Weekend Warriors

 This past weekend was a busy one.  Brooke and I headed south to Lexington, KY where we attended my cousins daughter's Confirmation early Saturday morning.  I was honored to be chosen as Claudia's sponsor for her "personal Pentecost".  They attend the Traditional Latin Mass so to me it was even more beautiful.  Brooke shook the Bishop's hand afterward where she attempted to impress him by reciting what she remembered of John 1:1-6 in Latin from last years school work.  It was really sweet.

 Claudia and I after the Confirmation.  Why am I wearing a veil?  Read more here.

 While we were gone (just Friday night and part of Saturday),  Luke lost his first tooth. Luke asked Mark to pull it out and he did.  Easy peasy!  I think with every single tooth Brooke has lost thus far there has been drama, major.  Mark reports that drama was no where to be found. 

Saturday was opening day for Kings Island if you didn't already have that marked on your calendar like we do.  Mark took Luke and Stella and Nash got to spend the morning with my mother-in-law.  Let the obsession__________!!  Insert...BEGIN, CONTINUE, SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL?  I can't get in the middle of all this.  If all goes as planned, I step foot in the park as little as possible.  :)

 

 At almost 6.5 it was about time that Luke did lose a tooth.  Although I have to say even though I was excited for him, I hate the thought that he's turning into a big kid. In my world, he's always five.

My attempts to get a picture with the missing tooth lead to all kinds of phoniness, so I tickled him instead. :)

 After taking the kids to Mass yesterday morning, we came home and packed our clothes and played.  This is what ensued in the late afternoon.  Living room vaulting!  Check Nash out over there in the corner chair.   I'm not sure what he's up to, but it's pretty entertaining. :)

 Oh, they did!

 They probably should have been wearing helmets.

 Nash got in on the jumping, but couldn't hurl himself on the couch like the others.

  Someone please fire me for reckless mothering.  I could use a nice quite vacation BY MYSELF. 

 I can't remember why Nash isn't wearing pants.  I think I took them off because he was sweating.  Either way, I couldn't resist these fat little leggies!

It was a busy weekend which may explain why I blew off school today in favor of going grocery shopping, being tired, and avoiding productive tasks. That's why I took time to blog.  Math?  Who needs it?!! :) Hope you had a great weekend too.

It's almost THAT time of year!

 

For the last eight years (since Brooke was a babe!), we've been going to my in-laws beach house at the beginning of May.  I'm looking forward to it more than usual since Brooke and I have been going round and round working on gaining control of her emotions. We've also been hard at work accomplishing the school work we need to in a timely manner.  No, we won't be doing math in June this year because we've been doubling up our lessons on occasion and when we get back, we'll almost be finished for the year! The end is in sight!   I'm just giddy with the thought of having a break from school and soaking up some sun and sand.  

 This year will be even better because not only will my sister and my neices be joining us, but my nephew as well!  I need to print up one more picture to finish up a wall in Nash's room, but I'm holding out for some new beach photos.  Someone pinch me!

 I hope the weather is great.  Two times out of last 8 years we had crappy weather and now I always worry will it be cold and windy this time.  The odds are slim, but I guess that goes to show how one or two negative experiences are more powerful that the 6 awesome vacation experiences we've had.

On my "to do" list is finding kites at the dollar store.  They were such a hit last year.

Given my recent blogging pattern and the amount of work that needs to be done to mobilize this crew, I'll probably be blogging from North Carolina when we "meet" again.  See ya then!

Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Advice

 

It's been a long time since I've shared anything about my dear Brooke.  Many of you probably remember past posts and to say the least she's had some "issues".  This post is not to air Brooke's dirty laundry so to speak, but what we've been doing to seek healing.

 

Over the summer and at the beginning of this past fall Brooke really seemed to be maturing and able to take the ups and downs of life in stride.  That's a large part of why we signed her up for riding lessons.  We found that she was able to move through her day doing the things that were required of her without too much fuss.  Everything was going smoothly until right before the time changed in October.  After that and Halloween, Brooke just struggled through her day getting "stuck" when things didn't go her way and being overly sensitive to EVERYTHING.  It was pretty miserable.  

 

In the middle of December I made a desperate call to a woman my friend's friend recommended not really even knowing what she did or if she could help us.  I was pretty much out of options that didn't involve medication.  Enter Ann Anzalone, the most positive, patient, wise, resourceful, and  knowledgable teachers' teacher that I've met.  She's an educational, health and natural healing guru. I honestly don't know where I'd be without her support. I call her my "Modern Day Mrs. Piggle Wiggle". She is truly a blessing sent from heaven.

 

*If you've never read the Betty MacDonald Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series of books you are truly missing out.  She helps parents solve the problems they are having with their children's bad behavior in a very entertaining way.*

 

What does she do?  I've been struggling with that very thing myself.  She draws her "therapy" from the work of many different people, but she uses a combination of learning styles, neuro integration (Dr. Anae Campbell's work), the 7 dimensions of intelligence (Brain Gym 2nd level) and nutrition.  Her focus is on the underlying causes of behavior.  Thank you, Jesus!

 

She uses a combination of muscle testing to find the underlying cause, energy work to "integrate" the system for healing, physical exercises to fix the pathways in the brain and counsels us on vitamins/supplements. She was a teacher for a long time and now she teaches teachers and does private consultations from her home near Dayton, OH.  Because of her background in education, she has been a great resource in that area too.  It's like one stop shopping so to speak! :)

 

 

 Brooke's been making great progress and has been able to overcome a lot of emotional issues. Were working on letting go (and sharing) of stuff, making choices easily, being flexible, and being more independent. The work Brooke and I have been doing these last few months has been very draining, but the result is that we have more peace in our home and she learning to gain control of her emotions so they don't control her.  Nothing we've ever tried in the past could even come close to helping Brooke like Ann has been able. I fully expect in a few more months that she will be long down that road of healing. Praise God!

 One of the many interesting things Ann has the kids doing is jumping on a mini trampoline every day.  They jump for 10 minutes in the morning and then if they get angry and can't move forward, the jump more.  It's amazing how this physical exercise gets rid of funk.  :)

 

 

I started taking Luke to see Ann shortly after Mark and I went to Gaitlinburg and an overtired, over sugared, and angry Luke told my mother-in-law while we were gone that he was going to break her bones and kill her when got bigger and stronger.  Oh, the joys of parenting!  We were able to figure out that Luke had turned off his hunger signals (he would mostly eat breakfast and mabye a bite or two of dinner in an entire day) and was running on empty. So much for my when he's hungry, he'll eat theory! 

 

Since we've followed her advice of serving him something he'd eat at lunchtime and given him the recommended vitamins, he's been much more reasonable.  We've had fewer outbursts, more cooperation, and he's grown a quarter of an inch!  We know this because someones' amusement park obsessed husband checks these things in the winter when he's pineing away for roller coaster and adventure.  :)  The lunch of choice are the Nut Thins pictured above with peanut butter and jelly on top.  

 

 

There's been some big changes going on in our family and I just love that God has answered my prayers in such a way that we're all changing and growing in our love of each other and for God.  I am fully aware that God doesn't always answer my prayers the way I hope, but this was beyond anything I could have hoped for. 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose -Romans 8:28

Oh, my! More Grain-free Goodness!

 After a year of trial and even more error, I don't usually experiment with many grain-free recipes.  I found our favorites (for a time anyway!) and we usually just stick to them because I don't have the luxury of spare time to play around in the kitchen to result in a fail.  Ain't nobody got time for that!  Check out this Youtube video for a good laugh. :)

Normally every week we make a huge batch of almond flour pancakes, but I didn't have enough vanilla to make them so I had to do something different.  Gasp!  We eat eggs every.single.day. but I didn't have it in me to just eat eggs, so I revisited a recipe for Cinnamon Apple Muffins from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook that I thought I could improve.  When I followed the recipe in the past they were okay (the sweetener used in the original is agave nectar and I don't really care for that), but with a few changes, they are now AMAZING.  Luke even gobbled them up and that's saying something!

Here's my new and more delicious recipe:

Katie's Apple Cinnamon Muffins
(makes 10 muffins)

2 cups blanched almond flour (I buy in bulk from here)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon (I like tons, but the original called for 1 teaspoon.  Add at your own risk!)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 heaping spoonfuls of apple sauce

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and then whisk wet ingredients in another bowl.  Pour wet into dry and then spoon into muffin cups.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes.  I wait until the tops are starting to brown and check with a toothpick.  The insides should be moist, but not wet.

I doubled the recipe, but next time I might triple and freeze some for a lazy day.  I prefer to cook in bulk since everything I make is from scratch.  It saves so much time and only makes the mess once.

 You know that saying Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer?  That also applies to toddlers so that's why when Stella and I were baking up the muffins, I parked Nash on the counter with a banana to keep him occupied.

 Butter melted?  Check!

I recently transitioned Nashy Boy to a booster seat only because the straps on our high chair aren't functional anymore and I thought this would be safer.  More annoying?  Yes, but safer. :) When the other kids were little we could exile them to the end of the table while the rest of us hunkered down at the other end waiting for the assault of silverware or food. Now our table is full so we just have to deal with some toddler naughtiness.  Every meal Nash "performs" in one way or another.  Love that boy!

The Whirlwind of Life

 I am rewarding your patience with lots of pictures today.  I'm sorry to leave you hanging, but there just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.  My blog seems to be falling to the bottom of my list.  You might be inclined to think that since Lent is over I've been binging on Facebook and Netflix, but that isn't true at all.  I'll give you a quick run down on the state of our affairs and more pictures than you probably care to look at.

Easter seems like eons ago, but here are the handful of photos I took.  On Saturday my family came over for dinner and an egg hunt.  My sweet mother brought ALL THE FOOD and I just had to make sure my house looked presentable.  Easy as pie for me!

 My mom also brought the eggs for the egg hunt so pretty much I was a slacker.  I didn't even take any photos of the Easter baskets!  Don't panic and start dialing the the 9 and the 1, I'm just enjoying taking it easy.

 Nash loved the egg hunt.  He got a head start as did Stella.  She won't be getting a head start anymore because she ended up with the most which was loads more than Luke.

 The old folks hanging around.  That's my dad, my love, my beloved mother, and my lovely sister enjoying a little bit of sunshine.  One thing you should know is that you can't judge the weather in our parts by the clothing my children wear.  They are known to wear completely inappropriate clothes in the chilliest of conditions.  We old people were get cold more easily.  :)

On Sunday after Mass we went to my-laws house and had some yummy turkey.  The kids had a ball with cousins and it was just a really great relaxing weekend.

 It seems this week that spring has FINALLY sprung.  The woods behind our house have just started blooming this past week.  I was so patient, but beginning to wonder if would ever FEEL like spring.  My people have taken to the sunshine like ducks to water.  It's bike riding season for sure!

 Nash has even taken a liking to bike riding.  He's commandeered Luke's old Radio Flyer without pedals and has been scooting around here and there.  The big kids like to ride a lap around our house and Nash attempted to do the same.  He got about half way before I rescued him.

 He's a sillygoat and so proud of himself as well!

 Brooke's riding her bike "side saddle".  Obsessed.with.horses.

 Monkey See, Monkey Do.

 Our yard is full of stick and rocks and all things nature related because our kids have been digging up mud and treasures and making "mulch" which consists of dragging logs out of the woods and chopping at them until the splinters resemble mulch.  Luke got the idea that he might like to sell it.  Anyone need mulch by the tablespoon? :)

 If I were better with the video camera you could appreciate the antics of my youngest son.  He lives life to the full and I think his main purpose is to entertain.  At least that's what we keep him around for!

 Warmer temperatures and moist soil make for some pretty dirty birdies.  The other day Nash had to get a bath before lunch and his nap.  He was covered from head to toe in mud.  I didn't want to have to run upstairs while I was getting lunch ready so I put him in the kitchen sink instead.  It's the first time a kid has ever been in this sink, but it worked out perfectly.

 He was happy to sit and pour water into the little side of the sink and I was able to keep doing what I needed to do.  I think strategy will be utilized a lot this summer.

 It was bittersweet this week as we said "adios" to our home school group.  This past Thursday night we participated in "Family Night" where the kids perform something that they've learned this year. It was so sweet to see how proud they all were for having memorized so much information.  Above, Luke  and a little buddy from his class.

 They were singing about the fall of Rome.  Taxes, slavery, unemployment and diseases all contributed... to the fall of Rome...to the fall of Rome.

 Brooke (all the way over there on the right) sang a song listing the prepositions.  Aboard, about, above, across, after, against...to the tune of A Bear Goes Over the Mountain.

It's sad to leave, but at the same time I'm so excited to be moving forward with Catholic Schoolhouse.  My friend and I sat down last week and assigned all 71 kids to a class.  We ended up with 8 classes with anywhere from 7 kids to 15 in the oldest group.  Most either have 8 or 9 students.  It was a fairly easy task and everything (gender/special needs) worked out so easily that it was clear to see God's hand in the whole process.  I love that!

We've been chugging right along with our school work.  We have a goal to get so many math lessons completed by the time we take our spring vacation to my in-laws beach house, so we don't have to take ANY school work with us at all.  That's very motivating!  We've been doubling up so that if all goes as planned, we will be finished with school by the end of May.  Can I get an Amen??!!

Nash has been so much more easy going and focused lately that we've been able to do school with him awake and in the school room.  He's taken a serious liking the the dry erase board and markers.  He'll sit for at least 15 minutes if not more and color. He has really good fine motor skills and already holds pencils and things like a big boy.  When he's not doodling, he drags the basket of those Lego Duplo blocks up to the table and builds for up to 30 minutes.  I feel like we've made some serious progress in this department!

Gotta run, lots to do, but I promise to be back sooner than later this time. I pinkie swear!  :)

Horse Crazy

Brooke has a sign on her door that reads, "You must be horse crazy to enter".  Of course there ismore than one misspelled word on her sign, but the sentiment is still all there.  She is horse crazy.  I feel sorry for her class in our home school group.  I think she's done a presentation on a different horse breed for this entire last month! 

About a month ago Brooke and I set off on Sunday after Mass to attend the Warren County Tack Exchange. My mom came to babysit the other kids and we set off to see what we could see (or buy!).  It was basically a huge horse related flea market held at our local fair grounds.  We were hoping to score a few things specifically, including a pair of broken in paddock boots for Brooke.  The new boots we bought her for Christmas were returned because they were "uncomfortable" and her riding instructor had the brilliant idea of getting a new to her pair of boots instead.  It was mission accomplished!  We found a pair that retail new for $125 for $35.  I love a bargain!  This sale was the perfect time to teach Brooke about negotiating skills. 

Brooke used her newly learned negotiating skills to buy (with her allowance money) a set of grooming tools, a hot pink lead rope and a pretty pink crop.  One brush at our local tack store is $10 and Brooke managed to get everything I mentioned above for $17.  One young man who was selling the lead rope said Brooke was so dang cute, he couldn't say no.  It pays to be well spoken 8 year old.  :)


This is what she spent her money on.  The box however was a hand-me-down, the only thing I've held onto from my horse days gone by.  I don't want to talk about the hundreds of dollars of stuff I got rid of.

This tack box was a Christmas gift from one of besties when I was about 13 or 14.  My friend, Elizabeth, was my best pal in the barn and out.  If I were honest we probably were rarely out because we were so horse crazy ourselves.  She stenciled this lovingly and painted it my favorite color, purple.  Brooke saw it up on the shelf in the garage collecting dust and just knew that it would be the perfect thing for her new stuff.  She wrote on it in marker at first which I was a little disappointed, but wouldn't you know an 8 year old uses washable markers. 

I did this instead.   Maybe we'll add Stella's name on there some day too.  :)

We need spring and then some dry air to clear out this mud.  There is mud everywhere...our van, on our shoes, in our backyard, in the front yard, in our mudroom.  You get the idea?  :)

I haven't had to take the rest of the kids with us to the barn because we've been scheduling the lessons on a day that Mark's off so I can ride too.  It's been working out really well and I think Luke is relieved to not be out in the cold waiting for Brooke. 

Stella gets her complimentary "widing wesson" at the end. 

Our riding instructor, Kevin, is so patient with my whole crew, he even encourages them to help groom Eli.

Nash, not so much.  :) 

 

I've taken a riding lesson for the last three weeks and have been totally loving every single minute.  Even that horrible feeling of having jello legs and soreness for 5 days afterwards.  I asked Brooke to take a few pictures of me during my lesson and this was one that she got.  Gotta love 8 year old photographers!

Riding is so much like therapy, expect the lying on the couch happens afterwards instead of being the main event.  :)

I cantered the last two times and it felt just like riding a bike.  Brooke's been jokingly asking "When's the horse coming?", followed by, "Get the joke?".  I think after the 5th time I get it.  I'll give her an A for her effort. 

Two weekends ago we went to a horse show 30 minutes from our house.  Our instuctor, Kevin, and a few others from the barn were competing.  Mark has been working every stinkin' weekend so it was  a family affair.  I packed lunches and Leapsters for Luke and Stella in case they got bored, but really everyone did so well. Even Nash who clapped at appropriate times and who uttered the cutest sounds when a jump was cleared.  It helped greatly that it was inside.  No one we knew competed the three hours we were there, but we did have fun hanging out and watching some really beautiful horses and their talented riders jump over some pretty high fences.  We watched kids jumping on ponies too.  I ran into a little girl in the restroom with a sweat shirt that said, "Happiness is owning a horse and having a rich daddy."  I suppose that would be true.  However, since we neither have a horse or a rich daddy, I guess we'll just settle for riding lessons once a week.  That's happiness in our family.