My Dixie Lullaby

"A Dixie Lullaby" 

My father had skin like leather, hands like steel from a lifetime spent in the cotton fields. 

Though he'd come home tired and dirty almost every night, he found the strength to smile at me and hold my mama tight.

While that old transistor radio would play the opry out in the hall, I'd sit and watch their shadows glide across the wall.  And they'd dance to a Dixie lullaby.  A picture of love beneath the southern sky Oh my, what a beautiful life. Just like a Dixie lullaby.

I left home at 18 in a hand me down Chevrolet, packed my mama's goodness and my old man's stubborn ways.  

 It was college, work and love.

 

Then the babies came.

The youngest one got his granddaddy's name. 

In the early morning hours when my children could not sleep I'd rock them in my arms to a gentle beat. I'd sing them a Dixie lullaby. Hush baby, don't you start to cry. Oh my, what a beautiful life. Just like a Dixie lullaby.

My father was a mountain of a man....

....Oh my what a beautiful life. 

Just like a Dixie lullaby. 

(Last verse of lyrics ommitted)

Songwriters

Davis, Russell Patrick/ Green, Pat/ Pollard, Justin

Valentines Day (Day 4 Paleo)



 In honor of Valentines Day, the following is excerpts of one of my favorite love letters of all time.  Let it be known, I am a hopeless romantic. 

"My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days -- perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.
Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break.
The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long.
 If I do not return, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.
If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- always, always.
Sullivan"

-Major Sullivan Ballou, July 14, 1861.

My husband and I do not normally "celebrate" Valentines Day, because we just aren't compelled to.  He brings me flowers throughout the year on random days, for no reason other than he knows how much I love fresh flowers.  I make three meals a day for him that taste great and are not boring for no reason at all, except that I know how good, homecooked food, soothes his soul (and to keep him healthy!).  We try to live out love for each other in daily life.  (Of course we often fail miserably, but we just get up, move on and keep trying!) 
Yesterday, my babies both declared that they would be staying home with mommy and not going to school that morning.  Honestly, that was completely okay with me.  We cuddled by the fire, drank coffee, rocked and watched cartoons and had a lazy morning.  Then we met our Valentine Daddy for lunch!  What a fun treat for us all.  We ate at Cracker Barrell.  I got a  grilled rainbow trout, sweet potato with honey, and green beans.  C. Daddy had the same :>) 
After naps I ended up getting in the mood to acknowledge Valentines after all.  My boy valentine and I went outside and fed the birds, and I picked pretty pink flowers and put them in vases around the house, and after the girl woke up, we all walked over to Whole Foods to get some wine for C. Daddy and I to enjoy after bedtime.  Then I put on make up and ironed my hair.  Watch out!
I was totally surprised at 7 p.m. to hear the UPS man at the door.  I opened it to find a dozen long stemed red roses from my sweet Daddy shipped to me from across the country.  What a lucky girl I am to have him as my daddy!! 

Two of my valentines, with the flowers from my Daddy. 
Thankfully, these are faces that we see pretty regularly.  They make my heart smile.

Dinner was leftovers for the kids and daddy.  I was in a weird mood and decided to have a fruit salad.  I chopped up oranges and apples, added sunflower seeds and slivered almonds, and put some Berry Vinagrette on it.  Delicious!  I will admit that as the boy and I were feeding the birds today, the bird food closely resembled what I have been topping my salads with lately.  Thats really weird.  C. Daddy suggested I just start buying bird food.  It would save us money, he suggested.
After bedtime, the daddy and I enjoyed some red wine and overdue conversation.  We have discovered that your marriage changes drastically once you've welcomed children into the family, and you have to put a lot more effort into it than you did when it was just the two of you.  Which also means that our time alone is more cherished and precious to us now than it was before children :>)  I am so thankful for all the love in my life!  

I hope today that no matter what your relationship status is, that you know the One true Love, who saves us from the messes we've made of ourselves. 

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. - 1 John 4:10

Its the Simple Things in Life

It really is.  Also, if you don't know this about me already, you'll figure it out pretty quickly.  If I'm having a difficult time expressing myself in words, I usually will go to songs (usually country songs) and pull lyrics out to express what I am trying to say.  I love country music because of the way it exposes real life in such a raw form.  The title of this post is from a Kenny Chesney song.  LOVE HIM! 
So anyways.  The simple things in my life.  Our days have a pretty routine flow to them, and for that I am thankful.  I thrive on routines and schedules.  I don't do well without a plan.  That's why I was an ICU nurse before I was a full time mom of twins/housewife/etc. I had my little routine mapped out that I followed day in and day out.  Now of course there were plenty, sometimes it seemed like most, days that were totally chaotic and nothing happened according to my plan, but that aspect of a routine has followed me into this season of life. Back then I had to prioritize and time manage or you'd never last in an ICU setting.  I remember when my babies were, well, tiny babies, and saying that God prepared me to be a stay at home mother of twins by having me be an ICU nurse first.  There's a lot of planning and time management and prioritization skills necessary to raise twins when you have the same amount of resources that we do.  And most days I still feel a little lot crazy, and am constantly having to review and change the "routine" and priorities. 
The routine flow of the days we have right now is school in the morning for Bam and Pebbles.  I typically get a shower and dressed/made up for the day before I take them, and on a really good day, Cave Daddy and I get to have a cup of coffee and either read or talk by the fire before they wake up.

While dropping off, I find myself seriously blessed to have a 5-10 min sweet conversation with one or two of the other moms, that always leaves me feeling very encouraged. While they are at school, I usually spend the first half of the week getting errands/shopping done, and the second half of the week catching up on laundry and dishes :>)  After school we usually get a short but wonderful visit with a good friend for a few minutes, (and a lot of times on Wednesdays we get a long visit and lunch with her and her children, and my kids and I are always changed for the better for the time we've spent with them!) then we have lunch and the babies nap.  During naps I just get stuff done- whatever I need to get done without the help of toddlers, I do during naptime.  That might be a nap one day, prepping meals one day, healing heart wounds the next day, paying bills, dusting, whatever the pressing needs of the day are that I need to do alone, I do while the babies sleep. And this is almost always when I have my "quiet time", my time alone in God's word.
After naps we do snacktime, laundry (they help and love it) and sometimes dishes.  We always do something "fun" for some part of the time between naps and when I start cooking supper.  If I can help it whatsoever, that "fun" time is outdoors time.  Lots of days its the playground, some days its walking around the neighborhood.  When its time to cook the babies just play around the house, then Daddy gets home! The evening routine is like every other parent of toddlers I am sure (play with Dad, eat supper, take baths, read books, and bedtime). 
This weekend has been especially good.  Friday night the kiddos got to spend the night with their grandparents.  I didn't even tell them until after naps Friday because I knew they'd be so geared up with excitement.  And they were.  They just kinda started screaming their grandparent's names and running around the house with laughter and excitement and smiles when I told them they were spending the night over there.  Cave Daddy and I went on a quiet little date for Greek food and red wine, then came home and made a pallet on the den floor to sleep by our warm fire :>) Thats one of those memories I'll tuck away deep in my heart to pull out on the bad days, and on the good days.
  In college, one of my best friends/roommates and I were both nurses and working night shift.  Many, many days, we would come home around 8 am and eat Ramen noodles, or, I have no idea what, light a candle that smelled like something baking in the oven, turn on a movie, and make an awesome pallet, and sleep til 5 pm when it was time to get up and go to work again.  Can you tell that I really do have the best moments in life tucked in my heart, and never forget them? 
Saturday morning Cave Daddy and I went goose hunting.  It was 32 degrees outside when were getting dressed at 5 am.  Good thing I figured out a long time ago how to dress for that weather when it came to early morning, long distance runs.  I think I had 5 upper body layers and 3 lower body layers, plus his insulated hunting boots.  I was NOT cold but quite comfortable.  It was another exhilarating experience for me, just to sit on the water and watch all the shades of color changing over the pond.  I got some amazing pictures, that I am going to have to post separately.  Wait for it!  We did not bring home a goose today- but we brought home great memories. Call us cavemen, but our hunting trips really are a great time of bonding for us :>)
After the hunt we picked up the kiddos, came home and napped.  After naps, we took the kids to the zoo.  The zoo is currently not only my kids favorite place, but because they love it so much, I now do, simply because I love watching their fascination.
That evening we grilled bacon wrapped goose, venison tenderloins, home cooked sweet potato fries, and had a salad on the side, with homemade honey mustard dressing.  Spending so much time outdoors on Saturday really noticed a difference in all of our demeanors and energy levels/ moods. What a great Saturday for this family.

Our little cave people kept begging for "more goose!"  I love to hear those words coming out of their mouth.  They also tore up the venison.  One thing I have learned with toddlers is that, it might take a bit of time for them, but they will eventually learn to eat what you serve them and develop taste buds for new things!
Coming soon on the blog, photography from our hunt, full recipe for our breakfast smoothie that includes measurements, and a recipe for my favorite sorbet!  Happy Monday yall!  Don't forget that laughing and being thankful improves your mood by 25% immediately!!

We Hunted and We Gathered

Last weekend, Luke's parents kept the babies on Friday night.  Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am and headed out to the country to do some goose hunting.  I love waterfowl hunting.  It was dark when we got there, but day was starting to break.  We (very quietly) walked down to the pond and sat down. It is an undescribable experience to sit by water and watch the world wake up.  The fog rising off the water, the colors of the sky changing over the reflections, the sun coming up, hearing the birds waking up, and especially hearing the geese start honking.  And then the real thrill is when the geese fly, and you watch your man take one down.  It is so refreshing to be in nature and experience all that it has to offer.  We can't wait to go again!!

Wish every weekend was like this!

I don't even know where to start with what a great weekend we had.  Cave Daddy made plans with his parents to have the kids sleepover at their house last night, so I took them to the park after naps yesterday (along with the other 300 moms and their children whom were there), and we played for about an hour before heading to Gigi and Pops'!  Bam Bam got Clowney tackled by a pack of 6-8 year olds and I was that mom who was ripping the older boys off him and tossing them to the side, because my baby boy was on the bottom of the pile of a bunch of big boys!  If you are the mother to any of those boys, I apologize, but seriously, he got hit hard and I seriously was just trying to get to him to check his neurological status at that point.  Turns out the worst thing that happened to him was his shoe fell off during the tackle and he was terribly upset about that.  Fun day at the park in this beautiful spring weather here in SC!  We rode around with the windows down and loved it.

After dropping the kids off, Cave Daddy and I took advantage of our evening off and went to dinner at Za's.  I almost had a panic attack driving there, because in the past I've always gotten the spinach artichoke dip and chips for an app and the shrimp scampi for a meal, and we almost always get dessert when we go out.  But I'm supposed to be doing 30 days of Paleo....I had some serious internal arguments and deliberation amongst myself on the ride about "I'll just have a cheat meal, it's fine".... "but gluten seriously makes me feel so awful and I feel so terrible when I eat meals with gluten and dairy in it, after the fact...." "but I love that food....ahhhh....".  It was an incredibly empowering experience to make healthy choices at dinner that still were delicious.  We had seared tuna for an app and I had the Greek salad with blackened salmon...and it was SO good!  I felt so much better today than I would have had I chosen the first option.  Just another reminder that I can make healthy decision, and that the reason that I do, is because I feel better when I do and I am happier.


I will post about our morning in the next post.  It's one of it's own.  Let's just say it was a wonderful part of the weekend, enough so to deserve it's own post.  On our way to pick up the kids, we grabbed lunch at Zoe's. I had the Greek salad with chicken (I will never get tired of Greek salad) and Cave Daddy had a a Greek Chicken Pita with a side Greek Salad (we all know the pita wasn't Paleo.... ) After we picked the kids up, we all came home and napped.  After naps we just played outside for a few hours.  The kids and I walked up and down the street and visited with all the neighbors.  Which is one of my favorite things about our street.  There is so much camaraderie amongst everyone on the street.  It's wonderful to watch them all watch our children grow up, to see everyone pitch in and help us raise our children, and to hear our kids shouting hellos to everyone by name as we stop to visit and chat.  When the weather is nice, nearly half the neighbors are out, either in the street, or congregated in one or two of the yards.  It is seriously unique and something we never want to give up.  I could go on and on about all the kind things that everyone does for one another on a regular basis to help each other out in a time of need.  If we ever move, we're taking everyone with us.  Later, we went and got Daddy and strapped the kids in their wagon and walked over to Whole Foods to pick up supper, which was for sure, blog-worthy. 

On the menu was : grilled mackerel, ribeye, paleo lo mein, and paleo egg rolls.  We nearly died it was so good.  Cave Daddy still hasn't stopped talking about the egg rolls, said that he would never eat an egg roll again unless I cooked it, and continues to say that "blogging this recipe just won't do it justice....you gotta experience it..." Please keep in mind that this is a man who loves good food. 

For the mackerel, I seasoned it with salt, pepper and tony chachere's cajun seasoning with lemon juice sprinkled over it; for the steak I seasoned it with salt, pepper and onion powder, and Cave Daddy grilled it.

Paleo Lo Mein- cut a head of white cabbage in half.  Lengthwise, with your Pure Komanchi 2 knife, slice the cabbage in the thinnest slices you can (really its your preference depending how you like your 'lo mein') I sliced ours in probably 1/8 in. slices.  Place in your cast iron frying pan with 3 tbsp of coconut oil, 3 tbsp of coconut aminos, and just enough salt and pepper to taste.  Cook down until the cabbage is softened.  In a separate cast iron pan, sautee very thinly sliced red onions and mushrooms, then add to the cabbage mixture.

Paleo Egg Rolls - take the skin from a chicken, place in a cast iron frying pan with coconut oil.  Dice cabbage and carrots and place in the center of the chicken skin.  In a separate bowl, whisk one egg and pour over the vegetables/chicken skin (this helps hold everything together when you go to wrap it, plus adds flavor, and it is called an egg roll...).  Wait until the skin gets a bit crispy, then remove from the pan and roll up lengthwise.  Tie cooking twine around the roll to keep it in place, then return to the pan and fry on all sides until you can remove the twine and the roll stays in place.  The chicken skin adds a ton of flavor to this egg roll.

Beginning to cook the egg roll

Cabbage Wrap at the top- same as the egg roll recipe but use a cabbage leave in place of chicken skin.  Not nearly as crispy as the chicken wrapped egg roll, seen below the cabbage wrap.

May I just tell you that this is the happiest girl on the planet now that I have found a way to have lo mein and egg rolls that are Paleo.  Seriously. 

This Is How We Do It

Ahhh 8:15 and just put the babies in bed and crashed on the rocking chair (my favorite spot in the house) with a hot cup of coffee and very few sounds around me.  What a way to end a busy day!

Since this blog is about documenting our paleo journey, my main goal for posts is to keep track of what we're eating on a daily basis  and what our lives looked like that day (because Paleo is not just a diet, but its a lifestyle).

Here is how I have learned to function with the most sanity  as a housewife/stay at home mom, whom highly prioritizes feeding her family quality nutritious meals.  I typically fix one breakfast that will be enough to last the week, so every day is usually the same..  I would even venture to say that breakfast from week to week is very similar.  The mornings are always crazy and having very little prep for breakfast helps with the madness.  That said - check back tomorrow b/c I have big plans for a new and exciting breakfast that if I am able to prepare and feed the fam, I will post the recipe with it!

Lunch- I pick one meal a week that requires little to no preparation and that is what the kids and I eat every day that week.  Cave Daddy usually takes leftovers.  This week the kids are eating green beas (seriously usually 1-1.5 # each), a bit of bbq -as much as they want but sometimes they don't want much, (yall will see soon that they are almost vegetarians by choice), and lots of fruit - we do a lot of apples, clementines and bananas.  That is their lunch more often that not, and like breakfast, their lunch truly doesn't change much week to week.  I offer them salmon at lunch regularly, but as mentioned, they truly are more into fruits and vegetables and that is the bulk of what they eat.  (They would eat eggs at every meal if I let them but we try to limit that to breakfast!). My lunch this week has been an apple, half an avocado, and 2 brazil nuts.  I will eat a few bites of bbq if Im very hungry.  The apple cider vinegar helps a lot with appetite control and water retention (which I seriously struggle with!)

Supper is what changes at least every other day.  I honestly only repeat meals at supper a few times a year, at most every 3 months.  That is not by intention as much as happen-stance!  I try to make sure that I make enough at each meal for about 3 meals so that we have leftovers which I space out during the week.  I have recently been trying to make enough to freeze some, for those crazy "what in the world are we going to eat for supper tonight now since its 5:30, and I just got home from an unscheduled visit to the pediatrician because baby ___ woke up from their nap screaming, pulling at their ears, with a fever of 103" - kind of days. Prepared meals in the freezer are the best for those days.

 Supper today was leftovers!  You  won't believe me if I tell you what our son ate, but I will tell you anyways.  He ate 2 # of green beans, 5 clementines, one banana, and one cup of raisins.  He had bbq on his plate that he wasn't touching (though in recent meals he has devoured it).  Our daughter ate the same things as him, but in less amounts.  She's watching her figure.  Please note that I do offer them some form of protein at each meal; sometimes they eat it and sometimes they don't. They mostly get their protein at breakfast (they each eat 2 eggs every morning, and truthfully, 14 gm of protein alone is plenty for a 25# child for the day).

Today I  did my dreaded but necessary one big grocery trip for the month.  I go to Aldi once a month and buy about a billion of everything that will save for a month and enough of it to last a month.  The standards for our food that I have are no preservatives or artificial ingredients at all, no hormones/antibiotics, non GMO, no non organic "dirty dozen" fruits/veg.  There is enough at Aldi that meets that criteria and that is significantly lower in price that I go once a month kicking and screaming willingly to save the money.  By the time I have loaded it all in the cart then bagged it all myself and get it into the house and put away, that trip takes a few hours, but, its only once a month.... So seriously that was the only thing I got done while they were at school today.
After picking them up and eating lunch, they played really nicely and sweetly together (a true gift and blessing.... always favorite moments of mine to see them just playing quietly and sweetly together). I started prepping meals to take to friends tonight.  3 good friends have recently had babies and our dear neighbor and friend just unexpectedly lost her father.  Once the babies were down for naps, I had my devotional and prayer time, tried to work on getting some photos printed for the house, and finished getting the meals ready to deliver.
After naps we were able to walk on the street and visit with neighbors (another of my always favorite moments... really love our neighbors!!) then visit with 2 of our other friends when we took meals to them.  It is so refreshing to me to have even 15 minutes of conversation with a friend during the day!!  We were able to get in about thirty minutes at the park before it got dark, then headed home to eat supper, clean the kitchen, and bake brownies for Cave Daddy to take to work.  Not Paleo brownies.  His office does potluck lunches from time to time and I always have the pleasure of providing his contribution to the meal :>)  At this time I would like to ask you to please give me a hand and be very proud of me, because, for the first time in my entire life, I did not even lick the bowl/spatula from the batter.  This is serious folks.  But, I am serious about 30 days of Paleo!!
We enjoyed some quiet and calm time with the kids tonight after PJs and teeth brushing, to read some books.  Those are also always favorite moments of mine... snuggling on the couch with fleece footed PJ'd toddlers while we read fascinating stories.  It is so fun and I love to hear them read back to us :>)
Yall know  exactly what I did after they got in bed (see the 1st paragraph of this post)!  I love our quiet time in the evening after the kids are in bed that we just enjoy relaxing together in the stillness.  I considered picking up the toys/books scattered on the floor, but then opted out, because having their things spread across the house is something I will miss one day. 

Happy Thursday Yall!!  I am thankful for all the wonderful moments that make up a good life :>)