Caught my eye

Tonight as I sit at work (shhhh) trying to pass the time, I find myself searching etsy for cute things. Here are some that I love.














http://www.etsy.com/listing/79307964/custom-personalized-name-backpack-zipper













http://www.etsy.com/listing/57401355/you-are-my-sunshine-11x14-fine-art-print?ref=af_you_favitem



http://www.etsy.com/listing/78640252/stephen-joseph-snack-sac-lunch-box?utm_source=OpenGraph&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share



http://www.etsy.com/listing/77787184/buy-2-get-1-free-grasshopper-headband?ref=sr_gallery_28&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=head+wrap&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_noautofacet=1&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade%2Fchildren


What has interested you lately?

Lake House

Last week we spent a few nights at a lake house about an hour and a half from home. We've never done a lake vacation before, so we were all very excited about it. Our normal car trips are 6-8 hours from home, so the relatively quick trip to the lake was a welcome change for all of us.





These photos show the lake from a public beach that we visited our first day of vacation. We decided to go here because although there was an inlet outside the doors of our rental, it was kind of iffy looking. The water looked murky and smelled pretty gross. However, in my quest to be a good and fun mom, I jumped in on our last night and found out that the inlet was filled with mud. Even thinking about it now, a week later, I can still feel that awful slimy mud on my feet.

Our second afternoon, we went to Greensboro, GA, a very small town with a cute historic district that was all of about five blocks. We window shopped in fifth generation antique stores, got some ice cream from the Creamery, and then happily climbed back into our car and its cold a/c. Ava and Luke both fell asleep for the hour's drive to my cousin's home.

Now we're gearing up for the start of school. I can't believe that I will have all of my children in school full day THREE days a week! What will I do with myself? Well, shop, cook, clean, and work out. Not too exciting, but it sure will be nice to have a little kid-free time to myself.

Back...sort of

I've totally abandoned the blog because I was frustrated by certain links that were missing from the compose box. Links like add images and photos. After much frustration, I think that I've fixed the problem by creating a new gmail account specifically for this blog. I promise to start blogging regularly.

See you soon!

Chili

Chili happens to be one of the foods that everyone in the family absolutely loves. Because of that I rarely modify my tried and true recipe(below). However, on Saturday while at the gym, I watched a Barefoot Contessa show where she and a friend were making chili that looked divine. (recipe also below) And yes, I do watch cooking shows at the gym, so what? ;-)

Because it requires about five hours of prep and cook time, and I was rushing home so that Greg and Luke could go to a birthday party, I didn't make it last night, but I would have had I had the time! On their way home from the party, they picked up all the ingredients and after lunch today I started dicing onions, garlic, and green peppers.

As soon as I added the seasoning, everyone asked what the great smell was. While it was simmering, I made guacamole (my simple recipe below) and fresh corn chips--so easy, slice corn tortillas into triangles, spray with olive oil, dust with sea salt, bake. I also cut up raw vegetables to eat with the dinner, but everyone was so ravenous before dinner that I placed the vegetable tray on the table and watched it get emptied before we even sat down to eat.

We couldn't wait to try the chili, and it didn't disappoint. I knew that it would be very spicy as prepared on the show, so I cut most of the seasoning in half, and even with that it still had a welcome kick with each bite.

Luke was happy to eat the beans and vegetables, and of course add cheese on top, but he's not a huge steak/beef eater. Greg had two huge servings, and a few hours after dinner, Noah went back for seconds as well. Score!

This is a recipe I'll definitely make again.

Devon's Award-Winning Chili

Ingredients

* 5 pounds beef brisket, cut in 1-inch cubes
* 1/4 cup olive oil
* 2 cups chopped yellow onions
* 6 large garlic cloves, minced
* 2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, crushed
* 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
* 2 tablespoons ground cumin
* 2 green peppers, seeded and diced
* 1 bay leaf
* 6 cups tomatoes, chopped with their liquid
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup strong coffee
* 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans
* 2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves

Directions

Pat the brisket cubes dry with paper towels. Heat the oil in a very large heavy-bottomed pot and quickly brown the meat, in batches, on all sides. Transfer the brisket to a separate bowl and set aside. Saute the onion and garlic in the same oil over medium heat until limp, but not brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the chili powder, pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and cumin and saute for 1 minute. Add the green peppers, bay leaf, tomatoes with their juice, the reserved meat, 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt, to taste. Add the coffee, cover the pot and simmer for 1 more hour.

Add the kidney beans and basil, and warm through. Transfer the chili to a large serving bowl and serve with sour cream, grated Cheddar, diced tomato, tortilla chips and guacamole.

Suzanne's Award Winning Chili (ok, not really)


Ingredients

One pound grass fed ground beef
One can dark red kidney beans (or if you plan ahead, a bag of beans that you soak and cook; if you do get a can, make sure they don't have HFCS, many do)
One can chili beans or pinto beans depending on how spicy you want the dish to be
One 28oz can of diced tomatoes--I like the Muir Glen Fire Roasted
One 8oz can of tomato paste
One yellow pepper, diced
One orange pepper, diced
One half green pepper, diced
One cup yellow onion, diced
Two garlic cloves, minced
Chili powder, red pepper flakes, sea/kosher salt, pepper--all to taste

Directions

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil for about five minutes, then add ground beef that has already been salted. Brown meat, remove from heat. In a large stockpot or crockpot, add all ingredients. Simmer/cook on low for 2-6 hours.

My absolute favorite accompaniment is Trader Joe's cornbread, as it is the only cornbread that I've ever made--either from scratch or a box--that is subtly sweet, very moist, and crunchy on the outside. LOVE! And, I like to shred two types of cheese, cheddar and something like monterey jack or pepper jack.

Sometimes I think chili is even better the next day, and I can't wait to have some for lunch tomorrow with a few saltines.

Guacamole

Ingredients

Two avocados
Eight grape tomatoes or one plum tomatoes
Juice from one lime
Tablespoon of chopped cilantro
Lots of salt, to taste

My only real trick is that I take the seeds out of the tomatoes, and give them a rough dice. I use a spoon and mash the ingredients, but not too much because I like a few chunks.

Let me know if you try any of these recipes!

Tilapia with roasted vegetables

Many nights, I make quick and easy dinners that I know everyone will like. Sure, I mix it up a bit, maybe modifying the seasoning on my roast chicken, or serving chili with rice instead of corn bread, or making mashed potatoes instead of baked with steak. And I have to admit that for the most part, my family greatly appreciates and enjoys what I cook. Then there are nights that I spend an hour or more chopping, braising, and sauteeing, and someone complains, and I feel so under valued.

When Noah was younger, we ate a lot of salmon with pasta and steamed vegetables. Besides chicken, it was his favorite protein, and Greg and I like it too, so I'd try it one night with dijon mustard, another with a pineapple mango salsa, and other nights just with basic seasonings and herbs. Then for a while, he stopped liking it and we fell out of the habit. I'd try trout or tilapia and he and/or his siblings would protest, and so we fell into a rut of chicken, ground beef, pork (usually pulled or ribs), and occasionally a steak.

Fairly recently I started thinking about how nice it is to have a fresh piece of fish in the summer with herbs from the garden, and a light and easy side dish like a bean salad or cole slaw, and resolved to start eating fish more often. Last week when I was at Whole Foods, I picked up a package of tilapia (I think farm raised is what they sell, if that's the "safest" in terms of mercury contamination).

As I started to think about dinner this evening, I contemplated how I could make the fish so that everyone would like it. I knew I wanted it to stay very moist, and to be able to make the vegetables in the same pan. So, I raided the crisper and came up with mushrooms, a green onion and grape tomatoes (so happy that Publix was selling organic tomatoes for only fifty cents more than regular--Ava loves to eat these all day long). In the fridge I found a half eaten jar of artichokes, and green olives. I chopped all of those and placed them on top of the tilapia, then drizzled everything with a little olive oil and sea salt. The meal was delicious and everyone pretty much cleaned their plates. Greg and I are mostly following a low/no carb diet now, so we had the fish alone, but the kids had pasta.

Next up on the menu will be salmon, and I'll probably prepare it the way Noah always used to love it, with a paste of dijon mustard, mayo (I'll use Veganaise), salt, pepper, and some type of herb--maybe parsley. The health benefits for wild Alaskan salmon are so plentiful, that I'd love to get this back into the rotation weekly. Wish me luck!

Spring

Luke's birthday is on the first day of spring, and ever since he was born, I've had such a love of all things spring. I remember coming home from the hospital with newborn Luke, and seeing that all of the tulips in my garden had bloomed while he and I were in the hospital.

The past few years I lost my enthusiasm for planting bulbs in the fall, but without fail, every March those gorgeous tulips grow and bloom and make me happy.

Last week I decided that since the tulips were almost on their way out, I needed to add more color to our front yard. So far I've been to http://www.pikenursery.com twice, a small local nursery once, and Home Depot twice in search of the perfect plants, flowers, seeds, and vegetables.

Yesterday the family and I headed out after breakfast and started weeding, laying mulch, planting flowers, and at times, riding bikes. There is so much still to do, but my petunias and marigolds have been planted by our mailbox, as well as a few special surprises (ok, I'll tell you...I planted dill, cilantro, and lavender seeds there too; I was thinking it would be nice to smell them each time I pull into the driveway) that I hope do well in that partially shady spot. I also planted cucumbers and red and yellow peppers in one of our garden boxes, and put basil and dill in pots. My mint (three types, what was I thinking?), oregano, and parsley survived the harsh winter, so those are ready to be used.

Today Ava and I made another pit stop and I picked up salvia and beautiful purple blue hydrangeas. Still on my list are organic tomatoes, either plants or seeds, and more cucumbers.

Next weekend we have our last big job, moving our bigger/deeper garden box to a sunnier spot. Because the bottom is made of weed cloth, we have to remove the dirt before moving it, which involves lots of shoveling and wheelbarrowing. The goal is to plant carrots, sweet potatoes, beets, onions, and white potatoes in that box.

I can't wait for all the new additions to our garden to start blooming, and to harvest vegetables this summer!

Baked ziti

The other day I was feeling industrious, and decided to make a dish that I don't make often, due to Ava's food allergies. After popping into Whole Foods for the ingredients needed, I set to work making fresh ricotta cheese (recipe below)and tomato sauce. Both are so easy and they elevate any recipe. Each time I make tomato sauce it's slightly different, but that day I added fresh parsley and basil from my garden, lots of kosher salt and cracked black pepper, a few red pepper flakes, and some minced garlic and onions that I sauteed in olive oil.

Normally ziti is a meatless recipe, but my crew loves fresh sausage in just about anything, and I've been trying hard to protein load, so I got a few links of mild Italian sausage and sliced them thinly, then sauteed them with fresh spinach and some of the minced garlic and onions that I made for my sauce.

While I'd love to say that I made the pasta from scratch, I definitely did not! I did get fresh mozzarella, which is honestly one of my favorite foods in life, and cubed most of it and grated some too, trying hard not to eat the majority of it before putting it into the pan.

When each component was made, I layered all the ingredients like this: sauce, pasta, spinach, sausage, ricotta cheese, sauce, and mozzarella, both the cubed and the shredded. I baked it for about fifteen minutes and watched the boys and Greg go nuts for it.

Ava had Tinkyada brown rice spirals with sauce, spinach, and sausage, and she really enjoyed hers too.

My recipe made quite a bit of ricotta, more than I needed for the ziti dish, so for a few days after I'd eat it off the spoon plain or with a slice of pear. So delicious! It's also really great on a toast point with a basil leaf or even plain. Try it, you'll be glad you did.

Creamy Ricotta
Active: 20 Minutes

Total: 3 Hours

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

2 quarts whole milk

1 cup heavy cream

3T white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

In a medium pot, warm the milk and cream over moderately high heat until the surface becomes foamy and steamy; don't let the milk boil. Remove the pot from heat. Add the vinegar and gently stir for 30 seconds; the mixture will curdle almost immediately. Add the salt and stir for 30 seconds longer. Cover the pot with a clean towel and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.


Line a large colander with several layers of cheesecloth, allowing several inches of overhang. Set the colander in a large bowl. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the curds to the colander. Carefully gather the corners of the cheesecloth and close with a rubber band. Let the ricotta stand for 30 minutes, gently pressing and squeezing the cheesecloth occasionally to drain off the whey. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl and use at once, or cover and refrigerate.



Fresh ricotta can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Back where it belongs

The five of us accumulate a lot of stuff. Paper, plastic toys, coins, rocks, and so much more find their way into our house and onto every empty surface. Every time I turn around I am organizing a closet, or picking toys up off the floor and then in what seems like minutes later, I am repeating once again.

What I try to work on with my kids is that everything should go back where it belongs. I find that putting something in a temporary place doesn't save any time.

And yet, even I am guilty of dropping the mail on the kitchen counter, or taking off my jewelry in the dining room and leaving it there for days (inevitably it will stay there until I am frantically looking for that specific piece). So, my goal this week is to get myself back into the habit of putting each and every item I touch back where it belongs.

Once I'm back in habit, I will try and convince the kids to practice what I preach. And then maybe, just maybe, when Noah is looking for a charger for his phone, or Luke is searching for a special rock he found at school, they will know just where to find it.

What a difference a day makes

My girl is potty trained. Last I wrote, she was withholding for the second day, and in case you couldn't tell, I was a teeny bit stressed. Actually, frantic is probably more accurate than stressed, because I was absolutely frantic wondering what our next step would be.

My cousin Cathleen (whose blog I'd love to link to but I can't figure out how to right now) gave me some pointers, and I planned to try one of them, to give Ava special items to use while on the potty. While I went to pick the boys up from school, Ava stayed home with my husband, and when I returned I found her sitting on the potty in our powder room. I decided to join her and within a few minutes she was peeing! She went again a few more times yesterday, and today not only did she go a number of times, three times were in public places and most of the time she told me when she had to go. She even asked to go to the bathroom one more time before bed, to avoid wetting her PullUp.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!! is an understatement. I'm so relieved.

And yet...this evening as I moved a load of laundry to the dryer, I saw one of her Fuzzibunz(cloth diapers), and felt this weird pang of sadness. We are not having any more children, and so I will never change one of my children's diapers again. My little girl is a baby no more. I'm sure, just like with other milestones, such as nursing each one for the last time, moving them out of their crib into a bed, or putting away the baby clothes, I will not feel sad for long. However, the thought did cross my mind that I was willing to let her stay in diapers this long because it was one more baby/mama connection to hold on to.

For now though, I will focus on all of the great moments with my big girl, like when she tells a joke and it not only makes sense but is funny too. Or our impromptu marching band this afternoon, with her on drums and me on triangle. Most of all, what I enjoyed today was seeing the sense of pride and accomplishment each time she sat her little bum on the potty!

Potty training hell

That's where I am right now, folks. My daughter Ava, who will be four at the end of June, refuses to use the potty.

There are many reasons why this is frustrating. One is that she is in complete control of her bladder and bowels. For at least the last six months she has informed me when she has to pee or poop. In the past few months she taught herself to put on her cloth diapers, and when they were wet, she would put them in the laundry room to be cleaned.

She uses this situation as a manipulation tool, waiting until nap or bedtime to poop, specifically to postpone the sleep time. I've tried everything I know, and nothing has worked.

Last week, after consulting a group of women that I'm involved in a positive discipline group with, I decided to bite the bullet and get rid of the diapers. I told Ava that she was big enough now, and that I have faith in her ability to use the potty instead of a diaper.

Saturday night I boxed all the diapers up and hid them in my closet, and moved her changing table out to the garage. I laid out all her cute little underwear and let her choose her favorite yesterday, Hanna Andersson cupcakes. We pushed liquids all day, and had her sit on her little potty and the regular toilet with a seat inserted. As each hour passed, I went from excited to annoyed to worried.

Finally I found myself staring at the clock at 6:55 and could not decide how we were going to handle her approaching bedtime. I didn't want her to think/know that if she held all day, there was a PullUp available at bedtime. Just like Prudence from Once Upon a Potty, she sat and sat and sat. A teeny bit trickled out and we were so encouraged, but then she cried and cried and said she didn't want to do anymore.

Wouldn't you know, the minute I stepped out of the room, she relaxed and practically filled the little potty! I was so excited, we all were, and we did the potty dance and cheered for her, and then we put a PullUp on her and she pooped in it and we didn't even care! I was completely relieved that she had peed, and excited to start today with a girl that uses the potty.

And then...she refused to sit on the potty this morning before we left to take her brothers to school. She refused at school, and she refused at Target. Even armed with the potty insert to put on a regular sized toilet, she was not having it.

We have been home for almost three hours and she has sat on the potty numerous times and continued refusing. She is taking small sips of her ChickFilA lemonade but apparently her will is strong enough to hold 8 ounces of lemonade plus four ounces of water.

It's 12:45 now and we're about to try again. Wish us luck, because I don't want to be in this particular hell for much longer.