Boxes

This is my life right now.... Surrounded by a sea of boxes!

Did I mention yet how much I hate moving?! Well, I guess I hate the packing and unpacking not the moving part. 

I also hate procrastination but with moving you sort of have to. There are certain things you can't pack till right before and it drives me crazy. I should be a pro at this by now. We've done it 13 times... I think that's right? Lol. I think if we didn't have kids right away we would have sold all our belongings except a bag of clothes and moved from place to place in foreign countries - we live moving to new places and exploring. Meeting new people and learning their stories.

I'm blogging all this from my phone while sitting in the toy room in front of all those boxes. I was trying to decide what to pack next... I guess this blog is a great distraction from what's in front of me. We did pack up the whole garage today, took a truck full of clothes and stuff to goodwill, and also donated three couches. Yet there is still so much to do.

BIG NEWS

Okay, so its Friday which means we can finally tell everyone our BIG NEWS!

We're Moving to Dallas!

(yup, Texas, the state we said we would never return to... eating our words indeed)

Super long story made really short -- we realized we are not East Coast people - at least not this part of the east coast (did you know DC was just ranked as the 3rd rudest part of the country?) We are craving deep fellowship like that we had back home in Cali, or even for the short time we were in Texas. We were looking at moving to Nashville. Its the Christian Music Capital and an amazing place (our dream place). However we miss deep fellowship and we know we will have it in Cali and Texas. And the biggest motivation - I have lots of family in Texas (Jon's is spread all over the country) so we figured we would try Texas first.

Jon applied a few places and the next day two places wanted him to fly out for interviews. Later that week he flew out and after his interviews he was offered both jobs. He picked the one that best suits our family and they wanted him to start asap. They agreed on a one month time frame, which meant we were in crazy move mode. Today Jon gave his two week notice, and we move exactly two weeks from tomorrow.

We are over the moon excited to be close to family again (raising five kids with no family within a 24 hour car ride is not ideal, not to mention I miss them, I want my children to be around them more, and when my sister has children I want to be right up the street not half a country away) We are also really excited that we will be within a few miles of several healthy grocery stores (including the first Trader Joe's in the Dallas area), and that Jons new boss is a Christian Father of six and his wife homeschools their children, oh, and he will be working only ten minutes from the house (not 45 without traffic)... too many things to list! So many things to be excited about.

I would be lying if I said we weren't leaving with very heavy hearts... In a way we are saying goodbye to the life we thought was ahead of us... and I'll leave the sad stuff at that for now.

We are in crazy packing moving mode as we move Feb. 11th!!!!

Wipes

There is something so fascinating about wipes to little ones. 

Grae was trying to be sneaky and pull all the wipes out, the lid broke and she was very proud. so I quickly put them in a zip-lock bag... however she viewed it as a challenge and was persistent at trying to get those wipes.

trying to figure out how to open it

hiding the bag pretending to be innocent

she started laughing when she realized she was busted

she was determined

and a picture just for fun

"up.up.up"

Missing Bread

Bought a loaf of our favorite bread and went to make toast for all the kiddos --- but the entire loaf had huge holes right down the center... such a bummer!

Crazy

blogging is going to get a little crazy for the next few weeks. We have some big news (no I'm not pregnant, lol, I know you thought it) Its going to be a time consuming craziness so I might not be blogging as much as I'd like. However once the craziness dies down I will post all the updates (still hoping to have a chance to post pictures and update...going to try)

Friday we will be telling everyone our big news - so Stay Tuned!

oh, and Good news - my tooth didn't break more -- awesome. The whole temporary broke off before I could make it in yesterday at noon. Now it is fixed and I go back Friday to get a crown.

Tooth Again

Good News - its snowing

Only about an inch, but its beautiful. Its freezing outside but I can resist being on the back porch admiring the snow and listening to the frozen rain fall (who would have known you could have sleet, ice, frozen rain, and snow in one night)

Bad News - my tooth broke, the same one that was just fixed.

well, it was in the process of getting fixed. Went last week and had it worked on, and then this Friday I'm suppose to go get the crown put on. Tonight another 1/4 of the tooth broke. Such a bust! I guess I should be thankful that it was the same tooth not a new one. Hopefully this is the end of it, and I can get it all fixed up and then all my teeth will be back on track to being healthy and strong again.

Special Treat

Things are going a little crazy in our house --- I'll post on that when I have chance to actually sit and think while I type (those moments are rare... having a chance to hear my own thoughts, without something going on --- as I type right now the three big kids are cleaning the toy room, well, suppose to be cleaning. All I hear is a toy fire truck and toy guitar going off, Shortie singing, and Zekie's giggles. The little two are sitting at the table with me eating some dried cranberries. It seems I never get to finish my thought process)

Jon is out of town and I wanted to do something special with the kiddos. Even though I'm the one that's always home with the kiddos, I still feel that I need to do extra during the day when he's out of town. Maybe its because I know they know he's not coming home tonight to give them good night kisses, or to give them hugs in the morning before going to work - not sure, but I feel like I need to fill their time with even more Mom love in hopes maybe they won't miss him too much. 

This morning I told them I had a special treat planned out for them. They were so excited, even as we loaded up in the car they were trying to guess from everything under the moon  what it could be. To some it might seem like a really silly special treat, or not much of treat at all - but I still had some money left on my Starbucks gold card, and since we've stopped drinking coffee, I figured it would be great to use on the kiddos. So went to the drive thru Starbucks and each kiddo got their own little bag filled with oatmeal - yup, oatmeal from Starbucks was their special treat, and they were thrilled. As soon as we were home they all ran to the table and started mixing in all the berries and nuts, and gobbling down the "goodness". Shortie said it was an awesome special treat and she hopes we surprise her with it again. (on road trips we get the oatmeal from Starbucks for the kiddos, so I knew they loved it, but we've only ever got it for them when traveling across the country).

side-note --- I don't remember where Jon heard this story, I'm a little vague on the details of the conversation I just remember how we related it back to us. It was about how a family that had raised their kids to not feel entitled, something about how going to a fair and the children were told they could go on one ride only and that was so special to them because they didn't expect to do any. That the children were so thankful for the one ride that other  parents were amazed because their children were doing dozens of rides and being so rude and spoiled expecting more. I related it back to us and how we could do that, and then I realized that we were trying to implement that with our kids and sweet treats, or special treats. Dessert is not a meal that follows dinner, and its certainly not part of dinner. Its for those special nights that we want to give them a treat. Well, anyways, this morning their thankful attitudes and excitement for oatmeal showed me that we are moving in the right direction in this area (not to mention seeing their thankful attitudes for oatmeal, humbles me to be more thankful for things that are just 'basic/normal' kind of things)

Ezekiel always making silly faces, lol. 

Bubs opening his dried berries

She was very excited to eat the oatmeal

Grae looking for hers

ha, love this picture - he was eating it right up, and boy does he need a hair cut

Messy Girl

Tonight we made some vegan mac 'n "cheese" ... actually, it needs a new name, I'll call it "Awesome Healthy Macaroni". I was surprised by how good it was. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting it to be good. We've been baking and cooking vegan for awhile, but vegan mac just didn't sound right (although I've never been much a fan of real mac 'n cheese - I strongly dislike how the second it turns slightly less than hot its one big clump of ick). This stuff was really tasty. It gets it yellow color mainly from nutritional yeast and a little tomato paste. Ezekiel and Grae really loved the stuff, especially Grae. 

These pictures seriously crack me up. We love this little girl so much. Not much explanation needed other than silly Grae was tired and loving her dinner so she was being as silly as ever, and her hair was all messy to match her face. 

Math Pretzels

Snack time turned into math time today - our math program uses alligators for the great than, less than, type of problems. The alligator eats the biggest pile of whatever it is, so his big mouth is facing the big number ready to chomp. While getting some pretzels for Grae the big kids were having fun making alligators and math problems. It thrills me to see them having fun with learning and showing the little kids how to as well.

Ezekiel's alligator had a long tail

Shortie's math 7 > 4

Shortie's alligator

Side story - we also made some crackers (vegan crackers) today. The kids had so much fun helping cut out the shapes and putting them on a baking sheet

I really love the natural colors of food -- God's beautiful art work (nutritional yeast, ground pepper, salt, flour, turmeric, and paprika)

crackers before going in the oven

Dinner and Thoughts

We've been marking up the new cookbooks with so many sticky tabs of things we want to make that its hard to choose what to make. Jon's Mom, Andrea, and his sister, Naomi, were still in town and one of Naomi's favorite foods is enchiladas. One of the cookbooks had a recipe for potato and kale enchiladas so we figured we'd make that one. (it doesn't hurt that enchiladas are one of my favorites and I can never say no to a good baked, mashed, or grilled potato...so it didn't take much convincing to make these) I added some black beans and quinoa to the original recipe - and doubled the enchilada sauce recipe... man oh man they were delicious, especially the sauce. We all ate them right up, and even the kiddos went back for seconds, some for thirds.

I love the fact that our kiddos love food... yes, sometimes a little too much in the sweet department, but they are kids after all. We hope that our passion for healthy food, organic, nonGMO, etc... will have a lasting impression on them. We decided years back that we didn't want to be the type of parents that forced our kids to eat their vegetables or hide the vegetables in their other food. How can a child develop a love for something if they are forced to do it, or if they don't even know they are eating it. We tell our kids they need to try two bites of everything on their plate, and that just because they didn't like it this time doesn't mean they wont like it next time. (I try to remember these rules for myself) Its really has been a joy to watch them try something they didn't think they would like only to absolutely love it. We try to involve them with the cooking and baking too. Some nights we ask how they want their side veggies cooked and with what spices (some mixes are not so good, lol, "two bites Mom") So far they all show signs of being adventurous with foods and they love being helpers in the kitchen.

silly faces (like his silly hair--- he cut the front all by himself a few weeks ago while he was suppose to be brushing his teeth, oh yes the things they can do in 60 seconds is amazing)

ha, silly Grae has decided that she likes to eat with her feet up, or in this case,  foot up

totally chill

both being silly and trying to not look at me for a picture

Love these silly kiddos

stealing her brothers food

picking recipes

playing with our food -- brussel sprouts

the kids thought it made a fun weapon or a mini tree after taking all the sprouts off

Little Chef

clearly we don't feed our kids often -  and notice the bottom  hot pad has a bite missing, lol

made some Peanut Butter Granola and Cinnamon Granola - yum

Things in the Bed

It seems that most nights we climb in bed and find "presents" the kids have left behind. They all love our bed, I think they view it as a fun fluffy obstacle course made to jump on, snuggle in, fall off of, hide under, make huge capes with layer of sheets... They just love playing in or on it, so its fitting that they leave behind toys or other random items often. Today I was greeted with a sock under my pillow and a little toy truck under the blanket.

Playing Outside

This week has had some odd weather. Hot weekend playing outside, beginning of the week a whole day of snow, then the middle of the week way too much rain, and then yesterday was a nice warm day. Although its been a very mild winter I still try to take advantage of any good weather, so we set out for a nice afternoon playing outside. Here's a handful of pictures from our time enjoying the warm sun.

superheroes flying around the front yard

running to the rescue

Superhero took a break to love on her sister

tongue out and drool dripping down - Grae was trying really hard to figure out how to get down the steps to play with the superheroes

silly Bubba (so a little while ago we had some friends mention that he looks a little like Rob Patterson  aka Edward from twilight, and then again recently we have had some people mention it to us... I guess we all kinda look like someone right?)

love this superhero, his smile brightens my soul

playing hide 'n go seek

lol, yelling out the countdown or biting the tree... either or 

"here I am"

all dirty and on the go

Zekie loves sweeping - such a great helper

Peanut Butter Cake

I'm a huge fan of peanut butter, always have been and more than likely always will be.  Yesterday I was wanting to bake something but just wasn't sure what to make. Opened the pantry and saw a brand new tub of organic, natural, made with sea salt, no sugar added peanut butter (a mouthful of a title). Then all I wanted was a dessert with peanut butter. So I set out on a baking adventure and came up with a recipe that I was hoping would make a great peanut butter dessert... it was a success (we already ate it all and if it wasn't nearly 10 at night I would be really really tempted to make another one right now)

It doesn't have a fancy name yet, I guess just Katie's Peanut Butter Cake - since my name is Katie maybe that gives me the right to eat it all... I mean, if it has my name in it, it should belong to me, right? I highly recommend trying this cake, its simple and so tasty. 

Katie's Peanut Butter Cake

filled with chocolate chips topped with a peanut butter glaze frosting

it never made it off the cooling rack... it was too good and I had to show great constraints to take a picture before diving right in

for the cake:

1 cup almond or oat milk (if not going for vegan use regular cow milk - as we call it in our house)

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (you can also use white vinegar but I prefer apple cider vinegar)

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup nondairy plain or vanilla yogurt, soy or coconut (if you aren't looking to make this vegan you can use regular yogurt or sour cream)

1/2 cup peanut butter (if not using pure peanut butter be cautious of how much sugar is in the peanut butter you are using - it can make the cake taste very sweet compared to natural no sugar added peanut butter)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°  and grease a 8x8 inch round or square pan

Mix together the milk and vinegar then set aside for a few minutes while working with the other ingredients. 

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. 

In a separate bowl mix together yogurt, peanut butter, and vanilla. Add the milk mixture to the peanut butter mixture, blending well. 

Mix the peanut butter ingredients into the dry flour ingredients just until blended. Add the chocolate chips (its not necessary to 'fold' them in, but you also don't want to over mix the batter)

Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish (its a thick batter so use a spatula to spread it evenly in the dish)

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a tooth pick poked in the center of the cake comes out clean. (you can either eat it straight out of the pan or let cool around 10 minutes before transferring out of its baking pan to a cake stand or your own plate)

I love how the dry ingredients appear so white on their own, and then as you add them you can see the true color 

great colors and so tasty - peanut butter, nondairy yogurt, and vanilla

Peanut Butter Glaze

1 1/2 cups sifted confentioner sugar

1/3 cup almond or oat milk - up to 1/2 cup if you like yours thinner (can use cow milk instead of vegan milk)

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

mix all the ingredients together and pour onto top of cooled cake. If still in the pan, smooth the glaze around like normal frosting, if on a plate smooth up and over the edges of the cake so it drips down the side. Let hardened for around 30 minutes before eating (or put in the freezer or fridge for a few minutes to eat even sooner) 

You can sprinkle the top with mini chocolate chips or heat  1/3 cup chocolate chips with a tablespoon of nondairy milk (or cow milk) until melted and then drizzle over the top of the cake.

the cake with just a few chocolate chips sprinkled on top

fighting over who got the last bite (sadly as I turned the camera off this bite was eaten by someone other than me).