Sick of Shopping?

We needed groceries today... in the worst way... the kind where you have no cheese and no bananas and no produce left.  Luckily, I was cognizant of that fact last night, so I made a meal plan and grocery list based off some awesome recipes I found on the Skinny Miss website.  My cousin had shared recipes from this website numerous times on Facebook, but I'd never really poked around on it much.  I am really excited to have found it because all the recipes I looked at were incredibly clean, healthy, well-balanced meals that also didn't cost an arm-and-a-leg to make.  I'll have to share what we think of the recipes.

So first thing this morning, we headed in to do our grocery shopping.  It was a relatively quick trip for us (only 4 stores, only gone from home for 4.5 hours.)  The kids were well behaved and helpful, and as usual, a riot.  (Ruby told the guy at the automotive desk that if the lift crashed down on them, they would get dead - which he found funny enough to go out and share with all the other techs working in the automotive bay.)  And then there's our buddy, Denise, at Aldi.  She always takes the time to talk to the kids.  And then she says to me, "You must drink a lot."  LOL.  I should laugh at that, right?

By the time we were almost home though, I was feeling worse than sick - like someone had stabbed me in the stomach.  Andy'd had the flu the Friday after Christmas, and I'm still not sure whether I have a light touch of that or whether I ate a bad banana (on the way home.)  The kids were dolls and took care of themselves when we got home.  Ira made he and Ruby scrambled eggs for lunch.  And he even came running with an emesis bag when he heard me get sick (we had some left from post-surgery in March that have come in handy...)  They would usually watch movies when I'm sick, but they lost that privilege the other day, so they read and played together quite peacefully until Andy got home.

Ira found a recipe in his Highlights Magazine (a Christmas gift from my parents) that he wanted to make for dinner, so he and Andy tackled it together.  It was delicious and very soothing to my unsettled stomach.  While Andy was finishing up dinner, I snuck out of our room to see what all the ruckus was.  Turns out boredom and a bunch of plastic shopping bags (why can I never remember my reusable ones at Walmart?) are highly entertaining.

Ira said to title this "Let it Snow!"

Then we got the treat of the year when Jimmy's new CD showed up in our email inbox to download as part of our Love Good Music patronage.  He is such a talented guy and a good friend!  We are so thrilled for him to be releasing this CD!  And... it's positively wonderful.  Pain, suffering, redemption, hope, joy... it's all in there, beautifully orchestrated.  For a very limited time, you can get $5 off of the $15 monthly patronage by signing up through our campaign here.  Obviously, I would highly recommend it!

Whew, two days in a row, surely I can't keep this up...

A "spec"ial post

As I'd mentioned in a prior post.  We'd been noticing (for awhile now - like 9 months) that Ira wouldn't/couldn't look at us when we were taking pictures.  At first we thought it was just a phase - a "wouldn't" thing - that he would outgrow/we could talk him out of.  After awhile though, it became clear that it was a "couldn't" type of thing.

It was especially obvious when we were up in KC for that wedding.  We were out to eat with Andy's parents and were trying to get Ira to focus on us while were saying something and he absolutely COULD not.  His eyes darted this way and that, but absolutely could not stay focused on us.  At that point, I was really concerned about what was going on, so I called to set up a routine vision exam with our eye doctor.  He is an awesome doctor who specializes in children's vision/vision therapy.

It didn't take long at the appointment for the doctor to see what I was talking about (thank heavens - because his sight tested just fine.)  He tried to get Ira to focus on a popsicle stick as he moved it closer and closer to his face and although he could at first, his eyes started darting soon after.

He explained to me that Ira's muscle that focuses his eye is immature.  When it gets tired (after a lot of reading/towards the end of the day/or especially when we have him try to focus on something - like a camera - for an extended time) it involuntarily clinches and his eyes dart.  He said that Ira is so smart that when (after his eyes clinch) we say "look at me" and he says "I am" even though his eyes aren't looking at us, it's because he's seeing us with his peripheral vision and so technically he is "looking at us" - sort of...

So he wanted to put Ira in bifocals.  The top part would be nothing and the bottom part would magnify things up close to help that focusing muscle not have to work so hard - therefore it wouldn't tire out - therefore he would be able to focus!  He said that it is something that Ira will hopefully outgrow as that muscle matures more, so he might not always have to wear glasses.  Only time will tell!

For now, it is just so nice to already be seeing a difference in his ability to focus!  And I'm glad we discovered this problem and took care of it when we did.  Doc said if we hadn't, school might have become a drudgery as the print got smaller and it was harder and harder to focus. 

I think he looks pretty doggone handsome and smart in his new specs!

Same silly Ira!

Eating Better

It's kind of a constant around here... trying to eat healthy, but also trying to stay within a pretty tight grocery budget.  It is NOT CHEAP to keep fresh produce on hand.  Andy and I both love salads, but the one month that we kept lettuce and other salad-type veggies on hand (carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower) I think we spent double our grocery budget, and that just can't happen. 

So I came to the conclusion that we'd have to do something else.  And I'm pretty excited with how it's working out.  I've decided that carrots, apples, and oranges are the right kind of fresh produce for us.  They are: inexpensive, healthy, don't go bad quickly, and are quick and easy to prepare.

Lately for lunch in addition to our sandwiches (which we eat just about every day without exception) we've been eating carrots, apples, and oranges.  It may be boring, but we all like it quite a bit and I know I myself feel better with the influx of raw food in my diet.

So what are some of the healthy, inexpensive ways you incorporate fresh produce into your family's diets?  I'm definitely open to suggestions!