Winter 2011 Update

Well, I thought it was about time to post my semi-annual blog update ;).
I am adjusting to life with 3 kids, 3 and under. Savannah is 6 months, and our little angel. She loves to bounce, and hates tummy time. Which is probably why she isnt even close to crawling yet.
Our 3 1/2 year old Natalie is growing into a little girl, saying the funniest things. She's a little sponge, and sometimes its scary how closely she is watching, and how much she remembers/imitates. She wants to wear the same purple clothes every day/night, and reminds us frequently that she is a "pretty princess". We just discovered that she has 2 cavities -eeek! She is fighting her naps more and more -- she'll go down great, but then 10 minutes later I hear footsteps upstairs in her room, and can hear her talking or singing to herself...this is not good, it's really cutting into my naptime and I take naps very seriously around here! ;)
At 2 1/2, Emma is finally starting to say words that are understandable most of the time (well, sort of.) She loves to copy her older sister, and loves the things that Natalie loves...which means fighting over every purple cup, toy, or sticker in sight. She loves to snuggle. She is still in her crib, which I will keep her in until she can climb out on her own. She takes a 3-4 hour nap every day, and really needs/likes her sleep. We're working on potty training, but I'm not going to really push it for a few more months.
GW is doing great at work. I'm so grateful that winter is finally here and he can work less and be home more. A 40-hour work week is heavenly. I am dreading February when things start up again getting ready for corn planting. So far we have taken a 3 day trip to Seattle, where we walked our feet off and had a great time without kids. Our little family also spent 5 days at my parents cabin in Montana, where we laid around and watched movies, ate, and played in the snow. Heaven.
Our family has really been getting into Green Smoothies (fruit smoothies blended with greens (spinach, kale, collards, etc). I feel ecstatic about getting so many servings of RAW fruits and VEGETABLES in a glass with breakfast, especially for my girls....some days their fruits and veggie intake is like: um...half an apple....2 carrot sticks......a few peas with dinner...does jam count? ha ha! so, knowing that they are getting like 4 servings of fruits and veggies in their little cup at breakfast is GREAT! and its delicious! I have become quite obsessed with the idea, and GW has even gotten on board (to my great surprise!) and often requests a smoothie after dinner (which is usually the only meal he eats at home - he packs the other two meals). We are going to do a Green Smoothie Challenge after the holidays, which is basically where we eat at least 8 cups of green smoothie every day, along with whole grains, nuts, fruits and veggies, and we do not eat any meat or dairy or SUGAR, which will be the hardest. It's going to be interesting! And I am overjoyed (and extremely surprised) that GW wants to do it with me! Anyways, a basic recipe for a green smoothie is 60% fruit to 40% greens. blend 2 -3 cups spinach with 2 cups water. add a couple cups of fruit, frozen is really great. blackberries and blueberries turn the smoothie purple. add 1 or 2 bananas. adjust water for thickness, and fruit for sweetness, add stevia for sweetness also. vanilla extract, and also almond and coconut are great. anyways, just play around with it, making a smoothie as you usually would, using the spinach/water as your liquid -- you cant even taste the spinach! It's been about 6 weeks since I started having a smoothie every day, and I can definitely tell a difference in my skin - usually by this time of year my hands are cracked and bleeding, but not this year- my hands are great! Also, last week all 3 kids were sick with the croup cough/snotty nose, and I didnt get it - I definitely think it was all the extra nutrition I get from the green smoothies! anyways, check out the book "green smoothie diet" by robyn openshaw (its at the library). its really inspiring. she also has a website.