The Dining Rooom

The dining room is one of my favorite rooms. I love the tall windows and the tile floor. We don't have anything to put on the far wall. But that's OK. I'm enjoying the space for now, since we lived with it crammed with all our extra furniture for 5 months while Sean redid some of the floors in other rooms. The piece in the corner is an English Conservatory. We make jokes about it while playing clue. But eventually, it will have some pretty plants inside it, Lord willing and husband approving! I found it at a garage sale too just up the street.

Our fall centerpiece. Normally we fill the cornucopia with gourds and little pumpkins. But I haven't been able to get any yet this fall. Evan really wanted to set out the fall decorations, so we make do with what we had. I think it turned out rather well and now maybe I don't need the gourds after all.

We found the buffet off Craig's list and it turned out we knew the person selling it! That was fun. My mom painted the beautiful painting over the buffet. And Sean brought me the roses. He said it was to say thank you for taking care of everybody who was sick (including the horse). It looks like Sean and the kids may have had the swine flu. If not, they had a yucky one. The girls were sick with viral meningitis before that. I don't think we've gone much of anywhere for the last month. Praise God, I was spared and didn't get sick. Evan thinks it was because I've been drinking green smoothies. Emily says it's because I've been exercising. Whatever the means, I'm grateful for God's mercy. And I really like the flowers!

The Kid's Bathrooms

The girls are very happy with their muted purple bathroom. It's actually the same paint that we had at our old house in the guest bath. We had a bit left over and this way they can use all my old decorations.

And we got a few new ones as well. I found the cute green accordion hanger at a garage sale and the flower print at a different one.

Evan went for the more sophisticated jungle theme. A friend of ours had the same cute jungle theme in their bathroom so we gave them our towels and bath rugs.

The jungle stuff that we had in the kids bath at our old house from Africa goes really nice with the new updated theme. And lucky for Evan, jungle is really popular right now so it was easy to find new towels that went well and were a little more masculine.

Sean found this great bamboo screen for the window.

We put the mirror from Emily's bedroom in his bath. I think it looks really good!

Up next, the dining room...

The Girls Room

You can see the before pictures here. This was the first room we painted (actually the only room we painted). It was such an awful purple and yellow before. Now it's a very pale pink. The same as Emily's room before.

Sean put up some fake wood blinds that look great even though I don't think you can see them in the picture. The girls are doing really well sharing a room. And it's nice having two closets: one for toys and one for clothes.

Up next the kids bathrooms.

Roasted Vegetable Lunch

A few years ago, and before the movie came out, I made Ratatouille from scratch. It was wonderful. But the recipe that I used (from Martha Stewart) was pretty complicated and took a long time. However, the first step was so good I remember thinking that it would be good all by itself. Last week I got a beautiful eggplant from farmers market (for only $1) and zucchini from my CSA basket. I knew I had to try my idea. I threw some sweet potatoes in the oven to roast at the same time and put the roasted zucchini and eggplant over it. It was tasty and very filling.

For other great ideas for thrifty and healthy recipes, visit the Penywise Platter over at The Nourishing Gourmet.

Roasted Vegetables

1 large eggplant (about 1 1/2 lbs) cut into 1 inch cubes

4 medium zucchini cut into 1 inch cubes

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh thyme (or a few teaspoons dried)

1 tsp salt

Sweet potatoes washed and wrapped in tin foil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the sweet potatoes on the bottom rack. Toss together the eggplant, zucchini, 1/2 cup oil, thyme, and salt on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast, on the top rack, tossing every 15 minutes, until vegetables are golden, and sweet potatoes are soft, about 1 hour. Depending on the size of your sweet potatoes they may need a bit more time.

The roasted eggplant and zucchini after cooking for an hour.

To serve, cut open the sweet potato and slightly mash with a fork. Cover the sweet potato with the eggplant and zucchini. Serve with a green salad.

My CSA basket. A very full 1/2 bushel basket for $19. What a great deal and it's organic too.

Refried Beans

My friend Paula gave me this recipe. She also happens to be my pastor's wife and a fabulous cook. Evan loved these beans. I'm so glad because he is hungry all the time! I told him I'd make up a big pot to have on hand so he could have a bowl with a tortilla for a snack whenever the need struck.

*I forgot to add, that I soaked the beans overnight first. This helps digestion and makes them cook up faster!

Refried Beans

2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed and sorted
8 cups cold water or chicken broth
¾ cup oil
1 bulb of roasted garlic, 6 – 7 cloves
2 – 3 teaspoons salt (less if you use chicken broth with salt already in it)
1 bay leaf
1 finely chopped tomato or 1 8-ounce can diced tomatoes with juices

1. In large pot place beans with liquid and bay leaf. Cook on high heat and partially cover with a lid.

2. As soon as the beans start to boil, lower the heat and continue to simmer. Cook for two hours, adding hot water as it cooks away. Keep water level at 2” above beans.

3. After two hours, beans should be soft. If not, cook them another 20 – 30 minutes. Add oil, salt, tomato and garlic. Simmer 1 – 1 ½ hours longer or as long as you can with the spices and oil. The longer the beans simmer, the better they will taste!

4. If desired, when the beans stick to the pot, turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf and mash them with a potato masher.

5. If cooking for a crowd, double dry beans and add a little more salt, tomato, garlic and oil, tasting as you go. Never fill pot more than ⅓ full of dry beans.

This post is part of the Bean and Legume Recipe Carnival over at Kitchen Stewardship.
Visit Kitchen Stewardship for more frugal, healthy bean recipes as part of the October Fest Carnival of Super Foods. Next week’s theme: Broth/Stock Recipes.

Movie Theater Popcorn

We love popcorn! We recently switched from using canola oil for most baking to using coconut oil and olive oil. We tried making popcorn with olive oil and it was OK. But last week we made it using coconut oil. What a surprise! The whole house smelled like a movie theater. Sure enough it was by far the best popcorn I'd ever made! Here's what we did, if you want a healthy movie theater popcorn.

Movie Theater Popcorn

Coat the bottom of a large pot (that has a tight fitting lid) with 2-4 Tablespoons of coconut oil. Add one kernel of popcorn and heat on medium with the lid closed until the kernel pops. Then add 1/2- 3/4 cup popcorn and cover. Shake over medium heat until most of the popping has stopped. Remove from heat and empty into a bowl. Season with Sea Salt and enjoy!

Win a Home Depot Gift Card!

Would you like to win a Home Depot gift card? I'm sure my husband would love it if we won! Go here to find out the details.

Happenings...

*I started this post last Friday, but never finished it because Sean and the girls spontaneously wanted to go camping in the yard. (Evan was away at Yosemite with the Boy Scouts.) Then Emily woke up with a fever and I've had sick girls since! Sorry that this is a bit random. I had intended to write about what happened for that day. Then I didn't finish, and it seemed wierd. But it was already written and I needed a new post!

Sean is off for a week and a half. Since he doesn't get holidays or weekends off, he gets random vacation times. This means that we won't start school officially until September 21st. In years past, this would have bothered me and worried me greatly. God has shown me that it is indeed sinful to worry and strive against my husband's lead. Regardless, we make plans for the year, but God sometimes has very different ones! So I have peace. We will have to hard charge with school a bit this fall to finish strong, but I'm trusting God that He will provide in that area as well. Evan proved last year that he was able to, and we're praying that this will be the year for Amy as well.

We flea-bombed the kitties' room (otherwise known as the Tack Room). They did not like being placed temporarily in the pet carrier. I used it as an object lesson to teach the girls that sometimes we have to do things that kitties (or little girls) don't like, but that we know are good for them.

After playing with Soliel and grooming her, Amy was in need of a shower. Emily had just sat in the dirt making cakes and was filthy too. She decided that she wanted a shower as well. So today she took her first shower. At first she cried because she didn't like it, then she cried because she didn't want to get out! She's giving up naps and we're adjusting. So she has been crying a lot lately!

Amy put on a t-shirt and laughed. Her belly button showed! Since we're not into the Brittney Spears look around here, she put the shirt in the outgrown box. I think the country life is agreeing with our kids. They are growing like weeds!

For lunch we had leftover soup I made last night. Inspired by this recipe, I made use of what we had: homemade chicken broth, chicken (from the same bird), 3 carrots, a potato, a bag of leftover cooked green beans, two kinds of kale from our farmers market and CSA basket, a handful of chopped parsley, a small piece of grated ginger, one bay leaf, and my secret ingredient a tablespoon or two of sweet wine (I used port). It was so good! And I love that it has a lot of calcium from the kale and homemade broth (since I used the bones, not the whole bird).

We are trying to develop better habits in the kitchen. My new motto is: The dishes aren't done until the stove is wiped down. Thanks for your motivaton in that, Paula!

In my quest for healthier cooking and specifically gluten free cooking to help Emily I've discovered a couple of new blogs that I love! They are on my side bar under Cooking Blogs. Enjoy!

Good Intentions Gone Awry

With the girls skin problems, I've been trying different lotions, soaps, and foods to help them not itch or have rashes. So far, the things that I've bought have been really helpful: fragrance free shampoo, aloe vera soap, probiotics, and lots of natural lotion. Most of the products I've purchased from our co-op, Azure Standard.

But today, I opened a jar of much touted fermented cod liver oil gel. The serving size was 1/2 tsp. I figured I could just swallow that amount even if it didn't taste great. Besides, it was fruit flavored. How nasty could it be? Oh, my! I almost threw up. And I didn't even eat any of the stuff. I just touched my tongue to the side of the teaspoon.

Thankfully, the girls have been responding well to using lotion all the time and not eating wheat (in addition to not eating dairy and sugar). I don't know if the probiotics are doing anything. But it doesn't taste nasty and is easy to swallow!

So, any local friends, if you would like a jar of fermented cod liver oil, I will gladly give it to you! I don't think I can stomach it! (The girls wouldn't even go near it. They said it stunk too much!)

Update...

Evan came back from camp taller. He's outgrown all his shoes, so he said I could have his Teva's and we'll buy him some shoes instead!

Amy's math book arrived. Poor girl, she'd much rather just ride horses all day! Yesterday some friends came by and helped us set up a Picadero (a square pen used for horse training). Amy should be able to work with her horse a bit more independently in the near future.

Emily definitely has some allergies going on. We're looking into getting her tested. Because I'm pretty sure her food allergies are delayed, the regular skin prick test might not show much. But she responded really well to going off of wheat. And I found a great lotion. Thanks, Jess.

We're still working on meal plans, but Sean did find a way to get all three trash cans up to the road!

10 Essentials Before We Start School

1. Buy a good pair of shoes. This week my fourth pair of shoes broke. The 4th (yes, really 4 pairs down in one month!) came completely unglued while I was at church, during the second song. Fortunately, Evan now wears the same size as me, and he had an extra pair in the car. So if you saw me with a cute pair of black heels before church, then some camo color Tevas after, now you know why. But I really do need to get a pair of shoes for the start of school. Evan needs his Teva's back.

2. Figure out Emily's Allergies. OK, I really doubt that we'll have this all figured out before school starts. But, it would help my energy level immensely if she didn't wake up in the middle of the night crying because she itched so bad. I've had her off wheat for the past week. I think it might be part of the problem.

3. Get rid of the stink. Yea! Sean accomplished this last week. Ever since we moved into this house, the basement, where all our school supplies are stored, has stunk like dog urine. After removing the bottom layer of drywall, a pile of dead mice, and some old shelving, the stink is gone!

4 Organize meals and grocery shopping. We've been following Fishmama's advice and having a rotational breakfast menu this summer. It has been so helpful! I'd like to get lunch ideas and some regular dinner ideas written down so we know what's on the menu for the week. Allergies make it a little more tricky. And I seem to never have time to go to the grocery store. If I could order it all online, I would. And no, the regular stores don't offer in our area, I've checked. So I'm pretty much ordering as much as I can through Azure Standard.

5 Finish unpacking all our books. I feel like this unpacking will never end! I think I still have half a dozen boxes of books to unpack.

6 Develop routines for animal care. We went from one very independent cat that we didn't even have to feed, to caring for 3 horses and 3 kittens. Oh, it's so much fun! But it does take much more time than I thought. And I was imagining that the girls would be able to take care of the animals by themselves. But we're not quite there yet. Not if we want children and animals to be safe and healthy. Evan is waiting for the dog we hope to get.

7 Buy a few books. Usually that's the focus of getting ready for school: supplies and books. But last year, I did all the coupon deals for back to school supplies. I still have enough from last summer that I don't need to buy any supplies. But I do need to buy Amy a math book.

8,9, 10 Pray, pray and pray some more! Each year, I feel more inadequate in my own abilities as a teacher, and yet more confident that God is using me and making me adequate, to train them. I guess the more I see of my faults, the more it makes me dependent on Him.

During past years, I've had a more conventional approach to the start of the school year. The planning has looked different too. Every year is so different! What a fun adventure this year is shaping up to be.

Win a Trip to Legoland and Sea Life Aquarium

Right now at our local library (For you locals) if your child participates in the reading program you will get a free pass to Legoland! We've been once before about 5 years ago. Evan and Amy have fond memories and want to go back. Now that our good friends the "Fish Fam" has moved back close to San Diego, there is even more incentive for us to make the trip.

But this week "Fishmama" is hosting a giveaway where you can win free passes to the aquarium next to Legoland. This would make a pretty inexpensive trip with the library tickets and the giveaway. You can sign up here. And if I don't win, I hope you do!

Weighting....

Emily: "What's this mom?"

Me: "It's a weight bench."

Emily: "Oh, to wait your turn?"

Happy Anniversary, Sean! I hope you like your new workout room! One more project complete!

Happy Birthday, Cowgirl!

We celebrated Amy's 10th birthday this past weekend with a sleepover, and last weekend with a horse! So far in our family, 10 has been a milestone birthday.

Soleil, our new horse!

Amy did a great job leading her into the "scary" barn.

Amy made sure to give her horse a bath before her party. She spent more time grooming Soleil than she did herself!

Emily and her friends, Kate and Rose talking about the horses, playing to be horses, and trying to stay out of the way of horses.

Evan loves helping with the horses too! (We're boarding 3 others for a little while; lots of fun!)

A happy cowgirl!

Enjoying Life in the Country

Driving new toys...

Baking cakes...

Decorating cakes...(With a neighbor's flowers)

Painting fences...

Shooting squirrels...

More For Me!

Yesterday I received my co-op order and everyone in our group wanted to know, "What's in the tube?" It was rhubarb! I know, it's funny to some to have to order rhubarb, but I can't find it here even though it's rhubarb season. I keep looking for it at Farmers market, but to no avail. And the stuff they're selling at the grocery store is pretty pathetic looking. But my tube had several pounds of lovely ruby red rhubarb, perfect for pie!

I'm embarrassed to say that 10 years ago, I watched a few episodes of Oprah. The only redeeming thing about those hours wasted was the cooking show. I frantically scribbled down the recipes and I'm so glad I did. There were two recipes that were gold. One was a soup recipe that is aptly named Summer in A Bowl. It's delicious! The other was a recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. I've made it simpler, but still yummy by substituting a streusel top for the two- crust version .

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

4 cups rhubarb, sliced

2 cups strawberries, sliced

1/2 Tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

Mix together and put in a pie plate. Add streusel topping. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown, and the pie filling is bubbly.

Topping

1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup cold butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup oats

Toss together with your fingers until crumbly. Add to the top of your pie and gently press down.

When I made this last month from our co-op order, Evan and Amy and I loved it. (Poor Emily is allergic to strawberries.) Evan declared it was the best pie he'd ever eaten. He takes after his Papa who also loves Rhubarb pie. But Sean, who I was hoping to impress, said he could take it or LEAVE it! Evan and I looked at each other and smiled. I know we were both thinking, "If dad doesn't want it, then there's more for me!"

Modern Art

My parents went to the Modern Art museum in SFO. I loved these pictures they took of themselves next to paintings they matched.

Before...

Evan's "pink" bathroom. Eventually, it will be replaced with a wild African Safari theme. We already bought the zebra stripe towels at Target and my mom brought some cheetah skin fabric to cover his window seat. We laugh that he got such a girly bathroom.

The girls room, which we promptly painted a lovely shade of pale pink. The rest of the house has very interesting and expensive Venetian Plaster on the walls. But for some reason the previous owner decided to paint over it in this room with Laker colors. Bizarre. The girls have a bathroom off their room too, but I don't have a picture of it.

Our bathroom. The toilet and tub are around the corner. It's huge! Apparently the original owner liked pink. The tile is high on Sean's list of things to improve.

This is the guest room. Our room looks pretty much the same.

The upstairs loft in between Evan's room and the girls room.

Evan's bed room.

The kitchen. It's so much bigger than our previous one. I love that. I'm also really enjoying the double wall oven that Sean bought me for a birthday present! The cabinets are really nicely made but it's a bit too much oak for me. Painting them an antique white and adding some hardware is high on my list of improvements.

The mud room. There is so much storage here, it's really nice. And there is a bathroom off the mudroom. It's the only one with a functioning toilet. So realistically, no matter how much we dislike the pink bathrooms, or the oak cabinets, they will have to wait. Getting things up and running will probably take the better part of a year.

The dining room. This is my favorite room in the house. I love the tall windows, the Spanish tile and the color of the walls.

Our two story fire place in the middle of the living room.

Looking down from the loft on the fireplace. I really like that the loft is open with a half wall.

The view from our back porch looking out at the back pastures. The little building in the distance is a shade structure of sorts for horses. The fence behind it is our property line.

Our back porch. Emily has been having a lot of fun playing here. And Evan is having a lot of fun shooting squirrels from here.

It will be a while before I post any after pictures. Things are still pretty disorganized. But we're having lots of fun while we work hard!