School's on the horizon

Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox



We've been playing school this week in preparation of Carter's 1st time at preschool next week so I had to post some shots of the kiddos in action; and now that I look back I'm glad I got a picture of them in their pj's and rain boots the other day, I didn't realize at the time how cute they were!


I had divided our paper into 4's and got them trying to paint different patterns in each square. They were excellent listeners and really did imitate what I showed them; love that the fridge is now my teaching board!

Oh, the concentration they both had!

On the lines of painting and drawing, this is Carter's picture he drew all by himself last week, of course I helped him with his name, it' a rock monster from the Vegietales movie :)

They were even taking turns being a teacher, teaching each other letters and numbers all on their own after we reviewed some flash cards

We ended the week with a trip to Target to get the list of school supplies needed for Carter's classroom and came across a neat ice cube tray. The bottom of each cube has a silicone spot so you can push out the cube, ingenious! I decided to try out juice pops 1st just to see if it indeed was easy to pop out.

Love the tip of covering the tray with plastic wrap so the toothpicks stand straight, wish my Mom and I knew this when I was younger and making our own frozen treats :)

They came right out!

It worked great! Can't wait to try our using it as a mold to make candies next! Next it's off to get Gavin ready for when his preschool starts after Labor Day! They are so excited to make new friends, and I have say I'm excited about the same, it's always great to connect with other parents, meet at parks for the kids to play after school, and know there are life long relationships being built!

So grateful I can be home to enjoy all of these precious times! One day they'll be a distant memory but right now they're so much fun to partake in!

Blueberry Betty

It started with the purchase of a blueberry bush last week, then a great Safeway sale this week- 2 lbs of blueberries for $5, and then an online search for a new blueberry recipe to try out.

I came across many torte's, pies and jams but the recipe title 'Blueberry Betty' caught my attention, mainly because Betty was my Grandmother's name on my Father's side. Now granted as I sit here and think about it, I never thought of her when I saw 'Betty Crocker' or 'Brown Betty' recipes so I don't know why it stood out but it did so I had to make it.

If she were still here I would have loved to ask her if she ever had people call her Betty Crocker or if she tried any Brown Betty recipes since they indeed titled her name, but alas, she met the Lord a few years ago, but I'm sure she would have loved to try out this recipe!


*I didn't have leftover french toast so I opted to alter the recipe and it still turned out great! I dipped the bread in french toast batter (mine includes: eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar & cinnamon), layed bread on top of cooked blueberries, poured remaining batter over layers, and still sprinkled with powdered sugar and nutmeg.


Blueberry Betty


This uses leftover French toast. Make your French toast with challah for a special dish.

• 3 cups blueberries
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon lemon juice
• French toast
• Powdered sugar
• Grated nutmeg (freshly grated is best!)

Method

Cook blueberries, sugar, salt and lemon juice for 10 minutes.

Pour into shallow baking dish and arrange slices of French toast on top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and nutmeg.

Bake in preheated 425°F oven for about 20 minutes. Serve with cream if desired.

Serves 6.



I'm sure next time I'll defiantly use the recommended challah bread- that stuff makes anything taste good! But this go-round was pretty darn good, Big Grandma would defiantly approve!

Reusable lunchware

I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck. ~Emma Goldman



Ah... it's finally summer, no full calender of pre-school activities or homework to worry about... so what am I doing thinking of the Fall already?!?!

I think it has to do with me always being extra prepared with everything I do, especially when it comes to the kids. The day before the infant doctors appts. I had the bags packed with all we'd need so there was no rushing the morning of, months before the birthday parties I already knew what theme to decorate with and most of the time already purchased the essentials, and always try to be ahead of what's on the calendar and make it fun for everyone instead of rushing and forgetting things.

But I think enrolling the boys in a summer camp didn't help either! Pre-school is half day, no need to worry about packing a lunch b/c we get to fix one together so when we get home we can talk about what exciting new things happened during the day. But in signing them up for something only 3 days in June and July to keep the idea of a routine in the back of their minds, their day is a little longer and they have to bring a lunch. Yay! But totally bummed I wasn't able to pre-search for cute lunch boxes for them to bring :) Bagged lunch will probably work out better in the long run, from experience working with little ones I can't expect a 3 and 4yr old to remember to bring home lids to containers!


But it did get me searching info for when Gavin goes into Kindergarten next Fall, yay... more pre-planning!!!

I've always loved the Pottery Barn Kids line, anything from there is great quality and super cute!

And a few yrs ago I saw in their catalog the Spencer Bento Box, awesome for kids portions and not having baggies to buy!

I have a feeling their first lunch box won't be the metal one that I grew up with but a more eco-friendly style that will last longer and won't dent or rust :)

So that got me looking into what is out there for lunches and thought I'd post a few things I found to be really neat!

Reuseit.com has some great stuff like these sandwich bags to replace a ziplock baggie that sits in the landfills for yrs!

These are great for little ones too so they know what's inside each bag. I wish I had the mystery one when I was little, I loved the excitement of opening my lunch to see what Mom packed me that day!

Then there are these SUPER-CUTE lunchies from Skip-Hop! They have a fox lunchbox, really??? Where were they when I was a kid!!!!

Now that preschool is in the picture for both boys this Fall I am so excited to see what new themes will come out for all the school supplies!

Lemon Tree

I was so excited when I purchased my Meyer Lemon tree a few months ago from a local nursery! I bought it a new gorgeous pot and reminisced about picking citrus in Florida with my Grandparents when they lived down there and couldn't wait to pick my own and make good use out of it! That is until a few weeks ago...

One word... squirrels.


The tree had so many little lemons, green and looking more like limes at the time, but tiny capsules of liquid gold to me. But unfortunately it just happens that un-ripe lemons look and kind of smell like un-ripe walnuts, who'da thought? Needless to say I saw some squirrels on the back porch one morning playing kickball with 2 of them and they must have plucked and played basketball with at least 6 more because I saw them scattered all over the property.



I'm sure one bite and they weren't interested, but to pluck them... I was devastated. There goes our homemade summer lemonade and lemon tarts I was so syked about. But those pesky little creatures did leave me one. So I'm nurturing it like I grew it from a seedling and am almost at the point of putting it on display instead of cutting into it when it is ripe because of all the time and money put into protecting the little guy (though I haven't named him yet, guess that's a good sign).

(Hubby's quick fix solution for the tree)


This week I did see more blooms and as of yesterday there are 4 more on the way! Though I have to mention that the seedlings inside the bloom are extremely fragile! I brushed up against them when there were still blooms and knocked the second from the left completely out of the the middle of the flower! The flowers reminds me of honeysuckle when it grows, though DO NOT touch, pick or possibly even blow too hard on the long stems in the middle of the flower when they're growing, they're attached to the base of the lemon and eventually fall off when the baby lemon is a little more established. Found this out the hard way :)

Here's a tidbit of history and cultivating if anyone's interested.



The Meyer Lemon is the most popular of all the citrus. In 1908, Mr. Meyer imported the first Meyer Lemon tree from China, where it is grown as a dooryard tree. Meyer Lemon is compact enough even for urban balconies and limited-space gardens. This lemon tree will begin bearing large, juicy, thick-skinned fruit at an early age! Without any fruit, this evergreen would be attractive enough to grow as an ornamental. The leaves are lush and glossy, the small white flowers often bloom indoors in late winter, just when the house needs some color and scent. The flowers are intensely fragrant, and the tree has a habit that is upright and well-branched. Depending on the size of the container and pruning you give it, this tree could reach 8 feet high and 10 feet wide, but can also be kept smaller. Container size is very important. Choose a container that is ample for the tree. A 10-15 gallon container will allow for a 10-feet-tall tree under perfect conditions. Under average conditions, a tree can reach 7-8 feet in a pot this size.

Carter's 3rd birthday

Well, pulled it off, a combo party for my little muchkin who wanted an Oso party while using all the truck theme partyware my Mother-in-Law purchased a couple of yrs ago.


Needless to say there were a bunch of tots who had a blast and a bunch of adults asking who Oso was! But overall, good food and friends are always a great combination for good times!


I used online cutouts and covered them with laminate paper and they were perfect low cost ways to tie in the Oso theme!


Even used the cutouts to decorate Carter's favorite dessert... donuts!!!

Although we spent most of the gorgeous day outside playing I did have pin the tail on Whirlybird and a construction project for them to do with pretzel sticks and marshmallows and everyone received a paper digi-medal for doing a super job!

Emma's building in progress!

Happy 3rd birthday little stinker! Now slow down so we can all savor this year before number 4 comes!

Fantastic Mother's Day!

Had a fantastic Mother's Day and had to share in all the festivities! The actual day of Mother's Day my hubby asked if there was anything special I wanted to do and honestly the best present to me is quality time, no gift could compare to a day of just being together so I told him not to get anything since he's usually working most evenings and weekends on side work it was nice to just be a family of 4 for the day!

Besides, since I was young I've found doing for others is more rewarding so I get to relish doing things for Grandmom's on Mother's Day more than anything for myself. So after the Strawberry picking a couple days before I found a cute Minnie Mouse printout and added some chocolate-covered strawberries for them to enjoy, along with the stepping stones we all made for each of the Grandmom's (which glow in the dark too!) they'll have lasting impressions to remember just how small the boys were-which I'll enjoy seeing when we visit too!

Carter filling the container to mix into the cement

Pushing in the glow-in-the-dark stones

And since my Mom's birthday is only a few days after Mother's Day we took her and my Dad to Double T Diner for lunch where they had the biggest cake ever! There were 4 long tables full of strawberry cream cake that spelled out Happy Mother's Day where everyone got a complimentary piece to take home, what a sweet surprise!

But I did receive a great gift from Gavin's school, the opportunity to attend a Mother's tea and see what his daily routine is like. It was so touching to see the love within that school, teacher and kids alike, this is how church should feel, like a second home with extended family! I was blessed to see just how much he's enjoying the company of his friends in class and how excited he is to learn!

In class sharing the Mother's Day gifts they made with their Mommy's

Praying to Jesus as they pass the crucifix hanging in the hall

( Have to mention that Gavin has never sung a whole song before, not like Carter who at not even 2 was singing up a storm, but for Gavin it's mostly because of his shyness mixing with his speech delay, he'd only get out a few letters of the ABC's and part of Old McDonald's song- mostly just the animal noises came out. But last month out of the blue he blurted out this song while laying with me in bed, word for word and to an actual tune. I was so moved! Now everytime we hear it in church he can sing along and I'll always think of his 1st song he learned thanks to his school!)

They also made portraits of their Mom's and told what made their Mommy special. None of the pictures had a name so each of the Mom's had to read and guess which pertained to them. They were sooo cute! Of course as soon as I saw the part about 'Mommy getting me a football shirt', I knew it was Gavin's!

Can't wait to attend this next year with Carter! Truly touched my heart, as a person of God and a Mother, there's nothing better than seeing a child growing in faith!

Having a Berry good time!

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."...Marcel Proust

There's nothing like the sweetness of fresh picked strawberries! No multi-person handeling, packing and long truck ride to the grocery store; just picked off the plant right to your kitchen!

I wish I had more land to be able to have a few rows of strawberries myself, but they are only around for about 4 weeks time so in the long run of prepping the garden I'll stick with my 2 pots of plants and leave the big stuff to the professionals nearby!

That said, I took the boys to a local farm to go Strawberry picking today and had to share our visit! I mentioned it once earlier in the week and this is all they've been looking forward to! It was so cute, as soon as we got out of the truck and got our boxes, Gavin runs up to the field saying, 'Strawberries, here we come!'

They did awesome too! After reminding them to only pick the all red ones they could have been hired on the spot! Their little fingers griped the stems perfectly and they were so gentle when pulling that only a few were a little bruised (those were eaten on the spot of course)!

Also taught some great teamwork skills in the process!


Now, I have the great pleasure of washing and preping tons of berries as we picked the most ripe ones. I'll save about a dozen to be included in a chocolate-covered Mother's Day bouquet for the Grandmom's this weekend and another couple dozen to eat. The rest I'll try my hand in making some Strawberry Jam. It seems easy enough to make, guess we'll see how it goes! Here's a basic recipe:

COOKED JAM
5 cups crushed berries (2 qt.)
7 cups (3 lb.) sugar
1 box powdered fruit pectin

Stir powdered pectin into the berries. Bring berries and pectin to a boil and add sugar all at once. Again, bring the mixture to boil for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and fill jars.

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FREEZER JAM
2 cups crushed berries (1 quart)
4 cups (1 3/4 lb.) sugar
3/4 cup water
1 box powdered fruit pectin

Add sugar to fruit and stir well. In a sauce pan, boil 3/4 cup water and the fruit pectin for one minute, stirring constantly. Add the hot pectin and water to the fruit and continue stirring 3 minutes. Put in containers, let stand 24 hours and store in freezer.

*A great tip I got a few yrs back when making the kiddos fresh baby food:
If there is not time to make your jam the same day as you picked, here's a great idea! Wash, stem and slice the berries then blend them. They won't take up as much space in your freezer, and 2 cups of the blended berries makes one jam recipe any time you want "fresh" jam.