Saturday, January 23, 2010
Paintball party!
This morning 3 of Sean's friends came over around 9:30 for a paintball party. It started with Don's famous crepes complete with vanilla ice cream and cherries from our tree. One of the boys had never had crepes but he sure liked them!Right now they're outside pelting each other with 4,000 paintballs. They'll come in midday for a CO2 run and some pizza, and then they'll be out there again until nightfall (4:30 around here). Justin is spending the night and studying with Sean for their exams next week, but the other boys will be going home. This is pretty much Sean's idea of a perfect day, minus the studying : )
Happy 15th birthday, Sean!
On Wednesday evening we celebrated Sean's birthday with a spaghetti feed and then chocolate cake for dessert. Here are all the kids : ). See Dylan trying to get Nick to look at the camera : )
Everyone basically looking good, and at the camera. Heather, notice Jordyn is still wearing her apron!
The birthday boy with his Webkinz, Twitch. This is the beauty of having younger siblings. You can get kids' toys when you want to and blame it on them : )
I'm looking forward to the time when Sean smiles willingly and cheerfully.
Beautiful
Patience was sick for the first time in a long, long time last week. After a course of antibiotics she is back to her bubbly self. But while she was unnaturally calm and quiet, I was able to snap this shot.
Duplo heaven
As Nick gets older he is able to spend more and more time playing independently.Relieved sigh...
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Patience's personality and other stuff
I just found this picture on my old camera card and realized how perfectly I caught Patience's personality in this shot. What do they call it? Joie de vivre?So, I haven't been blogging lately and I'll tell you why. It's not my fault, just so you know. It's my daughters' fault. You see, they received Webkinz stuffed animals from their very generous brother Nathan at Christmas and these plushies have online lives at a special website. And you have to go to the website daily (or more frequently) and feed the pet, dress the pet, play with the pet, take it to the doctor, etc. And to do all this stuff you need Kinz cash. And to get Kinz cash you have to play arcade-style games. So guess who's playing the games to get the Kinz cash for the girls? That's right. Me. And Sean. And even Haley. It's like all of a sudden I have a new chore. Sure it's more fun than cleaning bathrooms, but it does take a good chunk of time. So, blogging had to go. What was I to do? Let the poor animals starve?
Now, if you're the type of person who loves arcade games, let me know! I'll send you the girls' user names and passwords and you can earn some Kinz cash for them : )
Growing girlies
This morning as we were heading out the door to school I realized how quickly the gap is closing between Patience and Jordyn heightwise. They can even wear the same shirts, although they definitely fit each girl differently. I'm so thankful to have my two girls together in the lineup!
Jordyn's ice skating lesson
Jordyn had her first ice skating lesson on Wednesday morning while Patience was in school. She went with her best friend, Megan, pictured with her. I wish I could say that Jordyn was a natural, but the truth is that she spent a lot of time on her bum and I think all the falling took a toll on her. She cried at one point, but stayed out on the ice and worked through it! She has 4 more lessons, and I hope she makes great improvement. She did get to go to Megan's for a 4-hour playdate afterward, so I think she remembers it as a good day : )
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Funness...
...is what Don and I had tonight : )
First we ate the BEST pizza I've ever made. I'm not kidding. It was better than Pizza Hut.
Then we went and saw Blind Side at a theater with our good friends, Steve and Lois.
Then we went to Steve and Lois' house and played cards until midnight.
And the girls won every game : )
Dylan and Haley babysat the Littles, and did a fine job!
It was the perfect evening.
Ahhhh....
First we ate the BEST pizza I've ever made. I'm not kidding. It was better than Pizza Hut.
Then we went and saw Blind Side at a theater with our good friends, Steve and Lois.
Then we went to Steve and Lois' house and played cards until midnight.
And the girls won every game : )
Dylan and Haley babysat the Littles, and did a fine job!
It was the perfect evening.
Ahhhh....
Friday, January 08, 2010
Michael Pollan's food rules
Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much.
1. Eat food.
2. Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no normal human would keep in the pantry.
4. Avoid food products that contain high fructose corn syrup.
5. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top 3 ingredients. 6. Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
8. Avoid food products that make health claims.
9. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or “nonfat” in their names.
10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.
11. Avoid foods you see advertised on television.
12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.
13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.
15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can.
16. Buy your snacks at the farmers’ market.
17. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans.
18. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap.
19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
20. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
21. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language. (Think: Big Mac, Cheetos)
22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.
24. “Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands on two legs (fowl) which is better than eating what sands on 4 legs (cows, pigs, and other mammals.)
25. Eat your colors.
26. Drink the spinach water.
27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
28. If you have the space, buy a freezer.
29. Eat like an omnivore.
30. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil. (“Eat organic” or “beyond organic.”)
31. Eat wild foods when you can.
32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes.
33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi.
34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself.
35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature.
36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of your milk.
37. “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.”
38. Favor the kinds of grains and oils that have been traditionally stone-ground.
39. Eat all the “junk” you want as long as you cook it yourself.
40. Be the kind of person who take supplements—then skip the supplements.
41. Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
42. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.
43. Have a glass of wine with dinner.
44. Pay more, eat less.
45. Eat Less.
46. Stop eating before you’re full.
47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.
48. Consult your gut.
49. Eat slowly.
50. “The banquet is in the first bite.”
51. Spend as much time enjoying the food as it took to prepare it.
52. Buy smaller plates and glasses.
53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds.
54. “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.”
55. Eat meals.
56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods.
57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
58. Do all of your eating at a table.
59. Try not to eat alone.
60. Treat treats as treats.
61. Leave something on your plate.
62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you don’t.
63. Cook.
1. Eat food.
2. Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
3. Avoid food products containing ingredients that no normal human would keep in the pantry.
4. Avoid food products that contain high fructose corn syrup.
5. Avoid foods that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top 3 ingredients. 6. Avoid food products that contain more than five ingredients.
7. Avoid food products containing ingredients that a third-grader cannot pronounce.
8. Avoid food products that make health claims.
9. Avoid food products with the wordoid “lite” or the terms “low-fat” or “nonfat” in their names.
10. Avoid foods that are pretending to be something they are not.
11. Avoid foods you see advertised on television.
12. Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.
13. Eat only foods that will eventually rot.
14. Eat foods made from ingredients that you can picture in their raw state or growing in nature.
15. Get out of the supermarket whenever you can.
16. Buy your snacks at the farmers’ market.
17. Eat only foods that have been cooked by humans.
18. Don’t ingest foods made in places where everyone is required to wear a surgical cap.
19. If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.
20. It’s not food if it arrived through the window of your car.
21. It’s not food if it’s called by the same name in every language. (Think: Big Mac, Cheetos)
22. Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
23. Treat meat as a flavoring or special occasion food.
24. “Eating what stands on one leg (mushrooms and plant foods) is better than eating what stands on two legs (fowl) which is better than eating what sands on 4 legs (cows, pigs, and other mammals.)
25. Eat your colors.
26. Drink the spinach water.
27. Eat animals that have themselves eaten well.
28. If you have the space, buy a freezer.
29. Eat like an omnivore.
30. Eat well-grown food from healthy soil. (“Eat organic” or “beyond organic.”)
31. Eat wild foods when you can.
32. Don’t overlook the oily little fishes.
33. Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi.
34. Sweeten and salt your food yourself.
35. Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature.
36. Don’t eat breakfast cereals that change the color of your milk.
37. “The whiter the bread, the sooner you’ll be dead.”
38. Favor the kinds of grains and oils that have been traditionally stone-ground.
39. Eat all the “junk” you want as long as you cook it yourself.
40. Be the kind of person who take supplements—then skip the supplements.
41. Eat more like the French. Or the Japanese. Or the Italians. Or the Greeks.
42. Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.
43. Have a glass of wine with dinner.
44. Pay more, eat less.
45. Eat Less.
46. Stop eating before you’re full.
47. Eat when you are hungry, not when you are bored.
48. Consult your gut.
49. Eat slowly.
50. “The banquet is in the first bite.”
51. Spend as much time enjoying the food as it took to prepare it.
52. Buy smaller plates and glasses.
53. Serve a proper portion and don’t go back for seconds.
54. “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.”
55. Eat meals.
56. Limit your snacks to unprocessed plant foods.
57. Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
58. Do all of your eating at a table.
59. Try not to eat alone.
60. Treat treats as treats.
61. Leave something on your plate.
62. Plant a vegetable garden if you have the space, a window box if you don’t.
63. Cook.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Jordyn in pictures
I think Jordyn will be an always-willing model : )I'm not sure where she gets that. Hmmmm....
Nick in pictures
Extreme cuteness.
Lately Nick has had a fascination with Haley. Every time she's over he follows her around, immediately putting his arms up to her to be picked up if she ever stands still for a nanosecond. She's very accomodating. Dylan, on the other hand...
More extreme cuteness...
Today while Nick was in eating a snack I made a quick phone call. When I got off the phone I looked at Nick and saw that he was mimicking me with his (broken) phone. It was amazing and so funny : )
Yep, I'm going to be having fun with this camera. And Nick may or may not learn to run and hide every time he sees it...
Lately Nick has had a fascination with Haley. Every time she's over he follows her around, immediately putting his arms up to her to be picked up if she ever stands still for a nanosecond. She's very accomodating. Dylan, on the other hand...
Today while Nick was in eating a snack I made a quick phone call. When I got off the phone I looked at Nick and saw that he was mimicking me with his (broken) phone. It was amazing and so funny : )
Then he tried to figure out how to make a call...
Yep, I'm going to be having fun with this camera. And Nick may or may not learn to run and hide every time he sees it...
Ice Skating!
Miss Jordyn is going to be taking ice skating lessons! I originally tried to get the girls in a lesson together in the afternoon but all of the spots for their level were already filled. There was "preschool" lessons available on Wednesday mornings, so I signed her up for 5 30-minute lessons that start on the 13th. This is Jordyn's first "activity," and I hope she likes it! I am going to sign up both girls for lessons starting in May. So, Nathan, your dreams might be coming true after all...
I'll be posting pictures. They're sure to be entertaining...
I'll be posting pictures. They're sure to be entertaining...
Bad dog!
Nick was sleeping beautifully in his crib at the foot of our bed last night. Don and I were enjoying a bed for two instead of a bed for two and a half until Nick accidentally nudged his pal, Scout. I heard a very loud, "Hi Nick! Wanna play?" which, of course, woke up Nick, who, of course, wanted to get in bed with us, and then had trouble getting back to sleep...
Scout is no longer a crib toy.
Scout is no longer a crib toy.
Sunday, January 03, 2010
17th Coast Guard District
I just found that someone in the Coast Guard keeps up a blog and there are posts about the USCGC Sycamore and their trip to Japan/Russia/Adak! Just click on CGC Cutter in the sidebar...
17th Coast Guard District
17th Coast Guard District
Friday, January 01, 2010
Happy New Year's from the Murphys
Today is a very low-key day. Don and Sean are outside doing yard cleanup. Dylan is doing a take-home history test. The girls are enjoying Reader Rabbit on their fixed laptop. Nick is napping. Turkey soup is simmering on the stovetop. And I am doing what I always do! Happy New Years from all of us!
Nick
Here is Nick, so very happy with himself, playing with Patience's new laptop that she got from the Jadischkes for Christmas! He can't believe his good fortune!
Belated Christmas pictures
Here we are fooling around with my new camera : )As you can see, Mom and Lee are looking better than ever, and Don and I are beginning to show our years (44 in May!).
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