Eating Whole Foods/Honest Food Guide

I am determined to serve my family organic, locally grown, whole foods as much as possible. It is so important to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and get adequate exercise and sunshine. Every day we (mostly Matthew) take the boys on a walk so they can get exercise and some sunlight. It's so important to begin the day by moving your body and getting fresh air and sunshine. I have to thank my parents for encouraging us to excercise and setting good examples; my Mom runs/walks everyday and does Tae-Bo every other day (I think) and she's done that ever since I can remember. My Dad walks their dogs and does back exercises every day (or almost everyday). Thanks Mom and Dad!! I want to be a good example to my children and hope they continue their healthy ways into adulthood. We are trying to take hikes with the kids every weekend so that one day we can go backpacking with them...how fun would that be!!!

Here's a great food guide that I think everyone should have hanging in their house:

http://www.honestfoodguide.org/

I'm also never buying canned, processed foods anymore. They are full of chemicals and devoid of nutrients and enzymes. Here's some information on the recent findings of the toxic chemical, Bisphenol A in canned foods:

A Survey of Bisphenol A in U.S. Canned FoodsMarch 5, 2007Summary.

Independent laboratory tests found a toxic food-can lining ingredient associated with birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems in over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods. The study was spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and targeted the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), a plastic and resin ingredient used to line metal food and drink cans. There are no government safety standards limiting the amount of BPA in canned food.EWG's tests found:Of all foods tested, chicken soup, infant formula, and ravioli had BPA levels of highest concern. Just one to three servings of foods with these concentrations could expose a woman or child to BPA at levels that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests. For 1 in 10 cans of all food tested, and 1 in 3 cans of infant formula, a single serving contained enough BPA to expose a woman or infant to BPA levels more than 200 times the government's traditional safe level of exposure for industrial chemicals. The government typically mandates a 1,000- to 3,000-fold margin of safety between human exposures and levels found to harm lab animals, but these servings contained levels of BPA less than 5 times lower than doses that harmed lab animals. BPA testing in canned food. We contracted with a national analytical laboratory to test 97 cans of food we purchased in March 2006 in three major, chain supermarkets in Atlanta, Georgia; Oakland, California; and Clinton, Connecticut. The lab tested 30 brands of food altogether, 27 national brands and 3 store brands. Among the foods we tested are 20 of the 40 canned foods most commonly consumed by women of childbearing age (NHANES, 2002), including soda, canned tuna, peaches, pineapples, green beans, corn, and tomato and chicken noodle soups. We also tested canned infant formula. The lab detected BPA in fifty-seven percent of all cans.

I think we all need to look in our cupboards and throw out anything with ingredients we cannot pronounce, any artificial colorings & flavors, MSG, and any else that is not a real food. Also, we need to get rid of the chemical cleaning supplies and start using natural products like Seventh Generation, Method Cleaner, or use baking soda and vinegar. We need to do this for our children, the animals, our environment, and our planet.

Here's another website that is worth looking at: http://www.newstarget.com/

I just listened to an interview with Mike Adams and it was very informative. Please look at the articles and educate yourself.

I truly believe in the raw food movement and eating nutrient dense, alive, whole, organic food.

Even if you take baby steps to improve your diet, that's a great start. For example, have a smoothie in the morning instead of processed cereal and milk. Have a big salad for lunch instead of fast food. Snack on fruits and veggies instead of candy bars and sodas. Little changes will help you in the long run.

Well, I hope some of you who are reading this have felt a little bit inspired to look at what you are eating and change your diet and lifestyle. There is tons more information on the internet and in books. Please do some research and take charge of your health. You don't have to be in pain, taking medicines, feeling crappy everyday. You can change and feel better. Think positively!!

Here's my appreciations for today:

1) My wonderful family

2) My awesome husband

3) My adorable children

4) My friends

5) Eating organic yummy raw foods

6) Sunshine

7) Exercise

8) Internet

9) My health

10) My attitude

Love, Shelly

Beach Day!

Another beautiful day in paradise! We went to the beach again today and had a wonderful time. The boys enjoyed throwing stones in the ocean and watching the huge waves crash. It wasn't a good beach to run and play in the water because there were lots of stones and big waves, but we still had fun. I just love the ocean and looking at the waves. It is very relaxing and soothing. I could have stayed there all day but we had to get home so the boys could nap....or so I thought. They both fell asleep in the car, but when I transferred them to their beds, they both woke up. Ronan would not go back to sleep and had a full on tantrum. After this episode today I realized something about myself....I realized that I get mad when my expectations are not met. Like today, I was hoping to have a break, read my book, relax, eat a nice salad while the boys took a nap. But when that didn't happen, I got really mad. When I talked to my awesome husband, he said you have to expect the unexpected with children and that is so true!! He is so smart!

So, I'm really going to work on this every day.

Here's my appreciations for today:

1)My wonderful family

2) My awesome husband and his words of wisdom

3) My fantastic children

4) Riding the bike this morning

5) Spending time at the beach

6) Living in Southern California

7) Sunshine

8) Ocean

9) My friends

10) My health

Bye for now, Shelly

Farmer's Market Day!

Today we went to a different Farmer's Market because I didn't get to go my usual one on Sundays. It was smaller, but there was still great food (except no avocadoes, kale, chard, oranges or lemons). I bought the following for $48: 3 pack strawberries, red & black grapes, 5 fugi apples, 6 nectarines, 8 peaches, 2 plums, watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe, 3 tomatoes, 1 onion, 1 celery, 2 heads of broccoli, 3 bell peppers, 5 corn on the cobs, 4 zucchini, 3 yellow squash, cilantro, basil, 2 bags mixed lettuce, 1 bag spinach. Here's a link to find your local farmer's market so you can support your local farmers: http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm

Today I appreciate:

1) My wonderful family

2) My awesome husband

3) My amazing children

4) Farmer's Markets

5) My babysitter

6) Pilates

7) Raw foods

8) Sunshine

9) My health

10) Sleep

Love, Shelly

P.S. Both boys have slept all night for the past 2 nights. I told them both before going to bed that to please sleep all night and wake up when the sun is up and that's when we get to play with toys. Today I'm more tired than ever and I don't know if it's the full night of sleep I got or what. My body is definitely not used to sleeping all night. I've probably slept all night maybe 5 times in the past 4 years. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beach Day!

Today is one of those days where I really truly appreciate where I live. We went to Newport Beach with a friend of mine and the weather was so perfect. It wasn't too hot, too windy, or too cold; it was so perfect. We had a great time playing in the sand and the boys had so much fun running from the waves and holding sand crabs. They both fell asleep in the car and took a good nap at home (yeah!). After their naps we played in the garden and then went for a walk. Throughout our day, we try to name certain things from each letter of the alphabet to pass the time in the car or on a walk or just to learn. So today during the ride to the beach, we did ocean alphabet and named all the animals in the ocean from A to Z. In the garden we named all the fruits and veggies from A to Z. And on our walk this evening we named all the superheroes from A to Z (Ian did all the superheroes). This is something everyone can do and it really is fun and keeps your brain active!

This evening I made a really yummy shake that we all loved: about 1 cup of almond milk, 2 bananas, 1/4 cup goji berries, cinnamon and ice...yummy!!!

Today I appreciate:

1) My wonderful family

2) My awesome husband for keeping the kids busy this morning while I got ready for the beach

3) My fantastic children

4) Both kids napping today!

5) Being so close to the beach and enjoying this perfect day

6) My friends

7) Sunshine

8) Ocean

9) My health

10) Raw foods

Love, Shelly

Ian's Birthday Party!

I'm sorry I didn't post the last couple of days. I completely forgot to post on Thursday and Friday night. I get so busy in the evening that sometimes I just don't want to be on the computer. Today we had a mini party for Ian. My Mom and Dad, Joanne, Cindy, Dean and Dezi (7 months), and Emily came over and we had a lovely time. I made (all raw) a salad, veggies with dip, yummy cookie balls, chocolate brownies, ice cream, and fruit salad. The ice cream was a real hit, especially the peachy one. :)

Peachy Dream raw ice cream:

2 cups cashews (soaked for a few hours)

2 peaches

1 banana

5 dates

1/4 cup lucuma powder

1 vanilla bean

1 1/2 cup coconut water

Mix all ingredients together in vitamix, then freeze in ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, take them out and put in Champion Juicer with blank plate on or after mixing in vitamix, place in ice cream maker and follow directions.

Ian had a great time playing with everyone and loved all the presents. Both boys are still awake right now and playing with the new toys and puzzles. They do not seem too tired yet, but we are tired and ready for them to go to bed. Ian's been up since 5 am too!

Here's my appreciations for today:

1) Ian, my amazing little boy who teaches me to live in the moment

2) Ronan, my amazing little boy who teaches me patience and understanding (got to love those terrible twos!)

3) My awesome husband who kept the kids busy today so I could clean the house and make food!!

4) My wonderful family for coming up to visit

5) Seeing baby Dezi crawling (she is so darn cute!)

6) My good friend Emily for coming to visit

7) Going to Pilates on a Saturday morning

8) Making delicious raw food

9) My health

10) Sunshine

Love, Shelly

P.S. Tom and Dawn are coming over next weekend to celebrate Ian's birthday so it will be great to see them...hmmm, what should I make?

Climbing trees

Today we met our friends at the park and had a lovely time. It wasn't too hot and there was even a little cool wind. The boys were climbing the trees and having lots of fun. Of course Ronan had to try to climb everything Ian was climbing, even though he can't quite reach all of the branches. He is definitely Ian's little shadow. He loves to copy him; luckily Ian doesn't mind yet.

This morning I made fresh orange juice for everyone. I also made a green smoothie made out of papaya, pineapple, banana, and parsley. After the park I made the above salad...it was so yummy! It contained romaine lettuce, sunflower sprouts, grape tomatoes, jicama, bell peppers, cucumbers, avocado, green onions, dulse (seaweed), and I squeezed an orange on top of it for the dressing. It was so light and refreshing. I'll definitely be making this salad again.

Tonight I tried to make a raw tomato soup but it didn't turn out quite right. The boys didn't want to eat it. So they ate some kale chips that I made a while ago. Then they had some celery with cashew butter and raisins. Oh yeah, I made a superfood smoothie this afternoon (almond milk, cacao, goji berries, lucuma, mequite, maca, acai, and alissa's green powder and some raw honey and ice.

Here's my appreciations for today:

1) My wonderful family

2) My awesome husband

3) My fantastic children

4) Riding the bike this morning

5) Meeting my friends at the park

6) Having awesome friends

7) Watching the kids climb the trees

8) Making delicious raw foods

9) My health

10) Sunshine

Bye for now, Shelly

Library Day

We went to the library today and checked out another box of books. They have a "Storytime To Go" Box and it revolves on a theme and it contains: 5 books, 1 puppet, 1 story with felt animals/people/things, and songs. Today we picked out "Mother Goose Rhymes". It had 3 furry white mice for the puppets...so cute.
Amber babysat this afternoon, so I was able to do some errands and go to Pilates, yeah!!
After I got back, I quickly got dinner on the table. Both boys were so hungry; they ate a pint of organic raspberries from Trader Joe's that I just bought and then we had raw sandwiches. I couldn't believe how much Ian ate and that he liked it so much. I just had to take a picture. The sandwich contained raw tortilla (I modified it a little bit and used 3 cups of fresh corn, 1 cups sunflower seeds and added a little bit of mexican seasoning) from Alissa Cohen's book (http://www.alissacohen.com/), raw cheddar cheeze from http://www.playfood.org/, sunflower sprouts, zucchini, cucumber, red and yellow bell pepper, and jicama (he didn't want the avocado). He happily ate 1 and 1/2 sandwiches!! Ronan tried a sandwich too and he ate a few bites. He absolutely loved the jicama, raw cheeze sticks from RAWvolution (that I made almost 2 weeks ago), and some avocado.

Some cute things Ronan is saying lately: Yeah is "Yeb" and Oh yeah is "Oh Yem" and Rectangle is "Recatangle". Super cute!!!!!!!! Ronan is talking so much now; it's really cool!

Here's my appreciations for today:
1) My wonderful family
2) My awesome husband
3) My fantastic children
4) Running in the morning
5) Making a yummy green smoothie
6) Making a yummy superfood smoothie
7) Reading to the kids
8) Going to Pilates
9) Having a wonderful babysitter
10) My health
11) my friends
12)my happiness
13) the sunshine
14)RAW FOOD

Bye for now, Shelly

Green smoothie/Garden class

This morning I had a very green smoothie: 1 orange, 10 oz bag of frozen mangoes, 2 dates, 4 oz of spinach (from a container), and Alissa's green powder (probably about 1 tsp).

Here's what we did and ate today:

I had a glass full of' the green smoothie (both kids thought it was too green for them, but they tried it which is great), then rode the bike for about 35 minutes, had a little bit of yellow watermelon, then went to Home Expo to talk to a designer about remolding our bathrooms (we are having major mold damage), then came home and picked up the kids (they went on a walk with Daddy) and went to a gardening class for the kids. On the way to the class, I downed another cup full of the green smoothie. The kids had a fun time at the class. They fed the turtles, tortoises, horse, goats, rabbits and chickens. They they got to make seed balls (which is the photo above - Ian holding one that has not been dried yet). Seed balls are made up clay, soil, wildflowers, gourds and other seeds. You are suppose to dry them out in the sun and then put them in a place in your garden where it doesn't get too much water. Then when the next rain comes, it will wash away the clay and the seeds will grow. While we were at the class, I had some nectarine and watermelon. The boys snacked on watermelon, grapes, nectarines and raw cheezy almonds. We got home (Ronan fell asleep on the way home- yeah!) and I made a raw sandwich using the RAWvolution onion bread, raw cheeze, sprouts, tomato, and avocado. It was so good I had to make another one. Then I snacked on some goji/coconut/tahini balls. Later in the day I made fresh almond milk for the boys and had some of their leftovers. Almond milk is super easy to make: soak almonds overnight (12-48 hrs) and rinse, throw them in the vitamix (I have a hemp milk maker from England that I use), add a pinch of Himalayan Sea Salt, 1/2 tsp olive oil, 4 dates, 1 vanilla bean, and some cinnamon. Man or Man this is so yummy!!!

For dinner I had a salad with butter leaf lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, red bell pepper, pumpkin seeds, dulse and a raw dressing. Yum!

My appreciations for today:

1) My awesome family

2) My wonderful husband who loves to play with the kids in the morning so I can exericise, or make food, or clean or go on errands

3) My beautiful children who make me laugh everyday

4) Riding the bike

5) Going to the gardening class with the kids

6) Watching my children feeding the animals

7) Watching Ian making the seed balls

8) Sunshine

9) My health

10) RAW FOODS

Bye for now, Shelly

Farmer's Market Day

I love Sundays because that's when I go to the Farmer's Market. I buy organic and pesticide free produce from the local farmers. Today I spent $75.80 and I bought the following: 7 nectarines, 5 peaches, 6 apples, 5 lbs oranges, 8 passion fruit, 5 sapote, 5 heirloom tomatoes, big bowl of grape tomatoes, 1 big maui onion, 2 bunches broccoli, 1 cauliflower, celery, 2 bunches of carrot, 3 cucumbers, basil, parsley, cilantro, dill, chard, kale, red butter lettuce, 2 red romaines, jicama, green onion, 5 reed avocadoes, 6 lemons, 4 limes, and 3 zucchini. Now I need to sit down and figure out what I'm going to make this week. We aren't planning on doing much today. Matthew is planting some radishes and peas that we grew from seed at a gardening class with the kids. The boys are outside squirting water with their new water sprayers. It's another hot day today. The boys and I ate for breakfast an entire yellow watermelon from the farm..yummy!! I need to figure out what to make today.
We went swimming at Auntie Emily's pool today after Ronan took his nap. Ian wears a modified life-vest that helps him stay afloat but he still has to swim a little. So, today he wanted to take out one of the floating pads (there are 3 each in both the front and back panels). He was watching me swim underwater and then next thing I knew, he was swimming with his head in the water. It was unbelievable...he's definitely a visual learner like me. We had a great day!
My appreciations are:
1) My wonderful family
2) My awesome husband for gardening today
3) My fabulous children
4) Going to the Farmer's Market
5) Taking a short nap
6) Cleaning the bathrooms, kitchen and some of the windows
7) Swimming in Auntie Emily's pool (thank you!)
8) Eating a really yummy raw sandwich when we got home
9) Sunny, hot day
10) Reading

Love, Shelly

Watermelon Farm Tour

Today we went watermelon picking and toured Tenaka Farms. The boys loved riding the tractor and trying out the various veggies and fruit. They gave us carrots, beans, corn, cucumbers, sweet melon, and yellow and red watermelon to try. I think we all liked the sweet melon (type of cantaloupe) and the yellow watermelon the best. Ronan loved squirting the water bottle and was very upset when we had to give it back. One of the photos is of Ian sitting by his friend Camryn and they were having fun making funny faces. After the tour we went to the bookshop and bought a few books for the kids (I can't resist buying books). And then we went to the Raw Food Festival in Huntington Beach. We had all raw ice cream, raw jackfruit/coconut creme pie, and chocolate cake. I also tried a lot of samples (pizza, salads, pudding, dips, crackers, etc). I brought home nori rolls, seaweed soup, pad thai noodles, olive oil, vanilla beans, cultured veggies, buckwheat and sunflower sprouts, and "Play food cheeze" ( http://playfood.org/). I forgot to take pictures of the lovely food. :( The boys crashed out in the car on the way home so they had a very nice nap. We went to a neighbor's pool pary in the evening (birthday party) and the boys did some great swiming. Since today was crazy, I didn't get a chance to write down what I ate; I'll do that tomorrow.
Here's what I appreciate today:
1) My wondeful family
2) My awesome children
3) Waking up to hearing the boys playing in the front room at 5:45am (so cute!).
4) Going to Pilates in the morning
5) Going to the watermelon tour and trying yummy organic fruits and veggies
6) Going to the bookshop and watching the boys get so excited about books :)
7) Going to the raw food festival and meeting my friend and her kids there
8) Buying really yummy raw food
9) The boys taking a long nap
10) The warm sunshine

Bye for now,
Shelly

Ian's B-day Celebration at School

I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday; Matthew was on the computer (straightening up all the papers around the desk that seems to grow each day). We had a great day yesterday. We celebrated Ian's 4th Birthday at his Waldorf Preschool. The 1st photo is 2 butterflies mating on the grass at his school. The kids were very interested in them and wanted to know what "mating" means. Oh boy, the start of learning "the birds and the bees". We said they were making babies and they asked if that was a mommy and a daddy. It was very cute! The 2nd photo is Ian blowing out his 4 candles which represents his 4 years of life. His teacher tells a very cool story about Ian and what he's done in his 4 yrs (like traveling, going to the beach, parks, camping, reading, etc). The 3rd photo is the kids having fun during circle time (I thought it was such a cute picture of Ian). The 4th photo is Ian with his best friend from school and his brother. The last photo is my raw sandwich I made...yummy!

Here's what I ate yesterday:

6:40- green smoothie (6 leaves dinosaur kale, handful blackberries, 2 apples, 1 nectarine and ice)

8:45am-9:15am- superfood smoothie (coconut water and meat, cacao, maca, lucuma and mesquite powder, frozen cherries and raspberries, Alissa's green powder, acai and ice)

11:00- blueberries and strawberries

12:45am- 2 Raw Sandwiches and chocolate brownies (I'll post later the recipes)

2:30-some pineapple

3:00- leftover apple from the boys

6:00-raw tacos (I'll post later the recipe)

I went on a late walk last night when Matthew came home from work and listened to my rawkin radio podcast...that was so nice. You can find it here: http://www.rawkinradio.com/

My appreciations:

1) My awesome family

2) My wondeful husband

3) My fabulous children

4) Ian's preschool teacher

5) Ian's friends at school

6) Making yummy raw food (raw tortillas and breads)

7) Taking a walk and listening to my podcast

8) Reading my book

9) My health

10) My happiness

bye for now,

Shelly

I didn't get a chance to post yesterday, so I'm doing it this morning. Ronan hasn't been taking naps lately and is getting up at 5am every morning. He started getting tired around 10am but I couldn't have him take a nap then because I had my usual Thursday playgroup at my house and I had to pick up Ian from preschool at noon. So then I tried to get both boys down for a nap around 1:15pm but they just play and fool around in their bedroom. It's really cute to listen to them talking to each other and playing around, but I also need them to take a nap, especially Ronan. The above picture is Ronan passed out while doing his puzzle at 3:30pm. I left the house at 2:45pm to go to my Pilates class and my babysitter, Amber, was there to watch the kids. I guess Ronan was so tired that he finally passed out on the ground....poor guy!! Today I'm going to try my hardest to encourage a nap even if I have to drive him around in the car. He just can't go all day without a nap especially waking up at 5am. So, the boys went to sleep around 6:45pm and Ronan woke up at 12:30am asking for water and then he woke up at 5am. I heard him saying, "Ian, Ian, wake up." So, I rushed in there and gave him his pacifier and blanket and told him it wasn't time to wake up yet and please don't wake up Ian. 15 minutes later I hear both boys getting up and going into the front room. They are such early birds!! I'm glad I'm a morning person!

The other 2 photos are Superfood Smoothie and Savoy Truffles. The Superfood Smoothie contained: brazil nut milk, cacao powder, agave, cinnamon, vanilla, blueberries, raspberries, lucuma and mesquite powder, maca, and acai (all mixed up in the vitamix with ice).

The Recipe for the Savoy Truffles is found in the RAWvolution Uncookbook by Matt Amsden.

I buy some of my raw ingredients from http://www.rawfood.com/ and from http://www.alissacohen.com/ and from my local heath food store.

Here's what I ate yesterday:

6:45am- shared 2 grapefruits with the boys (I'm so excited that they'll eat grapefruit)

7:15am- Superfood Smoothie (recipe above)

(8:00am - rode stationary bike for 30 minutes)

10:00am-11:15am- More of the same smoothie from above, Truffles from above and watermelon

1:15am- green smoothie (6 leaves Swiss Chard, frozen blueberries, 1 apple and ice) shared it with the boys :)

(3:00pm - Pilates)

6:15pm - Nori rolls (raw nori, romaine lettuce, sprouts, dulse and Mock Tuna Salad from RAWvolution Uncookbook)

Here's my appreciations from yesterday:

1)My family

2) My wonderful husband who cleaned the garden and patio before everyone came over for playgroup

3) My wonderful children- they help me to learn to live in the present moment

4) My friends coming over today for playgroup

5) Hot, Hot sun

6) My babysitter

7) Pilates class

8) Shopping for groceries by myself
9) My health

10) More energy

Bye for now!
Shelly

More Legoland Pictures

I wanted to show some more pictures that I thought were cute from Legoland. We had such a great time there. Well, I thought both boys would take a nap today since they had been up since 5:00am, but they didn't. So, it was an early bedtime for them and more time for Mommy. Since we didn't do much of anything today except go for a run, I thought I'd write down what I ate today.

6:30- Fresh OJ

6:45- grapefruit

10am- superfood smoothie (coconut meat and water, cacao nibs & powder, goji berries, lucuma and mesquite powder, maca, acai, vanilla, cinnamon, frozen cherries and water)

10:45- 1/2 banana (Ian didn't want to eat the rest of his banana, so I ate it)

11:30- 2 banana bites (raw granola like thing)

1:00- apples and cashew butter, few grapes and little bit of brazil nut peach smoothie that I made for the kids

2:15- few bites of raw chocolate brownie

5:00-big green salad with raw ranch style dressing, celery, cucumbers and raw crackers (the boys liked dipping the veggies and crackers in the dressing)

I'm really trying to have more greens throughout the day and to only eat when I'm hungry...those are my goals!!!

Here are my appreciations:

1) My family

2) My wonderful husband who pushed the stroller today while we ran

3) My boys for being great today even though they were tired and didn't want to take a nap

4)Yummy raw food

5) Sunny hot day

6) Having a blog to share our news with everyone

7) The Internet

8) Running

9) Chiropractor (went today for my back and foot)

10) Feeling more energetic today

Peace & Love,

Shelly

Ian's 4th Birthday!!

Whoo Hoo!! It's Ian's 4th Birthday...Wow! I can't believe it's been 4 years...he's is such an amazing boy - super funny, smart, beautiful, loveable little boy. He opened up some presents this morning, ran around in the super small Spider Man outfit from Nana & James (it was really for Ronan but Ian wanted to wear it and the Batman outfit they sent was too big) and then we went to Legoland with my Mom and my sister Joanne. We all had a blast at Legoland even though it was pretty hot. I posted a picture of Ian with his Spider Man outfit on, a picture of my Mom (Busia) with Ian, picture of Joanne with Ian on his first real amusement ride, one of Matthew getting soaked and Ronan not liking it at all, a picture of me and Ian, and a picture of the boys playing with Ian's new toy from Busia and Grandpa (they love it). The boys were making stories with all the new dinosaurs and Ian didn't even want to eat dinner because he was so engrossed with his story. We had an awesome day!!! Thanks everyone for calling and wishing Ian a happy birthday. Thanks Mom and Joanne for coming to Legoland with us..that was so great.

Here's my appreciations for today:

1) My wonderful birthday Boy!!!

2) Loving family

3)My Mom and Joanne coming to Legoland with us to celebrate Ian's birthday

4) My awesome husband driving to and from Legoland

5) Ronan - having a good time at Legoland even though he was tired and it was hot

6) Sunshine

7) Juicy watermelon at Legoland

8) My health

9) My friends

10) The Internet

Peace & Love,

Shelly

Sunday- Park & Pool Day

We went to Laguna Niguel Regional Park this morning and we saw 2 Peregrine Falcons perched on a fence - that was really cool. I just love raptors! Then the kids played with Daddy while I shopped at the farmer's market. The boys fed the ducks and geese and played on the swings. Then when I finished shopping we put the boys in the stroller and ran around the lake - that was great exercise! I got a massage in the early afternoon and Ian took a short nap (Ronan didn't take one). Then we went to Auntie Em's (my friend Emily) pool and the boys did some swimming. Ian is learning to swim with a modified swim vest. He is such a great swimmer and loves jumping in and swimming on his back. Ronan loves the water too but not wanting to learn how to swim yet.

I wanted to start a list of appreciations to help me stay positive, enjoy life, and live in the present, so here are some for today:
1) Having a wonderful family

2) Having the BEST husband

3) Having 2 beautiful, smart, funny children

4) Getting a massage

5) Going to the park

6) Running

7) Shopping at the farmer's market

8) Visiting with Auntie Em

9) Watching Ian swim

10) Enjoying a nice warm sunny day

Here's some pictures from today!

Enjoy :)

Shelly

Very First Post

Greetings Everyone!!

We finally created a blog to journal our family life and the adventures we take with our two wonderful boys. I'll be posting pictures of the boys and places we visit regularly and I'll post my journey with raw foods too. I started experimenting with raw foods last year (I've been on and off of it for the past year) but now I've been eating 100% raw for the past 32 days. Raw foods is the best diet/lifestyle and I think we should all be eating this way for our health, for the environment, for the animals and for our children. The boys eat mostly organic, non processed foods, no meat products, no eggs, they do eat raw honey, raw cheese, and raw butter. We love to travel and have been to England, Hawaii and Oregon with the kids. We also love going to the beach and exploring the tidepools, hiking, and playing in our garden. We hope to do more travels this year and look forward to sharing our journeys with all of you.

Cheers!
Shelly