Farmer's Market Splash Pad

 Saturday we went to the Overland Park farmer's market.  We were putting together care kits for Alabama tornado victims and they had a splash fountain nearby.  It started with Gwen trying to touch the water.  I told her "no, don't do that Gwen, you'll get your shoes wet."  Ben told me to relax, so I did and childish fun ensued. 

Vanilla Extract Making and Pennant

Today we prepared our vanilla extract to go to the basement and cure for 6 months.  Gwen is my vanilla bean putter in the jarrer.  My, she's looking like a three year old!  It's coming up soon.  Anyway, I thought I'd only make 1 gallon, but I had enough vanilla beans to make a gallon and a half.  Um, somebody better want some of this for Christmas is all I'm sayin'.  

Here's what Zeke was doing.  He's like "what?"

 I told you this year I'm into strings of things.  Well, the rabbits were getting old so I took them down.  I needed some string of something so I made a pennant.  With the help of my borrowed cricut machine I made these cut outs.  It may be weird, but it makes me happy and adds some color to my kitchen.  It's like I'm having a fiesta all the time!  :)

Love Lost

Take, o take those lips away,
That so sweetly were forsworn!
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn;
But my kisses bring again,
Seals of love, but seal'd in vain.

Hide, o hide those hills of snow,
With thy frozen bosom bears!
On whose tops the pinks that grow
Are of those that April wears;
But first set my poor heart free,
Bound in those icy chains by thee.


William Shakespeare . 1564-1616

Swingset Fun

My Boy.

My Girl.

Sliding on the slide.

Deciding to pull him off with her teeth.  Yuck!

Vanilla Extract Making Time

If you are interested in making your own vanilla extract and having it for December for your family and friends... you need to order your vanilla beans now and get your vodka.  This year I'm doing a gallon of the stuff.  Last year I made 1/2 gallon and I'm about out because I gave so much away.  This year I'm planning on selling some and giving some away too.  Here is the site where I bought my vanilla beans:

http://www.olivenation.com/

For one gallon of vanilla extract you need to get about 80 vanilla beans (this makes a strong vanilla extract so you really need to use only half of what is called for normally).  I bought 1lb of vanilla beans which is a little over 80 beans.  Go to heavenlyhomemakers.com for complete instructions on how to make vanilla extract.  It's super easy and it is the best vanilla tasting stuff ever.  You can make your own coffee creamer and also add it to plain yogurt and it's delicious.  I bake with it too of course. 

Meal Plan- Revisited

It's been a good long while since I posted my meal plan on this blog.  I guess it's because I've been in a rut.  But I'm trying again to do more freezer cooking so that on the nights I don't feel like cooking I'll have something handy.  Ok, here it is for this week:

*Turkey-feta meatballs in vegetable tomato sauce, w/short grain brown rice
*Curry Chicken pot pie, cantaloupe
*BBQ chicken pizza, salad
*Mexican verde casserole, green beans
*Greek chicken soup
*ranch roast, steamed broccoli

Freezer cooking- I made whole wheat pizza pockets this week and froze them for later.  I also am making the cheesy beef casserole from heavenly homemakers site to freeze.  I also am making the strawberry chocolate scones for freezing for a later date. 

My sources:  I get tons of recipe ideas from www.heavenlyhomemakers.com.  It is my all time favorite blog that I read every day.

I also have just recently been introduced to this site:  http://onceamonthmom.com/  I'm loving it and have gotten some ideas for this week's meal plan. 

What about you?  Where do you get your ideas?  Are you eating out?  What are you guys having?

Swingset and Pizza Ring

Here's our swingset all set up.  Now Ben is going to paint it and seal it up a bit better.  Any opinions on sandboxes?  Under the tree house portion of the swingset we could put sand.. however... I'm a bit hesitant.  I think it would get gross and the kids would throw sand in each other's eyes.  What else to do with it?  Table and chairs?  Mulch? 

Today we had pizza for lunch.  Zeke was very amused at himself for making a pizza ring.  I tried to decide which pictures of it I liked the most and I couldn't... so here are all of them I took of him today.  SUCH a cutie.  By the way, Gwen is still here and a cutie too.  She is almost 3 so that means most of the pictures I take of her are with tears on her face and aren't publishable.  :)

Cowslips

What a funny name for such a lovely flower.

Everyday Ramblings and Backyard

Here's some things we've been up to lately.  I took down the dried flowers I had on top of my cabinets and instead put vases of fake pears and lemons.  Much cleaner I think.

My two playing under the desk.  Doesn't Zeke look so big?  He took his first steps today.  He falls a lot, but he looks so pleased with himself.  It is enough to make a mother's heart just melt.  He is 16 months today too.  Gwen is saying funny things and testing her limits a lot.  Sometimes when I ask her something she says, "Hum, let me think" and taps her finger against her temple.  Not very comical to her mother at the time, but... she is clever. 

Zeke fell asleep in his high chair today.  I was so surprised I took a picture.

 It seems like  someone just flicks a switch with the season changes here in Kansas.  Last week it was cold and sweater weather... today it went up to 91 and humid.  So... nothing like the heat to remind you to plant things.  I've gotten a little bit in the ground.  Let me show you around.

 I have cilantro on the left and a pretty plant my friend gave to me and hens and chicks that are struggling.

This used to be a table stand, but the table split when the wind blew it over in a storm... so now it is my basil plant holder.  Like my invention?  I was pretty impressed with myself.  I have three basil plants this year to make pesto and put on pizzas and pasta and things.

One of our neighbors sold us his swingset really cheaply and I'm so happy.  Ben is putting it together out in the backyard right now.  He has worked largely by himself taking it apart and now putting it together again.  It was a real beast to take apart.  Here is the slide.

 I transplanted some of my plants that were in this area.  This had rocks around it and I took those away and have planted some Irish mosses around there and hope it becomes my grassy knoll with a little gnome one day.

 Ben getting ready to put the swingset together.  He is an example to me on persistence.  He just keeps trying until he's got it.

One of our little rock wall planters around our tree in back.  We have coral bells and now hastas that I transplanted... oh, and some lilies.

 One more of Ben and the swingset.  It has four swings and a little tree house area thing.  Can you tell I'm so thankful for it?

Here's another rock wall planter that we've put in just in the last few weeks.  Those dead looking plants are actually allium bulbs that never have bloomed.  :(  Boo hoo.

Now on to the garden for this year.  I am excited to share that I have a wildflower patch this year for cutting flowers.  I put the seeds down and I'm waiting for them to germinate.

 

I bought an asparagus plant this year.  It looks like a puny little thing, but next year maybe we'll have asparagus... which I LOVE by the way.

 

Here are the tomatoes.  Six plants in all.  I think they do so much better in the raised bed than in the ground, so that's where they are.  I bought two of each kind.  Two heirloom kind called "Mr. Stripey" that I am totally excited about.  They are supposed to be yellow with red stripes.  Then in the middle they are called "bush Goliath".  I thought a little Bible in my planter would be good... and then on the right, two early girl plants.  They are supposed to yield fruit in 50 days.  We shall see.

 

I have two cucumber plants in the other planter.  I'm hoping for cucumbers the size of an arm this year.  I might pick up some bell pepper plants too or hot peppers or something.  I'd love to be able to make salsa and pasta sauce. 

 

Butterfly Mobile- Again

Ok, I promise this is the last post on the butterfly mobile.  I thought you might be interested to see how it looks hung.  I couldn't get many decent pictures that weren't dark.  It's up above Gwen's daybed in her room.  I thought it would be fun for her to lay in bed and look at.

Rainbow Beauty

Zeke

I can't get enough of this boy.  I love seeing him push this walker and seeing how happy he is walking behind it.  He is such a ray of sunshine to my day.

Project Update

So I've been working on my butterfly mobile.  It isn't done yet and this isn't the best picture in the world...but it's almost done.  I'll take a better picture when I get it hung.  I think it's coming together quite nicely. :)

This is my entry way with my hoops hung.  I love it personally cause it's cool and at least it's something to look at there that's not boring.  

Next project you might be asking?  GARDEN TIME BABY!

Projects and Proteges

I just can't seem to stop more projects.  This morning I washed my cabinets with bleach water.  Am I getting stir crazy or something?  Oh well, at least I'm not sitting around.  Today we got plants for our garden.  I'll tell you all about it soon, but suffice it to say we made it out of Target and Lowe's losing one sippy cup of milk and one dollar store toy.  But, we are all alive, so it's all good.

My friend Janna gave me some styrofoam and I covered it in canvas and then we painted our hand prints on there and it is now hanging in my room. :)

Have you ever tried "no pudge" brownies?  Well... we like them here at our house and we had some the other night.  Zeke found an interesting way to eat his.  Basically he put his blog of brownie on the top of the rocking chair, stood up in the rocking chair and bent down for a bite now and then.  We do not let him stand in the rocking chair, but the situation was so comical that we just lost it in between telling him to sit down and him laughing and smiling.

Zeke is very close to walking.  I'm ready to see him toddling around.