Fresh from Our Garden (at least some of it!!)

In the past few weeks, our Super Sweet 100 plants have been producing like crazy.  I just put two more baking sheets full of slow-roasted cherry tomatoes in the oven.  In 6-8 hours, they will be even more delicious!  (Yes, that's possible!)  These are SO easy, you just have to be prepared to give up your oven for the rest of the day!  Also, my kids enjoyed helping me get these ready to go into the oven - making sure the tomatoes are cut side up, peeling the garlic, and snipping rosemary from the garden.

I tweaked the recipe by adding the rosemary.  It smelled SO good!  Now that we have quite a healthy bush, I am thinking of thinning it a bit and drying some rosemary for use in the winter.  

I also used some of our larger tomatoes (not sure of the variety) to make gazpacho late last night so that it would be ready to eat today.  I used this recipe from the latest Real Simple magazine.  I've already sampled it - yum!  It's the first time I've ever eaten a cold soup, much less made one.  It was SO easy, and I'm looking forward to serving it alongside some of my fresh-baked parmesan pepper bread (another first-time-I've-made-it recipe) for an early dinner.

So, now that you know a bit about what's growing in our garden, I'd like to know if you have a garden.  If so, what do you grow?

In addition to what I mentioned above, we have zucchini, green bell pepper (just got the first one this week), banana peppers, okra, lima beans and bush beans, watermelon, parsley, basil, and cilantro that has already gone to seed.  We have had varying success with these, tomatoes and rosemary being our most successful.  I would like to try growing garlic, blueberries (for these muffins!), and give cucumbers another shot (ours are always bitter).  I'd also like to try lettuce, and maybe even potatoes!  So, friends, spill the beans on your gardening successes - and failures!  What have you learned along the way?

Summer favorites

(see full image)

A BLT made with tomatoes fresh from the garden...

Sweet tea in Mason jars...

Boiled peanuts...

Watermelon with a sprinkle of salt...


What foods (or drinks) mean summer to you?

I'm linking to Ann Kroeker's Food on Fridays, even though it's Saturday!

Mommy, will you...?

This afternoon, as she was laying on the couch next to me, she asked me to rub her back. Remembering the times when I was little and would lay down with my head on my mom's lap, I invited Miss M to do the same. I pulled her pillow over and she snuggled in.

I'm enjoying these moments while I can, knowing they don't last forever. Within about 5 minutes, Mister J asked if she would help him play a wii game - and off she went!

PS - Check out that ponytail!  She decided to let her hair grow so it was long enough to make one ponytail.  Next up, long enough to have one braid, like Jessie!

Step One...

You may have missed our quiet announcement, and now I'm excited to share that today we took the first official step in our adoption process.  Although we've already spoken with our adoption coordinator, been to an information session at our agency, spoken to several adoptive families, and made several of the preliminary decisions, today is the day that we mailed our application.  It's been a long process to get to this point, so getting here is really exciting for us.

Once our eyes are opened, we can’t pretend we don’t know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act. ~Proverbs 24:12

I keep coming back to this piece of scripture over and over again.  I saw it on an adoption blog about the time we finally realized that we were being led to adopt a child - and it didn't just speak to me, it practically yelled.  That was a few months ago, but the work in our hearts started long before that.  It's an amazing story I hope to share here one day.  For now, we covet your prayers as we continue this extraordinary journey.

My Day in Food

*Apologies in advance for the crazy spacing.  I just can't figure it out tonight.*

I can't remember what I are for breakfast, but it probably had something to do with those evil chocolate chunk cookies from Costco.  But maybe not, since I had an orthodontist appointment at noon. 

I do remember that I had a late lunch.  I made one of my favorite new recipes - Thai Peanut Noodles from Our Best Bites (which happens to be my favorite online source for recipes right now).  I usually add some stir-fried chicken, but I skipped the chicken today.  And Miss M, who has never eaten it when I cooked with chicken, ate a small bowlful today.  She also helped me cook it, which may have also had something to do with her choice to actually eat it. 

Not only are they mildly spicy noodles in a soy/ginger/peanut/honey/sriracha sauce, it's topped with peanuts, green onions, cilantro, and lime juice.  I was thrilled that she liked it!

Later in the day, I decided I'd give a new recipe a try - something I've been wanting to do for ages.  The kids weren't interested - they were more interested in the painting I was starting, but I was waiting for paint to dry so they found something else to do.



Can you guess what I was making?  It's butter!  (Or, soon-to-be-butter when I snapped this picture.)  The process was very simple, though it took some time and plenty of effort.  I was very pleased with the result!





After the dairy adventure, it was time to start dinner.  I did most of the prep work, and hubs did most of the cooking.  We had sliders and "Aunt LuAnn's potatoes."  Delicious!  The kids recognize the potatoes by the aroma, and always love them.  And even though the kids aren't great meat-eaters, they each finished an entire slider.  I'll call that a success any day!

Dessert?  Oh, yes.  I'm all about dessert lately (see breakfast, above) - probably because of the evil chocolate chunk cookies from Costco.  They are really good smeared with peanut butter....

Mowing Lessons

I am not a fan of yard work.  Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I don't do yard work.  My husband has seen me mow the yard a total of three times in all the years we've been married.  The third time was yesterday.  When I told him I was going out to mow, he looked at me rather like I'd grown another head.  But the yard needed work, the temperature was really nice for July, and it was overcast.  I didn't think he would be able to beat the rain that was coming, so I decided I'd give it a shot.  After all, it's just walking in a few circles around the yard, right?  How hard can that be? 

I started writing my blog post in my head about 10 minutes after I started mowing.

Really, though, it started before I even went outside.  When I told my kids to behave because I was going outside to mow the grass, my son said, "Wow, Mom, I didn't know you had mowing lessons."  Ouch.  But in honor of his observation, here is my version of mowing lessons.

1) Fuel - Be sure you have spare fuel on hand.  I was pretty disappointed to find out that we didn't have any, but I was too excited about getting started to go and get more.  I figured that if I finished the front yard, I'd just stop there.  After all, it looked like rain was coming, so I didn't have time to spare.  And also?  I could close the gate and the taller grass in the backyard wouldn't show.  Great idea, right?  Until I ran out of gas in the middle of the front yard.  Phooey!  There wasn't anyone who could run to the gas station for me (hubby was working from home, so he couldn't just jump in the car and do it for me), so off I went.  I hope he will forgive me for ever being annoyed that he asked me to go get gas for the mower while he was mowing the yard.  Now I get it.

2) Hat - Wear one.  Headsweats caps are not just for running.  I wish I had worn mine.  I didn't think I'd need it because the sun wasn't out.  Also, I honestly didn't think I'd get all that hot since the weather was cool for July.  I have never had so much sweat in my eyes.  Also - I just might wear my running clothes next time.  Wicking fabric is good.  Cotton is not.

3) Method - I've heard you should not mow your grass in the same pattern every time.  No need to worry about that!  I am quite sure I looked as amateurish as I felt.  I had to go back for missed spots, and still left a few (tiny) bits of taller grass.  And I don't think my hubby will ever mow in as patchwork a fashion as I did. 

4) Mower - Especially in the thicker parts of the grass, it would have been kinder (to my mower) to mow half-widths on each pass.  My mower let me know this by protesting at one point - and turning off.  I could not believe I was out of gas again - then I realized I wasn't.  At least I was able to restart it without getting my husband to come outside and do it (again)!  Also, our mower didn't particularly seem to like going uphill, at least at the pace I was walking.  When I'm running, I don't like hills, either, so I decided to change my method  in the middle of the backyard and go across the incline.  (Oh, yes I did - see #3.)

5) Corners - As far as push mowers go, self-propelled is your friend, but it still doesn't make turning corners any easier.  I openly confess to having not a lot of upper body strength.  I can still pick up my kids (and can still carry my youngest), which I thought was decent strength, but I felt like I was working hard to turn corners and work around obstacles (swing set, raised garden beds, mailbox, trees).

After I learned all of this with the mower, I looked at the yard and felt pretty good about what I had accomplished.  But it still looked unfinished.  So I decided I'd do the weed eating.  And I had to get my husband to start it for me (wimpy upper body strength - embarrassing).  And then he had to remind me to wear eye protection (thanks, honey!).  And then I busted the strap that was supposed to help me carry it around the yard (sorry, honey!).  But I still did the weed eating.  And I wondered how long my work would last if I scalped the edges of the yard because weed eating was not as fun as I thought it would be.  Probably because I busted the strap.  And also because my arms were already tired from pushing and maneuvering the mower.  But - the yard looked even better when I was done!

So then I decided to crank up the blower and clean off the driveway and the front walkway and around the air conditioning units.  And I had to ask my hubby to come out and crank it for me.  (Are you sensing a pattern?)  I'm chalking that up to having tired arms - you know, from maneuvering the mower and then carrying the weed eater with the busted strap around the yard.

And when I was done, I wasn't sure I'd be able to lift my arms to wash my hair.

But the yard looked nice, I was proud of the job I'd done, and I had so much more appreciation for the yard work my husband has been doing for so many years.  It wasn't perfect, but I still enjoyed the sense of accomplishment.  Don't tell anyone, but I might just mow the yard again sometime.

I found that little cord...

I finally hooked my camera up to my computer again, and found SO MANY photos that I wanted to share!  I don't have time to show them all, so I thought I'd share just a quick summary of the last month or so.

These two kiddos wrapped up another year of school! 
(For those of you paying very close attention, those are glasses frames you see on her face, but no lenses in them.  They were a favor from a friend's birthday party, and she wore them nearly every day for about two weeks.)

Compare to the same time last year....

If anyone knows the secret to make them stop growing, let me know.

Also on the last day of school, this little girl had a dance recital.

I also finally gave in to letting this little girl loose with some paints - thanks to her Daddy's encouragement.  She didn't make a mess like I feared, and really enjoyed the process.  

Also, when I wasn't looking, she turned five. We had a sweet little tea party at home with some friends, and I really enjoyed the smaller celebration.  I also loved all of the 'tea party food' that we served - and I think she enjoyed most of it, too! 

Although we had planned to picnic at a local park on the 4th of July and watch fireworks the that evening, our picnic got rained out.  We changed our plans to a back porch picnic, then a den floor picnic due to the rain, but did end up getting to see the fireworks. 

We're spending our summer days playing outside, cooking (because I'm serving a lot more meals now that I'm not packing lunches), and spending time with friends and family.  I also recently wrapped up my part-time, work-from-home job, so I'm hoping to add a few more things into our days - library visits, blueberry-picking, and other fun summer activities.

How are you spending your summer?  Can you believe how fast it flies by?

Hee hee...

This sweet girl just looked at me and whispered...
"I'm trying to keep my eyes open..."

Love her!

Guess...

Guess who we will be celebrating this weekend? More to come (I promise)!

Ending the week on a high note

Remember that time...?

... that Mister J got treated for Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? 

You know, because his symptoms were pretty much a perfect match for RMSF.  And although it could be just your run-of-the-mill nasty virus, there's still that chance that it's RMSF.  Which you should treat no later than the fifth day of symptoms.  And since the second trip to the ped this week for the crazy fever, combined with nausea, chills, and some "who is that?!?" crankiness happened to be on the fourth day of the fever, the ped called in the prescription.

Better to err on the side of caution - but as a friend of mine put it, I just might win the 'strange illnesses my child has had' contest in the after-school pick-up line.  This from the friend whose daughter has a fever so high that the thermometer simply said, "HIGH."  (She's thankfully doing ok with some good meds for a big ol' ear infection.)  And I'd likely have to compete with a school mom friend whose son's spider bite just might be MRSA instead. They each had a visit to the emergency room.  We just rated a "can-you-be-here-in-45?" appointment with the pediatrician.  This is a contest I'd be glad to lose.

(PS - With a dose of acetominophen, this afternoon's fever, headache, and crankiness subsided.  However, the fever spikes at night, even with ibuprofen.  Hoping we see and end to this very soon.)

Pretty paint!

Enjoying some food and fun on a *warm* summer afternoon. 

By the way, guess who's nearly 5 years old?

The Bright Side

This post isn't so much about the lunch I packed this morning, but the reminder that came from from my family while I was deciding what to pack.

The story started yesterday when the kids and I got home after school.  I walked into a house filled with the aroma of freshly-baked bread.  Now that wouldn't normally have been a problem, except I'd set my bread machine so that the dough cycle would be finishing up as we walked in from school.  

I had some volunteer commitments yesterday, so I'd prepped the ingredients and set the timer on the machine.  The plan was that we'd get home, unpack backpacks, get everyone's hands washed,  and start making pizza for an early dinner.  Accounting for the time it takes for three cooks to complete such  a task, I figured the pizza would come out of the oven in time for us to eat and then get to a 6pm meeting at church.

Needless to say, I was a little deflated when I figured out that something had gone wrong.  I even posted this on my Facebook status:

Came home from school to the wonderful smell of bread baking - except that my bread machine was supposed to only be running the dough cycle.

Bread machine - 1, Person who thought she knew what she was doing when the set the dough cycle to run while she was gone - 0.

I did get some great encouragement from a friend and from my husband.  You know, fresh-baked bread isn't all that bad.  But my plan had been interrupted.  

Since the bread smelled good (and really, I thought it did), we tasted it.  Amazing - it tasted good, too!  (It would have make a great pizza crust!)  Once it cooled, I wrapped it up - thinking it was too good to waste, but wondering what to do with it. 

Fast forward to this morning.  The kids and I were in the kitchen, and asked them what they wanted to eatfor breakfast.  "Can we have some of that bread?"  Really?!?  So I gave them a taste while I asked them what they really wanted for breakfast (cereal? granola bar?).  And they liked the bread.  Hmm.  Now, I enjoy a savory breakfast as much as the next girl, but I just didn't think Pizza Dough Bread was the best way to start the day.  So we decided to pack it in their lunchboxes - with slices of pepperoni and cheese, marinara sauce for dipping, and strawberries.  They. were. thrilled.  I was dumbfounded.  But mostly, I was reminded that even when I think things are all fouled up, there's usually a way to turn it around for good.  Thankfully, I had the help of some family and friends to remind me.

On my Facebook wall today:

Making the most of yesterday's bread machine snafu.  "Breadsticks" with marinara, pepperoni and cheese, strawberries.  The kids asked for the bread for breakfast, too!

And in reply to the comments below my photo:

I'm proud of my kids for helping me make the best of the situation (and figure out a lunch plan pretty quickly!). Hubby and the kids LOVED how the bread tasted, which made my day!

From my sweet boy

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Last Friday!

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Run

First run in three weeks. About a week and a half of that was rest for some heel pain, then I just let "life" take over.

Things always seem to be busier as we get closer to the end of the school year. We also spent a long weekend at the beach, and I didn't pack running gear because I was "packing light." I did swim a bit, but not enough to call it exercise, and our stroll on the beach was more for shell hunting and people watching.

I could have let life (laundry, meal planning, etc) take over this morning, but this time I decided to carve put some time for me.

I was slow this morning, and I didn't stay out for very long - but I was out there! Considering how the weather has changed during my break (it was already 75 degrees when I dropped my kids at school - and that was about the daily high three weeks ago), I was surprised that it was tired legs that got to me before the heat.

Already looking forward to my next run.

Fresh!

Took my girl along to the grocery store last week. She picked out some corn to serve with dinner, then helped me pull off the husks and silk. As you can probably imagine, she was mighty proud to get this one done!

153,000,000

We’ve heard several different estimates of the number of orphans in the world.  153,000,000 is just an average of those estimates.  It is a number that I cannot even begin to comprehend.  It is heartbreaking. 

Before we had ever heard this number, our hearts were moved to learn more about adoption.  And though we thought our family was complete, we’ll be adding to it after all.

Not quite so ho-hum lunch

We have fallen into a lunch rut around here. It's fine, as the kids are happy, eating most of what's packed, and not complaining. Today, though, M asked for popcorn. And we have blueberries. So I decided it was a great day to try a new "sandwich" too. Wraps aren't usually successful, but M has already tasted hers (she wants to eat everything in sight this morning) and declared, "Mmm!". I will consider that a success, even if she pulls it apart and brings home bits after school today.

Lighter

So many different meanings for this word - at least for me right now. 

Lighter.

Spring is turning into summer - the sun isn't setting so early.  It's still light outside when I run in the evenings.  It's still light outside when the kids go to bed.  After a cold winter with 6pm sunsets, I love this time of year.

Lighter.

I'm working on a whole-house de-cluttering and reorganization project.  Lightening the load for our home and for our spirits.  I am realizing just how much our 'stuff' weighs us down.  It's been a long process, beginning back when we were in Financial Peace University about three years ago and we took a tough look at our spending habits.  Then about a year ago, the work on the house began - slowly but surely.  I've had some great help from a friend, and just read some great inspiration from another friend today.  This isn't the only part of my life where these two women are allowing me to lean on and learn from them, either.  They are helping make life lighter for me.

Lighter.

After marriage and two babies, on whom I can no longer blame the baby weight, I'm trying to focus on myself a bit, too.  Yes, this is the literal version of 'lighter.'  I saw some nice results from the 5K training I began last fall, but I also realized that my eating habits still needed a change.  It's so hard, y'all.  I love food.  I just love all of the flavors and textures and aromas.  And I don't have very much willpower to curb those desires for more, more, more!  Sound familiar?  Yep, my house and I are both on a plan to lighten up.  Thanks again to a lovely, sweet, gentle, caring, meets-me-where-I-am friend, I am using Loseit.com to help me see the truth about how I eat.  Last weekend's results were not pretty - but that's ok.  Truth isn't always pretty.  It's how we react to it that's important.  So, I started Monday with a clean slate - and a bit of empowerment now that I can see where the calories come from every day.  I planned ahead for a dinner out one night, and stayed within my suggested calorie range - yeah!  I'm also able to track my exercise, which is a pretty big ego boost when you add that into the whole "net calories for the day" total!  I am patient but hopeful that I'll see some results - and feel the difference inside, too.

Lighter.