What Happens At Grandmas...

This is today.  She told me she needed a "vow" for her violin.  Hum... will she be musical?  I don't know, but I thought it was adorable.

This was yesterday at Ben's mom's house.  They enjoyed skinny dipping in the little pool.  Zeke is splashing and Gwen is cleaning the deck with a brush.

Naked chef.

I believe I got this toy from my sister Stephanie...but it cracks me up.  It is a one eyed camel.  It resides at Grandma's. 

Most Like an Arch

Most Like an Arch This Marriage
By John Ciardi

Most like an arch—an entrance which upholds
and shores the stone-crush up the air like lace.
Mass made idea, and idea held in place.
A lock in time. Inside half-heaven unfolds.

Most like an arch—two weaknesses that lean
into a strength. Two fallings become firm.
Two joined abeyances become a term
naming the fact that teaches fact to mean.

Not quite that? Not much less. World as it is,
what’s strong and separate falters. All I do
at piling stone on stone apart from you
is roofless around nothing. Till we kiss

I am no more than upright and unset.
It is by falling in and in we make
the all-bearing point, for one another’s sake,
in faultless failing, raised by our own weight.

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The kids acting particularly cheeky at breakfast one morning.



I simply can not get enough of watching Zeke walk.  I could watch this over and over.

Walking Boy and Play

This is Zeke walking.  He's much better than this now, but I need to get a better video.  I feel like I have been waiting on this almost a year and a half... wait... it has been a year and a half almost.  He still prefers to crawl, but when I mention walking he tries. 




The kids playing on the swingset.

KC Storms

Storms in Kansas City yesterday.  Storms do not mess around here.   

Flower and Recipes

This is a tulip poplar bloom.  I think it looks lovely beside my bathroom sink.  Don't you?

Anyway... here are some recipes for you to try.  The first one I got from my local paper and the nice thing about it is that you use lots of good veggies in the sauce and it makes a lot of sauce... so when I made it with the meatballs we had it with leftover brown rice.  Then I froze the extra sauce and another night I made whole wheat spaghetti and put the sauce over it for a meatless dinner. 

Turkey-feta meatballs in vegetable tomato sauce

For Meatballs:
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 C diced red onion
1/3 C crumbled feta cheese (I used more cause I love the stuff)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or fresh basil (I used basil from my basil plant)

Vegetable Tomato Sauce

1/4 C olive oil
2 white onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 red bell peppers, chopped
2 zucchini or yellow squash, grated (I used zucchini)
2 carrots, grated
1 butternut or acorn squash or sweet potato, peeled and chopped (I left this out because I didn't have those items)
2 T fresh or 2 tsp dried thyme (I used dried)
2 T fresh or 2 tsp dried oregano (I used dried)
4 (28 oz) cans chopped tomatoes, reduced sodium (I used only one and the sauce was thicker and tastier in my opinion)

1.  To prepare sauce, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic; saute 5 min.  Add bell peppers and next 5 ingredients.  Cook 10 min.  Add tomatoes and simmer until butternut squash is tender.  about 20 minutes.  (I dumped it all in at once and because I didn't have the butternut squash or potato I didn't cook it that long)
2. Preheat oven to 350
3. Put all the stuff for the meatballs together and form into meatballs.  Put them on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes... or if you are running low on time you can broil them, but watch the time... only about 5 minutes per side.  Remember to stir them if you broil. 

Are you into cooking with whole foods?  Don't know what that is?  It's when you try to keep everything as natural as possible.  Ok, so I made this dessert to take to someone's house today.  I haven't tasted it yet, but it smells really nice.

Whole Wheat Brownie Pie

1/3 C oil
1/3 C sugar (I used sucanat)
1/3 C honey
2 tsp vanilla (my homemade)
2 eggs
1/3 C whole wheat flour
1/3 C toasted or raw wheat germ (I used toasted)
1/3 C carob or cocoa powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

1.  Beat oil, sugar, honey, and vanilla together.
2.  Add eggs one at a time.
3.  Add dry ingredients and stir until blended.
4.  Pour into a greased pie pan.
5.  Bake at 350 for 25 min.

I bought my first organic whole chicken today and a pound of grass fed ground beef.  I'm going to see if I think it is any different.  What items would you buy organically?

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.