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Running out of words

Do you ever just run out of words? It’s not that your brain stops, you just don’t want to speak. That’s me. I’ll be chatting away with friends having a really good time and then BAM. I’m out of words. I can listen and appreciate your words, just don’t make me talk. I’m good.

I think it’s an often misunderstood thing, the personality of an outgoing introvert. I love my girlfriends and often get rather hyper around them. When my friend Paige visited me one time, we were both so excited, I knocked the handle off the kitchen faucet within the first 10 minutes of her visit. It didn’t go back on either. So energy is not my issue, I have plenty of it.

I just have a limited number of words each day, and the only way to get more is to be alone. I’m like a rechargable battery. My husband has grown accustomed to his often silent wife…until morning, when I’m raring to chat.

This quote says it all.

Introvert Printable - (www.thehouseofhendrix.com)

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25 Superfoods that your kid’s just might eat

25 Superfoods and recipes that your family just might like [the House of Hendrix}Superfoods are just that…SUPER foods. They can heal our bodies, protect out bodies, control our behavior, ward of cancer, lower our cholesterol, fight inflammation, and help our brains have greater focus. As adults, it’s a no brainer. We know what we should be eating.

Often though we dismiss offering Superfoods to our families because we assume they won’t eat a plate of raw kale. So I compiled a list of nutritionally-dense foods that offer both added health benefits AND my children will eat.  It serves as a shopping list for me, helping me make intentional choices. When we fill our diets with lots of healthy foods, there is less room for the other stuff.

Here we go:

1.Cocoa

Yup! It’s a superfood. Thank goodness because I LOVE dessert. Just make sure it’s 70% pure cocoa and isn’t Dutch processed (that takes out the good stuff). Hershey’s, for instance, makes both a dutch processed and a “natural” version.

  • benefits : Loaded with antioxidants which fight free radicals. Stimulates blood flow to the brain aiding cognitive development.  Helps keeps your heart healthy and protects against sun damage
  • kid-friendly ideas: a cup of hot cocoa; mix into smoothies; sprinkle on top of yogurt, strawberries, or bananas
  • recipes

2. Sweet Potatoes

This deep orange vegetable is sweet, filing, and a powerhouse of nutrition.

  • benefits: Filled with potassium, iron, fiber, vitamin A, B6, C & D. May protect vision & help prevent heart attacks. Added plus, the magnesium may aid in reducing stress by promoting relaxation.
  • kid-friendly recipe

3. Artichokes

Who wouldn’t want to pluck, dip, and slide your teeth off the leaves of this Super-fun steamed veggie? Only problem, my 25 Superfoods that your family just might eat {the House of Hendrix}kids don’t stop at one and my pot isn’t big enough to make 8.

4. Oatmeal

Breakfast of choice for my boys. We add chopped apples and cinnamon for a delicious morning treat.

5. Pumpkin

This deep orange seasonal fruit should be enjoyed all year round, although we tend to OD on it during the fall months.

  • benefits: antioxidants reduce inflammation and aid in joint health. High in fiber and both Vitamin A and C. Can protect the eyes and  is good for the skin.
  • kid-friendly ideas: roast pumpkin seeds, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes
  • sneak: replace oil in baking recipes with canned pumpkin
  • recipes

6. Nut/Nut Butters

A day does not go by in our house without a handful of nuts and a smear of nut butter. My children have been known to eat nut butter by the spoonful. A standard breakfast request in our house “Mini-wheats, peanut butter and milk please”

7. Dark Greens (kale/spinach)

Don’t rule out kale until you’ve at least tried kale chips. Spinach and Kale can be prepared so that even the pickiest of eaters will be coming back for more.

8.  Kiwi

Although it was a manatee in my son’s science project last year, we more regularly enjoy this fruit by the case from Costco

  • benefits: more vitamin C than oranges. Strengthens immune system & aids in cardiovascular health. Fiber-rich.
  • kid-friendly ideas: cubed over vanilla frozen yogurt

9. Eggs

Hard boiled or scrambled,  poached or over easy, we love eggs!25 Superfoods that your Family just might eat [the House of Hendrix]

10. Hummus/Chickpea beans

You will never buy hummus again. So easy. So smooth. No aftertaste. Absolutely delicious!|the House of HendrixHummus makes the perfect nutritious dip for carrots, celery, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

11. Seeds – sunflower, pumpkin, flax, chia

Another popular staple in our home. We throw sunflower seeds on our salads and into trail mix, pumpkin seeds in our lunch box, and flax in our smoothies.

12. Soybeans/Edamame

13. Berries – Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries

Nobody needs encouragement to eat these delicious fruits. The fact that they are healthy too is just a delight.

  • benefits: Some of the highest content of disease-fighting antioxidants there is. It’s high in vitamins, has anti-inflammatory effects, and may reduce the effects if age-related memory loss.
  • kid-friendly ideas – fruit kabob
  • recipes 

14. Quinoa

Forbes calls it the SuperGrain of the future. It’s protein-rich and almost double the fiber of other grains.

15. Avocado:

16. Tomatoes

25 Superfoods that your family just might eat [The House of Hendrix}

From pizzas to salads, salsa to soup, everybody can find a way to like tomatoes

17. Yogurt

Our family has transitioned to Greek Yogurt because of it’s higher protein content but any yogurt with live cultures and a lower sugar content will have great health benefits.

  • benefits: good source of protein & calcium. Live cultures help increase immune system and intestinal health.
  • sneak: replacement for sour cream in recipes like tacos and dips. Replace oil in baking with it. I’ve had great results brownies & corn bread recipes.
  • kid-friendly recipes – parfaits & smoothies

18. Cinnamon 

This spice is a great way to add added nutrition to your family’s diet, and it’s a natural food preservative.25 Superfoods that your family just might eat

  • benefits: regulates blood sugar, may lower bad cholesterol, has anit-infectious properties, and has even shown to reduce menstrual pain.
  • kid-friendly ideas – mix into your morning oatmeal. add to muffin, pancake, cookie batters. Sprinkle in soup or on top of ice cream. Cinnamon toast
  • recipes

19. Green Tea

OK, so it’s not a food but it is so good for you, it had to make the list. Chose decaf varieties for children.

  • benefits: Filled with antioxidants and it keeps your immune system strong. Studies have shown it can reduce the size of tumors and in some cases actually make cancer cells die.
  • kid-friendly ideas – decaf green tea with juice and honey

21.  Citrus – Lemons, grapefruits, and oranges

22. Cocount Oil 

I just discovered this last year and have loved experimenting with it. it adds a GREAT texture to baked goods.

23. Salmon/tuna 

I don’t like salmon, but you should. It’s SO good for you.

24. Peppers – Red, Green, Yellow, Orange.

25. Amazing Gras Kid’s Superfood Chocolate Powder 

25 Superfoods that your kids might actually eat.

When all else fails, get your fruits  and veggies in this chocolate powder. We mix it in milk or smoothies. For years my children thought this was “chocolate milk” and drank it obsessively until one day, they had the real thing. Start young.

The House of Hendrix - where joy, imperfection, and grace abound

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EXTRA RECIPE :Crockpot Cilantro Lime Shredded ChickenCompletely Addictive! Crockpot Cilantro Lime shredded chicken. And the tricks to keep chicken moist. | the House of Hendrix

Why I chose to homeschool when I swore I never would. Our one year adventure together.
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Why I chose to homeschool when I swore I never would. Our one year adventure together.

“Good for YOU…not me” was what I always thought when I met an amazing mom that homeschooled her children. I was confident that I was both a better mother getting a break from my children, and that a fully trained individual was more qualified for the job. Yet I spent the past year homeschooling my daughter for 5th grade. Here’s our story.

I love my children’s school, so much so I’ve written a post about my adoration for their teachers. My daughter is a disciplined, respectful, quiet student who takes delight in lining up her pencils and practicing her math facts. Her hard work and natural abilities have always made her successful in the classroom. Somewhere around the end of 3rd grade and the beginning of 4th she began to lose her academic sparkle. Her joy had been replaced with anxiety, and her smiles just fleeting moments. Tears became her release on matters pertaining to homework and tests. She was on edge.

I remember her coming home from school with an A- on a test, sobbing for having missed 2 questions. Bummed that my then 9 year old’s quest for perfection was overtaking her ability to have a joy-filled week,  I rebelliously took a pencil and drew a line through the minus turning it into a A+. “This is just a letter. It does not define you.“ She was mortified that I had defiled her paper.

She needed me….but not the me she was getting. From the time we got home from after school sports until bedtime, my relationship with my 3 children was a checklist of orders: take a bath, eat dinner, do your reading and finish homework. We were stretched. I was not mentoring, modeling and even mothering in the way I thought she needed.perfection is my enemy printable {the House of Hendrix}

I craved time with my daughter. I wanted that extended atmosphere where we could tackle some bigger issues like perfectionism, confidence, and identity.  My concern was not necessarily where she was at now, because many children get anxious and stressed out, but where this could take her.  I wanted to affirm in her who she is in Christ and that no grade, award or even imperfection can alter that identity. She is already amazing. We listened to a Christian pop singer Francesca Battistelli CD with lyrics like “Perfection is my enemy. I’m free to be me.” We also read great books on that topic attached here.6 great books for yuor tween to read...about being a tween

So I said no to a lot of good things and Yes to her. This was not a flippant decision. I gathered information, asked questions, and prayed a lot. I finally decided I would never regret taking a year to pour into her. This was not an academic decision. This was a heart decision, a commitment to each other for one year.

Here’s what our year looked like:

Each morning, she made us each a cup of tea, we played classical music, and had our devotions. When we skipped this step, we ran into trouble. She craved that soothing transition from the morning rush of getting her brothers to school, to a place where our hearts were calm and teachable.

We continued her Classical Christian education. We read great books, laughed, and sang. We did math at Starbucks and literature in a British accent. She was required to dance as she sang her grammar jingles and we totally dropped Latin. We learned for the love of learning.

This was a journey we were going on together. I quickly saw my weaknesses revealed. I was honest and talked through them with her. Unknowingly, I was modeling bringing light to each other’s struggles…not being ashamed of them, and taking comfort in not being perfect. We don’t have to be great at everything. We are enough. We celebrated our strengths in confidence.

An author who I adore, Ann Voscamp, shaped my perspective on what I wanted this year to look like. She encourages both the homeschool parent and child to be committed to living in 4 key ways.

Live each day: (Ann Voscamp)

Authentically.
Live your life. Invite your children to join you! Read together. Pray together. Sing together. Work, bake, garden, chore, clean, sew, fix, build together. Don’t fabricate artificial demarcation lines between schooling and living. Live a one-piece life. Live holistically.

Joyfully.
Explore! Be awed by His World! Restore Wonder! Be a creative, thinking, exuberant person who spills with the joy of learning. Your zest for learning and life will be contagious–the children will catch it!

Curiously.
Read, read, read. Fill the house with library books. Play classical music. Post the art of the masters about the house. Go for walks in the woods. Learn a new language, a new culture, a new poem. Everyday set out to discover again, and again, and again. The whole earth is full of His glory! Go seek His face…

Consistently.
Consistently pray. Consistently read. Consistently keep the routine. Consistently live an everyday liturgy.

Our year together is now over, summer is coming to an end, and my daughter returns to her school in a few days. We didn’t cover everything in my curriculum plan. We didn’t take all of the field trips I imagined accompanied a homeschool experience, and I’m sure I failed to teach her everything she would have learned in school.

But my daughter and I… we are connected.  We’re tight! I can look at her introverted self and know the status of her heart. We built trust. We persevered through frustration. We gained confidence. We dealt with death. But more than anything, JOY returned to the face and heart of my child…a joy that is not temporary because it comes from that deep place of knowing who you are .

Why I chose to homeschool when I swore I never would. Our One Year Adventure Together {the House of Hendrix}.

 

Resources we enjoyed:

 “The question is not, ‘how much does the youth know?’ when he has finished his education––but how much does he care? – Charlotte Mason

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