I am Jen...

I am Jen...

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Comfort Food

The weather has turned a bit colder and the smokey haze from the MN wildfires is clouding the air.  Emotionally, I feel like wrapping up and hiding out under the table fort with a good book & soft pillow.  Physically, I am craving comfort foods.  You know what I am talking about:  warm, chocolate chip cookies and milk, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, meatloaf and mashed potatoes...mmmmmmm

When you have 3 small kids, it is not practical to curl up under the table--unless they are with you, but then there wouldn't be much time to read and rest.  Also, if I ate all the comfort foods, I am craving, I would probably be in a coma.  So, I am experimenting...Making these meals, but trying to find healthy substitutes.  Here is one option I made this afternoon:

Tomato Soup
(Servings of Veggies--LOTS)

1 can of V-8 Juice (Low Sodium)
1.5 Cups of Milk (Whole)
1 Cup of Shredded Carrots
1/2 Cup of Shredded Zucchini
1/3 container of Cream Cheese
Fresh Basil Leaves
2 Shakes of Black Pepper
2 Shakes of Garlic Powder

Combine all the ingredients in a blender or Magic Bullet.  Blend them until the mixture is creamy.  Cook over medium heat until boiling.  Turn down to simmer for a while or until you are ready to eat.

Serve with all-natural Gold Fish Crackers and fruit.  Putting the crackers in the soup is like dunking your grilled cheese sandwich.  The kids liked it, too. 

Maybe I will MAKE some time to read and rest, too.


Friday, September 2, 2011

A little spice in life is ALWAYS good!

“Variety's the very spice of life--that gives it all its flavor.”


William Cowper

It's time to spice things up--no more boring grape jelly for me!  Dad and I created a tomato jam today that has a sweet kick to it.  I don't usually think about putting tomatoes on my toast, but it is GOOD!

Like most wonderful things in life, you don't need a lot of ingredients or time to enjoy them.  Hope you like this!


4 Cups of Cut Tomatoes (we used a combination of grape and cherry)
1 Cup of Dark Brown Sugar
1 Jalapeno Pepper (take the seeds out!) finely chopped or diced up
10 Whole Cloves
1 tsp of Cinnamon
4 T of Raspberry Liqueur
1 Whole Lime (juice and pulp)
1/2 tsp of Fresh Chopped Ginger
2 shakes of Red Pepper Flakes
2 shakes of Black Pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small pot.  Use a masher to press the tomatoes down a couple times and then cover the pot and cook on low heat.  Let everything simmer for about an hour or until it is thick and chunky.  Wash and sanitze two 1/2 Pint jars.  Pour the jam into the jars.  Put a pie pan on the bottom of another pot, fill it half way with water and then bring it to a boil.  Place the two jars in the boiling water (they should cover the jars) for 10-15 minutes.  Use a tongs to pull the jars out and cool off.  Wipe down and store.  Make some more!


Thursday, September 1, 2011

BORING!

I am lucky to have such a loving and honest spouse.  He said tonight when I told him I put together a blog, "Yah, I saw it.  I am going to have a T-Shirt made up that says, 'This T-Shirt Gets More Views Than My Wife's Blog.'  It is boring!  There is more insight in your FB posts."

And he was right.  He usually is.  He wasn't being hurtful--just honest.  His honesty helps me grow.

When a piece of my insecurity rose to the top of this conversation, I said to him, "Maybe my life is just boring and I don't really have anything extraordinary to share?" His droll response comforted.  "Maybe your blog is just boring cuz you are relaying facts instead of stories from your life."  I will chew on that in my dreams tonight.

Tomorrow is another day filled with possibilities.

More Monarchs & Musings

Here is the second Monarch Butterfly that completed its transformation process this afternoon.

While Connor was at school, Colton, Arrah and I learned about the different life stages of the Monarch Butterfly.  There are lots of great websites to use in learning about and demonstrating where a butterfly comes from.  Here is the website of one of our favorites:

http://www.monarchbutterflyusa.com/MBUSA.htm

This one is fun for smaller kids because it shows the "wiggle jiggle dance" that the caterpillar does as it grows and sheds it skin and spins its chrysalis.  My kids love the bongo-type music that plays in the background and they laugh and laugh as they try to do the same dance.  The website also has some great pictures of the transformation and migration of the Monarch Butterfly.

I drew different pictures of the stages of transformation and wrote the terms under them for Arrah to color and trace.  She got to practice her letters and words, coloring skills and then use her imagination as she colored the caterpillar and butterfly--it was not a very accurate depiction of the Monarch, but she liked it and was very proud of her work, as you can see.

Colton didn't want to color a "butterfy."  "Me want a fire engine wit a picture of Poppie in it."  So, Colty and I drew out a fire engine and spent time finding the right colors and shapes for his picture. 

I put the title, "Whoo, Whoo!  Coming through!" on it for him and Arrah then sketched in a picture of Colton riding in the back of the fire engine with Poppie.  It was lots of fun.

We also worked on the "SH" sound and different body parts this afternoon.  We cut out a SHirt, SHorts, SHoes and body parts (like a head, legs and arms) and then assembled a picture of ourselves on a big piece of construction paper using glue and crayons.

I did my best to cut out fingers on the hand for Arrah, but gave up and created mitten-like hands for Colton that I then drew fingers on.  Colty demanded, "Where my forks on my arm?  Me need forks, too."  So much for my art skills!  :)

Here is the picture of the Monarch drying his wings right before we left to pick up Connor from school.  I was so happy that Connor was enjoying his first day of school--I went to have lunch with him, but left before he saw me because he was holding a friend's hand on the way into the cafeteria and talking excitedly about what was in his lunch box.  What a day of endings and new beginnings, of learning to spread our wings and let go. 

Our 1st Day...

Today was our eldest's first day of public school, but it was ours, too.  We haven't done this before because we like doing things on our own...schooling that is.  We have been doing non-traditional homeschooling for the past three years, where we practice reading, writing, counting, coloring, spelling, etc...at home and subsidize the socializing with classes at the Y or short day classes at a private pre-school. 

We began looking at what our options were for challenging our kids past this point in January.  We investigated private schools, but decided against them because they were either affiliated with a religious organization (John doesn't want our kids "inculcated") or way out of our budget for right now. 

Then we considered the K-12 Virtual Academy (at home schooling through public schools using the standard curriculum) and completed the special enrollment process in February .  We also looked at the local schools and had our son go through testing to evaluate his academic and social preparedness. 

He just turned 6 in June and tested into the end of third grade for Reading and 2nd grade for Spelling and Math.  His Writing skills were at the 1st grade level as were his social skills. 

After reviewing all the options and meeting with teachers from all of the options, we settled on the local public school.  We were impressed with their willingness to work with us and Connor to keep him challenged while still helping him acclimate and learn important socialization skills that he would have missed out on if we continued to school at home.

This doesn't mean that he stops learning at home, it just means that he has additional resources with which to work and grow. 

John took off this morning so we could both take him to his first day.  I was excited but nervous.  He ran ahead of us down the sidewalk toward the school and didn't look back.  I was so happy he was exhibiting a strong sense of independence--we have been working on this all summer--but part of me wanted to call him back so I could hold him close and not let go.  This is where I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, smiling proudly as he continued on in front of us.  I need to get used to this view.

Monarch Madness

"He's dead--you killed him.  His shell is turning black!"
For the past three years, my aunt, the kids and I have gone out during the heat of summer to scour milkweek plants.  We look diligently for caterpillars we can place in a "Butterfly Jar" (a clear plastic home constructed out of a large, re-used pretzel jar, some mesh screen, a few sticks and lots of fresh milkweed leaves) so that we can observe their transformation process.

Usually, it is Aunt Annie who finds the caterpillars for us--we don't seem to have a lot of luck.  We find TONS of chewed upon leaves, but that is about all.  This year, Annie found the first one and the kids and I fed him every day for about a week until he climbed onto the top of the container and hung upside down in a "J" shape to spin his chrysalis.  Then, about a week later, while we were at Aunt Annie and Uncle Tom's house, we found a chrysalis attached to a day lily leaf.  We took this home and put it in a jar, too.

Yesterday, Arrah ran down the stairs to check on the "butterflies," and then ran back up yelling, "The butterfly is going to be born!  Hurry and come see, Mama!  His quisawis is turning black."

We all hurried down the stairs and, sure enough, the one that was hanging on the dried day lily leaf had begun transforming.  The picture above is of this AMAZING process--you can see the bits of deep orange in the undertone of the black papery shell of what used to be a glossy apple green chrysalis.  The only thing that is the same is the golden jeweled zipper all around the top of the chrysalis.

My dad came in from outside and said, "He's dead--you killed him.  His shell is turning black."  I hollered in that he wasn't dead, but he insisted I was wrong until he took the butterfly home and gazed at it under the kitchen island light.  That was when he saw the orange and black design of the wings shining through.  He said, "Wow!"

Throughout the day, we kept checking back to see if anything had changed.  Most of the time, the shell just continued to deepen its orange and black patterned hue. 

However, while we were in the addition eating warm zucchini banana bread, the butterfly slowly emerged from the chrysalis.  Here is a picture of the soft, wet wings that are just beginning to open after he emerged.

I had to tip the plastic jar on the side to get the picture so it is a little blurry, but I thought the colors were spectacular.  It took this butterfly a bit longer to pump and fill his wings so he could spread them wide and let them dry off.

His step was a bit tentative and his wire-thin legs wobbly and unsure as he grasped the edges of the dried day lily leaf. 

After a while, I pulled the leaf out and put it on the surface of the counter so he could stand and slowly let his wings open and close.  He fell to the side a number of times, so I put my finger down and encouraged him to cling to that instead.

John took this picture of me holding him and encouraging him to climb onto my finger.  Isn't it just incredible?!

I had to go teach class, so John held him on his finger and shirt while he gained confidence--opening and closing his wings more confidently.

The kids and John set him free after dinner--well, most of the kids.  Colton refused to put his pants and pull-up on again so he had to stay inside. 

Like the butterfly we set free last summer, this one, too, flew to the leaves of the old apple tree behind the house and sat there for a long time before lifting off onto a light breeze and floating away.

We are hoping the second one will emerge this afternoon.  I will keep you posted with more pictures of this process.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Too Ripe Bananas...


I am not a fan of eating ripe bananas unless they are the base for some type of bread.
My kids eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.  However, sometimes they eat the apples, oranges, watermelon and mangoes before the bananas and we wind up with a few overripe ones that linger in the fruit bowl.  When this happens, I usually decide to make banana bread, but with a little twist.  It is always more fun to add in some other interesting fruit or vegetable to create a moist and tasty treat for the family.  One of my favorites, is zucchini.  I ADORE this time of year, when the zucchinis and tomatoes are coming in faster than you can consume them.  The kids get a kick out of "mushing" the bananas and mixing the ingredients together and it is a wonderful exercise for all involved:  It teaches the kids to follow directions and it gives me the opportunity to practice my patience.   

I found this easy and delicious recipe on line at www.atasteofhome.com.  I added a bit more flour, cut down on the sugar, used a dash of Kahlua instead of the banana extract (I already had the Kahlua and didn't want to waste money, gas or time to go to the store), and substituted dried dates instead of the walnuts (I try to use recipes that I can have the kids take to school for a healthy snack).  Try it out and experiment with the ingredients to make some great goodies for your family and you!  The 3 loaves we made this afternoon were gone before 10PM tonight so I guess we will have to make more tomorrow.  Have fun and enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup mashed ripe bananas
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon banana extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup shredded zucchini
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

  • In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the egg, bananas, oil and extracts. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini and walnuts.
  • Transfer to three 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 3 mini loaves (6 slices each).

Racing wildly...

"The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for."

Allan K. Chalmers

I loved this picture of the nuns riding tricycles and smiling happily into the camera--it reminded me of a recent adventure with my sons.

While my daughter slept, the boys and I had tricycle races down the hill at our farm. We laughed and whooped loudly as we raced down the hill and then turned and ran back up again to see if we could go further and faster each time.

I had the grand idea of bungee-cording the bikes together and then speeding down the hill like a run-away train, but when we tried it, it didn't work out quite as I planned.

I think I forgot to calculate the extra weight of my youngest on the seat with me and the pressure of flying over large rocks as we sped into the little gully at the way bottom of the hill. Unfortunately, for our fun, the front tire went flying out under us as we rolled into a pile.

Still laughing and feeling grateful that no one was hurt, we climbed up the hill, carrying the pieces of our trike train behind us. My eldest talked about it all afternoon--how great it was and that we should create a track and find a stronger tricycle. It was memorable for such a simple act.

We are working on a butterfly project today--what are you doing?

I hope whatever it is, that it makes you laugh and creates a memory about which you can tell a marvelous story. Do something you LOVE and let your dreams spiral out of that passion and joy--racing wildly ahead of you and with an abandonment that you see in the young and young at heart.

The Trike Train

Here is the Trike Train Engine I broke this week.    RIP, old motorcycle.  Dang--that thing was a LOT of fun!  I think my grandfather brought it home from a job in Milwaukee at least 16 years ago.  My sitting bones don't fit inside the Tonka Dump Trucks the kids use to race downhill so I will have to either fix this oldie but goodie, lose a heck of a lot of weight or find another abandonded toy somewhere.  I LOVE this picture because you can see the Fred Flinstone car in the background that we also use for racing down the hill--my best friend passed it along to us after her boys outgrew it and now my kids are STILL ramming around in it.  It is so much more fun playing with donated toys or ones you get from St. Vinnies for $1.99!  Not only is it easy on your wallet, but it also means no more PACKAGING that has to be recycled or end up in a landfill somewhere.  Save planetary resources--buy used!