Thrift finds

Doug has a wedding shoot on Saturday so we tagged along with him when he went to check out the church. After testing his lighting and such, we made our way to the most wonderful place on earth...the thrift stores!

I found this super cute vintage platter and this Wm. Rogers silverplate for .50 each!

Then I found this great kitchy afghan for two bucks:

A sweet little vintage abacus (.75) for the school room:

...and this super cool print of Pope John XXIII:

It was a steal for only three bucks, and the frame is definitely worth that much (plus, he's going to be declared a saint soon!) Don't ask me why we needed the print, I have no idea what we'll do with it. We are strangely attracted to any Catholic art we find and feel the need to "save" it from the thrift stores.
I'm off to polish my silverplate now!

Danny & Mommy cook dinner

Those were some good stuffed cabbage leaves, thanks Dan!
Can I talk you into doing the dinner dishes, too?

Menu Plan Monday

ACK! I'm a day late trying to get my weekly meal plan together. I feel quite stressed this week for some reason. I guess it's because we started back to homeschooling and I'm still trying to feel out a schedule that allows us to get everything done AND keep the household in running order. Ryan is really testing limits with us lately...and it's very mentally draining for all of us. If you can spare a prayer (or three) we'd sure appreciate it! We are still enjoying our whole foods diet. I even got JP to eat spinach and tomatoes last week - alert the media!!! Here's what I have planned this week:
Monday: We had roasted rosemary and lemon chicken with brown rice.
Tuesday: Chicken vegetable soup with chicken meatballs. I made some homemade stock with the chicken carcass from Monday night's dinner!
Wednesday: Stuffed cabbage leaves in tomato sauce. I made a double batch of brown rice on Monday and will use that with some grass fed ground round to stuff our cabbage. The whole thing will go into the crock pot to simmer all day.
Thursday: Quesadillas with black beans. I'll make some homemade whole wheat tortillas for this one!
Friday: Fish tacos. We'll use the tortillas from Thursday with some grilled tilapia and fresh pico de gallo and guacamole.
Saturday: Mac & Cheese. Not exactly NT I know! Doug works so I thought I'd indulge the kiddos. I'll use whole wheat pasta, real milk and natural cheeses....and serve with a salad - and maybe a movie!
Sunday: We'll have to see what Doug feels like grilling! It's mama's day off!

Our breakfasts are consisting of oatmeal, whole grain pancakes, bagels, and toad-in-a-hole.
Lunches are leftovers and stuffed pitas.
Snacks are lots of fruits and carrots with dip, yogurt, hot air popped popcorn, almonds/peanuts/sunflower seeds, pita chips with homemade white bean dip.
We pretty much graze all day. What else do you expect with four boys?!?!?

It is finished...

Doug and I pulled up the last of our summer garden today. We (and by 'we' I mean Doug!) pulled up the cantaloupe vines and tomato plants. We left three tomato plants that are barely hanging in there and giving us a few tomatoes daily...but the birds seem to be getting most of those! Time to let the soil rest and nourish it with the compost I've been making over the summer. We'll begin our fall garden in late September.
The other day when we went grocery shopping, I actually had to buy zucchini and cucumber...not long ago we were giving the stuff away to anyone who would take it! All I could do was shake my head and laugh at the irony!

OMG!

I was blog browsing the other day and found this INCREDIBLE bread that I just had to try: Hearty Spinach and Feta Cheese Bread. We had paninis tonight for dinner and thought this would be the perfect time to try it out.
You must, must, MUST get the spinach dry! After defrosting, I placed the spinach in a kitchen towel and twisted it to wring out the liquid. Save that liquid for the bread! It's also a little wetter dough than I am used to, but after 4 to 5 minutes of kneading, it all came together.

After the initial rising, I formed it into loaves which rose very quickly on the counter:

Resist the temptation to cut this straight out of the oven! As it cools, it steams the crust into a nice chewy texture. Check out this crumb:

It IS hearty and has a nice spinach flavor. You get a little bit of that salty feta in each bite as well. It made for the perfect panini!

The little ones didn't even realize they were eating spinach...and I'm not going to tell them!

I've waited for this day for 14 years!

How I've longed for the day that my eldest would finally learn
how to mow the grass!
Oh glorious day!

LOL!

Ice cream on a summer evening...

Man, was that good...

Look what I found this morning!

I had set our monster sunflower seed head out on the patio table to sun dry and look who I saw having his fill of it this morning! I guess it's our new birdie breakfast buffet! I love it! I have a few more out in the garden that will be giving us seeds and I think I'll string some up in the tree branches so we can see the birds feeding from our den window. I love my little red birds! And what an inexpensive way to feed them...that pack of sunflower seeds only cost me a buck!

We dodged a bullet!

Thank the Lord that tropical storm Edouard did not pack too much of a punch! Houston and the surrounding area got some much needed rain, but thankfully little to no damage was done. We were prepared for power outages and possible high winds, but didn't see any of either. Here in our neck of the woods, we didn't get any more than a sprinkle (there was a forecasted 3-6" of rain!) The day was overcast and cool with a nice breeze.
After dinner, the boys settled in for a movie...The Simpson's Movie:


Now I can't get the "Spider Pig" song out of my head!

The calm before the storm...

...and these...a double batch!

Menu Plan Monday

Another week, another meal plan!
We are starting "school" this week so my meal planning goes to another level. It is imperative that things are planned and supplies are in house so we can implement our new schedule and get off to a good start!
We are still sticking to our Nourishing Traditions way of cooking!

Monday: Stuffed peppers. Peppers from the garden stuffed with grass fed ground beef and brown rice, smothered in organic tomato sauce. It's a crock pot meal so we won't be heating up kitchen!

Tuesday: Stuffed baked potatoes. Large bakers with kefir sour cream, natural cheese, bacon, chives, and butter.....REAL butter! Served with a salad. Very easy meal for Doug to throw together since I work.

Wednesday: Spaghetti squash with homemade marinara, salad, and homemade whole wheat garlic bread.

Thursday: Roasted free range chicken with carrots and quinoa salad.

Friday: Fish and vegetables steamed in parchment packs. This is our favorite way to eat fish right now. Take a small sheet of parchment and place your fish and veggie on top. Season with herbs and lemon and fold up the edges to seal. The fish steams perfectly and is very flavorful!

Saturday: Pizza! Pizza dough made with whole wheat and topped with thinly sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil.

Sunday: Pannini sandwiches. Everyone can make their own sammies using fresh veggies and natural cheeses on homemade whole wheat bread. I may even branch out to make homemade corn chips (from Maseca) to eat up the last bit of garden salsa in the freezer.

Get your geek on!

32% Geek
Hmmm...I guess that professorship gig at MIT is out of the question!

Back to School!

We start our homeschooling year this Monday so I'm spending the weekend cleaning and purging our "school room". Over the summer, the kids have used the room for arts & crafts supplies, leisurely reading, and a general catch all for baseball gloves, tennis shoes, and toys. It's a wreck!
My plan is to feed the kids a hearty breakfast and send them out for the day. I'm going to deconstruct the bookshelves and drawers, purge and organize! When the grunt work is done, I plan to re-vamp our daily schedule, assemble notebooks, write at least two weeks of lesson plans, and our goals for the year.
It's quite a monumental task...pray for me!
I saw a Staples commercial the other day, you know the one, it's where the parents are singing, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" and I thought....how sad! Most parents can not wait for school to start so they can ship their kids off for 8+ hours a day. I listen to my friends and coworkers tell me how it's a mad rush and fight to get sleepy kids to eat, get dressed and on a bus every day. Then they continue with lamenting over time crunches with extra curricular activities, forcing in a meal, showers and bed....only to do it all again the next day.
It all sounds just horrible to me! I'm not saying it's all rainbows and sunshine around here, and I'm not saying there ARE days when I'd love to ship my kids off for a couple of hours! But I really like being around my kids all day, and I really like being there for those "ah-ha!" moments when they are learning something new. I like teaching our faith and forming their conscience, and then seeing those things lived out when they are out with their friends. I love being a homeschool family because it isn't just teaching from 9-3...it's a way of life and it encompasses our entire day. So when we have those crazy days running from baseball practices, games, and other activities we still have those moments of curling up on the couch to read a good book or deep discussions of world events or theology. It's those moments that I cherish and that I hope the kids will remember.
I learned at a very young age that life is fragile and very short...and I don't want to miss a thing!

It was a good day...

We had a nice relaxing day with Ryan and the boys as we celebrated his 14th birthday. The kids woke up to banana pancakes then we got dressed and headed out. All Ryan wanted to do was see a movie and eat out, so we headed to Sugarland. Doug and the big boys went to see the newest Mummy flick while the littles and I went to see Wall-E. After gorging ourselves on popcorn, the kids had to make a detour by the local Game Stop and then we had a nice dinner at Ryan's favorite restaurant, Kim Son.
I forgot my camera as I was rushed out the door by Doug so there are no pictures of the day's events.
But I DID take this pic of our birthday boy and his gigantic peanut butter & chocolate chip cookie "cake."

Check out John Paul in the "before" picture. ^^^

Now check him out in the "after" picture:

...Ryan didn't appreciate the bunny ears.