What We Did The Week Before Thanksgiving

OK, this is a general "catch up" post - so nothing earth shattering here!

I spent a lot of time last week trying to figure out ways to get my picky eater on a healthier track [and all of us really]. I cook very healthfully - we eat almost all whole grains, tons of fruits and veggies [mostly raw], organic milk, mostly organic everything, etc. But I still have one eater who is very, very picky to the point that she's becoming unhealthy. So, I did tons of reading and talking with the kids and other moms [online and off LOL!] and came up with some plans to hopefully get us all doing just a little better on the diet front and a lot better on the exercise front.

We've talked about portion control and my kids have agreed to try one new veggie each week - which I think is a great start!

Here was one trick I used last week that worked pretty well:



I made kabobs out of their favorite veggies/fruits and added a new veggie [red bell pepper] in there too, and also encouraged my picky eater to try the cucumber too [which all the other kids and I love]. It was a success actually - everyone ate and enjoyed the cucumber and everyone tried the bell pepper [nobody but me liked it - it is one of my favorite foods - but I was proud of them all for trying it!]. Oh, and nobody liked the ranch dipping sauce I gave them, they all preferred their veggies naked, which is even better!

We also got our picky eater to eat grilled chicken [smothered in ketchup, but I can live with that] so that was a big success too!

Over all it was a nutritionally successful week. I am reading the book "Sugar Busters for Kids" and loosely following it. [In other words, I'm following the general principles but not measuring each child's food and stuff like that....]

Here is Monkey2 ["The Boy"] enjoying his kabobs:



In addition to the food changes, I'm working to get us more active. We are walking in the afternoons and also doing "work out videos" together in the mornings some days each week. Right now I am eagerly awaiting my DVD copy of "Richard Simmons' Disco Sweat" LOL! [No, I'm not kidding - lame though it may be, he's good at getting people motivated and it is kind of hard to find work out DVDs that work for EVERYONE in our group - from the 2yo to the tired old mama!].

If my husband moves home in a few months, I want to start taking the whole family to the track again so we can start running. I LOVE to run, but can't manage to run with 5 kids in tow LOL!

Also, [and Shhhh....do not tell the children yet, I can't stand the screams of dismay :) ], I am pretty sure I'm getting rid of cable at the end of this month. I want to do it both to save money and to stop the kids from watching TV. I am sure this is going to go over like a plate full of fried liver. :)

In other news, we received some great blessings last week in the way of clothing gifts too!

First, my coworker cleaned out her closets and gave me a bag of clothes for my 4yo and 2yo - which was really needed! [They wear the same size and didn't have quite enough to go around].



This is them modeling their favorite outfits from the bag. My 2yo fell MADLY in love with the little cheetah costume [in fact, she wears it every time it is clean - you will see it featured in at least one more picture from another event in this blog LOL!]. So, I am now constantly accompanied by a cute little cheetah every where I go. The costume even has a little tail, which she will "shake" for you if you ask - it is so unbelievably cute it could almost make you sick LOL! My 4yo fell in love with the sweater/hat combo - also a very attractive set. She looks great in it. And while she does go more than 2 days between wearing this sweater, she does pretty much wear it every 4th day or so.

Then, my wonderful long time email friend from New Zealand sent them all a big box full of clothes -she sent some of the cutest stuff too! Now my 4yo and 2yo in particular finally have enough clothes to wear!

Below you can see Monkey2 and Monkey1 modeling their favorite outfits from the box:



She also sent slippers for all the kids, and those were an AMAZING hit as well - I can't get them to wear any other shoes hardly LOL! If you notice in the pic of the 2yo above wearing the cheetah costume, she has on some bright pink slippers too - those are her New Zealand slippers and she flat refuses to wear anything else on her feet now. I think it is so cute, and I love her little sense of herself. She can wear cheetah costumes and hot pink slippers all she wants as far as I'm concerned - you GO girl!

Next we have a couple of "eating watermelon" shots.... just because. LOL! [it was a really good melon!]





In this pic below, you can see that the baby's eye is finally starting to get a little better. This pic is a few days old, now finally you can hardly tell it was ever black. Thank goodness. I've never seen such a black eye on a child! [The baby adores her big sister too - aren't they sweet together?!]



And last but not least, we had our Homeschool Group's annual Thanksgiving Potluck this past weekend - this is one of my favorite events of the year. So many *awesome* kids and families - it was a blast.

This pic shows The Boy decorating cookies at the potluck with two of his best friends [the Aquinas Academy boys]. Aren't they all so handsome?!



This pic shows Monkey1 with two of her favorite friends. They had a great time hanging out together! And aren't they all just beautiful?!



Here is my little Cheetah playing while everyone around her ate. :)



Here is my husband and my dear friend Jen holding Monkey5. Monkey5 has FINALLY decided she adores Jen and will let Jen hold her as much as she wants. Finally. [That makes 4 human beings who are allowed to hold her - me, her dad, her grandfather, and Jen! LOL!]



And last, but certainly not least, we have our sweet Monkey3 showing off her artistic creation. :) [You can REALLY entertain a group of kids with a bunch of cookies they get to decorate themselves!]. She must have spent more than 1/2 hour working on this cookie!



Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!!!!