A Day in the Life.

6:25 a.m.: Jude continues to prove how clingy he is by insisting on sitting in the bathroom while I shower.
My saving grace: coffee. Strong coffee.
6:30 a.m.: Jude and Samuel love to play on our bed.
6:34 a.m.: Me before makeup.

6:42 a.m.: Photoshopping the picture for today's blog post.
6:42 a.m.: Jude's first fit of crying. It's so darn early.
6:55 a.m.: What's playing on my iPod while I apply makeup.
7:09 a.m.: Finishing up makeup - Samuel snaps the picture.
These are the flowers I bought for myself at Trader Joe's. It's all about the simple pleasures in life, isn't it?
7:15 a.m.: I get the baby out of bed for the morning.
And she's a snotty, goopy mess. Yuk.
7:29 a.m.: Kids eat breakfast of "cookie cereal" as they call it. Since Jude is sick and has little appetite, I allow him to eat what he wants. And when one gets cookie cereal, they all do.
7:35 a.m: Me on the phone.
8:40 a.m.: In the car for Jude's well child doctor appointment. Snap a picture of how my rear view mirror is usually angled toward the baby. And she knows it =).
Me driving to said doctor appointment. I really need to get a travel mug because I drive with an open cup of coffee lots.
9:00 a.m.: Kids in doctor's office.
Jude getting his blood pressure taken.

10:15 a.m.: back home and doing all the kids eye drops for pink eye.
10:22: Laundry.
10:30 a.m.: Baby is sleeping. I get second breakfast of toast and sunflower seed butter.
11 a.m.: Baby up from morning nap. She usually only takes one nap per day, but she's under the weather and I'm alone with the kids, so I'll allow her two.
11 a.m.: Nursing.
11:40 a.m.: Lunch for kiddos - pb&j.
Noon: reading to the boys before their naps. I fight to read over Juliet's squirming.
12:15: Sometimes when the boys go to bed and I know the baby will be clinging to me, I sit down on her level and pop a movie in. I only watched about 15 minutes, though ("Young Victoria").
2 p.m.: Quiet house (everyone is napping) and I eat a quick bite of cheese on toast and breakfast bar.
And afternoon tea.
2:19: Bible time - I read for about thirty seconds when Jude wakes up.
Jude's up from his nap - first one of the three.
5 p.m.: Dinner of minestrone soup.
5:30: Juliet is adorned by the headbands the boys get into and she actually keeps them on.
6 p.m.: I take the kids to Baskin Robbins 31 cent cone evening. Jude chooses strawberry ice cream and Samuel the bubble gum. I get the baby an orange sherbet.
7:12: The baby gets a bath. The boys shower and everyone is in pajamas by 7:45.

That's a typical day when I'm alone with the kids. I can't say why I am so tired come 8, but I always am. Today I'm grateful to have happy and somewhat healthy kiddos.

Stay Tuned...

I am taking today to document a day in our life - it is possible this will be the beginning of "A Week in the Life" following in Ali Edward's footsteps so that I may look back at this crazy phase of having small children and actually remember little details - like what we ate, where we went, etc.
I will post all the pics from today this evening...(isn't the baby so cute?!)

Jude Turns Three!

Jude had his third birthday on Monday and it was a day spent running around (Samuel's preschool pick up and drop off), and then an evening at home. The first picture above is Jude loaded up in the car ready to go to Value Village (his choice location for picking out a birthday gift). Jude really wanted a pink Barbie car and a tea party for his birthday.

He picked up a few cars at Value Village. Unfortunately the Barbie car wasn't there this time - we'll buy it when we find it =).
We picked up some holds at the library - his cousin Wes was with us for the day.
Jude waited patiently for everyone to sit around the table to sing "Happy Birthday" to him.
"Fire!" he exclaimed when I lit the candles. Maybe he'll be a fireman someday like Colin.
Jude, Colin, Samuel and Wes went to see "How to Train Your Dragon" and loved it. We also went out to Vietnamese (his choice) and had our tea party there. What a wonderful day for my sweet three year old!

Vintage Score and Scrapbook Layout

Do you ever have one of those Paul on the road to Damascus moments? You know - a life moment that changes everything? I did while I was on Hawthorne in an antique shop and spotted this typewriter. It was one of those things that I was completely magnetized towards - something I really had to have. After looking at it and walking away, checking out the rest of the store, a couple swooped in and started tinkering with it, considering the purchase. After about 15 minutes, the couple decided against it and it became mine. I mean, who doesn't need an orange 1970s German typewriter in immaculate condition? A day or so later, I hopped online to see how much ribbons would be and found out that the $30 vintage find was selling for an average of $500! But I've decided I love it too much to put it up for sale. Yet. (General disclaimer: this wasn't really a Paul on the road to Damascus moment - it was much more carnal and covetous than Paul's experience, but I really do love that little orange thing =)).
And here's my scrapbook page for April - I don't absolutely love it and stamping it not my forte, but it was great to get a family outing in the scrapbook. I really want to cherish and remember every moment we have right now with the kids - which is why I will be doing Ali Edward's "Week In the Life" challenge at some point. You basically document everything, small and large, that happens in one week. I know that in the future I would love to read about what we ate, where we went, what books we ready, etc.,.

Food, Inc.

I have been searching around various libraries and Redbox, trying in vain to get my hands on a copy of the movie, Food, Inc.. Low and behold, one of my Facebook friends, (well, she's really family) posted that PBS was showing this movie at 9 p.m. yesterday. Colin and I promised each other (well, I sort of asked him like a million times and he agreed) that we would watch it together and we did. The entire thing. And if you know me at all, you know that I can't stay up much past 9 - last night I couldn't fall asleep until 12. The movie ended around 10:40, but my mind kept replaying the horrifying scenes of slaughter, frightened animals, beef parts, farmers forced into yucky, dirty practices by large companies, etc..

After we watched the movie, we both agreed that something would be changing with the way we eat. We haven't decided specifically how yet, but I think we will be buying organic milk, free range chicken and if we purchase beef, it will be grass fed.

I think the shocking part is that the general public doesn't know what's going into our food - and how much Washington D.C. controls our supply and quality of food.

I would encourage anyone and everyone to rent this movie and make informed decisions about what they are putting in their (and their childrens') bodies.

Icky Food Facts.

After reading an article regarding our beef supply and what's included in it from the above magazine, I was horrified. I've cut and pasted the guts (no pun intended, gag) of the article below:

"Ten years ago, the rejected fat, sinew, bloody effluvia, and occasional bits of meat cut from carcasses in the slaughterhouse were a low-value waste product called ‘trimmings’ that were sold primarily as pet food. No more. Now, Beef Products Inc. of South Dakota transforms trimmings into something they call ‘boneless lean beef.’ In huge factories, the company liquefies the trimmings and uses a spinning centrifuge to separate the sinews and fats from the meat, leaving a mash that has been described as ‘pink slime,’ which is then frozen into small squares and sold as a low-cost additive to hamburger. (For an effective visual, watch the movie Food, Inc.) Today, BPI produces more than 7 million pounds of the mash per week, making it the world’s largest manufacturer of this frozen product. BPI explains that its product is mixed into most of the ground beef sold in the U.S. – at major fast-food restaurants, supermarkets, and school lunch programs."

"One of the problems BPI encountered when trying to turn trimmings into food was contamination. Trimmings contain dangerous pathogens like E. coli and salmonella. To kill them, BPI sprayed the mix with ammonia. They requested that the ammonia be classified as a ‘processing agent’ and not an ingredient to be listed on labels, and federal officials agreed. The added ammonia had some problems, however. There were complaints about the odor. And more significantly, the ammonia did not always rid the food of pathogens. A recent investigative report in the New York Times (by Michael Moss, published December 30, 2009) discovered that ‘…pathogens were found dozens of times in Beef Products’ meat, challenging claims by the company and the USDA about the effectiveness of the treatment.’ In response to the Times investigation, the USDA has begun including BPI products in routing testing and in product recalls. Previously, the USDA considered BPI products as pathogen-free due to the added ammonia."

Take what you will from that, but it made me throw up a little in my mouth. Yuk.

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Also? Just found out that traditional sweetened coconut that you buy in the store contains an ingredient also in anti-freeze: propylene glycol. Apparently it's a flavor transporter and after a quick Google search I found this guy's opinion on the stuff. May be just an opinion, but last time I checked, coconut didn't need flavor transported. So, I now buy coconut from Bob's Red Mill - unsweetened and un-propylene glycol-ed.

Links I'm Lovng.

Kandee Johnson is a makeup guru - posting Youtube tutorials on different makeup looks. Even better? She uses almost all MAC makeup.

This is an amazing website for us paper craft lovers to provide our soldiers with homemade cards to write home on. I'm planning on sending a pack of cards in the near future - I can only imagine how special it would be for a loved one to receive correspondence from their soldier.

Pencil Lines is a website out of the UK inspiring scrappers everywhere. Very cool.

Craft Table.

I am in the process of finishing up orphaned scrapbook pages - the ones I start but had to hastily store away because company was coming over. So, here's my craft table currently - I love these family pics Mindy took - I have included them in a few albums.
I am so behind on Juliet's baby book. I am hoping that since I am keeping up with her feats on my blog, that I will be able to catch up on her baby book someday. Like when I'm 80 and have time...

Anyone doing any fun crafts currently?

Micro Greens, Baby.

Our garden is beginning to bud with spinach (above) and lettuce (below). I like to wait until these bad boys are full grown to make a nice leafy salad, but you never know what Jude does while wondering through the garden...

So, to those of you scared to start a garden, I encourage you to throw some seeds in the ground and see what pops up in a few weeks. I am still waiting for my kale (my all time favorite veggie) that I inexpertly poked in one of the raised beds a few weeks ago.

And here's my other little sprouts - Juliet took a little car nap while I was driving Samuel back home from school today.
Look at her face - she knows she shouldn't be playing with my cell phone. (Don't mind my piles of clean clothes - I ignore them for as long as possible and do other things instead - like blog.)
This is Jude's face whenever I pull out my camera.