Homeschool science experiment

Here is a video of Evie's science experiment. It was fun!

Snow, snow and more snow

We got lots and lots of snow here the past week. Today is supposed to be a high of 7 degrees. Brrr. The snow is so pretty. The birds have been flocking to the feeders, and we have been getting about 6 males cardinals at one time, along with the females and other birds. The snow is about 14 inches deep right now. I am supposed to go out in about 3 hours for a playdate, and thankfully it is in the neighborhood. I am going to have to drive though because we have a ways to walk, and it is too cold to be out in this weather. I hope I don't get stuck in the driveway!

With all this snow, I am trying to find new things for us to do. Evie and I have had several tea parties. She loves to do that, and it is fun. The conversations we have can be pretty hilarious though. She pretends she is married, and her dolls are her kids. I asked her the other day what her husband's favorite food was, and she said ravioli and ketchup. I had a hard time not laughing my head off when she said that. We have been playing lots of board games, and card games.

I started doing a gluten free and casein (dairy) free diet for Evie and I this week. For kids diagnosed in the autism spectrum, this diet can be extremely beneficial. I have been amazed at how much stuff has gluten or casein in it. Things labeled "non dairy" still have casein in them, which is a milk protein. Even the vegan cheeses at the health food store have casein in them! And gluten is in almost everything prepackaged. It is insane how much it is in everything. It is in most soups, chips, salad dressings, etc. It has been a challenge, but it is amazing how much information and recipes can be found on the internet. I made a pizza yesterday, and it was unlike any I have ever made! The sauce wasn't tomato sauce, it was "un-tomato" sauce. It was made with beets and carrots and spices. Evie tested positive for an allergy to tomatoes, so I try and steer clear of them if I can. Jeff tasted the sauce and had no clue it wasn't tomato! The crust was a pourable crust made with gluten free flour. On half the pizza I put real cheese for Jeff, and on the other half I used a recipe I found online for a cheese that was gluten free/casein free. It actually tasted really good! So I made a pizza without tomatoes or cheese. Crazy! I have been making all kinds of stuff to help us on this diet. I made a peach crisp the other day, and today I'm going to try making a cobbler. I'm still steering clear of refined sugar, so I'm really having to be creative. I'm trying to make things that are in Evie's diet, but also are fun foods for her. This weekend, Evie is going to a birthday party. I already know that they are going to have chips for a snack, and then cake. I am planning on making her some gfcf (gluten free/casein free) chocolate chip muffins with frosting to take so she can eat that when they eat the cake. I'm also going to take some gfcf chips and goodies for her to have as a snack. Hopefully all will go well. So far she hasn't complained much at all, so I am thankful for that.

I should probably get off the computer so I can make some lunch. All this talk of food is making me hungry!

Mini vacation

Jeff had to travel on business today, so he took Evie and I with him this time. We are staying at a nice motel, just for a night, and the companying is paying :). There is an indoor courtyard with a pool, so I am sitting right now out in the courtyard while Jeff is in the pool with Evie. Evie has been swimming like a fish since we got here. I'm actually really glad to get her out of the house and moving! She has had so much energy lately that she is bouncing off the walls (sometimes literally), so all this swimming should help wear her out a little. I actually got so desperate the other day to get her some exercise that I put her on our treadmill. She loved it, but got bored within about 5 minutes. Then I had her jump on the mini trampoline. It has been really cold and snowy, and the roads in our subdivision have been icy, so I haven't wanted to go for a walk. I need to figure out some creative ways to get her moving!

Yesterday, I had to be both a vet and a teacher. During homeschooling, I took Sierra out to go potty. Sierra somehow ripped her dew claw completely off when she was outside. Evie came up with a very smart theory that she might have gotten it caught on the fence. She loves to jump up on the chain link fence and bark if someone goes by. I didn't notice it until she had been inside for awhile. Evie yelled to me that her paw was all bloody, and then I noticed there drops of blood all over the floor. Her poor claw looks pretty nasty. I bandaged it up yesterday, and today before we left for our trip. She is at Jeff's parents, so I know they will take good care of her.

We are going home tomorrow afternoon, so this is a short trip, but it is good to get away and be together as a family!

The family table

When I was growing up, our family always ate together at dinner. My mom and dad both worked, but my mom made it a point to always have dinner together. It was a time when we would catch up with each other. My sister and I were both very busy with sports and friends after school, so the table was sometimes the only time we could connect as a family. We ate fast food once in awhile, and went out to a restaurant about once a month. It was a special treat, not something that was done very often. We had an ultra small kitchen growing up, with a table that was pushed against the wall to make room when we weren't eating. When it was dinnertime, we would pull the table out and cram in. It was tight, but I have many memories of sitting down with my family and having meals and connecting with each other. I remember many wonderful meals, and lots of laughter. We live in such a different time now, and family dinner tables are becoming a lost art. Everything is so fast paced, and families seem to be connecting less and less with each other. It is interesting that we have all this technology to help speed things up for us, and yet it seems like we are busier than ever and have even less time. A lot of times families end up coming home and crashing on the couch and eating dinner in front of the TV. Everyone is too tired to talk.

Up until recently, I was doing exactly what I just wrote about. Our family was spending less and less time at the dinner table together. I would be tired from homeschooling and taking care of Evie, and Jeff would be tired from work, so I would make dinner and we would plop on the couch and eat in front of the TV. We would barely say a word to each other, and we would mindlessly watch TV. I started feeling really convicted that I was setting up such bad habits in my home. I hated eating in front of the TV. It is not something I wanted in my home at all, and yet I kept doing it. I realized I was being just plain lazy. I really realized what a mistake I was making in this bad habit when Evie announced to me that she hated eating at the dinner table, and that she loved eating in front of the TV. Yikes. I was responsible for that! Talk about conviction! I didn't want her growing up missing out on fellowship time at the dinner table. I wanted to make wonderful memories like I had eating with my family. I believe God intended us to sit around the dinner table together and connect. The Bible has many stories that center around the table and sharing a meal together, especially in the Gospels. Jesus had many times of fellowship that centered around sharing a meal. Since seeing the huge error of my ways, I have been dressing up my table more and making it look inviting. I have been lighting candles and putting on music each time we eat. We have been regularly eating at the table for dinner, and have started having some lively conversations. Evie is still asking for "movie night", but isn't complaining so much. Hopefully she will come to the point, like I did growing up, where she thoroughly enjoys sitting together for dinner at the table. I guess I am old fashioned in my thinking, but I think that people are missing out on something very special when they eliminate the family dinner table!

A new year!

Happy New Year! Okay, I'm about 5 days late, but still, it is a new year! I had a friend recently ask me on Facebook if I was taking a "blog-cation", so I figured I should start up with blogging again :). Jeff was home for 2 weeks, and I thoroughly enjoyed having him home. We had fun going out and doing things as a family. It was a great time, and I was so thankful that God blessed us with all that time together! Jeff got super motivated right before New Years to exercise and get into shape. He started doing a super intense exercise program called P90X about a week ago. One cool thing is that Evie loves to do it with him! Of course she isn't doing it nearly as intense, but she will stay there for almost the whole hour and do a bunch of it with him. It is daddy/daughter bonding time. I am amazed at how fast guys see results. Jeff's arms are already really bulking up, and it has only been a week! I had to laugh at how weak his muscles were after his first few days of doing the program. He told me that he was so weak and sore that a toddler could knock him out :). He was so sore that he had to have me help him put his shirts on. He is doing much better now. He is so motivated about it, and it is rubbing off on me. I have started exercising again, which I had gotten out of the habit of doing. I always feel so much better when I exercise. I'm doing the elliptical machine, and some pushups and situps. I wish I saw results as fast as Jeff! I'm also trying to eat better. During the Christmas and New Years time I was eating pretty bad. Tons of processed junk food and sugar. My body wasn't liking it at all.

We had a wonderful service at church yesterday. We are fairly new to our church, and have had a hard time connecting. Our church didn't have Sunday School, so we had a hard time getting to know people. The church has been in existence for about 20 years, and never had Sunday School. That changed yesterday! They started Sunday School classes, and everyone was SO excited! We are in a 45 and under married class, and there were about 15 couples there. It was wonderful to be able to meet people. The class is a lot like a Bible study, and we are going to be studying a book by John Eldridge. I have grown so much at this church, and can't wait to learn even more from this class! I'm also looking forward to making some new friends :).

New Christmas gift

For Christmas this year, my parents and my sister gave me a gift card to a local craft store. Today they were having 50% off almost everything in the store, so we went shopping :)! I have been wanting to buy some things to jazz up my house. We bought this today to go above our buffet. The wall has been empty since we moved into the house, and it needed something. It holds 9 votive candles. Jeff put it up tonight, and I lit the candles. I love how it looks!

Long time no blog

I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas! I haven't had a whole lot of time to blog because of Christmas. We had a wonderful time with family. Jeff is off for 2 whole weeks, and I am loving having him home! The weather here is SO weird right now. The week of Christmas was bitterly cold. It was only 3 degrees on the Sunday before Christmas. Brrrr! Today it is rainy and 62 degrees! Evie went outside in flip flops to play. How crazy is that?? The snow we had is very quickly melting. We have enjoyed the snow. We have gone a few times over to Jeff's parents, and Jeff hooked a sled to the tractor to pull us around :). Evie loved it. She could do it for hours. Yesterday we went over to Jeff's parents (it was still cold yesterday!), and we took Sierra with us. Sierra ran after us on the sled the whole time, so she ran for 1 1/2 hours straight! She was so wiped out that she has been sleeping all day today. It sure was fun. Super bumpy, but fun!

I'm a copycat today in my blog. Several of my online long haired friends have posted this updo in their blogs. I wanted to try it and see how it looked. So sorry for being a copycat :). I braided a scarf into my braid, and was amazed at how heavy it was. I put it in a bun, and at first it was comfortable. I wore it to church last Sunday. When I got home from church, I had to take it down because it was giving me a big headache. I put it up later, and tried to reposition it, hoping it would be less heavy. It didn't help. It lasted a few hours, and then I had to take it down. My hair is past tailbone now, and is starting to tangle wildly. Part of me is really want to cut it to waist length, but I am holding off for now. Here is a picture of the bun...