a day at the fair

Junior and I woke up early this morning and got some chores done. We ate a big breakfast of egg scrambles, bacon, and raspberries I picked up from the farmers' market last night. We got money, gas, and driver drinks and headed South into the Driftless Region.

Our day was so beautiful. The sun was shining and the mud wasn't knee deep like last year. We spent the morning walking the grounds sampling sweet treats like maple cotton candy and browsing the vendor wares. The girls enjoyed themselves and I enjoyed them. The hubby and I would have liked to stay for some to the scheduled events but it's just too hard to do with the kids there. Junior was hot and ready for her nap so we had a quick Paleo picnic lunch and drove North past the Kickapoo River and through the corn fields back to our home-sweet-home.

Magoo wanted to fall asleep but just couldn't let go of the excitement of the morning. Junior had no problem drifting off to sleep but only managed a short nap. Both girls were asleep before 6 tonight. This Mom Loves how a beautiful day of fresh air and sunshine ends with sleepy kids.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

CSA boxes 6 and 7

CSA box 6
(no picture - we were on vacation)
Blueberries
Carrots
Chard
Garlic
Lettuce
Onions - Walla Walla
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Herb - Basil

CSA box 7

Blueberries
Cabbage - green
Carrots
Celery
Cucumbers
Onions - yellow
Peppers - sweet green
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Herb - Tarragon
4 dozen eggs

Last week we were on vacation and Mom picked up our box for us, cleaned and stored the veggies, and froze our blueberries. We ate all the lettuce, carrots, and onions. We ate up most of the zucchini and summer squash and nibbled on the blueberries. I think we did pretty well.

This week got carrots and cabbage that will make a nice coleslaw. I'll make up some refrigerator pickles with the cukes and use up the peppers in our morning eggs. I'm feeling like this box calls for a soup but it's been too hot for soup. We'll see. Maybe I'll blanch and freeze the squash and some carrots for later. I'm looking forward to another week of fresh veggies. This Mom Loves this Summer's bounty.

fresh air and family

Monday we started the day with a much needed post-vacation chiropractic adjustment. Ahhh. Then we packed up a picnic lunch and headed North for a hike in Perrot State Park. The girls really enjoyed the walk. We saw frogs, a muskrat, a garter snake and minnows. Junior road piggy-back most of the way and Magoo lead us down the trail. This Mom Loves the fresh air and family time we're getting on our post-vacation vacation.

there's no place like home

Last week after a quiet birthday celebration with my kiddos we rolled out Saturday morning for a visit with our Michigan family. We did the trip this year in one shot. In past trips we've stayed overnight in Indiana and driven the last leg of the trip the next day. The girls did fairly well with the long drive. We stopped often and packed a cooler of Paleo eats. We listened to Frog and Toad and Winnie the Pooh. Yes, we managed to travel 11 hours in the car without watching any videos. It can be done.

This was the hottest week in history. Okay, I don't think that's really true but it felt like it. Despite the heat we really had a nice time. My sister in law is moving this week and we spent most of our time at her new homestead. The girls played with their cousins out in the yard mixing "potions", tromping in the mud, and taking turns on the teeter-totter. The hubby got to grill out almost every night and I got to have some smart conversations. Thursday night before we left we were visiting on the patio. We'd just eaten a dinner of pastured chicken on the grill, fresh tossed salad and slices of juicy watermelon. The kids were blowing bubbles in the yard and slurping popsicles. This was a perfect Summer evening.

As much as This Mom Loves visiting family, This Mom Loves being home.


Steve's Club Paleo Krunch bars for a quick snack on the road.


The girls playing in the back yard.


a visit to the Firestone Farm at Greenfield Village


slurping up Smooze fruit ice


the start of our long trip home

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

CSA box #5

Wild black raspberries
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Garlic
Kale
Lettuce
Summer squash and zucchini
Basil
Parsley

So the girls and I had a Popsicle on the front steps while we waited for Connie tonight. She got here a little late but brought a treat of snap peas for the girls. They munched them right there on the steps.

Because we'll be gone this week I prepped and put up most of the veggies right away tonight. I blanched and froze broccoli, cauliflower, and some of the squash. I'll do the same with the kale tomorrow. I have to wash and spin the lettuce to take with on vacation and although I thought I may eat all the raspberries I think they're going in freezer too. Just like that, my counter is cleared. Now to load the dishwasher and head off to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day.

This Mom Loves putting up all these fresh veggies so we can eat local, organic produce even in the winter.

list yourself

So I found an old book in my closet. One I'd gotten years ago. It's called List Your Self: List Making as a Way of Self-Discovery. I thought it might be fun to blog a list periodically.

List the places you go in your mind when you want some peace and quiet.

overlooking a lake
a rocking chair on a porch at sunset
a bubble bath with tangerine sented bubbles
floating on a pool
curled up in the sun on the grass
floating on the breeze through the trees
summer at night looking up at the stars

This Mom Loves how relaxing that all sounds. Now only if I could get a nap.

short and sweet

I love my children but there is really nothing quite like the quiet at the end of the day. I got the kids to bed by 7:30 tonight and went to work on my chores. I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, washed up what didn't fit, cleaned up the back yard, did three loads of laundry (but didn't fold them),and wiped the table and counters. I took the longest, hottest shower I've taken since being in labor with Junior. I'm enjoying this quick moment of peace and quiet before I head to bed. Say it with my now, "Please sleep through the night. Please sleep through the night. Please sleep through the night." This Mom Loves these quiet moments.


Magoo at 2 1/2 snoozing in my bed

family time

Yesterday was a busy one for us. We spent the morning at the park with our play group. After a nap for Junior and some quiet reading time for Magoo and This Mom we got our suits on for an afternoon at the local pool. Aunty Lisa came over to help me wrangle the children and I'm glad she did. They wore us out jumping into the pool endlessly. We brought Aunty back to the house and cooked her a delicious Paleo dinner of herbed chicken, asparagus, and a tossed salad with honey poppy seed dressing. Yum.

This morning after breakfast, I ran to the eye doctor and the hubby ran to the cleaners. The kids played outside a bit before we sat down to a lunch of grassfed beef burgers, salad, and raw snap peas. Shortly after Junior went down for a nap my mom and my brother's family stopped by for a visit. It was good to visit with them. Our four year olds played in the sprinkler a while and then came in to play. After a short visit and a tasty cupcake we parted ways for a couple of hours before we met up again for dinner. We had dinner out at a local family favorite with Gram and Gramps, my brother and his family, and my sister. It was really nice to have everyone together. It's a pretty rare thing for the whole family to be together. This Mom Loves this family.

Today's Grain-free Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 large eggs
1/3 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 honey, warmed
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 cup fresh raspberries

In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda. In a small bowl, blend eggs, coconut oil, honey and lemon zest. Mix wet ingredients into dry and blend with a hand mixer until smooth. Gently fold in raspberries. Pour batter into paper lined muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until tops are golden. Cool completely in pan.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

For you, Connie

a couple of pictures of my sweet girls with their nosegays from our CSA farmer, Connie


Magoo


Junior

This Mom Loves the joy Connie has in delighting my children. Thank you.

CSA boxes #3 and #4

CSA box #3
bok choy
green garlic
garlic scapes
kale
kohlrabi
lettuce
green onions
pea pods - snap and snow
oregano
2 dozen eggs
fresh flowers


CSA box #4
broccoli
carrots
chard
garlic scapes
kohlrabi
lettuce
green onions
pea pods - snap and snow
mint

Last week we did pretty well getting through our box of veggies. We ate our kohlrabi and peas raw, used the bok choy and garlic in stir fry,and ate loads of salads. This weekend my sister brought over her juicer and we tried out a carrot, apple, parsley and kale juice. It wasn't too bad. I think I'm going to blanch and freeze the kale so I can make some sausage kale soup this fall.

This week I'm planning to make up a big basic salad to have ready when we want it. I have a really delicious dressing recipe with parsley, mint, garlic, lemon, and olive oil. I'd like to make up a batch of basil pesto this week. I have basil coming up in the garden and loads of garlic to use.

My garden is coming along nicely. I have butterhead lettuce that I've been adding to the romaine I'm getting in my boxes. I even have green bean and snap peas that should be ready by the weekend. All my herbs are flourishing except my rosemary. My littlest gardener enjoys digging it up on a regular basis. Oh well. I have tomatoes coming on all three tomato plants. I will be surprised if my carrots make it to maturity. Magoo likes to sample the carrots. She wants to see if they're ready so she pulls them up. Good thing I planted extra this year.

I'm really enjoying all our fresh vegetables this Summer. When we got home from picking up our box this evening the neighbor kids were out so we just sat outside and played a bit. Before I took our CSA box into the house Junior begged for a carrot. (This would be another carrot. Both girls already got one from our farmer when we picked up the box.) I thought nothing of it until the neighbor mom came over and said she was so impressed the my kids were asking for vegetables - that her kids would never do that. This Mom REALLY Loves that I can feed my kids well. Most of the time they will eat some of what is put in front of them and some of the time they will even eat all of it.

the 4th and family

All my memories of the 4th of July are centered around family. Family at the lake or river, family picnics, going with the family to the fireworks...

For years my sister threw a fancy 4th of July picnic with red, white and blue table clothes, dishes, and food. One year it was extra fancy with blueberry sangria. When she moved to Springfield I took over the task of throwing the annual party. I am not the party planner that my sister is and it always overwhelmed me. This year I decided that it wasn't going to be a big deal. We'd just throw a little family celebration and not worry about invitations and matching decorations. I also decided that it was going to be a Paleo picnic. The hubby and I discussed making bunless burgers or grilling brats and hot dogs but should we buy buns for those that want them? We decided no for a couple of reasons. My four year old would be desperate to eat the bread that everyone else got to eat and when she did she'd be sick all night. Also I decided that because we choose not to eat grains, dairy or legumes because they are bad for the body that it wouldn't be right to knowingly feed that to my family. It would be like buying a pack of cigarettes for someone to smoke at my house. It's just not going to happen.

With a little planning we came up with a tasty Paleo menu and everyone enjoyed it without really knowing that we were serving "special" food. The hubby grilled up bacon wrapped chicken skewers with some BBQ sauce I made. I made a broccoli salad, Mom made a potato salad to which I added my homemade mayo. We had olives and pickles to munch on and a lovely tossed salad from my garden topped with homemade dressing. There was watermelon, cantaloupe and blueberries, and vanilla and double chocolate coconut flour cupcakes for dessert. We served still and sparkling water and my sis brought over watermelon juice. The folks did bring some soda with but I'll let that slide for now. Anyway it was a great day with great food and I had a great time with the family.

After it was all done I thought about how nicely it had turned out even though I didn't make a big deal out of it. My sister reminded me that the "big deal" I was thinking of was all in my head anyway. Really because I didn't let it stress me out it didn't. This Mom Loves having the family over for our 4th of July celebration. See you next year.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.