Feb 19, 2011

green


We make smoothies a lot. At least every day. I do my best to rotate ingredients. We have a LOT of variety in our diet these days to prevent new food sensitivities from popping up. Rotation diets are supposed to do wonders for the food allergic, so we are trying it out. Anyway, today I was making a banana, mango, pineapple, and vanilla hemp milk smoothie. Right before I turned on the blender, Max stopped me. "Mom! Wait! What about the green stuff?!? You forgot the green stuff! Should I go pick something?" We picked a handful of kale and threw it in. Along with a tiny bit of raw honey to mask the bitterness. And it was actually really, really good. Long live the Shrek smoothie (as Max calls it).

Feb 15, 2011

planting




This is what our day looked like. A lovely 80 degrees. I decided that it was time to edit the garden and prep for some more planting. I really wish it wouldn't have taken me five years of living here to figure out that I could grow greens all winter long. It has been delightful to be able to go outside to pick lettuce for a salad, beet greens, chard or kale for a green smoothie, cilantro for guacamole, bok choy for stir fry, etc. All fresh and organic. We have even had several cold nights (low 20's) and it hasn't phased any of the plants. My gigantic basil plant died with the first freeze, but everything else is frost hardy. Apparently you can even dig kale out from under the snow when you want to pick it.
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And I finally gave the blog a little face lift. I was craving something clean and simple.

Feb 13, 2011

isn't she lovely?





Isn't she lovely...spikey, uneven hair and all?

Feb 10, 2011

Ava and the buzz cut, or why a 3-year-old should never play with scissors

*raising her hands "as high as you can" as prompted by the Little Einsteins show she is watching...she is also saying "hi!", and exposing us to her unchewed gf pumpkin muffin.

Ian cut Ava's hair. Five inches off the top. I cried. Then I laughed. And then I threw away the scissors. It happened a few weeks ago, and I haven't felt like taking pictures or blogging about it. But I'm over it now and think her little pixie cut is quite cute. Despite all the comments I get about how she's "a cute little feller".

Ava is 15-months-old and full of spunk. And fun. And Energy. And drama. She is talking quite a bit. She lovingly refers to her "bruz" by their nicknames, "beanie bean" and "mac-mo". It's her best effort to say "eanie bean" and "maximo". She follows them everywhere, and plays in the dirt alongside them with trucks and dinosaurs. Her grandfather was horrified when he came to visit, and promptly requested that I "get her some dolls to play with". She has plenty of dolls, but would much rather do what her brothers do. They are rock stars to her.

The other day the three of them were playing in the boys' room, when all of the sudden it got very quiet and I heard the boys whispering something about Ava being on the bed. I rushed in to see what was going on, and found Ava on the TOP bunk, hanging over the ledge with a huge smile. I still can't believe she can summit the top bunk already. She has NO FEAR. So different from my careful boys.

She always reminds us that she is a girl with dramatic outbursts, despite her tomboy tendencies. When she doesn't get her way she stomps her feet, shakes her head, and even throws herself on the ground and "cries". The other day J-P didn't give her what she wanted, so she threw herself on the ground next to his feet and started crying. He immediately walked to the other side of the kitchen and started to do the dishes. She immediately stopped crying, walked over to where he was, and dramatically threw herself on the ground by his feet again and started crying. As if to say, apparently you didn't notice me. Let me make this more obvious for you. We still laugh about it on a daily basis.

She is saying quite a few words. When she has a BM she comes to find me, and with a very distressed face says "pooped". Whenever I ask a question (who wants to go to the store?, who wants a snack?, who wants to take a bath?, etc.) she comes running and yells out "I doooo! I do! I do!" It's completely adorable. In fact, she says "I do!" whenever she sees anything she wants. If I am eating a banana, she points to it and says "I do! I doooooo!" If we are at the store and she sees a toy she wants, she starts bouncing in the cart, hyperventilating, and saying "I Do! I Do! I Doooo!" If she doesn't want something, she is equally as dramatic. She shakes her head and says "Huh uh. No. Na Na Na NO!"

And for the purpose of recording, I will have to add that she holds her own with the boys. She bites, pushes, steals toys, scratches, and more. She also LOVES clothes. And shoes. She is always bringing us clothes and shoes to put on her, and she tantrums if we don't comply. At any given point of the day, she is usually wearing a pair of shoes and up to three sweaters. Sometimes hats or other random accessories she finds. Oh, and she is finally willing to keep a headband on for the first time in almost a year. But only if I tell her how pretty she looks. She immediately stops yanking at it and starts smiling and batting her eyelashes. I'm not kidding. Her love of clothes and "looking pretty" is definitely not something we've instilled in her. She has come up with that personality trait all on her own.

Other things I don't want to forget: how she sings "bye-bye baby" (rock-a-bye baby) to her dolls as she rocks them in her cradle. And how she immediately starts dancing and laughing whenever she hears music. She stomps her feet and spins around while yelling "dan(ce)!, dan(ce)!, dan(ce)!"

Ok, I think that's it. I'm so curious to see how she will change over the next few months.

an update

"You have to look up Ian..."
Hello. We're alive. And well. It's been a busy month. Full of business trips, teething babies (all four molars, ouch!), the flu, family coming to visit, and more. J-P has been going to lots of appointments (physical therapy, acupuncture, cortisone/epidural shots, etc) to try and help his back. Nothing seems to be working that well, so he has an appointment scheduled with the neurosurgeon. His MRI showed bulging/herniated discs, and one that "is exploding over and dripping down his spinal column". Whatever that means. Between all the appointments and his busy work schedule, things have been a little crazy around here.

I have had a lot on my mind. Namely, kindergarten registration. And peanut allergies. And sending my highly allergic child to public school. In short, I'm terrified. I have been staying up late researching cures and treatments. And I'm trying everything. Right now doctors at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in NY are curing peanut anaphylaxis with a Chinese herbal formula. The formula is in stage two of clinical trials, but probably won't be released for another 10 years. I got a copy of the ingredients, and J-P's acupunturist said he would make it for Max. We'll see how it goes.

I have also been doing a lot of research on different health conditions for family and friends. During these late nights, I discovered something called a MTHFR gene polymorphism. And I think a lot of people in our family might have it. It basically means that we don't detox properly. Sooo...I have been doing lots of crazy things like driving all the way across Phoenix to buy a 50lb. bag of clay so we can take detox baths. I have been doing regular epsom salt baths for the kids as well. I have been giving Max milk thistle, among other things. I have also tweaked our diet a little more. I know, it sounds like I am certifiably crazy. But let me tell you, I have seen a HUGE difference. HUGE. The dark circles under Max and Ian's eyes are gone. Their moods are fantastic. They just seem healthier. Which makes me happy.

In other news, Max is still loving preschool. I thought he was going to explode with excitement over his Valentine's party today. He woke up, quickly put on a red shirt (per his teacher's suggestion), and asked me over and over "is it time for preschool yet?" He has also been saying funny things about babies. "Mom, I think we should get another baby. Because I like babies. And I think grandma likes them too. And I think we should name it Fleewah. Ok?" If only I had a magic wand to make our house bigger. Or turn the economy around. With our house being worth less than half of what we payed for it, we won't be going anywhere anytime soon. Which I try not to think about.

Oh, and if you have a curious mind and want to read about the MTHFR mutation, clay, etc. I wrote about it HERE.

Jan 10, 2011

the hurricane

I always complain to J-P that all I do is clean. All day long. Everyday. Which wouldn't be a big deal, except that our house is never clean. At least not for long. I always feel like I'm sinking in quicksand when it comes to keeping the house clean. J-P's response to my grumbling is always the same. "You can't clean during a hurricane."

The Max and Ian hurricane is a powerful one. They can rearrange the entire contents of a room while I unload the dishwasher. And by rearrange I mean plunder and pillage. Destroy. Dump out every toy they own. More along those lines. I usually send them outside so they can release their creative energy without causing too much damage. But if you have seen our backyard lately, you would probably agree that it looks as though it has been hit by a hurricane.
Despite the messy house, I love the toddler stage. Really. The sweet hugs, the funny things they say, the innocence, the excitement. These two busybodies energize me and make my heart swell. Hopefully one day I will be able to let go of the mess that comes with them.

14 months




Ava is becoming less of a baby and more of a little girl by the day. She is picking up new words and becoming more adventurous too. She is definitely not scared of heights. She loves to climb. Up the slide, up the bunk bed ladder, onto the couch, onto the bottom bunk. And she squeals with delight when she summits her climb.

She is very happy girl, yet very dramatic when things don't go her way. She has the throw-her-head-back, stomp-her-feet, throw-herself-onto-the-ground (although she is quite careful that her head doesn't hit the floor) routine down pat. I have always heard girls were more dramatic than boys, but now I can say that it's definitely true! Aside from the drama, she is incredibly sweet. She loves to smoother her brothers with hugs (and kisses if they let her). She still loves to snuggle. She squeals, screams, and runs to the front door to give her daddy a hug when she hears him open it.

Her new favorite word is "baby". She loves babies. And that includes her dolls (she finally has some!) and anybody under the age of two. She says "baby! baby!" whenever she sees a baby, a doll, or a picture of a baby or doll. She has has also added "poop" and "ouch" to her repertoire. And tonight she called Ian "beanie bee" (his nickname is "eanie bean").

Dec 25, 2010

Christmas 2010



Santa treated us well and we enjoyed a wonderful day with family. Here is a virtual copy of our card (front and back) for anyone we might have missed. Merry Christmas from Chez Scoville!

Dec 20, 2010

Three



Ian is three. I really can't believe how much a child can grow in three short years. His three year well-check appointment was very similar to last year. He froze into a silent statue for the duration of the visit. He was too shy to answer any of the doctor's questions, and only nodded in response. I had to reassure the doctor several times that Ian is a social chatterbox at home, and has been talking in sentences since 18 months. As the doctor walked out the door and said goodbye, Ian blurted out an expressionless "Happy-Thanksgivings-Merry-Christmas" as quickly and quietly as he could. That was the only thing he said the whole appointment. And as usual, no crying with the shots.

Interesting tidbits about Ian:

-He has been sleeping in the TOP bunk since he was 26 months old.
-He gets very silly/giddy when tired, but never cranky.
-He talks a lot, and narrates most of our day.
-He likes to throw in as many words as he can. For example, instead of saying "I'm hungry", he says, "mom, uh, I think it must be time for lunch or something".
-He loves to skip, gallop and dance.
-He loves to eat, and will eat just about anything.
-He knows the alphabet pretty well.
-He loves to take showers. As soon as he hears it running he quickly strips down and jumps in with whoever happens to be in there.
-A couple months before he turned three, I caught him standing on the kitchen table and peeing into his cereal bowl. I commenced with potty training immediately and it was a quick, fairly painless process.

Ian loves to make connections and ask questions. A couple weeks ago he came to me and said, "uh, mom...do you have a belly button?" When I answered in the affirmative, he asked if he could see it. I acquiesced. Then he said, "You have a belly button, Ava has a belly button, Max has a belly button, and Ian has a belly button...but daddy doesn't. He just has a hole." He is always coming up with little anecdotes that make us laugh.

His three year stats:

weight: 32 lbs (65th%)
height: 39 inches (84th %)

He is a very sweet, smart, affectionate boy with a huge helping of naughty. I could write pages about the damage he has done to our personal property with crayons and scissors. Pages. I am so curious to see what he will be like when he grows up.

Dec 13, 2010

big girl




I don't remember the last time Ava crawled, it's been a few weeks. As soon as she figured out how to get back up, crawling became a quickly forgotten pastime. She has been sick for the past two days and screams if I so much as think about putting her down. But when she heard the word "outside" while Max was coaxing Ian out to play, she wiggled out of my tired arms and made a dash for the back door. I peeked out the door at the thermometer on the patio to make sure she would be ok without shoes on, and it said 86 degrees! Pretty wild weather for December, even for Arizona.