Say, make, eat, paint, and play!

Over the past few weeks...

We've said this:

Abby to Elise: "Oh, your picture is EXQUISITIVE!"
Abby to me: "Mom, how do you spell "coronation"?"
Elise to me: "I love you more than $129!"
Elise to my belly, every night: "I love you baby!"
Abby's baby names: Peter or Carrie
Elise's baby names: Rosella, Violet, Daisy, or Tommy

We made these:

We ate this:

Quinoa Cookies

adapted from Loves Food Loves To Eat

• 1 1/2 C organic stone ground whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 C organic unsalted butter
• 1/2 C organic coconut sugar
• 1/4 C local honey
• 2 local organic eggs
• 1 tsp homemade vanilla
• 1 C cooked organic quinoa
• 1/2 C unsweetened coconut
• 1 C chocolate chips (optional)
• Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes

Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

• Cooked organic quinoa
• Organic milk
• Cinnamon
• Local, raw honey
• Organic raw pumpkin seeds
• Organic banana
• Unsweetened coconut

We painted here:

And we played this way:

It has been wonderful to be outside... making mud pies, playing in the fairy garden, filling pots with herbs and flowers. We miss our chicken companions - the remaining two, Lavender and Pip, found a wonderful home a few weeks ago. As we prepared to drive them across town, Elise insisted that Pip not only kissed her but was also crying. When I said "Well girls, I think we found a great home for the chickens", Abby brought me to tears by responding with "those chickens will never have a better home than what they had with us". We decided that, with baby on the way, it would be nice to simplify the homestead - I'm sure it was the right thing to do and we found an organic, vegetarian home for the ladies - but I'm already looking forward to the next flock at some point down the road. 

Speaking of down the road... Baby L has 5 weeks left to cook. And I'm enjoying each and every day. I feel great, our weekly check-ups are looking awesome, we met with our doulas and have a wonderful birth plan in place, the babe's room is done, and the big sisters are excited! We still have no names picked out nor are we using the girls' suggestions. And the overall consensus thus far is that this baby has a penis. While I'm unsure of that detail, what I do know is that growing a baby rocks: hiccups, kicks, big sister belly kisses, nighttime bathroom breaks and all. 

And then there were 2...

In April 2013, we entered the world of backyard chickens... from raising the fluffy chicks in the house to building a coop to collecting eggs. Over that time, I've been the main chicken caregiver. The girls have been wonderful playmates for the flock and good egg retrievers and John is my reliable coop-closer at night. I've religiously cared for the ladies, building their humble abode, keeping them fed (well fed - I've learned that hens love warm oats, a nice bowl of yogurt, or a good helping of quinoa), watered, and clean, freeing them each morning to roam about the yard as chickens love to do. I've spent more time in the backyard, rain or snow or shine, tending to the flock. It hasn't bothered me one bit and, actually, I've quite enjoyed it (except during my first trimester, during which time the sight/smell/thought of the chickens made me wholeheartedly question my sanity in getting them - thank goodness that passed). I've only bought 6 eggs since July, and that's only because I dropped a carton of our girls' eggs. I had to tend to a dead chicken in the Fall when the neighbor's dog feasted upon Plum; I had to rescue a chicken from being pinned to the ground when a hawk attacked Lavender. No problem!

Last week, after dinner out, we got home around 8:30. John headed downstairs to let the dog out which was when he discovered Lavender on the patio. In the dark. Long past her roost-time. Strange? Yes. Worrisome? Not yet. I scooped her up, grabbed the flashlight, and headed to the coop. Hmmmm.... the fence was all closed up around their corner, so why was Lavender out and about? Strange? Yes. Worrisome? Not yet. I opened the fence, chicken still under my arm, and leaned in to stick her in the coop. I gave the doorway a quick shine of the flashlight and was met with two very large beady eyes. Strange? Yes. Worrisome? HELL YES! I screamed. Loud. Girly. Twice. And in that moment, for the first time, I thought "what have I done?".

We learned that night about opossums. Very large, ugly, chicken-eating opossums. Both Lavender and Pip had dug their way underneath the fence and escaped; sadly Peep was not so lucky. After a lot of pacing (with Lavender still under my arm, mind you), us non-farm-folk did the best thing we knew how to do: call someone who is. Within a 30 minutes, and sparing you a lot of details, one of John's co-workers came to our rescue and left with both the opossum and the dead chicken. And I'll tell you what - if you're a city-dweller who wants chickens, make sure in your network of contacts you have "that" person to call. Because I don't know a lot of others who would drop everything to wrastle a giant rodent.

Bam! Now it's October.

Here's how I feel about waking up and realizing that it's already October:

It seems like September gave us our last summer hurrah that was much needed. We played in the sprinkler... watered the flowers and made chalk drawings... hatched our monarch butterflies for the third year (this year was our butterfly garden's best one yet!)...

And now we welcome the beginning of Fall with open arms, campfires, and hoodies. Yes, please.

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #3: Skyline

This was our evening skyline tonight - complete with a horse ride and cowboy hats. I mean - seriously... who needs to battle the germs crowds at the county fair when you've got friends like ours??? The girls rallied and made it to the birthday party - thank goodness for very determined 5 year olds and friends who love us enough to risk illness. I'm really hoping none of the other horse-back riding, cake-eating, running-in-the-grass-barefoot kiddos spikes a fever but A and E wouldn't have missed this shindig for the world!

And, in case you were wondering, the incomplete barrettes were gift-wrapped and ready to go tonight! There will definitely be more of these in my future:

Photo-A-Day Challenge: Day #11: I Wore This

I wore plastic bags... on my hands... to dispose of our dead chicken. Farewell, Plum. You were a good chicken. I'm sorry the neighbor's dachshund thought you were dinner. Elise thinks maybe you ate poison ivy because I didn't tell her exactly how you died. We'll miss your rooster-ish ways. 

Sweet Mother Nature

Several years ago, I read the book Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv. I also had the pleasure of hearing this author speak in Kansas City. As I'm typing this, I have a feeling that I've probably referenced this book/author/idea previously on the blog... maybe multiple times. His phrase "nature deficit disorder" references exactly what it seems: children do not spend enough time in nature. That phrase and idea had a huge impact on me at the time as a teacher - I wasn't a mother yet. Simple things happened - I was able to get rain boots and galoshes purchased for every preschool classroom in our building... window-birdhouses attached to each teacher's window... books purchased to help guide instruction with a focus on outdoor exploration. 

Here I am - no longer employed as a teacher - but working harder than ever to make sure that my current students never lack in their relationship with Mother Nature. I never have to write a lesson plan. I can go for weeks without purchasing any materials. Each student can pursue her own direction and interest. Every topic can be expanded and used across subjects. Mother Nature is AMAZING!

Over the past week, we did a little owl hunting - barred owls, to be exact:

We investigated pond life as well as family structures among geese:

And we definitely stopped to smell the flowers - bleeding heart bouquets picked by the girls. I wonder what we'll learn tomorrow...

Wordless Wednesday: Be A Butterfly

Tostada Tuesday

The Weather Channel says that it is currently 94 degrees outside. Say what? I guess this year's seasons are going something like this: WIIIINNNNNNNNNNTTTTEEEERRRRR, spring, and SUMMER! "It is what it is", right Mom? :) 

Whether it's May or August, the outside temps make such a difference on what goes on in the kitchen. Yesterday, I made a big batch of couscous (Elise requests it daily, while Abby wants "CHICK PEAS!"), browned some local ground turkey, and baked a loaf of bread. All before high-noon. :) The morning cook-a-thon serves two purposes: I don't like adding extra heat to the house in the afternoon AND I like to have our afternoons free and clear to head outside. Since we play a little longer and harder outside this time of year, it's a necessity to add meals to the rotation that can be prepped ahead and put together quickly. Insert tostadas. 

Baked Tostadas:

• Organic corn tortillas - brush with some olive oil and bake or broil until crisp; I did these at 350 degrees for a bit and then turned the broiler on high
• Organic, low sodium refried black beans
• Local ground turkey - browned and seasoned (I added salt, pepper, onion and garlic granules, chili powder, and some salsa)
• Toppings (all organic): onion, green pepper, shredded cheese, lettuce, avocado, sour cream, salsa, jalapenos
• Once tortillas are crisp, remove from oven and smear with beans, top with onions, green pepper, cheese, jalapenos and broil on high until cheese melts
• Add lettuce, sour cream, avocado, and salsa

A hearty tostada was a good belly-filler after our annual adventure to Henry's Plant Farm. This year's plant-list included: tomatoes, peppers, herbs, butterfly plants (lantana, milkweed), and a few others for pots here and there. The veggie gardening all happens at Gran and Grandpa's - we have too much shade. I bought 2 stevia plants - never grown it before but the leaves are insanely sweet and I'm thinking of using it in smoothies? Don't worry - I'll blog about it. :) 

This was Abby and Elise's first visit to Henry's - taken almost 3 years ago, to the day:

And here we are, 3 years later, still chasing that peacock:

Wordless Wednesday: Swing into Spring!

Beautiful blues

Spring is taking its sweet time to settle in, but there are signs of it popping up that we are so excited about! On the front of our house, we've been watching momma Robin work diligently on her beautifully constructed nest. A nest which now holds these beautiful blues:

Another fairly solid indication of spring is the transformation of the chicken coop (thank you, Grandpa, for your wonderful assistance with this project!):

And the transition of the chickens OUT of the house! Who would have thought that, the year we get our first flock of chicks, Spring would take it's sweet time and we'd have big chickens living inside!!!! It's really been pretty ridiculous, if you ask me... and tonight was going to be their first night outside, but Abby was "really worried about the chickens" and it is supposed to be in the fifties... so yes...the chickens are sleeping inside tonight. Again. Maybe tomorrow night, chickies...

Happy Earth Day!

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. That pretty much sums up our "teaching" for today. It made me feel good that, upon reading a "top ten" list of ways to be "green", we met 9 of them. It's also nice that so many of them are everyday life to the girls - using our own shopping bags every time we buy groceries, waiting for the recycling man on Thursday mornings, planting our own gardens, watching Daddy bike to work most days, buying products from the bulk section and storing in glass mason jars... I've even heard each of the girls, on more than one occasion, comment on a toy that's made of plastic instead of wood. It seems silly to many, but to me it's wonderful. You know what else is wonderful? Homemade (biodegradable) playdoh:

And little homemade playdoh Earth sculptures:

The following places were specifically pointed out on the Earth creations:

• Kansas
• Hawaii
• Africa
• Washington, DC: "where Barack Obama lives"

Happy Earth Day. Now get out there and do something good for Mother Earth. Build a compost bin. Or get chickens. Or stop washing  your hair and save water.  Or turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Or plant something. GO!

Wordless Wednesday: Snow was fun... now let's move on!

Wordless Wednesday: Sprout, little seeds, sprout!

PEEPS! (not the marshmallow kind)

Guess what we did today?????? Chicks. We bought chicks. Real-deal, egg-laying chickens (or, so we hope... there are a few that are questionable: hen or rooster? Fingers crossed.). Welcome to the family, Peep, Pip, Lavender, Lime, Plum, and no-name. I'm assuming those names might be changing daily at this point...