: : I found this 20-minute Almond Berry Sorbet via Pinterest, so for supper last night I tried a version of it. I tossed in some frozen mixed berries, a little maple syrup, and a handful of spinach (to make myself feel better about the fact that I was eating sorbet for supper...what can I say? It was just me and Fi, and sometimes I'm lazy). It was so good. I'm going to try it out on Levi when he gets back from his dad's.
: : Also, I found this DIY train party on Ohdeedoh. (Thanks, once again, to Pinterest). Check out the fruit train. Cute and healthy!
: : Are you on Pinterest? Because if you are you should friend me, and then we could pin together. It'll be fun. I promise. I'm BarefootMama. :)
The past couple of months, Sophia has been practically begging for food. I hadn't planned to introduce solids to her until she was closer to a year, but the begging had me feeling guilty. Sooooo, about a week ago, I smashed some avocado and gave her a taste. She was less than impressed. In fact, she made the worst face ever and promptly spit it out. Her interest in food has waned since then. She's decided that nursing isn't so bad after all. ;)
Also, she's 7 months old today!
P.S. Obviously I need to start pulling out my real cameras more often. I've become an instagram junkie.
If this gal ever questions my love, I'm pointing her back here to the part of her life where she sleeps (mostly) perfectly, smiles all the time, and is in general the best, sweetest baby I've ever encountered......buuuut her eczema has me on a diet so restrictive that I sometimes want to just curl up in a ball and cry.
We had to take Sophia back to the doctor 2 weeks ago because the antibiotic she was on caused yet another rash. Thankfully she had been on it long enough to knock the staph back, so she didn't have to switch to a new antibiotic. While we were there her doctor (who is so wonderful) told us the way Sophia's eczema has spread makes her fairly sure it's caused by something she is ingesting (i.e. mama's milk). She gave me a long list of do not eats and lent us a book on reflexology to help us naturally control the itching. An afternoon trip to the yarn shop landed me in a conversation with an eczema sufferer who added even more things to my do not eat list. It ended up as follows:
No eggs, dairy, wheat, soy, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, chocolate, coconut, tree nuts, and peanuts.
(I feel like I'm forgetting something.)
It's the no eggs, wheat, tomatoes, chocolate, and tree nuts that are killing me. Those were staples of my previous diet. I've been on this for two weeks, and I'm still trying to figure out how to eat around these things. On the bright side, her eczema is clearing up, so maybe my efforts won't be in vain. The real kicker is that I still have a few more weeks to go on this diet before I can start the slow process of adding food back in. Hopefully this will give us a better idea of what foods she's sensitive to before we start her on solids which won't be until she's closer to the year mark...if not all the way too it. In the meantime, I'll just be kickin' back here in miserable food land.
A few things that made me smile, made me think, and made me go "Oooo...I want one!"....
: : If I had some spare cash right now, I'd buy these and these. Don't they look adorable and oh, so comfy?!!
: : Sarah wrote a comment on Thursday's post that has me seriously considering buying a pair of goggles. I'd love to see Levi's reaction if I took her advice:
"Also I'm with you don't stress too badly about the spitting just wear goggles."
: : While we're on the subject of food documentaries, Stephan talked me into watching Super Size Me the other day. Eeeeewwwww, gross! I know I'm probably the last person on the planet to watch this. Since I'm not really a fast food gal, I didn't think there was any urgency in seeing it. But, I'm glad I did.
: : I really want to make one of these. I'm not sure if it's more for my own entertainment or for Levi's. They just look so very squishable and fun.
: : Don't y'all agree that I need to crochet this bag? It would be so cute to take along to the farmer's market.....right along with all of the other bags I've made for the farmer's market. Okay, so maybe 'need' is a strong word for this one.
: : I mentioned wanting to print these and frame them, but I changed my mind. I printed this, this, and this instead. They are three of Levi's favorite animals, and oh, my, they look so stinkin' cute hanging on his wall!
: : The thing that's making me smile the most this week (other than Levi's homecoming being so much closer now!) is that my house actually looks and feels nearly inhabitable. My mother has been over here for days helping me move furniture, organize, paint, etc. Levi's room is finished except for the curtain. My sewing room is in working order which means I no longer have to climb over stuff to get to my beloved sewing machine. And, y'all, my living room is usable for the first time in months. It just feels so good. The end of renovations is still far away, but at least it's becoming more and more visible with each passing day.
Yesterday, our friend Martha (mama to Leigh) invited us over to her house for a little nut milk making adventure. Levi thinks all things kitcheny are fun, so he especially enjoyed it. He stood on a chair and helped pour in the nuts and the water, and then he would cover his eyes every time the blender was turned on....so cute.
Of course, being two, we couldn't escape without a meltdown. So, Martha got the joy of seeing Levi grow horns....very long ones. Sigh. It's a good thing these little critters are so darn cute.
When we got home, Levi wanted blueberries and nut milk for lunch. Me thinks I'll be making more nut milk soon. I like it when I find a healthy food that he'll actually eat.
Okay, so you have to peer through the red around Levi's mouth to actually catch the green. The kid loves all things red, but green....ha! He won't touch green. That is...until now. Thanks to Hannah from Mulberry Spot, I've got Levi eating his leafy greens. Her green smoothies inspired me to make one more attempt at getting the greens in this kid. Y'all, I was seriously beginning to doubt that I would ever see the day. Turns out that he LOVES them. Of course, it probably helps that I tell him it's ice cream. Teeny tiny lies are not beneath me.
Here's how I make mine...
Ingredients:
Kale (you can also use spinach)
1/2 a cup or so of juice (your choice)
Frozen bananas
Other frozen fruits
The amounts involved depend on how much you want to make. This really isn't an exact science.
Trim the tough stems off of the kale. Pack your blender with kale. Pour in about 1/2 a cup of juice (you can use water but the end result isn't as sweet). Blend until smooth. If you are having trouble getting the kale to blend, add a little more juice or water. Once the kale is well blended (it will look like a green juice) slowly add frozen bananas and/or other frozen fruits until you have as much smoothie as you want.
Using all frozen fruits creates a thicker texture which can be passed off as ice cream...if your kid is like mine. However, feel free to substitute fresh fruits for a more smoothie-like texture.
Note: If you add colorful fruits, your smoothie will turn funky colors. We don't mind oddly colored "ice cream" around here. If you want it green though, stick with white and yellow fruits like bananas, mangoes, and pineapples.
P.S. This is an excellent way for pregnant mamas to get their greens too. If you're like me, pregnancy = an uncharacteristic dislike of all things leafy.
Ingredients:
1/2 a stick of butter
6 sweet potatoes, cooked, peeled, and sliced (you can cook these in advance and refrigerate)
1/2-3/4 c. chopped apricots
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1/4 c. sugar (you can substitute fructose, and really you could use less sugar)
1/4 c. cream
1/4 c. chopped pecans
Brown sugar (we generally eyeball the amount on this one...I guess maybe and 1/8 to a 1/4 cup??)
Directions:
Add butter to potatoes. (If they're hot, they'll melt the butter. If the potatoes are cold, melt the butter first.) Combine the next 7 ingredients with a mixer. Put in a 2 qt. casserole. Combine chopped pecans and brown sugar. Sprinkle over the top. Bake at 350 F for 30 min. Serves 10-12.
So, apparently my brain is not in full functioning order....I'm blaming it on Daylight Savings Time. Levi didn't get the memo, so I didn't get the extra hour of sleep that it's supposed to provide this time of the year. All of that is just to say, I didn't seem to know what day it was yesterday, so I posted Sweet Dreams a tad early. Not that it's set in stone or anything, but generally I post it on Tuesday. Hmm...so now I'm going to post about Halloween and also about yesterday. Mkay? Halloween was pretty low key. We skipped trick-or-treating. Psst...Don't tell Levi, but I tossed most of last week's candy. I certainly didn't think he needed another bucket full. Instead we opted for a marshmallow roast. Unfortunately, he wasn't terribly impressed, at least with the marshmallows.... I thought maybe my child was just a freak of nature who didn't like marshmallows. It turns out that he just doesn't like big, fluffy marshmallows (roasted or not). The next day, at church, miniature marshmallows were incorporated into the Sunday School lesson. Levi practically attacked them. The other kids didn't stand a chance. Now on to yesterday... Yesterday was perfect. We woke up earlier than I would have liked, but that did mean we were dressed early. Which meant we had more time between waking up and nap time. So the morning was exceptionally leisurely in a productive sort of way. By productive I mean we wandered aimlessly and enjoyed the beautiful weather. That counts as productive, right? We also squeezed in quite a few of our favorite books, a couple rounds of chase, a yummy lunch, and some playtime with Nanno...all before nap. The afternoon saw more aimless wandering, more favorite book reading, and even some baking. We made this scrumptiously wonderful pumpkin bread...except we made it into a few teeny loaves and bunches of mini muffins. Somewhere in all of that Levi developed a love (bordering on an obsession) for satsumas. And, he discovered how to make eggs and cookies out of a miniature barrel and two miniature bowls. He's not sharing the secret, but he swears they are yum. ;) I so love pretend...especially his pretend. I had to resist the urge to squeeze him all. day. long...okay, so I didn't do so well at resisting. One of these days, he's going to tell me "enough" of the squeezing! So, how was your weekend?
There are two things that make me sad about Autumn...1) The blueberry bushes are empty. And, 2) This is the last of the tomato plants. The only reason it's still hanging around is because it's in a pot, so it's not taking up precious garden space....The rest were ripped up and replaced with these beauties... peas...sugar snaps and two other varieties whose names I've currently forgotten...oops! And lettuce...yum! I've also got some kale, spinach, arugula, and swiss chard popping up. Can't wait till it's ready to eat. Have I mentioned that I have a thing for food? ;)
Aunt Annie came into town this weekend, so of course we had to pick blueberries for her to take home. Despite the fact that we can't possibly pick all of the blueberries on our bushes, her suggestion was to plant more. She said that in all seriousness too. Like we need more. There are so many of them we're swimming in a sea of blue. And there not even all ripe yet! Levi loves them. This makes a momma very happy....except, of course, during dirty diaper time. Yuck! And, since it was HOT as hot can be we opted for outdoor air conditioning while picking. Levi finally just plopped himself in front of the fan and called it a day. Hope y'all are having a smashing summer. Oooo...guess what? It's been raining lots and lots. With that icky awful drought, we were beginning to think rain was a thing of the past. The pitter patter of rain on the tin roof just makes my day.
He's discovered the cereal box. I knew I should have hidden it better. I generally only pull these out in moments of desperation...like in the middle of church or on long car rides. But, now he wants them all the time. That and "koookies", "choco", and "chip-ssss and sa-sa" (i.e. cookies, chocolate, and chips and salsa.) I promise I don't feed him that stuff very often (well the salsa, yes, but not the chips). The other day, he was chilling in his car seat listing these favorite foods. After each one he would emphatically say "Goo!" (i.e. Good!). I rolled my eyes and said, "What is it with you and junk food?" Big mistake. Now I don't hear the end of "jun foo" . "Jun Foo Goo!" Seriously, is this just programmed into these critters?
The daylilies are blooming. Around here, daylilies are in nearly every yard. They are as common as cats, but I love them just the same. Their blossoms are gorgeous, but beyond that, you can eat them. How cool is that?! They're actually really good. You can throw them in salads or decorate a dessert with them. I've only tried the flowers, but I've heard that the entire plant, including the rhizome, is edible. Any daylily eaters out there?I should Google daylily recipes. Hmmm....
Some weeks it seems that problems just pop up left and right and nothing gets done quite when and like it's supposed to. And, then other weeks everything runs smoothly (even when it doesn't--if that makes any sense), and time is slow in a good way. And things just fall together quite nicely. This has been one of those smooth (even when its not) and good weeks. I've been busy as a bee and happy as a lark (Geez, I think I've read I'm As Quick As A Cricket ten too many times). We've gone to appointments, run loads of errands, possibly skimped on the housework (but whose counting?), gardened, worked, and, of course, played. My sister, Annie, came up for the weekend. We had a blast running errands, chatting, and playing with Levi. Saturday, we left extra early for the Farmer's Market, so we could run other errands before nap time. Being the genius that I am, I managed to lock the keys in the car which put us behind schedule by two hours while we waited for help to arrive. We still had fun though. The market was hopping, so there was plenty to look at and enjoy. Not to mention it was a gorgeous day, so how could a little thing like being locked out of the car put a damper on things?! We even managed to get all our errands run and get Levi down for his nap on time. We must have hit a time warp! That evening we went to a cookout hosted by some friends. Grilled eggplant was on the menu....Yummy!! Speaking of food, my garden is becoming quite edible and oh, so yummy! I have 11 tomato plants, and they are huge and overflowing with lovely green tomatoes. I even broke down and fried some up. Generally I steer clear of fried food. I love fried green tomatoes, though. So, I finally found some recipes and tested the waters, or should I say oils? Mmmm, mmmm, good. Some of these plants are as tall as me!! Sigh....How cute is this little munchkin???!! And, when did he start running? Seriously, people. One day he's crawling, the next he's walking, and now running. He cracks me up waddling around on those short legs. He still loves to be held and cuddled though. Makes a momma's heart just melt. Now why can't every week be this good?
Gorgeous...Yum. The first garden tomato of 2009 was transformed into this... Add some mint and oregano mixed in with a couple farmer's market tomatoes and cucumbers, and we had ourselves some serious yum. Have I ever mentioned how much I love fresh summer veggies? ;)
Levi is such a little riot. He's gotten very into stuffing his cheeks as full as he can possibly get them...with food, of course. I'm pretty good at prevention, but occasionally he gets past my radar and starts shoveling the food in faster than I can blink. And, then he's off to hide, so no one can steal it from him. Seriously, the way he acts about food you'd think we lived in a third world country...or he had 5 brothers vying for his snacks. Here he is hiding with food nearly escaping from those bulging cheeks! While we're on the topic of silly things Levi does......Who needs toys, or chairs for that matter? A good book and a basket certainly suffice. Excuse the bedhead. This was his seat of choice directly after waking up. Personally, I prefer slightly more cushioned spots for my reading adventures. But, to each his own.
Today, is Farmer's Market Day. Yay! Are y'all Farmer's Market fans like we are? In my dream world I grow enough veggies to eat year round. In reality, I grow vegetables that are still working on giving us more than one meal every so often. The Farmer's Market is the next best thing. Plus, I can get the scoop on different plants that can be grown in my neck of the woods. Speaking of things growing around here. Ahem...we finally have ourselves a tinge of red!!!! Mmmm....my mouth is watering. I lost a few bean sprouts to cutworms, so here we have some newbies adorned with cutworm prevention...paper cups sans bottoms. So far, so good. The blackberries are still red for the most part. We've had a handful of ripe ones, but I'm waiting (not so) patiently for the rest to turn. This is one instance where red is not nearly so loved. At least it's pretty. Wishing y'all a swell Saturday!
Oops! I forgot last week. Oh, well, it was bound to happen one of these fine days. This week has been full of joyful happenings. -My plants are growing fabulously as you can see here and here. No worries, I won't torture you with anymore garden photos...today. -We've had lovely, drizzly rain for a couple of days now. It's that kind of rain where the sun still shines and all the green stuff looks greener than you could possibly imagine and the world just looks happy and clean. I like that kind of rain. We don't get it very often, so it's a nice treat. Mostly we get the scary thunderstorms, tornadoes, and leftover hurricanes. -Yesterday, we took a trip to the farmer's market, one of my favorite places. It truly is a trip for us. It's about an hour and a half round trip drive--especially since Nana (or Nanno as Levi has newly dubbed her) was behind the wheel. So worth it though. The seasons first blueberries. Mine are still green, so I had to snag some of these early ones. I might possibly have nearly consumed 2 cartons of them already.And freshly shelled Lady Peas...I'm in love. They were heavenly. Notice the tense there..."were". We came home with loads of good stuff...cabbage, squash, zucchini, green onions, carrots, radishes (because I so didn't grow enough) and even some homemade hummus. When there's this much fabulous, fresh food around, I seriously dream about all the yummy dishes I'm going to make. I think about food a lot. Is that strange? Oooo...speaking of food, I need to come up with something yummy for Memorial day. Hmmmm..... Levi's been pretty congested for a couple of days now, but nothing too bad...that is until this morning. He woke up pretty miserable, so we've been chillin' out all day. And, thanks to Bek we've found a new favorite:
Levi is quite smitten with Justine, and despite his miserable state, he was bopping his head, wiggling his feet, and just grinning away. So this anti-TV mommy is now pretty smitten with YouTube. Hope y'all are having a joyful weekend. Head on over to Cool Zebras to join in on Simple Joy Sunday!
I was up until 4 am caricaturing for an all night graduation party. Then Levi woke me up at 8, so let me go ahead and apologize for any crazy grammar and probably for the photo editing. My sleep deprived eyes like it. As I was trying to harvest radishes, the bottom fell out of the sky, so I only got one before the rain drove me back in. It's pretty though, and it makes me smile. Did you know that you can eat radish leaves. I googled it, so it must be true. ;) Not sure about testing that theory on this beauty, though. Something has already been chowing down on it's greenery. Y'all have a fabulous weekend!
