changes I never needed to make (always done them):
loved fruit, eaten wheat bread, don't drink: real Pepsi/alcohol etc, I don't like chips so much that I can't put them down,I've always loved fruit and have been good about eating 4-5 servings a day--maybe more? I love grapefruit, any oranges, OJ in the am, real grape juice, grapes, berries of any sort, melons of any sort, smoothies ( I regularly eat these), bananas...and my love--apples. Yes, I don't know why I am at the docs so much I DO eat one every day and there is usually one in my purse? But there is also a Reeces cup in there?? Go figure. I almost went into diabetic shock when I lived in the dorms and had a meal plan--belgium waffle makers, pizza on demand, sugar cereals, fries at every meal, burgers always at your beckon call, an entire dessert bar, sodas on tap all day...whoa...

Some things I wish my kids did not love but they do--true confessions:
cheese puffs--what is in these things?
french toast sticks--but on the flip side they love Special K red berries just as much??
ice cream sandwiches--but they eat tons of fruit of any sort every day? doesn't that make it right?
Cay loves him some sausage? where does that come from-hee?
doughnuts--my kids grieved that our church stopped serving them. I don't buy them but now Papa D is their supplier--ha!
Jeb is a meat snob but he likes some white bread when I pick it up rarely--rarely eats hot dogs, and only likes Deli-Select Turkey and homeade BBQ.
They eat hardly any veggies--but did I say they eat lots of fruit!!!--this is what disturbs me the most...almost nothing green...? Cay will eat them in full-fat Ranch dressing? I don't know if it counts then?

If you read this one day and you are a bad eater I tried in some ways and stunk in other ways when it comes to food. Some battles are not worth fighing and I like to eat in semi-peace and not at war.

Things I won't ever do:...I don't think?
Eat tofu--had this at Yellowstone numerous times with all the veegans and migrant workers and tree huggers (like Paul (in the Bible) you just must eat what they eat, right? gag.)
Not eat meat.
let it become a crazy fixation like most organic/vegan eaters...get a life...I know that is what they are trying to do but the world is just not made for them! Life is hard enough without worrying about every morsel of food that goes in!
give up desserts
buy food I can't afford and might waste
eat vegan b/c I need the protein in meats and cheeses or I might end up on the floor..I truly beleive that SOME people can do it well...but most end up sick/anemic/and too skinny and strange.
stop eating candy--after all I was cavity free till I had babies? Now I have a souvenir cavity from each kid I've birthed.
stop eating out--I love the treat! I love to eat.
obsess over germs in food...life is too short...



Can anyone tell that I have been oxygen deprived (I have asthma and sick) for a few days and now I am back on steroids and manic for now? ha! Nah, for real eating good and exercising are important (thanks Mom)...but my mind is a freight train when on steroids. More thoughts to come I am sure...this area is always evolving! As it should I suppose.