Orange Chicken

I will start by saying how much Lane LOVES Orange Chicken. His love for it began when I bought a frozen box of it from Costco. He always requested it. I am not much of a frozen food kind of girl so I would always cringe just a little when I served it, although it was good! So when I found this recipe while I was doing weight watchers, I was really excited to find a healthier version of Orange Chicken. Served with some brown rice and edamame, this meal is a favorite of my family. I got it from this blog http://www.pointlessmeals.blogspot.com
And this is Estelle after she's eaten her orange chicken, she loves it! In fact this is what got her eating some chicken despite her vegetarian tendencies.
And on a side note, Lane had to "dress up" a potato last week for school. Kind of a funny project, but fun. I asked him what he would like to dress it up as and of course he wanted it to be in camouflage. So we made a ghillie suit for this little potato. For those of you who don't know what a ghillie suit is, it's a suit that snipers wear and they can blend completely into their surroundings, like this for example...

So we strung some leaves on him and stuck in some stick arms. We went through Lane's army guy stuff and found a good hat and a pair of tiny binoculars that hung from his potatoes arm. He was pretty proud of it, who knows if his teacher knew what a ghillie suit is. What is important is that Lane knows what it is :) Lane is doing so great in school, I am really proud not only his grades but also the way he conducts himself at school. Hopefully he can pass down these things to his sister... hopefully.

Another Baseball Season

Baseball season is upon us again. This is Lane's third year playing baseball. This year he has moved up to CAPS which means they hit off a pitching machine. This has taken some getting used to, but Lane is doing really well. He is quite the homebody so getting him out of the house to go to practice or a game can sometimes be hard, but once he gets there he is very intense and focused.

I don't really get to watch the game, I am too busy watching Estelle. From picking up cigarette butts to climbing under the bleachers, she is keeping me busy.
Lane is a great hitter. This year with the machine, it's trickier. I hope he is able to get some great hits at his games. During one practice he hit a grand slam. Go Lane!
Look at him looking at the runner on first. Very intimidating :) That kid was a giant by the way and so was his twin brother and two other large boys on the other team!

When we went into this baseball season we did not know anyone on his team. Many of them already knew each other and I wondered how that would go. The more practices and games I go to, the more I like the people (parents and kids) on the team. Actually, one of the moms is an assistant pastor at the church we have been going to (but have not gotten involved in). I got to talking with her the other day and she told me about the woman's bible study she leads at our church. I went to it for the first time today and it was really great. Turns out three other moms from the team go to it, as well as a neighbor of mine that I have recently met. I am thankful that I have found a way to get involved in the church we are attending and get to know some more Christian women. Funny how God works these things out :)

Random Pictures

This is something I want to remember, so I thought I'd blog about it. A couple nights ago Lane said, "I don't need to tell Estelle I love you tonight because I left something in her room for her." So the next time I went upstairs this is what I found. He had gotten some stickers in a valentine and decorated her door with them. So sweet.
We have been making some trips to a little park that has been updated in our neighborhood. Lane calls it the "country park." When Estelle gets a little cranky in the afternoon, we take a little walk and she gets to run around outside.

I love this little mushroom table and her favorite thing to do at the park is to sit at it :)
We've also gone down to the beach every once in a while. Estelle has become so much more interested in the sand. She loves running her fingers across it.

Adventures in Eating Whole-ly

So I ran across this blog on Pinterest. http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/ I liked her ideas and decided to try a little of what she was doing. She decided to eat only real food for 100 days. Me, I am just trying to cut out a lot processed stuff and use a lot less sugar. So "real" or "whole" food is nothing processed, no white flour, no sugar, no preservatives, etc. Now I don't use a whole lot of packaged, processed stuff in my cooking so that isn't the hard part. The hard part for me was bread and sweets. She started making her own bread in a bread machine using King Arthur's White Whole Wheat flour. I thought, I can do that, I make bread all the time. Well, two loaves of bread in the garbage later, I decided to buy organic wheat bread with no preservatives/chemicals etc. Because really when you look at the ingredients of a loaf of bread...why is there 40 ingredients? So the organic bread is what I am doing.

So the other hang up of mine was sugar. I love to bake. But in an effort to used less sugar I tried her recipes for Whole Wheat Brownies and Homemade Maple Pecan Ice Cream. (Just click on the recipe names and it will take you to her blog and the recipe) No sugar used! The only sweeteners are honey and maple syrup. So I can feel good about giving Lane (and myself) a bowl of ice cream with a brownie! The ice cream is really yummy and creamy! Also I do have an ice cream maker, I LOVE IT! The brownies definitely have a different texture, but I really love them. The recipe says you can use maple syrup or honey, I have done both and I like the honey better.

A few other changes I have made are:

-not buying crackers, cookies, etc unless they are minimally processed and no preservatives. Somethings I found that work are Triscuits and Kettle Brand potato chips (they may not be great for you, but they are made with natural ingredients).

-sweetening my coffee with maple syrup and half and half. I also have bought the Natural Bliss coffee creamer. It does have sugar in it but it doesn't have all the other junk the regular stuff has, I think it has only 3 or 4 ingredients.

-Stretch's Fruit Leather are a good choice instead of fruit snacks or fruit roll ups.

-Changing my white rice habit into brown rice which I am learning to love and Lane and Estelle already love it so that's a plus.

-Instead of packing Lane's lunch full of crackers and stuff, I have been putting in pickles, string cheese or baby bel cheese, fruit leather, and homemade muffins or breakfast cookies made with all whole grain. He also eats a cold grilled cheese sandwich everyday in his lunch (silly guy).

I am not an extreme person, but I thought making a few changes would be a good thing and I am hoping I have more energy as a result?? Now if I can get this Valentine's candy out of my house that would be helpful!

My little Valentines

These little sweeties have captured my heart this Valentines Day! I took them down to the beach the other day. Lane wanted to throw the football and dig in the sand. Estelle hasn't spent too much time at the beach since she's been mobile so I wondered what she would do. For the most part she stayed on the blanket and just touched the sand.
Sandy hands...

Eat the sand...

Happy girl with a sandy face (and inside her mouth)! And up next the many faces of Estelle...

Her very deep conversation face. She looks at me like this, babbles and nods her head.Hold me! One of her favorites
Ohhhh! Her excitement and wonderment face.
Nose.
Look at that hair. I love how it is getting a little curly. Estelle is now 15 months old. I took her to a well child appointment the other day. She is 24 1/2 lbs and 32 inches long. Lane got to come along with us to the appointment because he had the day off. He was such a big helper! He is a great big brother to Estelle. He says "ahh Stell" when she does something cute. And Estelle adores him too.

We've had a good Valentine's day. We made some Valentine's day cookies today and Lane had a little class Valentine exchange. This afternoon Reese surprised me with a beautiful, plush bath robe. Like, spa quality and feel. It was an awesome surprise! Happy Valentines Day!

Fam Damily

Crazy hair day at school!
Thrift store find: princess jammies!
They love to wrestle!


I love these three! I love it that my kids have a special bond with their daddy. Another highlight for me recently is when we have skyped with Reese, Estelle gets SOOO excited. She waves at him, blows kisses, hits the computer screen, and babbles the whole time!

Wordless Wednesday