Well, that didn't last long...

Well, it started out as a great idea.  I really thought I would be able to keep up with wanting to do 3 Pinterest pins a week.  Clearly I was wrong.  

I have good excuses though.

It has been really cold here.  It being really cold means that I am not leaving my house to buy things for various pins.  I know that sounds lame, but it is true.  

Plus, I have been busy obsessing over things other than Pinterest.  I have always been a crazy google doctor.  You know, the kind that googles things like "child with pain in right ear lobe and left big toe", and then I convince myself that one of my children has some rare disease.  It's not something I am proud of, but it is the truth.  I am aware of it and I really try to keep myself in check. Some days are better than others.

Unfortunately, I have had to play google doctor a lot lately.  Since November, Allie has been complaining of stomach aches.  She also has had random hivey rashes that come and go and her behavior has been crazy.  Those of you that know Allie know that she has always been our emotional one.  Very sensitive.  She wears her heart on her sleeve.  She gets it honest. 

But this has been beyond a little girl just being sensitive.  This has been bad.  Really bad.  Bad to the point that I have had to cancel things because I couldn't leave the house with her.  

So....I turned to google.  Basically everything I found pointed to some type of allergy.  What type of allergy wasn't clear.  We went to the pediatrician and he ordered some blood work.   A celiac panel and a food allergy panel.  So we waited.

While we were waiting, Allie washed her hands with a new hand soap that I had bought.  She immediately broke out into hives on her hands.  That is when it clicked.  She is allergic to dyes.  We decided to run our own little food challenge.  We started reading every label.  Now, I buy as naturally and organically as I can, but we are a one income family and to go completely organic is EXPENSIVE.  We don't eat a lot of junk.  The kids don't drink soda.  They don't eat crappy cereals, but still....dye is in so much!  

We tried our little experiment and guess what.  Her stomach aches went away and our sweet little bug was back.  No more crying fits.  No more anger bursts.  Our fun, spunky, hilarious bug was back with us.

It has been amazing.  

I am a little worried about Valentine's Day.  All the red candy is going to look so delicious to her.  Luckily she is old enough to understand that it is the dye that is making her feel bad.

So...that is why the pinterest project has gone by the wayside.  There are still things I want to try, but I am going to admit right here and now.  3 a week ain't happening.

There was a part 2 to my resolution though.  My 52 weeks of pics of my kids.  THAT I have been able to keep up with.  Check out my album on facebook to see my cute trio :-)

Taking pictures of my kids has ALWAYS been an obsession of mine, so that resolution was simple to keep up with!

Project Pinterest Week 1

Okay, so let me start by saying that I wanted to really diversify myself and try more than just recipes for my first week of 3 pinterest pins, but I ended up doing 2 recipes.  I need to get out and get some supplies for some crafty pins and it just didn't happen this week. Sorry.

But....the 2 recipes I tried were REALLY good!  The day I made honey garlic pork chops, I was all sorts of domestic.  I prepped dinner completely while Austin was napping.  I kept thinking to myself "why don't I do this everyday?"  Good question.  I'll keep working on the answer to that one.

Anyway, the pork chops were really good.  It looks like the recipe was originally for the grill, and I think that would be really good.  It calls for 6 cloves of garlic, but my cloves were pretty big, so I only used 5 and still managed to get heartburn just smelling it while it baked.  Really good though.  The ultimate test was Emily.  Emily doesn't like anything.  The next night was left over night and when it was time to make her plate she said "I want more of the pork from last night"

So....yeah.  Success.

I am always looking for different veggie side dishes and had tried roasted carrots before, but these carrots are our current faves.  I used baby carrots instead of chopping up regular sized ones and I don't think it made any difference in cooking time or anything.  Again, Emily gobbled these up.  So another success!

As I mentioned before, we spent New Years Eve here at home hanging out with the girls.  We had lots of fun and there isn't anywhere else I would have wanted to be.  In between the pizza eating and board game playing, I printed off this end of the year interview and filled it out with the girls.  My favorite answer was when they both answered (separately without hearing each other's answers) that their favorite thing to do is hang out with their family.  I hope they always feel that way!  But, if they don't, I have it in writing that at one time they did! :-)

In other news, the girls started swim lessons this week.  As swim lessons have ALWAYS been with the Gravitt girls, it was traumatic and there were tears.  I decided to change their group lessons to semi-private lessons in hopes that more individualized attention at their level will help us get over the dramatics every time they have a swim class.  I just can't take it anymore.  I mean...there comes an age where water wings and noodles just aren't socially acceptable anymore, right?

Also, I snapped our first pic for the 52 week album.  I decided, instead of trying to pose pics and have the perfect background, lighting, etc., I was just going to try to capture a REAL moment.  That is what it is about, right?

So, I got this.  The girls came in from school on Friday and immediately started reading to Austin.  He is so lucky to have them.

And they are really lucky to have him

And I'm lucky for all of them!

Lucky 13?

Happy New Year to everyone!  We Gravitts are hunkered down doing laundry and watching the Mummer's parade today after a wild night of board games and pizza on NYE.  The girls did make it up for the ball drop though...party animals!  I think if it weren't for them, I would have been in bed by 10!

I know every year people say "This is going to be the year I change x,y,z..." I don't really want to change anything.  I want to appreciate everything I already have.  My family is complete, I have great friends, I love my husband, we're all healthy and happy....let's keep it that way.  2011 was a horrible year.  Lots of pain and disappointment, but lots of growth.  2012 was much better, and I know 2013 is going to continue on that good path!

I do have somethings I want to do for 2013 though.  I want to participate in the 52 week challenge.  Over the years I have seen people take 1 picture a week of themselves with their kids.  I want to do that with my trio.  I am not planning on being in the picture though.  Just a pic every week of Emily, Allie and Austin doing some various thing.  We are always so busy and having so much fun together, it will be neat to capture it.

I also want to start doing some of my pinterest pins. Are you as obsessed with Pinterest as I am?  Here is my Pinterest Profile  I am planning on trying 3 things a week.  I will blog about it, so if interested you can follow along!  I am sure there will be some great outcomes and some WTF?  ones as well.  Stay tuned!