War

This morning on the news, they showed President Obama at Dover Airforce Base in the middle of the night where he attended the return of 18 servicemen killed in the war.

I mentioned how much I admire the President and the kids watched the footage. Of course, this led to questions.

These days I have to be pretty careful with them watching the news. They used to be pretty oblivious and didn't pay attention but now they catch things and ask lots of questions. I don't want them seeing too much. I don't want them to see all the killing, the abductions and things that they don't need to know about.

But I have felt for quite some time that I want them to know about the war so I have slowly been telling them things here and there.

Let me tell you, this is not an easy discussion! We spoke about freedom and how most countries in the world are free but that some are not. We spoke about the different beliefs and lifestyles that people have around the world. I explained that not all countries understand each other and that causes fear. Which causes some countries to react with fear and try to protect themselves.

So I got through Part 1 of the discussion. The rest gets so complicated! I want them to know that there are other alternatives to war. I want them to respect the sacrifices that the military make regardless of my disagreement with the war.

Sensitive territory!

BIG NEWS!

Feeling the need to document this so I don't forget when it happened :)

Ellie is on her own 2 wheels on her bike now! Off went the training wheels. At first she just used the neighbors driveway, but yesterday we went for a bike ride and she made it all the way around the block twice with a couple of pit stops.

Lucas is just over the moon for her and is ready to race! He was so encouraging and was riding right next to her saying "You're doing great!" and "keep it up!". I am so happy she has a big brother!

Seeing Daddy running next to her with Baxter, and Lucas riding along full of encouragement? It put tears in my eyes. These are the moments I love.

What's on the menu?

The fun part about shopping the farmer's markets is having to use what is in season at the time. My last purchase involved a lot of root veggies. Two huge bunches of carrots covered in dirt, beets, parsnips. Parsnips? What do I do with these things?

I loved them. I pre-steamed them then popped them in the oven with some butter and brown sugar and roasted until the started to caramelize. Yeah, they were good but I was the only one who loved them.

Look at this lovely bunch of scallions.




I sliced up a bunch and put them on top of salmon with soy sauce, lemon juice, sake and a bit of butter and baked. 375 for about 20 mins. Yeah, the kids had nuggets that night :)

We are trying to make a lifestyle change in eating more local and less processed. We have always been pretty good and plow through fresh items in our house quickly but also have our standby snacks in a box. Meals in our house have always been fresh and homemade but it's the snacks and treats that are a hard habit to kick.

I am also considering buying a half cow. This may not happen until next year but is on the list of things I will be doing. My Mum offered me her chest freezer so it will definitely be doable.

Schedules

It's so true. People told me this all the time and I found it hard to believe. But it is true!

"You will get busier when your kids start school".

This has really hit home this year for me. I always looked forward to the day they were both in school and I could live the life of luxury, eating bon bons and watching soaps. Ok, maybe not the soaps part but yes to the bon bons.

Today I e-mailed Elise's teacher about helping out in class. I have been helping in Lucas' class and signed up for some party coordinating for Ellie but she wants me in the classroom too. When I told the teacher when I was available, it was 90 mins on one day and 2 hours on another. That's all. That was all the free time I had! How the heck am I supposed to fit in bon bons?

Monday's: I am starting to teach swim lessons at the Y. I will be shadowing a trainer for a while and then deciding if it's for me, and the Y deciding if I am for them!

Tuesdays: Gym day....not negotiable

Wednesdays: volunteer at Lucas' class

Thursdays: open

Friday, El is off school.

I never thought being a SAHM would be so busy!

Eat Well, Live Well

Went to the Farmer's Market on Saturday. We have been doing this more often for our fruits and vegetables. I notice a huge difference in the quality of what we are buying. This weekend, I bought varied fall vegetables, asian pears, cherry tomatoes of all types (my plants have slowed down considerably). We tried something called a ground cherry....cross between a tomatillo and a strawberry. Very interesting:



Here is a recipe I use all the time and it's very easy, healthy and versatile. Roasting vegetables is something I always wanted to do well and I think I have finally nailed it!

I used the vegetables from the market: small red new potatoes, butternut squash, red onion, purple potatoes, yukon gold potatoes, carrots, sweet potato.

Cut into bite sized pieces. Then you throw them all in a big bowl, toss with olive oil, kosher salt, fresh ground pepper and 3 or 4 smashed garlic cloves.

Spread it all out on a pan lined with parchment paper and roast at 450 degrees for about 50 mins.

I normally use this is a side dish but you can also puree into a soup, top a pizza or get creative!

Cool new item

My creatively challenged friend pointed me in the direction of this neat stuff called chalkboard oilcloth. Lots of cool possibilities here!
Fun for kids over the table, tags for gifts, sew a patch on a t-shirt and let kids express them selves!

Sleep

I spent a fortune on my bed this week. It had to be done though. Since the weather is cooling off, the pleasure of a cozy bed starts taking priority.

Lucas climbed into the bed this morning and the resulting "oooooo's" and "ahhhhhhhhh's" told me I did it right! It looks so pretty too.

Here is the bedding set:

And the high thread count sheet set (in that dusty blue):

And the luxury blanket:

And a nice foofy mattress pad. Mix all of that in with my electric pad that goes under it all? Bliss.