Garden Update and Weekend Fun

So today Ben and I walked around the downtown market and bought some more plants for our garden. We bought a purple beauty bell pepper plant. This is what the purple pepper will hopefully look like. I've never seen one before.. have you?



You'll probably have to enlarge this photo...but we have peas around the outer perimeter of the box (don't ask me why I did this.. I now regret that sort of) and then two big boy tomato plants and one "burpless" cucumber plant. I'm not sure why it's burpless because personally cucumbers don't make me burp, but I couldn't resist buying one of those.


In this one I have buttercrunch lettuce, peas, and now peppers. I have three yellow pepper plants and one purple. They didn't have red pepper plants. I think I might get one though because I love the taste of those.


Today at the market we saw these lambs and kid goat.

Anyone want a sweet potato? Good grief! Look how big these are! Ok, so not the size of Grandma and Grandpa's one...but getting there.


and it's that time of year again. My peonies have bloomed once more. I LOVE them so much I can't even stand it.

Here I was trying to get a photo of Gwen and the bouquet but she insisted on tearing the petals off and I couldn't stand that for long.


Ben went around the house singing this tune today:
(to the tune of Do You Hear What I Hear)

Do you hear what I hear?
no I don't so tell me so
a dog, a dog, bit me on the leg
so now I have a wooden peg
so now I have a wooden peg

Big Chair

My mom and dad went shopping for new chairs. They found this store that had this chair for photo ops. The store paid $2,000 for this chair. I was so jealous I didn't have my picture taken in it. :)

Swine

So I was reading nursery rhymes to Gwen tonight and came across this one that made me go, "hum."

Curly-locks, Curly-locks, wilt thou be mine?
Thou shalt not wash the dishes, nor yet feed the swine;
But sit on a cushion, and sew a fine seam
And feed upon strawberries, sugar, and cream.

So... does that mean later on after she finishes her dessert that she'll have to feed the pigs? Just checking...

and finally... I think this is how you catch the swine flu. (compliments to Stacey M. for this pic) :)

My Favorite At The Moment

Dreams

The other night I dreamed that Gwen's first word was "cornbread." Anybody think that's a vision? Just checkin'

Remote

Yesterday I was shopping for Mother's Day in Tuesday Morning store and Ben and Gwen were in the Ace Hardware next door. I normally talk myself out of everything when I'm shopping. I do not like to shop on the whole...but you know me and the unusual. I'm drawn to it like a moth to flame. We have several remotes and we've been talking about getting a universal remote. Well... I found just the one for us. Here it is.

Be Still

Meal Plan

This week I'm trying something new. I'm trying a dish with tomatillos in there. They look like green tomatoes with a little paper like casing over them. They are common in Mexican dishes. So, here's the plan for the week.

roasted chile and tomatillo stew
creamy Italian white-bean soup
shrimp curry and rice
savory tomato tart, salad
spanish beef stew, brown rice

Have a nice week!

Terence and Other Happenings

Ben surprised me with an early Mother's Day gift today. I've been wanting a garden gnome for some time now. Ben just happened to find this one on sale at the grocery store. Don't ask, I don't know. We decided to name him Terence. Are we silly or WHAT? (rhetorical question of course) He is going to grace our front door and tell everyone "hi."


Gwen likes him.


Ben bonding with Terence. No, I didn't put him up to this pose.. he chose it himself. :)


Me with Terence. (ps... notice salad is on the table.. aren't you proud of me?)


Speaking of lettuce... I joined a gym on Tuesday night. I've never actually been a member of a gym unless Curves counts as one. I've taken several exercise classes and worked out with a trainer once (for free) and I'm pretty sore. All told, in a few months I should look like this.


Here's Ben and Gwen tonight after her bath. To distract her we have her work on her math skills so we can put on her diaper. Here she is figuring the square root of something. :)

Gwen the Star

Ben's brother, Jake, put this together for his church. All of the pictures of the babies are professional except my Gwen. I think she fits right in. :)

Ben's Joke

Tonight Ben was sitting at the dinner table and said, "you wanna hear a joke I just made up?" With a raise of an eyebrow I said "ok, sure." He then told this joke:

What did the bean say to the flight attendant?

Give me a seat with more legume.

Nothin' Much

I don't have a whole lot to say, but I wanted to share some pictures of some blooms in my kitchen at the moment. Pretty much I keep fresh flowers in my house all the time thanks to my wonderful husband and family. They make me happy. Here is a shot of Gwen I took the other day. She just happened to match the roses so I thought I'd take a photo. She's got an upper tooth coming in now so it will be so cute when she has two on the bottom and only one in on top. I'll be sure to try to get a picture of that! I know, I know, I take pictures with her and flowers all the time, but they both make me happy so why not put them together?


This is a bouquet that Ben's Grandmother brought me of lilacs and baby's breath. Isn't it beautiful? It smells heavenly too!

Politics

If you live in Kansas please call Senator Brownback at 913-492-6378 and Senator Roberts at 913-451-9343 and ask that they not confirm Governor Sibelius as the Health and Human Services chairperson. She is supportive of abortion and even late term abortion. She has received money from famous late term abortionist George Tiller for her campaign. Please, please, please call. It can make a difference.

Princess

I received a magazine filled with first birthday supplies. I thumbed through it and came across this chair. The caption says "watch her open gifts up on a throne! You'll treasure the photos." Is this excessive or what? Ben gets riled up about stuff like this. I think it's funny and over the top.

Spring

Ok, I officially love spring. Here are a few shots for your pleasure.

Tulips in our front yard.


My two raised bed gardens.


the peony bushes reaching for the sun. Can't wait till they bloom!


Buttercrunch lettuce. They are growing.


Believe it or not, this is a baby pea plant. Considering I really don't know what I'm doing I'm pleased with any progress at all.


and last but not least... Gwen. She's 10 months old now and beginning to speak a language no one can understand. It's so adorable. She loves looking out of the windows. She rarely sits still and is so curious about everything. She loves to stand up and shake the bars of her crib and she also loves it when Ben does the "gorilla dance" while saying "Uga booga booga uga booga booga."

Lugie

We have a neighborhood hawk that stops off sometimes in our backyard. I am fascinated by him. He is a young hawk... I can tell by his size. I call him a "he", but I'm not sure if it's a female or male. Ben and I have affectionately named him "Lugie". His full name is Hawk A. Lugie and his middle name is Alvin. He stopped off today to get a drink from our fountain. When I went outside and said "I love you Lugie" he flew off. Can you believe that?



Here's little Gwen helping me fold clothes. Training early.

Raising Girls

So I'm thinking today about what it means to raise a daughter. I was in the Goodwill store today looking around and as I was checking out the lady at the register was admiring Gwen. Today Gwen was wearing a little shirt and shorts. The lady said "oh, you're showing a bit of midriff there... you're getting so sexy... ooo... and laughed. I didn't laugh. In fact, my stomach lurched. I was thinking on the way home about what it means to be a girl in today's society. Girls especially in America are growing up way too fast and being sent all kinds of messages.

First of all, I do not like pageants. Second of all, I didn't watch the Miss America pageant, but I heard about it this morning on the news. It's getting to where the Christian views are looked at as "hate" instead of God's standard and best way to live. People in America are no longer thinking healthy debate is ok. It's got me riled up today.

Meal Plan

It's been a while since I've posted one of these. No excuse really... just forgot.

taco salad
creamy orzo and chicken
creamy Italian white-bean soup
spinach and feta bread pudding, chicken
spicy peanut pork, rice, salad

Food For Baby

There are enough of you that have small children on here that I thought I'd throw this recipe on. It is great because you can serve it to your family and then just puree a bit for your baby. I think it tastes delicious and Gwen loves it.

Creamed Spinach

1 pound fresh spinach, washed and stemmed (I used a bagged variety and just stemmed them)
1 shallot, minced, or 1 T minced onion (I used minced onion)
1/4 C unsalted butter
1 T all-purpose flour
1 C heavy cream (I just used 2% milk)
1/4 C low-sodium chicken broth, for pureeing

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the spinach with just the water that clings to its leaves. Add the shallot and cook, turning the spinach frequently with tongs, for about 3 min, until bright green. Remove the spinach and shallot from the pan and let cool. Finely chop and set aside.

2. In the same pan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Cook for 2 min, stirring constantly with a whisk. Decrease the heat to medium, add the cream, and whisk until smooth. Cook for 1 to 2 min. Add the spinach, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon until well blended.

3. For babies nine to twelve months, puree the mixture in a blender (I used food processor), adding the broth as needed until smooth. For older babies and adults, don't puree.

4. Serve warm. Freeze leftovers that won't be eaten the next day.

I got all the ingredients for this recipe at Aldi's. It's a very inexpensive side dish or main dish for my Gwen. I still have some left in the freezer and I feel good that it is healthy for her.

Atharv- A Bouncing Baby Boy

Tonight I visited my friend Sonia and her new baby, Atharv. (pronounced Ah-tarv and it means peaceful) My first time ever seeing an Indian newborn. SO cute and SUCH funny expressions!


Get away with you!


Oh yeah baby! wait a minute... I am a baby.


I was trying to impersonate a bag lady today ok? It's working for me.

So Helpful

Easter

Meredith Mozart

Makes me smile.

Gwen's New Things

Gwen has been changing so much recently that I thought I'd let you see what she's up to these days. I basically follow her around a lot these days because she doesn't stay in one place for very long.

I like this photo of her. You can see her dimples a little bit in this one. I'm not sure if they will stick around or not. She loves playing with any paper she can get her hands on.

This is Gwen crawling up the stairs. Note how fast she crawls.



These are just some cute ones of Gwen's personality. She's like this a great portion of the time. Smiling and happy.



Standing in the crib... wowser!

A Plain Life

I am currently reading a book called "A Plain Life" by Scott Savage. It is about how he and his family changed over from really non-believers to Plain Quakers. It is very interesting to me. The story plays out as Savage goes on a pilgrimage of sorts as he walks to the state capital to turn in his drivers license. His license is about to expire, but he feels like God wants him to make this journey. It is the last thing that ties him to the "modern" world as we know it. Although it is not required of Conservative Quakers, he and his wife chose to have horse and buggy travel instead of having a car. It's hard to give all the details here, but it is an interesting read if you can find it in your library.

I've been thinking about it today and I was thinking to most people going to turn in your license when it's about to expire anyway sounds crazy.... plus walking there. Then I thought of Ben and how he had this huge road trip one time to ask God where he should live. I'm not talking about an hours drive down the road. I'm talking about all over the entire United States he drove. Finally, he just came back to Miami and feeling low. He decided to move to Nashville and then he packed all his things and said goodbye and his car battery split into two pieces when he tried to start the car... so... he stayed in Miami. I'm glad he did. :) It's funny how so many people I know or read about wander... either literally, or in their hearts.

So... I decided to test it out today. I packed Gwen up in her stroller and we took a walk a mile or two down the road to pick up a few things at the store. It was such a beautiful day today, but the cars were drowning out the sound of the little creek and the birds. Gwen and I walked past a bush with blooms on it that smelled like lemon chiffon pie. I broke off a little piece and carried it with me. The sidewalk was closed off by some workmen, but one of them spoke to me and cooed at Gwen and helped us pass. It was nice to have a smile and short conversation with him. He told us that they are having to move all the gas lines because more lanes are being added to the street. I wonder, is all this progress good? We go to the store, talk with the cashier a bit and then make our way home. We see a couple holding hands and smiling. They look in my eyes and we say hello to each other. Gwen waves at the cars and the people in the cars wave back. We get back to dine on pears (her favorite) that we got from the store.

Do I think I want to go carless? Probably not. I mean, there are wonderful things that I'd like to take Gwen to during the day at the library and church that I just couldn't do if I didn't have a car. However, sometimes it's nice just to go on foot. I think I'll try doing that more. It's nice to hear the creeks and the birds and smell the lemon bush sometimes ya know? I don't want to live in the country I don't think... but I want to raise Gwen to appreciate simple things even in the city.

Moroccan-Style Chicken Stew

If you are like me and like a good stew and try to be different every once in a while, this is for you. I made this last night and it's good.

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 T all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or breasts like I used)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes in puree (I used two regular sized diced tomatoes)
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 C dark seedless raisins
1/4 C salad olives (chopped pimiento-stuff olives) I omitted this ingredient as I do not like olives... but if you do, go for it.
1 C water
1/2 C loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves (I just sprinkled a little dried cilantro on top)

1. In nonstick 5 to 6 quart Dutch oven, (or a big ol' pot like I used), heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add onion and cook 5 min or until light golden brown.

2. Meanwhile, in pie plate, mix flour with coriander, cumin, salt, ground red pepper, and cinnamon. Toss chicken with flour mixture to coat evenly.

3. Add chicken to Dutch oven and cook 7 min or until lightly browned, turning chicken over througout cooking time. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.

4. Stir in tomatoes with their puree, beans, raisins, olives, and water; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. (that is, if you chose to use whole tomatoes instead of diced) Garnish with cilantro.

Each serving has about 300 calories. :) "Stew" on that why don't ya?

Funny

Daffodil

Weekend Fun

Today we went out to Ben's Grandma and Grandpa's house. We always have a nice time visiting out there. We set Gwen down in the floor and then when we wondered where she had gone to we discovered her in the side table. What a curious little thing she is right now.



Also today we walked around our neighborhood and looked at some garage sales going on. We bought a box full of wooden blocks for Gwen and a stackable plastic ring toy. In the box of blocks there were a few magnets. This is one of them. Have you ever seen a snail playing the cymbals? Well, you have now. HA!

God Speaks

To be honest, I have felt in a rut spiritually lately. I believe it is because I've been listening to myself more than the Lord. It's amazing to me how even when I'm not listening God breaks through and speaks. Last night I went to a choir rehearsal and not even at my own church. I'm filling in for a soprano in a friend's church that had her appendix out recently. I'm going to sing in their Good Friday service this upcoming week. Here's the lyrics to the song that spoke to me: (this is Mary the mother of Jesus singing)

My heart breaks at the sight of You,
yet can't allow that everything I thought I knew was wrong somehow.
Did not God provide Your way? Does His hand not guide this day?
Could promises God gave to me have led to this?
Is no one here to help men see that they're amiss?
What they say of You are lies. Can't they see You through my eyes?
I see You by the dawn's first rays. I hear You laugh, a child at play.
My heart is with You everyday, my life, my love, my Son.

I hold Your hand and cool Your brow.
I long to hold You even now
to soothe away Your pain somehow,
my life, my love, my Son.
I clench my fists and yell out loud that no wrong can be found in Thee.
but they've no sense, maddening crowd.
They see what they are bound to see.
I see You by the dawn's first rays.
I hear You laugh, a child at play.
My heart is with You everyday, my life, my love, my Son.
I hold Your hand and cool Your brow.
I long to hold You even now,
to make this nightmare end somehow,
to scream at what these men allow,.
You're right, they can't know what they've done.
They've slain my love, my Son, my Son.

Kansas City Chorale Babies

Today Gwen had an appointment with the pediatrician (a well visit) and she weighed in at 19 lb 11 oz and her height is 28 1/2 inches... and that's no April Fool's joke. She's growing fast. I can barely keep up with her these days. It's really comical. She is an expert crawler now... and fast. She can get over to lamp cords likety split! She also is very helpful with picking up all sorts of crumbs or any sort of thing that maybe the vacuum didn't pick up. Seriously, she is adorable and makes me laugh every day. If all babies are like her I could have a house full.

After her appointment we went to a friends house for a little play date. In the choir I sing in (Kansas City Chorale) there are two other babies right around the same age, and so how perfect for us to get together for our kids to play. Clara was the first baby on the scene.. she's almost a year... then Gwen came two months after Clara.. Gwen's 9 1/2 months, and then Caleb, he's 7 months old. I attempted to get a group shot today.

Clara, Gwen and Caleb

Attempting again to get a group shot. Not sure why my picture turned sideways.


Little Clara
Little Caleb