Family pictures!

We took a few new family pictures the other day... How cute is Malak?? Sorry, I know I am being THAT mom right now but come on, he's freakin adorable. He did great during this quick photo shoot, Eric on the other hand....

Oh well, they turned out great... I love my boys. :)I'm so mad that I forgot to change out of these dorky flip flops before we shot this pic. The cute heels I was wearing were to high to wander around in so as we were looking for a new location I changed into these more comfy shoes. Dangit. So please ignore the stupid shoes that don't match.

ANSWERS!

Ok! I have gotten (roughly) a million questions and emails about recipes and how-to's from my Naturally Natural post a while back... So here are the answers to a few of your questions!

Laundry detergent:
One large box (4lbs, I think) of baking soda.
One large box (also 4 or 5 lb) of washing soda (This is found in the laundry detergent section of your grocery store. It can be hard to find. For you Oklahomans it can be found at Homeland. For the rest of you, this website might help you find which store carries it near you)
One large box of Borax
4 bars of soap, grated or shredded in a food processor (I use Dr. Bronners which can be found at any natural food store and happens to be at Target also)
Thoroughly mix all of these together. Use 1 tablespoon per load.
FYI, this gets our clothes fresh and clean. The whites stay white, the colors keep their color. It is a gentle, mild soap that gets the job done well but if you're looking for something like Tide with bleach... well, go buy Tide with bleach. :)
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Bubble bath:
1 cup baby shampoo or eco-friendly liquid soap (I use Burts Bees)
3/4 cup water

1/2 - 1 tsp. glycerin
Essential oil for scent (optional)
Combine 1 cup baby shampoo or eco-friendly liquid soap with ¾ cup water, and ½ to 1 teaspoon glycerin in a reusable plastic bottle. Add a few drops to running water at bath time for a fun, bubbly, nourishing bath. As an added perk, add a few drops of essential oil such as lavender, orange, or chamomile directly to the bath water. Add dirty kids or a stressed out mama and wash the day away!
I got this recipe from The Green Parent, they've got lots of great ideas for healthful, natural parenting, check em out!

(Look how pretty and fall-y my tree is!)

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Household cleaner: (That I use for EVERYTHING, windows, counters, bathrooms, wood floors, literally everything)
Equal parts water and white vinegar in a spray bottle.
I also add a few drops of lemon essential oil to make it smell fresh and clean.

For tougher jobs that need a good scrub (like toilets or the oven range) I just sprinkle baking soda on the surface and scrub w/ a scrub brush. These are the only two cleaners I ever use. No need to spend money on anything else or have any other chemicals in the house! Easy peasy.
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How I compost: I have a bin in the backyard that EVERYTHING gets throw into. (It is actually a large garbage can that Eric drilled lots of quarter sized holes into for aeration and air flow) I also have a small bowl under the sink in the kitchen and toss all our food scraps into that so that I don't have to run to the backyard all the time. I just empty that into the large bin outside every few days. Here are some of the things you can put in your compost bin: Any food scrap (NO meat), egg shells, peels, coffee grinds and filters, pet hair, dryer lint, leaves, grass, weeds, shredded newspaper, tea bags. Ok you get the point, anything! Keep it out in the elements- sun, rain, snow, whatever, it all just helps in the decomposition process. FYI, If you start getting too many pests or flies in the outside bin, you probably have too much moisture/food scraps and need to add more dry material. (grass, leaves, yard clippings, paper) Every few weeks, give it a good stir, to mix up the mulch and it will slowly start to decompose. After a few months you will have beautiful, rich dirt for your garden! If you don't have a garden but want to do this just to keep those scraps from going to the landfill, give it away! Anyone who has a garden will love you forever if you give them your glorious dirt. :) Here is a website with lots of helpful tips.
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Many of you have asked for some of my gluten free recipes. Instead of posting them on here when most of you are not looking for such info, I am going to tell you to go to this blog. She has AMAZING gf recipes and I have made most of her recipes and always been very impressed. I particularly love her lemon poppy seed loaf, crepes, brown rice waffles, chocolate pudding cake and lemon custard pudding cake. Just a few faves. :)
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I buy almost all of our supplements and vitamins at Vitacost. They are a fraction of the price that we'd pay at our health food store. Vitacost sells a huge variety of brands and different qualities of products but a lot of our supplements are made by NSI which you can buy on Vitacost and it is a great quality product. Our pro-biotic and fish oil are both made by NSI and the daily vitamin that Eric and I take is made by Synergy. (it is their version 3 once daily vitamin) I just ran out of the vitamin that Malak takes and I can't seem to think of the brand...I will check on that and get back to you.
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Here are two recipes for granola bars that we love! Malak chows down on both of these and I love them because they're full of protein and keep us full when were out and about or if we just grab one for a quick breakfast.

Granola bar:
2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup whole wheat flour (I use brown rice flour for a gluten free version)
3/4 cup raisins (optional)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup coconut oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Mix together first 7 ingredients, then make a well in the center and add the honey, beaten egg, oil, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Pat the mixture evenly into the baking dish.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are beginning to turn golden. Cool for 5 minutes and then cut into bars and remove from dish while still warm.

Honey nut bars:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease (with coconut oil) a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Grind the following nuts into a coarse nut flour. Don’t let it turn into nut butter!
1/2 cup cashews
1 cup of pumpkin seeds
1 cup of almonds
Put into a medium size bowl and stir in the following.
1/2 cup of sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pf pumpkin seeds
1 cup of raisins
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Melt in a small saucepan:
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup high quality coconut oil
Pour honey/oil over the nut mixture and stir until everything is evenly coated with it. Press evenly into the prepared casserole dish and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until it is lightly browned on top.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes, then very gently cut and remove bars and allow to cool on a plate. They will be crumbly at this stage, but I found that if they started to fall apart, I could gently mold them back together (the honey acts like a glue). As they cool they will harden. Once cool, place in an airtight container and enjoy!
That recipe was taken from this blog which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. She has SO many nourishing recipes for your family. Check it out and love it as much as I do.
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Here is a picture of the cloth napkins I made. I just used some left over fabric from some curtains I made. You can do them as big or small as you want, mine are probably about 13x13 inches.

Look how well they work?!! Amazing, I know...
Also here is an old post that I did forever ago about our experience with cloth diapers and homemade baby food. Check it. It may be helpful for some of you.

So that is all I have for now! Let me know if there are things missing that you'd like to know more about!

Random happenings...

I've gotten fairly close to one million emails and comments about my "Naturaly Natural" post a few weeks ago. Have ye no fear, I am working on it. I'm gathering info, recipes, pictures and answers to your questions and compiling it all together . I will post it soon, it will be soon.

(On an unfortunate note: Here are the fly body parts that I pulled out of my son's mouth. Gag.)

My good friend Gina and I often up going to try out fun new restaurants together, we have lots and lots in common and she's a sweet friend that I love hanging out with. Last week we tried a new restaurant call 105 Degrees. It is a 100% raw restaurant. Nothing is cooked over 105 degrees. The reasoning behind this is that after that point food is no longer living and therefore no longer contains all of the nutrients and vitamins that it was intended to have and that your body needs. So everything is raw (though some things are dehydrated) and completely unprocessed. Their ingredients consist of Fruits, vegis, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains and legumes (most of which is local and organic). It may sound a little boring and tasteless but I assure you, they knew their food and everything was DELICIOUS and SO flavorful! They have a lasagna that I am interested in trying and some fabulous looking deserts... Mmmm....

(Here is the blue corn tostada which was amaaaazing)

(Spicy summer rolls with a mango tamarind chutney)

(Malak and Mira shared the walnut toast with almond butter, honey and bananas. Mal inhaled it. Gina and I snuck some bites and it was really, really good. I need the recipe.)

(Proof of his scarfing)

(And cute little Gina scarfing the tostada. Jk, she eats like the perfectly civilized lady that she is)
I am about to share a secret here.... I have mad skillz. (yeah, skillz not skills) Mainly when it comes to Wheel Of Fortune. I could beat you. I'd take you down to china town.

Ok, I don't think I'm that great but I do love it. Ok, I never have time to watch it on tv... but when I do, I win. The glorious news is that the Wheel Mobile came to OKC and so my friend Nikki and I went to the audition! It was a blast and my Wheel Of Fortune lovin heart is willing for there to be an email from them asking me to be on the show SOON. I'm sure of it. Please God... It is the one thing I need in life.

While we wait for the email that is SURE to come they gave us these awesome sweatshirts, hats, key chains and buttons that of course are worn often. Don't pretend that if you had an entire wheel of fortune outfit you wouldn't sport it everyday. (I know, I wouldn't either)

And now I will leave you with a few pics of a cute little boy whom I happen to love so much I want to squeeze his guts out. I'm sorry, gross but true.

The lips, the hair... Gets me every time.

When I made out with Bono...

That's a lie. I did not make out with Bono, I just thought it was a catchy line.

The real story...

We bought tickets months ago to the U2 concert here in O.K. Then last week got an email from the ONE campaign asking if we would help work the concert and of course we said yes! We ended up selling our own tickets because working the concert got us in for free. Glorious! We arrived at the venue at 2pm and met up with the other 15 or so workers, we all got (RED) laptops, ONE t-shirts and gear and went out to go talk to the masses in line for the show. There were already about 2,000 people waiting so there was much to do. Our mission: Get people informed and signed up for the ONE campaign. I'm sure most of you know about it but I was amazed at how many people didn't! FYI, ONE is a campaign that Bono started in 2004 to help eradicate hunger and poverty in Africa. They are basically working hard to hold our government accountable to what they said they would do for the people of Africa. It's a numbers game, the more people we can get to sign up (just their name and email address), the more voices we have to speak to our leaders on Capitol Hill and follow through with promises to get things done! SO! We were out talking to as many people as possible getting them signed up and informed. I somehow got chosen to be one of two photographers for the day as well. It was a blast! Bono's latest campaign is The Future Needs a Big Kiss, Kiss Poverty Goodbye so he wanted us to take pics of people kissing that were later showed on the jumbotron big screen during the show, they have also be seen here on ONE's blog . People LOVED being in front of the camera (knowing they were going to be on the big screen) so everyone was excited and wanting to know if I would take their picture. It was awesome to get to talk to so many fans, we got to chat and have some really good conversations with a few hundred very excited people. We did this for about 7 hours. Which, amazingly went by fast when you're just talking to people, getting them involved and having a good time. While we were waiting to get in to the show later and were in a backstage area, all of the guys (U2) walked right in front of us on their way up to the stage. I almost peed. That right there almost made up for a day of standing on my feet for 10 hours straight.

(I don't know why we felt the need to do this with out hands but the cool old guy with the leather jacket and bandanna next to us was doing it through the whole concert, so it felt like the right thing to do.)

Once the show started they gave us special passes to get us into the "inner circle"- the stage is 360 degrees around so it is as close to the stage as you can possibly get. IT. WAS. AMAZING. Bono was amazing. The show was amazing. By far, the best show I've ever been to or will ever go to. Not only is the music untouchable but Bono himself is so inspirational, the entire concert was very moving. There were quite a few times that Bono walked over right next to us (literally about 5 feet away) I may or may not have jumped and screamed like a little girl and tried to touch the hem of his garment. :)



Last nights show was dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi, a 64 yr old Burmese woman who has been under house arrest for 14 years simply because she fights for democracy in her country. During the song, Walk On, me and about 20 others walked on stage carrying a picture of her face to honor her and her brave fight for justice. It was an unreal experience to be onstage with U2 but mostly to be a part of something so huge and moving, to look out and see people moved to tears... Powerful. Singing Amazing Grace with Bono and 60,00 others... Powerful.


(Props to my friend Kevin The Man DeShazo for taking this video from his seat and letting me borrow it)

Also, we were featured on ONE's blog today And they posted a bunch of pics of us durring the concert! Fun! Check it!

(Awesome pic, I know but we were working with a camera phoneIn the dark. In the smoke. )

Summary of the night: BEST.NIGHT.EVER. UN.FREAKIN.REAL.

And then I made out with Bono. .

Naturally natural....

Here is a glimpse of the cuteness I get to look at every day... Jealous? Thought so...

For the last few years we have gradually been attempting to make wiser and healthier choices in our home. For the sake of keeping our bodies healthy and how the good Lord intended them to be. For a while now we have been almost completely chemical free and it has been SO good to know that there aren't really things around the house that could harm Malak or us or even the dog. This is all within reason of course, I realize that almost every product created has some sort of chemical or unnatural substance in it somehow but you get what I'm sayin. Here a few things that we are doing in an attempt to keep our home healthful and be wise with our finances...

~Instead of cleaning products, I use white vinegar and baking soda for almost everything (floors, counter tops, mirrors, windows, toilets, literally everything) I add a drop or two of essential oil to make it smell fresh and clean.

~ I also use vinegar (apple cider vinegar) on my hair. Sounds weird, I know. But it is SO good for your hair, scalp and skin. I pour some over my hair after I condition- it makes my hair so soft and easy to comb through. Once you rinse it and dry it there is no vinegar smell at all. It is great for getting rid of build up from shampoo and product and helps with dandruff as well.

~I make our laundry soap (which makes it cost only about .03 cents per load).

~We compost/recycle/reuse everything- this has made a huge dent in how much garbage we send to the dump each week (for our family of three we only go through about one small garbage bag a week) all of the compost also makes for GLORIOUS dirt when spring comes around for the garden which means I don't need to go buy giant bags of dirt at the home improvement store.

~I make all of our bread (gluten free), tortillas, granola, jam, almond butter, applesauce ect so I never have to spend the money on them but mostly just so I know exactly what is going into our bodies.

~ I buy a large amount of our produce (and honey and eggs) at the farmers market, this way I know it was locally grown, organic and am supporting local farmers.

~ We all regularly take a good amount of vitamins that I know were lacking in or need which has kept us healthy. (none of us have been sick in almost a year) For Mal, he gets a daily vitamin (a chewy one that he LOVES), a pro biotic (to keep the good bacteria in his body thriving and multiplying to fight off the bad bacteria) and a fish oil (Since he has been taking those we have seen a HUGE improvement on his memory and how well his little brain is working. In my opinion, everyone should be taking these)

~ I make most of our soaps (laundry, dish soap and bubble bath)

~ Other than TP we don't use any paper products. Instead of paper towels we use dish towels or rags for clean ups, I have a few dozen flannel "wipes" that I made for cleaning Mal's hands and face and made some cute cloth napkins so we haven't had to buy those in years. They're all so small that they don't even really add to the amount of laundry loads.

~ I make almost all of our food from scratch- This way I know exactly what I am putting in my families body. When I grocery shop, I can really stay on the outer edges of the store (where you find things like eggs, meat, dairy, fruit and vegi's), it saves a huge amount of money to not have to buy any of the processed/canned foods and actually keeps my shopping trips short and sweet because I am mainly just getting those things that are around the outer edge of the store.

So that is a handful of things that we do! I know that there is always room for improvement and I am in no way even close to making all the "right" choices... So I don't talk about this to make anyone feel like they're not "doing enough", it is simply some of the things we do and maybe it will give you some ideas for your own home! These are just my own points of view and thoughts. So no judging please? :) Thanks.

Now I think you need to tell what you do! Feel free to ask questions or for recipes or if yo, I love talking about this stuff so speak up! I would love to hear your ideas and the things you are doing- I'm always open to new ideas or suggestions.

I just found out about these sweet little shoes! Bugaloo. They're made in my hometown, (Vancouver, WA) are handmade and are precious! They are similar to Robeez, have really sweet designs and are only $15! They also donate a percentage of each sale to Internation Justice Mission (an AMAZING organization that Eric and I are very passionate about), to help fight child trafficking. Your little one probably needs these cute shoes and they might make great gifts too... I'm just sayin...

A man-boy...

Why does the cake look green? I can assure you, it was blue, definitely not Shrek green.

He is a man now. My son is a man. He turned two today and I'm fairly sure that this is some kind of huge milestone in a boys life where he can take on bigger challenges... you know, thing's like sleeping in a big boy bed or not throwing the dang sippy cup anymore. Man stuff.

He's a man-boy who lifts his shirt for anyone. Classy.

Right now, I am sitting on the patio, watching Mal push his car around the yard and stick his fat little fingers through the fence so the puppy next door will lick them. Just watching him, seeing how big he has gotten, knowing how much he needs me but even more, how much I need him... I am overwhelmed. With love. There is no little boy that could fit into our family more perfectly, he is woven in to me, a part of me. Our family will never look the same, literally, he has changed our DNA and for generations after him, the Silvestri's will look like him, have a piece of him, a piece of Ethiopia. And I love that. Malak Kidus, I love you.

Last weekend we had a birthday party for him. Lord almighty... kids parties are CRAZY. Although, I will say this, we celebrated at a great little park and never again will I cram 40 people into our little house. It was glorious to be able to let the kids just run and play and burn energy and then be able to go home to a quiet house that was not thrashed from the festivities. Mal loved when we all sang Happy Birthday to him, he has been singing it for MONTHS, so it was a very exciting moment when everyone else decided to sing along as he sang it to himself again. Now, he has realized that you can really sing Happy Birthday to just about anyone... or anything. Happy Birthday airplane, Happy Birthday puzzle, Happy Birthday weenie and legs... anything really.

BTW, I have had a million questions about the cake (from facebook friends) so here is the link, if you want to make this fun, festive little cake. Disclaimer: It is so unhealthy it may kill the children who consume it. Just an FYI.

Yeah, we throw a freakin sweet party. Obviously. She loved it. Obviously.
Yeah, you try taking a picture of a two yr old at the park. Madness, I tell you.
Some sweet friends who graced us with their presence. And presents. :)

(a little play on words... cause I am witty like that)

Fun times were had, thanks to everyone who celebrated with us!!

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Today is Malak's actual birthday so we woke him up with his room decorated with streamers. A wonderland, if you will. His bed was surrounded with his gifts from us and we opened them and sang Happy Birthday (again).

We ended the birth-day with pizza (Mal's fave) at Hideaway. It was delicious and fun. Aside from when Malak kept grabbing the butt of the same (male) server that walked by about 47 times.

Cute boys having fun at the birthday dinner...

And, apparently I am not nearly as fun. Wah-wah.

Happy birthday Malak, Malak, Malak dear.

One month later...

Alright, I only expected about 4 comments on my last post but 100 will definitely do! :) Who knew anyone still read this thing?? I would like all 100 of you to know that now that I know you read this blog, I fully expect to get exactly 100 comments... on every post. :) That stipulation was in the fine print. (quite possibly so fine you couldn't see it) But really, come on, even if you just stay anonymous, it would be glorious to know if you're still reading... It would warm a girls heart and quite possibly make her want to blog more often. I'm just sayin. Also, I am so intrigued by all the anonymous comments... who are you? I kinda (really) want to know... maybe you should give me hints. That would be a fun game! (for me anyway) Or maybe I don't even know you... So very intriguing.

The other day I woke up with a stiff neck. Not sure why. Later in the evening I was in the shower and reached for the soap and my muscle spasmed or I pinched a nerve or something and I was in excruciating pain. I felt like I was being stabbed with a dull knife that was being twisted in my neck or like someone was trying to rip my head off. You probably don't know what that would feel like but trust me. It. Was. Unreal. Poor Eric was like a deer in the headlights... (you should know that I am not a crier. Usually I am a cold hearted snake) Picture me standing in the shower suddenly sobbing uncontrollably, tears streaming down my face, begging for drugs to make the pain go away. He hands me 4 Advil and I can't move so he basically spoon feeds them to me as I am crying, freaking out. (I might go as far as to say I was wailing... I don't know if I've ever wailed but I like to think I came close that fateful night) It was a sad sight. But Eric was helpful and got me into the bed (still FREAKING OUT crying, crying, crying) went and got me some real drugs (in the middle of the night) which calmed me down, he also stayed home from work the next day so he could help with Malak and take care of me. Sweet boy.

Want an update on Malak?! I thought you might. :) He is talking all the time now. It is pretty hilarious to hear him copy everything that we say. Except for when he says things like, oh my gosh. (which actually sounds more like, oh my dosh) But when I say it he scolds me with a, "Oh no, mommy, no, oh my dosh". He has also decided to call Eric, "daddy-Eric". Apparently he hears everyone else call Eric by his name so if Eric doesn't answer to daddy fast enough he gets hit with, "EWIC! Daddy Ewic!"
I must admit as fun as it is to hear him say so many new words everyday... A little part of me is sad to see him changing from my little baby to a real live boy. I don't want to forget the sweet little things he used to say...

This is how he used to ask for a bite of food, back in the day when he was a little baby... You know when he was only 17 months old. :)

And because I don't have much to blog about, I am going to give you a glimpse into our oh-so exciting life... Through pictures. (ie, a lazy version of a blog post)

Big cheesy smile anyone?

Around here, we accessorize.

Around here we also tend to look like Lenny Kravitz.

Picnic at the park...

I posted this pic because until I saw it I didn't realize that I have some seriously bendy elbows! Check it. Ew. I am sorry for the bendyness but thought you should know about it.