Bwekfast Turtle

Once or twice a month, the kids and I try to make a trip to our county zoo. Going that often is a very different experience from the trips we used to take in grade school every May. For one thing, I don’t have to worry about where to sit on the bus. My seat is pretty much assigned these days. The biggest advantage is that we get to know the animals better. The elephants are... Read More

Catch-Up List

A quick catch-up list: 1. We had our first snow of the season Tuesday evening. (Click here to read more or leave a comment on Catch-Up List)  Read More

Fish Faces

(Fair warning: If you’re squeamish, you might skip this post. It’s for my teenage brother-in-law. And for his pet carp, may he rest in peace. 🙂 ) My in-laws came for a visit last week. I’ve explained some of their story in a previous post. It poured rain the entire weekend of their visit. Two of my husband’s younger brothers came along, as well as the... Read More

Shrimp with Salsa Fresca

For years, I’ve been looking for THE perfect book to teach me to cook. I’ve assembled quite a collection of cookbooks in the process. Many of them have failed to inspire, and I was ready to decide that cooking is just one of those things that I’d have to buckle down and do, with or without inspiration. This past week, though, I may have found it – THE cookbook... Read More

Infertility Post Four: Losing Control

If I had known from the beginning how long we’d deal with infertility, I might have made a conscious decision (Click here to read more or leave a comment on Infertility Post Four: Losing...)  Read More

How Wild Horses Dragged Us Together

Recently my husband and I had a bummer of a few days. We really needed an evening at home together. A night finally freed up for my husband… but then of course, I couldn’t be there. I had to take the older two kids to a class. I was just pulling out of the driveway when our horses escaped the paddock. With a fall nip in the air and some sprinkling rain, all five horses... Read More

Spinach Penne Salad

To kick off my year of focusing on cooking, I made an easy penne and spinach salad. It has a unique flavor – and a bit of a bite! This recipe comes from a Cooking from A to Zest video. My kids love watching this series of instructional cooking videos. I hope they grow up loving to cook! To make the salad, boil a pot of water, add some salt, and pour in the penne. Cook the... Read More

Smile on the Horizon

A couple days ago my hyper-responsible older daughter burst inside yelling, “MOM! There’s a cow in the yard, and the baby is trying to go outside!” I peeked out the door and saw neither hide nor hair of cow. What I did see was the most marvelous light from the sunset… the kind of light that keeps reminding me, “You’re home.” I cajoled... Read More

Just Some Blog Business: A Year of Better Cooking

Fall is here! I’ve had a nice little break from the blog, unpacking more boxes and getting settled into our school routine. Has Fall brought a new rhythm to your days, or energy for doing something new? For the next year of blog posts, I plan to learn to cook better meals. My husband finally has a somewhat predictable schedule, for the first time in our marriage. Even the... Read More

The One Year Blogiversary (And a New Challenge)

One year ago, on September 9, 2010, I hit the “publish” button on my first post in the blogisphere. I was stuck in the mountains, getting ready to be snowed in for my third winter, nursing a baby for hours a day, and changing four sets of diapers. My only goal for the blog, besides not going nuts, was to learn to take better pictures of my kids. (Click here to read... Read More