Project 365: Week 5

Sunday

Sunday was a sad sort of day, as Paul had an out-of-town trial scheduled Monday morning and a meeting with the clients Sunday afternoon. So after church and a quick Whole Foods run for essentials, he left us. We all spent the day in a sad state, so for supper I treated us to pizza delivered to the door. IN our pajamas.

Monday

Since we did absolutely nothing all day Sunday, and I fell asleep on the couch and woke up at 2:00 a.m. to go get in my bed, then I shouldn't have been surprised to find this upon rising Monday morning...

or this...

And if you think that's bad, check out the laundry room!!

I got busy-ISH. But while I was doing the dishes, Atticus climbed up and sat on top of the dishwasher door. I told him "no no" and put him down, but he climbed right back up. Down I put him again, only this time I made him understand, so he walked away pouting. In the back of my mind I thought, "Watch. He'll suddenly decide to climb the stairs now." (Even though he'd never even attempted it before.) A couple of minutes later I hear, "Daaa-deee! Daa-deee!" Noah was standing in the kitchen, so I had him go see what Atticus needed. And guess where he was?!? Four steps up the stairs! (The two of us have obviously got some sort of crazy wave-length thing going. Ha!)

Tuesday

Today we got some fresh (albeit cold) air. Noah designed a hopscotch game for us.

It was a little complicated, but Gabe was undeterred.

He even helped out a bit.

I like his "artwork" much better out here than indoors (specifically, on walls).

Wednesday

Noah wrote a song today. But before you get too excited, Uncle Jonathan, you should know that he was basically playing the demo songs on his keyboard in a certain order. In other words, he was more like a DJ than a composer. But he thought it out, planned it, wrote it down, etc. until it was just right, that's for sure. Oh, the creative process is so hard to understand sometimes!

Thursday

Academy* day. Thanks to Paul staying home until 8:00 and dressing two children and making breakfast, we actually made it there on time this week!! (No more tears from the sad little mommy who can't stand to be late OR to get in trouble for it.) Now--here are some of my kindergartners. (I'm the teacher's aide.)

Check out the Oreo/cracker/"meat"/cheese Lunchable sandwich this little fella made:

Friday

It snowed. Well, actually it iced and then snowed (a little). We spent two hours finding and donning all our warm things and then like twenty minutes outside.

Except for Noah. Noah could live outside. And doesn't notice the cold until he is soaking wet and RED all over. Then he notices and comes dripping inside.

Saturday

Snowed in. I baked some cookies. We did a little cleaning out and a lot of lying around.

And one of us is sick again.

Poor Saylor Girl

BUT. I'm excited to be treating her NATURALLY based on what I'm learning from my new book (the one I mentioned last week).

*I don't remember if I've explained about Academy, so just in case I haven't...We go to Homeschool Academy once a week. It's just a chance for homeschoolers to be in a classroom environment and learn some supplemental content. I took an aide position for a little extra cash, free tuition for Noah, and child care for the others.

Project 365: Week 4

Sunday

Noah learned to ride a bike today. I know. He's SEVEN. Why didn't he already know how?? Well, perhaps you haven't seen our driveway. Let's just say if you're the inexperienced-in-driving-up-mountains type, then you wouldn't want to even ATTEMPT using our driveway. You'd simply park on the street. Which. Makes it pretty hard to say, "Son, go out and see if you can figure out how to ride that bike of yours while I fix dinner and tend to the babies." And then I obviously couldn't easily take him on the road, considering I'd have three others with me on. the. road. to watch. Anyway, it was finally warm enough to get outside, so the Most Awesome Daddy in the World took that boy out and taught him the single most important skill in all of boyhood. And quite quickly, too!

By the time I was done putting the bittyest babes to bed for a nap, Noah was hopping up and down with his magnificent news that I just HAD to come witness. And, let me tell you, it was something to behold. Especially since I had never in all my life seen the boy do such an astounding thing! After plenty of time tearing up the roads...downhill at lightning speed...

...and the young'uns were all awake, we all went for a nice, leisurely walk through the neighborhood.

We even invited "Baby."

Monday

Today my sweet, innocent, darling, Precious Moments-faced child who is NAMED AFTER AN ANGEL(!!) decided to carve up our dinner table. Because? Well, hmm...good question. The sad thing is I was standing right THERE...I heard the awful noise, but it just didn't register for some reason. I guess I was so busy cutting Atticus's peanut butter toast into four thousand and eight itty-bitty baby bites that I blocked out the horrid grinding noise behind me. So not fair.

Gabriel's First Woodworking Project

Tuesday

This was our mail today. A magazine I love, a book I ordered so long ago I don't remember when it was (Media Mail is SO slow, y'all) for a little book discussion group I'll be joining on Thursday night, and TEN (count 'em--10!!!) pieces of junk mail. TEN!!! Evil, evil credit card and insurance companies. (Did I mention there were TEN pieces?!)

Wednesday

My friend Meredith dropped by with her three girls, her sister-in-law, and her two nephews today. It was so good to see her again. The last time we laid eyes on each other, I was pregnant with Atticus! He is now 15 months old, and she has a 3-month old baby herself!! It had been a long, long while. Of course, getting together nowadays is just...in a word...CRAZY. So many kids. So much energy. And my Noah is the oldest. So you can imagine. And it had to go and be a rainy day, too! Yuck! And FYI...don't EVER try to feed nine children (minus one who is a mere nursling) on two large pizzas. It simply can't be done. (Now you know what I should have known.)

Maddie, how could you have grown THIS much?!

Ella, you've been sorely missed!!

Welcome to the world, little Ava. (Ripped this one off your mommy's blog. You must have been moving too fast for me while you were here, because I didn't get a single shot of you. But I sure did enjoy my cuddle time, you scrumptious baby girl, you.)

Thursday

I just didn't have it in me today to photograph anything. Went to Academy. Was late AGAIN. (I want to cry.) My friend Julie took Noah with her afterward for a play date with her son. I had the chance to rest a bit, which is exactly what I did. Then I fed children and helped Saylor with a monstrosity of a knot on her temple after she SPUN into a table with. her. head. while dancing to music from Classical Baby. Should have taken a picture of the bump, I guess. Because you had to SEE it to believe it. It was really that big. But I wasn't thinking "Get the camera!" at the time. Sorry. Once the kiddos had their food and Saylor was feeling better, I slipped out to my book discussion group...without my camera. (I'm new to this whole picture-a-day thing.)

Friday

Friday night my hubby took "big bro and sis" to the Renown Conference (a missions conference organized by one of our fellow church members). The youngest Davidsons had their own kind of fun here at home.

Saturday

We were in and out all day today it seems. Yet we still managed to not go buy groceries, which is what we really needed to do. I went to scrapbook at a new friend's house for a few hours late in the afternoon and through supper. When I got home I found that it was Saturday Night Fever at my house, and I had been missing all the fun!!

Just another crazy week at The Davidson Den. How was yours??

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails

Noah FINALLY finished a unit on Autumn. (Downloaded from TOS.) He actually finished it before now (more like a few days before CHRISTmas). I'm just getting around to making the video and getting the photos done.

I'll have to post the pictures of the rest of his work later. (I'm actually considering having a separate blog for posting most of the school work...so grandparents can see what we're working on. No need to bore the rest of y'all to tears.)

Saylor enjoys making Atticus laugh. She discovered a long time ago that he thinks it's hilarious when someone curls their nose up and says, "Ewwwww." The other day she was playing with him and said, "Oh.......what's the word?? (insert dramatic pause here) Ewwwww!!!" Atticus, of course, belly laughed, and I was blown away with her idea for a game. So funny.

Thankfully, she's all better from her little 24-hour stomach bug from last weekend. But I just had to get her picture (Saturday night) sleeping on the bathroom floor. Because even when pukey, she sleeps like a princess.

Gabriel has really shown an affinity for slap-stick humor lately. He LOVES watching AFV (America's Funniest Videos) with Daddy. (Just what we needed--another one.)

Here he is laughing his head off at Noah falling down over and over. (Don't mind the chocolate.)

He's also gotten tall enough to unlock and open the front door (Yeah, I'm a little nervous about that one...) for his beloved "Ash" (his therapist), who is also his very favorite person to talk to on the *pretend* phone. (She calls a lot.)

Atticus has been nodding his head "yes" lately to answer our questions. It is hilariously cute because he has to really focus on what he's doing in order to coordinate the effort. And our little "professor" doesn't just love to read books, but he also can be seen on a regular basis holding a piece of paper and a writing utensil (even straws will do, apparently) as he "takes notes." Love it! He even walked through the kitchen the other day with Noah's little camera, and this is what he was doing.

We laughed so hard. No idea he knew what to do with that thing!

Maybe he can teach Mommy a little something...

My Kind of Book

A giveaway at Passionate Homemaking.

Brookies

I got this recipe from a favorite blog spot of mine. The recipe is actually called "Giant Breakfast Cookies," but the kids and I thought since they are BReakfast cOOKIES, they should absolutely be called "BROOKIES." So the name stuck. And, frankly, so has the recipe. They are quite wonderful, especially since they are a HEALTHY breakfast food, the recipe makes a lot, they please the palate(s), and they've got such a gosh darn cute name that who could resist? I mean, really? Anyway, they look like a cookie, but they have a texture more like a muffin. They are delicious and fun to make. And they're actually great as snacks or dessert as well! Versatility. Gotta love that

1 cup butter, melted

½ cup + more buttermilk or dairy kefir

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups whole rolled oats

¾ cup honey or Sucanat or combination of the two

2 eggs

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

1 t. vanilla

1 cup raisins, chocolate chips, or other yummy add-in

The night before (or better yet, the DAY before**) you plan to make "Brookies," melt the butter and allow it to cool completely. Then in a glass bowl, stir the butter into the flour and oats. Add the buttermilk, plus a little extra to make sure all the grains are coated. Cover and allow to sit on the counter all night. (An oversimplified explanation as to why it's a good idea to soak your grains before cooking: soaking neutralizes the phytic acid in the grains, partially breaks down the complex parts so that they are easier to digest, and releases all the nutrients IN the grains that you would otherwise NOT benefit from. More on this later.) 

The next morning, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and add the remaining ingredients. It will be a very stiff cookie dough, especially if you choose Sucanat as your sweetener. But just keep stirring! It will come together. Then fold in raisins or chocolate chips or whatever else sounds good to ya. Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough onto a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes if you use honey. 11-15 minutes if you use Sucanat. Allow cookies to cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to a wire rack.

Serve on a paper plate (alright, that's not exactly a requirement, nor is it very "green," but hey, nobody's perfect...) with fresh fruit and enjoy with several of your favorite people in the whole wide world.

Brookies work for me. Head over to We Are That Family for more great ideas.


Update: Recently, I ran out of honey, so I just used Sucanat. It worked beautifully. Made for a fluffier "Brookie" actually. AND I was out of vanilla extract. (I know! Can you imagine?!) But for some odd reason I had about a teaspoon of coconut extract left over from who knows what recipe. So I used it! The wonderful smell inspired me to mix in unsweetened coconut flakes...and then dried cranberries. Let me tell you--the result was uh-may-zing!!!

**I've been trying to soak my oats for a full 24 hours because oats have a low level of phytase (the enzyme that helps breaks down phytic acid). This actually makes life even easier for us busy moms! When you're making breakfast, think of what you'll have for tomorrow's breakfast and go ahead and get it soaking! And then maybe you can go to bed on time...maybe.

God's Artwork

Project 365: Week 3 (Officially)

Well, would you just look-y here? I've actually managed to stick with this thing for a second week! Yeah...I'm so awesome.

Sunday

While this didn't actually HAPPEN on Sunday (oh, no...THIS happened a few days before CHRISTmas round about the time my kids were causing THIS other awful tragedy)...

...Sunday was the day I said, "Enough!" I MUST have a replacement shelf ASAP! And then I said, "Where can I find one? And how much are they?" And then I did nothing about it because...well, I don't know. I'm dealing with far bigger crises in the world. But--not to worry--I'm STILL griping mentioning that it would sure be nice to have my shelf back in the fridge.

Monday

We usually read books after lunch and before naps. We don't usually do it quite like this, which is what prompted me to get my camera. Because this really gave me a good chuckle. Of course, it only lasted five to seven minutes TOPS, but it was a good (very CUTE) five to seven minutes.

Tuesday

This is the stuff that goes on around here. On a daily basis. No kidding.

How many of you are wishing YOU had a clothes line like this in your living room? Right AT your front door. What. No takers?!?

Goodness. And I didn't even show you the picture of the Parent Trap-esque booby trap (made entirely out of yarn) that was my bedroom. MY bedroom. Yeah, it was so cool I almost couldn't stand it. (Oh, wait. I couldn't stand it. Hmm.)

At least Atticus liked it.

Wednesday

I made these Oreo Truffles for my friend Krista's birthday.

Oreos happen to be her favorite thing. But she's got a ton of willpower and generally stays away. (You know. Except when her friend brings her a package or makes a dessert out of them. I'm the devil.)

Here's the recipe. It is ULTRA easy.

Oreo Truffles

1 (1 lb. 2 oz.) package Oreo cookies

1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened

16 oz. bark chocolate (regular or white)

Crush cookies to fine crumbs in a food processor. Set aside about 1/4 cup of crumbs. Mix the rest of the crumbs with softened cream cheese. Form 1-inch balls out of entire mixture. (Makes approximately 40-45 truffles.) Dip balls into the melted bark chocolate and set aside on wax paper to harden. Before chocolate hardens, sprinkle balls with remaining 1/4 cup of crumbs. Refrigerate one hour before serving. Then store covered in refrigerator.

They are scrumptious. Not healthy, but scrumptious. I prefer not to get bogged down in the ingredients of CERTAIN things. Like these, for instance. But don't say I didn't warn you.

Now for a little something to dress it up.

Thursday

Thursdays we go to Academy. It's always a long, hard day for all of us. Saylor unwound at the piano.

I believe she was singing "This is my Father's world. Hum hum huh huh da da. Da da dee da huh-uh da da. Hum ha.........hum" (every eighth note in its place) when I caught her here.

I didn't even know she knew that song.

Friday

Friday we met Krista and her kiddos at a local indoor playspace. We were there for over two hours for a much-needed play time! But somehow I totally forgot to pack my camera. Duh. After our time away, though, I was zapped. We decided to have black bean burgers ('cause I can whip them up in no time flat) and have a family movie night. Noah made all the preparations. I was SO excited at the prospect of sitting in these assigned seats for an entire feature length film. Yikes!

But once the movie started, and Noah looked like this...

he didn't notice the chairs being moved aside for softer alternatives.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the film...

...and the food.

And if you haven't seen this...

you should. Take it from me.

Saturday

Friday night (after our family movie night) just after going to sleep, Saylor awoke suddenly and threw up. (Yay for us!) After sleeping on the floor next to the toilet (aren't I mean?) she seemed to be fine the next day. We took a mini-road trip and found out she wasn't. Good thing we had brought along some plastic shopping bags just in case. That night after supper (and mind you, her supper consisted of plain water and plain pasta) she vomited again...a TON! I gave her a bath and washed her hair (I'm sure you can imagine why). This is what she looked like after all that.

This is the way she rolls when she's sick. You'd NEVER know anything was wrong with her. She's just as perky and go-with-the-flow as ever. She was too busy nursing her baby...pig (I have no idea) in her sling and acting crazy to be bothered by a little ol' stomach bug.

Okay. So that was my week. Top that! :)