TGIF

This week was particularly challenging for me.

Don't get me wrong, most days taking care of my kids are challenging for me, but this week did me in.  It wasn't anything big or disastrous.  Just a bunch of little things that I wasn't in the right mindset to handle.

It started when my youngest son got an ear infection.  As a parent the most frustrating thing is not being able to communicate with your child to find out what is wrong and why/where they are hurting.  I spent many hours rocking, pacing and holding him, only to be left feeling inadequate as a parent when I could not console him.  My other two kids weren't sleeping well either.  My older son has been refusing to sleep on and off for over a year now and it's really starting to wear on me.  And my daughter doesn't sleep well with the other two making such a ruckus.  Who would?

So when today arrived I breathed a sigh of relief.  Even though today is technically not my 'Friday' because my husband's days off rotate, I still feel a sense of relief when the end of the work week comes.  Perhaps it's everyone else's contagious excitement or it's leftover from when I used to have a Mon-Fri job.  Either way I was just glad to put this week behind me.

Then something happened this afternoon that put a smile on my face.  Even though it was something small it managed to help me feel better about how I'm doing as a parent in light of such a difficult week.

It started earlier this season.  My older two planted a Fall garden of lettuce, peas and broccoli.  They have been diligently checking up on it and taking care of it.

Today we harvested the first of the lettuce leaves and they each had a salad as part of their dinner.

 They felt really proud that they had grown their food.  I felt really proud that they ate lettuce that went from the ground to their mouths in less than twenty minutes.

Parenting seems to be a roller coaster of ups and downs.  As a stay-at-home parent, there are no performance evaluations, no meetings with the boss to discuss progress, no goal-setting spreadsheets or quantifiable tasks.  At times it seems like I'm running on a treadmill with no immediate reward.

That's why today's salad put a smile on my face.  Even if it's a small thing, a tangible result of my hard work trying to do a good job as a parent means the world to me.  These small positive events that occur help me to reframe my mindset and help alleviate the feeling that I'm getting nowhere fast.  I hope that when I look back on these days I will remember times like this.

Black Beauties

Recently I became a vegetarian, so harvesting these from my garden was exciting.

I wanted to find something to make that would seem 'meaty' and satisfy my husband as well.  This is what I made:

 I think it's the single-most proud event of my (very limited and inexperienced) culinary career.

It's a roasted eggplant sandwich.  Along with the eggplant, I also used fresh basil and tomato from my garden.  Then I made the bread and mixed up some fresh garlic mayo.  And feta cheese.  Gotta have cheese.  Then I put the whole thing in my panini press.  Voila!  I used my orange maple leaf plate because I miss Fall in New England.

The best part?  I had so much eggplant left over that I was able to make two eggplant lasagnas.  Yum.

you know you're the wife of a cop when...

...your old, unwanted CD hung up in the garden to scare away the birds is...

...an obsolete Taser training video.

Okra recipes, anyone?

Does anyone have any okra recipes they can share?  

I've only done fried okra and my husband used it in a jambalaya.

Christmas in July

Tonight I cooked up some Christmas lima beans.  Yummy!

I did it!

I canned some tomatoes from my garden!  

(insert annoying squeal here)

The learning curve was steep for my first batch but I suspect it will just get easier each time I do it.  

peep peep peep

That may soon be the sound coming from our backyard.  Yes, that's right.  I want chickens.

Why?  Fresh, free-range organic eggs, that's why.  And a bug-free lawn.  And awesome chicken poop to fertilize my garden.  And the opportunity to teach my kids about sustainability and responsibility. 

Plus it's just cool to say you have chickens.  

I just have to work on the husband.  He's about 75% on board. 

I want to come up with the ultimate coop.  Here are some cool ones that I found online. 

'Mater

As my husband says, there's nothin' like a fresh 'mater sandwich!

The One That Got Away

Most families have some stories that are passed down through generations, retold at family gatherings and embellished for emphasis.  You know, the 'The fish was THIS big" type of stories.  

Well, growing up, one story that resurfaced every summer was the Corn on the Cob Dating Story.  We would eat fresh corn a lot during the summer, and inevitably we would ask my parents to retell the Corn on the Cob Dating Story.  

My mom loves corn on the cob.  Apparently, on one of my parents' first dates my mom ate tons of ears of corn.  My dad was astonished that she could put away so many.  

I initially remember the number of ears to be 10.  Over the years the number grew each time the story was told, and now when I tell the story to my kids it's at least 20 ears of corn.  

Today we harvested our first ear of corn from the garden.  This one's for you, Moppy!

Glory

Today's Morning Glory blooms:

Fourth

True to their name, these Fourth of July tomatoes were ready to be picked on the Fourth!

Java

So, did you know that if you go to Starbucks you can get their used coffee grounds to put in your garden or compost pile?

I sprinkle it around the plants that like highly acidic soil.

Sentry

Meet Alani.

Her name means 'orange' in Hawaiian.  We got her at six weeks of age while we were stationed in Hawaii.

She's incredibly sweet and affectionate, but you'll probably never experience that.  Alani gives meaning to 'scaredy cat.'  She will run away and hide from visitors, small beings (kids, other animals, etc.).  Any loud noise will send her scampering to a dark corner.

 But one place you'll see her is in my garden.  She is my garden sentry, quietly keeping watch.

 Sometimes she'll be winding through the stilts of the porch.  Sometimes she'll be draped across the steps. Sometimes she'll come up and nuzzle for a few seconds and then return to make her rounds.

I enjoy her company and my husband likes that she kills pests like moles and mice.  If I go out for a few minutes to tend to the garden I can count on hearing her tinkling 'mew' from behind some foliage.

She adds sweetness to my life.

Hungry

This is garden fare for the Fourth of July. 

Zucchini bread, sweet pickles, green beans.  

Oh, and although not from the garden, sweet tea.  

My new favorite flower

These used to be my favorite flowers:

They're Cosmos (Bright Lights Mix).

But now, my favorite flowers are these:

They're called Nasturtiums.  I love the hues of their crepe-paper petals.

They have leaves like mini lily pads and they trail along the ground like a vine.

Best part of all - they deter garden pests!

It's What's For Dinner

Green Beans.

It's What's For Dinner.  


And Lunch.  


And Snack.  

Christmas in June

Flowery Wednesday

When your garden throws you zucchinis...

You make zucchini bread!

Duh Duh Duh...the moment you have been waiting for!

The release of the final picture of the arbor!

OOOOOOOOOOoooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

View from street

Grapes

Red seedless

My man is the best.  He crafted this beautiful arbor with his bare hands.  (oh, and a chainsaw and other various manly tools)
I told him my vision and he created to order.  I think he should do this for a living!

(blue chair courtesy of our long-suffering, wonderful neighbors, Pastor Mark and Miss Lucy)