Asher is cooking in style now thanks to the "new" kitchen I found on a local online- classifieds site. Oh, how I love a bargain. 
Why yes...it is Pottery Barn Kids...thanks for noticing. And yes...it is blue. It may be a play kitchen, but it's a manly one.
So Merry Christmas, Asher, from us and Mamaw and Poppy. You're in charge of the turkey.
what have those Rives boys been up to?
Other then crossing the last few classics off of their summer reading lists, you mean, right?
Well, they've been eating, of course. 
Every. Last. Crumb. 
Asher has been learning how to spell his name. 
He did this all by himself. So far, we have the "A" down for sure.
Jude has become somewhat confident in his walking skills but gets most upset when he can't walk and play guitar at the same time. Shortly after this picture was taken there was a great fit. It's so frustraing when you can envision yourself a traveling musician but just can't quite make it happen yet. All in good time, my boy.
And I learned that shorts or pants are a necessity now.
The end.
I can't figure out why the sound isn't working. I took the video on my phone and there is audio when I watch it there, but it isn't working on You Tube. Anyone know why this might be?
In hindsight, the eating of waffle fries while encouraging Jude to laugh more was probably a mistake. But it is rare to catch Jude in a full on laughing fit so I didn't want to ruin the moment. Thankfully, he didn't choke so this video is still funny.
If your wondering what was so comical, it was Asher and I swatting mosquitoes. I know--hysterical, right! And I love the ending--Asher wrapping it up with a big "cheese!" and a swig of milk. Classic.
I just spent the better part of the last hour trying to change to a 3 column layout and when that went horribly wrong, I decided to change my background, which proceeded to go horribly wrong.
I have to many "textures" happening and the words are hard to read but I'm tired and I'm done for the night.
Why do I undertake major blog changes at 10 in the evening?
Let's just say I finished it. It's not perfect. It's not how I would do it were I to do it again. But it's a headboard.
Another stellar photograph taken by yours truly. 
If you can get past the blurriness and the off-centeredness, you will see our newest piece of fine art. This is a floor puzzle I got on clearance at Pottery Barn Kids for around $5! It was so cute that I decided to bust out my good friend, Mod Podge! I used it to glue the puzzle to a piece of plywood and then covered the top of the puzzle with it as well. If you have not discovered the wonder of Mod Podge, get yourself to Hobby Lobby today and buy some. You will thank me later.
I like the way it turned out! And I like that it was cheap. That makes it even cuter to me.
Special thanks to Mr. Rives who willingly does the grunt work for my projects. In this case, it was cutting wood and then figuring out the best way to attach hangers and hang it. I come up with half-baked ideas and he makes them happen--we are a perfect match!
So I decided to start a new blog. There are a million of these out there but I wanted one to record my journey as well as compile a list of sites and blogs that I find useful. Keep in mind--it's still very much under construction!
I am making you aware of it, not because I have it all figured out and would now like to impart my wisdom to you, but because I'm really enjoying this process of becoming...shall we say "unprocessed"-- and would like to keep track of it and share it as well. And sharing is fun (at least that's what I tell Asher.) I'm not an expert and I'm not really offering anything that you couldn't find somewhere else (and done better!) Nevertheless, such as I have, give I thee.
My plan is to make note of all of the information, recipes, tips, and major life-changing epiphanies that I run across. Ok, probably not a whole lot of that last one, but still...it may be worth your time to occassionally drop by.
And, as always, I heartily welcome your comments, questions, and even vile criticisms. But let's keep that last one to a minimum, shall we?
He is. Just a few steps at a time. He takes two or three and then Asher dashes passed him and he resorts to crawling to catch up. And he requires lots of clapping. Lots. We oblige.
During my afternoon "meditations,"—which I at least attempt quite regularly now—I have found out ludicrous and terrible things about my own character. Sitting by, watching the rising thoughts to break their necks as they pop up, one learns to know the sort of thoughts that do come.
And, will you believe it, one out of every three is the thought of self-admiration: when everything else fails, having had its neck broken, up comes the thought "what an admirable fellow I am to have broken their necks!" I catch myself posturing before the mirror, so to speak, all day long. I pretend I am carefully thinking out what to say to the next pupil (for his good, of course) and then suddenly realize I am really thinking how frightfully clever I'm going to be and how he will admire me...
And then when you force yourself to stop it, you admire yourself for doing that. It is like fighting the hydra... There seems to be no end to it. Depth under depths of self-love and self-admiration. (quoted in The Narnian by Alan Jacobs, 133)
And then Piper nails it some more (as usual)
Humility senses that humility is a gift beyond our reach. If humility is the product of reaching, then we will instinctively feel proud about our successful reach. Humility is the gift that receives all things as gift. It is the fruit not of our achievement but of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is the fruit of the gospel—knowing and feeling that we are desperate sinners and that Christ is a great and undeserved Savior.
Humility is the one grace in all our graces that, if we gaze on it, becomes something else. It flourishes when the gaze is elsewhere—on the greatness of the grace of God in Christ.
(HT: Desiring God blog)
I ate 2 bean burritos from Taco Bell last night. And Asher ate a taco. Just keeping it real.
By now, most of you are probably ready for me to move on dot org with my whole "I finally figured out that eating crap is a bad idea" series and find something new to write about.
Soon, but not yet. I found this interesting post today and wanted to get your thoughts.
I find myself in the same place as this blogger. I have eliminated all packaged and heavily processed foods from our diet. I buy mostly organic produce (with emphasis on avoiding the "dirty dozen.") With just a few exceptions, I am making all of our food. And to be honest, it costs a lot more. We have reworked our budget to accommodate these new changes. We moved money from the "entertainment/eating out" category to "grocery" and I still find myself having to put things back when I am shopping.
I'm in the process of figuring out the best ways to spend our money. For example, my current rule of thumb is that I buy organic produce that isn't in season but that we aren't quite ready to give up yet in the interest of eating "in season only" foods, like lettuce or carrots or apples, at the grocery store. There is a local organic co-op where I could buy these things, but they are shipping them in too and the overhead at HEB is much lower so they cost less there.
But for seasonal items, I have found it more cost-effective to order a "share" of produce. You don't get to choose what you get but I like having some choices made for me. I would like to, one day, eat entirely seasonally, but I'll climb that hill another day. Or year.
That's just one area I'm attempting to order. I'd love to hear any tips you have for what you buy or how you buy it.
It isn't cheap to eat real food. But I do see it as an investment. And an obligation. And a pleasure actually.
Yep--I baked! On my quest to take more responsibility for what goes in the food that goes in my family, I made oatmeal raisin cookies and graham crackers and they both turned out pretty good.
My little taste-testers approved. I would say neither one has what you might call a discriminating palette, but I was still happy to see them gobble them up. 
Want one?
The graham crackers are a little more labor-intensive than what I normally care for, but comparing the ingredients in these to a box at the store makes me willing to invest a little more time. And, it must be said, moderation is key. Just because they aren't processed doesn't mean I let my kids fill up on them. Kris Rives, however, did fill up on them. And now I need to make more.
ps--I did make a few changes to the cookie recipe: I subbed 1/2 of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour and I used turbinado instead of granulated sugar. On the crackers, I followed directions EXACTLY and even measured by weight, not volume. Alton Brown would be proud.
Or Tip #41 in Jamie's Guide to Surviving and Thriving with 2 Little Boys
Sometimes you do you what you gotta do to have a quiet ride home. $.54 bought me two ice cream cones and a reprieve from tears and whining--priceless for a mama who just wrangled two wired-up and worn-out little boys solo at a wedding reception. 
Yes, I let my kids eat an ice cream cone in the car. Yes, it was a bribe. Yes, I had trespassed upon their good graces by cutting nap time too short and then requiring a modicum of good behavior at a wedding we attended. Bad call.
Lesson learned. Got some ice cream in the process. No permanent damage done (I hope.)
We had a family party for Jude at my parent's house. Nevertheless, I felt the need to make invitations. So I did. Here it is.
Now you can't have a fish theme and not have some sort of water to play in so our friends let us borrow their big, inflatable water slide. Jude was not all that into it but Asher and Reagan had a blast!
Aunt Renae held Baby Reed, the newest addition to the Rives clan, and let him dip his toes in. He and Jude both thought the slide was little over the top.
Then we moved inside for cake. A friend of my mom's made the most adorable cakes I have ever seen. This is Jude's own personal smash cake, which he thoroughly enjoyed.
And this was the big cake. It tasted just as good as it looked!
Jude was a little reserved at first. 
But we assured him he could go for it. Oh, and he did.
Mama and Daddy with their birthday boy
Mamaw and Poppy grab their photo op next. Please note Jude does not stop eating in either picture.
And these, dear readers, are a post unto themselves.
I tried to make cute little favors for the party and, as I should have expected, things did not go according to plan. These are little soaps made to look like the fish that you might when at a carnival. Looks easy to make, right? Wrong. But more on that later.
So the first birthday party went down as a big success (party favors notwithstanding.) Special thanks to Mamaw and Poppy for graciously opening up thier home and to all the Riveses who came all the way to Hamshire, TX to be a part of Jude's day. We had a blast celebrating with you all! Let's do it again next year, ok?
No need to buy new outside toys to accommodate both kids. Just shove them both in the old one. 
He did it. He turned one on me. My little curly-headed, thumb-sucking, runny-nosed, mama-loving, smart as a whip, climber with a flair for the dramatic is a big ol' one year old now.
I tried to recall the events of this day, 2008, but with all the drugs and the general anethesia, my memory is a bit cloudy. An eventful day to say the least.
We had a little family party for him at my parent's house. Asher thought it was his party and there was little evidence to contradict that notion, save Jude's name emblazened on the cake in bright orange fondant.
Turns out Jude loves cake as much as his brother. Only this time, the icing was not quite as messy. Good for clean-up, but makes for a less sensational picture. Per tradition, we had to take the cake away from the one year old to avoid seeing it again. Those Rives boys love them some birthday cake.
Today we celebrated by playing at the "inside park" (a huge play structure at a large church near us) and then having lunch with Kelli and her girls at Jason's Deli. We know how to live it up around here!
Check back soon for more party pics and yet another post in which I try to do something new and crafty (a favor for Jude's party) and it goes horribly wrong. Are those getting old yet?
Jude turns one.
I keep looking through pictures trying to figure out where my year went.
I'm gonna have a one year old and a two year old. Yes, I'm still a little overcome by it. Because I'm now far enough out that all I remember are the sweet little coos and the tiny onesies and the swaddled up baby burrito.
I know there was much sleeplessness and feeding woes and non-stop crying (oh how that boy carried on so) but that memory has faded.
Again, I feel the need to state that I love where we are at. It's nice that the boys are getting more and more independent. It's nice being able to have them play together while I eat cheesecake and watch my stories with the volume loud enough to drown out any cries.
But I can still get a little nostalgic, right? Lord help me when they leave the house. All of you that have crazy mothers-in-law (I personally do not fall into this category,) have compassion on the poor woman. She is probably just now recovering from her baby turning one.
1. Yes, the stevia and real half and half are working out just fine. Not quite as sweet, but still good.
2. Yes, I made my own granola and it is delish. I used this recipe and tweaked it a little by using pumpkin seeds instead of nuts and 3/4 stick of butter. I bought most of the ingredients in the bulk foods section.
3. No, I have not had a diet coke in a while. When I want a soda, I drink a real one. I've actually lost a few more pounds since I've cut out the diet stuff. Bonus.
4. Yes, I really did read one book and decide to make lots of changes. I've been thinking about why, all of a sudden, I was ready to give up so many things I thought I could never live without and invest a lot more time and a little more money to eat a diet of mainly whole foods.
I think it's because I realized someone else (the Big Wig Food Marketer/Processor Guys) were calling the shots on what was in my food. I felt duped, taken advantage of. I don't need someone adding omega 3s and iron to my cheese product and telling me it's health food and that I should eat lots of it. I want to eat real cheese with real ingredients that I can pronouce and just enough of it to feel satisfied. I'll take my nutrients from their naturally occurring food of origin, thank you very much.
I don't want to trick my body with chemicals that make it think it is getting something sweet. I want to eat the sweet things God created and fully savor them and have my body know exactly how to utilize what I just put in it. I want to quit obsessing about how much fat or carbs or protein is in something. If it is real food with minimal to no processing involved, I want to receive it with thankfulness and eat up. And then stop. That stopping part is key. As the author states, "Eat food. Mostly plants. Not too much."
I'm definitely still working it all out. And although I'm making progress, I have miles to go before I sleep. Case in point--Chuy's chips and creamy jalepeno sauce. Consumed tonight by me in mass quantities. The very thorn in my tex-mex loving flesh. Not the hill I'm gonna die on right now.
5. No, Kris is not ready to cut back on the meat-eating as much as I am. So I will continue to prepare some for him. I love that carnivore.
6. Yes, my next homemade cooking project will be graham crackers. My boys love them some carbs so I will take back control over what is in the snacks I give my kids and make them my own darn self. So there, Nabisco.
Posts
All Comments
