But alas, it was done by Chloe, our (tom-boyish) daughter.

Hope you enjoyed the show!

But it is about something green.

Jon and I are contemplating buying a very expensive blender/wheat grinder combo. Recently we watched a video about a juice smoothie made in the said blender. The lady made this disgusting green juice and said “Look at the beautiful green color!” or something to that effect.

Because of the extreme price of this machine, I thought I’d try out our own powerful blender to see if it could do the work of grinding whole foods into a delicious juice.

Last night I used 1 whole apple (minus the seeds & stem), a handful of raw baby carrots, a strawberry, a handful of green grapes, a small handful of baby spinach and about 1/2 cup of water. It tasted pretty good, but could have been blended a few more seconds. There were some carrot chunks in it and it was kinda warm, but it did have a nice reddish-orange color.

Today’s juice experiment. 2 whole apples, 10 baby carrots, 2 handfuls of green grapes, 2 small handfuls of baby spinach, 1/4 cup of 100% purple grape juice, 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of ice…no strawberries.

The result was a lovely green-colored juice with flecks of red from the apple skin. I called the kids in and told them they had to each drink some before I told them what was in it.

The results. I’m pretty sure they all said “Yum” after the first sip. Then a couple changed their minds when they spotted the spinach bag on the counter. Overall, Olivia loved it and wants me to make more, I loved it, Josh likes it and Ethan, Chloe & Hannah gave their cups back.We poured them all into this wine glass for the picture. Noah, well, he didn’t have a sip directly. He’ll get his in a couple hours from me. We did all agree though, that the juice color resembles his poop.

Sorry, that was nasty. = )

You might have thought I was visiting other planets in our galaxy.

You might have thought I’d given up on blogging.

You might have thought, “She’s a busy mom of 6, she’s got other priorities right now.”

Yep…pretty much all true…especially #4.

But – I’m going to try to get back into it.  Look for an upcoming post on a recent visit to Mars…that’s where the green people live, right?

I explained to them about heart disease and subsequent heart attacks caused by plaque build-up in the heart, using the display with cool “pieces” of arteries that are normal and some that are diseased . We looked at a book about ear infections and at a poster that showed someone eating an apple which dealt with the subject of diabetes. There was also a poster that showed deterioration of bones through the process of osteoporosis.

Just before the Doctor walked in, Ethan in his grand-ole, 3-year-old, infinite wisdom, put it all together.

“So, you eat an apple and it goes down your throat and makes your bones break and then you die from a heart attack.”

I started to laugh…not the best response, because he felt silly, but I just couldn’t help it.

Then the Doctor walked in, wearing a big red dot (size of a quarter) on his forehead. Ethan turns to me and says (quite loudly), “Why does he (points with finger at him) have blood on his head?”

The Doc was very gracious and explained that he was from India and the red dot meant that he believed in God, just like people in this country wear crosses to show they believe in God.

And in case you are wondering, my daily week-long headache and sore throat is not strep, but rather, most likely, a case of sleep deprivation combined with a side of busyness and a good measure of non-stop rain…but I suppose I should ask Dr. Ethan to be sure.

414.  A wonderful OB who brought (along with a little help from me) our sixth child into the world on August 9th.

415. Agreeing on his name…Noah Benjamin

416. Successful nursing minutes after delivery

417. The way a newborn scrunches up on your shoulder with frog-like legs

418. Newborn stretches with arms raised and head tilted back

419. 10 little fingers and toes

420. The siblings’ lavish love

421. 3 hour-long stretches of sleep

422. The specialness & serenity of breastfeeding in a quiet house

423. Binkies

424. The 12 1/2 year old B’Jorn

425. Visits from family and friends

426. Meals delivered

427. The feel of a newborn’s silky soft skin

428. The smell of J & J on his skin, after a bath

429. Kissing his cheeks, neck, head, etc.

430. First smiles

431. Coos of delight when he’s looking right at me

432. The peace he exudes while sleeping

433. Ok…everything about our new little guy, even when he’s not so happy.

Welcome to the world and into our lives Noah. We LOVE you!

Without further adieu, here is my birthday blog for my husband, who graced the world with his presence 43 years and 11 days ago.

J - Jazz music lover. Actually Jon is a fan of many types of music, but I would say that jazz is one of his favorites. That and 80′s hair-band rock…oh…that might be mine.

O - Outstanding Daddy. Jon is not a laid-back father who watches on the sidelines, while I raise the kids. He’s in the thick of it with me…partners in crime we are. He may not change a brand new, kicking, frog-legged newborn’s diaper, but he’s changed his fair share of them, and many more things like baths, bedtime stories, sport practices/games, math work, etc.

N - Nostalgic. Of the two of us, Jon has a harder time parting with something that the kids created. (Let’s be clear…broken toys are free to go in his mind.) If I am clearing paperwork out, he takes on a “Don’t tell me” attitude if he sees the recycle bin full.

A - Available. He’s always there for me, the kids and his work. Somehow he balances life, so that if someone needs him to do something or needs a listening ear, he’s available and will most likely get it done, even if he has to stay up till midnight.

T- Technically minded. He’s great with computers and is bombarded with questions at work and at home. Poor guy, he just can’t get a break.

H - Handsome and health conscious. So, he might be a little grayer than when we married 15 years ago, but he’s just as handsome and healthy as he was back then. He tries to watch what he eats and drinks and wants desperately to get back into his P90X routine.

A - Abundantly blessed with children….six of them…Hannah, Chloe, Olivia, Joshua, Ethan and Noah, who all love him very much.

N - Needless to say, he’s a super, wonderful, awesome husband and I’m so glad he was born all those MANY years ago (hee, hee) and that God made our paths to cross way back when.

The next day, we were on our way out the door to run an errand and drop Chloe off at her friend’s home, when Ethan offers up his vast knowledge of technical equipment, which we do not own.

“Mom, you need to take along a PBS so you know how to get to Victoria’s house.”

= )

405. Friends willing to be called day or night

406. Friends and family lined up for the big day

407. 5 days until the big day, but hoping for sooner

408. A loaned red baby car seat, now installed

409. Cool summer mornings w/ delightful breezes

410. Clean sheets on all the beds, even if they were dried in the dryer instead of the sunshine

411. Unsolicited help from Hannah

412. Snuggles that wrap around my bulging belly with my current 3 1/2 year old baby boy

413. Having my hair done by said 3 1/2 year old and being told I’m “handsome”

386. Counting down the days

387. Finding a comfortable position, if even for a few minutes

388. Packing my hospital bag

389. Setting up the bassinet and imagining him in it

390. Josh getting 2 legal times for freestyle and backstroke without disqualifying

391. The surprise of finding Josh qualified for Divisionals

392. Watching Chloe swim her heart out to win her heat in butterfly

393. Watching Olivia’s face as she climbed out of the pool, realizing she had won 2 of her swim heats that day

394. Seeing the fire in Hannah’s swim and winning her heat in breaststroke

395. Watching Ethan go under water during his swim lesson with delight in his eyes when he re-emerges

396. A fun, but busy swim season that ends in 4 days

397. Fun pool fun with friends and the refreshment it provides from the intense heat

398. Delicious veggies from our garden

399. Ice cold water

400. Watermelon chunks

401.The annual piano recital and the awesome piano teacher the girls have

402. Waterproof band-aids

403. Organized jewelry – thanks to my girls