Love Hate

I Love Lego's
But I also Hate Lego's

I love the hours upon hours of imaginative play my kids get form these tiny toys.
If I pull out the Lego bin in the afternoon I will literally not see my boys until I call them for family jobs or dinner.

I love the things they create without directions, they just come up with these things all on their own.
I love the bonding all the boys get with each other while sharing a common passion.

I love the things Lego's have taught my children, like water tension.
Did you know that right after mom gets out of the shower and the mirror is all steamy that the Lego's will stick?
We learned all about water tension in my bathroom that day.
And it was the coolest thing ever because they figured it out all on their own, I did not have to show them that one.
I don't think I would have even thought to try that, but they did.

And that's what I love about Lego's.
They make my children think, but they really think they're playing.

This is what I hate about Lego's.
For some reason they cannot be contained.
They always end up all over the floor and the table and under everything.
When I put the Lego bin away I still find Lego's for a week after.
They like to hide.
Then some boy will find a half put together thing-a-ma-bob and the next thing you know all of them are swarming over it and fighting about who gets to play with the three stray pieces.
Then there is fighting and crying and sometimes hitting.
I really hate that.
I also hate stepping on them in the middle of the night on my way to the bathroom.
I really hate that.
But I really do love Lego's...

The Truth

Sometimes I love Oprah so much I could kiss her.
Other times, well let's just say we don't always agree.
But today, let me tell you, she was spot on in my humble opinion.
I even took notes.

She had Michael Pollan on her show.
What? You don't know who he is?!?
He is the maker of a documentary called Food, Inc.
If you have not already seen it, you MUST!
This documentary should replace all the videos shown in any health and nutrition class in any school the United States over.
Bar none.
It will literally change the way you eat forever.
You may never eat fast food or anything prepackaged ever again.
So if you like your food the way it is, stop reading now.
Ignore the problem that is America's food supply a little longer until it continues to kill you ever so slowly and painfully.
I know I'm being a little harsh, but in all honesty, it's the plain truth.
We are killing ourselves.
And it's not a pretty death.
Michael points out that things like heart disease and diabetes and obesity and high blood pressure(the list goes on and on) did not become such an epidemic until about the turn of the last century.
150 years ago food was so much simpler.

Michael Pollan wrote a book (which I'm itching to read) called Food Rules
Oprah discussed some of his rules on the show.
#2 Don't eat anything your great grandmother would not recognize as food.
Think Little House on the Prairie times.
There were no cookie and chip sections in the town grocer filled with more preservatives and flavorings than actual food.
There was no neon colored and flavored yogurt in little tubes you can just squeeze into your mouth.
If they wanted yogurt they had to make it from scratch, they flavored it with fruit or not at all.
Don't get me wrong, grocery stores are a wonderful modern convenience, and there are some things worth buying.
For instance Dannon's plain yogurt is all natural.
No thickeners, no additives, just milk and live active cultures, period.
Just how your great grandmother would have made.
If we have yogurt that's what we buy, then I blend frozen berries with a squirt of honey and mix it in and you know what, it tastes way better that the neon variety.
#12 Avoid products containing ingredients that a 3rd grader cannot pronounce.
We have got to read labels, people.
Really, we don't even buy many labeled foods anymore.
I make 95% of what we eat from scratch.
I buy brown sugar and rice and oats and wheat and spelt and barley and buckwheat and millet and rye and beans in 50 pound bags.
I either soak or grind the real food and bake or boil it.
It's really not that hard to do. I set aside 3 hours a week to bake.
I make things like granola bars, cookies, muffins, bread, bagels, English muffins, and on and on.
Not all in one week of course.
Basically, if I see something in the store that looks good, I come home and find a recipe for it and I make it.
No preservatives, no fillers. Just plain old good food.
#23(I think) Eat only foods that will eventually rot
Michael said, "Food is alive and it should eventually die"
Here we are again with more preservatives than actual food.
#39 Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself

I don't know how I feel about this one.
I do agree that we need treats, and I do make them on a regular basis, but all the junk food I want?
I don't think this man knows how much junk food I can put away.
If there is junk in the house I eat it until it's gone.
I have the worst sweet tooth and I think I'd weigh a million pounds if I just ate all I wanted.
I have lots more to say about this, but this is already long and boring.
For now can I just say, watch the movie.
Download it, buy it, rent it, borrow it, but please, watch it!

How to Dice a Mango 101

There are not many things in life as nice as a bowl filled with bright orange juicy sweet mangoes.
They are just so pretty.
And tasty.
The problem is, they can be a little challenging to dice with that huge pit in the middle.
Here's a little trick I learned to avoid that problem all together.

First, you want to cut the mango almost in half.
You are going to cut down both sides of the long, flat pit.
Go ahead and off center your knife just a hair.
As you are cutting through the flesh you'll feel the knife braise the pit, just let your knife follow the pit all the way through the fruit.

You can see the ridge where my knife hit the pit so I had to move my knife over.
Next you will take the knife and cut the flesh to the skin (but not through the skin), making a checkerboard pattern.

This is the fun part. Invert the skin of the fruit so all the chunks stand up.
My kids thought that was hilarious.
If you want to eat the whole thing fresh right then and there just go to town biting the pieces from the skin.
I only do that when I'm not sharing.
Unfortunately, with 4 kids I am always sharing.

Next, slide your finger between the fruit and the peel. They just slide right off.
You could use a knife, but who has time for that nonsense?
Repeat with the fruit from the other side of the pit.

Now they are ready to share, or put in a fruit salad, or freeze for smoothies, or for muffins or make this yummy Mango Pineapple cake.

Mango Pineapple Cake

Ingredients:

1 C sugar ( I use 1/2 C brown sugar and 1/2 C honey)
1 t vanilla
2 t baking soda
3 eggs, well beaten
1 t vanilla
1 8 oz can (or fresh) crushed pineapple with juice
1 1/2 C finely chopped mango (can substitute canned or fresh peaches if you don't have mango on hand)
1/2 C nuts (optional)
2 C flour (I use whole grain, freshly ground flour, usually spelt, but whole wheat works, too. My smallest can't eat wheat so I use spelt flour)

Directions:

Mix eggs, vanilla and pineapple. Add mango and nuts. Mix in dry ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into greased 9x11 baking dish. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy Peasy!
And oh, so good.
Even without added fat from oil or butter it's incredibly moist!
Go ahead, buy a mango

Speechless

Baby and Dubs were playing with this toy and this is what I saw when I came in the room after they had abandoned their game.
Hmmmmm
How did that happen?
I don't even know what to say about that...

Blow Torches and Oxygen Tanks

Hello Mr Bird!
Happy Birthday!
Even if I am more than a week late.

We are all so glad you had a birthday so we could eat our annual serving of the world's fattening-est cake ever!
It's funny to me that you still insist on putting the correct number of candles on your cake, and that the only way to light them all is with a blow torch.
I am so glad you did not burn down our lovely home.
I wonder what you will do when you're 80 and no longer have the lung capacity to blow out all those flames.
I hope you will not burn down the retirement center.
I hope your oxygen tank will not explode with all your grandchildren and great grandchildren watching.
That would be tragic.

"Smooochie"
Here's a great big kiss form your loving family.
We are so glad you were born.
We love you for the wonderful husband and father that you are.
You amaze me everyday with your love and patience.
I am so lucky to have you!

My (not so) Lucky Day!

Look what showed up at my door this morning!
Imagine my surprise when Beano shoots down the stairs at lightening speed to tell me someone's at the door.
We had just started our school day and I was a little annoyed at the interruption.
Then I saw these gorgeous flowers and immediately everything was all better.
My mind raced as I wondered who they could be from.
The only answer was Mr Bird, of course.
But why, what is the occasion?
Birthday? Nope, not til August.
Anniversary (Oh crap, did I forget this time)? Nope, June.
Valentine's Day is still a month away.
Maybe they were because I have been sick this week and he just wanted to brighten my day.
Those are awfully nice flowers for a cold.
Maybe he felt sorry for me that I am brewing 3 cold sores at the moment.
No, they had not reached the surface until after he left for work.
Hmmmm, he has been known to do this sort of thing just because.
My mind raced the whole 5 seconds it took for me to walk them over to the counter and pull the card off the little stemmy thingy.
Then I got my answer.

Well, I am not Millie and Mr Bird is not Jake.
But our neighbors are Jack and Mollie.
Plus Jack and Mollie used to live in this house, then they built their dream mansion right next door.
Yup, the flowers were undoubtedly meant for them, not me.
We get their mail quite a bit actually.
We never get their bills or junk mail though.
At Christmas time we are teased with huge packages with mysterious contents form far away loved ones.
Their annual gourmet chocolate gift has come to our door every year since we moved in.
~And now this~
All I can say is I can't stand being teased one more second.
It's OK, it made it all better when I saw the look on Mollies face as I delivered her flowers.
Her whole face brightened and she explained that today is their 60th wedding anniversary.
Boy, I'm glad I did not just pretend I had not clue who Jake and Millie were and just kept them for myself.
Like I would even think about such a thing! Pishaw
Happy Anniversary Jack and Mollie!
Maybe by the time I get to my 60th anniversary my friends will be sending me flowers and gourmet chocolates...

Simply Stunning

"...all things denote there is a God;

yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it,

yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."
~

Autn:ID - 10415

Alma 30:44

A few summers ago, before I started blogging and before my trusty Cannon met it's tragic end, the kids and I visited a local Aviary.
Tracey Aviary in Salt Lake City to be exact.

These peacocks were just wondering around, cage free and fancy free. As you can see they are very used to people. We could hardly get them to budge.

Simply stunning. Look at the artwork on these amazing birds.
I could not help but share.

Isn't God awesome!

P.S. Click on the photos to see the amazing detail.