Recipe Friday: Rice "Pudding"

A few weeks ago I started a challenge to try to get myself to eat a more plant-based diet.  I started making a pot of rice and keeping it in the refrigerator so it was readily available for me to eat.  I did pretty well for a few weeks.  It was really convenient for Olivia since she eats such a small portion that it's not practical to make her a serving at each meal.  She loves rice and I'm glad she's eating it, but it's SO messy!  She gets it everywhere!  I've tried to roll it into balls (using a short grained rice) but she just crumbles them when she picks it up.  So for lunch the other day I thought about making a congee for her.  I added some rice milk to a few tablespoons of rice and put it in the microwave.  It didn't thicken like I had hoped

Planet Box Lunch Box

Yet another post inspired by Weelicious!  This time it's a lunch box that I first heard about on the Weelicious site.  As I said, she posts her kid's lunches and she uses these lunch boxes.  They're not only green, but they're just more functional than a traditional lunch box.  I Googled Planet Box and found out that Pottery Barn Kids sells them now.  This should also be an indicator that they're not super cheap, but I think they'd be worth it if you have a kid that packs a lot.  The thing that's so cool about these lunch boxes is that they're

Mom Talk

I spend a lot of time with moms.  Almost all of my friends are moms.  I've noticed something about being a mom.  We talk about our kids.  A lot.  It's always weird for me when I find myself in a situation with strangers who aren't moms.  (Like the two weddings I went to last spring with Evan where I didn't know anyone.)  It's this odd sensation for me of not being what I am,

Peggy O'Mara's New Site

A long time ago when I first started blogging, I posted about Mothering Magazine and how upset I was that they were going digital.  I LOVED that magazine! It's the reason I decided to give cloth diapering a try and was always really a great inspiration to keep living

Dragon fruit

I know I've been talking about Weelicious a lot, but this is only KIND of about that.  I follow Catherine McCord (the Weelicious lady) on Instagram and everyday she posts a picture of her kid's lunch.  A few weeks ago she had some dragon fruit in there and some people were commenting on it.  She, of course, got it at her farmer's market.  For some reason, the Canton farmer's market doesn't carry dragon fruit, and I just kind of wrote it off as an exotic California thing I'll probably never see.  Then I saw it at the Raisin Rack!  It was marked down, which leads me to believe that it didn't sell well and I probably won't find it there again, but I was so excited I bought it.  It wasn't until I got home that I realized I had just purchased a $5 piece of fruit that may not go over well and may go directly into the trash.

Dragon Fruit held by the Dragon Child

I had it for a few days before I was brave enough to cut the thing open and serve it for dinner.  I Googled how to cut it open and it was really a no-brainer.  You cut it in half and scoop our the flesh.  The weird thing was that on Instagram the fruit was pink and online it was white.  Luckily ours was pink too, which I thought would entice Ellie to try it.  It doesn't provide much fruit, but it gave each person a nice little taste.  

Recipe Friday:Cold Sesame Soba Noodles

I LOVE this recipe!  It was really fast to make and it was just as good as leftovers as it was when I made it.  Great for lunches and as suggested by Catherine McCord (author of Weelicious the book, where I got this recipe!) a good idea for a potluck.

Cry It Out

There are a million different parenting styles.  I've read quite a few books, pulled what I like best from each and tried them.  Of my 4 kids, all 4 have and are parented a little differently.  I know people that swear by BabyWise and do that with all their kids, or sear by Attachment Parenting and do THAT with all their kids,  but I'm kind of a hodge-podge, which is sometimes my downfall, I think.

I brought Olivia home from the hospital at midnight.  I was exhausted from labor and one night in the hospital and I had to have the other three kids up and dressed for the Hall Of Fame (aka Donut) parade the next morning at 7.  Instead of doing the fight to get Olivia to sleep in her pack and play I just put her in bed with me and nursed her to sleep.  And so it began. I knew what I was getting into when I did it, so I'm 100% at fault, but

Just a Spoonful

The big kids got on the bus the morning and I can feel my blood pressure going down by the hour.  I forgot how much slower the pace is with only two kids and a napping puppy.  I was able to make myself lunch and actually sit down and eat it.  Slowly.  Then clean up lunch before 3 in the afternoon.

Olivia's lunch: Brown Rice, Green Beans from our garden, black beans with peppers, salsa and spices, butternut squash and kale, cabbage, rice, sesame saute.

I often send a text to my Standard American Diet-eating friend telling her what I'm eating as a joke.  She usually is kind of grossed out, not because she's trying to eat like I do.  The other day I asked if she wanted me to save her a bit of the dinner I made and she said yes, but

Last Day of Vacation

I got a Google reminder today that the first day of school is tomorrow.  Thanks Google, I would have let that one slip by me if you hadn't reminded me.  It's not like I've been counting down the days for weeks.  Tomorrow it the day.  Last night we went to Meet the Teacher night, or as I like to call it, How Many People Can You Fit in a Room Without A/C.  My kids are both in blended classes this year, which I'm really excited about.  They are too.  I don't think they really get WHAT the blended class is, but I'm excited so they are too.  Ellie has Caden's old first grade teacher, so

Cesar's Way

Jack in his graduation cap when he graduated from puppy class.

I'm a dog person.  I realized just how much of a dog person I am when Evan and I were out walking with the kids and we would exchange glances and smiles and comments every time a dog passed.  Normal people react that way to babies.  Not us.  We're dog people.

I was blogging across devices and lost most of my post.  I don't have it in my to retype the whole thing so now you're just going to get the basics of the original post.  I read Cesar Milan's book, Cesar's Way. Good read.  Changed the way I think about dogs as pets.

Recipe Friday: Napa Cabbage Salad

This weekend I'm going to Columbus for a reunion of sorts.  My college roommate is going to be in town from LA and some of our sorority sisters are getting together.  A lot of these girls I haven't seen in 12 years!  We're having a cookout and each person is supposed to bring a dish to share.  Since I'm driving from Canton the night before, my options are limited.  Since my roommate is the one that gave me this recipe (It's  actually from her mom.  She forwarded me the email her mom sent her, I cut it out and put it in my recipe box.) I thought it appropriate to

Turbo Post

Super fast post today!  Summer is winding down and I'm squeezing in every last bit of fun I can make my kids have.  Monday we DID end up going to Beech Creek Butterfly House!  LOVED IT!  All the kids had fun, which is very rare.  Caden even said he had fun, which is even more rare--

Recipe Friday: "Meatball" Subs

Last week we had "meatball" and meatball subs for dinner.  I've done this before, buying pre made meatballs and meatless balls, but this time I made both from scratch.  I hear the meatballs were good and I can attest that the meatless balls were good.  I froze the leftovers and will toss them in with the sauce next time we have pasta.  The meatballs were a Turkey Pesto recipe from Weelicious.  The recipe calls for traditional basil pesto, but I had some of that sun-dried tomato pesto left from when we did our pasta bar last week so I

Beech Creek Butterfly Garden

As I said yesterday, the summer is quickly drawing to a close.  Even thought it doesn't seem like there are a lot of things my kids still want to do this summer, I do.  One of those things is to go to the butterfly house at Beech Creek Botanical Garden and Nature Preserve.  We went last year and it was a nice little trip.  It's in Alliance, so it's just long enough of a drive for us to be a little special, but not far enough to be "far".  It was very kid-friendly and even Caden, who would never admit it,

Sara Snow and an Avocado Shake

Just a quick post today.  My mom told me about Sara Snow and I thought I'd share her website with you.  I saw Sara on Jon and Kate Plus Eight a few years ago so I was familiar with her a little bit, but I was just checking out her website and found a few good links to

How Do You Lose an Entire Season?

I feel like Rip Van Winkle. Except for the part about getting a lot of sleep.  I far from get a lot of sleep.  But nonetheless, I feel like I blinked and missed summer.  Remember all the things I talked about doing over the summer back in May?  I was going to go on all these hikes.  I was planning on spending lots of time at the pool.  We were going to go boating at the lake once a week.  I was going to practice school work with the kids every day to keep them in "school mode".  I did none of those things.  And summer's

Hybrid Diaper Review: gdiapers

I love cloth diapers.  Have I mentioned this before?    I love how I have so much less trash.  I love how I know what they're made of and I can feel confident knowing that my baby doesn't have mystery chemicals pressed up against his/her skin 24/7.  I love how cute they are!   I love trying different brands and styles.  I encourage every new mom to cloth diaper.  I've found it to be very rewarding.  I always feel like I might be messing up in other areas, but I really feel GOOD

Recipe Friday: Birthday Cake!

Last year at this time I was in labor.  I was really frustrated because I was supposed to be induced at 7 am, I thought for SURE my kids would be able to come and see the baby by lunch time, but Miss Olivia had other plans.  A year later that kid is STILL holding a grudge that we forced her out of the womb before she was good and ready and she wants to be in my arms at all times, day and night.  Yet another reason I'm mad I agreed to be induced.  So today I have a one year old and tomorrow I'm having a small first birthday party for our families at our house.

I decided to go with an Olivia theme (Ian Falconer's Olivia the pig) and I found super cute Olivia cupcakes on Nickjr.com.  Yesterday I baked the cupcakes, today I'm going to make the

A Post In Photos

Awhile back I said I was going to add more photos to my blog.  I have been negligent in that and I apologize.  I'm going to make up for it today.  

I blogged about my garden a lot awhile ago but I wanted to do an update.  So here it is, in pictures.

The kale is going crazy, with little help from me.  I need to remember to harvest it more frequently next summer so it doesn't get so wild.

The lettuce is salad ready.

The peas are done.  We had about two good weeks of harvest from them.  Next year I'm doing sugar snap instead of snow and the ones I had to shell.

The cucumbers did great but they look like they're winding down too.

Peppers are doing well, jalapeño, mild banana, and bells. 

I planted two Roma tomato plants and had no idea they grew and produced so much!! They came with a stake but it wasn't nearly enough.  I put a cafe around them but it was already too late.  Next year I'll know!  I don't like tomatoes but I'm peeling, dicing and freezing them to use in soups and chili all fall and winter.

The watermelon is doing really well!  There are lots of little guys growing but well have to see how many make it to he table.  Last year the kids were so excited they picked them too soon. 

Cantaloupe is doing really well too!  Last year we had two really good ones.  

Our first year with eggplant is going well!

 A few weeks ago I had more green beans than I knew what to do with (I froze them) but last week the crop was much smaller so I think we might be nearing the end of these as well.

I transplanted this sweet potato plant from the garden because it was too shaded.  This container is way too small but I'm hoping we get at least something small that Olivia can eat

Not really my garden but Ellie picked a flower mix seed packet and planted it in this container. 

My raised bed isn't doing so well.  I have a few butternut squash, but no pumpkins, spaghetti squash, zucchini or acorn squash.  The corn was infested with earwigs so we don't get to eat that and the habaneros are getting a slow start.

I did get get one crook neck squash.

 And he butternut.

At lead the corn looked good on the stalk as long as you do y want to eat it! 

Done gardening.