Monday, April 30, 2012

Grocery Store Struggles.

Today was grocery store day. I went prepared with my list and my reusable bags and this morning the hubby got to come along to help! The Little One loves the grocery store but it is sometimes difficult to shop with her so I was thankful for the extra hands.

When we reached the eggs I grabbed the organic eggs. My husband quickly noted the significant price difference. My response was yes but it is important for us to put more healthful food into our bodies rather than eggs that have come from chickens who are fed a diet with hormones and have no access to the outside. My husband is frugal with a degree in finance so paying more for food can sometimes be a battle. He really has to be convinced that it is really important and even then I think it pains him to know what we pay for certain items in comparison to mainstream. This is why he usually does not participate in the grocery shopping.
I won't lie I still cringe when I compare prices or when conventional items are on sale and organic seems to NEVER be on sale. For example those really good deals where conventional chicken is $1.99/lb I am tempted to just give in and stock up on cheap chicken.

Since the Little One has entered the picture I have gotten much more passionate about food and nutrition. I really enjoy cooking now and reading about our food system. I worry about what goes into her little body and I want to do my best to give her the healthiest start that I can. I read this post awhile back about how as the one who does the grocery shopping and the majority of the cooking I am responsible for the health of my family. That is a huge responsibility and one that I take very seriously. This is why I take the extra time to make whole wheat rolls from scratch, bread from scratch, make my own chicken broth, granola bars and to buy as much organic produce as I can afford! So we do pay more for some items but it is worth it to me to do my part to keep those I love healthy.

This is not to say that delivery pizza does not show up in our house or that we completely abstain from fast food because we don't! I love a good pizza and as long as it is in moderation I'm OK with it.

Homemade garlic and rosemary rolls, mmmmm


If you are on the fence about processed food or organic vs. conventional produce I STRONGLY recommend watching Food inc.. Knowing what is going into your body and where it comes from is empowering!

She enjoyed her sample of the roll!

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Grumpy mornings and Seperation Anxiety.

You know how I said I missed sleeping in and being on time? Well I really missed those things today. Getting us all out of the house for church on Sunday morning is always a challenge, but lately it seems to have gotten worse. Both the mister and I woke up grumpy this morning, it probably had something to do with the Little One waking up at 6:00am for the past two mornings instead of her usual 7:00am. We get through the morning and I put the Little One down for a nap-she got a good hour in before I had to wake her up, but because I HATE to wake a sleeping baby I didn't go in until late, which of course makes us late to church. This usually isn't a big deal but when we're both grumpy everything is a big deal.

The Little One's separation anxiety is getting worse. The hubby and I had a date night last night (the second one since the Little One's arrival) and my sister and her hubby came out to babysit. All was well until after dinner when she decided she was done for the day- maybe because she woke up an hour earlier than usual. My sister called to tell me she wouldn't go to sleep and was quite upset, thankfully we were already on our way home. Once we got home she calmed down and I put her to bed no problem. Then this morning in church the nursery worker came to get me and let me know that she was screaming and inconsolable, so we got her, calmed her down and headed home. It was the end of the service so we didn't miss anything but we barely got to talk to anyone but the people in the nursery since we got there late and left early.

I think we are slowly rebounding and everyone is feeling much better this afternoon but gosh I'm wondering if we are ever going to be able to go out to dinner AND a movie.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Cuteness.



 I just had to share some of the pictures of the Little One that I've taken recently. She is such a cutie and I can't resist sharing some of this cuteness!



The light was just so perfect one evening- so we had a mini photo shoot!

Look at that sneer!

Rainy day

Easter morning


Gardening with mom. Look at all of those carrots we got!
We are having a good time...except for the other night when she was up screaming for 2 hours, but I guess that comes with the territory. 
 This parenting thing is a lot of fun but it sure is a lot of work too. I really miss sleeping in, I do think that is what I miss most, that and being able to get out of the house quickly- I am late everywhere!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Happy Earth Day!


On this Earth Day I thought I would share with you a few ways our family attempts to be ‘green’. In this last year we have made a lot of changes in this area and I am so glad we have. It seems that the ‘green’ thing is quite trendy but we have not made these changes to keep up with the Jones but to have a healthier family and to do our part to take care of the earth that God has blessed us with. I believe that we should be good stewards of what we are given, our planet included. We still have a long way to go but here is what we do:
Recycle
Compost
Make our own all purpose cleaner
Cloth diaper our Little One
Use re-usable baby wipes
Use a clothesline instead of our dryer
Grow some of our own vegetables in our organic garden

Buy organic produce for the most part.
We do our best to fix or re-purpose what we have instead of buying new

This year I hope we make more changes that will help us lessen our carbon footprint and make us a healthier family!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Summer Garden

The summer garden was planted a few weeks ago and is now starting to flourish. Summer gardening is not my strong point, I usually do better in the fall but not this year! My lettuce grew a little, stalled and then bolted so it was all too bitter to eat. The carrots have been in the ground a LONG time and are still not big enough to do anything with, I'm hoping they will be edible soon. I am very hopeful for this season though.



I purchased my transplants from a local nursery that carries organic locally grown vegetables so I started out right! I have been diligent with my watering and fertilizing so far and it has paid off! I already have three tomatoes that have started and maybe a teeny tine zucchini!


My herb garden is happy as well, the oregano and rosemary are starting to take over the bed though. Basil is one of my favorite herbs but I always seem to kill it so maybe this year will be different!

Friday, April 13, 2012

I'm back!

Yes I know it's been awhile. There are lots of excuses, the main one being that the computer got a virus and I thought I had lost ALL of my pictures. Yes there was some yelling and lots of calls to the husband to see if he could help me fix it. He couldn't. Luckily someone at church who is much more computer savvy offered to fix it right up, and she did! Yay for no lost files and a usable computer!



Update on what's going on in our little world. The roof is still not done, it is the never ending project. I cannot wait until it is over with and all cleaned up. Our yard looks like a mini tornado went through it with all of the debris.

The Little One is doing great, she is learning so fast and getting the mobility thing down WAY too fast. She is getting into everything, I had to move one of the lamps out of her room since she pulled it down twice. I think I took her lack of mobility for granted those first couple of months- she is wearing me out, and it is only going to get worse!  Right now she is attempting to crawl into her car seat and is yelling about it. She has also cut two teeth! Eating has become a little bit easier now.

This was the very first time she pulled up on anything!


We had a lovely Easter! We went to church all dressed up in our Springy clothes, including the Little One. However she did not leave in her pretty clothes since she of course, peed all over them. We dried them out and salvaged them for pictures later. We ate of yummy lunch and had an egg hunt with the husband's parents and the aunts, uncles and nephews.


This week is the hubby's birthday! I'm excited to celebrate with him and there will be no shortage of celebrating! On his birthday there will be our little family celebration, then on Friday a dinner with his side of the family and then on Sunday we will celebrate again with my side of the family! Lucky man he is!

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