Summer Fun & Snap shots

I am going to do a SUMMER FUN series on the blog. All summer long the girls and I have logged the fun things we want to do before school starts, each girl gets to pick from the list and we will try and fill the summer with as many activities from the list as possible. I will be posting pictures on here and writing about each activity. I will not have all three kids in each picture set, (although they will all participate) and I will be writing about what we did, and who liked it, who didn't and so on.
This is for my record and to preserve these things as much as possible.
All of these are going to be snap shots, or what I like to call "Mom Shots" Random snapped pictures which I ignore all of my OCD tendencies with taking portraits and just snap a random shot. This is so I don't have to worry about what is in focus or the speed or any other setting I should use. As in the pictures from the last post. This is all going to be all of the girls enjoying summer break and letting our hair down, so enjoy the count down until school begins again!


** This set of shots is of the "pool days" set. We took all the left over balloons that survived the car ride and filled the pool with them. I bought some extra noodle water guns and they played games like "who can squirt their ball tot he other side the fastest". Daddy tied rope for the older girls to swing on, and when the baby girl got tired of the big girl fun, she went to the upper deck with mom and played in her little pool. Glucklich was so funny trying to make sure everyone was ok the whole time! He's such a daddy dog sometimes. We all had a fun pool day and cant wait to do it all over again!

Summer begins!

Little one and I blew up many many many balloons (I was trying to be funny in this picture for Emmary who was helping take it, but I come off a little crazy :), I guess I'm a little of both!) and filled the truck and the back and then we decorated the windows to celebrate the last day of school and summer beginning for the older two girls. They were both really excited when they saw and it was very cute to see there faces and to hear them as they walked and then started running to the truck. Reiley even asked "Is it my birthday?" Very sweet girls!!


Emmary was really excited for the girls to come see.
Poor Mrs. Rowlette above... her class next year will seem like a vacation I'm sure of it! ;) Reiley will miss her!!
Bailey's teacher adored her! We will miss her!

We decorated all the windows and Emmary even scribbled some love messages to the girls.... She is a sweet heart!
Ok, this is the summer kick off for us, I cant wait for the fun to begin! Starting ..... NOW!

That didn't last too long.

So the fish are no more. One by one they were leaving us, so my oldest daughter set three of the five to sea (as they were salt water fish)
Good bye fish who never kissed our fingers. Goodbye to your little dirty bowl I had to clean three times a week, good bye to having to remind the baby to stop putting her hand in the tank, goodbye to wild woman splashing your water, good bye to feeding you and telling the girls to stop over feeding you, good bye to measuring out the salt for your new water, good bye to you darting to the bottom of the bowl when someone walked by your tank.... Good bye.... I am sure all the crazy reaching in the tank prepared you for life in the ocean and you will be rock steady ready if a predator comes your way! Good luck and good bye little fishies!

Odwalla Plants free trees.....

* Plant a tree with the click of your mouse, for free *

Very cool that this company is doing this. Odwalla is planting trees for free if you go to the link and click on your state, they plant a tree in your state park. The site gives lots of tree info and why they are good for us, but more importantly, they are helping those Americans who want to make a difference, but do not have the means to in this economy.
I commend this company, and feel even better for buying Odwalla drinks for my little ones to drink as we roll around Target to keep them satisfied and happy (ok, yes, I do get them a cinnamon pretzle too and a diet coke for myself! ;)

CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:
http://www.parkvisitor.com/odwalla/

The Redwoods

They were enormous and beautiful... The Redwoods are so awesome due to the sheer size, but also to realize some of those babies are 2000 years old! It is just amazing. The trip there was not so bad, but we definitely had our share of whining. After everyone ate the picnic lunch we started off exploring... And without skipping a beat our second daughter had a melt down. I was afraid the trip was not such a good idea, but then her daddy took her and the dog in one direction, and I took off in the other with the oldest and youngest... and I have to say, once we split up, it was enjoyable! Daddy even said the wildness went tame on his end too! I got some nice shots and we enjoyed the rest of the time there. Wild woman even found a worm (pictured) she named him "Silky" We met back up to finish exploring and Silky stayed on the walk through the gigantic trees the rest of the day until it was ( just in time) time to pack up and depart.
Although it is hard, and gets harder the older the kids get, I love that the military sends us to different places around the world. My children have had so many more opportunities to experience such beautiful things than I did growing up and I am very thankful about that!

* Gluten Free Cake & Icing Recipe *

A recipe I made... I love being able to say that... I am sure other people have something similar, I mean it is food, but I baked it from my own head and used what I have learned from the GFCF diet. I just found out that a relative of mine was diagnosed Celiac disease. This is where the body can not process Gluten properly and can effect multiple organs and have both short and long term effects if left un treated.
So I took my know how of the GFCF diet and made a recipe for a small yellow cake with a chocolate peanut butter frosting... This was a HUGE hit! It DOES have butter in it, (like I said, my grandparents and ancestors would roll over in their graves if we went dairy free) but besides that, which can be substituted for those who are vegan, it is completely GFCF...... So I dedicate this to my cousin, in hopes that she can find her way though this difficult time of figuring out all the recipes that are good, and finding great recipes she can hand down through her generations to come!
** The Chocolate Peanut butter Icing **
1/3 Cup water
1/4 Cup corn starch
3/4 Cup's Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Peanut butter (or whatever nut butter you use)
1/3 Cup cocoa powder
3 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Tahitian from Trader Joe's)
1/4 soy milk (or almond, any milk substitute to keep it vegan or Casein free)

**DIRECTIONS**
Mix water and cornstarch in a pot and warm...



. * Do not walk away and forget pot while mixing other ingredients or you will end up with this and have to wash the pot and start over..... Yeah, not a good idea ;)

*That's better, combine fully and heat until all is combined and looks starchy enough for you.
*Next in a clean mixing bowl, add the starch water and rest of the ingredients minus the peanut butter.
* It will look slightly watery and take a few minutes to combine fully.
* Last add peanut butter and put your mixer or beater on high ( or use those triceps and get a good work out!) and beat on high until it looks thicker...
* Still a little drippy, but that is what I was going for (Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes and it will firm up more)

** The Cake **
1/4 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup white sugar
1/8 Cup light brown sugar
1/2 stick soften butter
1 teaspoon Baking powder
2 Eggs

** Directions**
Combine all and mix until smooth

* Mixing complete
*Grease loaf pan with coconut oil
* Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
* Cut into bite sized pieces
* Arrange on a plate and pour your icing over top however you like (there will be MUCH more icing than you need for this, freeze left over icing for the next time you make the cake)
** BLIND TASTE TEST**
ok...
mmmmmmmm!
OH YEAH!
mmmmmm
seconds, try fourths!
And fifths please!
I like it, can I really have more?

This was the funniest picture I got! Dripping and oozing chocolate, eyes wide with anticipation of the taste liking her fingers as if there were none left on the plate, they all loved it, but my girl who I started the journey for, really loves it and has no clue it is anything other than "Yummy cake mom, thanks for the treat!"
Worth all the effort of having to think outside the box.....

Here's a re-cap

** The Chocolate Peanut butter icing **
1/3 Cup water
1/4 Cup corn starch
3/4 Cup's Agave Nectar
1/2 Cup Peanut butter (or whatever nut butter you use)
1/3 Cup cocoa powder
3 teaspoons vanilla extract (I used Tahitian from Trader Joe's)
1/4 soy milk (or almond, any milk substitute to keep it vegan or Casein free)

**DIRECTIONS**
Mix water and cornstarch in a pot and warm.... Do not walk away and forget pot while mixing other ingredients or you will end up with this and have to wash the pot and start over..... Yeah, not a good idea ;) Combine fully and heat until all is combined and looks starchy enough for you.
Next in a clean mixing bowl, add the starch water and rest of the ingredients minus the peanut butter. Last add peanut butter and put your mixer or beater on high ( or use those triceps and get a good work out!) and beat on high until it looks thicker... (Put it in the fridge for 30 minutes and it will firm up more)

**The Cake**
1/4 Cups Flour
1/4 Cup white sugar
1/8 Cup light brown sugar
1/2 stick soften butter
1 teaspoon Baking powder
2 Eggs

** DIRECTIONS**
Combine all and mix until smooth
Grease loaf pan with coconut oil and pour batter in
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
Cut into bite sized pieces
Arrange on a plate and drizzle icing all over top
Enjoy!

Convert-O Bike

Check out this cool toy... A tricycle that converts into a big kid bike by taking off the axle and inserting one of the back wheels. Very cool... But at 325 US dollars, a little too steep for me... I think it is available in the NE. so my European friends may be able to find one at a bargain! Here is the link to the US store that sells it (a favorite modern store of mine called Design Within Reach)
http://www.dwr.com/product/accessories/recreation/convert-o-bike-tricycle.do?sortby=ourPicks

To photoshop or not to.... That is the question

(from the blog "The J- Walk)

Another look at this burning question of mine.... Man oh man do I love some of the pictures that come from Photoshop.. I truly do and I go back and forth on this all the time, but I read a blog and it just kind of leaves a bad taste in my mouth, like how far will a person go for a good shot...

The photo above is from a Photographer who deliberatly made kids cry and then took the shot and then photoshopped it. The end result is a cool shot, but really has the art of Photography gone out and the art of painting taken over? I battle back and forth because I can see that it does produce great work, but there is a line some people cross, so should I say I will never do it... Is it all or nothing? This is a battle I struggle with because I still am learning so much and I know I could go shop a lot of my mistakes, but then I would never learn how to get it right and what to do better next time in the camera to better myself on my joouney to become good at what I do. I am not a perfectionist so I deal a lot with my errors and I have pictures both untouched and touched. I know of a Photographer who balances this wonderfully, but I still struggle with what I should do and if I should draw the line in the sand or not. So far so good for trying not to, I have not touched any of the new ones... But does that mean I wont in the future... I dont think it does. I guess this is just my journey to see there is a line, and forcing kids to cry and then photoshopping little kids to get a good shot is not somewhere I want to go.... I like the old school principles of waiting, even if it is a LONG time, for a good shot, and then in a split second capturing it in the camera..... To me it is like the old school principle of working hard in your youth and reeping the benefits of living comfortably when you are older. I know with digital it is instant gratification, but when did the pendulum swing so far? Not everyone's does and this is something I will definitly think about and take into consideration.
Here is the link:
http://j-walkblog.com/index.php?/weblog/posts/crying_kids/

Oh Daniel-son.....

This should not make me so happy....

Today at Target I stumbled upon a new product by Scotch Bright 3M.... We all know I love their products, and now there is a "green" version??!! I really feel like I have to say I am not a tree hugger, but I do have it in my blood and get too excited when I find products that help me in my mommy job at home and are natural because I feel better when I use things like that.
Anyhow, the brown cloth is made from Bamboo, it is SO soft! The sponge has a scrubby side and a soft side. The hard scrubby side is made from the Agave. It could only get better if they would have used coconut! ;)

A total coco-nut!

Here is the coconut oil I use for those out there who asked about it. (Spectrum- organic virgin coconut oil, unrefined) Below you can see that it comes as a more solid (but not too hard) consistency. This is perfect for any beauty uses it has. You can also heat it (I put it in the microwave for 30 seconds) and it liquefies clear the same as every other oil out there, but has a slight coconut flavoring, so this is perfect for baking or cooking Asian type foods in a skillet.
The last picture is of a yummy low fat treat by Dreyers, coconut fruit bars! They are Gluten free and perfect for my little lady who I am trying the new diet with (Also the rice in the jar behind the coconut oil is good for this diet too, we have to stay away from brown rice and all things containing wheat)
Anyhow, most of Dreyer's fruit bars are not only Gluten free, but also Casein free (GF/CF will be a term I use on here) She happens to want every flavor of them, but NOT coconut! What do I say abou that? The same thing anyone with kids would say, good, more for me! ;)
truely I am a little coconut crazy, and not ashamed to admit it! Between that and my love of the garlic, rosemerry, olive oil trifecta, my taste buds are always happy! I will have to post on that later!

It's not wife's day people!

These are what my little girls call "Kissing fish" .... So I wake up to Mother's day with my husband who made an omelet for me. Not in his bag 'o tricks, and since we did not have any new eggs, he used an old one... Yes people, I ate a rotten egg omelet for breakfast. But I did appreciate the thought. Until my belly started hurting and UNTIL I asked where the loot was... I mean, I always get a gift on mother's day, so why is this any different.... Then I was informed that it was not wife's day, so since I was not his mother, there was no gift for me.... (no he did not send his mom one either, so there lies the truth!)
Anyhow, my feelings were hurt and I decided to give my second born daughter a gift of using this lapse of judgment on her father's part as an excuses to buy her the fish she has been wanting.
Now these are salt water fish and since my toddler thought it would be fun to sprinkle the extra salt in there, I put them in a measuring cup to clean the bowl.. (Where does she get the energy, one, and two, find new things to make a mess out of?.. I will never know!)

By the way, these stupid fish have yet to kiss any of us! Just what I needed, someone else with attitude in the house! :)

All in all, I was able to relax. My oldest gave me a foot rub, my middle told me she was on her best behavior because it was "Mutters day" and the baby cuddled up and watched a movie. All in all a good day was had by me and I wish I had more relaxing days!!

I hope you all had a happy mother's day... Even though, It's not wife's day people! ;)

Prints

OH how I love getting prints!!! And the process and paper I use is SO expensive, that I have to be careful with what I print out and what I keep digital. Recently I went through all my family pictures to decide what I print from trips and of my kiddos..... I thought I was being very selective, until I ended up with 95! Yes, that is almost 100 prints that I loved and wanted to print...
So now I am at the point of thinking, it is actually a great idea to put 95 pictures up on one wall. A wall of a hundred portraits... has a nice ring to it. And I can swap them in and out as I find new portraits I just cant live without seeing and put the others in an album.... This wall is a great idea, but not here at the rented beach house (I say that as it is an old 70's house right on the beach filled with old wood and really needs some structural love, love that does not include 95 holes!) So this project will be at our next assignment where the plan is to buy our first home and make it ours. So this wall of a hundred portraits is a plan in the making, but I am going to print pictures off now and that is a lot of dough.... Here are just a few of the hundred I will be printing. It is SO eclectic of a mix, mixing random snap shots with portraits, color, black and white....but that is what I like.