Tickle Me!

Kind of like a "tickle me elmo" doll, but WAY better!

Here are some more pics of our after-small-group dinner crew this past Sunday:

Granted 3 of the 6 high chair users are brothers...still quite a site!

CHEERS!

Just plain FUN!

"breaking the fast-food habit"

Here are some highlights from the article so i can help us all break the fast-food habit (especially my mommy friends...i need a support group here people!):

-"the ingredients in fast food have similar addictive effect compared to alcohol, cigarettes & drugs...loaded with sugar, highly processed carbs, saturated fats and trans fats. And those are just the ingredients we know about...many ingredients have not been tested."

-One research study found that "rats have shown that eating high levels of fat can cause the brain to secrete a chemical that encourages more eating and discourages physical activity" and it it only takes one high fat meal to kick off this process.

-"Both the sugar and the fat evoke brain chemicals called beta-endorphin and dopamine, which are also activated by heroin and cocaine...when you put the two together, it's more than one plus one...it's called a potentiated effect, with a bigger addiction response...it's like doing 2 drugs at once."

-"once you're inside, it's hard to choose the salads and other less-noxious menu items, b/c smelling the sugar and fried foods incites pleasure chemicals in the brain--the same chemical fix you get when you eat these items".

-"After their meals, people tend to feel happy and satisfied. Later, however, their insulin levels crash, and their mood drops. They crave more of the same fat- and sugar-laden foods, and will only feel better once they eat them."

-"Fast-food devotees overeat to feed their addiction and b/c they're not getting all the nutrients they require--even though they may consume as many calories in a single fast food meal as they need in an entire day to maintain their weight" Calorie dense and nutrient poor.

-"When they refine wheat into white flour, they take out 22 vitamins and minerals...they 'enrich' it by adding back only 4 vitamins and iron."

(this one struck home):

-2 groups of monkeys; one group ate 8% of their daily calories from trans fats and a control group didn't eat trans fat at all. The trans fat eating monkeys gained 3x as much weight as the control group, even though they ate the same number of calories AND much of the weight was BELLY FAT!!

-"Begin by admitting there is a problem, then make a plan to stop...for a week eat a lot of fruits and vegetables; healthy oils; lean meat; plenty of water; avoid trans fats, sugars, alcohol, caffeine."

There you have it...This is just some of the article. it was pretty intense to read and think that i am having Quade follow these eating habits and also Price is being exposed (in womb and through nursing).

I won't judge ANYONE who goes to fast-food restaurants and you may still see me in the drive-thru of my favorite places. But i think this article really opened my eyes to my choices that i was making. Maybe it has opened your eyes as well...feel free to keep them shut and take a big bite of a juicy hamburger...i promise i won't judge you for it.

Ignorance is Bliss

I didn't use to eat at fast food restaurants (except for a few months after I got married, during the Monopoly game at McDonalds...i was so close to winning, just needed Boardwalk. =)).

When I was pregnant last spring and summer with Price I started the fast food habit. Quade had never eaten at McDonalds until I stopped there after a visit to the zoo. When we stopped I ordered a salad and water for myself and the happy meal with chicken nuggets, apples and juice for Quade.

Flash forward a year...now I order combo meal #7 (breaded chix sandwich, fries and dr. pepper) for myself and a happy meal with a hamburger, fries and chocolate milk for Quade.

The transition to the "naughty choices" was a gradual one guided by my inner cravings. Amazingly I had convinced myself with each step on the downward spiral that it isn't "that" bad. I mean Quade does need to eat more protein and fries are basically a vegetable and chocolate milk does provide calcium...right?

UNTIL I just read an article entitled "Break the Fast-Food Habit". I wish I could unread what i read and ignorantly enjoy my McDonald's fries, my Wendy's frosty and my Chick-fil-a chix sandwich.

I don't know if i can stop cold turkey (note the food reference), but i do think i am going to put the extra effort and pack a lunch more often. I basically need to "detox" my body so that i don't crave the combination of fat and sugar...yummy! (this is going to be difficult).

Maybe there is a "FFA" meeting i could join..."Hi my name is Heather MacFadyen and I'm a Fast-food-aholic". I think the meeting may be filled with other stay-at-home moms and parents who enjoy the convenience that fast-food provides. (i'll elaborate more on this in a minute)

Yes, I have seen "Super Size Me" and yes I had forgotten all the horrible things that had happened to Morgan Spurlock over his monthlong experiment eating only McDonalds. Unfortunately after reading this article...all the guilt is back!

I asked myself, if it's such "bad food" why do i go?

1) i think it taste delicious and i actually do have cravings for it.

2) it's convenient on many levels (don't have to pack food ahead of time, don't have to get the boys out of the car if we need to eat and we don't have much time)

3) quade will eat a lot of food (getting a toddler to eat is difficult sometimes)

4) for playdates it's nice to have the kids play in the play area while the mommies chat

How am i going to stop eating fast-food?

1) think ahead and buy things at the grocery store that are easy to pack in a lunch

2) convince all my mommy friends to join me in the fast-food ban so that we can have picnics at the park or playground or museum instead of going out for lunch

3) write a blog about it so i have MAJOR accountability

4) realize that even if quade eats a lot of food it's low in nutrition and it would be better for him to eat less calories with high nutrition (fruit/veggies) than lots of low-nutrient, high caloric food.

So, are you on board?

If ignorance is bliss and knowledge is power...you are probably feeling powerfully, unhappy. For that i am glad and sorry. =)

Root, root, root for the home team!

It's baseball season and my oldest boy (Bruce III) is pumped up! It's contagious...Quade has been creating his own baseball equipment with various things around the house (papertowel roll and little people).

So Bruce went out the weekend before last and bought Quade a tee, bat, balls, a glove and bases.
I must admit i thought it was a little silly since Quade's only 2...but he loves it and has begged to go outside to play baseball every day since. Even Price is enjoying being outside with the boys.

Gym Class

This year Quade's been in a gym class once a week. Bruce came to observe a few weeks ago and so i took some pictures.

We take classes at ASI at Forest/Greenville. I've been amazed at how he seems to gain a new skill each week we go to class. It's a fun thing for us to do and i can bring Price with me. It has also helped his upper body strength (since he didn't spend a long time crawling...i've heard this is a good thing for him to do).

Anyway, here are the pics:

Trampoline time

It's also good for auditory comprehension...they have to listen to the coach: "Hands on your head and jump"

We call this swinging like a pirate

Bear crawl

He got a '10' for his dismount. =)

Exersaucer Adventures

Note to self...when one needs to make a phone call don't assume that the exersaucer is a "safe" location for your infant. I've discovered that exersaucers are toddler magnets and more entertaining than any other toy.




(Quade: "this is a great ride?")

Today quade dragged the exersaucer from the living room, down the hall, through the dining room and back into the kitchen. Then he introduced Price to the oven at which time he decided we should bake some cookies...I agreed!!

I must admit that having a toddler definitely helps keep the infant entertained. Case in point:



(The toddler needs drink breaks to maintain his energy level)

speech mama

It's up and running...check out my new blog: www.talktips.blogspot.com

there was a little delay b/c blogger thought my "talk tips" blog was a spam blog! craziness.

I'm excited to get to use my degree to help educate other mommies, especially during this time of staying home full-time!

anyway, let me know if there are any speech/language topics you'd like me to write about.