Saturday

It has been a whirlwind around here lately. Friday I kept Ted home from school to recoop after a week of intense TKD practice. That night we both tested and advanced, so we are psyched. He wrote that goal for himself in January and is very pleased with himself for achieving it, a few days early no less. I think some other kind folks took some pictures of Ted for me, so I'll post them as soon as I get them.

Then this morning it was Consecration at HHS for the 1st graders. I missed the memo on dressing up (there was a picture, and we (the parents) presented the kids with their own little torahs) but as Wendy pointed out, Saturday morning in the temple probably assumes a step up in attire. Now we know.

After that, we had a quick lunch at O's, picked up Ted's GF DF EF cake, and headed over to the party. It was a BLAST. Miss Holland, Mr. D, little Mr. D, mini Mr. D, and Miss Lang kept the kids moving with tons of fun games. I think the hit was the obstacle course. After lots of games, lots of situps, and lots of "Yes, Ma'am!"s, they all had cake and a goodie bag. All his Horizons friends got together together and got him the Lego Miners Crystal Sweeper ... he is in heaven. He is also totally excited to ski with his friend Alex, who drew him the cutest Lego Miner card, complete with crystals. He bounced around the room for quite a while after reading that card, remembering the (little) terrain park and the one blue run they did last year ("This year we can do all blues!" he said.) An exhausting but fun day. 

I have tons of pics and am going to get them on flickr asap. Happy Birthday Party, Ted! 

P.S. Yes, his head is buzzed and ATA is shaved into the back of his head. Mrs. D did that. He thinks it is so cool. 

Ted has 9 more days til his birthday but we had to hurry and get his pics done, since his adult teeth are already coming down. He is definitely in the stage of the fake smile, but I love the colors and I love the sweetness that shines through. With a hint of imp. Sweetness with a hint of imp. I just might have to change the title of my blog! Wendy got about 10 good shots, but this is my favorite. Happy toothless 7, sweetheart! 

some things never change

For some reason, both boys wanted buzz cuts this evening. After such hair mayhem, baths are required. Mae had had one last night (a bath, not a buzz cute), so the boys got the rare opportunity to splash - I mean bathe - together. It's funny how they can still play the same games and enjoy each other the same way, year after year. From their very first bath together, to splashes at all ages, baths are always a hit. And a mess to clean up after. But hey, that's part of the fun, right? 

Meals for the Week

This was a fun-filled weekend and it's not over yet! Saturday we went to the Science museum to see the new exhibit about weather. Sam LOVED it, especially the little room where you're INSIDE the tornado. And where you can create your own volcano, based on the variables of goo and gas. Very fun. 

Then today I took Ted and Mae, with Alex and Adam, to Sunday school while Wendy went on a bike ride (after she had already done an early morning swim. Triathletes are NUTS I tell you.). After Sunday school she took Ted's 7 year pictures and then took him swimming with her boys. This made for a refreshingly quiet afternoon. It doesn't matter which two children are together; two children are so much quieter than three. Period. 

I went through my freezer stash (on paper this year, so I didn't have to literally fall into the freezer to see what was in there) and have this week's meals at the ready. I'm saving most of the greens (we are very greens-heavy this year) for when the meals run out and I cook rice and beans alot...then we can just pop in some greens and it'll be fantabulous! I hope to post Ted's pics soon ... she took some truly gorgeous ones as always. 

Next week is a big one. It's testing week. Ted is still unsure whether he'll test. He can do it, but he's not sure he can. It could be that he'll end up giving it a shot and seeing how it goes. His party is at TKD on Saturday, so for his sake I hope whatever happens on Friday night is ok with him. 

Here are the meals. What a wonderful lazy week.

Monday: Tofu Mizuna StirFry

Tuesday: late night at TKD, leftovers

Wednesday: leftovers (Paul 6:30 soccer game)

Thursday: Moraccan Lentil Stew

Friday: testing, out for dinner

Saturday: post bday party = leftover GFDF pizza

Sunday: Baked Asian Tofu

Monday: Acorn Squash Soup

To bake: 2 batches of zucchini bread

remaining 6 squash from CSA, puree and freeze

Raisin Bran muffins (batter in freezer from late July ... hmm..)

Besides turning on the rice cooker and remembering to defrost, this should be an easy week! And a yummy one! 

Operation Clean Out has begun

It happens every year. I stock and stock the freezers and we don't eat the bounty, because it feels safer to hoard. Well, this year I'm going to break the tradition! From now on, our dinners will come from the freezer. When the larder is bare, I can go back to cooking up some late winter stews and soups from our bean supply. Mmm mmm. How is your winter going, those of you who stock up all summer and fall? 

Thank you, Top Tooth #2

That didn't take long. I am so in love with the cuteness of this, I can hardly stand it. I hope he doesn't learn how to shoot water out of his mouth through the gap. I have a vague recollection of some boys doing that at the girls at recess. Must have been 1st or 2nd grade. Funny. We had ice cream (well, Ted had sorbet in a GF cone) to celebrate this much-looked-forward-to milestone. 

We also saw our new homeopathic MD today and the kids really liked him. He's so friendly and nice, like a teddy bear, but well-groomed. He wants Sam allergy tested. Our only worries about Sam are his constant runny nose and emotional fragility. Both, apparently, could be food-related. He also wants us to double his fish oils, which are known to improve mood. So we'll do that tomorrow, along with the dentist. Fun day! Heh.

I took a lovely run this morning on Ole's Orchard (the hill behind our house). It's usually too muddy this time of year, but it was fine. It felt so good. I love that trail. And now, I'm off to do LEVEL 3 of the 30 Day Shred. Yikes. Sometimes I frighten myself. 

Top teeth are on their way out!

Ted lost a top tooth today (actually, Mr D's son pulled it out for him ... it was dangling and Ted couldn't pull it out himself.) The one next to it will fall out shortly. He is so excited. This is Tooth #5. Sam only had 4 teeth by 12 months while Ted's were all in, even the molars, by 9 months. Owie for Mama. 

Anyway! An exciting day! 

TKD was a bit more serious. Mr. D had a good talk with Ted and explained that, now that he is in the big kid class, he has to know the whole form. He knows about 3/4ths. Mr. D gave him the options: chill out, relax and stay a Blue Belt. No big deal ... it's not a problem, he simply doesn't have the whole form. Or, push hard and learn it all. Ted elected to push hard. (Literally, Mr. D said, "Do you want me to push you really hard?" and Ted said, "Yes. I wrote it on the board. It's my goal to have my Brown Belt by my birthday.") Wow! I didn't realize he even remembered that particular class, back in January, where they made goals for themselves and wrote them on the board, which hangs at the entrance. Alot of this is me; we don't do much TKD at home at all, just whatever he picks up in class. At his level, he really needs to be practicing at home too. Blah. In any case, the next 10 days or so should be interesting. If he pulls through and gets this done, I'll be impressed. And if not, I hope he doesn't take it too hard. 

In GF news, O's GF DF pizza is a hit with Ted, as are Noodles' rice noodles with the Japanese Pan Noodles sauce. We are trying to eat out less, but it's nice to know there are a few places we can go!

OK, top tooth #2, get out already, before Ted drives me (and his teachers) batty twisting it around 24/7! 

biking

There was no school today (thank you, Presidents!) and the boys had a biking clinic at the new Boulder Indoor Cycling place, co-owned by Boulder Indoor Soccer, whom we love. They did lots of stunts and had a good time. Sam was FRIED by the end and very grumpy, but Ted enjoyed it. Jack and Jason were there, as was Sierra. We all went to O's for pizza afterwards and I got some sweet shots. Sam wouldn't smile, so that's why he's not in the pictures. It wasn't for lack of trying! Ted and Sierra have a very sweet relationship. They are too young to admit it, but they are a great match. They both love biking, soccer and books. For a 1st grader, those make the perfect friendship. I think they look so beautiful together.

Jack and Ted, fresh off the track, hot and sweaty! Very brief video to come later on. This was fun!  

Holly Homemaker I'm not

Well, perhaps I should have taken Home Ec in high school instead of AP Biology. I haven't made much use of those fancy AP classes, but it sure would have been handy to have more basic skills. Still, I've been darning away lately, determined to make our clothes last a little longer. It's frustrating, but feels good, in the same way growing our little carrots and tomatoes does. 

In other news, Sam and I made headway today on GF waffles. Pancakes are good, but my kids love their waffles. Success! 

Ted graduated to the next level in Swim America last Thursday. His freestyle looks so much better, but I hope they keep reviewing it just in case. He should be ready to go on May 15 for the first RCF practice. Sam is going to do PreTeam this year, which will be fun. Our summer is shaping up to be a mellow one. June is all swim team, July is our KY vacation followed by 3 weeks at RMDC, then August will be a few weeks of chilling at the pool and getting ready for school (which starts so ridiculously early in mid-August.) Hopefully, we will either have moved or be in the process by the time Sam starts K. August would be a good month for this, as we have nothing planned. We shall see. 

Tomorrow will be Week 3 of waiting for the warranty company to move on our claim. Last Monday we were in the "engineer is drawing out a plan of repair" stage. Next will be having 2 bidding repair companies out; the warranty company will pay us the $$ of the lower bidder. Then we'll hire them and pay with that money. Let's hope we move to stage 2 sooner rather than later. Although, with June and July so local, I am OK with an August or September move, poor selling season that it is. 

Snowy morning, sunny afternoon

Ole had a good day today. It was icy cold this morning. Each branch had ice all around it, making a perfect snowy scene.  Ole and I had a nice walk and then some ball. He was in his element.

The day warmed up and by late afternoon it was sunny and beautiful with dry streets. I love Boulder. 

Shout out to Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom! (It was on Saturday). 

I enjoyed chatting with you Saturday and Sunday and I'm glad you like your prezzies! I've been going through pics and found this one. Don't we both look young?! :-)

Ah memories. More so than anything, I love how the pictures bring back the house, or rather, the apartment, I grew up in. I hope looking at me with all that hair won't drive you to despair! (Why am I so grumpy? Geesh! And I've said before how annoyed I'd be when you'd look at me and not at the camera. And now? Any pic of me with the kids ... I'm always looking at them. Funny.)

Have a wonderful 2009!

A fun weekend

Saturday night's Reflections event was a very good time. Ted had ski school in the morning and I got my hair and nails done. I don't do this regularly, so it was a nice treat. Ted lost a pole on the chair lift, which we should be able to retrieve next week. He also graduated from Blue to Beginning Black, a huge milestone for him. He has a report card and everything, listing what he's mastered, what he's just learning and what he's practicing. 

Anyway, Reflections was really fun. I enjoy getting fancy once or twice a year, and this time I did go all out, just for the heck of it. Hair, makeup, nails, fancy dress, even earrings! I "won" a month membership to Lakeshore, which I am very excited about using. Also some adorable Sticky Mango Designs T-shirts for Mae. She loves those shirts (Tara's designs). Reflections was a fundraiser for the new JCC building being built in the next few years. I love events like this, where the entire Jewish community is there. It is a pretty large community, that's for sure. Beautifully done. 

This morning I ran the Frozen Foot 5K, very slowly, in 32 minutes. It was a great morning for a run. Then we had chavurah, which was very mellow. I am so tired. We even did Level 1 of the Shred tonight. On to Level 2 again tomorrow. 

6 days on, 1 off

Wow! I did it! Last Sunday I started the week with the 30Day Shred workout and a nie long brisk walk with Ole. I vowed to work out every day, somehow. Whether it was a hard run and a Level 1 workout, or a fast but short run and a hard workout, I would do something, anything every day. And I did! My body is tired. But it doesn't hurt. My legs are confused and arms feel like jello. But my last 2 runs were stronger than ever (my legs didn't tire during the run) and I'm ready to increase my weights on the video (only for Level 1. I'm not totally insane.) It is nice to wake up ready for the day and look forward to workouts. Granted, the weather has been h-e-a-v-e-n this week and it's been fun to stay home at night and do the videos with Paul. It's been a win-win. Let's hope I can keep this up! I am very curious as to where I'll be when I have completed 30 "official" workouts on the Shred (now that I'm on Level 2, I don't count the Level 1 workouts as official days leading up to the 30.) Tomorrow, Saturday, is my rest day. I may go for an easy run, but most of the day will be spent getting ready for the big JCC Fundraiser, Reflections, and cold-calling volunteers for Horizons' auction coming up in March. Tomorrow is also Ted's last ski day at Trek. He wants to do another 6 weeks, but it's too expensive and it's a pain to lose the whole day to skiing when 3 out of 5 of the family isn't (yet!) involved. I hope to ski a bit with Cathy in the weekends to come and do some green runs with Ted up at the Family Fun Zone. Ted is missing a TKD Tournament tomorrow (I've been playing it cool and I don't think he knows. He will figure it out when the trophies roll in next week ... yikes!) but I'm sure the last day of Trek will be a fun one. 

The pic is from this afternoon. We biked from the trailhead to the park and back. It was epic. It was Mae's first time on a 2-wheeler with training wheels and Sam's 1st time on a 16". They both did just fine. And it was Pajama Day at Horizons. I loved that they were all playing together. 

Feeling pumped

There are many reasons to respect Jillian Michaels and her workout regimes. But one of the selling points for me is her strength. Look at those arms! Look at those abs! She is short, solid and not skinny (the girls on her video are practically emaciated, which is so annoying). She is real. If she had jeans and a shirt on, she'd look like any other fit, lean woman. I respect that.

Since we did our first Level 2 workout last night (killer. totally and completely hard) I did Level 1 again tonight as something strength-related to do, but not so hard. I think I'll try and do either Level 1 or a TKD class on off nights. It's helping my mood, for sure. Ole and I ran a short and fast 2 miles this morning. It got up to 72 today! Glorious. Good weather always helps, doesn't it? Let's hope at least the sunshine sticks around. Who said January has to be miserable? Hooray!

We had salmon tonight. I baked it for 30 minutes, with soy creamer and chives (CSA, frozen and waiting for some use). I got the recipe from Cooks.com because it was totally simple. Good too. Next time I want to try a lemony-ier version. 

For our next chicken recipe (*wheeze!* *gasp*) I might try my favorite meal from my childhood. Chutney chicken. Top a chicken breast with chutney and a few raisins, wrap in foil, and bake. Serve with wild rice (try not to let it run around the table though, or it'll be the subject of conversation for years to come) and veggies. I think we always had green beans but I'm on a broccoli and brussels sprouts kick. Wow. I wonder how my gut will react. We'll see! 

protein & fat

On Friday I met with Ted's nutritionalist. Dr. Roy thinks Ted looks great and is doing fine, but I wanted a 2nd opinion. I saw her a few months ago, and while I tried to implement her suggestions, Ted is very stubborn and very picky. This time, we outlined the essentials. An active 7 year old boy needs 5-7 ounces of protein a day and a lot more fat than what he's getting (not much fat in our diet, except for dessert, which no one in our family likes except Mae and me. Coconut oil, milk and yogurt are going to be used more, since they are higher in fat. Almond flour and almond milk will also be put into our GF pancakes, cookies and breads. The protein quotient is tougher. Ted is probably getting 3-4 ounces of protein a day, on a GOOD day. I am going to push the fish, especially the salmon, which is higher in fat. I did buy some *gasp* chicken. I followed Nathalie's recipe and marinated it in (coconut) yogurt for a few hours, breaded it with Pamela's, and baked it for 20 minutes at 350. They all refused to eat it, so I froze it for future tries. I guess I can't blame them. I've brainwashed them for years about how unnecessary meat is, how easy it is to be vegetarian, and it IS ... IF... you don't have any allergies/intolerances and you are happy to try new foods. Paul and I (and Mae) eat a wide variety of legumes, grains, vegetables and of course, fruit. Ted and Sam are so picky. While they will eat any fruit and any (raw) vegetable, Ted will only eat nuts (no beans) and Sam will only eat nuts butters on bread (no longer an option, until we can get used to GF bread). They aren't eating much protein at all since the gluten, dairy, egg thing. So, the next few weeks will be full of fish and perhaps chicken experiments. Maybe they can become vegetarian again when they are older and less picky. Right now, I will do anything to get them to eat more nutritionally dense foods. Wish me luck! And send me your kid-friendly recipes, please!