Bring on the season!

I love everything about the Christmas season! The snow, the Christmas music, even the shopping and wrapping! I can't get enough. I love sitting by the warm woodstove, while the girls make ornaments and special gifts for those they love. We have a tradition of celebrating Advent now and we never forget the tradition of baking and decorating Christmas cookies. We always read lots of books about the true meaning of Christmas, as we sit by the Christmas tree every night. There are so many memories worth making at Christmas time.

This year the babies are not quite aware of what is going on, but they are ever curious about the lights, and the sights all around. Miss L, at 4 years old, is able to sing Christmas carols this year, and the excitement in her face makes this year a very special one as we experience Christmas through her eyes. M is busy in the craft room, creating and creating as always. She is making many of the gifts she will give this year. Blessings to you this Christmas, and may your holiday season be merry & bright!

Snow!

We have been covered in white here in central washington! Today more beautiful snowflakes fell, and the girls have been sledding, building snowmen, having snowball fights, and ALWAYS coming inside afterward, asking for hot cocoa.

I love that this winter wonderland arrived a bit early this year. It just makes the start of the Christmas season all the more beautiful!

DENIED!

I heard from the hospital I work for today. I have been DENIED!!
This means that I am getting fired from my job because I refuse to give into forced vaccines. WOW. I am speechless.
Of course, they worded it this way, "Your reason for not getting the flu shot has been denied, and you will be taken off the pay schedule". I said, "What you mean is I am getting fired for not complying with a forced vaccine, right?" She paused for a moment, and then said, "Well, yeah, I guess you can say that".
I asked if this is legal, and she said that they consulted with attorneys before updating their flu shot policy this year, so she thinks it's all legal.
Unfortunately, I am stuck. There is no organization that I know of to back me up. There are no resources to access, and no guidance as to what to do in this situation. The research I have done shows that in this state, hospitals across the board are all going for 100% compliance with the flu shot, for all employees, this includes back office staff that never come in contact with patients. The funny thing is, all patients that go to the hospital I work for have the right to refuse any medication offered to them, but employees don't.

Blessed with Bento!!!

My sweet friend L over at a blog I adore sent me an amazing surprise the other day in honor of my bday! Thank you L!!! Not only did she include some of her wonderful handcrafted items-in an owl theme which I am just loving right now, she blessed us with Bento supplies! I was so excited, I got right to work, creating my first "real" bento lunch...

And here it is!!! This was so fun to make! The sandwich was cut with one of the new cutters she sent which can cut bread, meat, or cheese. It is made of pita bread, cream cheese and cucumber, and the kitty face was cut out of turkey pepperoni! No kitty should go without multi colored fishy crackers and babybel cheese.

Miss L waited so patiently for her bento. She ate every bite, and asks me for a bento lunch every day now!!!

I made it!!!

Yep, I made it to the fabulous age of 40!!! It was a very special day..I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes...

"Don't fret about getting older, it's a privilege denied to many"

Here we go again...

As many of you know, I work one day per week out of the home as a pediatric Occupational therapy practitioner. I have loved this job for 13 years! Last year, due to the swine flu scare, they began mandating flu vaccine to all employees that work for the hospital I work for. I refused, as I don't believe they should force a vaccine on anyone. Finally, after talks with supervisors, etc., they finally told me that they didn't want to lose a good employee over this.
Well, this year, even though the swine flu issue turned out to be much less than what was predicted, my hospital is cracking down and stating that we must all be in 100% compliance and get the flu vaccine which is seasonal and H1N1 all in one shot this year. This year they are saying that we will be taken off the payroll if we do not comply. That's their version of saying they will fire us if we don't give in to forced vaccines, I guess. I have let them know that I have not changed my mind from last year. Will I be fired? Stay tuned to find out!

My first Bento lunches!!!

Here is my very first attempt at a Bento lunch. Above you have roasted chicken and cheddar on pita bread, carrot chips, babybel cheese with cheddar chickadee's. The girls absolutely loved this lunch, thought it was very fun and ate every bite!

Here is the second Bento lunch I served up-risotto in the pink cup, celery sticks with hummus, and mini honey ball cookies for dessert. Another success! M doesn't like hummus, but I have it around here a lot, and usually convince her to take a bite or two. With this lunch, she actually ate more than her usual small bites. So, serving up a Bento lunch has proven to make trying something unappealing a little easier somehow!

I don't have the usual Bento supplies yet, like the Bento boxes, and the cute little picks and all, but I am aquiring a few things here and there. Can't wait to expand my Bento skills!

I am teaching a healthy snack preparation class at our homeschool co-op this year, and have decided to teach my class how to prepare thier own Bento lunches. It makes eating healthy fun, and there really are so many ways to prepare these lunches, you can be as creative as you wish. I am planning on serving up lunch in this manner to my girls at least 2-3 times a week. It really doesn't take longer to prepare, either.

By the way, my little obsession with Bento all started when I came across this blog, and since then I have found so many other Bento blogs, and have stashed away many delicious and creative ideas!

Have you tried making Bento lunches for your family? If so, please share, I would love to see your creations!!!