We had a wonderful visit when Dan was here. I have changed over to a new blog so please visit there for updates and pictures:

http://mabfaerie.wordpress.com/

Good news

Got a call and Cyrus who has been on the waiting list has been offered a spot in the Kindergarten class at the same school that Solomon is going to. They are so excited about being at the same school. Additionally the school extended their day by one half hour so they'll be starting at 8am and instead of picking Solomon up at 2:30pm- it will be 3pm and even better is that I will be picking up Cyrus at 11:30am instead of 11am which will come handy with my own errands, social life, appointments, and getting as much done as I can when I am not distracted by one of my cute boys.

Now if school could just start: only 11 more days until September 8th!

Silly boys with their hats

New feet within my garden go,
New fingers stir the sod;
A troubadour upon the elm
Betrays the solitude.
New children play upon the green,
New weary sleep below;
And still the pensive spring returns,
And still the punctual snow!

-Emily Dickinson








Boys enjoying our second cycle of strawberry crop.

All but one cucumber died and no actual cucumber thus far along with some cauliflower next to an artichoke plant in another pot which is Solomon's favorite plant.

Squash just took off in growing!

Eggplant flower with some pictures of the rapidly growing eggplants.

Blueberries have all ripen and been eaten as well as the raspberries.


Some peppers as well.
We have been having so much fun with our small garden this year that I cannot wait to build my raised beds for a much bigger garden next year.

Having fun painting...

Weekly Menu Plan

Monday: D: Marinated beef and saute zucchini & onions

Tuesday: B:Muffins, L:egg salad, D:Chicken with a curry sauce, rice and green beans.

Wednesday: B: Waffles L: BLT sandwiches D:Corn cakes and beans

Thursday: B: Muffins and eggs L: Thinking tacos [Carne Asada] , leftover beans and watermelon lemonade to drink D: Ground chicken teriyaki burgers with salad and some kind of dessert for my mom's bday.

Friday: B: Eggs and toast L: No idea-depends on leftovers and my mood D: Invited to a bbq next door- we'll be bringing hot dogs and smoked bratwurst sausage to grill and a salad of some kind.

Saturday: B: Waffles L: Going to a BBQ [I won't be able to eat much there so I'll bring chicken salad and my own salad dressing] D: Andalusian Gazpacho

Sunday: Leftover waffles L: At a bbq- bringing two side dishes plus watermelon D: Leftovers or fried rice

Some don't like it hot

It finally cooled down enough... It has been 90 degrees or warmer for 11 or 12 days straight- just too much for us in Oregon especially those 100* plus degree days [4 of them in a row that shattered all time high records].

Some of what we did to beat the heat: enjoyed our neighbor's above ground pool, turned on our own air conditioning [most of those who live in Portland area do not have air conditioning which is why the heat wave is really dangerous up here in the NW], saw a double feature for the price of $4 for me and $3 each kid [Star Trek was awesome and Wolverine was alright], use the sprinklers and the hose, popsicles, lemonade, grilled our food outside and realized that ice cream is fine for lunch or dinner, and realized that no matter how hot we were- it is even hotter over there where Dan is. Thanks honey for enduring the 130* days!

Cyrus is even cooler with a mohawk

Picture of my box. I got large portobella mushrooms and cremini mushrooms. Cucumber, baby cioggia beets, carrots, two boxes of blueberries, nectarines, lettuce, rainbow chard, and herbs(sage, thyme, basil. Plus the loaf of bread that I asked to have slight more produce instead of- well they can get it right next time...

Wednesday: Eggs, wilted chard, on top of sliced bread for brunch. Dinner will be marinated beef kabobs from Gartner's, salad with sliced beets, and garlic bread.

Thursday: Breakfast will be blueberry muffins and eggs, lunch will be leftover kabobs on salad, dinner will be grilled beef ribs, corn on the cob, and salad.

Friday: Friatta for breakfast with potato, chard, mushrooms, and goat cheese. Ploughman's Lunch [well a version of it]: Deviled eggs, summer sausage, potato chips, and fruit. Grilled chicken kabobs and veggies like cucumber and carrots served with hummos for dinner.

Saturday: Waffles for breakfast. Sausage and lettuce sandwiches for lunch? Portobella Mushrooms grilled on the bbq and turned into a burger for dinner.

Sunday: Blueberry muffins for breakfast. Andalusian Gazpacho for lunch. Middle Eastern Turkey Burgers for dinner.

Monday: Muffins with eggs. Fattoush salad for lunch. Veggie and bacon pasta for dinner.

Today is Monday Menu Plan and I have to change it up. I have signed up to start receiving a box of produce from a CSA farm [Community Supported Agriculture] which is a great way of supporting your local farmer and get quality produce and here is the website of where you can look up to see if there is a CSA farm in your area: Local Harvest. I will be trying out Hood River Organic because they allow for me to pay weekly or at a discounted price when I pre pay 10 weeks verses paying in advance for the whole season which didn't work with all my summer travel plans. The only thing I liked about Hood River Organic verses some of the other CSA farms in my area is that Hood River is all year long instead of just the "typical harvest time". So now I don't know how to make a menu without seeing what I get in my produce box which I pick up tomorrow so my menu plans will be made and posted tomorrow although I'll confess that I am craving Middle Eastern/Lebanese and Thai foods. Plus we are in the 100 degree weather here which is hot so I use to take advantage of cold dishes and using the bbq grill.

Honeymoon in Savannah, GA

I got to fly out to visit with my husband before he went overseas and we got to visit a beautiful area: Savannah.

Riding the train

At the family reunion- Uncle Orville who turned 90 years old treated everyone to a train ride... Family members boarding the train.



My brother and my grandmother





The engine car

Thanks for the train ride Uncle Orville!

Monday Menu Weekly Plan

Monday: Muffins & eggs, not sure what for lunch, smoked salmon over green salad and a blackberry/peach cobbler for dessert.

Tuesday: Eggs and toast or leftover cobbler, hot dogs and watermelon, Rosemary-Maple marinated chicken on the grill with corn on the cob and watermelon.

Wednesday: Frozen lentil soup warmed up and garlic bread.

Thursday: Bacon and eggs with toast, smoked salmon tea sandwiches with cucumber slices and fruit, Grilled sausage/vegetable kabobs and salad.

Friday: Spaghetti noodles with summer vegetables and a light olive oil/wine sauce inspired by this.

Saturday: Grilled round steak on top on a green salad asian style.

Sunday: Marinated chicken kabob, green salad, and lentil salad.

Mothering

"I looked on child rearing not only as a work of love and duty but as a profession that was fully as interesting and challenging as any honorable profession in the world and one that demanded the best I could bring to it."

- Rose Kennedy

San Diego Zoo

We went to the San Diego Zoo with Mimi, my Mom.





A funny little story happened while we were in the petting zoo part and enjoying petting the goats when Cyrus calls out to me, "Mom, look there is pork!" and I looked to where he was pointing- a section of tired-of-being-petted-animals and the one he was pointing to was a pig! "Cyrus that is a Pig but we do call it Pork when we cook and eat it..."

Ventura, CA Harbor. Just to embarrass them later.

Sea World

Solomon and Cyrus in a Polar Bear Cave

Touching the icy wall

Penguins [and they walked like a penguin to get to the exhibit]






The boys at the end of our trip to Seaworld with stamped hands and loot


Special thanks to Sea World for honoring those who have served and are serving as it is free admissions for military [active and retired...] and their dependents.