Health Insurance

What do you think the Health Insurance Industries average profit margin was in 2008?

2.2%

By the way that is pretty lame. Click here to see a comparison.*


*The number at this website says 3.3%. I am quoting the Wall Street Journal.

Sedon'a Latest

Sedona is about four and a half months old now. She has all the developmental skills that she should at this age. She smiles and giggles and talks to us. She rolls and can even sit for a few minutes if I set her up. She loves to play with her hands, chew on anything, and hold her feet. And she still loves her brother; he's the best entertainment available! She weighs over 19 pounds and is 26 1/4 inches long. I am starting to get out her size 12 month clothes!

Isaiah's Latest

Here's what Isaiah has been up to...I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Master Rotating Menu

Here it is! My goal is to serve a bean, nut, or soy product along with a whole grain, vegetable, and fruit. It's not perfect, but I think that's pretty good for now.

When my meal plan calls for "vegetable" or "fruit," I will be using a variety of what is available, what is on sale, and what is on hand. Some of our vegetables will include baked "French Fries," sweet potato "fries," snappy squash, roasted potatoes, green salad, carrot sticks, frozen corn, among other things. Fruit will often be oranges, bananas, apples, or seasonal fruits such as grapes, peaches, pears, berries, etc. We may also serve smoothies, applesauce, canned fruit, or even a wholesome fruit "dessert."

Of course, the menu plan will be interrupted with leftovers and meals away from home, but following the plan isn't the end goal. The end goal is *having* a plan.

I put in links to as many recipes as I could. Some of the recipes not linked are from the cookbook "Feeding the Whole Family," and some of them are my own adapted recipes that I just haven't typed up and posted yet.

1. Split pea soup, dinner rolls, vegetable, fruit
2. Nutburgers, dinner rolls, lettuce/tomato, pickles,vegetable, fruit
3. French lentil stew, pumpkin pecan or squash cornmeal muffins, vegetable, fruit
4. Falafel, whole wheat pita bread, lettuce/cuke/tomato/hummus, vegetable, fruit
5. Three sisters stew, peanut butter apple muffins, fruit
6. Taco burgers, whole wheat tortillas, lettuce/salsa, vegetable, fruit
7. Black bean and brown rice soup, tortilla chips, vegetable, fruit
8. Tofu patties over peanut pasta with greens, broccoli, fruit
9. Quinoa soup, leftover tofu patties, dinner rolls, fruit
10. Curried red beans and rice, vegetable, fruit
11. AnnMarie's marinated salmon, whole grain, vegetable, fruit
12. Crock pot pinto beans, tortilla chips, vegetable, fruit
13. African peanut stew, blueberry banana bread
14. Golden Yukon and tofu/tempeh casserole, green beans, dinner rolls, fruit
15. Barley bean stew, dinner rolls, vegetable, fruit
16. **Breakfast for Dinner** waffles or pancakes with applesauce, nutbutter, and maple syrup; sweet potato crunch
17. Quinoa chili, cornbread, vegetable, fruit
18. Bean and rice burritos, whole wheat tortillas, vegetable, fruit
19. Curried lentils and quinoa, whole wheat crackers, vegetable, fruit
20. Fish, whole grain, vegetable, fruit
21. Wild rice, squash, and pecan casserole, oranges
22. **New Recipe**

Why?

Why is the flavor of peppermint associated with Christmas?

New Pictures

See more pictures of my adorables in the photo album link to your right!

Veggie Tales

After our Thanksgiving Day naps, we watched the Veggie Tales movie "Jonah and the Whale." Although Veggie Tales is intended to entertain and teach children, the type of humor in the tales is often funny to adults as well.

For my Minnesota-roots readers, have any of you seen the movie? There is a Minnesota joke--did you catch it? I found it entirely amusing!

Black Friday

I went shopping on Black Friday for the first time in several years. I wasn't awake with the masses--are you kidding me?--moms of infants do not voluntarily give up sleep! I left the house about 9am and shopped for about two hours. The only *hot* deal I got was ribbon at Michael's for 70% off. Otherwise, I got a few things on sale and a few things at regular price, but overall, I was happy just to get some shopping accomplished. And it was kinda fun to be out on "Black Friday!"

Happy Thanksgiving

Psalm 100 ESV

Make a joyful noise to the LORD all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Me and My Adorables

Menu Planning Continued

This is the last round of menu planning and then I *hope* to put it all together as one grand plan. I'll try to get it posted with links next week sometime.

Monday: Wild rice, pecan, and squash casserole; fruit
Tuesday: Yukons and tofu casserole, green beans, dinner rolls, fruit
Wednesday: Rice and black bean soup, dinner rolls, potatoes, fruit
Thursday: Thanksgiving Dinner
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Curried lentils and quinoa, vegetable, fruit
Sunday: Bean and rice burritos (whole wheat tortillas), salsa, salad, fruit
Monday: Salmon, quinoa, vegetable, fruit

Isaiah

This is a picture of Isaiah and Sedona hiding in Isaiah's tent, in case you couldn't tell. Isaiah hasn't been very cooperative with the camera lately. In fact, this evening, I asked him to say cheese for the camera. He said cheese...with a piece of paper held up in front of his face!

He's been a busy boy lately. One of his favorite things is to hide in his tent. He often likes Sedona to hide with him. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to mind most of the time. Sometimes Mommy is invited too.

Isaiah has also been busy coloring. He especially likes to color on his parents' lists and with pens. Some of his favorite characters include Manny and the Tools, Bert and Ernie, Elmo, and Mickey Mouse.

He is starting to develop a preference for what clothes he likes to wear as well. His Elmo shirt is his favorite. I think he'd wear this every day if he could! If his Elmo shirt is in the laundry, he likes to wear his birthday boy shirt.

Of course he is very smart. He can recongize the letters "O," "T," "W," "X," and "Y." Actually, he can probably recognize many more. He can recite numbers up to 12 and then adds a few more random ones up to 20. And he's starting to learn what numbers are for and actually count things.

Riots of fun!

Blender Waffles

I adapted this recipe from chooseveg.com originally from Healthy Eating for Life for Women by Kris Kieswer. It's a good recipe but nothing special. The reason I like it is because it's so easy! But, really, I'm not sure why using a blender is so significantly easier than using a bowl and a spoon...

Since these are lower fat, they are not as crisp, but they do get crisp if you reheat them in the toaster.

Blender Waffles
1 cup rolled oats
2T flaxseed
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 banana
2 cups water
1T real maple syrup
1T oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour

1. After dinner, set your blender and waffle iron on the counter. Place a ripe, unpeeled banana next to these appliances.
2. Add the oats, flax, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt to the blender and cover with the lid.
3. In a medium bowl, mix water, syrup, oil, and vanilla. Cover and place in the fridge.
4. Measure 1 cup whole wheat flour and place it in a covered container near the banana.
5. Go to bed.
6. In the morning.... plug in your waffle iron.
7. Peel the banana and place it in the blender along with the liquid ingredients.
8. Blend. Add the whole wheat flour and blend until smooth. Add water if the batter is not pourable.
9. Spray your hot waffle iron with non-stick spray each time before cooking waffles according to your waffle iron instructions.

Hot breakfast...now wasn't that easy!

Recipe Requests

Here are a couple of the requested recipes and my changes. The Peanut Butter Apple Muffins would be yummy for breakfast or as a replacement for PBJ. Enjoy!



Blueberry Banana Bread

Charity's changes:
Replace 3 large bananas with 4 medium bananas
Replace 1/2 cup agave nectar with 1/3 cup honey


Peanut Butter Apple Muffins

Charity's changes:
Replace 1/2 cup margarine with 1/4 cup oil
Replace 1/2 cup white sugar with 1/4 cup honey
Replace eggs with flaxseed egg replacer
Replace 1/4 cup milk with 1/4 cup soy milk
Add one apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

Sermon Notes

A couple weeks ago, guest pastor Dave Gibson made some statements that were so simple and clear that I thought I should share....(these are not exact quotes, but pretty close....)

• If you think you can get to heaven by being good, then you claim that Christ's sacrifice was unnecessary.
• If you think you can get to heaven by believing in Jesus Christ and being good, then you claim that Christ's sacrifice was inadequate.
• If you think you can get to heaven by Christ alone, then you claim that Christ's sacrifice was both necessary and adequate.

Menu Planning Continued

I have a few "unused" meal plans from last week again. Oh, well! I'm only including 6 meal plans for this week; I'm sure we'll have leftovers at least once.

Monday: Crockpot pinto beans, tortilla chips, romaine/cukes/tomatoes, oranges
Tuesday: Three sisters stew, peanut butter apple muffins
Wednesday: Blender waffles with applesauce and almond butter, cukes, sweet potatoes
Thursday: Barley bean stew with dinner rolls, green salad/carrots, fresh fruit
Friday: Wild rice, pecan, and squash casserole, broccoli, fresh fruit
Saturday: Curried red beans and rice, potatoes and/or broccoli, apple slices

This One's Isaiah

This evening Isaiah pointed to his sister and said "This one...sweetheart."

I pointed to him and asked, "What about this one? Is this one sweetheart?"

"Nope!" he patted his chest and proclaimed. "This one's Isaiah."

Sedona

Three and a half months old....pushing 18 pounds!

Menu Planning Continued

Well, I had two "unused" meals from last week--once we had leftovers and once we had PBJ. I'll put the nutburgers into this week's plan and the rice and black bean soup later in the list. We've decided to try to incorporate a bit of cold water fish into our diet for vitamins B12 and D. The fresh fruit selection for this week includes cantaloupe, apples, oranges, and bananas. Here's what the plan is for this week:

Monday: Nutburgers with dinner rolls and fixings, zucchini basil soup, cantaloupe
Tuesday: Quinoa Soup, leftover nutburgers, broccoli, fresh fruit
Wednesday: Taco Burgers with whole wheat tortillas and tomatoes and lettuce, sweet potato fries, fruit
Thursday: African peanut stew, banana blueberry bread
Friday: Cod, wild rice, vegetable, fruit
Saturday: Lentils with garam masala, potatoes, zucchini muffins, fruit
Sunday: Crockpot pinto beans, tortilla chips, romaine lettuce/salad, fresh fruit

PS

I forgot to mention that Isaiah also successfully and repeatedly defeated the child safety door knobs last week. :(

The Latest

This week Sedona successfully moved objects with her hand to her mouth. She also reached for her toes. And that first tooth seems to have disappeared! Isaiah's amusing words this week were "Down the drain," when he and his dad were walking in circles around the couch. I guess it reminded him of the water going down the drain! His weather prediction, by the way, was incorrect.

The Weather Man

Isaiah predicts it will be "raining 'morrow" and we will "get all wet." Also, it may be "windy" and "snowing."

Menu Planning

Between the farm vegetables and the veganism, I've spent a lot of time making new recipes lately. I enjoy making new recipes, but it takes additional time and planning. So, because I have other things to do, I'm in the process of making a rotating menu plan. I haven't done this in the past because I was convinced that I would get bored of a rotating menu. However, I have a variety of recipes now and I need some more time, so I'm going to give it a try. I should be able to come up with about 25 days of meals not including leftovers. Here's what on for this week:

Monday: Split Pea and Potato Soup, Dinner Rolls, Vegetable, Fruit
Tuesday: Falafel with Pita Bread and fixings, Potatoes, Tofu Berry Smoothies
Wednesday: French Lentil Stew, Pumpkin Pecan Muffins, Sweet Potato Fries, Fruit
Thursday: Tofu Burgers, Dinner Rolls, Peanut Pasta with Greens, Broccoli, Fruit
Friday: Red Bean and Quinoa Chili, Cornbread, Green Salad, Fruit
Saturday: Nut Burgers and Dinner Rolls with fixings, Zucchini Basil Soup, Fruit
Sunday: Rice and Black Bean Soup, Tortilla Chips, Broccoli, Fruit

Isaiah's Latest

I guess after you turn two, you have fewer milestones. But here's a few of the things that I find special....

A couple weeks ago, Isaiah spontaneously leaned over to give me a hug with "I love you." So sweet!

"Need batteries," he said definitively while trying to fix his broken crayon.

He walks up to me with a real serious look, opens his eyes wide and looks straight into my face saying, "Isaiah need yummi bears." When I said no, he continued with the straight, serious look, "Isaiah need chocolate." At that point, it was hard not to laugh, but when I didn't give him chocolate, he continued, "Isaiah need gum."

Today, while he was supposed to be falling asleep for naptime, he heard me in the kitchen and was convinced that I was going to make chocolate cake without him. (I wasn't even going to make chocolate cake at all!) Every time I checked on him, he told me that he wanted to help me.

We were talking about chickpeas and he called them "Chicken Peas." He later used the correct word.

"Where's the penguin?" I asked.
He pointed to the "Pink One."

Sedon'a Latest

All of the sudden, Sedona is no longer a newborn! She has perfected her fist chewing into thumb sucking. She flaps and kicks more and more. And she loves to squeal! In fact, the past few days, she has just given a loud squeal when waking up from naps! She moves her arms and hands intentionally now and has even had a few successful grabs. She entertained herself for several minutes batting at this toy today. I'm not sure how long she'll sport the adorable rolls of chunkiness look since she is already easily distracted from nursing! She also has a new, hopefully temporary, nickname. Her cousin Oliver thought she should be called "Donut" and her brother thinks it's fun too. :)

Pictures

Isaiah at 3 months old.

Sedona at 3 months old.

Both Sedona's and Isaiah's photo albums have been updated (link to your right.) The pictures of them from Minnesota are still in the Minnesota and More Minnesota albums. Enjoy!