fresh from the garden

last night we had some peas and turnip greens fresh from jeremy's garden.  gardening in 90+ weather is not my idea of fun, but i'm glad that jeremy likes to. 

4th weekend

to the circus

 a few photos from our 4th of july weekend

checking out the pre-show

a 4th of july festival for oscar's 1st ferris wheel ride and some wimpy fireworks

4th of july bbq with grumpy alice



much better fireworks in state line



5 months

here is alice at 5 months old.  i just posted the 4 month photos 2 seconds ago and these 5 month ones look about the same. her chubby cheeks kill me. i kiss them ALL THE TIME. i also smoosh our cheeks together and enjoy the smooth smooshiness. i'm trying to soak up every second i can of this baby stage (which is quite obvious by the state of our home - but i can clean when she starts school, right?)

her biggest new trick is sitting up unassisted.  she hasn't perfected it yet, and only lasts for a minute before doing a face plant, but she's getting better and better at it. she is still loving sucking her thumb and fingers and is interested in grabbing EVERYTHING. breastfeeding is going great - it's hard to believe we were having troubles to begin with. after having such major supply issues with oscar, i can't believe she has had nothing but my milk! and i put those fat rolls on her thighs! ME! but soon she'll be wanting to try other foods (she is already watching closely). i'm going to put it off until she shows us she is ready and then we're thinking about trying baby led weaning.

4 months

i'm behind on posting alice's monthly photos! (and just posting in general) here she is at 4 months

we had a busy month with a lot of work and play, out and about. alice is a great baby to have on the go. people always comment when i've been somewhere for awhile and they haven't heard her fussing or crying. of course i'm always wearing her and nursing her, so maybe i'm just a great mama to have on the go.  she HATES coming home in her car seat.  she will be fine when we go somewhere but the trip home usually includes screaming.

this month, alice started sucking her thumb and fingers a lot.

and also sucking on her top lip.. very strange, but cute.

easy greek frittata

easy greek frittata

a month or so ago, robyn emailed me this greek frittata recipe since it looked so good but is something her boys wont eat. my boys are not at all picky, so i made it right away and it was delicious! and so easy! we all loved it, even though it was super salty. i should have read the reviews that warned against adding all the salt.  the feta has plenty of salt and it was fine without any extra added the second time i made it. but i think maybe 1/2 tsp is about right for our tastes.

10 eggs

whisk whisk whisk - dont add that salt!

spinach, tomatoes, feta and onion ready to go

cut the tomatoes and toss them in

throw in some onion - it calls for scallions and i can't always get those

crumble and add feta (and eat a piece)

throw in the spinach

mix it a bit

dump it into your hot olive oily casserole dish

and bake

this has become a family favorite and is really easy to throw together after a long day. thank you, robyn!

greek frittata from real simple

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 10 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (no way! maybe 1/2 tsp.)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 5-ounce bag baby spinach
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced (or any oniony substance)
• 8 ounces feta, crumbled

1. Heat oven to 350° F.
2. Add the oil to a 2-quart casserole and transfer to oven for 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt, and pepper. Add the spinach, tomatoes, and scallions and combine. Gently stir in the feta.
4. Remove casserole from oven. Pour the egg mixture into casserole. Bake until the frittata is browned around the edges and slightly puffed and a knife comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. 

homemade laundry soap



the soap that is impossible to find around here

about a month ago danielle and i got together to make a batch of laundry soap. i had seen a video that candidmommy made about it on youtube, and got the recipe from the duggars website. the soap has worked just as well as the ones we buy from the store, but is so much cheaper! this recipe makes TEN GALLONS of detergent.



ready to grate



easier than we thought it would be



cheese?

whisk whisk whisk

into the 5 gallon bucket

the other magic ingredients

a final stir

divvy it up

some additions for later

   so easy! we will be doing it again.

we have a winner!

and according to random.org, our winner is #4 - danielle rudd! i'll be contacting the winner shortly.