New Picture

Life has been too busy to blog much. So for now, for my family, here is a recent pic. The kids love riding on their wiggle cars. Often they will all ride on the same one (always with Justus driving). It is hard to get a good picture of all of them at once. I so wish Justus and Rori had had clothes on. It's just too hot here to bother though.

Translation Please

A big part of my day is trying to decipher my 2 year old's speech. I swear she is working with about half of the alphabet, at best. She gets so frustrated in repeating everything she says, that she says it louder and louder until she is screaming it. I think she thinks I am deaf. Sometimes I repeat back to her what I have heard and she will say "YA!" (Ya, you dummy, that's what I said!) We often have to get Sage to be our interpreter. So let's play a little game. How many of these can you figure out?





1. Huck Me!


2. ho -e hane handus


3. me hus me heef


4. me poopeen now!


5. haucat heok


6. no hypa, me hig now


7. husus honan eeteen hurdpoop


8. hinasore



9. heepitoo?


10. hiya heepeen hit me.


11. heer mommy, hoogy



Okay, can you figure any of these out? I would love to see your comments with some guesses. I'll post the translations in a day or two.

It's Mother's Day today and as my gift Ron took the girls out of the house so I could have some quiet time (Justus is napping). This is the absolute best gift I could receive. There is NO gift that could be better than some time to myself. Before I had kids I hated being alone and had to fill in those times with phone conversations or TV or something like that but now since having kids I just can't get enough time alone. (Honestly it is a rare thing.) I used to look at those people who went to movies or restaurants alone and think they were pathetic loners who couldn't even come up with one friend or family member to go with them. I now know that those people are parents and they are loving that time alone. So Happy Mother's Day to all you tireless moms. Here's wishing you some peace and quiet all by yourself!

New Pics

I have been so uninspired in the kitchen lately. I don't know what is the matter with me. Anyone have any ideas? Please send any suggestions my way. Until then, pictures for my family. It occured to me the other day that we have been really bad about taking pictures of the kids. When Sage was a baby we took so many pictures. There were fewer of Rori at the same age and now with Justus... Yikes. Poor guy. We've got nothing, almost nothing. Here's what we do have for recent kids pics.

More of Justus eating. He really does do more than eat although pictures would seem to prove otherwise. In case you noticed the hideously dirty windows in the background, we can thank the girls for that. They were "helping" me wash windows. And now I have a real job of it...

Here is Justus on the swing at the park, 9 months old.

Rori, dirty face and all, in the dryer. This time I was lucky enough to find her in her diaper. The last time I found her in the drier she had taken her diaper off and then had trouble getting out of the drier when she needed to pee. So, she peed in the drier. Lovely.

This last one I took today. I don't know if it is my computer but it kinda looks like Justus may have some liver failure going on as he looks jaundiced next to Sage who is so pale. He's fine. He is just tanned. We have been spending a lot of time outside lately. But now that it is rattlesnake season that is likely to change.

Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Parent

The juice from blueberries can be used as a wood or clothing dye. Make sure you get it right the first time because there is no correcting of mistakes. Rori has used this dying technique for several items with terrific (and permanent) results. For example, her baby doll. It is now a beauitful shade of purpley blue, head to toe. Despite me trying to correct the dye job in the washing machine, her baby is still purple. When blueberries are used to dye fingers, nails and lips it is also very effective although slightly less permanent with effects lasting only a week or two. If smeared onto unfinished wood it produces a gorgeous swirling blue/purple that absolutely will not fade no matter what you do to it.

I should find a way to market this dye.

Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Parent

Lesson Number 2:

No matter how much you prepare your kids and teach them what is appropriate chit chat in a public bathroom, they will, none the less, embarrass you.

I was in a public bathroom with Sage (4) recently. We took turns as usual. The bathroom was very busy but still quiet. So I of course was a little anxious and she must have known it. She had been pretty quiet herself. I figure she must have been trying to think of what to say to embarrass me. As I am trying to be quick finishing up she looks at me, with a funny look on her face and loudly says, "Mommy, you have hair on your ______." Now, this isn't news to her. While we are not a naked house, she has seen all of me on a fairly regular basis. She is looking at me now expecting a response. I think I hear the woman in the next stall trying to stifle a laugh. What am I supposed to say to that? I know everyone in there is also waiting for my response. I chose to ignore the comment and change the subject. "So what do you want for dinner," I respond in a whisper. Yeesh!

Ditching TV Among Other Things

In the last week of December Ron and I made a decision to discontinue our satellite service. This is something that I have been wanting to do for some time and I had suggested it more than once. But like most North Amercians, we are a teeny bit addicted to TV so Ron nixed the idea. I let it go. Then in the beginning of December it became his idea. Then of course it turned into a great idea. I was fully supportive of "his" idea but really didn't think he would do it. First he started with the TVs. We had an embarrassing 6 flat screen TVs. One in nearly every room and even in the kids rooms (which we had always said we wouldn't do). He started selling them off on Craigslist. I love Craigslist. Soon enough we had just one left. The he cancelled the satellite service. I was stunned and more than a little impressed. First he kicks gluten without even a flinch, then dairy, then aspartame, then TV and now he is working on soda in general. Since he has no other "real" vices he is on a fast track to becoming perfect. So you might be asking yourself, why would we do this? No, we're not starving or having trouble paying the bills. This is really all just a part of a bigger picture. There is a lot to gain by ditching TV. First, the most obvious, is the cash you dish out every month for 7000 stations (and none of them are worth your time). Then there are the countless hours you can reclaim that can go to important things, like your family. We find we are spending more time as a family. We are playing games together, reading, making things, building things, going for walks, cooking, hanging out outside etc. Ron and I are talking more. Ron has started reading again. Him and I are both getting more sleep. Both of us had the habit of turning on the TV when we are tired to "just watch a couple of minutes." Hours later we are still staring blankly at the TV. Then we wake up tired the next day and our patience is short with the kids and sometimes with each other. Then we'd miserable and lazy and only want to, guess what's coming... watch TV. The TV was on in the background all the time whether or not anyone was watching. Since it has been off there is a beautiful calm in the house. I am enjoying the lack of the constant din. The girls are more often playing with each other. They are pretending, creating, learning and running. None of those things are done in front of the TV. We are spending more time outside and our attention is more fully on the present moment. How many times have I wished that the kids would just be quiet for a bit so I could hear or see something on the TV... TV is an escape, a drug, a diversion. I don't want to be diverted from my life. I want to live it. At the end of our lives, will we look back and think "wow, I remeber that one TV show...."? We want our kids to have great memories of the time we spent together. Memories aren't made waching TV. Life is so short and I want to be present for all of it. I don't want to waste my precious time being told how I should look or what I should want (also why I don't buy magazines anymore). I really don't care what the Hollywood stars are doing, saying or wearing. I love the fact that my kids have no idea what a BRATZ doll is or who Hannah Montana is or what High School Musical is. I love that they adored the castle that Ron made for them at Christmas and that it wasn't MADE IN CHINA or made from plastic. As I get older I find myself deploring the consumerism that defines American life. Everything is disposable, everything is about appearances and having the right car, handbag, hairstyle, jewelry, cell phone, clothing, body shape and bra size. I think that we have all lost sight of what really matters. Have have have get get get buy buy buy does not make us happier. Maybe it feels good for a minute but why? Because we have one upped the Jones', or because we are one step closer to looking just so? In the last few months we have tried to reverse our years of that mindset of having and getting. We are constantly selling stuff we don't use or need. Our entire focus is probably the exact opposite of most people here in Scottsdale. And you know what? It feels good. Really really good. We aren't just selling stuff but we are giving stuff away too. I have discovered freecycle. This is an online group (probably one near you) that is all about the giving and receiving of free stuff in an effort to keep things out of the landfills a while longer. Right before Christmas we went through the kids toys and gave away everything that they didn't use regularly. The whole lot of it went to a foster mom of 3 girls for their Christmas gifts. Even Sage felt good about that. So, to those of our friends and family who know about us ditching our TVs and selling all of our stuff: No, we are not starving or even having financial difficulties we are just trying to make the most of our lives.

Okay, I will step down from my soap box now.

For My Mom

Sometimes I am amazed at just how busy I am. My mom left more than a week ago and this is the first time that I have had to sit down and write. She arrived here on the 23rd for Christmas and left a week later. This was an unusually short stay for her. Unfortunately for all of us she has a life back in Alberta and she can't just come and stay for as long as we would like her to.

We had a great Christmas this year. It is so fun to have kids this age. They get so excited about Santa. And for me it was extra special because my mom was here. My mom is the queen of Christmas. She loves it and everything that goes with it. She always has an amazing tree which she puts up in November and doesn't take down until mid January. She wraps her gifts with perfection and a bow. All the gifts that she gives are chosen with such unbelievable thoughtfulness. I'm sure she must think about the perfect gift for each loved one all year long to ensure she nails it. Every year she used to do a ton of baking. Her shortbread cookies can not be compared with any other. And there were the millionaire squares, haystacks, uncooked cookies, naniamo bars to name a few. She was always so sure to make the number of gifts given to my sister and I were the same and the amount of money spent was the same. She always wrapped every gift in our stockings and made sure that it was unique Santa wrapping paper we had never seen before. The stockings were always our favorite and she (I mean Santa) packed them tightly and they often overflowed onto the floor. Just the act of setting up the Christmas tree was a special night. We would have a fire in the fireplace, eggnog and a big array of her baking. We would get to stay up late to set up the tree. My mom single handedly made Christmas the best day of the year. No matter how hard I try, I will never be able to do such an amazing job. Once again my mom made my Christmas for me. I can not even put into words how much her being here made this the best Christmas I have had in a long time. She has always been an amazing mom and now she is an amazing grandmother too. She has the patience to play with the girls for hours which is something I have trouble doing. One of my favorite pictures of her is of her sitting in our laundry basket playing with the kids. Always the mother, she is forever trying to take care of me by watching the kids or taking them out for a walk so I can nap in a quiet house or cleaning my house while she is supposed to be here visiting and relaxing. For all of my mom's life she has focused on taking care of everyone around her and often at the expense of her own happiness. I know of no one else who is so completely unselfish and giving. She has a heart bigger than she is. Things between her and I have not always been so rosy. But I grew up and finally was able to see things as they are. She is my best friend. When something great happens I want to call her first. When something funny or horrible happens it is my mom I call. I can always count on her to lend an ear or a shoulder when I need it. If there were only one thing I could give my mom, it would be to give her the happiness that she has given to everyone around her for so many years.

Thank you mom for being you and helping to give us all a wonderful Christmas. Can we book your flight for next year??

I love you mom!

Here are some pics taken over the holidays.

Here she is, my beautiful mom.

Justus' first Christmas.

Here is Rori in front of the gift her daddy made her. Ron made the girls a castle. The girls asked for knights, horses and other creatures that I can't remember the names of right now. We are so happy about the girls asking for this kind of stuff rather than Dora stuff or Hannah Montanna stuff or princess stuff. I won't get started on that right now... This view of the castle doesn't show how amazing this thing is. Oh and Ron really was there for Christmas. That's him in the background with no head. Other than that he seems to have escaped the camera, again.

Grandma and the girls.

Me and the girls. Sage had clearly had enough of the picture taking and Rori was only laughing because I was squeezing her knee.

Grandma feeding her only grandson.

For My Dad

My Dad just left this morning after visiting for 4 days. He drove here all the way from BC. He loves to drive and dislikes flying - hard for me to understand that. Anyway, we had a great visit. I think the last time we had a visit that long and unrushed was before we had kids. I was a different person back then. Actually, Ron and I are nearly unrecognisable from ourselves of back then. I think that if him and I were to meet that couple now we wouldn't like them. We'd probably hate them. We stood for everything that we disagree with now. So when he visited the last time we didn't have much to talk about. Actually he ended up leaving a day early. Since that visit all of our visits have been pretty quick. Short and sweet we'd say. So now jump forward about 6 years and things are different. I found that I really loved having him here. We have a lot in common now. I enjoyed just hanging out with him. We didn't really do anything and stayed close to home. I loved to see him with my kids. It is a very sweet side of him that I can't remember seeing before. I know he was always like this but I just don't remember seeing it. It warmed my heart to see him cuddling Justus and feeding him. He read to the girls at night and tucked them in at night. That made my heart swell. My dad loves music and brought along his mandolin. (He plays in a bluegrass band that I have yet to hear play, much to my disappointment.) Sage and Rori love music too. Sage would sing, making songs up as she went along and my dad would accompany her on the mandolin. It sounded great to this mommy's ears. Rori would dance to the music they were making and Justus watched intently and excitedly kicked his legs. I can't think of a better Christmas gift. I also enjoyed cooking for him. His favorite of the week was a Latin themed dinner. I have posted the recipes so that his sweet wife Cari might make it for him. The black beans and rice dish would be good all by themselves but we always add the Picadillo. I first had Picadillo in a Cuban restaurant here when I was in labor with Justus. It was very good but kinda pricey. Then I found a recipe for it on allrecipes.com and I have been making it frequently ever since (and for a whole lot less money). The original recipe was posted by a DarcyStarz7 and I have made a few changes that work for us. Now I like this version much much more than what I had in the restaurant.

Cuban Black Beans

2 cups dried black beans, washed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
6-10 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 T dried oregano
1 T cumin
2 cups chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes with green chili's
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
salt to taste
1 TBSP white sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper

Soak beans overnight. Drain water and replace with fresh water. Boil beans in water only for approx 1.5 hours until they are tender. (Adding anything acidic i.e salt, tomatoes, onions etc during the initial cooking process makes the skin of the bean more tough so it takes much longer to cook.) In a large pot add olive oil. When hot add onion, garlic and green pepper. Cook until tender. Add cumin, oregano, tomatoes and chili's and cook until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and cook covered over med low heat for another couple of hours. Keep enough stock in the beans so they don't dry out but not enough that you have a soup. Think thick stew consistency. When you are ready to eat you can remove the lid to reduce the liquid if necessary. Then add salt to taste, apple cider vinegar, sugar and pepper. Serve along side white rice.

Picadillo

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
3/4 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 cup chopped prunes
3/4 cup chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon capers, drained


Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef. Cook and stir until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onions and bell pepper. Cook until soft, then add the garlic. Season with cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, and cinnamon. Cook and stir for about one minute to release the fragrance. Pour the tomatoes and beef stock into the pan, along with the sugar. Stir the prunes, olives, capers. Simmer on med low for 20 - 30 minutes. Add vinegar before serving. Serve along side white rice and black beans.

Here are a couple pics and a video of my dad's visit. Thanks for everything Dad/GranDan. We love you!

Cooties and Houdini

It seems like forever since I have posted. We've been sick. All of us. Each more than once. It has been going on for nearly a month now. I am starting to wonder if it will ever end. When every one else gets sick I usually don't but this time I got it too and bad. I even went to the doctor and agreed to antibiotics which I haven't had since before Sage was born. I am a firm believer that a huge part of your immune system comes from your GI tract and if you take antibiotics and kill all those good bacteria then you are leaving yourself more vulnerable to getting the next thing that comes around. But this time I was desperate. I had a sinus infection that was so painful that my teeth hurt so bad that I couldn't eat. The silver lining of course is that I ended up loosing 6 pounds. It made me wonder if anyone ever tried to come up with a way to eliminate your sense of smell as a weight loss gimmick. I cooked yesterday for the first time in over a week. I made my 10 veggie spaghetti sauce. I also have more than a weeks worth of laundry and house cleaning to catch up on. Justus is sick now. He has a fever but no other symptoms. Last night I had to give him Tylenol every 4-5 hours. His temperature got as high as 103.3. I can't imagine how miserable he must have felt. I was soooo miserable at 101.7. You know, it really sucks living here so far from family when we are sick. Ron was as sick as I was and also took a trip to the doctor and got some antibiotics so he wasn't any help to me. I really felt like if I could have just had lots of good uninterrupted sleep this wouldn't have gone on so long. But we have no family here to help out. All our friends also have kids so understandably they need to stay far far away from us. Okay I will stop complaining now.

Houdini the Mouse has set up residence in our CAR. We were at home a couple days ago and Ron needed to get something out of the glove box. He opened it, screamed like a girl and jumped back exclaiming "Holy Crap! There are 2 mice in the glove box!" Sure enough, there was a mound of foam shreds, from somewhere in the car, all piled up in there like a comfy little nest. So glad that discovery wasn't made while we were on the interstate. Not only that but there was mouse crap everywhere! Dandy. How can mice crap that much? We saw one run out of the car later that day and since then we have traps set up in there. But that mouse is friggin Houdini. It keeps getting the treats out of the traps and tripping the trap all without getting caught in the trap. I am scared to use mouse poison for fear of it dying in there and then the car stinking of dead mouse. And Mom, I bet you are rethinking about not renting a car when you come visit!

Out of time again.

Finally One That Likes To Eat

I don't have much time but I thought I would post a few pics and videos.



Here is Justus taking a bath in the kitchen sink. Seems very 70's, doesn't it? He loves the water.





We have also started feeding him solids. It is so nice to finally have a kid who likes to eat. We started with sweet potato. Then we tried teff cereal, avocado, peas, carrots, green beans and a oatmeal mix of baby food. I haven't bought any baby food yet and am going to try not to. I still had some left from Rori. He has liked it all but the green beans didn't like him. A couple days ago I made carrot and turnip which he loved and froze it in ice cube trays. I also did blueberries and banana. He has also started to sleep better. He now goes 2-3 hours. I know that sounds bad but he had been waking every 1-2 hours so this feels like a big improvement. I am going to keep offering him as much as he will take in the hopes that he will sleep better and better.

In an attempt to have good and green pest control we got 2 kittens. What were we thinking? They have found a new home now.

I guess that is all I have time for now.

Cute Kid Quotes

Sage was opening a new pad of construction paper and 2 sheets were already loose enough that they fell out. She was quite upset about this. She also had an explanation for it.

"Maybe some stupid little boy with a half brain this size (she holds out her clenched fist) did it. Ya, he had a brain the size of a pea. He did it!"

Where on earth did that come from???

A Few Recent Pics

I haven't blogged for a while. It's hard to believe but I don't have much to say. Or maybe it is more about lack of any time to say it. So until I can find some time here are a few recent pics. This first one is of Sage sitting on my bathroom counter begging for me to put makeup on her.

Here is Rori enjoying her favorite part of baking a cake. In all honesty it is me and Sage's favorite part too. This time I used a mix that I bought from Costco of all places. This cake was incredibly good. There is no way that anyone could tell that it was gluten free.


I just like this picture because it shows how blue Justus' eyes are.

Right before I turned on the camera Sage had Justus laughing so hard. Of course when I turned the camera on he turned serious again.

Watching these next two videos makes me lightheaded.

I Want Some More Magic Potion

Holy Crap I seem to have created some kind of miracle here tonight. Ron is at work so I am home alone with the kids. Somehow I have managed to get all three asleep by 7:05. Better yet, I got the girls to sleep together in the same bed. I am in shock. This is a first. I can't believe I managed that. Add to that the house is actually pretty clean as are the kids. I read to them for about 40 minutes to boot! I also made a coconut curry fish thing that was really good. The kids actually ate. I have to say I am pretty impressed with myself right now. I figured that I better write this all down so tomorrow when the magic potion wears off I can remember this moment of shining glory.

Cute Kid Quotes

We were on our trip back to Alberta and we were driving through some random town and out of the blue Sage says "Is this where dead people live?"

On our way home from our trip we were driving through southern Utah where it was raining. It was a desert landscape and there were lots of desert sage that were very aromatic. Sage says "What's that stink?" Ron responds, "it's the Sage." Sage says "no it isn't. I scrubbed my armpits in the bath at the hotel last night."

One night when Ron was leaving to go to work Sage calls out to him as he is walking out the door, "Bye Daddy! Don't be scared of the ugly people!!"

Success Again!

Two weeks ago today Ron had his gallbladder removed. The following day at 10 pm we decided to make a trip back to Alberta. I think if we had spent more time planning or contemplating it we would have come to our senses and laughed at the mere idea of taking 3 kids (ages 4,2 and 3 months), in a Prius, for 3 days of driving, to go to a family wedding. Oh and don't forget we have to remain gluten free and Ron was only 2 days post op. Sounds insane doesn't it? It does to me. But we did it anyway and we are so glad we did. It was great. Well, not the 6 days total of hour after hour after hour after hour... in the car. That kinda really sucked. It wasn't the kids but just the shear amount of time in the car. We did 10 hours the first day, 14 hours the next day and 9 hours the last day. UGH! Eating gluten free and dairy free is not easy while travelling. We packed a cooler and a big box of snacks and ate out at restaurants only three times. This was the part that made me the most nervous. Both Ron and Sage have the same reaction to gluten, gut aches and horrible mood disturbances. If either of them were to get contaminated it would be a MISERABLE trip and someone would be coming home in a body bag. The mood stuff lasts longer than the gut stuff so if we got glutened at the beginning it would ruin the whole trip.

Here is a pic of the girls sleeping together for the very first time. It was our first night in the hotel.

It was a very short trip, only 6 days in Alberta. But it was a very busy 6 days. Ron's nephew Steven was getting married on Saturday the 23rd so much of the reason that we felt we needed to try to do this was because the majority of Ron's large family would be in one place at one time. None of either of our families, excluding my mom, had met Justus and many had not met Rori. My dad was sweet enough to make the 10 hour drive from Salmon Arm, BC to spend a measly 4 hours with us while we were getting ready for the wedding.

The wedding was great. We didn't tell anyone we were coming except for the groom. It was fun to see so many surprised faces. It was also wonderful to see our kids with their family. The girls ran around non stop with all their cousins' kids and Justus was happy to be passed around for hours. I initially didn't want to stay for the dinner, not only because we had RSVP'd "no" and I didn't want Steven to stress about another whole family being added at the last minute but also because of the gluten thing. Amazingly, though, it turned out really well. Aside from the rolls (I can't tell you how much I wanted a dozen of those, being that Canadian bread is about a 1000 times better than the crap we get here), pasta salad and dessert everything was gluten free. Me being the paranoid one had to ask the caterer about everything but they didn't seem to mind.

The following day we got to spend more time with Ron's family. Again, I was just so happy seeing the kids having so much fun with family. On Monday I got to see my mom and sister and her family. Last summer Sage and Taylor took 4 and a half of the 5 weeks we were there to decide that they liked each other. This time they made that decision in about 5 seconds. The weather was great. I was in heaven sitting outside on Dani's deck watching the kids play on the grass.

Here is a pic of my sister and I. It isn't terribly flattering of either of us but I love it anyway.

Dani made an incredible dinner, all gluten and dairy free. We had a standing rib roast (oh that amazing Alberta beef) that we rolled in fresh, chopped rosemary from her garden and coarse salt and pepper and she cooked that on the BBQ rotisserie, corn on the cob, baby carrots again from her garden, and baby dilled potatoes that Wes pulled from the garden right before she cooked them. It was so incredibly good. Oh, I should add that my mom, as usual, made an amazing dinner for us the night we arrived. We had salmon that her husband had caught last summer, swiss chard and baby carrots from her garden. Veggies right out of the garden are sooooo good. Even Rori who has boycotted vegetables all together was eating the swiss chard. I was stunned.

Justus is calling me right now so I will finish this later.

To Be Continued...

Camping - Against All Odds

When I think back on my childhood some of the very best memories for me were of camping. We haven't gone in about 7 years. That last time ended badly. We drove for hours and as we were pulling into our campsite, in northern New Mexico, it started to rain. No actually it started to pour. We hoped it would clear so we went ahead and set up the tent and camp site and waited for the rain to stop. It didn't. A couple hours later we packed it all up, soaking wet and drove all the way home. It kinda left a bad taste in our mouths. Lately I had been thinking that I wanted to try it again. I had several concerns about it even being possible. With a 3 1/2 year old, a 21 month old (who is newly potty trained) and a newborn, a tent, a Prius, and several food restrictions it seemed more than a little daunting so I didn't mention it to Ron. Then one morning he comes home from work and announces that he wants to go camping. Sage knew what camping was and was really excited. I was excited too and more than a little apprehensive. What the heck would we eat? No gluten means no hot dog buns. Hot dogs without the bun? Yuck. Camping without hot dogs? It's just not right. But since we told Sage about our idea to go we were kind of committed.

So Monday afternoon Ron started to get the car packed up and I started to bake. I made my awesome whole grain bread, brownies and rice krispy squares. All were gluten and dairy free. The rice krispy squares I made with coconut oil instead of butter and they were so unbelievably good that I could have eaten them all myself. Ron and I agreed that they were better than the original version. When Ron was done packing it would have been difficult to squeeze an extra toothpick in. Then a new concern hit me. Will this tiny car make it up the 5000 + ft elevation climb? We left Tuesday morning. Sage was so excited she chattered nonstop for the entire 2 1/2 hour drive. It was so sweet. That is one of the best things about having kids; you can see the world through their eyes. Anyway, the car made it there without a problem and it still managed to get 46 miles per gallon. Man do we love that car. We got a good campsite on the Mogollin Rim which is about 30 minutes east of Payson and set up the tent. Here is a pic of us setting up and proving that we really did this trip in a Prius.






At first Rori was a bit of a princess. She kept saying "dirt, dirt." But within the hour both girls were exploring the campsite and having a blast. The weather was so perfect. Daytime highs were in the mid to low 80's. Here in Scottsdale it was 113, I was told. It is amazing to me that in just a 2.5 hour drive we were in beautiful weather, green trees and clear air. The air smelled so good. I had forgotten what clean air smelled like. The first day we just hung around the campsite and took

walks and relaxed. I can't even put into words how happy I felt to see my girls playing outside. Sadly this is something they can't do at home. Between the heat, rattlesnakes, scorpions, javalina, bobcats, coyotes and cactus, playing outside isn't an option. Dinner was hot dogs, of course, on my bread with various other junk as expected on a camping trip. It was so good. I didn't feel cheated at all. Justus is such a good baby. He slept the entire trip there and then seemed so happy to be outside too. He kept starring up at the trees and smiling and laughing. He was perfectly content.

As expected, getting all 3 kids to sleep in one tent was not easy. But eventually they finally dropped. In Rori's case she literally dropped. She fell asleep while crawling around on the floor. But the very best thing about the night was that Justus slept right through for the first time. I didn't sleep well as I kept waiting for him to wake up and I was acutely aware of the fact the Ron was having a terrible sleep. In the morning I saw just how bad his night was. The air mattress he was on had a hole and by morning it had completely deflated and he was sleeping on the rocks. He woke up less than cheery. The rest of us though were happy as can be. We had breakfast and went to Payson

to get Ron a new air mattress. On the way back we stopped at Christopher Creek for the day. We had so much fun. Ron was teaching the girls how to fish for crawdads. The creek is small, clean, warm and shallow. It was beautiful there and I could have stayed all day. We had lunch on the bank and played in the water for a couple hours. We all got some "color", aka sunburned, even Justus.

That night went a little smoother in respect to getting the girls to sleep. They were just so exhausted. Justus only woke once during the night and Ron and I slept better too. So all in all we had a great trip. I didn't want to come home. I think that if we had a 5th wheel the kids and I would be perfectly happy to stay up there for a couple weeks at a time. Not only was the weather perfect and the kids were so happy and content to be playing outside, Ron and I were able to relax a bit and just sit and talk. Amazing what can happen when there is no TV. We also found that the people were so friendly there. People smiled at each other and said "hi". Here is North Scottsdale people don't even look at each other never mind smile or god forbid actually talk to one another. Sage surprised me with how friendly she was with complete strangers. She was so cute when she started chatting with our neighbors, an elderly couple. She said, "Hi, I'm Sage and this is my little sister Rori and I have a little brother Justus." Justus and Ron were back at the campsite while the girls and I went for a walk. The woman asked Sage if her brother was a little brother or a big brother. Sage replied, "He is my little brother. He is a baby and he came out of mommy's..." This is where I jumped in to stop her from giving them a lesson in the birds and the bees.

The first evening we were there an elk was wondering through the campsite. He was beautiful. He had huge antlers and we all had a great view. Rori kept repeating "elk, elk." Sage just wanted to get closer. I wish I had gotten a picture of him.

When I was a kid I used to see my mom and dad and all the other adults just sitting around the campfire just doing nothing. I used to think "how boring". Now as an adult myself I can appreciate those perfect moments of complete content in feeling the warm sun on my skin or the warmth of the fire. Watching the kids be kids and listening to the birds or the sound of the fire. These simple moments make me appreciate the wonder that is my life.

Gratitude

Some days I feel so tremendously grateful for this amazing life and family that I have. Today is one of those days. As many of my friends and family know, my life was almost very different than it is today. I was engaged to someone who was all wrong for me. I thought I knew what love was. Then Ron came into my life. He is a gift. He has taught me what love really is. We have been married for more than 13 years now and I love him more with each passing day. Not only is he a better husband than I had ever dared to dream about but he is an amazing father. Today was a great example of both of those. I wanted to get out of the house alone (with baby of course) so since we are a one car family we all drove to the restaurant where I was meeting a friend for lunch. He then took the girls across the street to go see a movie while I got to visit with my friend. Brave brave man to take 2 young girls by himself to a movie. After the movie was over we all drove to the pool. He then took the girls swimming for the rest of the afternoon. Since J is so little I couldn't go. Again, brave man, he managed both girls by himself all afternoon while I got to go browse in some stores. When he and the girls got out of the car to go to the pool, I was watching as he carried R in one arm, held the swim bag in the same arm and held S hand with the other, I was just in awe. What could I have possibly done to deserve a man like this? After 14 years together I still think he is the sexiest man alive and I am so grateful that he is mine!

To my best friend, partner, lover, soul mate, co-parent; thank you for being mine. I love you more than words can ever express.

Gonna Give This Try

Well, I have been thinking about starting a blog for some time. I figure it might just be the best way to keep in touch with family and friends. I guess I will figure this out as I go. I love to write and I almost always have something to say. The trick will be trying to find the time to do this as I have my hands full already with three little ones. S is almost 4, R is almost 2 and J is 9 weeks. We have Celiac disease in our family so I cook gluten free and dairy free. Which basically means that I have to do everything from scratch and there is no such thing as convenience foods or eating out. Fortunately I love to cook so it isn't a huge issue. I also started cloth diapering this week. Sure wish I would have done this with S. There is definitely a learning curve with this and it is more time consuming but I feel good about it and love it so far. Sometimes I look at my life as it is now and I can't believe it. I am such a different person than I was only 5 years ago. If I were to meet myself 5 years ago I am quite sure I wouldn't like me. Five years ago I thought I was happy. But there was always a feeling of hmmm... yearning I guess. I was always looking for that thing that would make me happy. I had no clue what real happiness was. Now I know. I am busier than I have ever been in my life but I also have never been happier. In this blog I hope to write about my family, my new adventures in living green and gluten free and dairy free cooking. I expect there will be much to be said about Celiac disease as it is a big part of our daily lives. As I write this I realize that this blogging thing could be addictive. I should stop for now, life is calling.