Food for all....

So I've been reading a few friend's blogs all about food. They make me hungry and leave me feeling inspired to cook new things and to talk about food. So here's what I have to say......

We've recently joined a local, all organic, food program. I'm not sure what else to call it. It's a little more expensive than what we would normally buy (because we wouldn't necessarily buy organic) and we don't get to pick what comes in your weekly box (whatever is fresh and ripe is what you get), but we've really enjoyed it. Our participation has had several benefits for us...

1. We try new foods - like beets. I've never eaten beets except pickled ones on the salad bar. We got beets a few weeks ago and roasted them. They were tasty. I also made chocolate/beet muffins (I know - sounds "ughh" but were actually devoured by the children). I would never buy apricots or nectarines (I just didn't grow up eating them), but we've gotten them for the last few weeks and have been enjoying them. Delaney will eat 2 or 3 apricots at a time and Jackson loves pluots (a cross of apricots and plums).
2. We have a sense of what food is actually currently growing HERE and that all foods are not naturally available all the time unless it involves airplanes, trucks, and lots of additional fuel-burning.
3. We like the idea of supporting local family farms and not paying a bunch of middle men in the process.
4. The obvious benefit is that we're getting organic produce much cheaper than it costs in the store. (again lack of middle men)
5. We're planning meals around our veggies.

So there's my sales pitch. The group we belong to is www.abundantharvestorganics.com

I encourage you to check out your local program (if I can get it here in the boonies, there's got to be one where you live!).

Well, I'm hungry now.

Little Girl?

 


It's hard to remember sometimes that Delaney is barely 3. Here she is under her "princess reading tent" around the time Drew was born. She loves to sit and "read". Sometimes she'll sit and look at books for 45 minutes to an hour. She can be so sweet sometimes and other times, today for example, she hits rough patches and reminds me that she really is still in that toddler/preschooler stage. Everything seems to be about families for her. For example, I got out some blocks yesterday, trying to engage her in some creative building play. I built. She grouped them by color and then mixed them by size for "families." The "families" all had mommas and babies and talked in high-pitched voices. So, I worry sometime that she's too stereotypical girl and I want to encourage her adventurous side and her analytical side. Just as I start to worry, she does something like last night - rides her scooter at full speed, zipping around the patio, while wearing her full-length, multi-layered princess dress. The girl definitely has her own personality and she teaches me not worry - she will be herself no matter what I do. I do so love her!

The budding photographer?

Look at these eyes!

 

Jackson has been using our camera lately. He has an interesting eye, I think. The picture above is a self-portrait. Check out some of these other images. He's very fond of taking food pictures.

Jackson's ballet performance

Yes, that's right....Jackson has been taking "ballet" lessons. It's really more of a pre-dance/ movement class; it's been good for him and he's enjoyed it. Okay, at the multi-cultural program at Kindergarten, the kids all looked so BIG, but at this dance recital, his class looked so tiny! The performance was absolutely precious although technically minus a few points. The evening went off without a hitch until after the finale when Jackson and another little girl locked themselves in lockers backstage. Apparently, they were playing in the lockers and had closed the doors once already without getting locked in, so they had decided to continue in their fun. This time, however, the lockers locked. The little girl was a bit panicked, but Jackson was relatively calm, like he does this sort of thing all the time. He told me later that he just took deep breaths. Needless to say, he got a longer-than-necessary lecture from me about lockers, refrigerators (lockers are a "gateway-drug" to locking yourself in other rectangular boxes, I'm sure of it!), and safety. Then, we all went to have some cookies, like nothing happened. Speaking of gateway drugs...Jackson has also announced that instead of participating in gymnastics or dance next year, he'd like to be bike racer. Hmmm....so we look this up online and find a BMX track not too far away. Nate thinks this would be cool, fun, good exercise. I'm starting to buy in to it when we see that it's next door to a motor dirt bike track. I'm positive that the BMX track is the gateway drug to motorized dirt bikes which I just can't handle. (I know, I'm such an anti-adrenaline junkie.) Besides, doesn't adrenaline just make wrinkles? Or is that worry? Either way, I've already discovered my first and second gray hairs! AGHHH! I've completely digressed. I'm sleepy - sorry!

Anyway, here's the video...it's a little fuzzy at the beginning, but gets better.

Meet Nana and Aunt Tymaree

Here are some photos from Vicky's (a.k.a. Nana or Nate's mom) visit with us. Like Drew's other grandma, she loves to snuggle and hold grandchildren and was sure to get in a lot of cuddle time with Drew. Tymaree was also able to join us for a few days, although under unhappy circumstances. A few days after Drew was born, we learned that Granny, Nate's paternal grandmother, had passed away. She was nearly 90 years old! It was a blessing that Nate's mom was here during the time Granny passed because Vicky and Nate were able to make a super fast trip to Arizona (8 hours one way) together, splitting the driving time. They left on Friday evening, attended the services Saturday morning and then drove home Saturday evening. They picked up Tymaree in Arizona - she had just flown in from Greece, via NY.

Granny was a sweet women with a gentle heart and a great love of her family. She was always sending us letters about some family story that she had remembered and thought we would appreciate/enjoy. She was delighted by the small details of life. We will miss her.