Babies, Breakfast Bars, and Blessings

Note to self : when previously saying in a post "...there will also be hard days where I will WISH that I was home with screaming babies and not going through whatever crisis that life will throw at us in the future (it's inevitable...hard days WILL come.Not trying to be pessimistic...just realistic) "
....expect a crisis to be JUST around the corner. I wrote those words at about 9 pm that night and at 1 am I woke up to the most horrible stomach flu ever. To make a long story short, I kept absolutely no fluids down for over 24 hours....I couldn't even have a sip of water without throwing it up....I was pretty much miserable. However, in the midst of crawling to the bathroom, the shakes that took over my whole body...the low grade fever...in the back of my head I just kept thinking "I wrote that I needed to be content with where I am, I need to not take this out on anyone or anything but just go with the flow." And so...the flow took me threw a whole day of sleep (day after the before mentioned* purging*), a nice natural body detox, my husband cleaning my entire house, and me with a tired body but coming out with a pretty joyful spirit. Success!!!
This last week has been a *soup week* - tortilla soup to be exact. Divinity if you like Mexican food. Recipe to come in my next post...

The kids have had several lazy days full of hot tea and fruit, books and just a little fresh air..the movie Fox and the Hound (that movie is SOOO cute and I always get a good cry while watching it-I'm thrilled I splurged.) So far just the boys have gotten the dreaded flu...Trinity so far has come out of this ordeal unscathed.

Poor little Brady has been quite...serene. Yes, serene is how I would describe him - when he is sick he is just totally quiet and calm. He has a lot of questions, but generally a very good "sick child" to have, if you will.

Today Zac went to work for the WHOLE weekend (WAHHHHHH I want my love back!!!) but despite his absence I still was productive and enjoyed myself even though a bit lonely. The weather was glorious so I let the kids go out and play (notice Trinity STILL in her pjs on at 4 pm.) I love the crispness in the air mixed with warm sunshine and NO wind. The BEST weather ever - storybook weather. Tomorrow will be raining but I choose not to focus on that gloomy fact just now...

Brady was able to sit in the doorway to soak in some good ol' vitamin D too. My kids are obsessed with vitamins right now...always wanting to know which foods contain which vitamins. I need to brush up on my general nutrition knowledge. In highschool I kept a journal where I categorized foods with all of their vitamins listed beside the food...and then beside the vitamin I would list what it did for the human body. Fascinating ,I know,....just another little fun tidbit about my obsessive nature.

And if this picture isn't the epitome of preciousness I don't know what is. Koala bear is SUCH a joy to our hearts. He is looking so much like his daddy and has the sweetest little spirit. This week I start on turning our laundry room into laundry room/nursery for him and to keep the new baby's things in. He already sleeps in the laundry room in his pack and play but I have plans to divide the small room with a curtain and then decorate it and "cuteify" it if at all possible. Hopefully I score some great thrift store finds because the family budget is tight right now (non existent really.)

Another good thing about my sickness happening is that it gave me time to watch the documentary Foodworks which I found highly interesting. It once again gave me the little boost I needed to get our pantry and fridge back to it's old wholesome state....and hopefully the occupants of the Corley household will follow suit in good health and vitality. :) I would really love to feed us as organically and as minimally processed as possible...and I have finally learned HOW I can do that on our budget.

1. Make a weekly menu with at least three meals that contain rice, quinoa, or beans (cheap cheap cheap...even when you buy the slightly more expensive organic.)

2. When going to the grocery story, know how you want to eat and don't continue to think "well, if I WEREN'T buying organic or the healthier version I would have spent so much less." Decide HOW you want to eat and then make sure you do that as cheaply as you possible.

3. Make soups.

4. Try to spend a little more time in the kitchen. Prepackaged is always slightly more expensive and usually worse for you.

I found these oatmeal fruit bars on Sara Snow's blog and they were SOOOO good. Here is how I made them (I changed some of the ingredients to more commonly used pantry items.)

Alyssa's Breakfast Bars

1) 2 cups whole wheat flour ,1/2 cup of butter, softened

2) 1/3 cup ground flax ,1/2 cup organic cane sugar

3) 1 tsp baking soda ,2 eggs

4) 1 tsp salt ,1/2 cup honey

5) 1 tsp cinnamon ,1/4 cup coconut milk

6) 1/2 tsp nutmeg ,1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup of chopped walnuts

1/2 cup craisins

3 cups rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X13 baking pan. Combine the first 6 ingredients, set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs, honey, milk, and vanilla. Mix until creamy and then add the dry ingredients. Mix. Add the nuts, craisins, and oats. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread. Bake for 15 -20 minutes or until golden brown.

*These bars come out chewy and hearty...a very healthy breakfast on the go or you could wrap them individually to have as "granola bars." Yumm -O.

I also got in a bit of sewing today for the first time in a LONG time.

I present to you my little "Fly" pillow. I think I'm going to save it for the nursery. I also hemmed up Trinity's curtains after having let them sweep the floor for about...hmmmm....6 months? Tsk tsk. And I can't wait to make Tristan a little pair of these pants...too cute and supposedly easy. And now my faithful readers, I'm signing off to go watch Little Women and drink a cup of tea...perhaps have a little granola. One thing about eating "clean" is that I get full quickly with all the grains and fresh veggies and nuts, but then I also am eating fewer calories so I eat more often. I feel really good though...the best I've felt in a couple of months.

One last thing to share...the belly officially *popped* this last week! Maybe I can get a belly shot for you soon... I think we get to find out if Sweet Pea is a boy or girl in about 3 weeks....hurrah!