A New Lens

I am SO excited! I got a new lens for my camera! I had recieved an gift card for Amazon.com as a reward for my sales with Arbonne and I was glad to see that I could use it to get some new camera gear! I asked a photographer which lenses I should add to my collection and this is one she recommended! Thanks Nancy! I am totally illiterate when it comes to the logistics of photography and equipment, but I think this let me take pictures in lower light without using a flash. I am constantly trying to capture the natural lighting in the evening, but it is always blurry, so I was so thrilled to snap these pictures last night. Emily was sitting in her bouncy seat by the kitchen window in the first few. The setting sunlight was reflecting on her face off of the mirrored toy that hangs from her seat. The others are in the light of the lamp by Brian's chair, this is lighting that I have been trying to get got ALONG time!

He is getting older

Brian gave Andrew a job today. He had to rake a small section of our back yard and put all the leaves in a garbage can. Normally Andrew would eat up a job like this and do it with great gusto. When I saw him outside my kitchen window with the pretty fall leaves and his brown sweatshirt, I just had to grab the camera. So I popped outside and started snapping a few shots and I realized that today he he was working with great disgust! It was so funny. It was a glimpse of what the next years may hold! I say "may" because I am still praying that he will mostly be the sweet, willing, happy to help his dad kind of boy! But he is getting older and having more of a desire to be independent! It is kind of hard to see his expression...you may be able to click on the picture and see it larger! Give it a try, it will make you laugh, especially if you know Andrew!!

Deceptive? Yes! Delicious? The jury is divided!

Well, the veggies continue to be hidden in our dinner, and the results have been fairly successful. We had chicken nuggets the other night that are dipped in brocolli puree then a bread crumb mixture. They were eatible, but not great. Lots of Ranch dressing helped! I also overcooked some of them so that didn't help either. Then there were these Pita Pizza's. They are made on whole wheat pita's and are supposed to have spinach puree hidden under the sauce and cheese. I was out of spinach puree so I mixed 1/2 cup sweet potato puree with the sauce. I tasted the sauce before and after I added the puree and I noticed only a slight change in flavor. I think the whole wheat pita's were the issuse with this recipe. Next time I may try it on the pizza dough I normally make and see if that is an improvment.

Today I tried the Chocolate Chip Cookies...I know, several of you have told me that putting veggies in dessert is taking it too far, and I am inclined to agree...but these are actually quite yummy. Not the best I have ever had, but considering they have Chick Peas (Garbonzos Beans) in them, I am quite impressed! They are pretty and the chick peas look like butterscotch chips. The kids LOVED them! So at least it is a healthy option for cookies for the kids and they took care of my chocolate craving!

So I say the jury is still divided. Well as of right now, the kids are loving it and the grown ups not so much!! The funny thing is that Andrew has caught on and he asks me every day, "What's for dinner?" I tell him and then he always asks "what's in it?" I start telling him the ingredients and he inturrupts and says "I mean, what vegetables?!" So I guess it is a step in the right direction. I am finding I am just going to have see if I can get the veggies included in meals I am already making! Tomorrow we are having a good old fashioned roast with potatoes and carrots. Monday is Pork Chops and then Tuesday a new recipe of Aloha Chicken (Cauliflower and Pineapple Purees)

Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Brownies

This is my own recipe for Meatloaf, however I added 1/2 cup brocolli puree. We also had Mashed Potatoes to which I added 1/2 cup Cauliflower puree.

Brian: "Had no idea there was anything different until Andrew got a chunk of brocolli stalk and I burped and it tasted cauliflowery"

Andrew: "I didn't like that big chunk, but otherwise it tasted just like it always does...yummy!"

Kelli: "I ate it all gone in my tummy!"

I also didn't notice any change in taste in either dish, I will definitely do this again!

These brownines contain 1/2 cup spinach puree and 1/2 cup carrot puree

Brian: "Okay, you just shouldn't mess with brownies"

(while making a funny face)

Andrew: "YUMMY!!"

Kelli: These are yummy!"

I totally agree with Brian on this one! They were horrible! But I was thrilled the kids loved them! I have never let them have 2 brownies, but I did with these, they tasted so strong of spinach that I figured it was like letting them have 2nd's of veggies! So I will stick to making my mom's zucchini chocolate cake, which is scrumptous!! I will put the recipe for that on here soon! on the menu for tonight is Chicken Nuggets.

And another quick note, We took Emily to the doctor today and she is doing great! She has been off steroids since yesterday morning and the doctor assures me that the problems with nursing are because of the increase in appetite that little ones experience when they are on the steroids, so she should start nursing better! And really she already has been doing better today! Praise the Lord!!

Sweet Emily Aileen

These are a few pics of Emily from last night. She needed a bath after a huge blowout, but was so happy when Brian was holding her I had to take a few shots to see if I could catch her smile. I was so thrilled to catch these two huge smiles~ I am reading a book that is a first time mom's journal of her son's first year. She compares her son's early smiles to those of a drunken old man...couldn't help thinking of that when looking at these shots of Em! She loves her bath, even though it doesn't really look like it in the tubby picture. She is also getting so strong. Holding her head up for long periods of time! Can't believe she is already 2 months old! Time flies when you are having fun! Emily is actually a little sick right now. She woke up yesterday with a barky cough and sounded horrible when she was breathing. I took her to see her pediatrician and he started her on steriods. Andrew started with his coughing around 2 months as well, so I am praying this is just an isolated occurance and not the beginning of respiratory issues like we have had with Andrew. I love that she looks like Andrew, but would like them to be different in this area! I also am afraid she is "weaning" herself from breastfeeding. It breaks my heart and I am fighting her for now and plan to as long as I can. I have had to suppliment her with formula since she was 3 weeks old because she was not gaining any weight. I also went on medication at that point to try to increase my milk supply, and it has worked, but not enough to keep her satisfied, so she has been taking about 8 oz of formula a day. The crazy thing is that because of this medication, breastfeeding has actually been more expensive than formula feeding!! But I think because she is old enough to realize that the milk flows faster from the bottle, she pulls away and cries after just a few minutes of nursing. It is such a psycological battle for me. I know logically it is not that big of a deal to not be able to breastfeed, but there is an element of feeling like a failure, not being able to provided this most natural provision for my child! So we will see what the next days bring. Brian and I have decided that we will not order the medication for next month, so we will see what happens! Your prayers for either more milk or less anxiety on my part would be appreciated!

One Large Family!!

I was struck as I was uploading these pictures by how big our family has grown!! In 8 years we have added Jed, Brian, Andrew, Maddie, Kelli, Chris, Olivia, Ted, Eden, Emily and Derrick!! And it just keeps growing! We found out that grandbaby #7 is on it's way! Congrats Ted and Danielle!

Pasta with Bolognese Sauce Review

So what I though I would do is tell you what veggies were in this dish and then give you the opinion of each member of the family and then maybe somethings I will do next time I make it!

Veggies in this dish

3 Carrots

1 stalk of celery

1 med onion

26 oz can of crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup sweet potato puree

Brian: "Don't like it, it's very bland, can I have some salt?"

(Brian has had a cold...I think that he is not tasting all the flavors yet, because it wasn't bland)

Andrew: "Halfway between like it and don't like it"

Kelli: "I kinda like it"

My own review: I was very nervous as I was preparing this dish, because it smelled VERY tomatoee. I however was pleasantly surprised that it was actually quite tasty. It was a little heavy on the tomato flavor, so next time I think I will use a 26 oz jar of spaghetti sauce instead of the can of crushed tomatoes. Otherwise, I thought it was great for the amount of veggies in it! I also could have made 1/2 the recipebut because there were leftovers I mixed the sauce and noodles together, will put them in a casserole dish and cover it with shredded cheese and bake it.

On tonights menu....Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Deceptively Delicious

Last week on Oprah, Jessica Seinfeld, wife of Jerry Seinfeld, was on promoting her new cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. This is her method of getting her kids to eat veggies. Since we are not veggie eaters in our house, and being guilt ridden from this as I am the meal preparer, I thought I would give this a try. So I went out that evening and bought the cookbook and today started the process. Each of the recipes in the cookbook include a vegetable puree. So today I steamed or roasted veggies and here is a photo journal of the experience...

The Cast of Characters (stolen from Pioneer Woman Cooks)

Butternut squash, sweet potatoes, yellow squash, cauliflower, broccoli
The butternut squash and the sweet potatoes got roasted
for an hour at 400 degrees

The rest were steamed for 6-12 minutes (all instructions for the specific veggies are in the the cookbook)

Then everything gets pureed in the food processor for 2 minutes until smooth and creamy!! Gotta love the colors!

Then you divide your purees into 1/2cup servings and put them into storage baggies. I put a sandwich sized Ziploc bag over a juice glass which worked very well.

And here is the final results...32 bags with 1/2 cup servings of veggies. I also decided to add spinach and carrots to the cast of characters

The worst part....thank God for dishwashers!!

I have 10 of the recipes from the cook book on the menu for the next few weeks so my plan is to let you all know what I made and what the family thought of it! On tonight's menu....Pasta with Bolognese Sauce!

Lauren and Derricks Wedding

This is where the wedding was...absolutely beautiful

We all prayed over Lauren and Derrick after the rehersal

We have a picture taken in this same spot 4 years ago. It was just Brian and Andrew and Me then...actually Kelli too, but we didn't know it yet!

It was so cute...the girls hadn't realized that their shoes were all the same until I lined them up for this picture! They were thrilled!

This was super cool...instead of a guest book we all signed shells

Nikki did all the flowers again...gorgeous!!

The place cards
The happy couple getting ready to leave for their honeymoon

Sweet Eden LuAnn

These are some pics I took of my sister Heidi and her family this weekend. Out of all the grandkids on my side of the family, 7 month old Eden is the "gerberest"!! =) She is so beautiful, and such a sweet personality too!!