Katlyn and the Impromptu Pumpkins

My friend Janna gave me this doll.  Her mom was having a garage sale and she found this doll and thought I'd get a laugh out of it.  Someone gave it to her mom and said it reminded them of her(!)  What amuses me about Katlyn is the tag that describes her.  She resides on my mantel just to give me a laugh every now and again.   

Here is my pumpkin vine with lots of blooms on it.  Maybe, just maybe, can I hope for a pumpkin???  I went and bought some watermelon plants to plant beside it.  It's too hot to plant anything decorative right now.  I thought it would burn up.

Recipes

ok, so when it's 107 degrees outside I don't feel like cooking much, but I've been trying to do a little here and there and have some frozen for the crockpot when I do not feel like cooking.  This first one for chocolate graham crackers I've probably made 3 or 4 times in the last month.  The kids love them and I love them.  In fact, it is quite possible for me to overdose on them.  The second one I tried from a Better Homes and Gardens magazine because I adore corn salads.  This one didn't disappoint.

Chocolate Graham Crackers

1 C whole wheat flour
1 C all purpose flour
1/2 C raw cocao powder (what I've been using lately and it's tasty) or cocoa powder
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 C butter, chilled and cubed
1/4 C honey
1/4 C water

Put dry ingredients in food processor and mix well.  Add wet stuff and combine until lump of dough forms.  Flatten out dough between two pieces of parchment paper.  Cut out into fun shapes and bake for 15 min at 350 degrees.  Let cool on the cookie sheet to crisp up.

Fresh Corn Salad

1/2 C cider vinegar
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
4 ears fresh corn (I boiled for 3 min before cutting off cob)
1/2 C finely diced red onion, soaked in ice water for a bit and patted dry
1/2 C cucumber, seeded but not peeled, diced
1/2 C red or orange sweet pepper, diced
1/2 C cherry or pear tomatoes, halved or quartered
3 T parsley, finely torn (don't skip this... added lots of flavor)
1 T basil leaves, pulled apart
1 T fresh jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, very finely diced (this is not too spicy so it's ok for kids)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 to 2 C small arugula leaves (I didn't have these so I didn't put these in)

1.  For dressing, in a glass bowl whisk together vinegar, sugar and the 1 tsp kosher salt, and black pepper until sugar is dissolved.  Allow dressing to stand while preparing salad.
2.  For salad, cut corn kernels from cobs. In large bowl toss corn and remaining ingredients except sea salt and arugula leaves.
3.  At serving time, transfer corn mixture to serving bowl.  Season with the 1/2 tsp sea salt.  Add the dressing ; gently thread in arugula leaves.  Serve immediately.  

4th of July

You are looking at what we've been doing lately.  It is very hot here and has been over 100 for many days now in a row.  Let's just say summer isn't my forte.  I took out the broccoli and brussels sprouts in the garden and so now all I have is tomatoes.  My tomatoes have blossom end rot, but we can still cut off the bad places and eat them.  I learn something every year of gardening.  Like blossom end rot is a lack of calcium in the soil and it's very hard to fix once that happens.  I also learned that brussels sprouts like a lot of fertilizer.  Oh well.... there's always next year.  And low and behold some mysterious pumpkin vines have appeared where our hedges used to be.  So maybe God will give me a pumpkin as a consolation for the brussels sprouts and rotty tomatoes.

Kingsville baby doll... enough said.

fun with daddy and Uncle Jake.

It's too hot even to go fishing, but we made a paper fishing set and the kids have loved it.

4th of July at a friend's house.  We had a good day.

The darling Holly Ann.

Waiting for fireworks.  Gwen was SO excited to see fireworks.  How come even when they go to bed two hours late they wake up at 7am?  MYSTERIOUS!

What Summer Looks Like

Markers on the face...

Slip n slide... naked

Daddy even does the slip n slide... but mommy doesn't.

Several men from our small group tried out the slip n slide and made a lovely ditch in my back yard. :)

Fighting fires... naked.

Grumpy pants in the morning.  She said "I'm not grumpy, I'm just tired."  Well... excuuuuuse me. :)

Big boy underwear and a helmet.  I'm ready to go potty!

Milestones

As you can see in this video, Gwen is happy and Zeke is unhappy he did not get to blow the candles out.  (sigh) Such is life! :)

Gwen's Fourth Birthday

This morning I couldn't find Zeke.  Well, we found him in Gwen's bed fast asleep.  He loves being near his sister.

She woke up as a four year old this morning and was very excited.  Here are some pictures from her pink dolphin party.

Gwen insisted on putting hair on her dolphin even after I explained dolphins don't have hair.  She stepped back and declared the "hair" a crown.

My girl!

Even Grandma took a swing at the pink dolphin.  It's therapy I told her.

LOVE IT

My little buddy Claire.  Her eyes are hypnotic.

Father's Day Prep

Today we worked on a project for Father's Day.  I had seen this idea in a magazine and ripped it out and saved it for this occasion.  Ben bikes to work sometimes and so he has several different shirts hanging up at work.  I thought it would be nice to decorate some hangers so he can think of the kids when he hangs something up.  The kids cut pictures of themselves out and pasted them onto the hanger.  I traced the hanger out onto cardstock and cut it out for them and secured it to the hanger using packaging tape.  

I have finished the pink dolphin pinata.  It even has little baggies of treats/stickers inside of it.  I made a little trap door on the bottom where if we get tired of beating it we can pull the ribbons.  I plan on putting some sparkles on the side, but besides that I'm done.  Now onto Father's Day/Gwen's Birthday.

Pinterest Projects

I made this sink extender last night from an old lotion bottle.  This way when Zeke turns on the water it is within his reach.

I made these last night too.  They are paper mobiles for decoration for Gwen's party.  I like how they turned out.  I've started on the dolphin pinata... now to finish it.  

Big Boy and Big Girl

Today is the first day Zeke has worn big boy underwear.  We are seriously attempting to potty train now.  I have been kind of putting it off and then yesterday his Sunday School teacher told me he asked to go poop in the potty and he did.  That is what told me he might be ready.  We've only had one accident and he's doing very well.  I keep telling him he is such a big boy.  I laid down with him just now to get him settled for naps in my bed. (Gwen and Zeke sleep in the same room now, but they can NOT nap in the same room!)  Anyway... he rolled over and put his little hand on my cheek and said "I you mama" (I love you) and I told him I love him too and he said "you best mama eva".  He makes my heart glad.  

We are working on decorations for Gwen's "pink dolphin" 4th birthday party coming up.  This year her birthday falls on Father's Day.  We are planning on having the slip n slide up in the back yard and a dolphin hoop toss game and the swingset of course.  I have ordered her cake and it's supposed to have a pink dolphin on it.

By the way... pink dolphins actually exist.  I snoped it and all.  (snopes.com)  Gwen came up with the theme of her birthday party this year and when I found out they actually exist I was sold.  Zeke is saying he wants a pirate birthday party. :)

Scratch That...

She got up again and got the penalty.

The Lanyard

This is a poem I read in a Martha Stuart Living magazine.  It took reading the whole thing for me to get it and like it.  It is tough making decisions as a mother sometimes.  Like tonight when I told the kids if they got out of their beds they would get a swat.  A few minutes later I hear Gwen beckoning me from the top of the stairs wanting "a kiss and a hug."  I rounded the corner and I just didn't have the heart to follow through with the spank, so she got her hug and kiss and was sent back to bed.  Then afterwards I thought... that was wrong Meredith... Gwen should have been spanked because you set a boundary and she crossed it.  Then another part of my brain said "is it so terrible to give her a hug and kiss and send her back to bed?"  So, yes, I know she should have gotten the penalty, but I get so weary of being stern.  I just want to enjoy my kids, but often in this toddler stage it doesn't happen like that.  But for tonight I'm thinking of how my own mother showed me mercy plenty of times... and I'm grateful.

From "The Lanyard" by Billy Collins


She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light
and taught me to walk and swim.
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.
Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.

The Pond

My choir just released a CD that I was a part of and we had a CD release party at my conductor's house last night.  Here they are petting the dog- Tootsie Roll.

They have a lovely pond in the back yard and the kids enjoyed feeding the fish.

Tootsie Roll wanted to see what was going on.

a beaded mermaid...

This cocktail napkin made me chuckle.