Good morning. We’re getting back into the swing of things around here, trying to get used to Justin being back at work, getting back into preschool, etc. It was fun to go to MOPS again last week and have some adult chat time. And yesterday we went to our first Calvin basketball game of the season. Rebecca went with Grandpa and Grandma. We came at half time…after Abram’s nap. Rebecca had a blast as usual, wearing out Grandma 😛  Abram wasn’t so fond of it. He seemed a bit scared the whole time and did his share of crying. At least we got out of the house for a bit 🙂

This week is actually quite uneventful. Maybe that’s a good thing since Abram has not been sleeping well at all (major teething), and I have a cold. Today is church if I think we’re all up for it. Wednesday my parents will be visiting (still TBD if they’ll be eating dinner with us) before they go to another basketball game. I’d like to go to the library some day this week. We haven’t been there in  a long time. Saturday morning is an openhouse for one of the preschools we’re considering. I’m not sure yet about any playdates this week. I’ll see how we’re feeling/if the kids catch my cold.

We had fun in the kitchen last week. Rebecca and I made homemad butterscotch pudding pops, pita bread and pizza (for the letter P). I also made another attempt at butter. This time I used our raw cream and just my hand mixer…another failure 🙁  I even let it chill and tried more. I put it in the food processor and tried again. Nothing. I think I’ll give it one more try in the Vitamix. If that doesn’t work then I guess our milk just does not have high enough fat content (which is a bummer). I tried my Vitamix. Nothing major. I used it to grind flour (so fast and easy!!) and make smoothies. I have yet to look through my new cookbook that came with it and try more recipes. Of course I made my other usual weekly dairy products.

This week we’re doing the letter Q. So…my meal strategy…QUICK! I’m planning quick, simple meals that will give us plenty of time for all the other stuff we want to do. I don’t have any big plans for kitchen work. I will probably make pesto and maybe some mayo (if we run out). I’ll likely do my last butter attempt (unless it works…then it won’t be my last :). And I’ll see if Rebecca wants to do any baking. We just finished our breakfast cookie stash, so maybe we’ll make more of those.

I gave my big update yesterday about where I’m headed with my diet. So this week I will be focusing on changing my meals to be more focused on carbs. See how it goes. I also want to continue trying to cut back on sweets. I need to find some non-sweet, carb rich, grain free, nut free snacks. Any good ideas?? I did start adding a little bit of yogurt to my diet yesterday and this morning. We’ll see how it impacts me this week. I’ve been able to read more of Change Your Brain Change Your Life. And so far I still feel like I’m on the right track diet-wise for my mental state. Everything that correlates to my issues is helped by a high carb, lower protein/fat diet. Hopefully by getting out of the fight or flight state my whole body will relax and function properly. I also ordered more magnesium. This time I ordered the drops and magnesium oil spray. The topical stuff is supposed to be more effective/more easily absorbed. I’m anxious to try it and see how it goes. Maybe I’ll even have Justin try it. I’ve heard it can help with restless leg syndrome.

That’s about it for this week. I spend most of my day just trying to keep Abram out of trouble. I’m kind of anxious for him to start walking (which may not be far away!). Right now he ONLY wants to climb…on anything and everything. He does not care about toys at all (although he does like cords, outlets, paper and small objects he shouldn’t have…and getting into things in the bathroom). He just climbs (pulls himself to standing)…on chairs, tables, the bookshelf, the couch, stools, toyboxes, the exersaucer, the refrigerator, the stove, walls, doors, the stairs, trash cans, the computer, the bouncy seat…everything! And if nothing is near him…he climbs on me! He literally pulls himself up on my leg. Yesterday he almost pulled my pj pants down 😛  He does not want to be strapped into anything (high chair, car seat, etc.). So dinner time for me is either holding on to him, eating one handed while he climbs on my chair or sitting on the floor by him and putting my dinner on my chair to take ocassional bites. He can crawl so quickly now. You literally have about 3 seconds from the time you set him on the floor until he’s reached something to climb. Makes it tough to do pretty much anything. He needs constant supervison (we’ve already had too many tumbles/bumps :P). Anyway, life is busy to say the least. This little boy is going to keep us on our toes!

Here’s what’s on the menu. Wednesday’s meal could change depending on whether or not my parents will be here for dinner.
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S (prep lunch, roast beets, church, fold laundry)
  L – roasted chx and veggies
  D – beets, cucumbers, beans, squash, crackers w/ cheese

M (fold laundry, bake)
  D – salad w/ chicken, cucumbers, avocado, beets, bacon; honey mustard dressing

T (skim cream, make yogurt, make sour cream, soak beans, make mayo, bake)
  D – salmon cakes, peas, beets

W (cook beans, soak breakfast cake, put away laundry, library)
  D – salmon cakes, pumpkin, beets, avocado

Th (make pesto, make breakfast cake, visit friends, parents visiting/over for dinner)
  D – mini broccoli cheese pesto quiche, beans, applesauce, pesto bread or pumpernickel bread

F (boil eggs, clean)
  D – egg salad, sauteed zucchini and onions

S (laundry, preschool open house?)
  D – pork steak, roasted potatoes, beans