I've been perfecting a waffle recipe for quite a while now, and I think I finally got it. :)

Cinnamon Vanilla Waffles

3 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. coconut oil
5 eggs
1 t. vanilla
cinnamon to taste (we used quite a lot - I let Josiah go at it with the shaker) :)
1 t. salt
2 T. sucanat
2 T. baking powder
1 T. baking soda
3 and 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

Blend wet ingredients along with cinnamon, salt, and sucanat. I use my vitamix, but any strong (and large) blender would probably work. Mix baking powder and baking soda into flour, then slowly add flour mix to wet ingredients, keeping blender running continuously.

Pour into hot waffle iron and cook as usual for your iron.

(I have to admit that usually I blend 2-3 cups of spinach into the buttermilk at the beginning, but if you prefer your waffles brown instead of green, you can skip that part.) :)

Labels: cooking, recipes

My dad and brother created an awesome video for their company, in response to their competitors' claims that their machines are "lightweight". The best part is the very end. Enjoy. :)

Labels: Family, funny, videos

h/t Dy

Labels: holiday, videos

Playing with big-little boys is very different from playing with little-little boys or babies. With little ones, my days were full of small interactions. Read "Goodnight Moon" or "The Big Red Barn". Stack a tower of blocks for him to knock over. Build a train track out of Brio. Round up the cars and trucks and turn on the water for "car wash" time. Little boys have short attention spans, and my interactions with them were often comparably short.

It isn't that way anymore. Now we're reading chapter books with Jonathan, and Thomas asked to start his own chapter book this morning as well. "Mommy, will you help me build this lego set?" means nearly an hour spent hunched over an instruction manual, searching for miniscule pieces that (I'm assured) will eventually become something "really awesome!" Games are also longer: Josiah will play Candyland for 30+ minutes; Jonathan and Thomas will play Sorry for twice that long. I put my foot down when they wanted to start playing Risk - no five hour games for this mama, no thank you!

(Board games - even short ones - are a cross that I have to regularly offer to Jesus. I can't stand them.)

There are wonderful things that come with these growing-up playtimes. Snuggling while reading together can be one of the best parts of the day. And I love seeing the focus and the creativity that abounds during lego play. Yet there is difficulty for me in this change of daily pacing. It can be hard to turn away from whatever I'm doing (laundry, dishes, my own book!) when I know that it won't be a short interaction, but rather an hour devoted to something that probably wasn't on my mental agenda. Setting my plans aside to be really present with my boys for extended play is a new kind of sacrifice of self, and I'm not very good at it yet. But it feels like the kind of thing that God is using to grow me up, too.

Labels: mothering, play, raising kids

Look who is FIVE years old today!



He requested Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast.




And apparently this present was "just exactly the set that I always wanted!"



Lego is Thomas' favorite thing right now. He enjoys building with them, and he loves setting up little worlds for his people and imagining adventures for them.





Actually, once the first part of the set was built, he handed the rest of the building off to Jonathan and happily played with the people and coach!



Thomas is growing up so much right now. Until recently, my middle boy has been extremely worried about going anywhere without me, refused to be left in his class during church, and preferred to play alone rather than interact with people. Yet in the past month or so he has started asking for play dates with friends and is comfortable running down to visit neighbor kids without me coming with him. I'm glad he's finding his comfort zone with people, and I'm glad we let him arrive there in his own time and on his own terms.

Happy Birthday, my dear little introvert. We love you so very much.

Labels: birthday post, Thomas

Jonathan is home from school with a fever and drippy nose. I woke up with a headache, even after going to bed early last night (doesn't bode well, does it?) Thomas and Josiah, oddly, still seem to want meals and parental interaction. I'm still in my pajamas.

All four of us are having too much screen time. I know this, but don't have the energy to do anything about it. I think I might have enough energy to crawl back into bed. Siah and Thomas don't seem to think that is a good idea. I can't imagine why not.

(I'm glad we made it to the library yesterday. At least we all have good books!)

Labels: hard days, mothering, sickness

Josiah: "Last Sunday, a bad guy killed me. And then I went to heaven."
Emily: "What was heaven like?"
Josiah: "Heaven is Jesus!"

Labels: Jesus, Josiah