still working on it

lots going on around here, fall is busy! Will mail out blog invites in the coming week. Just make sure I have your email address or I can't add you to the list.

going private....finally!

the time has come, the big one is off to school and it's a good time to take this baby private.

If you'd like to follow along, leave a comment or email me.

H

oops, forgot to mention, I need email addresses, so leave a comment with your email and I wont post that info

first s'mores experiencehard to believe but yes it's true, the Snowflowers have never had a s'more until this weekend. Their Daddy picked up a little fire pit and we roasted marshmallows a plenty. Piper ate THREE whole s'mores and was a hot mess from all the sugar and chocolate - but who are we to deny her one of summers rites of passage? Paisley prefers her ingredients 'au natural', I see a possible raw food revolutionary in our midst.

nothing says Sunday like a trip to the ER!

this morning we were woken by big sister running into the room to tell us that little sister had inserted a bead up her nose and couldn't get it out. I dont think Mike and I have EVER got out of bed so fast! After inspection and confirmation of said alien object lodged in nasal passage, we jumped in the car and headed for the ER. It took 4 different methods but the Doctor was finally able to dislodge the 'bead', which turned out to be a freshly shucked navy bean from one of Pipers plants. Paisley wasn't too put out by any of it, she was a little embarassed but didn't cry or squirm in hospital, she just grimaced a little and was back to normal as soon as the eeewy gooey beastie was thrown away.

aaaah, kids.

MADE IN CHINA - WHY?

Do you really want to give your kids apple juice that was made in China? Well, this brand, which is probably the most recognizable American juice is actually a product of China. My kids drink very little juice, but when they do it's organic pressed or fresh pressed from a local orchard. If we cannot source a local supply of juice, the girls dont drink it...simple as that. Anyway, juice is a treat, water is always the first and best option, but I just find it sad that all over this country kids are drinking Chinese made apple juice and quite frankly that doesn't bode well with my 'local and sustainable' mantra.(not to mention my concern with food safety) It's just been surprising me lately how little parents seem to actually know about where the food and drink their kids put into their bodies comes from?

FIVE YEARS AGO TODAYwe got the call from CCAI that changed our lives forever!

I cannot believe it's been five years already!

redemption for the corn dog postForgive me Jamie for I have sinned...recently (about 18 minutes ago) I found a corndog maker on Amazon.com and I am coveting it. and then I saw your new book 'Jamie at Home' and I am torn...I love your show on the cooking channel, and I really want this book(I already have many of your others - hey a girl can try to make a good impression here)...but the corndog maker...it calls me, it tempts me...it wants me.

"Say 12 Hail Jamies and all will be forgiven"

I like the way you work Mr Oliver.

2 hours later it hit me that I really don't need or want the corn dog maker, it was just a knee jerk reaction to the MSF corn dog discontinuation. I'm really more than capable of making some delicious school lunch treats without something that will clog my already meagre cupboard space.

I never said I was perfectOkay, so sometimes we eat packaged foods, always organic or natural or vegetarian, but recently our favorite mini corndogs from Morningstar Farms were discontinued...sigh. I loved these, and so did the kidlets. We ate them sparingly, and they were always a feature at birthday parties (I put them on lollipop sticks and made 'mini corndogs on a stick)...I was also hoping that on school 'corndog days' I could substitute the Morningstar Farms variety as an alternative so my girl could have something similar. However, I found this on Amazon and am considering buying it. I can be in control of making the batter from organic ingredients, and also use vegetarian hot dogs or organic grass fed hotdogs.

Tell me I'm crazy...tell me I dont need this...tell me it's silly, because I'm kinda digging it and I need someone to talk me out of it!

my kids will never not ever eat a school lunch - part deuxI know I KNOW...I'm like an old record player with the same message on repeat...blah blah blah...my kids will NOT be eating that! blah blah...do you KNOW what that is made from?...yadda yadda yadda...if you treat animals like s*#t you'll eventually end up eating s*#t!(case and point - Iowa egg recall)

you get the drift? I'm somewhat of a crunchy mumma, but in all honesty I'm just

being an educated consumer albeit a rather outspoken one with a foreign accent(yeah, that's sure to go down well!)

So...as my 5 year old gets ready to enter Kindergarten, I am readying myself to enter the world of preparing a daily lunch for her, and unless I can completely revolutionize the school lunch system in our district it's pretty bloody likely that I will be doing this for quite some years!

Where's my lovely lad Jamie Oliver when I need him!?

I've just found a cool lunch blog that is doing a survey-ey, contest-ey thing-y and here are the questions I need to answer...

1. How is back to school going for your family?

We'll we don't start until the 9th, but I'm getting hives thinking about it.

2. Is school lunch an important part of your childs day?

Even though school hasn't started, I can without reservation say that lunch, snack, even the though of food excites my child...she has the culinery passion of Nigella Lawson, the gastonomic sense of adventure of Andrew Zimmern and the attitude of Anthony Bourdain! Oh, and she LOVES LOVES LOVES Jamie Oliver. So yes, lunch is/will be important!

3.What is school lunch like at your childs school?

hmmm, I've seen the menu and it's pretty typical, but there is 'sunbutter' (almond or sunflower) offered as an alternative to the meals...but the 'meals' are pretty gross.

4.Does school lunch need to be reformed?

two words - Jamie Oliver!

5.Do you pack lunch for your kids and what do you pack?

Like I said, school has not started here yet, but I'll be sending my girls to school with Bento lunches! Lots of yummy stuff yet to be decided!

6. Do you write notes in your school lunches and what do you write?

I will, thanks for the idea!

7. What are some of your favorite lunch recipies?

Well, the girls love any kind of ASian food, even cold pad thai, so I'm hoping that some of my bentos can include 'leftovers' from the wok!

8. what are some great beverages for kids/adults?

well, water, shui, agua...thats the first choice...but for a little treat, I like the elerberry juice syrup and the blackcurrent juice syrup(Swedish Ribena) from Ikea.

9.What is a trditional food item you made even more healthy and how did you do it?

My kids do like a good PB&J sandwich, but we make ours with organic whole grain bread, almond butter and organic strawberry spread. I use sandwich cutters from 'lunchpunch' to 'cute' them up.

10. How much time should kids get to eat lunch?

I think 25-30 minutes is enough time to eat lunch, I have no idea how long they actually give??

11. What are some products you use when you pack lunch?

I want to create a waste free lunch for my kids, so having reusable utesils and not using plastic baggies will be high on my list, as well as using sandwich cutters, rice molds and nori punches for my 'bento' style lunches.

If you want to participate in this here's the link

Fed up with Lunch

" I love speed!!!"

I kid you not, this is what she screamed as she circled the cul de sac. I took her to the bike shop the other day because she is having issues with her bike not being 'fast enough' so she has to lift her feet off the pedals when they lock up...the guy said "yep, she's ready for a bike with speeds'...'cept they don't make a bike with speeds for a 41" squirt!

How cool is this!

whats even cooler? They have both the simplified mandarin and traditional mandarin versions.

Put the bikes away...it's time for....Scooterville, USA

of course the bike thing wasn't enough of a feat, Paisley also decided to master the scooter her Nana Pam gave her for her birthday! Her sister is a DAREDEVIL on the scooter, I mean seriously death-defying acts of speed that turn my stomach.

How did this Mumma end up with the two most athletic children on the planet? They dont slow down, they NEVER stop...they are energizer bunnies with unlimited solar powered reserves.

milestones There is something distinctively Paisley that has been happening this past week...we see it more and more each day, a 'streak' in her personality that brings a smile to our faces. We call it her 'not until I can master the skill will I lower myself into attempting it' streak...

still following?

This week Paisley decided that she finally likes the swings at the park. It's not like we haven't tried on many many many occasions to get her to at least sit on a swing, she just outright refused....until this week, when she asked to be plonked on, pushed a few times and then suddenly, as if she had been doing it her whole life, she started the 'stretch and tuck' propulsion method and there's been no looking back! It's as if she studies her older sister, works it out in her mind when she will be able to attempt and complete the task to a high standard and then there's no looking back. Take for instance the tricycle...she REFUSED point blank to even sit on the trike until late Spring THIS YEAR...it was as if she had a written contract that dissuaded her from attempting it until she turned three(several attempts and several different options did nothing to persuade her otherwise). Once three she sat on the tricycle and off she went. The red radio flyer was the trike du jour. Then today, she marched up to Pipers old bike(aka retired this summer for a larger model), plonked herself on and rode....no encouragement needed, no safety lessons required...she just up and pedaled. DETERMINATION is this child's middle name!

There's just no telling where this personality streak will take her!

Princess Ballerina ZiZi had the best time a couple of weeks ago at a little camp for beginner ballerinas. She learned to skip, sashay and twirl like a pro. The class was so sweet to watch, the teacher was angelic and Zi had the best time. Of course, the skirt helped.

Punky McBrewsterWell, there's a decent bit of Scottish in my family bloodlines and it was about time I paid tribute to them in my etsy store. As of tomorrow, two new additions will premier. The 'schoolgirl' skirt! gotta be mini!

and the 'bonnie wee lass' dress

I cannot imagine life without tartan...can you?

hey you...yeah you...

wanna know who won the dress? Patricia from NYC. Contact me and we'll hash out the details!

Even my kids knew Prop 8 was stupid

Apparently my three year old is also a progressive liberal! Hey, if it's okay for Charlie & Marv it's okay for everyone!

O lunchbox lunchbox wherefore art thou lunchbox?

In the pursuit of the perfect lunchbox I happened accross these groovy boxes. They caught my attention for several reasons.

1. toxin free plastics - no BPA

2. 4 side clicky clacky snap on lids

3. they are really nicely sized for school lunches

4. some even come with - gasp - dividers! OMG thats almost the perfect bento box right there!

5. they come in an assortment of groovy sizes from HUGEMONGESAUROUS REX to itty bitty snack attack sized.

6. they have glasslock containers too, so Daddy can take his lunch to work and safely microwave it.

I'm not sure where these are widely available, I am waiting to hear back from the customer service rep. Once I get that info I will post the link.