Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Tornado and I are busy today, getting out our "fiesta" supplies and making our grocery list in preparation for tonight's celebration. I thought I would share pictures of a past Cinco de Mayo party in case anybody needed a little inspiration to get in the mood.

Dash was just a little over a year old (Tornado was five.) during this particular fiesta. We enjoyed nachos, tortilla soup, jicama slices, and vegan flan.

And margaritas! I don't remember what I made them out of (probably banana, pineapple juice, and ice), but I know I dipped the cup in sugar instead of salt.

Restaurant

I love my new food processor. (And my new toaster and my new food dehydrator...I commented to Ryan that I sure was a lucky woman that my husband got me all these new appliances. He made some kind of crack like, "Don't take it as a hint or anything." haha)

The first recipe I tried (which I got from Green and Crunchy) was Earth Balls. They were so easy and tasty, too. The boys were rolling their own balls, and you can see there is only one sitting out because they were eating them as fast as they could make them. I am sure these are going to be a staple in our house.

We made four different kinds. All of them started with 2 cups of nuts (we used cashews, walnuts, and almonds). Once we ground them to a fine meal, we added 1 1/2 cups of pitted dates (one at a time as the food processor was running).

The first batch we also added raw cacao nibs and hemp seeds. The next batch we also added goji berries to the nibs and seeds. Next, it was just nuts, dates, and ground flax seeds. Finally, we tried adding carrots. I didn't anticipate how moist that would make them, and I had to go back and add more seeds and nuts (which I wouldn't recommend adding un-ground because they wouldn't ground up very well at the end.) They were yummy, though, and tasted like carrot cake. Tornado has been asking recently if he could be in charge of a meal. They love playing restaurant, but I am usually the "waiter." He wanted a turn at being the waiter, and I thought this would be the perfect day to do it - plus it's a great "school" activity. We had also been practicing with the new food dehydrator, and I thought it would be an easy meal for him to serve. He created this menu, which we photocopied. He wrote "(Tornado's) Helthy Restaurant" on the cover and decorated it with Fast Food (you know, the objects they create using fruits and veggies) stickers.

These were the ten menu items. We had dehydrated the first eight (plus peas and lima beans). I had made a batch of green smoothies and popsicles and mentioned to Tornado we needed to think of a name for them. He immediately replied, "Hulk Slime."

So...Hulk Slime it is.

Dash was his assistant, and they were very darling about seating Ryan, Sissy, and me at the table and taking our orders. Tornado wrote down on his little notepad the numbers of what we ordered, then went to the counter and very carefully made our plates.

Dash served us our Hulk Slime (spinach, cherries, mangoes, ground flaxseed, raw cacao powder, green superfood powder, orange juice, almond milk). Later, he came to the table and sweetly asked, "Is everything alright?"

He was very adamant about carrying our plates on a tray, just like a real waiter.

Finally, the hard little workers got to sit down and enjoy the meal for themselves.

Fruit Easter Bunny

For Easter Sunday breakfast, I made this Easter Bunny. (I know it kind of looks like a lion, though.) made from bananas, apples, kiwi, grapes, sliced almonds, sprinkled flax meal, and Clif Kids fruit twists. We all sat together in two chairs pushed close (two kids on my lap, one on Ryan's) and gobbled it up.

This is one I made another year; they always vary slightly. It looks a little more like a bunny, perhaps? I think the idea originally came from A Taste of Home.

sleepy eyes finding their baskets by the door

They were squealing with delight (one of these days I'll figure out video on here) with every single item they pulled out of their baskets. You would not believe how excited they were about the "oranges." "We've got oranges!!!"

(Cuties brand clementines...incidentally, I just read this: "Generally, seedless clementines are made by spraying the flowers with a chemical that mimics a growth hormone." Why do I read these things after my children altogether consumed over 25 of them the past two days? I know, I know - there is something wrong with a hundred things we eat. I'm just sayin'. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Does anyone know anything more about clementines?)

They lined them up and counted them, carried them around, hid them like eggs, and loved peeling them by themselves.

They also all received Play-Doh filled eggs, sketchbooks, crayons or colored pencils or paintmarkers, Clif fruit twists, raisins, and other healthier type candy snacks. The boys each got a California Baby bubble bath, and Sissy got this little pink travel potty. She immediately wanted to sit on it. Later that day, she pooped in it twice and ran to show me each time, excitedly. Oh, how we screamed and jumped up and down. However, as usual, potty training is exhausting. Lately, which is why we bought the potty, she has been stripping off her diaper every time she pees, even at inopportune times. It's funny; she has been only wanting to sit on the potty when it's sitting in this totally random spot next to the rug in the living room because that's where she went in it for the first time. Like she marked her territory or something.

We went to church, then the boys went out to eat lunch with Googie. Ryan and I actually watched a movie (Slumdog Millionaire...really good) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY.

Not Easter-y, of course, but it was raining...and we were tired. I always try to pack so many activities into one day so I decided the rest of our activities could be spread out over the week.

Dash is standing by his bunny he made at school last year. My parents came over for supper. We ate salad, guacamole and chips, and Cheesy Bean Enchiladas. The recipe is here; it's yummy and soy-free for all you tofu-phobics.

Naked Juice

I came downstairs this morning to Dash telling me he was drinking "wiener juice."

"What?" I asked.

Ryan said Dash told him that I explained to him how all the fruits and vegetables were naked, and, therefore, I called it "wiener juice." I WAS explaining to him yesterday why it was called "Naked juice," but I never said the word "wiener" in that discussion.

We drink Naked Juice a lot around here (the boys, yes, always think that the name is funny), and if you don't know what it is, look here.

Anyway, I explained that a lot of drinks have their fruits and veggies covered up with sugar, artificial junk, and preservatives, but the fruits and veggies in Naked Juice are not covered up by anything else - they are naked. How he made the leap from that to "wiener juice," I do not know. Sorry if all this talk of wieners offends you. I live in a house with two little boys; the topic is brought up multiple times daily.

Don't Pinch Us

We especially like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day because both of the boys have Irish names. We didn't do that on purpose. Apparently, that is just what we are attracted to. I actually thought Sissy's real name was Irish, too, but I guess it is English. I think it sounds Irish, though, which is close enough. Speaking of names, yes, it is getting old using their pseudo names, and I'm sure I'll crack one of these days and start using their real names.

Green food for our night meal...steamed broccoli, pickles, celery with peanut butter, navy beans with parsley, spinach/lettuce salad, zucchini strips, grapes, roasted edamame, avocado, green beans, pistachios, apple slices, and bell pepper...oh, poo, I just realized I forgot to set out the kiwi last night. We even had green juice - Boathouse Farms Green Goodness fruit smoothie drink, which includes things like spirulina, spinach, and blue green algae. I had green apple juice boxes on hand in case the green drink didn't go over well (as I suspected it would not), but they all loved it and enjoyed several refills.

We decorated shamrock cookies after supper...Papaw and Googie came over last night, and we gave him a plate of cookies we had decorated. He ate all three of them. That's one of the great things about Papaw...he'll try and appreciate whatever we make for him. Googie, on the other hand...well, she's always mysteriously "full" when vegan food appears. ;)

We used India Tree Nature's Colors Decorating Sugar in green. India Tree also has all-natural food coloring. (In case you were wondering, Nature's Flavors and Seelect also have natural food coloring and many other fun, organic products.)

Diary of a First Time Marathoner

Yesterday, my friend Angie and I took part in the Little Rock Marathon. It was my first endeavor into such an event, and even though I have been steadily working out the past year and really stepping it up the past five months or so, I did not know what to expect. I relied on Angie's expertise on the subject to get me through. It was nice to have Angie and her husband drive down from Missouri for the night. I was not feeling very celebratory when the alarm clock hit 6:00, and I knew I had to get up. Why are so many events in life planned this early? Who decides these things?! 8:00 a.m.?! I'm ideally not even awake at that time. I made it in time, though, to meet Ang near the starting line at 7:45. However, in the flurry to get there, I had forgotten my Clif Blocks, my plan for sustenance during the race, in the car. What a bummer.

3/4 of my cheering section

It was kind of nice to run along some streets in Little Rock I wasn't familiar with. That was one little way to pass the time. The two Jolly Ranchers I ate were also effective in passing a good 15 minutes. It has been a really long time since I've eaten a Jolly Rancher (we're talking over a decade), and, boy, were they good! I only ate them because candies were the only things, other than drinks, that were available during the race. I was so excited when I saw the upcoming Orange Slices sign, then dismayed when I realized they were all gone. I sucked it up and consumed the sugar, corn syrup, and artificial flavors and colors. :) I didn't want to have one of my weird low blood sugar?/hyperthyroid?/dehydration? mystery spells during the run. I'm quite certain those two Jolly Ranchers saved me, ha.

I know it sounds trite and cliche, but when you are running like this - or doing anything physical, you really do feel powerful and inspired. It cleared my head, and it made me feel hopeful for things to come in my life. In addition, the feeling of community and the human spirit was crazy, as in "cool" crazy. When I first heard someone yelling, "Go Jenny!" I turned around, wondering who it was. I had forgotten my name was on my race bib. Throughout the race you have complete strangers clapping, pumping their arms in the air, and yelling, "Come on, Jenny! You can do it!" It makes me have tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

At the finish line where there are SO many people crowded to cheer in the arrivals, there is such applause and uproar -even for little old me, coming in toward the back of the pack. It really does put a smile on your face and make you want to keep running. It made me want to do better in every area of my life...weird how it does that. I am just very much in favor of doing anything that stretches you or makes you walk out of your comfort zone a little bit. Again, I'm getting a little cheesy here, but those are the things that make you really feel alive.

Somehow Angie and I got separated during the race, and we were never able to find each other again. She had to make a quick stop, and I assumed when I had to make a quick stop, we'd meet back up. Unfortunately, she finished only a couple of minutes behind me. I say "unfortunately" because if I had only waited another minute, I might have spied the pink shirt I kept looking for. We were keeping the same pace; it wasn't that I was going any faster - it was just that initial stop. I had many more elopement/Lafe questions for her, too. :) At one point, I just stopped on the curb and waited a second, thinking I would just wait for her because it wasn't as fun without her. However, my leg muscles immediately started locking up, and I realized if I stopped, I was in trouble.

Another thing about my leg muscles is I realized how SLOWLY I walk. I felt pretty good as long as I kept jogging, but they hurt a lot worse when I walked. I had to walk up parts of the inclines, though. (Capital, yikes) There would be all these tall, long-legged people (even older people) passing me when I was walking, though. And I would truly be walking as fast as my legs would go. I guess it's because my legs are so short? I always felt like I have enough fortitude inside me to make me do whatever it is I need to do. That's true for the most part...I just was not counting on that amount of leg pain. I felt like my breathing/endurance wasn't the problem...in fact, by about mile 6 or 7, I was thinking, "I am in such great shape! I can do these all the time!" ha, ha.

Mile marker 11 to 12 was almost a complete hobble. However, I did take a deep breath and force myself to run the last half mile. My final time was 3:13:29. Not very impressive but not the worst either.

my family

As soon as I saw my family, I think the first words out of my mouth were, "Where are her pants?!" I am publicly apologizing to you, Ryan, if it seemed like I was criticizing you. Kate Gosselin I am not. The truth is, I just thought it was really funny - an innocent Dad mistake. Notice in the picture above I am covering her legs with my bag. To make it easier for him to get them ready on his own, I had left their clothes out the night before. I had told him, however, "Sissy's jeans are in the car." He doesn't remember me saying this, and he went by the instructions to dress them in the clothes that were set out. For her, that included a gray onesie with a white peasant shirt on top, white socks and shoes. He innocently said he didn't know there was something missing; he thought she looked cute in her "dress." Bless his heart. The only reason I would dare mention this story is because my rockin' husband not only encouraged me to participate in this marathon and gave me any time I needed to train (and even ran with me), he got the kids up, bathed and dressed them, then parked the car and located not just one but three different spots they could be standing on the road to cheer for me (all by 10:00, which is a feat I would not necessarily be able to accomplish). And not only that, he took them to the park later in the day so I could rest. Thank you, Ryan. I seriously don't deserve you.

Angie and her newlywed husband, Lafe

By the time I got home, I was feeling very wobbly and starving. (I did have a post race banana and two little orange juice boxes that were waiting after the finish line.) I think I consumed 1,000 calories right off the bat by heating up an Amy's Enchilada Meal with tomatoes and avocado on top plus chips and a Sunshine Veggie Burger with two pieces of bread and lettuce plus chips. I felt sick but managed to eat almond butter/fruit spread on toast, a couple glasses of orange juice, and a soy milkshake for supper. Topped off by the small, leftover bowl of spaghetti with sauce in the fridge. That might not seem like that much food for the average person, but it's a whole lot of food for me. I sort of feel sick thinking about it.

I had to crawl up the stairs on my hands and knees because my legs were killing me. I hobbled around the rest of the night. I was convinced I was going to have to have knee surgery. They feel much better this morning, but when I started going down the stairs, sharp pains were shooting through one of my ankles. I'm still walking a little funny, but I think we'll be able to hold off on hip replacement for a bit longer.

Last night my mom commented that she couldn't believe I had ran 26 miles. I had to tell her I only did the Half, which is 13.1 miles. Suddenly, my accomplishment seemed to pale. At least she had spent the whole weekend thinking I was incredible, though. Would I do it again? Yeah, I think so. I'm probably having marathon amnesia, though - the same way you feel after delivering a baby, and during it, you think, "That's it. This is the last time. I can't go through this again," then you've barely left the hospital before you know you'd be able to do it again. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

our table Tornado and I decorated; all of our wonderful Valentine's Day cards on display

This has been a very long week. I felt close to breaking down at times. Yesterday, a wailing sort of sound actually escaped from my mouth at one point. I felt like I could just fall into a heap on the floor and cry and wail. I didn't. Just sayin' I could have.

Ryan has had to work late every night for two weeks, at least. Dash became sick around Tuesday, and he's just getting over it. I slept with him, in his twin bed, three nights in a row. I think I woke up every hour. He threw up for a couple of days, and I was certain that stomach bug was going to infect us all. However, I took him to the doctor on Thursday, and he was diagnosed with a throat viral infection.

Add in a few other appointments and errands I had to take care of this week...this morning, there were not many clean dishes left in the house. There was barely an inch of counter space left uncovered. If you've seen my house, you know there's a LOT of counter space. (Ryan and I worked together on the house this morning and made a pretty good dent.)

I'm not really sure what happened this week (and, oh yeah, for three days, I have had a terrible crick in my neck and back; I've been walking all hunched over and doing the whole body turn)...I say all of that to say: IT WAS TIME TO PARTY.

heart-shaped veggie pizzas

That's Sissy telling me that it was hot. She was LOVIN' the raspberry lemon-aid.

chocolate fondue for dessert

Grandma saved the day. I hadn't even had time to think about any special activities for the day. She had mailed us all of the red heart containers that are sitting on the table above. Inside each container was a joke written on a tiny strip of paper. The answer was written on another tiny piece of paper inside. We opened them up and read them throughout our meal. The kids loved it! Thanks, Grandma!