summer planning--wheee!

Summer is almost here! As I said last year, just turning over the wonderful possibilities in anticipation is almost better than the reality! I love this time of year.

This year I mostly want to slow down, spend more time with my boys, and be way more involved in Rainer's care. Remember last fall, when I used almost all my sick time for the entire school year just in October and November (when Rainer was hospitalized for 3 weeks)? That means I haven't been to a lot of his doctor's appointments subsequently. That will change soon, when I'm off for summer. Other want to dos:

::keep a nature journal
::draw, even though I am bad at it. Learn to draw simple birds.
::read Mary Oliver poems
::memorize a children's poem to say to Dieter and Rainer while I'm pushing them in the swings
::investigate gnomes and fairies
::have a midsummer night celebration
::re-read favorite books, maybe starting with "I Capture the Castle"
::watch favorite movies, starting with "Sideways"
::rent Season 4 of LOST
::learn wet felting
::compile list, gather, buy favorite children's books I am missing . . . start with the Frances books
::keep sewing
::celebrate all the usual summer things--anniversary, my birthday, Faith's birthday, fourth of July
::work on a recipe book for Faith that she will take with her when she (eventually) moves out
::go to Ikea with Faith
::cook different things
::do crafts with the boys
::knit--book a private lesson
::have picnics--explore fun picnic foods. Make little hand pies and fun sandwiches
::make some costume pieces for the boys--capes, crowns
::make some items for next year's advent calendar wintery village
::cook from my cookbooks, with a heavy emphasis on Apples for Jam

How about you? What are you anticipating about summer?

muslin of see &sew B5011

I've been working on a muslin of a potential new top this weekend. It's from a thrifted sheet--cheaper than buying actual muslin, and 100% cotton too, so no ick factor. The jury is still out on weather this pattern is a keeper, though. Faith has told me repeatedly now that it is "shapeless."
But I put it on for the photos and started thinking that's it's kind of fanciful, like for having a picnic in an apple orchard. Can you see that?
Later, I thought, oh, it's a smock--perfect for chores around the house or working in the studio.
Here's the back. There's no question it's too big for me and a lot of fullness is drawn in with the back tie. So I'm not sure if I'll ever actually make this top for real. I'd love to find a pattern that is more fitted . . . maybe I need to venture into Vogue patterns for that. Will keep you updated on the blog, no doubt, especially if I have a success.

In other news, I gave myself a mini-pedicure last night, and Dieter freaked about the nail polish. "Oh, it's so wonderful," he said, "you have the prettiest colored toenails in the world!" Love that in a kid.

two green things

Here are two "green" things we've been doing over here. These are the "white cloths" (as Ken has named them) that we use as a paper towel alternative. I inherited this habit when I married him and I have to admit I was still a big paper towel user in the early years of the marriage. Now I've come around almost completely and use a paper towel only occasionally. These cloths are super soft and absorbant and perfect for every use around the kitchen and elsewhere too. They are "birdseye weave" diapers (the non-folded kind). Obviously these have never been used on baby bottoms.

Rainer helps hang out the white cloths.

Another thing I am trying is these metal tins for lunches. These are great in my lunch--I tumble orange sections in them or just whatever--anything that doesn't need to be microwaved. I've tried sending Faith's lunch in them too, to mixed reviews. She liked the tin at first, but we've had issues with the textures melding or the pb&j "leaking" which she is super picky about. For now I'm still very wasteful with the teen lunches, packing a traditional lunch with plastic bags in a paper lunch bag. Hopefully, the boys can use these tins though when they start preschool next year . . .

making ranch dressing

On the weekend we had the Honest Pretzels book out and decided to try the ranch dressing recipe. It's very simple, just a little mayo, buttermilk, onion and garlic powders, a little salt, and maybe one other thing. Rainer really liked it on carrot sticks so it was a big success in that way. It was just okay on salad.


Anyone have a homemade ranch dressing that they love?

two skirts for spring

I finished two new skirts this weekend! First of all, let me say Faith took these photos of me in a hurry yesterday afternoon--we were having fun, but I see now that they are rather goofy! Please forgive. Now, about the skirts. Both are the A-line skirt from Sew What Skirts. This one is the wrap version. Love it! I am feeling very 70's retro in my wrap skirt. This fabric is striped seesucker (I think) from Joanne's that I've had in my stash a year or so. It's great to finally use it and I love how this turned out.
I think this waist detail is very cute, but after the fact it occurred to me that if you off-set the waistband/tie, then you could tie it on the side. I'll try that for next time.


This one is from thrifted fabric that I have a ton of. I love getting fabric for practically free--this one came bundled with two other fabrics for about a couple dollars for the whole thing. It's actually quite appealing, has sort of a chevron thing going on.
I turned the facing to the outside on this one and added button detail.

I adore the Sew What Skirts concept of drafting your own pattern. I very much hope a Sew What Tops and even a Sew What Pants is in the works.

it's no-bake season again

We had a pretty normal weekend--not much to report. I will say it's feeling quite summery around here with the long days and the warm temps. It's only 4 more weeks now until we're out for summer for good. I have to say I'm glad--I can't wait to have a more "stay at home mom" type of existence, at least until school starts up again!
I do like a no-bake treat for the hotter months. No-bakes in general seem so appropriate for cooking with little ones, plus, I really like the idea of reaching into the fridge during the hot months for a cold treat. These are the "Peanut Butter Doo-Dads" from Honest Pretzles by Molly Katzen. I love that book so much. It is so cute with its illustrations and full of yummy recipes to try. Dieter and I looked through the whole thing yesterday, contemplating what we'd like to make, but I will say that Faith is more enthusiastic than Dieter. The fact that's it's a children's cookbook does not deter us in the least.

These are very easy and a little bit healthy. Take 1/2 cup natural peanut butter and melt it gently in a pan. Turn off the heat and stir in 1/3 cup chocolate chips. They will melt into the peanut butter. Then stir in 1 cup of cereal. We made these with crispy brown-rice cereal on Saturday and they were great. On Sunday we tried it with Cheerios. The kids seem to approve--I haven't tried the Cheerios version yet, but I bet it's yummy. Or the recipe also suggests Grape Nuts. I may try that too, but on the other hand maybe that would be a little too crunchy for the children.


In other weekend news, we bought this Little Tykes toy at a garage sale for $5. The boys LOVE it. I thought it was pretty funny because I just blogged that Little Tykes is not so much my taste. I do like that they are passed from family to family at garage sales and won't end up at the landfill anytime soon.

what they are into right now

Here is what the boys have been enjoying playing lately when they are playing with me. Usually this takes place after dinner when we go outside. It's the ideal time for Rainer to be outdoors because he is so sensitive to the sun and by that time it is down and the yard is friendly again.

Lately Dieter likes to put on little "shows," complete with intermission, just like when he sees a play or performance of big brother or big sister at the local high school. So Dieter puts on a pirate show or a trampoline show or a wild animal show or what have you and then we break for an intermission. It is really cute: Dieter mans the "booth" (the Little Tykes log cabin--yeah, a giant hunk of plastic--not my taste so much but this at least is "vintage"--left over from Faith and Jacob's childhood. It is actually quite a fun toy if you must know). He goes in there, arranges rocks on the little built-in table, then throws open the shutters for business. I go to the window and order my intermission snack. "Coffee and a cookie" is classic, of course, and he hands me two rocks. It's also fun to think of fanciful intermission faire. May I have a ham sandwich? Bag of popcorn? Apple juice? Yes, yes, yes, as he piles more rocks into my hands. Rainer takes a different approach when he is ordering. He leans in through the little window and selects the rocks he wants. Good stuff people.
The photos are unrelated . . . but much prettier than a Little Tykes log cabin. Happy Thursday.

two books I have finished lately

I love reading, but sometimes it is so hard to figure out what to read next! I'd love to have a never ending stream of good recommendations. Here are two good books I've read recently.

Over the spring break I so very much enjoyed reading A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg. To tell the truth, I'd never actually read her blog. I just kept seeing her book pop up on others' blogs, so I decided to check it out (my lovely mother brought it up to me one day of my break since we are short on bookstores locally). Each little chapter is a gem of a personal essay followed by a recipe. I found Molly to be sweet and friendly and I so enjoyed her story. She writes especially beautifully about her late father. What a lovely tribute to him. The recipes look great too. I especially want to make the coconut macaroons I've seen popping up on the blogs.

The other book I just finished is Run by Ann Patchett. I love all her books but it's been six years since she published a novel! I was happy to find this one. It's about a family in Boston with three sons, two adopted, and basically what happens to them one snowy winter night. The whole thing takes place over a twenty-four hour period. My only complaint is that the book was too short--I wanted it to keep going. I don't want to give away the plot but I will say that the characters are very interesting, as is the story, and the writing is excellent.

Up next, The Maytrees. So far I like it. It's very poetic.

a healthy cookie that is really good

I happily was able to try this recipe over the weekend. I've been on the lookout for a healthier cookie--not just throwing in a little whole wheat flour into a regular cookie recipe--but a few steps beyond that. This is it! It is shockingly delicious for a cookie with no butter and no refined white (or brown for that matter) sugar (it is sweetened entirely with maple syrup and dark chocolate).
And about these chips. The recipe calls for dark chocolate chips and I'm so glad I followed that direction. These are the Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chips. They are giant! And so yummy. One note--I was a bit enthusiastic with my half cup measurement and it turned out to be a few too chips than the dough could hold. Next time I'll use a scant half cup.
One thing I was unsure about when I read the original post was that weird ball shape that the cookies bake into. They don't spread at all! But actually the round ball turns out to be quite an engaging shape to bite into. It's not bugging me at all.
And the flavor? They are mildly sweet with a delicious hint of cinnamon and of course the dark chocolate is a delight as always. Even my little boys like them and call them " the healthy cookies." This is one I can feel very good about putting in the teen lunches and my own.

happy mother's day!

I had a lovely Mother's Day full of homemade cards and presents and lovely children and their daddy . . .
and this breakfast in bread, made entirely by Faith and Dieter! Faith even made the coffee (I walked her through it the night before, in anticipation--the mother's day breakfast in bed is not a big secret).



a box of "local" chocolates . . .
and later in the afternoon, Jolly Kone! Ack! Look at all that fried food and the little boys lunging toward it. The fried zucchini is my favorite. Don't worry--we only do this once a year on Mother's Day.

Everyone was there except Jacob, who called me from college.

Followed by a nice opportunity to sew in my studio and preceded by a walk to Farmer's Market with my littlest (who is feeling so much better now, he is like a different child), it was such a nice day. Happy Mother's Day to all of you, too!

cheerios

My boys have been eating tons of Cheerios lately. It's their "thing" at the moment, especially Rainer. At certain points in his chemo, when he's on the steroid he has to take sometimes, he eats a LOT, and right now Cheerios is what he wants. They eat this plain with 1% milk. I'm all for a low sugar whole grain cereal that kids love. So I got to thinking, are there any other equivalent healthy cereals that kids will eat unadorned? What do you think?

PS--that little pumpkin head is beginning to grow back some hair. It's so fun to stroke his little "peach fuzz."

a mother's day gift for gam

So, if you are my mother you might want to skip today's post. This is just a simple little project Dieter and I whipped up on Sunday. I'd seen an item on Crafty Crow about making a sachet for mother's day--didn't get a chance to read the tutorial but the idea stuck in my mind. I like the idea of a sachet because it is useful and can be tucked into a drawer--it's not a storage problem for the recipient!
Here's what we did. I cut a square of linen and ironed on a piece of freezer paper to the back. The freezer paper is just temporary--to stabilize it so Dieter can make his drawing. I read that somewhere in another tutorial and this is the first time I tried it. It worked great. Dieter used fabric markers to draw whatever he wanted.
After that, he helped pick out a fabric for the backing and we pinked the edges. He really wanted to pink them himself but settled for practicing on a scrap. It's hard to wield those heavy shears in a straight line!
I wrote his name and age and we sewed up the sides, leaving an opening.
Filling the sachet with the dried lavendar was something he could really help with. It was a challenge getting the lavendar into the relatively small opening we had left, but Dieter enjoyed it. One thing I am noticing with this child is that is really wants to do and try EVERYTHING. And it is up to me (and Ken--who is way better at it than I am) not to squelch those natural desires. I have to slow down and let him help and try.
Voila! This finished sachet, filled with lavendar. I hope Gam likes it!

oatmeal date cookies

We haven't made any cookies at all since the Vegan experiment, but finally this weekend we decided to change that. I really like to have a batch of cookies onhand for the lunches, and although these (nor any cookie really) could not be mistaken for health food, I do believe that they are such a better alternative than buying packaged granola bars or other packaged junk. And honestly? Despite the butter and sugar, these do have some healthy elements--oats, whole wheat flour, and dates. So I'm feeling pretty good about them.
This recipe is from an old Everyday Food magazine. It is yummy and maybe my favorite oatmeal cookie. I love the dates in here so much better than raisins in an oatmeal cookie. Try it, you'll see. The recipe is here. I subbed 1 cup of whole wheat flour for one cup of white. Next time I might use even more whole wheat. This recipe does use a small amount of shortening (1/4 cup) and I'm thinking of maybe just deleting it next time. There would still be a whole cup of butter in there. What do you think? The texture might be changed a bit. Dieter loved these and he also enjoyed cutting up dates with kitchen scissors. Rainer wasn't ready to use the scissors but happily ate Cheerios while standing in the Learning Tower which was a huge improvement over how he'd been feeling earlier in the weekend. And now the teens (and I) have cookies for their lunches.

All that said, I'm still on the lookout for healthier cookies (always) so I'm hoping we have time to try this next weekend. If you've already tried it, let me know what you think.

weekend update

We had a low key weekend, not much to report. Actually, I guess they are all pretty low key around here! That's how we like it. Example: very exciting for Dieter and I was the fact that we got to switch the seasonal postcard on the nature table from April to May. Dieter chose a new page of the seasonal book to display and we turned the calendar page. You see, it does not take much to excite us around here!
I finished this fabric bucket.
I finally tried this egg dish I've been wanting to make from my last issue of Everyday Food. It really is quite yummy and different.

And I baked bread for the first time in a long time. This was delicious with the egg dish.
And poor little Rainer has been hammered by his last round of chemo and all the meds He's been on. But I'm happy to report that by Sunday afternoon he was feeling much better and actually playing for the first time in days. So that was very good.

And now it is feeling very summery here and I'm brewing all sorts of ideas for when school lets out. Happy Monday to everyone.