Getting sneaky!

This is to be a very random post but I had to share! I have been introduced to something called the Sneaky Chef. It is a way of cooking that adds vegetables and fruits, minerals, vitamins, and proteins to your everyday foods! Now my kids and my husband do enjoy vegetables and fruits of nearly all kinds but the problem I face is that I don't serve them very often, or at least not nearly as often as we need to have them in our diet. I was also looking at different diets that I can do to change the way that I feel, one is the Flat Belly Diet, but as I look through the food and stuff I realized that I would never be able to keep it up on my own. So, when my sisters started talking about chocolate choc chip pancakes that have spinach and blueberries (Iron and vitamin C) hidden and all of her kids AND her husband would eat them, I decided that I really need to look into it. I got the kids recipes book and the manly recipes. I am SOOOOO excited to get going with this and just tweek the recipes that I already do all the time and make them healthier. Thanks for listening to my ramblings!
Oh on the home front, Steven should be returning before Aukai's birthday!! We'll let everyone know as the day gets closer, but as his extension was denied, he is returning on time and with his unit! The countdown has begun!!!


PS.
June 03,2009
Today I made Hamburger Helper with a sneaky twist and LOVED it! I used vegetable broth in place of the water and then added the sweet potato/carrot puree to the sauce plus added frozen mixed veggies to it at the end, and I got full off of about 1 cup of dinner and 12 oz of skim milk! Usually I can eat half a box which is 2.5 servings! I am sooo impressed and can't wait to try more! Especially the chocolate choc chip pancakes with hidden spinach and blueberry puree!

Family time!

Well, R&R has come and gone and now we are back to finding our "normal". But before we delve back into that world...here's a little of our family time!
Steven arrived 4 hours early to PDX thanks to some very nice people who gave him their seat on an earlier flight from Dallas to Portland so he could get home. Debbie came with us, Ashley Paice and her son Tyson came and my sister Sheryl and 3 of her kids joined us too to wait and cheer and hug as my hero arrived. Contrary to my fears and the fears of others, Aukai and Keli'i knew exactly who he was and there was no hesitation as they jumped into Daddy's arms.



Over the next 15 days, we had 2 BBQ's with friends and family, with lots of meat and laughter. We went to 2 Mariners games (one we lost and one we won!), we played tons and thoroughly enjoyed every possible minute. We went swimming, played ball, messed up the house, the car, and generally had a blast!
Steven and I were lucky enough to have 4 days on our own as we went to Seattle and Bellevue to attend a seminar given by the Army Family Services, while the kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Gold here in Vancouver. They took their first trip to the Children's Museum one day and the Zoo another day! They had lots of fun!
We had a wonderful visit and Daddy was able to recharge his batteries, he is now back in Iraq ready to finish his job and return home to us. Here are a few of our favorite moments from Steven's R&R. Enjoy!