Hummus and these five veggies

Tuesday is Farmers Market day.

 

We waited for April all winter long and now we have been enjoying 4 weeks of fresh veggies and fruit, cage free eggs, and the best hummus you have ever had.

 The kids and I look forward to our morning adventure every Tuesday. It is the day you run into friends and acquaintances and people you haven’t seen since the start of last years winter months. Those you want to see and those you want to avoid, everyone makes their appearance. Gotta love a small town.

With three small children (relatively so) eating healthy is always on my mind and I am eager to hear and try new ways to get the kids consuming larger quantities of vegetables.

 

 My daughter has always been easy: I say “eat it”  and she says “okay”. My son is a different story altogether. I say eat it and he says “I not so hungry” when minutes earlier he was asking for food. He is easy to feed if I can circumvent his sensitive gag reflex.

I have gotten very creative with this. Visual distraction and a barrage of topics interesting to him are constantly utilized by my ever frenzied brain. It is kind of like a child who isn’t responding to his name being called but as soon as you yell “ice cream” he snaps his head toward you. I can always get Mason’s attention if I call out “Hey Buzz Lightyear”. Same as I can get him to eat avocado and other textury foods if I mix with yogurt or hummus and don’t let him smell it on the way in. The kid smells a banana from across the room and he is over gagging in the sink. It’s my cross to bear.

 

 

Often, because I teach Zumba most Tuesday nights, dinner in the evening looks like an assortment of delicious hummus, fresh tabouli and a heaping platter of cut up veggies. Kids love it (they also get pita). Husband loves it (he and I are not eating bread right now...not really his idea) and I feel really good eating it.

Try these five with hummus:

 

1. Carrots. Of course, you think hummus you think carrots or maybe pita and then carrots, either way , carrots are right up there with “go along with everything” vegetable. No surprise there.
2. Broccoli. I don’t know about you but broccoli has never been an eating raw favorite of mine, however, cut those florets into small, very small, finger morsels and dip in Hummus and you have a very under appreciated taste.
3. Cucumber. This is a veggie easy on the taste buds. If you aren’t eating these by themselves and often I would beg the question, Why? Slice them up and add them to the others as a very delicious dipping implement.
4. Cabbage. This is an unsung vegetable of fantastic qualities, not frequently eaten raw. Cut a crisp organic cabbage in long chunks and dip dip dip, the subtle spice is a wonderful additive to about any hummus blend.
5. Bell Pepper. Red ones, green ones, yellow ones and orange ones. I don’t need to sing the praises of these babies very loud, they are a champion for dipping. What color, what pizzazz, what crunchy yumminess.

My sister at Jolly little life is sending amazing pics from Punta Cana and I am here blogging about vegetables.  Well, I laugh to keep from crying.

5 item pulse check for a happier you

This week I am going to do a daily five. Random topics of my choosing in a grouping of five. I make no promises that I will be successful at an every day sequence but my intentions are such.

 

Starting out Monday with a quick pulse check on some very important entry's that may get neglected in light of their more flamboyant hybrids.

1. Water. This is just a check up on your consistency doing the basics. Figure about how much water you need and fill up the appropriate amount of bottles on the counter. Empty one and grab another and see how you’ve done by the end of the day.
   

   
2. Sun. Sun deprivation and consequently a shortage of Vitamin D is part of the reason our body has a harder time fighting off colds during the winter months. The amount of sun exposure is different for everyone depending on coloring, environment and a half dozen particulars however I just figure for myself, get out in the sun for just under the time it takes to start burning. I always protect my face with sunscreen but it is ridiculous the amount of lather people use over all their visible skin. Being in the sun is great for the psyche as well.
   

   
3. Positive outlook. Just listen to your words to check your happy meter.
   

   

   Putting a taboo on complaining to your girl friends or husband is a good place to start revamping your outlook. Start focusing on the good in your life and being verbally thankfully to the people around you.
4. Exercise. I know from serious experience that with kids the best laid plans are often for naught and sometimes you just don’t make it to the gym. On days where the schedule gets off kilter don’t underestimate the value in energetic movement.  Park in the farthest parking space from the grocery store, do squats while you are watching the kids play outside, put on a rockin’ song and just groove all your stress away. I’m sure you can think of some creative ways to burn calories and then get to the gym tomorrow.
5. Fresh food eating. Next time you go to the grocery store evaluate the contents of your cart. I try to have at least 50% of my grocery purchases be fresh, if I am seeing too many sealed bags and cans, items that have a long shelf life, I do a quick check of what our daily habits have been. Our body feels better and is healthier when we give it “life” foods.
   

   

Good Friday

When the centurion and those around him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" Matthew 27:54

Sunday's coming!

Tornado? No problem

When my husband stays with the kids for an afternoon, feeds them, gets them ready for bed and, bless his heart, tucks them nicely into bed, the usual whirlwind of pre-bed prep becomes a veritable cyclone sight, as if a tornado touched down in the middle of my living room and spread to every area within a twenty foot radius.

 

I am looking forward to the day that I can pick up the violin and play a brilliant melancholy piece like Sherlock Holmes would when words express with limited adequacy the feeling of the moment. For now, I pick up my violin in a pondering mood play a few strains of Bach’s Minuet in G, shudder slightly and put it back in its case.

 

It was just such a scene to inspire melancholy violin playing that I came home to tonight after taking the opportunity to drive down the hill and with great efficiency proceed to spend a bunch of money getting all the things necessary for a smooth running household like diapers, toilet paper, rice milk in bulk and lots and lots of tuna ( my husbands current lunch kick).

 

Now this is something I have yet to understand about myself. I left waving to my adorable three children and husband as they happily waved back because afternoons with daddy are an occasion infrequent enough to easily put mommy far from mind. I practically kicked my heels as I walked into Costco with my sister. When you are programmed through necessity to anticipate needs and wants of little people, used to finding small items in diaper bags with one hand without looking, used to reaching out your hand to cover sharp objects right before a head comes in contact with it, though you only saw the blur of movement, and the corner at a level with it, out of your peripheral, it is as though a weight has lifted when you find yourself with none but yourself or happily with another adult.

 Side note:  Ever since reading Les miserable I have been eager to write sentences that span whole paragraphs and still make sense like old Hugo does. Really the intensity of the sentence content is astounding in that book, I do not pretend to possess such talent but I will continue to expand my run on sentences with the attempts.

 

  So here I was kicking my heels, rather ungracefully I might add, but really heel kicking is not an overly graceful activity, unless you are Dick Van Dyke on Mary Poppins, who  is after all lanky and quick which must give him some special heel kicking power

 

….so one minute practically dancing and then a couple hours later what was I doing?

 

Calling my husband to check on the kids of course. Not just check on them, I wanted to hear what they ate, if they drank enough water, if they were asleep yet, if they missed me and perhaps one or twelve more questions like those, much to the chagrin of my trying to be patient husband who might have wanted to do something else. I might add the something else was definitely not cleaning up the house. Just saying.

So my five hours of freedom ended with my eager anticipation to get back home which might have led to a little lead in the foot the last few minutes of my drive. I came in, I saw it all: the dirty clothes in a heap, the dinner dishes on the table, the toys and books, the spillage on the floor and I still felt glad to be home and, here is the clincher, happy to start tidying up and preparing for the day ahead.

I even smiled when I saw the large smear of toothpaste on the bathroom counter, telling me that Mason was probably trying to butter his own toothbrush. Went in to their rooms and saw their angelic little sleeping faces. All is right with the world.

Kids….they make me laugh and make me cry, a perennial burden on my heart.

Oh happy weight.

You know you are a preachers kid when:

I am not going to lie, Sundays are an exhausting day for our family. When my husband, munchkins and I are walking out the door after a full Sunday service I'm feeling in need of lunch, coffee and a nap as soon as humanly possible.

Sundays are so special that I can't understand why more people don't go to church. Really, why not?

So, every second  Sunday of the month is breakthrough Sunday where the worship goes strong and long, and towards the end as I am pounding on the piano relentlessly hitting more wrong notes then is acceptable and singing myself a little hoarse; I feel like workout class is nothing compared to a good bit of worship. Today was just such a service; it left you feeling high on life.

 Life is full of so many downers, church should be one of the uppers... ours sure is.

In my experience over the years of being a pastors kid, I have been astounded at the negative response to that information. I guess I am one of the exceptions as a Pastors Kid, because I loved it growing up and I still do. I know this is due to the fact that my parents were the same in the home as in the church; real, imperfect, flawed and just about the most awesome people I have ever met. They never pretended like we had to be perfect or that they were and they always made serving God  and serving people fun. God bless them for that.

So maybe my dad did tell the whole church this morning that sometimes his girls like to drink a glass of wine and get a little "buzz on"; wow dad! But the man keeps it real, that's for certain.

Being involved in our church has been another absolutely rewarding commitment of time and energy. Since growing up in the church and later in my teenage years becoming the unenviable PK (as they say) church has just been something we do and that's it. Having kids of my own hasn't changed what we do. In fact, we have committed afresh to the no compromise approach to church attendance on Sundays. We are a family, we go to church as a family and have fun doing it.

My dad has long hair, the shield of faith tattooed on his arm and he had to cut the frays off his pants before church this morning. Ya, I always thought it was cool to be a Pastors daughter.

You know you are a preachers kid when:

• you don't even blush when every eye in the audience is turned on you and you didn't even hear what it was your dad at the pulpit said.
• You do worship then rush to the nursery to watch the babies then take a quick pee and back up to the front for the alter call
• Every bad thing you've ever done has been shared from the pulpit
• On a work day or a potluck or any function everyone is coming to you and looking for a job
• You can talk pray and laugh with someone while still knowing exactly what your kids are doing in the pew
• You smoke cigars outside one evening when a teenager and the whole church knows about it at the next service
• You have John 3:16 memorized in 6 different translations
• You are one of the first ten people to arrive every Sunday morning and one of the last ten people to leave
• You look forward to Sunday every week with excitement and anticipation but are so glad when it is over.
• You actually have the thought "I wonder if these jeggings are too tight"
• People come and tell you their problems in the grocery store
• You have often been an illustration in a sermon without any forewarning or consent form

Keep the faith

 

 

A must have recipe

The two things I remember about going up to Santa Maria for Thanksgiving every year are not the turkey or the stuffing or Uncle Gary's Famous Pumpkin Pie stuff (though I have instituted that in my own family tradition over Thanksgiving), but Grandma Lois' Thursday morning pancakes and her chocolate chip cookies.

As a kid we went from driving the station wagon up north to driving the suburban, from the suburban to the suburban with tent trailer and finally from the suburban with tent trailer to the motorhome (the family just kept growing).

We had some epic adventures on that road to Grandma's and always when we got there we were sure to find, in the pantry, a surplus of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. In the morning, as we lay scattered in sleeping bags across the living room floor the delicious aroma of oatmeal pancakes would waft in a tangible cloud from the kitchen to our nostrils letting us know it was time to get up.

It has been a number of years since going up north for that blessed holiday and though my daughter was yet unborn when my Grandma passed away, there is her immortalized memory weekly visited in the pancakes my children love and the stories of her and Grandma the Great up in Santa Maria.

Make them, eat them, love them.

Grandma Lois' Oatmeal Pancakes

 

1 cup oats

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

Find a nice temperature on the griddle, butter that baby up and ladle on. Butter and pure maple syrup make this just about the perfect breakfast and an outstanding comfort food as well.

Side note: whole wheat flour creates the best consistency, however, because flour is a small part of the recipe I have used whatever flours I have on hand with good results. Spelt flour, almond flour or buckwheat are solid alternatives and make a good sturdy batter. Rice flour makes a thinner batter so use a little less buttermilk. If I have no flour I just blend up some oats in my Vitamix because oats are something I never run out of. If you have ever bought a specific item at the grocery store every time you shop just to be sure you don't run out then you understand what oats are to me.

 Thank you Grandma Lois for all the memories.

Memory Lane

 

Last night I was the last to arrive at Star Bucks where my girls were already deep in the throes of coffee, chatter and pictures. My aunt just returned from, what looked like, a most memorable trip to London and Paris. Seeing those pictures gave me a mixture of emotion ranging from jealousy (in the least violent sense of the word) to longing and then to appreciation; mostly the urge to pull out some of my own memories that not yet 8 years ago were taken on many of the same corners and essentially just relive the magic.

 

Travel is one of the most intensely pleasurable things in life to experience with someone or many someone's that you just love to be with.

 

The trip I took in 2006 was one of truly epic proportions.

It all started because my two little sisters were taking a three month sabbatical from real life and seeing the great wide world. Well of course flying to Paris to meet them for a week was a natural progression for Em and I.

 

I will never forget my little sisters with little flowers in hand waiting for us as we came out of the terminal. It was a joyous and loud reunion. So started our week in Paris, just the four of us, before my husband and friend came to meet us and continue our journey to London and then Spain.

Shannon, Emily, myself and Jonni, 2nd pic from the left.

 

So for my little picture trip down memory lane I will only preface it by saying it was the last great hurrah before the kids started coming; a truly great hurrah it was.

 

Mallorca, Spain

I told Chris to pack light because of all the walking and train travel we were doing therefore it was a both ridiculous and hilarious spectacle to witness him at the train station disembarking with not only his bag but his enormous travel golf club case. We had the added bonus of the wheel on his luggage breaking making his rolling bag a dragging bag. Great times.

The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, Grounds of the Versailles Castle 

 

Our huge traveling gang in Mallorca, Spain

View from the Eiffel

View from Sacre Coure, Notre Dame

 

The Sacre Coeur and Pere Lachaise 

 

Outside the Louvre
There were days we would get a Nutella Crepe in the park and fifteen minutes later go right back for another one.

London, England

Mallorca

When you're in a slump

Talk about a blogging slump.
If I had a quarter for all the times I sat down at the computer this week to write, and ended up with a whole lot of nothing, I could probably buy coffees for all my sisters. Yes, I have writers block and block on a dozen other things as well.

Often a seeming slump in one area is less specific to that area than is reflective of ones whole life. Not naming any names but there might be a little bit of a life slump going on here.

When I feel bad about my body, guilty for not going to the gym enough, stressed about homeschooling, backed up in the laundry, sad, mad, frumpy, gloomy, impatient, unbalanced, grumpy, melancholy, dissatisfied, grumbly, mumbly and just plain glum it is pretty safe to say:
Someone has got an attitude problem and that someone might be me.

So instead of trying to fix each little area I want to recommend ten things for an attitude adjustment. Do one or all depending on the severity of the problem.
 I might have to do all ten today.

 

1. Make someone laugh. Since I am with my kids all day long, they are the crowd I perform to. They are usually easy to make laugh and I get the bonus of laughing with them.

2. Go for a jog. Just get some of those feel good endorphins pulsing through your system.

3. Put on a rocking song and dance like a maniac for a couple minutes.
 
4. Pray for ten minutes. Out loud, walking around your house, laying your hands on your kids as you go. My kids love this, especially Mason; that boy loves getting prayer.

5. Make a cup of tea and sit in the sun. Forget the incessant chores for a minute.

6. Scrap the 1500 page book you are laboring through or at any rate, put it on the shelf for a night and pick up your favorite, the one you've read 17 times and you are itching to read again because it has become so much more than just a book....it has become a safe place, an escape, a friend.

7. Smile.

 Seems easy but when you feel like a grump it takes a little disciple to do everything with a smile.

8. Put on make up and fix your hair. Sometimes just seeing a pleasant face in the mirror is enough to give your day a little boost in the right direction.

9. Go get a coffee. Take a break, load up the munchkins, go to the drive through and take your little cup of normal to a pretty spot. Put on some music and just breathe. Often I have my daughter read to us as we all mellow out in our buckles.

10. Eat chocolate. I don't recommend this one if your attitude problem involves body image but if you can limit yourself to a moderate dose (not my strong point) have at it.

So for anyone who might have an occasional attitude problem I encourage you to try my list of ten regulators. Have fun finding happy.

"Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be" -Abraham Lincoln