How did you do that!???

So, lately a couple of people have asked me how I get my kids to eat all those veggies. They do eat a lot of fruit and veggies, so I will share what I know and welcome ANY advice you have. Here is the deal from start to finish. Make your own baby food, if you can. It is cheaper, healthier, and just plain tastes better! If you have any questions, just let me know. I didn't do it the whole time for Jackson, but Joseph only had jars when we were traveling. I think when the vegetables you feed them actually taste like what they will eat they transition better. I have no idea if this is true...honestly I made it up myself. It is my fact and i like it.

One of the easiest ways is to not have that many other choices. Yes, my kids eat cakes and cookies and candy. I don't mind if they do because I know they have good habits and everyone needs a treat. Anyhow, I don't buy much in the way of "snack" food. No granola bars, "fruit" snacks, cereal bars, Little Debbies, chips, ...nothing. I do buy animal cookies and Goldfish. Other than that their snacks are usually fruit and protein. They like almonds, peanuts, cheese and any kind of fruit they can get their hands on. I also keep a vegetable tray in the fridge MOST of the time. I decided I better put MOST in case one of you comes over and checks the day before I go to the store. We love broccoli and if you put it in your veggie tray you might try blanching it first. Makes it look pretty and it is easier for the little ones to eat.

As far as the older ones, I am talking about around three(make that 2 1/2) and up. Meals are a must. If you choose not to eat a meal, you choose to wait until the next meal. No, I don't make them eat things they honestly don't like, but I do hear "I don't like it" before it ever enters his mouth. I put everything on their plates. They say it takes something like 17 tries before you develop a taste for something you initially don't care for. Therefor, it is going on the plate. We used to do the three bite rule. You have to take three bites of everything (this is for nights we don't FEEL like eating) on your plate. We recently switched to the dice. I read about the dice in Parents Magazine( I think???). They get to roll for bites. Yes, we love it!!! He usually ends up eating all of his food just so he can keep playing.

The last tip I have is on yogurt. We buy tubs of vanilla yogurt and mix in our own fruit. Frozen blueberries are a favorite around here, but whatever works. Vanilla has much less sugar than the premixed yogurts you can buy. Also, think about a green smoothie. My friend Cori shared her recipe with me, and with her permission I will pass it on to whoever wants it. My kids love it and NO it doesn't come out green.

Now tell me what you know!!

All of two years

This is for Joe. Joseph. Joe-B-One-Kanobie. Stinky Bear and so on. I honestly can't believe you are two. These have been the fastest two years of my life. We have been through so many changes and you have rocked along right with us. I can't possibly tell you how much I love you, I can't possibly. What I can tell you are all of the little things I love about you. I love that you are funny and you know it. I love that you tell me all the time "Joe funny". I love that you get all that funny from your Daddy. I love that you are a fighter. That you have been sick for half of your life and it never slows you down. I love that the day we checked you into the hospital you were swinging from the end of Dr. Milner's table like a monkey crying "weeeeee". I love how you love your brother. I love that the first thing you say in the morning is "Json(Jackson) till nigh nigh?". You know he is part of you. You know he is everything you are not and that makes you both better people. I love that you never give up. You see a ten year old do something at the park and you see absolutely no reason why you can't also do the monkey bars. You are a bruiser and you have a big heart. You look like a little angel with your strawberry blond curls and you have a black eye half the time. Your smile lights up a room. You will make people smile. You will make people laugh. You will always be a Mamma's boy (but I won't tell). I believe uncle Jeremy said it best "Joe, will be the guy you call on a Friday night, because he will always know whats shakin". Joseph, you love life and there is no question about that. I know you will be an explorer and that is going to give me about 100 heartattacks along the way, but I am loving every minute of this ride with you. I love you one million baby boy. Happy Birthday "B"!
Mommy

My kids are already weird.

So, two years ago when I stopped working it was life altering. That may sound crazy but it was. I had to confront all kinds of weird little demons in that first year. Like if I wasn't a cog in the corporate wheel, what was my place. How was I contributing if it wasn't financialy. The list goes on and on. The person I had spent ten years becoming was suddenly disappearing and I didn't know this new person. She didn't have a schedule, paycheck, adult conversation, or one piece of clothing without spitup. I am pretty sure I spiraled out of control for awhile. All of that to say, it was the best thing that ever happened to me, my kids, or my marriage. No, I am not judging working Moms. I was one and it just got to be too painful for me...and yes we COULD make a choice. I know not everyone can. I will tell you that it was not easy. We have made a lot of changes and learned a lot about ourselves.

I feel like I am in a similar position currently. I am trying to make a decision about my children's education. I do feel stronger and more independent than I did two years ago. That helps a lot. However, what people will think and say of course makes me think. I know people will whisper "you know she homeschools those kids(as they shake their heads)." They will think my kids will be maladjusted. They won't know the real world. That I am depriving them of a "real school" experience. That they will be socially awkward, and of course they will think we have turned into the Duggers. I feel like I have to explain it away. Like how religion isn't playing a role in my decision. I hear myself saying that and wonder if I am trying to justify it somehow that way. The fact is that I am doing and have done a lot of research on this subject and my heart and mind are telling me what to do. I know what I believe the right decision is for my kids and our family (at least for our current situation). Yet, I have found myself hesitating to even mention it to some of my friends. I know what they will think. I know they will feel like I am devaluing their decision by making a different one. I know they will go home and tell their husband that we have finally flipped our lids and are determined to make our kids weird. As I am typing, I am thinking to myself..."Hell yes I want my kids to be weird". It is like a quiet revolution going on in my own mind and heart and it is slowly gaining speed and conviction. Maybe that is how all change happens. Maybe all change starts tiny and slow. Maybe it always starts with the tiniest of seeds and silently, quietly it grows into something that cannot be ignored. Suddenly you look out your front window and there is a big oak tree, and your still thinking, "huh, how'd that happen?".

Yes, I am going to blog.

So, I have decided to start a blog. The only direction I can say it is going is forward. The last year has been trying to say the least. I feel like I have learned more about what and who I am in the last two years than in my whole life. I learned that nothing will ever come ahead of my family. I learned that I don't want anyone else raising my children. I learned that losing the identity you spent ten years building can cause you to reevaluate everything. I have learned that I still believe in education, and am not sure how much I believe in school. I have come to understand more and more what I want for my family and children. I learned that if you make your home and family your priority, your children will feel the importance of where they come from. I want my children to be selfassured, fearless, educated, free, unbiased, loving, kind, giving, brave, and happy. I want them to learn how to follow and break the rules. I want them to know that there are no wasted days if you live your life. I don't want them to ever be owned by any person or job. I want them to be so fiercly grounded in who they are and where they came from that the world looks like the deep end of a swimming pool. A big, deep, dangerous pool with a windy slide at the end. I believe in community and real life. I believe children learn more in the garden in their back yard than they do in a classroom hearing about how things grow. I believe failure is a matter of opinion and perspective.

It is my hope that my children and the people around Jason and I see our beliefs through our actions. You are what you do. So, I better get to doin. Happy New Year and happy living.