Sucked that cucumber DRY!!

I really love my veggies. I am also enjoying being in my veggie co-op. One thing the co-op is teaching me is how to make my veggies stretch. For example, let us take a look here at the cucumber.

Fancy, huh?

First, I juiced this little guy. I really like to drink cucumber juice. It is refreshing and when mixed with orange juice or beet juice can be quite scrumptious.

After I juiced the cucumber, I then took the pulp and mixed it with yogurt. Resulting in a fabulous spread for my pita lunches this week. A sprinkle of dill yielding a fancy cucumber dill pita! YUM-O

I also took some of the pulp and froze it into ice. Now I have a supply of cool cucumber ice to add to my water as we embrace the 90 degree  daily temps we will see for the next 4 months.

Not a bad stretch for a food that cost me about a quarter.

Stinky Dishes

Big Sis DIVA has taken a real liking to washing dishes. This is fantastic for ME!!! I only can dream that this will last past her 4th birthday and into the teenage years, right?

Well, Big Sis DIVA also has a very sensitive nose. Recently while she was performing her daily duty of getting are dishes cleaned for the dishwasher, she voiced some choice opinions on the smell of our garbage disposal.
"I cant wash "ish" mom because it is too STINKY in there." Points down to garbage disposal and runs off away from the sink.

Shit. I can not let this happen. Very quickly I have become accustomed to this new found help in the kitchen. I am sure not about to give it already. So, I do what all women these days do when they are faced with a domestic problem to solve. I consulted Pinterest.

I found this great link to an idea. (Now, when I clinked the actual link it told me the file was longer to be found, but the picture pretty much was all I needed. So, Thank you to whoever originally posted this) An idea that we are all well aware of but if you are like me, have never thought to put two an two together and put it into practice.

Vinegar and lemon ice cubes. GENIUS. And I just happen to have a surplus of lemons on hand from my vegetable co-op this week, so VOILA. We now have a fabulous collection of vinegar lemon ice cubes living in our freezer, ready to use at any time to freshen up the stinky sink.

Now excuse me as I sit back and watch my 3 year old wash some dishes.

Yes, I do serve Ice Cream for breakfast

I am dead serious. I serve ice cream for breakfast. 1 ingredient ice cream that I make, from scratch. HAHA And it is fabulous. AND has no refined sugar or anything else funky or chemically for that matter. My kids can honest to God have ice cream for breakfast and I won't have to shoot myself a nasty look of distasteful judgement in the mirror for serving it either.

Would you like to serve ice cream for breakfast too and be elevated to the Rock Star level of fabulous mom I currently stand at? Well then, here is what you need.

A freezer

A blender

A peeled frozen banana

Step one: Peel Banana and Freeze. Originally I was told to let it only freeze for 2 hours or so, then whip it up. I, however, have two kids and Facebook to deal with and I forgot about little frozen banana for a day or two. Oops.


Step Two: Take frozen banana out of freezer and plop in blender.



Step three: Blend Banana until it forms an "ice cream like" texture. I will be totally honest and tell you the only reason I attempted this treat was because I thought it was bullshit and that this frozen banana would not turn into ice cream. Well, I have been proven wrong. Low and behold after some blendage took place, the banana all of a sudden whipped itself into an ice cream like form. Who knew?

Step four: Call children to the table for breakfast and tell them you are the most awesome mom in the world because you are going to "let" them have ice cream for breakfast. Never reveal it is just a nice healthy banana! Nothing more. Bask in the glory of being totally cool to your kids.



Step Five: Serve "Ice Cream"

Step Six: Enjoy being the greatest mom EVER, all day long. Perhaps even repeat tomorrow for breakfast.

PS this works on husbands too.

Sprinkles and Icing

My baby is 1 today.

I find myself wondering how did the time fly by. Was it not just yesterday that I fell asleep while feeding tiny tot and woke in a panic thinking I might smush her in the bed? Was it not just yesterday that it took me ALL day to get out of the house and into the car with 2 kids, only to then realize we missed the play date and then I spent all night getting us back into the house? Was it not just yesterday that she learned to smile? Was it not just yesterday she completed our family?

The last year has brought us lots of joy and adventures. Princess Pork Chop and Big Sis DIVA together with H4L, make me the happiest person in the world. We never have a dull moment around here. I am so thankful for that. And today we celebrate 1 year as a happy family of four!

H4L and his ladies!

Picking out  her first ever Sugar (cupcake)

Getting Princess Pork Chop's First cupcake

Big sis DIVA not impressed it is not HER day

Hello there

Oh my

This is AMAZING

Daddy, you got to try this!

Nothing like toes and icing

Can I be 1 everyday?

Daddy and his baby girl

Mom, Here have some

Happy FIRST Birthday to my baby girl Scarlett!!!

Bittersweet.