This and That

"Here mom....a present for you. I love you so much." - Brady
Is there any better gift then to hear the words "I love you" spoken by your child, completely on their own accord....no prompting....no bribing...just out of the sweetness of their heart? Pure bliss.

As I was tucking Trin in for her nap this afternoon she peaked her head out from under her blankie and quietly said "I wuv you mommy, I pwomise." Such a cutie pie. She and I did a complete overhaul on her room yesterday - got all the "junk" out and organized her books and toy dishes. Allow me to just illustrate why we call her "squirrel." Not only does she get into EVERYTHING...she also hoards anything she places her fingers on. In her room i found MY utensils, socks from other family members...marbles, rocks, leaves, twigs...old bills of ours she had colored all over. On top of that -if there is ever food just lying around - like if Brady gets down from the table to use the restroom and leaves a few crackers on his plate, I will find her sitting in his chair...just munching them down. After breakfast if Tristan or Brayden haven't finished their oatmeal, I can always count on squirrel saying "can I have theirs too?" It's a mess...but a very lovable mess.

Today is so sunny, not a cloud in the sky. The kids have been exploring and creating "spooky forests" under the carport. We took a small break from our play to snap some shots of this bird nest with it's wee little eggs. My neighbor brought me it the other day after she had been cleaning out her shed. Now, I know Miss J meant no harm, but maybe being a mother makes me a little tender hearted for the poor mama bird that flew away in the morning to gather pieces of twigs, little strings and scraps to add to her cozy home she was preparing for her soon to arrive little baby birds.

As she was flying back, her beak full of goodness, she sees a tall awkward being walking out of the shed....the mama bird's eyes quickly glance toward the corner of her beloved home...to see...nothing. She is now completely disoriented wondering where it could be...what could have happened to her little eggs she worked so hard to lay.

My neighbor came over and said 'I hope you won't think I'm mean but I just couldn't have these birds over there making a mess." I constrained myself and then later gave the kids a long talking too about how when we handle a birds nest the mama bird can't come back and take care of her little babies. So...just thought I'd add that "sunny' little story for all to read. I know, I may be utterly ridiculous - I really don't care. It still hurts me a little to see those three eggs that will never hatch to become a sweet swallow or a bright yellow finch or maybe a sparrow chirping in my yard, and yes - eating our garden.

Back to the spooky forest. Brady and his imagination has been totally enthralled with forests. The other days we were walking through some woods and he actually asked me if there were witches in there! My heart seriously stopped for a minute. "No," I told him "there are not witches." "Well mom," he replied "are witches nice?" "No" I said back.... "witches aren't that nice Brady." He thought for a bit and then questioned further "why not...why aren't they nice?" Great....another conversation I wasn't prepared for. "Well baby, witches don't serve Jesus." He thought a bit more.... "yah mom, witches are of the devil." I left it at that.

Here they are...transplanting weeds in our carport to create "trees." I love that they have such great imaginations.

I decided that littles that were playing so hard and being SO good deserved a chocolate chip cookie day. Unfortunately for me...I always try to make healthy cookies (those two words really shouldn't go together...or even be near each other, really) and the poor things (cookies) turn into absolute flops. Well siree...not today!!! I found a recipe that was semi healthy...I modified it to make it even more healthy, and they turned out super great. Not "win the blue ribbon" good, but definitely "I think I'll just have one more..." good.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup of unrefined coconut oil melted

1/2 butter softened

1 egg

3/4 cup of organic sugar

1/2 cup of honey

1 tsp of vanilla

Blend these together then add...

2 cups of whole wheat flour

1/2 cup of rolled oats

3 tbsp of ground flax (just for kicks)

1/2 tsp of cinnamon (also just for kicks)

1 tsp of baking soda

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 cup of carob chips (or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips)

1/2 cup of walnuts

Drop in Tablespoons on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool for 1 minute before transferring to cooling racks. Happy eating!