2.26.2013

Red Lentil Soup

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Lately I have been feeling inspired to experiment with adding some new (healthy) foods into our lives.  Red lentils were one on the top of my list since they are both tasty and healthy.  I have made lentils before but just as a side, I've never made a meal out of them.  So yesterday I tried making some red lentil soup (recipe found here although I did make just a few changes).  It was so easy to make (and I already had everything which is always a plus) but most importantly it was delicious.  Or at least Grace, and Nora, and I thought so.  

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Red Lentil Soup

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 carrot sliced
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup dry lentils
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 1/4 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • dash salt
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
Sautee the onions and carrot in the vegetable oil for 3-5 minutes until onions turn clear.  Add the broth, lentils, pepper, thyme, bay leaves and salt. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until lentils are soft, about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaves and stir in lemon juice before serving.

2.25.2013

2.24.2013

Weekend Highlights

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~ Ice fishing (for Ryan, Grace and Jackson) and catching more fish
~ Nora and alone time for me
~ Smoothies (I'm obsessed with them lately)
~ Visitors
~ Reading through some of my old notebooks and journals and remembering
~ Having extra book time before bed tonight with Grace and Jackson and pulling out some of our spring books
~ The time before dinner when all three were playing together
~ Grace saying she can smell spring in the air

2.23.2013

Saturday Gratitude

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A quote I love that a friend shared recently...
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beattie


Today I am grateful for
~ Love 
~ Smoothies
~ Clean sheets
~ Our farm and our old house and all it's quirks and challenges
~ Fresh eggs
~ Fish dinner (coming up soon... maybe tomorrow)

2.22.2013

Another Day on the Slopes (Bunny Hill)

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After our fun snowboarding adventure we decided that we definitely wanted to come back for more.  But this time Grace wanted to come.  And this time they both wanted to give skiing a try.

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Ryan's long time friend and work partner Pete, who is also a ski instructor, offered to come and give the kids a lesson.  This was awesome since I really know nothing.

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When we got out there at first they could barely even move let alone ski, but within a couple hours they had really gotten the hang of it.  Grace even rode the chair lift and went to the big hill a bunch.

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We had so much fun again.  This will probably be our last time out there this year but I'm so excited to have a new winter activity to look forward to!

2.19.2013

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Oh my what a lot of ups and downs today brought.  Grace is home on break for the week from school which has been fun but was somewhat challenging today.  And Nora has been protesting her naps over the last two days which means I walked around with a cranky baby on my hip for most of the day.  There was this one really good moment though, right before dinner when all three were playing "ship" so nicely together in the playroom.  So cute.  I'll keep that one.  Oh and the one where we snuggled and read together on the couch.  Oh and the moments from the pictures up there from this morning (Jackson watching Grace "tell a story" and Nora playing with and trying to put on her tights).  The rest I will remedy with the nice big bowl of ice cream I am about to eat.

2.16.2013

Saturday Gratitude

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~ Alden's ice cream
~ Dinner making itself (slow cooker venison chili)
~ Sunny windows
~ Time alone
~ Melting snow
~ Inspiring books
~ Meditation
~ New ideas

2.14.2013

Happy Valentine's Day

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Last Minute Valentine Making

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A few weeks ago I started thinking about Valentine's Day and wondered if I was up for making any gifts this year.  I looked back over my blog from the last few years and found... three years ago pajamas, two years ago doll clothes, and last year... nothing... ding ding ding, nothing it would be again.  Perfect.  And then, right before bed last night Grace wondered out loud with a big smile, "I bet mama's working on her Valentine gifts tonight."  I asked what she thought this something might be and she said, "oh maybe some pajamas, or some little special something that will be sitting on the table when we wake up!"  Dang it.  And awesome.  Any child that appreciates and gets excited about their moms silly handmade stuff deserves more of it.  So after they went to bed I came up with these little necklace/purses and filled them with magical jewels.  One for each of my big kids and one for each of the girls Grace carpools with (for extra fun).

And yes they were on the table when they woke up this morning.

And To Make It All Happen...

It was a real group effort that made it possible for Jackson and I to spend the day just the two of us yesterday.  My mom offered to watch Nora all day (and even got her down for her nap... three cheers!) and then stayed to help with dinner when we got back home.

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My dad offered to pick Grace up from her school carpool drop-off and then also joined us for dinner.  He also brought with him a red rose for my Valentine's gift which he has delivered to me (where ever I may be) every Valentine's Day since I moved out of their house.

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There's probably not a day that goes by that Ryan and I don't think how lucky we, and our kids especially, are to be surrounded by such close and helpful family members.

2.13.2013

Snowboarding

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One of my favorite things about parenting (I have recently decided) is being introduced to new things through my children.  I'm pretty sure I had never even had a thought about snowboarding before this January when we took a family trip to the goodwill and Jackson decided to spend his five dollars on a snowboard.  As soon as we got home and he tried it out he was immediately smitten.  Watching this new passion ignite in him (talking about snowboarding, reading books about snowboarding and actually snowboarding are suddenly occupying much of his days) has sparked something in me too... snowboarding really is pretty great.  Well to watch anyway.

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So Jackson and I made a plan to spend the day at Afton Alps skiing and snowboarding together.  And one thing that is really great about having me for your mom (well really what's not to love) is my willingness to make an absolute fool of myself for a good cause.
"Okay so has he ever gone snowboarding before?"
"Nope"
"But you ski."
"Nope, well 22 years ago I did a little, does that count?"
"We could maybe get him in for a lesson..."

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But Jackson didn't want a lesson yet, just the chance to practice on a real hill.  (This hill here was the biggest hill we went on, and only did that once.  The rest of the time was spent on the bunny hill)

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And he did awesome.  It was sooo fun to watch him.

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And I didn't do too bad myself... I mean I really conquered that bunny hill.  That's not to say I didn't make a fool of myself... "yeah we don't bring the ski equipment in the chalet. That's what those racks out there are for."  Right.

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But mostly we just had a really really fun day together, just the two of us.  At lunch we sat and watched all the fancy skiers and snowboarders go down the big, big hills while Jackson tried to figure out how old he would be by the time he would be going down those hills (um, never).

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We are already making plans to go back...

2.11.2013

2.10.2013

Weekend Highlights

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~ Going to see Grace's "circus unit" school performance (Friday afternoon) 
~ Watching Mr. Universe (again)
~ Going out to lunch with Katie and then having her over for the day
~ Being stuck home with another blizzard
~ Time to relax
~ Time to create
~ Pancakes for dinner

2.07.2013

2.06.2013

Yum

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Frozen mangos, frozen blueberries, one banana, some kale, and kefir ...

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makes one delicious smoothie.

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Best enjoyed over a game of mancala.

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2.05.2013

Good Morning

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2.03.2013

Weekend Highlights

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This weekend was a very cozy one.  While some of us went ice fishing, some of us got to just stay home and read.  And read.

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And today (in between more reading, although mostly to others) I had some time to sew and was able to turn the two shirts up there into that cute outfit down there.

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Maybe the only downfall of the weekend was letting Grace do a little too much a little too soon which resulted in her fever returning.  We made the best of it today though, reading and sewing together (thankfully she likes both of these things as much as her mama).

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And of course the ice fishing was a hit.  A few more days out there and we'll be having fish dinner in no time.