I heard marching in the distance.  I was in the kitchen preparing lunch.  The stomping got louder and so did the giggles.  I hear Monsta trying to whisper not to tell Mommy what we are wearing to his brother.  I knew they were up to something.  They finally burst in saying, “Look at us!”.  ”We are wearing your coats Mommy!”.  They were indeed.  Smiles from ear to ear, marching the proudest march and laughing.  Those are the sounds that make me feel whole.  Simple laughter.  They had raided the coat closet downstairs and were showing off.

Then, a little snack.

Goofballs, I tells ya.

In one second, tears…

Then back to happy.

Smiles make me feel so darn good!

I have lots of things to be thankful for but for today’s post, I would like to focus on something new that I’ve been doing. I’ve been juicing.

I know, right?

I never, in a million years, thought I would like the taste of some dark green concoction. I always new that it was a healthy thing to do but….
I have a girlfriend who juices, makes smoothies and really works hard on being healthy. One day she asks me to taste a fresh batch of Super Juice she made. I was all like, uhhhhh nahhhhh. Come on!, she says. Alright. With a squinty face, I took a sip.

HOLY SH!t! This tastes awesome!

I really couldn’t believe it. From that point on (about two weeks ago), I’ve been juicing. It makes me feel terrific and my body just craves it in the morning. My husband and 2 year old have also joined me drinking our Super Juice. My 5 year old? Nope. Won’t touch the stuff. I even juiced just an apple (which he loves) and he had a fit. Will I give up? Nope. I’ll sneak it into something.

This morning’s Dupa Ju (as my little one says it)

Spinach, carrots, green apples and cucumber. It was a new combination for me. We loved it! Refreshing is an understatement.

My eyes have been opened to a whole lot of new things lately – thanks to a group I belong to on Facebook, Raising Natural Kids.

I’ve always tried hard to incorporate ‘natural’ into my family.  I realize that there are so many more things I could be doing but…..rather, BUT

What I do is great for us now.

Now . we just drank vegies and fruits . i feel wonderful about that.

Spotted

waiting

one more look

off to school

Breakfast is the most favorite meal of the day around here.  For both my kids, the smell of eggs, pancakes, waffles, syrup and bacon can make them high-tail it to the kitchen table.  Of course, we don’t have that every day.  Most mornings, it is a combination of cereal and fruit.

Cubby loves to savor his breakfast.  He can sit for an hour and eat his cereal while watching Sesame Street.  Bowl after bowl (little bowls mind you), he chews and slurps and spills and laughs.  Upon completion, Oliver Twist style, he raises his bowl and asks for Moa.

Have a great weekend!

Emerging from the Subway…

a new world

I like this

holding onto Daddy

a real pro already

still have to go through the rest. Stick with me…

Certainly a highlight of 2011.  We received tickets from my Mom to go see The Lion King.  I was super excited to bring the Monsta.  He loves all things that have to do with plays, stages, shows, puppets etc.

Off to NYC via LIRR

I can’t stop looking at this kid – hence the two looking out the window shots.

He felt pretty important handing over the tickets to the conductor.

First time in a subway.  He was intimidated at first and needed the security of Daddy.  He warmed up to the crowds of people after a few minutes though.

By the time we were to the big escalators, he was a pro at dodging and walking briskly.

Stay tuned for part II

It is pretty much Halloween, 365 days of the year around here, as Monsta loves dressing up in costumes.  I could take it or leave it, really.  Now that I have kids though, I am enjoying it a lot more.  I like making costumes and every year, our house gets a bit more decorated than the last.  This year, the big guy decided he wanted a store bought costume.  ACK!  Come on, I wanted to make it!  I backed down easily as I need to choose my battles.  He wanted to be a knight and a knight he was.

Cubby was going to be the lion that his brother was when he was two.  It was a good idea.  Recycled costume and all but he just didn’t go for it.  He roared and let me draw his whiskers and nose but that is where it ended.  He ended up in a cute raccoon hat that Grandma gave him.

I can’t even believe I’m posting this next picture.  Yes, my husband bought us costumes this year to surprise Monsta.  Batgirl for a Mommy, he was pretty psyched.

My husband, of course, was Batman.  He taught the little knight how to defend.

Cubby picked up on the whole ‘what to do on Halloween’ thing pretty fast.  He was determined to go to every house.

Superheros – that’s us.

My boy in silver.  I love him.

Fun day.  Lots of candy, which is hidden away, and not even remembered.  By them anyways ; )

I don’t know about you but I crave alone time with my kids. On the weekends, I try to escape with Monsta to somewhere special. Yesterday was the beach. I told him that we were scouting out new locations for sessions and that he could really help me. I needed a model right? We got in the car and I said, “Thank you for coming with me, I love when it is just you and me”. He said, “You’re welcome Mommy.” I said, “Do you know where I’m taking you?”

Crickets

That kid was fast asleep before we even got to the main road. He awoke pretty groggy but bounced right back once he saw how beautiful it was.

We chased birds, played Monster, found shells and rocks…

He was awesome.

Now that the Monsta is in kindy, I cherish the time I get to spend with the little one as well.

He loves to spend time in Big brodda’s room. Pretending that he’s him. He tries on his shoes, clothes, costumes….you name it.

These kids fuel my spirit. I look at them and think to myself, “How did we do that? and How do we love them so much?”

I’m truly amazed that we did something this awesome.

After getting pretty muddy in the fields, we headed out to get some local vegies.

We stopped to get this:

Ask me if I’m happy about getting a semi natural smile? Yes.

Then on to shop a bit.
Ravenous child eating some corn on the cob:

Picked up some red peppers. I stuffed them with beef, onions, walnuts and raisins this week and a side of sweet potato.
Leeks – I plan on making soup
Broccoli and Cauliflower – plan on using as sides for dinner this week. Maybe I’ll make a cauliflower soup? hmmmmm.
Brussel Sprouts – I roasted with olive oil, s&p and served with a rack of baby lamb chops

We picked up some pizza for the kids and a sub for the adults. Headed to the beach for a sandy picnic and some play time.

After all that, we headed back to my sister’s and gave the kids baths. They passed out in the car and we didn’t hear a peep out of them till 9am the next morning.

It was more than nice.

One more post coming your way from this day.  Maybe Friday.

What kind of traditions do you and your family do in the Fall?

Every year, just like many Long Island families, we head out East to go pumpkin  picking.  We usually go to a farm by my sister’s house because it always has great pumpkins and a corn maze, which the Monsta loves.  We fill a wagon full of pumpkins till it is overflowing and somehow, someway, we always get across the finish line without any falling.  This year was no different.

Monsta was ready.  He was a lean, mean pumpkin picking machine that was eager to get out into the fields.  He reminded Daddy of all the things we would need.  Gloves, Swiss army knife etc.  I would say, we were more than ready.

Then we get the phone call(s).  My sister tell us that the farm is not even selling pumpkins this year because of all the terrible weather.  All the farms were hit pretty hard with so much rain and then the hurricane.  Pumpkins were not in good shape.  There were definitely no wheel barrows and everyone was selling by the pound.  That could get pretty expensive.  We finally found a place that sold a bag full for $30.  That sounded reasonable, considering.

We set out…

Do you even see any pumpkins?

Ahhhh, we found some.  Cubby was happy as a clam.

It was slim pickins though.  Most of them were rotted or mushy or just plain gross.  Monsta managed to find some keepers.

I tried my best for the family shot.  Balanced my camera on a sturdy squash and set the timer.  Damn briar!

We made the best of it.  I’ll post more of our day later on this week.