Friesencold

This was Cash’s hair after his nap one day recently. And this is Cash’s new weapon of choice (remember the ax?)

Today is a beautiful day. I think it’s supposed to be stormy later, but we were able to get our garden planted while the sun is shining. Or should I say, TJ and Bauer were able to get it planted. Cash was just messing around, and I signed up for weed duty so I took the time off. I also took pictures.

TJ finished up the planting while the boys ate their lunch nearby at their new used kiddie picnic table.

2 Tablespoons of the tiniest little alfalfa seeds turned into this, a big ole’ plate of alfalfa sprouts!

The buckwheat groats didn’t bulk up quite as much, due to the seeds being larger (and hence, less of them) to begin with.

I had to dump the sunflower seeds because they weren’t sprouting the way I thought they should and I was also worried they might be spoiling due to me not being able to get all the skins removed from the soaking water (that is what my instructions said to do).

The sprouted wheat berries didn’t have enough Wow Factor to dump them on a plate and snap a picture, but here’s my line-up in the fridge. This is after being sprouted from 10pm Tuesday night to 3pm Thursday afternoon, so what’s that? Not quite 47 hours.

From left to right, it’s alfalfa sprouts, buckwheat sprouts, and wheat sprouts or sprouted wheat berries – however you say that one.

Today for lunch I fixed myself a few pita pockets filled with shredded and chopped veggies and then overflowing with sprouts. They were just great!

This was just my first plate. I ate three more halves after this!

I spread hummus inside each pita first, then added shredded carrot and zucchini, followed by chopped cucumber and red pepper, and topped with the sprouts. I felt so cool eating my work!

If you haven’t already, please take a look at my friend Rachel’s cool idea! Today’s her Virtual Grand Opening.

And today’s also 4-7 in case you didn’t notice!

Now please take a look at one of my ideas: learning how to sprout!

From left to right, there’s alfalfa, buckwheat groats, sunflower seeds, and red wheat berries.

First I printed a few different articles on sprouting from the internet. I read them over a period of time, highlighted the important parts, made a list of what to get on my freakin’ awesome iPhone (as TJ would say), and then gathered all the supplies. That whole process took me at least a month!

Finally, yesterday, Bauer helped me get started. We measured 2T of each type of seed, put them into quart jars, secured nylon tulle over the top with rubberbands, and added 1 cup of water to each jar to let the seeds soak.

Then last night, I drained the water, rinsed the seeds through the tulle, and drained them again. I found a bowl to prop each jar in upside down so any additional water can drain out.

Now I am supposed to rinse the seeds twice daily and wait for the sprouts to grow. The ones I am doing take 1-1.5 days, so it’s pretty quick. I have already begun to see little sprouts growing, so I guess I did something right.

Next thing for you to take a look at are these beautiful flowers TJ and Bauer got me for Easter. The big ones are Alstroemeria, which are the kind of flowers TJ and I had at our wedding, and the little ones are Daffodils. They are both from Trader Joe’s, which has a great selection of flowers and plants, not to mention hummus, nut butters, soups, and frozen fruit.

For Easter, TJ also got me the newest Anne Lamott novel called Imperfect Birds. It will be my first e-book to read since we now have an iPad to read it on. I heart Anne Lamott and birds. TJ hearts the iPad.

Ever since Bauer lost his first tooth a few weeks ago, he now smiles with an underbite, as shown in the above picture. I have tried to get him to smile “normally,” but he says this is normal.

What is not normal is that it took me 150 pages to get into the book I am reading. I was just about to give up on The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, which I’m sure I’ve been reading (or not reading) for at least 2 weeks. I just couldn’t get into the story for some reason. I slowly kept at it after my mom told me it was one of my aunt’s all-time favorite books (and I know she’s a reader so I didn’t take that comment lightly). Finally, last night, when I was truly considering putting it away for something else, the tide turned and I read 60 pages before bed. I won’t say just what happened in the book to really get me into the story because that would give it away, but now I am really excited to finish the book.

Last thing for today is a picture of this Pomegranate Muesli that I had for breakfast this morning. Recipe to follow tomorrow!

Arm-bow is what Bauer called his elbow the other day.

Bounty Basic paper towels are one of my new favorite products. We used to use the regular Bounty, but the Basics work just as well for what I use them for, and they are of course cheaper.

Cash is adorable. Check out the whole photo album here.

Did you think I forgot Bauer? He is big-kid adorable. Here he is, so excited about his sprinkler pool, dolphin, and beach ball he snagged at a garage sale last Friday.

Edamame and shiitake mushrooms were in the dish I cooked for dinner last night. I will post that recipe next time.

Flaxseed is 1-2 Tablespoons for our smoothies (This is to answer Rebecca’s question, or just click on Recipes from the list of tags on the right side of the blog and look for the exact smoothie recipes there).

Glasses and mazes are still a part of Bauer’s day for 20 minutes every day to help correct the amblyopia. We bought some new eye patches recently, and TJ is so good at keeping Bauer’s maze notebook replenished with new printouts.

“Has anybody seen my mouse? I opened his box for half a minute, just to make sure he was really in it.” These are the opening lines of one of Bauer’s favorite poems from A.A. Milne’s When We Were Very Young.

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) is the verse we are currently learning with Bauer. We haven’t been as consistent practicing his verses lately, but that’s the thrill of hiding God’s Word in our hearts. Once it’s there, it’s there. He still remembers A, B, and C flawlessly. He needs a little help at times on D, E, F, G, and H, but once we get him started, we’re always amazed at how well he remembers them.

Just one more month till I turn 30! Living the dream, baby.

Kale, organic, is what I plan to steam and puree and freeze in ice cube trays for Cash next. I also plan to find a way for Bauer (and us) to eat it.

Lettuce is what we have picked and eaten from our garden so far.

Mr. Deeds is the movie that TJ and I are still not done watching, but we love it when we can find a few minutes to spare.

North Myrtle Beach, here we come!

Ocean Drive, to be exact. Going to see my family at the beach for a few days.

Posts on Money-Saving Mom are fun to read!

Questions all the time are what I get from Bauer. Especially questions about the pictures in the books we read together.

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman is the book TJ and I are reading/discussing together. It is very good. And tons of stuff that I need to hear (and do).

Starbucks Decaf Soy Latte is a little treat I got for myself this morning when I had a babysitter watching the kids so I could go to my doctor’s appointment.

Tea Time for the Traditionally-Built is the latest Alexander McCall Smith book, which I just finished reading. I heart Mma Ramotswe.

Undies dry for one week of naps for Bauer earned him an hour of games at Chuck E. Cheese. I used to think I could never take Bauer to Chuck E. Cheese because TJ read about the germies galore. But we attended a birthday party there earlier this year and Bauer absolutely loved it. (What kid wouldn’t?) On our way there this week, I told him that while we were there, no hands in the mouth or eyes, and then he made sure to add “or eyebrows.”

VBS starts for Bauer next week. And TJ is volunteering to help with the music on 2 days. I dig that.

Whole Foods veggie pizza is what we had for dinner tonight. $8.99 Wednesday special, and only $1.00 more to add spinach!

X is what Cash keeps doing to books. He ripped three pages out of one of my favorite books of Bauer’s:  Cookies by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

Yellow No. 10 is in my favorite Listerine toothpaste, TJ pointed out to me a couple nights ago. Now I’m trying to start liking the more natural toothpastes. I’ve tried them in the past, but felt they didn’t freshen my mouth like the Listerine. Now I’m feeling like I don’t want to be a victim of whatever Blue No. 5 and Yellow No. 10 do to you.

Zzzzzs is what TJ and I need more of, if only the little critter in our room would sleep past 5:30 a.m.

We got our garden planted on Monday afternoon. TJ and Bauer did all the work. Cash and I just watched.

We bought 3 tomato plants at The Green Earth Fair, and our avid-gardener friends Tom and Hannah have offered to give us 2 of their heirloom tomato plants. Bauer is holding the extra spot for now.

This was Bauer’s first attempt at “thumbs up” to planting our garden!

And this was after a little instruction on how to do it.

I give thumbs up to my new Ergo Baby Carrier. My friend Hannah told all about her use of the Ergo carrier on her blog a while back and I was inspired to try one. I was really feeling the need for a way to haul Cash around this spring and summer now that we want to be outside more. I feel bad making him sit in the carseat carrier in the stroller all the time and it’s hard to just carry him on my hip because my hands aren’t free to do other things. The Ergo seems like it’s going to be great.

Cash likes it too!

Cash also likes his hand-me-down Jeep walker from Bauer. And Bauer?

He must be quite the entertainer for how big that smile on Cash’s face is.