This picture really makes my heart ache today:

I cannot imagine how this mother feels, not knowing where the next meal will come from or if there will be water for her baby today.  I will not even begin to blog on the political problems that are robbing these families of aid.  My knowledge of the subject is too shallow and embarrassingly limited.

But when I consider what this mom must be going through and the hunger that grips her family everyday I am challenged to value what is on my dinner table and the water that we do have.

Read more on the famine in Somalia.

Either I’m the luckiest mom alive or my kids are just about as crazy as me. But if eating super healthy foods makes us crazy then sign us up for the looney bin!

Last night for dinner we had a brothy soup and arugla salad and my brilliant children ate it up.  For dessert I made a fresh juice from beets and pineapples, etc.  Here’s the recipe:

The Pink Lady (inspired by Café Blossom)

1 pear
1 beet
1-2 inches ginger
1 ½ cups pineapple, in chunks

And here’s the mess that it made:

Mom showed me how to connect things so that this wouldn't happen... you can see how well I listened!

It was so delicious.  My 4 year old actually  said, “Mommy  you make the best juices!” and I’d have to agree!  It was so tasty and earthy and sweet and beautiful in color.  Drinking it was quite the experience.  And I’ll definitely be questioned later at work when I drink it from this:

Then i just couldn’t stop cooking up stuff.  I used the leftover juice pulp (you can see it in above messy picture) to make pulp crackers. I was really excited that I actually had the flaxseed meal (acquired on sale from Big Lots!) and I could whip up this recipe.  Waste not, want not… right?  But… these crackers were just o.k.  I think that if the juice was more veggie and garlic based that the pulp would be better for savory crackers.  But these were a bit too salty/sweet for me and not in a good way!  Still, we made them and ate some and have more for later.   I did make some salsa to go with them with ingredients fresh from our garden… and the salsa was rocking!

All in all, yesterday was a very successful day of new recipes.  I fell in love with fresh juice, learned how to make pulp crackers (didn’t fall quite in love with those though) and made my very first batch of salsa!!! Summer is good!!!!!

Tonight’s dinner was definitely out there:

Wild rice with sauteed collard greens (from our garden) in homemade butter, fava bean humus (of course, homemade) with homemade crackers, a HUGE romaine salad with pumpkin seeds, raw turnips and tomatoes (from our garden) and broccoli slaw made with veganaise.   The dishes definitely didn’t go together, but it was kinda a ‘eat what needs to be eaten’ kind of dinner.

The kids tried the rice and the salad and the slaw, but won’t touch the hummus.  I laugh everytime that I try to feed E hummus as I remember when her preschool teacher, Miss Abby, told me (after several days of school lunch box coming home with leftover hummus) to just ‘give up with the hummus.  She does NOT eat the hummus.’

I don’t know how I went from a ‘normal’ foodie, loving great food and considering butter and biscuits with gravy the absolute king of the kitchen.  From appreciating the extra chicken fat present in a good pot of chicken and dumplings (and NO ONE makes it better than them Shirleys).  From a passion of baking – especially breads that take all day and cakes that make you want to cry out ‘Praise the Lord’ to my newfound interest in plant based foods.  Over the past 7 months I have slowly but surely shifted my family’s diet to be primarily plant based with occasional meat days.  The decision to do so was not financial nor was it convenient but it was out of a desire to be more healthy.

I really enjoy the challenge of creating completely raw chocolate cakes and tomato breads and my daily smoothies. I’m beginning to think that something inside of my even-more-healthy heart is changing and that soon I’ll be juicing like a pro and lobbying for a more vegan type diet. Something that I’m now dying to learn to  make is this:

Raw Autumn Sweet Potato Rolls (by this restaurant in NYC called Blossom): image c/o choosingraw.com

We just finished up our first craft for the day!  Recycled food cans turned into pencil/crayon cup! The kids decorated them with me and now they can color in peace.  No  more fighting over the crayons, everyone has their very own (and quite original) color cup!

p.s. I glued felt around the inside and up over the edge of the cup because that edge can be quite sharp.

I came home from a night shift the other day at 7.30 a.m. gobbled down an egg and a piece of toast (no coffee this time) with milk and headed to bed.  Turned on the loud fan, closed the curtains from the early morning sun, shut the door so children will run and play outside of my sanctuary of sleep.

It was time to rest. Hooray!  For about 20 minutes I lay there thinking, “How is this really going to work, can I sleep during daylight hours? I’m seriously not the kind of person that can go without sleep… man I’m going to be cranky… wonder if those kids will come barging in or if they’ll let me rest…” The thoughts kept coming and then one thought came, slightly profound, and notable:

Falling asleep is SO much like having a baby.

When in labor, there is little that can be done by thinking and stressing out. Like an animal that surveys the environment and searches for a safe place to labor, women can halt their own labors if they are not at ease. I know that I am better at life when I am relaxed and not stressed.  I fell asleep when I had this thought and I remembered that all I needed was to r-e-l-a-x.  Let sleep happen, breath – inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…and let go… zzzzzzzzzz

“Just as there is no warning for childbirth, there is no preparation for the sight of a first child.  I studied his face, fingers, the folds in his boneless little legs, the whorls of his eas, the tiny nipples on his chest.  I held my breath as he sighed and laughed when he yawned, wondered at his grasp on my thumb.  I could not get my fill of looking.

“There should be a song for a woman to sing at the moment, or a prayer to recite.  But perhaps there is non because there are no words strong enough to name that moment.  Like every mother snce the first mother, I was overcome and bereft, exalted and ravaged.  I had crosssed over from girlhood.  I beheld myself as an infant in my mother’s arms, and caught a glimpse of my own death.  I wept without knowing whether I rejoiced or mourned.  My mothers and their mothers were with me as I held my baby.”

-The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I am pretty startled by the new realization that my 4 year old needs a bigger bed! Her feet hit the baseboard of her tiny toddler sleigh bed which means… gulp… that she’s growing despite my efforts to keep her small enough to carry in my arms.  She will grow and so will her little sister, who will now adopt E’s toddler bed.  It’s so weird, but so good in many ways.

As I reflect on bedtimes over the past 4.5 years – the good, the bad and the VERY bad (thanks to my seriously strong willed oldest, E) I am trying to calculate the number of lullabies that I must have sung since becoming a mommy.

So, here goes…

4.5 years = 1642 days.  Let’s say that 5 of 7 days that I put my children in bed instead of my husband or babysitters, etc. This is a guess-timation.  That makes 1173 days.

For 4.5  years I have done at least one naptime and one bedtime on those 5 of 7 days of the week. That means 1173 days x twice a day = 2346.

On average I sing 2-3 songs… that makes…

5865 songs since becoming a mommy

that are dedicated to lulling sleepy children to sleep. WOW!

I don’t know whether to be thankful or go crazy that so much of my married life has revolved around getting little sticky-handed dependents to bed.  I guess I’ll say I’m blessed because the truth is, no matter how much they torture me with late bedtimes and “mommy, one more drink of water” type scandals I have ALWAYS enjoyed singing lullabies and I will continue singing them until the won’t let me anymore.  So, with babies in bed and a glass of wine in hand, cheers to at least 5865 more songs as a mommy!

What are some of the lullabies that you sing to your babies?!

I’m kinda in the mood to blog… but really don’t want to have to think, so I’m cheating today and posting my top 5 favorite kid’s rooms designs so that you can get inspired to decorate your own kids’ rooms!

I found on designdazzle.blogspot but she got it from cook mag... not sure where that is.

This is from vintagerevivals.blogspot.com, a great resource for fun DIY projects

LOVE this one from an awesome blog on design: style-files.com

This bright room from grinsandsighs.com

And for a local favorite of mine… a dear friend with lots of great design skill:

Beautiful room from Meredith on fryeswiththat.blogspot.com

Sacrifice. A big word.

If you’ve been following this blog at all you know that at times I am trying to pump up excitement for the sacrifices that birthing, parenting, working, healthy living and returning to school have had on my life.  This Easter weekend is all about sacrifices, of course, and yet I hadn’t thought about it much until the prospect of hitting the books hard this weekend was challenged by church and family.  Two more weeks to go and all I can think about is electrolyte and fluid imbalances and what happens with diabetic ketoacidosis and such things.  I’ve rarely peaked out from behind my NCLEX-RN book to make sure that the kids are playing nicely or that the cats have enough food in their bowels.  But when I stared into the face of this weekend, last night I realized that my own priorities need to be reset. I must choose to relish in this weekend.  I must truly consider my Savior over my final exams.

So, I decided to start my Saturday early with lots of studying and finish by 11 a.m. and the rest of the day will be filled with easter eggs and family and ham salad. I will replenish relationships and tradition.  Later I’m hoping to make a new recipe that will replenish my body from a week’s worth of coffee and bad carbs.  And tomorrow, on Easter, I will breathe and focus my day around the one true Sacrifice that I believe in – in which I may put my trust.  Tomorrow morning I will replenish my soul and give thanks.  And that, my friends, is my personal sacrifice that I know pales in comparison with the Sacrifice made thousands of years ago.  But to me, it is a big deal.

Happy Easter to you!

In case you’re interested, here’s a recipe I am planning to make later (to replenish my body):

Picture from choosingraw.com

I know, you’re probably just as surprised as I am that there is a new blog post tonight!  I’m feeling particularly bloggy tonight since I can no longer stare at my microscope pictures of helminths and protozoas, etc. YUCK!

Last I left you, it was PRE-spring break, right?  It is safe to say that I’ve hardly returned from spring break and the oh so wonderful birth that I attended on the Tuesday AFTER spring break!!!  Oh, I’m here in body but really ready for summer break in my mind.  Spring break was an amazing week of rest, relaxation, working on my farmhouse table (which I will post if I ever finish it!) and spending loads of time with the kiddos. I relish in home-life these days.  Baking, decorating, starting a little garden, etc. and teaching my little girls as I go through it all.  I am so looking forward to the summer, when it FINALLY warms up and I can get out in the sun and play as hard as I can with my girls.  Summer… we’re ALL ready and waiting for you, hurry up and get here.

Until then, I will plug along… 5 more weeks to go until I’m 1/2 way through my RN degree.  I’m keeping myself sane by doing a little gardening, a little exercise and a bit of cooking!

Here are some of the wonderful things that have kept me sane this week.

From realsimple.com

Seriously, how much more brilliant can  you get?  Using old egg shells to start plants indoors!?!!!?? Wonderful! Currently I have about 2 dozen plants loaded up in 1/2 egg shells perched in their cartons just waiting to sprout! Thank you so much Real Simple mag!

From choosingraw.com

I’m so totally stoked to make these tomorrow!!!  I went to buy the nutritional yeast that I lacked from my cupboard and I’ll whip them up and hopefully they’ll be as tasty as this blog describes.  Reading her posts has really encouraged my healthy eating habits.   Even though I’m off the 100% raw path, I’d say that 75% of my diet is still raw.  And I’m sticking to my daily breakfast smoothies… My favorites have become:

1. Banana and cacoa: 1 banana, 1/2 can of coconut milk (full – fat, of course), 1 Tbs. of raw cacoa and 1 teaspoon of agave nectar, plus a handful of ice to make it thicker and frozen-er!  Delicious.

2. Mango, pineapple ginger: 1 banana, 1/2 mango, 1/2 can of coconut milk, 6-7 bite sized chunks of pineapple, handful of ice and 1 Tbs. of grated FRESH ginger! WOW! It’ll start your day off on a groovy foot!

3. PB and banana (I’m not lacking in potassium these days!): 1 banana, 1/2 can of coconut milk, 2 Tbs. of PB, (strawberries if you got them), and 1 Tbsp. of agave nectar (I but unsweetened fresh PB so it’s not super sweet until you add the agave) and ice!!!

From curbly.com

I cannot wait for a minute’s peace when I can dabble in crafts and try out one of the beautiful pillows featured in todays post on curbly.com.  Believe you, me, you will see one making a debut at the M home, soon!

Well, enough procrastinating and putting off sleep… hope you enjoy my ramblings! Wish me luck on tomorrow’s Microbiology exam! YUUUUUUCKKKY stuff, these little bugs are!