Summer Plans

5 days left of school and then its summer!! Everyone I know is always so excited for their kids to be out of school. And I am too.....to an extent. I'm just such a practical realist that I can't help but think about what summer is really like when your kids are home all day.

No more packing lunches! (I don't get it....I still have to prepare lunch for 4 kids every day in the summer. And breakfast. And dinner. And snacks.)

Sleeping in! (Is this even a thing if you have little kids??)

Days full of fun and play! (Days full of arguing kids!)

It's just a big change going from 2 kids to 4 kids at home, know what I mean?

As tempting as it is to just keep our days wide open for fun, I find my kids (and I) do a lot better when we have some sort of a simple routine to our days. Every once in a while we might stay in our PJs and watch cartoons in the morning.....but I don't let that happen very often. Because it always leads to grumpy disobedient kids. 

So I have spent the last few weeks making summer plans. Some are bigger things, like VBS programs at a few local churches. We are also going on a little vacation in July. Other more simple plans are things like taking a picnic to the park, doing a lemonade stand, or taking advantage of $1 kid movies at the local movie theater. 

 Ryan made this list for me. I think it's a good mix of big and little plans. And if you can read the last item, NO we are not going to Tahoe for a year. Hopefully for a day or two though!

How do you handle summer with your kids? Crammed full of activities? Completely free and wide open? And do you look forward to it? Please share!

Day In The Life 5/23/19

5:30am - My alarm goes off and I immediately doze off again.

5:45 - Adam and I jolt awake at the same time. Yikes, gotta get up! I get out of bed and almost trip over Ryan. He is asleep on our floor. No pillow or blanket. Lucas is on our couch (he has been having some bad asthma at night), and Andrew is in our bed. It's like a frat house here!

6:15 - I'm dressed, I've started my first load of laundry, and I'm downstairs making Adam's lunch for work. His co-worker's mom makes specialty jam, and Adam loves her strawberry-jalapeno flavor. He takes a PBandJ almost every day now.

 6:30 - All the kids are up, but most of them are not happy about it. Especially this guy.

All the kids pile on me and Adam snaps a picture before he leaves for work.

 7:45 - After the boys leave with my Dad for school, I eat a quick breakfast.

And do a little computer work and Bible reading while I drink some lemon water.

Andrew has been sick this past week and he still isn't himself.

8:15 - I get some pinto beans in the crockpot for dinner. Jenna and I argue a bit over what she will wear today, since she is graduating from preschool this morning! I wipe down the downstairs bathroom, do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. I finish getting myself ready and then we leave for Jenna's preschool graduation at the park.

 9:30 - The park! And lots of sun in their eyes!

 My Mom hopped on a swing so obviously my sister and I both needed to snap a photo.

 Here is my girl graduating from her 1st year of preschool.

 We love her teachers!

11:30 - I left Jenna with my sister and raced home to grab a platter of watermelon and go over to the park for Ryan's class reading celebration. He really didn't want his picture taken.

 In line for food.

 Eating with one of his buddies.

 I sit at the park and chat with a friend for a while and then come home to find this. Adam had gotten home from work early, so my parents (who were watching Andrew) left and Andrew is asleep again. At this point I am beginning to suspect a brewing ear infection because he just seems so lethargic and obviously isn't feeling well.

 12:45 - I sit down and enjoy this giant salad for lunch while Andrew sleeps. Then I put away the washed and folded (thanks Mom!) laundry, sweep the floors, and clean up a bit before picking up the boys from school.

3:00 - I let the boys run around at school for a while with their friends. Back at home the kids watch a quick cartoon

 3:15 - And Andrew is still asleep. He napped for almost 5 hours straight. I'm getting worried.

 Our preschool teacher (and neighbor) drops off a few things, including this fun tool set for Andrew.

 Unfortunately he is awake but not up for much playing.

 The kids jump

 I water my vegetable garden

 Adam gets balls down off of the pergola

 The kids jump some more

And Adam and I decide to sit on our nice deck and just take it easy for a few minutes before dinner. It's 75 degrees but very overcast and windy. Perfect weather in my opinion!

 Andrew perks up a little bit but still wants to be held.

In fact, he perks up enough to grab a baseball bat and hit me in the back of my knee. Ouch! This picture doesn't do the bruise justice. It feels like he broke a blood vessel or something because I immediately get a bruised lump that feels really strange when I walk.

 6:00 - Time for dinner kids! Tonight we are having burrito bowls made with the pinto beans I had cooking in the crockpot all day.

It is delicious. The best part of dinner is when we look out the window and it is raining! Also, Jenna tries bell peppers and decided she likes them.

Partway through dinner Ryan decides he wants some limeade so I let him squeeze some limes and make it himself.

Andrew won't eat, and instead he just sits watching everyone. The kids play handball in the living room while I do dishes and pack lunches.

 7:00pm - After everyone gets their jammies on I spend a little time playing Crazy Chefs with Lucas.

 Then handball with Ryan

 And finally reading in bed with this goofy girl.

8pm - I wanted to make sure I had some time with the big kids because the rest of the evening I had a droopy sick Andrew in my lap. This virus that has passed through our family has made Adam, Jenna and now Andrew so incredibly tired.

Jenna's Outfit Opinions

Oh my goodness. All of a sudden Jenna has become so opinionated and stubborn about what she wears. I feel like we're in uncharted territory here!

My boys never cared too much about their clothes. Ryan has become much more particular in the past year, in that he wants to wear whatever is extremely comfy. (No jeans or anything too "nice"). But at the age of 4? They couldn't care less.

Jenna is another story. She hates anything I pick out for her to wear. So recently I have been telling her she can pick her outfits, as long as they are weather-appropriate. (The exception is special events like holidays, church, etc.) But this hasn't solved the problem.

Here's how it goes. She whines about what I choose, so I relinquish control over to her. She flops on the floor and whines. I tell her she can't come out until she has chosen an outfit, and then I leave. She continues to flop around and whine. At some point she will come out with a tank top and shorts, when it's barely 60 degrees outside. So I have to remind her once again to choose pants, dress, long sleeves, etc. And the whining begins again. Then she will choose something that feels too itchy, and rip it off because she can't stand the feel of it. And we begin again.

This is all fine as long as we have nowhere urgent to go. But the other day she was being incredibly picky about her clothes and we needed to leave the house. Eventually I had to yank her clothes on her while she screamed in protest.

Jenna's outfit of choice is shorts, or if it is cold I can talk her into wearing leggings and a t-shirt. She wears pink sneakers and her pink hat. Every single day. She tells me she looks like a "baseball girl". (Clearly she has been watching her brothers play a lot of ball lately).

And don't get me started on her hair. She hates having it brushed and prefers to wear it down under her hat. No cute bows of pony tails for this girl!

Nully Language

Does anyone else have their own strange words they use within their family? Words that wouldn't make sense to an outsider, but to your family they are just part of your language? We certainly do! For some reason, we use weird words for certain foods. They either started with me just being silly, or when the kids were really young and couldn't pronounce something.

Here is a crash course in Nully language, as it relates to foods we often eat.

"Talking Cereal" = Rice Krispies Cereal

"Cheesy Noodles" = Macaroni and Cheese

"Pink Fish" = Salmon

"Spicy Water" = Mineral Water

"Daddy Seeds" = Sunflower Seeds

"Rae-Raes" = Raisins

"Ganzos" = Garbanzo Beans

Adam thinks we need to start teaching them the proper words. Because someday they might go to a friend's house and ask for "talking cereal" and wind up feeling embarrassed when their friend has no idea what they are talking about. It's so hard to let go of these sweet, silly things though. Sometimes I just want them to stay young forever. Ha! So what strange words are used within your family? Don't even get me started on Adam's weird nicknames for the kids......

Recent Thoughts

Whew! Has the month of May been a little crazy for anyone else? I have heard May referred to as "Maycember", because it can feel just as busy and hectic as December.

The boys have had projects due this month, Jenna has preschool graduation coming up, we have baseball still in full swing, end-of-baseball parties, teacher gifts to buy, open house at school, Mother's Day, summer plans to make.....it's just a lot!

In addition to all the end of school madness, Adam was gone 2 weekends ago on a trip to Las Vegas. On the day he got home he got a little cough, and within a couple days he had full blown flu symptoms. He was suffering so much that by that Friday we were in the emergency room. He was diagnosed with bronchitis and dehydration, and it has really taken a full week for him to feel normal again. Jenna also got sick, but not as severely as Adam. It is really hard when 1 (or both!) parent is down sick because we rely on each other so much.

I think this is the only picture I took during the last 2 weeks. Lucas had to make a cheetah for a school project. And I wanted to be involved and help....but ultimately between Adam and Jenna being sick, and me trying to get everyone from Point A to Point B while being fed and clothed.....I just couldn't do it. So I relinquished control to Lucas (as it should be with school projects!) and he did an amazing job.

On top of the sickness and busyness, I have become immersed in learning about the new school curriculum that was just adopted in our school district, along with more that was passed at the state level and will eventually make its way to our school. I have a lot of decisions to make about future schooling for all of my kids, and it has honestly been consuming my time and thoughts this month. My heart is heavy with everything I have been hearing and reading.

So those are my recent thoughts.....I'm curious if everyone else is feeling the strain of May or it's just me?

Age Gap

The other day I was out with Ryan and we saw a newborn baby. He was shocked at how little it was, and he commented on how he was never that small. I informed him that actually yes, he was once that small! He didn't believe me. So I reminded him of when Andrew was born, and how he was just a tiny newborn. And Ryan said he didn't remember!

 He proceeded to tell me how unfair it was that I had his little siblings when he was still little, so he doesn't remember when any of them were babies. Now, he was 6 years and 10 months old when Andrew was born, so I'm sure he has some memories of that time. But I understood what he was saying. Because all our kids are so close in age, they didn't get to experience having a baby sibling while being a big kid. Growing up, I remember wishing for a baby sibling because it just sounded like so much fun!

I see advantages to having a small age gap, as well as having kids more spread out. This is just the way it happened for us, so I tried to explain to Ryan that God chose to give us kids close in age. Hopefully he will get over not having a baby sibling as a "big kid", and appreciate growing up with so many built-in playmates!

10-Day Vegan Diet

You all know how I love trying different styles of eating. In the past I have experimented with the 21 Day Fix, Whole30, and Keto. I always lose some weight while on these diets, but for me it is about so much more than that. I love meal planning and trying new recipes and ways of cooking/eating. I love food and noticing how it affects our bodies. I find it fascinating to see how my body feels and reacts to what I am putting into it. If there was a way to easily obtain lab tests for things like cholesterol, blood sugar, etc, while on these diets, I would absolutely love to study that information! I guess you could call me a nutrition nerd.

All the diets I have tried in the past have been more protein/fat heavy, with a significant reduction in carbs. I have some family members who are currently eating a plant-based, or vegan diet. This seems so different than the others I have tried, so I took that as a challenge. For the last 10 days I have eaten a completely vegan, or plant-based diet. That means nothing from an animal. No meat, dairy, eggs, fish, etc.

I think there are 2 ways to approach this way of eating. The first is to focus on lots of white, refined starchy carbs and processed foods. There is tons of junk food out there that is technically vegan! Alternatively, you can focus more on the words "plant-based", and bump up your intake of plants, and choose whole grains over refined. My mother-in-law shared this quote with me and I think it is excellent. "If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it is made in a plant, leave it.". Now that's a way of eating I think everyone could benefit from!

So what did I eat? I took a few pictures to share on here.

BREAKFASTS

Rye toast topped with avocado, tomato, bagel seasoning

Green smoothies

Chia Seed Pudding with Fruit/Nuts

Oatmeal and peanut butter, fruit

Breakfast was pretty easy. I alternated between avocado toast, green smoothies, and oatmeal. I also made chia pudding once.

LUNCHES

Cold Quinoa and Veggie Salad

Salad with Beans

PB&J, Carrot Sticks. (Larabar was a later snack)

Lunches were always either leftovers, or a big salad. One day I did have a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich, with a side of carrots. Can't remember the last time I had one of those!

SNACKS

Triscuits and Bean Dip

Split Peas

I tried not to snack too much, especially in the evenings. If I needed an afternoon snack I tended to choose almonds, crackers, or my new favorite thing.....skillet toasted/fried split peas. These were so good! I soaked the split peas for a few hours and then toasted in a skillet for 10 minutes with a little olive oil and spices. They were crunchy and really addictive. (Andrew ate almost half of these!).

DINNERS

Burrito Bowl

TJ's Quinoa/Bean Veggie Burger, Baked Beans, Potato Wedges

Vegan Lentil Tacos w/ Vegan Cheese Sauce

Pesto Pasta, Salad

Baked Beans, Baked Potato, Green Beans

Dinnertime is when I got a bit more creative. I tried to choose meals that I could easily omit the animal protein from my plate, but still include it for Adam and the kids. For example, on burger night I just cooked a veggie burger for myself. On the pasta night the kids also had chicken.

I tried to incorporate healthy forms of protein into every meal, but it was honestly a bit of a struggle. I'm a little wary of soy, so I never cooked any tofu or tempeh. I used MyFitnessPal to track my micros and nutrients for a few days, to see if I was getting enough of everything. 

 I found that I was consistently low in protein, iron, and calcium. Not surprisingly, fiber and carbohydrates were not a problem. This is one reason I think it would be hard to maintain a vegan diet long-term. You would have to be so intentional about getting all the essential nutrients. I'm sure it can be done though. I did feel great during my 10 days of plant-based eating, and I even lost 6 pounds. I loved the amount of greens I was eating, and it was kind of nice to eat all those carbs and not think twice about eating low-carb.

Have you ever tried a plant-based diet? What do you think of it?