Kid Cutenesses

Today a little random kid quote sharing:

• The other day at lunch, (I had served carrot slices) Ru was nibbling away at his carrots and then suddenly he said..."Mommy! Look! Lily pads!" And he held up a tooth sculpted slice triumphantly. Cute, cute man. 

• On a recent Tuesday I propped an automatically locking side door of our church open with a rock so I could duck out and in again with kids. I stuck the rock in and then Dee knelt down and removed it. I put the rock back and then he took it out again and finally I said, "Dee! Leave it there! I need it to keep the door open!"....and he looked up at me and frowned and said "Mommy! That rock says ouch!" And I collapsed into giggles.

• Ru has a cousin named Nycteris (pronounced NEK-tur-iss) which you need to know for background info. He was zooming around one day, buzzing and said "Look Mommy! I'm a bee! I fly around and I find flowers and I drink from them when I'm hungry. I drink that...that...what's it called? Nycteris?" Tee hee...Nycteris' mommy liked that story. 

Packing Jars and Suitcases

I don't exactly recommend canning peaches and making a pie right before hurriedly packing your bags, on the day you're planning to leave for the weekend....but, then, there are certain things in life that we just do. I really feel like I must have homemade canned peaches in the midst of winter and as the rest of the month of August we'll either be hosting company or frantically packing and unpacking at our new house....it was now or never. So, we picked and they ripened and then of course they ripened slowly enough that they weren't ready until the day we were leaving for a weekend at the Jersey Shore. Urgh. What can't be cured must be endured, Ma Ingalls always said and truly, there's a fact. So, we canned and I made a pie and then we packed our heads off.....

Peeling blanched and scored peaches

Empty jars, waiting to be packed...

This is what Nib did to help.

And the big boys, packed jars for me.

The nice thing about being two is that nobody cares if you can peaches in your underwear.

Mmmm.....the "fruits of our labors"

And then I ran out of jars and there were leftovers that had to be used up....

So we put a  peach pie in the freezer for when we came home again.

The Shore was really lovely but, it was great to come home too. Back to our rows of shining jars and that freezer pie all ready for us. Such yummy proof of effort!

Sharing The Good

Today, a little post to send you all word about a few of my recent favorites. I do like to share good news...and who knows, maybe one of these things can help you out.

Hair forks: I'm not sure how many people I have in my audience with long hair for whom this accessory/tool is a great big win, but it's sure worth putting the word out. I like to buy my forks on Etsy.com, right from the artisans who make them. My favorite one that I have at the moment is that pale, bird's eye maple, double forked model up there. I like hair forks because its takes just one little thing to put my hair up for the day which means its simple and quick and I'm not dropping pins all over everywhere. I also like the look of the smooth wood and love the feel in my hands.

L-Lyseine: This one is for all those of you out there who suffer from canker sores. Just for the record, canker sores are different from cold sores, have nothing to do with herpes and are usually hereditary. (I got mine from my Papa's gene pool.) The brilliant thing is, you can take this amino acid as simple supplement and be done with them forever. Ru just got his second one ever and I put him on the regime straight away. (Note: I am not a doctor, just a mommy with an opinion.) L-Lyseine taken when you have a canker sore shortens the duration of the injury and lessens the pain and when taken preventatively will  relieve you of the problem for good. (Credit to A's cousin for tipping me off to this brilliant solution to mouth pain!) You can get it in pretty much any grocery store's vitamin section.

Crumb sweeper: I use tablecloths on our table every day. The stickum that a meal leaves behind is just too overwhelming for three times daily scrubbing and soaking and I am lazy. So, I opt for a quick, wisk-it-off-the-table-when-it-gets-messy approach. This handy little tool helps me keep the crumb count reasonably presentable between meals and whizzing it along the table is a lot faster than the scrub, scrub, scrub that washing the table down entails. And although honestly this neon green model that I bought is uglier than sin, I have to say that I still love the idea and hey...it lives in a drawer in the kitchen. How pretty does it have to be?

Mary Jane's Farm Magazine: This is my new favorite magazine. I love it. Country life, green living, diy womanly vim, outdoor relishing, simplicity striving, beautifully romantic, homespun, very few advertisements fun. Credit to my sister Foxy here. She called me immediately when she discovered it newsstand and by the time we were off the phone I had subscribed online and I've never looked back. Every issue is a saver. You can subscribe here!

Garlic Peelers: I promise, I'm not a huge fan of single-use kitchen goods...BUT. This one is worth it. You know how much a pain it is to peel garlic for a recipe? Even with that handy, squish each clove with the side of your chef knife move (then you get garlic juice all over your hands and you smell like garlic bread for days). I got so put off by the whole thing that I started buying that pre-minced stuff in a jar in the produce section. I still use that fabulous stuff for when I'm in a real hurry but, the pain of peeling cloves for fresh garlic zip is gone now, thanks to this brilliant invention. I have no idea how in the world it works but its genius and it works every single time. So simple. Check it out.

Chocolove Raspberries in Dark Chocolate: This is my new favorite chocolate. Its dark chocolate which I like to eat more of partly just because I like but also because the sugar count is lower and the antioxidant count is higher. But, this one...mmm....there are all these little bullets of dried raspberry through the whole bar which means you get a round of zingy little fruit bit with each bite to balance the candy. I am on Weight Watchers at the moment, shedding the baby pounds and keeping myself in portion control training and their system made me realize one other thing that's great about the bar. Its a chocolate bar that has fiber content! How great is that? Its not often that you can get delicious candy that ups your fiber intake for the day. And then there's the fact that each bar comes with a love poem in the wrapper....*grin*....lovely things go hand in hand. I buy these bars at Whole Foods.


That's it folks.....a few of my recent finds. Got anything you love at the moment that is too to keep to yourself? I'd love to know about it!