Monday is now renamed ZucchinDay (Zoo Kin Day)!

I have been so busy in the kitchen! I made zuke/choco chip muffins, zuke brownies and broccoli cheese soup (w/zuke!). Here's a pic of the soup - I hadn't added the cheese yet.

I also cut some fabric squares for another project I've been working on...soft flannel =) Don't get too excited, it's not for you, it's for me! Let's see, what else? I have so many plans of things to make on Mondays! There will be more to come!

Handmade

Last year I attempted to make a bunch of Christmas gifts and I will admit to not finishing them all! I hope to get them completed for this year (and those that didn't get some will get extra =)!) but I also hope to shop around for a few things that are handmade by others. I'm spreading the word - I found the 'button' to promote this idea on CrunchyChicken's blog. Are you going to be making any gifts this year? Any ideas of what you are going to make? Any thoughts about where you could find handmade goods to buy? (Besides etsy.com of course...) I'm always looking for ideas!

Consider this...

I just read an inspiring blog post from Tree Hugging Family's Jenny. Please take a moment and go read it...go on...I'll wait...

To me, the best part was the last number. So many people think they shouldn't bother doing anything 'green' b/c it isn't worth their effort. I disagree. I could give the whole, "If everyone did one small thing..." speech but that's old, right? Honestly, I think if you actually read what Jenny wrote, it should motivate you to do something, anything, to take action. Even if you just recycle your toilet paper tubes or give up the store bought bottled water. Me? I'm cooking up (sort of literally and sort of not literally!) all sorts of new ways to cut down on disposables and reduce waste in general. I'm feeling ready for a few new challenges! I am always grateful for people who are willing to talk about this topic and not judge. Our reasons for doing things like this might be different but inspiration can come from anywhere! I'll put the soapbox away now, I promise =)

Workout Wednesday (better know as bike your butt off!)

Today I let DW take the van and biked the kids to and from school. Two roundtrips = 8.4 miles! For Fabi, this is her 2nd time in the Burley trailer and she seems to love it. Thank goodness! She and Mo don't fight as much as Mo and Ayden did. That's not to say that they don't fight at all =) They're still siblings. The weather today was a bit unexpected - after a while of 75-80* temps and pure sunshine, it's cloudy and breezy. Like a real fall day! Hey, I can't complain, the laundry dries in both types of weather! I did write a little about today's workout on the other blog but not much. I didn't write about what I made this Monday b/c it is still a work in progress...but I will brag about my breakfast making skills! Today I managed to whip up some Wilke egg muffins in about 5 mins - totally surprising my hubby! He said, "Don't bother, there won't be time." But in the time it took him to comb his hair (*snicker*) I had one done! I need a breakfast super hero cape! I am so glad it's fall - my attitude has been improving greatly and I don't know why but I feel like I'm getting more done around here...that's a workout in of itself!

Quitting cold turkey!

I have talked about it for a while. I have managed to quit for 2 days at a time or something, but I always go back. I have tried a bunch of stuff. This time I am determined to make it stick and it's almost been a week! I guess I should revise that statement. I am determined, yes, but I'm also lazy. When I ran out, I just didn't allow myself to go out and get more. Everyone else didn't seem to notice so far...

Sounds like I smoke, right? But that's not it =) I'm talking about boxed cereal! I keep meaning to try and make more breakfasts from scratch - I have talked about it a lot here - but there's no 12 step program, you know what I mean? So yeah, we ran out and I just didn't buy anymore! So far we've had french toast, oatmeal, pancakes, bagels, eggs and donuts. Yeah, that's not really healthy but I'm being honest here! They were applesauce donuts - does that count for something? I think I'm going to be adventurous this week and try to get my boys to eat some millet cereal...w/fresh blueberries! We'll see if they'll go for it. I need to make some more granola b/c I know they like that. We have egg muffins on the menu too. I plan to make muffins of a few flavors today too so that should help. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but if we make it 2 weeks, I'll be happy! I have my beefs against boxed cereal but if everyone else can handle it, maybe we could go back to having it once or twice a week. I'll keep you posted!

What would you like to dress up as this year?

I have been enjoying conversations w/my 4yo boy lately!

"What would you like to dress up as this year?"

"A witch."

"Really?! Why?"

"I thought it would be fun." (Hiding my grin - where did he get this idea? Stupid media! Oh wait, we don't say that word.)

"What else?"

"A piece of ice."

(Now how would I make that???)

"And I'd like to be sledding in the snow."

(Now there's something I could do!!! It's usually nasty cold here anyway, so a snowsuit would work! Hang a sled over your shoulder, get some fuzzy white stuff stuck on you and you're done!)

"What else can you think of?"

"That's all."

"Can you think of something else that's cool or fun?"

"A lion and a tiger."

"At the same time?"

"Yeah, both!"

(So my kid is going to be a liger this year...HAHAHA - have you seen Napolean Dynamite? Now I'm just laughing! Do you think anyone else would get it? It's kind of obscure...! We'll see...)

Either way you slice it, talking to this kid is fun. I remember that 4 and 5 is most definitely my favorite age. I remember why. =) And I am grateful I survived the other years to get here!

Bringing in the harvest!

Even though I wasn't sure if they were ready (they were pushing up out of the dirt!),

Moses and I decided to harvest the carrots from the box in our backyard.

Moses had so much fun popping the tops off and then washing them!

This is such a fun age when he asks questions, gets involved and can actually do most of the work on his own =)

Diversion.

I don't want to talk about the feeding team right now. I know you are looking for a Fabi update but it's not here. I did want to say that I just joined a Ditch the Disposables challenge. We are doing extremely well (at least according to the Crunchy Domestic Goddess' list!) but I found some areas where we could improve. We throw away so many plastic straws after a smoothie!! I'm looking into stainless steel ones that can go into the dishwasher. Are there any disposables you can phase out of your life?? Take a look at CDG's list and if you are ready, take the challenge! Let me know too - I love hearing people's thoughts...thanks!

Unleashing my secret farm girl!

I harvested some quinoa today! If you know anything about that process and think I

did it wrong, by all means, leave a comment and tell me what to do!! I kind of made up the method. In my head it's going great, you know, but I think I can see a few problems w/it. For what it's worth, here is what I did...First I made sure the heads were reddish brown.

I cut the stalks and peeled off some of the lower leaves. I laid out some cheesecloth and piled it on...

...and then I just wrapped it up.

I'm hoping to hang it in the garage, but I think another layer or 2 of cheesecloth wouldn't hurt. I originally was going to put plastic bags over it to catch it, but I'm thinking it won't breathe as easily then. Seeing as how this plant was my 'wild card' in the garden this year, it's doing amazingly well. Or at least I think so! Look for another garden post soon...I have learned so much! For example - quinoa should have a box of it's own...

In other news - firsts!

Tomorrow I am going to the children's hospital to meet w/a feeding team. Since Fabi has an Ng tube in her nose and refuses to feed herself, she is scheduled to meet w/a GI dr, a behavioral therapist, a pediatrician, etc....for hours. They say 2, but people who have been to them say longer! Needless to say, this is a first for me. I am not looking forward to it. I am, but I'm not. I want to learn more about what's going on w/our girl and how we can help to get her back on track, but I really don't want to sit through hours of them analyzing her and trying to make her eat. Would you please pray for us? I know we're both going to be exhausted afterwards!! I am really grateful that my MIL is willing to come down w/Moses and take him to the zoo while Fabi and I are at the appointment. Things like this make me feel so grown up...! It's not like that movie - Adventures in Babysitting. Did you ever see that movie?? All I can remember right now is when the kids take the dishes up on the roof and use the plates for trap shooting...then the one guy goes, "Dishes are done, dude!" Or something like that! Well, I now that what Fabi and will be going through will be nothing compared to some people. A friend's mom is having brain surgery today (I can relate all too well) and one of my parents' friends is beginning a new treatment for cancer today. There are worse things we could be going through. My grandpa always comments, "You think you got it bad, 'til ya look at the next guy. He could be in worse shape den (than) you." (Do I have that right, Mom?) I will write an update, maybe not tomorrow, but soon. I am looking forward to getting some concrete goals and steps to achieve them. Thank you for your prayers!

Make something!

I have decided that since today is the first day of school, I would make an attempt to get back into the routine of writing certain things on certain days. If you recall, I used to post about something I made on Monday and then what kind of workout we did on Wednesday. Fridays were activity days. Hopefully I can use the Mondays to make new recipes or sewing projects or something. I would really like to start using the gym at the local high school soon so I might talk about that on Wednesdays. Fridays this year will be different since Mo will be in school! But Fabi and I can go places...she could use some mommy and me time =)

For my first Make It Monday post - QUICHE!!! I know I've posted about this before, but we always marvel at how much we love it. This time I used my new food proces

sor to chop up onions, garlic, tomatoes and green peppers. I threw in some ham and cheese. TASTIER THAN EVER was the result!

I am finding that the cook time of 35-40 minutes is not enough. Which really stinks, b/c I always start it saying we'll eat in less than an hour, but we don't. And one of these days I promise I will try a homemade crust! I have been really trying to keep at least 2 meals a week super cheap and this one was it. The crust was $2, there were 4 eggs and the veggies (except the garlic) were free (DW disagrees, we paid for the dirt and the seed, but BAH!) from the garden! I guess the cheese was at least $2 worth or something, but I think the whole thing would be less than $10, right? Cheap. Good. Better than good taste-wise! The other day we had cheap noodles, expensive sauce, cheap beef and beans. Everyone devoured it! Again, there was a huge pot and it was easily less than $10!! One bonus to making stuff like this is that Mo loves to help. He gets all excited to use the food processor (manly motor!) and is the official stirrer and pourer. I think it's good for him to see what goes into the food and how it's done. We forgot our aprons last night though! We'll have to work on that...