Summer

Tasty Tuesday - Sunshine Soup

I have discovered that I can get my kids to eat vegetables if I make soup and blend it all till it's nice and smooth. Needless to say, we've been eating a lot of pureed veggies this summer.

This soup is my current favorite. We call it "Sunshine Soup" because of it's cheerful orange color. And because there's no way my three-year old would eat "summer vegetable soup".

At least once a week we have a soup meal, and I try to get a no-meat meal once a week as well - this one does double duty. I always make some sort of bread to go with it, and that's plenty for us, but you could add a little browned Italian Sausage or chicken to this if you just really had to have meat. Just don't leave out the feta cheese - it really makes this soup!

Sunshine Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, minced
1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 pound carrots (don't bother peeling, just chunk up)
1 red sweet pepper seeds removed, sliced
6 cups chicken stock (or water)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground Pepper


Warm the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and sauté the onion and carrot until the onion is translucent. Add the potatoes, sweet pepper and chicken stock (or water). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Puree soup until smooth with an immersion blender, or remove to a food processor/blender. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
To serve, ladle into bowls and sprinkle with the feta cheese. 
 
Adapted From this website

Rug Rats

Everything You Never Wanted to Know...

...About Cloth Diapers

I have been using cloth diapers for only a few months.
I'd like to point out that this does not make me, in any way, a cloth diapering expert.

I tend to become obsessed with things when I get an idea in my head and I tend to research them like crazy – like when I decided I was going to get a cat in college and I checked out 20 books from the library, learned everything I could about keeping a cat, and then never actually got a cat.

We tried cloth diapers for a day (literally) when Lily was about 18 months old. I did very little research and my heart wasn’t really into it – I was overwhelmed by all the options! Just try Googling it, and you will see that there is a whole “cloth diapering” lingo out there that is a hurdle in itself!

But several months ago I got a new resolve, and decided I was sick and tired of paying for pull-ups for Lily (who is very much potty trained, but based on her parents will probably be wetting the bed till she goes to college). So I started looking for options for bed-wetting solutions in cloth. That led to realizing I should be using reusable swim diapers, ‘cuz that’s pretty much a no-brainer… it’s not like the disposable kind actually hold anything. And then, that little inkling to try to go to full-fledged cloth diapers turned into a reality.

After lots of research, and a little trial and error, we started using Softbums brand of cloth diapers – and never looked back. (And if you’re really interested, they have a GREAT PDF book on their website all about using cloth diapers and getting started.) For Lily we settled on using a pull-up style diaper with a pocket to stuff with an absorbent liner. But, the Softbums are so adjustable in size that Lily can wear Violet’s diapers if I’m slacking on the laundry.

Cloth Diaper Myth: They are hard to change/ fold/ pin

Truth: My Softbums are super easy to use and change! They are Velcro tabs, and look just like a big fluffy disposable. When I leave Vi with family/friends I usually still give them the option of the disposable diaper, but the cloth ones are just as simple as a regular disposable. They have an easy little snap in liner that I switch in and out after I change her.

Cloth Diaper Myth: You have to wash them out in the toilet.

Truth: That's just gross. I just keep a cute little wet-bag in the diaper bag to put the dirty diapers in while we are out and about. When I get home I dump that wet-bag into my larger hanging wet-bag on a door knob. When they are time to wash I just dump the dirty liners in and the covers if they get dirty or after about three uses.

And when she poops? We just walk over to the toilet, shake the poopy into it, and flush. Yep, that’s all. No big deal. Dirty dipe goes into the wet-bag.

Cloth Diaper Myth: You have so much extra laundry to do!

Truth: Every other day I wash the dirty diapers. That means I do about 3-4 extra loads of laundry a week. For me, that’s no big deal. I do so much laundry that my wash runs every day anyway. I didn’t even notice it. (I could go longer if I had more diapers, but I have seven covers and about 18 liners and that keeps me comfortable with our laundry situation.)

I just dump the whole load (including the wet-bags) into the washer and wash it once on cold, with and extra rinse. Then a second wash on hot, with soap (you do have to use a free-and-clear type detergent with cloth) and an extra rinse. Then dry. I hang dry the covers, but I sometimes dry them in the machine if I’m in a hurry. Easy as pie. (I really love the Softbums too, because I don’t have to stuff liners into pocket diapers.)

So, why are we using cloth diapers? Well, I have a list as long as my arm – you know, save the environment from all the waste and landfills, and all – and there’s that money thing. (We discovered that at 3 years old, we had spent about $1500 on Lily’s diapers alone – not including swim diapers and the future years she’ll be in a pull-up every night. Or factoring the year+ we put Vi in disposables. My investment into Softbums cost me about $300 - including wet-bags - and they are one-size-fits all and will last through multiple kids.) I’m only wishing I had done this a LOT sooner.

The thing that really got me, and has always bothered me the most about disposable diapers are the chemicals and junk in the diapers that are sitting on my babies’ skin. Have you ever seen that junk that comes out of the inside of a disposable diaper if it gets too wet?

I don’t pretend to have any facts or knowledge on this… Google it and you’ll find a million reports of conflicting information. I just know my gut doesn’t feel good about the chemicals they use to make diapers super-extra-absorbent. And I don’t like that there’s very little research on the effect of those chemicals in diapers. My gut thinks there’s a reason that so many of my friends/peers are having so many problems conceiving. And I think it might not be a coincidence that many of those experiencing the infertility problems were born in the late 70’s to early 80’s - some of the first full-time disposable diaper-wearing generations.

But, I do feel good about organic bamboo against my babies’ skin. And that makes a few extra loads of laundry an easy choice. Saving money is an added bonus.

Tiny Dancer

Lily's first recital was June 4th. It was a BIG hit. She was in a tap number, a ballet and got a medal at the finale.

She loves to dance, and is so happy to be on stage. No actual dancing pictures, though - I spent the recital backstage, and didn't take pictures from the wings. We have some great video of it though... might possibly get it loaded up here one day, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Still Here!

I got a rash tonight at bookclub about not posting anymore... but to tell the truth, I've been avoiding the Internet all-together.

I'm going to give it my BEST effort to get back to keeping up with the blog. Here's a quick recap of what's been going on in our lives, and I'll try my best to get some posts elaborating on the major ones:

We had a super-fun camping trip with these friends, these friends, and these friends. Hoping it will become and annual event.

We have had ANOTHER flood of our house since the first flood... this time was WAY worse. That day we got the basement full to the brim. So, that's been keeping things pretty buys around here. Working on some major house renovations and regrading our entire yard. J goes to work all day, then comes home and works all night.

Lily had her very first dance recital. It was awesome. SO CUTE.

Lily played soccer for about 2 weeks. Two practices and one game... that was all she was up for. After that she decided her feet were tired and her ball "moved too slow."

We also gave swimming lessons for Lily a shot. That too was less-than successful.

We do ALL love swimming though! Justin's parent's got a pool that we've been loving this summer, and my parent's just started putting one in this week!

Violet is 18 months old now! She's a super busy girl. Cares nothing for sitting still, TV, or eating. But loves doing ANYTHING her big sister does, her blankie and her shoes!

Around the time of our first flood (Easter) I started cloth diapering. Yup. I went off. the. deep. end. And I'm really enjoying it. We still have to use disposables when she has diaper rash, or when it floods and we loose our water softener... but otherwise, we're cloth and I'm not planning on going back.

The girls and I have lots of short trips here and there planned all summer long. Two weeks ago we went to Cincinnati to visit Aunt Jamie and the zoo and had a great time. Coming up we're planning on visiting my grandpa in Mississippi, and taking a couple long family weekends camping and cabin-ing.

Here are a few of the soccer pics we got from that brief stint:

Yes, there are lots more events that have happened in the months since I last posted. But, I'd say those are some of the high (and low) points. Here's to hoping I manage to get back on again this week.

Happy Earth Day!

In the midst of all the chaos, we still managed to plant a tree in honor of earth day last week. :)

House of Water

Remember last Tuesday night when we had thunderstorm warnings and flash flooding across central Indiana?

This is what we woke up to Wednesday morning...

 (love how the rocking horse is floating)

And when the water was all finally drained... the aftermath:

And it didn't just stop in the basement. Since our first level is sunken, we had water back-up there too. I just got this new carpet in NOVEMBER. All GONE. Craft room/office carpet was lost too.

Total damage:

1300 sf carpet & pad

TV stand

vacuum cleaner

baby swing

bouncy seat

bassinet

futon & mattress

oil painting

end table

whole house humidifier

closet doors

ALL our architecture & engineering books from college, & notes

my entire stash of wrapping paper, bags & tissue

lots of Christmas decorations

All GONE.

I have washed & dried, folded and put away TWELVE tubs of baby & maternity clothes, that *thank goodness* have been saved. And we have managed to dry out the majority of the Christmas/holiday decorations that we store in the basement.

And oh yeah, Justin's car won't start either.

It's been an awesome week.

Tasty Tuesday - Pizza/Pasta Sauce

This is our current favorite pizza sauce & my absolute go-to pasta sauce for quick and easy.

When I make a batch, I can divide it up and freeze it, and make enough for three pizzas. Unless we start using it for dipping... and then it only makes about two pizzas.

It's also wonderful, because now I keep all the ingredients on-hand and you just can't beat it for simplicity. It doesn't sound like much, but trust me, once you try it, you won't want to go back!!

The orginal recipe is from 101 Cookbooks, here's my version - it's only slightly tweaked.

Five Minute Tomato Sauce



1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
1 (28 oz.) can crushed red tomatoes (try to get ones without anything added to them if you can, if they have salt added, go easy on the sea salt)
zest of one lemon


Combine the olive oil, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and garlic in a cold saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat, until it begins to sizzle and smell good. You just want to infuse the oil, but don’t brown the garlic.


Stir in the tomatoes and heat to a gentle simmer. Add the lemon zest, stir to combine.


Taste.

If it’s a little bitter, add about 1 teaspoon of sugar or adjust the salt. Sometimes I also add some fresh basil or a little Italian seasoning if I’m feeling like it needs it. Just don’t leave out the lemon – it makes this sauce!

Tasty Tuesday - Homemade Bread

I’ve wanted us to eat more whole wheat for ages, but J wasn’t exactly on board. I’d go through phases where I’d use it for awhile, then get tired of hearing, “Yeah, it’s really good, except for the whole wheat flour.” And so, I’d go back to my refined white flour baking for awhile again.

Then, I discovered WHITE whole wheat flour. It has just as many whole grains as the whole wheat flour you are more used to, but it’s a different grain. The commonly known “whole wheat flour” is from RED whole wheat, where this other delicious flour is from WHITE whole wheat.

Once I switched to using the white whole wheat flour my DH’s grumbling pretty much subsided. (Sometimes he still must protest just for the sake of protest.)

I now use it in place of whole wheat flour in all the recipes that call for it, and I can use it in place of refined white flour almost all the time. (Although sometimes I up the liquid/fat a bit to help keep it moist.) For cookies, muffins, bread and rolls I use my white whole wheat flour, or a combination of it and refined flour/bread flour. And of course, I still use my bread flour/ cake flour/ refined white flour for those special delicious deserts where – lets face it – we’re not exactly worried about health anyway.

Here’s the recipe I’ve been using to bake our bread for a few months now. This is a great recipe, because with the milk it keeps for a really long time. I’ve also made it without the butter (on accident of course!) but it was still very good.

It’s an easy recipe – especially if you have a bread machine – and if you don’t then you should beg someone to buy you one be able to Google the conversion of how to make bread without a bread machine and do the steps yourself in an upright mixer.

White Whole Wheat Bread

1 ¼ c. whole milk (you can use less fat, but it might not keep as long)
2 T. melted butter (or olive oil)
3 c. white whole wheat flour
2 T. raw honey (you can use your honey bear, but the raw stuff is DELISH)
1 ½ tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast


Put ingredients in bread machine in order recommended by manufacturer. Press dough cycle.

Grease bread pan. Punch bread down, form into a loaf and let rise in pan (in a warm spot) for about 30 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, remove from pan and cool on rack.
Slice and store for sandwiches, toast, and everyday bread.

I also divided it into 8 rolls a few weeks ago and made hamburger buns out of this dough. (Although, I did add a little water to the dough and adjusted the water/milk combo to equal 1 1/4c. in order to help make the dough a little less moist to stand up to being buns.)