Jyson

Dance, Dance!

We bought our first Groupon recently...2 private dance lessons from a local studio for $30 (normally $200!)! It was so amazing. We also got to go to a group class as well (I did get some strange looks there...what, it's not normal for a huge prego woman to dance?). The great thing is that we didn't really have to pay for a baby-sitter, either...you see, I'm trading baby-sitting for piano lessons. The 2nd time we were there our instructor brought in the owner because, frankly, Tony isn't the average dancer :) For those of you who don't know, Tony took tons of dance in college & is AWESOME!! Wow. The lady was fantastic, but had no qualms about telling Tony exactly what needed to happen (she claims that she has to start w/ the man before she can even look at the woman, but really I think she just enjoys a good pulverize-the-ego session). We both learned so much and totally wish we could take more lessons! p.s. I wasn't sleepy, don't let the picture deceive you.

Conference Weekend

I love conference. I get so much out of it every time...even with kids yammering & having 'needs' it's something I look forward to & totally 'need' myself!! At the beginning of the first session we were a lovely family, sitting upright, writing notes, & eating munchies politely (Jaydon told me he loves conference, that it's his favorite church holiday...We celebrate with FOOD you see :) Greek/hummus dip n' chips, new recipe of homemade berry ice-cream--using only a little agave to sweeten--, cuties/tangerines, carrots, honey pretzels & jelly beans). By session four, we looked like this (Ari was blessedly sleeping for a bit):

However, overall the boys were so good. This was the first time they didn't need a break from listening for any of the sessions. Amazing. And thanks to a generous friend we printed off this beauty in an 8x10 to write each apostle's topic in each of the boxes to hang until next conference. The idea is that we'll choose from these talks for our new FHE goal to do a lesson from the prophet's words once each month.

Pinewood Derby #1

and yes, that is paint on the boys' face in the upper left pic...you see, it truly was a father/son activity. awesome.

In the RAW

If you've been around me recently, you know I've been playing with some raw recipes. Raw as in not-cooked; therefore leaving all the nutrients in the food...we've all seen the nasty green water after we boiled the broccoli too long, right? Some are better than others, but you can search 'raw recipes' & come up with a vast amount of options.

1.) Flax pancakes...a base of flax meal, liquid coconut oil, sea salt & pure maple syrup (grade B is the best for you as a natural sweetener). Then shape the mixture into "pancakes" & top it with blueberry syrup (blueberries blended with a bit of water & a couple of dates for sweetness), bananas, walnuts, & strawberries. I LOVED it, it tasted more like a dessert honestly. The boys? The first bite they were singing praises, but by the end it was a contest of wills to get them to finish. Go figure. HERE is a recipe almost identical to it.

2.) Oat groats....rolled oats as we know them are not oats in their true form. Who knew? Not me. The way we find them in the store they are steamed, flaked & processed, thus losing a lot of the good stuff (potassium, vitamin B, protein & loads of soluble fiber) & decreasing their shelf life. This recipe is so simple: soak the groats over night to soften & rehydrate them. Rinse them thoroughly the next morning & put in your blender (or food processor if you like it chunkier, more like 'real' oatmeal) w/ some unsweetened almond milk, a ripe banana or 2 for sweetness (depending on the size of the batch), & vanilla (w/ no alcohol). We top it with almonds & Gogi berries (never heard of those either? well, don't get me started on those amazingly healthy & yummy dried fruit, but google away if you're interested). Voila! We all totally love it...even the babe & that is the real test.

Lucky

This year the green pictures I managed to capture were all about the food (we munched upon Potato Spinach Lasagna, green grapes, Irish H2O in green tumblers & Grasshopper Pie **layers: cookie crust, homemade fudge sauce, mint-choc chip ice-cream, homemade whipped cream & decos--so where do the grasshoppers come in Jaydon wanted to know?**....the rest of the family?

Well, half-naked child #1 was doing this:

Yes, [clean] underwear makes for good head-wear

Jyson was working madly on this:

His huge 26 page, A-Z "Young Author's Book." Mother is proud of him for working so hard, and oh-so-happy that it is DONE!

Half-naked child #2 was doing this (not sure exactly what this is):

Tony? Likely he was wading through the tornado zone that was our living room trying to make it presentable once again whilst dodging flying pillows from Jaydon who really wanted to play & occasionally swinging the underwear princess around in circles when she screams "Daaa--eeee!!!"

Me? Well, I was making the green dinner, keeping Lego-man motivated, trying to find another occupation for Jaydon so Tony can clean, & taking turns with the tot. In short, being Mommy.

Rather than opt for a rushed 'everyone put your green clothes back on & smile for the camera so we look like a normal, St. Pat's Day family' I chose instead to take pictures of it all, just like it was (please tell me you have nights like this too ;)

Just Stuff

After helping Jyson one night with his project for Dr. Seuss Day (see next pic) he was so grateful he sent these adorable thank-you's "Jyson-style" floating down from our little balcony. Just what this momma needed.

Jyson, a.k.a. "Horton" in the Dr. Seuss parade

Can you guess what is in the middle? A loved, screaming-with-joy lil' doll who sure gets a lot of play time from doting brothers.

Ari decided to rest in the toy basket while pillows were raining down all around...