Mommy's Potpourri

     Last week, to celebrate the official start of Autumn we took a little nature walk at a nearby park. I just love this park because there is so much space, that I don't worry about the kids running too far ahead of me.   My little Luke especially loves that I am not constantly asking him to 'wait' or 'come back'. He is ever the explorer.        Our mission was to observe nature in the beginning of Autumn, and collect things we find on the ground.       We had a really fun time exploring. Anthony spotted some lilypads, but to his mild disappointment, no frogs. We saw a squirrel in a tree making a really weird noise that I had no idea squirrels were even capable of making. We came to the conclusion that he may have been sick, or singing us a song. Lukie made friends with a couple of ducks. We observed the very dark gray skies, and predicted that it would begin raining some...

     Oh man. I cannot believe I have passed these by in the store so many times. They are kind of strange looking and always caught my eye, but I had no idea what to do with them. Do you peel them? Do you cook them? Do you slice them and put them on a sandwich? I didn't know, and to be honest I was intimidated by these little green guys. One day when they were on sale, I got brave and scooped some up. Then I went home and googled : How do you cook a tomatillo?  Image from Wikipedia        I was relieved to find that they are used primarily in Mexican cuisine (I used my superb knowledge of the Spanish language to deduce as much while in the store).   This was good news for me because Mexican food is usually very allergen friendly, and not too difficult for me -admittedly a culinary novice, to make.        The first recipe I made was salsa with roasted tomatillos, onion, and garlic. Very similar to the ...

Let me just say that Lukie has such a helpful little heart. He loves to do helpful little tasks. I, mommy of 3, take full advanta--er-- encourage his helpful character by giving him a super-special helper task just for him. I have been asking him to throw diapers away in the trash can. He is so cute. He gets all excited, takes the diaper and scurries off. How many diapers does it take before I, mommy of 3, realize that my sweet & helpful toddler has been throwing dirty diapers away in his dresser drawer instead of the trash can? 7. A poopy one from yesterday tipped me off. 

Listening skills come in handy in every area of your life. Especially motherhood. In the baby-stage, you learn your baby's cry. You can pick out your little one's whimper while sitting in the back row of the church sanctuary down the hall. Supposedly some mommies can tell what their baby needs based on what the cry sounds like. I am on my third little babe, and still have not been able to do that. All of his cries sound exactly the same to me. I kind of think people who say they can tell the difference, are just super-confident guessers. But if you think you really can, then more power to ya. I still don't believe you. Exercising your listening skills in the toddler stage is super-fun. You can always listen for a second, and tell what (in general) they are in to.  If I hear the water running, I am bringing a towel to whatever sink Luke is in. The clanging of the silverware, I just need to make sure he is in the "safe" drawer and somehow did not climb on to the...

     Tuesday night I went over to a friends' house and watched part one of a webinar about mothering. I don't remember what it was called (if I don't write stuff like that down, there is no hope for me recalling the details later) but it was helpful.      One of the parts that resonated with me was when she mentioned understanding your childrens' God-given personalities. And after understanding them, learning how to cultivate them.      I should say that my son Anthony is not a difficult child. He is an outgoing, smart, relatively obedient and sweet little boy. Even though this is true, there are times I have thought to myself, "I just don't understand him. I don't get it. Why does he need to talk so much? And constantly? And why is he so particular about things? Why does he get so upset if I do something in a different order than he is expecting?" There are days that we just do not connect, because I feel like I cannot get in to his...

     Well, things have calmed down in a lot of ways, which frees me up to blog. Something I really enjoy doing. There will be another element to this blog, as I figure out how to navigate the exciting and overwhelming world of food allergies.       My oldest is diagnosed with severe food allergies, and now my 8 month old baby is showing signs of the same things. We are managing severe food allergies to eggs, peanuts, tree-nuts, fish and shellfish. I have eliminated milk from my diet and it is helping the baby immensely. I strongly suspect he has a severe allergy to milk.      So our house has been turned upside-down by food allergies yet again. I had grown used to using milk products as a crutch for making sure my boys got enough of their nutrients. It is likely we will have to transition to a milk free home sooner rather than later. I have already cut it from my diet, and must say that I feel pretty good. I do miss cheese and ice...

Hello again! A few updates/thoughts to share. Anthony is 3. He had so much fun on his surprise birthday train ride. No, I am not talking about the expensive Thomas trainride in Eddyville or wherever, we rode the city train to the next stop, 10 mins away. He loved every minute. I cannot believe my little boy is 3 already. Lukie is doing very well too. He is short and stocky and adorable. He is built like an athlete, but the more I learn about him, the more I think he has a very good musical ear. You may be laughing at me, because he is only a year and a half, but he is just drawn to music. He can hear a song once and sing the tune almost perfectly. He plucks out harmonies on the piano and really listens to what each combination sounds like before he moves on to the next harmony. He likes fifths the most. He will play a fifth for 5 minutes straight, smiling. So cute. Baby 3 has aname and it is Ethan Christopher. It means strong/firm bearer of Christ. I love that.