My Homie Naomi

I am sure you are wondering why Naomi sleeps with me. Well
I we are co-sleepers and love it (when her and I sleep good!!) I am not going to roll on her and squish her! More than anything though she is safer in my arms and in my bed than in her own, at the mercy of Noah. And I trust that darling wonderful brother to her, he is such a love and is SOOO good to her, but he is 3. Point said.

At her 10 month,
she is in the 95%
for height and the
85% for weight!
You go girl!!




She is pulling herself up on things, has 3 teeth
on top and two on the bottom. She is not as
interested in being fed anymore...gaining
more independence all the time. Must be
one of my favorite ages, loving her up!!

Four Nights in a Row

wow. I was going to post yesterday, and that never happened...yes, like all the other yesterdays. Except Reany, it is today or "not" today. Wonder if I would love that freedom or hate the confusion. Hmm. That is a good question. ANY HOW...

Four nights in a row I have brought Naomi to bed and then crashed myself. All the while, especially on the 3rd and 4th nights knowing that I really shouldn't retire so early, as all the nights were before 830pm. So I don't full fledged say goodnight to Luke and then just ZoNk out.

I was consumed by a sense of giddyness now though, as I awake to a dark quiet home at 6am. Wow! 642 and still counting! I have brewed some coffee_yum!_ , ran a load of laundry, sorted a wee bit of laundry, catching up with online friends, reviewed my Sunday school packet, opened up to Matt18, and ready for the sunrise... and I can see a faint pale blue glow coming upon us:)

Good Morning!

Change of Plans

Here is my bride, luckily Luke will not be walking her down the aisle anytime soon. She had a costume party the day before halloween, so she got all perty for the party. We got Aubrey and Lexi late because dance season started for Aubrey and she has Saturday morning practice. By the time we got them it was so much running around we didn't do the event in Annandale, so we did break out some costumes on halloween...

Posting error, this is Naomi recovering from the fears that Grandpa David created for her. Reany is Ariel, Noah a puppy, and our neighbors Elise a monkey and Ian a soldier.

Since Friday at school was wacky hair day and I didn't want to spray red hair again, Reany improvised with a boa for her hair. We toured the neighborhood together, my lovely neighbor and her cuties. Ian is a month older than Noah, Elise 4 months older than Naomi (who was a fairy, she has wings on the back.)

Here the proud brothers are showcasing their sisters.

Cutest boys in town!!
Noah was such a sport,
didn't even mind that I didn't replace the
pink sheer
bows
on the costume to make
his costume
more
masculine.

He was pretty obsessed with Ian's gun though.

Who Stole the Camera?

Bananas

I buy nine pounds of bananas when I shop.
They usually get eaten, and we run out if I only
buy 6 pounds.

I am a banana freezer though.
Any left over bananas get stashed in the freezer until
I have the ambition to make some
banana bread.

Last time I made banana bread, it had been a while.
I had 17 bananas in there.
I had to make banana bread because we were tired of having
black bananas fall out on our feet from the freezer.

In two bowls I made a triple and then a double batch.
There is still a frozen loaf in my freezer.

A little random trick for bananas... if you want to keep your bananas from browning on a fruit platter or dessert:
Boil water and with tongs place the skinned banana in the boiling water for 25 seconds and when you peel the banana it will not brown for about 20 hours. Proven, old pampered chef secret.

Gluten Free Trial Run Provides Evidence to Continue

How long should you be gluten free to know if it is helpful?

Two weeks was Libby's test. Only because Saturday she was absent mindfully given a cookie and then we decided to for go normal eating the rest of the weekend. Guess what? She again showed her moody monstrous side...and it wasn't in honor of halloween.

I decided to try the gluten free on her since I had heard that even if you don't have celiac disease some people have mental health, and or adverse affects from gluten. Gluten is a component to wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten free diets have been successful for ADHD and ASD persons.

Makes everyday U.S. diets hard to consume though, and there was some sacrifices, all that Libby was fine with. She didn't get any birthday cake or special treats a couple times in just those 2 weeks. She recognized the need to try this out though too, as even she does not like the way she feels when she is so easily distraught and tantruming. She was a good sport and at one point I think she was enjoying the special considerations. But the core fact was that her diet was changed drastically.

So for two weeks, we did not see the meltdowns. At her weakest moment she sat on the floor and cried- not about food, just some normal 7 year old concern. With gluten in her system, I am sure it would have escalated to an all out furry with not only her blood pressure maxing out.

Back on, today in her lunch she didn't get bread, but her turkey and cheese deli style...which she isn't crazy about ( I think the meat is too wet, so I wrapped it in a paper towel?) It will take some getting used to; however, I am sure that Libby feels better and has a better grip on her emotions when the gluten is not in her little body. So, for whatever reason it may be, we will minimize and or eliminate gluten from her. I am curious what everyone would be like on the gluten free. Not ready to make that commitment though, hard enough for just one. Maybe it would be easier if it was a household thing.

Halloween...the pagan holiday?

One of my favorite memories of a kid is going out trick or treating. I remember going to the school party and my dad dressing up as a punk with pink hair. That was so awesome! My favorite picture was when I was a gypsy- I had an awesome skirt and got a mascara beauty mark. We were churched, but my parents were not very skeptical of the halloween ordeal, and it was just a fun night that we enjoyed for many moons. Would it be fair to deprive my children of the fun?

Granted, it would be easier to just not do the holiday...anyone with a bunch of kids can relate in that it winds up being a lot of work!! Our first halloween with the kids I went all out. I sewed mickey shorts for David, he had a great outfit- getting the coat hanger through my little skinny black tail was tricky and it didn't even stay up!!

I bought a cheap sweat suit and dyed it yellow, then taped odd rectangulars and brush painted brown for Adam's giraffe costume. I sewed a yellow towel for a hat with yellow and browns fleece strips on it for the mane. He won the costume party off that one. And another year with his last minute pirate costume too.

This year? Not really feeling it... haven't really taken out our stuff. The boys have met the cut-off, so that is a relief to not have any expectations on their part. The girls have a few years of overpriced dance costumes that can be used for fairy or princess costumes, I am leaning twards that.

Noah doesn't remember, and I am sure he will be thrilled to find a couple choices in our costume bin. There is an excellent puppy costume that Grandma Cindy bought for us a few years ago. Libby loved that thing so much I remember her riding bike one summer in it- quite the scene as it is a really cozy coverall.

I do not think we will do the trick-or-treating this year, as there is a park event in Annandale, $10 a car (what a bargain in our 12 passenger!) They have some spooky events and I am sure that will be just fine for the kids. We do not dress up more than once...that is just too much work!

So, our rules are nothing gory or evil. There is such a magical fun with imagination that I do want my kids to celebrate with getting a special night to deck out in some fun attire and have fun being a kid. Does that take away from our faith? No, and we just pray that everyone have a safe halloween and enjoy the fun in dressing up or seeing others dressed up. And I am the punk now, but I might be the farmer for my dog, B-I-N-G-O...hmm where are some bibs?

Have a safe and happy weekend friends!