What are the girls reading?

The most popular question the big kids ask lately is, "What can I do?" I always remind the girls they can always read. Lyn went searching through my old books from my childhood and came up with The Half Sisters. She said she was drawn to it because the main character is 11 almost 12 just like her. This book is one that I acquired when my mother worked at the local library when we lived in Mississippi. She would bring books home that were too old or damaged to be in circulation.

Annika enjoys writing songs. I had checked out a book of Emily Dickinson poems recently from the library. I showed it to her and showed her the similarities between poems and songs. She looked through the book and found several she liked. She read them out loud. This is a great way for her to practice her fluency and learn new words. I suggested that tomorrow when she gets bored she could pick poems and draw a picture with the poems as inspiration. We'll see what she comes up with.

Eat up Baby Ben...

Well, I think it is about time for baby Ben to try a bit of food. I have bananas, avocados, and rice lined up. I am not too keen on store baby food. he seems ready for some soft table foods. I'll update everyone after the food adventure tonight!

Look what Eliot found!

Sitting on my car seat this morning was a bag of new panties! The pantie fairy also know as Granny dropped them off for my big potty training girl. Eliot spent the whole trip to school this morning pulling them out and talking about them. Oh yeah a few were tried out on the head. Thanks Granny!

What is that?

Again with trying to add more protein and less grain to my diet this is what I had for lunch today, pine nut hummus with baby carrots, mushrooms and squash. It was so good!

Candle time

In order to make my front porch inviting and usable I added some candles. The frog actually holds a tea candle and makes nice light patterns when it is dark outside. The kids really enjoy lighting them and "making wishes" as they blow them out. We sat outside two nights ago and watched the candle light under the moon. It was amazing how calm my children became. Each one was asked what good thing happened today or what they were thankful for that day. And then they were asked what did they wish for tomorrow. After some more quiet time they blew out the candles and went inside. And you know what? Some of their wishes came true!

Homemade art gallery

The big girls were busy yesterday painting away. When I got home from work they presented me with a tour of their work. Lyn used one of her homeschool books as a guide but they pretty much took their ideas and ran with them.

I'm calling it rosemary chicken

We had three chicken breasts that really needed to be cooked. I wanted to keep it simple. I cut a slit into each breast and drizzled some organic olive oil onto each piece. I added fresh rosemary and Greek oregano from my front porch. With a little salt and pepper and 20 minutes in the oven we had some pretty good chicken. I could not believe how good it tasted! I do believe rosemary is my favorite herb right now. I like the way it looks, smells, and tastes.

Six months old today

Can you believe 6 months ago I gave birth to my seventh child? Ben's birth was uneventful, easy, and rewarding in its own way. He is healthy, happy, and a treat to have in our lives. He weighs about 18 pounds and has the biggest smile I have ever seen. He is nursing well and hasn't shown a lot of interest in food yet. While Lyn was holding him in this picture she asked if he was an omnivore. I said he will be but right now he is only drinking breastmilk. She said "oh, he is a milkivore".  

More protein please....

In an attempt to increase my protein intake I tried a new recipe of my own making.

black beans
garbanzo beans (chick peas)
field peas
avocado oil
flax seeds
feta cheese
Italian dressing
a few jalapenos

I added all of the ingredients together and put them on a wrap. It needs salt and peeper and few more spices or herbs but I thought it turned out OK. I am off to the store to pick up a few things. I think I want to try this bean salad in a lettuce or cabbage wrap.

Happy Birthday to me!

36 years ago I became my mother's third child. Wow, I used to think 36 was old!

It's all about the food

Everywhere I turn lately it has been all about food. In my job I work with a lot of infants and toddlers that have special feeding and nutrition needs. I am always worried that my kids are not getting the best nutrition. And being a breastfeeding mom who is trying to loose some weight makes my life focus "all about the food'. Not to mention I enjoy watching all of the cooking shows that are all over cable. Seriously, you can always find one on. My husband and I are planning a date soon to celebrate our birthdays. We are going to go to Whole Foods to shop and eat and probably just come home and take a nap. To top it all off I have been looking at adding a dietician certification to my credentials. That way I could provide even more nutrition support to the families I work with and just be more marketable. I have started growing herbs on my front porch and I am going to try to add more protein and less wheat into our diets at home. Especially for Evan. When he was an infant and young toddler we were watching him closely for celiac disease. His symptoms lessened and he was never tested but he is small for his age. He eats all of the time but it seems like he just doesn't absorb all that he needs to be as healthy as he can be. I'll be trying some new recipes and some new twists on some old dishes to see what I can do to increase the nutritional value in the foods I serve. I have a bean salad in mind for this weekend. I'll keep you updated!

A gift

Thank you Sara for passing on these bottles to me. I am going to try my hand at making some herb infused oils and vinegars. You will be the first guinea pig, I mean person,  to try one out.

An herb drying rack

I am enjoying experimenting with my new flowers and herbs. I made a small drying rack out of an old t-shirt and a picture frame. Lyn helped me nail the stretched shirt around the frame. I'm not drying a lot this go around. I just wanted to try it out. I found an out of the way place in the garage where it is dry and warm for them to dry. I have rosemary, oregano, and basil leaves and flowers drying on the right. On the left I have red geranium leaves drying for aroma and art projects.

A whole week off

You would have thought I would have posted a lot this week being off work and all. The kids and I had a lot of time to go to the pool,the library, the movies, and all kinds of stores. I just didn't take too many pictures. Evan even had his 4th birthday on Wednesday. We are celebrating with grandparents today. Evan, Ben, and Lyn had well checkups too. Evan is still on the small side but everyone is healthy. I was pleasantly surprised that the doctor (one we don't usually see) did not push starting Ben on solid food yet. He is not quite 6 months old. He weighed almost 18 pounds on Friday. He has the cutest cankles ever seen so his nutrition is not in question. He actually reminds me a lot of Danny at that age.  

Going on an herb hunt....

I am working on setting up a more inviting front porch. I have found some beautiful red geraniums that look great in hanging baskets. The big girls went with me to find some herbs for a planter. I found an herb book at the library that Lyn took with us as a reference. We picked out rosemary, parsley, basil, oregano, and chives. Lyn picked  out a cone flower. We also picked out some seeds for some micro greens, herbs, and vegtables. A neighbor of my mother gave us some wrought iron chairs. They need to be refinished. I am hoping to paint them different colors. Even now they make a welcome addition to the porch. We have been spending a lot more time sitting outside and enjoying the evenings. It is amazing how the little things can bring so much joy.