Week 30, as you may have deduced from the title, began the start of a new normal for our little clan. Davey has jokingly called me “all or nothing Emi” in the past (and has also bestowed this lovely title on Ethan!). It is true that I tend to go full-throttle or do nothing at all. It would probably be better to be more balanced, and it’s something I’m working on. That said, after reading the first third of “In Defense of Food”, I decided it was time to clean house…or, pantry rather! The whole family is on the “real food” plan now. I felt so much better that I basically decided to impose it on the boys! Now, I gave Davey a choice in the matter—he’s an adult and can make his own well-informed choices. To my surprise (and delight), he said he wanted to do it with the family too. Thus begins the new normal for our family. In a nutshell, when we’re at home, we eat almost exclusively non-processed food, with a few very minimally processed foods sprinkled in. In addition, we have for now transitioned to organic produce, meat, and dairy. YIKES BUDGET!! I’ll keep you updated on how that impacts us!
So, I spent a decent amount of time this week trying out new recipes, and therefore tasting new recipes. Shockingly, I ended up still staying even on weight despite my quality control role! I am proud to report that the food went over really well….well, for 3 of us. I’ll give you one guess who it wasn’t super popular with?! Even so, I was so proud of Tommy’s behavior and attitude this week. I basically made them go cold turkey on things they are used to having every single day, and he took it like a champ! He certainly asked me for his usual items, but when I said “No, we don’t have that anymore”, he understood and didn’t fight me on it. Don’t get me wrong, he went several meals this week only eating fruit and milk, and that made him a little more ornery in general I think. But, he wasn’t mad or arguing with me for not giving him his usual snacks which I was super pleased about! And, a shocking thing happened too—he ended up choosing “the lesser of two evils” in his mind I think sometimes! My favorite response though from Tommy this week—pretty much anytime he didn’t want to do something we asked him to do (eating food, getting dressed, pooping in the potty)—“Not today….Saturday”. That has become his catchall stall tactic! Ethan ate every single new item without complaint—woohoo!! Davey landed somewhere in between. He liked most everything, but is finding it hard if not impossible to give up his favorite bread in favor of whole wheat bread. For now, I have compromised on that one, and we’re now having sandwiches on freshly baked white bread from our local bakery J. Here’s a look at some of what we were eating this week—a special thanks to Scott Pfeif for the fresh garden tomatoes!!
Fresh tomato and mozzarella naan pizza for Davey!
Smoked salmon and tomato pizza for me!
The next morning for breakfast--smoked salmon, tomato, muenster, and avocado sandwich--yum!!
Arroz con pollo!
Davey's cheddar BLT...he LOVED it!
Homemade chicken nuggets--everyone but Tommy tried it and liked it!
Davey's new normal for chewy granola bars haha :)
We're calling these cereal bar cookies....a big hit with Ethan...still waiting for Tommy to try one!
Tommy was SOOOO HAPPY to eat his whole wheat "basketti"!
He said "I love it" about 20 times during dinner that night!
Ethy even liked his salad...as long as ranch was on it--not "real", but baby steps!
Not to worry though, we had a lot of fun this week too!! On Tuesday, we had an exciting “first”. The boys went to their very first movie in a theater! I was soooooooooo nervous about it. We went to the 10am showing of “Rio” at Beaver Creek. I’m not sure why I was expecting there to be like 20 people there, because there were like 500….not kidding. Every individual theater was open and either showing “Rio” or “Spy Kids”. When we pulled up, I was like, “Oh crap…this is going to be a total disaster!” Tommy had already said he was scared to go (I think just because he didn’t know what a movie theater was), and now we were accompanied by several hundred others, most of them older than my boys. Well, as it turned out, the huge crowd was a blessing in disguise for us! I think it made Tommy feel comfortable and like it must be something fun if all these kids were also here and seemingly happy about it! Once we entered, Tommy was immediately amazed by the “really big TV”! We each sat in our own chairs, with me in between the boys. We made it almost through the entire movie! Tommy could’ve easily made it—he was mesmerized! Ethan on the other hand didn’t seem super impressed. He liked the fact that his chair rocked and he had his own cup and snack holder on his chair, but after a little more than an hour, he started to get really restless. I was psyched they lasted that long, so I figured we should just cut our losses and head out on a high note! Since they did so well, I’m excited to try that out again soon--$3 for a family friendly outing in the AC is totally worth it!
The boys' first movie tickets...we had a great time!
Wednesday brought the beloved “double-dip”!! I had a dentist appointment, so Davey took the boys over to Goggi’s house in the morning. They seemed to have had a blast at the mall riding the carousels and motorized cars! I wish I could say I spent the day having fun without the kids, but I can’t! It was just one of those days where annoying errands had to be done. I always prefer bunching them into one day when possible. So, my day basically consisted of dentist appointment, Quick Kill out to the house to help us with our little earwig problem, having repair guys come out to fix the shutters that FELL OFF OF OUR HOUSE during the bad storm the night before and to repair our running toilet, and reorganizing the pantry!
Full view of the newly organized pantry
Snack foods on the bottom so the boys can grab what they want!
Davey picked the boys up on his way home and dropped them off at Grandma’s house for part 2 of the double-header! Speaking of part 2’s, we spent our evening watching the second installment of Sherlock Holmes before heading back over to pick up the boys. They must have been worn out from their exciting day, because when we opened the door to Tommy’s room to wake him up, he didn’t even flinch!
He was so adorable wedged in his little crevice!
On Friday, we went to Hit & Run for some more “lessons” with Granddaddy! Then, the boys had a “boys night in” so that I could go out with Leslie for a girl’s night! While I was gone, the boys apparently had one of their famous dance parties. One of the songs they dance to frequently is this crazy song called, “Tunak Tunak Tun”. Well, needless to say, Tommy didn’t really know how to request that song, so he said, “Daddy I want the OOOOUUGGGHHHOOOHHHOOOOOOHHHHHH song!” Now, click on the link and you’ll see what he was describing!
On Saturday, I wanted to treat Davey. He is so wonderful about letting me have time with my friends, and watching the boys so I can have some breaks, and I wanted to repay the favor! So, I took the boys to visit my Grandma Jan (Granny to them) and my Aunt Donna who was there for the weekend. After a VERY rocky start to the morning for my tooterbear, we finally got loaded up and headed out to Burgaw! The boys were very well behaved, and Granny and Aunt Donna were so excited to see them! And, Tommy was more than a little excited to have a “special treat” at McDonalds!
My Aunt Donna and Grandma Jan (Granny) enjoying a little pick me up while the boys played on the playground!
Tommy going all Hollywood on us :)
Ethan loved being the center of attention while Tommy napped like a good boy!
Tommy and Aunt Donna :)
Aunt Donna showing Ethan where the paparazzi is!
:)
"Granny's gonna get you!!"
Granny loves kissing that loveable soft face!
Granny loves Tommy too!!
Aww, I love this picture of Tommy snuggling up to Granny <3
Tommy even went down for a nap at Grandma’s house in a strange bed—score one for traveling in the future! Ethan, however, was not so cooperative on the napping front. Don’t get me wrong, he was EXHAUSTED, but he absolutely refused to sleep on the bed and/or floor of the other room. So, he had his first day ever of missing a nap! He actually handled it pretty well, but by 4pm, he was literally falling down walking. He did get about an hour nap in the car on the way home :). I was pleased to return home to find out that Davey did nothing but play FIFA Soccer on the XBOX all day—you deserved it babe!
On Sunday, we went to church—another excellent sermon btw if you want to check it out! Afterwards, we headed over to my parent’s house to celebrate Uncle Nolan’s new job as an Editor at Castle Worldwide!! CONGRATULATIONS NOLAN!!
Aunt LoLo giving her main squeeze a squeeze :)
"Congratulations Uncle NoNo!!"
Life Lesson #5—Disagreeing in Style
I have been having some great discussions with people lately. I love doing that. I love hearing different people’s opinions on things. Even when I disagree with someone or don’t share their same ideals or values, I enjoy the conversation and hearing their viewpoint. Well, as long as both sides are being civil and respectful anyway. I feel like this is a concept that has been largely lost in America today. The concept of allowing someone to have and own personal views that are not widely accepted and/or politically correct seems to be a difficult one for Americans to handle. It bothers me. In a country where the First Amendment guarantees free speech, government leaders are trying to deny zoning permits based on a CEO’s stated personal beliefs. I am speaking, of course, of Dan Cathy of Chick-fil-A and his support of the Biblical definition of marriage. The “problem” is that his opinions are not widely accepted, politically correct, or popular in the majority of America right now. That said, is he not entitled to have whatever personal beliefs he wishes to as long as he isn’t breaking any laws? I know the issue of gay marriage is an extremely touchy subject, but let’s flip this situation on its head for a moment. Can you imagine what would happen if a conservative mayor tried to forbid a Starbucks from opening because their CEO supports gay marriage? For the record, I think both are/would be ludicrous. Each person carries with them tens of thousands of opinions that form their own personal moral code. It simply isn’t possible for everyone to agree with everyone else on every moral question. I’m actually convinced that it isn’t even possible for any one person to totally agree with any other person so that their two moral codes are identical. Indulge me for a moment here. Let’s pretend for a second that there are only 100 different moral values, and that there are only two possible responses for each moral value—“right” or “wrong”. Obviously, in real life there are tens of thousands of possible moral questions, and any number of responses in between the two extremities of right and wrong. But, for this example, just humor me with the 100 values and two possible answers. The number of potential different moral codes would be enormous—to be exact it would be 1,267,650,600,228,229,401,496,703,205,376. I don’t even know how to pronounce that number. For 10,000 questions, still with only the two possible responses, the number grows to 2 with 3010 zeros added to the end! If every person researched the complete moral code of the CEO of every company, store, and restaurant and refused to spend their money anywhere that their personal moral code did not match the CEO's completely, there would be nowhere to shop! My point is that disagreeing on moral issues is a part of life that we all will encounter and have to deal with. You may not like someone else’s moral code, but it is their moral code—not yours. Every person in the world has the freedom to at least choose for themselves what they believe in. Hear people out, you might learn something, and you may even change your mind. Treat others with different opinions with respect, kindness, and grace, and it is probable that they will treat you likewise. Please remember that an ideal is not a human. Disliking or disagreeing with a person’s ideals does not mean you dislike or hate the person. You can support a person without supporting their ideals. Treat people with love and grace. As a Christian, our primary role other than our personal relationship with Christ is to love others—ALL others, where they are. Loving a person and agreeing with everything they believe in and/or do are not the same things, but they shouldn’t be mutually exclusive either. Never forget that we are all sinners, and that all sin has the same end result—no matter how small or large you think they are. So, don’t ever think yourself better than someone else based on the way you sin verses the way they do.
Okay, I know we're a week late on this one, but it was a great week! It was a busy week too though, which is one of the reasons I'm late on this one--better late than never though! The week started on a very cute note as Tommy saw some muffin mix in the cabinet and asked if we could make some. I have been waiting for the boys to reach an age where they might be interested in cooking and/or art projects. Tommy will do some painting--by himself--don't even think about trying to help! Other than that though, he seems pretty uninterested in coloring or drawing. Maybe he'll just be a painter?! Anyway, I was stoked when he asked to help because I had tried in the past to get him to help me with cookies and muffins, and it was a huge flop! Take a look at the young artist and budding chef's work :)
Tommy gingerly stirring to start off!
Now he's digging in!
"Alllllll Done Mommy!!"
Look at those beautiful muffins my baby made :)
I think those could pass for purple butterflies?!
Hmmm....maybe a sun causing a forest fire??
The next day was a big one for me--CONSIGNMENT SALE DAY!! It is literally one of my favorite days of the year. I love to shop, and I love a fabulous deal! To everyone who has ever complimented my boys on their cute clothes--they are ALL from this sale! So, I headed up to the NC State fairgrounds around 3, and I was greeted with a massively scary looking storm cloud as I waited in line for about 45 minutes with giant lightning streaks in plain sight and 100 degree heat. (On a side note, Tommy had us cracking up this week when he walked outside and in a very concerned voice said, "Ohh noooo, what happened to cold?!") What happened indeed! Anyway, here's a picture of the scary cloud and crowd!
The line...the heat...the misery
Have I mentioned I hate storms?!
This year's sale was no exception--I racked up!! In the pictures below you will see Tommy's full Fall/Winter wardrobe! My clothing haul ended up costing us $160 for 14 long-sleeve shirts, 8 pairs of pajamas, 6 pairs of pants, 5 sweaters, 3 sweatshirts, 2 pairs of shoes, 1 lightweight jacket, and 1 winter coat! That would be an even $4 per item for Gymboree, Children's Place, Old Navy, Crazy 8, Levi Strauss, Timberland, Land's End, and Stride Right name brands! I also picked up the one toy that Tommy was begging for if you can believe this--a vacuum cleaner! I knew I had better get 2 so the boys didn't fight over it, and boy was that a good choice! They played with those vacuums for HOURS! I will be training them both up to be able to cook and clean!
The full haul!
Pjs, sweaters, long sleeve shirts
jackets, shoes, and pants
sweatshirts, and more pjs and longsleeve shirts
The fun part was the shopping on Wednesday night. The not as fun part is always working the sale. That's how I get the best items at the best prices. I always shop on Wednesday night, which is the day the sale starts, BUT it's only available to those who volunteer to work at the sale during the rest of the week. On Thursday, the sale is open to those who consign their items, and on Friday-Sunday it is open to the public. So, Davey always takes off/works from home on those 2 Thursdays of the year so that I can work and consequently shop first! My Mom decided to watch the boys on Thursday night instead of Wednesday because she wanted to give Davey a break after having them all day! So, while they went to Grandma's house, we went out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday in Fuquay and then headed back home to watch the first Sherlock Holmes movie. Have I mentioned that I'm a little infatuated with RDJ?!
On Friday, I spent pretty much the whole cleaning the house and watching all of the laundry from the consignment sale--the boys were awesome and 'helped' me out with the cleaning with their new vacuums!
Tommy is a pro!
Ethan isn't so sure about this whole cleaning thing :)
"Hmmm....maybe Tommy knows something I don't?!"
On Saturday, we went over to Goggi and Gramps' house to celebrate Papa Howard's 76th birthday! We all had a really nice time together. The boys LOVED all of the attention they were getting from their Grandparents, Great Grandparents, and Aunt Becky, while Davey and I were enjoying asking Peter and Donna their thoughts on having a third child and different schooling options for the future. No decisions have been made yet though ;)
Ethan loves petting the kitty!
Ethan playing with "Choo Choo Train" snow globe
There's my happy boy!
Goggi, Aunt Donna, and Ethy looking at pictures from the mission trips!
Ethan sitting with Aunt Donna <3
Sunday brought another birthday party--this time it was for Uncle Nolan aka "No-No". I totally forgot my camera so I don't have any cool pictures, but Davey did at least catch a video on his phone! Oh yeah, and I was down another half pound--w00t w00t!
Life Lesson #4--Tell the Truth!
This one doesn't really have a connection with this week, but it's one of the most important lessons out there in my opinion. In fact, it's one of the 'Big 3' that I was taught growing up (the other 2 being loyalty and fairness, which I'll discuss at some point in the future I'm sure!). Everyone talks about honesty--it's the best policy after all--but many people have trouble actually telling the 'truth, whole truth, and nothing but the truth'! I cannot think of a good reason to lie, and I cannot think of any situation where I'd want to be lied to. Lies are almost always discovered, and when they are, the person(s) being lied to are generally much more upset than if you had told them the truth to begin with. Sometimes the truth isn't pretty. Sometimes it can hurt our feelings, and sometimes it's just bad news. The point is, pretending it's not true does not make it so. Even the smallest, "whitest" of lies can have negative repercussions. For starters, when you lie, you have to remember your lie, and every detail of it. Secondly, as I said, the truth usually comes out in the end anyway, and for every lie you tell, you lose credibility. If you can't be trusted, you can't be respected. Finally, you are never doing anyone a favor by lying to them. That said, if it's one of those "hard truths", make sure you speak it gently and with the utmost grace. And, remember, if you'd rather not say or are worried of offending someone, be silent rather than speaking lies.
Week 28 started off with a bang--or a bounce :) After Tommy's speech
therapy appointment on Tuesday (which he has been doing AWESOME at), we headed
over to Bounce U to meet up with the Carter girls. The boys could not have been
more excited--it was pretty adorable to watch their little faces light up when
we got there! In fact, I told Tommy the night before that we were going
to a place that was similar to Monkey Joe's, and he started jumping up and down
screaming, "YEEEEEEAHHHHHH!! YYYYYEAAAAAHHH!!! YEEEEEEAHHHH!!" over
and over again. It was pretty cool that he totally understood he was
getting a special treat without having to see it first! Anyway, check out
these adorable pictures!
Ethan was constantly trying to dunk the basketball!
The boys had this jump house to themselves for a little while :)
Don't you just love Reagan's mischievous little grin?!
Cameron is on the move!!
Aubrey peeking out for her photo-op :)
"Mom, put down the camera and get in here and help me slam it!"
Tommy, Aubrey, and Reagan walking up the steep steps for the big slide!
Tommy and Cameron--a romance in the making?!
Ethan just noticed the skee-ball machine.....
......and, has cheated his way to the end!
After hitching a ride with the nice teenage boy who was working, Ethan left them all in the dust!
Tommy coming down the shoot!
Watch out for "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" :)
Tommy was in pure heaven the whole time!
Ethan at the bottom of the slide as happy as a clam!
My 2 boys <3
On Wednesday, Tommy had OT, which he is also doing really well at. Ethan
in the waiting room was a completely different story. Let's just say
someone is hitting their little 2 year old stride. Basically, he
completely stole a toy from this other little boy, and that kid's mother
basically flipped out--chill out lady, I'm handling it!! Alas, I
digress. After therapy, the boys headed over to Goggi's house for the
afternoon, which allowed me the time to go through the boys' rooms and prepare
for this week's consignment sale--yes!!! Grandma is still recovering from
bronchitis, so they didn't get the double-dip, but at least they got to see
Goggi! And, now that Goggi is on the case (Grandma's case that is!),
she'll be better in no time--thanks for taking such good care of her!
Thursday morning I had promised to take the boys to Hit and Run so they
could play baseball with Granddaddy. They were soooooooo good, and so
cute!! They developed their own fun system of taking turns by having one
person hit with Granddaddy's help while the other one stood on the pitching
mound. As soon as the ball hit the bat, the one on the mound would run to
the plate, while the hitter would run to the mound and wait. They
seriously figured this out all on their own! Hey, I was impressed!!
Ethan thinks baseball is hilarious obviously!
Hmmm...I think there's a slight skin tone difference between Ethan and Grandaddy!
Tommy's favorite part is always "RUNNING!!"
Ethan had to put the ball on the tee himself--no help wanted!
Good hit Tommy!!
Look at how big my little Catchings is getting!
Go Tommy Go!!
Look at the ball honey!
I think Tommy might be tired at this point :)
Big Red swings a Big Stick!!
That evening, I was able to go eat dinner with my good friend Marcia while
Davey stayed home and had a boys night in--sorry everyone, no dance video was
recorded this time! On Friday we took a little family trip to the grocery
store--aren't they just adorable sitting in that cart together?! Saturday
brought even more fun as we headed to Chick-fil-a to meet Aunt Becky Becky for
lunch! I have to give her props--she sent the boys 2 videos of herself
basically being silly so they could watch them whenever (don't worry Becky--not
posting them here!).
Tommy and Ethan enjoying a special treat with Aunt Becky!
Ethan loved looking at all of the animal pictures in the play area!
Tommy playing tic-tac-toe with the puppy dogs :)
The boys were more than worn out from their running around at Chick-fil-A,
so much in fact that we had to wake them up at 5pm to go over to my parent's
house for dinner! The pool wasn't filled up, but the boys had a great
time in the "rain showers" anyway!
Ethan keeping things lively in the car!
"Man, I love it when my big brother copies me!"
Tommy "roaring" in his monster towel after the rain showers <3
Time for the little monster to get some sleep!
Sunday morning started off on the right note, with a weight loss of 3
pounds! So, briefly, here's what I'm up to as far as that goes. I
finished "Made to Crave"--great book, still highly recommend
it. In fact, I think I might get the 90 day devotional book to go with it
just for a daily reminder! One of the things that I like about that book
is that they don't give you a food plan. You choose your own, and then
they help equip you through scripture to stick with it! What I've
basically been doing for the past 2 weeks is eating REAL food. I know,
sounds silly, but seriously ACTUAL food. Food from nature--as in not
processed, or very very minimally processed. Basically, if my Grandma Jan
ate in when she was a kid, it's a go. Now, obviously, baked goods have to
still be in moderation, but truly whole grains, nuts, fruits, vegetables, fish,
and eggs are all up for grabs. Chicken, pork, and beef are okay too, but
again, in moderation. I have to say, I am LOVING it! I haven't had
a headache in 2 weeks, I don't feel bloated, and the food has tasted
great! It does require more work--basically cooking every meal from
scratch, but it has been worth it thus far! I've moved on to a new
book--"In Defense of Food", to help me hone in on my own personal
food plan. I don't plan to be perfect, and I don't plan to enforce
"food rules" outside of the house, but my goal is to highly control
what we eat in our own home!
So, as you can see, it was another good week here at the Catchings
house. I finished the book I referred to last week, "Made to
Crave", and I've moved on to my next one. We had a lot of really fun
family time this week. I felt good about how I spent my time, and I lost
3 pounds (can I get an Amen?!). Life was good this week. However,
for a few of my friends, life was pretty awful this week. One of our
friends lost his Father this week to pancreatic cancer. Their 1 year old
son will have to rely on photos and stories of his Grandpa. For another
friend, her husband left her the same week their son started
kindergarten. That's quite a lot of loss to deal with in the same
week. My best friend has been desperately trying to fight off the huge
swell of emotions that she is feeling as today is the 1 year anniversary of her
brother's brutal murder. She has 3 kids under 4 to take care of, and her
husband is out of town for a week. Life.
Life can be so good sometimes, you can hardly believe it's real. And,
life can be so terrible sometimes that you can feel such incredible despair,
hopelessness, and grief that you feel you simply cannot go on. The
craziest part to me is that you can move immediately from one to the other in a
blink of the eye. Life is always changing, and it is rarely predictable.
Something I really want to teach my boys is how to respond to the dynamic
challenges life faces them with.
Life Lesson #3--Lean on God.
I know it might sound trite or cliche, but it's the way to go. Life is
always changing, God is always the same--hang your hat on that! You can
depend on God to listen to you, to guide you, and most of all to love you
unconditionally during every single moment of your life. No one can
understand you the way He does. He sees all, He knows all, and He created
you. So, you might as well keep it real with Him. Leaning on God
does not mean being happy all of the time. Cry out to God in your
trials. Ask Him for help. Tell Him you don't understand, or even
that you're feeling upset or betrayed. Lean on Him and His understanding,
and not your own. Remember that you are not alone, and that this season of trial will not last forever. Finally, when
life is good, don't forget to thank God for this time of blessings in your
life. Ask God to give you wisdom to know the right choices, and the
courage to make them. Remember in your high times that others are going through low times. Be compassionate and generous to them, and pray for them. Be consistent--lean on God during all times.
