More Tofu Than We Can Chew

I hope we're not biting off more tofu than we can chew! The experiment doesn't start until March, but....

Today I introduced a smoothie with tofu and soy milk ( with a little yogurt needing to be used up.) Matt thought it was the best smoothie...sweeter than normal - probably because of the soy milk. We also made rice treats with Brown Rice Syrup, Vegan chocolate chips (the girls thought they were too sweet by themselves- but they were actually bitter), natural PB, & EnviroKids rice crisp cereal. They turned out really good. Drawback - a tad pricey. BUT cheaper than a trip to the dentist due to sugar!

I'm sensing the hardest thing will be replacing dairy. We consume a lot of cream cheese, sour cream, and butter. To replace it all is going to be expensive. I need to decide if I will replace or reduce our consumption. At some point -maybe for 1 week- I want to see if a non-dairy diet affects Matt's allergies and Tori's skin condition.

Obstacles to Overcome for the March Menu:
** What to do with our cream cheese/sour cream addiction.
**How to help Matt find items to eat at restaurants for lunch.

**What to fix for lunches.
** Final "rules" for the Arden Experiment

The Arden Experiment

I think the only visitor to Ardenland is my good friend Shelly. So, for her entertainment and reading pleasure, I'm rekindling the writing fire. The absence of posts is mainly due to my notions that no one cares, what I have to say isn't important, and I have other things to do with my time. But then I think... I could make money off this!!! Julie (of Julie and Julia) did. Mostly it's because I don't have anything to write about. But right now I do.

Recently I invested in books about healthy eating...mostly a plant-based diet. They are revolutionizing my lifestyle in the way of eating. I've read so much that the other night I dreamed about a plate full of beans and other non-meat proteins. In my slumber I kept thinking "am I going to be full enough?" & " I need some water."

Still trying to graft in these new ideas to our current eating habits (which already resemble a plant based diet), I am preparing our family for a month long eating experiment in March. Details are still being worked out, but some include no dairy, no meat, lots of greens, new recipes.

Rebooting this blog is going to be a way for me to document the effects of the experiment.
Will Tori's skin clear up?
Will Matt be able to breath better?
Will I loose weight?
Will Sophia be able to survive on non-dairy sour cream and cream cheese (hardest one of all)?

I figure ....it won't kill us. At least March will have a bit of excitement in it.

So...Shelly....thanks in advance for reading.

MMMM Good...

I can't write about Sophia and leave Tori out!!! Today Tori ate cereal for the first time. It's the beginning of her leaving the house, but it's gotta start somewhere.

For those of you looking for exciting blog reads, this post will set you over the edge!
Good night from Ardenland.

Casper the Crying Ghost

Today Sophia (or phophie as she says) graduated to the big girl's bed. We've had the bed for a month now, just letting her get used to it. She took a nap - though shorter than usual - and called out for 'mom' when she was done. So at bedtime tonight we tried it again. She was a bit reluctant to stay: I stayed with her a bit, prayed, yada yada yada....... then Tori started crying in her bed. While consoling Tori, Sophia started screaming and crying. As I rushed to her room and Matt flew up the stairs, I found myself staring down Casper the Crying Ghost!! :) Somehow she had wrapped herself in the sheet and fell off the end of the bed. I couldn't help but pause before rescuing her so Matt could see the ghost staring at us. ....................We removed the sheet and tried again. Now, 40 minutes later, she's still there - not asleep, but not crying either!!

Missed it by "that much"

You wait and wait for each milestone....the first smile, the first coo, the first roll. And what did I do? I missed it. After four months of waiting for the fist tummy to back roll, I missed it by "that much!" During supper on Sunday, I put Tori on the floor and turned my head for one second. Next thing I see is her looking up at me! There was no fighting it or fussing her way into it... she just decided to roll. So, I rolled her back over to see it again --BUT I TURNED MY HEAD for one second and missed it again. Later that night while I was bathing Sophia, Matt yelled from downstairs that I missed it again.
Well, when I finally see it, I will count that as the first roll. Maybe when she's older I'll tell her the truth :) I really think she's the more mellow of the two girls (except her vocal cords which are anything but mellow!) She just goes with the flow and gets things done. I'm anxious to see her personality shine through in the upcoming months.

Unless you're family or an "honorary arden" anything found in Ardenland will be of no consequence to you. But since you've entered the city limits, you will be subjected to meangingless tales of two girls, boring monologues of a housewife, and the occasional pictoral montage of family fun. Thank you in advance for site seeing. We're so glad you came!

The youngest resident of Ardenland, Tori, is 4 months old now. Her stunning blue eyes captivate anyone near her. She's not rolling over yet, but working on that trick. She talks, cries, and sleeps loudly. Matt calls her Volume. When she wakes up too early crying, Matt tells me to turn the Volume down. I think it's a defense mechanism. As the 2nd child, she may not be heard if she's not breaking the sound barrier. I think she's the more easy going of the two, but then again she is only 4 months.

The 3rd person born in Ardenland, Sophia, is almost 2 years old. She repeats anything you say - to the best of her ability-most recently, stinky, nasty, armpit, (those go together :). She can "count" to 10 in Spanish -- well she repeats after me! When we forget to pray at meals, she says "pay" and reaches for our hands. She also uses "pay" to stall when going to bed.....do WE REALLY pray without ceasing??, cuz this almost 2 year old doesn't seem to cease! Her latest trick is singing. Somehow she knows how to make anything a microphone. Nothing is intelligible to us, but she does it wholeheartedly. She loves drums (boom boom), guitars ("tars"), flutes (woowoo), pianos....

WOW! Ardenland sure was boring until August 2006 & January 2008! When it was a small town of 2, not much was going on :) Good thing we got two more townspeople.

Thanks for passing through

On this Memorial Day 2008, I would like to thank my grandpa, Lee Baines, for his service to our country in World War II. I just finished a documentary on "FDR" - who gave his life for a little over 12 as the 32nd President of the U.S.. The show reminded me of what my grandpa sacrificied for his country, his fiancee, his future family. He postponed his marriage to Florence so he could serve. He put his life on hold to fight for his unborn children. He avoided death which resulted in the life of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
It occurred to me that if my grandpa had not survived the war, niether me nor my two daughters would be alive. Not only were the lives of men lost in that war, but also generations and generations.
Ultimately, it is the grace, providence, and protection of God Almighty that kept my grandfather from the death that took so many men. I praise God for keeping him safe, bringing him home to Grandma Flo, and giving him the child, Mark, who became my father.
I know Grandpa sacrificed abundantly during the war, as well as continually for the past 60+ years because of the memories of what he faced for four years overseas. THANK YOU!
Love your granddaughter Tara, your great-granddaughters Sophia & Tori, and future generations.