They grow up so fast

Ramsey moved out. She couldn't take our stifling ways. She packed up her most precious belongings and moved in with Nena (my mom) "forever". (According to Ramsey, "Forever means until you die.") Isaac has declared this awesome because she always interrupts him while he's on the phone.

Evidently they are 14 and 16, not 4 and 6.
So, she piled all her crap in the hallway and packed it into a bag. Like any child moving out she also attempted to pack stuff that wasn't hers. Actually, looking at this picture, that bag is mine. Anyway, after packing she had me drop her off at my moms, it was around lunch time.

Forever ended up lasting until 8:30 tonight when she decided to come back. She plans to return to Nena's tomorrow. I'm pretty sure she only came back because she knows I'm going to make cupcakes. She mentioned she would only be staying here that long.

But Really

Why can't you eat a chocolate Santa bigger then your arm at 9:30 pm when you didn't eat dinner and should have been in bed 2 hours ago and are screaming your head off every 10 minutes?

Good night Ramsey.

Random

I would love to be in one of my kids mind for a hour. This thought pops into my head constantly. The one immediately following it is that I would never find my way back out. I know it's not just my kids but children's thoughts have no pattern that I'm able to understand.

Case #1

We are all in the car today on the way to Joe's work. We are discussing reindeer. In the middle of this discussion Ramsey asks, "Do you stand up on a unicycle?"

Where the hell did that come from? The previous conversation continued after a brief explanation to her question.

Case #2

We are again in the car driving to pick up hamster food. (Anyone who has read my blog before may possibly be thinking, 'Hmm, she's never mentioned a hamster.' Yah, Isaac had $20. Isaac now has a hamster named Comet.) Anyway, we're in the car talking about what hamsters eat when Isaac informs me that, "Leeches live everywhere. That includes Santee."

Ok. I've never seen one of these legendary leeches. Are they in our toilets? According to Isaac they can breathe under water but only on land for 11 minutes. I love when he pulls facts like that out of no where.

So, while I would love to ride their train of thought to see how it gets from A to Q, I'm not sure I'd survive the trip.

Won again

It's crossed my mind to ditch my blog all together since I'm such a lousy poster. Instead I may try to change the focus, it seems to have done that anyway, and not have as much food.

In that vein....

I won a contest over at The Savvy Source a copy of Mask Parade. I'm excited. I'm sure the kids will love. They love to pretend to be things.

I hope to have new and interesting things to post about soon.

Nature's Express

On Sunday the family went out and had lunch at our new local Nature's Express. Here's the menu.
Joe had a Pesto Burger and I had a regular burger. They were really good. They use awesome buns. The kids had "Chicken" Tenders. Ramsey tried to hoard them and not share with Isaac. They were the best I've ever had. The french fries were fresh but not really my favorite. My vanilla shake more then made up for the fries. This really is a great place to eat. We sat inside their cafe next door and had sample of their vegan soft serve.

I can't wait to go there again. I want to try the bbq "chicken" sandwich.

Winning Streak

I've been having a run of luck lately. First, I won the lovely Amey's contest for a Peppermint Ritter Sport. That was unbelievably exciting. I've been craving one of them since last Christmas. They are very hard to come across. My luck continued when I found 6 more, now all gone, at a local Cost Plus. In the past they never carried them Thanks again Amey!
Next up I won a gift basket at the new Henry's in my neighborhood. It had a bunch of organic baby shampoo, diaper cream, lotion, wash cloths. My kids are a bit out of that stage but both my sister and sister-in-law are pregnant. It'll make a nice addition to a baby shower gift.

And the one I just found out about today... The VegNews Gift Pack. "You'll receive a one-year subscription to VegNews Magazine, our signature oversized tote bag, a fair-trade cotton t-shirt, six jumbo vegan cookies, and the current Veggie Award edition." I have to admit I'm most excited about the cookies and maybe the bag for grocery shopping.

I hope my luck keeps running. Or that my refrigerator keeps running at least, that would be lucky. It is only 3 years old but having issues.

I hope some of my current luck rubs off on all of you.

Politics and Preschoolers

We spend many of our Wednesdays at the park with our friends. All of us moms chatting away with one eye on our munchkins playing. The major topic of conversation this week was of course the election. As week sat talking we could hear a conversation from the children that peaked our interest.

I'm not positive how their conversation started but my guess is because Sophia (3) was wearing a voting sticker. We only heard the end of their conversation. Bella (7) and Sophia (3) were talking with Ramsey about how they went with mom, Denise, to vote. Ramsey then informed them that she had voted also, for Obama.

I always find it amusing to hear the kids talking with each other without adult influence. This was just so cool to hear. They were so interested and invested.

Ramsey is thrilled with the Obama win. Oh, and so are we.

Esme's Sauce and Pickle Update

Tonight I made pasta with broccoli and Esme's Sauce. This sauce sounded delicious and it being quick and easy made it a no brainer for me to hit on a lazy night. After I had everything mixed up, I was a little worried because it smelled so strong. But once I mixed it in with my pasta and the broccoli it totally mellowed. This is very tasty. The husband gave it a thumbs up.

And on to the pickles. The cucumbers and carrots were finished fermenting in about 4 days. At that point they tasted what I thought they should. I found the pickles to be a bit to salty for me, just a tiny bit. But the carrots and garlic we perfect. When you open the jars you can just smell the garlic. It is mouth watering. So far, all my taste testers have liked how things turned out, even if a tiny bit salty.

Next up is kraut.

My new Harsch Fermenting Crock

I'm not trying to make any of my friends jealous, it's just an added bonus. ;)
I've wanted one of these crocks for about three years but I couldn't justify the price. I happened across one on Craigslist for $75 and snapped it up. I just picked it up today and the lady threw in a jumbo cabbage shredder.

Right now I have some cucumbers, carrots, and garlic just starting out. It smells so good. The crock is a 7.5 liter which is about 2 gallons. That's going to be a lot of kraut. I'm so excited!

I'll update with a photo of my finished product. and yes, I did rip the picture off another website.

Apple Picking

I organized a group to go apple picking on Thursday up in Julian. We had a pretty good turn out and it was a beautiful day.
Here is my nephew, Race, poke, poke, poking the apple seconds with that flag. Thankfully we were about to use those to make cider. Doesn't he have the greatest hair?

Me and Ramsey making apple cider. She wasn't tall enough to reach.

And Isaac drinking the fruits of our labor.

We had a great time with all our old friends and made a few new friends. We will defiantly make this an annual tradition.

Let's play a game

The game is called 'Guess that dish'. I'm almost positive....well, pretty sure anyway that I made this from Vegan Express. Fine! It's a freaking guess. But it's a good picture, right?
I'm kidding, it is from Vegan Express. But I really don't remember the title of the recipe and I'm honestly to tired and lazy to get up and look. It was a fried tofu with broccoli over rice noodles and peanut sauce. The adults liked it well enough but not the children.

I can't even take credit for the picture. Joe took it with "our" (his) camera.

Key Lime PIe

I don't care what anyone else has to say, Purely Decadent is the best vegan ice cream. I love it. That said....
This flavor of theirs, Key Lime Pie, was absolutely disgusting. I was so shocked that they could have made this taste so horrible. The nice people at the store traded me for another flavor I like.

I am not a fan of peach candy because I think it tastes like a cross of flowers/perfume and soap. This Key Lime Pie ice cream taste exactly like that. It wasn't even tart enough to cut that horrid overly floral taste. I made a friend taste this also and she thought it was awful.

I am absolutely NOT giving up on Purely Decadent but I have to admit to being a touch leery of their fruit flavors. I guess I'll have to stick with the Key Lime Pie Tofutti Cuties to scratch the key lime ice cream itch.

A-rock Obama

Politics and a four year old. As soon as the camera was shut off she asked me, "Is Bush dead now?"

Yesterday, Isaac drew a picture of himself shooting a canon at George W. Bush. In the back ground one person is clapping and one person has hearts all around and is in love with Isaac.

I should have asked their opinion on the Bail Out. lol

Happy 4th Birthday, one month late

Ramsey celebrated her 4th birthday on September 1st. Since she loves to play tea party with her Yaya, we decided to throw her a fancy tea party. Girls only. The girl only part is a whole other story of her bitching.
Her is Ramsey still in her p.j.'s just starting to dress up.

And here she is checking out the goings on sans pants.

Now she is gussied up.

This really isn't the full spread for the kids but I liked this picture best. They had mini bagels with vegan cream cheese, pb&j, tofurky sandwiches, shortbread, scones, vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, mini veggies, and fruit salad. They were drinking ice tea mixed with apple juice.

The adult sandwiches were tomato basil with vegan cream cheese blended with balsamic vinaigrette, mock egg, and cucumber. The desserts were the same as the kids.

The kids dug into the cupcakes right away but then evened things out snacking on sandwiches and fruit. I don't think any of them touched the veggies.

And here is Ramsey and some of her friends exploring her loot. I made her the chefs hat.

She really did seem to have a great time, even without boys, and the grown ups had a great time chatting and snacking. Happy Birthday Ramsey.

America's Favorite Animal Shelter

Care 2 is holding a contest where people vote for their favorite animal shelter or rescue group. The group with the most votes wins $10,000. The four next highest groups get $5,000. And Adopt-a-pet.com is awarding $1,000 to a shelter at random each week.

I don't think I've ever posted anything like this before but it only takes a second to vote.

Grrrrr

So, we have two weddings coming up this month. One is the husband's cousin, Megan. The other is one of my brothers, Neil. I've had this green fabric sitting around since last year that was supposed to be Ramsey's last Christmas dress. She ended up talking Daddy into buying this other dress and the fabric was left unused. I decided I'd make her a skirt for the wedding.

Ramsey doesn't have any dressy tops and I thought I'd try my hand at inventing something for her. I thought that a black velvet would be nice and match the skirt. I started cutting out the skirt. I was preparing to sew it when Ramsey came in ready for me to measure her for the shirt. I put the skirt fabric down and started on the shirt.

Taking the shirt fabric out of the bag the store put it in was a surprise. When not in the lights of the store the fabric isn't very black. It almost looks purple. I decided to take a chance with it. There are still kinks to work out but it wasn't so bad. While I was sewing Ramsey was playing with the left over fabric and scraps.

Then came time for the skirt. I grabbed my piece of fabric and got to it. I found it odd that I kept having to make adjustments on the hem. It wasn't straight. When it was finally finished I called Ramsey in to model.
This is a bad picture but that puffy skirt was supposed to be knee length and puffy. Not ankle length. Ramsey had switched up my fabric piles and I didn't know it.

So, I have a skirt that's to long and wonky. A shirt that's not really black and still not right. I guess Ramsey will have to squeeze into her Easter dress.

Lazy Pie

Me and the husband were dying for something sweet the other night. Being the fair parents we are, we waited for the kids to go to bed to whip something up. I just tossed ingredients in a bowl until it looked like a pie crust should. Inside is some apples and cinnamon.
This was neither the best pie crust I ever had or the juiciest apples. However, it was not the worst and it killed the craving. I've never done a lattice crust and was playing around on the one. I think it would be easier on a full sized pie.

We will be going apple picking in two weeks. Expect some more pie or desserts along that line.

Adam and Eve

I awoke to lowered voices...


Ramsey- Isaac have a piece of chocolate.

Isaac- No, we aren't supposed to. You have to ask mom first.

Ramsey- No, I had three. I just sneak it.


Who has visions of my future life parenting a teenage Ramsey? Looks good, no?



I promise she was not just trying to be a 'good sister' by offering him candy. She was planning ahead by offering him some. She would rather them both go down together then go down alone. I offer a warning to Ramsey's future party buddies (Sophia, Elizabeth, Quora, Maggie, Athena) if she gets caught she will rat you out.

Happy Holidays!

Who got a shiver up their spine? Admit it, that creeped you out. No, I'm not currently knitting up Christmas stockings or stock piling wrapping paper. But there is one thing I wanted to make that has to be put aside well in advance.

Homemade Vanilla
Easy, pretty, and impressive to gift receivers. (Any of my friends who receive this gift need to stop reading and ignore that "easy" part)

Most store bought vanilla beans are very pricey and at 3 beans for $5 you use them like there made of gold. I purchase my vanilla beans from a store front on ebay, Vanilla Products USA. They sell organic and not, grade A and B, several varieties and different weights. To give you an idea, I have a pound of grade B for $13. That is a lot of beans.

So, it was no hardship at all to split open two beans for each of these pretty bottles. Some people cover with vodka and some with Rum. I'm a Rum fan, just ask my friends. ;) I put these lovelies away in one of my cupboards and when I think of it I swirl them around a bit.

When the holidays arrive I will have a pretty, yummy, and useful gift.

Happy NOT Holidays.

Stock in Earth Balance

With all the tester cookies that I've made I feel like I should own stock in Earth balance. These chocolate chip cookies are a traditional . They are exactly what you think of when you hear the name. Better then a bakery cookie but the same enormous size and crowd pleasing abilities.
These shortbread are my favorite! The recipe is spot on and to die for. Tender, flaky, buttery. I can't rave about them enough.

Graham crackers just the way you expect them to be. Not as easy to make as Isa's recipe but very good crackers.

These gems are far better then their store bought counter parts. They look tiny but you get a lot of bang for you buck. We could only eat a few each.

White Russian's. I've never had the drink and soft cookies aren't really my fav. These were good but I wouldn't rave.

I do love coconut. These crispy coconut cookies were very good and extra nice with ice cream.

Thus ends our tester cookie tour. I hope you enjoyed the ride.