Mmmm, this is good! And Yummy! Can I have some more please?

We've been incorporating more raw foods into our diet, and I've also been trying to change the cold cereal for breakfast every morning routine. So, when a friend talked about the Raw Chia Pudding that she's been making, I decided to make it for this morning's breakfast. I made the recipe exactly as written, except for adding a tiny bit more sweetener and about an inch long piece of an organic vanilla bean.
It is so good, and super quick to prepare. The kids were thrilled, they ate two bowls so quickly that I didn't have time to grab the camera to catch their huge smiles. Henry asked me to make it every day, so I'll be sure to have the camera at the ready next time.
If you've ever thought about trying a raw recipe, this would be an excellent one to start with! Chia has tons of antioxidants, amino acids, and EFA (especially omega-3). It also is full of fiber! I'm looking forward to trying some more new recipes soon!

Oh, the things I can do!

Highlights of my past week's accomplishments;
Typed with both hands, ate with a fork, cut my own nails, cut the kids nails, folded laundry, used a key to open the front door, scratched an itch on my left shoulder, put Juni's hair in a ponytail. But, the one that I was most excited by is something that I haven't been able to do in quite a while...
I used chopsticks!!
With no numbness, pain, or weakness!
I still can't fully straighten my arm, and have a lot of strengthening to do, but it's amazing how much more I can do now. I started physical therapy this morning, and will be going twice a week for a while. Over a year of reduced function will take a while to rebuild, but I've seen so much progress in just the past week that I'm fairly certain that I'll be where I want to be before long.

healing

had surgery on my elbow, too much typing hurts. i should be able to fully use my arm late next week and then i'll update the blog. i've got some new photos to share :)

Playing with letters and making "bird food"

H&J are so into learning letters that I found some printables online for them to play with. Here they are using the pom pom alphabet cards, but instead of pom poms, they are using magnets that we made using wooden discs from Michael's, glued to heavy duty 1/2' magnets. I gave them each a stack of cards on a metal tray and a pile of magnets, and they had tons of fun building letters.

The kids have been loving watching the birds eating from the birdfeeders, and are surprising me with their bird identification skills! Last week we decided to make pinecone birdfeeders, hoping to entice even more birds to the yard. We changed the recipe a bit, adding peanut butter and millet and the birds seem to be enjoying it. The other day we saw a bird on the feeder that I didn't recognize, and I wondered aloud what kind it was. I was quite matter of fact-ly informed by Henry that it was a grackle. Google determined that it actually was! We will definitely be learning more about birds.

All children deserve a healthy world and a healthy life

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.