My early Christmas present

My daughter Sami is a very picky eater. It's been hard over the past two years as we've gone back and forth with her trying to get her to eat fruits and vegetables. We finally realized that we really needed to back off. I'd started giving her vitamins even.

Then two months ago, I was in BJ's when a man was demonstrating the VitaMix blender. I had never taken

the time to talk with someone about it before that day. But, the kids and I tried 3 different smoothies (2 smoothies and 1 ice cream/sorbet). They had spinach in them and Sami drank them right up. It made me think about what was most important to me--whether Sami ate fruits and vegetables in their original form or that she ate them at all =) I was tired of fighting with her and feeling bad for her continual constipation. So, I brought it up to my husband. He was skeptical and I dropped it.

A month later, he realized that we also needed to give Sami a break and so I brought up the Vita Mix again. He was skeptical still, but less so. He and I both knew it would be a big investment ($400) and we weren't sure where the money would come from in our budget. But, little did I know, he had started looking at Costco each time he went (since he had started doing my Costco shopping for me a month ago) for the VitaMix demonstrator's visit. Last weekend was that visit.

My husband told me that he bought me a cookbook--a cookbook? I don't need any cookbooks. He asked if I wanted to see it and I said, okay. We went downstairs and the cookbook happened to be the VitaMix cookbook. A VitaMix cookbook!

Well, it turns out he saw the demonstration and was persuaded. He had no idea it could do so many things (neither did I really).

This weekend we made 4 smoothies, cheese sauce for noodles, soup, and ice milk dessert. Today for lunch Sami had a smoothie with cantaloupe, pineapple, peach yogurt, honey, milk, ice, and banana. Eli was so upset when it ran out (he's not a good fruit eater either, really). Sami drank it right up and it was good for Autumn who won't drink milk.

Honestly, I wish we'd gotten one a long time ago--I didn't know it would be such a blessing and save us so many struggles with the kids over food! Sami is already much more regular after only 3 days of our family owning a Vita-Mix.

One last note...the last time I was in the pediatrician's office she mentioned to me that fruit juice is one of the big things the APA is concerned about. Straight Juice is like giving a kid alcohol, I guess. Their bodies can't process the fructose well without the fiber from the fruit. Juicers are great to give natural fruit--but they take out the fiber. The vitamix leaves in all the fiber (hence Sami's improving digestive track =) ). If you've thought about a juicer, I just wanted to let you know what my pediatrician shared with me. =)

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story. My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard. Am I questioning too much? Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way. But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them. Recently, I read a book that troubled me. The book I finished reading was Guiltless Living by Ginger Hubbard. When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...

listening or rather not listening to directions...

This week has been very eye opening. I am observing and noticing what I need to learn in order to be a better homeschooling mom and teacher and what my daughter needs to learn to be a good homeschooling student. My weakness when I was a teacher in a first grade classroom was not understanding how small concepts had to be broken down--and I lost my patience very quickly. This week, in particular today, I am seeing how detailed my directions need to be. I am going to be working very consciously and deliberately on this. On the other hand, I realized that my daughter does not listen! Wowsers! In a classroom, Autumn listens very well. She is a compliant child and very influenced by peer pressure and conformity. So, she listens along with everyone else and follows directions. But, at home, it's just Autumn and maybe Sami and Mommy. Very, very different! I had forgotten that most of kindergarten in the public schools is not focused on teaching students academic and learning co...

Writing A Homeschool Teacher Resume

I'm helping a friend who's switching jobs write a resume. She hasn't written one in years, so this is something new. I began working on her resume, but then stopped to write my own because I thought it might be helpful. Being a homeschool teacher may not seem to many like an occupation or career, but it is. I used the combined form of resume for myself. I began with the basic information, then moved on to strengths (the combined skills/experience part), education, Occupational Experience, then Related Experience, Certifications, Computer Skills, and mentioned at the end... References Available Upon Request. Sometimes homeschooling parents have to reenter the workplace because of family changes and needs. How could you express what you've been doing in a way that's acceptable for a resume? Well, here's my take on it... Teacher, Homeschool ...

love to paint

Search This Blog