Monday, April 30, 2012

vacationing





















oh, how refreshed i feel! sometimes it is so good to get away.... so good to have a chance to actually miss home. visiting the beach was probably the smallest part of our little getaway but that was the only part i brought my camera along for. my little fish thoroughly enjoyed the swimming pool, maiko and me played many games of air hockey, we rode on a beautiful carousel, and had ice cream cones... lots of fun was had by all.... but goodness, it is so good to be home.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

around the house : : signs of spring












i had this post all ready to go up before we disappeared for a little vacation and then forgot to publish it.... sorry about that... and now that we're home i've noticed that everything has already changed quite a bit from these photos. but i thought i would go ahead and post these now.... then some photos taken on vacation.... and then the changes.... oh my, it's so good to be home.

Friday, April 20, 2012

my mom and me




this post was supposed to go up yesterday because it was my mom's birthday... but sometimes with four children and a busy family life these things just don't go as planned. luckily, my mom completely understands these things. she has already "been in my shoes," i often wonder about her at my age and how she handled certain things. of course she wasn't a "perfect" parent because no one is perfect.... but the fact that when i look back at my childhood and my mom, the majority of what comes to mind is just love and encouragement.... that shows me that she has a talent.
 that kind of love and patience doesn't come easily.
i will never forget this one memory... mom and me were out shopping together, i was a teenager, and we were just chattering along, hugging, and the clerk, a young woman, said something along the lines of "you guys are really close aren't you?" with a sound of astonishment in her voice. that was one of the first times i realized that not everyone had this kind of relationship with their mom...
that it was a rare gift.
i am so grateful for this example... the teaching of these gifts. we may not be the most punctual or organized bunch.... but my mom taught me love, patience, and encouragement.... and those are the truly important lessons in life.

thank you mom.... i love you forever and always,


jenny

Saturday, April 14, 2012

just like that







matt got maiko this bike for his birthday last summer and he worked with him on and off for the rest of the summer trying to teach him to ride it. then as the weather began to turn a bit warmer and we got those sweet midwinter heat spells... well... he took to riding it again and, goodness, it came easily this time! and just like that he's all over the place. i imagine that he will be conquering many things like this... just look how he's grown. last summer that bike seemed so big and now, not even a year later, he fits it perfectly.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

growth










if you look closely at the photos above i'm sure you will notice that the budding daffodils are evidence that these pictures are over a month old. our daffodils have bloomed and are slowly but surely withering away. there are many new exciting things coming up from the ground and flourishing though. i'm so excited to see some of my flower bed work actually paying off. i get so excited when i think about how a few years from now after the things i have planted spread (and i plant more things) that there will be a very full flower bed coming up each year. and i will be beginning on a new bed this summer.... hmmmm.... which one should it be.....? the apple trees are swelling with buds now. they are ready for their turn to be the highlight of the farm. i am ready too. it really feels like spring when the apple trees bloom. and i am so excited that they waited for those terrible storms to pass. i hope that we get weeks of wonderful warm sunshine just for them and the bees to do their work... please, please, please
and that little girl in the photos above.... she is growing just as fast as my flowers... if not faster. i am constantly amazed at how quickly she's maturing. she has been sitting at the desk coloring quietly the entire time i have spent writing this post. and her sister is quietly eating in the highchair.... aaaahhhh..... peace and quiet.... such a wonderful thing. i think i had better go see what she is working on.

see you soon friends.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

my favorite morning food





coffee is probably my most regular and important thing in the morning. one of my first thoughts after getting out of bed is coffee. when it comes to food though, i have two favorites. one is green smoothies (green for spinach), and the other is oatmeal...and i don't mean your regular old oatmeal either (even though i like that too). now, you may be a little turned off at the thought of a spinach smoothie but i assure you... with the addition of a few other things you can't actually taste the spinach in your smoothie at all... it just makes it a beautiful green color. so here are the recipes for my favorite two breakfasts...

creamy spinach smoothie
go on... try it... i dare ya...

ingredients:
 -a few handfuls of spinach
-one banana
-one 15oz can of peaches
-a couple scoops of yogurt
(i like stonyfield farms vanilla, zoi greek honey, or brown cow maple sryup)
-about a half cup of orange juice
-about a cup filtered water
(add more water or orange juice if it isn't blending smoothly)

directions:
pack blender one third full of spinich (yes, i did say one third). drain peaches and dump them in. peel the banana and add it. add two to four scoops of yogurt. pour in some orange juice... about a half cup... unless you want more. add filtered water... about a cup... you want a lot of liquid so that it blends up nice and smooth. then blend until smooth and enjoy!
beware: if you add berries to your smoothie... when they mix with the green they make a horrid brown color... still tastes delicious but the color is pretty unappealing... just so your prepared.

maple berry oatmeal with yogurt

ingredients:
-uncooked oatmeal
-milk
-water
-cinnamon
-berries, frozen or fresh
-yogurt
-maple sryup

directions:
 prepare oatmeal following directions on the label but use half water, half milk. pour oatmeal into bowl and sprinkle handful of berries on top (if frozen push into oatmeal so they melt quickly). add a swirl of maple syrup (real syrup people, not that nasty fake stuff).  add a dollop or two of your favorite yogurt (i mentioned my favorites above in the smoothie recipe). sprinkle cinnamon on the top. then take your spoon and give it a decent swirl to slightly blend everything and your ready to eat! enjoy!

what's your go-to morning food?