quiet sunday afternoon

It's been awhile since I've posted. It's been a fairly quiet week. Well, not quiet, but normal. Nothing to write about - that's what I'm trying to say. And this has been a "quiet" Sunday afternoon. We're enjoying relaxing music my brother put together for us on a CD for Christmas. Patrick and the kids are building a train track together. And I'm puttering around getting ready for another week ahead. Just thankful for the mundane.

the sun came out...

...and so did we! Love this weather we've been having. We'll enjoy it while it lasts.

hiding those veggies

My friend Jen told me about a pumpkin muffin recipe years ago when our oldest kids were little. Since then, I've added to it (to make them even healthier) and now I make two batches each month, store them in the freezer, and the kids eat one every day. Yum! But I have to make them during 'quiet time' when they're in their rooms so they don't know everything that's in there!

1 1/2 c apple juice concentrate
1/4 c vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 1/2 c canned, unsweetened pumpkin
1 1/4 c raisins
1 c grated carrots
2 c raw spinach

Mix above ingredients in blender.

1 1/2 c whole-wheat flour
1/2 c wheat germ
1 c flaxseed meal
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients together. Then stir in mixture from blender. Pour into muffin cups and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.




Food update - huge victory! Everyone ate my lasagna tonight. Complete w/ whole-wheat noodles and lots of spinach. Even Liam (my biggest food challenge!). This has been much easier than I thought!

see jane run

There's a great women's athletic store called See Jane Run in Boise, ID where my sister Kelly lives. She took me there when I visited last year and they were giving out free t-shirts (woo-hoo!) with a great little story on the back which they also have printed on the wall in the back of the store. I love it so I thought I'd share it.

Here's to you.

The broad-shouldered, the knock-kneed, the pigeon-toed, the small-breasted, the wide-hipped, the long-waisted, the short-legged, the stocky and the skinny. And yes, even the perfectly proportioned.

May you live long, enjoy dessert and never stop laughing.

Blisters heal. Muscles recover. Friendship lasts a lifetime. High heels have their place in the very back of the closet. If you can run a mile, you can run a marathon. There comes a time when you really need to replace your sports bra. No, really. Consider this. Only one person wins. Everyone else should have a rockin' good time. Yes, you can talk and run at the same time. Chewing gum is the hard part. A little chocolate goes a long way.

Be yourself.

There's a little bit of Jane in all of us.

busted!

A couple weeks ago the kids and I did a project where we tried to figure out which of our breakfast cereals is the healthiest. So I taught them to read the labels and we compared our five usual choices (Cheerios, Rice Chex, Corn Chex, Wheaties, and Rice Krispies) based on their sugar, sodium and fiber content. (Cheerios won, by the way!) At lunch today, I noticed Audrey looking at my Sprite can. I don't drink soda often - and she's never had it - so she was quite interested. She suddenly exclaims - "Oh my goodness Mom, your drink has 38 grams of sugar in it!" Which led to a 10 minute discussion b/w Audrey and Liam about whether or not moms should have that much sugar. Not usually, I told them, this was just a special once-in-awhile mom treat.

Why on earth did I teach them to read food labels???

homeschooling delights

Working together on word search puzzles - in bathing suits - on the kitchen floor - while Mom makes dinner.

six months old!

Ethan is six months old today - I cannot believe it! Where did the time go?? He is just SO much fun. Sitting up, rolling over and over to get around, smiling tons, saying new sounds, and as of today - eating solid foods! Rice cereal went great. We have a family tradition - on their six month birthday, daddy feeds them their first solid food (since I've gotten to do all the feeding up to this point!). Ethan loved it! Was reaching for the bowl and spoon immediately, and after the first couple bites, ate it right up. Very cute and the big kids had fun watching too.

WOW, 6 months. My baby is growing way too fast!

green sweat pants

Victoria's Secret sent me a $10 off coupon for my birthday. Wasn't that nice of them? So last weekend I went shopping. And I came home with the cutest, most comfy pair of green sweat pants you've ever seen (which by the way, started at $38.50, on sale for $19.99, and I paid exactly $9.99 - love a great deal). Patrick even seemed to like them. Until that night when he was reminded of all the things I had to choose from. We were sitting on the couch watching TV and a VS commercial came on. Patrick kept looking back and forth b/w the tv and my sweats. "Hmmm. Funny how they didn't put those sweats in their commercial."

I agree.


Food update - Ham and spinach quiche for dinner last night. Audrey gobbled it all up (she'll tell you she likes anything with pig in it!). Liam had his pumpkin muffin, applesauce and milk. Wonder how he'll like the big veggie salad we're having tonight?? Oh well. He doesn't complain much - just gets down from the table. He did comment this morning at breakfast that he was very hungry. Oh really?

happy birthday jonah!

Today is my nephew's 13th birthday! I cannot believe he's a teenager. I remember quite vividly the day he was born. There was a huge snow storm separating me from my sister in labor. I was getting regular updates from the hospital and figured I'd be ok with that. But at some point during the day I realized I just had to be there. So Patrick came home early from work in Mt. Vernon, drove up and got me and we drove over the pass. We got there in time and I had the pleasure of being at the hospital when Jonah entered this world. So glad we made the trip! Jonah has always called me "Tia" - a name I will forever cherish because it's just ours. He is an exceptional person. He's all boy - tough and more and more becoming a man every day. And yet he's wonderfully kind and patient with his little brother and all his cousins. He's insightful and inquisitive and a Dobbs family treasure.

Happy Birthday Jonah! We love you very much!

checkers boy

Liam loves to play checkers! He would play all day long if he could. He's getting quite good. And when he can't get Dad, Mom or Audrey to play with him ONE MORE TIME...he plays by himself. Well, against Freddy - kind of a make believe friend. It's a character from Berenstain Bears. Liam doesn't talk to him or anything but if you ask who he's playing with, it's Freddy. Anyway...I figure it's good practice. Although I don't think Freddy has ever won.

Food update - Last night for dinner we all ate Chickpea Pasta w/ Almonds and Parmesan - a recipe from my Real Simple magazine. (I roasted almonds with Tamari sauce for the first time yesterday using Jee Young's recipe. YUM!) We also had sauteed green beans on the side. Audrey loved the pasta. Liam loved the beans. And Mama just made one meal. Woo-hoo. We're making progress!

our little angel

Audrey was an angel in the Christmas program at church this year. She did a great job! She had some lines to memorize and delivered them really well. Many people commented that she's a natural on stage - we might have to look into some more local plays for her. She loved it!

new year improvements

I gave up on New Years resolutions a long time ago. They never last past March anyway - what is the point? Yes, I want to exercise daily, improve my eating habits, read my Bible more often, set aside a daily prayer time and have a cleaner, more organized house. Oh, and I want to stop being so critical and worry less too. All great things to work toward, but I don't think one year is nearly enough time - why set myself up for failure? So I've decided to be more realistic and just make a few improvements for 2009. The first one is that I am no longer preparing separate dinners for my big kids. I know that all you smart mommies out there never fell into this trap. But in our house, if the kids decided they didn't like something (and it was usually green or orange or red in color), I'd try it a few more times and then give up. And since I've never been ok with them going to bed hungry I would make something different. Not anymore. This is dinner. Eat it or get down from the table. Breakfast is just 12 short hours away. Oh, and whining will put you on the fast track to your bedroom. Sound harsh?? Guess that's what being a short-order cook for several years will do to you!! I will also no longer be cutting the crust off the bread. Another big mistake. Don't these sound like nice, attainable goals?? For the last month I've been preparing the kids for these changes and they're pretty excited. But I bet my excitement will last longer!

So while I will continue to work on the first list (probably for the rest of my life), I'll be satisfied with 2009 if I can just stick to the more realistic improvements. Happy New Year!