Well, new *us*. We've got some pretty big things in the works for this year, which equals
Less Time to Blog. Not that I was all that great last year at updating our blog :)
This month we've started a
new diet. Pretty much we've cut out grains, dairy, and sugar. Mike has already lost 6 lbs and feels terrific! We've known he's lactose-intolerant for awhile now and it seems he is also gluten-intolerant. Lily is enjoying it and James thinks it's terrific, while I... well, I'll be honest, I'm less than thrilled with it. I'm addicted to carbs, in a not-just-joking sort of way. I went 3 days on the diet and had horrible withdrawal symptoms. So I'm currently eating
Paleo plus the grains we already have in our pantry. BUT I'm not buying anymore grains to replace what I'm using, so that's a step, right? I've started keeping track of the recipes we love on
my other blog.
 |
| Triple chicken nugget sammie |
Lily has shown me over the last month how much she loves to learn. She sings around the house (Real songs! With REAL words!) and sits down to read James a book at every opportunity. I've decided to follow her lead and start "home schooling" her right away. Yea, yea, roll your eyes and call me crazy (I've been called worse) while I research Montessori teaching methods and start simplifying our lives so we can learn more. I've found a ton of websites and books that have helped me figure out a plan, and I'm happy to share them with anyone who's interested. I'm going to be purging our home of useless toys, cable TV, and any other time wasters (this blog may get the short end of the stick).
 |
| Learning about leaves |
 |
| This is a potato, and that is a potato |
I hinted that James is eating solids. He is the opposite of Lily. Lily was never interested in food, and as I look back I can see I should have just nursed her and not worried about pushing solids. But James, oh James, he is a different story. We fed him one jar of baby food, he gobbled it up and asked for more. He's eating mashes of whatever I'm making for dinner. I'm still feeding him single foods to rule out allergies, and I can tell he's just going to keep eating and growing.
 |
| Mashed potatoes |
 |
| Full of wonder |
We have also decided to buy a house. We haven't found the house yet, but we have narrowed our search down to an area (the Westlake Ward boundaries), a lot size (big enough for a garden, chickens, and two labradoodles), and maximum price-per-square-foot ($75). I'm hoping we can find a foreclosure with a good layout so we can do whatever cosmetics (paint, flooring, cabinets, counters) we want. We probably won't decide on anything until our taxes are done, but that doesn't keep me from looking at listings every single day!
 |
| Lounging in the yard |
 |
| Trees are our friends ;) |
You're a brave woman for trying that diet! Maybe I'll think about that after baby.
ReplyDeleteYou should talk to my mom about homeschooling. Not that you have to do anything she says, but its nice to hear from people who have done it well. And I think my mom did a great job! I mean, look at me, right?! :)
Such cute pictures. And while you may be simplifying things, but we still need to hang out!
ReplyDeleteOr you should move to Dorango, so you can be closer to us! No carbs? I don't know how I would live! I eat carbs so much, but Hal needs to gain weight, so I'm glad I don't have to worry about that. Oh, so forever ago I went to this natural allergist and he did his magic tests on me and found out I was allergic to a lot of things. One of them was wheat - gluten, and sugar. Since he worked his natural magic on me I have felt so much better! My stomach aches have decreased like crazy. Here is the website for the type of allergy healing he does:http://www.allergytx.com/ There were quite a few for Texas. I did it in Colorado when I visited my sister since there is only one in Utah, but you should look into it for Mike maybe, it helped me lots.
ReplyDeleteCut out grains, dairy, and sugar???? Those are pretty much my entire food pyramid. :) That is so neat you are homeschooling. It has to be so much work - but if anyone could do it - it's you Jessi!
ReplyDeleteSo exciting! And congratulations on looking for a house. That's so fun! :-)
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to the homeschooling principles we use: http://www.tjed.org/
You can totally do it! :-)
totally not crazy about the homeschooling, especially at her age. My mom did a program called Joy school. I honestly don't know much about it but its basically that you take turns with other moms throughout the week doing activities and learning at home, but kinda nice that its with other kids. Yay for no cable!! we try to only watch movies and such after bedtime. its so much easier to facilitate learning that way!! what a woman you are!!
ReplyDelete