Here's what greets me every Saturday...

I know it doesn't look like much, but this is my organic box of produce I pick up every Saturday!!  I can't tell you (what a dork I am) how excited I get when I get home & open it up to see what lovelies await!!

Farmer Vern always includes a little note to talk about what's up on the farm, as well as 2 recipes for items that may not be too familiar.  Today I got garlic something-or-others.  Look kinda like green onions. I guess you use them the same way, too.  Chop them up, add to stir fry or dips, salads, garnish.  Feelin' kinda dippy w/ it being the holiday weekend and all.  OH!  That's right, they are garlic SCAPES!!

All these items were in the ground or on the tree on Thursday, and we get them on Saturday.  Ffffrrrrrrrreshhhhhhhhh!! :)  So much nicer looking that grocery store organics, and cheaper, too!  One thing I've learned...if you get lettuce in Saturday's box, you're having lettuce for dinner!  That stuff doesn't keep long at all!!  And towards the end of the week the extras end up in soup, usually.  Ok, but look at all this!!  All for $19 and ORGANIC! (don't know if I've mentioned that it is organic. ;)  )

And they even tell you what farm your stuff comes from!! :)

Have I lost you yet?  Cuz I feel like I've lost you.  Almost done, I swear!
Now I collapse my little box and put it in the back of the car, waiting for next week!! :)

So there it is in all it's glory!




And in an effort to further reduce my family's consumption of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup), I'm going to attempt this...

I'll let you know how it goes.  I think the deal is you make enough dough for 4 loaves at a time and freeze the other 3.  The bread looks really good and so we'll see.  I may have to sit down w/ Adam and explain the importance of homemade bread and the deadly effects of HFCS so he will let go of my leg long enough for me to do this.  Wish me luck. 

Woo-to-the-flingity-flangin'-hooooo!!!

Kitchen backsplash is DUNZO!!!  Yay!!  Aaaahhhh, you have no idea what a relief this is!  First, because it took us close to a year to decide on a design.  Call me crazy, but wasn't going to pay the kitchen installers $1500 just to DESIGN the backsplash!  Hubby and I know what we like so it was just a matter of time until we found something we liked...lots of time...but still.  Problem was, we had such a huge space above the cooktop.  Didn't want just squares, but didn't think I was a mural kinda gal.  Until...

So here's the old cucina before...

and here's the afterrrrrrrrrrr...

but wait...there's more...

just one more, I swear...

Please to enjoy the detail around the window sill!  Mitered corners!  My quilting sistas will tell you that is NOT easy!

Ok, you may return to your previously scheduled lives.  Thanks for listening!  :)

I miss cooking.

I know, I know, don't hate me!  But I do.  It hit me yesterday that part of my frustration w/ little Adam is that I don't have the time to cook or plan out my meals like I used to.  I feel like I throw stuff together last minute.  It's still healthy, but just not fun for me.

My girls know me, I can become obsessed w/ a cookbook and recipes and go on cooking binges for days talking of nothing but soup!  Hypothetically speaking, of course. ;) Ok, so there's a story there but I'll save that for another day. But all this baby business has just been cramping my style for a long time now (love you Adam, just being honest), add in the pregnancy from hell and I just miss doing the stuff that makes me, ME!

So just a little venting for today...maybe tomorrow, too.  Having a rough time of it in Mommyland lately and needing something to get me back in touch w/ myself & relieve some of this stress.  It seems like at the end of the day I'm desperately trying to find something to take this feeling away.  This feeling like I can't catch my breath.  (I had it so badly the other day and then realized I was actually having an asthma episode. lol  I literally couldn't breathe.)  Some days it is a walk or run, some days a glass of wine.  I'm trying to stay away from cake.  Cake would be bad.  It would be sooooo good, but then it would be bad.  Have you ever felt like you were crawling out of your skin?  And I just want to scream, or run, or run screaming until it goes away.  I get it to go away, usually, right before I go to bed so I can get up and do it all over again.

Ok, this has gotten way too heavy & I've gone to the dark, twisty place.   Someone's screaming, and it isn't me (I checked), so that's my cue.  Muah!

LEAVE MY SHOES ALONE!!!!!

AAAGGGGHHH!!  This kid is LITERALLY into everything.  I look away for 2 seconds to put my hair in a ponytail (ya know, cuz it's part of the 'mom' uniform) and he's opened the closet door, in my laundry basket and getting my SHOES!  You may recall that he has this thing for shoes, mainly licking the bottoms.  Blech!  But when the boy starts taking shoes out of the shoe boxes, well now he's gone too far!

Ruh roh!

Dear God, please let me get through this stage w/ out jumping through a plate glass window.

Case of the blahs...

Sorry guys, I've had a case of the blahs so I've been a little bit MIA.  Actually, I've had a case of the 'OMG Adam, MUST you get into everything?!!' blues.  This kid is like a Tazmanian Devil!  Little Taz is what I'm calling him.  He goes from one thing to the next in the speed of light.  Now he's opening doors!  And don't start w/ the door knob protector thingies, we've got too many freakin' doors.  Same problem w/ the kitchen!  I have 21 cupboards, not counting drawers, in my new kitchen.  No way can I put locks on all those.

I know this is just part of the process.  Worst part, if you ask me.  I think from ages 1-2 is the hardest because you have to establish the rules.  He's doing pretty good staying out of my cookbook shelves, but only because I have planted myself next to them and swatted his hand every time he touches them.  After about 68 times he started getting the picture.

Junior is napping now.  These days when I hear him stirring, my first thought is...'here we go again!'  Followed immediately by...'how much longer until nap #2?!!'  Just being honest!

So I'll be back in top shape soon, I hope!  Unless these children just beat me into oblivion.  :)

Cat Butt.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, people.  If you allow your cat to get up on your kitchen counter, they will inevitably sit on said counter.  Am I the only one making the connection here?  You now have cat butt on your kitchen counter.   So later when you lay an apple on the counter while you get a paper towel, you now have...Cat Butt Apple.  When you lay your hand on the counter, then reach for your sandwich...Cat Butt Sandwich.  Unless you Clorox that son of a gun every half hour (because you don't know how often that cat puts his butt up there when you aren't looking!), you are eating cat butt.  It's sick, sick, sick,  and there is no reason a CAT should be allowed on the kitchen counter.  Just my thoughts on the matter.  Cat butt!  Cat butt! Cat butt!! Blech!

OH for the love of PETE!!!

I'll tell you what my rants are going to be about!  Getting this blog background up and running!!  GOOD GRIEF, MAN!!!  Finally figure one thing out only to realize I screwed the pooch on something else!!!  And I now I have to move onto dinner, baths and other merriment.  I shall return this evening w/ a glass of wine in hand.  Lord only knows what effect that little element will have on my musings.  Musings...musings...I just like to say musings...ok, word's lost all meaning.  (what movie is that from?!)

You just have to laugh...

K was playing and I can only interpret this as "Princess Buffet".  Seems as though the deal is, you get in line w/ your other princess friends.  Deposit your coins in the shoe.  Then proceed to enjoy a lovely lunch of fruits, veggies, bread, and...fillet of mermaid?  Not quite sure if these lovely ladies are resting, sunning themselves, or on the menu.

Thought I was gonna have to hurt her!

Waiting in line at the local farm, veggies in hand, 2 kids in tow.  I've got Granola Gwen in front of me and Magilla Gorilla behind me.  (referring to her MASSIVE biceps and bulging veins.  This lady does WAY too much working out)  I found myself between these two ladies and the irony was not lost on me.

You know those women w/ the nasally voice who insist on calling to their unruly children at full volume?!  "Phiiiiiillliiiip!  I'm leeeeeeeeeaviiiiiiiiing.  I'm gooooooooooiiiiiiiiiing.  Good-byyyyyyyyyyyyyye Phiiiiiiiiillllllliiiiiiiiip."  Over and over and over.  The rest of us are cringing and Phiiiiiiiiliiiiiiip is far away and couldn't care less.  It is obvious that he's used to this and it means nothing to him.  This lady was pulling out every child psychology trick in the book.  Ridiculous!  Go grab that brat by the arm and PUT HIS ASS in the car!  That will BE the day that I'm making a complete ass out of myself in a public place. (I prefer to do it privately, thank you very much.)

This kid was about 9 years old and when he hits 13, I can just hear it now..."All of a sudden he's not listening.  He just doesn't do what he's told.  I don't know what happened.  Must be the teen years."  UGH!  No, he's been ignoring you his whole life, now he's just bigger!  If you can't make them mind when they are small, what makes you think you will be able to do it when they are bigger.  My peanut gallery opinion is that if you don't set the ground work before they are 3 or 4, you're done.  toast.

Is this thing on?

Howdy boys and girls!

Giving this thing a dry run.  I'm sure there will be lots of bugs to work out but here goes...