Poor Baby

My poor little girl was sick recently. I went to her room to find her asleep like this! :( Poor child.

Peas

Our peas are coming up beautifully. Ethan dumped the whole bag in 5 square inches, so I had to replant them into rows. They are close, but growing! I am wondering if they will end up smothering each other, but so far so good. My mama says gardening is all a big experiment, so I figured I would just throw them out & see what happened. I am looking forward to eating some good peas!

Ethan's Curtains

Sarah's Mom gave me an idea about how to make super-simple curtains on the cheap. It was fun getting the sewing machine back out! I miss all the crafting. One day, I'll get back to it... And my other most recent project, Ethan's quilt.

Mother's Day Ideas

For Christmas, I commissioned an artist on etsy to make a bowl for my parents. It turned out so cute that she's selling them as Mother's Day presents! Sure, it's risky putting grandkids names on the bowl, since it's still biologically possible for the the list to become outdated. But I figured it was worth the risk. It was fun creating the bowl - and since it was a brainstorm between myself & the artist, I had no idea what to expect! If you are interested, check out justmare's shop for a unique Mother's Day gift! For Christmas, my mother-in-law got one of these adorable little dishes, from MudHutt, which would also make a great Mother's Day gift. Right now I'm scouring etsy for new ideas!

Growing Asparagus

I just planted asparagus today! (not my asparagus pictured above) Kitchen Gardeners says that you can't eat it for a few years, after that, it will harvest for 20 years! We're planning on staying put for a while, so that's just fine by me. Low maintenance - that's my type of gardening. Anyone ever planted asparagus?

View from the Farmers Market

Aren't these beans from the farmer's market beautiful? Any ideas on what I should do with them?? Went to the farmer's market this weekend to pick up my blueberry plants!

Nut Allergies

We now officially know that Ethan has peanut & tree nut allergies. We've been staying nut/shellfish-free for Ethan's whole life, but never knew if there was an actual allergy to them. But today we went in for the scratch test. This is obviously very disappointing for us. The bad news is that they are most likely lifelong allergies, unlike his allergies to milk & eggs which children typically outgrow. The good news is that he does not have allergies to shellfish. Pictured above is his little back, while undergoing the scratch test.

About the Scratch Test:They test potential allergens, along with controls, to see how the body reacts. There is a slight prick (which does not hurt) & application of the allergens. At his testing today, you can see results for nuts, peanuts, shellfish & eggs. Then, you have to keep the child from scratching & rubbing while it hurts & itches like crazy (for those who react). I basically just lightly blew on his back for 15 minutes while he whimpered & squirmed on ocassion. The middle row is shellfish, which is negative for allergies. The bottom left is peanuts, and the right column is tree nuts. He tested very very high for walnut allergies.

What really bums me out? He prescribed us 3 epi-pens. I took it as a good sign that he had never felt a need to prescribe me an epi-pen until now. But the nut allergies are the big bad allergies, so it looks like we're in it for the long haul. At some point, we'll go in for a more comprehensive blood test, which is more accurate as well, but I just couldn't handle that today.

Bummer.

**As always, I prefer not to discuss this in front of Ethan when possible. I want to minimize any feelings of being left out, self-pity, or awkwardness that you can imagine might accompany such a diagnosis.

A Happy Easter

Since we only get about 2 family shots a year, I thought I'd share! We had a great Easter in Decherd, TN, filled with family, fun & sugar. It was our first Easter celebration where we didn't have to confiscate all of Ethan's chocolate eggs!

Fruit Crushers from Trader Joe's

I just found an awesome new fast food at Trader Joe's. Perfect for lunchboxes, with absolutely Zero mess, Applesauce Crushers, and Apple Carrot Fruit Sauce are delicious! I tried these out on a group of 3 year olds. My son loves the Apple Carrot Crusher, but one of the kids did detect a weird texture to the Apple Carrot one. These are now a staple in our house! $2.99 for a pack of 4 from Trader Joe's.

Train Set

I'd first like to say that I'm so excited about all of your gardening! Even more excited that you haven't all abandoned Blogger altogether! I hope to see some posts on your blogs about the lovely rewards of your garden.

Now to the excitement of our household for the past few days. It's hard to tell who's having more fun with our newly acquired train set - E or his Daddy!!!

Gardening Trend

Lance, Ethan & I are starting a vegetable garden this year. Pictured is the bed that was totally trampled during all the house construction, so I'm clearing it out & going to put in a vegetable garden. Right now, my big job is clearing out all the MINT which is running rampant in the bed. (Folks: Mint smells lovely, but spreads like wildfire!! Put it in a pot, people!!!)

This year, I'm starting light & easy, with peas, tomato, corn & maybe some blueberry bushes. It looks like I'm not alone though. The gardening trend is exploding these days, with our economy in the tank and all.

Indications are that 7 million more households plan to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs or berries in 2009. This is up 19 percent from 2008 and anticipated to nearly double the 10 percent growth already seen in this area from 2007 to 2008.

Any of you folks joining in the trend? If so, Whatcha planting? Any favorite easy Southern climate plants?

Or maybe no one is out there. Have you all left Blogger for Facebook?

Hunting

I haven't posted any pictures of Ethan at any of his preschool activities, so I thought I'd share this little picture of Ethan at his Easter egg hunt, with the boys & girls in Miss Betsy's class. 3 sets of twins in his class. How about that?

It's a Big, Big World

As a baby, Ethan never cared too much for music. He still doesn't today, refusing to sing in school performances, and silencing me when I sing, with a "I don't like songs, Mommy!" I used to be a pretty big music snob, so I can't figure this one out. I've never heard of a child who doesn't like music. (He does like "Cotton Eyed Joe" though. Go figure.) Anyway, a few months ago, I came across this album by Renee and Jeremy. KATIE BELLE LOVES IT! Every single time the song, "It's a Big, Big World" comes on, she quiets down immediately. There have been times we just put the song on repeat indefinitely to make it through a long car ride. Anyway, just wanted to pass this great music along to those who have small ones at home. Click here to listen on YouTube. You can also find more songs on their website.

Any of you have some baby or toddler favorites? Did you know that They Might Be Giants makes some AWESOME toddler music?? Click here to listen to "Alphabet of Nations." It's fun to hear your kid say "ZIMBABWE!"

Katie Belle

Please excuse the self-made double chin in the corner. I just thought she was adorable. Right? That bow stayed in place for approximately 6 minutes.

Roasted Veggies - A Recipe

I haven't been trying many fun new recipes lately. That will change soon, since our CSA starts in May! I have been making Roasted Vegetables a ton lately. This 'recipe' is a bit like my 'granola cereal' recipe. I'm not sure if this is exactly how I make it, since it's different every time! I end up tweaking them every time, based on what ingredients I have on hand. But here goes! We eat every bit of these, but if you have leftovers, you could throw them on a pizza, in pasta sauce, or puree them in broth for a yummy soup.

This is about how much I use to feed our family:

5 New Potatoes, Quartered
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
10 Baby Carrots, Whole
1/4 Red Bell Pepper, Sliced
1/4 Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced
1 Yellow Squash
Salt,
1/2 Lemon, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large roasting pan (I love to do it in a cast iron skillet to add some iron to our diet.), toss potatoes & onion with 1 Tablespoon olive oil & 1/2 tsp salt. Roast 10 minutes. Add carrots, squash, bell peppers, lemon slices, and a little more oil & salt. Continue roasting 45 minutes, turning veggies a couple of times, until they are golden & tender. Remove lemon from veggies. Garnish with a few thin slices of fresh lemon on top (optional).

(I have roasted veggie recipes that call for heat ranging from 350-425 degrees, and time ranging from 30 minutes - 1+ hour. You have to figure out what works best for your oven.) Other Optional Additions: Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Herbs, Black Pepper...

Before & After - Kitchen

Here are a few more before & afters of our kitchen. A view you've already seen before, but here's a side-by-side. We removed the wall between our eating room & kitchen. We also removed the wall between the playroom and hall & did some serious space planning to make use of the height of the cabinets, etc. Good thing the hubby got to use that architecture degree! I don't have a true "before" picture of this view of the kitchen, because there was a wall in the middle of this space. But once we gutted it, it looked like this:Then, we put up the drywall & things started looking good! This is a slightly different angle, which shows more of the old "playroom" to the left, which is now opened up to the kitchen. This also shows the process of laying down new hardwoods to match the old. Also, that door & window used to be in opposite places, but we switched them to add a little more space in our kitchen.And here's the finished product! It feels GOOD to be home!

The World Effect

An old classmate of mine, Meggan, is off for a 1-year-worldwide-adventure with her new husband, Beau! How cool is that? They are chronicling their travels on their blog, The World Effect. I'm ready to pack my bags!!! On second thought, something is telling me that all those planes + 2 small children might not be quite the same experience. I guess I'll just have to admire the pretty pictures.

Potty Crisis, Part II

I need help AGAIN!

Thanks to your advice, I abandoned potty training back in August, because the majority of you said "He'll do it when he's ready."

Sure enough, right after his 3rd birthday, he was ready. Right there in the middle of Home Depot, Ethan says, "I've got to go poo-poo!" And just like that, he was potty trained. A few accidents, but doing great for a couple of months.

Until about 6 weeks ago. We moved back in, and he was totally fine for a week. Then, he started having accidents. And I'm not talking about just a few of them. I'm talking about the-#2-kind-of-accidents every day. #1 accidents too. He pretty much never voluntarily chooses to go potty anymore.

I don't know what to do. I've tried discipline. I've tried comforting ("Everyone has accidents.") I've tried revoking priveleges/toys. I've tried promises of a treat/toy. I've tried making him clean up his mess. I don't know what to do anymore.

The doctor said it would resolve itself in a few weeks. Nope. It has been more than a few weeks. I'm SO tired of cleaning up the mess.

ANY IDEAS? HELP!!!!

Garden Blogs?

Things are popping up all over the yard right now. So far, I've been enjoying daffodils and hyacinths (yum). My peonies are starting to pop up and the lilac (yum again!) is beginning to bloom. I can't wait until my garden looks like this again!In the meantime, I'm trying to find some good garden blogs or websites. I found these, but it doesn't look like any are southern-based. Any of you Southern Belles or Gents know of good regional gardening sites?

Some Gardening Blogs I've run across so far...
Heirloom Gardener
Ewa in the Garden
GardenRant
Away to Garden
The Compost Bin
You Grow Girl

The Economy

The economy. I know it's complicated, folks. Good thing we have SNL to clear things up for us.

8 Month Update

Katie Belle is 8 months old! She is so incredibly active - yesterday she easily climbed a flight of stairs! No doubt she will be an early walker too (although I'm just not ready for that!!!) Here's a look back at the past 8 months. These pictures are getting harder & harder to take! You should see the outtakes. (Most involve the paper being eaten.)

And months 1-4. Love that girl!

Before & After - Kid's Bath

Okay Karina. Here's one that we added to the "While We're At It" list. We finally renovated the kid's bathroom. We painted, added beadboard & got a new vanity. I also love the new little mini vase I found from boyanmoskov's etsy store. I've never known what to put in that 2nd little bathroom cutout! I couldn't find a wallpaper or shower curtain that I really loved, so finally I just made one using some fun little fabric from Heather Ross. Any of you ever put in your own grommets before? So much fun. And Ethan helped me paint the stool orange. That boy loves orange. The in-laws should be proud.

Before & After - Site of Impact

Here's where the whole process began, when a drunk driver rammed into our house at 3:30 in the morning last April. Before: Here's the after:
The past year has been a big ole headache in some ways, but exciting in others. It is surprising is how time consuming all the decision-making can be. The hours I spent pouring over decisions about grout color, appliance, hardwood stain, hinge type, and on and on and on...It's good to have some free time again! We love our new kitchen, so we can't complain at this point.

The Veggie Game

I started a new game with Ethan. When we go to the grocery together, he can pick out a vegetable that we will cook together. So, Ethan looks around, and picks out...A Rhubarb?!?!?

Well, I got myself into this mess, so we get our rhubarb and off we go. Much to my surprise, I found this recipe for Banana Rhubarb muffins which was very tasty! Ethan keeps asking "More Rhubarb, Please!"

So if you are feeling adventurous, give these a shot: (P.S. The muffins have "pink" speckles of rhubarb in them, so little pink-obsessed girls might like them!) Recipe adapted from RhubarbInfo.com.

Banana Rhubarb Muffins
2 Egg whites (or 1 portion egg replacer)
2/3 c Skim milk (or milk substitute)
1/4 c Vegetable oil
2 c flour
1/2 c Sugar
1/2 c Mashed ripe banana
1 tb Baking powder
1/2 ts Salt
1/2 ts Nutmeg
2/3 c Chopped fresh rhubarb (about 1, chopped very fine) or frozen rhubarb, thawed and well drained

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray bottoms of 12 muffin pan cups with vegetable cooking spray or line with paper baking cups. In medium-sized bowl beat egg whites with fork; stir in milk and oil. Add remaining ingredients except rhubarb, mixing just until flour is moistened (batter will be lumpy). Fold in rhubarb. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups, filling to top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Immediately remove muffins from pan; cool on wire racks.

Things that Make You Go "Hmmm"

I wonder what was going on right before he fell asleep. Hmm...

Baby Food Jars & Craigslist

I love craigslist. I've gotten some great deals, and also given away tons of stuff - empty moving boxes, remote controls, ceiling fans...We even got rid of a huge hedgerow of nandinas, which we gave to anyone who would dig them up. So today, I posted a listing for "Free Baby Food Jars." Within a couple of hours, I had 4 people who wanted them.

And now, this is my public service announcement that if you have something not worthy of Goodwill, but too good for the trash, don't forget Craigslist.org!

So here's the question...What do YOU do with old baby food jars??? I've been saving a ton since Ethan was a baby, thinking I would come up with something. I never did & have finally decided to get rid of them!!!

CSA's Begin Soon!

Another season of the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is soon beginning, which will mark year #3 for our involvement. So I'm reposting an old post to give you a run down of the pros & cons of our experiences. So is anyone else joining one this year? Are you a big fan of your farmer's market? How will you be getting your freshest of produce this year?
For those of you who are considering joining a CSA next year, here’s my final thoughts from the last 5 months:

THE GOOD
1) Breaks you out of a cooking rut and forces you to be creative.
2) As a result of #1, you will become a much better cook
3) You learn about all sorts of fruits/vegetables that you never knew existed.
4) You discover things like “I like eggplant after all!” and other disappointing things, like “Turnips are as gross as I thought they’d be.”
5) You learn about your local agriculture and what grows when.
6) As a result of #5, you can buy produce in the grocery cheaper & fresher, because you are more keenly aware of when foods are at their height in taste & production.
7) You’re eating more fruits & veggies! Better for the planet and better for your body.
8) You’re supporting your local farmer.
9) If you play your cards right, the CSA can be much more convenient, since you just pick up your box right from the delivery truck.
10) You learn how to freeze foods. (And some attempt the canning route as well.)
11) Many CSAs are organic.

THE NOT-SO-GOOD: I recognize that a CSA is most certainly not for everyone. Here are a few of the down sides.
1) You’re in it for the long haul. Most (not all) CSAs require a full-season commitment.
2) Price – It may turn out to be cheaper than a grocery, but may not. You pay a per-week price regardless of how full or small your weekly share is. If there is very little rain (like this year), your baskets may be small for a while.
3) Repetition – I must say that I got very sick of okra and cucumbers. You might get a large load of a certain food for several weeks. In our society, we’re used to variety. I try to remind myself that farmers across the world for generations have dealt with this and been just fine.
4) Picky Eaters – Need not apply. There are things that I don’t like for certain, but I’m willing to give it a shot. If you are not interested in trying out some new foods, then you may need to pass on the CSA.

Food Sites of Interest:
Eating Organic on a Food Stamp Budget
Cook's Thesaurus
Slow Food USA
AllRecipes.com
100 Mile Diet

Here are a few of the Local CSAs:
Long Hungry Creek Farm
Delvin Farms
Fresh Harvest Co-op (You pick the vegetables of your choice as needed.)
Avalon Acres

For a CSA near you, click here.

Recognize Me?

Yesterday, I sent out the following email. Read below to see the entertaining response from Drew.My email read, "Hey Friends. I am trying to find the owner of the below white plate. Is it yours? We're cleaning out our goods, and I can't figure out whose this was! Thanks."

Here's what Drew (I mean the sauceplate) has to say...Oh My darling. My sweet, sweet china white. Your pattern completes me. I have been searching far and wide for you since we were separated at Macy's so long ago. I never gave up hope my beautiful, flawless wedgewood, 27cm of ribbed perfection. It is I. My place setting has never been complete since you were ripped from my gaze during that 4th of July bonanza sale. I have given myself to no other table since that moment. Return to me and I will give you a silver napkin holder as a symbol of my undying devotion. Let's make little porcelain teacups together. I want you.

Love,

Your white hot saucer plate

On The Move

Time to lower the crib! Katie Belle is now crawling & pulling up. 2 months earlier than her brother did! Let the competition begin! :)

Flour Sifter Light

Thanks to Mary Alice's clever idea, we have a very unique new lighting fixture, original to our house! Here's the before picture.

Still waiting on the glass fronts for these upper cabinets, but we're getting close to finishing!

PS: All you lefties out there notice anything about the sink? I had the lever placed on the left-hand side!! Something so simple is one of my favorite things about my kitchen. :)

Sample Rugs & Babies Don't Mix

Note to Self & Other Blogger Friends:

If you are bringing home a sample rug to see how it looks in your home, do not let your baby sit on it - even for a minute. Even if baby has not spit up in forever, she will spit up, right on aforementioned rug. And you will become owner of new rug, regardless of your affection for it.

Just a reminder, folks.

Settling In

We've moved back in our house (yeah!) and are getting settled in. We're loving the house, and...the quilt is done! Whew! I'm so glad I did it, but that is definitely not going to become a hobby of mine anytime soon! I thought it would save a significant amount of money, but I still spent $200 on materials. I've learned that sewing is not a moneysaver.


We're still waiting on kitchen cabinet doors, and the flour sifter lighting fixture (remember this?), but I'll post pictures of the kitchen when it's all done!

Upcoming Consignment Sales!

Consignment Sale season is upon us! My neighbor sent me this list, and I thought I'd share. Just leave me some good stuff. And let me know if you know of others coming up!

Consigning at the Creek - March 6-7, Otter Creek Church of Christ at 409 Franklin Road

Wee Wares - March 5 -- 8 7 15115 Old Hickory Blvd. (Old Rhodes Furniture Bldg) corner of Old Hickory and Nolensville Rd.

Hannalooms - March 4 - 7 Janie's Antique Mall 114 George L. Davis Blvd. Between Broadway and Church behind Nissan

Kids Bargains - March 27 - 28 Forest Hills Baptist Church

Reruns are Fun - Feb. 24 - 26 Factory at Franklin

Encores and More - Feb.21 - 27 Highway 96 Franklin at Former Trees N Trends Store

Baby is Nearly 7 Months!

We've had so much happening around here, that I haven't posted a picture of my sweet baby in a while! KB is nearly 7 months old & such a sweetheart!

Yes, I know she has no socks. I have yet to find a pair of shoes/socks that stay on. So leave me alone. She had an extra blanket draped around her feet.

Walls Without Cracks All Over

Ahh...It's nice to have walls that look like this Instead of this (blue tape all over our house marked cracks from the wreck):We inherited the wall color, which many people loved, but was too dark for me. So I'm glad to finally have a new coat of paint on the walls as well.

Playgroup Valentine's

This is the third year we've celebrated Valentine's day (a bit early) with our playgroup. How they've grown! Here
are pictures from the previous 2 years. You might notice that we have 3 new ones - Mary Michael, Cash & Katie Belle! We had fun, like always!

Egg Test Results - YEAH!

We're still in the doctor's office waiting. Another 4 hour appointment (!) and we're still waiting for our final approval, but everything looks great for us! Big things in our future. Ethan has eaten all the foods, and we just have to wait another 20 minutes and get to go home!

Here's how the oral challenge works & why it takes so long, for those who are interested: Ethan eats one bite of muffin. We wait. Ethan eats the rest of muffin. We wait. Ethan eats a bite of french toast. We wait. He eats rest of the french toast. We wait. He eats scrambled egg bite. We wait. He eats the rest. We wait.

I hope I never take eating for granted. Since this problem came our way, I've realized that food allergies is the Biggest, Smallest problem ever. Thank goodness, it never has to be a problem that affects one's livelihood if you work really hard at controlling what you eat. But it is a part of your life that you can never forget about. Food is a part of every social situation, and you never get a break from thinking about it. Already I feel such a load off, but I never want to forget what so many people have to deal with every day to avoid allergic reactions.

If food allergies are the reason you started coming to my blog, stay strong! It may not be easy, but hopefully your days of dealing with this are limited. I hope my story has been an encouragement to you & I'm sure it will not be the last you hear from me on the subject. If you ever want to post a question or need some encouragement, feel free to send a post my way!

Edited Note: We got home, and he was very uncomfortable, with trouble breathing, saying "I can't breathe!". I did notice his congestion a bit at the dr. after the scrambled egg, but didn't think much of it because he didn't complain. I guess we'll avoid the eggs in scrambled egg, deviled egg, etc.

Oral Challenge for Egg

This week was one of the best weeks ever. I felt like a parent taking pictures of their first born trying his first bite of rice cereal or mashed banana. Except for us, it was photos of Ethan's first ravioli, pizza, chocolate kiss, grilled cheese, ice cream, cheese cubes, yogurt, and on and on. It was the first week we have ever just walked into a random restaurant and ordered off the menu. There are 3 (yes three) restaurants we've ever taken Ethan & felt comfortable with the food. Other than that, we bring his food, or just don't go out. No more!!!

Hopefully, tomorrow will be the start of an even better week. Ethan's egg oral test is at 8:30 am. He will eat a muffin with egg, followed by french toast, and then scrambled eggs. He had a higher reaction to egg on the skin test, but got a "0" on the blood test. I'm very optimistic! We'd love your prayers!

In other good news, we move in one week!!! Yeah for February!

Oh Boy

We fell in love with an old house. Now, just in time for Valentine's Day, we are falling in love all over again with an old house modernized. The crash fast-forwarded a ton of upgrades to our house that we wanted to do in 5-10 years. (Since we had to tear out the plaster, we went ahead and rewired the house; since we had to put down new hardwoods, we refinished all the floors to make them match; since we had to rip out the ceiling for repairs, we added lighting; since we had to rip out our back steps, we added a deck instead of replacing them, etc, etc.) Here are some current pictures of why I love it so!
Current picture of our kitchen. The grout isn't on yet, so it won't be that dark between the tiles, although I did go with "Mushroom" color grout, instead of white.We made this room larger by including some attic space & unused dormer space & made a built-in bed nook.We love the phone nook, but had it wired so that we could put an actual phone there! Found this cordless vintage-style phone from Pottery Barn on ebay.

Ethan's First Ice Cream

"It's Pretty Good!"

Good News!

We are still at the doctor's office (added note: from 1:30-5pm!), but I wanted to give an update to tell everyone that ate his muffin & pizza with flying colors! He did say, "My Mouth Hurts" after eating his first bite of pizza, but quickly said, "It's Better!" and proceeded to eat 2 slices. (I don't know - maybe he bit his tongue??) He drank chocolate milk, and seems fine, but has hives on his mouth (He also had some nasal inflammation). So we've been cleared on baked goods & cheese, but have been told to wait 6 months on whole milk & try again later. We'll be keeping an eye on him tonight to see if his eczema flares up also.

Anyway, I just wanted to update those of you who are checking on us! I can't wait to go to an actual restaurant and get a grilled cheese tonight!!! And tomorrow, my boy is for sure getting his first ice cream!

We still have an egg test coming up next week, and nuts/shellfish are tbd, but milk has been the biggest deal so far! YEAH!!!