The Changing Seasons

Winter 2013 has brought about some exciting changes to the Lew crew.  After a few months of soul-searching and re-evaluating some priorities, we've landed on a path that is a great fit for our family.  What is happening???  Here you go...

Zadie is sleeping in a big girl bed.  All cribs have been removed from our house!  (!!!!!)  The boys have been sharing a room with twin beds for months, but Zadie was the last to transition to a bed.  She loves to come out of her room 10-12 times each night before going to sleep, claiming the need for a drink, potty, blowing her nose, finding her sunglasses, needing her bunny, hearing a train, etc.  This girl has a stubborn but sweet streak.  I think she'll be getting her way for the next 16 years if she keeps up her charm! Zadie loves to sing, do silly dances, and watch Dora the Explorer and Bo on the Go.  She can sing her ABC's and loves to discuss the merits of certain colors with Ezra.

Ezra is turning into the sweetest, most generous little boy.  He is constantly watching his big brother and keeping up with all kinds of big boy things.  It's so fun to see how he plays with Zeke and Zadie.  With Zeke, he watches and then participates wholeheartedly.  They play firefighters and police officers all the time.  Ezra will share just about anything with anyone who asks.  If he's got a cookie, he'll give you half if you ask!  Ezra is strong and athletic.  He's able to climb and jump as well as many 4 year olds. Sweet and earnest, he'll snuggle in the morning.  By afternoon, you can hardly catch him!  Ezra loves his blanket and little stuffed monkey, and his favorite book is Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.

Zeke is a full-on preschooler.  He turned 4 in February and is showing so many signs of growing up.  He can dress himself, he's beginning to try new foods. (One sliver of carrot at a time counts- right?) He knows most his letters and can identify beginning sounds/letters of many words.  Zeke's imagination is in full swing, and he can spend hours setting up his rescue hero toys (think little green army guys, but instead of tiny guns, they're red and holding fire hoses) and narrating complex plots involving firetrucks, police officers, helicopters, and rules.  He loves learning animal facts and thanks to the PBS show, Wild Kratts, he knows all sorts of information about worms, skunks, whales, and pygmy marmosets.  Ask him anything- I dare you.

Starting in January, Tom began staying home with the kids as the full-time caregiver.  He has been taking education classes at the U of Arkansas, and anticipates graduating with a Master of Arts in Teaching next May.  His focus is secondary (7-12) English Education and will be student teaching starting in the fall.  Teaching middle school in Honduras was an eye-opening experience for him, and he's decided to follow this career path.  We very much look forward to having two teacher schedules and summers and holiday breaks to travel and enjoy with our family.  Tom ordered seeds and a starter kit from the Gurney's seed catalog this year.  Our bathroom is serving as a makeshift greenhouse to the sprouts as they prepare to make their journey to our four square foot garden boxes.  That's 64 squares of summer gardening!  It's going to be a great summer.

Also in January, I went back to teaching!  After looking for an elementary teaching job in the area for a couple months, I was encouraged to "get my foot in the door" locally by accepting a non-certified position.  In January I began working as an ESL (English as a Second Language) Instructional Assistant in a Rogers public elementary school.  I travel to 6 classrooms throughout the day working with K-5th grade students who are English Language Learners.  I've loved this work, and it has been a natural fit since coming back from Honduras, where 95% of my students did not speak English in their homes.  Taking that stepping-stone position has paid off.  Last week, I was offered a full-time certified position teaching Middle School English to ESL students.  I will begin my new job at the middle school mid-March.  I am so excited to be working with 6-8 graders again (the age-group I taught in MN) and I'm passionate about working with ESL students, so this is a great fit!  The transition from full-time at-home mom to working mom has been relatively easy, mostly because Tom has been so wonderful.  I know the kids are in caring, capable hands, and I love seeing the bond between them all grow.

Oh- and we got a dog.  Roxy (short for "Rock and Roll") joined our family in February.  She's a little terrier mix.  The guy at the humane society thought maybe a Manchester Terrier/ Jack Russell Terrier Mix?  She loves to chase tennis balls, dig in the yard (currently taking suggestions to combat this), and snuggle with the kids.  Roxy is a year and a half old, so past the chewy puppy stage- thank goodness!  Zadie is crazy about her, Ezra loves to chase her, and Zeke likes to pick Roxy up.  Roxy finds safety and comfort in her crate for a part of each day, but she's been a fun addition to our family!

So that's the news with us-  fun huh?

Usual Shirtson

Zeke has been doing wonderful things lately. One of the most wonderful is appearing in the living room with random equipment and costumes. This was Christmas Eve. I asked him who he was.

I'm Usual Shirtson. I make shirts for people.

It's an important job. Someone has to do it.

Ezra Talks about Bats

Ezra dreamt about bats last night. Smiling bats. He's at a pretty special place right now, language-wise. So, I decided to interview him.

Tired of Turkey Leftovers?

I posted a few years ago about a Chicken Tikka Masala recipe that is pretty much heaven.  Our friend Casey blogged about it, and it's actually The Pioneer Woman who originally published this recipe.  Every now and then, I think about it and can't sleep until I've made it and eaten it.  Anyway...  It's fantastic.

But when I don't have time to go all out, I love this recipe I tore out of the Ladies Home Journal a few years ago.  It's relatively hands-off-  25 minutes prep and 30 more minutes of cook time.  And if you plan accordingly, you can even make some killer homemade garlic naan while it's cooking.  I wanted to blog about it so that I can document it for the rest of time.  My beat-up page from the magazine won't last much longer!

Easy Chicken Biryani

Click HERE for recipe

*Don't be intimidated by all of the ingredients.  It's much easier than it looks and the prep is quick and not too messy! Plus, you only need one cutting board and one pot- easy cleanup!  

Where Did the Summer Go?

I didn't get around to blogging very much this summer.  We were just too busy having fun!  The album below is our July trip to MN.  Tons of fun with so many family and friends.  By the time we got home and unpacked and settled in, July was pretty much over!

Click here to view this photo book larger

By the time August came around, we just tried to squeeze in as many fun activities as we could.  Highlights included:

Zadie and Ezra officially "play together" all the time.  (Which sometimes includes wrestling and biting!)

Benton County Fair - checked out tractors and 4-H barns with Zeke's friend Brennon

Ezra held this rabbit for 3 minutes without either one of them moving a centimeter!

Backyard Swimming in the little pool and storage tubs

Overnight getaway to Lake Wedington State Park just outside of Fayetteville (awesome little cabin for about $75 per night!)

Tom's first day of grad school at the U of A-  Graduation May 2013!!!

Also, we did the Downtown Rogers Frisco Festival (Zeke and Tom took a train ride, and Zeke rode the ferris wheel for the first time!),  We completed our Whole 30 Health Challenge  (lost some inches, and maybe some sanity trying to prepare all those sugar-free, wheat-free, dairy-free meals!!!), and generally had a lot of family fun!  

Summer!  Ja Mon!

Twins?

I know Zadie and Ezra are the real twins, but look at these brothers!
Zeke (left) and Ezra (right)

 

Day 10

It's been awhile since I've blogged-  we've had an awesome summer filled with family fun and vacations.  I'm going to work on a big vacation post over the next couple days, but in the meantime wanted to do a quick update with a little project we're working on.

While in MN, we were talking to our friends, Joe and Brooke about a 30 day food challenge/ lifestyle makeover they did.  They managed to convince us that the Whole 30 challenge was worth a try.  (The extra 5 pounds we each brought back from vacation helped convince us too!)

The Whole 30 is based on the Paleo diet, also known as the caveman, primal, or similar names.  The idea is that our genes date back to cavemen, and our bodies are programmed to consume only the foods we can hunt and gather.  Animals and plants.




Basically, the diet is a 30 day "reset" or cleanse for your body.  Remove all possibly inflammatory foods from your diet, let your body heal and then slowly reintroduce thoughtful healthy choices after the 30 days is over.  The tough rules-  no dairy (goodbye cheese and creamy coffee), no grains, no legumes, no sugar, no processed foods for 30 days.  No cheating or the "reset" doesn't work.   Eeek!

The good news is that we can still eat big meals filled with lean proteins-  steak, hamburger, chicken, pork, eggs and eggs and eggs.  Instead of starchy side dishes, we just pile on a big healthy dose of veggies.  I buy a lot of frozen veggies and we've been loving fresh seasonal veggies too.

We're on day 10 of 30.  The sugar/bread cravings are subsiding, and I'm confident we'll make it until the end!

Things I've discovered so far:
10 days in, we both notice a difference.  No weigh-ins until the end, but we both feel noticeably skinnier!
Black coffee is not nearly as good as coffee with a little milk and sugar, but I might be convinced after 20 more days.
Jicama is not a valid substitute for potatoes.  Not the same.  But rutabaga is pretty awesome!