First Prayers

So Bryndi has started saying prayers on her own now, without prompting from me. The first one she said yesterday:

"Heavenly Father, Thank you for the food. Thank you for Daddy at work. Please bless Daddy. Please bless Daddy at work. Amen"

Richard is on a scout campout tonight, so she said almost the same prayer, but said, "Please bless Daddy gone."

I can't believe how big she's getting. Speaking of big, my 3 month old weighs 17 pounds! Bella is such a cutie! Bryndi thinks so too and tells Bella so. "You cute, Bella. You have cute eyes. You have cute cheeks." Oh, and I have cute eyes too according to Bryndi :)

Recipe of the day: Healthy Chocolate Carrot Cake

Warning. This recipe is good for you. Vegan dessert. Delicious too. I made adjustments to the original recipe I found on www.sfmarkets.com and halved the recipe. This way we have one small cake for our small family!

Healthy Chocolate Carrot Cake

1/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar (or equivalent other sweetener, I used agave nectar)
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
4 oz (1/2 cup) soft silken tofu
1 1/4 cup carrots, finely grated
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the oil, orange juice, sugar, cocoa powder and tofu in a blender or food processor and then add the grated carrot. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Spoon the wet ingredients into the dry and mix just until moistened. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 square pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. When cooled, cut into 9 squares.

Each serving has 180 calories, 9 g fat, 3 g fiber, 3 g protein

You can top it with some lite cool whip, or whatever frosting, but if you want my recipe for chocolate tofu whipped cream, here it is:

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 oz (1/2 cup) soft silken tofu
1 1/2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup agave nectar

pinch salt

You can substitute corn syrup for the agave nectar, but you'll want to add some sugar to make it sweeter.

Sleep?

So Bryndi has been having some sleep issues. She stays up too late at night. Of course when she does go to bed she gets up mulitple times because she needs another story, another drink, some lip gloss, a different blanket, a mint, some music, a different pillow, I want to sleep in mommy and daddy's bed instead, etc. Then she's tired the next day, but refuses to take a nap "No like it naps!" I can get her asleep by driving in the car, walking the girls in the stroller, or swinging her in the baby swing on the swingset. Or, just wait until she is so exhausted that she falls asleep wherever she happens to be at the time that it hits her. (See the pic from a previous post of her napping on the kitchen counter!) I bought a book called "The no-cry sleep solution for toddlers and preschoolers". I'll let you know if I find some real solutions!

As for my sleep, it's hit and miss. Bella usually wakes up twice a night, but sometimes up to four times!

Goodbye Intermountain

Well, I was laid off as an intake nurse for Intermountain Homecare. Yesterday was my last day. I had worked for this company for 11 years (the first 5 1/2 years for newborn ICU, the next 3 as a pediatric case manager for home care, and the last 2 1/2 as an intake nurse.) It feels so weird not to be employed there anymore! But...I am really looking forward to starting my new job. I will be a private duty respite nurse for my little niece Tabitha. She has spinal muscular atrophy(SMA) and will be a year old in a couple of weeks. I will just work 50 hours a month and they live 3 minutes away! :) And as for our diet...I think I would have quit by now if it wasn't for Richard's support. Thanks, Honey!

No meat, no dairy, no sugar, no happiness?

So Richard and I are doing a four-week diet. We started last Wednesday, so only three weeks left to go. Basically we eat nothing but whole grains, nuts, beans, fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed products made from those things, such as tofu, coconut milk, and extra virgin olive oil. The book we're using for the diet has recipes for every day of the four weeks. And the food is delicious! We're eating things we never knew existed like 5 grain tempeh--made out of things like soybeans, millet, brown rice, and oats. Have you ever heard of a grain called quinoa (grows in South America)? We love it! Here is the website for the diet: www.howhealthworks.com . I highly recommend reading the first couple chapters of the book, which is found online, because it is really interesting if for no other reason. Who would have ever thought that I, the must-have-meat-at-every-dinner-could-live-on-dairy-products-alone-and-dessert-is-the-fourth-food-group-queen would be a (temporary) VEGAN?! (Well, technically I'm not truly a vegan right now because I do eat 2 eggs a day. To make sure Bella is getting enough protein in her milk.) And, I am happy about it. I feel good!

Not a good place for a nap!

Bryndi refused to take her nap this afternoon. So I quit fighting it and thought, okay, at least I can put her to bed early tonight. Nope. She was sitting on the island in the kitchen, coloring, while I was making us a snack. Next thing I know I turned around and she was out cold. Sleeping right on the countertop!


Bryndi was sitting on the steps in the garage today when she started singing "I am a child of God". I've been wanting to catch this on video, and I'm so excited that I did!

Bryndi quotes

Playing with Bella today, Bryndi said; " I love you, Bella. You love me?"

Clapping her hands Bryndi said, "You clap hands Bella? Like this." (Shows Bella how.)

Later she said, "You have cute eyes Bella."

Bella's first ponytail!