Great deal on BOOKS!!!

You may not know this about us yet, but we LOVE books!!! So, when we came across a bookstore here in Orlando that was going out of business, we had to check it out. Everything was at least 50% off, and most things were up to 75% off! Look at what we got...




Kids Books:
Each Peach Pear Plum (This was one I had when I was little...I loved it!)
The Jungle Book
Winnie The Pooh and Tigger Too
Cinderella
Finding Nemo
Bambi
Lady and the Tramp
The New Adventures of Curious George (Treasury of 8 stories)
Webster's New World Children's Dictionary (Hard Back and only $6.28!!)

Our Books:
The New York Times Supersized Book of Sunday Crosswords - 500 puzzles included (We LOVE Crossword puzzles!)
Webster's New Crossword Puzzle Dictionary
The American Heritage Dictionary
House (Christian Suspense Novel by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker)

Teaching Aids:
Multiplication Flashcards
Division Flashcards

Total Retail Value: $132.81
Total Sale Value: $56.65!!!
We saved: $76.16!! Sweet!!!

We will be stopping back by that store to see if we missed anything. I'm definitely going to get some more flashcards-they were 50% off!! They had some phonics and other word flashcards that would be good for Sydney this year.

Heads up on some freebies for this week

Check out the Homeschool Freebie site this week. Today, there is a 100 page, 5-year course teaching girls to sew the way they learned back in the early 1900's.

Tomorrow, there will be an audio dramatization of the signing of the Declaration of Independence called, You Are There: July 4th, 1776.

Wednesday, there will be a book entitled, Citizen Bird. It is a classic, heavily illustrated "living book" on ornithology for young readers.

Drama, Drama, DRAMA!!!

We are all about the drama, or so it seems. We need your prayers right now. This afternoon, we ran over to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things, and as we were leaving, our truck broke down...AGAIN!!!! It seems to be doing the same thing it was last time, so we had it towed to Car Max....$88.00!!! We had to take a taxi to the airport to rent a car from Enterprise...$40.50 for the taxi and $70/day for the rental!!! Believe me, all of those WILL be billed to Car Max.

All of this took place during a big rain storm with lots of lightning, but we really can't complain. God took great care of us!! We were told the tow truck was going to take an hour to get to Wal-Mart, and it actually took less than 15 minutes. We were going to have to call for a cab, but as we were unloading the truck, we saw a taxi sitting just a few rows over in the parking lot. The guy said he would wait for us to have the truck towed. Once we got to Enterprise, we were in and out in less than 10 minutes!

Isn't God incredible? He cares about all the little details in our lives. Sometimes my faith is so small when it comes to situations like this, and then when it's all over, I realize that God was with us the whole time. He never abandoned us, and He made sure that everything was taken care of and in a timely manner, too!

We would appreciate your prayers as we have to wait for the truck to be fixed. We are supposed to check out of the condo at 10am tomorrow morning, and at this point, Car Max doesn't even know that our truck is on their lot. So, we're not sure if we're going to have to stay another night or more. Remember when we got Jason's truck for work? Well, we had been approved through our credit union for a vehicle for both of us, but obviously we only got Jason's truck. I still have the "check" from our credit union for my vehicle, and it expires tomorrow! How weird is that? So, for the fun of it, we're going to check out Car Max tomorrow to see if we can trade in my truck. Please pray for us as we'll have to make those decisions tomorrow. I am not going to be pressured into another vehicle just because we're having trouble my truck, but I do believe that God allows things to happen for a purpose. So, we're going to at least pursue it, in case that is what God wants.

My question for you now is this: Should we stay away from Wal-Mart, or was that just a fluke? My kids are beginning to dislike Wal-Mart very much! =) I'll keep you posted...

I LOVE Vacations!!!

This is just a little check-in to let you know that we're having a great time! We are very happy with the condo we are staying in. We got a great bargain!!! I'll give you all the details when we get back, but for now, I'll post some pictures. Check it out...

This is the "Family Room"

This is the kitchen

This is the dining room (Yes, Larissa wanted to pose in every picture.)

This is the "Living Room"

This is the bedroom Alyx and Sydney chose to sleep in the first night

This is the bedroom Larissa chose to stay in for the first night. She was living in comfort and style in that spacious queen-sized bed! =)

Here is the view of the back porch and back yard from the family room

Here we are chillin' out and enjoying our mini vacation!

Our plans were to go to Sea World today, and it wasn't until we were about to leave the condo this morning that I realized I had forgotten our passes. My heart sank, and I nervously told Jason. He immediately got on the phone with Sea World customer service and got our card numbers, so that when we got to the park all we had to do was go to the passport membership office and get some temporary passes. Whew! I was so scared that I had ruined the day. =}

I'll post more pictures later. I'm tired after today, so I'm going to go to bed.

4-Day Weekend!! Yay!!

We will be heading out of town tomorrow for our 4-day weekend trip! We're going to Orlando and are looking forward to going to Sea World again. I can't believe it, but it has actually been over a year since we've been. AND we have passes!!

We're staying at a 3 bedroom condo-type place that we've never stayed at before. That's always scary, but hotels.com rated it 3 stars and showed pictures of the place that are pretty nice. We got a great deal on the entire stay since we're staying 3 nights, so if it's nice, then I'll share more details later. Normally, we probably would have just stayed in a hotel/suite-type room, but we wanted to have kitchen facilities a little greater than a microwave and refrigerator. =)

We are planning on eating our own food the whole time we're there. That will save us lots of money and sugar! =) Tomorrow morning we will make up two different batches of muffins to have for breakfast on our trip - Raspberry poppy seed muffins and Orange muffins. We will also bring cereal and oatmeal as another option. I've been baking my own bread this past week, so we'll have that for sandwiches. (Post on bread is coming soon.) I'll be making (chicken) sausage spaghetti for dinner one night and we're bringing some various leftovers from the last couple of days to warm up. Extras and snack-y kind of stuff include salad stuff, apples, grapes, bananas, peaches, Lundberg Rice Chips (our favorites are BBQ, Honey Dijon, Wasabi and Pico de Gallo - check the ingredients of the others - some have dairy and maybe even sugar - I can't remember for sure. Oh, and they are definitely cheaper on Amazon. We've only bought them at Whole Foods, but we plan on ordering them online soon.) and Fruitabu swirls (these are like fruit roll-ups but so much better for you - and better tasting, too!).

I'm taking my computer, but I'm not sure if I'll post updates while we're there or not. For now, I'll just say, "See you when we get back!"

P.S. I'm hitting CVS tomorrow for the first time in quite a while. I have some ECB's about to expire on Saturday, and I just got a $5/$30 coupon from CVS in my email today!! Yay!

Sydney is a sssssssssnake!

Have you seen Disney's Jungle Book? If you haven't, then what I'm about to tell you probably won't be that funny to you, and it could still be one of those things that you just had to be there to appreciate it. We thought it was hilarious!

Anyway, on The Jungle Book, there is a character named Kaa, and he's a snake who hypnotizes his prey. During his second encounter with Mowgli, he's trying to convince Mowgli to trust him, but Mowgli knows Kaa's reputation and is trying desperately to avoid eye contact. Kaa manages to gain eye contact and begins singing the song, "Trust in Me." (I've included a video clip at the bottom of this post, so you can see that portion of the movie. It's only a couple of minutes.)

Sterling Holloway was the voice-over for Kaa and Winnie the Pooh as well as many others. He has a very distinctive voice. (Read more about him on Wikipedia by clicking on his name.)

This morning, Jason was able to come home for a few hours and then have lunch with us. At one point in time, he was sitting down in the living room, and Sydney came up to him like she was going to give him a kiss. She put her hands on his cheeks, touched her nose to his, looked deep into his eyes and starting singing, "Trust in Me..." in her best "Kaa" voice.

We just about lost it! That girl is so funny, and she doesn't even try! She's quick, too. The other day, I was reading a book to them, and I stopped for a moment, because I heard a noise. As I looked around the room, I soon realized that it was a ringing in my ears. So, I just made the comment that my ears were making noise. Without missing a beat, Sydney leaned over towards me and pressed her ear up against mine, and then she proceeded to laugh hysterically. No, she was not being "blond" but rather was making an ordinary situation into something really funny. We all had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. She is our little comedian, and I love her dearly for that as well as many other things! =)

Here's the video clip of Kaa hypnotizing Mowgli.

More Homeschooling Freebies

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this one before, but here is a site that offers homeschooling freebies - one per day. Today's freebie (actually there are 2) deals with gardening with your kids and gives tips and suggestions on how to keep it fun and positive. If you join their email list, they will send you a "heads up" email every Monday to let you know what is coming during the week. Each day's freebie is only available for that day, so if you see one that interests you, get it before that day is over.

Speaking of gardening...you can visit Burt's Bees website and request a free packet of wildflower seeds. By planting these wildflowers, you will be helping the honeybee population. Visit "Help the Honeybees" on the Haagen-Dazs website to see just how we would be affected if they died off. Once you enter the site, you can read some information in the hive menu located in the upper left corner, or you can explore the fields with the honey bee and click on the plus signs to get more information.

Birthday recipes

I know I haven't explained why we aren't having dairy any more, so I will try to do that soon. No, we are not lactose intolerant...you will just have to wait to find out. I know, you are just on the edge of your seat with enthusiasm, aren't you. =)

This first recipe is for the cake, and we actually got it out of one of our cookbooks and just substituted where necessary. I will type up the actual recipe and then put in parenthesis what we changed.



Yellow Cake:

2 1/4 cups flour (all purpose, unbleached, organic)
1 1/2 cups sugar (agave nectar)
3/4 cup shortening (coconut oil-this is thick like Crisco)
3/4 cup milk (soy milk-plain)
3 eggs
2 1/2 tsp. double-acting baking powder (aluminum free)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract (we left this out because we didn't have any)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease two 9-inch round pans (or one 9x13 - we tried both ways but did the two layers for Larissa's birthday cake).

Measure all ingredients into large bowl. With mixer at low speed, beat until well mixed, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium; beat 5 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl.

Pour batter into prepared cake pans, smoothing top with rubber spatula. Cut through batter with knife to remove any air bubbles.

Bake layers 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted deep into center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes then remove from pans and cool completely on racks.

Chocolate Frosting:

1 cup Dagoba chocodrops (We used Sunspire grain-sweetened chocolate chips)
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
pinch celtic sea salt (I left this out)

1. In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and grapeseed oil.
2. Stir in agave, vanilla and salt
3. Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to cool (leave in until the outer edges begin to "harden" - might take longer than 15 minutes)
4. Remove from freezer and whip frosting with a hand blender until it is thick and fluffy.
5. Frost over cake, cupcakes or between cookies.

Strawberry Coconut Milk Ice Cream: (For some reason, I didn't get a picture of this. I'll try to remember to get one next time we make it.)

3 cups (a little over 1 1/2 cans) of coconut milk (NOT Lite)
10 oz bag of frozen strawberries (1 1/2 cups)
6 Tbsp. agave nectar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

We quadrupled this recipe to make 6 quarts. Here are the amounts for that:
12 cups (7 cans) of coconut milk
4-10 oz bags of frozen strawberries (6 cups)
1 1/2 cups agave nectar
4 tsp. vanilla extract

Defrost the strawberries enough so that they can go through the food processor. Slightly puree, making sure to leave a few chunks if you so desire. Combine all ingredients into ice cream canister and mix well with a long spoon. Make according to your machines instructions. Ours took about 40 minutes to freeze.

As you can see, all of this is dairy free and sugar free, and it was all very, very good! No one felt deprived at the party, and in fact, at one point, my mom made a "yummy" noise and said, "I'm so glad I'm on a diet!" She recently started going to Dr. C for some health issues and has cut out sugar, artificial sweeteners, caffeine and dairy, and now she's losing weight and feeling much better than she was before! Yay! =)

Happy Birthday, Larissa!

Larissa's birthday was on Saturday, but we celebrated it with my family on Father's Day. You know...kill two birds with one stone. =)

She is now 7 years old! Yikes! My babies are growing up WAY TOO fast!

We were able to come up with some recipes for cake, frosting and even ice cream to meet our no sugar, no dairy way of eating. I'll share those in the next post.

Larissa arranged all the candles on the cake, and she was able to blow them all out. I know, big deal...let's see how she does at 30. =) She got lots of toys and things that she had been wanting, well, ever since Christmas, I guess. She got one of those "Littlest Pet Shop" sets...so cute! Alyx and Sydney had gotten some dolls for their birthdays that were "friends" in a set of 3 dolls, so Larissa wanted the 3rd doll to complete the set of 3 friends. They really are cute! They all come with a stick of sidewalk chalk and have that nice yarn hair. Her cousins got her one of those teddy bears that has different color lights inside, and when you clap or tap the bear, it changes colors...really cute! They also got her some crocheting stuff, because she's been begging for it ever since Alyx got her crocheting kit for Christmas. It makes me so happy to see them enjoying a craft that I've been enjoying ever since I was their age. They really help to bring back memories for me. =)

Here are some pictures of her special day. Enjoy!

Great deal for a family-sized hotel room!!

For a couple of weeks now, we have been "shopping" for the best deal on a 2-night hotel stay in Columbia for our family vacation later this year. We always check out hotels.com and sometimes expedia.com. Once we find a hotel we're interested in, we go to the actual "hotel company" website to see if there are any more pictures or information to help us with our decision.

While on hotels.com we found a Country Inn & Suites that had a 1 bedroom hotel room, which means there is a separate bedroom with a king-sized bed and living area with a sofa bed - Perfect for us! The cost on hotels.com was $115.00 per night. When we checked it out on Country Inn & Suites website, the cost was $135.00 per night. As we moved around some of the pages on their website, we saw a note off to the side that said, "The best online rates...guaranteed," so we checked it out. The deal is...if you find a better rate somewhere else online, they will match that rate AND give you another 25% off!

After you make the reservation on their site, you "make a claim" for them to check out the other deal you found online, and then after they approve it, they will send you a confirmation email letting you know what your new rate is. If the claim is not approved, you can cancel your reservation without penalty.

We just got our confirmation email today, and for the 1 bedroom hotel room, we will only be paying $86.25 per night! How sweet is that?!?

Highlights for Children

We subscribe to Highlights for Children Magazine, and I get emails all the time with craft ideas, teaching ideas, online reading for kids and even extra printable Hidden Pictures, which my kids LOVE! The email I got today had a link for a Hidden Picture for May and June, and since that was only going to be 2 pictures and I have 3 kids, I decided to see if they had any in archives, so that I could print an extra one.

On the Highlights Kids website, there is a link that will take you to the Hidden Pictures where you can either play online, print a picture or see the answers to the Hidden Pictures in the current month's issue. Follow this link to look through 2 pages and (if I counted correctly) 200 pictures of printable Hidden Pictures. My kids thought we hit the "Jackpot" when I discovered this today. =)

Recently, I received an email with a link to a short story based on John Chapman - "Johnny Appleseed." Here's a link to the archive pages of their short stories. When you follow that link, you will be directed to a page of stories categorized as "Adventure." There are 9 total categories listed under the "Highlights Stories" picture.

There are also science experiments available. Here's a recent one that teaches about air pressure. Here's the archive page (note that there are two pages) with more experiments listed. This is a great supplement for home schooling.


When it comes to crafts, I like to find things that are relatively simple and not very messy. (I know...I'm so much fun!) We always have lots of paper towel and toilet paper tubes, so I like to find crafts using those. Here is one called a Spiral Roadway that uses a PT tube. This one shows how to make a rocking horse out of a TP tube. Here is the craft archive page that has 6 categories available to look through.

Check it out! Your kids will love it! Mine do. =)

Organic or Conventional?

What is the difference, you ask? Let me explain. I did some research online and found some specifics about the differences between the two types of farming. The following lists were obtained from The Mayo Clinic's website.

Organic farmers:
1. Apply natural fertilizers, such as manure and compost, to feed the soil and plants.
2. Use beneficial insects and birds, mating disruption or traps to reduce pests and disease.
3. Rotate crops, till, hand weed or mulch to manage weeds.
4. Give animals organic feed and allow them access to the outdoors, and they use preventative measures - such as rotational grazing, a balanced diet and clean housing - to help minimize disease.

Conventional farmers:
1. Apply chemical fertilizers to promote plant growth.
2. Spray insecticides to reduce pests and disease.
3. Use chemical herbicides to manage weeds.
4. Give animals antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to prevent disease and spur growth.

You will have to make the choice as to which one you will purchase. Personally, I don't want to be exposed to all the chemicals, hormones...etc. that are found in conventionally-grown products. Check out Wikipedia's entry on "Organic Foods" to get a better picture of how it's grown (or better yet, how it's NOT grown). You can also read about how farmers (and even migratory birds) are affected by the pesticides used in conventional farming---it's really bad!

There are strict standards placed on organic food producers. Don't be confused by labels placed on products that read, "all-natural," "free-range" or "hormone-free." Unless it is USDA Certified Organic, these products can NOT be interpreted as being organic. In order for a product to have the above-pictured "Organic" seal, it must be 95-100% organic. If it is only 95-99% organic, it is because some ingredients are not organically available but are approved by the USDA's National Organic Program (NOP). You may see products labeled, "Made With Organic Ingredients." These only contain 70-94% organic ingredients and will not have the USDA Organic seal. If a product has less than 70% organic ingredients, it will only be allowed to list the ingredients on the information panel of the packaging and will not show the USDA Organic seal.

Take into consideration that the use of the USDA Organic seal is voluntary. Some smaller farming operations may not want to go through the complicated process to become certified organic, so if you shop at a farmer's market, don't be afraid to ask how they grew and managed their crops.

At this point, we buy all of our produce at either Whole Foods Market (in Tampa) or Publix. If you know of a farmer's market that strives to meet organic farming standards, please let me know. Most all of our other grocery items are purchased at Whole Foods. Sometimes, we can find better deals at Wal-Mart (or Publix) on items like cereal, canned goods and soy milk.

Let me warn you, though. Just because a product is labeled "USDA Organic" does not mean that it is "good for you." Organic products can still contain ingredients like sugar and milk. "Organic Sugar" is NOT "okay." If a product contains Evaporated Cane Juice, Fructose, Agave, or some other type of natural sweetener, then it would be fine to eat.

Dr. C. has told me several times that he considers sugar consumption to be a bigger "killer" than cigarette smoking. If you want to make changes to your diet, my recommendation is to start with the sugar. This is not a "Carb-free" way of eating, so don't view this as one of those fad diets. A serving of Agave Nectar (1 Tbsp.) has 60 Calories and 16 grams of Carbs, but like I said in my post about sweeteners, Agave is a natural sweetener that your body will know how do digest and therefore will not store it as fat.

If you have any questions, please let me know, and I'll do my best to answer them. I am by no means an expert (yet), but I have plenty of resources to answer my questions. I hope you are enjoying all of this unsolicited information. =) I look forward to sharing more with you all.

Jason's Sears Rake-In

Check out all this stuff Jason was able to get through the Sears Dockers/Shell gas card offer. Here's what he got:

4 pair of dress pants
6 dress shirts
6 ties
9 pair of socks (3 packs of 3 socks)
2 pair of shorts
2 knit shirts

Jason was able to do 3 transactions. The limit was two per household, so he called both of our dads to see if they needed or wanted anything. Neither one did. My dad told Jason to do another transaction and to have the gas card sent to his house, and he would give it to Jason. In order to get the gas card from Shell, the total transaction had to be $100 before tax. Since Jason receives a discount on clothing he aimed for each transaction to be around $125. Everything he picked out was discounted, and almost everything was 50% off!

Here's the math:

Total Retail value before/after tax: $768.00/$821.76
Total Sale value before/after tax: $397.24/$425.05
Sears Employee Discount (taken out before tax): $79.45
Total after discount and tax: $340.06
Gas card amount: $225.00
Total Out of Pocket: $115.06
That's an average of $5 per item!!
PLUS, He will be able to write off the work clothing on his taxes at the end of the year!

How Sweet it ISN'T...

We all know that sugar is not good for us, right? If you don't know this, you really should read this article entitled, "Refined Sugar - The Sweetest Poison of All..." It is a lengthy article, so if you don't want to read the whole thing, at least read the first section entitled, "Why Sugar is Toxic to the Body." It's only a page of reading, but it is filled with a lot of information that will show you exactly what sugar is doing to your body. Please read it!

Now, for those of you who already know how bad sugar is for you and are thinking how good you are for only consuming artificial sweeteners, let me burst your bubble for a minute. They are just as bad!! For more detailed information on the subject, read this article entitled, "Sugar substitutes and the potential danger of Splenda." We've all heard about the carcinogenic effects of sweeteners such as Saccharin, Aspartame and Acesulfame K. That's why everyone was delighted when the FDA approved Splenda (sucralose) to be placed on the market. At the time the FDA approved Splenda for human consumption, there had only been 2 human trials completed and published. In those 2 trials, there were 36 human subjects where only 23 of them were actually given sucralose. The longest trial lasted 4 days and did not test sucralose for human tolerance but rather for tooth decay!

So, what is sucralose, you ask? In a nutshell, it is sugar that has been chemically altered. Three chlorine atoms have replaced 3 hydroxyl groups in the sugar molecule which, incidentally, gives it characteristics of a chlorocarbon. Most pesticides, like DDT (banned in 1972 in the US), are chlorocarbons! In fact, Splenda (sucralose) was discovered by 2 British scientists in 1976 who were trying to find a new pesticide formulation. Wikipedia recounts how one scientist told the other one to "test" the powder, and the other one thought he said to "taste" it, so he did! Moron! There is naturally-occurring chlorine in some foods that you eat - like tomatoes, mushrooms, peas...etc. This chlorine will not accumulate in your body fat and is not toxic, and your body actually needs that to help cleanse your liver. The chlorine added to make sucralose is a synthetic form which OSHA warns can burn your internal organs.

One of the reasons for the FDA's approval of sucralose is that because it has the chlorine atoms added to it, the body will not be able to metabolize it and will eventually just flush it out. This is also how Splenda's makers are able to claim that it has ZERO calories. Here's the problem: Since Splenda's approval, more testing has been done, and it has been found that in fact the average person will absorb and ultimately store 15% of the sucralose into the body. That means that some people in the study actually absorbed more than 15%. In one study, 1 person did not excrete the sucralose even after 3 days which means he was absorbing and metabolizing the chemical! I can only assume that Splenda's claim to be ZERO calories is only true if your body's chemical makeup does not allow the chemical to be absorbed.

Do you really trust the FDA? Do you think they are really looking out for your best interest? Take a look back at the Vioxx disaster. Keep in mind that Splenda is a food additive not a drug. In order for a drug to get passed by the FDA, it must undergo extensive research and testing...much more than a food additive would. Even with all the testing done on Vioxx, the FDA was not able to deem it unfit to be on the market, and that mistake cost 55,000 people their lives!

My questions for you are these: Do you want you and your family to be the "test subjects" for this inadequately tested product? Do you want to end up as just another "statistic" down the road? Why would you want to put something into your body that God did not intend for your consumption?

There are more natural alternatives to sugar and artificial sweeteners. For those of you who like the taste of artificial sweeteners, you will like the herb called Stevia, which can now be found in most regular grocery stores and definitely in health food stores. For those of you who like LOVE sugar like me, you will find that agave nectar is an excellent substitute. This is a natural sweetener found in (believe it or not) a cactus plant and has a glycemic index of 19 which makes it suitable for diabetics. Agave nectar is 25% sweeter than sugar, so you won't need to use as much, thus saving you some calories. Agave can be used in cooking/baking and as a sweetener for drinks like coffee and tea. The appearance of Agave is somewhat like honey but much less viscous. There is no weird taste to it at all! It is just sweet! The light-colored agave has no flavor...it's just sweet, but the darker, amber-colored agave tastes more like caramel. They both are really good!

For the last couple of months I have completely cut out sugar and sugar substitutes and have only used agave nectar, honey or 100% maple syrup to sweeten our food. Now, I know that some of you are going to look at the caloric content of these and tell me I'm crazy for intaking all those calories. Here's the thing: These are natural sweeteners! Your body knows how to digest them, so they will not be stored as fat. Refined sugars and artificial sweeteners are not digestible, so your body says, "I don't know what to do with this, so I'll just store it." That's why you gain weight in all the "inactive" places of your body.

So, you want our stats? In the last 2 months since we have changed our eating habits, Jason and I have both lost over 15 pounds each! Keep in mind that we were doing South Beach last year and had already lost a significant amount of weight but eventually just plateaued when we reached our initial goals. We weren't necessarily looking for weight loss when we made these recent changes, so we weren't "dieting" but rather just living. We really just wanted to be healthier and ended up with the bonus of losing weight.

I'm going to start sharing some of our favorite recipes, but I felt it was necessary to explain all of the above information before I did that. We use agave nectar for almost all of our cooking (that requires sweetening), and the kids even like it in their oatmeal. We made some ice cream with the agave, and it was delicious! Of course we made it with coconut milk since we're dairy free. I'll explain that one later. I don't want to overload you. =)

A couple of months ago, I found a recipe for homemade ketchup that is to die for, and I've been making it ever since! Don't buy the store ketchup that is full of high fructose corn syrup! That stuff is awful! Fresh is better anyway. =)

With Larissa's birthday coming up this month, we've been experimenting with birthday cake ideas that would be sugar-free and dairy-free. We made a carrot cake with coconut cream frosting, and it was fabulous! We also made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting that is heavenly!

I hope this hasn't come across as a lecture from a soapbox or something, but I feel very strongly about this right now and feel that I need to share this information with others. I was completely ignorant to so many things, and due to my recent health issues, I've basically been "forced" into a better way of eating. The thing is, though, I'm so happy with our changes, and we really do feel so much better than we did before. If I can help one person to avoid going through what I've been through or any other health problems for that matter, then this has all been worthwhile.

No one imagines themselves ending up with health problems such as diabetes, heart issues or even cancer, but let me remind you, we are not invincible. If you don't take care of the body that God has given you, then you might just have your life taken from you with one of these dreadful maladies. A few days ago I was having a talk with Alyx, and I told her that we need to learn not only from our mistakes but also from other peoples' mistakes. Of course, this was not in reference to health issues, but it can still be applied. No amount of physical satiation with food is worth a life riddled with health problem after health problem. My choice is to eat right, so that I can enjoy the life that God has given me. I'm just glad that my "rude awakening" hit while I'm young and still able to make some serious changes.

My hope is that you will keep an open mind as you read the information I'll be sharing and realize that the changes are not as drastic as you would imagine. The idea is that you want to eat foods that are "whole," meaning that they are as close to nature as possible with minimal processing. The more processed and refined a certain food is, the harder it is for your body to digest. We need to realize that the point of eating is to "feed" our body not to bring physical or emotional pleasure to ourselves. Certain foods are addictive, and once you get over those addictions, you will be amazed at how great you feel!

Happy Father's Day, Jason!

As blessed as I am to have a wonderful dad of my own, I am equally blessed to have a wonderful dad for my kids. Jason has the best spirit, energy and imagination when it comes to spending time with his girls. All it takes is watching him play with them, cuddle with them, read a book to them...etc., and you know that he completely loves and adores each one. I hope that as the girls age they will grow to appreciate him the way that he deserves to be appreciated.

We love you, Jason, and we want to thank you for being the best "Daddy" in the world to Alyx, Larissa and Sydney! Thank you for the roles that you play in our home as leader, husband, friend, father, helper, comforter, strengthener...etc. You are greatly loved and appreciated!

Here are a few bunch of pictures of Jason with his kiddos.

Here are a few video clips that will show you how great Jason is with the girls. =)

In these two clips, he's riding Alyx's bicycle. The second clip he is imitating Arte Johnson riding his tricycle on Laugh In. These were taken in 2003.



Here he's trying to get Sydney to say "DaDa."



Here he is in 2006 helping Alyx learn to ride her bike without training wheels. He ran this sidewalk SOOOO many times. =)



Okay, so 4 video clips of the same activity might seem like overkill, but I had to choose these 4 from almost 15 video clips. It was very hard! The girls absolutely love it when "Daddy" acts as a "springboard" for them to jump off of. Believe it or not, no one got hurt while doing this. =) That was a miracle! These were taken in 2007 and are our favorites. Enjoy!




Happy Father's Day to all you "Daddy-O's" out there!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

As I get older, I find that I appreciate and love my dad (and mom) more and more each year. With so many worldly, unstable homes nowadays, I can't help but feel extremely blessed to have both a dad and mom who love the Lord and who were willing to sacrifice so much to make sure that we were brought up in a good, Christian home.

Thank you, Dad, for all of your love and support over the years. I appreciate your godly influence not only in my life but also in the lives of my children. We all love you very much!

Here are a few pictures from the last five years showing how much my dad has been involved in our lives. Thanks for being there, Dad!

Organizing Your Coupons

I love organization!!! That feeling goes hand-in-hand with my OCD. =)

This is a picture of an organizer that I bought a couple of months ago. It's one of those accordion-style, folder organizers. It worked for a while, but when I started getting more and more coupons, it became very difficult to see what I actually had. While I was CVS shopping with my friend, Sandra, I noticed she had a 3-ring binder with plastic sheets for her coupons. She explained to me that it was just plastic baseball card protector sheets. Cool! The thought had never crossed my mind, but it looked so neat and organized. Later that week, I asked Jason if he had any empty baseball card protector sheets that I could have, and he brought me a big stack of them. I also had an extra 3-ring binder at home that I was able to use. Yay! Organization AND it's FREE!! =)

We all set to work clipping and organizing all my coupons so that I could fill my new binder. Alyx really loves to help me...she's getting really good at it, too. She even helps me by doing transactions at CVS...she's really cute! (FYI: In the pictures below, you'll notice Alyx is wearing a cute, red hat. She got that at Target for $1.00! That same day, she found a pair of flip-flops, a 3 pack of fingernail polish and a bottle of lotion that were each marked down to $0.25 (yes, 25 cents)!! She's going to be a bargain shopper yet.) Jason is a big help, too! He refuses to use scissors for coupon clipping, though. Instead, he uses my cutting board...hey, whatever works and gets him to help me. =)

I made each sheet to have a "category." Sometimes, I had to break a category into two pages (ie. One page for "men's" deodorant and one page for "women's" deodorant.) After the pages were filled, I grouped them together according to "families." (ie. Toiletries, Cosmetics, Paper products, Cleaners...etc.)

Check it out! It makes me so happy to see all of my coupons so organized!

Father's Day Weekend

We will be leaving tomorrow to head up to my parents' house for the Father's Day weekend. We are looking forward to spending some time with my family! Since Jason has Monday off of work, we will be returning on Monday evening.

By the way...I have a few posts scheduled for the next few days, so it will almost be like I'm not gone. =) I know how much you miss us when we're away. Ha Ha Ha!!

Printable Manufacturer's Coupons

One of my favorite blogs to check for good deals is The "Cent"sible Sawyer. Check out this entry for some coupons and free stuff. (Carol, she has a $5 off of $15 coupon listed for Linens N Things!)

This post has a new CVS coupon and some suggestions for free or money-making deals.

Another blog that I really enjoy is Money Saving Mom. Check out this post for a sweet deal at Sears. When you buy $100 worth of Dockers, you will receive a $75 Shell gift card! (It's even more sweet when you get an employee discount! =) Sorry, not trying to rub it in or anything.)

Here is a free or money-making deal at CVS on Garnier Nutritioniste Products. Check it out!

Here is a huge list of printable manufacturer's coupons. This was created in a forum, so once you click on the link, scroll down to see the list. It is an alphabetical list of mainly "drugstore" coupons.

Here is a list that will include grocery coupons.

Enjoy!!

All she wants for Christmas...

...is her two front teeth!

I tell you...we are keeping the Tooth Fairy busy this week! Larissa lost her fourth tooth last night, and she has two more that are loose. I'm afraid she'll have to go on a liquid diet soon. =)

Check out her toothless grin...

Don't Be A Mess!

Earlier this year, when the Steve Pettit Team visited our church, I purchased a family devotional book (among many other items) entitled, "Our Family Time With God." It is compiled by Harold D. Vaughan and contains entries from 12 different people.

This week we've been learning about Biblical separation, and the entries were written by Tom Palmer, founder of Palmer Revival Ministries. He discussed many different aspects this week and wrapped the series up in this morning's devotion time with a great visual lesson for the kids. The scripture reading came from Titus 2:11-15, and this is what he had to say:

While speaking at a junior camp retreat, I stepped onto the platform wearing a cowboy hat, a western shirt, jeans, a fancy belt buckle, and boots. Carrying a lasso, I walked around as if I were bowlegged and called out, "Howdy y'all! What am I?"
"A cowboy!" the kids responded.
When I asked them how they knew who I was, they described my actions, outfit, words, and, of course, the fact that I walked like I'd been sitting in the saddle too long.
I stepped out of sight momentarily and returned wearing a baseball hat, a Phillies shirt, and baseball shoes. Carrying a baseball and glove, I crouched like a batter. "Play Ball!" I yelled. "What am I?"
They said I was a baseball player and described each item that identified me as a baseball player. Again, I left the platform.
When I returned the third time, I wore both hats. I also wore a cowboy boot on one foot and a baseball shoe on the other. I carried a lasso in one hand and a baseball bat in the other. I strolled and crouched as before and called out, "Howdy y'all, let's play ball!" Again I asked, "What am I?"
Without hesitation, one junior camper called out, "A mess!"
The room erupted with laughter, but my point had been made.
Something doesn't make sense when a Christian tries to be worldly and godly. No one can be like the world and like God at the same time. There must be an obvious distinction.
The time has come for godly families to be different from the world around them. Our actions, appearances, attitudes, and even our walk and talk must show the world we are different. Otherwise, we'll just be a mess!

James 4:4 says, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

Third time's a charm...

Yesterday morning after breakfast, Larissa wanted to show me how loose her tooth was getting and begged me to take her picture, so of course I did. =) If you couldn't tell by the title of this post, this will be the 3rd tooth that she's lost.



After Jason left for work, I set the girls up with 3 baskets of laundry to fold, and I went to get my shower. When I finished getting ready, I came out of my room and the girls were all standing around just outside my door. Immediately I could tell something had happened. Larissa was looking at me kind of funny, and she had her lips closed tightly together. I kept saying, "What? What?" Larissa just kept smiling bigger and bigger with her lips still closed. It finally hit me, and I asked, "Did you pull your tooth?"

There it was...she finally opened her mouth and exposed the gaping hole! That girl has the highest tolerance of pain I have ever found in a child. She actually let me pull one of her teeth one time when it was hardly loose, and she never shed a tear or even flinched! That will serve her well in the future! =)

Look how cute she is...



She was very thrilled to find that the "Tooth Fairy" had visited last night.

What kind of traditions do you have concerning the Tooth Fairy? I have crocheted a Tooth Fairy Angel pillow for both Alyx and Larissa - Sydney hasn't needed one yet but will soon, I'm sure. (FYI: I get a lot of free patterns at Crochet Pattern Central and there are other choices for Tooth Fairy pillows on the "pillow" pattern page.) They each get to choose the color/style of yarn that they want, and Larissa's choice definitely portrays her personality. She chose a bright-colored, fuzzy yarn that makes it kind of difficult to make out the "Angel" on the front, but she loves it and that's all that matters, right? =)

This is a picture of her with her pillow last year when she lost her first tooth.



Using a Tooth Fairy pillow is much easier than having to dig under their pillow, because it just sits at the head of their bed next to their regular pillow. The "Angel" on the front is actually a pocket where the child can leave their tooth and the "Tooth Fairy" can leave her payment for taking the tooth. =) At our house, the Tooth Fairy leaves $1.00 and sometimes a special little note congratulating them on losing a tooth and for being so brave. What does she leave at your house?

The kids have been questioning the reality of the Tooth Fairy for some time now, but I just try to sidestep their questions without lying. They ask things like, "Mommy, are you the Tooth Fairy?" and I'll answer with something like, "Have you ever seen me wear a tutu?" That usually makes them laugh, and the subject quickly gets changed. The questions are getting more pointed, though, and I'm afraid the truth will have to come out soon. I'm pretty sure that Alyx and Larissa already know, but I've told them that if they don't believe there's a Tooth Fairy, she might not leave them anything. I know, I'm so mean! I'm just trying not to ruin things for Sydney, since she's going to start losing teeth in the next year or so. =)

CVS Transaction Suggestions

Here is what I've done so far this week.



Transaction #1:

4 Nivea Men's Shave Gel @ $2.99/each ($11.96 Total)
1 Revlon Color Stay Mineral Eye Shadow @ $6.99
Subtotal: $18.95
-CVS Coupon $3/$15
-2 Nivea Coupons $4/2 (Here's a coupon for $2/1-Print it twice by clicking the "back" button on your browser)
-1 Revlon Color Stay Coupon $2/1
Post Coupon and FL Tax: $7.07
ECB's Earned: $8.00
You will earn $0.93 to take all this home!



Transaction #2:

2 CVS Cotton Swabs (500 count) @ $3.19/each ($6.38 Total)
2 CVS Bandages (40 count) @ $1.99/each ($3.98 Total)
1 Listerine Smart Rinse (250ml) @ $3.49
2 Ajax Dish Liquid (16 oz) @ $0.88/each ($1.76 Total)
Subtotal: $15.61
-CVS Coupon $3/$15
-CVS Coupon $3/$10 CVS Products (These print at the coupon stations in CVS when you scan your card)
-Listerine Coupon $1/1 (Click here to get this coupon)
-2 Ajax Coupons $0.20/1
Post Coupon and FL Tax: $8.61
ECB's Earned: $11.47
You will earn $2.86 to take all this home!

Recommendation for Vacation Stopover Attraction

With Summer here, I'm sure that everyone is planning or looking forward to their "family vacations." We are always looking for some new, fun and even educational places to take the kids, and we would always welcome any suggestions. I'm figuring that most of you feel the same way, so I'm going to share one of our favorite "stopover attractions" with you. When we plan a trip up to Tennessee, we always stop in Columbia, SC, to spend a couple of nights. One day is spent at our favorite museum: EdVenture Children's Museum or as the kids call it "Eddie Adventure." It is the largest children's museum in the south, and it is really incredible! Check out the site for all the details. Here are a few pictures from one of our visits just to give you an idea of what's there.

The "main" attraction is Eddie - a 2-story tall boy that you and your children can explore. You can actually hear him breathe, hear his heartbeat, hear his stomach noises, hear the nerve impulses being transmitted in his brain...etc. The back side is all open, so you can see the insides and actually climb and slide all through it to discover things. It's really cool!

As you move through the museum, you'll find an area where kids can dress up in head-to-toe firemen uniforms and explore a firetruck and even slide down a fire pole.

There's also an area that deals with farming where you can sit in a big tractor, "plant/pick" vegetables and fruit, "milk" a cow...etc. There's also a mock grocery store where the child can take their cart up and down the aisles and pick out their groceries. When they are done shopping, they can go through the check out line and pretend to pay for it all. The kids really love that! Oh, and I threw in the picture of the "marsupials" just for fun. =)

When we last visited, there was a section outside with really big bubble activities for the kids. (I think that may have been one of their traveling exhibits.) There's also a water exhibit and a net "spider web" for them to climb on.

Has anyone ever heard of or been to this museum? Just curious. We love it and are looking forward to our trip there this year! The traveling exhibit that will be there when we visit is entitled "Air Play" and will teach the kids how air moves and how it affects the environment. They will get to learn about turbulence and air streams. Sounds cool! I'll let you know if I learn anything. =)

It's that time of year!

For a couple of months now, Alyx has been begging me to cut her hair. As soon as the weather starts warming up, she immediately wants her hair chopped off. She has been growing out her bangs for about a year now, and she wanted the rest of her hair cut even with her bangs (which are just below her chin). Yikes! "Mommy" and "Daddy" said, "No Way, Jose," so she settled on shoulder length. Here is her before picture:



Here is her after picture...so cute! =) She is thrilled with the results!



Of course, once Alyx decided she wanted her hair cut, the other two just had to do the same. Here's Larissa's before picture. Look how long her hair was!



Here is her after picture...she loves to pose! =)



Look at the little bit of curl at the bottom of Sydney's hair in her before picture:



Obviously, she loves it! =) Look at those big, blue eyes!