The Skinny and Me

Well, it has been about 4 months since my last blog post, and I'm sure some of you are wondering how my little experiment is going. It is going very well. So well, in fact, that I am halfway through my third round of the Whole30 and plan to keep this one ongoing through March - that's how committed I am to this now. I took a long break during the month of December for my birthday and Christmas and although I only gained back 5lbs, it was the inflammation and not feeling my best that had me ready to jump right back on the plan as soon as the holidays were over.
I've been keeping up with the exercise too. Before Winter Break I was meeting with the moms at school 2-3 days a week - admittedly not much. But I did get stronger, I can do a lot more of the exercises now, and since Winter Break I've been meeting with them 4 days a week to push myself a little bit more. So, how much weight have I lost? Here is a photo of me at the end of August last year:

I had one of my kids take this pic because I had just bought that dress and was so pleased with the way it fit. It fits quite baggy on me now though because since then I've lost 30lbs and 4 dress sizes! At the beginning of the school year I was wearing Size 20 jeans. I can now zip up a pair of Size 12s. No joke - I'm just as stunned as you are. Here I am being silly a few days ago just before working out with the ladies.

I feel amazing, and I'm not done with this. 2014 is the year I'm going to regain my health and find a way to keep the weight off - I'm doing it! If you had told me last summer that all I had to do was give up sugar and dairy and wheat in order to do this, I would have laughed so hard and continued eating the way I always have. I'm really glad I gave this thing a chance, and gave myself a chance. Last night I was clearing out our coat closet and came across a rain jacket I bought last year and could barely zip up at the time. I bought it anyway because it was such a good deal and in our area it rains all the time. Well, I put the jacket on and couldn't believe how loose it was! I'll totally be able to take that thing on the Yarn Train this year, and not have to worry that it won't fit over my knitwear. ;)
Here is the best part though...

Do you see that ring? This is my practical, everyday wedding ring. It keeps falling off when I'm chopping my vegetables. It's a problem I don't mind having one tiny bit. And these...

These are some Danskos I bought recently from a friend. I could never have fit my puffy-swollen feet into these last year. They fit perfectly - they are so comfortable, pretty and practical. I love them. Some of you have no idea how amazing this feels - to be able to comfortably wear normal shoes again, after almost a decade of not being able to squeeze them into anything but Crocs, extra wide sneakers or a modified, well-broken-in pair of Doc Martens.
My body feels sleek, flexible and full of energy when it is not full of inflammation. I think I enjoy that the most - not being inflamed all the time like my body is fighting some kind of infection. My immune system isn't having to work as hard to keep me healthy because I'm feeding it the right things and giving it the motion it needs to be strong. Yes, I'm committed to this. I've found what works for me, and although it hasn't been easy, it most definitely has been worth it!

Embarking on the Whole30

I wanted to wait awhile before writing this post, so I could get a feel for the Whole30 before blogging about it. I read the book It Starts With Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig and was very interested in trying it after reading the scientific explanations and testimonials from other people. I have some local friends who have also had success in regaining their health by doing this diet and then transitioning into Paleo. The Hartwigs give a template for preparing meals which is very helpful in coming up with meals on the go. I'm now on Day 16 and I can say that I not only find it manageable, but I LIKE it. First, let me tell you what I'm not eating so some of you can see how crazy I thought this was before I started...

• No Milk Dairy (Easy enough, considering I was a Vegan for 21 days)
• No Sugar (Not surprising... There's no cheating though, no sugar substitutes.)
• No Grains (NO grains? Yes. No grains.)
• No Alcohol (Wow, really? No wine? No basil and lemon infused gin? Bummer!)
• No Legumes (What?!)

Wow. Seems like a lot of not-having, doesn't it? But here is what I have been enjoying...

• Good quality, ethically-raised meat and eggs
• Organic vegetables
• Organic fruit
• Healthy fats - avocado, coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, and minimal amounts of nuts/seeds.
• Water (& Choffy - more about this later.)

Doesn't that sound good? It is.

Scrambled eggs cooked in ghee with onions, greens, and carrots.

Salad with chopped turkey, avocado, tomato, and my friend's award-winning raspberry vinegar. 

 Broccoli salad with carrots, sunflower seeds, and balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil.

Admittedly, I've been eating a lot of salad. But I have made several stir fry dishes cooked with coconut oil and even improvised a dairy-free quiche last night...

Quiche made with sautéed kale, onion, and pork with coconut milk and eggs.

We've been visiting with my husband's family, and have eaten out three times since I began my Whole30. The first time I ordered a chef salad with some modifications (no croutons, no cheese, no honey ham.) It came with a freshly made raspberry vinaigrette that was delicious! The second time we were at a Mexican restaurant and I found a fajita salad on the menu that I ordered without cheese and sour cream and just didn't eat the shell it was served in. Today, we were at the Seattle Center and I couldn't believe my luck... There was a café in the Center House (which I refuse to call by it's new name - The Armory) called Beansprouts that had all organic food and all kinds of wonderful whole food offerings.

Sweet Potato soup and spinach salad with berries, chicken, and avocado.

Yum. Seriously. And totally filling. I'm not feeling the need to snack between meals at all. And the best thing is, I feel GREAT. I have lots of energy. My skin has cleared up. My clothes are starting to feel loose on my body. Hooray!) You are not supposed to weigh yourself on the Whole30 - it has been really tough to stay off the scale. But I know I've lost something because I keep having to tighten the drawstring on my skirts, and that feels so awesome.
However, I'll bet some of you are wondering how I'm managing to stay away from sweets... I won't say it has been easy peasy. There has been temptation. There was one weekend when there were three boxes of Sees candy just sitting on the counter (at my sister-in-law's house.) How in the world did I manage to walk by that counter and not just have one? This diet is strict. NO EXCEPTIONS. No cheats. No slips. No excuses. If you do it, you have to start over - because at the end of the 30 days is your testing period. This is when your body is ready for you to add the other things you really want to eat into your diet - one at a time. It's like your own personal science experiment - how does each food affect the way you feel and function, and is it worth eating it because you like it?
Well, Friends... I have a secret weapon. And it looks like this...

Choffy 

This is my morning cup of bliss... and sometimes my evening dessert. It's what I look forward to because it is so magnificently delicious and completely guilt-free. Choffy is brewed chocolate. (I hear you... What?!) It is ethically-sourced cocoa bean that has been roasted and ground in small artisan batches, and then brewed in a French press. It's heaven in a cup - No sugar, no gluten, no dairy, no caffeine, and no chemicals... Just pure, 100% cacao and all the health benefits that go along with it.
I love it so much that I ended up becoming a distributor so I could get the discount and share it with others. It is the beverage I've been looking for all my adult life. Yes, it is that good. And knowing that I can have it - even on the Whole30, makes me want to share it even more! So, if you are reading and you are interested - then click on the word Choffy anywhere in this post to find out how to order some for yourself. Read the FAQ page or email me if you have any questions about it. This drink has saved me countless times from "accidentally" indulging in something I'd be sorry about later. It has resolved all my issues surrounding dairy (What will I have instead of coffee with half 'n' half every morning? Black coffee is too harsh on my stomach, but how can I possibly give up caffeine? Am I really going to live without chocolate for the rest of my life? How miserable!) No more worrying about any of that. I am satisfied. I am in love, even. Do I sound a bit crazy? I admit, I'm a little nuts about it. Try it. It's amazing. Ok, the sales pitch is over with for now. ;)
So, I plan to forge ahead. I feel a lot more satisfied and less worried now that I can have meat as protein. I've had to come up with my own meals (and not follow a recipe plan,) but I think that can only contribute to long-term success because I'm practicing making good choices for myself every day. Now that school has started, I'll also be working out with the Montessori moms at least 3 days a week (maybe 4) so I might even build some muscle. (Ha!)
The kids haven't been too thrilled with the boost in vegetables (or rather the variety of vegetables) and meat that has been served to them at dinnertime, but that's just tough. They'll get used to it eventually and hopefully learn to like it. Alice usually likes to eat what I'm eating for breakfast, so I just make extra. The kids make their own lunches and I'm not too pushy about what they put in them except to encourage a variety of food. It's going well, and my hope is that I have found something here that will sustain me and help me to (finally) reach my health goals.

The Experiment Continues...

It has been 8 days since I finished the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart. Before I started, I thought... Well, I think I thought it would be more life-changing, but it wasn't as different or as difficult as I thought it would be. Some of the recipes were similar to ones I've used in the past, and some my whole family really enjoyed. I thought I would miss cheese and other dairy products more. I was wrong. I thought I wouldn't miss the meat very much. I was wrong about that too. By the end of it, I was dying to eat a piece of juicy chicken or take a bite of bacon! I know what you are all dying to know though... Did I lose weight? Well, yes... but not the way I thought I would. After those three weeks, I had lost 10 lbs. Was it enough for me to want to continue eating that way? No.
Here's why: First, I didn't feel very good. After the first week of sticking mainly to vegetables and grain, the meal plan introduced a heavy amount of soy for protein. My body rejected this. I got sick and felt really ill for several days. After that, I tried to bounce back. I ate grains that were heavy in protein and filled myself up with green vegetables. I made thick soups with a variety of beans, and I still felt weak and tired. I was taking 2 hour naps in the middle of the day - something I cannot afford to do when I'm supposed to be caring for and paying attention to four kids. (Not to mention the canning season that was already underway!) I had indigestion for days and hardly any appetite - Part of me believes that is the real reason I lost more than just a few pounds. I had to force myself to eat breakfast because I just didn't feel like it. I learned recently that my sister had a similar experience while trying to eat vegan back in high school. She and I have a similar body type, so that was an interesting tidbit of information to know.
I did stick to it though and continued eating vegan for a full 21 days. There were a couple of times I wanted to cheat, but didn't. There were a couple of times I didn't intend to cheat, but I found out later that I had unknowingly eaten something with dairy in it. It was an experiment, and overall I do think it was worth it because I did learn from this process.  I learned that staying away from dairy products also kept me away from refined sugars and most processed foods - most cakes, cookies, flavored chips and such contain milk or milk products. There were a couple of birthday parties I attended - and I was surprised how easy it was to say "No thanks" and satisfy that sweet tooth later with something else, when I would normally accept that large slice of cake and devour it with delight - without caring about the consequences.
So, what now? I've been eating "normal" again for 8 days with light dairy and meat added here and there and have already gained a few lbs back. I would like to try something else, but what? I have the book, It Starts With Food which is an introduction to the Whole30. I have another book to finish before I dive into this one, but I think I might try what it has to offer and see if I can learn something else about my body.
What about exercise? During the first couple of weeks while I was eating vegan, I also started the 30-Day Ab Challenge and 30-Day Squat Challenge. (You can Google those and find an image and set that works for you - they vary in the amount and type of exercise.) I kept going with that until I felt too ill to continue. I recently started the Ab Challenge again. I was surprised that I could keep it going and that I could feel myself getting stronger (until I stopped doing the exercises.) Later, when I started again I was surprised at how easy it was. My body remembered - Yay! My kids are excited to start school, but I am too because there is a group of moms who meet every morning to work out and I'll definitely be joining them more often this year. We've met once a week during the summer and it has been nice to keep in touch and have our kids play together at the park while we get a workout in. It hasn't been consistent for me though - it's my own fault for not making it a priority, but it will be much easier when I'm dropping kids off and have to be there anyway.

My Weight Journey

I was going to call this post "my weight loss journey", but I haven't really lost any weight over the past two and a half  years. I've struggled with being overweight most of my adult life, starting with about 5 years of college during which I spent most of my time on my butt doing administrative work in front of a computer desk during the day and sitting again while taking my coursework classes at night. The sad thing is that I remember being unhappy about my body even before then. I look back on that time and think, how silly! I was one fine-lookin' girl... I've never been what you'd call "thin" - I was one of those girls who matured early and the boys definitely took notice. When I look at my photos from middle school and high school, I cannot imagine why I thought I was fat (other than the fact that I didn't look like the models in Seventeen Magazine.) I was well-proportioned, curvy and pretty. And here, I thought the guys loved me because I could make 'em laugh! Ha ha ha ha! I wasn't a sporty girl - never did soccer or track or swimming, but I loved to dance and was on the drill team and cheer squad. I took jazz dance classes, tap, ballroom, hip hop, and even belly dance - I've always loved it, and that explains why I enjoy Zumba so much now. It kills me to think I actually drank Slim Fast shakes in high school to "lose my belly". I had no idea what having a belly meant back then. I found out what a true belly was after having three pregancies followed by c-section recoveries.
A few years ago, we went through the process to adopt from China. The rules for China adoptions are strict and you need to be pretty healthy for them to deem you fit enough to adopt. One of the requirements was to have a BMI under 40, and I worked my ass off (literally) to get there. We were members at the new YMCA in town and I took workout classes - Zumba, yoga, and a wonderful class called Mind & Body which was a muscle-toning combination of Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong. I went to Weight Watchers. I also did the Belly Fat Cure diet which is mostly a high protein, low carb, barely-any-sugar diet. It is similar to the diet used for diabetics and was very effective for me. I ate special bbq sauce and ketchup that I had to drive miles and miles to buy. I baked cookies sweetened with Xylitol to bring to potlucks. I lost about 30 lbs over about 18 months of consistent dieting and exercise. It was very hard work.
After Alice came home, I had no time to think about my weight. None. We were busy for a full year with doctor visits, moving house to a one-level, coordinating school and care for our other kids, and downsizing everything in order to pay for it all. We had to quit the Y, and cut out a bunch of other expenses. I'm not at all bitter about that - simplifying our lives and getting rid of extras was one of the best things we have ever done for ourselves. But, it did take a toll on my health. I could no longer afford specialty foods and couldn't drive the distance to get them anyway. I was too exhausted to exercise. My weight steadily rose until I was heavier than I ever was when I was pregnant.
At first I ignored this... Yes, it's depressing, but I'll deal with it later. There are more important things to deal with right now... Like broken bones, and treatments, and diaper changes, and late night screaming fits. I knew how much work it had taken to get the weight off before, and I just didn't want to think about it. I had brief times where I would make a conscious effort to watch what I was eating, but mostly that meant that I would either skip meals or deprive myself of dessert or try to choke down my beloved morning coffee without any cream in it. I tried Intermittent Fasting for a couple of weeks, only to find that my weight hadn't dropped even one pound. I bought running shoes and ran... twice. I have never liked running, not even as a child. There were a couple of really low points when I cried about it, but I'm a very practical person and I don't wallow about things like this - I just sucked it up and continued being the mommy and wife I needed to be at the time.
Over the past year, I came up with another excuse: I'm too satisfied in my life to lose weight. Yes, folks. You read that correctly. I'm too satisfied - too happy - too comfortable in my domestic bliss. And for the most part, that's true. I love my relationship with my kids - they are at the perfect age for fun. They are not so young and needy anymore, and not yet teenagers. I'm still enjoying the partial homeschool thing and part-time Montessori with them. I love my relationship with my husband - we have our ups and downs, but after almost 15 years of marriage we are still in love. We still get all smoochy and lovey in front of our kids. We're a good team when it comes to sharing family and household duties. He continues to make me feel sexy even though there is a heck of a lot more of me than there was when we walked down the wedding aisle. Despite the fact that our house is in the middle of a remodel and is constantly a crazy mess, we're happy in our home and are contented with our decisions. We have food to eat and books to read. We have a lovely cat and a few chickens that don't give us much trouble.
And, I even have a fairly positive self-image... I look in the mirror, and I have the nerve to see beauty! I have eyes that are bright and sparkle with mirth, even without makeup. I love that I smile and laugh easily. My arms might not be able to do a pull-up, but they are strong and capable enough to lift my childen, stir a big pot of soup, knead bread, and make something gorgeous out of yarn. My legs and feet might not be able to run a mile, but they allow me to walk and dance and reach things on tip-toe. And even my belly - it may be soft and round, but it carried my three biological babies full-term and provided a resting place for one more.
So I have to admit, things are okay. It has been nice. Comfortable. Happy. Except that I'm not entirely happy, because I still feel too fat and I can't stand seeing that number on the scale.
Since things have settled down a bit, I've been doing a little research. Do you have any idea how many conflicting ideas there are out there about what is healthy to eat and how one should lose weight? I've read books, skimmed websites, and visited my doctor. I've asked friends what they have tried and what has worked for them. Some say fruits and vegetables are the only way to go. Others say fruits and some vegetables have too much sugar and you should stay away from them. Bananas are either a superfood or the most complex carb out there and should be avoided at all cost. Want to lose the belly? Eat only protein and vegetables - lots of meat and cheese and broccoli. But wait - casein will give you cancer, so don't eat meat or milk products or any animal protein at all. In fact, by becoming a vegan you can be "plant strong" and get all the protein you need from a plant-based diet. But, no - some say vegans can't get all the nutrients they need and have to take supplements to avoid becoming weak or anemic. And what if the problem is actually related to gluten? Well then, don't eat anything with wheat in it or you'll be sabotaging your weight loss anyway. Ack! Can someone PLEASE just tell me what and what not to eat?
I've been mulling this over for several months. A few friends recommended some weight-loss programs that are very popular right now... mostly involving supplements or protein meal-replacement shakes. I wanted to start a diet that I can stick to long-term though, and it is important to me to not be popping pills (chemical or natural) in front of my children. I've already made mistakes in being too controlling about what they eat - this stems completely from my own issues surrounding food and I've come to learn that about my parenting and have loosened the reins considerably - now allowing my kids to choose from a variety of healthy snacks and eat whenever they are hungry, unless it's right before dinner or bedtime. Kids are actually very good at regulating their food intake when we let them do it. Since I don't keep junk food in the house, it's fairly easy to keep them on a healthy diet. I don't want them to make unhealthy choices when it comes to food, but it is so hard when I don't have all the answers.
So why have I had so much trouble? I don't really know the answer to that. I've never been a constant snacker. I don't ever buy soda for my home, or potato chips, or candy (unless it's for a holiday celebration.) I eat a pretty balanced diet with small portions and plenty of vegetables. It is true that I live a sedentary life-style - my favorite activities (knitting, spinning, reading, writing) involve sitting for long lengths of time. But, I do work out with some of the moms from school (in the park during the summertime,) go walking when I can, and spend a good bit of time on my feet in the kitchen. Some friends have suggested that I be tested for thyroid issues or get an allergy panel. That may be the next step for me. I've thought about going gluten-free or maybe dairy-free, but I love foods with both and don't seem to have a negative reaction to either of them. I came across this 21-Day Vegan Kickstart and have decided to try it. It's free, and they send daily emails with recipes and a mealplan. I'm not sure if it's the right diet for me, but I'm excited and relieved to be finally doing something and I even have a couple of friends who have committed to doing it along with me. I also printed out the 30-day Ab Challenge and Squat Challenge and I'll be doing those along with my Zumba DVDs. We'll see if it helps me drop some of the weight.
What if it doesn't make any difference?  Will it upset me? Perhaps a little... It can be so frustrating and disappointing to try something new and put the effort in and experience no result. Of course, I'm hoping it will make a difference for the sake of my health. If not, then I'll try something else. Thoughts?

Keeping Warm

The sun has finally come out in the Pacific NW and it is glorious... Junuary seemed to last forever! As the weather continued to be cold and rainy through spring, it seemed fitting to keep right on knitting things for winter. I recently finished these covers for our hot water bottles.

I always used to think that hot water bottles were meant for when you had a stomach ache or cramps - mostly for when you were ill. A friend told me that she filled them a little while before bedtime and tossed them under the covers to warm up the bed. This sounded lovely! She also recommended Fashy brand hot water bottles because they are made to last, so I ordered some on Amazon. The smaller ones for the kids came with their own fleece covers, but the adult versions didn't.
I was surprised at how much my kids loved having their hot water bottles at bedtime. They certainly are cuddly (especially when covered in Madeline Tosh dk.) Of course, the last couple of nights have been warm enough that we haven't needed them... But it is nice to think we won't be shivering in our sheets when autumn rolls around again.

40 lbs of Chicken

This morning I picked up an order of Zaycon chicken. It isn't organic, but it is hormone-free and additive-free and of very good quality in my experience. Also, the price is very reasonable. So, I spent a good portion of my day dividing this chicken up to be frozen or prepared for something else. I should give a warning right now for those of you who are queasy about such things, that this post will contain images of raw chicken. But first, check out this awesome quilt I won in a raffle at the Y!

I was very excited about winning this... The raffle was a fundraiser for youth programs so I donated some money and the quilt is lovely. I know it's something I would probably not take the time to make, and yet I really do understand the time and love that went into making it. I'm looking forward to using and enjoying it!
Alright, back to the subject at hand... Ready?
Raw chicken is a substance that rates very high on my gross-out list. I don't like dealing with it at all. But if I want my family to eat healthy chicken that doesn't come in nugget form, I'm going to have to get my hands dirty at some point... So, if I can manage to go through this only once or twice a year I'm a happy lady. A friend of mine congratulated me on how I was able to make our last 40lb chicken order last so long... I ordered some this time last year and I still have a bit of it left. That got me thinking, maybe other moms would like to know how I divide mine up. I should mention that we rarely eat chicken more than once a week - usually less than that.  We currently have a lot of grass-fed beef and Alaskan cod in our freezer, and I spent much of the winter making soups that were mostly vegetable or legume-based. We are meat eaters, but don't eat it every night and we don't eat huge portions when we do. So, I can make 40lbs of chicken last all year if I do this right - juggle it with other meats, and occasionally indulge in a $5.99 rotisserie chicken. (I am weak - don't judge.)
I find 40lbs is a very manageable amount. I know some people just throw it into bags and put it in the freezer, but let me make this clear - I do NOT want to touch the chicken again until it is cooked and on my plate. Therefore, I take the time to make it just perfect for cooking and eating before I store it. This way I can just empty the freezer bags into the pot or baking dish without doing anything else to the chicken.
I'm very methodical about this, so I'll break it down for my readers. I'm left-handed, but I cut with my right - so my right hand is the one that stays clean. This is my knife hand and the one that will open all the storage bags. Phil bought me a nifty new Foodsaver, so I made my own bags (slightly over 12 inches long.)

I labeled these before I began - but since my kitchen is small, and I didn't know how many I would be making I started out with six bags... and eventually ended up with 12 bags this size. I also filled 6 quart-sized pre-made bags, but more on that later. I use a cutting board (preferably one with a well around the edge to catch icky chicken juices) and use my left hand to lift the chicken onto the board. By keeping one hand clean I minimize the spread of any bacteria - I can use my clean hand to open the pouches and pump the soap when I need to wash off the hand that is coated in chicken goop. Here is what the chicken breast looks like before I begin cutting. Zaycon chicken breasts are pretty large, so it makes sense to cut them up for meals.

I cut off the fat and separate the two halves. Now, the chicken breast half looks sort of like a heart. I make two piles on my cutting board. One pile has the fat, and the other pile has the smaller bits of good chicken that happened to come off with the fat - I don't want it to go to waste.

This pile of small pieces will be saved for stir fry dishes and divided into quart-size bags. I ended up with two bags worth.
Next, I cut off the bottom point of the "heart".

This is my first portion-sized piece of chicken. You can't really see it here, but the top part of the "heart" is a lot thicker than the bottom point - so this isn't a large piece of chicken. However, it is big enough for a child and I put it in the bag. I have a family of six, so there will be six portions in each bag to be frozen. Then, you are left with a rather hefty piece... You could leave it as is - but truthfully this is much more than one portion of meat. I cut off that side part (on the left in the above pic) to be used for canning. (I use the raw-pack method shown here.) Canning chicken is easy, but time-consuming and I wasn't ambitious enough to get that done today - so I put the larger pieces that were cut off into a glass container to put in the fridge.

You are left with a fist-size piece of meat appropriate for an adult. I put this in the bag, so eventually I have 3 small pieces of chicken and 3 large pieces of chicken in the bag to be frozen.

I set the bags aside as I finish each one... and then seal them all at once.

Then, I stack them on a baking sheet so they freeze nice and flat and place them in the freezer.

So, like I said earlier I ended up with 12 bags with six portions each. I didn't add any marinade so I could make some choices later. In the past I have thawed these for baking or thrown them frozen into the crockpot with marinade, or slow-cooked and then shredded them for tacos, grilled them on the barbeque, etc. If I shred them, or cut them up after grilling I can usually make them last for two meals and not just one.
After filling the portioned bags, I had enough small bits of chicken to fill 2 bags for stir fry.
There were still six breast halves left to deal with, and I chose to put them in a baking dish with some lemon pepper and baked them at 375 degrees F for about 40 minutes. The kids and I had two of them for dinner tonight - and I cut the rest up for salads before freezing those also.

That makes another 4 bags to be used for meals - we're up to 18 bags which can be used for at least 18 meals right? That's not including the chicken that I've got in my fridge now for canning. I use the canned chicken to make chicken salad for sandwiches. I'm guessing I'll be able to make 6-8 jars. So with all of it divided up like this, I think we can make it last. What do you think?

Celebrating Easter

It feels so good to be healthy again! Half of our family came down with strep throat just before Spring Break so we spent most of it recovering with antibiotics... Today we dyed eggs. The kids used a kit that we bought at the store. It was gorgeous outside and we decided to sit out on the deck.

You might be able to tell from that picture that I recently gave the girls a haircut... We managed to do that outside too although the weather has all over the place this week. Alice's hair is shorter than I intended... I kept trying to even it up, and well, it just kept getting shorter. Thankfully this means less tangles for her. Evelyn is so tall... we measured her this week and she is only two inches shorter than Jamie. She also lost her first tooth last week. Time does fly! We made the decision to keep her in Kindergarten, but things became complicated and it looks like she will be in a new class anyway. The good news is that it will be a K-1st-2nd grade class so she can move ahead in the Montessori materials if she needs to. Alice will start preschool, and I'll most likely be volunteering in all the classrooms so I can be nearby at all times.

Jamie is turning out to be quite the artist... He absolutely loves to get crafty, and lately has been working on writing stories with pictures. We recently got the iPad and he has the best time making little animations on it... We tend to limit the kids' screen time, but it's so fun to see them getting creative like this.

Nathan's not wearing his glasses in this pic. He's reading all the time now and is now hooked on the How to Train Your Dragon series. You can see behind him he lined up all those rocks along the railing this morning... Part of me wanted to tell him to put them all back where he got them, but they did look nice all lined up like that so we left them there for now. He's getting to be so grown up... Today he helped his dad mow the lawn!
I saw a neat idea on Pinterest on how to dye eggs using patterned silk (like on old neck ties or scarves) and wanted to give it a try. Here's the link to the blog post about it: Silk Dyed Eggs.
I didn't want to go out and find silk ties at the thrift store the day before Easter, so I dug through our closet and found one of Phil's old ties - I think he might have even inherited it from his grandfather or something. Seriously, I've only seen Phil wear a tie a handful of times since we've been married. He isn't required to wear one for work and we rarely attend an occasion where a tie would be suitable. This year will be an interesting exception since we have three family weddings to attend! Anyway, I found one that I knew he wouldn't care about and used my seam-ripper to take it apart. I only dyed a few eggs this way since the kids had already made a bunch. Here is how they turned out:

Pretty cool! I think I'll be looking for sacrificial thrift store neckties next year. Tomorrow should be a lot of fun - the kids are excited about Easter. We have a pancake breakfast at church, an egg hunt, and the celebration service. Then, my parents are coming down for a visit with us. Can't wait! But now, it's late and time to play Easter bunny. :)