Some changes around here!

Vela's changing soooo fast!

Well to start off, Vela cut her 3rd tooth on Thursday! She was a bit fussy - but not too bad. It is one of the top ones. She loves it and is either rubbing her tongue on it or feeling it with her finger and smiling about it every single second of the day. Very cute! Then I set her in her crib yesterday and when I walked back by she was standing up! Here she is doing her newest trick!

We are trying to eat more super foods!

I have been reading up quite a bit on some small things that I can do to feed my family healthier. Here are a few changes we have made that make me happy:

Blueberries - I am always hearing how good blueberries are for you. So about 5 weeks ago I started buying one container of blueberries a week. (Sometimes a small one, sometimes the big one at Costco - depending on the price.) Every morning I feed myself, Vela and both Hema's some blueberries. It is so easy! Then I feel like I have done something good for them. That way when little Hema finds the left over chocolate chip cookies from the baby shower that are roughly 5 inches across and eats 2 while I am blow drying my hair at 9:45 in the morning, I can just smile and say "Well, he did eat blueberries this morning."

Broccoli - We love broccoli! I try to make to serve it often over here. Little Hema loves broccoli. Sometimes he begs for it and if we don't have any, he cries! That has to be a sign that I am a good mother, right??Black Beans - We love black beans and eat them regularly with rice. Yummy! They are cheap, good for you and my kids love them!

Lentils - I am still trying to do better on this one. I love lentils and they are so good for you and fast to make, you don't have to soak them overnight like you do beans. But I still fail to make them as often as I would like to.

Flax Seed - I have been reading a ton about flax seed. I guess the golden seed is a really good one. It comes from the Dakotas. You have to grind the seed to get all the benefits form eating it. Apparently if you eat the seeds whole the only benefit is FIBER. But these things are packed with Omega 3 Oils and all sorts of goodness that are supposed to help lower cholesterol, fight many types of cancer and just make you a healthier person! Well, yesterday was the first day of the farmers market at Thanksgiving Point this year and we headed on over. I found a gallon of beautiful flax seed there for a decent price $37. I also got the cute little coffee grinder for it for $20. Of course it sells for $10 everywhere else, I knew that would be the case, but bought it anyway for the convenience of having it right then. Besides, gas would have been a few dollars just to drive over to Walmart! (**Here is a little tip, NEVER grind your flax in your wheat grinder! It is way to oily and will destroy it very fast!) We woke up this morning and ground a little flax seed and ate it in our yogurt! Ahhh, one more good thing I am doing for our family.

I am trying lots of new recipes!

I often get bored and want to try something new. I love being able to go online and try new recipes! Here are some that we have tried and a quick review of them (By the way, you will soon see why this couldn't go under the eating healthier section!):

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

This was a good one! My Hema's both LOVE chocolate (I'm not the biggest fan) but we all enjoyed this cake! It is pretty easy and done in like 25 minutes including cooking time. It makes a lot and was super tasty! It was not super good for you though, the recipe takes almost an entire pound of butter!!!

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeno Thingies. Major, Major Yum.

This one looks and sounds so good. I actually tried it twice and ended up throwing 99% of them away. I am not sure if I was doing something wrong, but mine were seriously so dang hot I almost died! I offered one to my visiting teacher before I tried them and she cried! She had to drink a cup of milk and eat about half a pack of Ritz crackers before her eyes stopped watering. I swear I am not wimpy when it comes to hot, but these babies were not so good! I tried them a second time in case I somehow got the wrong peppers the first time, nope same as the first, and yes I did remove the seeds and membrane!

Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich

Hema really did love this sandwich! It was easy to make and made a ton! It also stored well and was just as good the second and third time around! Once again, not super healthy! But don't judge me, we are eating flax and blueberries here every morning!!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Cream Sauce

This was sooooo good. Super fast and easy and I had all of the ingredients except the cream cheese on hand. It is even good with any other sauce or gravy on it. We've had it 3 times in the last 4 weeks and everyone from daddy Hema down to Vela has enjoyed it! It's a keeper!

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

This was pretty tasty too! I liked that it wasn't too saucy. However, it made a lot and the leftovers were pretty dry. I added a bit of milk and reheated, but it was definitely the best the first time around!

Some things will never change!

We have spent a lot of time at the dinosaur museum. We watched the new 3D movie on the Mammoth Screen.

We love that museum and go at least once every week. Buying a pass there was one of the best things we have done! If you don't have a pass, go on a Tuesday on August - it is only $2 per person per venue! That is a great deal! Oh, and I almost forgot - we found 2 more gnomes!