Happy Healthy Halloween

Last spring, we realized that the Beast was greatly affected by artificial food dyes and flavors.  We immediately removed them from our diet and changed our eating habits for the better.  Around that time, a good friend was trying to figure out her kids' food sensitivities, and she removed gluten, soy, and dairy from their diets.  Both of us saw such positive results that we knew these would be life changes for us.

Then came the season of let's-knock-doors-and-get-a-truckload-of-candy.  Our kids loved this time of year.  It meant pumpkin patch visits, pumpkin carving, and a visit to the local fall festival to obtain as much candy as possible.  With our not-so-new diets firmly in place, a fall festival seemed like a bad idea.

We decided to hold a small party in which our kids would dress up in their favorite costumes, play some fun games, and enjoy treats that were dye-free, gluten-free, soy-free, and cassein-free.  Yikes!  This was no small task.

 My friend hosted the party at her home.  Thankfully, amidst an October of heavy, cold rain, God saw fit to give us a few hours of sunshine for our party.  The kids had a balloon fight and played Red Rover outdoors.

 We played as many super-active games as we could to get that boundless energy out.

 

 My friend even had a fun bean-bag game and a tiger-hunting game for them to try out their skills.

 Treat time was successful!  We had these adorable tissue-paper covered juice boxes for the kids and all-natural root beer for the grown-ups.  My friend decorated mini-containers of oranges to look like jack'o'lantern faces.  Everyone snacked on veggie and fruit trays as well as little taquitos and yummy chicken meatballs.  Desserts included gluten-free brownies, gluten-free cookies, and homemade marshmallows.

 The final event of the party was the pinata.  I made a cute ghost pinata using a paper bag (will post tutorial later) and the kids had a great time taking turns trying to smash it.  Once broken, the kids quickly scattered to pick up the little Halloween trinkets, pencils, and all-natural lollipops.

We had a great time.  The kids got to wear their costumes.  They got their candy and sweet fix.  They were able to be at a party where all the food and treats were safe for them. 

 

I think this is going to be a yearly tradition!

Iphone Photo Phun - It's Not Rocket Science

I love Oregon, but apparently spring has decided not to come here this year.  We have had more cold and rainy days than I can count.  This means bored, restless, I-am-going-to-do-something-crazy-if-sunshine-doesn't-appear-soon kids. 
Here's one of our latest favorite indoor activities.  Take a plate and put a couple of drops of dish soap in the center.  Run tap water over the soap to fill the plate and create a few tiny bubbles.  Give you kid a drinking straw and show them how to blow bubbles into the water.  With a little practice, they can blow giant bubbles.
My kids will do this for over an hour.  No joke.  Why do I buy them toys??!!

(linking up with Iphone Photo Phun today)...

Doughn't Knock It

until you've tried it!

On my "spend-more-time-with-the-kids-and-less-time-on-the-computer" agenda was the making of homemade playdough. The kids enjoyed adding all the ingredients to my mixer and watching the playdough form. Due to laziness and a great desire to see no fighting over colors, I decided to make all the playdough green. Hey, they mix the colors anyway, right? We spent hours making creations from our homemade concoction. I think it was a bit dry and salty in texture, but it worked well enough that I will just tweak it a little the next time I make it.

Despite several pieces of playdough that ended up ground into the carpet, I completely reveled in the time with my creative little people. These carefree, easy playtimes won't be around forever.

Wordless Wednesday - Who Needs a Pool?

. . . my little men spent hours on Saturday dumping pitchers of water over their own heads. ah, life's simple little pleasures. . .

(and did I mention that both of them HATE to have their hair washed and rinsed during bathtime?!)

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom. . .

Angry Birds Enthusiast

So. Ever since the Drama Queen discovered Angry Birds on our PS3, she has been addicted to launching those birds at the grunting pigs and rescuing as many eggs as she can. (Psst - don't tell her that it's also on my Iphone - I'll never see my Iphone again!)

She thinks it's hysterical and giggles the entire time she's playing. (which is really not all that often, since I limit video game time). She also is WAY WAY better than I am at the silly game.

Is it any wonder that when Daddy brought home a soft plush Angry Bird that makes the same funny bird sounds as the game that my Drama Queen was completely thrilled?!

Summer: Splashing, Slides, Sailing, Spoons, School Shopping

Three cheers for a fun summer! It has finally arrived here in Oregon - it made its very late appearance in early July. We don't mind the heat because now we are finally getting to all our summer activities! It has been a bit of a challenge with our schedules - the Nerd was out of town all last week, VBS is all this week, and the Drama Queen and I will be headed up to Canada for two weeks in August.

Still, there was time for the Drama Queen and the Beast to take their very first ride on a paddleboat. I am not sure what was more exciting to them - the actual ride or getting to wear a lifevest.

I did not trust the Spud to stay in his seat on the paddleboat; but he amused himself for quite a while with a partially-deflated ball and wading pool. The kid is so crazy he was doing belly-flops into the pool and laughing hysterically!

Our friends ( the cool ones with the pond and paddleboat and big backyard) set up a homemade slip'n'slide complete with little inner tubes and dish soap to make the kiddies (and some grown-ups, ahem) slide faster. The Drama Queen daintily danced her way down the slide on her tippy toes each time. Perhaps she missed the point, but hey, she had a great time!

And who needs expensive plastic toys when a couple of spoons and some food cans will entertain the little hooligans? Traditionally, the kiddos have beat their little hearts out on pots and pans, but to save Momma's sanity, I persuaded them that the coffee can and the oatmeal can were just as fun. As apparently they were, for the kiddos spent over an hour playing their "drums". (Note: Make sure you are using empty cans or at the very least, firmly secure the lids with tape. Mischievous children will be sure to open the cans and distribute their contents liberally. )

And while I have been getting my fair share of the sun too, I have mostly been spending my time on The Framed Frog orders, paperwork for the Beast, and planning for VBS puppet theater.

That, and waiting eagerly by the phone on Friday because my baby sister ( in Canada) had her first baby! Little Delaney Hope is so beautiful, and my sister is already an amazing mom. I am so excited to go see her in August and monopolize the baby. :)

Also, the Drama Queen and I have already been hitting the stores for back-to-school shopping - getting uniform shirts and a lunch box at Old Navy and crayons and glue at Target. (giddy with school excitement!)

Exciting times! And speaking of exciting times, I now need to rally the troops and make a trip to the post office. It will be epic, I'm sure....

Wordless Wednesday

bathtime is never boring here!

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We have gloriously rung in 2010 with friends, food, and much fun! We invited two dear friends over and (after a hasty cleaning spree) broke out the mini tacos, taquitos, empanadas, and pizza.

The little monsters were beyond thrilled to stay up past their bedtime and indulge in Pringles, pepperoni pizza, and root beer. We all watched a movie over dinner and then played some GiraffeaLaff Limbo with the kiddies. The guys followed up with a wild pillow fight and sent them giggling off to bed.

After tucking the sugared-up little ones in bed, we opened our new Super Mario Bros game for the Wii and had a blast playing through the levels together. Well, mostly we depended on the Nerd's mad gaming skills to get us through each obstacle while the rest of us did our very best to jump on each other's heads and cause mass confusion.

At 12:00 midnight, we shouted Happy New Year! rather giddily(well, all except the one who had already fallen asleep on the floor and was snoring heavily). I finally called it a night around 3:00 am.

And, I am pleased to say, the kiddies were kind and let us sleep in a little. New Year's Day was full of more movie-watching, game-playing, general laziness, and a fun trip to IKEA to spend some Christmas money. Dinner involved Swedish meatballs and mac'n'cheese and free meals for the kids!

A Happy New Year indeed!