I'm Like a Frickin' Rabbit, Yo!

Ash Wednesday marked the first day of Lent.  In my faith, it's usually a day of fasting, but since I'm still makin' the boob juice, I can't really fast.  So, on with the eating like a rabbit.

First off, I would like to preface this with a little note.
I do not intend to EVER become a full time vegan.  Or even full time vegetarian.  But, I am hoping that this helps my family see how many wonderful ways they can be full and satisfied without cheese or meat.

My first three days of going veg were pretty easy.  Hubband was 20,000 leagues under the sea - so I could enjoy eating as the rabbits do without his snarky quips.

In those three days I lost a pound.  I wasn't hungry.  I didn't cut calories.  I just didn't eat food that used to have a mother.
I also felt like I had more energy.  Which happened to be great timing - because the week that Hubbs was gone was definitely one for the books... 


So, without further ado - here's my first dip into the rabbithole:

"Popcorn Cauliflower"
My own recipe:
Olive oil, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic.
bake until the outside is crispy - the inside is soft.

Vegan ravioli, marinara with sauteed mushrooms.
SOOOOO good.

Coconut Curry Kale Stew

And as a welcome home treat for Hubband.
Brownies.
They were gone by this morning.
They were that good. 

 Also eaten, Kashi Go Lean (not the crisp or crunch variety), raw veg straight from Mr. McGregor's Garden, krispied kale, stir fry, and green monster juice.

My Green Monster Juice:
2 kiwis
2 apples
1 cucumber
2 cups kale
1 orange
lemon juice
water.
Blend until smooth.

Yes, I referenced rabbits about 4.37 million times.  Deal with it. 

My Bestest is Famous!

Ok, maybe only famous to me - but I'm durn important! So there.

Because Mrs. Wookie happens to be my bestest, I suppose I should probably partake of this week's Friday Fill-in.
Jump on over to Wife of a Sailor to join in!

1. During military separations (whether short or long) how do you keep yourself positive and motivated? submitted by Married/Single Parent:


The first night he's gone - I clean the house.  Then, proceeding nights I enjoy stupid girl movies.  
I love that the clean house makes me feel in charge of life while he's away.  (Sort of like, look mom - no hands.  Except, no Hubband.) 


2.  What is your favorite concert you have ever been to? submitted by Young but Not (Completely) Dumb:


It's a tie.  I went to Brooks and Dunn for my 16th birthday.  Those boys knew how to put on a show!  Seriously, they were awesome.  
The other is Battle of the Bands on the MU Quad, in Corvallis.  Hubband (who was not then hubband) was out of town, as were most of my friends,  so I went by myself.  
Huge crowd, great bands...  it was a great night.  That I had all to myself.... and 3 thousand other people. 


3.  What do you miss most about your “hometown”?  submitted by A Florida Girl and Her Soldier:


Uhhhh....  My parents.  And little brother.  Pretty much from the time we moved there, I knew I wanted to leave  - asap.  
To give you an idea of why:
Homestead, OR  recently incorporated.  The population sign at last visit said 1,516.  Uhm... yeah. 
The first stop light was installed 4 years after I left home.   Last I heard, there were talks about maybe getting a second.  To that I say - whoa nelly, slow down!  
The next "big town" is at least 45 minutes away.  Too far to go for shoes on a regular basis...




4.   If you could run in any race, which charity would you choose to support? submitted by Wookie & Co.:


I'd love to run to support either St. Jude's or Doernbecher's children's hospitals.  Both of them treat patients wether their parents can pay or not.  


Having my own kids,  I can't imagine what it would be like to face the things the children who go to those hospitals face.  
Let alone be those parents, and not know how to pay for their treatment.  
Without those hospitals - I'm sure we'd see a lot more John Q's in this world.  


5. You find out Willy Wonka is your father, what 3 course meal do you INSIST he create in that stick of gum?  submitted by A{muse}ing Mommy on a Pink Park Bench:


Ceasar salad, seafood alfredo with white wine sauteed mushrooms, and a turtle brownie.


YUM. 

A Nooner.

Well.  Except it's posted at almost 6 pm... which is just a little after 1pm in Hawaii.  I wish I were in Hawaii.
1pm is almost like noon.
Therefore, this post is a nooner.

Aaaannnnndddd - completely random.  Because, well, that's my brain for ya.

Yes, these are all iphone pictures.  I've forgotten how to use my real camera.  (Not really.  Just too tired to get off the couch to get it lately.  Wah wah wah. )

Seriously.  Babies are ALWAYS cute when they sleep.

3year old + superhero cape his mom made + the detachable hood from his winter coat =

Little Blue Super Hood.

Yes, he wore it out of the house. 

This picture probably only speaks to me.
It says "These are your boys.  You're damn lucky."

On the way to the doctors office.
Oregon Love!
Random... 

Dinner goggles... during lunch.  

He loves me!
Squared.

 My mom made that blanket Holden is clutching ever so tightly.  It's the perfect size to put over his legs in the car seat and bouncy chair, or have him cuddled on your lap in.  Lately, I've noticed when he's getting fussy if you grab the blanket, he starts to quiet down.  Not sure if it's because he likes to be really warm, or if the smell is awesome, or what.  But Tiny blanket, he loves.

We had the first true blue blowout today, while at the mall.
(g-diapers fail a little with infantile diarrhea)
So, we hit up Carters and scored this.
And a pair of baby jeggings.
Which are awesome.  

*My Tom's shoes came in.  I'll blog them very soon so y'all can see the winner.

*I bought Hubband's birthday present yesterday.  Be jealous.  We're going to Savor it.

Aaaand, that's all I got.
Happy weekend y'all.

Frustrated, Confused and Looking to Start New.

This is going to be a long post.  Most of which is me whining.  Then talking about stuff you probably don't care about.  And not a single picture.

This past month has been hell.  H - E - Double Hockey Sticks - HELL!

The boys came down with some sort of cold/virus.  I call them "Snot-inators".  Yes, we watch way too much Phineas and Ferb. 


Anyway, I came down with it about a day later.  Then Hubband caught it too.  You would think having a tissue permanently attached to your face was back in ala Michael Jackson style the way my family has been sporting them the past month.  


Eventually, all three boys started clearing up.  Noses stopped dripping, they could sleep laying down again and the inhalers went back to every 12 hour usage, instead of every four.

Notice how I said boys?

I did not clear up.  In fact, I've been sick for the last three weeks straight.  Visiting the zoo two weekends ago nearly killed me.  Ok, maybe not killed.  But I could barely move, and breathing just wasn't on the menu.  


I'm a pretty lucky gal and my husband is usually pretty willing to step in and pick up where I leave off.  Which, this month has meant - everything.  Honestly, being sick plus nursing plus being chauffeur to the B-rox is over my threshold of "I can deal with this shiz".  He's awesome.  No lie.

So, on top of trying to kick the "Snot-inator's" azz - this weekend I woke up with a raging sore throat.  RAGING.  But, busted through the weekend of lunch with a friend and a short trip to the mall with another.
A quick peek in the mirror confirmed some not so happy suspicions.  I have strep.  If you don't know what tonsils infected with strep look like - Google it.  Avoiding the doctor becomes harder when you see that in your throat.
[side -note:  I'm 100% breastfeeding.  I'm trying my hardest to avoid drugs, because while I'm not against them (usually pretty pro-drugs.  Especially of the pain killer variety), I know that my 2 month old doesn't need anti-biotics flowing through his system if he's not sick.  Which, he hasn't really been. So - I've been trying to kick things the "homey" way.  ie. homeopathically.  It's not working.] 


Anyway, B-rox also has strep.  Strep and I have a long history and the sound of a voice fighting around swollen tonsils is one I've heard out of my own throat many times.  Quick peek with a mag-light and my suspicions for him were confirmed as well.  Strep, case dos for the McDaniel family.
We're headed to the doctor in a few hours for a culture, and antibiotics.  


I've also been pretty depressed this month.  The weather, uncertainty of where the Navy/NR is taking us next,  no regular workout schedule, 12am to 2am hell, and the sickness and exhaustion that has kept us holed up in the house.
I also start to get pretty panicky and stressed when I think about having to leave the house with the baby.  Which is weird.  Because this isn't my first merry-go-round.  This is also adding to my "down" feeling.  I love getting out of the house and doing things.  Going shopping, taking the kids to the park, etc.
But when I start thinking about leaving the sanctuary of my rocking chair, I sweat and sometimes feel like crying.  On the plus side, Hubband is pretty happy with the lack of spending on my part!
[other sidenote:  Our trips into the district only made it worse.  Traffic is not good for a baby who can't handle the car.  A total of 4 hours of listening to him scream.  At the end of each leg I felt like bawling myself and peeing.  But that's because of the venti black-iced tea lemonade...]


So, this month has been hell.  Sickness.  Post-partum depression? (I don't know the answer to that.  It's probably mostly just exhaustion.  I'm tired.  Very.  But should stop complaining, because Baby H is pretty good as far as newborns go.)  Mostly yucky-weather.  I'm not a happy person right now.

So, I'm looking for a new start.

Lent starts next week.  A plan that has been brewing in the back of my mind for a couple of months was brought to the front by Hayley's and Mrs. Wookie's pact to go vegan for a week.

My family, for the most part, eats pretty well.  Mostly lean meats, and tons of produce. (Produce is 2/3 of our grocery bill every month...)  I've slowly over the last several months been weaning them all off of processed foods.  This month has been a bad one, as I haven't been at the wheel (aka: Stove) and have been craving disgusting things like KFC.  (Which is sooo bad but sooo good.)

So, I'm thinking this Lent is a good time to start a new chapter in our family's menu planning, and, hopefully health.

My plan (which, is also going to be my sacrifice.  A sacrifice that I hope will become just normal.) is as follows:
To start, I'd like us all to eat 2 days a week completely meat free.  On the third day, I'd like us to eat "food with a mother" free.  Aka: Vegan.  (During Lent, this day will be Fridays.)
I don't intend to completely cut out meat or dairy ever.  I think we'd just be better suited with less of it.
I also don't intend to cut out "naughty" foods for forever.  But I'd like them to go back to being more of a "treat" than a regular thing.
I read the Chinese study a few months ago on plant-based diets - and the results were overwhelmingly good.
I also recently discovered the "Engine 22" book.  (Firefighters were put on a plant based diet.) Also, all good things.

And, I've already been referred to as a "baby-wearing, granola eating, breast-feeding, cloth-diapering, recycle-it-or-die, hippie".  So why not add "Sometimes vegetarian/vegan" in there?

I am praying it leads to better health for all of us, more energy and better mindset for me, and better health for all of us.  (Wait, did I already say that?)   I also wouldn't mind it if it helped me shed the baby weight and I'm sure Hubband (he's not going to be happy with this statement) wouldn't mind it if it helped him lose the baby/winter weight as well.

So, with this plan in mind, "Highlights" hidden pictures and Netflix apps on the phone and iPod, I'm off to the doctors.
Wish us luck.

Is "Fashionisto" a word?

Google Chrome's red jagged line of spelling judgement tells me no.

Owell.

Yesterday morning I put on my "Cap'n Jack" boots.  When I stood up I was facing the B-rox who had this declaration:

"Mom, you look great.  Those boots make that outfit so stylish!  I bet all my friends wish they had stylish moms!"

It was a pretty good ego-boost.


After school, he changed into jammies and made his way downstairs:

"Who's stylish now?"

That's my son.  The surfer, pirate, rockstar, fashionisto.

Simba, King Louie and some other funny guys.

My cousin came into town with her two girls and hubs for the weekend.

The first day was supposed to be the "usual" sights of monuments, etc.  20+mph winds put the kabosh on that.
So we museumed it up.  No pics.

But the next day, we bundled up and hit the zoo.

Simba's mommy

Simba and his daddy Mufasa.
With a little Gene Simmons action.

Got to the right side of the pen at the right time.
Babies!
*squeeee*

*I wanna be like yououou*

 Awesome thing about the National Zoo?  The Orang's climb on ropes suspended throughout the zoo.
Also, China let us keep Xian Xian.  Yes, there was a big Washington meeting over this...

He was purposely not smiling at me.
He's kind of turd like that.

B-rox, pretty sure that behind the bar is close enough...
(In the enclosure was a gharial.  Look it up.
Freaky ace animal.)

 In the reptile exhibit, B-rox succeeded in blowing pretty much everybody's mindhole with this tidbit:
"Mom, that isn't a turtle.  It's a tortoise, because it has feet not flippers.  Turtles have flippers."

Seriously handsome family.
(And the lady in the background with the girl on her head is my cousin, Susan - and her daughter Mariana.)

This is VERY Urgent. Please Help.

I am faced with a major dilemma.

Which shoes do I want?

Zebra! 

Pink Glitter

Yellow canvas

Ok, so Toms is a pretty awesome charity.  Their motto and mission is "One for One".
Buy a pair of shoes and they'll send one to a child in need.  It's pretty awesome.  Which is why Hubband and I are willing to pay a little more than we normally would for a pair of flats - that aren't on sale.
Plus, they're totally cute.

So, I'd like some input.  I've been given the "wallety" blessing to buy a pair of shoes after our return has been deposited.