Happel Happenings

October in the Happel House

2011-10-26T08:45:00.001-07:00

We started off October w/ Rowen's third birthday- he wanted a fire-truck party so a fire-truck party he got! Matt and I built him a cardboard fire truck out of two boxes from a washer & dryer (kindly donated by standard TV & appliance- I may just go there and pick up boxes from time to time for the kids to play in! seriously!)

We checked out a billion fire-truck books from the library (which he's enjoying in the above photo.) I made my first ever shaped cake: a fire truck of course. Thank heavens for the internet, you can learn to do anything! It was chocolate w/ a vanilla buttercream, and more red food coloring than I care to admit.

Knowing our house is small, we only let him invite five friends, and it was still a packed house w/ all the siblings. So much fun, though. We put red/orange/yellow streamers up for fire, and some black for smoke,

his Pappy came in his turnouts so there was even a real firefighter at his party- can a kid get any luckier?

The very next day, we got to meet the newest Happel: Seattle edition. Mr. Justus James is as charming as can be, and we felt SO blessed to be there to welcome him & his new parents home. What a little bundle of lovin'!

Rowen's actual birthday was the following weekend, and one of his presents was this shiny red guitar. It was love at first sight.

Charlotte, on the other hand, is in love with saurkraut. (and I'm in love with her!) seriously. She got her first ear infection (double!) and it was really bad, so we chose to put her on antibiotics. :( I can't get the girl to eat yogurt for anything, but she chowed down on cultured red cabbage- so we got those probiotics in her! Thank goodness. (pay no attention to the party-aftermath that is the counter... )

The next week, while my friend Amber and I planned on going apple picking, the orchard we were going to go to was closed for the morning! It was such a pretty day, that we decided to visit a different apple farm anyway, even though there was no U-pick. There was, however, horses, which Charlotte couldn't keep herself from kissing. (oh my, my hair is a disaster. Just look at the cute baby kissing a huge animal, okay?)

Matt and I got to go to the David Crowder Band concert that night, which was amazing. Gunger was there, and they are phenominal. It was such a treat to go out on a date, and such a late one as well! Charlotte did very well being put to bed without us, which is pretty impressive. Anyway, it was at the Crystal Ballroom, and when we got there, we realized there is basically no seating! Here's where the evidence comes out that I am so old. I'm looking around at all the crazy young kids thinking "three or four hours standing in this crowd? I'm not going to make it!" My back had been really hurting that day (unusual lately) and I get a *little* uncomfortable in crowds like that. I'm under 5' tall, can't see, it gets real stuffy down there... you get my point :) Thankfully, after my split second of panic, we realized there was a 21 and over side, which included a balcony w/ a few seats. We were able to snag two of them. Relief. :)

Later that week we got to cook dinner for friends who just had their 2nd baby. Their 1st baby, Miss Emersyn, is Rowen's age. You see, we met in our birth class when we were pregnant over three years ago! So fun. Our paths don't cross much, so it was a treat to spend a little time together and enjoy Baby Everett as well :)

That weekend our church had a rare ladies event, and it was all day long. Which means I had to leave Charlotte for longer than she's gone without nursing before. Of course, Daddy was a trooper and Charlotte survived. (I swear she's so much happier when I'm not around! What a drama queen she is for me! God bless her.) It was really nice to spend a day in the Word and in fellowship and to worship my amazing Creator. What a big God we serve! I was really challenged in the area of having more purposeful quiet times and allowing Him to run my household. (Something I try to do anyway, but my efforts are so puny, right?) Very next day we got to enjoy our brand-new Home-Group! I got to hang out with all the kiddos upstairs and they were so precious right through dinner time. I love my church family. I love the way we support one another, lift each other up, challenge each other, I can't believe that just a few years ago we were struggling to get connected at Athey. Thank you, friends!

Early the next week, the kids and I met the Carters again at Sherwood Orchards for some apple & pear pickin' in the sunshine. (they were open this morning!) We got a 35# box of pear "seconds" @ 35 cents a pound (yeah!) and about the same quantity of apples.

Charley loves diving into the pairs. She sneaks one almost every time I put her up on the counter! And do you notice her pretty pearls? One day this week (of the photo) I was wearing a neclace (hard to believe, right?) and she kept trying to rip it off me. So i put one on her. She was so proud. She's worn it almost every day since!

The following week was super busy for Matt, so one night before putting the kids to bed by myself again, I asked Rowen if he'd like to do something special. His idea was to paint our toenails purple. What a guy :) I haven't painted my toenails in so long I can't imagine where he got the idea, but whatever! It was stinky, and fun :) Both kids loved staring at their pretty toenails for the week. :)

We waited one week for the pairs to finish ripening, and ended up with 22 pints of delicious chunky cinnamon pear applesauce just yesterday. It was a four hour canning adventure, with four little kiddos, and everyone survived.

And now we have a pretty little jar to open every month until next apple season! Score!

We're just about finished up with our second month of homeschooling "preschool" for Rowen. He loves it. We're using "hands on homeschooling" and packing three days a week worth of five days of curriculum. Here he is doing a science experiment about tastes, textures, and color. Love this serious expression. :)

He is memorizing scripture, learning shapes, colors, he memorized the Pledge of Allegance and says it each day, and basic skills like glue and paint and scissors and drawing certain shapes etc- it's sweet. So far, so good! Maybe I'll try to take more photos of his school work next month.

We are still loving Organics to You, though we took several deliveries off this summer to enjoy the farmer's markets, and other fresh local veggie options. Here's some greens as big as half my countertop... crazy. I made a lentil sweet potato curry soup with half of them, and will be making pesto with the other half tonight to pour over polenta. Mm!

And.... that's October in a wrap!

some video entertainment for those of you who don't facebook...

2011-09-27T08:04:00.000-07:00

Jelly Jar Labels

2011-09-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

Aren't these fun? I'm organizing a Preserves Party this month and I seriously can't wait to swap spreads with all my friends. The point was to do a little work and end up with a lot of jam, but I can't help myself. I just keep making more! So far I've made a boysenberry freezer jam, a strawberry fig jam, some wild plum preserves (think pork chops or goat cheese/hazelnut ravioli) and some fig preserves (just dying to top a round of brie, to be baked in puff pastry. Right?) I'm REALLY hoping someone makes peach preserves and let's me know so that I don't run out and make some myself... though there are still several others rolling around in my mind!

Anyhow... got the harebrained idea to make cute labels as well! Super easy- I cut 2" circles out of scrapbook paper and printed the label part on plain white paper. Cut 'em out with fun scissors and presto! Cuter than ever jars! (okay, they could seriously be a lot cuter... but this is simple and plain and kinda my style.) If you want the word file for your own preserving this season, leave me your email address and I'll email it to you! (I don't know how to put it on the blog... otherwise I would.) :)

A Day in the Life of a One Year Old

2011-07-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Obviously, this post is a month old today. Happy 13 month birthday, Charley! Well yes, it appears blogging is not my top priority now that she is SO mobile! I'm a busy momma! Even so, I thought this deserved posting :) And it's taken me about two hours to get it up between serving breakfast and wiping tears and changing diapers and everything else- but, here it is, nonetheless!

-.-.-.-.-

A Day in the Life of a One Year Old

June 7^th 2011

5:40am- you came into bed w/ me to nurse. When you were finished, you rolled onto your tummy, tucked your knees under and fell asleep.

7:02am – awake chatting w/ your sweet little raspy voice, “heh-ey”

7:04am- changed your very yucky poo- still a little tummy bug.

7:07am- nursin’

7:14am- I carried you outside to let the chickens down and check on the garden

7:20am- play time. A current favorite, the bead maze,

then pulling apart legos and handing them to me to put back together,

putting them back in the lego bucket,

and then a brief look at the 100 animals book we checked out from the library.

7:43am- getting cranky. I took you to your room and handed you your bunny-blankie (paw in mouth) and you took it and snuggled your head onto my shoulder. Yep, time for a nap! It’s earlier than usual, but you’re not feeling yourself quiet yet. I wrapped you up in your pink fuzzy blanket, turned on your sleep sheep, and left you to dream.

8:01am- you never fell asleep, just relaxed in your comfort zone. Now you’re giggling a little bit with your brother, who must be awake.

8:24am- I just left your room after nursing you & lying you back down

9:00am- you’ve been asleep for a little bit now, that’s more like your normal nap time. After leaving you @ 8:30 you cried some more, I picked you up and let you out of your crib for a bit but you were not happy. Saddest little birthday girl ever! So, I’m happy you’re sleeping peacefully now. Hopefully it’ll be a good one and all the restoration you need.

9:16am- went in your room and you were awake! Oh well, but you seem much happier now! We need to get ready to go to the grocery store.

happy shopper. One of your most favorite toys right now is this orange toothbrush. The handle has little balls in it, so it shakes like a rattle. You take it with you almost everywhere we go :)

11- got back from winco & nursed right away- you were DONE w/ that shopping trip!

11:15am – lego time w/ brother while I make lunch

12:03pm – all done w/ lunch, time to play w/ brother some more!

12:30pm- crawled into the kitchen to find me. I changed you, kissed your tummy & made you giggle, and nursed you to sleep.

1:30pm- you woke up and sat yourself straight up- your newest skill- and cried out because you’re still tired and couldn’t get back down & comfy. Tucked you back in w/ bunny-blankie.

2:40pm- awake, sitting up! Nursed and down to play.

3:35pm- pots and pans

3:50- nursin’ some more

4:00- shopping w/ mommy- rite aid, dollar tree, and joanns. Big girl! You got a few “pretty girl” comments while we were out. This was an out-of-the-ordinary afternoon trip, but we had to get a few things for your big party on Saturday.

I never got to record the rest of the day, but a typical evening looks about like this:

5:00- you come crawling into the kitchen, crying desperately for something to eat while I’m making dinner. I sit you in your chair and find something in the fridge to throw at you. Frozen peas, cheese, left over cooked meat, diced fruit, whatever! You usually cheer right up w/ a little finger food to put in your mouth.

5:30- time for the rest of the family to eat dinner. Half the time you’re happy to have more on your plate, the other half you’re done eating after I finally sit down and so I clean you up and nurse you while I eat.

6:30- we go for a walk as a family or you have play time w/ Daddy and Brother. Once in a while this includes a bath- which you scream throughout the entire duration. You hate baths. Tonight, however, you got to open your first birthday present! You've been eyeing baby dolls for a while, so that's what we picked out for you. You thought she was great and chewed on her hand- because that's how you say "i love you," isn't it?

7:30- bed time! Nurse, cod liver oil, diaper & jammies, stories w/ Daddy and Brother on the couch, and down for bed. You usually cry for a little while, then I nurse you, and lay you back down to fall asleep.

Love you, baby girl! Happy First Birthday!

It feels like a photo day

2011-05-24T13:23:00.000-07:00

So let's catch up on May!

Charlotte discovered the tunnel. It was a little scary, but she made it!

And I'm sorry, but could she be any cuter? I just couldn't help myself.

My Momma, on mother's day <3

More Mother's Day fun, w/ Matt's Mom and Grandma "GG." Poor Charlotte was so "done" at this point, it was a long day!

Rowen playing with his little bud JJ

Charlotte enjoying homemade saurkraut on her hotdog. Mmm.... i have the weirdest kids :)

kombucha!

aww..... Charlotte lovin' on Daddy. (and a spatula.) Matt's face is one of utter enjoyment and disbelief- Charlotte is VERY stingy with her lovin's! (I'm pretty much the only one that gets them, ever.)

Would you believe we actually had a day nice enough to go to the Zoo? Rowen holding hands with his little buddy Adler.

Charlotte found the tupperware cupboard. She dumped out the bucket of lids. (organized, aren't I?)

Examined each one...

and then put them back. Sweet girl!

This morning we went to a (don't be shocked) McDonald's play place with our good friends the Carters. I know, I know, yuck, right? But the Mommas enjoyed a cup of coffee and the kids REALLY enjoyed climbing their hearts out. I do believe we'll be making a regular play date out of it!

You can make that? Buttermilk!

2011-05-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

Oh, I know where she's going with this one, you say. I've known that little trick forever! Just add some lemon juice or vinegar to milk and let it curdle for a few minutes and..... oh, wait my dear friend. This is so much better. And just as easy. If you like to cook with buttermilk (or drink it, you crazy person. I know you're out there.) Or if you have some buttermilk that's going to expire and you're not ready to whip up 50 fluffy pancakes, you have got to try this. And then thank me later for the money your saving and for it's pure deliciousness.

Okay, are you ready? This is so great it just tickles me to share it. You need milk (not ultra-pasteurized, it wont work) some store-bought buttermilk (it's the last time you'll ever buy it, I swear.) and a jar w/ a lid.

Measure 2 Tbsp buttermilk into your jar...

add the milk with your left hand while taking a picture w/ your right... no no, don't do that. Unless you have lots of towels near by. Just pour in two cups of milk. Okay?

screw the lid on and shake it like ya mean it. (for a minute! Make sure you do a little dance while you're at it. Endorphins, I tell ya!)

Set it somewhere that you wont touch it for a day. The timing is not exact and depends on the temperature of your kitchen, but technically it's "24 hours." But really, who's counting? Just don't leave it there a week, okay?

And while you're here, feel very blessed that this is not what YOUR fridge looks like. And let your imagination run wild with just how bad the SIDE of the fridge is. heh. Oh yes, the organizational queen of old is dead. six. feet. under.

Finally, take it down and give it a good stir so you can admire it's beauty. Try and contain your urge to eat a spoonful. (okay c'mon, I dare ya! I've always thought buttermilk to be disgusting until I whipped up my own batch. Ooooh mama.)

refrigerate and make biscuits at will! Or whatever your favorite buttermilk recipe is.

If you think it's been in your fridge a touch too long and you haven't used it yet, scoop out another two tablespoons, add it to two cups of milk..... you get the picture :) And feel free to double or half the recipe, the ratios matter, not the quantity. Enjoy!

A few Photos of the kids

2011-05-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

...'cause that's what everyone REALLY wants, right? Enough about enzymes and rancid oils already. ;)

a little easter egg huntin' w/ Pop-pop. i love this last one. They both have such cute looks on their faces!

The gals are finally outside... But this was a few days before. Trying to cram onto the edge of the brooder box to roost. I can't believe how big they are! Look at this photo of when we first got them:

seriously.

Rowen entertaining Sissy w/ donkey kicks all around her.

just before our bike ride. Rowen is SO cool. Charley is sucking on an apple slice. She knawed at it for about two hours- the duration of our sunny day adventure. Hehe. (more impressive than that, she kept her hat and sunglasses on the whole time. yeah!)

I told them to have goofy faces.

Okay i didn't. I just only snapped one picture and that's what I got. :)

Making the most out of our one sunny day: picnic dinner (broccoli raab w/ cheese, nitrite/nitrate free hotdogs, probiotic ketchup and raw milk. Oh yeah, we eat guuud when Daddy's gone.) It was Sissy's first hot dog. She would have eaten the whole thing if I hadn't given the last two bites to Rowen. Oink!

You can make that? Mayo!

2011-05-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Stop feeling guilty about spreading the white stuff on your sandwich- try this and know that you're doing something GOOD for your heath with every bite! It's ridiculously easy. I'm serious. It took me WAY longer to write/post this blog entry than to make the mayo. *snort*

I'm still perfecting my recipe, but that's the beauty of it. Change is a good thing!

Step one: gather your supplies, and make sure they're room temperature. You'll need:

1 egg + 1 yolk from pastured hens. (Yes folks, they're going to be raw. You want the good stuff.)
1 tsp raw sugar or other sweetener if you like (you can totally do without)
1 tsp raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
3/4 C olive oil (cold press)
1/4 C coconut oil
1 tsp whey (liquid drained off yogurt or kefir)
sea salt & paprika

If it's less than 76 degrees in your kitchen, your coconut oil will be solid. I like to fix this little "problem" by putting the (full) measuring cup in a tray of hot water. Liquefies right quick!

whirl the eggs, sugar, vinegar, and whey in a food processor until it's nice and frothy. Slowly pour in the oils while it's running, like so:

I made my first batch with vegetable oil because I still had it. It was.... eh.... not the best. Second batch was half coconut oil, half olive oil. It was yummy, but a tad too coconuty. This batch at 1/4 coconut 3/4 olive is pretty tasty! Essentially, you could use whatever combination of oils you wanted to as long as you have one cup. If you're just getting into more "natural" cooking and going w/ coconut & olive is making your eyes bug out 'cause they're so expensive ( i know... i know...) you could start w/ half veg oil & half natural oils. That would cut the cost, and at least you're going better than store bought. Baby steps, people. I'm thinking my next batch might be 1/4 bacon grease... wouldn't THAT be tasty??? Baconaisse... ooh, the sky's the limit when you make it yourself!

Sorry. I'll stop day dreaming and get back to the process.

Next step: admire it's thick, lusciousness, and season appropriately.

Here's the part that is really going to eek you out. Forgive me.

Put it in a small jar, close the lid, and leave it on your counter for about 12 hours. Raw eggs and all. (then refrigerate and enjoy.) You see, that's why you put in the whey. All the happy organisms in the whey go to work on the mayo, fermenting it and INCREASING the nutritional value- and the shelf life! Normally homemade mayo will last about 3-5 days in your fridge. And who wants to clean the food processor every time you want a turkey sandwich? This lovely stuff will last several months, if you don't eat it first. :) It took me a while to get up the nerve to try fermented mayo because I thought it would taste... well.... fermented. (and the whole raw eggs fermenting on the counter for half a day thing...) But honest to goodness this is the yummiest spread. AND it's actually good for you! Healthy, natural oils (instead of rancid oil, which is what all the stuff in the store is made of. If you're not aware, vegetable oils (soybean, cottenseed, corn, etc.) are processed at such a high heat that they turn rancid. Like when you have the heat too high in your pan and the butter starts burning and smoking? yeah. yuck. Then to mask the unsightly odor and color, they bleach & deodorize it. But I digress....)

where was I? Oh yes... pastured eggs, and oh-so-many enzymes to aid digestion and overall well being. :) Eat up!

Cost analysis:

2 eggs @ $4/doz = $0.67

1t raw sugar @ 5#/$6.65 =$.02

1t raw apple cider vinegar @ 32oz/$2.75 =$.01

3/4C olive oil @$6/ltr = $1.06

1/4 C coconut oil @ 1gal/$39=$.61

whey = free

spices = too little to count

Total: $2.37 for about 12oz of delicious, healthy, organic, probiotic mayonnaise. Let me know if you try it, what you use, and how you like it!

Rowen Strider May 4th

2011-05-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

notice his feet are up! Love the strider bike. what a gorgeous day!

Do you worry about feeding your kids meals that other people have provided?

2011-04-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

This week I started reading "Real Food: What to Eat and Why" by Nina Planck. A couple things were so encouraging to me early in the book that I just had to share them :)

The first one especially- as I learn more about real food, and at the same time, the disasters of industrial food, I worry about my kid's diet. ("worry" is not the right word, we are SO in the Lord's hands!) I can feed them nourishing foods at home, but what about when we go to other people's houses for dinner? What about eating out? I am just as concerned about my heart as my kid's diet. I want to have (and to foster in them!) a heart of graciousness, thankfulness, and hospitality. To shun others because their food choices are not the same as ours is sin. Plain and simple. So this first excerpt gives me peace because these kids were having only SIX nourishing meals per WEEK, and saw vast improvements. Read on:

"...in one experiment, Price fed malnourished kids one meal daily, six days a week, while they ate as usual at home. The therapeutic meals included liver, fish chowder, or a meat stew made of broth and carrtots; a buttered whole wheat roll made with freshly ground flour; tomato juice with cod-liver oil; and two glasses of whole milk. The meat, dairy, and eggs came from animals raised on grass, which Price had found containted more vitamin A than animals raised on grain. It was the American version of the traditional diets: rich in protein, vitamins A, B, and D, omega-3 fats, and minerals. The children's health- and their performance in school- improved sharply. "A properly balanced diet," Price wrote, "is good for the entire body."" p28 "Real Food" Nina Planck

With a husband with borderline high cholesterol, this one also interested me greatly!

"The study of blood cholesterol and its various subcategories is getting more spphistiated by the hour, but the conventional wisdom holds that it's better for high-density lipoprotein (HDL) to be high and low-density liboprotein (LDL) to be low. Casually known a the "good" and "bad" cholesterol hypothesis, this idea emerged with it became clear that the number they call "total cholestrol" was a poor-very poor- predictor of heart disease. Today, most experts believe that low HDL and high LDL are "risk factors" for heart disease, which means the two conditions are statistically correlated.

"But I'm not so sure. There are two important caveats to the rule that high LDL, in particular, is dangerous. The first is a lesson from Statistics 101: correlation does not necessarily imply cause. In other words, high LDL does not necessarily cause heart disease. Instead, it could be a symptom (or marker, as experts say) of heart trouble. The second caveat is equally serious: many studies show that high LDL and heart disease are not linked. In 2005, the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons reported that as many as half of the people who have heart disease have normal or "desirable" LDL. Also in 2005, researchers found that older men and women with high LDL live longer. When the rule- high LDL is dangerous- doesn't apply in the elderly or in half of the heart disease cases, the honest scientist can only conclude one thing: the rule eeds a second look. Some cholesterol experts believe the rule needs more than just tweaking. "There is nothing bad about LDL." says Joel Kauffman, Professor of Chemisty Emeritus at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. "There never was.""

it's quiet around here...

2011-04-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

So I've gotta say, I'm loving the "homeschooling" with Rowen. I wish I were posting all the fun activities we were doing, especially the cute Easter stuff, but to be honest, I can't do both! :) (And I keep forgetting to take pictures.... heh heh) I'm not sure how the blogging mommas stay so on top of it. And the kiddos are the priority :) So I'll write that post about how easy mayo is eventually- but for now, I'm off to scoop up my yummy baby who's chatting away in her crib!

A few photos- for you photo junkies out there. You know who you are!

The water is super hot. Gloves on the feet so he can put his feet in the sink! ha. He'd really like gloves his size but I can't find 'em.

sissy's first plate. aw, big girl.

I'm not sure why, but I was super impressed by this little structure. The matching and the even...ness.... is that a word?

found this in his room the other day. His pillow is on the bottom, and all the animals are piled on top, head up, in quite the mountain. Topped with a blankie of course. Night night, animals!

a sweet girl & naughty chickens

2011-03-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

resolutions.

2011-03-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

Last year I did a new resolution every month. It was fun, motivating, and effective at changing little things. The accountability didn't hurt. I'm not sure why I didn't just keep it going this year, but I didn't. And I'm kinda missin' it. So why not start in April?

Really, my "new years resolution" this year was to journal more. Journal my quiet times and take notes at church, etc. I haven't been doing that hot. But we can call that "january" and keep working on it!

February I decided to read more. (I don't actually know if it was february exactly, but I've been trying to read more.) and for heavens sake, not JUST about food. I read a lot about food :) I've read:

Correcting Your Child in Love by Abner Sumrall

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz

and am working on

Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing by Sheila Kippley

To make a goal more achievable, "they" say you should quantify it. So I'm going to say one book per month.

March brought the idea that I should be doing more with Rowen as far as directing his play to bring about a more structured learning. So I've been planning projects and trying to listen to his interests and questions more- it's been fun! My goal is to plan 3-4 activities a week (or more) and only a week at a time, so I can really mold them to him in that moment. Fun!

April is coming up, and my resolution is to read through the bible in a year. Starting in April, you ask? Didn't you do that last year, you ask? Yes, and yes! My first resolution last year, starting in January, was to read through the bible in a year. And I did! Hooray! But then the year was over, all my little boxes were checked, and my bible reading totally fizzled out. I just get stuck- what to study next? I dunno. Apparently, I'm a box checker. I knew that about myself, this is not shocking. So I downloaded a new "one year reading plan" (complete with boxes!) and I started yesterday (cheating a little, I know.) :)

Now, my resolutions are not and have not been a one-month deal. (okay, a couple of them were.) Anyhow, to recap the last 12 months:

May - stockpile the freezer. OAMC style. (okay, this one really was a one month resolution. I really liked it, and I haven't done it since! I can't believe that was a YEAR ago.)

June- have a healthy baby and try to stay sane. (shoot. another one monther.)

July - ban high fructose corn syrup from our house. (boy, what a can of worms this turned out to be! Not only corn syrup, but all things processed have been getting the boot around here!)

August- try one "deceptively delicious" type recipe a day. (This really was a one month goal, and then to see where it took me. I don't do anything anymore besides the "sweet milk" (sweet potato in his milk, which he loves) and we're still in a fierce vegetable battle with the toddler. Ya win some, ya loose some.)

September - journal pray as a daily part of my quiet times. (clearly, with my January resolution, this has been a flop. But I earnestly want to keep at it.)

October - so long, corn-fed beef. (check. We've even gone to one pastured chicken a month, divided up into four meals plus bone broth.)

November - tidy up! fill BOTH our yard debris bins, every week. & keep the kitchen table clear. (while the yard debris bins are a seasonal thing, i'm still keeping the kitchen table fairly clear!)

December - spend at least hour, one night a week, on the kids' scrapbooks. (fail. utter fail. and I'm still trying. and still failing. boo.)

What about you? What's one thing you'd like to work on this month? Name it! Quantify it! Let's encourage each other :)

You can make that? Ketchup!

2011-03-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

You can make ketchup? Yeah! And it's SO easy! Maybe you're venturing into eating a healthier, preservative-/additive-/mystery ingredient-free diet. You're cooking dinner at home most of the time: great! But when you venture into the condiment isle at the grocery store- what do you do? You could shop at a fancy, organic grocery store and spend loads of money. (Well, some of you could.) We sure can't! My solution: make it myself :) I've been making our salad dressing, sour cream, mayo, pickle relish, and now ketchup. Yay. But wont it go bad in like a week, you ask? I can't be making all our condiments every week! The magical, ancient solution: fermentation. When you ferment your yummy home concoctions, they'll last a month or more!

This was my first batch of real ketchup, and I was SO excited to make it!

I got the recipe from The Nourished Kitchen - a very fun blog I highly encourage you to visit. Here is her recipe:

2 cups tomato paste, preferably homemade

1/4 cup raw honey, maple syrup or whole unrefined cane sugar (see sources)

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh whey*, divided

2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar, plus extra for thinning the ketchup, if desired

1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt

1 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Seeing that homemade tomato paste is out of the question in March, I used S&W Organic. Yay for costco.

I used a combination of pure maple syrup and raw honey, 'cause I'm complicated like that.

added the vinegar, salt, spices and my 1/4 cup of whey that I had drained from kefir. Stir it all up! (If you don't know what whey is or want to know how to "make" it, leave a comment and I'll be sure to explain!)

Scoop it into a mason jar.

Top it off with the extra 2 Tbsp whey for good measure.

Put a towel on it, and set it in a warm place for three to five days & leave it alone so it can ferment. (Next to your lacto-fermenting beets of you have them. Then they can have a nice chat while they culture.)

And.... tadaa! you have ketchup! Nutritionally speaking, a vegetable with natural sweeteners, just teeming with healthy, beneficial bacteria (think yogurt!) The recipe said I could just stir in the white stuff that formed on the top from the extra whey, but it eeked me out a bit so I scooped it off. :)

yum! Homemade turkey nuggets, here we come. This ketchup will last SEVERAL MONTHS in your fridge. Hooray!

Almost forgot!

cost analysis:

tomato paste: can't find the reciept. I think it was 6.99, but maybe it was 7.99 for the box of 12. I'm going to guess high. $8 / 12 = $0.67. I used three cans = $2.00

maple syrup: $12.55/32oz - 1/8C=$0.39

honey: $30.40/1gal - 1/8C=$0.24

whey: free, drained off kefir or plain yogurt

cider vinegar: $2.75/32oz 2T=$0.09

sea salt & spices: oh..... i don't know. Let's say $0.02

Total: $2.74 at the most! (you could make it much cheaper with cheaper ingredients! I could be wrong, but I don't think you could buy an organic ketchup with probiotics for $2.74 or less at the grocery store!)

Spring Sensory Tub

2011-03-25T06:55:00.000-07:00

I think beans, water, rice, or sand (etc) are the best things for touch tubs. Scooping, pouring, filling, burying, generally running stuff through tiny fingers.... But I wanted to switch it up a bit and do more with textures, weights, and things that could be sorted since Rowen's really into that right now. So for my spring sensory tub, i tore all the blossoms of an apple blossom garland (half off at Michaels) and threw in some easter grass, easter eggs, glass rocks, and little fuzzy chickies. Fun! (at first I did a whole bag of easter grass. Bad idea on several accounts. Not only was my kitchen full of easter grass, but the whole tub was one mass. So only a few strands remain and it's much more fun!)

and on a side note:

yay!

You can make that? Kombucha!

2011-03-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

I make a lot of stuff at home. Some of it is crazy. Some of it is just plain ordinary. When it comes up that I make a particular thing (i.e. yogurt) most people are awed and think I have some amazing talent or tons of time. Neither is true :) I've just learned a trick here and there, and enjoy going back to the ways of old, home cookin'.

Because I really believe most things I make "from scratch" are so simple, I've really been wanting to share some of them here on the blog. Maybe some things will be obvious, maybe some will surprise you. If you try anything yourself, let me know how it goes! If you start with just one thing at a time, you might get hooked. :) My goal is to write a "you can make that?" blog any time I make something that I think might be interesting to someone- that way you can kind of see in "real time" just how little time it takes up.

For my first entry: Kombucha!

(what on earth?)

I know. I'd only heard of it recently. But after three batches, I'm sold. And it's not even summer yet! Imagine how good this is going to be in the heat of summer!

Okay okay, on with it!

Kombucha is a heath drink. In a nutshell: fermented sweet tea. But it tastes more like apple juice than tea. (and slightly beer-like.)

Here is a better description than I could give you, from passionatehomemaking.com
"Wonderfully fizzy and slightly sweet tasting, Kombucha is a great way to improve your health. The Kombucha culture, often referred to as a “mushroom”, is a probiotic colony of friendly yeast and bacteria. It acts on sugar and tea to produce acetic, lactic and glucuronic acid. Kombucha is great for detoxification, boosting metabolism and assisting digestion. It is rich with antioxidants and amino acids, namely L-threonine (supports healthy protein balance). Kombacha is loaded with enzymes and healthy bacteria thought to enhance the digestive process. It has been used to prevent post-meal heartburn, acid reflux and has even been used as a cure for cancer."

There is a LOT of info on the internet if you want more :) I'll just give you a quick how-to!
First of all, the hardest part of making kombucha is finding a mother. And if you know me, that's going to be very easy. Just ask :)
1-boil 3 quarts of water
2-dissolve 1 C sugar
3-add 4 tea bags (i've been using black, but you can use green)
4-let it cool to room temperature. In my kitchen, this takes about 2 hours. Remove tea bags.
5-add 1/2 cup mature kombucha
6-place the "mother" scoby on top (scoby stands for symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast)
7-cover your GLASS container with a towel, and leave it in a dark place for 7-9 days. You'll know it's done when it no longer tastes like tea at all, and you have a "daughter" scoby formed on the surface.
8-pour it out, which I think should probably be done gently...

there they are! mother and daughter.

Bottle it up, and reserve 1/2 cup kombucha for your next batch. I've just been putting it in a jar, which is fine. It looses it's fizziness though, and that's half the fun. So I'd like to eventually get some better bottles for storage. (oh, and store it in the fridge. You can look up flavors to add and a double fermentation method with juice added on the Internet. Since I haven't tried any of that yet, I'm not going to include it here.)

add the new, cool sweet tea to your (hand-washed) jar

place either the mother or the daughter on top, give the other one to a friend (you can store it in 1/2 C kombucha in the fridge until ready to use)

tadaa

cover it up and start again!

Cost analysis:
glass jar: $6.99 if you don't already have one. One time cost (i read somewhere that a 1 gallon bowl is better than a jar, actually, the kombucha thrives when the depth is less than the width. I didn't read that until after I bought the jar. we'll see how it goes.)

tea: varies. I bought a big box of lipton, though some will say you must use organic tea to avoid fluoride. go with your gut on that one. My math worked out to $0.11 for the four bags.
water: don't make me figure that out. I'm gonna go with "free" even though I know technically it's not
sugar: $0.26

Total: $0.37 (after making up the cost for the jar!)
if there are 12 cups in 3 quarts, that's $0.03 per cup. Wow! Talk about an affordable, tasty, health boosting beverage!

Springtime Activities: terrarium, nature walks, spring books, and a big paper tree

2011-03-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

hooray, it's Spring! It's still cold and not much has changed, but it IS staying lighter after dinner, and there ARE pink blossoms lighting up the trees! Reason enough to celebrate for me. :)

I haven't been taking many pictures of our springtime activities. Oops. For starters, we've been on a few walks. We talk about the Spring things we hear (birds chirping, frogs croaking) and see (blossoms on the trees, daffodils) and it's fun seeing Rowen aware of so much more this year.

First fun project: we built a terrarium! I've had a bottle of soda (gifted to us at a potluck last summer- or the summer before?) that I finally decided to dump down the drain for this activity. We cut off the bottom, and I let Rowen scoop in the soil from a bag of potting soil. I let him poke his fingers in, count the seeds, drop them in his finger holes, and bury them. I shoved the bottle top back into the bottom (trickier than it sounds!) and we squirted some water in the top with a squirt bottle!

tada.
I actually have pretty low expectations for this minute bottled garden. (radishes. they're the hardiest thing I could think of.) as Rowen immediately shook the heck out of it. We'll keep you posted! So far he's looked into it a few times a day. Hopefully something will sprout and grow into a learning experience!

To bring a little spring inside, we decided to built a tree with some pretty pink spring blossoms. Ro did great with his kid scissors (finally, an art project he can get into!) but also did lots of tearing. He really liked using scotch tape to put the pieces together.

I cut a whole bunch of shapes out of pink tissue paper (triangles, ovals, circles, squares and rectangles) which he identified, squished, and stuck in the glue.

yay! (yes I know, the top is naked. He got bored, but lasted much longer than I thought he would! Maybe we'll add some more "blossoms" later.

We went to the library and picked up some Spring books. This was much more effective than my pathetic attempt at St. Patrick's Day books. (Have I mentioned how much I love the library's online request system? I can request a bazillion books while sitting at home, and then they'll email me when they're ready. I walk it, pick them up off the shelf filed under my name, and check out. Saves SO much time and chaos!) Anyway, the biggest hit is "Kevin Discovers Spring" by Liesbet Slegers.

Time Budgeting

2011-03-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

I have so many things milling around in my head these days... but I can only blog so much. So I'm starting with time budgeting. I've been messing around with schedules and things for a few months now, (really some form or another for a couple years) to pretty much no avail. I'm always wondering where the heck my time goes. I'm a stay at home mom- doesn't that mean I should have an amazing dinner ready every night, a spotless home, fun activities planned with my kids each day, time for exercise, and profound daily quiet times?
yeah. right.
Anyway, I was thinking about budgeting the other day and a thought occurred to me. There are only so many minutes in a day. (I know, shocking, right? who knew?) Just like there is only so much money every month. I'm an avid budgeter. If you follow Dave Ramsey at all, I'm the "nerd," not the "free spirit." I love excel. (well, I'm a Mac user- so it's actually "numbers" that I love.) Anyway- I've been fanatically budgeting since high school. (yes.) I love knowing where every penny goes. (nope. I don't round up. every penny.) If someone were to ask me how to get started in budgeting, I'd tell them to save all their receipts for a month and to enter everything into a spreadsheet. To try not to change your habits that month, just to be aware of where it all goes. It can be shocking. So while I was thinking about this and how it relates to the time in a day, I thought I'd start recording all my minutes. Just how DO I spend my time? Should I feel guilty about not spending enough time with each kid, doing fabulous things? How much time DO I spend in the kitchen? Should I feel guilty about how untidy my home is in this crazy season of life? And really, how much time DO I spend on facebook? The endless life-sucker that it is... because frankly, when I "waste" my minutes rather than being intentional with them, I rob other areas of my day of much needed time. Things I'd rather be spending my time on.
So, that's my project for the week. Time budgeting. Hopefully it wont take up so much time by itself as to throw off my observations. ha! Actually, I'm committing to not adding anything up until a designated time. In a week, perhaps I'll enter it into a new spreadsheet and look at percentages. Maybe it will help me to see areas that I need to change. Like I was wondering how much time I spent making lunches. Would I spend less time "packing" lunch for everyone the night before when I pack my husbands', even though the kids and I eat at home every day? Hm. Anyway, if I can make my life more efficient, great. If I can just be aware of how I spend my day, honestly, I think it may be eye-opening. Perhaps not. But worth a shot.

St. Patrick's Day Activities: round 5!

2011-03-17T16:33:00.001-07:00

Rainbows! Rowen's really not much of an arts & crafts guy. Sorting, however, was a big hit. A couple days ago, I soaked some round noodles in food coloring water, and then let them dry. The next day I dumped 'em into a bucket, with some other random "rainbow" colored things I could find. He enjoyed sorting them into different little tubs!When he was through, he wanted to find MORE things to add to his "rainbow."
love him!

and.... just 'cause she's cute :)

St. Paddy's Day Activities: continued

2011-03-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

kefir+spinach+banana+a bit of pear puree for sweetness= shamrock smoothie!

mmmmm....... green goodness!

grabbed a pack of 8 glitter glues at the dollar tree. toddler fail. You have to squeeze them from the bottom in order to get the glue out. (Toddler wants to squeeze the middle, of course!) Eh, what do you expect from the DT anyway?) :) He has the most fun with the caps, anyway.

These are shamrocks cut out of the papers he "stamped" yesterday. I learned from one of our library books that St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity to unbelieving Ireland. Three leaves, one leaf... cool, huh?

left over smoothie? smoothie pop. oh yeah!

The Ladies: 1.5 weeks

2011-03-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

I propped a stick in the brooder today for a roost- they had a jolly old time picking at it all morning. They enjoyed either eating or playing with all the lichen and moss but that's about it. I think big blackie has been wanting to roost (especially on top of the waterer, if only she could get up there!) I tried propping up a crepe spreader (seriously.) for a few days, and she kept stretching one foot up on it, but never attempting to perch. I figured it was too thin. So, a bigger stick was in order :) Big yellow (Miss Bossy) tried it first, but didn't stay. Big blackie is quite pleased. (no, they still don't have names. I'm starting to think it's for the better, though.) We'll see :) She's pecked at a couple of the other girls who've looked interested. "this is MY roost!"

They're hilarious. They play "keep away" with any pine shavings that they find that are slightly different. They peep all day (and night) long, but it sounds like spring time. Like a tree just outside your house has a flock of birds flying back home from the south. So far no stink, which is a perk. Just waiting for that one :) They're getting their feathers in- you might be able to enlarge the picture to see but I haven't checked. But the tail feathers crack me up.

That's all for now!

St. Patrick's Day Activities #2 & 3

2011-03-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

yesterday was too busy for blogging, so today you get two activities :) First up, a shamrock shaker! Rowen enjoying pouring in the soap, water, food coloring (for heavens sake, they're for crafts, not for FOOD!), beads, glitter, and little shamrocks. Nice fine motor work!

Momma glued the cap on- and.....

Sister's really enjoying playing with it! I forgot how much fun Rowen had with these when he was a baby. We'll be making more in the future :)

Activity number two! Potato stamps. What's more irish than a shamrock stamp made out of a potato for Pete's sake? (or uh... for Patrick's sake?)
we left one an oval and carved the other into a shamrock. It was good fun for oh, five minutes. My little boy. SO not a crafter. Oh well :)

St. Patty's Day Touch Tub

2011-03-11T11:15:00.001-08:00

Thought we'd have a little sensory fun and switch out the touch tub with a little seasonally themed fun! We went to Winco and the Dollar store and found some goods :) So far, I've been rewarded with a peaceful quiet morning!

Honestly, I'm not obsessed with St. Patrick's Day. I can't even honestly tell you the real story of St. Patricks Day, though I know I've heard it many times. I'm telling Rowen about Leprachauns and Shamrocks and pots of gold and he's got this glazed over look on his face... I think we need to hit up the Library after nap for some colorful books. :) But yes- I don't care that much about St. Patrick's Day. I just want to be more intentional with directing his play. I think I may homeschool eventually. And if I'm cut out for that, I'd better be cut out for a little child-directed learning. Which includes actually planning activities for him to discover and grow with. So, I happen to be starting the week of St. Patrick's Day. So if I'm a good little girl and actually follow through with my plan, I'm going to post a bunch of fun activities (or not so fun!) and I just needed to get that little disclaimer out of the way first :)

The Chicks are Here!

2011-03-07T09:34:00.001-08:00

The Chicks are Here!

Aren't they sweet? Just peep-peepin' away... learning how to eat and drink... takin' a little snooze here and there. Rowen LOVES them, and Charlotte was pretty entertained as well. They've been home just over an hour... more to come! (photos & stories, that is. not more chicks. four's it!)

Four chickies! Two barred rocks, two orpingtons. Though one looks a little different than the other, I may have grabbed a new hampshire instead. Hoping for pairs, though!

(Rowen is showing them where the water is. About ten minutes later, he was reading them a book.) :)

Name suggestions? We're thinking.... Nugget, Potpie, Tetrazini, Noodle, Stirfry, you get the idea ;)

8 months

2011-02-07T15:13:00.001-08:00

My sweet baby girl is 8 months old today!

That means she's been out as long as she was in. It's going by so quickly... and I just love her!

Fire Truck Puzzle

2011-01-28T19:59:00.001-08:00

So, I thought his fire truck puzzle skills were really awesome until he started doing his USA puzzle- but, here it is anyway, just for kicks! :)

Rowen's States Puzzle

2011-01-28T18:17:00.001-08:00

27 months old and doing geography. who knew?

Rowen's Veggie Truck

2011-01-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

When Organics to You comes to our door, Rowen gets really excited to see the "veggie truck." So, that's what a veggie truck is, if you were wondering :)

The Many Talents of Charlotte Joy

2011-01-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Dieters, rejoice!

2011-01-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

Was your new years resolution to loose weight? (again?) Are you going the same old road of low-fat & sugar free? Well, sugar free can be left for another post. There's quite a bit to say about that. But this post is dedicated to none-other than Saturated Fat.

Lately I've been looking other places for nutrition information than the government. (usda)

What I'm finding is half shocking, half "well, duh." (2nd half due to the diets of peoples around the world, throughout time.)

Here's a happy little excerpt I was just enjoying during nap time. I wanted to share with those of you who may happen to read my blog once in a while, but not the Weston Price website :)

for your dietary enjoyment:

SUMMARY

Current USDA dietary guidelines are based on the flawed notion that cholesterol and saturated fat are unhealthy. They are unrealistic, unworkable, unscientific and impractical; they have resulted in widespread nutrient deficiencies and contributed to a proliferation of obesity and degenerative disease, including problems with growth, behavior and learning in children. The US government is promoting a lowfat, plant-based diet that ignores the vital role animal protein and fats have played in human nutrition throughout the ages.

The pyramid with its strictures against fat consumption does not recognize variations in human metabolism. Recommendations for fat restriction are predicated on the assumption that fat causes weight gain and heart disease; several recent studies have shown that that restriction of natural fats actually leads to more obesity in both children and adults, while the refined carbohydrates, polyunsaturated and trans fats that frequently replace natural saturated fats contribute to weight gain and chronic disease. Restriction of animal fats in children leads increased markers for heart disease and to deficiencies of vitamins A, D and K2, needed for growth, strong bones, immunity, neurological function, and protection from tooth decay.

SATURATED FAT AND WEIGHT GAIN

The USDA Dietary Guidelines have led to the restriction of saturated fat in children’s diets; pediatricians now advise parents to put their children on reduced-fat dairy products and avoid meat and dairy fats starting at the age of two; and school children no longer have the option of whole milk in school lunches.

Authorities justify these restrictions of nutritious foods by claiming that fat, especially saturated fat, results in weight gain. Yet a recent study from Sweden found that a higher intake of fats, including saturated fats, in childhood resulted in lower body weight; children on reduced fat diets had higher body mass and greater insulin resistance.¹⁴

Furthermore, in a study of Swedish adults, consumption of whole fat milk and cheese was linked to lower weight gain;¹⁵ and dairy fat was not linked with weight gain in a longitudinal study of adolescents.¹⁶

Individuals who try to restrict saturated animal fats according to the USDA guidelines often end up consuming more trans fats. Yet animal research indicates that in calorie-restricted diets containing the same number of calories, those diets containing trans fats result in increased weight gain.¹⁷

^{More of the good news to be found at http://www.westonaprice.org/abcs-of-nutrition/1950-comments-on-the-usda-dietary-guidelines.html}

So grab that cream-top yogurt and eat to your health! Sautee those veggies in beautiful butter! Slim down with delicious, creamy whole milk! (raw if you can!) oh yeah, baby. There's something to be said for Real food.

Christmas!

2010-12-28T07:15:00.000-08:00

Aren't they the sweetest little elves? Man I love them.

We had an awesome Christmas! It is SO sweet to celebrate the birth of our Savior with children of our own. It adds so much power and perspective. And.... joy. Definitely a lot of joy! Rowen had tremendous fun this year. All December long we did an advent calendar, talked about Jesus' birthday, talked about Santa coming, ate lots of candy canes... (I hope I never forget those sweet, sticky fingers) and it was pure joy to see his excitement and anticipation. It took him a couple hours to fall asleep on Christmas Eve, and it was totally a blast doing the parent thing once he was finally out!

We are blessed to be surrounded in family: we got to have three Christmases! The kids are spoiled rotten, for sure. A couple days after Christmas, I'm really learning the meaning of the phrase "spoiled rotten." Ha! This afternoon will be spent putting all the new toys AWAY, save one or two of his choosing. I can't wait :) I'd like to purge and give a bunch away, but with Charlotte right behind him in development, I think I'll just store them until she's old enough to be through with them too. During lunch, Rowen and I talked about getting out the bins and sorting all his toys so we can get out new ones every so often. He seemed excited about it too. That must mean he had no idea what I was saying. Muwahahaha

anyhow- sidetracked..... :)

We did Christmas Eve with just our little family this year, which was great. Christmas Eve service at church was awesome, then dinner in our pj's and putting the last ornament on the advent tree, hot cocoa & the Christmas Story- so sweet :)

Christmas morning Rowen climbed into bed with us and Matt tried to convince him to see if Santa came, but he was plenty happy just being in bed with the family. We finally got him up and it was all fun after that! He was so not into opening everything. He just wanted to play with what he had at the moment! The rest of the day was filled with family, food, and LOTS more toys. It's a good thing Christmas only comes once a year!

I hope it was merry and joy-filled for you all as well :) Bring on 2011!

Rowen's ABCs

2010-12-13T12:54:00.001-08:00

idn't he cute?

Christmas Tree Hunting

2010-12-08T15:30:00.000-08:00

We went to Hagg's this past weekend with my parents, & my sister and brother-in-law.

tractor ridin' out to the trees (Rowen wanted to ride ON the tractor, it was a disappointment to settle for the wagon, but he got over it.)

Rowen picked this one for Nana & Pop-pop

poor Charlotte passed out for the entirety of the adventure. Happy to have been wearing the ergo!

a little visit with big Santa

awake now! What? Wait. Who's got me?

feeding the goats.

All in all, it was a fun trip. It was a little far out, and a little expensive, and there weren't many doug's to be found. Looks like they're only planting nobles now, which makes sense. But hard for the bargain ;) The weather held out on us which was a nice blessing! We enjoyed our free coffee & cocoa in the little barn while visiting with the animals & talking to Santa. However, we'll try a new farm next year, mainly for the steep slopes. The trees are growing on a hillside, and it was scary trying to navigate the mud & brambles in rubber boots and wearing a baby! Luckily there were no casualties. It would make sense to just go and pick one up from a lot- they're cheaper after all. But there's something about going and cutting down your own. I'm thankful to live in a state full of fir trees just dying to be in someone's living room, bedecked with tinsel & memories come December!

Merry Christmas!

Box of Happy #2

2010-12-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

Contents from our 2nd Organics to You box:

1 bunch Carrots-*LOCAL, farm direct*
1 bunch purple Kale -*LOCAL, farm direct*
1 bunch Collard Greens -*LOCAL, farm direct*

1 winter Squash(mixed types) - *LOCAL, farm direct*
1 bunch Beets - *LOCAL*
1-2 Onions - *LOCAL*
1-2 Garlic - *LOCAL*
2-3 Celeriac - *LOCAL, farm direct*
2 Green Peppers - ?

1 head cabbage -?

broccoli -?

lettuce -?

bok choy -?

mushrooms -?

1 bunch bananas -?

4 Satsumas - Cali'
4 Kiwi - Cali'

6 Jonagold Apples Apples - *LOCAL*

3 granny smith apples
3 lemmons

3 Navel Oranges - Cali'

2 avocados?

This week I tried a Veggie Box ($33) with a fruit add on ($15) and it looks like a good variety! I picked up a small bag of apples, a bunch of bananas, and a bag of cuties from Trader Joes for the extra fruit.

I made this recipe with the bok choy- it was good! I threw in some shrimp and half an onion and served it over brown rice.

I'm planning on making this recipe with the celery root later this week. I'm excited to try a new vegetable! Who knew you could be an almost 30 year old veggie lover and still be trying new veggies?

And I made this recipe (with regular lentils since I didn't have red) last week for the Buckendorfs who welcomed sweet baby Kenzi into the world. It was so good, I'll be making it again this week, but I'm going to use the collards from our box instead of the spinach that I used last time. I'm also going to pick up some red lentils and see what kind of difference it makes! (If you were going to try this recipe, I also used a mix of veggie & chicken stock instead of water, and regular lentils take longer to cook than red lentils, fyi)

December Resolutions

2010-12-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Wow, my final entry! December is not exactly a time to be thinking about starting resolutions. Typically, the end of December includes a lot of indulging in things you KNOW are bad, or less than ideal, because you're going to resolve to stop doing those things in January. Nevertheless, my December will include a new resolution just like every other month this year. I know, I'm crazy, but it's been fun. Why stop now?

The Recap:

January - read through the bible in a year. (so close to accomplishing this goal!)

February - use the cash envelope system.

March - watch internet time.

April - walk whenever possible. (yeah, fell right off that wagon. Though I did run to the library this week with my fantastic stroller)

May - stockpile the freezer. OAMC style.

June- have a healthy baby and try to stay sane.

July - ban high fructose corn syrup from our house. (would you believe there are still condiments and crackers around the house with HFCS? The last of the Graham Crackers are finally gone, and I tossed the last of the ketchup. Trader Joes Organic is a very tasty replacement! Just made a tuna sandwich yesterday with sweet pickle relish, including HFCS. yuck.)

August- try one "deceptively delicious" type recipe a day. (Rowen's morning "hot chocolate" (half-scoop of ovaltine) now includes a spoonful of pureed sweet potatoes. Love it!)

September - journal pray as a daily part of my quiet times. (oh dear, I totally dropped this one this month. I need to start again.)

October - so long, corn-fed beef.

November - tidy up! fill BOTH our yard debris bins, every week. & keep the kitchen table clear. (I did it, folks! and it wasn't that bad! There was a bad week for the kitchen table- I was doing a bizzarre so I had my sewing machine out and I was not about to put it away nightly. However, I kept the REST of the table clean.)

December - spend at least hour, one night a week, on the kids' scrapbooks.

it doesn't seem like much. But for the past TWO YEARS I've been wanting to find time to work on them. I haven't even started Charlotte's. I haven't even made her extremely simple photo books of the professional photos we had taken. For the past week I knew I wanted their scrapbooks to be my resolution, but I couldn't think of a very good quantifiable goal. One page a week? Finish Rowen's baby book? And the truth is, I feel like this goal (that I came up with last night) is possibly reachable in a busy month like December. Pray for me :) That way I can spend that quick hour ordering photos to be developed, cutting out mats, sifting through old blog posts to find things to add, doing Charlotte's online photobook, whatever. It's just an hour. It's not that scary. A little bit at a time, that's all it takes, right? Wish me luck!

How are you doing on your new years resolutions?

Our Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

sorry, picture overload!! We went to eastern oregon for the long Thanksgiving weekend. It was lovely. All the snow totally got me ready for Christmas! I'm dying to get out the decorations :)

tower of brussels sprouts

GiGi Norma (Matt's Grandma)

surrounded in snow!

...but puddles are where it's at :)

Lots of fun with Uncle Awesome (that's how Rowen pronounces Evan)

overnight snow!

love :)

Poor LuLu- what a good sport!

More fun with the younger Happels

oh my goodness- an actual picture of our whole family?? (yes, we did it on purpose! Aren't you proud?)

MiMi

Rowen LOVED the "snow mo mo." Matt slowly drove him up and down the street a few times. (As did Pappy, and Mimi.) The next day he woke up talking about it!

goofy.

look, I exist! It's me in a photo! amazing.

Christmas Card!!

Aunt Jackie

Charlotte's first Thanksgiving! Sorry girl, no food for you. No food until January. I mean it. Don't turn 6 months old on Tuesday. Stop it. Stop it I say! (look how big she looks sitting in the chair! :( It was her first time. She LOVED it. oh man.) Stop it!

Laughter

2010-11-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

Simple Things that make me Happy #9

2010-11-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Frozen washcloths.

What makes you happy today?

A Thanksgiving Reminder...

2010-11-19T16:27:00.000-08:00

Don't forget to brine your butterball!

Harmonica

2010-11-19T10:43:00.001-08:00

A little Thursday Lovin'

2010-11-18T14:08:00.000-08:00

and

Free Holiday Cards from Shutterfly!

2010-11-17T12:52:00.000-08:00

Got a great deal for you, friends. Well, my blogging friends for sure! Shutterfly is offering 50 free photo cards for writing a blog about them! Of course, it's a bit of shameless self promotion, but I'll jump on that band wagon for free Christmas Photo Cards :) We've been debating whether or not to do them this year, looking at Costco (who seem to always have the best prices) but then when you add postage, holy moly. But with free cards, I think we can handle it! So, I went to shutterfly and checked out their designs, and there are so many cute ones. There's one that just says "joy" across your photo & it's so simple and sweet! It'll all come down to choosing the right photo, of course. Last Christmas, Charlotte's ultrasound photo got a small spot on our Christmas card. I think we'll have to give her a better shot on this year's!

Oh, and while I'm on the topic of Christmas cards, I heard a rumor about a family at church that puts all their Christmas cards in a basket and then throughout the year, they pull out one every night at dinner and pray for that family. How sweet is that? We definitely want to steal that little tradition :) (So you'd better send us one if you want to be prayed for!) hahaha, okay, okay, no pressure ;)

here's all the links from Shutterfly you may need:

· holiday cards http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

· greeting cards to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/5x7-folded-greeting-cards

· photo albums to http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books/simple-path

· personalized mugs to http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs

· calendars to http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars

· graduation invitations to http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/announcements/graduation-announcements

· Choose your own card/invitation and URL from our Cards & Stationery page

(Just to be clear, I don't get anything from you using them, so I'm not encouraging you to sign up or anything, but I have used Shutterfly for photo books before and they've turned out great. Got an 8x8 for Rowen when he was a baby, full of all the people who love him! So cute. Currently making one for Charlotte too!)

Happy Christmas Card Making! Oh yes, here's the link for bloggers:

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Rowen Cleans House

2010-11-15T05:39:00.000-08:00

Soup Swap!

2010-11-12T14:11:00.000-08:00

This was not my idea, I got it from the Food Day a few weeks back. You make a couple gallons of one kind of soup, have a bunch of friends do the same, and then trade! Brilliant, right? Well, 6 friends (myself included) decided to give it a go. And I'm so glad we did. :) I made my version of lentil soup, which is loaded with yummy veggies, chicken stock, and red wine. Here's the parsnips and leeks getting all caramel-y. Oooooh. While browning these babies, I considered making a dish some day of just parsnips and leeks. (potatoes, carrots, green onions and celery lie in wait.)

here's Rowen examining my 6 quarts, lying out to cool before popping 'em in the freezer.In return, I got taco soup (already enjoyed- thank you,) potato soup (made by an Irish girl. Oh yeah. Also already enjoyed.) Chili, pumpkin soup, and chicken & corn chowder. So much fun! And to have 6 dinners in my fridge/freezer just waiting to be heated & served? Priceless. And 6 quarts was just about perfect. It took me two big pots, and was not quite a hassle. Any more might be. So get out there and find some friends and swap some soup!

just 'cause

2010-11-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

love her!

movie night: popcorn!!

it turns out, you CAN buy happiness!

2010-11-11T13:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know, I'm a little obsessed with food. But I'm too happy with our big brown box of food from Organics to You that arrived on our porch today (courtesy of driver Will, who was quite nice) not to blog about it! I told Rowen that the "veggie truck" was coming today and he was so excited. We dove through the box together, with the Carters who happened to be here as well, and sampled some dried fruit (brown bag) and a kiwi that didn't make it into the photo. Mmm! It's all so pretty and yummy smelling that I felt it deserved a nice clean fridge to sit in. So even though I put everything away and we continued to play with the Carters, I got it all back out again (yes, to take a picture!) and to clean the fridge, which has long been needing it. (Actually, it was a small goal of mine to get that done this month. The pretty food just motivated me.) :)

We ordered a small bin, with a fruit add on ($15), plus milk ($6.50) & eggs ($4.25) for $58. (delivered!) The milk is more expensive than I can get at trader joes or freddies, but not that much more for not having to make a special trip for it. I'm going to try and make this last two weeks, and have the box come every other week. Here's a detailed list of what we got, if you're curious: (because you know how much I like to inform the masses)

4 Fuji Apples-*LOCAL*

4 Honey Crisp apples - *LOCAL*
4 Comise Pears -*LOCAL, farm direct*
4 D'anjou Pears - *LOCAL, farm direct*
2 Pomegranate - Cali'
3 Fuyu Persimmons - Cali'
1 bunch Carrots-*LOCAL, farm direct*
1 bunch Kale -*LOCAL, farm direct*
1 bunch Dandelion Greens -*LOCAL, farm direct*
2 Peppers -*LOCAL, farm direct*
1lb. Parsnips -*LOCAL, farm direct*
1lb. Baby Bok Choi -*LOCAL, farm direct*
3 Sm. Corn -*LOCAL, farm direct*
6-8oz. Crimini Mushrooms -*LOCAL, farm direct*
1 Savoy Cabbage - *LOCAL, farm direct*

3 Heirloom Tomatoes - *LOCAL, farm direct*

4 Bananas - Mexico

4 Oranges - Cali'

1/2lb. Raisins - Cali'

2 Grapefruits - usa

5 kiwis - new zeland

2.5lb. Potatoes - *LOCAL*

celery

My kitchen table is COVERED! And I'm giddy :) If I make one giant winco trip per month for the dry staples, one costco trip per month for the other staples, and get this delivery twice per month, we could actually be saving money on groceries per month AND eating local (mostly,) organic food. I'm hoping my plan works out because this all looks SO good, and I really love the idea of only two grocery trips per month. :)

Now, to figure out what the heck to do with dandelion greens...

One thing I'm really excited about is the lack of commitment. You can let Organics to You know (at least 48 hours in advance) that you don't want something this week and would like something else instead. Or that you'll be on vacation and need to skip a delivery. Or that you just plain don't like dandelion greens and don't want them in your box ever again. ;) But hey, I didn't want to change anything in this first box because I'm adventerous like that. However, if I end up with four heads of cabbage in my fridge, I'll probably ask them to hold back on the suckers for a little while. I love that freedom. And since you can easily go back and forth between bins, I might order the large bin without the fruit add on next time and see how that looks. Because this looks like plenty of fabulous fruit, but not sure that it's 2 weeks worth of veggies for us. Oh, and not only is there a fruit add on, but there are ethnic cooking add ons, baby food add ons, kid stuff add ons, I mean - it's really versatile!

okay, okay, yes, both kids are napping and I'm getting carried away on the computer again. I'll stop now. :)

Simple Things that make me Happy #8

2010-11-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

Hours of uninterrupted morning while my boy plays legos. By himself. While making little train & animal noises and otherwise talking to himself. Priceless!

What makes you happy today?

The Grass-Fed Beef Plan!

2010-11-03T03:28:00.000-07:00

Excited to announce: my plan for our freezer-full of beef! We bought 1/4 cow from Carman Ranch and split it with my sister & brother-in-law. (Which gives us 1/8 cow.) For those of you on the fence, of if you already took the plunge and are unsure what to do next, I thought I'd post my little 1-year plan I whipped up. I found random info (thanks to swagbucks and wikipedia) for cuts I was unsure about.

The green basket is full of 1.5# ground beef chubs. Since we typically use 1/2# whenever we use ground beef (spaghetti, chili, etc) I'm planning on cooking the whole chub (w/ onions, seasonings, etc) and freezing 2/3 in a couple zip-locks for quick use throughout the month. (a little tid bit I learned from OAMC!) We got four packs of "soup bones" I plan to make stock with for random soups and such, anywhere I would use chicken stock I guess. I'll have to read up a bit more on that. I'm going to use this list as a guideline, move different cuts around if need be. And I realize it only goes through September, and it is currently November, so that makes it 11 months and not 12, but I figured we'd probably end up with something extra for the last month, or perhaps 11 months is just close enough and we'll get our 1/8th of a cow earlier next year. We'll see ;) If you have any great uses for roasts other than pot roast, let me know. :) I have 3 roasts, I plan on using two for pot roast and one for stew. Or perhaps vise versa. But i'm certainly open to ideas :)

I hope this is helpful to someone out there!

1/8 Cow in 1 year:

Fall

(november) Mystery Meat (ground beef?) 1# 10oz

Sirloin steak (1#) (grill or pan sear)

(december) ground beef (1.5#)

Round steak (2?) 1.5# This is a lean cut and it is moderately tough. Lack of fat and marbling makes round dry out when cooked with dry-heat cooking methods like roasting or grilling. Round steak is commonly prepared with slow moist-heat methods including braising, to tenderize the meat and maintain moisture. The cut is often sliced thin, then dried or smoked at low temperature to make jerky.

Arm roast (3#) Swiss Steaks? Pot Roast? The arm roast, which is cut from the beef chuck primal, is one of the most popular pot roasts. It is also known by the following names: arm pot roast, arm chuck roast, and round bone pot roast. The arm roast can be reduced to a smaller cut known as an arm steak, which is also referred to as Swiss steak.

(Make beef stock twice with bones)

Winter

Tenderloin steaks (2) .75# (Christmas eve)

(January) ground beef (1.5#)

rump roast (2.5#) (beef stew, freeze half after cooking) Rump roast is cut from the round or hip, the entire upper leg of the cow carcass. It is also known as Round Roast, Bottom Round Pot Roast, Diamond Cut Roast, or Manhattan Roast. The triangular shaped rump roast provides a juicy beefy roast, and it is inexpensive as well. Rump is best suited to moist heat cooking. A rump that contains a moderate layer of fat and good marbling (layers of fat and meat) will be succulent

(february) ground beef (1.5#)

Chuck roast (3.25#) (Pot roast, left overs as beef stroganoff) The chuck contains a lot of connective tissue, including collagen. Collagen partially melts during the cooking of the meat, making the flavor intensely stronger. Meat from the chuck is usually used for stewing, slow cooking, braising, or pot roasting.

(march) ground beef (1.5#)

(Make beef stock with bones)

Spring

(April) ground beef (1.5#)

Brisket 1.25# - (Passover) Brisket can be cooked many ways. Popular methods in the Southern United States include rubbing with a spice rub or marinating the meat, then cooking slowly over indirect heat from charcoal or wood. This is a form of smoking the meat. Additional basting of the meat is often done during the cooking process. However, most of the tenderness from this normally tougher cut of meat comes from the collagen fibers that make up the significant connective tissue in the cut, which gelatinizes and lubricates the muscle fibers, resulting in more tender brisket despite the fact that the cut is usually cooked well beyond what would normally be considered "well done". The fat cap often left attached to the brisket helps to keep the meat from over-drying during the prolonged cooking necessary to break down the connective tissue in the meat.In traditional Jewish cooking, brisket is most often braised as a pot roast, especially as a holiday main course usually served at Rosh Hashannah, Passover, and Shabbat. It is a common cut of meat for use in Vietnamese phở soup.

(May) ground beef (1.5#)

short ribs (1.25#)- Beef short ribs are larger and usually more tender and meatier than their pork counterpart, pork spare ribs. Short ribs are cut from the rib and plate primals and a small corner of the square-cut chuck. A full slab of short ribs is typically about 10 inches square, ranges from 3-5 inches thick, and contains three or four ribs, intercostal muscles and tendon, and a layer of boneless meat and fat which is thick on one end of the slab and thins down to almost nothing on the other. There are numerous ways to butcher short ribs. The ribs can be separated and cut into short lengths (typically about 2 inches long), called an "English cut", "flanken cut" across the bones (typically about 1/2 inch thick), or cut into boneless steaks. Short ribs may be long-cooked, as in pot-au-feu, a classic of French cuisine, or rapidly seared or grilled, as in Korean cuisine, in which short ribs (called galbi), are marinated and grilled over charcoal (long-cooking thinner, shorter cuts are also a korean favourite). A specific type from Hawaii is known as Maui-style ribs. Other popular preparations are barbecue and braising.

(June) ground beef (1.5#)

T-bone steaks (2?) 1.75# (Father’s Day?)

(Make beef stock with bones)

Summer

(July) ground beef (1.5#)

Rib steak (.75#) (Anniversary?) A rib steak is a beef steak sliced from the rib primal of a beef animal, with rib bone attached. In the United States, a rib steak is usually a rib eye steak with the rib bone still attached to the meat; however in some areas, and outside the U.S., the terms are often erroneously used interchangeably. The rib eye or "ribeye" was originally, as the name implies, the center best portion of the rib steak, without the bone.

It is one of the more flavorful cuts of beef, due to the muscle getting a lot of exercise during its life, un-like the fillet, its marbling of fat makes this very good for slow roasting and it also goes great on a grill.

(August) ground beef (1.5#)

Flank steak (1.25#) – Stir fry

(September) ground beef (1.5#)

short ribs (1.5#)

Athey Creek Harvest Festival 2010

2010-11-02T15:12:00.000-07:00

Our "Lion and the Lamb" - could they be any cuter?

Rowen enjoyed a few carnival games!

woohoo! fishing for... flamingos?

'nuff said.

poor little lamb spent most of the evening passed out on my shoulder.

more carnival games.

BFFs!

love.

November Resolutions

2010-11-01T07:50:00.001-07:00

The Recap:

January - read through the bible in a year.

February - use the cash envelope system.

March - watch internet time.

April - walk whenever possible.

May - stockpile the freezer. OAMC style.

June- have a healthy baby and try to stay sane.

July - ban high fructose corn syrup from our house.

August- try one "deceptively delicious" type recipe a day.

September - journal pray as a daily part of my quiet times.

October - so long, corn-fed beef. (we got our cow yesterday! woohoo!)

November - tidy up! More specifically, I have two resolutions.

-I resolve to fill BOTH our yard debris bins, every week. This is not a matter of finding enough leaves (see photo above) but a matter of getting out and filling 'em up, rain or shine. We didn't get rid of all last year's leaves until half way through summer! This year I want to stay on top them more. We're paying for both bins, I want to make the most of them!

-I resolve to keep the kitchen table clear. This sounds silly, but seriously it's a disaster almost every day. It's where the pile-up occurs. Mail, things I've been working on, the computer, whatever. Pile. Up. ugh. Honestly, I don't think I'll be able to do it. Even for a month. But I'm going to try :) Also, this resolution will be around after the yard debris are already full and waiting at the curb. :)

How are you doing on your new years resolutions?

Ratatouille with Crepes

2010-10-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

new fall(/late summer) favorite!

(Wish I had a nice fancy camera and could take impressive photos- but I don't. So here you go.)

We made these the second time last night for dinner. They are scrumptious!

1 recipe savory crepes from the Joy of Cooking, substituting 1/2 the flour with white whole wheat flour

1/2 large eggplant or one small one, sliced

1 bunch beet stems. (greens and beets used elsewhere. just the stems) washed and chopped in 1 inch lengths

1 bell pepper, chopped (used green the first time, orangey-red the second)

1/2 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1 can diced tomatoes or 2 diced fresh tomatoes if they still happen to be in season

fresh herbs would be fantastic, but I used dried basil, italian seasoning, and salt & pepper

grated cheese (first time, Parmesan. second time, mozzerella. Just 'cause that's what we had. Both were delish)

(sliced mushrooms would be awesome, also zucchini if you had it. Ooh, and I bet some toasted pine nuts would be divine if you're a big spender like that.)

1. salt both sides of your eggplant slices and let drain in a colander for about a half hour. give it a light rinse and then press with paper towels to dry as much as you can, and then dice. Toss lightly with olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil for 4 minutes, toss, broil for another 4 minutes, toss, broil 4 minutes more.

2. meanwhile, sautee onion in a splash of olive oil. Add beet stems and bell pepper and saute until soft. Add tomatoes & seasonings. Stir in roasted eggplant. Keep warm.

3. make crepes! You'll have to ask Matt for a tutorial on those. They're his masterpiece. I've never attempted.

4. put some veggies in each crepe, top with a sprinkling of cheese, and roll up! You can top with more veggies and cheese if you want it pretty :)

Let me know if you try these! Yum-o!

I'm Running! I'm Running!

2010-10-18T20:46:00.001-07:00

I especially enjoy his little warm up head shake before the big event.

Artichoke

2010-10-13T08:01:00.001-07:00

October Resolutions

2010-10-09T12:37:00.000-07:00

So, I can't really believe that my new years resolutions have brought me to October already. Wow, time seriously flies.

The Recap:

January - read through the bible in a year.

February - use the cash envelope system.

March - watch internet time.

April - walk whenever possible.

May - stockpile the freezer. OAMC style.

June- have a healthy baby and try to stay sane.

July - ban high fructose corn syrup from our house.

August- try one "deceptively delicious" type recipe a day.

September - journal pray as a daily part of my quiet times. (SO great, by the way!)

October - so long, corn-fed beef.

that's right, we bought a quarter cow! Well, an eighth. We're splitting it with my sister. And I'm going to make it last for the year. I could probably go on and on about why we decided to do this, but for the sake of time I'm not going to. I am, however, going to recommend two books to you that I've read over the past couple months which have helped nudge me in the right direction: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Both were great reads, and I highly recommend them!

How are you doing on YOUR new years resolutions?