So it has been a while...

Somehow I ended up taking an unexpected break following very sporadic posting.  After the move there was all the craziness of unpacking and getting settled, and then my MIL arrived to help and we started lots of projects and things were going great!  We had Miss Pear's 6th birthday and had a lot of fun!

And in the past 2 weeks it seems like were passing around the yuck.  No fun.  On the plus side I know that my carpet cleaner still works wonderfully!  The stomach bug seems to have passed, and now a cold bug came to visit.  Not fun.  So while I have a couple things I want to blog about, no promises this week, I might be snuggled up beside little sick girls watching Wild Kratts.

I did see that Sandy over at the Reluctant Entertainer is doing a great series in June about outdoor entertaining.  I loved her book and have found a lot of inspiration and encouragement from her site, so I highly recommend it.

Other than that, my brain is tired from caring for little ones who are not feeling well, I just wanted to pop in and say hi and find out if anyone has found something fun to share.

Today's CSA Box

This morning we received our third CSA box in 3 weeks, and what I learned is that we are still an every second week kind of family, but with company I love this alternative of upping our delivery as needed.

The recipe I tried with baby bok choy of Pork Lo Mein worked out great, even when I substituted ham, so I will share that with you soon.

This morning's box contained the following along with a slug who managed to eat a fair bit of lettuce and all the leaves off my broccoli - both of which I will receive a credit for, and the slug was enjoyed by the neighborhood crows.

This week's box:

Box Contents
Avocados, Organic - 2 each
Bunched Carrots, Organic - 1 bunch
Broccoli, Organic - 1 bunch
Cilantro, Organic - 1 bunch
Roma Tomatoes, Organic - 1.5 pounds
White Sweet Corn, Organic - 4 each
Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Cucumbers, Organic - 2 each
Navel Oranges, Organic - 6 each
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 6 each
Celery, Organic - 1 each
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 5 each

In addition, the following Green Grocer items are scheduled to be in your order:

Qty.	Item	Price	Total
1	Broccolette, Organic - 1 bunch/order
1	Watermelon, Organic - One small, approx. 4.5 lb melon/order.

We have pico de gallo and guacamole on our menu list for this weekend along with chips, of course!

I am also planning the favored brocolette with a balsamic vinaigrette that Miss Pear could not get enough of (she loved it so much that we all ended up giving her some of ours once the bowl was empty!)

I confess, the first watermelon of the season for the long weekend was too good and too tempting! I could not resist temptation and added it to our box.

What would be at the top of your list if this was delivered to your door?

Monday Madness

Today is completely crazy in a wonderful way!

I found the Happy Birthday banner I made from fabric that I need for Saturday - huge! It has been lost since we moved even after I put it somewhere safe so I would not lose it!

My sweet husband picked up the futon his mom bought us for a housewarming gift and brought it home at lunch.

My book I ordered that I need for tonight arrived with enough time for me to read the introduction and the first chapter.

The ladies are meeting here tonight - our first really gathering! A gentle test drive!

I worked on the table runner for Miss Pear's birthday party on Saturday made with scraps from the napkins I made (because I needed more napkins anyways and space ones sounded fun).

My MIL made jam, brownies, and 2 trays of meatballs today and would not let me help.

It has been a great day and I have time to pray uninterrupted and unrushed for our company tonight!

Wood Pecker Update

IT WORKED! There have been sunny mornings all week and no wood pecker sounding on our chimney.

It makes it worth our chimney looking like a weird space satellite!

CSA Box This Week

Thursday morning our CSA box was waiting for us on the front steps full of delicious produce. This is an extra box we ordered while we have company and it was filled with:

Red Radishes

Bunched Carrots

Yellow Onions

Swiss Chard (Last minute substitution for Bok Choy when it was not available)

Broccoli

White Sweet Corn

Red Leaf Lettuce

Tomatoes

Navel Oranges

Strawberries

Mangoes

Apples

Plus we added on yellow beans, blueberries and yogurt.

It was such a great treat to have yellow beans! I never order them because they are so delicate and expensive, but my mother-in-law said she wanted them so order them and put them on her tab - how could I argue? They were delicious!

I am also looking forward to that delicious sweet corn for the first time this spring!

What would you be planning if this box was arriving on your door step?

CSA Box as Reading Lesson

Recently we have been trying to show Miss Pear how important reading is to every day life. One of her newest jobs is to help me "inventory" the CSA box. Our method goes like this:

1. Pull the CSA box in off the front steps before breakfast, open to warm if it was really cold putting away anything that requires refrigeration.
2. Eat breakfast.
3. Empty box all over kitchen island putting like things together.
4. Give list and pencil to Miss Pear.
5. She reads each item and quantity.
6. I say we have it, sometimes pretending to not be able to locate it to help her identify things.
7. She checks it off
8. Repeat items 5-7 until the box contents are completely reviewed.
9. Store all veggies and fruits.

This has been a lot of fun for her, and it helps her to feel useful and productive, something she loves.

We have only had one problem with this process, and that was the day Daddy snuck an orange out of the box and did not tell her. It was quite cute.

How do you make reading a practical thing in your home - I love new ideas!

Last Week's CSA Box

Last week's CSA box was readily anticipated around here. I was down to 1 grapefruit, 1 pear, and 1 mango for fruit along with about 10 apples I had bought at Costco. The veggies were holding out a little better, but not much.

Our delivery consisted of:

Cucumbers

Bunched Carrots

Broccoli

Baby Bok Choy

Snap Peas

Romaine Lettuce

Onions

Navel Oranges

Strawberries

Apples

Tangelos

Mangoes

I also added cilantro so that I could make a pasta dish that ended up being kind of bland, unfortunately or I would have shared it with you.

As we have company right now we are getting an extra box this week, making it 3 weeks in a row that we get the larger box delivered. It will be a great to see exactly how that works because we are definitely trying to eat more fruits and veggies around here.

I confess thought that I did swap out the Zucchini for Tangelos because I was tired of trying to come up with different ways to serve zucchini and really wanted more tangelos because they are one of my favorite.

We are having salads, and the bok choy will turn up in a lo mein recipe this week that I will share with you if it is as good as I remember. I cooked up the second half of our Easter ham this week so I am looking for all kinds of ideas to use it up - today it is ham soup without the split peas.

Also, in my continuing love for my CSA I realized that the small box is defaulting to avocados while the large box is defaulting to mangoes - such a treat.

Woodpecker Saga

You may not be able to tell from around these parts, but I do wish to return to blogging and talking about the CSA box with seasonal food, books, Bible study notes, and other fun stuff, like a return to freezer cooking which I kind of dropped of on when I started seeing it everywhere online. Unfortunately as long as I am NOT getting sleep that is not going to happen, I can barely string two sentences together with out trying to think where I was going with this.

So it comes down to this.

The woodpecker arrived every sunny morning between 5 and 6AM. Yes, when morning has not officially started around here. It is loudest in Baby's room so she wakes up scared and crying. So I bring her back to our room and we try to rest a little longer.

It is not working.

Either the woodpecker goes are we do, and we own the place, so his days are numbered...

...he gets 1 more day because the exterminator company comes tomorrow!

No, they are not going to exterminate him, however tempting that has been some mornings, they specialize in nuisance birds and have a number of ways to make sure he does not land that are harmless.

I am looking forward to more sleep.

Motivated

When we moved I was very motivated to move as much of the kitchen stuff as I possibly could so we could do practical things...like actually eat meals almost right away. I was also highly motivated to get rid of as many boxes as possible because I was sick of boxes after not unpacking everything for a year, just the stuff we needed.

Then there were THOSE boxes.

The difficult ones, the random ones, the "I just don't have the energy to deal with it ones" that were left.

And help arrived.

And a birthday party is on the horizon.

And a baby shower for a friend just got scheduled.

And a group of ladies is meeting here next Monday.

Suffice to say I am now HIGHLY motivated to get rid of all the boxes and get organized, including decluttering and donating all that we don't use and love, and repacking a lot of seasonal stuff, especially Christmas decorations now that I have some proper storage totes, and sorting all the books...oh the books.

Did I mention that the movers actually were a little discouraged by the number of book boxes they had to move? We love books.

So that is where I am. I just cannot bear for this move and unpack and organization to linger, it really needs to be done yesterday.

Early Morning Visitor

We have had an early morning visitor here off and on since we moved in, and as much as I enjoy company this is one visitor I am not crazy about...a downy woodpecker.

I could certainly be more hospitable if he was visiting the trees.

But that is not the case.

He is pounding on our metal chimney....

At 5:30 in the morning.

The chimney that runs down the center of our house and is loudest in Baby's room, often scaring her awake...at 5:30AM.

I understand that it is mating season and he is trying to announce to the world how hansom he is, but might I suggest he begins a little later because unless the women of his species are a long different from the women in our house, starting that early in the morning is not winning him any admirers!

Here is hoping some lovely female downy woodpecker takes pity on us soon...I mean HIM, takes pity on HIM soon!

Cradle Cap

My little 2 year old had a terrible case of cradle cap this weekend, and after plan A of the special shampoo did not work, everything I knew said to use olive oil for a massage, let it sit, and then comb her hair. I was at a loss as to how I was going to apply olive oil to Baby's scalp then let it sit and not have it all over the house now that she is an active girl. It was a mystery.

Until I discovered plan B...er....C?

Coconut oil, which is a solid at room temperature but softens at skin temperature and is excellent for dry skin.

So I began slowly massaging it in, and the cradle cap started coming off just as I was massaging the oil in, that has never happened before!

And it ALL came off Sunday night. I just did a thorough inspection (Tuesday afternoon) to see if we had to apply again to take care of what developed afterwards, and there is nothing but a beautiful, healthy scalp.

It is wonderful! And I have a new secret weapon for cradle cap I hope to never use again!

This Week's CSA Box

I am eager to get our CSA box this week, and not just because we are almost out of bay leaves!

Here is what we are getting in our box this week:

Box Contents
Avocados, Organic - 2 each
Tomatoes, Organic - 2 each
Broccolette, Organic - 1 bunch
Cilantro, Organic - 1 bunch
Ruby Grapefruit - 3 each
Snap Peas, Organic - 0.75 pound
Green Leaf Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch
Yellow Onions, Organic - 3 each
Navel Oranges, Organic - 5 each
Strawberries, Organic - 1 pint.
Mangos, Organic - 2 each
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 5 each

Qty.	Item	Price	Total
1	Bay Leaves, Organic - Approx. 1 oz/order.
1	Half & Half, Organic - 1 pint/order.

Yes, more half and half - my dear husband gave me a half pound of my favorite coffee that he had to have a friend pick up when he was on business because it is that hard to get and they don't ship. It is great with milk, but it is delicious with half and half!

The tomatoes, half an onion, avacadoes and cilantro will be made into pico de gallo, guacamole and served over soft tacos on Saturday...that is also were some lettuce will go.

That leaves lots of yumminess for salads, fruit desserts!

What is your favorite Mexican food? Does your family love pico de gallo too or is it just my family that makes it vanish?

Free Copy of 31 Days to Clean!

Sarah over at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee wrote an ebook just recently that sounds DELIGHTFUL and got some great reviews called 31 Days to Clean...why do I tell you this? She is giving it away today!

Bloggy Goodness

There have been a few posts that I liked a lot today, and because I am watching cartoons with the girls (we finished school already...except for math, but mama needed a break), I thought I would share them with you.

Lindsay has had an excellent series about hospitality, but I particularly enjoyed this post about keeping meals easy when having company.

Erin has Quesadillas 5 Ways, and these are one of our favorite quick lunches or appetizers! Plus there are more great ideas on the comments section! I am thinking pizza quesadillas for Saturday....

Kate has a great post that has a simple formula for making Soup from Scratch. I love making soup from scratch, and am always surprised when people think this is difficult! Plus I love a simple formula that you can work to make new versions!

Sandy is one of my new favorite bloggers...at least, new to me. I love her book Reluctant Entertainer, The: Every Woman's Guide to Simple and Gracious Hospitality! She has a great post about how friends showed hospitality to her college aged son through a care package! Great ideas here!

Have any posts caught your eye lately?

Moving Slowly

We are slowly making progress, with each emptied box making things more like home.

Things are moving a bit slower with lack of sleep for mama (I have no idea why, everyone else is asleep!), and the girls still settling in.

So it will likely be fairly quiet here again this week, but making a house a home takes time.

I am reminded of this as I watch a foreclosed home be cleared out on our street. It is sad to watch all the possessions left behind being thrown into a dumpster.

I wonder how many meals were fed to a family on those dishes, now many books were read cuddled up in that chair, and how many treasures were in those plastic tubs.

So often life is measured by what we can count and measure like possessions and bank account balances and size of houses.

I just want to live and breathe for an audience of One, blessing and caring for the family He has given me.