on eating healthy(er) and identifying a pineapple

never in my life have i been in a place where i would choose a piece of fruit over a piece of cake, but at 34, this girl's gotta start paying a lil' more attention to my 'choices' if i don't want to be cut out of my house in 25 years. so with the garden in full and bountiful bloom offering lots and lots of veggie choices, i decided i better hope on the healthy train while i can, and while it's free.

on top of enjoying so many super good vegetables from the garden, i've also been frequenting local farmers markets. i'm afraid that my impetus for dragging the kids with me stems from some jamie oliver 'food revolution' show i once saw where the school kids couldn't identify a real live carrot, but in any case, the crew has been coming along and learning to dig in to the local fair. how awesome, right? we're hooked on zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and the favorite? baby (pickle sized) cucumbers, sliced up with a little salt sprinkled on top.

this week, to my delight, i found that a huge amount of fruit is on sale at my favorite grocery store, aldi. thinking i would be all hawaiian, i grabbed a pineapple, quizzed my kids as to what it was, and relieved that they all answered correctly, i tossed it in the cart along with apples, a melon, blueberries, and a whole truck load of strawberries. awe-some.

tonight, after all the kids went to bed and i could audibly hear the chocolate chip cookies calling to me from the kitchen, instead of eating half a bag of them, i got to work on that beast of a pineapple. here's how i made it work for me.

hawaiian salty limey joy treat
1. slice it all up (duh)
2. choose an appropriate amount that you want to eat, remembering that too much pineapple will land you on the porcelain thrown for a good amount of time. you've been warned so choose wisely.
3. cut up a lime and sprinkle about a fourth of a lime's juice on to the portion you've arraigned for yourself keeping in mind my warning.
4. sprinkle a modest amount of sea salt on top of each piece of pineapple.
5. find yourself a place where no one will judge you about how fast you'll eat pineapple and go to town.
6. message me with showers of praise and thanks.

if i come across any other must haves over the course of this little adventure i'm on, i'll let you know. will you do the same?! until then, here's to eating healthy(er) and enjoying it!

on growing up.

lots of growing up this summer for the schans kids. more than once, i've heard 'ellee has lost her 'little girl look' and 'sophie's really getting tall.' but if i'm being real (and when am i not?) on a day to day basis, it's not always easy to see that your kids are changing; that in between sprinklers and play dates, they're growing up right in front of your face. but not every day is like today.

after a long summer of trying, and failing, to teach the older girls how to ride their bikes without training wheels, today it finally happened. today, matt took sophie and ellee on a real bike ride around the neighborhood. it's amazing how much i felt as the sped away from me and around the corner until i coudn't see them anymore. it was such a mix of happy and sad; relieved that they accomplished such a milestone of childhood, but sad that they are one step closer to a driver's license. while i know it'll be a lot harder when they drive away, this felt like a real step too. it's so awesome. and it's so hard.

tried to take a picture of my two bike riding girls. casey was jealous and therefore photobombed the moment. that's cool.

the older girls weren't the only ones making a splash today. nora endured her first day of potty training. and by the end of the day, she made a lil' splash of her own into our well-used froggy potty chair. it's almost unreal to think that in a matter of weeks, after nearly 196 years 7 years of buying diapers, we'll be done. i can hardly imagine a trip to target without buying the 96 pack of size sixes. amazing.

my baby who really isn't. today was hard for her because much like me, she's in no hurry to let go of being the baby. she found success, and was rewarded with ice cream. here's to a lifetime of successful peeing, nora, and countless more bowls of ice cream. xoxo.

today, we're celebrating. and i'm remembering when they were little...and that they won't always be.

these kids are something special.