Project 365 ~ Day 10 ~ Our Community Center

Today we had a play date at the Fallbrook Community Center. We are so blessed to have such a great place for the kids to play. I played there when I was a kid, but they have since updated the play equipment (thank goodness...I used to get splinters from the old). Even with the new play equipment, it still is the same ol' place that I played. I love that. I love that when you're there and look around you see trees and greenery. Space. This is part of what I love about Fallbrook. The small town feel. Knowing that when I'm at the community center or going into town, I am going to run into someone I know. Fallbrook has grown from around 30,000 when I was a teen to over 60,000 now, but it still has the same feel. And I get to share my childhood memories with my kids. This particular day, Joel wanted me to help him sit on the big boy swing. He had never swung this way, so I was a little fearful that he would fall and get hurt. But he didn't...he hung on like a big boy and pumped his feet. It was so cute. How did he automatically know that he had to pump his feet to go? Maybe he was secretly watching his brothers do it. Of course, I pushed him as well. And we all had a grand time.

Joel's kisses can still be very wet. Even so, we all love him so much that we enjoy each and every kiss. You can see true big brother love on Jonny's face even though he's getting licked. Although, I'm sure this was followed by "Ewww, Joel!" - with a funny look on Jonny's face as he wiped his cheek off.

We had fun! What a great way to do P.E. for the older two and Physical Therapy for Joel.

To view all the best photos from our time at the community: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46770513@N06/sets/72157623134770897/

Project 365 ~ Day 9 ~ Joel and Blue Snowball

Every Thursday Joel likes to "GO" to therapy. I mean he LIKES it! As soon as I tell him "Let's go to therapy" he says "GO" and rushes to the car. Today was no different except that today he took Snowball. He has fallen in love with this blue, stuffed bunny and since it's a bunny, it has received the love and name of our real bunny, Snowball. He insisted on taking it into therapy with us. Snowball had to participate in some way in most of the activities we did. It is actually very cute how attached he is to it. He likes to say "Ohhhh, kissy Snowball."

Joel usually gets a sticker after therapy. Today she asked which one he wanted. Knowing that there was no way he could understand or communicate enough to make a choice like that, I asked him if he wanted Pooh. He likes Pooh. He looked at her and very clearly stated "Elmo". He likes Elmo more than Pooh. Thankfully they had an Elmo sticker to reward his communication. When Isaac (my husband & Joel's daddy) saw the picture below, he was surprised. He reminded me that Joel doesn't like wearing his stickers. I don't know what was going on, but on this day Joel asked me (in his way) to put the sticker on his shirt. Of course, it didn't last long and then he transferred it to my shirt. And then back to his. The whole time not letting go of Snowball.

As you can see, he never did let go of Snowball. In fact, Snowball went with us into Costco after therapy. Snowball and Joel want to "GO!" somewhere, anywhere, anytime. It really is a blessing that this child likes to GO places in the car because he has spent A LOT of time in the car going to doctors appointments. As I drove away from therapy, I saw some people getting on a bus and it made me think about how blessed we are to have a car. It is one of those things that we tend to take for granted. There are many people without a car and if we were one of them, our life with Joel would be so much harder. On top of it being more work for us, he would probably not receive as much medical intervention. So, thank you God that we have a car. Thank you that we live in America where there is excellent medical care, excellent doctors, medicine available, ect. Joel is so blessed to have been born here. It is something we think about occasionally, if he had been born in a third-world country, he would be lying on a mat somewhere seizing constantly. He wouldn't be walking, talking, smiling, interacting. He would be a lump...like he was before his surgery. So again, THANK YOU LORD!

While I have these pictures of Joel in his carseat, I want to mention how much we have appreciated this car seat. I did a lot of research before we bought it, and I truly feel it is not only very comfortable, but it is extremely safe as well. The sides are so protective and keep him upright with his neck in a comfortable position when he is asleep. Joel and I both love his carseat made by Recaro.

And oh, I want to kissy Jo-jo...right in his kissing spot - the dimples just to the left of his beautiful smile (the right side in the picture)...and thank God that he is a part of our family.

One Good Veggie Recipe

I made some yummy asparagus with dinner tonight and thought I would share the recipe with you. We have been on an adventure trying to eat as healthily as possible because of Joel (well, really it's good for all of us!) I don't think I had eaten asparagus prior to one year ago. Now we love it. Well, all except Jonny and Jason...they tolerate it. When we ate it tonight, Joel couldn't get enough. He ate all of his and about half of daddy's. Steam asparagus for 3-5 minutes, depending on your preference for crispness. When done steaming, saute in olive oil with sliced raw almonds, garlic salt, lemon juice and zest (peel). A few notes: * I have never done the zest. It is still a delicious dish without.

* I don't saute hot or for long. The asparagus is already cooked from the steaming and I know olive oil looses it's nutritional benefit when it's heated.

* Most of the time Costco sells a bag of Organic Petite Asparagus in the frozen veggie section. (The back of that bag is where I got this recipe.) It's three pounds for (if I remember correctly) about $10. I prefer frozen vegetables because they are frozen right after harvesting, therefore ensuring we get the most nutritional benefit. Also, besides all the well know benefits of eating organic, certified organic foods are Non-GMO, and can never be genetically modified.

Project 365 ~ Day 8 ~ Another New Word

Today Joely looked at me and said "hant"...I couldn't understand him, so I asked him "what, baby?" He told me "Elmo hant!" After a little bit of thinking I figured out he was saying "want". Elmo wanted one of the pretzel sticks we were eating. I love that he's trying out new words. Pretend play is one of the steps of speech. He has to go through each step before he can reach the next level. Lately he has been pretending with his stuffed animals and other toys. He pretends that his little dinosaurs are eating his food. He gave me Elmo a few days ago and said "diapy Elmo". Diapy is what he calls diapers. He wasn't satisfied until I had put a diaper on Elmo. I love this stage. It's so much fun!

Project 365 ~ Day 7 ~ Making Cookies with Jason

Okay, here I go. I am going to tell you a story through pictures. Today Jonny went with Grammy, Grampy, and his daddy to work on my grandpa's house. Jason was really disappointed that he didn't get to go with them, so I told him I would make cookies with him. That wasn't quite good enough to make him feel better, so I was a softy and said he could make a really big cookie for himself. THAT made him feel better! I don't let them have much sugar, so cookies are a real treat. He loves baking (really anything to do with cooking) and I let him choose what cookie we would make so he choose No-bake Fudge Cookies and was excited. I will admit it, I usually avoid baking/cooking with my boys because it is so much extra work, extra time, and extra cleaning. It makes me feel guilty admitting it, but it's the truth. What surprised me was that I truly enjoyed this time with my boys. I really should do it more often. Extra bonus: it makes a good math lesson.

Jason made plans to share cookies with our neighbor kids before he started. He was so excited, it was cute. He did everything exactly as I told him to.

Joel was hovering near the whole time. I think he sensed we were cooking something with sugar.

After the first sheet was spooned out we set it aside to cool. Joel found a chair located conviently close to the cookies.

They were very tempting. So tempting, in fact, that I caught him licking one. I had told him not to touch them...and he was obedient...kinda. He didn't touch, just tasted. But he was trying to sneak the taste, and I caught him.

And that's just the problem, I caught him. When I told him not to lick the cookies, he got his adorable pouty face. It comes complete with teary eyes and pouty lip. I know exactly where he got that pouty lip because I've seen my baby pictures. This is the first time I've been able to capture the lip in a picture. Whenever he gives me the pouty face I can't help but smile because it tears at my mommy heartstrings with its cuteness.

I hate to say it, but I guess it worked, because this is the next picture:

I gave Joel a spoon to lick and he was a happy boy, once again.

I also gave Jason a spoon to lick and let him scrape out the bowl. According to my kids, this is the best part:

When the spoons were all licked, Joely couldn't contain his love for a brother that made him cookies. He just had to kiss Jason with that chocolatey face.

And Jason loved it!

What a sweet ending to a wonderful day. We'll have to do this again soon.

A friend asked me for the recipe, so here it is:

No-Bake Fudge Cookies

Makes 1 dozen

Mix together in a saucepan:

2 heaping Tbsp. cocoa

1/2 stick margarine (butter is healthier, non-dairy: Organic Earth Balance)

1 cup sugar (I use organic, non-bleached cane sugar)

1/3 cup milk (non-dairy: almond or rice milk)

Bring to a boil and boil for one minute. Remove from burner and add:

1.5 cups quick oatmeal

1/4 cup peanut butter

1 tsp. vanilla

Stir until oats are coated. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Cool before serving.

This is a great recipe to make with kids. It has been in my family for a while. If you try it, please leave a comment letting me know what you think.