Splashing in the puddles

By the looks of this you would think it was Spring! What kid doesn't like to splash in the puddles?? MINE! :)

Macy really got into it the other day but apparently she didn't want to get dirty the day I took this video- it is still cute though!

The latest on our little family

Tomorrow is game 4 of our 12 week football season. So far we have yet to bring home a win but we are having a great end of summer/ beginning of fall around the Naylor house.

My babies are just growing!!! Matthew is 13 weeks now and over 15lbs! He is wearing 6-9 month clothing and is just huge! I just love that little man and his chubby thighs!! Macy wasn't this size until she was almost 6 months old. I have a feeling he is going to pass her up before his first birthday (she is only 27lbs at 2 1/2)!!!

The days just seem to fly by! I really don't know what happens to them. We seem to have such a busy schedule with MOPS, Mommy and Me, and play groups that I can't believe it is almost October already! Wow! We really do have a great group of moms and their children to spend some of our days with- I feel really blessed to belong to such great groups!

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks. Will have more pics soon because we have some special outings planned with our little friends!

Macy in an airplane at the Muncie airport with Mommy and Me.

Baby Matthew-he is just so fragile looking don't you think?

Macy drawing on her new easel- if you would like a painting just let me know. She loves to paint half dressed as you can see!

Macy was in a friend's wedding last weekend- she was a beautiful flower girl!

My two guys!

This is by far one of my most favorite pictures taken so far of these two!

Cracks me up each time I see it!

Getting your vitamins

We all know we need to eat vegtables and up until a few days ago I felt that I was doing a good job at eating them and getting them in my family. However, now it seems that getting vegtables down my 2 yr old and hubby seems to be getting harder. I don't know what the change is and instead of bribing them into eating them (Macy not Mark :>) I just hide them!

So I'm not as scared about this swine flu but still doesn't hurt to take some precautions. I'm trying to beef up the amount of healthy things in our diet starting with fruits and veggies- the first is cauliflower- packed with tons of Vitamin C.

I bought some cauliflower the other day- but once I got it home I couldn't come up with something to make that I thought they would eat and would be healthy. Thought about smothering them with cheese but that would just make it harder to fit back into my pre pregnancy pants!!

I remembered a recipe that I had made when I was doing the low carb thing for a wedding I was in a few years ago. Cauliflower mashed potatoes! Talk about a hit! I added a few herbs from my 'herb garden' in my window and a little butter. They were great!

However by the next day I was tired of them as 'mashed potatoes'....they were now leftovers and doomed to stay in the refrigerator until something started growing on them and I had to toss them. Then another brainy idea....Shepard's Pie.

Side note: We would have Shepard's Pie all the time in our college cafeteria but I never tried it. Those of you that know me know that I never like my food to touch (neither did my husband- aren't we a perfect match!) so I never ate it. I don't know if it was the fact that I see my daughter's food all thrown together by the time meal time is over or the fact that I had everything in the refrigerator right there and I knew I could have a homemade meal in 15 minutes??? Who knows?

So here is what I did....

Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
Steam a head of cauliflower (cut up in pieces) and then put in blender. Add herbs, salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of milk (or water). I then added a small amount of butter. They will look and taste like the real thing! Promise!

Shepard's Pie
Brown hamburger meat (use lean meat or even turkey), add corn and peas (I actually had both of these as leftovers already in the refrigerator so check there first) either from canned or frozen and place in a baking pan. Season with salt and pepper, garlic salt, or I even used a seasoning salt that I used on chicken or steak. Spread your 'mashed potatoes' on top of the beef/veggie mixture and then put some cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 20 min. Super Yummy, healthy, and great for a nice fall day! The family loved them too!

I strongly believe that every fruit and vegetable has its purpose on this earth and that the more variety you have in your diet the better. Still not sure why I even bought cauliflower but I think sometimes your body just craves certain foods b/c they need something from them! Very glad I bought it b/c it opened my eyes to trying new and creative things.

The faith of a child

On our way home from Bible Study today Macy asked me..."Mom, where is Jesus?"

Humm...how am I going to answer this one? Where is her daddy...he always comes up with something quick and clever when she asks this sort of stuff.

So I said "He is in heaven"...it was really quiet back there...so then I added...."Waay up in the sky".

That seemed to help for a moment but then she asked as she was looking out the window "But I don't seem him...where is him (still working on grammar here)...where is Jesus Mommy?"

I should have gone into all the ways Jesus is around us...like how he made the flowers and the sun and the clouds and how he made us...but I wasn't thinking at the time and I wasn't sure if that would confuse her or not. So I just said it again..."He is up there....really high in the sky...really he is!"

And that was it....she didn't ask any more questions about Jesus. Sometimes I wish I had that precious faith of a child...so innocent and sweet and trusting.

Some day she will be like me- all grown up and have experienced just enough of life to question certain things. But I hope that she will be strong enough in her faith that she will again be able to just accept things and trust that Jesus is always there (even when you can't see Him).

Maybe it will take her daughter to remind her of that too!

My Weekly Must Do's

I really love to cook...or I used to before I had children. Not that I still don't love to try new recipies or cook a great meal- don't get me wrong. The thing that I don't like now that I have two little ones is that I never have enough time to either 1) shop for the items to cook a detailed menu or 2) stay in the kitchen longer than 15 min!!! You moms know this! I'm always getting interrupted by someone needing something- food, drink, fed, changed, answer the phone, etc. Not that I'm complaining....it is just where I'm at in life...and I know I'm not alone.

I've noticed that when I'm hungry I really don't care what it is...I will eat it. If it is easy and quick I will eat it. Not always good or healthy but that is the truth of it. Now that I'm back to my healthy eating ways (no more pregnancy hormones to blame for junk) I have incorporated a few things on my shopping list that I always, always get and a few things that I always, always make on Sunday (sometimes Monday) nights.

For starters...I always buy fresh carrots (already washed and cut up - either the baby carrots or the sliced carrot chips) and brocolli heads. Then once a week I steam the entire back of carrots and at least 2-3 heads of brocolli (we love it). Once it is done I add a little olive oil and some seasoning salt for flavor and put them into bowls and shake until covered. There! Vegtables for a week!!!

Second thing I do is buy fresh fruit- mainly grapes, apples, bananas, nectarines, strawberries, and blueberries. Usually 2-3 of these for variety and whatever is on sale is what I usually buy. Then once a week I cut them up, chop off the stems, get out the seeds, take off the vine, etc. That way they are immediately ready to eat. Sometimes it is fun to throw them all in a container for a fruit salad. This way at each meal all I have to do is take out my container of fruit (along with my veggies) and serve!

So that takes care of the fruits and veggies for my family. Next, I usually make 12-18 hard boiled eggs. I peel them, rise, and throw into a plastic tub in the frige. I love eggs for a quick breakfast (with some w. wheat toast) cut and warmed up with a little bit of salt and pepper. Great way to sneak in a fast breakfast with lots of protein. Or my new favorite summer thing (and Mark's favorite snack at work) is egg salad. I made it by cutting up several eggs and tossing in a few tablespoons of mayo (I use the kind made from olive oil) and a dash of salt. Again, tons of protien and you can make several days of it and have it ready in the frige for a quick meal or snack.

My favorite is to put egg salad in a whole wheat pita with some spinach and a sliced pickle. It is sooo easy and incredibly yummy and healthy. You can also make up chicken salad or just use leftovers from the night before (chicken, roast, steak, even hamberger) and put it on a pita with some spinach (a little ranch or salad dressing won't hurt). All very easy and healthy ways to reuse leftovers.

One more thing...I always keep a bag of ground flax seed in the frige. So if I make pancakes, pizza dough, home made chickn cord on blue, chicken parmesan (did I mention I have great friends who give me lots of yummy recipies?? :>) or anything that requires bread crumbs or dough I always throw some in. That at least adds something good into a meal that could not be so great for you. Of course when I make these I always substitute applesauce when it calls for oil and olive oil when it calls for butter or oil and the low fat cheese isn't that bad either. Plus our favorite pizza is cheese and green peppers...it is a veggie too you know! :)

So if you haven't noticed I don't mind leftovers...I used to hate them as a kid (don't we all) but now if I don't have to cook a meal and I can get a healthy quick meal on the table- I'm all about it! Maybe some day I will wake up and realize what I'm eating and think 'gross'...sure it was quick and healthy but what were you thinking!!! But I doubt it b/c to me if it is quick and easy I just don't care...and to be healthy makes it even better!

Matthew Talking

This was the day Matthew got his shots- and he was still as happy as can be! What a great kid!