Saturday Ramblings

Well, technically it's Sunday.

I spent most of today purging our house. With Arden starting her new school on Tuesday I am trying to get the household organized. Everything changes with the new school year. Dora assumes the glamorous job of dropping the kiddo off while I will do pick-up. Breakfast at school is not longer an option so I'm coming up with creative breakfast ideas that Arden can eat in the car.

I bought some fancy new Bento style lunch boxes from www.easylunchboxes.com. Trying to get creative with the lunches too -- making interesting things that the child will approve of. Always a challenge. We are again in a nut free environment so there goes the idea of peanut butter sandwiches as a quick, easy and non-cold requiring option once in awhile.

Anyway, I did a total overhaul of the child's closet. It's now ready to fill with all the new clothes we've been acquiring over the past month or so. I finally parted with stuff that I was holding onto for no good reason. I even had a pair of tiny tights from her baby years hanging up in the closet. I think it's safe to say that 6-12 month sized tights will not fit the child.

We located the missing pieces from her school list today -- a 1inch black binder and dividers. The first day of school dress arrived yesterday (thanks Grandma Mary!), so all signs point to us being ready for Tuesday to arrive.

I just wonder if our emotions are ready...

Growing Pains

Another glamorous Monday in our lives. I've been thinking about motherhood a lot lately, and will elaborate in a more extensive post in the coming days. Suffice it to say, it's going too fast, I feel like I blinked and the last six years disappeared, and I fear that if I blink again she will be 12. We run and run and run and miss the most important things. So today after work and school, I didn't immediately deal with the chores that needed my attention. We played a few games of Crazy 8s and then went for a 2.5 mile walk with the dog. Halfway through the walk she took my hand. Someday soon she will think she's too big for that, won't she?

Here she is this morning, the first day of her last week at Little Sprouts ... she's been at this location of LS since she was around 18 months old. Next week will bring big changes.

Thank You, Irene...

For the excuse to bake. We (apparently) made the executive decision to go off of our regularly scheduled food programming today. It's the hurricane's fault. I also needed to go through some of our CSA produce.

First up...zucchini bread. I use the recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's okay. It's a very dense bread. I need to play with other recipes to see if I like them any better. Not that we're really eating baked goods these days....(10 months until the wedding).

I shredded a giant zucchini for the bread, and still had two cups leftover. I found a recipe for chocolate zucchini muffins ... they are delicious and were so easy to make. A good way to get rid of the overload of zucchini.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chocolate-zucchini-muffins/detail.aspx

On an actual healthy I note I found a great recipe that used up zucchini, tomatoes and corn, all things we needed to use up from last week's CSA. Even Dora liked it! And it was so easy to make. The recipe calls for yellow squash but I substituted zucchini.

Braised Yellow Squash, Corn and Tomatoes

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1750,147182-226204,00.html

The Girl, She's Growing Up...

Big day in our house this weekend. We had hair appointments on Saturday. Arden always comes with us and Arthur (A. Quinn Hair Studios, he's the best!) gives her a trim. Well, this time she asked for a cut. Difficult as it was we let her. I went in the back to have my brows done and came out and had a little girl with hair just below her shoulders. And it looks awesome....and it's more manageable, which I think is fantastic. Most importantly, the kiddo loves it.

6 inches of hair!


In progress....


So, so excited...

Voila! How many 6 year olds have only had their hair cut by a senior master stylist?

One more week until first grade!

Susie Homemaker Goes Local...and Primal

This little creature wasn't feeling well this morning. She stayed home from school and watched mentally stimulating tv like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers while I worked.

I decided to let the fall like weather inspire me to actually maximize my non-commuting status for the day. I cooked for our primal food approach (who needs grains?) and tried to use the abundance of CSA produce we had left in the fridge before tomorrow evening's pickup.

I roasted a chicken (raised by our friends, assisted into the next life by D...how's that for local?) and made CSA grown green beans.

We had peaches that were on their last legs so I roasted them with a little butter, sugar and cinnamon. We finished off with a touch of heavy cream and voila 'dessert'.

I also chopped 8 or 9 yellow and green squashes to be used in a veggie heavy soup that D will make tomorrow.....

....Using the homemade broth from the aforementioned chicken.

Twas a good day. I was outrageously productive work-wise, but also on the homefront. Oh how I relish in days I can work at home.

Pierced

This weekend's adventures included me allowing someone to come at my child's ears with a gun. Arden has been contemplating getting her ears pierced for around a year...though I would say before now I wasn't comfortable letting her do it.

We walked by a store that did it, she asked and I said yes. She picked out little aqua studs. She did ask before they started if she could just get one pierced 'like the pirates' -- but stodgy ol' me required 2 or 0. She was a trooper -- no tears, barely a flinch. She picked out anchors for her second pair of earrings.

It's going to be a long 8 weeks of 'when can I put in my anchors' ...

Things That Are Pitiful

My lack of attention to this blog. I started another blog .... focused more on the issues we face in life due to our family makeup. And while I will continue to blog there, I can't give up the actual life blog. I mean really, our life is far too exciting to deprive others from reading about it.

Stay tuned for something mildly interesting and creative.