Llama

I would have never imagined when I purchased a stuffed llama from Kohl's for Read for the Record Day last year that this stuffed animal would become so important. Most kids have teddy bears or puppy dogs or bunnies that are their cherished stuff animal. Seth's is a llama. He doesn't have a name. He is just known as llama, but he is super important in Seth's world. Llama sleeps with him, travels on trips with him, gets toted around the house, and is loved dearly by Seth.
This afternoon I took a load of clothes out to the clothesline, but forgot the clothespins. When I headed back into the house to grab them, this is what I saw. I asked Seth, who was out playing in the yard, why llama was outside and he said because llama wanted to watch him play. So llama sat and watched him play.

Tillery Tot School- Letter Q

Last week we studied the letter "Q." While it was a bit challenging coming up with activities to do, I think we still had a fun week. Here's a look at our Tot School board:

 We colored our letters for the week.

 We covered a lower case "q" with fabric so that it looked similar to a quilt.

 

We made a queen out of a capital "Q."

 We colored a large printout of a quarter and then sorted a pile of change. 

Seth got really good at identifying the quarters while doing this.

 Finally we made a quilt using a piece of construction paper, some fabric, and glue.

 I drew out triangles and Seth had to glue the fabric triangles onto the paper.

 He was pretty impressed with his finished quilt!

 Next week we move on to the letter "U" since 

we have already learned about "R," "S," and "T." 

You can find all the letters we have learned so far on our Tot School Page.

Tillery Tot School- Letter P

This week we learned about the letter "P." 

Here's a look at our Tot School Board:

We decorated our letter p's with purple polka dots.

We talked about pineapples and sliced one open and ate some of it. I had a hard time convincing Seth that we didn't just need to carry it around the house.

We played with Playdough!

We made a parrot out of the letter "p."

We made a penguin out of paper plates.

We read The Three Little Pigs and then made a pig out of construction paper.

We made a palm tree out of a capital "P."

At the end of the week we popped popcorn on the stove.

Here's a video clip of Seth's reaction:

 (We figured out that Seth thought the popping sounded 

like the fireworks from a Hot Rods game that he attended recently.)

Since popcorn isn't Paleo we decided to turn it into art. 

Seth did eat a few pieces, but he's never really been a big fan of popcorn.

Next week we move on to the letter "Q."

Veggies in a Week

If you remember, this is what we bought at the Farmer's Market last week.

This is what we had left today before restocking at the Farmer's Markets...

 We actually ate even more than what was pictured because I also went to the Tuesday market and got kale, asparagus, more cauliflower, and spinach. We are eating lots of veggies now!

(After taking this photo, the patty pan squash, carrots, and

 dried apples were also gone this afternoon.)

Third Thursday Farm Day: WKU's Educational Gardens

Tonight we went to WKU's Educational Gardens for our second Third Thursday Farm Day. (Last month we went to an Amish farm and I didn't feel it was appropriate to take a lot of photos.) Third Thursday Farm Days allow individuals and families to come and see where food from the Farmer's Market is grown. 

We started our tour by learning about high tunnels, how to tie tomatoes, 

and about conventionally grown food. 

Then we made our way to the organic plot where we got to pick strawberries.

 We also saw examples of raised beds, blueberry bushes, and beehives.

 Next, we learned about the vineyards. 

Did you know if you plant rose bushes near the vineyards any disease or insects will attack it first?

 We saw several animals like cows, pigs, and horses throughout the evening. 

We even got to see a couple horses up close and personal.

 We finished off our evening with a completely local dinner. 

The lettuce for this salad was picked just a few hours before we arrived.

We love Third Thursday Farm Days! 

We can't wait for next month!

Paleo Update

It hasn't been quite a month since we started the Paleo lifestyle, but our lives seem so different now. What we eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is completely different from what we used to eat. Here's  a look at some of our meals now:

Breakfast:

Lunch:

(the chicken salad has non-Paleo mayo)

 Dinner:

I am not sure I have ever thought about food more in my entire life. I spend A LOT of time thinking about food right now. Not about foods that we can't eat anymore, but how to cook and eat in new ways. We have tried new foods like lamb, liver, and turnip greens and every day we try to eat a whole lot of vegetables. I now go to the farmer's market every Tuesday and Saturday and we are really building relationships with some of the local farmers. Besides buying tons and tons of produce, we thankfully can buy local grass-fed meats, eggs, and dairy.

Over the last few weeks we have emptied out the cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer. We have restocked them with Paleo essentials like coconut flour, coconut milk, flax seed meal, almond flour, dried fruits, jerky, and a few canned goods. Here's a before and after look at our cabinets:

Before:

 

 After:

 

We still have a few stray non-Paleo items that need to be eaten up but for the most part I have given most of our stuff away to friends.We even got rid of our canisters of sugar, pasta, and flour that were sitting on our counter top.
I have scoured the internet for Paleo dishes and have found lots of things that I hope to try. I am confident that my love of cooking and my old obsession with the Food Network have been preparing me for this new way of eating. Being familiar with lots of foods and techniques of cooking has made this transition just a little bit easier. I have to admit there are days when I don't feel like cooking another thing and I just want to go out to eat. Eating out is really tough though and that's why we have been trying to avoid it. We have a couple of local restaurants where we can eat somewhat successfully but they definitely don't have fast food prices.
I have been incredibly amazed at how on board Bryan is with this whole thing. He has gone from hating vegetables to eating just about anything. It is absolutely amazing! Cutting out grains has been harder on Seth than anyone.  He was already in such a picky phase of eating. With the elimination of grains he basically only eats fruits and some protein. He still occasionally asks for a sandwich (which used to be peanut butter and jelly) or a cheese roll-up (cheese in a tortilla), but when I tell him there is no bread or tortillas he usually seems ok with it. I am able to sneak spinach, kale, and avocados into him most days in the form of a smoothie or a popsicle,

 and we just might have to buy stock in Lara bars because he loves them so much. He is still not a big veggie eater, but I've read that is common among Paleo kids and eventually they will come around to eating the vegetables.
So is this new diet actually making a difference? I think so. Bryan and I have already lost quite a bit of weight although that wasn't our goal. We are both feeling great and have a lot more energy. The tingling in my feet has gone away and I am testing my eyesight everyday. Already it seems to be slightly better than it used to be. We are hopeful that it will continue to improve. Either way we are feeling healthy and great!

Tillery Tot School- Letter O

We have spent the last two weeks learning about the letter "O." We have had a fun couple of weeks! Here's a look at our Tot School board:

 

We painted our letters this week orange.

 We read The Littlest Owl and then made an owl out of construction paper.

 We read Utterly Otterly Night and then made an otter out of paper plates.

 

 We read I Spy Under the Sea when we talked about the ocean. (We just talked about the sea being another name for ocean.) This was such a great book!

We played with an ocean block puzzle and some

 ocean foam cubes (from Mighty Dollar a long time ago).

 We loved looking at our new Usborne book.

 It's called 1001 Things to Spot in the Sea.

 

 I also picked up some ocean themed grow capsules a while back. 

We watched them grown one night in the bath tub.

 Then finally at the end of the week we made an owl family. 

We painted toilet paper tubes and then we added eyes, a nose, and some wings.

 Next week we moved on to the letter "P"!!!!

Silas is Crawling!

It has been a big week for Silas around here. Our sweet boy has started crawling and he got his first tooth! He's just growing up way too fast!