Beans & Rice

Menu Plan

2012-01-30T06:45:00.000-08:00

Here's what's on the menu this week:

Monday: White Bean Chicken Chili in the crockpot (made with homemade stock from yesterday's chicken in the crockpot...pretty easy!), w/creme fraiche, avocados, cheese, tortilla chips & Fresh veggies
Tuesday: Pasta Dish (undecided) and I will have mine over zucchini strips
Wednesday: Taco Salad
Thursday: Split Pea or Lentil Soup in the crockpot, fresh bread from bakery
Friday: Burgers and homefries (class was moved to the morning this week)
Saturday: Clean out the fridge (also a bday snack/meal out for Daniel and I!)
Sunday: Birthday meal at home...possibly some seafood or some nice cut of beef as a treat!)

For breakfast we have eggs, fruit, toast or some combination of eggs & toast (ie eggs in a window, french toast, etc.). I've just started making kefir and sometimes we have that with nuts, raisins, fruit, honey and I'm making granola right now:). We'll be having squash pancakes in the morning, that are almost grain free.

What's on your menu? Merci!

French Swing Dancing?

2012-01-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

We check out a few french videos each week from the public library and one that Daniel got this time was "swing dancing" because he though the girls might like it. As in swing dancing lessons. It was pretty dorky, but the girls had an excuse to be crazy and dance (as if they need an excuse!).

Rockin' the crib (w/sis)

2012-01-29T10:37:00.001-08:00

White Bean Cake (gluten free)

2012-01-27T11:21:00.000-08:00

I know a few of you will appreciate this recipe (my MIL especially)! It was adapted from this recipe for White Bean Cake, but I had to modify it because not only did I not have coconut flour, but coconut flour is way to expensive (and I have never seen it here). So... not having any other flour to replace it with and also wanting it to be a grain free recipe meant I...just left it out. And it was still really good! My judgement might be slightly off since i really haven't had any real "dessert" in about a month but that's okay. I'll eat it all and you don't have to have any!!;)

Vanilla Bean Cake:

2 1/2 cups cooked white beans
6 eggs
3/4 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3-1/2 cup honey

Puree well in food processor or use immersion blender.

Add:
1/4 cup oil
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Puree again.

Bake at 325-350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Very moist and dense cake, but its very filling. Pair with a glass of raw milk for an almost nutritious dessert!

Quote on suffering

2012-01-27T01:21:00.000-08:00

I ran across this quote in the book I'm reading right now and thought it was excellent.

"Suffering- especially in the forms of potentially ominous pain or significant longer-term suffering-tends to produce clear benefits. So how does it do this? It does it in part by challenging our shallow confidences. As long as things seem to be going well for us, we tend to harbor a number of false beliefs. One of them is that our lives are largely in our own control." Mark R. Talbot (from "For the Fame of God's name")

I tend on the optimistic side of personality (it will all work out okay...) and I needed this reminder to "challenge our shallow confidences". Putting our hope in Christ is always far better than trusting in some circumstance that is fleeting in the moment.

New Haircut, Chapeau and big boy

2012-01-26T11:31:00.000-08:00

Louis has gotten very fast in pulling himself up...and he can do it on pretty much anything. He's still a little unsteady on his feet probably because of his pigeon-toedness. He's still the cutest guy in the world (next to his daddy:)

Marianna learned more about the Gallette tradition in school today and everyone made crowns. Olivia is just a ham.

I decided it was time to start getting Marianna's hair evened up with her growing-out bangs. So out came the scissors and here's what we ended up with. I was originally thinking of going shorter, but I decided to try to keep it long enough for a partial ponytail.

Foil and Grunts

2012-01-25T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yep, he's all boy. Unlike the girls, Louis has developed a language of grunts. He makes the age appropriate letter sounds too, but enjoys grunting especially when he is "conquering" something. For example: mommy's foil. Enjoy.

Beware of the creepy leg sneaking into the background;).

Band-aids and dolly clothes

2012-01-23T07:01:00.001-08:00

Grandma and Grandma sent a package with some things we asked them to sent but they also included a few fun goodies for us and the kiddos: including clothes for the girls' "new" Barbies (hand-me-downs we were blessed with over Christmas) and band-aids! The girls promptly asked to put them on their chins so they looked like thy had some good "owies". Nice.

Thank you grandma and grandpa!

In which Louis discovers he has a tongue

2012-01-21T10:41:00.000-08:00

and wants to show it off.

Family update and menu plan

2012-01-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

Our weekend is just ending and honestly I am glad its over! For some reason we just had a really rough time with the girls. It seems like they are both going through really difficult phases right now. Previously it seemed like they would take turns (one would be sweet and delightful the majority of the time and the other...not so much). Now we seem to be constantly breaking up fights, dealing with whining and disciplining for disobedience. We are praying for lots of grace right now and wisdom for how to deal! Anyway, so that is why I am glad to be getting back into the "routine" of the week. Sometimes it seems like the strong structure built into our week helps to alleviate a tiny bit of the struggles.

We're also trying to do more "winding down" at night to try to help with Liv's night terror issue. After bath we read books, pray and then they listen to classical music as they fall asleep. Hopefully it continues to help...last night went really well. No one woke up until 3am, which is amazing for Liv. Hopefully it helps again tonight!

On to the menu plan:

Monday: Beef stew chunks in the crockpot over turnips, carrots, leeks and potatoes
Tuesday: Macaroni and Cheese in the crockpot
Wednesday: Thai or indian dish in the crockpot (I got cheap coconut milk this week)
(need recipe)
Thursday: Twice Baked potatoes or Mashed potatoes, beef gravy, green beans
Friday: Need something fun/easy crockpot or make ahead for this night...I have class in the evening and our usual isn't working right now (Hamburgers and homemade fries). We'll save that for Sat.
Saturday: Burgers and Fries
Sunday: TBD (grilled cheese maybe?)

What's on your menu? Any menu ideas for me (or parenting wisdom?;) Merci!

Marianna's school

2012-01-21T07:11:00.001-08:00

Here's our big girl in front of her school. They are picky about taking pictures so this is as good as it may get. She sometimes rides her scooter there and is FAST! She likes it quite a bit, but it sees the exciting newness has worn off a bit and she has realized that she doesn't understand what people are saying! So she's had a few days where she wasn't loving going as much as in the beginning. But she is learning a lot and we noticed she has a friend or two already (that she must find SOME way to communicate with!). We are thinking about inviting one of her friends' families over for dinner. The dad speaks good English and it may be a good way to build a relationship, possibly share our faith and possibly practice some french. Last night she started counting in French (which we'd practiced at home) but she kept going....all the way to 20! I know we haven't practiced that far together more than a couple times. So it is exciting that she's learning already. I imagine it won't be long til she corrects our pronunciation;)

More scooter fun

2012-01-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

Menu plan

2012-01-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

My trip to the saturday market pictured with my super cute helper eating an apple. (and our new big and sturdy table and chairs...yay!)

The vicious cycle of too busy to menu plan, but too busy not to have one has begun! So I am going to at least get a rough idea of what we'll have this next few days (mostly crockpot) sketched out to save us all further headaches:).

Monday: Fortunately this afternoon I pulled out a win with the crockpot at the last minute: italian zucchini/green beans. Sliced zucchinis, leftover green beans, chopped tomatoes, italian spices, olive oil and a jar of spagetti sauce mixed with a couple eggs cooked on high for 3 hours. I served it over noodles for the rest of the fam with shredded cheese. Daniel said that we could make it again, which is major for me! Also made homemade dressing for our salad (Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette).
Tuesday: Twiced baked potatoes ("bake" in the crockpot), smoked chicken, cooked carrots
Wednesday: Chili (in the slow cooker of course:), cornbread, mixed veg.
Thursday: Slow cooker corn potato chowder, fresh bread
Friday: (our tradition now) Hamburgers, homemade fries and fresh veggies

What's on your menu?

Scooters

2012-01-15T12:06:00.000-08:00

We have some better videos coming, but for now here is one to check out the girls' scooter action.

Trip to Grenoble

2012-01-12T23:54:00.000-08:00

On the train to Grenoble to get our visas made "official". What an early morning (we had to walk to catch the train by 6:57am)! But we made it with plenty of time.

The munchkins had fun playing near the gare on our way back home. We had to get some "wiggles" out:). Check out the beautiful mountain behind Liv:

The fam, minus Daniel (always taking the shots!)
Louis got worn out with the trip and slept on the way back from the OFII office.

The girls enjoyed a playground after we arrived back in Chambery, a kind of "celebration" for making it back safely. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a "kebab" a yummy sandwich while they played. Then it was back home for naps!

Busy Louis

2012-01-11T08:43:00.000-08:00

Louis leads a busy life. Whether it be laughing at his really weird mama, looking through our door down the hall at his crazy sisters, or taking a nap in what we call the "suffocator" during a walk in the stroller (and continuing even after the walk has ended), he has LOTS to do. He is a sweet addition to our lives:)

Growing up too fast!

2012-01-08T10:22:00.000-08:00

The girls are growing up too fast! My oldest "baby" is now in school and LOVES it and my second oldest or middle "baby" is now pretty much potty-trained! Where did the time go? I am very proud of how much the girls have accomplished since coming here.

Marianna loves to play "kitchen" and with babies and jewelry. She is such a girly-girl.

Space is kindof tight so the girls get creative with where they play:)

My big potty trainer!

Love these crazy girls!

Menu Plan (and my trip to the Saturday market)

2012-01-08T10:02:00.001-08:00

We are trying to only grocery shop once a week (very tricky with a family of five and no wheels except a bicycle!) and because Daniel is a rockstar he has really taken over that task. He is the master of packing a bike or a stroller chock-full of groceries and getting them home in record time. That's why I can't complain when he occasionally buys something that isn't quite right (zucchinis instead of cucumbers for example) since not only does he have to figure out what it is in French, but he almost never gets something that isn't on the list. He's not the guy who brings home a bunch of junk when I send him out with a list. He's pretty awesome:) Anywhoooo...so yesterday we did our weekly shopping and I thought we might try it a little different to be able to fit in a trip to the Saturday market too. I volunteered to bring the two littlest with me to the market and he went with Marianna to LIDL. It worked out pretty great and I was super excited that I was able to ask for the raw milk pictured below totally in French*all*by*myself:) Woot! Also got the equivalent of about 13 lbs of apples (mostly good for cooking/applesauce) for 4 Euros ($5-$6), so pumpkin-like squash (for my crustless, made w/honey pie and Louis food), and some pears. Yum yum!

We had a super busy Saturday so I am thankful that our Sunday has been fairly restful. We went to a new church today but I don't think we'll be going back. It wasn't what we were hoping for doctrinally so we're kind of struggling with what to do. The options for churches here are VERY limited, but we don't feel like we should just stay home and do church ourselves at this point.

On a different note: raw milk is SO good and I am going to have to exercise much self control to keep myself from drinking all of it! Still doing the no-sugar, no caffeine and no grains (well almost...we had two get-togethers yesterday-one at our house and a friends' bday where some grains may have snuck into my mouth accidentally;).

Here's our menu plan for the week:
Sunday: Lentil meatloaf, roasted red potatoes, green beans (very suprised that the girls and Louis ate their lentil loaf w/no problems)
Monday: Chicken in the crockpot, fresh bread, carrots and zucchini
Tuesday: Spagetti (mine with zucchini noodles...didn't have this last week)
Wednesday: Chicken stir-fry over rice
Thursday: Soup of some kind (or maybe white chicken chili!), fresh bread (we'll be traveling to get our visa made official today so the crockpot is a lifesaver!)
Friday: Hamburgers, fries (our new friday tradition to replace the pizza)
Saturday: Open...clean out the fridge maybe?

More Da Da

2012-01-07T12:10:00.001-08:00

Workin' on Da Da

2012-01-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

Is it a ghost? Nope, just some silly sisters.

2012-01-06T03:08:00.000-08:00

Menu Plan (for my first week of school!)

2012-01-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

I started school today and so did Marianna! It went really well for both of us. I really didn't start "class" yet, but did spend most of the day at the school getting oriented and placed into a level. Plus two 50 minute (round trip) bike rides to and from school and a 2 hour tour of the city...exhausted. Tomorrow morninghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif I http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifwill be in my beginners class and I am looking forward to it! Daniel and the littles did great with their first day without mommy...Daniel even fixed dinner that I planned!

Tues: Ratatouille with rice
Wed: Spagetti (I will be having zucchini "noodles" instead of actual noodles) with fresh bread and broccoli
Thursday: Taco soup in crockpot
Friday: Cheeseburgers, homefries, veggie sticks
Saturday: Green Mashed potatoes, meat and gravy

Bunkbed hide-out (and brother discovers it!)

2011-12-31T12:14:00.000-08:00

Gitcho (as in "get you")

2011-12-31T06:35:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T11:13:00.001-08:00

Cute Marianna with our bouche de Noel.

And the deeeeeeeliciousness of our Christmas meal:

Salmon over baguette and cheese, Cheesy potatoes, garlic green beans.

The gorgeous lake in Chambery and the mom and friend who had us over.
Skyping in grandma and grandpa Gregory for some present opening fun:
Christmas morning stocking excitement:

The family that had us over for Christmas (or us plus the mom and her son:)

Menu Plan

2011-12-29T03:08:00.000-08:00

Been awhile since I made a menu plan! I've really struggled to figure out the best way to eat/shop/budget since here (in France). I've actually been menu-planning still for the most part, but haven't been posting it here. To make it even more complicated I am going grain/sugar free until the end of January (then to re-evaluate at that point). This is the first time I've significantly changed my diet that hasn't been for weight loss or pregnancy related. I've been struggling with a number of health issues that may or may not be related and thus far medical tests have been really really expensive and have yielded absolutely no answers. I am thinking it is related to my thyroid and/or something to do with adrenal fatigue. and have been reading some about how diet and lifestyle can really affect those.

So...I decided it really couldn't hurt (and really don't know what else to try at this point!) to try some drastic dietary changes.
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Today is my second day of no caffeine, no sugar, and no grains. Yesterday I had MAJOR caffeine withdrawal headaches, but today has been much better. I need to work on some good breakfast options because although I love eggs...I like some variety too. Yesterday was also great timing in that our "family" Christmas present arrived: a brand new crockpot (from amazon.fr). This will make things a lot easier when I start school (and yes, we decided finally that I would start in January rather than Daniel). So I have some delicious lentil soup in the crockpot right now!

Here is our menu plan, or at least what I have so far:

Thursday (tonight): Lentil ham soup (crockpot):

Friday: Cheeseburgers and Fries, cooked carrots (I'll just skip the buns)
Saturday: Ratatouille
Sunday: Stuffed Peppers in the crockpot (stuffed with onions, ground meat, tomatoes and topped with cheese

What's on your menu this week? Any good grain free recipes for me to try (especially breakfasts or snacks...I'm hungry!;)

Around the house

2011-12-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

Too tired to post all the Christmas pictures tonight but wanted to get a few up for ya'll.

Louis is enthusiastic about getting in his 5 a day fruits and legumes (as they say here in France!)

A lot of the basic fruits and veggies are really reasonably priced here which is nice. Most things are NOT, so it is great that at least something healthy is affordable! We eat a huge cucumber, 4-5 carrots, 5+oranges, several bananas daily for snacks in addition to our veggies with meals. Yum!

Cute kids in the tub:

Daddy love. Here I was trying to get a video of Louis laughing at sis brushing her teeth, but it didn't work.

Post-Chrismtas catch-up

2011-12-27T04:41:00.001-08:00

We had a really nice Christmas and *almost* felt like we were with family since we were able to skype with family some throughout the weekend. We were blessed to have received a ton of toys, books and a few clothes even for the kiddos for free before Christmas so the kids were actually overwhelmed with things to open on the big day but we barely spent any money. We anticipate needing a number of things for the kiddos clothes-wise in the upcoming months so the money we don't tuck away into their savings will go to that (plus any school related expenses Marianna might have).

We also spent the entire day on Christmas day with a French family from our church here after the service. We enjoyed multiple courses of delicious food (first was a variety of breads with pate, salmon, and little meat/prune things on toothpicks with olives and nuts in dishes on the side, next were noodles that were like homemade, turkey in a delicious wine/truffle/broccoli sauce with bread, and then we enjoyed salad with a cheese platter. We then went on a walk with most of the family to the lakeside park. SO beautiful! We can't wait to take our families there when they visit. Really breathtaking. It was super cold though and the girls froze a little:). Then after our "digestion walk" we came back to the house for the bouche de noel log (a chocolate cake) that was A-MAZ-ING! and really strong coffee in tiny cups. After that the girls were gifted with a ton of hand-me-down kids' stuff that the family had been given from some other people (not sure who). Thankfully there were two English speakers (their son who has studied in New Zealand or Australia) and another single lady who spoke great English. We still tried to communicate with the hosts who didn't speak English as much as we could. I told Daniel that would be the way to learn French super fast (living with a French only speaking family for a few months)! We came home around 7:30pm exhausted. It was quite a blessing to be able to do that.

Yesterday we had our "family" Chrismtas and the girls opened their presents from the grandparents and had our special meal for lunch (smoked salmon on fresh bread, special cheese on roasted potatoes, garlic butter green beans and bouche de noel (before we knew we would be having one at the family's house) with bourbon vanilla flavored icecream. It was delicious and fun.

Today we are back to "normal" and figuring out how next week will work with one of us in school plus Marianna going for half days 4 days a week. I rode my bike to school/ the local thrift shop to see if I could find it (with Daniel's careful instructions...he takes good care of me!). It was a cold and long bike ride but I did it! Plus I got my Chrismtas present from Emmaus, the thrift shop...a french outfit! Boots, tapered/skinny type jeans, and a long sweater. I felt very accomplished surviving a hour plus bike ride and finding the school/thrift shop! Good to get out and get some sun/exercise too of course:)

More snow!

2011-12-22T11:26:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed the snow while it lasted. I would have loved to take the girls out more, but I've found that the 30 minutes it sometimes takes to get everyone out the door is NOT worth the 15 minutes it takes for one of the three to get too cold, fall in the mud or have to go potty and then we are all back inside! So...we spent more time watching the snow from the inside than actually out in it.

We've been here over a month now (in France) and are learning a lot about life and language. We've had a lot of "firsts" (many embarrassing ones!). Today I rode our shared bike to pick up a few things from the store. Now I appreciate the convenience of having had a car all those years for quick trips! I am sure in a year I will be thinking back to our time here about the convenience of having a store like the one I went to to go to and how convenient that was! It is all perspective, that's for sure. I am learning to be more creative in certain things, especially when I can't make it to the store (or it is overwhelming to try to find what I need/want:). Today it sparked a little creativity in me (which is unusual...I am SO not creative). The results were homemade crayon wedges make from old crayons melted together and little make-up kits for the girls (with q-tips, make-up wipes, chapstick and nail files, all things I had extras of here already). Fun little stocking stuffers and all free! Looking forward to the girls opening their stockings in just a couple days...now I know that it really is fun to be the one watching present opening and not just a kid getting everything!;)

Around town

2011-12-20T09:44:00.000-08:00

Our apt. building:

Pretty door covered in birds:

M w/ bakery bread:

Our favorite boulangerie (Bakery)

Family fun crawling with Louis

2011-12-18T23:29:00.000-08:00

Snow!

2011-12-18T21:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we finally had some snow. It was beautiful! We only wish it would stay long enough to play in!

Update: its snowing again today...whoo hoo!

Whiplash giggles

2011-12-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

The things you let your kids do when you get to number three!

Zoo and sick at home

2011-12-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

The kids and I have been housebound for most of the week either due to illness or rain. I am ready to be healthy and for the rain to stop! Actually, I think we are at least on the upswing for sickness. Last night was the first night the kids weren't up multiple times coughing/crying/coughing in a LONG time. Louis got up only once to nurse, which is good for him (the little turkey!) Below is a new game we came up with in desperation for new play while stuck in the apartment. It is "zoo" and I told the girls to construct a zoo and houses for the animals (with foam blocks). They loved it! We've played "zoo" numerous times this week.

Even Louis digs it;)

Here's a sick Liv drinking her honey lemon drink. She has an especially hard time when sick-her typical night terrors take on epic proportions. One night I was up every 15 or so minutes calming her down until 1 or so in the morning. Needless to say I was super excited to get up only a couple times last night.

Below are some links I wanted to save.

Homemade Crayon Chunks

I've only been able to find a couple varieties of beans here...but if I find more I will be making this:
Gourmet Bean Soup
Our favorite cold weather "meal" here has become homemade soup (unlimited possibilities!) with a fresh loaf of bread from the boulangerie. Soup is generally cheap so the fresh whole grain bread with real butter is affordable in that context. And sooo good!

Making homemade playdough

2011-12-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

We made homemade playdough today! It was one of the fun Christmas activities I wanted to do with the girls (I know its not really a "Christmas" activity, but wanted to do it for fun while we're cooped up:)

Homemade Playdough

I am sure she tried to eat some, but it is very salty! The pink color and delicious smell came from pomegranate tea! Such a great idea from Tammy's recipes.

We also made the yummiest homemade chicken noodle soup. I used a smoked chicken carcass for the broth (along with my bag of veggie scraps from the freezer for the broth.) Delish!

A day in the life

2011-12-11T23:56:00.000-08:00

Here is Louis pulling himself up on the tv. We do have a tv here and use it to watch French childrens' movies and french news to hopefully pick up pronunciation and vocab!

I thought I would try to give you a glimpse into our days here. There is not really a "typical" day yet since we aren't in school. When we start school we will have a typical day to some degree, but I'll give you an idea what we are doing now. Partially because if I were you, I would wonder what in the world we are doing every day in France!

~5:30am: Daniel up
~6:00-6:30: Marianna our morning girl usually wakes up and wakes the rest of the house up. We try to work with her on that, but so far it hasn't been successful;)
~6:30: girls start their "morning routine" while mommy makes breakfast. One of us has to help Olivia through the morning routine (she can do parts of it independently such as putting her bedding away and brushing her teeth, but needs help going potty, getting a new diaper on etc.
7:00 eat breakfast together and do catechisms, memory work, pray etc.
After this the timeline is kind of loose.
~Clean up from breakfast and finish morning routine
~Girls watch 15 minutes of a sermon online(we often use desiringgod.org) this is practice for sitting still in church/other times we need them to sit still!
~Daniel and I take turns getting ready for the day and I nurse Louis somewhere in here
~Girls color/play playdough at table
~Family cleanup time! We usually do some sort of laundry task(we do 2 loads a day and then all need to be hung up to dry), general pick up, sweeping, and vaccuming during this time
~Girls have free play time or trip to the store/playground until lunch. This would be a time I might sneak in some studying (flashcards, some short videos on french basics) Daniel is often gone to study at this time and returns later in the afternoon unless we have a tutoring session.
11:00-noon: lunch prep and eat lunch (usually leftovers or sandwiches)
noon-1pm: free play/possible cartoon in French
1:00pm start winding down for naps. All three take a rest during this time, generally all sleep at least 45 minutes, even Marianna. Some days we have tutoring for 2 hours during this time.
~When Marianna and Louis wake up (usually by 2:30) Marianna has started some "School time" I'm excited because she's able to do some independently on the computer now. ~We go to "starfall.org" and she is able to do it mostly by herself after a little introduction to how to use our laptops touchpad.
~4:00pm or so I usually start getting geared up for dinner, we do a pre dinner cleanup and sometimes Daniel takes some/all of the kids out for a walk/to the playground. If this isn't possible I might have them walk a french cartoon or go play in their room. Louis is often taking his third nap of the day (if anyone has any sweet tips for how to lengthen naps instead of having to do three, I'd be grateful! My other two did this naturally but Louis is a very different little one when it comes to sleep!)
~5:00pm or so is dinner, dinnertime devotions and cleanup. Sometime the girls help with dishes and sweeping.
~After dinner is usually just trying to get things ready for the next day, cleaning up and maybe a french video. Sometimes we read books, but often it is unstructured and usually unproductive time for Mommy and daddy! Usually Olivia and Louis are grumpy by this time and take a LOT of attention. So although we'd love to study and get projects done, it just doesn't happen! And since the kiddos have been sick a lot lately and Louis still gets up once or so a night we try to be in bed ourselves by 9:00pm or so (8:00pm is the kids' bedtime). We try to study after they go to bed as we can.

When classes start the kids' schedule will stay the same for the most part except that Marianna may be attending morning classes at a local school as well. The dynamics of having just Louis and Liv at home will be interesting! Hope that gave you an idea of what the children and I do, and of course some days are drastically different such as when we go to the store, bank, or library since we typically have to walk at least 15 minutes to get where we want to go.

Proverbs 31:30

2011-12-11T00:44:00.000-08:00

Livvie puts a whole new spin on the "beauty is vain" part of the verse with her nutella covered mouth and little "frohawk".

We work on some verse memory and some catechisms every morning (such as "who is the FIRST and BEST of beings"? : God!) Its amazing what the kiddos retain and hopefully this will help them to be able to discern whether something is truth or not as they get older.

Big kids on the playground

2011-12-10T23:40:00.000-08:00

The kids had fun on the "big kids" playground in our apartment complex with daddy.

More tree trimming fun

2011-12-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

Today we received a fun package from the states from Grandma and Grandpa Gregory! It was full of Christmas fun! We decorated the tree and the girls had a blast "trimming" the apartment. We'll be making Christmas cookies with the M&M's and snowman cookie cutters soon. Thank you!

Laughing Louis

2011-12-07T11:56:00.001-08:00

Fun Christmas Links

2011-12-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some links I am thinking are worth saving for my first Christmas overseas!

Homemade Playdough

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Homemade Gingerbread Latte

Fun Popcorn Recipes

Handmade Handprint Wreath

Louis Standing

2011-12-06T23:16:00.000-08:00

And...the awesomeness that happened afterward:

Rough night for the boy

2011-12-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

Louis, like my other children, never stops moving. Except he's SO strong. And so skinny and wiggly. He routinely does the above at night, getting out of his jammies. Tomorrow hopefully I'll be able to post the video we took of his newest trick:)

City Pictures

2011-12-04T22:25:00.001-08:00

Pictures from the downtown area of Chambery.

Louis Crawling

2011-12-04T22:21:00.001-08:00

Decorating our tree

2011-12-03T10:17:00.001-08:00

We found a little tree in our "cave" under the apartment. I wouldn't normally be this excited about a fake tree, but this is our first Christmas away from family and I am feeling like some little reminders of the holidays at home might be nice. Plus we don't have other decorations at this point (minus some that are in the mail from my parents...thank you!) so this will make the apartment feel a little bit festive.

The girls had a good time putting the little decorations on it. Louis pretty much wanted to eat the tree and all the ornaments. Since he's crawling now, he's into all sorts of mischief.

Mommy and Louis didn't want to be left out.

Happy 7 Months Louis!

2011-12-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

Our big boy is crawling all over the house (mostly to chase mommy...he's a mommy's boy) and now pulling himself up to his knees on furniture. He loves his sisters, eating paper and pretty much chewing on everything (loves him some power cords and paper...yikes!). We love our big 7 month old!

We also want to give a belated birthday shout out to Grandpa George! We love you!

Not a good babysitter

2011-11-27T12:24:00.000-08:00

No we didn't really let our 4 year old babysit, but it was funny to see her sleep right through Louis poking her face, rolling on her and giving her wet kisses.

They are a cute pair--can definitely tell they got some Crosby genes.

We love to eat (in France)

2011-11-27T11:52:00.001-08:00

Mmmmm...we love us some (storebrand) Nutella!

So much nutella love that we can't limit it to going INTO our mouths, but must covered our lips and faces (and sometimes hands and arms) with it. Nom nom nom.

But before the nutella came the snacks and meal. Snacks: popcorn and frozen peas. Getting creative with the veggies. Some times its worth the fight to get them to eat every last bit of veg on their dinner plates, sometimes I use my "mom skilz" and make them fun and no fighting. Frozen peas seem to work lately as a fun veg. Also, bringing a big bag of cut up carrots and cucumbers out to the playground with us as the ONLY snack ensures they will be devoured.

The boy and a rare teething biscuit treat. Gracefully smeared on everything within reach.

Our Saturday Market treats: apples, cabbage, leeks(I think), organic sour bread and some local honey. Most of it is gone already, except the honey. We'll try to limit that tasty treat a little better:)

Day at the Saturday Market

2011-11-26T11:34:00.001-08:00

Feeling adventurous, we went to the Saturday market all by ourselves this morning. We *thought* we knew how to get there, but remembered that it moved to a new location this week! We got a little lost. But we discovered a pretty older district of the town in the process that we'd like to visit again. I also used some of my skills and bought leeks, some sort of cabbage, a few apples, organic bread (that was by accident...found out that was why it was so expensive after we got it home!), and local honey. Its a good way to get food and work on language skills at the same time:). We don't think we'll be eating out or traveling much while in France, but trying a new food occasionally is a nice treat.

These pictures were taken before the big heading home meltdowns occurred. And while mommy & Louis were trying our sweet french skilz out on unsuspecting vendors (as in "deux" and "merci"...awesome, I know).

Fun in our new French apartment

2011-11-25T10:12:00.000-08:00

We are enjoying our new apartment in France. There are definitely some things that are different and challenging, but we are enjoying being here. Here we are trying our our oven for the first time for some baking (morning glory muffins). It was definitely tricky to get the right temp for the oven (you have to light it and it has holes in the back...very different from what I am used to!)

Marianna is very excited about here new 'bunk bed". Sister sleeps underneath on a little mattress.

The girls are enjoying the little kitchen that the White family left for us to use.

Daniel and the kids enjoying a wrestle match.

Louis pulls himself up (to knees) on chair

2011-11-24T12:25:00.001-08:00

"French" taco salad

2011-11-22T08:57:00.000-08:00

This is probably sacreligious(I mean we should be eating cheese, bread and wine every night in France, right?!? ;)but we had taco salad tonight and it was really good:). We used Emmataul(sp?) cheese, creme fraiche and fresh veggies from the market. I think I'll have to make my own salsa in the future, I saw some cilantro at the market as well as peppers. They have a small selection of dried beans in the grocery store here so I was able to do that how I normally do with white and red beans. The peppers, avocado, and cucumbers were from the Saturday market as well and were delicious.

My happy taco salad eaters...both cleaned their plates. Success!

I would love any ideas for good, not-too-difficult meals that are more "traditional" to eat in France if you have them!

First Weekend in France

2011-11-21T00:11:00.001-08:00

We keep forgetting to bring our camera out because there is so much to take in! We are getting settled a bit...almost unpacked and all that. We still have LOTS to figure out about life here as well as how soon we'll start classes.
Below are the beautiful veggies we bought at the street market. Yum! We had cauliflower with cheese sauce for dinner last night. The kids didn't love it, but they ate it.

The girls doing some table time as part of the their morning routine, we also have been sneaking in some "school" here and there (before we moved here....hopefully we'll get back into that soon). More pictures soon!

Je m'appelle NOTHIN' says Liv

2011-11-21T00:09:00.000-08:00

Louis squeals and gigles

2011-11-18T12:44:00.000-08:00

Not a flattering angle for mommy, but Louis was so cute that I had to share anyway.

We're in France now by the way, if you haven't heard!!

A day in the life of Louis

2011-11-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Snuggles (and kisses)with big sis while trying to wake her from her afternoon power nap.

Still not awake!

Early morning reading with the daddy.

A little cooking with mama.

Busy day!

One fine fall day (less than one week til France!)

2011-11-09T16:56:00.001-08:00

Our neighbors at JAARS (a sweet elderly couple) offered to rake a pile of leaves for the girls to jump in today. The girls had a blast!

Marianna was not reluctant to try some sweet stunts;)

They also made jello using organic apple juice topped with plain yogurt. Livvie was pretty excited.

We finally opened our package of bathtime ABC's and the kids LOVE them. They stick on the wall when wet. Apparently they also stick to little brother's head when wet;)

Louis was a good sport.

Mt. Cameroon and Ewwwwwwwww...

2011-11-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

The girls got a box of Halloween goodies from uncle Bob and Auntie Beverly. It was full of lots of sugar and lots of nasty stuff like gummy snakes and eyeballs in slime. Here the girls are enjoying the "goodies" or shall I say "grossies?". We love our Uncle Bob and Auntie Beverly!

We are packing up for Cameroon as well as France (a wee bit stressful to do all at once!) and here is our ginormous pile of stuff we've acquired or boughten so far. We'll be registering at Target next year so our friends and family can join us in helping to set up our first household in Cameroon.

What's in these tubs? Stuff we either can't get in Cameroon or stuff that is cheaper to ship than to buy there. Bug spray, clothes for Marianna (size 8-10 girls...yikes!), size 3T and up for Louis, skirts for me, kitchen stuff (we bought knives, pots and pans and got some other things but will register for the rest), some of the kids toys that we hate to part with, medicines, a few convenience food items like Taco seasoning, etc.

Dancing Princesses

2011-11-07T16:17:00.000-08:00

Daddy Acrobatics

2011-11-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

Yee haw I finally took the plunge and figured out how to upload a video on Youtube and thankfully it was easy peasy. Here is a video of tonight's antics:

Life at Lightening speed toward France

2011-11-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

We are less than two weeks away from getting on an airplane and leaving life as we know it behind. We'll be heading to France to learn French before moving to Cameroon. Exciting and overwhelming and stressful all at the same time. Our little tiny apartment is overwhelmed with boxes, carseats/cargear(we sold our suburban yesterday), suitcases and much more. Even when it is clean here it looks terrible and feels like the boxes are closing in on me (not to mention the three little people bouncing on everything!

So we could use prayers for wisdom with how to order our days. There is so much to do and nothing left to cut (short of sleep and sending the children to the neighbors for a week:). I want to just be excited for next steps but there isn't time:) But it is exciting nonetheless!

Cute grocery helper, menu plan & sleeping with the Eeee-fant

2011-10-31T17:29:00.001-07:00

I had a supa-cute helper with my grocery shopping and put-away today (big sis was in on the grocery shopping too). Louis gave the pop bottle a good lick-down before I put it away.
We're just about eating out of the pantry now, so I just picked up a few things for around $15 from Harris Teeter, Target (had some returns anyway), and from the food run here at JAARS(bananas, yogurt and broccoli). Menu is below.

Monday: Fried Rice (Daniel and I love this, the kids do not. So sad)
Tuesday: Spagetti, bread, green beans (we all like this okay, not love, but its cheap, easy and relatively healthy:)
Wednesday: Taco Soup...LOVE! esp with fresh avocado....mmmmmmmm and cornbread
Thursday: Fried Chicken and Mashed potatoes, broccoli
Friday: french bread pizza (ran out of flour, don't want to buy more!)
Saturday: Mac n cheese in crockpot?
Sunday: Shepherd's pie or leftovers

And...
Louis finally gave up the weeping and gnashing of teeth to snuggle down with his arm around his beloved blue Eee-fant. If only sleep was something mommy could get more of these days (not trying to complain here but c'mon, between Liv's night terrors and Louis waking up 1-2 times a night I am up half a dozen times. No wonder I can't remember my own name half the time:)

Edible Playdough

2011-10-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

Word to the wise: this stuff is not tasty like a cookie. But the girls had fun and I managed to through away the BIG cookies after they ate the small ones without their noticing. A fun activity for a cooped up day:)

Liv and Louis hanging out

2011-10-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

Livvie loves those rare moments she gets to spend alone with little brother!

Calling Louis, are you there? Hi Sis!

Loves me some Harris Teeter/menu plan

2011-10-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

Fun times shopping at Harris Teeter this week. Reasons I love Harris Teeter:
#1: 20 double coupons per day. No multiple transactions, no waiting until double coupons come out.
#2: BOGO sales are often super cheap. Each item is actually 50% off.
#3: Balloons and free cookies for the munchkins. Love it.
#4: Awesome customer service. I have had almost no bad experiences with cashiers/customer service there.
#5: Winetags. These are $$ off coupons hanging on wine bottles (no you don't have to buy the wine!). I got $2 off any deli meat and got some really good pepperoni for $1.
Love H.T.! This week was a bigger trip (last week was only about $25) so I spent about $45.

Some of my favorite bargains this week: free Blue Diamond Crackers, cheap almonds, $0.14 hormone, antibiotic free eggs, cheap frozen fish, canned and frozen veggies, $0.15 whole grain Meuller's pasta. Our fridge and freezer are full!

Here's what we'll be eating this week:

Breakfast: toast, eggs, fruit, chocolate chip banana bread

Lunches: Leftovers, sandwiches

Dinner: Monday: Tacos and taco salad

Tuesday: Chicken in the crockpot, mashed potatoes, Peas

Wednesday: Fried Rice

Thursday: Fish, Mashed potatoes, corn

Friday: Homemade Pizza, frozen veggies

Saturday: Homemade Hamburger Helper (a new favorite!)

Sunday: Clean out fridge, leftovers, TBD

Free Pumpkin!

2011-10-22T09:24:00.001-07:00

We were able to get a free pumpkin that had a little icky spot so I thought I would let the girls have fun with it before cooking it:) And fun they had. Of course they ended up with marker all over their hands and shirts, but thankfully most of the markers were washable!

After the fun was had I washed the pumpkin and we've enjoyed pumpkin soup, pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and puree in the freezer:)

Menu Plan

2011-10-17T17:51:00.001-07:00

Our two family visits (first Daniel's folks, then mine) are done now:(. We miss them already! We'll still be eating though, so I had better figure out some meals!

Sunday: Beef stew in the crockpot with rolls, banana cake
Monday: Had: tacos with all the fixings, spinach salad
Tuesday: Spagetti, meatballs, rolls with pesto, salad
Wednesday: Whole Chicken in the crockpot w/ carrots. Mashed potatoes
Thursday: Stir fry w/chicken, rice
Friday: Homemade pizza, cheese sticks, veggies
Saturday: Snack or fun food night, or leftovers.

What are you eating? Anything new (I think we're in a rut!:)

Handsome boys in orange

2011-10-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

Daddy and his little man.

Sunny day playground bliss

2011-10-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday Marianna-girl!

2011-10-09T18:31:00.001-07:00

Yes, her birthday was yesterday. These were taken at her first "father-daughter" birthday date. She had a blast eating icecream and spending some quality time playing with daddy.

She's my sweet girl who loves babies, wants more than anything to get married and be a mommy when she grows up! She's learning her letters and sounds and loves to help all the time. We love you big four year old!

Pushing Louis in the stroller

2011-10-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

Marianna loves to help, and pushing Louis in the stroller is one way she helps a lot. This is our apartment in the background.

Olivia is just getting to be big/strong enough to push louis sometimes. Notice her cutie piggies.

Here we are going on a bear hunt. And Daniel is being feisty so yes I am sticking my tongue out at him. He definitely deserved it. And yes, I have my white trash mocha in hand...every good bear hunt is made better with one. Especially white trashy if you drink it out of an old peanut butter jar:)

In other family news, Olivia has "hand, foot and mouth disease". Really not as bad as it sounds, but I learned that when your child has lots of cold sores in their mouth and refuses to eat for several meals in a row, there might be more than stubbornness there. Oops.

We also had a dinner guest here tonight who spent 3 months in Cameroon earlier this year. It was cool to throw hundreds of questions his way..he was excited to share too, so it was good all around. Saw lots of pictures of the city we'll be living in and the people who are there. Fun!

Menu plan for first week of Oct. 2011

2011-10-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have a fussy baby chewing on my arm and am ready to menu plan! I've made it two weeks with only tiny shopping trips (to make up for huge ones when we first moved here!) so the meals are getting a little boring. Some things are repeats that I bumped from last week when we were unexpectedly given some friends' extra food and got a few things for cheap from the day old bread store (which also has other stuff like produce or chicken salad in a cooler these days).

Sunday: Bean dip with chips/cheese
Monday: Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Casserole, whole grain bread, butternut squash
Tuesday: Quesadillas
Wednesday: Spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread (probably meatballs and a nice dessert too since we're having company)
Thursday: Soup and Bread or Fried Rice
Friday: Hot Dogs, veggies
Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner

Lunches: leftovers or pb&j, or grilled cheese

Breakfasts will be toast or yogurt, french toast, eggs, fruit, banana bread

What's on your menu this week?

Happy 5 months Louis Nathaniel!

2011-10-01T12:19:00.000-07:00

Biggest sister Marianna and Louis share a special bond. He really lights up when she is around. She is like a second little mother to him and for a 3 almost 4 year old is really caring and responsible with him. Louis loves his sisters!

Louis gets lots of opportunities to be carried-- even by his sister. Marianna has been slowly getting more comfortable carrying Louis (sometimes w/o mommy knowing it right away!) She generally does a really good job but sometimes gives us a mini-heart attack:)

Here is Louis, after eating. Rubbing his belly...nom nom nom.

Here is Louis after I scare him by taking a picture (see above:) What a startled boy!

Attack of the killer bunny mask. Or rather the bunny craft mask that was cute at one time but has since lost a few pieces:)

Practicing some pre-crawling moves.

Our big boy is five months old and 14 1/2 lbs! He is still a scrawny fella though, I think mostly because he is so long! He wears 12 month clothes because his torso is super long. He is only 25th percentile for weight, but top of the charts for length. Head circ. was about average, so he is growing well. We're planning to start solids when he's 5 1/2 months old like his sisters did, with mostly fruits and veggies but still nursing full time. If he doesn't steal table food from my plate first that is!

We love our Louis!

How is it Saturday already!?

2011-10-01T12:15:00.001-07:00

I have some picture posting to catch up on!

Having fun at one of the JAARS playground...Liv is getting to be quite a good runner.

Marianna is able to "pump" herself on swings and toys like this. Makes life much easier for mama!

The volleyball court hear the hangar is full of great sand for sandcastles...lots of entertainment there! Just wish it didn't stain clothes! I am going to try a homemade oxiclean recipe out this week by the way (peroxide, baking soda, water).

Menu Plan

2011-09-27T04:29:00.001-07:00

Back to Rosetta Stone and booking tickets to France this week! Plus looking at buying things we'll need for Cameroon. Whew!

Sunday:
Monday: Peach Chicken in crockpot, mashed potatoes, green beans, french bread
Tuesday: Taco Soup
Wednesday: Spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread (didn't get to this last week)
Thursday: Fried Rice
Friday: Homemade Pizza Pockets, green beans
Saturday: Hot Dogs or Homemade Chicken Nuggest, snacky foods (popcorn, smoothies)
Lunches: leftovers or pb&j

Breakfasts will be toast or yogurt, french toast, eggs, fruit, banana bread

What's on your menu this week?

Secret Agent Girl

2011-09-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

Marianna is using her toilet paper tube binoculars to spy on our neighbors. In her ballerina costume. Awesome.

Handsome Louis

2011-09-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

And a little Liv too;)

Louis is very vocal. He is prone to very very loud squeals. So insert high pitched shrieks and squeals into these pictures and you have the idea. He is such a sweet boy though. We all love him and he definitely does not lack for love & attention!

A few links I wanted to remember!

2011-09-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/09/chore-charts-for-little-ones.html

http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/08/no-bake-energy-bites-recipe.html

By the way, please pray for us, we are REALLY going to go try to get our NC driver's license tomorrow! Leaving at 6am to try to get in line first! A little nervous since I did not pass the practice test they have online the first time!;)

Making Pizza

2011-09-21T17:18:00.000-07:00

We "made" pizza last week using a pizza crust mix (usually make homemade but didn't have yeast yet) and I had the last minute idea to let the girls make their own on some thin bread rounds. They loved it and wanted to eat them before they were cooked. I should have too because they didn't like them nearly as much after they were cooked! I think the deli thins got sort of soggy with all the sauce. But it was still a fun time:)

Livvie was having fun even though she looks like she's in pain or something in this picture. What a ham.

In other news we had some Chinese dignitaries visit JAARS today. We were told not to address them individually if we ran into them on campus, which I thought was a little odd. So..I come out after sending Marianna out with Louis (in his stroller) to wait on the porch. Marianna is chatting away with one of the dignitaries while he takes hundreds of pictures of the two kids! Ha! Apparently they are our neighbors while here at JAARS. A little tough to not "address individually" if they are taking pictures of your kids and giving them copious amounts of candy! Too funny. So I tried to visit with him a little through limited English. Made me wish I could go back again someday! In other other news, we are going to schedule our appointment with the visa consulate tonight (for mid October)! Exciting! In other other other news (I think I am tired because this is getting out of hand:) Louis thinks he should be crawling NOW. He started getting up on his knees today and sometimes on his toes. He even made a few attempts to move forward with one knee. A little early for crawling, much? Mama isn't ready for this one to be mobile!

Pretty in Pink and handsome prince

2011-09-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

Marianna thinks she needs to include brother in the dressing up. I almost caught a picture of him with pink sunglasses, but she took them off too quick!

There are stairs leading up to the apartment above us that the girls enjoy playing on. They swore that the flowers in their hands just "fell off" the bush. Hmmm....

Marianna and Louis = love

2011-09-18T18:21:00.001-07:00

These two have a bit of a special bond. Its super sweet to watch the love they have for one another.

No, Louis isn't a thumb sucker (yet) but he chews on his thumb and fingers constantly when he isn't using his pacifier or gnawing on a blankie. I hope a tooth pops through soon.

Menu Plan for Sept. 18th, 2011

2011-09-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

Its visa week! We are going to push to get out our visa application and our apartment paperwork this week. Going to be crazy. Thankfully we have help with the girls for several mornings this week. I'll be keeping the meals simple as usual and using some of the great coupon deals this week.

Sunday: Whole Grain Hamburger Helper, salad, green beans.
Monday: Taco Salad
Tuesday: Spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread
Wednesday: Gluten free Waffles (freezer), scrambled eggs, peach smoothies
Thursday: Chicken in the crockpot (not sure recipe yet), rice, peas
Friday: Frozen Pizza, Veggie Sticks
Saturday: Sloppy Joes, salad or peas

Lunches: leftovers or pb&j

Breakfasts will be toast or peaches and cream oatmeal, french toast, eggs, fruit

What's on your menu this week?

Harris Teeter Triples and produce

2011-09-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

I was excited to finally go to do some Harris Teeter for some triple coupon shopping today. Apparently the richer parts of town have less coupon shoppers because the store I went to was in a nicer area and was very well stocked in pretty much everything I was looking for minus some butter and Worcestershire sauce. I spent $43.67 at HT and that included several lbs of hamburger, cheese, 36 eggs, some produce, 2 packages of Seattle's best coffee, milk and snacks for the girls (raisins, applesauce) while they are in the MK station 4 mornings next week (so we can finish up our visa/apt. paperwork). I got a ton of snacks for free/almost free too, plus some fun freebies like Gold Peak Tea and Whole Grain Hamburger Helper.

Bananas from WalMart when we got ink, and red pepper and huge onion and lion crackers (not pictured) from Trader Joes.

We have a freezer full of peaches, several packages of meat and a lot of staples like beans, rice and lentils as well as canned goods to work with this next week!

Horsing around & Dress up

2011-09-17T17:46:00.000-07:00

More fun in our "backyard" here at JAARS.

The girls love to pretend they are princesses and they put pieces of cloth on their heads and blankies around their torso. Nor sure what country these princesses are from, but they are pretty cute.

Didn't want Louis to feel left out. Here he is playing with his paci. He's gotten much better with holding things and can almost get the right side of the paci in his mouth (but not quite.)

Hold Still Louis and Worship w/ Daddy

2011-09-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

The girls still love to play Dr. Ever since I was first pregnant with brother Louis, the girls have loved to get out their kit and poke, prod and measure anyone who would hold still. They still love to do it, but I have to watch very carefully now to make sure Liv doesn't do anything that might be a little to rough to poor little patient Louis:) Marianna is usually pretty gentle, thankfully.

We've been trying different things occasionally with our morning family devotions. We almost always work on a memory passage plus some catechisms but this particular morning we thought maybe would would start adding a hymn or some song that our church here in NC sings at the end of worship. Livvie wanted to help daddy and was pretty cute trying to sing with him.

The internet is such an amazing resource sometimes...we were able to find the song we were looking for and play it while we practiced over and over.

Many uses of a trampoline & back porch dancin'

2011-09-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

We live in what would definitely be considered a small space for 5 people in the US of A. For Africa, probably not so much. But thankfully three of our people are small. But not-so-great is that the three little people are very noisy and full of ENERGY! So...our back porch here at JAARS has gotten to be our best friend. The girls usually spend a couple hours a day out there playing. They especially get good use out of the trampoline. The latest use is as a bed, as you can see:

Also, they have a red tub that doubles as a snack table for their 9:00am fruit and veggie snack tray.

I found the girls dancing and singing about princesses and "stars shining" the other day. They were pretty stinkin' cute.

Usually the singing involves Marianna making up elaborate lyrics and Olivia being her echo. M: "the stars are shining bright" 1/2 a second later Olivia: "stars are shining bright!" And on and on:)

Caterpillars

2011-09-08T15:29:00.001-07:00

Here are the ever-so-craft caterpillars that I made with the girls out of egg cartons:

Don't be jealous of my craftin' skilz.

Louis plays peek-a-boo

2011-09-08T15:26:00.001-07:00

This is what I found in Louis' crib after nap the other day:

Menu Plan for Sept 5th, 2011

2011-09-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

We have been eating beyond simple meals lately (and cheap ones too). Tonight was a very good example...not just beans and rice simple but just beans. But I seem to have found the secret to getting the girls to eat just about anything! An hour at the pool right before dinner does it almost every time;).

Sunday: Vegetable noodle soup (clean out the fridge soup) with bowtie pasta and bread/butter.
Monday: Beans in the crockpot with toppings (lettuce, sour cream, salsa, cheese.)
Tuesday: Spaghetti, green beans, garlic bread
Wednesday: Lentil Sausage Stew in the crockpot, rolls
Thursday: Tacos
Friday: Homemade Pizza, salad
Saturday: Breakfast for dinner: frittata, healthy peach shortcake

Lunches: leftovers or pb&;j

Breakfasts will be toast or peaches and cream oatmeal, french toast, eggs,fruit

What's on your menu this week?

Making Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-09-03T16:58:00.000-07:00

Although I am no substitute for fun grandmas that the girls had to leave (we miss you grandma Kathy and grandma Karen!), I am trying to do some fun things with the girls when I can. The other day I stretched myself into unknown territory and did a....craft. As my mom can attest, I have zero crafty bones in my body. But my girls love crafts. So I looked up crafts you can do with empty egg cartons (therefore would be a free craft:) and made egg carton caterpillars:) I know, I know, pretty amazing;). Pictures to come. Another fun thing we did was make chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. We had lots of fun and the cookies were yummy!
Mommy and her big helpers!

Just one more taste mommy?
Yes, we used some whole wheat flour so we could pretend the cookies were healthy:)

Louis is 4 months!

2011-09-01T14:55:00.000-07:00

Our sweet baby boy is 4 months old today! He still has his mohawk, and is as handsome and sweet as ever. He is NOT sleeping well, but we are surviving. He slept well for one whole month of his life (before we moved) so I am hopeful that someday he will again soon:). He smiles easily and talks and laughs sometimes.

Our strong boy is rolling over both ways now...won't be long until he rolls or crawls after his sisters!We found out that he does not have club foot as we suspected, but rather a "packaging problem" or metatarsus adductus (sp?) which should not cause many problems as he begins walking/running but may cause a bit of a pigeon toe when his shoes are off. No surgery...yay! What else...he was 13lbs, 10oz. at his dr. apt. this week. We love our boy...and the sisters do too!

He loves to play with his feet now as you can probably tell. Isn't he handsome?

Pool fun and free trampoline

2011-08-31T15:58:00.000-07:00

We've been enjoying our membership to the JAARS pool very much. It worked out to be about a dollar a day to have unlimited access to the pool for the whole family, so we got one. And we've been using it pretty much every single day so far. Right before dinner time is perfect because the kiddos get worn out and really hungry:) Less fighting at dinner time is good for me!

The girls have gotten a lot braver in the water, especially Marianna. She is going under the water on purpose all the time now. I wish I could get her some swim lessons!

We found a discarded trampoline by the "bread shop" and toted it home. It has provided hours of fun for the girls, not always jumping. They wash it, look under it, put stuff on it...and occasionally jump on it.

Okra, cheap bread and good times don't need toys

2011-08-27T17:13:00.000-07:00

Okra, a rather new to us vegetable that was free this week. I roasted it in the oven with a little oil and salt/pepper. Not a favorite, but edible.

Yay for almost-free day old bread! We've been going through a half a loaf or more some days.

Cute sisters play pretend using stuff around the house for hours. They are playing kitchen/cooking with paper plates and silverware.

Mommy and Louis. Louis is now in 12 month clothes. He's so long.

Playing and more playing--night night time.

Laundry Helpers and Peek A Boo with Louis

2011-08-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

Our apartment here at JAARS is relatively small (good practice for France!) so it takes a short amount of time to clean (and even less time to mess up:) The girls get bored of the toys we brought sometimes (and mommy doesn't want them pulling out another fort or using the utensils in the kitchen to place kitchen again) so I try to involve them in chores. Here is a recent game of put the laundry away.

Good job--you're finished!

And afterward-a rousing game of peek-a-boo (mommy and Louis vs. Daddy and the girls):

That's Louis' mohawk in the picture (yes it is natural:)

Snow White and the little dwarf

2011-08-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

We were able to borrow this little play center for Louis from our church here in N. Carolina. Louis seems to really like it:)

And so does Livvie, aka Snow white:)

Grandpa G & Auntie K Pics

2011-08-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

Auntie Karolyn with Louis

Auntie Karolyn again with her "mini me" Marianna

Grandpa George and his look-alike, Louis

Zonked out in the car

2011-08-22T15:57:00.000-07:00

The following pictures were NOT the norm on our road trip. Most of the time one would be falling asleep when the other was waking up (or they were just staying awake all day long). Louis took cat-naps when I held his paci in. I can't really complain, they all did a better-than-expected job on the trip (we were on the road for almost an entire week)!

I have to say that a big suburban is the WAY to travel comfortably with a baby and toddlers. I was able to man the "command center" and hand out snacks, toys, all while putting a paci in Louis' mouth or nursing (yes I was able to nurse while he stayed in the carseat hooked up! A lifesaver! Not super comfortable for the mommy though.

Olivia was never without her "blankin" and thumb during nap time. We used the Michael Card CD sleep sound in Jesus for naps (and bedtime) when we pulled the all night drive.

The cutest traveler was the every talking Louis. He was a trooper for all that time in the car (he hates the car for short trips!).

Menu plan for August 30th, 2011

2011-08-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

For some reason I can't access the blog during the workday, I assume its because we live on campus here at JAARS. So I have to wait until after 5pm to post and sometimes I forget! So here (a little late) is our menu for this week.

Sunday: Beans and Black Rice with all the goodies on top
Monday: Chicken Veggie Stir Fry over garden rotini
Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner: eggs, pancakes or muffins, fruit, carrots
Wednesday: Potato Corn Chowder in the crockpot, rolls
Thursday: Chicken Tetrazinni
Friday: Homemade Pizza, salad
Saturday: Hot Dogs, Fries

Lunches: leftovers or pb&j

Breakfasts will be toast or oatmeal, amish baked oatmeal with peaches, peach and cream muffins

Splish Splash...and I'm back to posting!

2011-08-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

After practically two weeks on the road, we're settled into JAARS in Waxhaw,NC! We'll be here for 3 months before flying to France! I'll post more about our past two weeks later, but I don't have any pics loaded from then yet. Here are some swimming pics from 3 weeks ago @ the Cashmere City Pool.